Layanderlet's Super Orange
Kitties and Cats Living Together to Make a New Family are Primus,
Supergirl, The Silverhawks: Bluegrass, Quicksilver w/ Talleyhawk,
Steelheart w/ Rayzor, Steelwill w/ Stronghold, Copper Kid w/ Mayday, Hotwing w/
Gyro, Flashback w/ Backlash, and Moonstriker w/ Tailspin.,The Black Racer,
Krypto the Super Dog, Max, w/ Shark Boy and Lava Girl in The Shark Ship, The
Arc Troopers: Arc Trooper Captain, Arc Trooper Lt. #1 and 2, Arc Trooper
Heavy Weapons Master, and Arc Trooper #1-5, w/ Aerial Clone Trooper #1, Vampire
Nick Houslander, Nichol Valdez (w/ jetpack, Sith Lavarouk, and blue
lightsaber), Dr. Boom Boom Pow, Kyle Houslander (w/ (Devil Lance and Mithril
Vest), Zachary Houslander (w/ Demon Rod) (Kyle and Zachary both have 9 deaths)
in an Imperial Shuttle, Vampire Assajj Ventress and R2-KT in a Z-95 Headhunter,
Flashpoint (Thomas Wayne) Batman w/ (Kingdom Come) Red Robin, Batgirl (Betty
Kane), (Kingdom Come) Donna Troy, Jeff Portnoy (w/ Donatello's Bo Staff), and
Peeta Malark (w/ Jarnborn (Thor's Axe)) in an Imperial Shuttle, Capt. Jimmy
Wilder and Astro-Droid #13 in a Y-Wing, Jacob Black (w/ a Star Sapphire Ring),
(Kingdom Come) Alan Scott, (Kingdom Come) Power Woman and (Kingdom Come)
Hawkman.
Mitchy's Luminous Tentacle
Warriors are Atlas, Aphrodite (w/ a green lightsaber), Deathstorm,
Vampire Sinestro, ROM: The Space Knight, Magik, The Guardians of the
Galaxy: Star Lord, Groot, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Rocket Racoon,
Major Vance Astro, Charlie 27, Martinex, Yando, Starhwak, and Nikki, Zodak,
Black Lantern Rob Bartlet, Lord Dredd, Capt. Panaka, E.T., and HAL 9000 in a
Y-Wing Bomber, The Life Lock Robot, The Screen Trax Robot, Immell #6
(Mega-Borg), Immell #11 (Raven Knight), Zombie Flaming Carrot, Anteros, Amon
Sur, Hoppy: The Marvel Bunny, Dr. Impossible, Parademon #1-6, Force Adept
#4 (w/ a pokeball) and Baxter the Dog.
The
Following is an excerpt from the book, "Impossible Man, Impossible League:
The Impossibly True Tales of a Man in the Shadows", co-written by Jonas
Lock and Brad Meltzer.
Chapter 4
Lost in Space
They
always say that first days are the worst. First day of school, first day of
work, your first resurrection, you get the idea. I wish I could say that my
first match was any different but then again, when it comes to me, easy ain't
ever in the game plan. To call my first match a disaster is an understatement.
That would be like calling Galactus floating above your planet an unfortunate
incident. It didn't start there of course as I've already stated earlier, but
the fact that I had to wait so long for my opportunity to get out there didn't
help matters much either.
You've
got to understand that I'm from Apokolips (despite what some may still be
saying); sitting on the sidelines of a fight is not exactly in my nature.
Unlike many of the creatures in this league, I was looking forward to the
combat. I mean, I volunteered to enter this league after all; the least my
owner could do was play me. I road the bench for longer then I would care to
admit so when my entire first year went by without a single start, I had anger
and aggression to spare without knowing which direction to point it towards
You
see, over the off-season we went through an owner change, which for most of us
was a big deal. Not that our previous owner had been that hands on, but lying
in limbo for that long tends to leave a team without any identity. We were just
hanging around without much of an idea of where we were going. There were
rumors of us being split apart and being sent around the league like the
original Backyardigan's had been the previous year. There was plenty of
whispers about us being disbanded all together, being put back out on waivers,
things of that nature. It's the sort of stuff that makes your day-to-day life a
living hell.
Then
came along Mitchell and for most part, we were all relieved. It's amazing how
the biggest baddest monsters in the universe still just want to feel safe. It's
a pathetic thing but it's true. Even I admit that I was excited by the new
ownership. My opinion of the previous owner wasn't very high and up until that
point I figured what the hell, out with the old. If the old regime wouldn't
give me a shot, what could this changing of the guard hurt?
The
first couple of weeks were good and due to the draft it wasn't easy to gauge
any real difference, but at least we were still operating as an organization.
It was more then most of us thought even a month earlier. As the season got
underway I was as ready as ever to finally show this team what I could bring to
the table.
Week
one went by without a start but then again, I have never played basketball in
my life so I didn't take it personally. The same feeling came during Week 2 as
well, though I am confidant I could handle my own in the water. Going into Week
3 I was excited. We were 2-0, tied for first in our division and I was finally
going to be getting my first start in this league. Not only my first start in
this league, but my first start was going to be on a first place team.
Well,
to quote The Who, "Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss".
I
still remember the feeling of rejection when I couldn't find my name on that
roster. I honestly thought it was a type-o. I even asked for a meeting with
Coach Elrond. That was humiliating. I actually went in there telling him that
there was a mistake on the roster sheet. He (as usual) snidely told me that
there was not a mistake and to go back to my room. Too say I was angry does not
do it justice. I not only destroyed my living quarters but I completely dismantled
an entire section of the gym. That one pissed off more then just a couple of my
teammates who were already growing tired of my complaining.
At
that point I filed a formal complaint with assistant Elos and asked to be
traded. If they were not going to take advantage of my abilities, then perhaps
someone else would. I spent the rest of the weekend by myself brooding,
drinking and drinking some more. When I found out we defeated Barkley's to
start the season at 3-0, I didn't even care. At that time I would have rather
been on a 0-3 team and starting, then be part of a winning organization and
have nothing to do with it.
Things
started to get strange that week though. Nobody had heard anything from
management after the victory. It had only been a couple of weeks but we were
already accustomed to getting a message from the uppers about the previous
week. This time there was nothing but silence. The day went on and people
started to get nervous. The next morning is when things started to get fun,
that is when the chaos began. First thing on roster day, like 8am or something
there was a league mandate delivered (I am not sure what you would call it) to
the main offices. We were all asked to come down to the main commons area for a
meeting.
Assistant
Elladan lead the meeting as he usually did, starting off once again
congratulating us on our wonderful start. Naturally at that point I could have
cared less about the niceties; I was just waiting to find another bottle to
drown my sorrows in. After a minute or so things took a turn for the surreal,
now that caught my attention. After unsuccessfully trying to explain what was
going on with the week's roster, he finally just came out and said what was
going on. He said this week's roster was coming from the leagues top brass, no
questions asked.
You
would have thought that Elladan said everyone was getting 3 extra deaths this
week by the reaction in the room. Pure chaos took over the usual calm; fights
both physical and verbal were going on everywhere. I found it funny and
interesting at the same time. Though deep down I still didn't care. I am still
not sure why I got up and looked at the roster to tell you the truth. I suppose
there was still a small part of me that ached for a good fight. When I scanned
the roster and saw my name staring back at me, I just about fell over.
Despite
all of the chaos and fighting going on behind me, my name was on the roster
sheet. My Name, Dr. Impossible was going to get a chance to finally show this
league what he was made of. I was over the moon about it. All of the anger and
resentment I had been feeling washed away as soon as I saw that sheet. I
immediately went back to my quarters and for the remainder of the week I
trained harder then anyone I had ever seen. If I was going to start this week,
I was going to make sure that I never sat on the bench again.
The
only problem with all of this was that I failed to remember that despite my
selfish behavior (for good and bad), I was still on a team and the only way you
can truly succeed in this league is by working together.
When
I got all of my equipment together for the match and finally made it down to
meet everyone I found myself completely alone. At first it wasn't that big of a
deal. So what, I was early. It made sense. It was my first match and nobody was
more eager to get out there then I was. After the first hour I started to get
suspicious but still held onto the fact that maybe this wasn't how it worked.
How could I have known, I had never started before. Maybe there was some sort
of teleportation thing that took you directly out from your quarters? Though
that seemed highly unlikely, as I had been witness to multiple pre team exits.
That
is when I first started to sense that perhaps the chaos from earlier in the
week had not settled down and maybe there really was a problem. A loud speaker
message from Elrond came down throughout the entirety of the complex, very
sternly letting everyone know that we were not going to be forfeiting this
weeks match. Everyone whose name was on the roster sheet was to report down to
the main common's area immediately. He did not say it a second time. Elrond was
not one for repeating himself and despite the overall disenchanted nature of
the locker room at that time, within the next half hour everyone was down in
the common's area.
At
that point I started to understand how my first match in this league was going
to be. Sure, everybody showed up and was going to compete in the match, but
that didn't mean they were going to try. Just before we went off I asked Pete
(Star Lord for those of you who do not know) what his thoughts were about this
entire thing. He basically just said the entire situation was screwed (well he
didn't say screwed, but I think you get the idea). He told me that he was happy
I was finally getting a chance out there (we had been friends for a while
already at that point) but that I shouldn't get my hopes up for the outcome.
Without saying it, he pretty much told me that this match was a wash and they
just going out there for show.
I
tried to talk around that fact and just concentrated on the match itself when
he grabbed me by the shoulders and said (and I distinctly remember this)
"Look Lock, listen to me. Don't be a hero today all right! This isn't the
time or the place to have pride in your team." This really surprised me,
even coming from somebody like Pete. He usually acted like he didn't care much,
but this time he was serious. I told him that even though I may not have to
show pride for my team, I could still have pride in myself. He laughed it off
and walked away, leaving me by myself.
Apathy
was the team motto that week as we entered the match and nothing much changed
once the match started. The only thing that seemed important to anyone was
destroying Primus. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE went in to attack him. This
naturally left the entire team vulnerable to attack from just about every
angle. Captain Panaka was blown up fairly quick by an X-Wing looking thing and
Supergirl (from what I remember) was picking off our Black Lantern's one by
one. I had always been told that they were quite difficult to kill but she made
it look easy. She also didn't stop until they were all dead. Which I believe we
had quite a few going that week, though it has been years at this point so I could
be wrong. All I know is that once she got going it was best to just get out of
her way.
I
wish I had something positive to say about that day but it was all pretty bleak
if memory serves me correct. I guess there was that bit where Sinestro beat the
snot out of The Black Racer, which made me laugh because at the time I thought
he was immortal. I think he also might have killed that werewolf fellow with
the ring but I might be getting that confused with Amon Sur. Whatever, either
way the Wolf was killed by one of them. Naturally Sinestro ended up being
killed by Supergirl, just like Amon Sur, ROM, Magik...you get the idea. She
killed a lot of us that day.
I
suppose the only upside to that day and I don't mean to brag (well except for
the fact that I do) was me. Do to my team's lack of any sort of plan (unless
you count the suicide mission to attack Primus, which I don't) I had the
fortunate luck to be able to fly under the radar. Which gave me the opportunity
to take out quite a few opponents that day. My favorite of which was when I
stole what I believe was a Y-Wing from, well, whoever it was who I stole it
from and then crashed it into that ridiculously ugly looking shark ship,
whatever it was. They didn't see it coming at all, it was pretty funny.
I
got into a fight with Hawkman and I killed him. If you don't believe me go back
into the league records, it's in there. I also got into a fight with Krypto,
that one I didn't win. Though I was able to get out of there in time as it
became obvious pretty quickly that not only was he more then I had planned on,
but that Power Girl and Alan Scott were not too happy about the Hawkman
outcome. Once I was able to escape that situation I hid out for a while until I
realized that my team's obnoxiously stupid plan was actually possible, albeit
only if I helped them out.
This
still might be what I am most famous for which is pretty sad if you think about
it. I never quite understood that concept, you know, like when an author or a
director's first book or movie is everyone's favorite. It's like you have
worked your entire career, a career that you think has been good and
worthwhile, filled with ups and downs (hopefully more ups then downs) and yet
still, all most people remember you for is that first thing you did. This is
something successful people complain about I suppose, so for that I apologize.
Back
to my first and possibly greatest moment in this league (Was that arrogant
enough for you Pete?) I decided that I could try something that in theory might
work so I met up with "The" Star Lord, as he loves to be called and
let him know what I was going to do. He didn't seem to buy into my plan but
went along with me nonetheless. I told them to all stop attacking Primus just
for a moment, to give me a chance to get inside the thing. I used my Fatherbox
to summon a hush tube, which took me directly inside the massive robot.
Once
inside I tried something risky. I once again used my Fatherbox, this time
though I used it to cease control of Primus. To my surprise, it actually
worked. At first I wasn't even sure what to do with it because I had not
honestly thought much about that part. After a minute or so, I decided to see
what I could do. I used Primus first to blow up an Imperial Shuttle and then I
took out the X-Wing looking thing. It did take a while to understand the
concepts behind it, which as it turns out was ultimately my downside. The damn
dog and his other friends caught onto what was happening fairly quickly and
before I knew it they were there inside the belly of the beast with me.
I
knew that I could not win this fight but as they were heading towards me I
realized that was exactly how we could win this thing. All I had to do was make
sure that my Fatherbox was not destroyed. After I made sure of its safety I stood
my ground and said something ignorant like "Come and Get It!" and
waited to have one last great fight. The idea was that once they killed me my
Fatherbox would self-destruct, taking everything including Primus with it. Well
that as you all know in fact happened. Unfortunately for me I didn't realize
that Pete had lead everyone into the center of Primus to give me a hand. Which
admittedly was a nice gesture but also quite foolish as once my Fatherbox
detonated; it not only destroyed Primus but also everyone inside of it. Which
just so happened to be every single person on my team.
It
is a unique feeling being remembered for something that helped and hurt your
own team. Sure, I was able to destroy one of the most powerful creatures that
the league had ever seen, but I also murdered 33 of my own teammates at the
same time. So I guess it depends on how you want to look at
"Greatness". You can of course solely concentrate on the actions that
make one great, which has been done regularly with the stories of heroes and
Kings throughout the ages. I prefer to look at "Greatness" as a
concept that comes with many consequences and loads of baggage. Many people
dislike this approach, which is fine, but it is the only way that the idea is
even remotely interesting to me at all.
Given,
the idea that I refer to my own actions as "Great" in the first place
could be considered ridiculous, obvious and arrogant all at the same time. All
of those qualifiers are probably accurate in their own ways, which is why the
concept of "Greatness", whether you agree with it or not, will always
be a popular subject to discuss.
With
all of that being said, trust me when I say the last thing on the owners mind
that next day was whether or not my actions of massacring his entire team should
be considered "Great". That whole week was an interesting one. Though
if I remember correctly, I did get one of the top stars of the week. Not too
shabby for my first time out there. Luckily for me though, it wasn't my last. There is
so much more to this story then that first match and let me tell you, it is one hell of a ride.
To
read more of "Impossible Man: Impossible League: The Impossibly True Tales
of a Man in the Shadows", co-written by Jonas Lock and Brad Meltzer."
look for it this coming Tuesday anywhere books and ebooks are sold.