• LNH: Classic LNH Adventures #254: The Cosmic Conspiracy Part One

    From Arthur Spitzer@21:1/5 to All on Sun Aug 7 21:27:53 2022
    30 Years of Legion of Net.Heroes (1992-2022)!

    And we're back in the past and can check the eyrie archive
    once again.

    Here's where you can find the whole The Cosmic Conspiracy (as well
    as other Continuity Champ stories:

    https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Series/Continuity.Champ/



    And our next journey in the LNH Timeline is not the next part of the
    Integrity Quest or the next part of Sieze Dangerous! No, it's The
    Cosmic Conspiracy by Jeff "Drizzt" Barnes -- (and also a little bit
    of Cry.Sig also by Drizzt) -- The Continuity Champ has gotten a call
    about his Aunt Comic Relief possibly being dead! As he makes his
    way to the police department to investigate this possibly tragedy --
    will he find even more strange occurrences?! And what about this
    name Professor Milton K. Fyle?! Sounds like a fake name, right?! But
    What if it's not?! But if it is fake, what could that 'K' possibly
    stand for? Perhaps 'Kool', maybe 'KanadaDry' -- or perhaps even 'KountryBearJamboree'?! Or perhaps it's a 'K' word that isn't some
    misspelled 'C' word?! Perhaps...

    Let's find out in...



    _
    | | Classic
    | | =
    | | ____ ____ _ ____ ___
    | |__ | [] | | [] | | | | [] | | _ \

    |____| \__] \__ | |_| \__/ |_|\_\
    ||
    |_| OF NET.HEROES

    ADVENTURES #254


    =====================
    The Cosmic Conspiracy Part One
    =====================

    From Cry.Sig (also by Drizzt)


    The Legion swapped stories, grieved over their dead (at least
    as much as comic book characters ever do grieve), and celebrated
    the saving of reality - again. All except Continuity Champ who
    hovered in the shadows menacingly.
    Just then the phone rang.
    "Hello, Legion Morgue, you stab 'em, we slab 'em," Fuzzy said,
    answering the phone.
    "Give me that!" Rebel Yell shouted. "Hello?"
    "Is there a Mr. 'Continuity Champ' there?"
    "Just a moment. Hey, CC, you got a call."
    Behind the mask, Continuity Champ raised his eyebrows. He took
    the phone. "Yes?"
    "Mr. Champ? This is Officer Fred Smyrgle. I'm afraid I have
    bad news. Your Aunt Comic-Relief is dead."
    Continuity Champ's surprised was visible. "But I don't have an
    aunt. I'm not even native to this reality!"

    EPILOGUE:
    Continuity Champ considered this development. It intrigued
    him. Though his powers were far from fully recovered from the
    Cry.Sig battles with Harras and Crossover Queen, he knew that as
    the caretaker of reality it was his job to investigate such
    seeming lapses of continuity. He asked Officer Smyrgle another
    question or two, then hung up the phone.
    "I'll be leaving for a while," he said to no one in particular
    and everyone in general. "Effective immediately."
    "Why?" someone asked.
    "Because it's time I got a limited series of my own, and I
    can't do that with you dummies around." He turned and then was
    gone.



    From: barnejd@wkuvx1.wku.edu (Jeff Barnes)
    Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh,rec.arts.comics.misc
    Subject: LNH: REPOST -- The Cosmic Conspiracy
    Date: 1 Dec 93 11:14:41 CST

    THE COSMIC CONSPIRACY
    An original LNH Looniverse tale starring Continuity Champ
    Written by Drizzt
    Copyright 1992

    CHAPTER ONE:
    Continuity Champ glided to earth, touching down near the
    police barricade. "Who's in charge here?" he said.
    "That would be me," a rolypoly figure in a rumpled raincoat
    said. "Mr. Champ? I'm Officer Smyrgle. We spoke on the phone."
    "Yes. What can you tell me about this?"
    Smyrgle motioned toward the menacing-looking building, and the
    two walked in. "Seems your aunt-"
    "She is not my aunt. I am not of this world." The Champion
    cut in. "Yeah, whatever." Twenty years of dealing with superheroes
    on the Coastal City police force had left a less than awestricken
    impression on Smyrgle. "Seems the old bat's car died down the
    road. That jalopy's older 'n anything I've ever seen before. We
    figure she came up here looking to find a phone when something
    startled her."
    "Something?"
    "Yeah." Smyrgle pointed to some footprints in the dust, and
    the Champion bent over to look at them. They were a foot and a
    half (pun intended) long, with what appeared to be clawmarks
    showing through the wood.
    He straightened. "I guess you didn't find whatever this was
    here."
    "Nope. The woman's through here." He led the Net.Hero
    through a doorway.
    "Hey!" Smyrgle shouted.
    Continuity Champ looked around the room, but there was no
    corpse to be found. "Where is she?"
    "She was just here a minute ago. Corpses just don't walk
    off!"
    "Apparently you've never met Marvel Zombie Boy. Or half the
    Legion, for that matter," the gaudily-clad hero muttered. A glint
    of metal caught his eye. He reached down to find a small
    mechanical part on the floor.
    "Hmmm. What is this, Officer? Officer?" He turned but found
    Smyrgle gone, doubtless in search of the corpse. No matter,
    Continuity Champ thought. Turning the piece over, he spied a small
    bit of writing on one side.
    Just then, Smyrgle came puffing in. "The boys don't know
    where she is. It's like the body just disappeared!"
    "Not the first time this has happened. One more question,
    Officer. Who owns this building?"
    "Oh, I've got it right here." He rummaged through his pockets
    for several minutes before coming up with a piece of paper as
    crumpled and creased as his coat. "A Professor Milton K. Fyle.
    The boys are trying to track him down."
    "I see. Thank you. You'll inform me of any news in this
    matter, of course." He turned and was gone before Smyrgle could
    answer.
    Pausing briefly outside, the Champion hit the call button on
    his communicator. "Yew gart LNG cintrel."
    "Typo Lad, tell everyone I'll be taking a leave of absence."
    "Shure, buht whye?"
    "I'm taking a... vacation. To look into a personal matter."
    He turned the part he had picked up earlier over in his hand and
    read the writing on it once again.
    "I'm going to Cosmic, New York."

    * * * * * * * * * * * *

    In the void of limbo, the bodiless spirit got tired of
    listening to muzak. "Hey, haven't you people found me a body
    YET!?!"
    "As a matter of fact," a voice said, "we have. We're sick of
    your whining."
    The spirit felt himself rushing back toward earth, feeling as
    though he had been caught in the flow of a waterfall. He flowed
    into his new body...

    * * * * * * * * * * * *

    Somewhere in a hidden underground compound in Cosmic, New
    York, a new pair of eyes flickered open. The eyes of the ultimate
    weapon a certain long-time foe of the LNH had been creating...



    CHAPTER TWO:
    With a mighty WHOOOSH! Continuity Champ sped toward his
    destination - the sleepy little town of Cosmic, New York. He
    swooped to the earth, landing in front of the sherriff's office.
    Bystanders (what few there were) didn't spare the orange-and-green
    garbed hero a second glance. Strange, the mystery man thought.
    He made his way into the sherriff's office. A seated,
    overweight figure with his feet propped up on a desk was sitting
    there, whittling on a stick.
    "Are you the local law enforcement officer?"
    "Yep," the sherriff replied without looking up.
    Something was dreadfully out of place here. "I'm looking for
    help."
    "We got one a' them, whaddyacallem - sike-ollowjists? - just
    down the road. Cuts hair, too. Go see him."
    CC placed the problem - the man's accent. An exaggerated
    Southern drawl, out of place anywhere, but especially in upstate
    New York. "I see," the hero said calmly. "Actually, I was
    wondering if you know where this might have come from." He opened
    his hand and showed the sherriff the part taken from the crime
    scene.
    The rotund lawman looked up from his carving for the first
    time, examining the part over the tops of his horn-rimmed glasses.
    "Hmmmm, nope, can't say's I have. You could check at the hardware
    store down the street. Milt - he's the guy that runs it - Milt
    might be able ta place it."
    "All right, then. My thanks, sir." Continuity Champ turned
    and walked out the door.
    The sherriff followed his swaying cape with narrowed eyes.
    After the LNHer disappeared from the narrow slice of the street he
    could see from his office, the sherriff picked up the phone and
    dialed.
    "Dr. Fyle? Yeah, this here's Festus Clint. Yuh got trouble
    comin' yer way."

    * * * * * * * * * * * *

    The Champion made his way down the street. Once again, his
    bright-colored costume failed to attract any attention. Pushing
    thoughts of this from his mind, the extradimensional hero entered
    the building with the sign outside which read "Cosmic Hardware".
    He paused as his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside.
    "Hello," he called out. "Milt?"
    He knew he was in for it when the ninjas broke from the
    shadows, wielding swords. Ninjas, he thought, why did it have to
    be ninjas?
    Continuity Champ dodged to the side, barely missing becoming
    a pincushion. He unleashed a bolt of energy, felling one of his
    dozen foes. Flipping himself forward, he caught one of the ninjas
    with a kick below the belt, then punched another in the face, both
    crumpled like wilted flowers.
    The Champ heard a whistling noise behind him and ducked, just
    as a sword sliced by where his neck had been a split second before.
    He punched backward with his elbow and was rewarded with the shark
    crack of breaking ribs. Reversing his move, the Legionnaire
    grabbed the ninja by the collar and flung him at another. I hate
    ninjas, he thought.
    However, while stopped the five he had been fighting, the
    others had surrounded him, swords drawn, and were closing.
    He looked around for a way to escape. There was none.
    I'm in trouble, he thought grimly.



    CHAPTER THREE:
    Just as Continuity Champ prepared to give up his life, a
    metallic figure crashed up through the floor.
    "Aaaaaarrrghh!" it howled. "Puny ninjas..."
    The robotic-looking figure punched two of the ninja, then
    stretched its liquid metal form toward another.
    "...Obscure..."
    Knocking the other out, he bear-hugged a fourth.
    "...Trivia Lad..."
    He hurled the limp form of the unconscious ninja at two of his
    fellows with incredible force, causing all three to crash against
    the wall.
    "...will smash!!!"
    He pummelled the last two into unconsciousness, then turned
    toward Continuity Champ. CC braced himself and prepared to use his
    powers.
    The liquid-metal being paused. "Obscure Trivia Lad knows you,
    doesn't he? You are Continuity Champ."
    The Champion cocked his head slightly. Obscure Trivia Lad?
    "Obscure Trivia Lad is dead," he pointed out.
    "That is what Obscure Trivia Lad thought as well, but the
    Powers That Be told Obscure Trivia Lad that Obscure Trivia Lad was
    not destined to die."
    "He... I mean, you weren't?"
    "No, Trivia King was the one meant to die."
    "I see." Continuity Champ thought for a second. "If you're
    really Obscure Trivia Lad, what was Mechadoom's last word in
    DEATHLOK #5?"
    "'Ultron'."
    "What was the mug shot number of Bruce Wayne in Batman the
    Animated Series episode 'Feat of Clay'?"
    "2357069."
    "Which character went insane in SECRET WARS?"
    "Klaw."
    Continuity Champ pondered this development for a second. "I
    guess you *are* who you say. No one else would have that much
    useless knowledge."
    "Obscure Trivia Lad thanks you." He shapeshifted into his old
    costume. "Obscure Trivia Lad likes his new form."
    "What is it?"
    "As closely as Obscure Trivia Lad can tell, it is some type of cosmic-powered doppleganger android they built here."
    "Hmmmm."
    "Obscure Trivia Lad wants to know something."
    "What?"
    "Why didn't you use your powers on the ninjas more?"
    "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "Obscure Trivia Lad's comic awareness says you are less
    powerful than before. His awareness says this is in part because
    you have been 'redefined' into post-Cry.Sig continuity and in part
    because your powers are still recovering from your battles during
    the Cry.Sig."
    Continuity Champ regarded him with a cold look. "Obscure
    Trivia Lad doesn't know how to refer to himself in the first
    person, so Continuity Champ will take anything Obscure Trivia Lad
    says as the ravings of a moron." He moved toward the hole that OTL
    had made in the floor. "What's down there?"
    "Obscure Trivia Lad does not know. There were no lights down
    there."
    "We're going to see then." The Champion hopped down the hole;
    Obscure Trivia Lad stretched himself down after him. CC used his
    powers to create light.
    What they found took their breath (well, CC's anyway, since
    OTL was an android now) away...



    ==========

    Next Week: Some more COSMIC CONSPIRACY!!

    ==========

    Arthur "Same Classic Channel. But Same Time? Probably not." Spitzer

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