35--The Ultimate Encounter, Ch.7

December 18.

Palace of Power, VideoLand.

he Palace of Power one hour before midnight: it was usually a beautiful spectacle to see in the light of the Palatial Twin Moons, but at the moment, because of the rain, it was dreary-looking. In the throne room of the Palace, the original N‑Team, the Mario-Team, the Justice Ducks, the Thunder Cats, and the Silver Hawks were taking stock of their situation.

“This is great,” said Darkwing Duck. “Princess Lana, now that you’ve personally surrendered to the most powerful force of evil in the galaxy, we’ll probably all be dead meat. I don’t like that. I don’t think that’s very nice. In fact, I think it’s nuts!”

“My aim is to have Kevin rescued,” said Lana.

“Baby, surrendering to that barnacle-brain is about as intelligent as taking penicillin when you know you’re allergic to it,” said Neptunia. “I don’t think that you fully considered the consequences of giving yourself up to that no‑good, rotten, dirty snake. And I’ll bet you a billion barnacles that this emperor of evil will not give you Kevin. I smell something fishy about that joker.”

“You ought to take a whiff of yourself, too, if you’re worried about people smelling fishy,” said Darkwing.

“Why you overgrown—!” Neptunia grabbed Darkwing and tossed him into the wall.

Darkwing peeled himself off the wall with a moan. “I think, Neptunia, that you have once again overreacted.”

“Well then, keep your nasty comments to yourself.”

“Very funny, you two,” Steelheart said. “But let’s try to keep in mind that if we fight amongst ourselves, we only play into our enemies’ hands. Now, let’s try to think of some way we can—” She put a hand to her head. “Wait a minute. I just had a brainstorm. I get it . . . I get it . . .” She paced around a few seconds with a growing smile.

“When she does like that, guys, you know that she has an excellent one coming,” Quicksilver said.

“Oh, boy, are they going to get it,” said Steelheart, still pacing. Suddenly she ceased her pacing and turned abruptly to the others.

“That signals the end of her brainstorm,” said Quicksilver. “That means she knows her plan and may or may not be ready to tell it to us.”

“I know the plan, but I’m not vocalizing it right now. That’s just in case our enemies have us under surveillance. If this leaks out, we may be in thick soup. If it stays in, though, all I can say is that Ludwig and his allies are going to get their butts kicked tomorrow. Get some rest, everyone, and try to awaken at an hour before dawn. It could very well be that I have my best trick up my sleeve.”

“And she’s not pulling your sleeve—I mean, your leg—either, guys. When she says that, it’s definitely a good one.”

“Darn right,” said Steelwill. “Rest sounds good, too.”

“Going to bed, Commander?” asked Bluegrass.

“I can’t,” said Steelheart. “I have to stay up all night so I can prepare the plan for full operation. When we get through with them, Ludwig and his friends are going to be sorry they messed with us.”

“Just watch out,” Mario said. “That wicked scoundrel has a zillion tricks up his sleeve.”

“He may be a reptile,” said Luigi, “but his brainpower is at least equal to a normal human’s.”

“Right,” said Steelheart, “I may be the brains of this plan, but without you, I can’t pull it off in the morning. Even with the tricks I set up, I predict that it won’t be enough to hold back Ludwig. I’ll need the strength and powers of each of you to give the Brain-Team a run for their money.”

Bidding each other good night, everyone except Lana went to bed.

“Lana, what is it?” asked Steelheart.

“I don’t often double-cross anyone, Steelheart,” said Lana. “I hate doing it. It isn’t good democratic ruling practice.”

“Your Highness, in case you haven’t noticed, the power of the VideoLand monarch is absolute. You can do anything you want.”

Lana shook her head. “I know, Steelheart. I want to be a kind and wise ruler.”

“Is it a kind or wise ruler who turns over her kingdom at the drop of a dime to an emperor of evil who won’t keep his promises? Is it a kind ruler or wise who allows the powers of her kingdom, one of the most powerful in the galaxy, to be available for founding an empire of evil?”

Lana suddenly got the idea. “Okay, but what about Kevin?”

“To me, Prince Ludwig is not the type to keep a promise that involves turning one of the galaxy’s most powerful and cunning heroes over to us when you turn yourself and the kingdom over to him. He’s reaching for your weak spot, Lana. This crazy turtle is out to use Kevin to become an emperor by conquering the whole galaxy as soon as you turn yourself and the Kingdom of VideoLand over to him. I know your weak spot, and Ludwig does as well: it is Kevin. Ever since he came here, you’ve owed every bit of freedom you have to him, since he stopped MotherBrain from turning VideoLand into her empire.”

“True,” said Lana. “I love him because he has saved us too many times to mention. Of late, my mind is occupied by other kinds of thoughts concerning him, as well.”

“That is only natural.”

“I just wanted to save him and to repay him at least a little.”

“As soon as you turn yourself over, Ludwig will rule VideoLand and possibly attempt to destroy every one of us with his vast power. I cannot allow that to happen. That’s why I tried to come up with a plan in the first place, to make sure Ludwig does not make VideoLand the first part of his empire. Ludwig doesn’t want to give us Kevin. He wants to give us hell, if you’ll pardon my language. Therefore, I intend to give it right back to him.”

Lana sprang up. “You’re right, Steelheart. Go ahead and do what you need to.”

“And you, young lady, need your beauty sleep. I’ll make sure you get your beloved hero back, Lana. I swear it.”

“Thank you, Steelheart.” Lana went off to her bed chamber.

“And now, it’s time to kick some (Bowser)Koopa shins.” Steelheart started her work. It had been decided that everyone should stay at the Palace so they would be better placed.

* * *

December 19.

Library.

At 4.00 the next morning, Copper Kidd awoke early. He decided to visit the library. Leaving his room, he went down the hall to an elevator. On the wall next to the elevator, he found an electronic directory showing what was on each level of the Palace. He noticed several listings for the library, so he looked for one that contained books in the fields of science, mathematics, and technology. After he had found it, he entered the elevator and proceeded to that floor. When the door of the elevator opened, he looked around the corner to make sure that Steelheart was not around. Satisfied that she was not, he quietly walked to the library.

Lana had given library passes to the Silver Hawks, Thunder Cats, and Justice Ducks. Getting out his pass, Kidd inserted its magnetic information strip into the card reader. The door to the library unlocked. He entered and found the math section readily. Here, he looked around for a book on the subject of advanced geometry. He wanted to brush up a little, and he was also interested to see what subtle differences existed between geometry in his part of the galaxy and geometry here.

He saw one empty space and no advanced geometry book in sight. He guessed that Steelheart might have one, so he looked for a calculus book. Finding one, he pulled it out and took it over to a table. He located a piece of paper and a pencil and started to work. After about ten to fifteen minutes, he heard approaching footsteps. The steps stopped for a few seconds, and then the door flipped open.

It was Steelheart. “Hi, Kidd. What are you doing here?”

“Brushing up,” said Kidd. “I woke up an hour ago and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“You might’ve triggered a booby trap. Well, maybe you can help me. I’m trying to find just the appropriate angle to lay a certain booby trap, and I just cannot find out what it is. I think it’s something I’m doing wrong.” She put a book—the geometry book missing from the bookshelf—on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to Kidd. She opened the book.

“Have you measured the walls and ceiling?” asked Kidd.

“I only have general measurements at this point,” said Steelheart. “Why?”

“Where were you going to put the trap?”

“You have a point. I can’t figure out this blasted problem to save my life. I want to set it so that the laser beam fires at a 45° angle from the ceiling so that Ludwig will duck and get one of his idiots blasted, and I can’t figure out exactly how.”

Kidd took some paper and began to draw a diagram. “Is the ceiling parallel to the floor?”

“No, it is angled slightly to the floor. It’s floor 93.”

Kidd suddenly realized something and got out a protractor, a ruler, and several pencils, all different colors. “It’s simple!” He drew several angles and lines with the protractor and ruler. He showed her a diagram.

When she examined it, Steelheart rubbed her hands together. Her idea would work. “Yeah. Simple. And rather amusing labels, too. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. Thank you, Kidd. Keep brushing up. Your math knowledge comes in handy a lot. See you!” She took the plan Kidd had drawn out for her as well as the geometry book and got up and left. Kidd continued his review while Steelheart continued laying her traps.

* * *

Control Room, Metroid, VideoLand.

Midnight at Metroid: usually, the planet Metroid was gloomy, but, this time, it was invisible, as the cloaking device was engaged. Within the control room of the planet, Ludwig paced and paced, thoughtful. “Let’s see. If my guess is right, a member of the N‑Team will prepare ingenious traps for us at the Palace. My precognitive abilities tell me that a lot of them are to be placed geometrically and cleverly. Well, isn’t that just nice. It seems like I’ll have some fun breaking the N‑Team’s toys for them.”

“Excellent,” said MotherBrain. “We’ll be on the look-out for any traps.”

“But as amusing as that sounds, that might prove too time-consuming. So let’s warp into the throne room instead. That way, we’ll avoid their traps altogether. Also, have all of our wicked pals come along. If we’re still lured into a trap, we’ll be well prepared to fend off those N‑Team nuisances.”

“Combined, they outnumber us,” said Bowser Koopa.

“That matters little, just as long as they’re outgunned.”

“I’m not thrilled about this,” said Larry. “They’re going to figure out how to fight us sooner or later. Just what are they going to do when we don’t give them Captain N?”

“They’ll probably go ballistic,” Bowser said.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Ludwig. “We’ll have them well in line. They’ve already signed their own death sentence, the fools, thanks to Lana. Once we get over there, we’re going to forcefully gain control of the kingdom and destroy the N‑Team.”

Frantic, Eggplant Wizard ran in. “MotherBrain! MotherBrain!”

“What is it, you sorry excuse for an idiot?” demanded MotherBrain.

“I just saw on the monitor in my room that Steelheart was telling Lana that she was going to set up traps,” said Eggplant Wizard. “If you come with me—”

A smile formed across Ludwig’s face. “You needn’t show me,” he said. “You’re quite smart indeed, for an idiot.”

“Thanks . . . I think.”

“Let’s prepare a little surprise visit for them.” Ludwig laughed.

“What sort of traps does Steelheart plan to plant?” asked MotherBrain.

“I set up my recorder to record her actions,” said Eggplant Wizard.

“All right,” said MotherBrain. “I’ll just turn on the monitor, and we can watch a great movie. Eggy, go fix the popcorn.”

“Yeah,” said Ludwig. “We’ll see exactly where Steelheart’s setting those traps.” MotherBrain turned on the monitor.

* * *

Throne Room, Palace of Power, VideoLand.

At 6.00, Steelheart had finished checking most of her traps except the last one, which was in the throne room itself. It was a trap door that, when sprung, would drop anyone who stepped on it to the basement.

“Ah,” said Steelheart. “I’m done.” A small ray of sunlight came through the window. “Sunlight? That means that Ludwig should be here in minutes. Time to summon everyone.”

She tapped a button. In about fifteen minutes, everyone had completely dressed and arrived in the throne room.

With little preamble, Steelheart pointed to her trap door. “I have calculated that Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa and all of the rest of the Brain-Team will warp in here to exactly this spot. It’s the best spot for them to arrive in force. At the very least, some part of the team will arrive on it. I’ll demonstrate how sensitive this thing is.” She peeled a little piece of paper out of her notebook on a table and dropped it on the trap door. The door opened and sucked the paper down to the basement of the Palace. “That way, the villains will be sucked down to the basement. They will have to work their way up through traps that I have designed.” She looked at her watch. “By my watch, they should be here right about now.” She stepped back. The Brain-Team materialized in the room, and every single individual was out of range of the trap door! Steelheart swore.

“And I calculated accurately on how to avoid that cute little trap of yours, Steelheart,” said Ludwig with a laugh. “I can tell that you and I are going to make quite a pair of adversaries.”

“Save it. Where is Captain N?”

“Just as anyone, even an idiot, could determine, I had no intention of bringing back Captain N.”

“Actually, I was kinda surprised about that,” King Hippo said.

“Shut up,” said MotherBrain.

“I knew it,” said Steelheart. “You rotten snake.”

“You’ll be singing a different tune when we get through with you,” said Mario.

“Don’t forget that you can’t hurt him by stomping him without the Kuribo’s Shoe,” said Eggplant Wizard.

“Thank you, Eggplant Wizard,” said Ludwig. He whipped out his scepter and fried Eggplant Wizard. “I was counting on his not remembering that.”

Mario and Luigi clapped their hands together. “Paddycake, paddycake, pasta-man, give me pasta-power as fast as you can!” they sang. They both drew Fire Flowers out of their overalls and turned into Fiery Mario and Fiery Luigi.

“Come on, Luigi, let’s give these creeps a taste of pasta-power,” said Mario.

“What are you two doing?” asked Mon*Star, his Light*Star Eye flashing. He had not transformed, since he was quite aware that many of his new teammates had as much power as he did. “Take this.” He blasted the two with his Light*Star. Mario and Luigi lost their ‘pasta-power’ and were frozen by the Light*Star.

“Whoa,” cried Toad. “That piece of laser sure did something, but I don’t want to find out what!” He tried to make a run for it, but Mon*Star blasted him with a Light*Star, too.

Mon*Star laughed. “Stick around, funny fungus. You won’t be going anywhere.” Suddenly, he buckled from the strain of exhausting his power. “Ohh. I need to transform with the Moon*Star’s rays if I’m going to keep this up.”

Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa tossed a warp formula on the floor. “Step through there, and you’ll wind up on Brim*Star’s surface, where you can gaze at the Moon*Star and transform.”

Without a word, Mon*Star rushed for the warp. Bluegrass pointed the head of his Laser Guitar at Mon*Star.

“Goin’ so soon?” Bluegrass asked. “But I have a special solo just for you.” He fired at Mon*Star with blue laser music. Mon*Star jerked out of the way and fell to the floor. However, a ray of red laser music cut Bluegrass’s ray before it hit the Planet Master. “Huh? Uh, oh; it’s the competition.”

“You’re darn right, cowboy,” said Melodia, firing the red laser music from her Sound Smasher. She stopped. “Now, you’ll be all wrapped up in my gnarly rock, you country hick.” She shot him with laser music and wrapped him up. “Eat rock and roll, cowpoke.” She screeched with laughter. A laser blasted the Sound Smasher out of her hands and onto the floor. “Whoa!”

“Your rock and roll days are over, Melodia,” said Quicksilver.

Darkwing Duck aimed his Gas Gun at Melodia. “Suck sneeze gas, melodious evildoer.” He shot her with a gas pellet filled with sneeze gas, and she went into a sneezing fit. “Yet another treacherous transgressor foiled.”

Mon*Star sprang up and entered the warp. “Uh, oh,” said Steelwill. “He went through.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Steelheart said.

On Brim*Star, Mon*Star caught a glimpse of the Moon*Star just above the horizon. “Hee, hee! That’s enough light for me to transform. Moon*Star of Limbo, give me the might, the muscle, the menace of Mon*Star!” By the last word, he had transformed entirely into his powerful form. He laughed. “Now, it’s time to get back there and blast those self-righteous fools.” A laser hit him in the back of the head and knocked him onto the ground. Turning around, he saw Steelheart coming from the warp. “Yah! You!”

“Yes, me,” said Steelheart. “Now, do you want to come quietly, or will I have to drag you back by your pinkies?” When she got close enough, Mon*Star tripped her over onto her side and ran into the warp. The warp closed behind him. “Rats. I’m off today.”

Mon*Star arrived back in the throne room. The fight had moved cautiously away from the trap door. “Eat Light*Star, wimps,” said Mon*Star. He was about to blast them when Steelwill shot him with a laser first.

“Who are you calling wimps, star-face?” asked Steelwill. “And where is Steelheart? I know: you left her out there in the rain.”

“I’m willing to bet that even a Silver Hawk can die of pneumonia.” Mon*Star giggled.

“Why you overgrown—!” Steelwill punched Mon*Star in the area where digestive organs would be located in a human. The plate there was vulnerable if Mon*Star was unready.

Screaming, Mon*Star reverted to his pre-transformation form. “Why, you!”

“I’ll go help Steelheart,” said Mario. He spilled a warp formula on the floor. Steelheart came out in seconds.

After emerging from the warp, Steelheart stormed over to Mon*Star. “That was pretty stupid, Mon*Star,” she said.

“Are you kidding?” Mon*Star said. “It was completely moronic.”

“What the devil happened to him?” asked Steelheart.

“I gave him what he deserved: a good ol’ punch in the stomach,” Steelwill said.

“I ought to punch you in the stomach, blasted Silver Hawk,” said Hardware, pointing a laser gun at Steelwill. Quicksilver blasted the laser gun out of Hardware’s hands and wrapped him up in a laser, including a laser bow.

“You’re all wrapped up, Hardware,” said Quicksilver.

“Terrible joke. Terrible joke! I won’t wish you a Merry Christmas.”

“Who cares?” asked Quicksilver. After this, Windhammer wafted icy air over the Silver Hawks. Quicksilver shivered. “Brr! What the—Windhammer!”

“Ha, ha, ha, yes,” said Windhammer. “I’m here to give you a white Christmas. Merry Christmas, Silver Hawks.” A laser hit him in the back, knocking him on the floor. “Who did that?”

“It was yours truly,” said Hotwing. “Now, to prepare you for transport to the Penal Planet.” Hotwing conjured ribbons that tied up Windhammer.

“I’m all tied up.”

“You got that right.”

“I’ll stop you guys cold,” said Timestopper, pressing the button in the middle of his belly. In the center of his chest, a clock counted down two seconds, starting from 3.00. When it reached 1.00, a colon formed between the one and the two zeros and it began to count down one minute. The heroes became gray and motionless. Timestopper laughed. “That ought to keep them out of our hair for a minute.”

“Wow,” said Eggplant Wizard. He knocked on MegaMan, who was frozen stiff.

“This is excellent,” said Ludwig. “Good work, Timestopper.”

“Thanks,” said Timestopper. “With time stopped, we can capture these guys and hang them up again. And this time, none of us will make the mistake of letting them off. But I can only hold time for one minute.”

“Remember, I also want to crucify Link, my wicked compatriots,” Ludwig said.

“Yes,” said Luna. “A good plan. And we Luna‑tacks and Mutants want to deal with Lion‑O personally. We’ll make him sorry he ever crossed us, right before he dies in agony.”

“My time is running out,” cried Timestopper, with thirty-five seconds left on his clock. “Let’s just get them to Metroid.”

“Don’t worry, I shall see to that,” said Liquidator. He ordered the water in the drinking fountain to wash the entire N‑Team into a warp to Metroid.

Ludwig got out his radio and spoke into it in French: “Armies of Metroid, this is Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa. The N‑Team has just been washed into Planet Metroid. Clamp them firmly to the wall in the prison room. Ludwig out.” He put his radio away. In English, he addressed his compatriots: “They’ll be through in a few seconds.”

Mega Volt swore mildly in surprise. “Why did you say all of that in French?”

“They do not understand English,” said Ludwig. “Just French, for some reason.”

“They’re supposed to understand all the languages I speak, but, as they sometimes say, c’est la vie,” MotherBrain said. “Of course, Ridley, the smartest creature there, knows English.”

The radio in Ludwig’s hand beeped. He responded. “Ludwig.”

“Prince Ludwig, this is Ridley,” said Ridley in English. “We have completed your request.”

“Ah, good. Timestopper is about to turn time back on for them.”

“Very well. We’ll make sure they don’t escape.”

Timestopper pressed his time-button and re‑started time. “Okay, that’s taken care of,” he said. “Now, let’s get over there to Metroid and do to them what they did to us.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Ludwig. They proceeded through the warp to Metroid.

* * *

Prison Room, Norfair, Metroid.

The wicked world of Metroid, the evil fume-spewing planet, was still cloaked. In the prison room, the Brain-Team was very happy, for their captured N‑Team members were tied to the wall appropriately.

“It seems to me that we were at this point before,” said Quacker Jack. “This time, we don’t take those Steel-smart-rears off of the wall.”

“Correct,” said Ludwig. “I apologize for permitting it earlier. That trick won’t work this time, Steeltwins.”

“Can I let Mario, Luigi, and Toad out of the Light*Stars now, Ludwig?” asked Mon*Star.

“Not yet. No one ever underestimate these guys again. Quacker Jack, search them thoroughly for Darkwing’s smoke capsules.”

“Whatever you say, Ludwig,” said Quacker Jack. “You’re first, Steelheart.” When he proceeded to grope Steelheart in the chest area, a huge steel trap snapped his arm. He wailed in pain. “You underestimated her! You underestimated her!”

“Nice booby-trap, sis,” said Steelwill.

“Let’s not get vulgar, Will,” said Steelheart with a smile. A naughty smile.

Bushroot used his weeds to open up the device. As soon as the trap opened and fell on the floor, it once again snapped shut, but this time on nothing. “There you go, QJ,” said Bushroot.

“Thanks,” said Quacker Jack. “All right, smarty-steel, take this.” Quacker Jack got a pair of snap-teeth and got ready to snap it on Steelheart’s wrist.

“Not yet,” said Ludwig. “Not until I give the gong are you to hurt any one of them.”

“I just want to have a little fun, Ludwig.”

“Put your snap-teeth away, Quacky.”

“Oh, all right.” Quacker Jack reluctantly obeyed.

“You know that crucifixion is not the only way to deal with me,” said Link.

“I want it to be cruel,” said Ludwig. “I will give you nothing to deaden the pain. Your death will be slow and agonizing.”

“Something’s wrong here,” said Luna. “Where the devil are Bengali, Pumyra, Lynx‑O, Snarfer, and the Thunder Kittens?”

“Ludwig knows that those Thunder Kittens are inconsequential,” said Mumm‑ra. “We don’t need them. Yet, we should obtain the other four. They must be at the Tower of Omens.” He giggled darkly. “I’ll deal with them before those kittens can get word to them. Ma‑mutt, let’s get them.” Ma‑mutt, his foul doggie, whined in agreement. “Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm‑ra, the Ever-Living!” As soon as he was through chanting, images of the four stone statues that represented the Ancient Spirits of Evil appeared near the ceiling and granted Mumm‑ra his massive, powerful alternate form. He was even larger and more hideous than normal. “I’ll be back with them soon, Ludwig.”

“There’s no way they can stop you,” Ludwig said. He created a warp to the Tower. Mumm‑ra and Ma‑mutt promptly passed through.

* * *

Control Room, Tower of Omens, third‑Earth.

At the Tower of Omens, the four other Thunder Cats were becoming quite suspicious as to what was going on. “This rain-cloud has totally violated some natural laws,” said Bengali. “Something must be up.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t contact the others again unless the Thunder Kittens come back,” said Pumyra.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Mumm‑ra, coming in with Ma‑mutt. “You’ll soon be joining them.”

“Mumm‑ra!” cried Snarfer in surprise. “Snarfer, snarfer. Where’s Lion‑O when we need him?”

“Oh, we can answer that,” said Mumm‑ra. “Ma‑mutt, sic him.” Ma‑mutt lunged forward and grabbed Snarfer’s tail in his teeth.

“Snarf!” Snarfer yelled in pain.

“Good work, my boy. Take this miserable fur-ball to see Lion‑O at our new pals’ home. I’ll soon be along.” Ma‑mutt dragged the unwilling Snarfer into the warp to Metroid.

“A wormhole?” said Bengali in astonishment. “I didn’t know you could make a wormhole.”

“As one of my new friends will tell you, this is called a warp,” said Mumm‑ra.

“Did I hear some mention of ‘new pals’?” asked Pumyra.

“Why, yes,” said Mumm‑ra. “Oh, I’m so glad you mentioned it. I’ll even introduce one to you. Mega Volt, come in here, please!”

Mega Volt popped through the warp. His plugs glowed because he had recently recharged himself to maximum power. “You called, Mumm‑ra?”

“Mega Volt, these are Bengali, Lynx‑O, and Pumyra from left to right,” said Mumm‑ra. “Thunder Cats, this is one of my new pals, the electrifying mongrel, Mega Volt.”

“Care for a sample of my powers?” asked Mega Volt, a wicked smile on his face, his entire body sparking. “Well, I’ll show you whether you do or not.” Laughing wickedly, he fired upon the three Thunder Cats with an electric beam. The beam shocked them briefly and then surrounded them in an unbreakable grip.

Mumm‑ra laughed. “And now, it’s time for you guys to meet my new leader, the wicked Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa.”

“I’ve heard of him,” said Pumyra. “He is reputed to be the most powerful villain in the galaxy.”

“It is a reputation well deserved,” said Mumm‑ra. “Let’s show them to our wicked leader, Mega Volt.”

Mega Volt laughed. “Sure. He can shock you Thunder Kitties even worse than this!” He dragged the Thunder Cats into the warp.

* * *

Prison Room, Norfair, Metroid.

In the prison room of Metroid, Mumm‑ra and Mega Volt returned with Bengali, Pumyra, and Lynx‑O.

“Ah, excellent,” said Ludwig. “Place them on the wall with the others, if you do not mind.” The villainous mutt used his electricity to place the Thunder Cats against the wall. Liquidator turned on a faucet and used the water in the plumbing to cuff the three Thunder Cats to the wall. Snarfer had already been placed there. “So, good day, you three. Welcome to Metroid. How are things going?”

“They were going fine until your bandaged buddy showed up with his new electric amigo,” snapped Pumyra.

“Well, we had to break up your monotony of several straight days of rain,” Liquidator said with a laugh. “We could not let you stay there another day. Yet, I still had to stop my storm-cloud in the middle of space.”

“Is it you who are behind this?” said Bengali.

“Well, lo and behold, we finally find out this white tiger here has some brains,” declared Liquidator in a sonorous advertising voice.

“I’ll show you who has brains,” said Bengali. He tried to pull away from the wall, but the water cuffs did not allow him. These cuffs were as strong, if not stronger, than the steel cuffs holding the others. “Hey! These things are harder than steel.”

“Certainly are,” Liquidator said.

“Whatever you are going to do to us, you had better do it now,” said Princess Zelda.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Your Highness,” said Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa. “I don’t care for aristocratic pains in the neck. I am at least ten times more powerful than you are. Also, I am in command here. So, pray hold your tongue, and your treatment shall be equal to that of the others.”

“Look who is talking about an aristocratic pain in the neck,” said Zelda.

“Listen, pretty princess. You are getting me slightly perturbed, and—”

“Your accursed frame of mind is none of my concern, rock-brain!”

Few had ever seen Ludwig so angry. “Oh, that does it! Take this lady to the torture chamber, Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo. She asked for it.”

“But, boss—” began King Hippo.

“Just do it, you bird-brained nincompoops.”

“Okay, boss,” said Eggplant Wizard.

He and King Hippo went to Zelda and removed her from the wall. Almost instantly, she kicked them out of her way, darted toward a door, magically summoned her bow, and aimed an energy arrow at Link’s straight-jacket. This destroyed the straight-jacket, freeing Link.

Link rushed to the box containing all the N‑Team’s weapons, opened it, and grabbed his sword. He blasted everyone free with energy beams from his sword, including releasing Mario, Luigi, and Toad from the Light*Stars holding them.

“What about Kevin?” Lana cried, as Kevin might be killed if Link blasted the glass.

“We ought to make him fry,” said Quacker Jack.

“Hang on a minute,” said Liquidator. “Hang on a minute. Major brainstorm leaving the warehouse to the store. We may be able to resolve this without further violence. Heh, heh, heh!” He thought for a while as everyone was still. Liquidator went to Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa. “Hey, boss, how about we . . .” He whispered in Ludwig’s ear a while. “Then, we could . . .” He whispered in Ludwig’s ear a while more. An interesting smile became embedded in Ludwig’s face.

Finally, when Liquidator had finished, Ludwig nodded. He faced the N‑Team. “Liquidator has convinced me to let you all go, including Captain N,” said Ludwig. “No lie this time, I guarantee that. He has also asked me to propose to you a challenge.”

“What kind of challenge?” asked Steelheart.

“A race. A flying-vehicle race on several different and difficult tracks throughout the galaxy.”

“I hope that this is not false-icus like the VideoLympics MotherBrain challenged us with,” said Kid Icarus.

“And that your team will obey the race rules, unlike when we competed with the Mob in the Great Space Race,” said Quicksilver.

“Oh, nothing like either of those shall occur,” Ludwig assured them. He began to turn valves on his deep-freeze device to warm Kevin gradually. “Captain N is hearing this, also. Anyway, there will be the best ten to fifteen drivers from your team and those from my team. I will choose the best ten to fifteen from my team. You will select the best ten to fifteen from your team. All the selected drivers will compete on the tracks. The acting leader of each group is automatically disqualified from driving in the race. I am, therefore, disqualified. Who is the leader of your team, Steelheart?”

“We haven’t formally chosen one yet,” said Steelheart.

“Very well. Choose that person. Then, the tracks will be chosen. Once that has been accomplished, we shall choose the drivers. When that is out of the way, the race will begin. All in all, we should be ready by the twenty-first of December at noon. What do you say?”

Steelheart thought it over for a moment. Finally, she spoke. “Okay, I think we’ll bite.”

“Good,” said Ludwig. He looked at Kevin. “Looks like your friend is ready.” Ludwig switched off the device. He opened a door in the glass and cracked away a thin film of ice in the doorway. “King Hippo, remove Captain N very carefully from the deep-freeze chamber.”

“Yes, sir,” said King Hippo. He removed Kevin from the device as the N‑Team got their weapons.

Kevin was fully thawed and conscious when King Hippo set him down. “Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa, that chamber was freezing,” he said. “Next time you do something like that, let me get a ton of blankets first.”

“At absolute zero, you would not keep warm for very long,” said Ludwig. “That temperature is so low that molecules stop vibrating.”

“I know,” said Kevin. “I got A’s in all my science courses. Listen, I’ll go along with your little plan, but if you so much as lift a finger to cheat at all, you will be trying to remove my fist from the middle of your evil throat.”

“A bit impulsive, are we not?”

“Not ‘we,’ ‘me.’ I admit to being impulsive. You would never admit to such a thing because you’re so wrapped up in yourself.”

“I shall refuse to enter into such a battle of wits at the present time, Captain N. Meanwhile—”

“Yes, I’ll go to the Palace with my friends and help them,” said Kevin. “In the meantime, if you try any scheme, I’ll be here, and I won’t be happy. As it is, I’m hot as Hades about you sticking me in that deep-freeze device of yours.”

“I understand. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like a little peace and quiet.” As Kevin and his friends turned to leave, Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa spoke up again. “And get your leader chosen. I don’t want to wait forever for you to tell me who your leader is.”

Steelheart moved to being the first in line facing Ludwig. “You can bet your scales we’ll tell you,” she said.

“Darn right,” said Kevin. “So wait for our imminent call.”

“Very good,” said Ludwig. “Later.” The N‑Team turned and entered the warp to the Palace of Power. Once they had gone, he turned to his allies and smiled wickedly. “You know, we really ought to discuss this plan among ourselves, everyone.”

Liquidator laughed. “Yes, let’s!” he said.

* * *

Control Room, Tower of Omens, third‑Earth.

At the Tower, the Thunder Kittens had thoroughly searched the place twice. They were both a little frightened, but they did not have to admit that to each other. They knew one another too well. “Where could they be?” asked Wilykit.

“I know a possibility, but you’re not going to like it,” said Wilykat.

“Oh, great Jaga! Do you mean that Ludwig might have captured them already?”

“Yes. That Ludwig’s a nasty one. I—”

“Palace of Power to Tower of Omens,” said Captain N’s voice from a communication console. “Are you there, Thunder Kittens?”

Wilykat opened a channel. “Yes, Captain N, we are here. What’s going on?”

“Well, nice ol’ Ludwig decided to let us go, but I’m 101% certain that his motives are impure. Ditto for Liquidator, who apparently made the suggestion. Ludwig challenged us to a race on several tracks throughout the galaxy.

“Now, please tell me something, if you don’t mind. I thought Lion‑O told you to remain at Cat’s Lair. Why are you out there at the Tower?”

“We came to tell the Thunder Cats out here that Ludwig might be coming to capture them,” said Wilykit. “It appears we’re a bit late.”

“Yes, but at least you arrived a little too late,” said Kevin. “Mumm‑ra and Mega Volt did the job for him. Please, come to the Palace. The entire N‑Team must choose its leadership before the race; then we need to suggest some tracks to the Brain-Team.”

“This all has the suspicious ring of a trap or some other trick,” said Wilykit. “But okay. We’re coming to the Palace.”

“We’ll be expecting you. Goodbye.” Wilykit and Wilykat left after Kevin had cut the communication line.

* * *

Conference Hall, near the Throne Room, Palace of Power, VideoLand.

At the Palace of Power, the entire N‑Team was in conference, thinking about and discussing what was going on. The Thunder Kittens had entered by way of a warp from Cat’s Lair. Roll, MegaMan’s sister android, had just arrived from Dr. Wright’s lab in MegaLand, where she had been recharging her energy.

“Swell,” said Darkwing. “Now we get to choose a leader. I’m sure I’ll lose big-time.”

“With that big, flappy beak of yours, I wouldn’t blame any of us for not voting for you,” said Neptunia.

“Come on, you two,” said Wilykat. “We aren’t going to get through this by arguing.”

“My brother’s right,” said Wilykit. “We must choose, and quickly.”

“Yes,” said Kevin. “I suggest that we choose between the leaders of each individual group now making up the team. How about it?”

“I can live with that,” Lana said. There was a general murmur of approval throughout the room.

“There are several subdivisions,” Steelheart said. “Each one will retain its identity. I would like a list of everyone in this room.” Kevin left the room and came back with a pen and several sheets of paper.

“Here’s my suggestion,” said Kevin. “Let’s have everyone print their names on these sheets. We can then put the names into the computer. Afterwards, we can subdivide all of the groups.”

“Sounds great to me,” said Steelheart. “We start at one end and pass the paper around.” Kevin handed the paper and pen to Steelheart, who was at the head of the table. She printed her name on the paper and passed the pen and paper to Steelwill, next to her. Within fifteen minutes, the sheets of paper contained a complete list of the names. “Fine,” said Steelheart, contentedly reading the several sheets of paper. “Could I ask a volunteer to type this in?”

Della Street got up and went over to Steelheart. “I’ll get right on it,” she said.

“Thank you, Ms. Street,” said Steelheart as she handed Della the papers.

Della went over to her spot, where Perry Mason handed her his portable terminal from his briefcase. Della turned it on, opened the word processor, and got underway keying in every name, her fingers flying on the keyboard. Her keen eyes were tuned to the slightest detail. She had finished keying in all seventy names within a matter of two minutes.

After this, she read the following list, including the numbers: “These are the names that I have: (1)Commander Steelheart; (2)Lieutenant Steelwill, (3)Colonel Quicksilver; (4)Captain Bluegrass; (5)Sergeant Copper-Kidd; (6)Stargazer; (7)Hotwing; (8)Captain Flashback; (9)Moonstriker; (10)Condor; (11)Lion‑O; (12)Tygra; (13)Cheetara; (14)Panthro; (15)Wilykit; (16)Wilykat; (17)Snarf; (18)Bengali; (19)Pumyra; (20)Lynx‑O; (21)Snarfer; (22)Mario; (23)Luigi; (24)Toad; (25)Queen Peach Toadstool Koopa; (26)Yoshi; (27)King Spike Koopa; (28)Prince Ludwig von(Spike)Koopa; (29)Prince Lieutenant Larry (Spike)Koopa; (30)Prince Chief Roy (Spike)Koopa; (31)Princess Wendy O. (Spike)Koopa; (32)Prince Morton (Spike)Koopa, Jr.; (33 and 34)Princes Lemmy and Iggy (Spike)Koopa; (35)Captain N, also known as Kevin Keene; (36)Princess Lana Deschain; (37)MegaMan; (38)Kid Pit Icarus; (39)Simon Belmont; (40)Doctor Xavier Thomas Wright; (41)Roll; (42)Link Chance; (43)Princess Zelda Harkinian; (44)Chief Samus Aran; (45)Perry Mason; (46)Della Street, myself; (47)Paul Drake, Sr.; (48)Paul Drake, Jr.; (49)Ken Malanski; (50)Rupert Jackson; (51)Hamilton Burger; (52)Lieutenant Arthur Tragg; (53)Lieutenant Andy Anderson; (54)Lieutenant Steve Drumm; (55)Sergeant George Brice; (56)Darkwing Duck; (57)Launchpad McQuack; (58)Gosalyn Mallard; (59)GizmoDuck; (60)Morganna McCawber; (61)Neptunia; (62)Stegmutt; (63)Scrooge McDuck; (64, 65, and 66)Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck; (67)Mrs. Beakley; (68)Webbigail van der Quack; (69)Mrs. Crackshell; (70)SHUSH Director J. Gander Hooter; and (71)SHUSH Agent Grizzlykov. Anyone I missed?” No one made any note of being missed. Della therefore sent her document to the room’s laser printer, and the printer provided a neat, organized table with everyone who had printed their names on the sheet. When the printer had finished, Della took the two sheets, stapled them together, and handed them to Steelheart. “Here you are, Commander.”

“Thank you, Ms. Street.” Steelheart looked through the table. “Ah, very nice.”

Returning to her place, Della deactivated the terminal and handed it back to Mason, who put it back in his briefcase.

Steelheart toyed with her pen as she contemplated the list. “Now, let us define the divisions. Numbers one through ten—Lieutenant Steelwill, Colonel Quicksilver, Captain Bluegrass, Sergeant Copper-Kidd, Stargazer, Hotwing, Captain Flashback, Moonstriker, Condor, and me—are the Silver Hawks division, led by me. Numbers eleven through twenty-one—Lion‑O, Tygra, Cheetara, Panthro, Wilykit, Wilykat, Snarf, Bengali, Pumyra, Lynx‑O, and Snarfer—are the Thunder Cats division, led by Lion‑O. Numbers twenty-two through thirty-four—Mario, Luigi, Toad, Queen Peach, Yoshi, King Spike, Prince Ludwig von(Spike)Koopa, Prince/Lieutenant Larry, Prince/Chief Roy, Princess Wendy, Prince Morton, Prince Lemmy, and Prince Iggy—are the Mario-Team division, led by . . .”

“Mario,” said Peach when Steelheart trailed off. A few others nodded in agreement.

“Okay, the Mario-Team division is headed by Mario. Numbers thirty-five through forty-four—Kevin, Princess Lana, MegaMan, Kid Icarus, Simon Belmont, Doctor Wright, Roll, Link, Princess Zelda, and Chief Samus—are the N‑Team Base division, led by . . .”

“The N‑Team has always been led by Kevin,” said Lana.

“Fine, the N‑Team Base division is led by Kevin. Numbers forty-five through fifty-five—Perry Mason; Della Street; Paul Drake, Sr.; Paul Drake, Jr.; Ken Malanski; Rupert Jackson; Hamilton Burger; Lieutenant Arthur Tragg; Lieutenant Andy Anderson; Lieutenant Steve Drumm; and Sergeant George Brice—are the Mason-Team division, led by Perry Mason. Right?” She saw several nods from Mason and his compatriots. “Numbers fifty-six through sixty-two—Darkwing, Launchpad, Gosalyn, GizmoDuck, Morganna, Neptunia, and Stegmutt—are Darkwing Duck’s Justice Ducks Division, led by Darkwing Duck. Numbers sixty-three through seventy-one—Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Mrs. Beakley, Webbigail, Mrs. Crackshell, Director Hooter, and Agent Grizzlykov—will be—heh, heh!—an ‘anonymous’ division, or the Secret-Team division. This division is to be led by Scrooge McDuck. That’s because they can’t commit as much time to the team as the rest of us, but they’ll help out when they can.

“Now, let’s debate on the best leader to lead the entire team: Lion‑O, leader of the Thunder Cats division; Mario, leader of the Mario-Team division; Captain N, leader of the N‑Team Base division; Perry Mason, leader of the Mason-Team division; Darkwing Duck, leader of the Justice Ducks division; Scrooge McDuck, leader of the Secret-Team division; or me, leader of the Silver Hawks division. Which of our names should be at the top of that list? Suggestions?”

“May I make a few comments?” asked Paul Drake, Sr.

“Yes, please go ahead, Paul Drake,” said Steelheart.

“In my opinion, Steelheart seems to me to be the best person for this job. I have made observations of all of you, and I have them here.” Paul extracted his small notebook from his pocket and flipped in it.

“Ah, the consummate private investigator,” Condor said with a smile.

“Thank you, Condor. I’d like to think so. Now, Darkwing, I’m not trying to offend you, but you have something that some people might call an overactive ego, to make it rather an understatement. From what I’ve experienced, you issue all of these remarks when you enter. They are great for surprise, but the truth is that, a lot of the time, you are egotistical. Now, that is my only issue with you. I’m okay with you as a teammate, though, and I don’t doubt your effectiveness. Now, on to Scrooge McDuck. Scrooge, to put it bluntly, you are something of a tightwad.”

“I’ll say,” said Scrooge. “I want my fortune back from that blasted Liquidator. I also want to see those villains put where they belong and for the officers of their prison to throw the key away.”

“I understand, Scrooge. I’m not saying that that is a big problem; it’s just something that may hinder your leading capabilities.”

“And, anyway, Steelheart says my subdivision won’t be as active as the others,” Scrooge said.

“Right. Now, on to Mario. I’ve gotten to know you a little bit, Mario. You have a slight problem of getting in a little over your head. That’s nothing, as long as it doesn’t develop too far, and I mean no insult. On to Perry Mason. Perry, this is going to hurt. You are just a little too willing to skate on thin legal ice.”

“What’s wrong with that, Paul?” asked Mason, smiling at his friend.

“Well, nothing too big, but your cases always seem to be in shambles from the start until a little before the end. That does not always encourage me, and for our present situation, it probably would not help. Of course, I concede that your clients tend to be in very hot water. To you, Lion‑O. I am told that your leadership qualities are very good, and at times you have gotten the Thunder Cats out from under. That is very well in order. But you have not had too much experience around doing what the Silver Hawks do in the diplomatic area. I can’t deny that you’re a good leader.

“Anyway, Kevin, you and Steelheart are the last ones left. Kevin, from what I have seen of your leadership abilities, they are developing very well, probably from working with the N‑Team from an absolute low point in VideoLand’s history. Unfortunately, you do seem to want to rush into things a little too much, and, well, you’re a little bit like Perry. You’re willing to skate on ice that is a little too thin, and sometimes, you do fall in. I think a few years will develop your leadership skills much more. Though you always manage to pull out, I, for one, would rather not be falling in.

“Now, you, Steelheart, are a most sensible, level-headed leader. You seem to want to play it riskily enough to get through, but that’s the extent. Very rarely have I seen your record state that you would wish to go on thin ice. You also have some diplomatic experience. You seem that way, diplomatically minded. You seem to try not to venture into dangerous situations without a good idea. When you jump to conclusions, you jump to sensible conclusions. That is the way we should probably be led.”

“Did you rehearse this presentation of yours, Paul?” asked Mason.

“Well, no, Perry,” said Drake. “It just spun off my head.”

“It seemed awfully good to be just spun off your head,” said Lieutenant Tragg with a suspicious smile.

“Well, it did, Tragg,” snapped Drake.

“Has anyone anything more to say before we vote on who will be the leader?” said Steelheart. No one said anything. “Okay, then, let’s do it. Will, please explain your idea.”

“All right,” said Steelwill. “Each of us will take a sheet of paper and write the name of the division leader who will be the best leader, in his individual opinion. Then he’ll turn his sheet upside-down so that the writing is face-down, and then we’ll pass our sheets to Kidd, who will count them. The one who gets the highest percentage of votes is the winner. The winner is to lead our entire group. The vote percentage will also determine the second-in-command, third-in-command, fourth-in-command, fifth-in-command, sixth-in-command, and seventh-in-command. Anyway, let’s get started. We have some voting to do.”

While Steelwill was talking, Steelheart got up and passed sheets of paper and pens to everyone. Now, she had finished, as she got out the last sheet of paper for herself and laid it at her place. She then returned the paper to where she had gotten it and sat down at her place at the table.

“Everyone, let me make one thing clear before we begin,” she said. “It is none of your business what your neighbor puts down, even you, Thunder Kittens.” Wilykit and Wilykat frowned a bit at this. “I mean it, guys. It can be hard for Will and me, too. Everyone keep your eyes on your own papers. I know that with this table, even as long as it is, it will be hard to do, but just focus your eyes on that white sheet in front of you. The second you’re through writing your choice down, turn the paper over so it can be passed to Kidd. He will count the number of votes for each individual candidate. It is most possible that there will be a tie between two or more people because of the seventy-one people in here. No one can control that. We’ll accept a tie for any of the positions below leader and second, but for a high-level tie, we’ll have a tie-breaker vote. And if you cannot decide, you have the option to abstain; just don’t write anything. Okay, flush out of your mind the opinions Paul gave you. You just want the bones, the simple facts, of what he told you. We will wait until the last person had decided. It doesn’t matter who it is. Just wait until the last person finishes. Okay, now, let’s begin.”

They began. Everyone thought or wrote. Some people wrote their choices down immediately, while others took more time. Except for Darkwing, all the leaders took their time, particularly Steelheart and Perry Mason. Within several minutes, everyone had finished, and all the papers were passed to Kidd.

“Kidd,” said Steelheart, “I want you to go to that table over there and do the counting. Do not miscount.” Kidd saluted her and then obeyed her orders. In a few minutes, he had tallied the following results, which he showed to Steelheart:

Steelheart—17

Lion‑O—12

Mario—9

Captain N—16

Perry Mason—7

Darkwing Duck—5

Scrooge McDuck—4

Abstain—1

Total votes—71

“Good,” said Steelheart, looking at the list. “Give it to Quicksilver for announcement.” Kidd once again obeyed by giving the list to Quicksilver.

Quicksilver got up and announced, “From our voting, Steelheart wins with 17 votes. The second is Captain N with 16 votes. Following him in third is Lion‑O with 12 votes. After him in fourth is Mario with nine. Perry Mason is fifth with seven. Darkwing is voted sixth with five votes. Finally, seventh is Scrooge McDuck with four. One voter abstained. I shall pass this around to let you know that I’m being honest.” He did so. After a few minutes and some scrutinizing, it was determined that the numbers were correct. Darkwing Duck stared at the paper almost enough to burn holes in it. Finally, it reached Quicksilver’s hand again.

“So, let it be known that Steelheart is now the official leader of the N‑Team and that Captain N is her first officer,” said Quicksilver. Everyone applauded.

Darkwing clapped his hands. “Oh, well,” he said to himself. “The lady’s earned it.”

* * *

Some time later, Kevin and Steelheart walked into the throne room. “So, you think Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa’s waited long enough?” said Steelheart.

“Not nearly, but we shouldn’t antagonize him,” replied Kevin. “Let’s call him.” They went over to one of the computers to the room’s side. Kevin set up a communication frequency on the computer. “Visual communication is ready.”

“Okay,” said Steelheart. “This is Commander Steelheart calling Prince Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa. Please respond.”

Ludwig responded. He was the only person shown on the monitor. A brain-symbol was on the wall behind him. “Good day, N‑Team,” said Ludwig. “I assume that you have chosen?”

“We have,” said Steelheart.

“It is Steelheart,” said Kevin.

“Well, how nice,” Ludwig said. “I wonder if you chose the best driver in the group to be leader. If so, then too bad.”

“I sincerely doubt it,” said Steelheart. “I’m a fairly decent driver, but I’m not as great as some others. So we now choose the tracks, right?”

“Righto, Steelheart,” said Ludwig. “After that, we choose our players.”

“Okay. So, let’s start choosing.”

“Yes. Just scan the galaxy for suitable tracks, call me, and make your suggestions. I’ll make my suggestions at that time. All right?”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“Next time you call, call on this same frequency, or you may not be able to get through.”

“Got it. Steelheart out.”

“Ludwig out.” The screen flipped off.

“Kevin, please get everyone in here. We must talk and scan.”

“Right,” said Kevin. He went to call everyone else.

* * *

Map Room.

In the Palace’s map room, the Thunder Kittens were looking at holographic maps of VideoLand. “Boy, this sure is a beautiful land,” said Wilykat.

“You said it, Wilykat,” Wilykit said. “A perilously beautiful land. Hyrule has Ganon. CastleVania has Dracula. MegaLand has Dr. Wily, ProtoMan, and Wily’s other androids. Mount Icarus has Medusa. Each world just about has its own super-villain. But I’d love to see every world here for myself.”

“I’m sure Lion‑O and Tygra will let us,” said Wilykat. “Especially if we consent to being supervised.”

“I hate being supervised.”

“I don’t know. Captain N seems like a pretty fun guy. And I know Lion‑O would trust the hero of VideoLand.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Say, who did you vote for, anyway? I probably shouldn’t ask, but I’m just curious.”

“I voted for Captain N. I can just sense his heroic purpose.”

“Well, so did I. I know Lion‑O’s abilities, but I see a more cunning personality in Kevin.”

“Now, why didn’t we vote for Steelheart?”

“I don’t know about you, but—well, I like her, but sometimes she’s just a bit too formal for me.”

“Do you think she should have won?”

“Yeah, I think so. She is a very capable leader, but so is Kevin. So is Lion‑O. Now that Darkwing character, I don’t know about him. He’s a bit too wrapped up in himself.”

“You can say that again. Only Mumm‑ra could be more wrapped up in himself.”

“Ha! Boy, are you right.”

A communications line opened. “This is Captain N,” said Kevin’s voice. “All members of the Extended N‑Team, please report back to the Palace meeting room. We have to select racetracks.”

“Well, let’s go,” said Wilykit. She turned off the map device. She and Wilykat left the map room to return to the meeting room.

* * *

Command Center, Hawkhaven, Limbo.

Some time later, the Silver Hawks were watching for Metroid to appear at Hawkhaven. “Nothing yet, Commander,” said Steelwill.

“Blast,” said Steelheart. “I thought that Ludwig was a punctual villain.”

“He is,” said Kevin. “He loves to make grand appearances, though.”

Something at Steelwill’s console beeped. “There is some disturbance in the vicinity,” he said, alarmed.

“Localize it,” said Steelheart.

“I can’t. All I know is that—”

“They must have a cloaking device,” said Steelheart. “Quicksilver, go to yellow alert.”

Quicksilver’s hands flew over his console. Panels on the walls shone yellow. An alarm delivered four pairs of beeps.

“The disturbance is showing more clearly,” said Steelwill. “They are decloaking.”

“If they’re like the Romulans, they’d only be vulnerable for a second after they disengage their cloaking device,” said Kevin. “Of course, no firing.”

“Correct,” said Steelheart. “We won’t attack.”

They looked out the window surrounding the entire Command Center. Several seconds passed with no results.

“The signal is weakening,” Steelwill said. “I’ve lost ’em, Steelheart. They’re gone.”

“They were establishing our intent,” said Lion‑O. “Trying to find out if we were going to attack.”

Steelheart nodded in complete agreement. “Yes,” she said. “Will, they should be giving off a signal.”

Steelwill nodded before checking this. “There’s no signal in the area,” said Steelwill.

“Blast,” said Steelheart. A few moments passed. “Are you sure that they’re emitting no signal of any kind?”

“Positive,” said Steelwill. He pressed a button to boost a sensor of some kind. He frowned at the results. “I don’t understand this. There should be some signal.”

“Unbelievable. It took the Romulans several years to perfect their cloaking device so that no signal could be emitted, and Ludwig does it in a matter of months.”

Captain N nodded. The alarms beeped four more pairs of times.

“I don’t believe this. They’re making fools out of us. We’ve got to make better sensors.”

Some reading reached Steelwill’s panel. “Steelheart, they’re back.” They looked out the window. The brain-shaped world of Metroid shimmered into view. It neared Bedlama and Hawkhaven.

“Not good,” said Steelheart. “That is both a planet and a battle-cruiser.”

“Their weapons systems are inactive, Commander,” Quicksilver said.

“Very good,” said Steelheart. “I see no reason to start a fight. Kevin, Lion‑O, Mario, Perry, and Darkwing, please come with me. Anyone else who cares to join me, join me. I’m going over to Metroid.”

* * *

Control Room, Metroid.

In the control room of Metroid, the screen showed a graphic of the track cutting through the Limbo solar system. “This is the site of the first track that Steelheart chose,” Ludwig said.

“At least they didn’t attack,” said MotherBrain.

“I knew they wouldn’t,” said Ludwig. “I was merely testing their intentions. Let’s wait until the N‑Team gets here.”

In moments, Steelheart, Lion‑O, Mario, Kevin, Perry Mason, Darkwing Duck, and some other members of the Extended N‑Team, to include the Wilytwins, warped into the control room of Metroid. The Wilytwins looked around.

“We’re here, Ludwig,” said Steelheart. She flashed on her visor. “Commander Steelheart to Governor Zander. Please respond. This is an audio transmission.”

“This is Governor Zander of Bedlama, Commander Steelheart,” said Zander. “The track is ready to be materialized. Over.”

“Thank you, Governor,” said Steelheart. “We’re ready for it. Please turn it on. Over.”

“We shall activate it. Over and out.”

Steelheart then flashed off her visor. “It should materialize any moment now,” she said.

“Eggplant Wizard, put it on visual,” said Ludwig.

“Yes, Prince Ludwig,” said Eggplant Wizard.

The viewscreen showed Bedlama. A large elliptical race-track appeared encircling Dolare, Automata, the Penal Planet, and Brim*Star materialized. The track was comprised of marker buoys along both sides of the track. Both ends of the track connected in Bedlama.

“Okay, looking good,” said Ludwig. “Well, Steelheart?”

“Very good,” said Steelheart.

“It appears that this track is designed for aerial vehicles.”

“Right. In fact, all the tracks are designed for aerial vehicles.”

“Great. How many tracks have you chosen?”

“Six.”

“Good. Let’s call this the ‘Limbo Track’ for convenience and move on to your next choice.”

“Sounds good to me.” Metroid warped off to the site of the next track.

* * *

Meeting Room, Hawkhaven.

Later, in a meeting room on Hawkhaven, the N‑Team leaders and first officers were conferring. The Thunder Kittens were also in the room. “Now, I must judge the driving of everyone else,” said Steelheart.

“First, we ought to rule out those unable to drive,” said Kevin.

“Of course,” said Steelheart. “Let’s go at this by group. According to the rules, I am the only one in the entire N‑Team who is not allowed drive. Kidd can use his Space Racer. Lion‑O?”

“Well,” said Lion‑O, “the Snarfs, because they are too short and would not be able to reach the necessary equipment; and, I dare say it, Lynx‑O, because he can’t see. Tygra, tell me what you think. One can’t race well without eyesight. I doubt that even the Braille Board would help Lynx‑O in this case.”

“True, Lion‑O, with all due respect to Lynx‑O,” said Tygra. “And I’d hate to see what would happen if his board malfunctioned. I have the same conclusion.”

“Very well,” said Lion‑O. “I think that’s it.”

“Excuse us,” said Wilykit. “Wilykat and I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving in a race. I mean, we’ve only piloted Thunder Cat vehicles, and even then over a small area each time we piloted. And the space boards won’t give us air in outer space.”

“All right, guys,” Lion‑O said. “Good point. You’re out. Mario?”

“Well, let’s see,” said Mario. “I think no one in my team would be incapacitated. Except maybe Toad. He’s a little short, and we haven’t got any special vehicles for him. What about you, Kevin?”

“I think everyone from my team would be qualified,” said Kevin. “They are all of proper age and, probably, height. Except that Wright said that Roll’s systems aren’t quite up to par yet. He said she shouldn’t drive in this race. Your team, Perry?”

“Well, I think we’re all qualified, including Lieutenant Tragg,” Mason said. “How about your team, Darkwing?”

“Hmm,” said Darkwing. “A few. Gosalyn is too young, Neptunia is a fish, Stegmutt is too huge to drive a normal vehicle, Morganna has no idea how, GizmoDuck has that huge metal suit. I guess they would be the ones unable to drive. Of course, Launchpad crashes so much, and I drive the Rat Catcher all of the time, but I think he and I are all right. Er, how about your team, Scrooge?”

“Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby are the only ones,” said Scrooge. “I have to check to see whether Mrs. Crackshell can drive, but I think she can. As for myself, Duckworth has been gracious enough to give me a few lessons.”

Quicksilver was making notes of the people mentioned. “Steelheart, the Thunder Kittens, Snarf, Snarfer, Lynx‑O, Toad, Roll, Gosalyn, Neptunia, Stegmutt, Morganna, GizmoDuck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webbigail. That’s it?”

“I believe they were the ones,” said Darkwing.

“Let’s try driving without them for a while and see what we can do,” said the good Prince Ludwig von(Spike)Koopa, whom Mario had selected as his first officer.

“Good idea,” said Steelheart. “Let’s get out on the Limbo Track and do these evaluations.”