Command Centre, Hawkhaven, Limbo.

At Hawkhaven, Lieutenant Tragg, the rest of the Mason-Team, GizmoDuck, and the rest of the Justice Ducks were surveying the territory when Mason; Drake, Sr.; Drake, Jr.; Malanski; and Neptunia warped into the room.  "Well," said Tragg, "they know we're here."

            "Damn!" exclaimed Mason.

            "Double-damn!" expelled Drake.

            "And, of course, triple-damn!" complied Tragg.

            Mason said, "Whom is he sending?"

            "Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa," announced Tragg, "is making a personal appearance, along with the Fearsome Four�."  [� - 'Fearsome Four' referred to Liquidator, Mega Volt, Quacker Jack, and Dr. Bushroot.]

            "We," said Paul Drake, "are in one hell of a spot!  Prince von(Bowser)Koopa, Mega Volt, Bushroot, Liquidator, and Quacker Jack are nearly unbeatable when their evil powers are combined!"  A warp zone opened in the ceiling.  Mega Volt fell on the floor.  Liquidator fell on him, short-circuiting him!

            Mega Volt screamed, "Yaaaaah!  Idiot!  Fool!"

            "Hey, it was not my fault!" said Liquidator.  "I'm not the one who opened the warp in the ceiling!"

            "I'm not talking to you, Liquidator," said Mega Volt.  "I am talking to that blasted Eggplant Wizard.  He's the one who opened the warp zone in the ceiling.  When I return to Metroid, I'm going to fry him to a crackly crunch!"  Quacker Jack and Bushroot next fell out of the warp.  Mega Volt and Liquidator caught them.  When Ludwig fell out of the warp, he landed on his feet.

            "All right, guys," said Ludwig.  "Come along quietly, or we'll be forced to take extreme action against you."

            "Try any tricks," said Quacker Jack, getting out Mr. Banana-Brain, his doll, "and Mr. Banana-Brain will make you go boom!  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Try any tricks," said Bushroot, "and I'll get you with my weeds."

            "Try any tricks," said Mega Volt, "and I'll shock you."

            "Try any tricks," said Liquidator, "and I'll liquidate you!  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Try any tricks," said von(Bowser)Koopa, "and I'll summon half a dozen newly hatched Metroids in here for their first dinner!  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Like I said, Perry," said Paul Drake, "we are in one hell of a spot!"

            Mason said, "You're right, Paul."  The Justice Ducks assembled.

            "We'll not allow you vile villains to capture us without a fight!" GizmoDuck announced heroically.  "Are you guys in?"

            "Yeah!" said Neptunia.

            "Yep!" said Stegmutt.

            "Yes!" replied Morganna.

            "Very well," announced GizmoDuck.

            "Well!" said Mega Volt, with a wicked smile from ear-to-ear.  "If that's the way you feel about it, GizmoDuck!  Fearsome Four, assemble!"  Quacker Jack, Bushroot, and Liquidator leapt up behind him.

            Mega Volt and GizmoDuck were in each other's face.  Both teams stepped back several paces.  Within moments, GizmoDuck and Mega Volt leapt up and shouted, "ATTACK!!!"  At this instant, both teams rushed toward each other and began fighting.  Quacker Jack was chasing Stegmutt with snap-teeth.  Mega Volt was blasting volts at his chaser, GizmoDuck, without hitting him.  Neptunia was after Bushroot.  Liquidator grabbed Neptunia before she grabbed Bushroot.  Neptunia leapt out of Liquidator's hand and into his body.  Just before she spun Liquidator out as usual, though, Mega Volt blasted Liquidator with some wattage, frying Neptunia by utilising Liquidator's conductivity.  "Eat amperage, fish!  Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Mega Volt.  GizmoDuck leapt up behind Mega Volt.

            GizmoDuck said, "Lights out, Mega. . ."  Quacker Jack leapt from behind the central computer complex and snapped one of his snap-teeth on GizmoDuck's exterior.  "Yow!"

            Quacker Jack said, "Ha, ha!  You've said a mouthful!"

            Liquidator enveloped GizmoDuck's body.  Mega Volt aimed his electricity gun at Liquidator.  "This time," said Mega Volt, "it's bye-bye, Gizzy!"  He blasted Liquidator and the lethal voltage fried GizmoDuck out of commission.  Mega Volt and Liquidator gave each other a high-five.  "Good going, Liquidator!"

            "Smart move, Mega Volt!" said Liquidator.  Quacker Jack leapt over to Stegmutt.

            "Not so fast, Stegmutt!" said Quacker Jack.  "Take this!"  He handed a toy soldier to Stegmutt.

            "Oh-boy!" said the childlike Stegmutt.  "Toys!"

            "Do you like 'em?" asked Quacker Jack.  "They're my newest line!"  Stegmutt examined the soldier.  It blasted him with sleep powder.

            "Hey!  That's not - yawn! - nice!  -Yawn!-"  Stegmutt rubbed his eyes and fell asleep.

            Quacker Jack leapt up and down and all around laughing.  "Ha, ha, ha!  It's play-time!  Hoo, hoo, hoo!"  Bushroot was chasing Morganna with huge, snapping Venus flytraps.

            "That is enough!" shouted Morganna, blasting the Venus flytraps with her magic.  They were turned into daisies.  "Ha!  Now, they're just harmless daisies."

            "Ha!" laughed Bushroot.  "Harmless?  I shall show you harmless!"  He used his control of plants to order the daisies to tie up Morganna, making her helpless.

            "Oof!  What's the big idea?" demanded Morganna.

            "The big idea," said von(Bowser)Koopa, "is that my pals have defeated you wimps!"

            Lieutenant Tragg defied, "You still have to catch us!"

            "Oh, yeah?" said Mega Volt.  He blasted a part of the security system with positronic energy.  "Well, you won't be going anywhere.  The only warp that is useable now is the one we've created, and that goes to SR388!  You also won't be able to exit with the Silver Hawks' vehicles parked in the basement!"

            Negaduck leapt in.  "Heh, heh!" he laughed.  " 'Tis almost the Christmas season!  We have a nice little present for you, kids!"

            "Yes," said Liquidator.  "A one-way trip to oblivion!  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

            "Come on," said Quacker Jack.  "Let's get these do-gooding imbeciles back to the hideout so that Sparkie, here, can cook their goose!"

            "Oooooh!" screamed an insulted Mega Volt.  "DON'T EVER CALL ME 'SPARKIE'!!!  I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE CALL ME 'SPARKIE'!!!  THAT IS VERY, VERY, VERY ANNOYING!!!"

            "Hey!  Don't get your electrons in a ruffle, Mega Volt," said Liquidator.  "Right now, let's get these dim-wit buffoons to Metroid."

            "All right," said Mega Volt.

            * * *

            Prison Hall, Western Norfair, Metroid.

            Metroid, a.k.a. SR388:  the vile, grey, brain-shaped planet linked with the brainwave patterns of MotherBrain, King Bowser Koopa, and King Bowser Koopa's offspring.  Every other second, this pilotable planet spewed off poisonous steam to points thousands of kilometres away.  This world being a mechanical and natural planet, it was formed by MotherBrain's original brain when she had been given an altered type of vaccine.  This and a wild yet suppressed genetic code in her DNA caused her to mutate into her present form from a human baby.  At this time, King Bowser's brain was no good.  The first successful brain transplant then took place a bit later, as MotherBrain had a section of brain which made it too large for her bottle and King Bowser Koopa received that very same piece of brain, transforming him from a good reptile to a reptile who was so low that he would have to look up to see a fly on the floor.  Since he got a portion of MotherBrain's brain, he was linked to Metroid along with MotherBrain and passed this trait on to his seven Koopalings.

            As it presently turned out, Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa was, indeed, the villainous leader of the Brain-Team, ever since his evil father and the wicked MotherBrain had married some six months ago.  Now, in the control room of the multi-caverned world of Metroid (which was cloaked), von(Bowser)Koopa had every single captured member of the N-Team clasped to the wall of the prison hall in Tourian except for Captain N (a.k.a. Kevin), who, as one would know from Chapter 24 of this story, or Act 52 of WHATSE, was secured in a deep-freeze device, keeping him at an extremely cold temperature of -273�C, the temperature at which all molecular and atomic motion stopped.  "Now," remarked despicably the wicked, yet unbelievably suave, von(Bowser)Koopa, "you N-Team members are going to be destroyed right before F.O.W.L. High-Command's eyes."  To emphasise this, he switched on a video screen.  All three evil members of the High-Command of the Fiendish Organisation for World Larceny were in the picture.

            "Ah!" said the despicable Vulture-Leader of F.O.W.L. High-Command.  "You have them!"

            "All of them," remarked Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa.  "They shall all meet their untimely demise by a simple signal that I shall make, signalling the extremely villainous Mega Volt to shock them to death as the deviant Liquidator has them coated in his water.  After that, Bushroot and Quacker Jack shall use their villainous plants and toys of devastation to torture the helpless N-Team.  Then, after a few moments, the fiendish Moliarity will use his latest invention of wicked destruction to place the N-Team in an extremely critical situation.  After that, I shall personally finish them off, destroying them, shredding them like a sheet of ordinary recycled paper!  Ha, ha, ha!"  To emphasise this, he took a sheet of recycled paper and shredded it to bits.

            The wicked Duck-Leader laughed, "Hee, hee, hee!  And what will you do about Captain N?"

            "Once we finish with his do-gooding friends," announced Ludwig with disgusting suavity, "I shall turn the temperature in this chamber all the way up to 100�C, the boiling point for water!  As he heats up, the air inside him will melt into liquid, and then boil into gas.  After minutes of excruciating pain from the expansion and contraction of the air and liquids inside his body, he will cease to live!  Ha, ha, ha!  Merry Christmas, N-Team!  Hee, hee, hee!"

            "You villain!" shouted Steelheart.  "We'll burst out of here before you destroy us, and then you will be sorry you messed with us like this!"  Ludwig pointed up his right hand and put his thumb and middle finger together, so as to snap his fingers.

            Ludwig said, "You know, it has been rather fun meeting you guys, but all relationships come to an end at some time.  Have a good day, N-Team!  Hee, hee, hee!"  He snapped his fingers once.  Nothing happening, he snapped them several more times.  "Oops!  That's not the right signal."  He got out a flute.  "It must be this one."  He played a beautiful trill upon it.  Still, nothing happened.  "Well, that leaves this one!"  He pointed to a huge bell, activated by a foot button.  "Ha, ha, ha!  Bye, bye, 'super-heroes'!  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!  Hee, hee!  Ho, ho, ho, ho!  Like I said, merry Christmas, N-Team!  And a happy New Year . . . in heaven!!  Ha, ha, ha!"  Just as he was about to stomp on the signal button, he heard Eggplant Wizard, King Hippo, Clawgrip, Mouser, Try-Clyde, and Koopa-Troopa start a fight just outside the room.  "Oh, good Lord!  Deal with them, Steelbeak!"

            "Right-e-o, Ludwig," said Steelbeak.  He burst open the door.

            Eggplant Wizard, King Hippo, Clawgrip, Mouser, Try-Clyde, and Koopa-Troopa, frozen in mid-air, gasped and said, "Steelbeak!"

            "We're trying to have a little fun," said Steelbeak.  He then screeched, "IS THERE A GOSH DARNED PROBLEM IN HERE?!?"

            Eggplant Wizard said, "This fat slob started it all, Steelbeak."

            "That's a darned lie!" retorted King Hippo.  "Clawgrip started it!"

            "He's lying!" shouted Clawgrip.  "It was this blasted rodent, Mouser!"

            Mouser said, "No way!  It was all Try-Clyde's fault!"

            "It was not!" said Try-Clyde.  "Koopa-Troopa started it!"

            Koopa-Troopa said, "You fiery-breathed liar!  It was this stupid vegetable's fault!"

            Negaduck sprang out with an activated chainsaw.  "IF I HEAR ONE MORE COMPLAINT OUT OF YOU IDIOTS, I'M GOING TO SLICE ALL OF YOU IN TWO!!!"  The six arguers promptly shut up.  "See, Steelbeak?  It's just a simple matter of finding what gets to them.  Now, let's get in there and see Ludwig and the others kick some N-Team posterior!"  Once he got to the door, he turned around and shouted to the six, "If you six cause any more trouble, your butts are going to be on the line!"  He slammed shut the door.  "Now, the distraction is taken care of."  The mad Professor Norton Nimnul warped in.

            Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa said, "Well, it is about time you got here!"

            "I would have been here sooner," said Nimnul, "but I found a few cute kittens playing beside the road and. . ."

            "And you had to blast them into moonbeams," interrupted Ludwig.

            "Right!" said the nutty professor.  "You know how I feel about cute things."

            "Okay, you're excused," said Ludwig.  "I understand perfectly.  Now, let's take care of these do-gooders!"  He promptly proceeded to lift his right foot directly over the switch that will trigger the huge bell.  "Better start singing 'Jingle Bells,' guys!  Ha, ha, ha!"  Just before he slammed down hard on the trigger, someone knocked on the door.  "Blast it!  Who the hell is it?"

            "It is the ignorant Eggplant Wizard, Your Extremely Evil Koopaness," answered the Eggplant Wizard.

            "Curses!" yelled Ludwig.  "I thought this was important!"

            "It is!" said Eggplant Wizard.  "Don Karnage is here to see you, and. . ."

            "Then," said Ludwig, "let him in, you imbecile!"

            "Okay!  One air-pirate coming up."  The door opened.  Don Karnage {Dawⁿh kahr-nahzh} entered illustriously, his stooges, Mad Dog and Dump Truck (nutty names for villains, are they not?), carrying his golden cutlass on an elaborate pillow.  Don Karnage was a toon-fox about as high as Mega Volt, as was Mad Dog.  Dump Truck, though, was a toon-dog a little taller and a bit bulkier than either of them.  They wore blue pirate outfits.

            "Ah, Don Karnage!" said Ludwig.  "I am so glad that you could make it for such an occasion."

            "Ah, yes!" said Don Karnage in a French accent.  "It looks like your enemies ran into a little trouble, no?"

            "They sure did!" said Ludwig.  "They were no match for my wicked friends and me.  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "I wish to watch you and your pals destroy these good-type guys, Ludwig!" said Karnage.

            "Captain?" asked Mad Dog.

            "What is it, you low-life scum?" demanded Karnage.

            "Can we watch with you?"

            "Oh!" said Karnage abruptly, slapping his own face.  "Why do you think I brought you two along?"

            "Okay, I take that as a 'yes,' " said the idiotic Mad Dog.  Ludwig placed his foot over the trigger.