Disclaimer: Lord Death and Lady Dread are mine; everything else is the Property of Warner Brothers. No money is being made and all that jazz.

Author's Notes - This Story (and in particular this prologue) is dedicated to those lives lost in Japan's Tsunami disaster, as well as those lives lost in Haiti's Earthquake.

Historian's Notes - This is an alternative Universe fic from my Strikeverse fics. In this universe, this story occurs where "The Rover Within" would've occurred instead.


The Color of Courage

By That One Evil Writer


Prologue: Disaster


It was a nice sun shiny day. Birds were singing and there's seemingly not a care to be had in the world… which could extremely easily change if things unfold the ways that two villains want them to unfold… which is way the core members of the Alpha Rovers team are situated in front of a Nuclear Power Plant.

Hunter glances up at the plant before looking at Exile. "Just as a check up, how bad are we talking here if this plant goes?"

Exile looks grim as he explains, "Very bad. If it goes upski, L.A. goes bye-bye, and several towns go up with it... and that's the good newsski."

Blitz looks at Exile in askance; the death of everyone in a heavily populated area… and that is good news? "Good news?"

Exile nods. "Dah. The very bad thing is if the radiation get up in the jetstream, then... at the very least 86% of the world's population would be glowing in the darkski."

For a moment after that particular pronouncement, every single Rover looked particular unnerved, before Colleen dryly commented, "...yes, that would be VERY bad."

"Dah. I can disarm it, however." Exile smiled a bit.

Shag nodded a bit. "So we'll keep the good Lord and Lady off your tail, Exile so you can do your thing."

"That's a dah."

"Then let's pick up the trail." With this call out coming from Hunter, the Rovers approached the plant with caution.


The Rovers moved swiftly through the building zeroing in their target, with thanks to a map that Greta had found. She glanced down at the map for a moment and nodded. "The rods are nearby... so; it seems the bomb should be in this area."

Sport smiled. "Then let's get a move on!"

The other Rovers nodded and they all moved right along. As they do, thing became more and more disturbingly… quiet. Which put the nerves of the Rovers right on the edge. An sudden shifting of… something was the only thing to swiftly alert Sport that something was not right… that and Sport's cry of "WHOA!" directed their attention to the far right where a magickal blast came from - a blast that if Sport wasn't quick he would've been one dead Rover - to spot their foes: Lord Death and Lady Dread.

Shaking his head, Lord Death smirked. "I'm afraid we don't want you to do that."

Lady Dread smiled rather primly as she wielded a dagger in her cybernetic hand. "Yes, we rather want to have our army of the undead."

Swiftly, the Rovers get into their individual fighting stances; but just as Exile's eyes are to glow, Hunter shakes his head at the Husky. "We got this." Hunter looks around at the other Rovers who nodded determinedly, before locking eyes with Exile. "Exile, get to the bomb and disarm it!"

Exile nodded. "You got itski!"

There was a brief sigh and mock sad look on Lord Death's muzzle, as he shakes his head. "Poor, poor Hunter. Ah well... if that's the way you want it... FOX MUTANTS!" A number of Fox-Mutants appeared. A dark grin appeared on Death's face as he continued, "Give these fools a warm welcome, eh?"

As the Mutants and the Rovers collided into a full force chaotic fury of action, Death smiled thinly as he spies Exile trying to leave in order to find the bomb. "As for the Husky..." Death shared a loving glance with his lifemate (of doom) and mused thoughtfully. "Why don't you play with him for a bit, my love? It would be quite... entertaining."

An devious grin is Lady Dread's answer, just before she dashes off… and just as Exile was about to leave, Dread swings - and Exile had to swiftly leap backwards in order to avoid being skewered by Dread's dagger.

Exile growled. "NYET!" He eyed Dread wearily and annoyed; time's running out and she's preventing him from doing his job. I do not need thisski! Not now!

Another dagger comes out of Lady Dread's pocket as she smiled sweetly at Exile. "Hello, Sanhusky."

Exile's eyes glows blue as a grim look crosses his muzzle. "Time to cool you off, psycho bulldog."

Lady Dread evaded the first few ice eyebeams with some ease, and the bulldog bitch issued forth an unlady-like snort. "I think not."

Exile continue trying to blast Dread with his ice eyebeams, until Dread considered the better part of valor (such as it is) and entered the battlefield covered by the other Rovers and the fox mutants. Exile inaudibly sighed and thinly smiled. Good, she's goneski, now get to the bombski...

Of course, the husky might've thought that a little too soon. For as soon as he approached the doorway, another magickal blast missed him by mere inches and struck the doorway forcing Exile away from the door and down. By the time Exile got on his feetpaws, Lord Death smirked. "Oh, were you about to go somewhere, little husky?"

Lord Death did not allow Exile to answer him; he swiftly fired some more magickal bolts, forcing Exile further away from the doorway (and the bomb) as far as possible.


However, a Rover did manage to get into the room where they suspect the bomb to be. Shag briefly sighed and bristled with some inner rage. Of, course, they would let be by. I am the fifth one outta of five... Annoyance warred with Shag's usual good natured soul before sighing. And begins his search as he is the only one that could do so…

Soon the Komondor stumbled across a black case. Taking a deep breath, Shag very, very, VERY carefully unlatched it and opened it up - and gasped at the bomb hidden within. There it is. Lifting his head up he called out as loud as possible, "EXILE! I FOUND IT!"

From the other room, brief growl and a snarl answered him (as well as a painful grunt) before the Siberian Husky answered Shag, "Goodski! Stay here! I'm comingski!"

Glancing back down at the bomb, Shag sees something that made go even whiter than usual: the timer. It reads two forty-three… and that given that forty-three have swiftly gotten to thirty-nine even as he watched… meant that there was only two minutes left to disarm it.

Oh Scat Shag glances back the way of the doorway, issuing forth frantic shout: "HURRY!"

All the while… the timer continues to count on down…


(Author's Notes: Just a simple opening prologue from all concerned. The only thing is Shag's thought and opinion about being the fifth Rover… which comes from Master's little comment of "4 out of 5" which of course hails from "Let's Hit the Road" the pilot/première episode. Other than that, please read & review. Thanks.)