CORY
It's almost weird. Strange new buildings, like the museum and mansion, have been popping up in Dark Falls. As if some magical force is trying to help or challenge us. Maybe Darkwell, or something else.
Once again, the Ultimate has changed. I now have superhuman abilities, like laser vision. That's pretty cool. Right now, I'm with H.E.R.O. out on patrol. What kind of stuff does this place have for us today?
Maybe the new place has something. The Comic Book Character Hall Of Fame Museum. H.E.R.O. is checking the place out, so I joined them. There's some Marvel and DC characters, as well as some Image, Dark House, and other originals.
Woah, they've even got the League of Good Guys, the Masked Mutant, and Dr. Maniac! Man, what memories…
Hold on…I think I recall something about Robby Schwartz, the creator of Dr. Maniac. He's gone into the webcomic business, and thanks to the popularity of Dr. Maniac, he's making a TON of money! He's even collaborated with other comic book writers to make a single universe based on the Comic Book Dimension, such as Min Li, who created The Flattener.
Basically, this comic book universe is like the MCU, but in the early years of comics, say the 1930s. A fresh new take on the good old days. They've got TONS of heroes and villains, kinda like the heroes on display here. The Silver Centipede, the White Raven, Harvey the Horrible, Guppy Girl, Captain Teddy Bear, Lava Lad, the Masked Orangutan, Sir Seaweed, Raptor Junior, Captain Salamander, and The Amazing Mrs. Tortoise.
I've been reading some of those comics, and I gotta admit, some of the heroes can get…absurd. But hey, I deal with weirdness all the time.
"Woah, they've got the Scolders here!" Arach-Kid noticed. "Oh man, I remember these guys. Real naggers to bad guys to make them see that they were doing what was wrong. I mean, come on! How lame can you get?"
They've got other faces as well. The Mutant's Minions, Maniac's Minions, the League of Good Guys, Y's Guys, even the classics like Super Duper and Ballistic Bug. The spider hero only quips about how good he looks, and how he remembers his first days as that name. Then he gets reminded of how the heroes met a group of teenage sleuths with a talking dog of their own. Huh. Must've been back in the Comic Book Dimension.
That's when we hear something. A loud BOOM! A nearby wall blows open, and I shield myself from the debris. And then, we hear laughter.
"Well, looky here! All the heroes, together in one place! It's been a while, don't ya think?!"
Uh oh…I know that voice.
Dr. Maniac is back! And he's not alone! He's got Purple Rage, the Scarlet Starlet, the Masked Mutant, Root Rot, Pinky Flamingo, Chinchilla, the Fabulous Flame, the Wizard of Ooze, Dr. Root, Wartlock, and Crunch! And…woah. He's got OTHERS as well!
"Did you miss me?" Dr. Maniac taunts.
"How can we miss you? You never go away!"
The cartoony and unpredictable doc only ignores Arach-Kid's quip and drinks some water. It begins leaking from his body.
"I guess not! Ha ha ha! I TOLD you I'd be back! And I bought some of MY buddies to even the odds!"
"Yep. QUITE the rogue's gallery you've got there." Arach-Kid states. "The Amazing Water Bug, huh? Doesn't seem so amazing to me that you drowned in your own water!"
"Zounds! He's got Gazelle Boy too!" The Galloping Gazelle gasped. "Not only is he a copycat of me, but he's also the fastest supervillain in the world!"
"And others we've faced as well." Super Duper noted. "Captain Mud Pie, the World's Dirtiest Fighter. The Shiver, who can freeze his victims. The Living Larva, one of the meanest and sickest villains. Wreckage, Damage, and Mr. Juggler, all part of the Wrecking Crew. Fruit-raining Blue Strawberry, time manipulator OverTime, super strong Randy Revenge, clown criminal The Laughing Man…and The Quitter, too."
"Guess we don't have to worry too much about this new guy." I smirk. Putting my training to good use, I unleash my Ultimate form. Instantly, what seems to be The Quitter quickly says "I'm out!", and zips on out of there.
"Well, good thing I've got a BACKUP baddie!" Dr. Maniac laughed. "Mini-Maniac!"
He claps twice, and suddenly, there's another explosion of smoke! And from the midst, I can see green glowing eyes.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So, the book tracked you to THIS place, huh?" A kid's voice rings out. "How fitting! You will soon be dead along WITH this town!"
"Is that…a kid?!" Super Duper asks.
"Oh…I'm not a kid…I'm a MANIAC! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The smoke clears as the costumed henchman steps forth. My heart sinks. Oh my god…
"Mason?!" He's one of Robby's biggest fans! But…what would make him become the Mini-Maniac and yet another one of Slappy's slaves?!
"Now…where were we?" Dr. Maniac asks. "Oh, that's right. Retire them. Permanently! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The heroes and villains clash in an epic battle! Arach-Kid takes on The Amazing Water Bug, The Galloping Gazelle races Gazelle Boy, Super Duper battles the Masked Mutant, Elementor battles The Shiver, Goliath clashes against the Purple Rage, the League of Good Guys take on the Mutant's minions, and so on. Meanwhile, I'm left dealing with Dr. Maniac and his sidekick. I only use my magic to freeze Mason in place. It's too dangerous, even for a little kid.
Instantly, Dr. Maniac lets me have it with all his Toon Force abilities. I enter my werewolf-vampire-mummy-ghost form and blast Dr. Maniac with my laser eyes while roaring, but he just says no to all damage. Argh, if only I had some Dip right now!
And this villain's probably better than the Masked Mutant right now! He blows on his thumb to increase the size of his fist and delivers a big punch that sends me through a wall, spilling the battle outside! Dr. Maniac then stretches an arm to grab me with said big hand, but I only poke it with a werewolf claw to make the fist deflate.
He CAN be unpredictable at times. But you gotta fight physics with physics. Dr. Maniac may no longer play by this dimension's rules and laws, like the rebel he is, but I've fought him enough times before. Against a toon, you just have to use their own physics against them.
But that's not all. He's stronger. Possibly amplified by Slappy's magic. The other villains, too. This is bad. My hunch was right. Slappy DID track us here! He knows where we are because of that stupid diary! It was a trap. A trick. And we fell for it. Took the bait.
The maniac manages to wear me out, and once the dark magic frees Mason, he blasts an energy pistol at me to render me unable to fight. I can recover, sure. Just not in time. I used all my magic in the battle to counter Dr. Maniac's Toon Force.
It's then that thunder rumbles. Lightning flashes…revealing a purple-masked vigilante-like figure on the rooftop of the nearby church!
"What?!"
Dr. Maniac seems shocked at this. The figure only leaps down with the classic superhero landing, and I see his body cloaked in shadows, the purple cape flowing behind him. Woah…
"And who might you be?" The Masked Mutant asks. "Vengeance? The night? The shadows?"
The new hero is silent. For only a moment.
"They call me the Night Howler!"
Instantly, he drops into a black shadowy circle, lost in the shadowy ground. He pops up with a powerful uppercut to the Mutant before kicking him away, parrying more blows with his cap before throwing Gazelle Boy to the ground.
He dodges raining fruit, then dodges a punch from Purple Rage before shattering a yellow crystal against the super-clone, which seems to weaken him.
Root Rot is the next to charge at him, but the Night Howler casts a large shadow over the plant minion, freezing him in place! And as he fights the other villains effortlessly, I'm left in awe.
Woah…shadow powers and unarmed combat mastery! This guy's like Batman and Spawn rolled into one!
"SD…" I whisper. "You know this guy, right?"
"One of the first heroes I met." Super Duper answers. "He used to be a billionaire called Cory Wade Burtons until The Laughing Man gunned him down in an alley to rob him."
Wait, what? No parents? That's…that's new. Guess a bit of Red Hood got sprinkled in there. Also…that first name? Not a good sign foreshadowing-wise.
"So he's dead…"
"Yet he came back as a Specter. Think of a Realmwalker of the Comic Book dimension. He's the only hero to have beaten me. Let alone the first person period. Most of these villains are part of his rogue's gallery. But he had to learn humility eventually."
"How so?"
"He gave up the mantle and quit being a superhero after Dr. Maniac beat him too many times. He was sick of having no life and friends. So he found a way into this world, and had Mason tasked with stopping any villains who came here. But when Dr. Maniac tricked Mason by saying he was retiring as well since the superhero thing wasn't working, he eagerly accepted the new title of Dr. Maniac."
Ouch…like Batman and Jason Todd…
"Was this BEFORE he met H.E.R.O.?"
"Before he met ME, yes. Sure, I had my fair share of losses, but I never gave up. I just came back stronger. And with some encouragement, he donned the mantle once again, leaving his old life behind and finally fighting for something bigger than just himself."
"He must feel so guilty…for what happened to Mason…"
"He's just doing what we all do: Save innocent lives. Even if it's just one."
Each of the villains are downed, with the Laughing Man going down with just a few punches. Dr. Maniac is next, the Night Howler dodging laser blasts from him and Mini-Maniac, knocking the toon villain unconscious before freezing Mini-Maniac.
All that's left is the Masked Mutant, who laughs before shapeshifting into a leopard. He tries to tackle the Night Howler, but he only phases right through the purple hero! The dark shadow then leaps into a wall, becoming his own shadow. I then see the black silhouette on the wall begin punching and kicking the Mutant's own shadow, the real Mutant acting as if the Night Howler is invisible! He feels each of those blows, with the Night Howler targeting areas that the Masked Mutant isn't blocking!
Finally, one last blow to the jaw while leaping from the wall is enough to send the Mutant flying with a yell! Dr. Maniac only hoists himself up, panting and gasping as he struggles to stand.
"This ain't over, Night Howler!" He declares. "Slappy will make us STRONGER! And we'll be coming back…to FINISH you!"
"I've planned for it."
The villains all vanish in green vortexes. Even Mason. That poor kid's still under Slappy's control. But the only way to undo that mind-control is to defeat Slappy himself. It only serves as more motivation.
"We haven't heard much from you since the Eternal Night." Super Duper tells Night Howler. "Just how exactly did you know we'd be here?"
"I had some…complications." The dark hero answers. "Once we returned home, I was back at HQ when I was sucked through a green portal. It spat me out here, in Dark Falls. While I was trying to find a way back, I noticed something about this town. It was quiet. TOO quiet. And strange monsters appeared at midnight. Thankfully, they couldn't do much to me. They can only do so much against a dead man. I tried to figure out what happened, but the only source I could find mentioned something called…The Lazarus Project."
"No way! I'm looking into that too!" I say.
"Apparently it happened long ago. One of the stones was found here, and the experiments run on it ended up backfiring."
"We believe it was the Dead Stone." I continued. "And we encountered the horde only a few days ago. And if that wasn't enough, I'm beginning to mutate into a powerful monster. Meanwhile, my sister Lisa is cursed by Fier."
"I ended up eavesdropping on something like that. Some of the villains said that Slappy was able to take control of Hollowville. And soon, this world. If he succeeds, ours won't be far behind."
"Well, it's good to have you back, old friend." Super Duper says. "We'll need all the help we can get to take back that town and save the Waldhorn twins."
"We've only got about one more week." I add. "We have to hurry. Besides…it won't be long until Slappy sends ANOTHER group of monsters after us."
I lead the heroes back to Dead House. We should begin preparations for the next battle that will likely come tomorrow…
