Part two written by Swing123
Spaceman Spiff looked up and cut his eyes from side to side.
His spaceship and the aliens chasing him were gone.
Instead he was in a large room made entirely of...
Mirrors.
Slowly, Spiff stood up, and looked around. As he stood up, his reflection appeared all around him, on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
"Hmmm," he said to himself. "A hall of mirrors. This is kind of like one of those things they have in fun houses."
He paused and looked around.
"If fun houses had pieces of broken jagged glass all around and forcefully bring you to them, then sure. A fun house."
Slowly, Spiff started moving forward, his Death Ray Blaster held out in front of him.
Then, as he became more brave, began running, holding his arms out.
He ran faster.
He rounded several turns trying to find a way out.
Then, he made a turn at another fork in the road and...
CRASH!!!!!
...ran head on into one of the mirrors.
Spiff shook his head for a second, then turned, and started down another pathway.
CRASH!!!!
Spiff stumbled back a couple of steps, and rubbed his head in pain.
Then, he spun around and started running down a third hallway in hopes of...
CRASH!!!
"I utterly despise fun houses." Spiff growled, rubbing his sore forehead.
Just then, Spiff spotted a piece of paper on the floor.
"Hello, what's this?" Spiff asked, picking the paper up.
He scanned over it.
"Hmm... this is quite interesting." He considered.
"Uh, hello?" Came a small voice from one of the hallways. "Who's here?"
Spiff spun around.
"I'm here!" He yelled back. "Whoever you are, stay exactly where you are!!!"
And with that, Spiff leaned back, then blasted forward down one of the hallways after the voice.
CRASH!!!!
This time, Spiff was sent right off his feet, and he collapsed onto the floor.
There was a moment of silence.
"On second thought, maybe you'd better just come over to me." He mumbled, standing up.
There was a small pause, then, a small figure stepped up.
Spiff rubbed his head, and looked around.
Sherman was standing in the hallway, staring at Spiff with wide eyes.
"Uh, Calvin?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope." Spiff said, stretching a kink out of his back. "I'm his first alter ego, Spaceman Spiff. At your service."
"Uh huh." Sherman said. "What are you doing here? And, uh, what exactly am I doing here?"
"Ah, I wish I knew, my, uh," Spiff held his hand out as a height measurement. "...Small... hamster person."
Sherman glared at him.
Spiff then began peeking around the corners.
"Anyway, the important question now is, where are we? And... why?!"
Suddenly, a low humming reached Spiff and Sherman's ears.
They both turned, and saw the looming shadow of something large approaching them.
Then, a tall chrome robot appeared around one of the corners.
It was shaped kind of like a giant salt shaker. It had a circular swiveling head which had a long eye piece at the front. The eye piece was glowing bright blue, and going up and down, exploring its surroundings. It's body was tube-like, with several golden orbs planted in the lower portion of it. It had a laser cannon installed on one side of its body, and a suction cup installed on the other.
Sherman and Spiff stared at it.
"Wow," Spiff said. "R2D2 really let himself go."
"HALT!!" the robot shrieked in a shrill electronic voice, lights on the side of its head lighting up as it spoke. "OR YOU WILL BE EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED!!!!"
Sherman turned an icy glare onto Spiff.
"Good work, space cadet. You just brought it here by running into those stupid walls!"
"Fear not, small hamster!" Spiff yelled, advancing forward, and holding his hand out. "This scrap of metal is no match for my Death Ray Blaster!!"
Quickly, Spiff ripped his Blaster out of his holder and pointed it at the robot.
"EAT HOT POWER OUTAGE, ROBOT!!" He screamed, pulling the trigger.
A large blast of red exploded from Spiff's gun, and hurled towards the approaching robot.
BOOM!!!!
Spiff grinned with satisfaction, as he watched the blast hit the robot, and an explosion of several colors as well as black smoke fill the entire hallway in front of him.
He turned to Sherman.
"Well, that's settled." He grinned. "Now, where were we?"
"IT IS THE FIRST AL-TER E-GO!!!" Came a shrill electronic voice. "HE MUST BE DES-TROYED!!!"
Sherman sighed, and Spiff whirled around.
The robot was emerging from the cloud of black, totally unharmed by the blaster, its head going back and forth, wildly.
Spiff ripped the gun out, again, and began firing repeatedly at it. Each pull of the trigger did nothing to slow the robot down.
"OK, Hamster!" He yelled backing up with each blast. "My weapons are useless against this thing!"
"Uh huh." Sherman said. "What was your first tip?"
Spiff ignored him.
"On the count of three, we will abandon this plan and go forward with the next one!"
"You mean running for our lives?"
"Correct. Ready? THREE!!!"
ZOOM!!!
There was a sudden blur of color, and Spiff and Sherman suddenly vanished.
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!!" The robot screeched, moving forward, and blasting away with its laser cannon. "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!!"
Spiff and Sherman raced through the hallways, jumping over fallen mirrors, and trying not to run head on into them.
Spiff looked behind his shoulders.
"Hang on! I think we lost him!"
Very slowly, the two came to a stop.
"Ha! I guess we showed him!" Spiff chuckled.
Sherman looked around.
"That's weird. Where did he go?"
"Who cares?" Spiff said, crossing his arms. "The point is we're in the clear. Now let's find out of to get out of this raging death trap."
He whirled around, and began running off towards...
CRASH!!!!
Sherman glared at Spiff as he sunk to the ground, and lay on the floor, grumbling to himself.
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!"
"Good job." Sherman sighed.
Spiff leaped to his feet, and looked around.
The robot's shadow appeared from around one of the corners.
It would be rounding it in less than fifteen seconds.
Spiff grabbed Sherman off the ground, and rushed over to the wall.
He pressed himself against it and put Sherman onto the ground
"OK, talking rodent, here's the plan!" He said, turning his head.
Sherman glared at him.
"When I say go, rush forward and help me push the robot into the corner there. When I say drop, get on the ground, and cover your head!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Or you could continue standing, and hold your arms to the sky. Either way, the same result will come out."
"Whatever." Sherman growled.
Spiff and Sherman then turned, and waited.
Suddenly, the robot rounded the corner, and began rolling forward, swiveling its head, and looking for the spaceman and hamster.
"GO!!!!"
Spiff and Sherman raced forward behind the robot, and began shoving it forward. Spiff, as you can imagine, did most of the work.
"COUN-TER A-TTACK!!!" The robot shrieked, trying to get a fix on Spiff. "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!"
"DROP!!!"
Spiff and Sherman both collapsed onto the ground.
The robot began turning in circles, firing wildly with it's laser cannon.
Each blast bounced off one of the mirrors and ricocheted back at it.
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!! EX–TER—MIN—A...!!"
BOOM!!!
There was a large blast of color and sound and suddenly the laser fire and loud shrieks ceased.
There was a long moment of silence.
Spiff opened his eyes, and looked around.
The robot had been blown to pieces. Destroyed with its own weapons.
"Wow, that was even more easy than I thought it would be!" Spiff grinned, leaping to his feet, and dusting himself off.
"Right." Sherman grumbled, who was covered in black dust.
He stood up and shook himself off.
Then he looked over at the robot.
"Hey! Look!" He yelled pointing at the wall near it. "It blew a hole in the wall!"
Spiff looked up.
"Hey! Another problem solved!" He grinned.
Sherman rolled his eyes.
The two moved forward, and stared out into rocky wasteland before them.
"Where are we?" Sherman demanded, scanning the landscape.
Spiff acquired a very serious expression on his face.
"Oh no..." He sighed, squinting his eyes.
"What?" Sherman questioned. "What is this place?!"
Spiff stepped out of the hall, and onto the ground outside.
"No..." He said, looking from side to side. "We can't be..."
Then, Spiff's eyes fell onto a tall white tower, which stood on one of the mountains several miles away.
"But we are..." He sighed.
He turned to Sherman.
"Extremely miniature one, I'm afraid we're in The Death Zone." He said, crossing his arms.
Sherman stared at him.
"Where?" He asked.
Spiff stared back at him.
"Uh, I'll explain as we go. Come on." He said, picking the hamster up, and turning around.
Meanwhile, several miles away, Socrates and Stupendous Man were climbing over large boulders and jagged rocks up on one of the mountains.
Stupendous Man was in the lead.
"So, Stupey," Socrates said, examining the area around them. "Do you have any particular idea on where we might be?
"For the last time, NO!!" Stupendous Man shouted. "That's all you've been saying to me since we met! I don'tknow where we are!"
"Well, you don't need to get defensive." Socrates said, defensively.
There was a moment of silence.
"And would you please restrain from calling me 'Stupey'?" Stupendous Man demanded.
Socrates rolled his eyes.
"Well, you know I was perfectly happy just to lay in my pool all day and sleep." He said. "I wake up, and I'm suddenly smack dab in the middle of nowhere. With you."
"Uh huh." Stupendous Man said, looking around one of the rocks.
His eyes popped open.
"Oh... boy..." He sighed.
"What?" Socrates asked, walking around the rock.
"Get back!" Stupendous Man said, shoving him back.
Socrates stumbled backwards into a rock wall.
"What is it?" Socrates demanded, getting a little annoyed.
"I see something." Stupendous Man said, squinting through the fog. "Something's moving. Be still and shut up!"
Socrates glared at Stupendous Man and waited.
CRACK!!!
"YIPES!!!"
Stupendous Man whirled around.
A silver hand had burst from the wall, and had grabbed Socrates arm.
"HELP!!!" Socrates yelled, yanking against the grasp.
"Hang on annoying tiger!" Stupendous Man shouted, rushing forward. "HELP'S COMING!!"
He raced up to Socrates, grabbed his other arm and began pulling in the opposite direction.
"ACK!!" Socrates yelled. "YOU'RE GOING TO RIP MY ARM OFF!!"
Stupendous Man looked around.
The silver hand still had Socrates, and was beginning to pull him towards it.
"Hang in there, red striped one!" He yelled, heroically, jumping to the hand.
With a large crash each time, Stupendous Man struck the metal hand with his fists.
Slowly, the hand loosened its grip, then disappeared into the rock.
"Come on!" Stupendous Man said grabbing Socrates' arm, and hastily leading it away from the wall.
Stupendous Man grabbed a piece of paper off the rocks as they ran.
Meanwhile, on a different side of the zone, Tracer Bullet walked down the small country road, looking around the area, confused.
"Well, this is certainly bewildering..." He said, tipping his hat back, and looking to the sky.
There were large storm clouds all around him.
"Not a very welcoming climate," he considered.
He kept walking.
"When you think about it, not very welcoming at all." He said.
Just then, Tracer heard a noise.
He whipped around, and ripped his gun out of his holder.
He spun from side to side, and glared into the fog.
Nothing.
Then, he heard it, again.
It was a rustling sound.
Slowly, Tracer made his way across the road, and he looked over the side.
"Uhh, hello?" He asked, a little unsurely.
Andy looked up.
He was clinging to some rocks embedded in the dirt, trying not to fall down into an embankment at the bottom of the hill.
"Hello!" Andy shouted back up the hill. "Is someone there?!"
"Yes, there is someone here." Tracer replied.
There was a moment of silence.
"Do you need some help?" Tracer asked.
Andy sighed.
"Yes, I think I could use a hand." He said, sighing.
Tracer looked around, frantically.
Then his eyes fell onto vine, which was hanging on a tree nearby.
"Hang on!" He shouted.
He raced over to the vine, grabbed it off the limb, and rushed back.
"Grab this!"
Tracer tossed the vine down the hill.
Andy looked up, and grabbed it, as it fell down to him.
"Do you have it?" Tracer shouted.
"Yes!" Andy shouted back.
"Then hold on!"
Tracer ran back to the tree with the other end of the vine, and wrapped it around the trunk.
Then, with a mighty heave, he pulled the vine backwards.
It took Tracer five minutes to rescue Andy.
By the time he did, he was exhausted.
Andy climbed up onto the road, and threw the vine away.
"Oh, wow..." Andy sighed, looking down the steep hill he was just down. "Thank you so much..."
He turned around, and stared at Tracer panting and leaning against the tree before him.
"Calvin?" Andy asked.
"No, the name's Bullet." Tracer replied. "Tracer Bullet. I'm Calvin's third alter ego."
"Uhh... right.." Andy said, rolling his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"That's what I want to know. I'm here against my will as well." Tracer said, looking up at the sky.
"Wait a minute." Andy said, stepping forward. "Where are we?"
Tracer pointed behind Andy.
Andy turned around.
There was a tall, white tower standing high above the mountains.
"We're in the Death Zone." He said. "I found these instructions telling about it."
Tracer pulled a piece of paper out of his trench coat.
"Come on, we have to get to that tower." He said, standing up.
"Why?" Andy asked.
"I'll describe the details while we're walking. We're wasting daylight here." Tracer replied. "Come on!"
Andy glared at him, but followed him all the same.
"Now," Spiff said, walking down the grassy landscape with Sherman. "Way back when, the beings of this land had great and unbelievable powers. Which they misused, unfortunately."
Sherman looked around the area.
"What did they do?" He asked
"They used a device called 'The Mind Scoop' which would take other beings right out of existence, and drop them in this place." Spiff growled looking around.
"Why?" Sherman asked.
"Because they were deranged, sociopathic freaks. That's why." Spiff said. "Anyway, they would drop people from different universes and planets here, totally at random, and watch as they slowly destroy each other. Sort of like a giant gladiatorial game..."
"And where are we going?" Sherman demanded.
Spiff pointed at the white tower in the mountains.
"We're going there. To The Dark Tower!" He said, his eyes narrowing.
Stupendous Man and Socrates had just made their way out of the rocky landscape, and were now walking across a smooth grassy terrain.
Stupendous Man had read the paper which he had picked up, and had was telling Socrates about it.
"So, in other words, we're playing this game?" Socrates demanded, looking over the landscape. "A game we're not supposed to win?"
Stupendous Man paused.
"I... don't know." He said, scratching his head.
"And what about our goal?" Socrates asked. "Where are we heading?"
"We're going to the Tower of Rassilon." Stupendous Man said, pointing at the tower several miles away. "Or you could call it The Dark Tower. Whichever you prefer. The answers to all our questions are held in that tower."
"I see." Socrates said, rubbing his chin. "And this Rassilon? Who is he?"
"He was the king of the people who did all this." Stupendous Man replied. "He was the one who created the Death Zone."
"Ah, and that, I assume is his humble abode?" Socrates asked.
Stupendous Man stared at him.
"No," He said, flatly. "It's his tomb."
ZAAAP!!!!
On another part of the zone, an electrified swirling portal appeared out of nowhere, and Holographic Retro stepped out of it.
As he exited it, it imploded and vanished from sight.
Retro looked around.
"Hmmm," He said. "Charming..."
Slowly, he started walking down a dirt trail towards some large rocks.
KABLAM!!!!
"YIKES!!"
Retro jumped.
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the ground only inches away from where he had just stood.
He looked around, frantically and stared at the circle of black, charred dirt with smoke raising from it.
"Not the most hospitable environments." He considered, looking towards the sky. "Ah well, lightning never strikes the same place, twice."
KABLAM!!!
"YAAAAUGH!!!"
Retro leaped several feet into the air, as a second bolt streaked down from the skies, and hit the exact same spot as the last one.
He glared at the burnt ground, and started backing away.
"Whatever..." He grumbled, turning around, and rushing off down the trail.
Suddenly, the outlines of two figures appeared around the horizon.
Retro stopped, and squinted at them.
Then his eyes popped open.
"Those two..." He said, his eyes narrowing.
Tracer and Andy walked down the dirt trail.
Tracer had just finished explaining everything to Andy about The Death Zone, and they were making their way to the tower.
"So, what exactly are we going to do when we get to the tower?" Andy asked, glancing up at the foundation.
"What I always do." Tracer said. "Improvise."
"You mean, you're going to wing it and see what happens?" Andy inquired.
"Yep."
Andy sighed.
"You don't think that maybe..."
Suddenly, a voice interrupted Andy.
"HEY, WAIT!!!"
Tracer and Andy stopped.
They turned around.
Andy's eyes popped open.
"Retro!!" He shouted.
Tracer growled, and reached for his gun.
Retro walked up to them.
"An old foe, eh?" Tracer demanded. "I assume you're the one who brought us to this place?"
Retro stared at him.
"No." He said. "For once, I'm innocent. I was sent here to help you."
"Really." Andy asked, his eyebrows jumping. "By whom?"
There was a long pause.
"Uh, I... don't know..." Retro began.
Andy and Tracer's glares deepened.
"But wait!" Retro yelled, reaching into his pocket. "I carry with me the Seal of a Good Man!"
He pulled a golden badge from his pocket.
"Forged." Tracer said, dully.
Andy nodded.
"See for yourself." Retro offered, handing the seal to Tracer.
Tracer grabbed it, and examined each side.
"Stolen." He said, looking back up. "This is obviously a trap."
Retro blinked.
"Now, tell us what you want." Andy said.
Retro glared at them.
"I'm here to help you!" He insisted. "I knew this was going to be hard, but I didn't think you'd make it impossible!!"
"I'll return the seal, first chance I get." Tracer said, expressionlessly, slipping it into his pocket.
Retro slapped his forehead.
"Would you please listen to me?!" He shouted.
Tracer and Andy stared at him, blankly.
"I was captured by some creepy voice, who sent me here to help you get out of here! The whole thing was... ACK!!!"
KABOOM!
Suddenly, another bolt of lightning struck the ground, only inches from where Retro was standing.
"There you see?" Tracer said, pointing at Retro. "A trap. We know who's behind this one."
Retro looked around.
"These bolts are coming from nowhere." He said, looking towards the sky.
He looked back down.
Tracer and Andy were running off.
"Hey, WAIT!!" Retro shouted.
KABOOM!!
Retro jumped, again.
Another blast of electricity exploded off the ground.
Retro looked from side to side.
Then, he spun around, and fled the scene.
"Rupert and Earl the aliens are behind this, I just know it!!" Spiff shouted, as he carried Sherman across the barren landscape.
"Why do you say that?" Sherman asked.
"Well think about it, isn't this just their style?" Spiff said, holding his hand out to the Death Zone. "Capture everyone, and place them in an area where they're the only ones in control, and we're a bunch of lab rats!"
Sherman looked around.
"So you think Rupert and Earl are here?" He asked.
"Oh, sure." Spiff said. "Pretty soon, we're going to be seeing Earl's crew wandering around, grinning and walking into each other. And I'll bet Rupert and Earl are in the tower, waiting for us!"
"This isn't just part of your instinct to always accuse aliens, huh?" Sherman asked, raising an eyebrow.
Spiff stared at him.
"What do you talking about?" He demanded.
Before Sherman could answer, he saw something over the horizon.
"Hey, what's that?" He yelled, pointing ahead.
Spiff looked up.
"Hmm, it appears to be a cardboard box." He said, squinting, and holding his hand on his forehead.
There was a moment of silence.
"Convenience City!" Spiff shouted. "Let's go!"
"OK," Hobbes said, rooting through the Time Machine. "We have the Time Pauser, Scream Horn, Mini Duplicator, Hypercube, Atomic Freezer, MTM, The Mega-Shrinker 5000, and the Transmogrifier Gun. That's everything, right?"
He turned to Calvin.
He was still laying on the ground, fading in and out slightly.
"Calvin, what's wrong?!" Hobbes shouted.
"I need to send a signal out..." Calvin gasped, beginning to sit up. "They'll hear it. They'll come."
"WHO WILL COME!!" Hobbes yelled, frantically. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!?!?"
"I'm being sucked into a time vortex..." Calvin said.
There was a pause.
"At least I think I am. Hard to tell, when you're only half alive." He said.
Hobbes blinked.
He grabbed the MTM.
"What do we do?!" He shouted into it.
There was a moment of silence.
Then, a hologram popped out of the machine.
Don't look at me. I'm just a CD player.
Hobbes glared at it.
"Thanks a lot." He growled.
Just then, the sound of footsteps reached Hobbes' ears.
He spun around.
The dark outline of someone was approaching them.
"HEY!" He shouted. "Stand back! I know Tiger-Kuan-Dou!"
"That's nice." The figure said, walking up to Hobbes.
Hobbes' eyes popped open.
"S-S-Spiff?" He yelled.
"Yes?" Spiff asked, dully.
"What are you doing here?" Hobbes demanded.
"What are you doing here?" Spiff asked.
"I asked, first!" Hobbes yelled.
"Would you two please shut up!" Sherman shouted, irritably. "What's wrong with Calvin?"
Hobbes, Sherman and Spiff all turned around, and stared at Calvin, who was still fading on the ground.
"Hmm, I'm not sure." Spiff said. "Here, hold this."
He handed Hobbes an extremely ticked off Sherman, and walked over to Calvin.
"Yo, original." He said, standing over him. "What up?"
Suddenly, Calvin's eyes popped open, and he suddenly faded back to being solid.
"You're here!" he yelled, standing up.
"Well, I'm not over there." Spiff said, offering a hand to help Calvin up. "So apparently I am here! Good job."
Hobbes and Sherman rolled their eyes.
Socrates and Stupendous Man walked down the desert landscape, towards the Dark Tower.
The only plants around them, were small patches of dried grass.
Stupendous Man was expressing his theory on who was behind their kidnapping.
"It was Dr Brainstorm and Jack!" He nodded, flying alongside Socrates.
"You think?" Socrates asked, looking around at him.
"Of course." Stupendous Man said. "This is another one of Frank's inventions going crazy! I'll bet you anything that those two are in that tower, with Brainstorm fiddling away at some random machine while Jack sits off in a lounge chair reading a magazine and sipping soda."
"Huh." Socrates said.
"Doesn't that make sense? As soon as we enter that place, we'll hear that goofball screaming orders at Jack."
"Uh huh."
"You don't believe me?" Stupendous Man inquired.
"Well, I just have a feeling that he's not the one who did this." Socrates said. "This was too well planned out. It couldn't have been him."
There was a moment of silence.
But, then, Stupendous Man suddenly stopped flying.
He hung in the air, for a second, his eyes wide with thought.
"Are we stopping for some reason?" Socrates asked, walking up to him.
"I... I wonder if it was Rassilon himself who brought us here!" Stupendous Man said, thoughtfully.
Socrates stared at him.
"Uh, Stupendous Man?" He asked. "You told me this guy was dead."
"Well, not exactly." Stupendous Man said, turning around. "You see, there were many rumors about Rassilon. Some good and some bad. There's one rumor that the beings who lived here, rebelled against him, and imprisoned him in a chamber of forever sleep. It was thought that Rassilon actually acquired immortality!"
Socrates stared at him.
"Immortality, huh?" He asked.
"Yep," Stupendous replied.
There was a long moment of silence.
"Oh boy... We may be playing The Game of Rassilon right now, even as we speak!"
"You're tone isn't very encouraging, Stupendous." Socrates said.
"Yes, I'm aware of that." Stupendous Man said.
There was a pause.
"Well, let's continue then!" Socrates said, stepping forward. "Dark Tower, here we come!"
Stupendous Man groaned.
"OK, so there are three entrances to the tower." Calvin said, as he and Spiff examined the monitor on the cardboard box, which showed a small version of The Dark Tower. "There's one on the top. One underground, and here the main entrance."
"I see." Spiff said. "And which entry do you prefer?"
"Well, the main entrance." Calvin said, pointing at the monitor.
"Well, I think we should wait for the others!" Spiff said, straightening up. "I mean, look at you! You're already Destabilized as it is. My presence is only a third of the strength you need to..."
"We don't have the time to wait!" Calvin said. "Now, Hobbes, Vermin and I will go out, and look for the tower."
"HEY!" Sherman shouted.
"What?" Calvin asked, as he and Spiff turned around.
"Why can't we just use the airplane feature in the box to fly us to the tower?" Hobbes asked, before Sherman could protest.
"There's a force field around it." Spiff said. "It would blow the box up."
"I see." Hobbes said. "Never mind."
"Why do we have to come?" Sherman yelled.
"What, do you think I'm going out into The Death Zone without body shields?" Calvin demanded.
There was a pause.
ZOOM!!!
Suddenly, Hobbes bolted off in the other direction.
Calvin, Spiff, and Sherman watched him.
"I'll give him eleven seconds." Calvin said.
There was long pause.
ZOOM!!!
Suddenly, Hobbes reappeared in front of Calvin and Spiff.
"OK, never mind." he growled. "Let's go."
"What's wrong?" Calvin chuckled. "No where to hide from reality?"
Hobbes glared at him.
Calvin whirled around to Spiff.
"Now, you'll pilot the box to the tower once I've shut off the force field, right?"
"Of course, I will." Spiff said, dully.
"Right, good. Let's go then!"
And with that, Calvin, Hobbes and Sherman went out in search of The Dark Tower.
"We're almost there!" Calvin shouted, looking ahead to the tower, which stood about ten or twenty miles away from them.
"That's very nice, Calvin." Hobbes growled, hiking up towards him. "How far have we gone so far?"
"Oh I dunno. 'Bout a hundred feet. MOVING ON!!"
Hobbes and Sherman groaned.
But just as they were continuing, a voice reached their ears.
"Calvin!"
Calvin stopped.
He turned around.
Holographic Retro was standing at the bottom of the hill staring up at him.
"Retro!" Sherman yelled.
"Stay here." Calvin said.
"To heck with that. I'm coming!" Hobbes yelled.
He put Sherman back onto the ground, and he and Calvin walked down towards Retro.
Retro remained still.
"OK, Rety!" Calvin spat. "What are you up to, now?"
Retro and Hobbes stared at Calvin for a long moment.
"What?" Calvin demanded.
"Rety?" Hobbes asked.
Calvin glared at him.
"For once, I mean you no harm, Calvin." Retro said, straightening up. "I have been sent by... someone... who wanted me to save you."
"You don't say." Calvin said, sarcastically. "And I suppose Rupert and Earl are going to end up being the Angels of Joy and Happiness in the end, right?"
Retro stared at him.
Suddenly, unbeknownst to Calvin, Hobbes, and Retro, a tall silver robot appeared around one of the hills.
However, this time, it wasn't the lazy and totally harmless Jack, who assisted Dr Brainstorm.
This robot had a cubical head with wires sticking out all around it. It had small red eyes, and a muscular body. It was also holding a laser cannon.
It walked up to the top of the hill, and stared at Calvin, Hobbes and Retro for a long moment.
Then, silently, it turned around, and stared walking back down the hill.
It walked up to a large group of robots who looked exactly like the first one.
"I have found the ones who operate the Time Machine." It said in an electronic voice.
"Excellent." The one in the front, the leader, said in the exact same voice.
"I will lead the charge up, and destroy them." The first one said, pointing towards the hill.
"NO!" The leader said, holding a hand up to stop him. "Capture them alive! They have to be interrogated, first. Calvin is also the only one who can pilot the Time Machine."
The first one nodded.
Then, it walked over to the group of robots.
"Here are your orders." It said.
"Be reasonable, Calvin." Retro said.
"I am." Calvin said. "Hobbes, you being reasonable?"
"As much as I can, sure." Hobbes nodded.
"We've listened to your story, Retro. Neither of us believe you." Calvin said, crossing his arms.
Retro pulled out a laser gun.
"As you can see, I am armed. I could easily destroy you if I wanted to." He said, raising his eyebrows.
"And not humiliate me first?" Calvin chuckled. "Is that really your style, Larry?"
Retro reached into his pocket, again.
"I also carry with me a transmat device. Which will take me back to wherever it was I was at before I came here." He said, holding up the tan sphere with the button in the middle.
"Brilliant." Hobbes said, crossing his arms.
"We would, however, want further proof." Calvin said.
Retro glared at them.
"Another one of your selves took it from me." He said.
"I see." Calvin said, rubbing his chin. "Do you expect me to believe that?"
Just then, Hobbes caught a glimpse of silver out of the corner of his eye.
He looked around.
There were at least sixty of the silver robots all marching up to them from the top of the hill, each one holding a laser cannon.
"AAUGH!!" He yelled, pointing at them. "ROBOTS!!! LOTS OF ROBOTS!!!"
Calvin and Retro spun around.
"What are those?!" Calvin shouted.
Retro's eyes narrowed.
"They're Cybermen." He said, through gritted teeth.
"Well, that's all I need to know. See ya!" Hobbes yelled.
ZOOM!!!
Hobbes vanished.
Calvin and Retro then spun around and stared running, too.
"HAAAAALT!!!!" The Cybermen leader screeched. "Or you will be destroyed!"
At the other side of the hill, Sherman's eyes popped open, and he rushed off in the other direction back towards the Time Machine.
Figures.
When Calvin, Hobbes, and Retro did not respond to the Cybermen's warning, the leader gave the hand signal to attack.
BLASSST!!!
Lasers went after the trio with deadly force, and began blowing up parts of the ground.
BOOOM!
"AAAAUGH!!!"
Calvin stopped, as Retro was blown totally off his feet, and onto the ground, several feet away.
He stared at him for a second.
Then he stared at the approaching Cybermen.
He turned to the direction that Hobbes had run off to.
"HOBBES!" Calvin shouted.
Hobbes stopped running.
He turned around, and rushed back to him.
"What is it?" He yelled.
"Retro's down!" Calvin shouted.
Hobbes stared at him.
"You pulled me away from my safety procedure to tell me that?!" He yelled.
Calvin looked around.
The Cybermen were marching over to him, pointing their laser cannons at him.
"I have an idea." Calvin said, looking back at Hobbes.
He rushed over to Retro's unconscious form.
He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the Transmat device.
Hobbes walked over to him, and stared.
"Hang on to my hand, Hobbes, I'm assuming this thing works through touch!" Calvin yelled.
Hobbes grabbed Calvin's hand.
The Cybermen leader marched up to Calvin and pointed his laser cannon at him.
"You will be accompanying us." It said, dangerously.
Calvin grinned, sweetly at it.
"Sorry. Must dash."
And with that, he pushed the button on the device.
ZAAAP!!!
Suddenly, with a flash of light, Calvin and Hobbes both vanished into thin air.
The Cybermen all looked around in confusion.
They were both gone.