🚀 go-pugleaf

[Continued from Part Seven!]

     "Us are winning!" Bizarre Guy declared, as he juggled Mark and Kim
Sherwoodnt.  The former's super-freakout powers were going out of control,
infusing the surroundings with weird lights and funky music, while the
latter's collision avoidance powers kept her from getting picked off in
mid-air by other superguys.  Eventually, the Man of Warped Wood got bored
and let them drop, just in time to get slapped by Glenda Garrett's mobile
hands.
     "Ow!" Glenda cried, as her hands radiated pain.  Bizarre Guy blinked
and shrugged.  Commander Frank landed next to him and surveyed the seen.
     "It would appear we are winning, friend Bizarre One!" the Meat Filler
of Justice declared.  "Let us join the front lines and push onward to
vic..."
     "More hot dogs!  Yay!"
     "My arm!"
     Bizarre Guy looked at the USDA-approved champion, who was suddenly
missing an arm.  Frank grumbled and grew another one, growing shorter in
the process as he shifted his biomass, until he was just under three feet
tall.
     "I'm going to find a supermarket to replenish myself with," Frank
said, curlishly.  "You hold the fort, okay?"
     "Rights on!" Bizarre Guy said, giving Frank a thumbs-down. Commander
Frank failed to reply, instead flying off into the distance, away from the
fighting.  MeltDown landed next to him and looked up.
     "Where's he going?" she asked.
     "More dog!" Bizarre Guy replied, succinctly.
     "Oh, Kent!" MeltDown wailed, grabbing his arm and hugging it. "You'll
be all right, I promise!  We'll restore you to the way you were!"
     "What Barbara Streisand haves to do with them?"
     "Huh?"
      Bizarre Guy was about to respond, when something even more bizarre
than he happened. As one, the mass-mind superguys dropped to the ground,
falling into a very deep and blissful slumber. There was no warning; no
clue that the battle was about to be called on account of naptime. Earth's
defenders looked around themselves in some confusion, wondering what had
just happened.
     "They must've won..." said Michael Dasher, as realisation dawned upon
him. Karen Moire, standing next to him, grinned as she heard.
     "Amiga did it!" she cried over the confused babble of heroes. "We've
stopped them!"
     The words filled the late-morning battlefield like a bell rung on a
clear day. A profound silence fell over the heroes for a moment, as they
absorbed the news. Then a loud cheer sounded, as the assembled superguys
nearly collapsed in relief and exhaustion. Backs were patted, wounds were
tended, and those too badly injured to remain were carried off of the
field.
     "It's over," sighed Peterson, grinning under his armour, which had
nearly been shredded by the day's events.
     "I think I need a drink," muttered Julie Baker, tiredly. "Maybe two or
three..."
     "I need a hot shower," moaned Angellica as she heard. "And then a nice
long rest in my bed.. two or three weeks should do it... and then..."
     "...you need someone to look after that head wound you've taken,"
finished Legend, who had emerged to help with the transport of the wounded.
He smiled comfortingly at the beautiful superguy, and began wrapping a
triangular bandage around her head. "Hm. Possibly concussed, m'dear. Have
that checked right away when we get back to the Beanstalk, am I
understood?"
     Clarke removed his helmet, and laughed in exhausted delirium. "Where
do we hold the victory party?" he croaked.
     "I--oh, look!  Up in sky!" cried HotFlash.
     "Is it an Alfred Hitchcock film?" MeltDown asked.
     "Is it a legion of George Kennedy wannabes augering in?" a passing
superguy of no particular distinction inquired.
     "No!" Bizarre Guy shouted, at a loud decibel level that was just under
what would have caused severe hearing damage.  "It is invading armies of
pseudo-demon!"
     "Oh," MeltDown said, calmly.  "Our doom.  Great."
     "Great," Morbid frowned, "now we're on the set of Evil Dead 2!"
     "This is bad, isn't it?" Roboguy asked.
     "I'd have to say yes," Mr Morbid replied.
     The heroes stared, almost uncomprehending, as they saw a dark swarm of
hellish shapes swoop from a jet-black portal the sky. Far off in the
distance, in every direction, portal after portal opened, disgorging their
hideous passengers. Soon, the sky seemed to be punctuated by countless
shapes which wheeled about in the air, before swooping towards the ground.
Hearts which had given their all that morning sank as the infernal tableau
unfolded itself high above. Gggthxtsth's minions had arrived in force, and
there seemed to be no end to the gateways which continued to open.
     "Oh god," said Ben Washington, "The others didn't stop Gggthxtsth...
did they?"
        Legend stood and stared into the sky, his hands white-knuckled as
he clutched his cane.  "Cory..." he whispered under his breath.
     "I can't fight anymore," whispered Boomer, closing his eyes. "Maybe if
I just go to sleep, it'll all be over..."
     "What can we do?" asked Mr Morbid, nursing an injured arm. "They're...
everywhere!"
     "We continue the fight," rang out a single, commanding voice across
the battlefield. All eyes turned to look at Trashman, who stood stoically
in the middle of the tattered ALU, a single rivulet of blood running
unattended down his face from a gash on his forehead. "Our plan took into
account the possibility of failure to assault Gggthxtsth's home. We protect
the building. We might fall, but if Commodore Amiga is given the time he
needs to raise our replacements," he gestured to the sleeping superguys,
"the Earth's safety will have been worth the high price."
     Tiredly, the battered heroes nodded. They still had a duty to perform.
As the bright sky was darkened by demonic shapes straight out of a madman's
nightmare, the heroes helped prop on another up, quickly applied bandages
and slings where needed, and waited to meet the charge which would surely
break them.
     They did not have to wait long.
***

               'Winner Take All' CONCLUDES IN
                  _The Tribe of Behn_ #36

***
All characters, places, and situations in this episode belong to their
respective Author, and are used in this story only with their express
permission. All rights reserved to those Authors.

[Done! Stop reading now, already!]