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And we're back in the past and can check the eyrie archive
once again.
And here's where you can find this and more Misc LNH
Action:
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Misc/
And it's Vulture Team Clooless One Shot by KM Wilcox!
Is it time for Misc-R-LET to be enthralled by the August
1968 issue of Comicopolitan Magazine?!! Is it time
for Fred to down the last bite of his Monte Crisco candy
bar?!! And is time someone finally hunted for --
Fred Oktoberson?!!!!!!
Find out in...
_
| | Classic
| | =
| | ____ ____ _ ____ ___
| |__ | [] | | [] | | | | [] | | _ \
|____| \__] \__ | |_| \__/ |_|\_\
||
|_| OF NET.HEROES
ADVENTURES #406
=====================
Vulture Team Clooless
=====================
Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh
From:
kmwilcox@iastate.edu (K M Wilcox)
Subject: Vulture Team Clooless in... (Long!)
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1993 21:31:48 GMT
_________ _________ __ __
/ ________\_/________ \_ \ \ / /
/ / \_/ \_ \ \ \/ / U L T U R E
| | _ /\__ \_/ | | \ / _______
| | \_/ \/####\_ / | | \/ |__ __|
| | / \_###/ \_/\ | | | |
| | / \_/ \ | | | | E A M
| | __/ \_ | | ___ |_|
| | \ \ | | / __>
\ \____________________/ / / /
\__ ______________ __/ \ \__ L O O L E S S
__||______________||__ \___>
/______________________\
_ _ _
| | | \| |
| | | |
|_| |_|\_|
~~|~~ | | |~~ __ __ __ __ __ __ ________
| |~~| |~~ | |__| | | | | | | \| | |__ __|
~~ | __ | | |__| | | | | |
|__| |__| \______/ |__|\__| |__|
|~~ /~\ |~\ _____
|~ \ / |~\ | ___| ____ ___ ___
~ | __| | __ \| __|| \
____ | | | /| __|| |> >
/ __ \ |_| |_|\_\|___||___/
/ / \ \ _ _ _____ __ __ __ ___ __ __ _ _
< < > >| |/ /|_ _|/ \ | _\ | _|| _ \ / _> / \ | \| |
\ \__/ / | < | | < <> >| _< | _|| < \_ \< <> >| |
\____/ |_|\_\ |_| \__/ |__/ |__||_|\_\<__/ \__/ |_|\_|
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team
Clooless
Day 1: Wednesday, December 1
/Sacramento, Hershia/
Fred looked down at the bare desktop and exhaled slowly. It was time, he decided. Whether he wanted to do it or not, his course was set. He pulled
the
envelope from his jacket pocket and dropped it on the desk. Then, after verifying that his Goat .44 had a full fifteen-bullet clip, he stood and
left
his office.
/The Fuschia House, Albany, Nestlia/
Colmust-Y-ARD looked up at the Swiss-made Hekova clock on the fireplace mantle as the minute hand threatened to overtake the smaller hour hand for
the
second time since he sat down. The rest of the team seemed equally bored, except Misc-R-LET, who was enthralled by the August 1968 issue of
Comicopolitan Magazine. Colmust-Y considered commenting when a tremor shook
the room, knocking a ceramic bust of Frankie Avalon from the top of the
mantle
to the floor, where it shattered. Mizpea-B-COC rose from the sofa and woke Mister-G-REN, who was curled up on the floor in the corner. He stirred, and
the room settled. Then the door to General Ilekchik's office opened, and a young man in the green dress uniform of a Nestlian lieutenant entered the lobby. "Please follow me," he said. Missus-U-WIT pushed Professor-V-PLM to
take the lead behind the lieutenant, and the others followed. They were led through the general's main office to passage behind a bookcase, then down a winding staircase into a stark white hallway, and finally into a dark conference room. They were seated around one end of the long table which dominated the room, and at the other was General Ilekchik, with two
bodyguards
behind him.
"Team Clooless," the general began. "I wish I knew a hundred groups like yours. You thrive on risk and the destruction of your enemies. If my
Nestlian
troops were so dedicated, this war against the horrible Hershian hordes
would
have been won years ago."
"We thank you, General, but what is this assignment?" Missus-U asked.
"Yeah, I wanna blow somethin' up," Mister-G added.
"Please wait until you are in Hershia," Ilekchik cautioned.
"So we are going across again?" Mizpea-B asked.
"Of course," Ilekchik laughed. "If I weren't afraid of the Loonited
Nations, I'd tell you guys to go to Baton Rouge and just have fun." Team Clooless laughed. "As it is, your goal is to bring back a Hershian
defector."
A picture appeared on the wall behind one of Ilekchik's bodyguards, who had
to
move out of the way. In the photograph was a man in his late twenties or
early
thirties, wearing the red dress uniform of a Hershian Commander.
"He's cute," Misc-R commented.
"This is Fred Oktoberson," Ilekchik explained. "He was until recently an assistant Minister of State and friend to General Tynemix himself. Tynemix became suspicious of Oktoberson and moved him to some insignificant office
in
the Agricultural Bureau. That's when he contacted one of my spies. You will meet him at the Cafe Tirian in Boise, a suburb of Sacramento, and smuggle
him
back across the Scalps to a safehouse near Tallahassee on our side of the border. Anything else you do to help the Nestlian cause is extracurricular. Beyond that, all standard rules apply." Ilekchik then rose and left the room through a door behind him, one bodyguard before and one after him.
/Sacramento, Hershia/
Miss Bernice Kriant looked at the Timey digital clock on her desk.
2:05:13.
Mister Oktoberson had always been two minutes and between six and
forty-three
seconds early in returning from lunch. Now he was over five minutes late. Adjusting the bun in her hair, Miss Kriant entered his office.
On the desk was an envelope. She opened the envelope and removed a sheet
of
corrasable bond typing paper. After reading the note, she stormed from the office.
/Boise, Hershia/
Fred downed the last bite of his Monte Crisco candy bar and looked back
at
the cheap Dachron clock on the wall. Where were his contacts? He rose from
his
corner seat and started toward the Bortec 485 candy machine when the front
door opened and a woman entered. The sight of her made Fred wish he wasn't leaving. She had long red hair, a young face, and a red Trucra bodysuit
which
accentuated a body that, while thin by Hershian standards, was very
appealing
for a man of his Western tastes. He would definitely miss that in Nestlia, which was, he knew, even more backward, but he would be back. Soon.
The woman gazed around the cafe and locked eyes with him. When she smiled knowingly, he nodded toward his table, and she sat down. Ignoring the candy machine, he returned to the table and sat across from her. "I'm Fred," he whispered.
"I'm Misc-R. Are you ready?" she responded. He nodded, and the two left
the
cafe. In the street, a black Yolksvagen Millipede van idled. Misc-R helped
Fred into the passenger's seat and climbed in after him. Fred was taken
aback
as he looked around the van interior. The dashboard was covered with lights, buttons, gauges, lights, and monitors, and the steering wheel had been
replaced by seven joysticks. Behind the front seats was a dark, cramped electronics laboratory. Most of the electronics seemed to be scrap which had been modified in ways he did not understand. A large man in a green
sweatsuit
sat in the driver's seat and four more people were on stools in the back,
each
next to one or more monitors.
"Get in the back, Freddie," Mister-G commanded. "About five commie tanks showed up on ALRMD three mincycs ago."
"Communists?" Fred asked as he crawled into the back and sat on a wooden stool right behind the passenger's seat. Misc-R closed the door and settled into the seat in front of him. "I don't understand. What are communists
doing
here? And what's 'alarmed?'"
"Not actual communists," Colmust-Y explained. "They're from your side, Hershian Mynocks which showed up on our Alphatech long-range motion
detectors
three minutes ago. Light armor, lighter armament. If we didn't have to
protect
you, we'd take on one or two, just for kicks. 'Commies' just means they're hostiles."
"You must be Americans," Fred quipped.
"Alphans, actually," Missus-U corrected. "How else would we have
Alphatech?"
Professor-V lifted his face from the monitor he was studying. "I've
worked
out an escape route. This is what you should do. First, turn right at the corner ahead." Mister-G pushed forward on the outer two joysticks, and the
van
began moving.
/Hershian Mynock 211/
Sergeant Tuck Triver looked through the laser sight as the black van
raced
past in front of him. "We got you now," he whispered. "Corporal Pineschmint, follow that van."
"Aye, Sir," the young man seated in front of him responded. He grabbed
the
control rod and pushed it forward. Slowly, the tank accelerated. "In pursuit now, Sir."
"Excellent," Sergeant Triver giggled to himself. He would finally get another shot at Team Clooless.
/Clooless Team Van/
"We've been spotted!" Mister-G yelled. "Why didn't you warn me about that one?"
"It wasn't on my screen!" Professor-V yelled back. "It must not have been moving, so maybe it should have been on somebody else's, but it wasn't on mine." The other Alphans in the back looked up from their monitors to argue, but a sudden right turn knocked Fred off his stool, and he fell into
Mizpea-B,
who was bumped into Colmust-Y, whose foot kicked the stool out from under Missus-U, who pulled down Professor-V in a vain attempt to stay up. "What
was
that?" Professor-V asked Mister-G as he scrambled over the bodies to the
front.
"Misc-R, prepare to fire if any Mynocks cross our path," Mister-G
ordered.
Misc-R flipped open a panel in front of her and reached inside, her arm disappearing to the elbow. "I'm gonna get us outta here my way." Professor-V sighed and crawled back. Once in his seat, he switched his monitor from
ALRMD
to short-range combat radar. When the others made it back to their seats, Colmust-Y noticed that the ALRMD was now on his monitor. He started to
complain when an explosion in the road shook the van. Professor-V was again knocked from his stool, but Colmust-Y stayed up and switched the monitors
back.
/Mynock 211/
"Mynocks 214 and 221 are closing off the road up ahead, and 208, 213 and
217 are enroute. We are to push the van into the others," the radioman,
Private John Public, announced.
"Very good, Private," Sergeant Triver giggled.
"Excuse me, Sergeant, but will that hold them?" the fourth man in the
tank,
Private Matt Skreaneng asked.
Sergeant Triver glared at him. "Of course it won't. It's just supposed to slow them down. This, on the other hand, will destroy them." He held out a
gray metal cylinder.
"How did you...? We weren't assigned... That's a tacnuke!" Private
Skreaneng stammered.
"I appropriated it back at the base," Sergeant Triver explained. He
handed
the cylinder to Private Skreaneng. "Load this and make sure you have a clear shot before you fire. We only have the one, and either that van or you is
dying today."
/Clooless Team Van/
Mister-G smiled. Two Mynocks were just coming into range ahead, and those which hadn't arrived were too late. Misc-R fired twice in rapid succession,
and white blasts from somewhere above the van hit the left Mynock, causing
it
to explode. The right tank turned toward the van and fired, but the shell glanced off the side of the van and landed harmlessly in the dirt. Two more shots from Misc-R and the second Mynock was destroyed.
"And we are outta here!" Mister-G yelled. "It's clear drivin' to the Scalps!"
"Just floor it," Missus-U commanded. "We still got the Mynock on our tail and more behind it."
"Why don't you just shoot it?" Fred asked. The Alphans looked at Professor-V.
"The laser only fires forward," he admitted. "I've been meaning to add
rear lasers, but never got around to it."
"At the rate we're losing that Mynock, we should have a chance to stop in the mountains," Mizpea-B commented.
"Good," Misc-R agreed. "I gotta go."
/Mynock 211/
"We're losing them!" Sergeant Triver shouted. "Go faster!"
"I can't!" Corporal Pineschmint yelled back. "I'm at max speed now, and
if
we don't start conserving fuel, we won't make it to the Scalps." He had
barely
finished the sentence when he felt a pain in his back. He reached behind
him,
and felt a wooden handle. He had barely contemplated this when he fell over
and died.
"Get that out of here and walk back to Boise," Sergeant Triver ordered.
"I'm going after that van."
/Clooless Team Van/
"What is this?" Fred asked, pointing at a footlong metal cylinder.
"What's
it do?"
"It's a gauss canister," Miszpea-B answered. "Please stop asking such questions." Fred sat back and brooded.
"Don't worry. I'll show it to you later," Misc-R offered. Fred smiled,
and
she winked.
"Bingo!" Missus-U yelled. "I've cracked their code!" She flipped a switch
on her console, and static filled the air.
"Come in, Sergeant!" a voice yelled. "I said disengage pursuit!
Disengage!
We will take care of them in the Scalps! Darn it! What is your problem, Triver?"
"Triver? Please say it ain't so," Misc-R whined.
"What? Who's Triver?" Fred asked.
"He's been after us since we blew up the kennel where his Pekinese was
being kept," Misc-R told him. "He's killed Colmust-Y and Mister-G. He even wiped out one of my clones."
Fred stumbled off his stool. "C-c-clones?" he stammered.
"Oh yeah. We're all clones," Professor-V chortled. "When one of us dies,
we
save the memory and grown another."
"Grown?" Fred asked.
"Yes. The bag's right above you," Misc-R told him. She reached over his
head and pulled down an electronic cube with a folded plastic bag attached.
"It has all our DNA on file."
"What are we going to do about the Hershians, though?" Colmust-Y interrupted.
"We'll see when we get there," Mister-G laughed.
/The Hershian Scalps/
"Just lost ALRMD," Professor-V announced. "Whatever's waiting for us, we won't see it till we're on top of it."
"What do you mean you lost it?" Fred asked.
"With the mountains and trees, none of our equipment is going to work properly," Professor-V explained. "We'll be lucky if we don't lose the radio link. I am working on the problem, though."
"We know nothing's close to us, so can we take a potty break now?" Misc-R moaned. Missus-U nodded, and Mister-G stopped the van in the middle of the road. Before Missus-U could ask who all had to go, she was alone in the van. Shrugging, she went outside herself.
A few minutes later, everyone was back at the van, Fred arriving first,
and
Mizpea-B last. They entered the van, and it slowly moved along the
increasingly curved road.
/Mynock 211/
Sergeant Triver lossened the ropes holding the control rod in place and
the
tank slowed to a stop. Grabbing a pair of fuel canisters he had hidden in a locker, he lifted himself through the top hatch and opened the gas cap.
After
refueling the Mynock, he jumped inside, and it began moving again.
/The Hershian Scalps/
Colmust-Y opened his eyes and looked at the others. "There's an ambush waiting about twenty miles ahead," he declared.
"What? How could you tell?" Fred asked.
"Hypersenses," Misc-R told him. "We each also have a mutant power, though
we don't normally admit it."
"Really?" Fred asked, smiling. "What's yours?"
Misc-R stared into his eyes, and Fred's grin grew wide before he passed
out. "Ya just can't get close to some men," she pined.
"How will we get past the trap?" Mizpea-B wondered.
"We could backtrack and find a way around," Professor-V offered.
"I don't think so," Mister-G said. "I haven't seen any other roads since before we stopped earlier. On the other hand, I could go ahead on foot and
take it out."
"That'd probably be the safest," Missus-U agreed. "Before you go,
though, I
want to get a Memomax from you." She held a pad to his forehead, and a light
on it began to blink. When the light glowed solidly, she took it back.
Mister-G drove the van to within a mile of the ambush and left the van, taking a green-barreled Alpha laser pistol, three extra barrels, and a Hunnicut-7 semi-automatic handgun.
/Mynock 211/
Sergeant Triver turned the control rod, and the tank rounded another
curve.
"Soon," he chortled. "Very soon."
/Hershian Scalps Ambush Site 67/
Private Andy Table stood on the hillside, watching the road. There was
still no sign of the van. He looked down at his Civilian digital watch. In
five minutes, his relief would come. He looked back through his Cororodo infrared binoculars and saw a giant face, then blackness. Mister-G took the Hershian's Goat .44 and his Septech communicator headset. He then dashed
down
to the road where the two Mynocks and one Bantha heavy troop transport sat
and
waited.
He crawled to the side of the near Mynock and looked behind it to the Bantha. The driver was behind the wheel, and more men could be seen in the back.
/Clooless Team Van/
Colmust-Y arose from another trance. "We need to move now," he warned.
"Now?" Mizpea-B asked. "What about the trap? Mister-G might not have even gotten there yet."
"Triver's almost here," Colmust-Y announced.
Professor-V climbed into the driver's seat. "Why can't anything ever work out the easy way?" he moaned. He started the van, and it began to move.
Before
it vanished around the next bend, though, Mynock 211 appeared behind it.
/Ambush site/
Mister-G carefully aimed his laser at the Bantha driver when he saw
someone
come around the back of it and start up the hill. Mister-G changed his
target
and nailed the man in the back.
"What was that?" a voice on the headset asked.
"I don't know, but I saw it, too," another added. Mister-G leaned really close to the Mynock and waited.
"Private Table, did you see anything?" a third voice asked. "Private
Table?
Report, Private!" That was it; he'd been found out. Closing his eyes, he dug his hands under the treads and lifted. Much to the surprise of those inside,
he picked the Mynock off the ground and through it into the Bantha, which exploded. He ran toward the other Mynock, but its turret turned to point at him.
Just then, the team van came around the corner, and another Mynock after
it.
/Clooless Team Van/
"Fire!" Professor-V yelled to Misc-R, whose arm was already deep inside
the
dashboard.
"I'm trying!" she hissed. "It's not working!"
The turret of the Mynock ahead of them turned away from Mister-G and
tried
to aim at the van. "Ah, forget it," Professor-V sighed. The van accelerated toward the Mynock, but missed it completely and smashed through Mister-G as
it
shot past.
/Mynock 211/
Sergeant Triver held the rope to the control rod in his left hand and the rope to the cannon trigger in his right as he tried to line up the shot on
the
van. He barely noticed when he sideswiped the other Mynock and sent it
rolling
down the hill. If only he could get that shot, all his effort would be worth it.
/Clooless Team Van/
"Faster!" Misc-R shouted. "He's right behind us!"
"I can barely stay on the road as it is!" Professor-V yelled back. "This isn't nearly as easy as it looks!"
"Throw something out the back!" Mizpea-B yelled. Missus-U pointed at the solid wall of machinery which covered over the doors. "Oh. Yeah."
"I'll get around to it!" Professor-V shouted. Just then, a tacnuke shell screamed past on the right side and exploded into a mountain some distance ahead. Professor-V panicked and spun the wheel, sending the van flying off
the
road.
/Mynock 211/
"No! No! No!" Sergeant Triver screamed. "No! No! Yes! Yes! Yes!" He
dropped
the ropes and cheered as he watched the van fall into the mist. He continued
to cheer as the Mynock missed a turn and fell into another mountain and exploded.
/Clooless Team Van/
As the van fell among the trees, Professor-V reached under the dashboard
and pulled a cord. A hatch on the back opened, and a parachute filled out, allowing the van to land without exploding. It was, however, bent nearly double.
Inside, Professor-V and Missus-U were dead, Colmust-Y had a broken leg,
and
Fred woke up. He and the other two had only minor wounds, and the four survivors were able to pull themselves from the wreckage. Mizpea-B
disappeared
into the trees, and Colmust-Y made himself a splint.
"What now?" Fred asked.
"We still have to get you to Nestlia," Colmust-Y told him. "Before we can
do that, we'll need to grown Professor-V or Missus-U. They're the only ones
who can fix the equipment."
"What? Can't you guys?" Fred wondered.
The Alphans laughed. "I can barely operate the stuff," Colmust-Y
explained.
"Professor-V is the Pro Techer. In a pinch, Missus-U can fix a few things.
The
rest of us are helpless around tech."
"Pro Techer?" Fred asked.
"I'll explain," Misc-R offered. Colmust-Y nodded and hobbled back into
the
van. Misc-R then explained that she and the others were from a computer- controlled complex somewhere better left unsaid, where cloning was common,
and
death was even more so. Missus-U was the highest-ranking member, an Ultraviolet-class High Programmer and a Computer Phreak. Professor-V was
next,
a member of Pro Tech, a research and design group. Mizpea-B was a Seal
Clubber, in love with nature, and Mister-G was a Death Leopard, in love with destruction. Colmust-Y was a Free Enterpriser, and Misc-R was a Romantic. By the time she finished, Colmust-Y had emerged from the van with the growning bag.
"We're going to have to wait for Mister-G to grown before we can start Professor-V," he explained. "It'll take six hours for each, so we'd best
start
making camp."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team
Clooless
Day 2: Thursday, December 2
/The Hershian Scalps/
Colmust-Y, Mizpea-B, and Mister-G woke up as light began to trickle
through
the trees above them. Professor-V was still growning, and Misc-R and Fred
were
nowhere to be seen. Colmust-Y stayed behind while the other two went out to search.
"I think I found something!" Mister-G yelled. He stood over a pair of
round
scorch marks in the grass.
Mizpea-B bent over to look at them. "It looks like they were vaporized. I can't believe it. We failed."
"Look up," Mister-G said. The tops of the trees had been sheared off. "Helicopter. Only way in to do the job."
Colmust-Y came hobbling from the camp. "What'd you find? Where are...
That's not them, I hope."
Mister-G nodded. "Ya know, maybe if we had gotten a Memomax from Fred we could have growned him a clone."
"We'll keep that in mind for the next defector we transport, if we ever
get
another, you moron!" Colmust-Y yelled. "Not only is half the team dead and
the
van wrecked in the Scalps, but the one person we had to keep safe got
vaporized in the night! And knowing Misc-R, I can only imagine what it was
they did to get themselves killed."
"Guys," Mizpea-B whispered. "Something's wrong, here."
/Capitol Building, Baton Rouge, Hershia/
General Loren Tynemix strode out of his office to meet his friend. "Fred! How are you?"
Fred knelt before the general. "I have accomplished my task. I have discovered the secret of Team Clooless."
/The Hershian Scalps/
"Look here," Mizpea-B said, pointing at a footprint. "It's like someone jumped, but there's no landing print."
"So?" Mister-G asked.
"So, it could have been made when someone jumped to catch a rope ladder hanging from the chopper," Mizpea-B explained. "But with no landing, the
jumper must have already been down here."
"And we told him almost everything," Colmust-Y whispered. "We've work to do."
/Ministry of State, Baton Rouge, Hershia/
As night fell on the capital of Hershia, Fred looked out the window of
his
office, his original, true office. In the morning, he would meet with
General
Tynemix and his scientists, and the secrets of Team Clooless would destroy
all
the Nestlian hordes. Fred watched as a young officer on a ChunLi X200 motorcycle stopped by the front gate. A moment later, there was a knock at
the
door, and a messenger entered.
"Sir, Team Clooless has been seen leaving the Scalps, and it's coming
this
way," the messenger warned.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team
Clooless
Day 3: Friday, December 3
/Baton Rouge, Hershia/
The battered black van parked across from the Ministry of State. "Let's
just blow up the whole thing," Mister-G offered. "That way, we'll be sure to get him."
"I doubt it," Professor-V said. "He's probably not in there. It's more likely that he's in hiding somewhere with Hershian scientists. If we're
going
to find out where, we're going to have to get in there, without blowing it
up."
/Ministry of State, Baton Rouge, Hershia/
Will Dew looked up as the matronly woman flashed her identification card
and walked past his guard station without a glance. He was supposed to check everyone more closely, but he really didn't care. He made a note in his book and went back to his novel. Mizpea-B walked straight to Fred Oktoberson's office seeming as casual as anyone else in the hall. A few noticed that she wasn't someone they'd seen there before, but they didn't much care. It
wasn't
their responsibility. She entered the office, and the people in the hallway
had to ask each other what they had been saying.
"May I help you?" Fred's new secretary asked.
"I'm here to see Mister Oktoberson," Mizpea-B explained.
"I'm sorry. He's out of town on a fishing trip," the secretary explained. She reached under her desk for her Goat .44, but stopped when a searing pain
in her forehead caught her attention. Pushing the body out of the way,
Mizpea-B began searching the desk for clues. After a few minutes of looking, she entered Fred's office.
She pulled drawers from his desk, emptied his wasterbaskets, and checked
the walls for anything hidden. She was about to give up when she found an
issue of Unnatural Geographic, with an article on the Isles of Langerhans, which were off the Hershian coast. "A fishing trip?" Mizpea-B asked herself.
/The Isles of Langerhans/
"I see. She wouldn't tell you where the complex was," Doctor Peter Salt laughed. "I think they were leading you on, Oktoberson."
Fred slammed his fist onto the table. "Don't treat me like a child! I saw their equipment! I saw them use their mutant powers! I even saw one of them being growned!" Fred demanded.
"You saw them use powers with visible results?" Doctor Jenny Balk asked.
"Not exactly," Fred admitted.
"Did you see them grow a person who could walk and talk, or even drool?" Doctor Ken Speck asked.
"Well, I was pulled out before he was done," Fred admitted.
"Did you bring any samples of this Alphatech with you?" Doctor Jean
Exvale
asked.
"Team Clooless could be back in Nestlia laughing about how they tricked you," Doctor Salt suggested.
"They didn't trick me!" Fred yelled.
"No, we believe you. We really do," Doctor Speck laughed.
Fred jumped to his feet. "You fools! Opportunity is staring you in the
face! Why can't you see?" he yelled. He stormed out of the one-room cabin
and
walked to the beach. Doctors Balk and Exvale walked out after him. "You
don't
believe me?" Fred asked. "Then look at that!"
A battered black van rode high above the water on pontoons. Fred pulled
his
Septech pocket communicator from his suit jacket. "Enemy spotted! Engage! Engage!" he yelled. He and the scientists retreated into the cabin, and a
group of Hershian Wampa attack boats and Dewback fighter jets emerged from nearby islands to meet the newcomers.
The van's laser fired at the defenders, and two Dewbacks crashed into
each
other and landed on a Wampa. The laser fired again, and three more boats and four jets were destroyed within moments. Then a missile hit the van, ruining the laser. "Never mind! We're almost there!" Mister-G yelled. Then another missile hit the van in the back, and it was launched over the beach and
into a
Wampa on the far side. They both quickly sank, and the lone remaining Wampa stopped over where the van had been. The men inside leaned over the edge to look down, and arms reached out to pull them under the water. Seeing this,
the
pilot of one of two remaining Dewbacks fired on the Wampa and destroyed it. Confident of that their goal was achieved, the Dewbacks flew away.
After they were gone, Fred ventured out of the cabin. He looked at the water, where Wampa debris floated. He started to sigh with relief when a succession of bubbles rose and broke on the surface. As Fred ran back for shelter, Mister-G shot up from the water, a cone rifle on his shoulder. He fired the rifle, and the explosive shell crashed into the cabin, which was engulfed in a cloud.
Mister-G dropped the rifle and walked out of the water to the wreckage.
The
rest of Team Clooless rose to the surface and followed. "Five bodies,
including Fred's," Colmust-Y stated. "Let's go home."
"Forgetting something?" Mister-G asked, pointing at the water.
"This'll take me even longer than yesterday's," Professor-V moaned.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team
Clooless
Day 4: Saturday, December 4
/The Fuschia House, Albany, Nestlia/
General Ilekchik stared across the table at Team Clooless. "What do you
mean you killed Fred Oktoberson?" he shouted.
"We told you. He wasn't defecting. It was a trap," Missus-U explained.
"The
Hershians were trying to find out about us."
"I never thought I'd see the day when team Clooless failed," Ilekchik muttered.
"We didn't fail!" Mister-G yelled. "The guy wasn't a defector!"
"You didn't get him to Tallahassee. You will be paid the normal fee for three days on payroll," Ilekchik declared.
"That won't even cover the cost of repairs," Professor-V protested.
"That's my decision," Ilekchik said. Despite the protests of the Alphans,
he stood and left with his bodyguards.
"Let's go," Missus-U commanded.
"But..." Mister-G whined.
"Let's just go," she repeated. The others reluctantly rose, and they went into the hallway. As the others started up the stairs, Missus-U pulled a grenade from under her robe and tossed it into the room behind her. "Run,"
she
said.
"What?" Mister-G asked.
"Run!" she yelled, and they all began racing up the stairs.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
/ K. M. Wilcox/ \Mister Boddy \ *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
\ I think you overestimate their chances! /
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
==========
Next Week: Something Something LNH!!!!!
==========
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>And here's where you can find this and = more Misc LNH<br>Action:<br><br><a href=3D"
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/= lnh/Misc/">
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Misc/</a><br><br><br>And it&= #39;s Vulture Team Clooless One Shot by KM Wilcox!<br><br>Is it time for Mi= sc-R-LET to be enthralled by the August <br>1968 issue of Comicopolitan Mag= azine?!! =C2=A0 Is it time<br>for Fred to down the last bite of his Monte C= risco candy <br>bar?!!=C2=A0 And is time someone finally hunted for -- <br>= Fred Oktoberson?!!!!!!<br><br><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 #406<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=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0Vulture Team Clooless<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>N= ewsgroups: alt.comics.lnh<br>From: <a href=3D"mailto:
kmwilcox@iastate.edu">=
kmwilcox@iastate.edu</a> (K M Wilcox)<br>Subject: Vulture Team Clooless in.=
.. (Long!)<br>Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1993 21:31:48 GMT<br><br>=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/ = /<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\ \/ / U L T U R E<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_______<br>=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| |<b= r>=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| | E A M<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 |_|<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 / __><br>=C2= =A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0\ \____________________/ / =C2=A0 / /<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2= =A0 \__ =C2=A0______________ =C2=A0__/ =C2=A0 =C2=A0\ \__ L O O L E S S<br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0__||______________||__ =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0\___&= gt;<br>=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>=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>=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__|<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| =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|__|<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=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>=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|_|\_\|___||___/<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_= <br>< < =C2=A0 =C2=A0> >| |/ /|_ =C2=A0 _|/ =C2=A0\ | _\ | _|| =
_ \ / _> / =C2=A0\ | \| |<br>=C2=A0\ \__/ / | =C2=A0 < =C2=A0 | | <=
; <> >| _< | _|| =C2=A0 < \_ \< <> >| =C2=A0 =C2= =A0|<br>=C2=A0 \____/ =C2=A0|_|\_\ =C2=A0|_| =C2=A0\__/ |__/ |__||_|\_\<= __/ \__/ |_|\_|<br><br><br>X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-= X-X-X-X Vulture Team Clooless<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2= =A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Day 1: Wednesday, December 1<br><br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0/Sacramento, Hershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Fred looked down at the bar=
e desktop and exhaled slowly. It was time, he<br>decided. Whether he wanted=
to do it or not, his course was set. He pulled the<br>envelope from his ja= cket pocket and dropped it on the desk. Then, after<br>verifying that his G= oat .44 had a full fifteen-bullet clip, he stood and left<br>his office.<br= ><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Fuschia House, Albany, Nestlia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0= Colmust-Y-ARD looked up at the Swiss-made Hekova clock on the fireplace<br>= mantle as the minute hand threatened to overtake the smaller hour hand for = the<br>second time since he sat down. The rest of the team seemed equally b= ored,<br>except Misc-R-LET, who was enthralled by the August 1968 issue of<= br>Comicopolitan Magazine. Colmust-Y considered commenting when a tremor sh= ook<br>the room, knocking a ceramic bust of Frankie Avalon from the top of = the mantle<br>to the floor, where it shattered. Mizpea-B-COC rose from the = sofa and woke<br>Mister-G-REN, who was curled up on the floor in the corner=
. He stirred, and<br>the room settled. Then the door to General Ilekchik= 9;s office opened, and a<br>young man in the green dress uniform of a Nestl= ian lieutenant entered the<br>lobby. "Please follow me," he said.=
Missus-U-WIT pushed Professor-V-PLM to<br>take the lead behind the lieuten= ant, and the others followed. They were led<br>through the general's ma=
in office to passage behind a bookcase, then down a<br>winding staircase in=
to a stark white hallway, and finally into a dark<br>conference room. They = were seated around one end of the long table which<br>dominated the room, a=
nd at the other was General Ilekchik, with two bodyguards<br>behind him.<br= >=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Team Clooless," the general began. "I wish I = knew a hundred groups like<br>yours. You thrive on risk and the destruction=
of your enemies. If my Nestlian<br>troops were so dedicated, this war agai= nst the horrible Hershian hordes would<br>have been won years ago."<br= >=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We thank you, General, but what is this assignment?&quo=
t; Missus-U asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Yeah, I wanna blow somethin' u= p," Mister-G added.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Please wait until you are in=
Hershia," Ilekchik cautioned.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"So we are going a= cross again?" Mizpea-B asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Of course," I= lekchik laughed. "If I weren't afraid of the Loonited<br>Nations, = I'd tell you guys to go to Baton Rouge and just have fun." Team<br= >Clooless laughed. "As it is, your goal is to bring back a Hershian de= fector."<br>A picture appeared on the wall behind one of Ilekchik'=
s bodyguards, who had to<br>move out of the way. In the photograph was a ma=
n in his late twenties or early<br>thirties, wearing the red dress uniform =
of a Hershian Commander.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"He's cute," Misc-R = commented.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"This is Fred Oktoberson," Ilekchik ex= plained. "He was until recently an<br>assistant Minister of State and = friend to General Tynemix himself. Tynemix<br>became suspicious of Oktobers=
on and moved him to some insignificant office in<br>the Agricultural Bureau=
. That's when he contacted one of my spies. You will<br>meet him at the=
Cafe Tirian in Boise, a suburb of Sacramento, and smuggle him<br>back acro=
ss the Scalps to a safehouse near Tallahassee on our side of the<br>border.=
Anything else you do to help the Nestlian cause is extracurricular.<br>Bey= ond that, all standard rules apply." Ilekchik then rose and left the r= oom<br>through a door behind him, one bodyguard before and one after him.<b= r><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Sacramento, Hershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Miss Bernice K= riant looked at the Timey digital clock on her desk. 2:05:13.<br>Mister Okt= oberson had always been two minutes and between six and forty-three<br>seco= nds early in returning from lunch. Now he was over five minutes late.<br>Ad= justing the bun in her hair, Miss Kriant entered his office.<br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0On the desk was an envelope. She opened the envelope and removed a sheet=
of<br>corrasable bond typing paper. After reading the note, she stormed fr=
om the<br>office.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Boise, Hershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0= Fred downed the last bite of his Monte Crisco candy bar and looked back at<= br>the cheap Dachron clock on the wall. Where were his contacts? He rose fr=
om his<br>corner seat and started toward the Bortec 485 candy machine when = the front<br>door opened and a woman entered. The sight of her made Fred wi=
sh he wasn't<br>leaving. She had long red hair, a young face, and a red=
Trucra bodysuit which<br>accentuated a body that, while thin by Hershian s= tandards, was very appealing<br>for a man of his Western tastes. He would d= efinitely miss that in Nestlia,<br>which was, he knew, even more backward, = but he would be back. Soon.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The woman gazed around the cafe=
and locked eyes with him. When she smiled<br>knowingly, he nodded toward h=
is table, and she sat down. Ignoring the candy<br>machine, he returned to t=
he table and sat across from her. "I'm Fred," he<br>whispered= .<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I'm Misc-R. Are you ready?" she responded.=
He nodded, and the two left the<br>cafe. In the street, a black Yolksvagen=
Millipede van idled. Misc-R helped<br>Fred into the passenger's seat a=
nd climbed in after him. Fred was taken aback<br>as he looked around the va=
n interior. The dashboard was covered with lights,<br>buttons, gauges, ligh= ts, and monitors, and the steering wheel had been<br>replaced by seven joys= ticks. Behind the front seats was a dark, cramped<br>electronics laboratory=
. Most of the electronics seemed to be scrap which had<br>been modified in = ways he did not understand. A large man in a green sweatsuit<br>sat in the = driver's seat and four more people were on stools in the back, each<br>= next to one or more monitors.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Get in the back, Freddi= e," Mister-G commanded. "About five commie tanks<br>showed up on = ALRMD three mincycs ago."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Communists?" Fred=
asked as he crawled into the back and sat on a wooden<br>stool right behin=
d the passenger's seat. Misc-R closed the door and settled<br>into the = seat in front of him. "I don't understand. What are communists doi= ng<br>here? And what's 'alarmed?'"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"N=
ot actual communists," Colmust-Y explained. "They're from you=
r side,<br>Hershian Mynocks which showed up on our Alphatech long-range mot= ion detectors<br>three minutes ago. Light armor, lighter armament. If we di= dn't have to protect<br>you, we'd take on one or two, just for kick=
s. 'Commies' just means they're<br>hostiles."<br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0"You must be Americans," Fred quipped.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0&quo= t;Alphans, actually," Missus-U corrected. "How else would we have= <br>Alphatech?"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Professor-V lifted his face from the m= onitor he was studying. "I've worked<br>out an escape route. This =
is what you should do. First, turn right at the<br>corner ahead." Mist= er-G pushed forward on the outer two joysticks, and the van<br>began moving= .<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Hershian Mynock 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Sergeant Tu=
ck Triver looked through the laser sight as the black van raced<br>past in = front of him. "We got you now," he whispered. "Corporal Pine= schmint,<br>follow that van."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Aye, Sir," th=
e young man seated in front of him responded. He grabbed the<br>control rod=
and pushed it forward. Slowly, the tank accelerated. "In pursuit<br>n= ow, Sir."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Excellent," Sergeant Triver giggl=
ed to himself. He would finally get<br>another shot at Team Clooless.<br><b= r>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We've been=
spotted!" Mister-G yelled. "Why didn't you warn me about tha= t<br>one?"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"It wasn't on my screen!" Pro= fessor-V yelled back. "It must not have been<br>moving, so maybe it sh= ould have been on somebody else's, but it wasn't on<br>mine." = The other Alphans in the back looked up from their monitors to argue,<br>bu=
t a sudden right turn knocked Fred off his stool, and he fell into Mizpea-B= ,<br>who was bumped into Colmust-Y, whose foot kicked the stool out from un= der<br>Missus-U, who pulled down Professor-V in a vain attempt to stay up. = "What was<br>that?" Professor-V asked Mister-G as he scrambled ov=
er the bodies to the<br>front.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Misc-R, prepare to fir=
e if any Mynocks cross our path," Mister-G ordered.<br>Misc-R flipped = open a panel in front of her and reached inside, her arm<br>disappearing to=
the elbow. "I'm gonna get us outta here my way." Professor-V= <br>sighed and crawled back. Once in his seat, he switched his monitor from=
ALRMD<br>to short-range combat radar. When the others made it back to thei=
r seats,<br>Colmust-Y noticed that the ALRMD was now on his monitor. He sta= rted to<br>complain when an explosion in the road shook the van. Professor-=
V was again<br>knocked from his stool, but Colmust-Y stayed up and switched=
the monitors<br>back.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Mynock 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0"Mynocks 214 and 221 are closing off the road up ahead, and 208, 21=
3 and<br>217 are enroute. We are to push the van into the others," the=
radioman,<br>Private John Public, announced.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Very go= od, Private," Sergeant Triver giggled.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Excuse me=
, Sergeant, but will that hold them?" the fourth man in the tank,<br>P= rivate Matt Skreaneng asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Sergeant Triver glared at him.=
"Of course it won't. It's just supposed to<br>slow them down.=
This, on the other hand, will destroy them." He held out a<br>gray me= tal cylinder.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"How did you...? We weren't assigned= ... That's a tacnuke!" Private<br>Skreaneng stammered.<br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0"I appropriated it back at the base," Sergeant Triver expla= ined. He handed<br>the cylinder to Private Skreaneng. "Load this and m= ake sure you have a clear<br>shot before you fire. We only have the one, an=
d either that van or you is<br>dying today."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Cloo= less Team Van/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Mister-G smiled. Two Mynocks were just c= oming into range ahead, and those<br>which hadn't arrived were too late=
. Misc-R fired twice in rapid succession,<br>and white blasts from somewher=
e above the van hit the left Mynock, causing it<br>to explode. The right ta=
nk turned toward the van and fired, but the shell<br>glanced off the side o=
f the van and landed harmlessly in the dirt. Two more<br>shots from Misc-R = and the second Mynock was destroyed.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"And we are outta=
here!" Mister-G yelled. "It's clear drivin' to the<br>Sc= alps!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Just floor it," Missus-U commanded. = "We still got the Mynock on our tail<br>and more behind it."<br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0"Why don't you just shoot it?" Fred asked. The A= lphans looked at<br>Professor-V.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"The laser only fires=
forward," he admitted. "I've been meaning to add<br>rear las= ers, but never got around to it."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"At the rate we= 're losing that Mynock, we should have a chance to stop in<br>the mount= ains," Mizpea-B commented.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Good," Misc-R ag= reed. "I gotta go."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Mynock 211/<br><br>=C2=
=A0 =C2=A0"We're losing them!" Sergeant Triver shouted. "= ;Go faster!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I can't!" Corporal Pinesch= mint yelled back. "I'm at max speed now, and if<br>we don't st= art conserving fuel, we won't make it to the Scalps." He had barel= y<br>finished the sentence when he felt a pain in his back. He reached behi=
nd him,<br>and felt a wooden handle. He had barely contemplated this when h=
e fell over<br>and died.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Get that out of here and wal=
k back to Boise," Sergeant Triver ordered.<br>"I'm going afte=
r that van."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0"What is this?" Fred asked, pointing at a footlong metal cylin= der. "What's<br>it do?"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"It's a gaus=
s canister," Miszpea-B answered. "Please stop asking such<br>ques= tions." Fred sat back and brooded.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Don't wor= ry. I'll show it to you later," Misc-R offered. Fred smiled, and<b= r>she winked. <br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Bingo!" Missus-U yelled. "I&= #39;ve cracked their code!" She flipped a switch<br>on her console, an=
d static filled the air.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Come in, Sergeant!" a v= oice yelled. "I said disengage pursuit! Disengage!<br>We will take car=
e of them in the Scalps! Darn it! What is your problem,<br>Triver?"<br= >=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Triver? Please say it ain't so," Misc-R whined= .<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"What? Who's Triver?" Fred asked.<br>=C2=A0=
=C2=A0"He's been after us since we blew up the kennel where his P= ekinese was<br>being kept," Misc-R told him. "He's killed Col= must-Y and Mister-G. He even<br>wiped out one of my clones."<br>=C2=A0=
=C2=A0Fred stumbled off his stool. "C-c-clones?" he stammered.<b= r>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Oh yeah. We're all clones," Professor-V chort= led. "When one of us dies, we<br>save the memory and grown another.&qu= ot;<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Grown?" Fred asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Ye=
s. The bag's right above you," Misc-R told him. She reached over h= is<br>head and pulled down an electronic cube with a folded plastic bag att= ached.<br>"It has all our DNA on file."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Wha=
t are we going to do about the Hershians, though?" Colmust-Y<br>interr= upted.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We'll see when we get there," Mister-=
G laughed.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Hershian Scalps/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0&q= uot;Just lost ALRMD," Professor-V announced. "Whatever's wait= ing for us, we<br>won't see it till we're on top of it."<br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0"What do you mean you lost it?" Fred asked.<br>=C2=
=A0 =C2=A0"With the mountains and trees, none of our equipment is goin=
g to work<br>properly," Professor-V explained. "We'll be luck=
y if we don't lose the radio<br>link. I am working on the problem, thou= gh."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We know nothing's close to us, so can w=
e take a potty break now?" Misc-R<br>moaned. Missus-U nodded, and Mist= er-G stopped the van in the middle of the<br>road. Before Missus-U could as=
k who all had to go, she was alone in the van.<br>Shrugging, she went outsi=
de herself.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0A few minutes later, everyone was back at the v= an, Fred arriving first, and<br>Mizpea-B last. They entered the van, and it=
slowly moved along the<br>increasingly curved road.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/M= ynock 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Sergeant Triver lossened the ropes holding t=
he control rod in place and the<br>tank slowed to a stop. Grabbing a pair o=
f fuel canisters he had hidden in a<br>locker, he lifted himself through th=
e top hatch and opened the gas cap. After<br>refueling the Mynock, he jumpe=
d inside, and it began moving again.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Hershian Scal= ps/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Colmust-Y opened his eyes and looked at the others.=
"There's an ambush<br>waiting about twenty miles ahead," he = declared.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"What? How could you tell?" Fred asked.= <br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Hypersenses," Misc-R told him. "We each al=
so have a mutant power, though<br>we don't normally admit it."<br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0"Really?" Fred asked, smiling. "What's your= s?"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Misc-R stared into his eyes, and Fred's grin g= rew wide before he passed<br>out. "Ya just can't get close to some=
men," she pined.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"How will we get past the trap?= " Mizpea-B wondered.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We could backtrack and find=
a way around," Professor-V offered.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I don't=
think so," Mister-G said. "I haven't seen any other roads si= nce<br>before we stopped earlier. On the other hand, I could go ahead on fo=
ot and<br>take it out."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"That'd probably be t=
he safest," Missus-U agreed. "Before you go, though, I<br>want to=
get a Memomax from you." She held a pad to his forehead, and a light<= br>on it began to blink. When the light glowed solidly, she took it back.<b= r>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Mister-G drove the van to within a mile of the ambush and le=
ft the van,<br>taking a green-barreled Alpha laser pistol, three extra barr= els, and a<br>Hunnicut-7 semi-automatic handgun.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Mynoc=
k 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Sergeant Triver turned the control rod, and the = tank rounded another curve.<br>"Soon," he chortled. "Very so= on."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Hershian Scalps Ambush Site 67/<br><br>=C2=
=A0 =C2=A0Private Andy Table stood on the hillside, watching the road. Ther=
e was<br>still no sign of the van. He looked down at his Civilian digital w= atch. In<br>five minutes, his relief would come. He looked back through his=
Cororodo<br>infrared binoculars and saw a giant face, then blackness. Mist= er-G took the<br>Hershian's Goat .44 and his Septech communicator heads= et. He then dashed down<br>to the road where the two Mynocks and one Bantha=
heavy troop transport sat and<br>waited.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0He crawled to the=
side of the near Mynock and looked behind it to the<br>Bantha. The driver = was behind the wheel, and more men could be seen in the<br>back.<br><br>=C2= =A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Colmust-Y arose from anot= her trance. "We need to move now," he warned.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0&qu= ot;Now?" Mizpea-B asked. "What about the trap? Mister-G might not=
have even<br>gotten there yet."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Triver's al= most here," Colmust-Y announced.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Professor-V climbed i= nto the driver's seat. "Why can't anything ever work<br>out th=
e easy way?" he moaned. He started the van, and it began to move. Befo= re<br>it vanished around the next bend, though, Mynock 211 appeared behind = it.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Ambush site/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Mister-G carefull=
y aimed his laser at the Bantha driver when he saw someone<br>come around t=
he back of it and start up the hill. Mister-G changed his target<br>and nai= led the man in the back.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"What was that?" a voice=
on the headset asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I don't know, but I saw it=
, too," another added. Mister-G leaned really<br>close to the Mynock a=
nd waited.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Private Table, did you see anything?"=
a third voice asked. "Private Table?<br>Report, Private!" That w=
as it; he'd been found out. Closing his eyes, he dug<br>his hands under=
the treads and lifted. Much to the surprise of those inside,<br>he picked = the Mynock off the ground and through it into the Bantha, which<br>exploded=
. He ran toward the other Mynock, but its turret turned to point at<br>him.= <br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Just then, the team van came around the corner, and anothe=
r Mynock after<br>it.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><br>=C2=A0=
=C2=A0"Fire!" Professor-V yelled to Misc-R, whose arm was alread=
y deep inside the<br>dashboard.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I'm trying!"=
she hissed. "It's not working!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The turret o=
f the Mynock ahead of them turned away from Mister-G and tried<br>to aim at=
the van. "Ah, forget it," Professor-V sighed. The van accelerate= d<br>toward the Mynock, but missed it completely and smashed through Mister=
-G as it<br>shot past.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Mynock 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0Sergeant Triver held the rope to the control rod in his left hand and th= e<br>rope to the cannon trigger in his right as he tried to line up the sho=
t on the<br>van. He barely noticed when he sideswiped the other Mynock and = sent it rolling<br>down the hill. If only he could get that shot, all his e= ffort would be worth<br>it.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0"Faster!" Misc-R shouted. "He's right behin=
d us!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I can barely stay on the road as it is!&q= uot; Professor-V yelled back. "This<br>isn't nearly as easy as it = looks!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Throw something out the back!" Mizp= ea-B yelled. Missus-U pointed at the<br>solid wall of machinery which cover=
ed over the doors. "Oh. Yeah."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I'll get=
around to it!" Professor-V shouted. Just then, a tacnuke shell<br>scr= eamed past on the right side and exploded into a mountain some distance<br>= ahead. Professor-V panicked and spun the wheel, sending the van flying off = the<br>road.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Mynock 211/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"No!=
No! No!" Sergeant Triver screamed. "No! No! Yes! Yes! Yes!"=
He dropped<br>the ropes and cheered as he watched the van fall into the mi= st. He continued<br>to cheer as the Mynock missed a turn and fell into anot= her mountain and<br>exploded.<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Clooless Team Van/<br><b= r>=C2=A0 =C2=A0As the van fell among the trees, Professor-V reached under t=
he dashboard<br>and pulled a cord. A hatch on the back opened, and a parach= ute filled out,<br>allowing the van to land without exploding. It was, howe= ver, bent nearly<br>double.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Inside, Professor-V and Missus-=
U were dead, Colmust-Y had a broken leg, and<br>Fred woke up. He and the ot= her two had only minor wounds, and the four<br>survivors were able to pull = themselves from the wreckage. Mizpea-B disappeared<br>into the trees, and C= olmust-Y made himself a splint.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"What now?" Fred = asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We still have to get you to Nestlia," Col= must-Y told him. "Before we can<br>do that, we'll need to grown Pr= ofessor-V or Missus-U. They're the only ones<br>who can fix the equipme= nt."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"What? Can't you guys?" Fred wonder= ed.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The Alphans laughed. "I can barely operate the stu= ff," Colmust-Y explained.<br>"Professor-V is the Pro Techer. In a=
pinch, Missus-U can fix a few things. The<br>rest of us are helpless aroun=
d tech."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Pro Techer?" Fred asked.<br>=C2=A0=
=C2=A0"I'll explain," Misc-R offered. Colmust-Y nodded and h= obbled back into the<br>van. Misc-R then explained that she and the others = were from a computer-<br>controlled complex somewhere better left unsaid, w= here cloning was common, and<br>death was even more so. Missus-U was the hi= ghest-ranking member, an<br>Ultraviolet-class High Programmer and a Compute=
r Phreak. Professor-V was next,<br>a member of Pro Tech, a research and des= ign group. Mizpea-B was a Seal<br>Clubber, in love with nature, and Mister-=
G was a Death Leopard, in love with<br>destruction. Colmust-Y was a Free En= terpriser, and Misc-R was a Romantic. By<br>the time she finished, Colmust-=
Y had emerged from the van with the growning<br>bag.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"= We're going to have to wait for Mister-G to grown before we can start<b= r>Professor-V," he explained. "It'll take six hours for each,=
so we'd best start<br>making camp."<br><br>X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-= X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team Clooless<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Day 2: Thursday=
, December 2<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Hershian Scalps/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0= Colmust-Y, Mizpea-B, and Mister-G woke up as light began to trickle through= <br>the trees above them. Professor-V was still growning, and Misc-R and Fr=
ed were<br>nowhere to be seen. Colmust-Y stayed behind while the other two = went out to<br>search.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I think I found something!&quo=
t; Mister-G yelled. He stood over a pair of round<br>scorch marks in the gr= ass.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Mizpea-B bent over to look at them. "It looks lik=
e they were vaporized. I<br>can't believe it. We failed."<br>=C2=
=A0 =C2=A0"Look up," Mister-G said. The tops of the trees had bee=
n sheared off.<br>"Helicopter. Only way in to do the job."<br>=C2= =A0 =C2=A0Colmust-Y came hobbling from the camp. "What'd you find?=
Where are...<br>That's not them, I hope."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Mister-=
G nodded. "Ya know, maybe if we had gotten a Memomax from Fred we<br>c= ould have growned him a clone."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We'll keep t= hat in mind for the next defector we transport, if we ever get<br>another, = you moron!" Colmust-Y yelled. "Not only is half the team dead and=
the<br>van wrecked in the Scalps, but the one person we had to keep safe g= ot<br>vaporized in the night! And knowing Misc-R, I can only imagine what i=
t was<br>they did to get themselves killed."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Guy= s," Mizpea-B whispered. "Something's wrong, here."<br><b= r>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Capitol Building, Baton Rouge, Hershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0General Loren Tynemix strode out of his office to meet his friend. "= ;Fred!<br>How are you?"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Fred knelt before the general.=
"I have accomplished my task. I have<br>discovered the secret of Team=
Clooless."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Hershian Scalps/<br><br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0"Look here," Mizpea-B said, pointing at a footprint. "= It's like someone<br>jumped, but there's no landing print."<br= >=C2=A0 =C2=A0"So?" Mister-G asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"So, it = could have been made when someone jumped to catch a rope ladder<br>hanging = from the chopper," Mizpea-B explained. "But with no landing, the<= br>jumper must have already been down here."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"And=
we told him almost everything," Colmust-Y whispered. "We've = work to<br>do."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Ministry of State, Baton Rouge, H= ershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0As night fell on the capital of Hershia, Fred l= ooked out the window of his<br>office, his original, true office. In the mo= rning, he would meet with General<br>Tynemix and his scientists, and the se= crets of Team Clooless would destroy all<br>the Nestlian hordes. Fred watch=
ed as a young officer on a ChunLi X200<br>motorcycle stopped by the front g= ate. A moment later, there was a knock at the<br>door, and a messenger ente= red.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Sir, Team Clooless has been seen leaving the Sca= lps, and it's coming this<br>way," the messenger warned.<br><br>X-= X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team Clooless= <br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 Day 3: Friday, December 3<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/Baton Rouge, Hershia/<br= ><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The battered black van parked across from the Ministry of=
State. "Let's<br>just blow up the whole thing," Mister-G off= ered. "That way, we'll be sure to<br>get him."<br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0"I doubt it," Professor-V said. "He's probably not in=
there. It's more<br>likely that he's in hiding somewhere with Hers= hian scientists. If we're going<br>to find out where, we're going t=
o have to get in there, without blowing it<br>up."<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0/Ministry of State, Baton Rouge, Hershia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0Will Dew l= ooked up as the matronly woman flashed her identification card<br>and walke=
d past his guard station without a glance. He was supposed to check<br>ever= yone more closely, but he really didn't care. He made a note in his boo= k<br>and went back to his novel. Mizpea-B walked straight to Fred Oktoberso= n's<br>office seeming as casual as anyone else in the hall. A few notic=
ed that she<br>wasn't someone they'd seen there before, but they di= dn't much care. It wasn't<br>their responsibility. She entered the = office, and the people in the hallway<br>had to ask each other what they ha=
d been saying.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"May I help you?" Fred's new s= ecretary asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I'm here to see Mister Oktoberson= ," Mizpea-B explained.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I'm sorry. He's o=
ut of town on a fishing trip," the secretary explained.<br>She reached=
under her desk for her Goat .44, but stopped when a searing pain<br>in her=
forehead caught her attention. Pushing the body out of the way,<br>Mizpea-=
B began searching the desk for clues. After a few minutes of looking,<br>sh=
e entered Fred's office.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0She pulled drawers from his de= sk, emptied his wasterbaskets, and checked<br>the walls for anything hidden=
. She was about to give up when she found an<br>issue of Unnatural Geograph= ic, with an article on the Isles of Langerhans,<br>which were off the Hersh= ian coast. "A fishing trip?" Mizpea-B asked herself.<br><br>=C2=
=A0 =C2=A0/The Isles of Langerhans/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I see. She wo= uldn't tell you where the complex was," Doctor Peter Salt<br>laugh= ed. "I think they were leading you on, Oktoberson."<br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0Fred slammed his fist onto the table. "Don't treat me like a ch= ild! I saw<br>their equipment! I saw them use their mutant powers! I even s=
aw one of them<br>being growned!" Fred demanded.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"= ;You saw them use powers with visible results?" Doctor Jenny Balk aske= d.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Not exactly," Fred admitted.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0= "Did you see them grow a person who could walk and talk, or even drool= ?"<br>Doctor Ken Speck asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Well, I was pulled=
out before he was done," Fred admitted.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Did you=
bring any samples of this Alphatech with you?" Doctor Jean Exvale<br>= asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Team Clooless could be back in Nestlia laughin=
g about how they tricked<br>you," Doctor Salt suggested.<br>=C2=A0 =C2= =A0"They didn't trick me!" Fred yelled.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"= ;No, we believe you. We really do," Doctor Speck laughed.<br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0Fred jumped to his feet. "You fools! Opportunity is staring you =
in the<br>face! Why can't you see?" he yelled. He stormed out of t=
he one-room cabin and<br>walked to the beach. Doctors Balk and Exvale walke=
d out after him. "You don't<br>believe me?" Fred asked. "= ;Then look at that!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0A battered black van rode high ab= ove the water on pontoons. Fred pulled his<br>Septech pocket communicator f= rom his suit jacket. "Enemy spotted! Engage!<br>Engage!" he yelle=
d. He and the scientists retreated into the cabin, and a<br>group of Hershi=
an Wampa attack boats and Dewback fighter jets emerged from<br>nearby islan=
ds to meet the newcomers.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0The van's laser fired at the = defenders, and two Dewbacks crashed into each<br>other and landed on a Wamp=
a. The laser fired again, and three more boats and<br>four jets were destro= yed within moments. Then a missile hit the van, ruining<br>the laser. "= ;Never mind! We're almost there!" Mister-G yelled. Then another<br= >missile hit the van in the back, and it was launched over the beach and in=
to a<br>Wampa on the far side. They both quickly sank, and the lone remaini=
ng Wampa<br>stopped over where the van had been. The men inside leaned over=
the edge to<br>look down, and arms reached out to pull them under the wate=
r. Seeing this, the<br>pilot of one of two remaining Dewbacks fired on the = Wampa and destroyed it.<br>Confident of that their goal was achieved, the D= ewbacks flew away.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0After they were gone, Fred ventured out =
of the cabin. He looked at the<br>water, where Wampa debris floated. He sta= rted to sigh with relief when a<br>succession of bubbles rose and broke on = the surface. As Fred ran back for<br>shelter, Mister-G shot up from the wat= er, a cone rifle on his shoulder. He<br>fired the rifle, and the explosive = shell crashed into the cabin, which was<br>engulfed in a cloud.<br>=C2=A0 = =C2=A0Mister-G dropped the rifle and walked out of the water to the wreckag=
e. The<br>rest of Team Clooless rose to the surface and followed. "Fiv=
e bodies,<br>including Fred's," Colmust-Y stated. "Let's =
go home."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Forgetting something?" Mister-G a= sked, pointing at the water.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"This'll take me even=
longer than yesterday's," Professor-V moaned.<br><br>X-X-X-X-X-X-= X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Vulture Team Clooless<br><br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Day 4=
: Saturday, December 4<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0/The Fuschia House, Albany, Nest= lia/<br><br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0General Ilekchik stared across the table at Team C= looless. "What do you<br>mean you killed Fred Oktoberson?" he sho= uted.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"We told you. He wasn't defecting. It was a = trap," Missus-U explained. "The<br>Hershians were trying to find = out about us."<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"I never thought I'd see the d=
ay when team Clooless failed," Ilekchik<br>muttered.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0&= quot;We didn't fail!" Mister-G yelled. "The guy wasn't a = defector!"<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"You didn't get him to Tallahassee=
. You will be paid the normal fee for<br>three days on payroll," Ilekc= hik declared.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"That won't even cover the cost of r= epairs," Professor-V protested.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"That's my de= cision," Ilekchik said. Despite the protests of the Alphans,<br>he sto=
od and left with his bodyguards.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Let's go," = Missus-U commanded.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"But..." Mister-G whined.<br>= =C2=A0 =C2=A0"Let's just go," she repeated. The others reluct= antly rose, and they went<br>into the hallway. As the others started up the=
stairs, Missus-U pulled a<br>grenade from under her robe and tossed it int=
o the room behind her. "Run," she<br>said.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"= What?" Mister-G asked.<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0"Run!" she yelled, an=
d they all began racing up the stairs.<br><br><br><br>=C2=A0 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-= *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*<br>=C2=A0/ K. M. = Wilcox/ =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 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 = =C2=A0 \Mister Boddy \<br>*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Evacuate? In our mo= ment of triumph? =C2=A0 =C2=A0 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*<br>=C2=A0 =C2=A0\ =C2=A0 =C2= =A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0I think you overestimate their chance=
s! =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0/ =C2=A0<br>=C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*<br>= <br><br><br><br>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br><br>Next Week: =C2=A0Some= thing Something LNH!!!!!<br><br>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br><br>Arthu=
r "Same Classic Channel.=C2=A0 But Same Time?=C2=A0 Probably not."=
; Spitzer <br></div>
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