Reprinter's Note: This issue was written by the wonderful Mister Oz! Mister Oz's character is - surprise, surprise! - Mister Oz. There is a reference to the rest of his stories, but as they are on another site, don't worry about it.

Marvel owns these guys.

Enter Duck & Man

um..bizarre. And I HATE bizarre thought Howard the Duck as he tossed his expired stogie to the sidewalk outside of the club Beverly's band was playing a show at when he noticed a round portal open up in the sky above him.

"Gangway!" yelled a guy dripping blood from his head followed by another. The small crowd of musicians, roadies and duck scattered to allow the two men onto the night pavement with grunts.

"You've got to help me!" the bloodier one begged grabbing onto Howard's lapel with his good arm and pulling some feathers from the mallard's body.

"No way!" Howard refused struggling out of the man's grip and scowling at the blood on his plumage. "I don't do weird anymore."

The mysterious looking man which also came from the same portal shoved Howard aside and grabbed for the bloodied one who started running.

"I'm not weird," he called back running deeper into the alleyway, "I'm from the future, my name is Martin and I need help!"

"So call the Avengers!" Howard yelled into the dark alleyway as Martin disappeared into the night.

"They can't help, they're..." Martin's voiced became inaudible as he ran away.

"You let him get away," the mysterious fellow charged at Howard and pinned him against the wall of the club, three feet off of the ground.

"Hey, man, watch the feathers. It's bad enough your friend there got blood all over me."

"He's not my friend," spat the mysterious man as he tossed Howard aside like a stuffed toy and pursued Martin into the night.

"Hey!" called another man, "you can't do that. It's not duck season, it's rabbit season!" This new fellow offered Howard his hand to help the not so lame duck onto his webbed feet. Howard brushed him off and stood on his own, dusting his feathers as best he could and straightening his tie.

"That no good..."

"You okay, uh?" the good Samaritan asked.

"Howard. Yes, yes I'm fine. Wait'll I get my wings on that jerk," the duck stated and tore off in a fury after the other two.

"Well, you can't just go down there alone," the Samaritan added. Howard turned to face him with a grimace.

"And why not?" Howard asked.

"It's obvious they'll just overpower you again. I saw the whole thing."

"What? So then you wanna help or somethin'? You some kind of flaming superhero?"

"As a matter of fact, I used to be..."

"USED TO BE?" Howard raised his voice, "What's the matter, get your tail feathers handed to ya and quit, pansy boy?"

"No. I thought I'd found someone to spend the rest of my life with and I chose to retire before I became totally crippled. Except now there's a lot going on in our world which has repercussions for many of my friends and I aim to do something about it," the retired hero explained.

"Oh, boo hoo, bleeding heart former hero with an axe to grind. Which one were you? Captain Fantastic? Wish Bear?"

"Marvelous," the former hero replied.

"You're an X-Man?" Howard realized.

"Was," Marvelous interjected as Howard continued:

"I've been wondering what happened to those kids in Massachusetts. [see Generation X #25] I thought all of you were on some danged asteroid in San Francisco Bay. What are you doing gallivanting in bad neighborhoods? Nostalgia?"

"I was actually only here for the show and came around the corner because I heard the commotion."

"So let's go then. You should have told me you were an X-Man at the beginning. They're getting away you know."

"I don't have my mutant powers anymore. And I'm only on the asteroid when I need to teach a class. Everyone calls me Mister Oz now."

"Oh great! Of all the flaming heroes to come across, I get a de-powered mutant. Thanks but No Thanks," Howard said and began waddling down the alley after the men.

"I'm going to help you," Mister Oz said grabbing Howard by a wing joint and stopping him. Howard shook his hand off.

"I've been in tougher scraps than this, Teach," Howard looked at Mister Oz and changed his tone, "but if you feel compelled..."

"I do. Thanks," Mister Oz replied then the ground rumbled under them and debris started raining down on their heads.

"Take cover!" Mister Oz yelled over the melee. Howard tried ducking under his vest until Mister Oz leaned over him using his own body as a shield for both man and duck.

"What the hell was that?" Howard exclaimed.

"Some kind of explosion," Mister Oz noted.

"Ya THINK?" Howard asked sarcastically.

"It came from right around the corner," Mister Oz pointed as the duck padded out from under him. Their ears rang as bits of debris flittered down between the buildings.

"That's an old A.I.M. warehouse," Mister Oz noted when they discovered the source of the blast, "Or what's left of it."

"Why would they blow up an A.I.M. warehouse?" Howard wondered.

"If I recall, this location was rumored to be working on some kind of time displacement technology. But I can't say for sure having been out of the hero trade for so long," Mister Oz informed.

"Until tonight. There they are!" Howard yelled as he picked out two humanoid silhouettes in the backlit smoke of the collapsed building.

Howard the Duck and Mister Oz ran through the haze thick with silica particles that stung bill, mouth and nostrils but they needed answers. Running through the smoke was like watching a NASCAR wreck from inside the race car.

"This isn't doing my feathers any good," Howard complained. The unlikely duo pounced upon the two men who'd dropped from a suspicious orb outside of the club and who were now running from a building explosion and collapse. The bloodied one, Martin, began beating up Mister Oz rather fiercely:

"You don't understand. This has to stop," Martin said as the other spoke ominously:

"Do you like oranges, Duck?" the mysterious man asked, "Because after my rays are finished blasting you, you'll be roasted and good for nothing but a meal." His nefariousness then blasted at Howard from gauntlets on his wrists. Fortunately, Howard rolled out of the way.

Martin dispatched Mister Oz with a fierce jab to the jaw and laid into the evil blaster with a fury.

"This needs to end now!" Martin stated.

"Indeed, Rebel," the other said using Martin's codename, "You WILL be stopped and re-incarcerated!"

"Not until I've stopped you and this madness of coercing superheroes into submission!"

"You're an outlaw in your time," blaster guy noted.

"And you're an abomination which nobody sees," Rebel added.

"So which one is the bad guy?" Mister Oz asked Howard the Duck upon coming to. Howard shrugged.

Another orb, as bright as the one that opened outside of the club, appeared and enveloped the two men. When it dissipated duck and man were alone.

"We'd better get out of here," Mister Oz suggested hearing sirens in the distance, "Nobody would believe us."