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And we're back in the past and can check the eyrie archive
once again.
Here's where you can find this (well not #6 had to search
google groups to find it!) and more Marvel_Zombie Lad Action:
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Miniseries/Marvel_Zombie/
Here's #5 and 6 of the Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void
Miniseries by Benjamin R Pierce!
What is the thing that Rabid Beaver is Best at -- and
does it involve frothing at the mouth?! And does
i-Mage download music or are we too far in the past
to make that bad joke?!!!
Find out in...
_
| | Classic
| | =3D
| | ____ ____ _ ____ ___
| |__ | [] | | [] | | | | [] | | _ \
|____| \__] \__ | |_| \__/ |_|\_\
||
|_| OF NET.HEROES
ADVENTURES #390
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void Part Three
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh
From:
v124jw4y@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (Benjamin R Pierce)
Subject: Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void, Part 5
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1993 04:20:00 GMT
MARVEL_ZOMBIE LAD: INTO THE VOID, CHAPTER 5
"THIS is your cunning plan!?"
Rabid Beaver's sarcastic tone was not lost on Picasso, and the short green amphibian turned. Pushing his turban up out of his eyes for what seemed lik=
e
the thousandth time, he replied, "Okay, so maybe posing as rug merchants
from
Armenia wasn't the best cover in the world. I dodn't hear you coming up wit=
h
anything better."
"I'm the best there is at what I do," retorted Beaver, "but what I do best AIN'T hatching plots. Still, even I coulda come up with something a little
more believable than this...not to mention more comfortable." Rabid Beaver
cut a ridiculous figure in his long, winding robes, especially pulling a
large rickshaw full of carpets behind him.
"Hey, what do you want from me? Our selection of costumes was sort of limited...
or would you rather have gone with the red flannel sleepers?"
"Uh, guys?" Scrap Iron Man, now nattily clad in a cast-iron turban, pointe=
d
skywards. "I think we got company..."
Marvel_Zombie Lad looked sharply upwards, only to see a horde of odd, mismatched
creatures bearing down upon the group. "Well, if it's a fight they want," h=
e
said, hands crackling with Angst Energy, "It's a fight they'll get!"
"Hot damn, a fight scene!" gloated Rabid Beaver. With the sound of ripping cloth and extending adamantium teeth, he stood revealed and ready for
battle.
"C'mon, boys, ol' Unc Beaver is ready for ya!"
The battle was joined. Though Marvel_Zombie Lad and his companions were by
far the better fighters, the enemy had the strength of numbers on their
side. "We're getting buried!" shouted Marvel_Zombie Lad, as he sent a horde
of small, strangely familiar looking blue teleporters scampering for cover
with the Fire Which Sears Men's Soles (tm).
"No, really? I hadn't noticed..." Rabid Beaver dived away from the fight momentarily into the trees on the side of the road. A sound like a hundred chainsaws was heard, and suddenly a large oak tree fell directly on top of
a group of white, horse-like aliens. Rabid Beaver re-emerged, looking satisfied,
but was quickly forced into battle yet again.
Even the most valiant of heroes are sometimes defeated. The waves of
attackers
just kept coming. Soon, Marvel_Zombie Lad stood alone, calling on the last dregs of his angst powers to ward off the attackers. Suddenly, as he
prepared
to unleash yet another blast, a voice from above attracted his attention.
"Marvel_Zombie Lad! So good to see you again!"
Marvel_Zombie Lad scowled up at the hovering figure clad in wizardly garb. There was no mistaking that sneer, or the large lower-case "i" on his chest=
.
"i-Mage! What are you doing here?"
"The same thing you are, my boy...I was trapped here when the last series
we were featured in was cancelled! Aaah, but not for long...for I have a
plan which will allow me not only to escape, but to conquer the Looniverse, remaking it in MY Image! ...but I digress. You and I have other things to discuss...such as your immediate surrender."
"And why would I want to do that?"
"Why, because if you don't...I order my troops to destroy your friends!"
The i-Mage gestured, and Marvel_Zombie Lad's companions were revealed, boun=
d
and helpless in front of several large and nasty looking robots. Marvel_
Zombie Lad gasped. "The Seven Schleppers! But I thought they were..."
"Dead and forgotten?" gloated the hovering mage. "Indeed they were...but
here, all things are possible! Now...surrender!"
Marvel_Zombie Lad scowled darkly, his eyes glowing red. "Damn you, i-Mage!"
He lowered his arms.
The i-Mage smiled thinly. "I thought you'd see it my way. Guards! Take him!
We have much to do..."
Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh
Subject: Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void, Part 6
From: Benjamin R Pierce
Date: Feb 1, 1994, 4:26:00=E2=80=AFPM
(Sorry for the delay on the last part of this...vacation got in the way.)
MARVEL_ZOMBIE LAD: INTO THE VOID
Part 6
Marvel_Zombie lad was immediately aware of two things when he awoke. The
first was that he had a splitting headache. The second was that there was precious little he could do about it, since he was securely strapped into
a big, clunky, impossibly complex machine of some sort. Craning his neck to bboth sides, he could just make out the figures of Picasso, Rabid Beaver,
and Scrap Iron Man flanking him. They, too, were strapped down.
"Good morning, my arch-enemy!" A crow of triumph caused his attention to
turn
to the environment around him. On a raised platform some distance away stoo=
d
the i-Mage, the one responsible for MZL's current predicament. In the cente=
r
of the platform, by the Mage, stood a seven-foot high-tech coffinlike
device.
By straining, Marvel_Zombie Lad could just make out a vague shadowy humanoi=
d
form inside. But it was the...thing the platform hovered in midair above
that
really caught the eye. A massive, swirling whirlpool of multicolored energy=
,
constantly radiating a sound that seemed to penetrate to the very
bones...this
could only be the Vortex.
The i-Mage's voice brought him back to reality. "I just thought you might
like
to know exactly what it is I'm going to do, now that I've beaten you and
your
feeble friends," he gloated. "What you see below you is known as the Vortex=
,
the interface between this and all other universes. It is the single
greatest
source of raw power concievable. And I will use that power to create the ultimate weapon..."
"Weapon Z?" suggested Rabid Beaver.
"No, NOT Weapon Z!" The i-Mage scowled in momentary irritation, but quickly resumed his triumphant grin. "The weapon I speak of will be the most
vicious,
most powerful, most mass-marketable warrior in the history of comics! With
him under my command, I cannot fail to dominate the LNH Looniverse, and
then,
ALL the universes! ...but I need a little help. And that, my friends, is
where you come in."
"Hoo boy..." muttered Scrap Iron Man. "I don't think I'm gonna like this...=
"
"You see, in order to access the power of the Vortex, I need a substantial activating energy surge. Naturally, I could provide this with my own awesom=
e
powers, but it might tax them beyond even my endurance. So instead, I will
use YOUR powers...your very life forces...to begin the process which will
bring my creation into being. You should consider yourselves fortunate..."
Marvel_Zombie Lad blinked. "Fortunate? Why!?! We're about to be sacrificed
to create some cheesy knock-off of the Ultimate Ninja!"
The i-Mage laughed in triumph. "No, my old foe! This will be the ULTIMATE knock-off of the Ultimate Ninja! And as an integral part of his origin,
your back issue sales are about to go through the roof!" His hand hovered
only inches away from the lever which would start the process...
"Waitaminit," hollered Rabid Beaver, "I don't even HAVE any back issues!"
The i-Mage paused for a moment and frowned, then shrugged. "Sucks to be
you."
He pulled the lever.
Instantly, Marvel_Zombie Lad was seized by the most incredible agony he had ever known. Every fiber of every muscle in his body seemed to be dying all
at once...which was pretty impressive, seeing as how they were already dead=
.
He could only imagine what it must be like for the others...and through the thin red haze of pain, he could still hear the i-Mage's gleeful cackle of triumph. But there was something else, too...
"Marvel_Zombie Lad..."
Somebody was calling him!
"Yeah, somebody's calling you. You're real perceptive. Now listen up."
MZL recognized the ghostly, disembodied voice of the Behinder. "You're in
a lot of trouble. Matter of fact, so are all of us. If this gizmo does its work, it's gonna suck the Fandom Zone dry. So I need you to stop it."
"How?" gritted Marvel_ZOmbie Lad through clenched teeth.
"How else? You are the possessor of the Angst-Factor and the Fire Which
Sears Men's Soles. He wants power? Give him power!"
Suddenly, Marvel_Zombie Lad understood. Marshalling all his will to
concentrate
through the pain, he let the power build within him...and then unleashed it=
,
a massive surge of raw angst energy which screamed down the power conduits
into
the i-Mage's siphon. Immediately, it began to spark and crackle.
"You FOOL!" screamed the i-Mage. "What have you done!? Without that siphon,
I can't control the process! We'll all be destroyed!"
But the undead avenger wasn't listening. The power surge had shorted out
the shackles which held him and his companions, and he could see them griml=
y
staggering out of the machine as he did the same. "Okay, guys," he said,
"If we're going to go down, let's go down fighting!" Summoning the last
dregs of his power, he began to stalk grimly towards the pale, fear-stricke=
n
i-Mage. "It's finished, Mage!"
"Not yet!" The i-Mage swiftly moved to his coffin. "You may have denied me
the full power of the Vortex, but my creation is still powerful enough to
deal
with the likes of YOU!" His finger jabbed a large red button, and the
coffin
lid began to slide open. A massive figure stepped out through the mists,
clad in a blood red and night black costume bedecked with bandoliers, pads, spikes, chains, and countless weapons of every description. He flexed his massive muscles and glowered at Marvel_Zombie Lad and his companions.
"Come forth," cried the i-Mage. "Come forth...BATTLEWARKILLBLOODSLAYSTRIKE!=
"
The massive BattleWasKillBloodSlayStrike let out a howl of rage and began
to lurch forward, step after ponderous step. As he moved, he seemed to grow more sure of his footing. "Guys, I think we're in trouble..." muttered MZL.
"There's one chance," said Picasso tensely, "If we can destroy the hover-
disks on the bottom of the platform, it'll fall into the Vortex, and take
them with it."
"Good plan...but how do we keep from falling in, too?" Picasso shrugged. Marvel_Zombie Lad winced. "I thought so. Oh, well...let's do it!"
The four battered heroes leaped forward. "Destroy them," howled the i-Mage, "Destroy them ALL!" It was only then that he realized that their target was
not him and his companion, but rather the platform itself. "What are you... no!" Adamantuim teeth bit deep into one of the disks, shredding it in
instants. "Stop!!" Reverse magnetism ripped another free of its housing.
"You can't!" A lajatang blow sliced the third in half. "NOOOOOO!"
As Marvel_Zombie Lad channeled a pure blast of angst into the last, the platform
lurched sickeningly, then pitched forward into the void. The last thing he
saw
was blinding color, as he fell...fell...
His fall came to an abrupt stop as he crashed to the ground. Three more
thuds
told him that his companions had made it, as well. But where were they!
Marvel
_Zombie Lad leaped to his feet, ready to fight, as he realized that they
were
surrounded...
..by the other Legionnaires?
Yes! Somehow, against all odds, the Vortex had dumped them in the middle of
one of the LNHQ training rooms! "But where's the i-Mage!?"
"Gone," said Rabid Beaver, "Flake must not have made it. Either that, or
he's
in another universe."
Marvel_Zombie Lad was about to say something else when he suddenly realized that he was still surrounded by the rest of the Legion, or at least the
members
whose training session he had just disrupted. "Uhh, guys, I'd like you to
meet
some friends of mine..."
Meanwhile, in an alley somewhere in Net.York City, a sudden flash of light
went
unnoticed. So did the two looming figures who pulled themselves up out of
the
rubble. "I will have my revenge for this..." rasped one of the figures...
END
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Next Week: Something something LNH?!!!
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Arthur "Same Classic Channel. But Same Time? Probably not." Spitzer
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<div dir=3D"ltr">And we're back in the past and can check the eyrie arc= hive <br>once again.<br><br><br>Here's where you can find this (well no=
t #6 had to search<br>google groups to find it!) and more Marvel_Zombie Lad=
Action:<br><br><a href=3D"
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Miniseries/M= arvel_Zombie/">
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Miniseries/Marvel_Zombie= /</a><br><br>Here's #5 and 6 of the Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void<br= >Miniseries by Benjamin R Pierce!<br><br>What is the thing that Rabid Beave=
r is Best at -- and<br>does it involve frothing at the mouth?!=C2=A0 And do= es<br>i-Mage download music or are we too far in the past<br>to make that b=
ad joke?!!!<br><br>Find out in...<br><br><br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 _ <br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0| | =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0Classic <br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0| | =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=3D<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=
=C2=A0| | =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0____ =C2=A0 =C2=A0____ =C2=A0 =C2=A0_ =C2=A0=
=C2=A0____ =C2=A0 =C2=A0___<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0| |__ =C2=A0 | [] | =C2=A0| [] | =C2=A0| | =C2=A0| [] | =C2=A0| _ \ = =C2=A0<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0|____| =C2=A0=
\__] =C2=A0 =C2=A0\__ | =C2=A0|_| =C2=A0 \__/ =C2=A0 |_|\_\<br>=C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0||<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 |_| =C2=A0OF NET.HEROES<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 =C2=A0 ADVENTURES #390<br><br><br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void = Part Three<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br><br><br><br><br>Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh<br>From=
: <a href=3D"mailto:
v124jw4y@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu">
v124jw4y@ubvms.cc.buffal= o.edu</a> (Benjamin R Pierce)<br>Subject: Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into the Void,=
Part 5<br>Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1993 04:20:00 GMT<br><br>MARVEL_ZOMBIE LAD: IN=
TO THE VOID, CHAPTER 5<br><br>"THIS is your cunning plan!?"<br>= =0C<br>Rabid Beaver's sarcastic tone was not lost on Picasso, and the s= hort green<br>amphibian turned. Pushing his turban up out of his eyes for w= hat seemed like<br>the thousandth time, he replied, "Okay, so maybe po= sing as rug merchants from<br>Armenia wasn't the best cover in the worl=
d. I dodn't hear you coming up with<br>anything better."<br><br>&q= uot;I'm the best there is at what I do," retorted Beaver, "bu=
t what I do best<br>AIN'T hatching plots. Still, even I coulda come up = with something a little<br>more believable than this...not to mention more = comfortable." Rabid Beaver<br>cut a ridiculous figure in his long, =C2= =A0winding robes, especially pulling a<br>large rickshaw full of carpets be= hind him.<br><br>"Hey, what do you want from me? Our selection of cost= umes was sort of limited...<br>or would you rather have gone with the red f= lannel sleepers?"<br><br>"Uh, guys?" =C2=A0Scrap Iron Man, n=
ow nattily clad in a cast-iron turban, pointed<br>skywards. "I think w=
e got company..."<br><br>Marvel_Zombie Lad looked sharply upwards, onl=
y to see a horde of odd, mismatched<br>creatures bearing down upon the grou=
p. "Well, if it's a fight they want," he<br>said, hands crack= ling with Angst Energy, "It's a fight they'll get!"<br><b= r>"Hot damn, a fight scene!" gloated Rabid Beaver. With the sound=
of ripping<br>cloth and extending adamantium teeth, he stood revealed and = ready for battle.<br>"C'mon, boys, ol' Unc Beaver is ready for=
ya!"<br><br>The battle was joined. Though Marvel_Zombie Lad and his c= ompanions were by <br>far the better fighters, the enemy had the strength o=
f numbers on their <br>side. "We're getting buried!" shouted = Marvel_Zombie Lad, as he sent a horde<br>of small, strangely familiar looki=
ng blue teleporters scampering for cover<br>with the Fire Which Sears Men&#= 39;s Soles (tm).<br><br>"No, really? I hadn't noticed..." =C2= =A0Rabid Beaver dived away from the fight <br>momentarily into the trees on=
the side of the road. A sound like a hundred<br>chainsaws was heard, and s= uddenly a large oak tree fell directly on top of<br>a group of white, horse= -like aliens. Rabid Beaver re-emerged, looking satisfied,<br>but was quickl=
y forced into battle yet again.<br><br>Even the most valiant of heroes are = sometimes defeated. The waves of attackers<br>just kept coming. Soon, Marve= l_Zombie Lad stood alone, calling on the last<br>dregs of his angst powers =
to ward off the attackers. Suddenly, as he prepared<br>to unleash yet anoth=
er blast, a voice from above attracted his attention.<br><br>"Marvel_Z= ombie Lad! So good to see you again!"<br><br>Marvel_Zombie Lad scowled=
up at the hovering figure clad in wizardly garb.<br>There was no mistaking=
that sneer, or the large lower-case "i" on his chest.<br>"i= -Mage! What are you doing here?"<br><br>"The same thing you are, =
my boy...I was trapped here when the last series<br>we were featured in was=
cancelled!=C2=A0 Aaah, but not for long...for I have a<br>plan which will = allow me not only to escape, but to conquer the Looniverse,<br>remaking it =
in MY Image! ...but I digress. You and I have other things to<br>discuss...= such as your immediate surrender."<br><br>"And why would I want t=
o do that?"<br><br>"Why, because if you don't...I order my tr= oops to destroy your friends!"<br>The i-Mage gestured, and Marvel_Zomb=
ie Lad's companions were revealed, bound<br>and helpless in front of se= veral large and nasty looking robots. Marvel_<br>Zombie Lad gasped. "T=
he Seven Schleppers! But I thought they were..."<br><br>"Dead and=
forgotten?" gloated the hovering mage. "Indeed they were...but<b= r>here, all things are possible! Now...surrender!"<br><br>Marvel_Zombi=
e Lad scowled darkly, his eyes glowing red. "Damn you, i-Mage!"<b= r>He lowered his arms.<br><br>The i-Mage smiled thinly. "I thought you= 'd see it my way. Guards! Take him!<br>We have much to do..."<br><= br><br><br>Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh<br>Subject: Marvel_Zombie Lad: Into t=
he Void, Part 6<br>From: Benjamin R Pierce<br>Date: Feb 1, 1994, 4:26:00=E2= =80=AFPM<br><br><br><br><br>(Sorry for the delay on the last part of this..= .vacation got in the way.)<br><br>MARVEL_ZOMBIE LAD: INTO THE VOID<br>Part = 6<br><br>Marvel_Zombie lad was immediately aware of two things when he awok=
e. The <br>first was that he had a splitting headache. The second was that = there was<br>precious little he could do about it, since he was securely st= rapped into<br>a big, clunky, impossibly complex machine of some sort. Cran= ing his neck to <br>bboth sides, he could just make out the figures of Pica= sso, Rabid Beaver,<br>and Scrap Iron Man flanking him. They, too, were stra= pped down.<br><br>"Good morning, my arch-enemy!" A crow of triump=
h caused his attention to turn<br>to the environment around him. On a raise=
d platform some distance away stood<br>the i-Mage, the one responsible for = MZL's current predicament. In the center<br>of the platform, by the Mag=
e, stood a seven-foot high-tech coffinlike device.<br>By straining, Marvel_= Zombie Lad could just make out a vague shadowy humanoid<br>form inside. But=
it was the...thing the platform hovered in midair above that <br>really ca= ught the eye. A massive, swirling whirlpool of multicolored energy,<br>cons= tantly radiating a sound that seemed to penetrate to the very bones...this<= br>could only be the Vortex.<br><br>The i-Mage's voice brought him back=
to reality. "I just thought you might like<br>to know exactly what it=
is I'm going to do, now that I've beaten you and your<br>feeble fr= iends," he gloated. "What you see below you is known as the Vorte= x,<br>the interface between this and all other universes. It is the single = greatest<br>source of raw power concievable. And I will use that power to c= reate the<br>ultimate weapon..."<br><br>"Weapon Z?" suggeste=
d Rabid Beaver.<br><br>"No, NOT Weapon Z!" The i-Mage scowled in = momentary irritation, but quickly<br>resumed his triumphant grin. "The=
weapon I speak of will be the most vicious,<br>most powerful, most mass-ma= rketable warrior in the history of comics! With<br>him under my command, I = cannot fail to dominate the LNH Looniverse, and then,<br>ALL the universes!=
...but I need a little help. And that, my friends, is <br>where you come i= n."<br><br>"Hoo boy..." muttered Scrap Iron Man. "I don= 't think I'm gonna like this..."<br><br>"You see, in orde=
r to access the power of the Vortex, I need a substantial<br>activating ene= rgy surge. Naturally, I could provide this with my own awesome<br>powers, b=
ut it might tax them beyond even my endurance. So instead, I will<br>use YO=
UR powers...your very life forces...to begin the process which will<br>brin=
g my creation into being. You should consider yourselves fortunate..."= <br><br>Marvel_Zombie Lad blinked. "Fortunate? Why!?! We're about =
to be sacrificed<br>to create some cheesy knock-off of the Ultimate Ninja!&= quot;<br><br>The i-Mage laughed in triumph. "No, my old foe! This will=
be the ULTIMATE<br>knock-off of the Ultimate Ninja! And as an integral par=
t of his origin,<br>your back issue sales are about to go through the roof!= " His hand hovered<br>only inches away from the lever which would star=
t the process...<br><br>"Waitaminit," hollered Rabid Beaver, &quo= t;I don't even HAVE any back issues!"<br><br>The i-Mage paused for=
a moment and frowned, then shrugged. "Sucks to be you." <br>He p= ulled the lever.<br><br>Instantly, Marvel_Zombie Lad was seized by the most=
incredible agony he had <br>ever known. Every fiber of every muscle in his=
body seemed to be dying all<br>at once...which was pretty impressive, seei=
ng as how they were already dead.<br>He could only imagine what it must be = like for the others...and through the<br>thin red haze of pain, he could st= ill hear the i-Mage's gleeful cackle of<br>triumph. But there was somet= hing else, too...<br><br>"Marvel_Zombie Lad..."<br><br>Somebody w=
as calling him!<br><br>"Yeah, somebody's calling you. You're r= eal perceptive. Now listen up." <br>MZL recognized the ghostly, disemb= odied voice of the Behinder. "You're in<br>a lot of trouble. Matte=
r of fact, so are all of us. If this gizmo does its<br>work, it's gonna=
suck the Fandom Zone dry. So I need you to stop it."<br><br>"How= ?" gritted Marvel_ZOmbie Lad through clenched teeth.<br><br>"How = else? You are the possessor of the Angst-Factor and the Fire Which<br>Sears=
Men's Soles. He wants power? Give him power!"<br><br>Suddenly, Ma= rvel_Zombie Lad understood. Marshalling all his will to concentrate<br>thro= ugh the pain, he let the power build within him...and then unleashed it,<br=
a massive surge of raw angst energy which screamed down the power conduits=
into<br>the i-Mage's siphon. Immediately, it began to spark and crackl= e.<br><br>"You FOOL!" screamed the i-Mage. "What have you do= ne!? Without that siphon,<br>I can't control the process! We'll all=
be destroyed!"<br><br>But the undead avenger wasn't listening. Th=
e power surge had shorted out<br>the shackles which held him and his compan= ions, and he could see them grimly<br>staggering out of the machine as he d=
id the same. "Okay, guys," he said,<br>"If we're going t=
o go down, let's go down fighting!" Summoning the last <br>dregs o=
f his power, he began to stalk grimly towards the pale, fear-stricken<br>i-= Mage. "It's finished, Mage!"<br><br>"Not yet!" The = i-Mage swiftly moved to his coffin. "You may have denied me<br>the ful=
l power of the Vortex, but my creation is still powerful enough to deal<br>= with the likes of YOU!" His finger jabbed a large red button, and the = coffin <br>lid began to slide open. A massive figure stepped out through th=
e mists,<br>clad in a blood red and night black costume bedecked with bando= liers, pads,<br>spikes, chains, and countless weapons of every description.=
He flexed his<br>massive muscles and glowered at Marvel_Zombie Lad and his=
companions.<br><br>"Come forth," cried the i-Mage. "Come fo= rth...BATTLEWARKILLBLOODSLAYSTRIKE!"<br><br>The massive BattleWasKillB= loodSlayStrike let out a howl of rage and began<br>to lurch forward, step a= fter ponderous step. As he moved, he seemed to grow<br>more sure of his foo= ting. "Guys, I think we're in trouble..." muttered MZL.<br><b= r>"There's one chance," said Picasso tensely, "If we can=
destroy the hover-<br>disks on the bottom of the platform, it'll fall = into the Vortex, and take <br>them with it."<br><br>"Good plan...= but how do we keep from falling in, too?" Picasso shrugged.<br>Marvel_= Zombie Lad winced. "I thought so. Oh, well...let's do it!"<br= ><br>The four battered heroes leaped forward. "Destroy them," how= led the i-Mage,<br>"Destroy them ALL!" It was only then that he r= ealized that their target was<br>not him and his companion, but rather the = platform itself. "What are you...<br>no!" Adamantuim teeth bit de=
ep into one of the disks, shredding it in <br>instants. "Stop!!" = Reverse magnetism ripped another free of its housing. <br>"You can'= ;t!" A lajatang blow sliced the third in half. "NOOOOOO!" <b= r><br>As Marvel_Zombie Lad channeled a pure blast of angst into the last, t=
he platform<br>lurched sickeningly, then pitched forward into the void. The=
last thing he saw<br>was blinding color, as he fell...fell...<br><br>His f= all came to an abrupt stop as he crashed to the ground. Three more thuds<br= >told him that his companions had made it, as well. But where were they! Ma= rvel<br>_Zombie Lad leaped to his feet, ready to fight, as he realized that=
they were<br>surrounded...<br><br>..by the other Legionnaires?<br><br>Yes!=
Somehow, against all odds, the Vortex had dumped them in the middle of <br= >one of the LNHQ training rooms! "But where's the i-Mage!?"<b= r><br>"Gone," said Rabid Beaver, "Flake must not have made i=
t. Either that, or he's<br>in another universe."<br><br>Marvel_Zom= bie Lad was about to say something else when he suddenly realized<br>that h=
e was still surrounded by the rest of the Legion, or at least the members<b= r>whose training session he had just disrupted. "Uhh, guys, I'd li=
ke you to meet<br>some friends of mine..."<br><br>Meanwhile, in an all=
ey somewhere in Net.York City, a sudden flash of light went<br>unnoticed. S=
o did the two looming figures who pulled themselves up out of the<br>rubble=
. "I will have my revenge for this..." rasped one of the figures.= ..<br><br>END<br><br><br><br>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br><br>Next Wee=
k: =C2=A0Something something LNH?!!!<br><br>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<= br><br>Arthur "Same Classic Channel.=C2=A0 But Same Time?=C2=A0 Probab=
ly not." Spitzer <br></div>
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