Tales of the Parodyverse

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L!
Fri Apr 08, 2005 at 08:27:46 pm EDT
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A Semi-Transparent Lad Adventure!
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A Semi-Transparent Lad Adventure: Would you like a kandybar?


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Prologue: After coming home from a FMRC training meeting, Ben Hermes (Semi-Transparent Lad) was greeted by 4 black men in business suits. They were standing in hallway of his apartment building. They did not want to talk to him but his neighbor, Laura Smith. The black men have/had African accents. After a short discussion, Ben goes into his apartment wondering what just happened. Our story starts a few days after the Laura meet those men in the hallway. What happened and/or didn't happen has been on Ben's mind. He hadn't seen Laura since then. Now, Ben's has lived next to Laura for awhile & he doesn't know a lot about her. He knows she's a nosey, out of work actress who lives across the hall from him & she has a Scientist father. That's about it. He only learned her last name a few weeks ago. Now on with the story...

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Ben was sitting on his couch watching Tv (What he was watching doesn't matter) when Laura walked into his apartment. She did this by using her power of intangibility.

"Ben!" she said. This scared Ben a bit, he thought he was alone.

"Hey! Stop doing that! I lock my door for a reason." Ben said.

"I know you were doing anything. Your never doing anything." She said flatly.

"I could have been doing something!" Ben said.

"I know you, Ben Hermes. Trust me."

"Ok." Ben said, he wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"I need your help!" Laura said.

"Why?" Ben asked, wary of the answer. No good has even come to Ben after he asked for his help by a girl.

"You know those black men that came to talk to me?"

"yeah."

"Well, They were representatives from my home country."

"ok." Ben said, he didn't know she from a foreign country.

"I was born & grew up in Wakandybar. My father is one of Wakandybar's top scientist. He was also who accidently gave me my power of intangibility. I left Wakandybar a few years ago to come to the States to pursue my first love."

"Acting, right?"

"Yeah. I have kept in contact with my parents via letters & e-mail. I've also have gotten to know the people at the Wakandybarian Embassy in Parrodipolis."

"ok. But, what does this have to do with 4 black guys & me?"

"I've lost contact with my parents a few weeks ago & The four black men were from the Wakandybarian Embassy, they came to tell me that I am being asked to come home for some reason."

"What reason?"

"They wouldn't tell me, they just said it involved me, my family & my homeland."

"Wait, you mean your an African American?" Ben said with a slight smile. That fact has just dawned on him.

"Yes, I guess so. I never made much of it. So, will you help me?"

"With what?"

"Come with me to Wakandybar, I know your a super hero. Isn't this what you do, help out people in their times of need?" Laura said with a sad look on her face.

"But, I'm not..." Ben started to say, but broke down & sighed. Then, said " Ok. I'll go. When are we leaving?"

"In, like twenty minutes."

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

"I've been busy."

Ben got up & started to collect stuff for the trip.

"Ben, I'll meet you on the roof in twenty minutes. Ok?" Laura said.

"Ok!" Ben said as he ran from room to room.

Laura then left the apartment.

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Twenty minutes later, Ben saunters on to the roof of the Whispering Pines apartment building. He saunters over to Laura. Standing next to her was a black man dressed in a colorful toga & had a Fez in his head. Ben was looking cool in his grey FMRC issued Costume with it's red & yellow STL logo on it. He has a gym bag slung over his right shoulder, crammed in there is the stuff he hastily put in there for his trip (He not exactly sure what he packed, but he packed something). Just before he made it to Laura, he trips & falls on his face. Laura helps him up.

"Sorry about that. I for to tell you to watch out for the recharging cables." Laura said. Ben looked around & saw no cables.

"Wa'Tomba, turn the cloak off." Laura says to the man in the toga. He presses a few on a device he had in his hand. Then, a futuristic vehicle appears out of nowhere & yes there were cables run along the rooftop.

"What is that?" Ben asks.

"This is a retrofitted Submergible Deep-Sea Ship Thingy or SDSST for short. It belongs to my father. He got it from family friend, Weed Witchards. This was when Weed was working for Star Trekish Labs. My Dad added flight capabilities & some other things to the SDSST. We've been calling it a Submergible Deep-Sea Sky-Craft or SDS for short. The SDS flies using some sort of magnetic waves that have some long name that I don't know how to pronounce. It's really easy to drive, you just press a few buttons & off you go. ZOOM!" Laura said, with an excited look on her face.

"The prices of gas for that thing must be enormous!" Ben said as he looked at the vehicle.

"It doesn't use gas, silly. It runs on the major export, Vibratium. A special metal that is only found in Wakandybar." Laura said as she opened the hood of the craft. Ben could see glowing fuel cells connected to some type of engine. "To make it to Wakandybar, we need a full charge, hence the cables."

"Cool!"

"It is. You'll see a lot more stuff like this when we get to Wakandybar!"

"Are you & your friend ready to go, miss!" The man asked Laura.

"Yes, Wa'tomba." Laura said. "Oh, I forgot. Ben meet Wa'Tomba, he's a friend of my fathers'." She said. Wa'Tomba shook Ben's hand & also crushed it a bit.

"It is a pleasure to meet one of Laura's friends." Wa'Tomba said, then let go of Ben's hand. It took a few minute for the feeling to return to Ben's hand.

Then, Wa'tomba rolled up the the cables, put then in the trunk. Walked over to the driver's side of the SDS, opened the door & got in. Then, Laura opened the passenger door to the SDS, Ben got into the back seat. Laura got in & sat in the passenger side front seat. Wa'tomba pressed a series or buttons.

"Turbines to speed." Wa'Tomba said & Ben laughed a bit and they were off. Ben was amazed at how fast & how smooth the flight was.

"Hey, Laura!" Ben said.

"Yeah, Ben?"

"Does this flight come with an in-flight movie?" Ben said then started to laugh. Laura said no & then started to laugh. Wa'tomba didn't laugh.

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A few hours go by & Ben has fallen asleep. He is awoken by Laura.

"Ben, wake up!" she said, shaking him violently.

Ben opened his eyes quickly. "Yeah?" he said sleepily.

"Were almost there. We are now flying into Wakandyibarian air space."

Ben sat up & looked out of the craft, hoping to see the futuristic land that he imagines that will be Wakandybar. He looks out & sees nothing but jungle.

"Hey! What's the deal?"

"What?" Laura asked.

"There's nothing here!"

"Sure there is, all your seeing is the canopy of the trees once were on the ground. You'll change your mind."

"ok."

"Yes, Mr. Hermes. Before your visit has ended, you will find many different facets of our little kingdom." Wa'tomba said & then laughed. The tone Wa'Tomba used creeped Ben out.

Down on the ground, there was two men. They were watching the craft. "The ship approaches! All is going to plan!" one says.

"The master will be pleased!" said the other.

Back in the SDS, Wa'tomba guided the ship through a break in the canopy. What Ben saw he didn't have words for. It was a Jungle but at least half of it was man made. All he could say was "Dude!"

As they flew through the technological Jungle, Ben could hear the steady pulsating hum of the machines. The SDS sat down on a patch of grass (or what looked to be grass). Laura, Ben & Wa'Tomba got out of the craft. Laura & Wa'Tomba were talking as Ben looked around the jungle. Ben wondered who did there gardening, Jack Kirby?

"So, Ben. How do you like were I grew up?" Laura asked.

"It bets the heck out of East Walton, New Jersey!"

Laura laughed.

"So how much of this is real & how much is man made?" Ben asked.

"I'm not sure. Most everything is made to look natural, so it's hard to tell." Laura said.

She then looked around & couldn't see where Wa'Tomba went to. She asked Ben if he saw when Wa'Tomba went off to, he didn't know. They started to look for him & called out his name.

"Wa'Tomba! Wa'Tomba!" Laura called out.

"Way Tuba! Way Tuba!" Ben called out.

As they looked for Wa'Tomba, Ben & Laura were being watched by someone. The duo (Ben & Laura) got to a clearing. Then, the ground from under Laura opened up & she fell down a tube.

"BBBBBEEEENNNN!" she yelled as she fell. Ben ran over to the tube. It closed up before he got there. He pounded on the metal ground for a few minutes. Then, he got up.

"Crap." He said. He was in a weird foreign land & guide was now taken from him. "I should have never agreed to come here. Bad stuff always happens when I leave my apartment." Ben thinks.

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Ben has been wandering around the Techno-Jungle that is Wakandybar & he's not finding a whole a lot. The jungle spreads out for miles in each direction. He doesn't remember in what direction the SDS was parked, so he doesn't have his stuff. All he has is the costume on his back & his wits about him. He thinks he'll be dead by the end of the week.

"Semi-Transparent Lad, Semi-Transparent Lad! Does whatever a.. Uh... mostly invisible guy can! Can't spin a web, any size. Catches those thieves just like flies. Look out here comes the Semi-Transparent Lad!" Ben sings to himself as he wanders around.

Then, he starts to think he is hallucinating. He's hearing music! Ben stops & listens to music. He knows the song, it's from the Motown era. It's... It's...

"I got it!" Ben thinks. "It's Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine!'"

As the song played on, Ben then knew he was correct. About a minute into the song, Ben hears something else. Then, he sees a various vines heading towards.

"Crap!" Ben says & starts running away from the vines. That didn't do much, he was always the slowest runner in his Gym class.

A vine wrapped around each one of his limbs. Then, his legs were pulled out from under him. He fell to the ground & then was being reeled back towards something or someone. Then, thoughts of the Little Shop of Horrors & that talking plant come to mind.

As Ben was being pulled back, he started to struggle to get out of the vines. Then, another a song started to play, it was the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love". Soon after it started playing Ben couldn't move, he was now stiff as a board. He has lost the ability to move his limbs. Then, a thought ran through his mind "The Supremes & Marvin Gaye played over one another sounds like crap!"

Shortly there after the vines lifted Ben off the ground. The Supremes song had ended, he could move. Then, the vines holding his arms were now gone, so Ben's arms hung loosely. The Marvin Gaye song was now being played in a loop, it had been played at least 4 or 5 times. The vines held Ben upside down & Ben was now at the height of the man who controlled the vines. The man was wearing a red and purple full body, body curve hugging spandex suit. The vines were coming out off where his right hand should be, but it wasn't. In it's place was small portable Amp.

"Who are you, whelp?" The man said in English with a slight accent. It wasn't an African, sounded European.

Ben was finding it hard to speak with all his blood rushing to his head. "I'm.." He finally started to say his real name but stopped & then said "Semi-Transparent Lad! Who are you?"

"I am Eustace Slaw, Master of Motown!" Slaw said, expecting some fan fair after saying his name, but getting none.

"ok. Hi!" Ben said as he continued to hang. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but you may ask another." Slaw said with some distain in his voice.

"Can I be put down? I'm getting a headache with all this blood rushing to my head."

"Alright." Slaw said. The Marvin Gaye song ended, the vines disappeared. So, Ben was dropped on the ground.

"Thanks a lot." Ben said sarcasticly, as he stood up.

"Your welcome, young whelp. Why are you here?"

"Uh... I'm on a mission." Ben said.

"By your manor of speech, I say your from the dreaded United States."

"Yeah, so."

"I came to your government many years ago with my invention, but they just laughed at me. I vowed from that day on that..." Slaw said, shaking his fist (his only fist) at the sky while he said that.

"Ok." Ben said, hoping to cut him off right there. He didn't want the man to go into the rest of his monologue.

"What is your mission?" Slaw asked as he pointed his Amp at Ben.

"I can't tell you, it's a secret. It's so secret, I'm not sure what it is!" Ben said, sarcastically.

"You will tell me your mission before I have to use my Sound Transformer on you again."

"No!" Ben said.

"Alright. I warned you!" Slaw said turned his Amp up to 11. Then, a song Ben hadn't heard before started playing. As it played, every part Ben's body started to hurt for some reason. He fell to the ground.

"This is Brenda Holloway's song 'Every little bit hurts', so as long as the song plays every part of you will hurt!" Slaw said & started to laugh.

Ben, now hurting from head to toe, tries to think of what to do next. But, thinking was hard when every part of you hurts. Then a thought enters Ben's mind "Use your Utility Belt!"

He feels around for something to use, nothing he had in the belt was going to help him. Then, another thought came to him. He took off the belt, he whips it at the Amp. The Buckle catches on the Sound nob & Ben pulls. The sound goes down to 0. Ben pulls the belt back & puts it back on. He can stand now & the pain is much, much less now.

With Slaw distracted with his laughing, Ben runs over to him to punch him. But, then Slaw turned back to Ben & said. "You thought I wasn't passing attention, but I was."

Slaws turns his Amp back up to 11 & another song starts playing. This time it was The Temptations' "Papa was a Rolling Stone". As soon as the first few notes started to play, the ground started to shake. Soon there after, Ben sees a large Boulder rolling towards him. Slaw starts to laugh again.

"Crap!" Ben says & starts to run.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

What will happen to Ben Hermes AKA Semi-Transparent Lad? Will he get away from that Rolling Stone? What happened to Laura? When will the Wakandybarian Leader, the Black Pantser, show up? All these questions & more will be answered next time! Same Semi-Transparent Channel, Same Semi-Transparent Time! (Well, I'm not sure I can promise at the same time, but who cares?)

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FOOTNOTES:

As you can see, I'm trying out a format for my stories. Not sure if I'll keep it. So, if you like it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me.

This story probably has the most references to other things that I have (maybe) ever written. Except for a few things planned that I planned before hand, most of those just came to me as I wrote this.

To find out some more about Wakandybar, go check out these stories written by Scott:
Amazing Tales # 29
Amazing Tales # 30
Amazing Tales #31

This is the first real "Super Hero" thing Ben has ever done. But, why did I send him to Wakandybar?

This story's genesis comes from when I was creating the supporting characters in Ben's world. Well, it comes from the creation of Laura & how did she get her power to become intangible? Why she has that power was story all together & doesn't have any barring on this. So, I wrote that she got her power from her scientist father & left it at that. As time went on I started to think who was her father? In one of the many conversations I had with Scott, the topic of Scientist's in the Parodyverse came up (Well, I brought it up). For Scientists, there were:

-Professor Weed Witchards: who up until recently was lost in Negativity Zone. So, he was out being used in a story & I think Scott's doing or going to do something with him.
-Dr. Al B. Harper, the Lair Legion’s scientific advisor. He is a poster character. So, he was out. I don't like to mess with other people's poster characters (To me, adding a previously unknown child is messing with the character).
-Dr. Leonard Day-Vincent, who's also known as Renaissance Man & a couple of other things. He is the head of Renaissance Man Research, Inc. I Didn't know a lot about him (Still don't). So, he was out. His history seems a little convoluted.
-The Black Pantser, a scientist & ruler of the small African country, known as Wakandybar.

I thought doing something with the Black Pantser might be an interesting idea. I didn't really like the idea of making Laura the daughter of Black Pantser. So Laura's father became a scientist for the Wakandybarian government. The story you just read has been in the back of mind since I've been writing Ben's stories: That he would go to Wakandybar on some adventure. This was Part One. Look for Part Two some time time later.


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