Thunder City, USA. October 1999.
"Here is Buzz E. Randall for TCNW live from Thunder. Not more than thirty minutes ago, four horse riding metahumans have started to wreak havoc in the city..."
The image from the helicopter mounted camera shows a path of destruction that cut across the financial district of the town. Big buildings are leveled, and from under the debris many half destroyed cars emerges. There are many cadavers, and the streets are tinted in red.
"The four knights aspect resembles the traditional description of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse: Death, War, Famine and Pestilence..."
Running like mad across the scared crowd, the four horsemen creates chaos in the heart of the metropolis. Riding a white horse, Death, armed with a bow, sends hundreds of arrows toward the harmless people. No one miss its mark. War rides a red horses, and with a long sword of magical attributes destroys everything that stands on his path. The third, Famine, rides a black horses, and has a balance in his hands. Having no weapons, and keeps himself far from the carnage, but seems busy nevertheless. The fourth, Pestilence, rides a greenish horse, and is followed by a pack of hellish dogs of war, that feeds over the cadavers (and the not yet dead bodies) of the fallen.
And then, walking slowly in the newly created path paved with bodies, appears a colossal being.
"It's... it's a giant. Taller than three men... Thunder have never seen before such a menace..."
The being, sporting a complex all black armor and a heavy helm with big, curved horns, advance slowly, looking around and enjoying the sight.
"Why they don't arrive? Only them can save the city! Where is the... oh, they are here! I see them! I see..."
Flying faster than a speeding bullet, a tall, muscular man appears on the scene, landing on top of a building just in front of the giant. Dressed in a purple costume with a red X across his chest, a red mantle, his face hides behind a red, thick mask.
...Rypta Gud'n! Thanks God he has arrived!"
"Warlord, take your loony henchmen and go back to your dirty hole! I'm tired of smelling your fucking shit in my city!" yells the tall superhero at the address of the giant.
"RYPTA GUD'N! BEARER OF THE FORCE! YOUR DAYS ON THIS PLANET ENDS TODAY!" shouts the Warlord.
The hero smiles. From the sky others superbeings arrives on the scene.
A dark haired, blue dressed hero with a high tech gauntlet lands at Rypta's left side.
"...Zod, the lone survivor of a dying universe!..."
Instantly, at the right side of Rypta materializes a tall, red haired, tan skinned woman, dressed in a form fitting all white costume, with a silver lion on her left breast.
"...and the Lioness, the sorceress from a parallel dimension!"
The four horsemen stops. There are other heroes appearing on the opposite side of the street. On one side a massive, muscular man advance with his arms raised and the hands closed in fists. A gemstone glows on his belt.
"...it comes Smasher, the hero just returned after a period of inactivity..."
Just behind him, ten foot tall and made of rocks, with lava burning like fire through his eyelids stands a man impossibly dressed with a trenchcoat and fedora...
"...Monolith, the Hawaiian lava elemental..."
On the other side of the street, a another muscular man, with curly soft white hairs and unusual big pointed ears, dressed in an orange jumpsuit appears...
"... it's The Captain, but that the media world has lovingly nicknamed The Carrot for his bright costume..."
...followed by a very young man, dressed in blue, with white boots and gloves, armed with a long rod...
"...and lastly there is Disco, the younger member of the fabled...
...Metahuman Brotherood League!"
Th Warlord raises an hand, and everyone, Knights, crowds, and heroes, stops, looking at the giant. "RYPTA, HEAR ME. I AM NOT HERE TO CLAIM THIS CITY OR THIS WORLD. I AM HERE JUST FOR REVENGE, TO KILL YOU AND THE DAMNED MBL. MY MEN HAVE PLANTED MANY NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE DEVICES IN THUNDER. IF YOU AND YOUR MEN DON'T SURRENDER, I WILL WIPE OUT THUNDER. WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER, LITTLE HUMAN?"
Rypta smiles, and says just: "Fuck!"
"I THOUGH YOU WERE SMARTER, MAN. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. YOU DIE TODAY WITH YOUR COMRADES, OR YOU DIE TODAY WITH YOUR COMRADES AND THUNDER CITY!"
Rypta shakes his head. "Are you deaf? Fuck off!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA!!! VERY WELL, THEN!" The giant produces a big detonator, and pressing a red button over it, he yells: "BYE BYE, THUNDER. ADIEU MBL. IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE..."
The crowd screams in terror.
CLIK!
And nothing happens.
"HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE!" exclaims puzzled the Warlord. His eyes go to the horsemen, that simply shrug.
"MBL, let's party!" shouts Rypta, and like one single being, the seven members of the League attack.
Orange laser blast shoots out of Rypta's hands, hitting the Warlord on the front, while lave flows out of Monolith eyes hitting the Warlord on the back. Meanwhile, Zod creates a big, heavy hammer that falls repeatedly over the Warlord head.
Disco rod clears the path toward Pestilence, sending the dog of war to fly away, allowing Smasher to take down the knight with his superforce; Lioness' magic raise a big chunk of debris from a fallen building, and let it fly over Death. Finally, the Captain reality altering powers makes the horse disappear under War, and turning his long blade in a big serpent, that wraps itself around the knight's neck.
"WITHDRAWING, WITHDRAWING!" yells the Warlord. Suddenly a big portal opens, and he and his horsemen disappears into.
Only Famine remains behind, on his black horse. The MBLeaguers gather around him, but the horseman doesn't seem alarmed.
"Good work..." begins Rypta as Famine grabs his own face, and throws away what is revealed to be a mask...
"...Agent 57!"
The eight member of the MBL gets off the horse, smiling.
The action news 'copter lands nearby. Buzz Randal, half bent down, runs toward Rypta and the others, followed closely by his cameraman.
"Mr. Rypta, Mr. Rypta! What happened exactly? Was the bomb just a bluff?"
Rypta frowns at the camera, covering it with the palm of his hand, and then turning his back to it, to protect his secret identity, as if the mask was not enough. "It was not a bluff, Randall. We saw that the horseman called famine was always away from the action. So Agent 57 captured him, and then, posing as him, discovered that he was in charge of a series of bombs. So, he cut them from the detonator, and whebn the Warlord pressed it, nothing happened."
"Plus" continues the Agent, that now sports a disturbing featureless facemask, "I have also reprogrammed the teletransporter, so that now, instead of the secret hideout of the Warlord, they have ended up in Limbo. Possibly forever!"
The camera closes over the smiling face of the newsman. "This was Buzz E. Randall live from Thunder, for the latest stunt of the Metahuman Brotherood League!"
