Cineverse - Bride Of The Slime Monster Part 26

"I guarantee," Menge continued, "that-after the ray is used-he will also be much more polite."

"My. Really?" Roger's mother nodded, obviously impressed. "Well, in that case-"

Menge, still smiling, reached for a b.u.t.ton on the side of the silver machine, a b.u.t.ton labeled with the usual large cardboard sign: zeta control.

When Menge looked away, Zabana leapt for him.

"You no zap Roger!" the jungle prince exclaimed. "Zabana zap Zeta!"

There was a brief, unequal struggle. Menge was picked up by jungle-bred muscles and thrown roughly against the machine, his elbow hitting the Zeta b.u.t.ton.

"Bunga bonga blooie!" the prince of the jungle cried.

Zabana closed in on the supervillain, ready for the kill.There was a crackling noise. The machine jerked as Menge and Zabana grappled.

"Run!" Louie shouted. "The thing's gonna go off!"

Almost everybody ran. The crackling turned into a loud, whooping sound, and a yellow ray shot forth, bathing the only person who hadn't run-Roger's mother-in golden light!

"What's happening?" Roger yelled. "Mother!"

Zabana grabbed a fistful of wiring from the silver gizmo's undercarriage. He yanked it free. The ray cut off abruptly.

"Oh, dear," Mrs. G. remarked. "I feel so different. Hee." She placed a hand delicately over her mouth. "Hee hee. Heeheeheehee!" She began to laugh uncontrollably.

Menge the Merciless had managed to free himself from Zabana's grip. He ran a few feet away, nodding grimly as he retreated.

"The Zeta Ray has done its h.e.l.lish work."

h.e.l.lish work? Roger looked back to his laughing mother. What could Menge mean by that?

"Mother-" he began again.

His mother turned to look at him, and showed a smile Roger had never seen before.

No, this was not the smile of a loving mother. It was not even the grim smile of a mother about to administer a paddling. It was, instead, a smile of pure evil!

When she spoke at last, her voice was low and full of menace. "We'll teach sons to ignore their mothers! Hee-heehee! Heeheehee!"

Menge the Merciless ran to her side.

"Yes!" he cried triumphantly. "But not now! You have to destroy him by surprise, when he least expects it!"

Mrs. G. frowned petulantly. "Why?"

"It's much more"-he hesitated in the finest style of Dr. Dread-"evil that way."

The nasty grin returned to her face. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" She clapped her hands. "This is going to be so much fun! Hee hee hee heeheehee!"

"Oh, Mrs. G! Together, we will rule the Cineverse! Ah hahahaha! Ah hahahaha!"

Menge took her hand in his.

"See you in the funny papers!" he cried.There was the usual blue smoke.

"Oh, dear," Delores said softly. "Oh, Roger."

Roger didn't say anything.

His mother? A villain?

The Plotmaster was right.

This was terrible! How could it get any worse?

"Roger!" Delores yelled.

"Roger," Edward the Slime Monster repeated in a determined voice. "The engagement is over."

"The engagement is over?" Roger repeated, only half listening. "Well, at least that's good news."

"I'm glad you're taking it so well," Edward added solemnly. "No hard feelings."

"Roger!" Delores insisted.

Roger glanced up from where he had been moodily studying the sand. Now that Roger noticed, wasn't the Slime Monster holding Delores a bit too tightly?

"Hey!" he yelled. "What are you doing?"

"We are leaving," Edward explained patiently. He glanced distractedly at the woman who struggled in his grip.

"Oh, dear," he added, a hint of apology in his voice. "Perhaps you misunderstood. I am unused to talking with humans. I am much more used to covering them with slime. But I told you the engagement was over. Delores and I will be married tonight."

"ROGER!" There seemed to be a growing panic in Delores' voice.

"Tonight?" Roger asked, thoroughly confused once more. "But I thought, what with the search for Captain Crusader, and our cause and all, you had decided to post- pone-"

"That was before the Change," Edward interrupted.

"The Change?" Roger repeated in a whisper.

The Slime Monster nodded its muck-covered head. "Can't you feel it? Captain Crusader gone, Menge the Merciless triumphant, your mother Zeta-rayed into a life of evil. The delicate balance of the Cineverse is gone. The Change is upon us again. The Cineverse as we know it will soon cease to exist."Edward hugged Delores even closer to his chest.

"Even you would not deny a slime monster his last few moments of wedded bliss, would you?"

Roger realized then that he had been wrong again. It could still get worse, and was in fact getting worse with every pa.s.sing moment. If he did not act quickly, he was going to lose the love of his life to a Slime Monster!

"But-" he began. But what? How did you reason with a creature composed of muck?

"Zabana say attack!" the jungle prince exclaimed.

Maybe, Roger realized, Zabana was right. They were many, the monster only one.

Maybe you couldn't reason with a Slime Monster. Maybe, if they moved quickly enough, and they attacked all at once, they could overwhelm the Slime Monster.

Maybe- "If you insist," Edward replied.

Roger only had a chance to take one step forward before it got worse than it had ever been before.

Only one step, and he was covered with slime.

"ROGER!" Delores screamed a final time.

But then the muck rose to cover his ears, and he heard no more.IS THE CINEVERSE DOOMED?

CAN ROGER DO A CONVINCING CAPTAIN CRUSADER?.

WHAT DOES HIS MOTHER WANT FROM HIM,.

ANYWAY?.

AND WHERE IN THE CINEVERSE WOULD A.

SLIME MONSTER GO FOR A HONEYMOON?.

ALL THIS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE DYNAMIC.

CONCLUSION:.

REVENGE OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES.

Coming Soon, to a bookstore in YOUR neighborhood!