Crisis From a Third Earth

The Sorcerer looked around his throne room. His golems, magical robots, went about their duties in silent perfection. It had taken him some time to build enough to police the world, but it had been worth it. They did what they were ordered, couldn't be argued with or bought, and served his interests first.

They made his life easy.

And boring.

He and his associates had conquered the Earth easily once they had set their minds to eliminating all opposition. They had divided the world in fifths, putting down any who opposed them. There hadn't been a serious challenge to their grip in a long time. He found it hard to even get out of bed some days.

The Sorcerer looked at his golems working in perfect harmony. Everything was perfect now. What he needed was a new challenge, new ground to make his own. The pact with the other Kings was binding so he couldn't just take their lands from them. He needed some other place to make his own.

The Sorcerer drew his red robe around him as he got to his feet. Gold stars glittered slightly as he picked up his floppy hat and stuck it on his head. People expected the suit of him after so many years, and he liked the feeling of history it gave him as he walked from his throne room, tightening the gold sash around his waist.

The Sorcerer made his way through the halls toward his sight seeing room. He pushed open the door, then rolled his sleeves up. A pool of crystal clear water drifted in a natural bowl in the ground, forming a placid mirror for him to look into. It showed him things he needed to do to do the things he wanted to do.

The Sorcerer raised his hands and concentrated. The pool would give him an answer to his problem. Maybe it would show him how to break the pact. Maybe it would show him some other place he could take over and add to his domains. Maybe it would show him an enemy worthy of his time.

Anything was better than the boring existence he had at the moment.

The pool's surface clouded over. The film parted to reveal a city which the Sorcerer had never seen before. It showed him a sign. Then a woman dressed in black stepped into the picture. Equipment pouches hung all over her belt and a harness. She smiled as she looked at something in the distance.

The Sorcerer smiled, waving his hands. The pool changed its picture to show him how to gain passage to that other world. He knew it was another Earth. And he knew it was waiting for him to arrive and conquer it.

He stepped back from the pool, letting it return to normal. He smiled. The others would love this when he told them. They would either like the fact he was turning his attention to somewhere else, or they would like to join in.

Maybe they were as bored as he was.

It would be nice to get back in action again. What was the use of making the trains run on time if there wasn't someone trying to stop it in the first place? That woman in black had to be the exact thing he was looking for if the pool showed him her face.

The Sorcerer summoned one of his golems and issued orders as he walked to his throne room again. He decided the sooner he broke the news the better, but his wooden soldiers were going on high alert in case one of his so-called friends tried to stab him in the back.

He knew them well after all.

The Sorcerer stood in the unused battle room. A flick of his hand sent dust from the stone surfaces as he made his way to the padded throne at one end of the long, wooden table that dominated the chamber. The visitor chairs were hard wood to encourage fast decision making and implementation.

He sat down, enjoying the cushion as his glance made everything sparkle for his visitors. It should be presentable for his partners, the other Kings of the World.

The Bee Keeper arrived first, riding one of his gigantic insects to a landing pad. He entered with his guards, veiled hat covering his head. The faint smell of honey followed him everywhere, just like the man-sized bodyguard drones he employed. His loose white coveralls flapped slightly as he walked.

"What's this all about?," he demanded impatiently with a voice like a quacking buzzsaw.

"Patience, Don," said the Sorcerer, smiling at his oldest partner. Before there were Kings, it was just the two of them.

The Bee Keeper settled in a chair, his nearly opaque veil not concealing the frown on his face.

The Bone Collector entered next, walking quietly to a chair. Ivory armor covered his body from head to toe. Even his weapon, a hammer, resembled a giant thigh bone from some elephantine creature. Amber eyes peered from a sealed helmet as he nodded at the others.

The Sportsman and the partners, Nuts and Bolts, entered together after a few minutes. The smaller twins expounded on a pitching machine not even the skinny man could land a hit on. He simply smiled, letting the mechanics chatter like sewing machines.

There were no baseballs he couldn't hit.

"Thank you for coming," the Sorcerer said, smiling as the Kings watched him from their seats. "I discovered something and I wanted to know your opinion."

"Get on with it," said the Bee Keeper, waving a hand in a small circle.

The Sorcerer smiled.

The wizard king spread his hands over the table, recalling the particular eddy of time he had felt in his scrying pool. A spinning took shape, formed into a picture. That picture became the Earth floating in space.

"Earth." Nuts fiddled with a piece of drawing paper and a pencil.

"So what?" Bolts had a small model made of clay in his hands. It looked like an elaborate catapult.

"Wait for it." The Bee Keeper made the circling motion with his hand. He knew from experience that his colleague hadn't summoned his partners to his inner sanctum to show them a picture of a planet they already ruled.

The picture descended through the blue skies, closing on a small city unlike any that remained on the Kings' world. People walked without restraint, smiling and going about their business. The only police shown in the picture resembled the frail human troops that had been in force until the conquering had brought giant bees, golems of wood, zombies, and robots to take their place.

"I feel we should take over their earth." The Sorcerer dismissed the image with a wave of his hand. "I have been feeling bored lately. I want to be doing things besides ruling this one world."

"Want to take a swing at another playing field?" The Sportsman idly flipped a coin in the air, feet on the table. "I'm game."

"We can test." Nuts started more frantic designs on his paper.

"New designs for our bots." Bolts assembled a model of one of his mechanical policemen out of his clay with a few simple twists of his fingers.

The Bone Collector nodded, amber eyes gleaming from the slits in his helmet.

"What about it, Don?" the Sorcerer studied his old partner, hiding a smile behind steepled fingers.

"It might be a good thing." The Bee Keeper looked at the table top. "The drones are more aggressive now that actual fighting has stopped. It might be a good thing to send them after another enemy."

"I knew I could count on you all." The Sorcerer stood. "We'll map out a plan of attack, and then we'll gather our resources to go. We'll need a reliable method of transport other than magic, Nuts and Bolts. I'm sure you can handle that. Let's eat. Then we'll get to work."

Molly Cule loved her lab. It possessed every facility for building anything she could dream up. It was a bunker against the outside world. Every creature comfort she indulged in was available at a finger's touch.

Her cat slunk around, stretchable body bending at wrong angles as he looked for some treat to snack on. He yowled for attention from his mistress.

"I'll get you some mix in a minute." Molly didn't look up from her soldering. "You're on a diet anyway."

Stein yowled again, pawing at her leg from across the room. He gave her its best pitiful look. The lab shook under an impact. The cat headed for a spot under a piece of machinery that Molly had put together to test something and then forgot about.

"What was that?" Molly ran to her command chair. The lab's security should have snapped on to defend the building, but she needed to know what could have shook her home from the surface.

The screens came to life to reveal armored monsters right outside her door. They fired cannons into the lab, rocking the headquarters. She didn't recognize the design. Then she saw the army of walking stone behind the metal robots. This was something new.

"The champion of Futuropolis." The voice sounded behind her, smooth and melodic. "I'm afraid I can't let you interfere in our conquest of your Earth."

Molly turned, reaching for her equipment belt. She didn't know how this guy had got in her lair with his pointy hat and robe. She didn't care. He had to be stopped long enough for her to question him. Then she could call the others to help her with the problem trying to get in.

The man in the hat lifted his hand, long red sleeve flapping as he moved his arm. Molly saw bubbles burst from his fingers. Then she couldn't move at all.

"I'm the Sorcerer." The stranger paced in front of frozen Molly, hands behind his back. "My associates and I have become bored with ruling our Earth, and have decided to branch out. Futuropolis will be our base of operations until we control this world like we already control our own. Once we have pacified the populace, we'll conquer other worlds from here. It's a simple plan I admit."

"I'll stop you." Molly tried to think of a way through the field. She had talked to an acquaintance about them, but he had warned her that usually the only way out was to hurt the person casting the spell.

"I seriously doubt that, my dear." The Sorcerer smiled as he faced her. "We will rule all we survey and there's nothing you can do about it. I plan to keep you around to watch how we take things apart before I put you to work for me."

"You won't hold me for long." Molly's eyes went around the room. "I'll think of something I can use against you."

"I don't think so." The Sorcerer gestured. Molly's face lost all expression. "I own you now. You will do everything I say. Won't you, dear?"

"Yes." Molly didn't blink. "Command me at your will."

Betty Bit paused as the alert sounded in her internal radio. An invasion seemed to be going on in Futuropolis. That was odd. Molly should have sent a call out for something as massive as her radio hearing was picking up.

Something might have happened to the Theater's leader.

Betty relayed the information through a private hack when she failed to access the Theater's satellite network. Evidently Molly's lab had already fallen. She added that thought to her message as she fired her feet and back jets. She lived closest to the city, and could get there first if she turned on the speed.

Betty soared over the city in a matter of minutes. She recorded and relayed what she saw over the com line as she descended. Things were worse than what she had thought.

Robots of an unknown make patrolled the streets, moving shield walls away from a central entry point. Giant bees controlled the air over the squads of mechanical men. In front of the shield walls, things of wood and decayed corpses moved forward to round up citizens and disarm any resistance. Betty saw that at least two policemen had been ripped to shreds from the look of their uniforms and remains.

Betty decided to head for Molly's lab to find the mastermind and learn what the game plan was. She turned her arm into a stun gun when some of the bees tried to get in her way. Two zaps dropped them for a landing in the street.

The robot men used their own weapons, firing at the robot girl as she sped along. She ducked and wove around their assault. She didn't bother returning fire. Reaching Molly, finding out what had happened to her friend, was more important than a street battle.

Betty spotted the lab ahead. She sent out her password as she headed for the landing pad on the roof. Once inside, she could activate the lab's defenses and stop this invasion with a brilliant plan from Molly's head. Her jets cut off while she was a few inches above the roof of the square building. She dropped the rest of the way to the bunker.

The invasion forces were thick around the bunker, but Betty didn't see anything alarming. She rode the small platform down to the computer center where Molly usually worked on things. Her scanner told her that Molly was in the building.

Someone was with her.

Betty didn't recognize the older man dressed in a bathrobe, and pointed hat. She didn't take a second to evaluate the situation. She raised her hand to stun him. If she was wrong, she would apologize. Otherwise, she had found some way to save the day a little faster.

Molly turned toward Betty, a box in her hand. The robot girl sent her update as she fired at the guy in the hat. Her electric beam bounced off some kind of shield. Molly pressed a button on the box with her thumb. The mechanical heroine fell to the floor, blacked out and shut down.

"The first of your friends to fall, my dear." The Sorcerer smiled, stroking his goatee. "I think she will look good under glass, don't you?"

"I'm sure she will." Molly carelessly left the box on a control panel, eyes lifeless and dull.

The Sorcerer waved his hand. Streaks in the air picked up Betty Bit and placed her in a case that assembled itself in front of him. He smiled as the display polished itself into glowing immobility.

He so loved things to be tidy.

"I think we should prepare for the rest of your friends to arrive." The Sorcerer gestured. Dust motes wrapped around Molly, changing her black garb for a red dress suitable for a ball. "I imagine they have means to circumvent what my colleagues have done to keep people out."

"They are resourceful." Molly looked dead ahead. "But they are only three."

Tom Tanner frowned as he watched the special bulletins assaulting his television. He had asked for a day off to go to a baseball game, but it looked like he was going somewhere else first. He activated his wand and winged business suit he wore as the Pixie. His hood dropped over his head to cover most of his face.

Tanner picked up his phone, dialing Molly Cule's private number. Her city was in trouble, and she should be around her lab, thinking of a way to solve the problem. He frowned when no one answered.

That hadn't happened before.

Tanner needed more information. Fortunately he had a way to get it before he left his apartment. He pointed his wand at his television. Dust drifted on it, taking over the screen. He frowned at the invading armies moving out from the center of Futuropolis, noted the mixture with concern.

He focused the television on Molly's lab. It showed him a clear picture of the outside. When he ordered it to go inside, the screen cracked. He stepped back.

Someone had magic on their side.

The Pixie decided that he needed to get Denver and Vic, and plan some kind of strategy. He figured they were already on a list of wanted enemies. Someone had done enough homework to take out the brains of their operation first.

The Pixie took his communicator apart. The routing linked through Molly's lab. That made the device unsafe to use in the normal fashion. That didn't mean he couldn't use it in some other way.

The Pixie admitted that he didn't know a thing about science except for the basics. That didn't matter. He had the wish wand. It made things work whether they were supposed to or not.

When he was done, the communicator was a flat plate in the middle of his floor. An antenna stuck out of one side. He pressed the button next to the antenna. A few seconds later, Denver Dead appeared in his gray uniform and goggles.

"What's going on?" The half ghost looked around, stepping off the plate. "This place is a dump."

"There's trouble." The Pixie pressed the button again. Vic Ang, the Elementalist, looked around, dressed in the loose shirt and pants he normally wore.

"Hey guys." Vic smiled. "What's going on?"

"There's trouble," said Denver. "What is going on, Pixie?"

"Futuropolis is being invaded by a huge swarm." The Pixie pressed the button again. The plate didn't work. He took it apart, and put it back together as a nonfunctioning communicator. He didn't want Molly to trace it back to him. "Apparently we've lost Molly and Betty already. Let me have your communicators."

He held out his hand for the world spanning radios.

The other two handed over their yellow phones.

"Any chance we can rescue them?" Vic went to the window and looked out. "Everybody seems to be in a hurry."

"I counted a huge number of robots and other things." The Pixie worked his will on their communicators before handing them back. "There's no way the three of us can beat them all. We need more information and help."

"We have those new guys." Denver winced to say it. "We can call them to help us out."

"They are from beyond the veil." The Pixie fixed his television. "I think we should call the Network. That Hex guy might be able to counter the magic I sensed."

"I think you want to work with Chemical Girl again." Denver smiled.

"Chemical Girl?" Vic had been hurt and had missed working with the heroes from another world except for Hector Hex. The guy wore a black lab coat and sunglasses at night. That was too creepy for Vic.

"She was a fox." Denver winked.

"I'll send them a note." The Pixie said, checking his watch. "Then we'll see what we can do about this without the girls."

"We can handle this." Denver said. "Send your note if you want to. By the time they get here, they can help us with the clean up."

The Pixie carried his two friends to the edge of the incursion from their mysterious foes. He frowned as he regarded the expanding force wall. How big would they make it before they stopped to regroup?

"You weren't kidding." Denver Dead floated beside the masked winged wonder. "Zombies and robots. That has to be a conflict of interest."

"Don't forget the giant bees." The Elementalist pointed at the insects roving the air over Futuropolis like helicopters. "If we can punch a hole through the wall, we can look around for a shut off button."

"I have a feeling they are using Molly's lab as their base." The Pixie looked around. "I think that's where we need to go to beat the head guys. These armies are cannon fodder."

"We really need to recruit some more guys." Denver sank into the ground. He paused before vanishing from sight. "I'll see you guys inside after I rescue Molly and Betty."

Pixie raised a hand to say stop, but the ghost was already gone.

"He never listens." The wand wielder rubbed his masked face.

"How do we get in?" Vic was glad the workers hadn't stopped to try and deal with the three of them when they had arrived. It meant they hadn't been noticed yet. "We can't walk through walls."

"I'll do a number on this wall." The Pixie touched the energy with his wand. It shifted color for a brief second. "Now anything can get in, but nothing can get out. It'll be okay until they notice what happened and do something to switch it back."

"After you." Vic made an after you gesture.

The Pixie flew through the wall with a flap of his butterfly wings. He waved a hand at Vic, before coasting along the empty street. Most of the people were probably locked up somewhere until they could be pressed into the dimensional army somehow.

The two of them made their way from shadow to shadow. The Pixie nodded at the headless wooden things marching about with staves. They looked like some kind of golem to go with the robots and zombies they had already seen.

Any chance they had rested with striking the head off this invasion. The soldiers appeared almost invulnerable to normal human weapons.

"Maybe Denver was right for once." The Pixie led the way through back alleys and nearly empty streets. He did his best to be unnoticed by the bees whipping back and forth overhead.

"This has all the earmarks of a trap to me." Vic looked around nervously. "They're probably waiting for us to try to save Molly and Betty."

The Pixie nodded. He used his wand to punch doors through buildings to speed up their walk. There was no advantage in flight as long as the bees kept their stations in the sky above. He didn't find any citizens and that bothered him more than a little.

It meant no one had escaped the dragnet.

The two heroes approached Molly's house. They watched the street for long moments, knowing the lack of enemy presence added to their belief that they were walking into a trap.

"I'd feel better if Denver had come back." Vic spun a ball of air between his hands.

"We'll punch a hole in and try to scare them as much as possible before they get together and break our heads open."

"That sounds like a lousy plan." The Elementalist spun his transparent basketball a little faster. "It's better than anything I can think of at the moment."

"I know what you mean." The Pixie concentrated on his wand. "Let's take our beating like men."

The Pixie and The Elementalist crossed the street, walking around the house toward the small bunker in the back yard. That was the nerve center of their loose affiliation. That was where their real enemy waited for them.

A mixed group of soldiers appeared, wielding their weapons as the two heroes charged. The Pixie raised a wall to block the hail of gun and laser fire headed their way. Vic held his air ball in the palm of one hand as he punched the stone wall with the other. Stone shards sliced through the robots, golems, and zombies.

The golems started growing more members from the pieces Vic had created out of them. Their numbers would double from the splintering he had inflicted. The zombies had been pierced, broken apart like the wooden headless manikins. They reached around, using each other for spare parts. The robots were doing the same thing with less gruesome seeming appearances.

"I need some fire." Vic threw the air ball, flinging the loose parts of living dead, and machinery across the yard with whirlwind force.

The Pixie grabbed some grass. He flung it in the air, swatting it with his wand. The thin strands lit from the touch. Vic caught the sparks in his hands, and began growing it into a fire with his powers.

The Pixie stepped over to the nearest fallen robot. He tapped the metal skin, working a transformation. All the loose metal gathered together in a ball. He tapped the cannonball with his wand. It smashed into the square block's face like a rocket.

"I got a door." The Pixie smiled slightly as he stepped forward to keep up the pressure.

Vic released his bonfire on the wooden constructs and the walking dead. He smiled as the flame took hold and started chewing on the things like a hungry animal.

"I gave our friends something else to think about for the moment." Vic joined his friend at the breach.

The two jumped through the hole in the wall. The creatures at the gate had to be some kind of confidence builder. No one who knew them would think those mindless menaces could stop the Theater. The brains had to be in here with Molly.

The Pixie led the way toward Molly's monitor room. He held his wand ready, glad that he had asked for help before he walked in the lion's den. Hopefully the Network would have surprise on their side when they tried to stop this menace.

The heroes paused just outside the monitor room, glancing up and down the corridor. Denver hadn't reported back either. This could be their last stand.

The Pixie was determined to go down fighting.

The man in the butterfly wings jumped in the room of monitors and computers after creating a flare of light. He was happy to see everyone flinch. That was the only cheery thing about the situation.

Molly was in a dress, holding somebody in a pointed hat by the arm. Denver was compressed in a bottle of some kind. Betty Bit was in a display case on the other side of the room. Then Pointed Hat's friends were clustered around the command chair Molly liked to use.

He hadn't expected it to be easy. It looked like he was right about that.

Don't think, do.

The Pixie decided that he had to get room to maneuver. He splashed the floor into a wave directed at the masterminds. Pointed Hat pointed at the liquid concrete. Energy froze it in place, leaving the uprooted building material curling up between Vic and him and the strangers.

Vic swept his hand across his body. Wind blew against the guy in the bee keeper suit, knocking him off his feet.

The two short guys dripping with mechanical equipment hopped forward. Short rifles barked different types of energy at the Pixie. He swept his wand in front of himself like a baseball bat. The combined blast hit the spook in armor as he tried to close with the masked man. The necromancer flew back into the monitors.

A guy dressed kind of like the Black Bat threw a baseball at Vic. He blocked it with a rush of air. The ball dropped behind him, and bounced on the floor. A soft bang turned the Elementalist's head to deal with a cloud of red smoke drifting toward him. He blew it away with a sweep of his arm.

That was enough for the second ball to hit him in the back of the head. He dropped like a rock from the blow.

The Sorcerer smiled slightly. His plan had worked. It wasn't as smooth as he wanted. Life rarely met what people wanted. Just ask the slaves of his home Earth. They probably wanted to be free of the chains he and the Kings had imposed with their mindless forces.

Only the Pixie remained to thwart them.

What a comical name for such a serious contender.

It was best to stop him before he awakened his friends to aid him. Then there might be a chance that the Kings could lose. That mustn't happen.

The Sorcerer waved his hand. Starlight wrapped around the Pixie. The hero fried just enough to fall to the floor. His suit and wings smoked as he lost his consciousness. His hand remained wrapped around his wand.

"Mine!" Nuts ran forward to grab the star topped baton. Lightning lifted him up off the floor.

"Maybe it's better if we don't touch it." The Sorcerer hid a smile, waving his hand. The floor bundled around the wand and hand, keeping it from touching anything else. "Now I think we should put them in their cells until tomorrow. I'm sure this world's governments will try to bargain with us soon."

"They won't be able to get through the force wall." Bolts helped his brother up by the arm, shaking his head at the burned out pieces of equipment hanging from their places. "I guarantee that."

"Good." The Sorcerer rubbed his hands together. He gestured. The Pixie and Vic floated into glass cubes that assembled themselves from nothing. "It looks like we're right on schedule."

"What are you going to do with her?" The Bee Keeper had picked himself off the floor and pointed at the entranced Molly Cule.

"When we rule this world completely, I plan to send her home and make her one of my wives." The Sorcerer smiled as if that was obvious. "Of course I will have to break her will first so she can serve me completely."

The Bee Keeper frowned. He remained silent. He and Mickey had talked about this before. He didn't approve of the Sorcerer's harem of women he had abused until they served him as a personal guard.

He could help take over a planet and make slaves of the populace but he didn't believe in torture. He wondered if he some standard compared to his associates.

He looked at the others. No point in protesting. They would see it as a weakness and try to take him on. He could deal with one, or two, of his associates, but the rest would kill him for standing up to them. They would make it slow just to show they had no mercy.

"Shall we have a repast?," The Sorcerer said. "Then we should check on our minions to see how things are going."

"Been craving a brew and hot dog all day." The Sportsman flipped his coin. "Looks like a touchdown for us."

The Bone Collector silently left the command center. He didn't eat normal food. It was best he looked after his share of things while the others fueled up for the next few hours.

"Need to reload." Nuts pulled a strap. All of his junked equipment fell to the floor in a stinking mess.

"Spares are at the entry point." Bolts ran a scanner over the pile of refuse to make sure there was nothing usable.

"After dinner." The Sorcerer waved for their host to begin cooking for them, leading them out of the room.

Hector Hex ascended out of his dimensionally displaced lab, straightening his sunglasses and black lab coat. His experiments had gone smoothly for once, and now he needed a sandwich and some milk before he collapsed.

He got his fixings together and placed his submarine on a plate before putting everything back. He poured the milk in a glass, ignoring the rumble from his stomach. He had thought about having an alarm clock in his lab to tell him when to eat. The bunnies didn't like it.

Hex spotted the envelope on the kitchen table and raised an eyebrow. His name was written on the front in a spiked cursive. That was strange. Only his friends knew where he lived, and worked, when he wasn't stopping some public menace. He didn't recognize the handwriting.

He ate the sandwich, eyeing the envelope. It stank of trouble. He should throw it away unread. His day to day had enough problems as it was. His eyes never left the plain holder as he finished his meal.

A bit of will to his sunglasses allowed Hector to see in the invisible ways. The letter wasn't magic, but it had been touched by magic to get it to Hex's table. He spotted the particles of a cloud dispersing in the air around the thing still. He figured it had been sitting on his table at least an hour of local time.

He had two choices. He could ignore it and the potential problem that had brought it to his attention. That was the sensible solution in his mind.

Or he could open it and see what was going on. It didn't have to be trouble. It could be an invite somewhere. He got those occasionally.

Hex picked the envelope up and opened it once he was sure there wasn't a trap attached to it. The piece of paper inside was in the same spiky writing as the address. He read the contents carefully, frowning at each word.

The Theater was in trouble, invaded from some other Earth. Molly Cule and Betty Bit were missing, presumably captured by the invaders. The three remaining members were trying to rescue them but felt that they were walking into a trap by someone who knew what they could do. They wanted help, the kind of help only the Network could provide.

Hex put the letter down, sitting back in his chair.

He remembered the Theater, even had a transport closet to their world in his lab. The letter made it clear that Molly's lab was thought to be taken, which meant her transport closet had also been taken whether the invaders knew it, or not. Sooner or later, they would discover it and try to take over his Earth.

An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.

Hex put his dirty dish and glass in the sink, washing the milk residue out before he went into the communications room he maintained for the Network. Time to call his friends and let them know what was going on. He could do some research while he was waiting for them to arrive at the house.

He had a feeling that the invaders would be doing research on him when they had Molly's Earth under iron control.

He wasn't going to allow it to get that far.

Hex sat down at the big monitor board. He pointed at the keyboard, the letters moving to his thoughts. The satellites above sent the call out to his friends. They would start turning up as soon as they could. That was the best he could ask until there was a real emergency.

Hector set the board to page him if it needed to before he returned to his lab. It was time to get started.

The Hole drifted above Mars, looking back toward Earth. The Network's signal reached him instantaneously through some magic that Hector Hex employed. At the moment he was too busy to answer back.

Ultimass stood in space a few yards away, metal skin gleaming around a blue and silver tunic. His featureless face had a small crease in it, thanks to the Hole's efforts to stop him. His plan to force an asteroid into the Earth so he could claim it as salvage had met a snag when the hero had arrived and caused the asteroid to deflect into the larger of the Martian moons.

"You have crossed me once too often, Terran." Ultimass's voice emanated across the empty void, echoing in the Hole's mind. "It's time I dealt with you permanently."

The Hole waited patiently for the next move. Hector's summons couldn't have come at a worse time. Still, one problem at a time. If he couldn't deal with this by the time the rest were assembled, he knew Chemical Girl would check on him with her blinding speed.

Ultimass charged, swinging a big fist like a meteor. The Hole drifted back, holding his hands out in front of him. The salvager turned the punch into a ram, hoping to close with the hero. Once his big hands wrapped around the other's neck, he could wring it until the head came off.

The charge missed as the Hole drifted in front of the move. He had fought the vulture before and was well aware of how he liked to pummel his enemies until there was nothing left. He just needed something better than that. There was no way he could physically match the other.

Ultimass swung a blue fist, trying to latch on his slippery opponent. The Hole ducked, then decreased his opponent's mass and density. It didn't mean much in space, but it would make the other easier to move when they pushed against each other, and lessen the pain of an impact in case he didn't duck in time.

Time for phase two.

The Hole waited for his enemy to charge again, smiling under his full mask when the alien came on much faster than he intended. The Networker flew around the speeding monster, then got behind him and pushed to increase his speed. The two of them flew across space at a dazzling speed.

Ultimass tried to wrench free, tried to avert a looming disaster. His lightened mass didn't allow him to break free of the Hole's grip. He saw the smaller moon of Mars looming up, tried to brake his excessive speed. He felt the grip fall away. Then he felt heavy, heavier than his normal weight. His increased mass protected him a little when he dug a man-sized crater out of the lifeless planetoid.

The Hole looked around, found a rock. He dropped that on top of the bigger bruiser. Then he increased gravity until the rock and surrounding ground collapsed down on top of the salvager. He grabbed as many big rocks as he could find nearby and placed them on top of the makeshift cell, pressing them one by one with his gravity powers.

It wouldn't hold him for long. His plan was wrecked, his ship damaged, his freedom hampered for the moment. If he calmed down, he might move to some other solar system to cause trouble, or at least repair his ship. That would have to do until the Hole checked in with Hector and thought of something more permanent.

Too bad he couldn't take the menace along and have Hector do something to him on Earth to make sure he didn't bother Earth again.

The space avenger headed for the big blue ball in the distance. Hector only called for something massive. Defeating Ultimass might mean nothing if something just as bad happened and they didn't stop it.

The Hole decreased his weight, so he could pour on the speed. Earth's gravity would start pulling on him when he got close enough. Then he could slow and glide through the blue atmosphere. He had a talent for ranging and navigation like birds. He should drop down right on top of Hex's house and Network headquarters.

His gravity control allowed him to control his speed, boosting and slowing it at will. He preferred to have lighter gravity around him on Earth. That gave him an edge when he confronted someone.

Hex's black house grew as he zeroed in on his destination. His balcony looked clear which meant the house knew to expect him. One time he had to fight off the security system long enough for Hector to shut the automatic guard down.

The Hole landed on the balcony, pushing open the glass doors. He pushed inside the bedroom set aside for him that he hardly used. A lot of his time was spent in space, and his personal base was carved out on Mars.

Time to talk to Hector. There was nothing obviously wrong in the local area as far as he could tell.

Nick Number checked his watch one more time. The Earth was far below, but not the man he wanted to see. In fact, the agent hero planned to talk to his old enemy in a few more seconds of free falling.

"Time." Nick pulled the cord hanging from the front of his jump suit's harness. Metal wings unfolded from the kit on his back. A roar marked a contrail as he headed for his target.

Strawbeard fancied himself a pirate with innovation. Instead of robbing on the oceans, he robbed them on land with his flying ships. He had built a fleet of three out of the loot he had garnered already. Police and security agencies from around the world were looking for him. His floating boats were stealthy, and invisible to radar from the ground.

Nick had an ace up his sleeve. It had taken him a while but comparing satellite pictures had shown him an interesting set of shadows drifting through the sky. Airborne robberies had trailed behind the shadows.

Nick had gotten a jet from someone who owed him a favor. A visit to the armory was enough to load him down with enough weapons to handle any problem as far as he was concerned. He boarded the jet and flew to his drop off point. The rest should be a matter of routine.

Nick jetted down to the flagship, glad that it had an open deck to land on. He cut the jet wing loose, walking his speed off. Guards burst out of the conning tower to try and stop him from doing whatever he had to do. Nick took cover behind an anchor housing as bullets flew.

At least he knew the top deck would stop small arms fire.

Nick pulled his carbine from its ring on the back of his harness. He waited until the firing slowed. One hand swept the stubby weapon back and forth over the housing, holding the trigger down as it went. The whine of ricochets and thumping into flesh was drowned out by the buzzsaw whine of the short rifle.

Nick took a quick look.

Some of the sky sailors were down from wounds. Some had retreated to keep him out of the conning tower at the back of the flying ship. Strawbeard had it painted like the poop deck of some antique.

If they got organized, he was in trouble.

Nick decided not to let them get organized. He had to get inside if he was going to bring this thing down. That meant he had to rush the tower, and clear the sailors out of the way somehow. He checked his rifle's magazine then he made his move.

Nick jumped out from behind the housing, ran forward, fired controlled bursts at the sailors to keep them down. The wounded were too busy trying to stop themselves from bleeding to death, or going over the edge when the ship hit an air current. The agent reached the base of the metal exit, realized that it acted the same as the tail on a jet.

A metal rudder moved to hold the flying ship on course. The ladder to climb up to the entrance was on the side of the tower, a set of metal rungs sticking out. Evidently Strawbeard had not thought about anyone getting close enough to perform some sabotage.

He fired some more rounds to keep the sailors out of his hair as he had a look at the rudder. He couldn't bring the ship down if he ruined it somehow. He could keep it from turning. Maybe that's all he needed to do until he could think of something else.

Joe Boxer grabbed the edge of the subway train car, and held on as the train rolled out of the station. His feet flapped for a second, then he got purchase with the toes of his running shoes. That was all he needed.

Joe's right hand crashed through a window in front of an empty seat. He swung through, landing on his feet. The passengers got out of his way as he headed for the front of the train. That was where St. Andrew had gone.

Joe moved fast, glad the moving conveyance had a light load for the moment. A lot of these people would be killed if Andy wanted to fight.

Joe had some skill as a fighter, but St. Andrew was his match. If they began to battle with all these civilians so close to them, the other man would think nothing of driving his fist through one to show his contempt for them if he got the chance.

Joe paused when he reached the lead car. He could see the wheel man sitting with his head down on a seat, blood pooling on the floor. The passengers stood well away from him. The fighter waited silently.

The main event was about to begin.

St. Andrew came out of the wheel room. He filled the narrow companionway with his bulk, wearing a patchwork of victims' clothes sewn together in a business suit. Red hair was gone on top, tied in a braid down his back. Crooked teeth revealed themselves.

"How's it going, old friend?" St. Andrew stared around, looking for his next victim. Joe moved forward, keeping his attention.

"Why do we go through this?" Joe kept to the right, shooing people back. He had enough trouble defending himself from the giant. "I thought you were going to stay at the sanitarium."

"I got bored." St. Andrew blocked the wheel house with his bulk. "They won't let me have any fun."

"Killing people is not good behavior, Andrew." Joe edged closer. His enemy was up to something. Why else block the front emergency door?

"It's so much fun." The giant feinted at a middle-aged stock broker, trying to draw Joe closer. He smiled when his move didn't work. "It's like making a movie."

"You can make movies without hurting people." Joe grabbed the closest support pole with one hand as he edged a little closer. Andrew was stalling. That meant something was going on.

Andrew didn't want him seeing what was going on in front of the train.

Joe used the support pole to throw himself forward. He couldn't play Andrew's game. He had to know what was going on so he could try and counter it.

Andrew threw himself on the defensive, blocking the punches heading for his face and body. His hands seemed to move on their own, flicking in and out of space. Joe hit him in the leg, trying to blunt his foot work. The giant staggered against the door, rubbing his thigh with a hand.

"Good one, Joseph." St. Andrew smiled. "Can you do better?"

Joe caught a glance of something dark in the subway tunnel ahead. He couldn't tell what it was. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Can you do better?" Andrew grinned at his enemy.

Chemical Girl flew through a stand of trees. She was a comet at the end of a rainbow ribbon trailing across the Marston National Park. She had already crossed half of the park, searching for little Betsy Gordon.

The girl had gotten lost on a hiking trip with her grandparents. A search was on with volunteers from all over beating the bushes. None of them was as fast as Chemical Girl.

After a few minutes of looking, she found a trail of big footprints and a piece of cloth that looked fresh on a bush. The heroine set off after the indentations in the grass. Maybe she was on the wrong track.

Otherwise she had to conclude that Betsy Gordon had been kidnaped and was being carried through the woods in the hopes of evading the search parties.

Chemical Girl found a cave after a few more minutes of searching. She had slowed down so she wouldn't miss anything important.

This better not be a wild goose chase.

The cave had been carved out of a hill. A tree had grown around it, partially hiding the entrance with its large roots. Something sparkled down away from the open air.

"Betsy Gordon!," shouted Chemical Girl, standing at the opening, peering down in the darkness.

"Run away!" A little girl's voice echoed up from the hole in the ground. "Run away now. He'll eat you."

"I'm coming in, Betsy." Chemical Girl started into the tunnel, ready for anything.

Something covered in dark brown fur loomed up out of the darkness ahead, teeth and eyes reflecting the dim light drifting in from the opening behind the heroine. It swung a clawed appendage at the smaller woman. Its paw swept through empty air.

Chemical Girl didn't give it a second chance to attack.

She swung a right, dragging light behind her. Her fist connected, slamming whatever it was to the back of the cave.

"Hey!" Betsy's voice drifted from the right. "Watch what you're doing."

"Excuse me." Chemical Girl flew over, frowning at a metal cage shaped like a barrel that held the little girl. "I'll have you out of there in a second."

"Look out." Betsy cowered down in her cell, hands covering her head.

Chemical Girl turned her head. The furry what's it had decided to rush her while her attention was on breaking Betsy out of her cell. Anger poured energy to her eyes. A red beam ignited the coat of the kidnaper as soon as it touched the hair.

The beast ran in circles beating at the fire with its paws. A rainbow connected to it for a second's flashing. Then it flew back the length of the cave, impacting against the wall again.

"Stay down." Chemical Girl got a better look at the cave floor. Little bits of something dotted the packed dirt. A small skull lay against the back of the cavern. She didn't feel so bad about setting the thing on fire now.

"That was awesome." Betsy's voice drew the heroine back to her predicament. "Do it again."

"Let me get you out of there." Chemical Girl grabbed the cage's bars and pulled. The metal bent easily in her hands.

"Thanks." Betsy jumped and hugged her rescuer. "I thought he was going to eat me."

"I'm going to take you back to where your grandparents are waiting." Chemical Girl carried the girl out of the cave into the light. "Then I'll come back and deal with Bigfoot."

The rainbow avenger smashed the cave entrance down, baking it with her eyes before taking to the air.

Nick Number's beeper went off as he lodged a grenade into the rudder assembly of Strawbeard's flying boat. He ignored it. Hector could wait until he was sure he was going to live through the next few minutes. The agent pulled the pin on the grenade, making sure that the spoon fell out. He ran around to the front of the tower, keeping the top covered with his carbine.

No use crippling the thing if he got shot before he found out if his trick did anything.

The grenade went off. The ship lost speed. A smoke cloud drifted behind the falling pieces of metal that used to be a rudder. Nick hoped the crew was stunned enough for him to take advantage.

Nick pulled two of his last three grenades from their holders. He pulled the pin on one and threw it on top of the conning tower. It bounced around with a small clinking. Then it went off.

Nick moved to check the damage to the rudder assembly. His first grenade had blown a hole in the armor of the ship, exposing some of the wiring and ductwork. That was good as far as he was concerned.

The agent noticed that Strawbeard's other two ships were getting closer. Air pirates swarmed out on the windy top decks. Rifle fire wouldn't do anything but scratch the aircraft's skin, but he couldn't afford to take a hit.

Even if his armor deflected the bullet, there was a real chance he could be shoved over the side to his death.

Nick ducked down, pulling the pin on his third grenade. He dropped the explosive in the open hole. Bullets started whining around him. A few steps carried him away from the explosion he was planning. Three pulls of his carbine's trigger scattered the pirates facing him. The others would have to shoot through the conning tower he was using as a shield. He didn't think they could do that.

Three seconds later, his grenade exploded and changed the situation.

The back end of the flag ship drifted smoke behind it as a fire raged below. Its nose pointed down slightly, as it lost power and headed for a crash in the hard earth below. Nick grabbed one of the rungs on the side of the conning tower as he slung his rifle. Bullets whined around him, but the sudden sinking seemed to have thrown off the pirates' aim.

Nick reached the top of the tower, glad that the hatch was halfway off its hinges and twisted out of the way. The metal cup gave him protection from his enemies on the other boats. The twisted hatch gave him an opening to drop a grenade, while partially protecting him from fire below.

Nick pulled his last grenade, prepped it for use. He still had to get inside and make sure Strawbeard didn't get away. That wouldn't be easy if the crew couldn't be cleared out of his way. He dropped the metal ball through the opening.

Nick waited, crouched beside the hatch. A whomp let him know the explosive had done its work the best that it could. He pointed the carbine's barrel into the opening and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Nick pulled the empty magazine, dropping it over the side of the tower. He slapped another one in place, closing the butt of the rifle up around it, pulling the hammer back. He pointed the carbine inside the tunnel and pulled the trigger twice to see if the defenders minded ricochets.

He let the bullets bounce around for a few seconds before pulling the hatch out of the way and dropping down. He rolled to get away from the possible ambush, glancing around for enemies.

He had some more wounded, maybe one dead from the grenade. At least no one wanted to fight for the moment.

Joe Boxer had a problem. The train was going to collide with a concrete wall at high speed. He was fast enough to get off the train. Everyone else would die.

He had to stop that.

"Quite a conundrum, old friend." St. Andrew smiled. "Just like the movies I enjoy so much."

Joe didn't have time to play around. The psycho was just as skilled as he was with fewer regards to collateral damage. If he fought, they would crash. If he went for the switch, St. Andrew would go for him, or the passengers in the car. If he did nothing, they would crash.

There had to be a way out.

Joe backed up to the wheelman's room. He glanced inside. Everything looked okay. All he had to do was turn a switch to throttle down. It seemed too simple to him.

Joe reached for the brake to stop the train.

Joe felt movement behind him. He turned, twisting to one side. The psycho just missed landing a sucker punch.

"Mustn't play with the train." St. Andrew smiled again, almost giggled. "That would spoil the spectacle."

Joe grabbed the edge of the door, hoisting his body into a kick. He didn't care if he connected or not, and didn't. He needed room to move if he wanted to save the train. His move forced Andrew back and to the side. Joe landed, and jumped again, using the plastic seats to change the direction of movement into a spinning fist.

That did connect.

Joe landed and used the force of his spin to push with both hands. St. Andrew flew against the window on the opposite of the train, cracking it with his body. He pushed back to move the Networker on the defensive to counter his charge like the boxer always did. Joe stepped into the punch, pushing again. The mad man hit the cracked window and flew through, vanishing into the tunnel.

Joe turned and ran to the wheelman's controls, hitting the brakes. He hoped that Andrew hadn't tampered with anything as he watched the approaching wall. The train had slowed, but it was still going to hit.

"Everybody." Joe shouted to make himself heard. "Start moving to the back of the train."

Nobody moved, staring at him like he was an alien.

"Move it if you want to live!" Joe started making waving motions with both arms. "We're still going to crash."

That spurred the crowd into action. They began pushing and shoving to get to the door that led to the other cars.

Joe stood behind them, urging more speed. He glanced out the front of the car. He didn't like the approaching wall of darkness. The crowd was still moving too slow.

"A little more speed please." Finally the commuters were clear of the front car. Joe reached down and unlocked the coupling so the passenger cars would slow to a crawl. Someone would have to run to a station to get help, but it looked like everything was going to work out well.

Joe jumped off the front car, unsure how hard it would hit with brakes applied. He didn't want to take a chance. He landed by the tracks, making sure to stay away from the third rail.

Joe started down the tracks. Falling off a train wouldn't stop St. Andrew. It hadn't before.

Something big descended from the dark shadows lining the tunnel. Joe backed out of the way, hands in the air as he waited for whatever it was to hit the ground.

"Can't fool you, Joe." St. Andrew's voice drifted from all directions in the echoing tunnel. "You ruined my plan. I was hoping to cause something spectacular."

"Killing people is not spectacular." Joe moved to keep an eye on the passengers, glad that they seemed to be moving from the stopped cars without anyone being hurt.

It would be like Andrew to kill them as they tried to get to safety.

"I think I will live and let live for the moment, Joe." St. Andrew appeared under a light in the distance. "See you later."

Joe rushed forward. By the time he had gotten to the light, the giant had vanished again. He looked around for any fleeing shadow. He shook his head. It looked like the psycho had gotten away to plan some other scheme.

Joe's beeper buzzed on his belt. He heard something in the tunnel ahead. He pulled the beeper out of its case to let the buzz reign in the echo chamber he was in. Someone groaned. A light was obscured.

Joe smiled. Maybe he hadn't lost yet.

Joe ran forward, finally discerning something that looked like the whites of a person's eyes. He felt movement and countered blindly. Hands shoved. St. Andrew stepped into a circle of light, fending off the smaller man with his lightning speed.

Time to battle face to face.

Nick Number drifted down the hall, weapon at the ready. He had broken into a ship of pirates, put a kink in their plans, and killed and wounded some of them. The crew would want to get even with him for doing that.

Bullets started flying around Nick. He ran, holding an arm over his head. Where did those pirates come from? He slid, rolling against the wall. Ricochets missed him with a whine of anger.

Nick fired back at the horde of pirates trying to use a stairwell and some doors as cover. That made them duck out of the way. He didn't have enough bullets to take care of them all. He needed an equalizer.

Nick went for a door, blasting away as he went. Engineering is where he needed to be. If he couldn't reach that, he would have to do the next best thing.

Nick pulled a plastic block from his kit. He slapped it down on the floor, stuck in a pen, and pushed the button. He took cover. The block blew a hole through the floor.

Nick jumped through the hole, moving to an exit. His move had caught the pirates by surprise, giving him room to move. He looked around as he made it to the hall and headed along a path marked by overhead pipes.

Maybe they knew the way.

Nick found a steel door. A guard stood in front of it, holding a rifle. The agent shot the pirate in the leg before he was seen coming down the hall. Number sprinted over, kicked the man in the head, then kicked the rifle away. He dropped down so the pirate could look into the muzzle of his carbine up close.

"I'm going to ask once." Nick moved the hot barrel closer. "What's behind the door?"

"Engine room!" The pirate clutched at his leg, trying to keep his face away from the hot circle of steel. "Engine room."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Nick reversed the rifle and brought the butt down. The pirate's eyes rolled up. Nick tied a tourniquet and bandage around the wound to slow the bleeding.

Nick opened the door, pushed inside. Several pirates were on guard. One opened fire with a small submachine gun. Bullets sparked off the door frame, causing the agent to throw himself down behind a large turbine on the floor.

"Give up and I won't hurt you." Nick smiled as he shouted out the taunt. More bullets tried to tear him from his hiding place. He hunkered down and waited.

"You're not that good, Number." One pirate shouted to be heard over the din of gunfire. "You can't take us all."

Nick smiled even wider. There was always one who doubted him. It never failed.

Some of the weapons ran dry. Nick fired over his shield. He supposed that's why no one tried to rush him while he was pinned down. Some of them might have been shot. Number waited patiently.

Nick peeked over the turbine, before sweeping his carbine in a wide arc. His bullets dug at the machinery mercilessly. He couldn't see if he hit anything important. Smoke from a fire started by the swarm of bullets obscured everything.

He couldn't see them. They couldn't see him. It was an almost perfect situation as long as he didn't run into somebody.

Nick let the rifle drop on its sling. He pulled his pistol, going forward. A lot of the controls seemed flayed. Several blazes worked to help the agent carry out his duty. His eyes didn't pick out any of the engineers.

Nick emptied his pistol into the still working machinery. He changed magazines before someone tried to shoot him full of holes. One jack of his thumb armed the carbine for use.

The deck shifted gently as sprinklers poured fire fighting foam in the engine room. Nick covered his face as he ran for the entry. White frosted his shoulders and hair as he jumped across the threshold. The injured guard laid where he had passed out.

At least he would live a little longer, maybe even make it to jail. That depended on the skills of the pilot.

Nick listened. Alarms let the crew know the ship was heading for the ground. Clattering boots told him the crew knew what they were doing as far as that was concerned. Number moved, heading for the upper deck himself.

He still had to contend with the other two ships somehow.

Hector Hex looked at the monitor he had jury-rigged to pierce the dimensional veil. He rubbed his chin. This was bigger than he had thought.

He had expected trouble when he had received the note from the Theater. He had not expected they would lose, and the invasion would expand virtually unopposed. That Earth's military didn't seem up to the job of holding the combined forces that Hector noted.

Ideas flitted through his head, but he couldn't hold one long enough to apply it to this emergency.

"What's going on, Hector?" Chemical Girl dropped into a chair to Hex's right. The Hole stood leaning in the doorway, featureless mask blotting out his face.

Hector swivelled his chair to look at his comrades. Sunglasses covered the upper part of his face. He knew they would join in any scheme he concocted to save that other Earth. They were heroes to the core.

Hector had decided to use the operations room with its monitors and computer links as the focal point for his mystic observation. He would have used his lab below the house, but no one liked to go down there unless they had to. And he needed to be able to show his friends what he had found without waiting.

"The Earth where the Theater lives has been invaded." Hex showed his two friends images on the big board. "They have asked us for help."

"It looks bad." Chemical Girl glared at the screen. "I see a bunch of different style troops there."

"There are too many to fight." The Hole stepped closer. "If we could take out the commanders, maybe we could stall the troops."

"I believe that if we don't do something, our Earth is next," said Hector. "We need to nip this in the bud."

"I guess it's safe to assume the Theater has gone down swinging." The Hole stepped closer, almost leaning into the screen. "This isn't good."

"What do you mean?" Chemical Girl sat back. She saw the same thing, but it didn't mean anything to her.

"We have at least three different forces in the field, meaning three different individual commanders." The Hole highlighted three examples with a pointer. "Two of which have to be operating with magic."

"A zombie and a golem. Not necessarily exclusive workings, but not common together. I agree that it indicates two magicians. The third is a robot but not like anything I have seen before."

"So what's the plan, Hec?" Chemical Girl spotted other things now that she looked for them.

"We need to get Nick and Joe, free the Theater, and go after the leaders of this thing." Hector stood up. "I have a feeling that Molly's lab is the center of the invader command. That's where we'll have to start."

"We'll get the others." The Hole turned from the screen. "You get started on getting us there."

"Saving other Earths." Chemical Girl noted the locations of Nick and Joe on the member board. "We should advertise. Have powers, save worlds."

"If no one else can help, if you can find them, maybe you too can hire the Network." The Hole seemed to smile under his hood as he headed for his balcony.

"Magnum?" Chemical Girl smiled.

"The A-Team." The Hole floated up the stairs. "I always liked Murdoch."

Chemical Girl laughed, taking flight on a rainbow.

The Hole crossed his room to the balcony. He launched into the air. Joe Boxer was closer so it was easier for him to get the fighter and return to the house. Bee Bee was faster than he could hope to be. Crossing the country to pick up Nick should be a snap for her.

The Hole glided over the city, paused when he couldn't see Joe at the location marked on the map. He checked the Network com unit he wore. Joe was there. He couldn't see the fighter.

The Hole decided his friend had to be underground. He descended, looking for any means to get under the street. He found an access hatch easily enough. He dropped into a subway tunnel. Sounds of a fight pointed him along the tunnel.

The Hole glided along toward the battle.

Joe Boxer and St. Andrew traded blows as they moved around the confines of the subway tunnel. They executed vicious moves designed to cripple and maim while using defensive gestures to protect themselves. The Network hero finally landed a fist-forearm-elbow combination that rocked the bigger fighter back. His follow-up ran into a countermove that stalled him out of striking range.

"You can't keep this up, St. Andrew." Joe danced in place, hands moving in circles. "You're soft on asylum food."

"Taunting is so beneath you, Joe." St. Andrew held his own hands up to resemble a beefy scarecrow. "I've been taking anger management classes."

"I'd take anger management so I wouldn't bust a mirror showing me how ugly I am if I were you." Joe jabbed. The move didn't do anything.

"You can do better than that." Andrew raised his hands higher. "You might want to hurry. I might have arranged more surprises for the transportation system."

Joe grimaced. He couldn't risk a bluff. He had to make his next move count.

Joe swung a left. A block came down to protect Andrew's face. He reversed the swing, driving in his right while pulling out his left. The punch knocked the blocking arm back into the giant's face, blinding him for a second. That was what Joe wanted.

Joe's hands blurred in sets of combinations. He didn't have a big window for long swings so stuck with rapid fire jabs. It felt like using a side of beef for a speed bag.

St. Andrew fell back, trying to recoup for a counter fusillade. His huge fists dropped to defend his body as he tried to catch a breath. A grin stretched across his face as he tried to laugh.

Joe went for his enemy's legs, hoping that if he could halt the other's mobility then he could keep the man in one area long enough to subdue him. The bigger fighter was not known for staying in one place, preferring to sow death while leading an opponent on.

Andrew stopped one fist, but not the other. A cramp ran up his leg from the punch. He hopped back on his good leg, rubbing the knotted muscle with one hand. The grin was a wince now.

Joe moved in to take advantage. He targeted Andrew's head and face while the big man was hobbling backwards on his one good leg. Half his punches didn't connect. The other half drew blood and staggered the giant against the stopped train.

"Mercy, Joe." St. Andrew held up his hands as he sank to his knees. "Take me back to the hospital."

Joe paused despite himself. His first thought was mercy. You don't kick a man when he's down.

St. Andrew smiled, then threw himself under the train. He rolled to the other side with a laugh. He jumped to his feet, and started hobbling down the track toward the fleeing passengers.

Joe ran down the tracks, following the train to where the cars were joined together. He vaulted across the platforms to get to the other side. St. Andrew hobbled a few yards ahead. Joe leaped, driving his fist in front of him with his whole body behind the blow. His knuckles smashed against the back of the balding head, driving his target forward and to the ground. His arms wrapped around the man's neck in a choke hold.

The Hole appeared as St. Andrew struggled in Joe's inexorable grip. He hovered just out of reach of the conflict.

"Need a hand?" The space crusader knew better than to get too close to anyone giving his friend trouble.

"I got it." Joe increased the pressure around the other's neck. "Trouble?"

"Our friends from the Theater seem to be having problems they need help with." The Hole's mask hid his expression with a star field on cloth. "Hector asked me to come by and pick you up."

"Could have used your help earlier." Joe felt his enemy go slack. He kept the pressure on for a few minutes more to make sure. "This nitwit set the train on a collision course with a dead end tunnel."

"I'll take him off your hands." The Hole extended a hand, nullifying gravity on the insane behemoth. "I'll drop him off at the police station while you get these people off the tracks and come back for you."

"Not the police station." Joe brushed his clothes off. "He is supposed to be held by a hospital for the criminally insane. He keeps escaping."

"I'll see what I can do about that when I get him back there." The Hole shepherded his burden in front of his floating form. "Which hospital?"

"The Bridges." Joe gave him an address.

"I'll be right back." The Hole flew down the tunnel, pushing St. Andrew in front of him. He made sure to keep a distance from the big man's hands. That would avoid any complications for the trip.

Chemical Girl crossed the country at the end of a streak of color. She spotted the airships from a mile away. They spotted her too. Then the missiles launched in hopes of knocking her out of the sky.

Chemical Girl frowned. Then the air distorted in front of her as heat erupted from her eyes. She glared at the missiles. They blew up under the heat beam's terrible gaze. Smoke and debris marked her flight path as she closed on the pirates.

The center ship listed, then began sinking to the ground. A cloud drifted from it as it headed for a crash. The other two followed it, firing at the Networker as she soared toward them at cruising speed.

"I don't have time for this." Chemical Girl sped up.

Chemical Girl hit the craft nearest her ahead of a sonic boom. She crashed through to the other side, ripping the guts out as she passed. Smoke and fire immediately started filling the ship behind her. The crew started damage control, but everyone knew they were out of power and going to hit the ground hard right after their flagship.

The last ship turned and started to flee at full power. Better to run than be forced down. If they escaped, they could rescue the others.

Bee Bee had other ideas.

She flew into the exhaust of the air ship. She exited from the bow. The boat started to come apart under her mistreatment. The crew could only watch helplessly as the ground came up with finality.

Chemical Girl hovered to check her handiwork. All three combatants were busy rigging for a crash. None of them were breaking apart severely, but the last one had lost part of the keel. She radioed for the authorities to pick up the crews in a field she singled out below.

Time to rescue Nick Number's archenemies before they turned into ash upon trying to dig their way to the other side of the planet at high speeds. They might even give her a pirate medal for the save.

Chemical Girl grabbed airship one and pushed it into the ground with just enough control that it landed without exploding in her hands. Ship two landed right on top of the first, pinning it down. Number three landed beside the first two, holes appearing in the hull as it drifted down.

"That's better than I hoped." Chemical Girl activated the communication unit in her belt. "Nick? We have to go."

"I'm in the middle of something, Chemical Girl." Firearms demonstrated this point over the air waves. "Could you call me back in a little bit?"

"An emergency has come up." Chemical Girl frowned at the air ships. "The planes are grounded, and the Feds are on their way. We have to go."

"Still busy dear." More gunfire leaked through the unit. "I can't get away at the moment."

"Stay there." Chemical Girl looked at the airship that had landed first. "I'm coming in to get you."

Bee Bee cut off any reply as she walked toward the piled pirate ships. Crews from the other two were trying to exit and climb down the hull as she paused in front of Nick's barrow. She punched a hole through the damaged hull and started walking toward the chattering of weapons.

Some of the pirates spotted her and fled. They had a chance against someone like Nick Number. They had nothing on board that could scratch the girl in the striped dress. Discretion proved the better part of valor as they threw their weapons down and raised their hands. One gesture and the troops headed for daylight as fast as they could go.

Chemical Girl reached the scene of the fire fight. A party of pirates that had not got the message was firing rifles and handguns at an open door from behind some confiscated furniture. The racket of their shooting drowned out any noise she might have made.

Her fists went to work with her usual lightning speed. Pirates flew across the room as she swung. A few seconds later, she flung the last one into the ceiling without a thought. She dusted off her hands as the last one fell.

"I think we can go now." She looked at the pirates in their reposed state, glad to put such a menace down.

"Not yet." Nick reloaded his rifle. "We have to make sure none of the crews escape."

"Let's get outside then." Chemical Girl led the way, floating at running speed through the corridors.

Nick followed, glad that the pirates seemed shaken by the turnabout. The rainbow villain buster reached the hole in the hull, waited for Number to step outside, then closed it with a hot look. She did that with all of the openings she had punched through the flying boats, and welded shut any hatch that would provide an exit.

"Thanks for the hand, Bee." Nick checked his equipment. "What kind of emergency is it?"

"We're going across to the Theater's home turf." Chemical Girl picked him up. "I'll fill you in on the way back to Hec's."

"I guess the fact that we should wait for the authorities is not all that important." Nick tried not to look too embarrassed by the manhandling.

"I'll send them a note when we get back." Chemical Girl lifted off in her customary colorful display.

Hector Hex regarded his comrades, knowing they were the best heroes the world had made. He had asked them to save another Earth for people they hardly knew. They didn't balk at the risk ahead.

He couldn't ask for better friends.

"If we're ready to go, we should before the invaders think we're coming." Hex gestured at a box near the entrance of his voluminous lab. "They might already be sizing us up for their next beach."

"We'll save your girlfriend and stop them, Hec." Chemical Girl stepped into the box. "Don't worry about it."

"Molly isn't my girlfriend." Hector set the controls to the device, seven buttons on a flat console, as the Network piled into his cross-dimensional breacher. "We think a lot of the same ways about science, and like to talk about our projects."

"Geek love." Chemical Girl waved a hand in dismissal.

"I seem to remember a villainous rainbow boyfriend of a certain someone." Nick Number smiled. "Oh Bert."

"We were never involved." Chemical Girl's eyes flashed as heat started to boil the air in front of her.

The box hummed. It was the size of a Cadillac stood up on its back bumper. The humming cut off all talk like a swarm of angry bees chasing hive violators. The bottom of the cube faded to black. The heroes slid into the hole like slurped spaghetti until they were gone.

The air of the other Earth wafted sweet and clear to Hector's nostrils as he took a look around from where his group had appeared. The box had dropped them in Molly's lab. No one seemed to have noticed them yet.

Time to get to work.

"We have to free the Theater first, then do what we can about the force field around the city." Hector wrote on the air. "The cells are that way."

He pointed to a doorway on the other side of the room.

"Let's get this over with." Chemical Girl blasted to the doorway, looked around, then vanished down the hall beyond.

"We need to get her a leash." Nick Number moved with more caution, hand on the pistol strapped to his thigh.

Joe Boxer and the Hole moved silently. The fighter led, his reflexes capable of dealing with threats in silence before they had time to think why are you here. That didn't stop the space man from holding one of his energy beams ready to use in case he had to.

Sometimes you needed something stronger than a fist.

Hector Hex brought up the rear of the line, a small spell set to warn him of trouble. He had an idea that his magic would soon give them away. The owner of the golems might check to see if any of his subjects were doing things they shouldn't.

Still he would handle that when it arrived. Chemical Girl was not known for her stealth in any case. He doubted it would be too much longer before the alarms sounded.

Chemical Girl paused at the holding cell. Four of the five members of the Theater stood present. The term battered seemed to apply. She wondered if they had any fight left in them.

Something must have happened to Molly Cule from the looks of things.

"All right, guys, it's time for the great escape." Chemical Girl pulled the door off its hinges with her petite hand. Alarms sounded. "Any day now."

"Betty is broken." Denver scooped his friend's display case up in his arms. "The rest of us have lost our powers. Molly helped them neutralize us."

"I don't believe it." Hector scribed the air, activating Betty's programs and repair tools.

"She was under some kind of spell." The Pixie helped the Elementalist across the cell floor. "I need to find my wand."

"We have to go." Nick went to the end of the hall. "We won't be alone for long."

"I have to have it." The Pixie handed his friend to the Hole. "The rest of you go."

Hector looked around with enchanted sunglasses. He saw the tell tale glow of the wand across the lab. Evidently the invaders knew how to use it. They had to get it back just for that reason alone.

The wand would have defenses. He would just have to do better.

"Bee Bee." Hector handed over his sunglasses and a small pearl from his pocket. "Get it and get back here as fast as possible."

Chemical Girl put on the shades, smiling. She vanished in a cloud of dust as the group started back the way they had come. Something went off like a cannon but that meant nothing. It was more important to get the Theater back to fighting shape. The living rainbow appeared, pearl cracked like an egg, a wand in her other hand.

"Thank you." The Pixie took the wand, tapping himself, Denver Dead, and the Elementalist. Unseen locks snapped open under the pressure of his weapon.

"Let's go." Hector took his sunglasses back, glad to cover his eyes again.

"Not that way." The Pixie smiled, butterfly wings spreading behind the business suit he wore. "They're waiting for us by now."

He flapped his wings, punching a hole through the ceiling. One tap of his wand snapped Betty back to shape in a second. He flew upwards.

"Some of us can't fly." Nick looked up at the tunnel. He looked at Betty flexing her hands. "Why didn't you do that, Hec?"

"Let's go." Hector spread out his hands, creating a symbol of flight to carry Nick, Joe, and him after the Pixie.

The others took the sides around the platform to act as guards and shields as the group headed for clear sky. They still had to get Molly back, but the first counter shot had been sounded. Now they had to build on that before the invaders could stop them.

Troops presented themselves with various weapons. They were no match for heat beams, space energy, spectral energy, lasers, wind gusts, magic blasts, or bullets. The roof separated above them as the Pixie kept going. He arced away from the lab, heading for an office building in downtown Futuropolis.

Time to seek shelter and plan their next attack.

Hector Hex wrote on the air with his black gloved hands. Wards sprang into place around the office space he and his colleagues had commandeered to plan their next move. They had minutes before they were located and attacked by the invaders that had seized Futuropolis.

"Their head guy has Molly under a spell." Betty Bit adjusted an arm. "It was some sort of mystical hypnosis."

"We need to deal with the armies, the chiefs, and free Molly." The Elementalist looked out the window. "How do we do that?"

"The armies seem mindless." Joe Boxer rubbed his face. "If we take out the controllers, the things holding the city hostage will just keep doing what they are doing."

"So we fly back into the lab and duke it out?" Nick Number looked at his friend. "That seems a little too direct."

"There's only six of them." Denver Dead fiddled with the goggles on his forehead. "The problem is two of them are science whizzes, two are them are magicians, one is a loner, and the other controls the bees."

"Better hurry." Chemical Girl had a far away look in her eyes. "The guy in the bathrobe knows we're here. He's ordering his guys to take us out."

"We need to prevent any magic from affecting our sides, single out each of the intruders and deal with them, and then clean up the minions." Hector looked at his friends. "We'll need amulets for each of you. Then we can move to phase two."

"Faster." Chemical Girl moved to the window, getting in front of Vic.

"Wristbands should be right." The Pixie took some pens from the desks in the offices. He touched them with his wand. They became gold bracelets. He handed them over. "The wand's magic won't do much on its own."

Hector said things that made the room rattle. Archaic letters wrote across the metal, inscribing magic with each stroke of an invisible etcher. The bands faded to ordinary metal as the magic hid itself from view.

"Here they come." Chemical Girl glared. Heat melted the windows out of their frames. Giant bee wings caught fire as she moved her head.

"Pair up and let's go." Hector went to the window, gesturing with his hands. "Fliers take non-fliers please. Let's go, Pixie."

Hector's spell created a flash over the skyline. For a moment, any enemy that looked at it was frozen in place for a few seconds. That provided enough time for the magician to activate his jet boots. The Pixie's butterfly wings spread from the back of his business suit and he took flight.

The rest of the heroes split into partners with the Hole and Chemical Girl partnered with Denver and the Elementalist. Betty grabbed Nick and Joe in her arms as she soared out behind the others.

"The Pixie and I will take on the magician, Chemical Girl and the Elementalist need to deal with the zombie king, Hole and Denver deal with the robots. Betty, Nick, and Joe have to deal with the bee brains and the lone guy." Hector looked at the artillery on legs assembling below. "Good luck."

Hector and the Pixie soared toward the lab. The magician had imprisoned the Theater there. He had Molly under his control there, and her inventions if he felt like using them. The others might be clustered around him, or out in the field.

Chemical Girl gave positions as she carried the Elementalist along behind her in her slipstream. He held on for dear life to the current of air cast off by her rainbow. She headed for a cemetery close to Molly's lab. The master of the living dead walked among the disturbed graves.

The Hole and Denver glided toward Scrappy Sam's Junkyard and Salvage. The two mad scientists had constructed an assembly line for their mechanisms. If the heroes took that out, that would stop the flow of robots into the city.

Betty dropped Joe and Nick in a football stadium before heading off to confront the queen bee on her own. The two members of the Network had the least powers, but they had talked the robot girl into splitting up so they could handle things that much faster.

The two friends didn't watch their transport fly off. Their opposition was waiting for them to make their move. Fighting against impossible odds came natural for the weaker heroes.

"What do we have here?" The cheerful voice drifted down to the pair. "Relief pitchers?"

"Come on out so we can wrap this up in time to go home for dinner." Nick raised his rifle. "I've already had a long day before I got here."

"Don't be in such a rush." A tall lean figure stepped out of a passage a few rows of benches up and halfway across the stadium. He wore what looked like pieces of uniforms from every sport Nick had ever seen. "It's not like you can win."

"I'll take my chances." Nick pulled the trigger.

Bullets burned the air as the Sportsman flipped out of sight. Laughter told Nick he had missed a clean shot.

"Looks like we dance." Joe headed toward the passage.

Nick retreated to another passage, rifle ready. The tunnels should connect to the outer ring of the stadium. Maybe they could catch their foe between them. One good shot meant Joe and Nick could help the others.

Naturally they had to get that one shot.

Nick ran down the end of the passage, glad the place was empty of any others. He paused at the ring corridor, listening and looking before charging out. He pointed the rifle, jogging after it. One bullet should be enough.

Sounds of high impact told him that Joe had caught up with their guy. Nick shook his head. He ran faster. His friend was good, but even the best needed help sometimes.

Hector Hex and The Pixie passed through the ground into tunnels leading into Molly Cule's lab. They had a plan. It was simple and should get them through until they freed her mind, or were taken themselves.

Hector didn't plan on being taken.

The Pixie opened a trap door for them, while Hex blinded the security systems. Anything looking into that hall would see nothing but empty space. The winged wonder put his wings away as he led the way to the living area. Hector followed, arcane writing ready to summon aid.

The two men walked into the rooms, wary of anyone trying to stop them. Pixie burst the door open, his wand in front of him. He almost growled at the man in the robe and pointy hat.

"You don't think your pitiful wand can stand up to my mastery of the mystic arts?" The Sorcerer made a dismissive wave with one hand. "You can't be serious."

"I don't have time for this." The Pixie struck the floor with his wand. The concrete jumped up like surf heading for the beach. It struck a bubble jumping to protect the wizard king. The robed magician smiled.

"I think Molly should deal with you." The Sorcerer smiled.

Molly Cule stepped forward from a room off to one side. She wore her customary black overall, and tool belts. She pulled her epoxy gun and fired the glue at her comrade.

The Pixie stepped into the blast, striking it like a baseball. The glue glob flew back at the super scientist. She tried to get out of the way. The resin wrapped around her, gluing her to the floor. Molly struggled against the wrapping.

"Bravo." The Sorcerer stood, summoning his eldritch powers. He planned to turn his cowled enemy into a smear.

Symbols of fire wrapped around the King. His skin grayed over, then hardened into a rock. His eyes scanned the room wildly before they turned into blind pearls. The magic fell away from the statue.

"Good job." The Pixie turned to Molly, frowning as she cut the glue away from inside the wrapping.

"Child's play." Hector crossed the room, placing his hand on Molly's face. She tried to throw him off, but he activated his own magic. "He was so busy trying to deal with you, he never expected that someone else would be there."

"Overconfidence worked in our favor." The Pixie sealed the room. "What do we do with Stone Man?"

"We place him on hold until we deal with his friends." Hector lifted his glowing hand from Molly. Her eyes cleared as she focused on her two comrades. "I have a feeling he's the biggest threat."

"Hector?" Molly tried to rub her face and found that she was inside a split cocoon. "What's going on?"

"An interdimensional invasion from another Earth." Hector pulled the glue into a rod, freeing his colleague. "When you were mind controlled, the Pixie sent me a message for help."

"They took us down pretty fast." The Pixie looked at the statue. "The Network has changed the odds in our favor."

"We need to get rid of their minions, Molly." Hector looked at the frozen Sorcerer too. "They're mostly automatons."

"I'll need to get in my lab, get some readings." Molly got to her feet. "What are you going to do with him?"

"I'm putting him in storage until I can think of something better." Hector raised his hands. Machinery assembled itself into something that resembled the portal generator. When the frame of a door was completed, he pushed the statue into a space between spaces. "That should do as a temporary measure until we round up his friends."

"What are the chances of his breaking out of his transformation?" The Pixie unsealed the room so they could go to the lab.

"Practically nothing by himself." Hector waved the portal back to its constituent parts as he followed the other two out of the room. "If he has help, he could break it like that."

"I hope I didn't do anything wrong while I was under his control." Molly rubbed her eyes. "I think that I hate magic."

"It's not the magic." Hector trailed the group, looking around as he went.

"It's the magician." The Pixie finished.

The Bone Collector looked around his current base of operations. He had seized one of the cemeteries that dotted Futuropolis. The dead had risen and joined his army, leaving some behind to walk the edges of his territory.

That was vanity. The others wouldn't cross into his claimed area. He didn't need it as an undead master of evil. And the zombies didn't care except to follow his orders. So making one place as his own served nothing but to say here I am.

The Bone Collector turned at the sound of wind whistling along. His hand went to the sword hanging in its sheath from his ebony belt. A rainbow descended on him.

Chemical Girl followed with a left. She had dealt with magic users before. The best thing to do was to keep at them before they could get their wits together. Once they had their magic going, they could stall her.

The Bone Collector fell and slid. His sword came out of its sheath as he dug a trench in the heaved up soil. His yellow eyes glared in the shadow of his helmet. But he wasn't hurt by the two mighty blows.

Being undead stopped pain.

The Elementalist dropped from the wind he had ridden. The ground softened his landing as he tried to think of some way to help Chemical Girl. They had to put this guy in a box fast.

The Bone Collector got to his feet as the rainbow circled around to hit him again. He swung with his hammer as she descended. He hoped to smash her down with one blow. Then he could deal with the other one.

Chemical Girl zigzagged around the giant mallet, smashing him again with a right hand. That sent the necromancer over a tombstone. She snatched up the marker and broke it over his head. The fragments flew over the field as he went down again.

The armored menace gestured. Arcane flames summoned aid to him as he swung a leg against Chemical Girl's legs as she closed. He grabbed her face to drain the life from her as she fell on top of him.

The Elementalist leaped, then kicked the top soil. A wave of dirt formed into stone for him. It marched along until it hit the Bone Collector in the side, rolling him over.

Bee Bee broke free, tired and feeling old. She staggered back, looking at her hands. They had gained wrinkles and folds.

She tried to shake the oldness off as the Bone Collector jumped to his feet. His face hid behind his helmet, but she could feel him smiling. He thought she was an easy mark now.

Chemical Girl backed up, thinking she needed to burn him up like the monsters in the old movies.

Chemical Girl's eyes glowed. The air heated up as she glared at the undead villain. His armor started to heat to a cherry red as he charged, hammer ready to strike. Her effort looked too little too late.

Vic had a branch in his hand as he ran forward. The ground aided his speed. Zombies appeared at the edge of the cemetery. They had to wrap this up before things turned on them. He didn't relish the thought of having to deal with dead guys on top of the chief guy.

The Bone Collector swung at Chemical Girl, aiming for her neck. She jumped back. Her weakened energy blast started to boil the metal as she kept on the pressure. Bee Bee hated to admit she didn't have the control to blast him in the face, and had to aim for the biggest part of his body.

Vic grabbed the Dead King's shoulder, spinning him around. The move did two things for the heroes. One, it spun the necromancer so the great black cloak he wore passed in front of Chemical Girl's eye beams. That set the cape on fire. It also exposed his heated chest piece to the Elementalist who slammed the branch he was holding into the hot spot with all the strength he could summon. The branch caught fire.

Vic stepped back out of reach, leaving the branch burning in the Collector's chest. The King tried to hit the Elementalist. The hero slid back, clapping his hands. The flames turned into a column erasing all human features.

Sparks fled from the bonfire. Some had faces that rushed out and away. One fled into Chemical Girl, restoring her vitality. Vic looked at the edge of the graveyard. The minions collapsed where they stood.

"Thanks. That was quick thinking with the branch." Chemical Girl flexed her hands.

"If all of his followers collapsed, we're looking at a health problem." Vic fueled the funeral pyre. "It could be bad for the city."

"On the other hand, it means a fifth of the invaders just went bye-bye." Chemical Girl looked around. "That means we just slowed things down to a quick crawl."

"So what now?" Vic swept the ash up into the wind and scattered it as far as his powers let him.

"We regroup and finish the job and send these nuts where they belong." Chemical Girl smiled, taking to the air.

Denver Dead drifted through a fence covered with a makeshift defensive array. The weapons were built for human, more than human, but not ghosts. He paused to look around at the moving stacks of crushed cars.

Robotic arms took crushed cars from their piles. The metal went into a smelter made of unrecognizable parts salvaged from somewhere. Denver thought the metal went somewhere else for the robot making.

He followed the pipes along to where they ran into what looked like molds. He flew through the eccentric looking mechanisms. They were molds. The metal flowed in, cooled to shape, and then went somewhere else on the assembly line.

Further down he could see where the pieces were put together and activated by a robotic stamper.

Denver wondered what would happen if he were to do something to that stamper.

Denver charged his ectoplasm, then blasted the stamper a good one. The arm flew across the small space toward the office. The cogs inside decided to take a trip to random places inside the fence. The assembly line stopped.

Without something telling the machine the robots had moved away from the line, no more robots would be made.

Denver hovered out of sight. The brains should show up any time to fix what he had done. Then he could blast them at his leisure instead of looking for them.

Already functioning robots ran to the assembly line. Weapons snapped out of their shoulders. They began to sweep the space, congregating around Denver. They aimed what they had been given but did not fire. His incorporeality defeated that notion. Why shoot at what you can't touch?

Something smashed against the fence, diverting everything's attention from the ghost to whatever had crashed in the automatic weapons' field of fire. The robots ran off to deal with their physical foe.

Denver smiled. Everything was going to plan so far.

Denver ignored the sound of weapons discharging as he searched the yard. The people he wanted to see had to be there, had to be working on something. His glance of them said they made new things even if they didn't know why.

A cadre of defending robots surrounded a RV that had seen better days. The automatons formed a circle around that fort, prepared to keep anyone out. He doubted they had been prepared for someone like him.

Denver ghosted through the line, through the metal shell of the vehicle. He found himself inside a gutted living space given over to a drawing board full of parts and equipment. He had no idea what some of it did.

That didn't matter. Nuts and Bolts worked among the loose piles, turning bolts, tightening clamps. Denver didn't know what it was, but figured it was a machine to handle either him, or the Hole. He guessed the Hole since the Network hero seemed to be smashing things in a straight line to where the ghost stood.

Denver let loose a volley at the twin inventors, figuring that it was better to stop what they were doing before they actually did it. He didn't like the fact his blasts bounced off some kind of shield. The two engineers shouted and separated.

Marvelous.

Denver smashed the machine as he went after one of the brothers. The best thing he could do was keep them off balance until he could zap them. The Hole would have to do his best while he took care of business.

First he had to figure out how to get through that shield.

Denver fired a blast at the fleeing brother, hoping to force him into a position the ghost could use to his advantage. The nut hopped out a window, throwing a grenade that flashed the area behind him. The Theater hero fired at a stack of refuse piled high, glad that it fell down toward the inventor. The salvage dropped in a heap on the invader.

A wave of magnetic energy wrapped around Denver. His body started to shake under the directed beam. He looked up and saw the other inventor smiling at him, a cannon under his arm. The ghost started to wink out.

Something metallic hit the cannon's power pack. The beam cut off. Bolts threw it down as he reached for another weapon. His shield hit the Hole's shield, and started warping as the space traveler swooped in. The invader clicked his own shield off before it drew him into the nothing that waited beyond the Hole's hands. A left hook dropped the twin to the ground.

"Where's the other one?" The Hole used salvage as cuffs after taking Bolt's equipment belt and harness.

"I dropped some spare parts on him." Denver pointed to where the pile had tipped over.

Crimson bands wrapped around the two heroes. Nuts stepped out in the open, grinning. He held a hand gun in his gloved hands.

"Maybe I didn't." Denver couldn't shrug in the bands.

Betty Bit spotted the hive from a mile away. It was hard to miss. The Bee Keeper had installed it between two skyscrapers, hanging it over a plaza normally devoted to skaters and picnics. Giant bees on patrol circled the organic structure.

Betty frowned as much as she could as she considered what she had to do. Everything looked messy from her point of view.

Betty plunged through a wall. The stuff sliced apart as she drilled right through, jets curling the edges behind her. Bees became agitated at her charge, began to swarm around her in anger.

Betty decided that fleeing the angry insects was better than trying to fight them. All she wanted was the Bee Keeper. Without him, the bees would stop fighting with intelligence. Molly could figure a way to shrink them.

Betty found herself in a central chamber, surrounded by cells for young drones. The Bee Keeper stood on the other side of the room, checking an instrument panel attached to one of the cells. He turned at her intrusion.

"The robot." He stepped away from the cell, veil hiding his face. "I should have known."

"I don't want to hurt you, or your bees." Betty hovered in the air, alert as the angry swarm buzzed on the walls around her. "I want you to go home and leave us alone."

"I'm afraid I can't leave my partners." The Bee Keeper crossed his arms, the material of his suit crinkling. "They would demand some kind of explanation. There would be recriminations. Besides I don't think a little robot girl like you can do much."

"Don't make me hurt your animals." Betty's arms and hands switched to weapon mode. "It doesn't have to be a fight."

"What makes you think it will be?" The Bee Keeper stepped back, squelching on the soft floor of the birthing chamber.

Bees erupted under Betty. She realized the giant bugs must have dug through the floor to get to her. Thin arms seized her, pinning her limbs so she didn't have a chance to fire at anything.

"Take her apart, boys." The Bee Keeper waved his hand negligently.

Betty didn't give the insects time to do that. She had been caught flatfooted once. She wasn't going to let them take advantage of the situation.

She fired her jets.

Betty scorched one of the killer bees as she dragged the pile around her across the room. She slammed a couple against a birthing chamber as she turned at the last second. One actually tried to steer her into the floor. She twisted her head around on her neck. A laser extended from her eyes. A blast broke her free.

The Bee Keeper made a gesture with his hands. All of the bees in the birthing chamber took flight. Betty fixed her head as her targeting computer took note of the numbers lining up to take a piece of her.

Maybe she should take this fight outside.

Betty fired beams from her hands as she headed for another wall. That bought her time to pull away from the pursuit. She hit the wall and kept going.

The bees followed her through the rent in their walls. Their wings were no match for her jet powers. Still numbers would overwhelm her if she let them get close enough to grab. Maybe she needed a distraction.

Betty targeted the supports holding the hive to the building with her hand lasers. She circled the hive, cutting the webbing as she went. The bees buzzed louder than trucks as they tried to catch her. Other bees soared in to answer the call for help.

The domed sky grew darker as more and more bees arrived to deal with the robot girl.

Betty thought this was a good news/ bad news situation. The bad news was she would have to kill a bunch of bugs to keep them from hurting her mechanical body. The good news was if all of them were converging on her, the rest of the city only had to deal with ground forces while they tried to kill her.

That didn't sound as good as she thought.

Betty finished snapping the threads holding the hive in the air. It started for the ground. Bees converged on it, trying to hold it from hitting the ground. More and more seized the unnatural substance, lowering it gently to the ground.

Betty switched to a flame thrower and set fire to the hive. Some of the bees broke off to chase her again. She couldn't be allowed to burn their home.

Betty fled, firing her lasers. The beams knocked the insects out of the air as she backed up from the attacking bugs. A giant distraction and better maneuverability was keeping her out of harm's way.

She needed a new plan.

Joe Boxer smiled as he walked forward into a storm of improvised projectiles. His fists slammed the bags of candy, popcorn containers, and bottles of condiments away as he focused on the Sports King, and his hockey stick.

Joe felt he had the man on the ropes. He was trying too hard to keep the fighter back with long range weapons, avoided letting him close. Maybe he couldn't fight with his hands.

It wouldn't be the first villain Joe had encountered who couldn't handle a punch to the jaw.

Joe vaulted the counter, ducked the stick as it went for his head. He stepped in close and punched. His fist sank in a protective vest like a catcher's padding. He started throwing fast jabs into the padding, confident he would only bruise his opponent and not seriously hurt him.

It was so easy to drive a rib into a lung and kill someone.

The masked man dropped his stick, remaining silent from the blows. It was hard to tell, but Joe thought the other man was smiling. He would have to fix that.

Joe went for a shot at the goalie mask protecting the King's face. He found himself heading for the drink machine. He turned into the shove, swinging his other arm. He landed on the counter, crashing through the glass and then to the floor.

"Aikido is a sport too." The King laughed behind his white mask.

"Okay." Joe got to his feet, brushing himself off. "Let's dance."

The Sportsman gestured for Joe to come on. The rectangular counter space was his boxing ring. Joe's straight ahead style should have problems if the King could use momentum to throw him around.

Joe hopped the counter. He stood just outside the taller man's reach. He took a second to refocus, then threw his first punch.

The Sportsman went for a trap and throw, a move depending on catching his enemy's arm and twisting his body with the momentum of the blow. He secured a grip, but the rest didn't happen as Joe's other hand struck the trap arm to collapse it. A punch hit the white mask, driving the invader back against the counter.

Joe stepped in, swinging again. The two men traded counter strikes as the boxer kept going forward. The King couldn't set him for a throw, or a lock, as the Networker moved inside his guard. A tattoo of pummeling flipped the versatile villain over the undamaged bar top. The boxer vaulted over after him.

Nick Number took in the scene with a frown. He had run down the corridor to catch up with the two fighters. Neither one of the Networkers had known what the villain could do. Joe seemed to have the upper hand. The agent wasn't surprised to see that.

Joe waited for the Sportsman to get up. He nodded at Nick, but retained his focus. He expected a move to get him off his feet, then a finishing blow to take him out of the fight. The King hopped to his feet, straightening his helmet. He didn't seem to have seen Nick at all.

Nick took aim with his pistol, holding very still. They were still close together. He needed Joe to back off so he could land a clear shot. Pistol ammo may, or may not, punch through whatever protection the King was wearing.

Joe started punching, using counters to block any throws or locks. The Sportsman tried to work in some move to gain the advantage. The two of them danced toward the public restrooms near the concession stand. The King finally spun Joe into the wall, tried to follow up with the edge of his hand.

Nick Number took one step forward, then pulled the trigger of his pistol once. The bullet blasted across the short space. It dug into the catcher's padding. The Sportsman went down on his face.

Joe ripped the helmet away to get a look at his fallen opponent. The man's face was contorted by pain. Apparently the padding hadn't stopped the bullet effectively. Number ran up, pistol leveled.

"Help me with this." Joe ripped the breastplate away to get a better look at the wound.

Nick cuffed the man's hands together first, before putting his pistol away. He pulled a small kit from the belt pack he wore. A knife sliced away black cloth. The bullet seemed to have grazed the King.

"Doesn't look too bad." Nick packed the long trough and wrapped it. "Hector can fix this with his magic."

"At least you didn't shoot him in the head." Joe glared at his friend.

Nick shrugged.

He had often been accused of using excessive force. He couldn't deny that he tended to shoot first, then ask questions if he stuck around for the clean up. The agent felt sometimes you needed to use a hammer to crack an egg.

"Let's find the others." Joe punched the fallen King in the face. He was happy to see the man went to dream land. "They might need us to bail them out."

"What do we do about sleeping beauty?" Nick looked around the hall.

"Stash him and hope he can't break out of the cuffs." Joe picked up the enemy and carried him over to the snack bar. He placed his burden on the floor and covered him with loose paper and popcorn so no one could see him in the mess without really looking. Tape formed a gag to keep the Sportsman from calling for help. "That's the best we can do for right now."

Nick nodded before talking on his radio. He smiled, then frowned at the chatter that came back.

"The Hole and Betty didn't answer." He picked up his rifle. "Which do you want to help?"

"Let's see if we can help Betty." Joe brushed off his hands. "The Hole can take care of himself."

Nick led the way toward the exit. He had already decided to steal the first car they came to for transportation. He had a feeling the mindless soldiers wouldn't interfere with him as long as he looked harmless.

He also had a feeling that none of the minions could drive either.

"Do you know where we're going?" Joe slapped briskly against the front of his jacket and shirt. Dust flew from his hands.

"Roughly." Nick saw the gate ahead, and the parking lot beyond. "We just have to look for smoke."

"So you thought you could just walk in here and fry us?" The inventor King glared at the wrapped Hole and Denver Dead. "That's bravery, or stupidity. I'm betting stupidity."

"Which one are you?" Denver looked up at the twin. "I don't want to call you by the wrong name."

"I'm Bolts." The King loomed over the ghost. "I think trying to kill me is a little greater than calling me by the wrong name."

"You see, Bolts." Denver smiled. "If I wanted you dead, you would be dead. I was just trying to incapacitate you so we can ship you home and make sure you don't come back here."

"I don't see it that way." Bolts fiddled with the remote control in his hands. "I see it as trying to kill me. So I am going to kill you."

"I don't think so." Denver grinned then.

Bolts looked at his captive, remote half rebuilt in his hands. Already enraged, his face grew darker at his foe seeming to laugh at him.

"Why's that, halfwit?"

"Let me show you." Denver faded from sight. His bonds fell to the ground, forming a curlicue where he had been. His unseen voice drifted from the air. "It's child play, isn't it?"

"I'll kill your friend." Bolts pointed the completed remote at Hole. The cowled figure stared at him silently. "Show yourself. Show yourself or he's missing his head."

Denver appeared behind the inventor. He raised one hand, letting fury boil the air around it. Bolts started to turn at the crackling in the air. Ectoplasmic fire blasted him into a stack of cars. The Theater member followed the flaming bolt with a flying ram. Satisfied he had dealt with the King for the moment, he shredded everything he could find on the mastermind.

The Hole applied his shield to the bonds encircling him. The small hole pulled the crimson spray into it, cutting him free from the trap.

Denver flew over to where Nuts lay. He repeated his equipment shredding before dragging him over to lay beside his brother.

"It looks like our part is done." Denver looked around for something to tie the brothers up. He settled for ripping seat belts out of the junkers and using those. "We should take these jokers back to the lab and figure some way to keep them from returning here."

"Hector and Pixie should have cleared it by now." The Hole triggered his radio. "Let me check in."

"Hopefully Molly will have a solution for these brainiacs." Denver floated to the edge of the junkyard before vanishing. He reappeared moments later. "The robots are still working, but there are dead bodies everywhere."

"Probably one of their guys ran into our guys and got beaten." The Hole spoke into the radio for a second. He listened, then signed off. "Chemical Girl was going after that one guy with your Elementalist. If he was behind the zombies, then Bee Bee probably stopped his fourth when she took him down."

"Gives new meaning to glaring anger." Denver looked at their captives. "Are we free to bring the sleeping beauties back to the lab?"

"Hector says it's all clear as long we avoid the enemy around the place." The Hole gathered Nuts and Bolts up in lighter gravity and headed upwards. "They already took the Sorcerer and got Molly back."

"Excellent." Denver did some mental calculations in his head. "We have three, and if we're right about Chemical Girl and Vic, that makes four out of six. That leaves the Bee Keeper and their lone gunman."

"As soon as we drop off our catch, we can check on the others." The Hole drifted along, heading for the lab at the center of the invasion.

"They might beat us back." Denver looked around. "Where are the bees?"

"I don't know." The Hole scanned the skies. "It looks like someone has drawn them out of the area."

"Has to be Betty." Denver frowned. "She's the only one of us unaccounted for who can take one of those things on by herself."

"She had Joe and Nick with her." The Hole sped up by lowering gravity around his body even more. "I hope they didn't do anything rash."

"Betty tends to do that." Denver sped up to keep pace. "Maybe one of us should find them."

"Do it." The Hole spotted the small square bunker. "I'll take these guys in and get after you. You know the area, and can fly faster than I can."

"Catch up when you can." Denver peeled off, vanishing as he roared off.

The Hole drifted down in Molly Cule's yard, letting the twins drop on their faces in front of the lab door. The door opened for him, signaled by someone inside. The Networker dragged his catch inside, looking for the others.

"Bring them up to the control room." Molly Cule's voice drifted from a PA system. "I'll have to run a scan and then put them in storage."

Betty Bit retreated from the angry bees. A huge cloud of the giants surrounded the grounded hive, putting out the fire she had started. What looked like a regiment pursued her across the sky over Futuropolis. She could take them one on one, but how many could she put down before they ripped her apart.

Betty needed a solution, something that worked on the massed insects as a crowd. She went through her files as she kept them at bay with her non-lethal glue gun.

Betty had chemical formulas stored in her head. She needed ingredients if she was going to create something she could use on the bees. Her glue gun ammunition would run out eventually. She seized on the idea of producing a cloud so she could attack the huge mass.

She altered her shape for faster flying and jetted to a local supplier who should have what she wanted in their stores. The bees kept up their dogged pursuit but couldn't fly fast enough to stop her from crashing through the warehouse's roof. They massed at her entry point as she searched the aisles for what she wanted.

Betty's metal face broke out into a grin. She turned her fingers into syphons as she drove them into the holding tanks she had searched for and found. Internal pumps drained as much as her internal supply could hold. Glue went into the holes, forming brittle seals as she pulled her hand back.

The bees burst into the warehouse. They buzzed as they descended on the robotic heroine. She grabbed the tank and threw it up into the middle of the swarm. A laser burst the tank apart. White smoke covered the bees as they started down. The insects stopping flying and exploded when they hit the concrete floor.

"Time to take care of business." Betty flew back up through the roof, using the remains of her glue to seal the hole until Molly could fix it. She soared toward the downed hive, deciding to spray the bees as she headed for the Bee Keeper.

If she took out the mind, the buzzing body should follow.

On the other hand, if she was wrong, the bees might fly into a rage and attack anything and everything.

Betty roared out of the sky, nozzles sticking out of her body like the quills of a porcupine. Sentries challenged her but a small spray from her payload dropped them out of the way. She decided to punch a hole through the hive wall rather than challenge the hoard of creatures repairing her earlier exit from their headquarters.

Betty sprayed the wall, then smashed through it. She rushed down the halls toward the central chamber. She found the Bee Keeper commanding his troops on their repairs. He looked up, anger lighting his face behind the veil he wore.

"Get her." The Bee Keeper jumped up and down. "She's a threat to the hive."

"Last chance to surrender." Betty sighted on the flying shock troops. "Give up, or I'll have to do something really bad."

Betty's words caused the man in the padded suit to sputter and spout gibberish. The bees responded to this by rushing the Theater member. Betty frowned with her metallic features. She considered her options one more time before she opened the spouts.

A faint echo ran across her artificial senses. It had happened before but she had not paid any attention to it. She keyed into the signal, realized that it came from the Bee Keeper. Betty didn't have to kill all the bees after all.

She just couldn't let him know that she knew.

Betty sprayed several of the bees as she engaged in a show to put him at ease. She flew around the chamber, then dove for the King. He tried to get out of the way, tried to get his bees to protect him. Anger had made him too late to act.

Betty grabbed the hat on the top of his head. Her hand sensed the network of miniature equipment inside the crown of the pit helmet. She plugged into the hat and issued her own commands. The guardian swarm landed and fell asleep as she watched.

Betty landed, and brought a hard hand down. She was happy the King went down without another sound.

Hector Hex and Molly Cule studied her surveillance system. She had put cameras throughout Futuropolis to help her keep tabs on the city. Some crimes could only be reported, no matter how fast she reacted.

The Theater and the Network had gathered at the lab. Everyone had come through with minor injuries, if anything. Chemical Girl and the Elementalist had brought back the Bone Collector's ashes. Hector had sealed the remains in an urn before placing it in the extradimensional prison.

"The robots and the golems are still spreading the force field without the Sorcerer, or the mechanics." Hector rubbed his forehead. "We can use some kind of EMP on the robots. The golems will need some kind of counter spell."

"I have something here in the lab." Molly zeroed in on one of the robots. "Denver said they had an assembly line set up. I doubt they have any kind of special shielding the way they were made."

"If we can open the wall, the army can come in and help us out." Hector studied the wooden men sliding placement units outward.

"Betty can handle that." Molly smiled. "She can shut the whole thing down."

"Chemical Girl can deal with the robots with her hands." Hector wrote some notes in the air with his finger. "Let's get started. Once we stop the remains of their army, we can figure out what we're going to do with the Kings."

"We're certainly not sending them back home." Molly straightened her black tunic. "I'm not leaving them out there to try this again."

"I'm more than willing to leave them where they are." Hector's face hid behind the sunglasses he wore. "First we have to finish the job before we discuss the next few steps."

"Plan?"

"Betty and Bee Bee deal with the robots and the wall. One of your guys will have to talk the army into taking it slow while I deal with the golems. Case closed." Hector stood. "We'll probably have to send some people with Betty to make sure she can get to the wall if the troops turn on her."

"Sounds easy don't it?" Molly stood also, checking her equipment belts.

"Let's see how easy it actually is." Hector led the way to the communal living quarters where the Theater and Network waited. The colorful mob looked at the two people in black expectantly.

Hector laid out the plan for the combined forces. He could already see the gears moving behind their assortment of eyes. Bee Bee smiled slightly. Questions lobbed about until everything was settled. Then they split up to carry out their tasks.

Denver Dead cut through solid matter to get outside the ring. He searched for the commander in charge of the defenders until he found the command tent. He relayed word of what was going on in terse sentences. Then he headed back into the captive city.

Betty Bit, surrounded by the Pixie, Hole, Joe Boxer and Nick Number, headed for a spot near the edge of the city. The four other heroes cleared off the robots and golems trying to defend the wall from their sabotage. Betty plugged in and shut down section after section of the dome over Futuropolis.

Chemical Girl sped around the city at the head of a rainbow. Everywhere she passed, machinery stacked itself in parts as a few seconds worth of work on each robot reduced them to moving parts. It took a few minutes for Bee Bee to clear the metropolis of automatons, but her incredible flying speed handled the task easily.

Hector Hex and Molly Cule examined a golem agitated by the destruction Chemical Girl had wrought. He altered his sunglasses to be sensors as he looked the moving stick over. He reached into it and drew out several glowing lines. Hector found a chain linking one of the mindless things to the others still trying to fix the crashed wall. He yanked on it, drawing the Sorcerer's magic out into the air. He produced a pen and spun the animation like cable winding on a spool. When he was done, the wooden servants collapsed to the ground where they walked. The magician stuck the captured string in his lab coat.

They had one last thing to do before they were done with fixing the problem. The Kings had to be dealt with so they wouldn't harm anyone else.

The question was could there be anything worse than leaving them floating in limbo with no way to free themselves for the rest of their natural existence. Hector didn't think so.

Something needed to be added so they weren't a threat to peaceful dimensional travelers who might be curious as to what they had found in the void.

Hector thought about it as the two groups reassembled to discuss dinner, and whatever else needed to be done to get Futuropolis back on its feet.

epilogue

Hector Hex and Molly Cule looked at the screen in her lab several months after the crisis had passed. The city had been cleaned up thanks to Molly's equipment and the combined powers the two groups of protectors could bring to bear. Hector had designed a cell for the five kings, and they had implemented it.

The general plan was not to allow any of the five access to anything that might be used to spring them. They had been stopped once. There was no telling what would happen if they got loose, but just putting them to sleep and leaving them floating in wait for the next traveler who happened to see them was out of the question.

So Hector designed individual areas for each King. He linked them together with a small amount of outer framing. The cells held the things the Kings liked but rendered in a way that couldn't be used to breach the walls. Nuts and Bolts were allowed labs, the Bee Keeper got a garden, the Sportsman received a small game room, and the Sorcerer had a library. The Bone Collector's urn was placed in a special mausoleum.

Warnings, sigils, signs, symbols, markers were placed on buoys around the floating prison. Then the outer walls were made as impervious as possible to intrusion. The cells were locked out from each other by sliding them on separate frequencies of existence. And then everything was placed on its own time and out of synch with the rest of limbo.

The heroes weren't willing to murder their enemies, and no prison on either of their Earths would have held the Kings for long. This was the best they could do.

Hector turned the screen away from the prison, happy that it was still secure. An Earth filled the screen. It was an Earth divided into sections.

The Bone Collector's collapse had destroyed the zombies and undead he had left behind to guard his territory. The seneschals tried to go about business as usual oppressing the people in their grip. More and more slipped into the dead zone, rallying behind a shadowy figure known as Peter Pegg. The raider had become a legend, inspiring rebellion in all who heard his name.

Hector felt a twinge urging him to do something, but they had agreed they had done enough interfering with the destiny of others. If they hadn't stopped and imprisoned the Kings, Peter wouldn't have his chance. Publically interfering and blasting the heads of state would not help those who wanted to regain their control for themselves.

It would only lead to more strife.

Hector turned off the screen as the pirate broke free of a government trap. He should do something to help that would not be construed as meddling.

"What do you think?" Molly smiled at her grim guest. They might both wear black but she was the blue bird of happiness compared to her companion.

"I could have done better." Hector looked at the ceiling, calculating. "I'll have to go back to the drawing board."

"I don't think so." Molly grinned. "Especially not tonight. The mayor has been trying to catch up with you for months."

"I'm always easy to find." Hector huffed behind the collar of his lab coat.

"You live across a dimensional veil." Molly laughed. "Come on, hero. We have to get going. The others are waiting for us."

"I'm only doing this because Bee Bee said she'd kill me otherwise." Hector allowed himself to be dragged toward the door.

"I don't doubt that." Molly laughed again, ushering him out with a smile.

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