🚀 go-pugleaf

     The entity that had once been the Red Bandit hung in
cyberspace as information scrolled around it in a continuous
stream. Nearby (although in cyberspace such a spatial term was
simply a matter of perception), the spherical icon that
represented the TONN Archival Computer hung quietly, waiting.
     The Red Bandit sat for a microsecond in thought as the last
fragment of information went by. "So... You think that this kid
can help get me back into my real body?"
     The sphere bobbed. "Affirmative." it 'said'. "If he has
inherited any of Spectrum's powers, he is our best bet for
exploring the Spectrum Effect... and returning you to your real
form."
     The Bandit nodded, noting how much the TAC's verbal skills
had improved just from a couple hours of interaction with her.
It was a smart computer... which meant it either knew what it was
talking about, or it was lying..."Okay, how do we go about snagging
the tot?"
     "I have contacted several henchman-for-hire agencies..." the
TAC replied. "We will go in, subdue any resistance from Marie and
the other Invid, and remove the child."
     "Phoo, those Invid are tough... You'll need some pretty heavy
firepower for that!"
     "I have a... secret weapon." the TAC replied. A device
window appeared in cyberspace -- a small surveillance camera
watching a cryogenic capsule somewhere in the underground complex.
As the camera moved, the Bandit was able to get a view of the
capsule's occupant...
     "Crossbow!" she gasped.

          MARIE (And, well, like, you know...) #12
               Three Invid And A Baby, Part 3
                     by Jesse Taylor

Musical Interlude: <<Don Henley, Building the Perfect Beast>>

     "Hrm." Wayne said, as the car containing him, Bubbles,
Garth, Marcus and Verne entered the grounds of the Invid Hive
in Detroit. Several dramatically-posed Invid mecha stood around,
looking imposing. Wayne sneezed, knocking over several of them and
revealing them to be very well-made cardstock stand-up figures.
Verne glared at him.
     "Cardstock?!" Garth gaped at the fallen 'mecha'. "Wh-what
the..."
     "Our race has fallen quite a ways..." Verne sighed, pulling
up to the Hive's main entrance, guarded by more cardstock mecha.
"Ultima's passing resulted in the deaths of all the lower-stage
Invid soldiers..."
     "Bogus..." Bubbles commented. Marcus added his two cents by
digging two pennies out of the car's back seat and tossing
them at Wayne.
     "So you can understand my desire to bring Marcus here..."
Verne said, getting out of the car. Garth and co. followed, with
Bubbles carrying Marcus. "It is essential that we figure out what
makes him tick..."
     "Like, why?" Wayne asked, as the group wandered into the
Hive.
     Verne looked at him as they reached the elevator leading to
the upper floors. "Because unless we can figure out some way to
replicate, our race is doomed..."
     "Geez, this is, like, gloomy..." Wayne muttered, "I, like,
hope Marie is having a, like, better time than we are..."

<----->

     Marie walked cautiously into the Detroit House of Steaks and
Heavy Drinking (We Accept Stagger Out Orders!). Glancing around at
the assortment of eaters and drinkers, she headed for the bar,
drawn by the smell of hard liqour.
     "What's the hardest stuff you've got?" she asked, settling
uneasily onto a barstool.
     "How hard do'ya want?" the bartender asked, waving at the
fully stocked bar.
     Marie licked her lips. "I could go for some Everclear..."
     The bartender laughed. "Ok, Everclear and Lemonade comi-"
     "No. Straight. Just gimme the bottle."
     Silence. "Are you serious?"
     Marie noticed that everyone else at the bar was staring at
her. Fixing the bartender with a hard glare, she nodded. "C'mon, I
haven't got all day."
     Silence. The bartender laughed, but brought out a bottle of
clear liquid. "Right, whatever..."
     Before he could say anything else, Marie had opened the
bottle and begun to drink. There was dead silence in the entire
place as she drank... and drank... and drank...
     Marie slammed the empty bottle down on the counter and belched
mightily. Several bar patrons fainted dead away from her breath.
"That was good for starters..." she said, looking noticably more
relaxed . "Could'ja bring me another bottle? This one's done..."
     Silence. The bartender crossed himself and then headed for
the storeroom.

<----->

     "So, like, what do the, like, tests say?" Wayne asked,
peering over Verne's shoulder. Verne shooed him away, entering
commands on his console.
     "I'll have to go over the data later... Right now, I'm just
trying to run as many different tests as possible... Blood sample,
DNA scan, Wide-Band Energy Emission Scan... Everything..."
     Nearby, Garth and Bubbles lounged around, near the small,
sensor-studded chair that they'd put Marcus in. Marcus, instead of
being annoyed at the change in environs, was apparently fascinated
by the vast amount of equipment surrounding him.
     "Okay, this should be able to handle itself for a while..."
Verne said, getting up from his console and heading for the tiny
bio lab's fridge. He pulled out a Mountain Dew and sipped it
thoughtfully, staring at Marcus. Marcus waved back.
     "What about, like, this?" Wayne asked, handing Verne the
Remote Control 'o Doom. Verne peered at it intently and then pried
it open with a small screwdriver.
     "Incredible..." the Invid scientist mumbled, poking the
insides, which now looked nothing at all like the insides of a
normal remote control. "He... he did this?"
     "Like, yah..."
     "Hm. It's nothing particularly advanced..." Verne said,
placing the device by his console. "Just a few modifications to
the beam output and boosting the power flow from the batteries...
I could make such a device easily, should I want to... But a mere
child? Hmmm... This *is* interesting..."
     Marcus raspberried him. Verne scowled dramatically, turning
back to his displays and drinking more of his Dew. "I'll have
to... run more tests!!"
     "You'd make a, like, good doctor, like, y'know?" Wayne
grinned. Verne's reply was cut off as a warning light on the
console began to blink.
     "What is it?!" Bubbles asked, hurrying over. "Is something
wrong?"
     "No... The long-range sensors are detecting a Protoculture
emission from.. somewhere in Detroit... And moving at medium
velocity..." Verne said, looking over the sensor displays.
     "It can only be one person..." Garth snarled, walking over to
the other three. Behind him, Marcus got bored and climbed out of
the chair, then proceeded to crawl off through a nearby hatchway.
     "Sterling!" Wayne and Bubbles chorused, reaching the same
conclusion.
     "Now, I can get my revenge! He won't have his fighter or his
Team M.E.C.H.A. friends to help him *this* time!" Garth roared,
running to an airlock set into the wall. Glancing down, he spotted
a Royal Command Battloid waiting on the ground below, and executed
an anime-esque leap towards it.
     "Garth! You idiot!" Verne roared, leaping up. "That's one of
the cardstock mod..."
     **CRUNCH** *WHAM* "SHIIIII-!" *THUD* echoed up from below.
     "I'll get the Medkit." Bubbles sighed.

<----->

     Ray parked his Cyclone outside the Detroit House of Steaks
and Heavy Drinking, and straightened his R.E.F. flight jacket
before stepping inside.
     What he found inside was not what he expected. Marie... what
was *she* doing here? She was sitting at a table in the center of
the room, ten large, empty bottles and one large, half-full
bottle beside her. On the table were two shot glasses, and under
the table were three thouroughly plastered bargoers. Everyone else
in the bar was pointedly avoiding the table.
     "Hmm..." Ray thought aloud. "I bet if I talk to her, she can
fill me in on the latest Invid schemes -- maybe then I can find a
*real* crime to stop..." Ray began moving towards Marie's table.
     "Hey, dude..." whispered a leather-clad punk from his
position by the door. "If yer thinkin' of challengin' her, don't
even think it, man. She drank three dudes under the table already,
man..."
     Ray shrugged.
     "Suit yerself, man..." the punk grinned, leaning back to watch.
The bar became silent as Ray pulled up a seat across from Marie.
     "Hi!" he said cheerily.
     "*urp*" Marie replied, wittily. Her fogged eyes focused on
Ray for a long time before recognition flashed across her face.
"Hey! Shterling! What'r ya doin' 'ere?"
     "I was just looking for something to do.." Ray said,
shrugging. "What're you doin' in Detroit again?"
     Marie shrugged weakly, and filled both shot glasses. "Jusht
l'kin' fer shomeone... oops, shorry, shome *thing* ta do... Here,
have a drink..."
     "What is this stuff?" Ray asked, swirling the shot of clear
liquid around in the small glass.
     "Ish Ev'clear. S'great... C'mon, drink *hic!* up..."
     Ray grimaced, concentrated, and downed the shot in one gulp.
     There was a pause.
     "*glmph*?!" Ray glmph'd, turning several interesting shades
of purple. "Baaaah... Gaaaaiiii... Hrrrrggnnnn..."
     "Good, hunh?" Marie grinned, taking a long swig from the
bottle. She passed the other shot glass to Ray, who was making
clawing motions at his throat. "Oh, geez, ya need me ta help?"
     Ray shook his head, but Marie poured the other shot into his
mouth before he could say anything. He coughed for several minutes,
and then sat still, catching his breath.
     "W...whoa..." he said. "I didn't know th' room wash sh'possed
ta shpin like tha'..."
     Marie took another swig off the Everclear bottle. "I think
ish shome kind'a new interior desh'ine fashion..."
     There was a brief silence as Ray recovered.
     "Want anudder shot?" Marie asked, pouring him one before he
could say no.

--Accompanying Music: <<Molly Hatchet, Whiskey Man>>

<----->

     Marcus looked up at the massive, rather icky-looking form of
the Invid Brain -- the heart and soul of the Hive. It had been
damaged during Ray's attack so long ago, and rendered nearly non-
functional by Ultima's downfall. But it remained, still, a vast
storehouse of data and information, as well as skills -- because
of the telepathic link it shared with all living Invid, it was
able to share it's library of skills with them as well. Skills on
fighting... piloting...
     And technology...
     Marcus blinked, staring at the massive, yet inert blob of
protoplasm, and made a disgusted noise.
     "Hey, like, little dude, what are ya doin' in here?"
     Marcus turned and squealed happily as Wayne wandered into the
room, his shades flashing in the light from the many control
boards and flashing displays that covered the walls of the massive
chamber.
     Wayne peered around, and when he was certain that there were
no other Invid around, he pulled off his shades and looked at
Marcus with a thoughtful expression. "An active, like, telepathic
link to the Brain?" he mused. "So, like, *that's* how you did it...
Like, none of the rest of us have, like, done that for a long time..."
     Marcus burbled something, and produced a rattle from
somewhere to toss at Wayne.
     "Like, hmmm..."
     Marcus ignored him, suddenly fascinated by the flashing
lights on a nearby control panel.
     Wayne looked as if he was about to say something more, when
Verne entered the room. Wayne hurriedly snapped his shades back on
and assumed his normal, completely spaced-out expression.
     "I, like, found the little dude hangin' out in here, man..."
Wayne said, picking Marcus up and walking towards the exit.

<----->

     Marie and Ray staggered along a road, leaning on each other
for support. Neither had any idea where they were, nor would they
likely have cared if they did know.
     "*hic!*" Ray remarked.
     They walked...err...staggered a long time in silence.
     "Hey, Ray..." Marie said blearily. "I shee a pool over
there..."
     "Hm?" Ray replied.
     "I bet'cher too chicken ta swim nekkid..." she said,
swaying drunkenly.
     "Chick'n?!" Ray gaped. "Ha! I'm th' Robote.. Rotomek...
Promodrek... Err... I'm th' dude wit' th' cool bike, an' I'm not
shcar'd a' nothin'!"
     "I bet'cha yer chicken! (*hic!*)"
     "Bet'cha I'm not!"
     "Betcha ya are..."
     "Not!"
     "Are!"
     "Not!"
     "Prove it *urrrrp!* then!"

<----->

     "%@#$" Garth commented, as Bubbles applied yet another Band-
Aid to his wounded body. "Damn that idiot, Sterling! I'm gonna squash
him flat if it's the last thing I *ever* do!"
     "You need to get out more!" Bubbles admonished. "All this
pent-up anger isn't good for you..."
     "Oh yeah? How am I supposed to relax?! I'm a highly-trained
Invid Warrior, darnit!"
     Bubbles grinned ferally, then kissed him with enough force
that his flourescent hair stuck out straight. When she came up for
air, Garth felt as if his entire body was tingling.
     "By the Regis..." he gasped, "Where did you learn *that*?!"
     Bubbles grinned again, and fished around in her Invid
Standard-Issue Butt-Pack. "Well, Marie loaned me this book, you
see..."
     When Verne came to check on them later, he found the door
securely locked, and most unusual sounds were coming from within.
Shrugging, he went back to his console.

<----->

     Marie exulted in the feel of the water on her skin as she
floated on the surface of the pool. The trained part of her mind
reminded her that swimming while plastered was pretty darn high on
the list of Really Stupid Things To Do, but she ignored the
warning, and doggie-paddled over to Ray, who was only barely able
to stay afloat.
      Sighing, she helped him into the shallow end of the pool.
And then, instead of swimming away again, she moved closer,
enjoying the confused expression on his face and the feel of
contact.
     The trained part of her mind gaped in shock for a moment as
it figured out what was going on, then started yelling warnings.
Warnings which, unfortunately, got caught up in the alcohol-sodden
remainder of her mind, and stayed there. How nice it would be, she
thought. To be able to relax with someone again... To be able to
share with someone... the thing that she had shared with
Lawrence...
     "Er." Ray commented, as the trained part of *his* mind
started screaming warnings at him.
     "Sh." Marie insisted, placing her hand over his mouth. "Now,
jusht do wha' I tell ya to..."
     She grinned. "I'm gonna show ya shomethin' that'll knock yer
shocks right off..."

--Musical Ending: <<Kate Bush, And So Is Love>>

HRM. WHOA, NOW!
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO EVERYONE NOW?!?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EPISODE... ONLY ON... SUPERGUY!