Chapter 9: A Beachhead of Cooperation

Mockingbird Town Hall- a few days later

"This meeting is called to order. Will the secretary please do roll call?" Sibella said.

A nameless bureaucrat nodded before picking up a sheet of paper.

"Mayor Sibella Dracul of Mockingbird?"

"Present."

"Deputy Mayor John Stewart of Mockingbird?"

"Present." the former Green Lantern replied.

"Mayor Katherine Lawson of Blackwater and Ag Center?"

"Present."

"Mayor Jurgens of Gastown?"

"Present." a black-haired man in a largely intact three-piece suit replied.

"Colonel Kirby of Amarillo?"

"Present." a blond-haired woman in a heavily-stitched military uniform said, the secretary moving crossing her name out before moving further down the list…


A few minutes later

"Now, given the circumstances, let us get down to brass tacks and address new business." Sibella said.

"What sort of new business?" one of the representatives asked.

"General Eiling's forces have deployed initial scouting forces from a base in Oklahoma, and one of these forces has destroyed Scrapheap. Given what we've heard through the grapevine, there is no way we can hope to withstand the coming onslaught as is."

"So, what's your plan to stand against the invaders?" Kirby asked.

"I propose that the larger settlements- the ones all of us represent- form an alliance. Or barring that, a mutual defense pact."

There was a snort from another one of the representatives.

"Yeah- as if Lubbock, Amarillo, and Abilene don't already have a crap-ton of influence over us smaller settlements as is! And now you're asking us to put our safety in our hands? I think not!"

Just then, Kirby rose from her seat.

"Despite what my esteemed colleague from Ybanez seems to think, neither Abilene nor Lubbock nor Amarillo have any imperialistic ambitions regarding settlements such as Blackwater or Mockingbird. In fact, an alliance would ensure your independence if and when Eiling's forces make their play."

"There's only one problem- once Eiling goes on the offensive, I'm not sure we'll be able to slow him down enough in time." Stewart replied.

"So we go and take the fight to him."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower or the materiel for that- and if we try, we leave our settlements wide open for raider attacks." came the retort.

Just then, Stewart got an idea.

"Then again, I know some people who might be able to pull this off on their own…"


"You want us to do what?" Fred asked.

"Look, I know it sounds like a bat idea-" Sibella began.

"A bad idea? It's, like, suicide!" Shaggy replied.

"Reah! Ruicide!" Scooby added.

"It's either this or see how long we can hold out against Eiling. And given what happened with Scrapheap, I'd rather not try and see what's behind Door 2." Sibella retorted.

"…point taken."

"Still, I don't see how exactly we're going to pull this off. Apart from the part where we go and earn the ire of the wasteland's strongest military, how exactly are we supposed to- y'know- get to whatever outpost Eiling's using as a jumping-off point? I mean, the Mystery Machine and our other van have only so much room." Velma said.

"Who else are you planning on taking?" Sibella asked.

"Jonah Hex, those prisoners we brought from Scrapheap, and-"

"Like, any of the old Grimwood gang you can spare!" Shaggy butted in.

Sibella bit her lip.

"Well, we can definitely spare Phantasma and Tanis, maybe even me if I can work something out with the deputy mayor…and now that I think about it, I see your point."

"And that's before we factor in things like food and gear." Velma smugly added.

From where she was standing, Daphne could swear she heard the gears turning within Fred's skull.

"I think I've got an idea…" the latter said.


"Y'know, when you guys told me we'd be touring again, I didn't expect it to potentially be our swan song." Thorn grumbled as she stocked up the bus's kitchen.

"You ask me, it's better to burn out than fade away- especially if said burning out involves giving one last 'screw you' to one of the guys who put the world into this mess." Dusk replied.

"Preach it, sister." Luna said as she settled into the driver's seat.

Just then, she heard a knock on the bus's body. A quick glance out the mirror revealed the source to be a relatively petite young woman who looked to be somewhere in her mid-teens covered in bandages. Accompanying her were an attractive young woman with a purple complexion, the ghostly figure from a few days earlier, and a man dressed up like a cowboy with severe burns on the right side of his face.

Okay, time to figure out who those guys are.

The bus door opened, and Luna eyed the new arrivals.

"So- Phantasma, is it?"

"Who else?"

"So, who're your friends?"

"I'm glad you asked! Over here is our tough-as-nails, long-lived cowpoke Jonah Hex-"

"Howdy."

"And next to him is Sibella, our mysterious vampire mayor! And next to her is Tanis, our resident mummy…doer of odd jobs?"

Well, our chances of not dying just increased a little bit. Thorn thought.

Just then, the bus's CB radio squawked, with Luna promptly answering it.

"Wandering Bard, this is the Mystery Machine- both us and the comms van're rearing to go." Daphne's voice proclaimed.

"Roger that, Mystery Machine. Meet you up at Gastown?"

"Ten-four."

And with that, the impromptu convoy began their long trek into the wasteland.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

And now comes the fun part- actually seeing more of the post-apocalyptic world beyond a small corner of northwestern Texas, as well as some of the inhabitants of the larger wasteland. Also, I'd like to take a moment to address why the Hex Girls are in this fic- thematic contrast.

On the one hand, we have General Eiling- a hawkish military officer whose outlook could (especially after the bombs) best be summed up as "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven". On the other, we have the Hex Girls, who as "Eco-Goths", would have had been at odds with Eiling in a great many regards. Think of it as a sort of poor man's Fury Road, with Eiling and his army as the stand-ins for Immortan Joe and his War Boys while Mystery Inc. and their allies fill in for Mad Max and company, with the Hex Girls filling in for the Vuvalini aka that all-female tribe that Furiosa originally came from.

As for why John Stewart's serving as Sibella's deputy mayor- going by the DCAU incarnation of Justice League, Stewart served in the USMC, and as such, would probably possess above-average leadership and tactical skills along with a basic working knowledge of strategy and logistics. Also, since he was deemed worthy to be a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he's not one to be easily cowed by the likes of raiders or other threats to Mockingbird.