Ed Justice

Chapter 2: Weather on the ED

"And with the weather, here's Jim Halpert. Jim?"

"Thanks, Pam. Well folks, as many of you may know, meteorologists around the world are trying to study this bizarre storm that seems to have come out of nowhere. Oh, wait, hold on one second…I have just received notice from the National Weather Service urging all civilians in the following counties to take precautions, should this storm go on the move. Glascow, Mecklenburg, Springfield, and Union. All citizens in those counties should prepare for the worst. And now, let's take a look at the weather for the weeke-"

Eddward Mardon hit the power button on the remote control, as he had seen all he needed to see. The cosmic storm was going to be somewhere over Springfield County, and Peach Creek just so happened to be in the dead center of Springfield! "Oh, how wonderful! This storm will give me the chance to try out my new weather station! Oh, I should go over a couple of things before the storm arrives, so many things to do, ooh so busybusybusybusy!"

"DOUBLE D, WILL YOU SHUT UP?! IT"S SEVEN IN THE MORNING!" Double D slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had disturbed his house guests. His friends Eddy O'Brian and Ed Mason had spent the night in his basement after they had spent all of yesterday trying to examine what had happened to Ed.

Ed's incident was…strange, to say the least: he had eaten a crystal orb that was thought to be a jawbreaker, woke up the next morning gold and purple, and found that he could now change his body into virtually anything. Edd and Eddy had been concerned for their friend, and didn't want him to go back home in his condition, so Eddy and Ed spent the night at Double D's house. To be precise, they slept in his basement.

He opened the door to the basement, and excitedly said, "Sorry Eddy, but I couldn't stay asleep much longer; I have so much to do before the storm hits!" Edd had been making preparations for this for over a week, ever since the cosmic storm had been discovered: building the weather station, studying the movement of the storm, analyzing every single factor, down to the last millisecond. He would see this storm in action.

Eddy groggily stirred in his sleeping bag, and mumbled, "Only you could get this interested in the weather, Sock head."

The brainy boy walked into the kitchen, and called down to Eddy, "Have it your way, Eddy; I'm just going to be making breakfast, if you or Ed want anything."

"As if," Eddy grumbled, curling up as much as he could into his sleeping bag. Just then, he heard a sound that could only be described as someone dumping everything in their house into a giant fire. He looked over at the source of the noise, Ed, and saw that the sleeping giant was changing his body in his sleep. The miserly Eddy tried to block this out as much as he could by wrapping his pillow around his head. Unfortunately, even his pillow was no good for what happened next.

From the kitchen, Edd shouted down to his half-awake friend, "Eddy? Do you want butter on your toast?"

Ed's eyes snapped open, and his body returned to its normal shape as he leapt from his sleeping bag, shouting, "BUTTERED TOAST!" Ed got so worked up that his legs turned into streams of fire that propelled him to the top of the stairs in an instant; those same flames scorched his and Eddy's sleeping bag, leaving nothing but a charred Eddy. Coughing up black clouds of smoke, Eddy decided maybe now was a good time to get up. As he climbed the basement steps, he heard the sound of an excited Ed, who continued to say, "Butteredtoastbutteredtoastbutteredtoast!"

He also heard a frantic Double D shout, "Ed, settle down! You're melting the linoleum!"

Eddy entered the kitchen clad in a pair of orange boxers, a white tank top, and a hairnet. He lazily scratched his armpit, and asked Edd, "So Sock head, what's so important about this storm anyway?"

"Well Eddy," said an excited Edd, who was currently making scrambled eggs at the stove, "This storm is something that supposedly does NOT come from Earth! Everyone is wondering what it is exactly, and I intend to find out tonight, when it passes over Peach Creek."

The half-asleep Eddy stared at his genius friend, and said, "It's. The. Weather. It isn't anything special; it'll probably just turn out to be some sorta big thunderstorm or something."

"Be that as it may, Eddy, I still want to study this phenomenon. Think about it: this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, something that might never occur again! Why, I know there are a few shops in town trying to make a buck or two off of this cosmic storm."

Suddenly, Eddy's head perked up; whenever there was money involved, Eddy would be there. "Double D, you said that people are tryin' to make a buck off this thing?!"

"That's right, Eddy. T-shirts, hats, and even novelty raincoats! It's crazy!"

The greedy boy began rubbing his hands together as dollar signs filled his eyes. He quickly asked Edd, "Double D, you got any old t-shirts around here?!"

Edd turned to his friend and said, "Why, yes we do! Mother and Father were just about to donate some of their old clothes to the Goodwill, and are keeping them in the garage; why do you-" he paused, as he knew what Eddy was thinking right now: how to scam the children of the cul-de-sac. "Don't even think about it, mister!" That did little to stop Eddy as he sped off to the garage in search of the t-shirts.

If there was one thing the children of the cul-de-sac would remember about the Eds, it's that they would try nearly every DAY to scam them out of their allowance money. Each time it was a new trick: once, they had tried to make the ultimate energy drink; the next day, they made tacos out of paper plates, orange crayons, and grass; they even made a small city out of cardboard boxes, where they had tattoo parlors, magazine stands, and shopping malls. Yes, when it came to money, the Eds always seemed to have a trick up their sleeve.

Of course, these scams never worked out in the end; many a time have the Eds been severely beaten for their deeds. They have been hung in a giant cage, put in cement, and had fruit thrown at them. Each and every failure leaves them penniless and without jawbreakers, but the boys never give up in their quest for that succulent candy.

Double D ran after his greedy friend, and found him in the garage with all of the clothes that Mr. and Mrs. Mardon had been planning on donating to charity, writing on the t-shirts with a black marker. "EDDY!" cried Edd, "What in the name of Pete are you DOING?!"

Eddy looked at his friend with a manic grin and replied, "I'm gettin' started on our best scam ever: NOVELTY CLOTHING!" When he saw that his brainy friend was still standing in the doorway, he went back to work, and said, "I'm tellin' ya Double D, it'll be a gold mine! People are gonna want cheap clothing to remember this day by, and it's something they can show off to people, like, "Yeah, I was there when the storm hit Peach Creek. It's a niche market, I tell ya! A NICHE MARKET! Hehehehehehehe…" Eddy went back to writing on the clothes, chuckling at his latest display of genius; this time, he had even outdone himself. This scam was sure to rake in the dough, he just knew it!

Realizing that no one else was working on the scam, Eddy shouted out, "ED! GET IN HERE!"

A fireball flew through the air from the kitchen, nearly incinerating Double D along the way. The fire stopped suddenly, and morphed back into the lovable lump known as Ed. He smiled dumbly and said, "Hiya, Eddy!" Eddy responded by throwing a hammer at Ed's head.

"Get to work, Lumpy! I need you to make a stand for me ASAP! Sockhead, you need you ta paint a sign for me! Now, let's get ta impressin'!"

Edd sighed in defeat. Once Eddy had a scam in mind, it was impossible to stop him from carrying through with it. "I'll get right on it, Eddy…"

***

Meanwhile…

A young man in a sharp red suit is walking down a brightly lit corridor, eyes dead-set on the large wooden door in front of him. He approaches the door, and knocks on it with his fist. A gruff voice from within says, "Come in." and then coughs.

The man enters the darker room, and looks at the figure at the desk, writing on a paper. As the younger man comes to the desk, the figure looks up and smiles. "Welcome home, son. How did the mission go?"

"It went perfectly, exactly as I planned," says the younger man, smirking, "But then again, what else did you expect? I was leading it." This man is in his mid-twenties, and has longer hair, spiked up with product. He is clean shaven, and looks like a male model; his only disfigurement is the scar on his cheek, which makes his face look like it is twisted into a grin.

Laughing, the figure at the desk claps, and says, "HAHA! That's my boy!" The figure puts away the paper it was working on, and returns to looking at the man. "You always were the tactician. Even as a boy, you thought three steps ahead of everyone else; have I ever told you how proud I am of you?"

Frowning, the man replies, "Almost every day, now where's my payment?" He didn't like it when the boss got all sappy like this; it hurt the family business, and made them seem weak and inefficient as assassins. After killing an important political figure in Brussels, all he wanted was his payment, nothing else.

The figure grumbled something under its voice, and said, "I also remember how greedy you could be. You still are!" It coughed, and said, "Fine, fine, you want your payment? Head home."

The mention of the word had sent a shiver up the man's back.

"You heard me: go home, you'll get your reward."

"But, I thought that you would give me the-"

"I made no such agreement young man, and be grateful you're even getting anything from me!"

The young man sighed, and said, "Whatever, Mom. So, do I have to leave immediately?"

The woman at the desk replied, "I think it'd be better if you left soon, since You-Know-Who will be home."

"Okay, I'll play it cool." He turned to leave, and then stopped and mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, honey, what did you say? I didn't catch it."

"I said…'I love you, Mom'."

"Thank you sweetie! You be careful out there!"

"Aww, Mom!"

***

Back in Peach Creek…

Eddy stopped what he was doing, and sneezed.

Edd looked over and asked, "Eddy, are you coming down with a cold?"

"Hmm? Nah, it's probably just someone talking about me. Now, get to modeling!"

The Eds had finished altering the clothes that were in Edd's garage, and now Ed and Edd were modeling the clothes for Eddy.

Ed came bouncing into the garage wearing a pair of short-shorts that had the words 'Cosmic Storm' printed on the back, a blouse that had 'I Heart Storms' written on the front, and a bra that he wore over the blouse that had 'Cosmic Storm' printed on the cups. He was singing in a very off-key voice, "I FEEL PRETTY, OH SO PRETTY! I FEEL PRETTY AND WITTY AND-"

"ED! Stop dancing around, get over here, and POSE!"

"Buttered toast!" exclaimed Ed as he bounded over to Eddy, and kicked a leg up in the air.

Eddy looked his dim-witted friend over, and said, "Okay, Ed, looks good. Double D, you're up!"

"Oh, Eddy, do I have t-"

"Quit yer bellyaching, Sockhead! These clothes are gonna sell, I know it, but they ain't gonna sell if those pigeons don't think they look good! Now, get out here and show me whatcha got!"

The brilliant Edd let out a sigh of despair, and groaned, saying "Me and my big mouth…" He proceeded to walk out in front of Eddy, wearing a trench coat that said 'Cosmic Storm' on the back, carpenter pants that were painted with lightning bolts going up the sides, and a long-sleeved shirt that had a lightning bolt in the center, with a message that said, "Can you smell what the UNIVERSE is cookin'? COSMIC STORM" around it.

Eddy gave Double D the once-over and said, "Looks okay, but you need to put a little more life into it, Sockhead! Seriously, you look like a mandarin!"

"Mannequin, Eddy, and what do you mean 'Put some life into it'?"

"You know…some life: strike a Superman pose, go King of the World, just do something!"

Edd sighed in defeat, and stretched his arms out to the sides, opened his palms, and imagined that he was in the middle of a tornado; floating freely, he flew anywhere he wanted. He could see outside the whirlwind, and saw a freak blizzard in front of him, a hailstorm to his right, a deluge of rain at his left, and he could feel the rays of a brilliant sun behind him. Just as Double D was about to glide towards the blizzard, a familiar voice shook him back to reality.

"DOUBLE D, WAKE UP!"

With a shock, Edd woke from his daydream. That was a wonderful dream; all that power swirling around him felt…calming. Assuring in some way. But that was just a dream, nothing more.

Eddy was trying to open up the garage door, so that they could begin the scam. Well, Ed was opening the door, Eddy was busy glaring at Edd.

"Are you okay, Sockhead? Can't have one of my models being sick now."

"No, I'm fine, Eddy; I must have just drifted off for a second."

"Well, help Ed set up the stand." Eddy began to rub his hands together as he cackled, and said, "Soon, those suckers will be coming here and getting hand-me-down clothes for a low, low price, and we'll be swimming in JAWBREAKERS!"

"If you say so, Eddy." Double D paused again as he lifted a pile of shirts, and realized something important. "Good lord, Eddy! How do we explain Ed's condition to the other kids?!"

Eddy looked over at Ed, who was carrying two large planks of wood under his arms, and replied, "We'll just tell them that Ed painted himself again, don't worry about it."

***

Across the street, two kids were watching the Eds. One was Kevin West, the other was Nazz Zorell. Kevin was a gruff young boy who let his muscles do the talking, and absolutely hated the Eds, particularly Eddy. He always called them dorks, and if they bothered him in any way he made sure to give them a knuckle sandwich. Kevin almost always wore a green long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black shorts, a red baseball cap (always turned backwards, since that was the cool thing to do) and a pair of black running shoes.

Nazz was a cute girl of twelve, who had the boys of the cul-de-sac wrapped around her finger (not that she knew it). She thought the Eds were very silly, but she didn't seem to mind them too much, particularly Edd. She always called them dudes, and if they bothered her in any way she usually let it slide. Nazz was a sort-of tomboy, and had her blonde hair cut in a bob, wore a black t-shirt under her white tank top, a pair of baggy jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors.

Kevin glared at the Eds as they worked, and asked Nazz, "What do you think those dorks are up to?"

She shrugged, and replied, "I dunno…you want to go see?"

When she looked at Kevin with those baby blue eyes, Kevin knew he couldn't say no; no matter how much he hated the Eds, Nazz always came first.

"Sure, Nazz, whatever you want."

"Thanks, Kev! Hey, Double D, what're you guys doing?"

Edd turned at the sound of his nickname, and found it to be the girl of his dreams. If there was one boy in the cul-de-sac who liked Nazz more than Kevin, it was Double D. Whenever he saw her, he would break into a nervous sweat and mumble incoherently, trying to find a way to excuse himself.

This was no exception. "Oh, h-he-hello, N-N-Nazz! H-how…d-d-do…y-y-you…d-d-d-d-do! We're…w-we're m-m-maaaaak-k-king cl-cl-cl-"

"We're making clothes! Would you like to buy some?" Thankfully, Ed didn't get tight-lipped around women, and was able to tell her what they were up to.

Nazz giggled, and said, "Well, I like your outfit, Ed. And Double D, you look awesome! Cool coat!" At this, Edd's face turned crimson, and he hid himself in his t-shirt; Kevin growled and went over to Eddy.

"What is all this, Dorky?"

"What does it look like, Kevin? We're selling novelty clothing, in light of the cosmic storm tonight, and I can tell that you are gonna buy something!"

"As if! Why would I waste my money on some junk you dorks probably pulled out of a garage?!"

"Because it's cheap, and this yellow hat totally brings out your eyes! HAHAHAHAHAH!" Eddy loved joking on Kevin, even if it meant physical pain on his part.

Sure enough, Kevin's fist smashed into Eddy's face, knocking the small Ed out of his seat.

Nazz scowled, and said, "Kevin! Knock it off, dude!"

"But Nazz, he started it!"

"I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it!"

The boys all stared at Nazz; it was rare for her to talk down to Kevin like that. She looked at all the boys and said, "What? Babysitters' gotta be able to maintain the peace, y'know?"

Kevin gulped, and mumbled, "Yeah, sure…"

Soon, the other kids of the cul-de-sac began to congregate at Edd's garage, all of them wanting to see what the Eds were up to this time. Ed's red-haired sister ran over to the stand with her friend Jimmy Fenton, a ten-year-old blonde-haired boy, who had a metal retainer around his face that forced him to speak with a slight impediment. Rolf Heinrich stopped working in his families fields long enough to stop by the stand, his dark-navy hair bobbing in the slight breeze. Johnny "2x4" Wayne ran down the street with his buddy Plank, who was a wooden board with a smiley face drawn on it.

"Oooh! Sharah, I want that one!" Jimmy said excitedly as he pointed to a poncho that featured a storm cloud with the planet Saturn above it.

"Okay, Jimmy. How much for the shirt, half-pint?"

Eddy shouted at Sarah, "Watch who you're calling 'half-pint', SMALL-FRY!" He lowered his voice and said, "Everything's a quarter. Now are ya gonna buy something or just stand there? 'Cause there's a standing fee."

Rolf looked over a pair of galoshes, and asked Edd, "Double-D-Ed-Boy, will these stormy boots hold up against Rolf's potato soil?"

"Umm, I think so, Rolf!"

"Hey, Ed! Plank wants to know if there're any t-shirts in his size!" said Johnny, as he held Plank close to the clothing, as if the board really was looking through the clothes.

Ed looked through the clothes, and replied, "Uh, nope! But we do have mutant mole-crabs from the Planet Crab-Mole!"

Johnny nodded, then held Plank close to his ear, and asked, "What was that, Plank?" He listened to the board for a few seconds, and then said, "Plank says 'Take a hike!'!"

***

The Eds actually managed to sell most of the clothes, leaving them with a jar full of quarters. Eddy cradled the jar in his arms like a newborn baby, and said, "Oh baby! Look at all this LOOT!"

Edd, tired from having to model clothes and distribute them to the kids, replied, "Yes, we certainly procured a large amount of quarters from the children this time."

"I have gravy in my pocket, huhuh!" Ed was just as happy as Eddy to obtain that many quarters.

"Okay, boys, it's time to get some jawbreakers! Let's hurry, before the store closes!"

"Sorry, Eddy: I can't go with you," Edd said as he pushed himself off the stand, "I have to finish setting up my weather station before the storm hits."

Eddy just waved his hand at Double D, and told him, "Whatever, Sockhead; we'll pick up a few jawbreakers for you anyway!"

Brushing off his shirt, Edd replied, "Thank you, Eddy. I should be finished by the time you two get back; try not to eat them all!"

"Yeah, yeah, have fun with your weather thingy, Double D!"

"I AM READY FOR JAWBREAKERS!" Ed shouted as he flew into the air with bursts of flame erupting from his feet. He grabbed Eddy with an arm that turned into a tentacle, and as he flew into the distance, Double D could still hear Eddy screaming at the top of his lungs:

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!"

"Loveable lump," said Edd at Ed's antics, "Back to work!"

***

Three hours later…

"I can NOT believe you did that, Ed!"

"I'm sorry, Eddy, honest and forsooth!"

"Yeah, well, sorry doesn't cut it. You flew us clear into Lemon Brook! By the time we got back, the store was closed 'cause of the weather!"

"I thought my rocket legs would get us there faster, but it didn't work…"

"Your head won't work when I'm done wi-"

Eddy paused as he stared at the Mardon residence, which now sported a giant antenna on the roof, and was surrounded by a dozen other small pieces of equipment. The smallest Ed looked over the house, seeing that it had been rigged with numerous cables and wires, covering the house like a vine of ivy. Before he could study it any more, a strong gust of wind came and knocked Eddy to the ground; brushing himself off, he rang the doorbell.

"Just a minute!" came Double D's voice from inside. Five minutes passed, and Edd had still not opened the door.

"Hurry it up, Sockhead, I'm freezin' out here!"

The door opened just then, revealing a very busy and very stressed Eddward Mardon. He was wearing a white lab coat, a pair of gloves on his hands, and yellow goggles over his eyes. As soon as the door was open, Edd said a rushed "Hello," to his friends, and then ran off to some other part of the house, perhaps to rig more machines.

"What the heck is all this, Double D?!" Eddy asked as he stood in the entrance of his friend's house, removing his shoes as he always did at the Mardon house.

Calling out from the upstairs, Edd answered, "I've rigged the house with numerous detectors, so as to catch any changes in the weather at all. My computer downstairs is linked to the weather rod on the roof, and it will give me exact readings on what happens outside."

"Weather rod?"

"The machine on the roof that looks like a giant, metal wand! Now, if you two could just make your way to the basement, I'd be ever so grateful. AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! That means YOU, Ed!"

"But I like to press the pretty buttons, Double D!"

Eddy grabbed his dim-witted friend by the ear, and dragged to the basement door, saying, "Just listen to Sockhead, okay?" and threw Ed down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Edd joined his friends in the basement, and said "Okay gentlemen! All the detectors are in place, the rod is set, and the storm is nigh; flip the switch on the computer, Eddy, and we'll be ready to go!"

Eddy sarcastically saluted Double D, and said, "Aye-aye, Captain!" He turned the computer on, and it soon hummed with life.

Double D ran over to the seat, and pushed Eddy out of the chair in his excitement. The half-sized Ed cried out, "Hey, watch what you're doin', Double D!"

"Sorry, Eddy, I'm just so excited at what is about to occur! We're witnessing something remarkable, gentlemen: we are about to behold something not of this world, and with my machines, we won't miss a nanosecond!" Edd turned to the screen, and stared intently at the image before him. The rod had a camera of sorts built into it, and right now the rod was recording what was going on outside. So far, everything seemed to be fairly uneventful: the sky had become much darker, while the wind had picked up, and could be heard through the speakers installed in the rod.

A few minutes later, a few drops of water fell onto the camera, and soon the rain was coming down harder and faster. Now, a full-blown storm has occurring outside, and Double D had every second recorded on camera.

"Don't you think this is incredible, Eddy?!" Edd asked from his chair.

"I don't see what the big deal is, Double D; it's just another storm! It'll probably blow over in a few minutes."

"Au contraire, Eddy," the capped Ed replied. "This storm could last for any amount of time. It could end now, or it could end in a few hours. One thing is for certain though, this is a storm unlike any storm before it!"

Ed smiled and pointed at the computer screen with hand that had changed into a pool stick, saying, "I like how the weather is all crackly and gray now! It's just like the Monster World of Herculoid, the Mini-series."

"CRACKLY AND GRAY?!" Edd swiftly turned around, to discover that, sure enough, the camera was projecting nothing but static. "Ohdearohdearohdear, this is not good!"

"What's the matter, Sockhead?"

"The camera's out, Eddy! It's not recording anything right now! That means one of us has to go up there and see what the problem is!" Edd paused, and realized that Eddy wouldn't know what to do, and Ed was…Ed. "I'll go!" he said with confidence, as he put on a poncho.

Eddy watched his friend, and asked, "You sure?"

"Positive. I'm the one who built it, so I should be the one to fix it."

"You need me n' Ed to do anything?"

"Yes," said Edd as he pulled out a walkie-talkie and handed it to Eddy, "I want you and Ed to let me know the instant you see an image on the screen. Understand?"

"Of course, but you sure you want to go out now? It sounds like it's gettin' worse out!" At that moment, a large clap of thunder erupted near the house, causing the Eds to lose their balance for a brief moment.

Edd steadied himself, and replied, "I may not want to, but I have to."

Ed was near bursting with tears, and cried out, "You are so brave, Double D!" He wrapped his arms around his friend, and squeezed him in a bear hug.

"Erk! Uh, thank you, Ed, but I must be going; that camera won't fix itself, y'know!"

With help from Eddy, Edd was released from Ed's grip, and he ran up the stairs of the basement and ran outside, where he was immediately knocked off his feet by a strong gust of wind.

He struggled to rise, and when he did, the brilliant Edd saw something that shocked him to the core: the sky had turned an ungodly red, as if the universe was bleeding onto the Earth. Shivering, the young boy braced himself against the wind as he made his way to the side wall of his house. He had prepared a ladder of sorts on the wall, in case he needed to climb up and repair something on the roof; gripping the wall as tight as he could, Edd began to climb as the rain beat down on him and the wind threatened to blow him down.

Finally reaching the top, Edd gasped for air, and began to crawl across the roof, using another set of riggings to cling to. He made his way to the weather rod, where he grabbed hold of the side, and hoisted himself up, clinging for dear life to the machine. Edd pressed a few buttons, flipped some switches, and then spoke into the walke-talkie, shouting, "Eddy, do you see anything?"

Eddy replied, "Yeah, it's working Double D! Hey, I can see you!"

Edd then heard Ed say, "Ooh, ooh, is it Double D?! HI DOUBLE D!"

Smiling, the young boy on the roof said, "Okay, fellows, I'm coming down."

Just as he ended the transmission, a huge bolt of red lightning came from the sky, and struck the weather rod and Edd. That moment was easily the most painful thing the boy had ever felt in his life, as it felt like his body was being torn to shreds from the inside out.

He let out a ghastly "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" but the pain refused to end.

***

All the kids of the cul-de-sac stopped what they were doing, and felt their blood run cold at the sound of the bone-chilling scream. Nazz turned from her TV, Kevin stopped adjusting his bike, and Rolf looked up from his pile of peeled potatoes; Johnny shivered in his bed, Sarah trembled from under her covers, and Jimmy gave a shriek of his own.

Nazz got up from her chair and went to the window, where she saw the most terrifying thing in her life: right before her eyes, Double D was being electrocuted on top of his roof. "Oh my gosh, Double D!" she screamed, as she ran to her hall closet and pulled out a poncho. She threw open her door and ran across the street.

***

After hearing his friend scream, Eddy spoke into the walkie-talkie, saying, "D-Double D? Are you okay?"

There was no answer on the other end.

"H-Hey, Sockhead, talk to me…"

Still no answer.

"DOUBLE D! ANSWER ME!"

Edd was not responding.

Eddy began to panic, copying Double D, saying, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, Double D!"

Ed began to sob and cry out, "Poor Double D! Why did it have to be him?! CURSE YOU, HERCULOIDIANS!"

"Okay, calm down Lumpy; we have to go get Double D! Come on!"

The two boys leaped up the stairs of the basement, and ran as fast as they could outside.

Up on the roof, the lightning finally ran its course through Edd, but it had done its damage; he had lost consciousness long ago, and now had collapsed. The boy's body began to slide down the rooftop with nothing to stop it, just as one figure ran to the house and two came from within.

Nazz, Ed and Eddy all congregated on Edd's front lawn. When Eddy saw Nazz in front of him, he stopped, and shouted, "Nazz?! What're you doin' here?!"

"I heard Double D scream and I saw him getting electrocuted, where is he-AAAAAHHHH!"

The beautiful girl screamed as she saw Edd fall off the rooftop. "SOMEBODY CATCH HIM!"

Ed and Eddy turned and saw what Nazz was seeing, and they too shouted, "HOLY SMOKES!"

All at once, the three screamed out, "DOOOUUUBLE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The boy's body suddenly stopped falling, and began to hover in mid-air; as he hovered, gusts of wind began to circle around him. It righted itself and stood perfectly straight above the ground.

Nazz nervously asked, "D-Double D?"

His eyes fluttered for a second and then shot open, revealing eyes that were covered in blue flames. Edd's hands opened, and the same flames sprang to life in his palms; the winds began to pick up and grew stronger and faster. Soon, a small tornado encircled the boy's body, and blew away his friends and tore up the ground around him.

Turning to Eddy, Nazz screamed out, "What's up with Double D?!"

"I dunno, something must have happened to him!"

"WHAT happened?!"

"The bolt of cosmic lightning must have altered him at a molecular level, making it so that he has become able to change the weather with his very mind. Given that his mind must have been shut down by the electricity, it probably is acting on basic instinct."

Eddy and Nazz turned to Ed, who had blurted out one of his rare intellectual comments. Suddenly, the air around them turned cold, as snow began to fall in great amounts, while hail the size of golf balls fell from the sky.

"How…ouch!…do we…ouch!…get him to…STOP?!" cried Eddy.

"I think…ouch!...if we can…ouch!...get him to wake up…ouch!...he should stop!" shouted Ed.

Nazz screamed out, "DOUBLE D, STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL!"

There was no end to the torrent, and now a veritable waterfall began to flood the cul-de-sac.

***

From their bedrooms, Jimmy and Sarah screamed out, "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

Johnny stood by his window, watching the destruction around him, as he told Plank, "Well Plank, I guess you were right. The world really is gonna end today!"

From his cellar, Rolf lit a candle as he lay with his family's animals. He sniffed the air around him, and recoiled, saying, "Truly, it is the end of ages!"

Kevin hid in his closet, where he held onto a wrench for dear life, mumbling, "ohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohman!"

Not too far away, in a trailer park, three sisters were hiding in their kitchen. The middle-oldest said, "What's up with the weather?"

The youngest girl was sobbing, and crying out, "ED, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The oldest sister smacked both girls on the head, and said, proudly, "Would you two knock it off?! It ain't the end of the world, and we ARE gonna get through this! After all, we ARE the Kanker sisters!"

***

As the storm reached near biblical proportions, Ed, Nazz and Eddy were holding onto the bushes in Edd's front yard for dear life, but even those were being uprooted by the massive winds. Eddy screamed out, "SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"

Nazz shouted at the top of her lungs, "DOUBLE DEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

As suddenly as the storm began, it ended then and there. The winds died down, snow ceases to fall, the hail vanishes, and the rainfall ended.

Edd's eyes shut, then opened again. They had returned to their normal appearance: pale green with specks of gray. The fire in his hands was slowly extinguished, and the young boy was left floating in the air in a gentle breeze.

He gazed at his friends as they lay littered around his lawn. He whispered, "N-Nazz…?" and he fell to the ground, the last of the wind disappearing.

Eddy, Nazz and Ed stared at their friend, as a single ray of light burst through the clouds and landed on the boy. They cautiously approached him, and once they thought everything was safe, they picked his body up and carried him inside.

***

One day later…

Edd was lying on his bed, still unconscious. His breathing was normal, he just wasn't waking up. Nazz and Ed were checking on him right now; Eddy had gone back over to his house to get a few things.

Nazz sat at the side of Eddward's bed, held his hand and said, "Come one, Double D…wake up!"

Across the street, at the O'Brian residence, Eddy was looking through his kitchen for some ingredients. "Double D's bound to wake up when he smells my five-alarm omelet cooking!"

The doorbell rang, interrupting Eddy's search. He grumbled as he walked over to the door, but once he opened the door, the boy found himself at a loss for words.

A twenty-five-year-old man stood in Eddy's doorway. He wore a black hoodie, a navy baseball cap, a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. His hair was obviously gelled, as it was spiked up high, with four strands hanging down in his face.

Eddy managed to stammer out, "L-L-L-L-Luke? Is that you?"

The man smiled and said, "Hey little bro, long time no see!"

Will Double D wake from his coma? And why has Eddy's brother returned? These questions and more will be answered in the next installment of: ED JUSTICE!