Part 3: Smell My Feet

Reader's Note: Well uh…man that last chapter was pretty long too wasn't it? Ha ha! Uh…I'm really not TRYING to do this you know…

You'd be alone in that.

What are YOU doing here?

You know very well! Oh let's surprise the readers and kill the Lord first! Well now you get Plan B. This fic is far too much parody and not enough horror! The readers have demonstrated this fact by not understanding that the Next Time's are part of the joke too and ONLY ONE MAY BE ACCURATE IN SOME WAY, WHILE THE REST ARE MADE UP AND WILL NOT ACTUALLY HAPPEN OR REFLECT THE STORY. While I was smart enough to know this, I was apparently dumb enough to not know when to stop talking, thanks to you! Well, if I can't participate in the plot, then I'll participate in other ways!

Oh really, and what did you have in mind?

Why, real life horror dear creator. Give them some REAL chills that stupid horror movies never managed.

Great. One problem.

I cannot foresee what that would be.

I start the story whenever I want.

And how will

"I may never stop smiling." Kurai said, grinning like a fool.

"Oh come off it." Rose said, as she snapped open a lighter to light the cigarette that now protruded from her mouth. "You weren't that great."

"That was certainly not the impression I was getting three minutes ago!"

"Oh please. Considering my mood, you probably could have been a corpse and done the deed." Rose said, as she inhaled and blew out smoke. Kurai's face grew cross, but after a few seconds of wrestling with it he let it go. He was skilled in many areas…but what he and Rose had just done was…

…What had he and Rose JUST DONE?

A brief look of horror flashed over Kurai's face. Slade-sama could be VERY hard to read at times, and while he certainly wasn't protective of Rose as a father would be in some ways, Kurai had never been able to tell his reaction to THIS, because…how had…they'd…!

Now he was beginning to see where all the complaints about these choices came from. Talk about screwing things up! Now what…

"You realize we can't tell Daddy, right, Kurai?" Rose said, as she blew more smoke out.

"Ah….yes…hai, Rose. Perhaps it would be best if he did not know…improper situation…and all…in fact, we'd best be getting his weapons back to him and…wait a moment Rose-chan, since when do you smoke?"

"Since…I…wait it…it seemed appropriate but…I don't recall having a lighter…or cigarettes…" Rose said.

Before Rose could do any more pondering on the strange situation though, new matters interjected itself, as both she and Kurai, at roughly the same time, spied movement at the foot of the bed they had…rested on.

Despite what had happened, not to mention her recent mental weakening, Rose's awareness of the world and more precisely where her weapon was had not yet faded, as with a flash she had reached out, produced her revolver, and cocked it, aiming it at the movement as Kurai wreathed a hand in energy and did the same.

"What is it?" Kurai asked.

"I just caught a glimpse, very slight, hard to…" Rose said, and then went silent as the movement started up again…as the source of the movement finally made its way up to the foot of the bed.

To say it was perhaps the last thing Kurai and Rose had expected was an understatement.

"Mew." The kitten meowed.

It was no monster, no creature, no fiend from the depths of hell or chaotic movie magic. It was just a kitten, completely and utterly black. And, as Rose saw it, a runt, so small it could have easily fit on the palm of her hand.

"…A cat?" Kurai said in confusion.

"Kitty!" Rose said delightedly, as Kurai's eyes snapped to her, as the bimbo swiftly and forcibly reared its ugly head.

The runt kitten seemed unimpressed, as it flattened its ears against its skull and hissed. A normal cat doing this would be off-putting: when this tiny kitten did it it was utterly adorable, as it started down the bed towards the two.

"How did we not notice this before?" Kurai asked, as he got up out of the bed and began locating his clothing.

"Who cares? Cute!" Rose said, waving her fingers as the kitten approached. It hissed again.

"It doesn't seem very friendly." Kurai commented.

"Oh don't be silly!" Rose replied as the kitten slowly made its way up the big bed by its tiny feet.

"I'd still like to know how we hadn't noticed it." Kurai said. In reality, he and Rose hasn't noticed it because it had been on the other side of the room, sleeping. Kurai kicking the door open when he'd re-entered the room had woken it up, and it had indeed been mewing and hissing at the two from the side of the bed for some time now. However, seeing as how Kurai and Rose had been so occupied they hadn't notice a slasher trying to violently kick down the front door, it's not really a surprise they hadn't noticed the runt kitten, who had finally found a way up onto the bed by climbing up a partially kicked off sheet, and was now coming in range of Rose's hand.

"Ohhhhh, he's so widdle!" Rose said. The runt batted at her hand, and Rose giggled…but Kurai recognized an offensive blow rather then a curious attempt to touch, even when made by a tiny kitten. It was like the small cat was trying to attack Rose, which Rose remained completely oblivious too.

"Come here kitty!" Rose cooed, putting her hand down on the bed. The kitten moved forward swiftly…too swiftly, as it butted its head against Rose's wrist and tumbled off her hand, dazed. Rose laughed delightedly.

"Rose, while you seem to be enjoying yourself, I could swear it is trying to attack you." Kurai said as he sat back down again next to Rose.

"Oh come on! Why would it be trying to attack us?" Rose asked.

"It could be another manifestation of the horror world. This tiny form could be a feint to trick unsuspecting victims."

"Then why hasn't it attacked us yet?"

"I am uncertain…waiting for the right time? Defective brain? Defense of territory…which would be more likely if it was just a normal animal and not a manifestation…which brings up the question, what is something like this doing in the sleeping chambers of the LORD? The inhuman butcher who condemned hundreds of thousands to death as easily as you and I could do for this small creature?" Kurai said, as he stretched out his hand towards the recovered kitten, touching it gently. "Hmmmm. It does seem like little more then a normal…"

The runt bit Kurai's finger.

"OWTCH!" Kurai said, snatching his hand back. Rose laughed delightedly. "Rose, one might say this reinforces at least some part of my theory!"

"Oh come on Kurai." Rose said, as Kurai leaned down a bit, picked up the tiny kitten, and put him in his hand as he brought him up close to his face, sternly pointing with his other finger.

"Do stop this! It is not amusing!" Kurai chastised, using his much larger size in combination with a slightly raised voice to make the kitten know who was in charge.

The runt clawed Kurai across the nose.

"IYEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kurai shrieked, dropping the kitten on the bed as he reared back, clutching his face like a psychotic cannibal had bitten his nose off rather then it being raked by very tiny claws. Rose laughed delightedly again, while the kitten shook its head, its fur a bit frizzed up by the sudden drop.

"NOOO! My nose! Now I'll never be asked to the prom!" Kurai lamented.

"Considering what just happened between us, isn't the concept of going to the prom a bit redundant?" Rose said, and petted the kitten. It batted at her hand, as Kurai lowered his own, slight anger in his eyes: he didn't think the little creature was a horror manifestation any more, but the kitten WAS trying to attack them, trying to drive them off for some unfathomable reason, how could he…

And then Rose began to scratch it behind the ears.

All hostilities ceased immediately, as the tiny kitten began purring as loud as it could, leaning its head into the scratches.

"See? Just a little cute thing." Rose said.

"Indeed. If it wasn't so cute, I WOULD FLASH FRY IT RIGHT NOW!" Kurai snapped.

And abruptly found Rose's gun pointing at his head with her free arm.

"But why would I do that?" Kurai said. The gun went away.

"It's fine." Rose said, as she stopped scratching. "Go on, pet it."

Apprehensive, Kurai reached down.

The runt headbutted his hand again.

"I'm not sure he likes me." Kurai said, as the runt lay briefly stunned. He leaned down to face the kitten, as it approached his face. Not wanting a repeat, he too began scratching behind its ears.

Back to purring. Well at least it wasn't him.

"I shall call you…Bob." Kurai said.

"Bob?"

"What's wrong with Bob…" Kurai said, as he briefly took his hand off the kitten's head, as the kitten blinked, realized the scratching was gone, looked at Kurai's still leaned down the bed face as his eyes flicked back towards the tiny animal…and then promptly bit him on the nose.

"UWAHHHHHHHH!" Kurai yelped, rearing back again. Rose laughed once more and resumed the scratching behind the ears. Once again, the kitten forgot all about his apparent 'job' and purred contently.

"Oh, aren't you a little kitty?" Rose cooed, as Kurai glared at the two over the hand holding his nose.

"Why would you ask him such an obvious question?" Kurai said, his voice slightly nasal and hence quite comical.

"It's just how you talk to cats, silly." Rose said, and giggled. Kurai looked at the white/blond-haired woman. Despite myself I am rather missing the Rose who would have already castrated me for even considering what we just did.

"Well Rose, as cute as it is, to YOU anyway, we still must return the weapons to Slade-sama posthaste." Kurai said, as he got off the bed and resumed dressing. Rose nodded, and with a sigh she got up and stopped scratching behind the kitten's ears. Once removed of its pleasure, the kitten stared for a bit, and then began mewing and hissing at the two. But with both of them off the bed, it was unable to get near them, as the height from the floor to the bed was too high for such a small creature, and it knew it. It was reduced to batting the air towards Rose and hissing, but Rose just waved back each time.

"I would still like to know where it came from." Kurai said, putting on his boots even as Rose finished dressing herself, as the kitten ran back and forth, mewing at them, but they remained far out of reach.

"Well there's still that remaining door." Rose said, pointing to the one on the right side of the room, Kurai's exit and return to the bedroom having both been on the left.

"Yes but it seems closed…then again, it was so small, perhaps it crawled under…" Kurai said, as he headed over to the door. Rose, tying her hair back up, started heading over to him as he ignited energy on one hand (it seemed to be coming somewhat stronger now, good, nowhere near his usual peak but he definitely felt like he could handle any threat now, unlike before when he'd had a few small worried doubts) and reached for the door with the other.

It was unlocked, and opened inward, and Kurai swept it open to see inside the room…

And once again, despite himself, again found the last thing he had been expecting.

The room was about the size of an average room in a boarding house, and it was filled with a carefully constructed little world, a giant playground if you will, complete with litter boxes, lined bowls for food and water…and about eight or nine kittens, who immediately ran to greet the strangers with friendly, inquisitive, and above all cute mews.

"…What the…?" Kurai said, utterly aghast.

"KITTIES! MORE KITTIES!" Rose squealed, as she leaned down as the kittens came to her, looking for attention and food. They were, unlike the runt on the bed, average sized kittens, thought they were also mostly black, with a few mixed colors…and this made no sense. Why was this chamber attached to THE LORD'S ROOM?

"Kittens?" Kurai said, as he leaned down and picked one up. Unlike the runt, who was glowering at them from the bed it was still trapped on, clearly mad it couldn't get to them or that no attention was being paid to it any more, this kitten just looked at him with curious eyes. Kurai began petting it, and it purred. Kurai stood there, mystified, while Rose laughed and tried to pet all the remaining child animals the same time.

"…They must be for his pagan sacrifices!" Kurai thought out loud.

"What?" Rose said from down where she knelt.

"Well, what other reason would this room be here, and have such occupants! The Lord is a monster! Not a spark of anything left in him…"

"So why would he open a bar and not kill everyone the second someone looked at him the wrong way?" Rose pointed out, and Kurai was left confused again. "Besides, I don't think there's much paganism in a classic or misapplied sense to the magicks he wields. Kitties!" Rose said.

"…Whatever the reason, it really occurs to me this is decidedly disturbing." Kurai said, putting the kitten down. It returned to Rose, as she slipped into the room and, finding a button, curiously pressed it.

It did not trigger some horrendous death trap that the kittens had been used as live bait for. Instead, it dropped food and water into their mostly empty dishes. If the kittens liked Rose before, they now utterly adored her. As she giggled and laughed, Kurai snorted and went back into the bedroom.

As the runt finally found a way down, locating a pillow that had been knocked off the bed from the previous 'activity', and jumped down to it. It shook its head again, and then got off the pillow. Kurai saw it heading for him.

"Back for more, eh?"

The runt headbutted his ankle, which did nothing but stun it again, and as Kurai looked down in amusement it mewed at him and pawed at his boot, but this time its claws were nothing against the thick armored material. Kurai considered giving it a very very very (VERY) light blow for the damage it had done to his nose, but decided against it: it was so small even such a blow could harm it, and if it was waiting in the room the Lord might…and the Lord was dead, Kurai reminded himself. He'd even spat on the corpse when Slade wasn't looking for the dishonor the night god had shown him earlier. Runt kittens that were inexplicably (?) in his room were the least of his concerns. Yet…he did not harm it. It was, in the end…just a runt, which was gnawing on a shoelace of his boot. Kurai gently yanked it free, and the runt fell over, dazed.

"Rose-chan! We really must go!" Kurai called. Rose finally managed to extricate herself from the kittens, and after saying her goodbyes, closed the door to a few sad mews.

"Oh, he got down! Should we put him in the room too?" Rose asked, as the runt hissed at her again. Rose didn't even notice.

"I think he would prefer to stay in the main room. Just a thought."

"Okay." Rose said, as she leaned down and scratched the kitten behind the ears one last time, as it stopped being hostile and purred like Rose was its everything in the world. "Bye bye sweetie. You should be safe in here."

"Unless one of the creatures spawned by this strange effect desires Chinese food, but I have considerable doubts on that." Kurai said. Rose gave the Japanese teen a dirty look and a whack on the shoulder.

"So are we going through the side door?"

"No, the main door is larger, we must move the crate through that. It has a lift, should be no trouble. I unlocked the main door when I was in there before, and we should scout the hallway to make sure there are no changes which could inconvenience us…" Kurai said, heading for the exit door with Rose.

As the runt kitten stared after them, and then followed, mewing at them.

"No you can't come with us, you'll be safe in here. Bye bye sweetie!" Rose waved as she and Kurai left the room, and closed the door as the runt kitten ran towards it.

It looked at the closed door, and then, satisfied that it had chased off the intruders that had invaded its master's room, the kitten marched back several feet and placed itself in a sitting position in front of the door, guarding the room against and all threats that might assail it.

For a little under two minutes, before its head dipped to the ground and the tiny kitten dozed off, sleeping before the bed it had tried so hard to protect. The sleep of the just.

"So what's your story?" Nightwalker asked.

It wasn't exactly what she wanted to do, but the trip had not turned out in any of the ways Nightwalker had expected or feared. So far, the territory of streets and buildings around the villain's café seemed unchanged, with no warping or distorting effects she had been able to perceive. She still had her gauntlets armed and her radar, sonar, and motion detector attachments on (they would be more effective if she fully 'put her helmet on', but she needed to save power for when she really needed the complicated assemblage that way, as she couldn't just go into the nearest convenience store and buy new batteries for it), but they had yet to be needed as she walked through the streets in the part of town Moriarty's was located in (which was mostly warehouses, one of which held the stockpile of weapons Slade had directed her to retrieve).

But it wasn't ALL warehouses. They were close to other buildings, including a few multi story ones, and that was what unnerved her. Nightwalker had earlier taken a brief glance outside, and had reported how quiet it was. Too quiet. And that unnatural quiet hadn't changed an iota. There was literally no sound at all. Not encountering anybody, even a rat or an insect, that was unnerving enough, but with the air so still, so placid…so calm…

She had to speak. She couldn't let the only noise be the sound of clothes rustling and the click of the White Hole's feet on the street, even IF the White Hole wasn't known for being sociable. Hell, Nightwalker had seen firsthand just what kind of creature Rebecalnatrac Styilnifanalan really was…and yet…

Why not talk to her?

Anything was better then this silence.

And so she'd spoken, taking her eyes off the distant dark buildings (strange, the power was still out there, yet here the streetlights worked…luck…or design?) to look at the alien…who cocked her head.

"What do you mean?" She asked. The tone SEEMED neutral, seemed as if the White Hole had taken no offense at the question…but Nightwalker couldn't be sure. Still, she'd asked, no sense backing out now.

"Well…I don't know much about you. All I've heard is you're some alien bigshot warrior, an ultra-elite, who everyone was afraid of in who knows how many galaxies until you showed up on this planet to kill the Titan Scalpel and didn't. Hell, I heard the Titans killed you. Though it seems rumors of your death were greatly exaggerated." Nightwalker swiftly added.

"Not really. Troll the river and you'll find the body." The White Hole said.

Nightwalker stared.

"What?"

"Or a body." White Hole added.

Nightwalker kept staring. She was no stranger to the concept of death's inability to be absolute in this world (hell, The Lord had been warned against mocking Death of the Endless, who was, from the little Nightwalker knew, the manifestation of one of the seven most primal and essential forces of all existence, though Nightwalker didn't know the other six, but considering how loose Death's grip seemed to be on the living sometimes, it wasn't surprising she (Nightwalker had heard it was a she, if you could really apply sexes to what these so-called Endless were) would just ignore such taunts and derision. Which made one wonder what WOULD it take for Death to be offended enough to actually show her face and interfere in certain matters…but that was a pondering for another time). Hell, the last time this Boogeymen invasion had happened, she had herself died, at the hands of Sadako from Ringu. But the chaos manifestation of that famously creepy Japanese ghost (even IF Kurai thought it was a comedy, but hell he seemed to think all horror movies were comedies!) had been stopped almost immediately afterward, and with the chaos magic reversal came the reversing of its crimes. Hell, she'd been dead so shortly it was more like being knocked out then clinical brain death. But that had had extenuating factors up the wazoo. From what Nightwalker had heard, the White Hole's death had come from the far less exotic way of being shot in the head, the Blacktrinian species having an almost universal weakness to bullets (a weird quirk of evolution due to their species never developing guns, instead fighting for aeons with hand to hand weapons and over time evolving a hide and a body that would resist said weapons quite well: you had to WORK to kill a Blacktrinian with say, a sword, while a gun will kill them even easier then a human in more then a few circumstances). Nothing really special about that, no real backdoors or loopholes.

Yet here she was.

"…Then how are you here?" Nightwalker asked.

"That's my secret." The White Hole said, as she briefly pointed at Nightwalker with her free clawed hand, the other holding her mace. "But know this. I am as fit as I've ever been."

"…Uh…right…" Nightwalker said. "Good to know…but…surely there's more then that."

Much to her amazement, the White Hole looked thoughtful. She would not think such a creature could have such an expression.

"There's…not really much to tell now that I think of it." The White Hole said. She seemed to be ready to keep talking, but instead paused again. Nightwalker took the time to check the directions, and pointed to the way they were to turn next.

"We all have a story." Nightwalker said, as they began said turn. "It's how you want to tell it that makes the amount of content."

The White Hole seemed to think it over again.

"Well…I guess I joined the military and was promoted via apprenticeship."

"So do millions of others, human and alien alike. They're not the same as you. EVERYONE is on eggshells to some degree with you, even Slade Wilson! Why? You only killed a few people in the attacks I knew about…the Lord and the Sorceress killed thousands! Millions, maybe! Yet they don't get a quarter of the fear you do."

"Their combined total time of deathdealing lasted maybe a week at most. I've been killing people, of all kinds, for 1400 years."

"Well I suppose that-1400 YEARS!"

"Did I stutter?" The White Hole replied.

"No but…1400 years? Your species lives that long?"

"…No…no, actually…I'm a extraordinarily rare exception…I've been doing this for a lot longer then many Blacktrinians have been alive…" The White Hole said.

"…Ok…so…what's your reason?"

"…What?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm in the military…"

"Still? Considering what's happened? That doesn't fully answer it. Why are you?" Nightwalker asked. "To be more specific, why are you doing something like bartending? The only one I can think of that even begins to match your reputation for savagery and carnage and death would be that alien bounty hunter, what's his name, Lobo, and yet I don't see him standing behind a counter wearing a uniform and mixing drinks."

"It's…somewhat hard to explain in both cases. I needed somewhere to stew and think. Defeat is…somewhat foreign to me."

"You never lost in 1400 years?"

"I have. I got my rear handed to me for the first hundred years of my life…had I been someone else it could have been much longer, but I learned fast."

"That's still over an eon with no failure at all."

"You put words in my mouth. Stop." The White Hole, and Nightwalker shrank back, worried she stepped over a line. "I have failed over that period. Failure on my part, on my superiors…but I'm not just quick. I'm vengeful. I fail, I come back and show them it won't happen again."

"…And here on Earth…the Titans…it was the first time it happened again?"

"In about 600 years."

"…Long time." Nightwalker said.

There was silence, and Nightwalker checked the notes.

"We're close. We should be there soon." Nightwalker said. She let the last part of the sentence go unsaid. Provided we don't run into any trouble.

"And really…I never seemed to fail when it was entirely me." The White Hole said. "There were…other factors…in the other times. Other minds who seemed to possess more of the flaw…their choices. Their actions…sometimes their…betrayals."

"…But not here?"

"…No." The White Hole said. "This was…entirely me…strange…the thought used to send me…into an uncontrollable fury…yet now…it brings a new thought. How the same used to be thought…of the betrayals I suffered…and yet now…betrayal…compared to outright loss…hmph." The alien snorted. "Betrayal…it seems…so petty…and yet it lurks…behind so many faces…"

It was at that time when the White Hole glanced at her that Nightwalker wished she had her helmet up, as the White Hole's words stabbed into a deep-seated wound in Nightwalker's being, as a brief expression flashed across her face…a great mix of things. Regret. Sadness. A stoic clarity. And a wisdom that spoke of experience. It was far more complicated then pretty much every look that had preceded a knife stuck in the alien's back…and the White Hole knew it wasn't an intention directed towards her. It was a memory.

"You betrayed someone?" She asked, turning the 'interrogation' around.

Nightwalker blinked. While she'd wanted to know the alien's story, she realized that she wasn't wholly sure if she wanted to tell hers…to be reminded of what she'd done, and why…and why despite all her attempts to reason it away, it remained, tiny but there, gnawing at her heart and soul.

"Well…it's just that…one could…I…"

Nightwalker's words cut off abruptly. She didn't need any scanning equipment to tell her. She could feel it in her gut. Something had changed in the air.

The White Hole realized almost simultaneously. She could smell it.

"I sense trouble is coming." The White Hole said, lowering her mace into both her hands.

"You and me both." Nightwalker said, as she pressed a button and her helmet fully activated, forming over her head, her scanners going to full power as…

The fog that blew in seemed unnatural, more like London then Florida…yet at the same time it seemed like the type of water vapor that could rise from manholes given the right circumstances.

The fact that it just covered the street before them made Nightwalker realize she didn't need any type of threat detection. Whatever was coming would be heading straight for the two.

"Tell me Nightwalker…do you have an actual name or were your parents engorged with narcotics when they named you?" The White Hole said.

"…Sine. My name is Sine."

"Sine…perhaps my original posing is still accurate. Is that a first or last name?"

"It just is." Sine said, as she traced her fingers across her left gauntlet. She felt ok…despite the power blockage, she felt ok, the loss would be minimal, she'd trained her body not her gifts, she'd be ready…then why did she still feel odd? And not just from butterflies?

"As you will." The White Hole replied.

"What should I call you? The White Hole doesn't exactly lend itself to universal use."

"Call me White Hole, Styles, or Rebecca. But not Becky. These creatures will be denied your life because I will take it if you call me Becky."

"What about Jack?"

"That incorrigible joke of a monster is only alive because the Lord insists I try and be polite when I am working. Which I am now not." The White Hole said. "Tell me Sine, you lived through this once…so to speak. Can you give me any indication what could be coming?"

"Did you not watch us like we were some kind of sick reality show, if what the Lord said is any way accurate?" Nightwalker retorted.

"Yes, but the memories of an observing do not lend themselves well to imprinting as well as living it does. All I really recall is I lost my shirt in the survival wagers and Killjoy and Slade made a fortune because they placed a bet that the asinine Buzz Bomb would survive when none of us were looking, it seems." The White Hole said, as her grip tightened. "So, what is there in that fog that we could expect?"

The fog that had a figure in it, if Nightwalker's sensors inside her high-tech helmet were any way accurate. And they should be.

"Honestly Styles, all I can say is an old Earth expression." Nightwalker said, as she aimed. "Expect the unexpected."

Kurai could tell two things when he returned to the bar, pushing the large crate with Rose. One was there had been another fight, though Kurai could only tell the barest details: the bar had been fully cleaned up (in a sense that all the mess had been put in an out of sight out of mind) location.

And the other was that his master was not happy.

That may have partially explained why Slade kept his shotgun pointed at the two of them when they started thumping the crate down the stairs all the way until they were fully in the room with both of them fully visible.

"Master. It was concealed somewhat, but we were able to locate your cache of weapons." Kurai said, holding his hands up just to make sure Slade didn't get trigger-happy at him. Rose didn't seem concerned, but Kurai put that up more to the fact she had returned to the almost slack-jawed mindset he had seen before. He was beginning to notice a parallel: anything that dumped adrenaline into Rose's brain seemed to chase away the fog that had drifted over it when this whole incident had begun. But not fully, and it didn't take long before it returned.

"…Well done my apprentice." Slade said as he raised his shotgun up and away from them, but his voice only had the slightest touch of actual praise. Not that Slade gushed over them, but the approval in Slade's voice for succeeding in this was so small Kurai felt the need to produce a microscope to verify it. Yes, something had definitely aggrieved his master, and considering how few things could do that, it must have been quite the headache.

Then again, that might mean he would focus on whatever was bothering him and not inquire too deeply into the level of 'concealment' the crate had been under that had caused the delays. Of course that might also mean if he did and Kurai and Rose could not properly hide the incident that had delayed them so much he would be even more upset…

"Hey I'm here too!" Rose said, waving. Slade's eyes narrowed and Kurai gulped.

"Yes Rose. Yes." Slade said in a low tone. Trying to distract any thought with action, Kurai began dragging the crate over to Slade, noticing the setup: Slade was standing before all the villains, who had assembled around him on several tables, like Slade was a teacher in front of a classroom. Kurai noticed Mumbo was gone, but Control Freak was back, and was actually sitting near Slade, which probably meant his master wanted him alive for some reason. There was even a whiteboard, though no writing, and Kurai doubted Slade would actually write on it: it seemed more for effect.

Brick actually got up and helped move the crate the rest of the way, and also removed the metal lid, revealing the carefully packed weapons and ammo inside. Slade began taking guns out, examining them, and in some cases placing the weapons on his person, replacing the hardware Freddy had slashed apart and adding more. Kurai and Rose helped, while the villains watched in mostly silence.

"Hey mate, we gonna get any of those?" Jack asked. Slade just glared at him. "Sorry."

Yes, he was not taking it well, the Sorceress thought near where she sat, at one end of the villain grouping. Slade had, with the attack of the Zuni Doll, finally realized this was just not a threat on his life, but a complete re-ordering of the reality around him that had the bad side effect of putting his life in danger. And that realization was working on him like the grains of sand that oysters turned into pearls. Except Slade probably didn't have a similar defense. Sorceress would almost feel sorry for him if such a thing were in her nature. Even now, in the mechanical task of checking guns and arming himself, even with the blank orange and black mask over his face, Sorceress could swear she saw the vein throbbing in his forehead.

Not handling it well at all. The fools were the one telling the story, and Slade was unable to change the plotline. He was, in many ways, no longer the master of his own destiny. Such a thing was anathema to a man like Slade. Such a thing that was as innately absurd and in many ways STUPID as the 'horror atmosphere' being what had removed his control made it a hundred times worse.

Sorceress wondered what would happen if Slade snapped. And she had the odd thought that no matter what did happen, it would seem strangely…comical.

"That will do for now." Slade said, and indicated for Kurai and Rose to push the crate aside. They did and sat down close to Slade, again on his command. "Now, to begin again, having barely started before my apprentices returned."

Slade picked his shotgun up again, and began reloading it with fresh shells.

"I have spoken extensively to Control Freak, who as you know began this problem with his remote…and whose backup remote lacks the power to do much of us any good in fixing what he wrought." Slade said, glowering at the overweight geek, who cringed away. "All we have left is the layout of this problem we are faced with…and as stupid as the genre of film that has infected our world is, it is now what rules existence abides by. And these rules, as preposterous as they are…they need to be known. As much as I hate to say it, knowing these facts, these nonsensical facts that have been put together by people with far too much time on their hands and lives that grow more wasted by the second, from films that would be better served torturing our enemies then being played in theaters that you have to pay to get into…it may give us an edge. Because sense has left the building. Everything from here on in will just get more hackneyed and puerile. And the only ones who will think it works in any fashion are idiots so great in their brain-dead nature that their minds may as well be black holes sucking in anything remotely intelligent or mature. In conclusion, whoever is writing this script we are trapped in will only show that the concept they have of sense is that nothing they do will make any sense at all!"

Expect the unexpected…another expression might work better. Do as I say, not as I do, as the obscuring fog/mist/whatever blew away revealing what it had concealed.

And it wasn't a human with a giant cutting instrument. It wasn't a slavering mutation, or a devilspawn from hell, or a malevolent spirit, or a slime-oozing alien.

It was…

"COUSIN ITT?" Nightwalker said, unable to believe it.

The White Hole's surprise and stupefaction actually exceeded Nightwalker's, mostly because A) Unlike Nightwalker she had no idea what the creature before her was, and B) She had been expecting…something else.

The beings she had seen on the TV last year had all seemed to be inhuman men and women (with a few exceptions), wearing costumes and showing remarkable flair for deadly acts despite their innate weaknesses as a species. The White Hole had expected something in that vein. And instead she got…this. A small midget creature that was utterly covered with hair, from the top of its head to its mostly unseen feet…a creature that was also wearing sunglasses, a derby hat, and white gloves on what could be seen of its arms.

If the White Hole was a creature inclined to humor, she would have collapsed laughing. But she was not, as she slowly turned to Nightwalker.

"WHAT. IS. THIS. THING?" The White Hole hissed. Cousin Itt apparently resented being called a thing, as he moved around a bit, a motion that might have been the equivalent of a human pointing in anger if Itt looked in any way human. It also spoke…but the words, if they were, coming out of Itt's mouth sounded like incomprehensible gibberish: it seemed cross but who could really tell?

"Uh…it's a…creation…of a comedy series…the Addams Family but…" Nightwalker said.

"I was chosen for this because of possible danger. I have seen what can be mustered. I KNOW there is a mastermind. And THIS is what has been brought before me!" The White Hole snapped, pointing at Itt with her mace.

"Well…uh…"

"Oh save your babbling. It matters not." The White Hole said. "What matters is whoever is in charge IS AN ABSOLUTE FOOL OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!"

"Now…as much as it pains me, that is our situation. And hence, here are the rules it would be best for us to abide by." Slade said. "Number 1. NO SEX."

Fortunately Slade was standing next to Kurai and didn't notice him pale slightly. Several villains did though, and put two and two together and began to snicker. Sorceress did as well, though she came to a different conclusion. The atmosphere aspect of the chaos magic must have possessed Slade's two apprentices, who before the invasion had constantly been at each other's throats, to act quite differently. It was the fact that such an influence existed, or more precisely could be acted upon the minds of those present, that worried The Sorceress.

"No sex. Sex kills you." Slade said. "Some ancient leftover message of Victorian times and all their repressed nonsense. I don't understand it at all, but it's a mainstay of these stupid movies and hence applies here. Having sex is fatal. This is one situation where a condom won't save you. Assuming you even remembered to use one."

"Oops." Kurai said.

"What was that apprentice?" Slade said, looking at the Japanese teen.

"Nothing, Slade-sama! Ha ha! Nothing suspicious at all!" Kurai babbled. Slade would have probably said something if he hadn't heard several villains snickering again.

"Some wishes to say something?"

"I hate to be the one who points this out." Torque said. "But didn't you just send your daughter off with your very virile apprentice?"

Slade lifted his shotgun and blew Torque away.

Everyone jumped as the backwards madman fell to the floor, very dead. Dr. Light screamed and hid under his table.

Kurai stared at this sudden killing…and then decided he'd best obey whatever order Slade gave in the near future without question. He had a feeling Slade's tolerance had hit record-breaking lows.

"Another important rule of this film genre is to never antagonize armed mercenaries." Slade said. "Bet you didn't see THAT coming in your mirrors, you rat bastard."

The White Hole's homicidal intentions were far more straightforward.

"If this is what they will send against me, some kind of joke, then they will learn…" The White Hole growled as she stalked towards Itt, who kept babbling in its nonsense at her, still sounding pretty mad.

"Wait Rebecca! You don't…!" Nightwalker said.

"BE QUIET!" The White Hole snarled, as she hefted her mace…

"Now…Rule 2. Perhaps the single most important rule is to never assume you can actually harm your attacker. Indeed, attempting to do so may even prove counterproductive, even if you are CERTAIN of your victory…"
As the huge tentacle shot out of Cousin Itt's hair curtain body and seized the White Hole by the weapon wrist.

Fun fact: the English and the Blacktrinian utterance of "What the!" are both two syllables!

As more tentacles shot out of Cousin Itt's body and seized the White Hole, and before even she could react she was yanked into the air, bellowing in fury.

"That never happened on the show!" Nightwalker exclaimed. "…Was it a matter of budget?"

"These creatures can prove to be more then far stronger then how they look. Another highly annoying defiance of reality is many know how to teleport. Even if they're dead. Which means that if they're shuffling after you in plain sight, you at least know where they are. If you shoot them, they can and will just pop up somewhere else unexpectedly. In many ways, they can prove to be near invincible."

"So if something goes after your daughter, she's dead?" Johnny Rancid said before he thought about the words leaving his mouth.

BLAM! Rancid's body joined Torque's on the floor.

Dr. Light, who had just started coming out, screamed again and returned to beneath the table. On the plus side, at least his scream didn't sound feminine.

"Unlike you. Rat bastard." Slade said.

"STOP USING MY CODENAME AS AN INSULT!" The villain known as Rat Bastard complained.

BLAM!

"Don't know when he got here, don't care." Slade said.

Nightwalker didn't know where Cousin Itt had gotten huge grabbing tentacles, but she really didn't care, as she aimed and opened fire on the hairy creation that had abruptly turned very nasty.

But if the orbs had any affect, Nightwalker couldn't see them, as they were fired into the sheet of hair as if it was nothing MORE then a sheet of hair with nothing beneath. The creature's angry yammering still came from it, barely overheard as the White Hole bellowed overhead, trying to break free from the tentacles that held it…

Even as another emerged and swooped at Nightwalker. She cartwheeled to the left as it slammed down onto the pavement, opening fire again even as she became upright, but the orbs still had no effect, as Nightwalker cursed and began switching arms…

And then a flash of light bloomed from within the hair monster, and Nightwalker's eyes widened as she suddenly read a huge energy surge…

And then the LASER fired out of the creature, as Nightwalker frantically dove to the left again, crashing down amongst a bunch of trash cans with a pained cry.

"THAT WAS DEFINITELY NOT IN THE SHOW!" Nightwalker yelled.

"Well yeah, but who said I was playing fair?" Freddy said, and laughed on his throne before he resumed typing at his 'computer', the manifestation of all he controlled.
"Oh fornicating feces." Nightwalker said, and had to do a clumsy half-dodge half-roll through the trash cans as another laser fired, burning through the metal, garbage, and the warehouse wall beyond.
"The next rule is, clothes are your friend." Slade said, his stress barely lessened by the two murders he had just committed (why the villains didn't complain about said trigger-happy killings, who knew. Probably didn't want to be the next target). "If you lose even one article of clothing and leave any skin exposed, you will die."

As one, all the villains looked at Blackfire.

Who was inexplicably wearing three sweaters.

"…What? It's cold tonight." She snapped.

"It's cold?" Mad Mod replied.

"YES. DO I NEED TO REPEAT MYSELF OR ARE YOU JUST STUPID ENOUGH TO GET IT NOW?" Blackfire hissed. "I found it cold and dealt with the problem. Yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!"

"Forgive me if I'm wrong young lady, but I was under the impression your species could survive in hard vacuum." Mad Mod said.

"THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT!" Blackfire yelled.

"…But..." Mad Mod said, and then screamed and ducked behind the table as Slade shot at him.

"THANK YOU." Blackfire said, as Slade reloaded the shotgun.

"Ok, daddy, you've proven your point!" Rose said, as she got up and grabbed said shotgun. "Now…could we please quit while we still have some assistance left?"

Slade thought it over…and then turned and shot Brick.

"OW! ARGH! Why did you do that Wilson! I said nothing of any sort!" Brick yelled, holding his chest. However, no blood emerged, suggesting the shotgun blast had just given him a nasty bruise.

"Merely testing to see if I'd have at least one left." Slade said, and put the shotgun down, as Rose quickly took it away. "Rule 4. Don't talk about Fight Club."

"But you just mentioned the fight club!" Atlas boomed.

"Kurai I don't have a gun big enough for that."

"WHAT-!"

BOOM! Atlas collapsed with a huge smoking hole where his chest had been, courtesy of Kurai's one handed energy blast.

"Domo arrigato." Slade said.

"Shit." Nightwalker said, smacking her left gauntlet as she cowered behind some trash cans. Said left gauntlet at the moment carried her more exotic ammo, but it had also jammed when she'd had to do that unexpected roll to avoid the LASER, the fucking LASER, someone had given Cousin Itt fucking LASERS, not to mention the tentacles that were still holding White Hole overhead…

And boy was she mad about it, as she continued to scream and bellow. But for all her anger and strength, the tendrils had her fast, perfectly holding her at her arms and legs at a perfect balance so she couldn't exert an iota of leverage and bring that strength or her claws to bear, her mace having long dropped down to the street…which was where she was heading.

Cousin Itt was lowering her down.

Because Itt's body was transforming into a giant toothed maw of a mouth.

Presumably he didn't know how badly Blacktrinians tasted.

Give White Hole credit for one thing, there wasn't a single scream of fear as she was lowered to the mouth. Just rage. Rebecca Styles didn't know HOW to scream in fear.

"Ohhhhhh dear that's not good." Nightwalker said as she peered over the trash cans…wait. Mouth. Mouth that came from hair. So wait, did the lasers come from within the hair or the mouth itself? Each one meant different angles and Nightwalker only had time to calculate one…

As she finally hit her misbehaving gauntlet at the right angle, allowing it to come back online. Great. Now she just had to make one decision.

In the end, she picked the hair. Because she didn't think it looked like a mouth laser. It wasn't much of a conclusion bit it was the only one she had time for, as she reached up and seized a trash can lid. If this didn't work…well she probably wouldn't live long enough to regret it.

"POPCORN!" Nightwalker yelled, and hurled the can lid overhead and out like a Frisbee.

As the laser shot from Cousin Itt's right side and vaporized the lid.

As Nightwalker leapt out, her left arm outstretched, as she fired two explosive marbles directly into Cousin Itt's new fanged mouth, its laser having fired on the wrong target…

As Itt exploded and was engulfed in flame, screaming, as Nightwalker rolled and came up to her feet, as the hairy creature thrashed, its burning derby hat falling at its feet as its tentacles caught fire as well…

Wait…

Nightwalker looked up.

"Oops."

As the White Hole fell on her, driving her to the ground with a bone shuddering thud.

"Ow…" Nightwalker groaned, as she shook her head…and found herself staring into the White Hole's eye, utterly consumed with rage. "Uh…at least you landed on padding?"

The White Hole pushed off her and the ground in one smooth motion, as Cousin Itt collapsed into a burning pile. Poor comical creature, warped for evil purposes. But in the end it had been it or them. Itt or them.

And poor Itt was about to get one last indignity, as the White Hole stalked towards it, scooping up her mace as she did, and with a shrieking roar, she slammed it down on the burning mass so hard Nightwalker jumped up an inch or so.

Up the mace went and down it came again. Nightwalker still felt the vibration under her feet. Up, and down. Up, and down. And all the while that ferocious scream.

"Uh…Rebecca! I'm quite sure it's dead!" Nightwalker called.

The White Hole turned her lone eye on Nightwalker with a gaze that could have cracked stone as effortlessly as her mace was.

"…But on the other hand no harm in being utterly absolutely positively certain, carry on!" Nightwalker finished.

The White Hole turned and resumed her task. Up, and down. Up, and down. In the end she'd not only beaten out the fire she'd mashed what was left of Itt right into the shattered pavement beneath him.

The While Hole stood up straight, and cracked her neck, shoulders, and back. Not her proudest moment, by any stretch…

And then she saw that Nightwalker was standing next to her. Offering her her hat, which she had lost in her struggles.

"…Thank you." The White Hole said, her voice surprisingly calm considering she'd been a shrieking banshee not a moment ago, as she took her hat and dusted it off. Was Nightwalker wrong, or had there even been a hint of…warmth?

"Where is this stockpile? My patience is now considerably less then it was a few minutes ago, and it wasn't high even then." The White Hole said, placing her hat on her head.

"Uh…" Nightwalker said, as she quickly checked. "Before this problem, we were almost there. Just a few steps away."

"It better be where he said it was." The White Hole said, as she hefted her mace against a shoulder again. "Or Slade will wish he'd suffered Hairbag here's fate."

Slade didn't really care at the moment about angry aliens. He was having enough trouble getting through these rules, oh god, the STUPIDITY of it all, he swore when he was done he was just going to carpet bomb the entirety of Hollywood for what their lesser levels have foisted on him…

"The next rule is never split up." Slade said. "Splitting up where there are these slasher characters or other such things running around is akin to slowly stripping off your clothing, having sex, taking a shower, and mentioning the Fight Club."

"Then why did you send your daughter off immediately?" Melchior said, feeling fairly safe since Slade no longer had his shotgun and Kurai was too drained for another shot at the moment…

Until Slade yanked a knife from his belt and hurled it straight through Melchior's eyes. That was the last disruption with his weakened magical hold on the world manifested in his paper body could take, and his consciousness scattered, his body falling apart, dying in as much a sense everyone else had.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE STUCK IN A BOOK ANYWAY, FANBAIT!" Slade yelled. "Rule six. There is no rule six! Rule seven! There will be no asking about why there is no rule six, under penalty of instant death!"

And with that Slade stole Jack's latest bottle of liquor and began drinking it straight from the bottle, and straight through his mask.

"…Slade-sama, are you feeling alright?" Kurai asked.

"I'M NOT DRUNK!" Slade yelled.

And then he abruptly collapsed.

"…Whoa. I kinda expected someone like Slade to have been able to hold his liquor better." The Handyman said.

"Daddy!" Rose said as she ran to his side.

"He is all right…" The Sorceress said: only Brick had seen the glyph appear around her hands. "I used what little power…that has so far returned to me…to briefly put him to sleep. The chaos magic was infecting him, I had to cut it off before he was too far gone. I do not know…if this will be anything more then a temporary fix though. The forces arrayed before us…there are more then mighty. They also…cheat."

"Cheat? What a BRILLIANT idea!" Freddy said, and began typing again. He'd leave the main body of his victims alone for the moment: he was going to focus on the pair of females who'd been sent to fetch weapons. And not just because of said weapon fetching, oh no.

One had escaped their grasp before, and here she was again. And she was going to pay for it, dearly…in some truly special ways. Killing her would be simple…but bending her would be even better.

Oh yes, all around, he had something grand planned. Utterly grand.

That veiny bitch had a damn good reason to be paranoid.

"So who did you betray?" The White Hole abruptly asked.

Nightwalker looked up from what she was doing, which was currently, with some relief, looking over the inside contents of a large metal (and high-tech for what it was) crate that was filled to the brim with guns, in this case heavy machine guns. After the little dustup with Cousin Itt, Nightwalker and White Hole had found the warehouse Slade had directed them to swiftly and with no problems. The code for the lock worked and let them in (and even if it hadn't Nightwalker strongly felt the White Hole would have just made a door anyway), and the crates were there, untouched in neat rows. Nightwalker had begun moving among the crates, checking for the ones with the serial numbers Slade had marked down beforehand, and once she had found one she punched in the code on the keypad each crate had, at which point the top opened and Nightwalker could examine the contents for what Slade had said would be in there. The White Hole hadn't done much except lift two of the crates to check their weight: despite the fact that her powers were mostly sealed, the White Hole still lifted the several ton crates effortlessly. Hell, she twirled the second on her finger for a bit just to drive home how strong she was even with most of her strength locked away. How truly fearsome she must have been, at full power and in a more pragmatic situation then this. After that she'd just stood to the side while Nightwalker checked the crate's contents and tried to puzzle out just how they were going to get all the requested weapons back to the café: the White Hole may have been strong but there were still certain considerations. Nightwalker had been thinking that over and pondering if it was possible that she could lash them all together in some way, she'd seen the materials nearby that could do that…and then the White Hole had abruptly spoken to her.

"…What?" Nightwalker said, turning to look at the alien, her helmet once again disassembled so she could use her eyes. A bad decision in a sense, as it exposed her face…a face that the White Hole could read like a book.

"Before that incident. I spoke of betrayal and your face replied that you knew of it in some firsthand way. Who did you betray?"

Nightwalker abruptly felt a touch of color come to her face, as the long-buried shame resurfaced, no matter what she did with it.

"…I'm not wholly sure if I want to speak of my own…" Nightwalker began.

"Sine, if you would propose for me to speak of my past, while you would try and cloak yours, then you will not find me to be very agreeable for anything else we attempt to do, which does not bode well for your survival in one way or another." The White Hole said in a low, dangerous tone. "You betrayed someone. Tell me who it was or suffer the consequences."

Nightwalker sighed, as she put the ammo clip she'd been checking back in the box and pressed a button to close it up.

"It's not a betrayal in the classical sense, Et Tu Brute and all that…"

"Pardon?"

"Right, history you don't know. Well it's not what would be considered a betrayal…in a clear cut sense…to anyone but me, it seems." Nightwalker said, and sighed again. "I…betrayed my family."

"How? Did you leave them to a horrid death for circumstances that you coveted?"

"No!" Nightwalker snapped, somewhat surprising the White Hole with the anger in it. "No! Never!"

"You grow angry if I suggest you did anything less then care for your family, yet you betrayed them?"

"I didn't…it's not…" Nightwalker said, and then seemed to slump, the weight of regret heavy on her. "You have to know the circumstances."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"…My family…I don't know how much you've seen of the world, but this last century, especially this last 20 years, has allowed communication to increase like you wouldn't believe. Once it would take months for any type of information to reach one continent from another, now it can take seconds…but the downside of the world being at your fingertips is that the world is now also wherever you are. The whole point is, this isn't much space left, especially in North America, where you can escape from it all…but I happen to come from one of those spaces." Nightwalker said. "Some people have compared the town I grew up in to being like a group of religious people in North America, they're called the Amish, but they're not. The Amish basically belief in living apart from society: they have as little to do with the government as possible and many don't have anything to do with modern technology like electricity. My town was part of the US, we had such things as phones and televisions…but the area just seemed, by nature, to be content to stop where it was at one point and to be on its own, not letting the modern world involve itself any more. I think it may have been a reaction to the horrors of the First World War we had in the 20th century, and reinforced by the Second…but whatever the reason that made them start this, it's been like that for decades. Some would say it was backward, but others said it was peaceful, that it made more sense then a lot of the world. I mean, look at crime in big cities. How much seems pointless?"

"Technically are we not criminals?" The White Hole said, more as a musing then a point.

"I suppose some might say that, but at least we have our reasons for what we do. You wouldn't see Slade Wilson beating an old woman to death for the eight dollars she had in her purse. And say what you will about the ice in Killjoy's veins, you won't see him climbing a tower and picking off any and all targets he can find. Their choices, as bad as some would say they are…they have an order to it. A sense. And that was what it was like where I lived. In a way our town was called more…sensible. A throwback to older times that many felt were better. And believe me, I am not leaving out the dark side like a lot of people would. We had our problems, our bad apples, but we weren't a bunch of inbred hicks like a lot of people seem to assume. We were just in a…quiet place. And everyone seemed happy to be there."

"And you weren't." The White Hole said.

"I tried." Nightwalker said, as she looked at the ground. "I really did. But…as I said, it was a place where things seemed older and simpler, and one of them was the places of men and women. There had never been a feminist uprising where I was. It honestly seemed like the women who were born and raised there were content to do what women were supposed to do in those old mindsets. Work at home and raise the children. Be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, as the cliché goes. It wasn't like some have said, that maybe all the women were held in bondage with the threat of abuse…that wasn't it. The place was just…the way it was. It was Ozzy and Harriet come to life. There were no horrendous secrets lurking behind closed doors. Maybe it was an anomaly, more then a few people have said it was…but the place was happy. And I knew that. And…"

"You were still different."

"It wasn't like every girl was content to wear dresses and play with dolls. There were tomboys before. I was one. I'd much rather roughhouse with my brothers then play with dolls, I helped my dad out with his work on our farm, it seemed all right…but as I started getting into my teens I noticed that I was swiftly becoming the lone standout. For the few other girls I knew, they'd begun adapting into the mindset of the place. But I…I didn't want that. I wanted to be more. As I said, the outside world hardly intruded at all in our little slice of existence…but we knew of it. And as I started getting to that age, I started thinking that it was the outside world that was meant for me."

"And your parents didn't approve."

"No…that's the thing…they were never angry. My dad didn't strike me, my mom didn't hurt me. They just looked as me as if I was…just holding out longer then the rest of the girls, that eventually I'd come around and get ready to settle down. That I'd just stop doing the boy stuff and get to my…duty. But I didn't. I LIKED doing the boy stuff. I wanted to learn how to do stuff like they did, including stuff like learning to fight. I didn't like the idea of being helpless, but…that was the way my town worked. And…my lack of place there just kept growing. It didn't help that despite being older and bigger then me I could match my brothers and the other boys for feats of physical work, if not exceed them. I think that I may have a mild metahuman talent that allows me to go slightly beyond normal human limits…but that didn't form my mindset. I never thought I was special. I just wanted to be what I wanted to be. And my town…couldn't abide by that. It just wasn't…right."

"I agree with the assertion your town was an anomaly. You can't live in a world like that and try and see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil and expect 'evil', as it were, to just go away." The White Hole said.

"…Yes Styles. It would be easier for me if there was some kind of rejection that took place but…my family loved me. They all honestly thought I would grow up and stop acting like I was. But it wasn't LIKE I was, it was WHO I was. And eventually, as I hit my mid-teens…I started seeing the pain in my mother's eyes, the fear of just what I still was…and that was it. I couldn't stay there any more. It wasn't my place. I'd never change, and whether a forcing of the issue ever happened or just a continued despair, my family would suffer for it. But they…they just wanted the best for me. But they could not accept anything other then their idea then the best. That was just how it worked where I grew up. It was an older time, and that was all it could be…lest it all fall apart, I guess." Nightwalker said. "So I left. I packed up and set off on my own to try and make my own way in the world. All I could leave was a letter saying goodbye. I haven't been back since. I haven't tried to contact them. I don't know if I ever can. Because as much as the pain and the fear my leaving brought…I can't go back there. I don't belong and my parents and brothers will never understand that. And I can't assuage them…and be true to myself. Because they'd just want me to stay. To be what they knew. And that would be as cruel to me as any death you could offer, because it would not be me. So yes, Styles. I know of betrayal. I betrayed the happiness and future my family wanted for me. I betrayed the love they held. Because I knew they loved me, no matter what others have tried to convince me of my home to justify my choice. I know what my home was. I know what I am. And I know the twain can never meet. For that, I betrayed them…but I had no other choice."

And there was silence in the warehouse.

"…Well…I guess not all betrayals are as black and white as they can seem." The White Hole said. Nightwalker didn't reply, as she turned back to looking in the crates, trying to take her mind off her life's problems, and the forever nagging doubt that she hadn't done the right thing. You'd think life would have been quite hostile to her if she had, but it had been nothing if not generous, letting her begin to form herself into the woman she one day wanted to be. She wasn't quite there yet, but she was getting there. Nightwalker, the costume identity she now had, was just one step of the way.

The White Hole was silent, watching Nightwalker as she did her inspections.

"If it makes you feel any better, your betrayal is more justified then mine." The White Hole abruptly said.

"What? You mean those who have betrayed you?" Nightwalker asked.

"No…my own. What I did." The White Hole said. "I wasn't the first White Hole. To get the title…I betrayed my mentor. The first White Hole."

"…You did?" Nightwalker said. "…Is that part of your culture?"

"…No. In fact if one makes you a better warrior some say your life forever belongs to them…and my mentor, the first White Hole…she made me more then that…she made me everything I am and then some in so many ways…and yet I betrayed her."

"…Why?" Nightwalker asked, feeling a prickling in her spine. She didn't want the alien to start thinking she was justified in HER betrayal, depending on what it was. That may have been dangerous thinking, but it was how the young woman felt.

"I…can't quite remember." The White Hole answered.

"She made you who you were, and YOU CAN'T REMEMBER?" Nightwalker snapped before she could think it through. "Can't, or WON'T?"

The White Hole glared at Nightwalker again, and Nightwalker wondered if she had signed her death warrant…but the anger swiftly faded.

"It was over 1300 years ago." The White Hole said. It wasn't much of a justification, but Nightwalker let her have it for the moment.

"…How much have you forgotten?" Nightwalker asked, posing the question of how many bad things the alien had legitimately lost from her mind during her long life.

"Well, I obviously can't remember much when I was unconscious or…'dead'…I…can't remember ten years when I was 900…" The White Hole thought out loud. "I can remember…I hated my mentor for some reason. I think…hm…it's not talked about in 'polite' conversation."

"I can be impolite." Nightwalker said.

"As you will…………I can't have children." The White Hole said. "I'm sterile. It's not accepted in Blacktrinian society. I have never been as…accepted as her, and that fact made it more apparent I would never be her. She had a husband, a career, respect across the entire empire and beyond. And she had seven children. And no matter how much I improved she was still always able to beat me hands down…"

The White Hole suddenly snarled loudly and smashed her fist into the nearby wall. Said wall nearly collapsed, as Nightwalker recoiled, one hand on her gauntlet.

"I hated her for it." The White Hole finished.

"So you killed her." Nightwalker replied. The White Hole gave Nightwalker a bitter 'No duh' look with her lone eye.

Despite herself, Nightwalker found herself understanding. Rebecca Styles was probably destined to become something great…but what she would never be had ultimately grown so large it obliterated all other vision. It was much like the prophecy made to Macbeth in Shakespeare's famous tragedy: that he would be king. Given such a promise, Macbeth did not let the destiny come to him but instead seized it by the only way he could see, by murdering the king and hence ensuring not only his supposed destiny but his own bitter downfall. Ironically, that had all been laid out beforehand had Macbeth listened, for the witches who had given the prophecy had also prophesied that one of Macbeth's companions would be king…after Macbeth's own overthrow and death set into motion by the murder he committed.

It didn't justify it at all, but Nightwalker knew the temptations of the brass ring…and how it couldn't always hold your weight.

Nightwalker decided it might be best if there was no more talking for a bit, as she finished inspecting all the boxes and found them satisfactory. The White Hole was quiet as she did so.

Until the end.

"There is something wrong with you." The White Hole said.

Nightwalker turned to look at the alien.

"What?" Nightwalker said, and began checking her outfit: has she somehow been hurt…?

"You have not missed any injuries. However, this is something different about you that I am now certain is actually happening: it is not a trick of my perception. You seemed too busy to notice it, and due to its unusual nature I felt it would be better if you did. But you haven't, and I really must comment upon it due to its strangeness."

"What?" Nightwalker said.

"Your chest size is increasing."

"…WHAT?" Nightwalker said, looking down…

And finally noticing how her chest armor had seemed a bit tighter. Niightwalker had put it down to nervousness…except it was clear that it definitely was not nervousness.

Nightwalker abandoned the last bit of examining she was performing and tried to find a mirror. In the end she could only locate a few small ones that were clearly used for gun disassembling and cleaning, but they served the purpose as Nightwalker picked them up and set them at certain angles as she looked in them.

It was true. Her breast size was normally on the small side of B, but it had increased to the size of a C at least. Good thing her costume allowed some flexibility, or she'd have found it getting difficult to breathe.

But that didn't change the fact her breasts had gotten bigger…as the sheer strangeness of that fact hit her.

"How in the hell…?" Nightwalker said.

"You are aggravated?" The White Hole said, suddenly near Nightwalker, having once again done the silent approach. "I thought, if I remembered correctly, that larger chest size was a sign of attraction in this culture."

"Well yes it can be but…what the hell! Breasts need certain genetic setups or surgery to grow, they can't just spontaneously start enlarging like they're balloons being filled with air!" Nightwalker said. She felt along her chest, and when she felt dissatisfied with that approach she took down her upper armor and clothing to do a closer exam. The White Hole watched impassively…well at least Nightwalker thought it was impassively. I mean, why would the alien show any interest in such a thing?

But she could find no marks, scars, or anything that indicated why this was happening. And her breasts felt natural enough. They'd just…as if someone had…

"…Those FUCKERS." Nightwalker growled, as she began doing up her armor again.

"What? Who?"

"It took me a little bit to stumble across the proper thinking process…but it's tied into our situation. There's a horror 'atmosphere' pervading the place. It can affect anything: perception, decision-making, thinking processes, even reality itself. To force us into the so-called 'rules' of its existence. And by the rules, I have a fair chance at surviving…so they're fucking with my chances." Nightwalker said. "The presence of large breasts often defines a majority of a horror film character, as under-plotted and horribly acted as most are…and the character it signals is invariably a victim. This is their way of marking me with a bullseye, Rebecca. I'm the only one of you who went through this before. And they clearly don't want history repeating itself."

The female vigilante finished doing up the top of her outfit again and half-stomped back to the boxes.

"So…they're marking you by…giving you a bigger chest?"

"It may disrupt my balance some Rebecca, but it's mostly metaphor. But it's not going to work." Nightwalker said, as she closed up the last box. "We're ready to move out Rebecca. First, please help me move these out the door. I can't move them myself."

"You just get the door." The White Hole said as she hefted the nearest box up. "I'll handle the rest."

"Oh figured it out did you you little bitch?" Freddy said from where he watched on the computer. "This is why women should be seen and not heard…well unless you're popping something, be it a heart or a cherry. Heh heh hah!" Freddy laughed. "Don't think just because you know what I'm doing that you can properly resist it! Now…how's the bar doing…"
"This problem is considerably worse then even I had surmised." Slade said, considerably calmer as he sat at his table, his mask off, as he sipped some herbal tea Kurai had made for him. "I had spoken of the way the chaos magic could manipulate things…and it can be immensely subtle in doing so. It was even influencing my train of thought when I believed I was successfully actively resisting it. That, I believe, will be the greatest problem facing us. Not so much what the foes can do out there…but in here." Slade said. "So everyone be on the alert, and pay attention to any strange thoughts, urges, and whatnot. I don't really wish to lessen our numbers any more, but I also have no desire to take chances." Slade said. He sipped his tea. "Sorceress, how goes the power leakage you spoke of?"

"…Hard for me to say with any accuracy." The Sorceress said where she sat. "I still feel like a faint shadow of my former self. But considering the evidence I have seen…perhaps our general abilities have been increased back to the 25-30 percent range. Not much, but better then we were when we started, and encountered the trouble with that doll. However, the level of leakage is impossible to judge. It may not even continue." Sorceress said. She did not mention that the 25-30 percent range did not apply to her, as she'd been right next to the orb. She was probably at 10 percent power, at most.

"So those bitches you sent out better get back with the guns soon, Slade." Jack commented.

"If they're even still alive." Dr. Light added.

"Those two are not so easily killed, Arthur. Most likely because they do not seek the cover of furniture at every sudden new event." Slade commented.

"Hey! I've never had the best nerves! Get off my back!" Dr. Light said. "I'm just about used to this. No more terror for me!"

"Is that a bee?" The Handyman said innocently.

Dr. Light screamed and hid under his table. Slade sighed.

"No, wait, just a dust mite catching the light a certain way. Sorry." The Handyman said.

"…I'm allergic!" Dr. Light said from beneath the table. Slade sighed again, while the Handyman looked amused.

"Hey Doctor Light…bee."

"EEP!"

"Heh heh heh…"

"NOT FUNNY!"

"Sorry man, sorry. Hey, is that a…bee?"

"ARRRGGHHHH!"

"Stop teasing the coward." Slade said.

"I'm sorry, I'm just used to being the group coward. It's nice to know I'm not quiet yet the bottom of the barrel."

"HEY!"

"Bee."

"IYEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Slade began to wonder if he should spike his tea with more of Jack's alcohol. Kurai, meanwhile, was wondering along another topic: what had happened between him and Rose.

Was that rape?

No, how could it be?

It's rape if you get a reluctant woman drunk. Wouldn't it be the same thing if she were magically lobotomized?

But didn't she initiate it?

Yes, but still. She was not of right mind or right body.

Rationality? Did you actually get out?

Yes.

"Is there a point to this?" Kurai said, very quietly, to himself.

Yes. It is most likely Slade will find out, and when he does, get ready to talk him into letting you slit your belly instead of having your head blasted off. Might as well go with SOME honor.

"SHUT UP BRAIN!" Kurai yelled.

Out loud, he realized, as every villain turned to stare at him.

"Uh…" Kurai said, as he sweatdropped. "Cultural quirk?"

"I'm glad I don't have to worry about thinking any more. Tee hee!" Rose said. Adonis gave her an odd look, thought thankfully Slade didn't hear her. He'd been turning a thought over in his head.

"If the two women do not return soon, it may be best if we leave this place and head straight for the weapons dropoff. Then again…if they don't return…it may indicate that it would be best we don't leave either. Because there is no certain idea where we could end up."

"Okay…" Nightwalker said, looking at the seven large metal crates stacked next to each other on the street outside the stockpile warehouse. "We have enough chain but…maybe if we can find a truck, even a small one, we can stack them all and chain them together, drive slowly, hope we don't blow out the axle…"

"No. No more delays." The White Hole said. "If what you theorized on your chest size is true, then we are being targeted, and the longer we delay, the better their advantage may be. Chain the boxes as tightly as you can in a horizontal line to link them all together. Then leave the rest to me."

"Are you sure…"

"HURRY!" The White Hole snapped, and Nightwalker shrugged and ran over, as she and the alien, along with Nightwalker's blowtorch attachment for her gauntlet, managed to chain all the boxes together in about ten minutes.

"Now bring the rest here down to my end." The White Hole ordered. Nightwalker dragged the chains over, and under the alien's instructions fashioned a crude harness for the alien that was forged to the chained-together boxes.

"You're going to drag it?" Nightwalker asked, as the White Hole finished adjusting her harness and took her hat off, putting it in some pocket.

"Could damage the contents, not to mention make an infernal racket. Better way. Back up some Sine." The White Hole said, as she reached behind her, sank her claws into the metal box, and then with a snarling grunt of effort actually lifted the boxes up, Nightwalker's eyes going wide as the chains grew taunt, surely the way they were arranged would cause it to snap…as the White Hole grunted and lifted, the weight of the boxes compounded by the immensely awkward design and angle…but she made it, as the boxes were lifted vertical and shifted to rest on the White Hole's shoulders and neck, held together by the chains as they stretched up into the air for a few dozen feet.

"Not the most straightforward lug job, but well enough under the circumstances. Let us move swiftly Sine." The White Hole said, and started forward, the boxes shifting but staying upright as the alien carried them, as Nightwalker quickly followed. The White Hole, despite still holding her mace in her hands as she walked on with her giant 'backpack', was quite vulnerable in this state: if they were attacked, Nightwalker would have to hold the line while she properly adjusted herself.

"You remember the way back don't you? I do not, as much as I would like to anyway." The White Hole said under her load.

"Uh…yeah don't worry. Turn left." Nightwalker said, as the two began returning to the bar.

And still that unnatural silence, even the noises of the shifting boxes seeming muted by it.

"…Do you regret it?" Nightwalker asked the alien.

"What?"

"Your…mentor. What happened…do you regret it?"

"…I don't know." The White Hole said between breaths. "As much as anyone she was like a mother to me, but I was young, arrogant…a monster. It's only in the last few years that I've started to think about it all…and even then I really wonder why. I can't go back in time and change my decision. It will always be what it was."

"Yes…that's true." Nightwalker said. "But there is a reason for thought, especially of the past. One should…learn to understand the wrongs one did…or they will…"

And then…the fog blew across before the two again, and they stopped dead.

"Looks like they haven't finished with us yet." The White Hole said, as she frantically tried to adjust her position, leaning back to set the boxes down and disentangle herself from them, as Nightwalker did a quick check on her gauntlet ammo and began engaging her helmet…

As the smoke abruptly blew away.

And the White Hole, having almost fully untangled herself, froze. So did Nightwalker.

But not in shock or fear. Because once again…they had not properly expected.

But really…who could have expected a white puppy with black ears, a big red nose, a few gray spots on his back…and only one leg?

"…Da FUCK?" Nightwalker said, even as the White Hole fully untangled herself. At least Cousin Itt had been a monster in some ways. What the hell was…

Lil' Brudder…

Nightwalker's eyes widened as within her head a song started playing, even as the one-legged puppy tried to push its way towards the two, not so much to attack as if…it was just trying to keep moving forward, the very picture of pathetic.

He can make it on his own!

Nightwalker glanced at the White Hole, who also didn't have a clue…but that was swiftly being replaced by the cold rage Nightwalker had seen in the alien before. The anger spawned from the idea of not being taken seriously, or something to that extent.

He'll scrape right along, while I'm singing this song! You know he was born to ramble and roam!

"…This is what they send before me? Continual absurdist comedy?" The White Hole hissed. "Do they believe as much a joke as them?"

"Careful Rebecca. Don't forget last time…" Nightwalker said.

"This cannot lead to any kind of a threat! I am purposely being insulted, and I will not stand for it!" The White Hole snapped.

"I can make it on my own!" Lil' Brudder said in a mournful tone, its face the picture of melancholy.

"…I'm beginning to think a wire or two may have been crossed somewhere." Nightwalker said.

Freddy stared at the screen, and then snapped his head around to look at his lieutenants, who stood by impassively…but Freddy wasn't taking that at face value, oh no.

"Shut up!" Freddy snapped, as he waved his clawed hand. "You think it's easy to type with this thing? Piss off!" Freddy snapped, as he turned back to his computer. "Ok may have lost the entrance, but I'll kill 'em on the twist…!"

"Enough. I'm going to just crush this mockery…" The White Hole said, as Freddy backspaced the typo BRUDDER he had made on his computer, and typed in the proper word.

As Lil' Brudder, the one legged pup from Homestar Runner, disappeared…swiftly morphing into something else.

Someone else.

The White Hole stared, as the puppy was whisked away…and replaced by another figure.

…And it seemed like again she had been dismissed, for this was no blade-wielding psychopath. Indeed, it was just a small male child, wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, golden inline skates, a baseball hat covering most of his features in shadow…

…and carrying a small bent golden baseball bat.

The White Hole could almost TASTE the fear that suddenly crashed through Nightwalker, it was so sudden and so strong, as she recognized what, who, she was looking at…and knew how very very bad it was, as the White Hole turned to look at her, seeing the blood drain out of the young woman's face.

"Oh my holy…shit." Nightwalker whispered. "Lil' Slugger."

"Who?" The White Hole said.

"Kid from…anime…he…it's…!" Nightwalker babbled. "…Run! For god sake's run!" Nightwalker said as she started backing up.

"Run? Now I am intrigued." The White Hole said as she turned her face back towards the small child, Lil' Slugger as Nightwalker had called him…as Nightwalker's arm suddenly grabbed the alien by the shoulder.

"No! Rebecca, this isn't something we can-ARGGGGHHHH!" Nightwalker screamed as the White Hole calmly seized Nightwalker's arm in a grip that would only require a few more iotas of pressure to crush the bone into powder, as she turned and looked at the female in cold rage.

"Remove your hand from me, or I swear I shall remove it instead." The White Hole said as she shoved Nightwalker off of her. "Perhaps this boy terrifies you, but I am not you."

"Styles! Rebecca! You don't understand!" Nightwalker yelled. "It's not a boy! It's…!"

The White Hole was not listening, as she began walking forward at a slightly above normal speed pace, her eyes alert for any tricks like that hair alien had done, her mace at hand. This was a step up from that one-legged dog that had somehow projected an asinine theme song into her head or something, but not much. Then again, Nightwalker seemed to recognize from whatever aspect of fiction this Lil' Slugger spawned from, and if it terrified her (she didn't seem to scare easy) then it surely had some worth as a foe.

But not much, the White Hole was certain, as she closed in.

And Nightwalker took a few more steps back, her fear churning through her as she contemplated what the bare essence of what Lil' Slugger was could do unleashed on her as a foe…and then she turned and ran.

But she didn't run far.

As the White Hole bellowed, charging in the last few steps, as she swung her mace.

The boy only turned his head slightly, perhaps to look at her, it was hard to tell with the way his baseball cap shadowed his face…as the mace slammed full-force into his cheek.

His head snapped violently to the side, as the White Hole grinned fiercely…a grin that swiftly faded.

Something was wrong. That had been a very good hit. But the White Hole had delivered so many good hits over the course of her very long life that she had it down to a science…and this one didn't feel right.

For one, even though the boy's head was reacting to the impact…it barely seemed to be doing so. There was no bloodspray, no sound or feeling of broken bones, no flying teeth, nothing to indicate the hit.

And the impact…felt wrong. It didn't feel like the White Hole had hit something made of flesh and blood. And it didn't feel like she'd hit a robot either, or a creature made of a more unusual material like mud or stone. It didn't feel like she'd hit a wall either. In fact it felt like she'd hit…what…

…buffer…?

The White Hole decided there was no point in pursuing this line of thought. So the target didn't feel right? Fine, she'd hit it until it did, as she swung her mace back up and slammed it down on top of the boy's baseball cap.

He staggered under the shot…but the impact felt the same…

The White Hole hit him full in the gut. He doubled over on the weapon…

…but still no sense of damage…

What WAS this thing? Nightwalker had seemed so scared, why exactly, and where was she, the White Hole couldn't see her in her peripheral vision. Had she been overwhelmed by her fear and fled like a coward?

For a moment, a slight feeling of disappointment flowed through the White Hole. It had been a very long time she'd found anything to like in any living thing, and just when she thought she'd started to like the young woman she'd failed so badly. If she saw her again, she may just have to kill her out of disgust, as she swung back her mace and slammed it down…

On the ground, as Lil' Slugger, in a movement so small it was barely visible, skated to the side. The mace slammed into the street.

As Lil' Slugger, almost gently, cocked back his arm, and as the White Hole turned her head to face him again he swung out with his bat.

The White Hole was not fragile like a human. She wasn't the elite among the warrior species of the Blacktrinians for nothing, and she hadn't lived (in a sense) so long either without knowing how to absorb punishment. And she could do more then absorb it: she was fully capable of shrugging it off. She'd been struck, slashed, impaled, shot, burned, frozen, and been caught in the explosion of more weapons then most people could believe existed, and she'd either survived or walked away. Hell, during the Altagar rebellion the rebelling Altagars had known she would come and had created a large, breach loading beam cannon roughly the size of a town. They'd seen her, they'd sighted her, and they'd hit her.

She not only survived but returned to shred the rebellion a month later. Virtually any other Blacktrinian (including Nigel Hastings of the Teen Titans) would have been smeared across the landscape.

Even with reduced powers, she was hardcore to the bone.

Which simply made the blow, as the bat slammed into her head, all the worse. It felt like a human would if they were struck by a wrecking ball, as the White Hole flew through the air like she'd been blasted out of a gun, as she crashed into the wall of the nearest building, barely avoiding going through it, before she fell down into the trash cans below with a resounding racket.

She did not move, as a thin trickle of blood began to leak from her forehead.

"Oh no…" Nightwalker said, as she saw it all play out. She'd known the alien wouldn't listen to her, wouldn't understand how dangerous Lil' Slugger was…and she couldn't dwell on it, as she turned her eyes back to her task.

Slade's weapons' crates were nearly as high tech as their contents, as each and any side could be opened via a punchcode. Nightwalker had run to one, and as the White Hole had made her futile effort against Lil' Slugger she had opened one on their side and begun digging in, frantically grabbing weapons and ammo, trying to calm her shaking hands as she picked guns as best she could with her limited knowledge…

And then the White Hole was struck down.

And the fear set in again, because deep down Nightwalker had hoped that maybe White Hole's alien nature would save her…but it hadn't.

And with her down, there was only one target left…

As Nightwalker looked up again, as Lil' Slugger stopped his slow glide toward her.

Nightwalker stared at the boy…except he wasn't a boy. What exactly he was…was very hard to explain. He came from a thirteen episode Japanese anime called Paranoia Agent, which Gizmo had owned and played in the common room a few times. She'd watched the whole series the whole time through three times, and even then it was hard to define just what Lil' Slugger was, as the anime was heavy on metaphors and subtleties. In the simplest terms…he was a boy (except not) who sought out those who had 'no place to turn'…and then he struck them down with his bat. And if he didn't want them to, they didn't get up.

And you could not stop him, nor could you escape him.

And despite the shadows on his face, Lil' Slugger grinned at her, turning up one corner of his mouth, a smile filled with sickening mirth.

Nightwalker tried to force the fear down, tried to stop overthinking the whole situation. Because all of Lil' Slugger's victims in his anime had been worn down, scared, and misunderstanding people, ordinary people. Not trained warriors, not people who had the outsider's perspective of what Lil' Slugger was…and not anyone who was just going to roll over and let this thing strike the life from her body, as Nightwalker got to her feet, her hands blurring in a few last quick movements as she armed the guns she held: a Heckler & Koch HK53 carbine submachine gun in her right hand, and an M9 pistol in her left hand.

"Back off!" Nightwalker warned.

Lil' Slugger did not respond, but he did not move…and he did not stop grinning.

"I SAID BACK OFF!" Nightwalker yelled as she yanked out the retractable stock of the HK53, locked it against her shoulder, and opened fire.

Even as she realized just what she was doing: firing a fully automatic weapon single-handed. What was she expecting to accomplish? Weapons weren't like toys, they didn't just sit still when you fired them. The only way she could fire a weapon like this one handed and actually hit her target would be if…she was in a movie, she realized.

Reality was allowing certain anomalies.

Good thing she hadn't figured this out a few seconds before and tried to fire both weapons at once. That would have just been stupid.

And so she emptied her submachine gun clip into Lil' Slugger…

Only to find to her horror, the bullets weren't doing a damn thing. They weren't going through him, they weren't bouncing off him, they weren't disappearing near him. They were BREAKING on him,

And so the small child stood there, the bullets shattering on his minute frame, even as the submachine gun ran dry and Nightwalker threw it down to open fire with her handgun, the echo of the repeated booms following the loud chatter of the automatic weapon, as Nightwalker also emptied the handgun into Lil' Slugger.

With the exact same result.

The gun clicked dry, even as the last of the bullets broke on the entity, falling in tiny pieces at his feet.

The guns dropped from Nightwalker's hands in numb shock.

Doomed…

And then, Nightwalker recalled just what she had been speaking of earlier, of the sacrifice she had made to pursue her choice of life…and it damn sure wasn't ending this prematurely!

…LIKE HELL!

Nightwalker dove back down to the box, seized up another submachine gun, this time an Ingram MAC-10, as she seized a clip at the same time, slammed it in, and thrust it up at Lil' Slugger as she again opened fire.

And the bullets continued to shatter on him, as his grin finally faded a bit…

As he came for Nightwalker, his golden rollerblades sounding off as he headed for her, his bat at hand, as Nightwalker stood there emptying the last of the clip, as Lil' Slugger closed in and swung his bat…

Into the side of the crate, as Nightwalker leapt up onto the top of the crate and rolled over it in one smooth motion, her empty gun clattering by Lil' Slugger's feet as she vanished over the edge of the other side.

Lil' Slugger didn't seem too perturbed, as he glanced at where she had gone, and then slowly began to rollerblade down the short length of the boxes, almost taking his time. He came to the end, carefully circled around one corner, and then slowly circled around the other.

Nightwalker stood there.

As she hefted her new M16A4 machine gun as she finished loading a grenade into the M203A2 grenade launcher attachment, snapping that part shut as she lifted it and locked it against her shoulder.

"Hello." Nightwalker said, and fired. The grenade streaked out and slammed into Lil' Slugger, and he was consumed by the explosion.

"I said it for you since you wouldn't." Nightwalker said, as she quickly leaned down, seized two more projectile grenades, and began jogging backwards. Watching…waiting…

As Lil' Slugger rolled out, not a single mark on him, as he came for Nightwalker.

Nightwalker planted her feet and opened fire, feeling the sheer feedback of the giant rifle flow into her body as it belched more bullets…but they proved as ineffective as their brothers, as the projectiles slammed into Lil' Slugger and just broke without affecting him at the least. Fresh fear exploding in her body, Nightwalker ran backwards as she fumbled for a second grenade, found it, locked it in, and fired. Another explosion blasted Lil' Slugger, but a second later he rolled out of it like it was a light breeze. Nightwalker fired a few more shots and then broke and ran, fleeing from the monstrous child as he gave pursuit…

And began catching up, as Nightwalker looked behind her, gasped, and increased the pace, but it meant nothing, he was still coming, he'd chase her until he caught her unless she…tripped.

And so she did, sprawling on the ground, the machine gun jamming painfully underneath her, even as an errant thought bounced around her brain…

The running females always trip and fall stupid…

As Nightwalker rolled over.

Lil' Slugger hovered over her.

Just for a moment…she could see his face…not the most pleasant features but still so horrifyingly…normal…

She snapped up her gauntlet and fired, but the orbs broke as easily as the bullets, as Lil' Slugger swung the bat up…

And a clawed hand seized him.

"Pardon me."

And the White Hole lifted Lil' Slugger up, took a few steps, and then slammed into the ground so hard the whole street shook.

"…Rebecca." Nightwalker said in amazement.

"Hell yeah. Takes more then THAT to take me down." The White Hole replied…unable to admit that her head still hurt something fierce…

While her own blow had done nothing at all, as Lil' Slugger rose back up, not a mark of dirt on his clothes, not a speck of damage to his hat. Completely unharmed.

"…Run…we have to run…" Nightwalker gasped as she tried to get up.

"No. Not while I still have this…and ME!" The White Hole yelled, as she seized her mace with both hands, charging at Lil' Slugger as she swung her weapon back…

The boy just smirked again.

And forward, slamming Lil' Slugger with a gigantic home run swing that had every bit of strength she could muster behind it. The street cracked beneath her from the impact, as Lil' Slugger literally flew, flying backwards as if he was a ball hit with a bat…

Unfortunately, the building behind him was several stories tall, and Lil' Slugger slammed into it.

The wall didn't even crack.

And as White Hole watched, the entity actually slid down the wall, as if he was floating, until he was back down on the ground.

His face in shadow couldn't hide the fact he was looking at the White Hole…and then, without making a sound, his shoulders began to shake, as if he was crying…or laughing. But even without any noise, it was clear just what it was. He'd taken White Hole's best shot and hadn't felt a damn thing.

"…Now is running a good idea?" Nightwalker said as she came to the White Hole's side.

"…Regretfully." The White Hole said, and whirled around with Nightwalker as the two took off down the street.

As Lil' Slugger came after them, rollerblades whirling as he rolled down the street, immediately beginning to catch up with the fleeing women…

As Nightwalker, the M16 now strapped around her chest, pulled one last surprise she had grabbed while White Hole tried her final attack: a bandolier of grenades, of the more traditional variety, as she and the White Hole ran past the fallen boxes…

"What's that going to do after my own blow did nothing?" The White Hole snapped.

"Who knows? Maybe you softened him up!" Nightwalker retorted.

And yanked on a string that pulled every single grenade pin out at once.

As Lil' Slugger shot past the boxes, gaining on the two, Nightwalker twisted around and hurled the bandolier behind her, and then turned and put a new burst of speed into her step…

The explosion nearly knocked her flat on her face again, and she did not see how much Lil' Slugger was caught in it, but that didn't matter, she had to MOVE, as she and the White Hole took a left around the corner…

As Lil' Slugger bladed through the smoke of the explosion, barely slowed down at all.

"FUUUUUUUUCK!" Nightwalker cursed, as she snapped her head back forward…and saw that in front of her, at the end of a street, was a considerably taller building then the rest in the area, at least twelve stories.

Nightwalker had an idea.

"Rebecca! You'll need to grab onto me!" Nightwalker yelled, as she reached down to her belt and snapped off an attachment that she slapped onto her gauntlet. "We're going to try for the roof…!"

"You mean to carry me up? I think not! Just go yourself, I'll be right behind you!" The White Hole replied. Nightwalker stared for a very brief moment, and then turned and aimed her arm: she had no time to argue.

As she fired her grappling hook, as it shot up towards the building top…

As Lil' Slugger slid around the corner, hot on their heels…

And made it, finding a strong sticking point and locking in. Nightwalker hit the button on her gauntlet and leapt at the same time, and it retracted, carrying her up at great speed.

As the White Hole attached her mace to her belt in mid-run, tensed up her muscles, sucked in a deep breath, and then leapt, a small leapt forward, then another bigger leap that went further up, and as she struck the street she went into a deep knee bend and then launched herself skyward after Nightwalker, who had rapidly reached the roof.

The White Hole proved too heavy to make it all the way though, but she'd planned just for that, as she came to the side of the building and bit into it with her clawed hands and feet, and then before her grip points could weaken under her weight she clenched her arms and then rocketed up the side as she yanked herself upward as hard as she could, flying up past the roof edge…

But the problem with such a move was that all the momentum was up, not out, as the White Hole tried to lean forward to land on the edge of the roof…

And just made it.

By her tip-toes.

The White Hole found her balance suddenly and immensely precarious, as her arms pinwheeled, trying to keep from falling…

As Nightwalker grabbed her and yanked her onto the roof.

"Whew. You are heavy." The vigilante commented, as the White Hole exhaled her breath and turned around.

Lil' Slugger was still coming.

"What's he going to do, take the elevator-" The White Hole began.

As Lil' Slugger reached the building, heading directly for the wall…and then as if gravity didn't exist, he was suddenly ROLLERBLADING STRAIGHT UP THE WALL.

"OH COME ON!" Nightwalker cursed, as she looked around, trying to find a door down into the building…

"Wait." The White Hole said, grabbing her arm. "I have an idea. Hold on."

"Hold o-?"

And the White Hole grabbed Nightwalker, carrying her as easily as if she was a baby, and charged across the roof. Despite the bouncing aspect her vision had suddenly taken on, Nightwalker quickly realized what the White Hole was doing: aiming for a building of similar height in the distance.

A rather considerable distance, as Nightwalker paled.

"White Hole are you sure you want t-GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nightwalker yelled as the White Hole reached the edge of the roof and leapt off as hard as she could, as she Matrix-jumped across the blocks between the two buildings…

And made it, crashing down with a violent thud that sent a spider-web of cracks shooting through the roof.

Almost nonchalantly, the White Hole put Nightwalker down.

"Maybe that will actually dissuade the accursed creation a bit." The White Hole said as she turned around to look at the roof they'd just left.

"Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly." Nightwalker said as she unslung her machine gun, slammed in a new clip of ammo, and loaded her last grenade.

As Lil' Slugger arrived at the roof of the building they'd left…and without a second to pause rollerbladed straight in their direction.

"You better not…" Nightwalker said.

And leapt off into the air, heading straight for the pair of women.

"Oh FUCK YOU!" Nightwalker snapped, as her helmet reassembled on her head to solidify her aim, as she snapped the machine gun up and opened fire.

She may as well have been shooting the air, as the bullets had the same effect, not even interrupting Lil' Slugger's airborne momentum, as he flew towards the roof, almost like he was rollerblading on the very ether itself.

The ammo ran out. Nightwalker spat out another low, unintelligible curse, aimed the grenade launcher, and fired.

The projectile caught the 'boy' perfectly, blowing him up in mid-air in a spectacular firework…that he flew right through, like nothing had happened, as he began coming down on the roof.

"Sine get behind me!" The White Hole said as she grabbed Nightwalker with one arm and literally threw her backwards with a yelp, as she yanked out her mace, and as Nightwalker rolled back up to her feet she thought that the White Hole might be trying to whack Lil' Slugger out of the air…

Not quite, as the entity touched down on the roof…as the White Hole took a few giant steps backwards and slammed her mace down on the roof.

With an immensely loud cracking noise, the whole side of the roof shattered, and as the White Hole leapt backwards dust and smoke exploded upward as the whole section broke off the building and plummeted to the ground, landing with a low dull roaring crash.

"His defiance of gravity seemed limited in some sense." The White Hole said to Nightwalker.

As Lil' Slugger leapt out of the smoke and landed, coming to a stop.

The two females stared in horror at him. They were right. There was no escape.

"…ARRGGGGGHHHH JUST DIEEEEEEEEEEE!" The White Hole screamed as she charged at Lil' Slugger again.

"Rebecca wait…!"

The White Hole slashed out with her mace…as Lil' Slugger almost casually ducked under it…and swung his bat out, smashing it into the White Hole's face and sending her flying backwards as she bounced across the roof, almost falling off the edge.

Nightwalker gasped, as her head snapped to follow White Hole, and then snapped back to Lil' Slugger.

As his shoulders shook again. Mocking them without a sound.

Nightwalker snapped up her right arm and emptied the remaining gauntlet ammo she had into Lil' Slugger. It shattered into dust as it struck him, as he began rollerblading towards her.

Nightwalker ran backwards as she brought up the other arm and began firing her last ammo, her specialty ammo…all without affect. A glue orb splattered and then slid off him like he was made of pure water. Immensely powerful acid drenched him and didn't scorch an atom. Finally fire exploded on him…as he skated through it, the flames dying immediately…

As Nightwalker ran out of room to back up, as her gauntlet clicked dry.

Out of ammo, out of places to run. Out of time.

Lil' Slugger grinned one last time, as the White Hole looked at the entity in a daze, as Nightwalker's arm dropped in numb horror, as he skated at Nightwalker, raising his bat…

Poof.

"Lil' Brudder…" Sang an invisible voice, as a small one-legged white puppy appeared on the roof before Nightwalker.

"…DA PHUCK?"

"ARGH!" Freddy yelled as he reared back. "What the hell!"

"You seem to have leaned on the computer keys and reverted your avatar back to its originally erroneous form." One of his lieutenants offered 'helpfully'.

"ARGH! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK DID I PRESS!" Freddy yelled as he furiously typed. "The hell! Backspace! Frontspace! Undo! Redo! Turn back! No! You…!"

Nightwalker could only stare, unable to understand how Freddy had accidentally turned the unstoppable creation that has chased them so doggedly…into a one legged dog that couldn't chase a snail.

"I can make it on my owwwwwwwn!" Lil' Brudder declared.

As the White Hole got up…

("OH NO!" Freddy roared.)

And with a roar of her own, ran and lashed out with a foot, and Lil' Brudder was kicked into the air and sent soaring off into the sky.

"Things are lookin' uppppppppppppppppppppp…" He said, and then vanished with a twinkle off in the far distance.

"…Fuck." Freddy cursed. "Those stupid Japs can't design a computer OR a horror character! I should have used that damn Grudge kid!" Freddy snarled. "…On the other hand, that brat had no style at all. Forget what's hot now, I'm done playing with it. Time to return to the classics." Freddy said, already forgetting his anger as he gleefully rubbed his hands together. "Time to give it up to the originals…well, all the ones ripped off me of course."
"…Do you have any idea what just happened?" Nightwalker said, as she snapped more ammo into her gauntlets, keeping her helmet up so she could use the scanners to make sure nothing was coming back or nothing new was trying to sneak up on them.

"No, and I don't care." The White Hole said, as she dusted herself off. "But now maybe that fucking thing will take me seriously."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nightwalker asked.

"Have you learned nothing about me Sine?" The White Hole said, as she looked at the human girl and grinned wickedly herself.

"…As you will, White Hole. As you will."

"By the way, I hate to keep bringing this up, but I think your breasts have increased even more."

Stunned, Nightwalker looked down.

"…Oh this is just too fucking much." Nightwalker said. "I did not start this life to be Lara Croft."

"Who?"

"Never mind! Let's try and find the gun boxes, close them up, and get them back to Slade and the others before they sic, I don't know, the My Pet Monster on us or something…"

"Your species had pet monsters?"

"No! Forget it."

"I must say Nightwalker, nice jiggle motion you have going there now."

Nightwalker whacked the White Hole on the shoulder.

Perhaps it spoke to what had happened that had she done that when they had started out, the White Hole would have ripped her head off.

Needless to say, when the pair finally got back to the Villain's Café, dragging the weapon boxes, Nightwalker still had her head.

"Man, this blows!" The Sugarman said. "After all that build in Part 2, I just get forgotten! I didn't even appear in Part 3 at all!"

"Technically, this IS Part 3. So by complaining here, you've destroyed your complaint, numbnuts." Freddy said through the mental link he had with the creation.

"Dude, totally not sweet."

"Oh SHUT UP!" Freddy snapped, and cut the contact, leaving the Sugarman wherever he was. Why had he just summoned him?

Well, it didn't matter.

"So you think you've gotten somewhere." Freddy said. "Well people, I've had enough of this obscure and newfangled shit! Now, I'm kickin' it old school!"

And Freddy turned to look upon his army, at all the slashers, all of them stretching out before him, as far as he could see.

"Class is in session. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Next Time, In Boogeymen III!

"Welcome back to the Weakest Link! Kurai, are you in a cage?"

"…No…"

"MORON ON THE LOOSE! MORON ON THE LOOSE!"

BLAM!

"Though if you meant a closet, smoldering pile of ash that was once an annoying British woman, only on weekends, government holidays, and the holy month of Ramadan."

"What? Why Ramadan?" Dr. Light said.

"I figure if I'm not allowed to eat for a month, then he isn't either." Slade said.

"…What a twist!" Nightwalker said.

8888

"What do you mean the Lord was a stripper on the side?"

8888

And then Slade walked into a bar.

"This joke is not funny in the least."

8888

"Rather nice Earl Grey, eh Killjoy?"

"…"

8888

"Take that!" Sugarman yelled as he stabbed Control Freak. "…Hey! I stabbed you! Why aren't you falling over?"

"You haven't rolled damage yet."

"WHAT? Ok, fine…ONE? DAMMIT!"

"Hurrah! I have fifty HP left! And initiative!"

"I STABBED YOU RIGHT IN THE THROAT YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"Thank Cthulu fifth edition is so buggy."