Sesame, DC: The Superman at the End of This Story

[muppetwriter]

I've done everything that I wanted my characters to do that'll lead up to the exploration of the "Phantom Planet", so now all that's left is what the planet's all about and how our heroes are going to stop it.

There are probably only two more chapters left before the epilogue, and then that'll be the end of this "Sesame, DC" tale. I'm still deciding on whether I should go on with my ideas for "The MARVELOUS Muppets" or take a break for a while and turn back to "Fraggle Street" and the yet-to-be-titled Muppets story I'm working on.

I'll let everyone know what my decision will be on the "What's Next..." thread.

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Twelve​

When Fred opened his eyes after spending an unknown amount of time being unconscious, he was surprised to see that he was no longer inside the Fortress of Solitude, but somewhere outside. He was thankful enough that he was still in the Arctic; but it just puzzled him that he wasn’t in Superman citadel anymore. Fred got to the feet, only to feel as if he was losing his balance afterwards; he looked down, seeing that he was standing on the edge of a huge block of ice that was floating in the cold water. Regaining his balance and keeping it on the block of ice, he looked around to see where his friends were.

Fred spotted the unconscious Daphne lying across another block of ice, only a few feet away from his, while Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma were all unknowingly sharing one of the biggest ones out there. Fred figured that he could just jump over to Daphne’s ice block, since it was only a few feet. But once he jumped, however, he leaped a little further than a few feet…more like sixteen feet! Fred couldn’t help but to scream, as he fell towards an ice block and landed on it for a brief time, until he fell into the cold water, creating a big splash that drenched Daphne and awakened her.

“What the…?” Daphne uttered, and when she noticed how Fred was struggling in the cold water, she began to panic. “Freddy!” Daphne took off her heavy winter coat and then her boots, just before diving into the cold water and swimming after Fred. As she swam towards him, she was a little surprised that the water wasn’t as cold as it should’ve been. Once she got a hold of Fred, she swam with him to the huge block of ice that Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma were on. She set Fred down on the block first, and then she brought herself onto it. “Are you alright?”

“I shouldn’t be, after nearly drowning in that ice cold water,” Fred said, looking all over his drenched body in surprise, “But I am alright. In fact, I’m not even shivering!”

“I’m not either.” Daphne said, looking at herself. “And I was swimming without anything to keep my body or feet warm.” Fred looked around at the area, seeing that the Fortress of Solitude was nowhere around.

“A few minutes ago, we were standing in a giant crystal building,” Fred said, “And now we’re out in the middle of nowhere. Now that’s one big mystery.” Daphne went over to Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma, bringing each of them out of unconsciousness.

“You guys okay?” Daphne asked.

“Ask that question again, after I’m filled up with some burgers and pizza.” Shaggy replied, and that remark, along with Scooby’s hungry look, helped Daphne know that the both of them were fine. Velma stood up on the ice block and joined Fred as she looked around the area as well.

“Either we’re still in the Arctic or we found a better way to travel to Antarctica.” Fred remarked.

“We’re still in the Arctic.” Velma said. “But I think it’d be better ask whether we’re in our world or the ‘Phantom Planet’ that Superman’s father warned us about.”

“Well, we must be in the ‘Phantom Planet’, because I remember getting sucked out of the Superman’s crystal summer home and flying in between two large planets, courtesy of this strange blue, yellow, and red wormhole.” Shaggy said.

“I remember that, too.” Daphne said.

“Yeah, so do I.” Fred said.

“We can’t be on the ‘Phantom Planet’.” Velma contradicted. “Look where we are. We’re still in the Arctic zone.”

“But do you remember what Superman’s father said about imitating planets that are closest to it?” Daphne asked. “Maybe we’re in the Phantom Planet’s imitation of our world.”

“Well, it can’t be an exact one.” Velma said. “Notice how Superman’s citadel is nowhere around. If this were an exact imitation, we’d be seeing it somewhere near us or standing right in it.”

“It’s all so funky, man.” Shaggy uttered.

“That’s not all that’s funky, Shaggy.” Fred said. “You know what I did while all of you were unconscious? I think I…flew.” Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, and Daphne looked to each other and shared peculiar expressions, before turning back to Fred and looking at him in the same way.

“You flew?” Velma queried.

“I can’t really explain what happened.” Fred said. “All I was trying to do was jump from my ice block to Daphne’s, and I ended up soaring higher than eight feet and longer than a yard.”

“That’s impossible, Freddy.” Daphne said.

“Yeah, man, if you were able to do that, then might as well be…” Shaggy said, and he stopped when they all began to see the irony of the situation they were in. They were five beings from another planet that came to a slightly different one, harnessing godlike powers that were granted to them through the sun’s rays.

“This must be what Scrappy’s plan is all about.” Velma said. “He must’ve figured on following the origin of Superman’s powers, in order to turn himself and the Sleaze Brothers into beings just like him.”

“But the little troublemaker probably didn’t count on us following him here.” Daphne said. “If he plans on conquering this place, knowing that neither him or the Sleazes belong here, then who knows what kind of chaos he will cause, in addition to the infection that the existence of this planet will bring over our entire universe.”

“Which is why we have to find out where he is and stop him!” Fred exclaimed.

“And now that the five of us have superpowers to match his, he doesn’t stand a chance.” Shaggy said, with a chuckle. “Right, Scoob?”

“Reah. Reat rision.” Scooby said, just as he focused his eyes downward, creating invisible microwave energy beams from them that hit the ice block beneath them and started to melt it all away.

“Scooby!!!” Daphne cried, and Scooby stopped projecting the beams from his eyes, once he realized how the gang was losing their footing on the melting ice block. When all of the ice block had melted away, the gang truly believed that they were all going to fall into the cold water (which really would’ve had no effect on them); but they were surprised when the air had caught them as they fell, and they were floating instead of falling.

“Hey! We’re flying!” Shaggy exclaimed, and he started to wonder if he could control his flight. He was really surprised when he did, flying high into the air, almost reaching the clouds. “Hey, gang! Check me out!” The others smiled, as they all began flying through the Arctic sky, heading above the clouds and letting the morning sun hit their super-powered bodies.

“Man! I can’t believe how easy this is!” Fred exclaimed, as they all removed their warm winter clothes, realizing that they no longer need them, and got back into their ordinary street clothes. That’s when Daphne’s hands went up to her ears, which she covered with them, and she winced in pain. “What’s wrong, Daph?”

“Argh!” Daphne exclaimed. “You guys don’t hear that?!”

“Hear what?” Velma asked.

“All of those voices…echoing through my ears!” Daphne yelled, and Shaggy smiled once he realized what was happening to her.

“It’s your super-hearing, Daphne.” He said. “You’re hearing all of the voices around the world.” Daphne gritted her teeth, as she desperately tried to fight through the unbearable pain the billions of voices had on her head.

“I wish it would stop!” Daphne shouted. “It’s giving me a migraine.” But that’s when Velma had gotten an idea that she believed would assist them in their mission.

“Daphne, see if you can focus on Scrappy’s voice.” Velma suggested. “It might help us find out where he might be on this alien planet.”

“I’ll see if I can, Velma.” Daphne said, still wincing in pain. “There are so many of them.” She attempted to do what Velma wanted her to do, and though at first it was undeniably painful for her, she was able to use her incredible powers to shorten the number of voices down to one, which was Scrappy-Doo’s voice. She no longer winced; instead, there was a small grin that crept across her face. “Got him.”

“Which direction?” Fred asked, and Daphne pointed to her left.

“That way.” She said, and the gang started flying in the direction that Daphne pointed. As they flew away from the Arctic zone, Velma couldn’t help but to notice something unusual about what happened to Daphne.

“You know, Daphne, if that were Superman hearing all of those voices, he wouldn’t have been in pain like you were.” Velma said.

“Well, for someone that hasn’t spent her entire life with superpowers, it could be a little hard for my subconscious to get used to.” Daphne remarked, just before she noticed how Scooby was rubbing his eyes and whimpering. “You see? Even poor Scooby’s going to be having some trouble seeing for a while, after using that heat vision.”

“I guess when it comes to things like swimming in freezing water, our physicality is totally immune; but when it comes to using powers similar to Superman’s, I guess our mentality can’t take that much ‘super-ness’.” Velma assumed.

“Well, if that’s how we’re going to be like, I hope we can handle a confrontation with Scrappy and the Sleazes.” Fred said, as they exited the Arctic zone within less than an hour, flying right over Iceland.

-----------

Back on regular Earth, the VILE agents (which were fabrications built from the same technology Scrappy used to develop his Carmen robot) stood exactly where they were; they did not seeming to realize or care about what happened to Scrappy, the Sleazes, and the Mystery Inc. gang. Frankie, Mac, Big Bird, Bugs, and Daffy wondered if the agents were even “alive” that moment, and they tested to see if they were by slowly moving away from the agents that were guarding them and heading towards the exit. But that’s when one VILE agent moved faster than the blink of an eye, blocking their path.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!!” Frankie exclaimed. “What’re you guys made out of?”

Just after Frankie asked that question was when something bizarre happened to all of the VILE agents. They suddenly began to shake slightly at the first moment, but then violently in the next. The nuts, bolts, and every other mechanical part that was keeping them together began to rip from their bodies, falling through the sleeves of their coats and pants. Mac, Frankie, Bugs, Daffy, and Big Bird watched in utter disbelief, as the bodies of all the VILE agents inside the Fortress of Solitude suddenly collapsed, leaving nothing but pieces of their robotic bodies lying over piles of the clothing they wore.

“O…kay.” Mac uttered, as she shared bewildered looks with his friends. “What the heck just happened?” At that moment, Madame Foster appeared in the entranceway of the Fortress, along with Wilt, Coco, Bloo, Eduardo, and Super Grover, who were all wearing warm clothing. “Madame Foster?!”

“Grandma?!?!” Frankie exclaimed. “H-H-How did you guys find us here?!”

“Did I ever tell you the time I joined a good friend of mine in an Arctic expedition?” Madame Foster asked. “I can’t believe how stunned and embarrassed I was to discover this place. Ho, ho! You have to give it up for the Man of Steel to own such a marvelous place like this.”

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” Daffy yelled. “How could she know about this place and we don’t?!?!”

“It’s called karma, Daffy.” Bugs said. “You’re practically best buds with it.” As Daffy gave Bugs a dirty look, Big Bird was inspected the remains of the VILE agents that were lying all over the Fortress.

“So…was it you guys that stopped the robots?” He asked.

“Actually, it was Super Grover that stopped them.” Wilt indicated.

“He saved us all!” Eduardo exclaimed, and Grover truly felt honored, at the same time he felt very cocky.

“Yes! By unleashing a low shriek from my cute little voice that is dangerous enough to put any machine out of commission, it was I, Sup…per Grover, that saved you all from the dreaded forces of the one dreadful thief known as Carmen Sandiego!” Grover said, while Bloo looked around, intrigued by the sight but confused over where Carmen was.

“Speaking of the lady in red, where is she anyway?” Bloo asked.

“We just found out that there is no Carmen Sandiego, just as there is no organization known as VILE.” Mac said. “It was a ruse to achieve a diabolical scheme set up by the former member of Mystery Inc., Scrappy-Doo!” Bloo just stared at Mac for a long time, before he suddenly busted out with laughter.

“Yeah, right, bud.” Bloo uttered. “Seriously, where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” Bloo just cracked himself up even more after asking that question.

“We’re serious, Bloo.” Frankie said, as she walked over to the crystal bank. “Scrappy-Doo, while disguised in a robotic body, used three Kryptonian crystals to take them away to the new planet, in an attempt to conquer it all.”

“And Mystery Inc. and the Sleazes went with her…I mean, him.” Mac added, and Bloo, Wilt, Coco, Eduardo, Grover, and Madame Foster were all shocked by that news.

“Wow. That sounds more crazy than what’s going on back in Metropolis.” Bloo said.

“What’s going on back in Metropolis?” Mac asked.

“There’ve been these strange earthquakes, and Metropolis doesn’t often get those.” Wilt informed. “If Superman weren’t there to prevent so many accidents, there wouldn’t be much of the city left.” At that moment, a muffled beeping sound was heard from the group, and it seemed to have been coming from Bugs. He pulled out a handheld device that had a small screen built into it, and once he activated it, the face of Lola Bunny appeared on the small screen.

“What’s up, Lola?” Bugs asked.

“There’s been a lot of strange activity outside the North American continent, Bugs.” Lola said, just before a map of the eastern side of the U.S. appeared on the small screen, along with an image of a green-glowing island that was miles away and growing slowly. “There’s some island outside us that’s never been there before…that is, until now. According to our computers, it’s entirely made out of kryptonite.”

“How much you wanna bet Lex Luthor’s behind it all?” Bugs asked.

“And how much you wanna bet Superman gonna be there to try and stop him, even though he has no idea the island could kill him with all of the bedrock covering the greenness?” Daffy added.

“I’d like to bet that island of kryptonite might be the only thing that could destroy the ‘Phantom Planet’.” Mac stated.

“And I’d like to bet that our friends up there on that planet might be destroyed along with it, if we don’t find a way to bring them back.” Frankie said, and she started playing around with the crystals in the crystal bank, attempting to bring Scrappy, the Sleazes, and Mystery Inc. back to Earth.

“Lola, keep us updated on the Man of Steel’s status on that island.” Bugs ordered. “He might just live up to his dad’s expectations, if he survives.”

“What do you mean, Bugs?” Lola asked.

“Nothin’. Just keep your attention on the activity that’s happenin’ on that island.” Bugs said, just before he shut the device off and joined Mac, Frankie, and the others as they continued playing around with the crystal bank.

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE​

 

[muppetwriter]

The final chapter.

Chapter Thirteen​

The super-powered Mystery Inc. gang couldn’t believe how unusual the “Phantom Zone” version of Earth was. All of the countries outside the U.S. were bizarrely rearranged; Asia was where Africa should’ve been, and Hawaii had been replaced with European countries. It was a backward planet for sure, and the more Mystery Inc. explored it, the more their curiosity had grown, wondering how backwards the U.S. could’ve been.

Their fears had been confirmed, once they had flown over what appeared to be Metropolis, a sunny city with beautiful buildings, beautiful neighborhoods, and beautiful people all around. However, when they noticed that Wayne Tower was where the Daily Planet should’ve been, they were shocked to notice that the perfect city that they were flying over was in fact the “Phantom Zone” version of Gotham City.

“I don’t believe it.” Velma said. “This is supposed to be Gotham City?”

“But it looks so squeaky clean.” Daphne said. “I guess this ‘Phantom Planet’ isn’t all that bright, when it comes to making copies.” As they flew in between buildings, they were suddenly taken by surprise from a black figure that zoomed right past them. They looked straight ahead with shocked eyes, as they saw Batman flying high over the city.

“Man! Now I’ve seen everything!” Shaggy exclaimed, and Scooby couldn’t believe his eyes (which were “healed” at the time) either.

“This planet is like something out of a surrealistic nightmare.” Fred said, just before they heard a woman screaming, and they looked down to see several Gotham citizens looking up at them with horrified expressions.

“It’s the Mysterious Five!!!” The woman cried in terror. “They’ve escaped from prison! They’re going to kill us all!!!!!” As all of the citizens began running away in fright, the gang just turned to one another, looking very confused. That’s until they realized that while on Earth, they were the law-upholders; but on the “Phantom Planet,” they were the lawbreakers.

“I think we better get out of dodge, before we end up running from the police.” Fred suggested, and when they started flying away from the scene, Daphne looked down for a moment and noticed something that made her go back. The others realized that Daphne had turned back and joined her, as she approached what appeared to be a blue-colored monster that had an eerie resemblance to Oscar the Grouch.

“Oscar?” Daphne said, shocked and intrigued along with the rest of the gang. “Is that really you?” The blue-colored monster, which in fact was the “Phantom Zone” version of Oscar, was cowering near a brick wall, as he faced the Mystery Inc. gang.

“P-Please…don’t hurt me.” Oscar begged, and the gang was not only surprised over his begging, but also by the first word that he uttered.

“Did I just hear him say ‘please’?” Velma asked.

“I guess in this world, Oscar the Grouch is actually…nice.” Fred assumed.

“Yes, yes.” Oscar said. “I-I-I’m a very nice monster…o-o-once you get to know me.” He was on the verge of panicking, as the gang got closer to him. “Please! I don’t like confrontations! I just want peace and happiness!” Velma looked oddly at Oscar, and she then went over to a garbage can, picking it up and dumping all of its contents in front of Oscar, who finally reached his breaking point and ran away. “AAAHHHH!! TRASH!!! I begged for mercy, and they throw trash at me!! I HATE TRASH!!!!!” The gang couldn’t believe the actions of the character they just met; he might’ve looked like Oscar the Grouch, but it wasn’t actually him.

“Let’s get to Sesame Street, gang.” Fred said, though he and the others really wanted to get off that “Phantom Planet” and get back to reality. They all flew away from Gotham City, just as the police sirens started blaring all over the city.

When the gang arrived in Metropolis, they expected to find a version of it that wasn’t as different as the one on Earth; but their expectations were crushed completely, as they began flying over a city that looked far more dreadful than regular Earth’s Gotham City. The “Phantom Zone” version of Metropolis was like a ruin; buildings (including the Daily Planet one, which had a demolished globe sitting on top of it) were ravaged and crumbling, there were police sirens blaring every ten seconds, and rioting in the streets. The gang was sick to their stomachs at the display; they could’ve sworn that they smelled brimstone.

Upon arriving at Sesame Street, the gang was greeted by a sight that was just as dreadful as the rest of the city. What they found was a neighborhood with buildings that had freakish graffiti written all over them, sidewalks and streets that were shredded to the point where anyone could make out to sewers beneath it, and children that were either sitting on street corners with pale expressions on their faces or scouring for food in the nearest dumpster. It definitely was not the happy neighborhood that they knew on their world; and instead of sunny skies shining over it, there were dark gray rainy clouds hanging over it, giving it a very dark look.

“Don’t believe anything you see here, gang.” Fred said. “None of it is real.” Daphne wanted to believe that, but everything in front of her was real enough to make her run to the nearest sidewalk, where she collapsed to the ground and began retching. While she was doing so, three people walked out of a broken down apartment building, yelling at each other from the top of their lungs. The gang was surprised when they realized it was Maria, Luis, and Gabby.

“You know, if you’d just get your lazy butt off the couch once in a while, she wouldn’t be out in the streets, doing what she’s doing!!” Luis told Maria, referring to Gabby.

“Oh, so it’s my fault that our daughter’s a bum?!?!” Maria exclaimed, furiously.

“Would you guys just shut up and let me do what I want with my life?!” Gabby demanded, as she was dressed in a very revealing outfit.

“What do you care what we say?!” Luis yelled. “You don’t even live here anymore!!”

“Get outta here!!” Maria told Gabby. “You have no home on this street anymore!!”

“Fine!!!” Gabby screamed. “Who wants to live on a ghetto neighborhood like this anyway?!” That’s when another resident of the “Phantom Zone” neighborhood, a man named Bob, stuck his head out from the window of his apartment and yelled at Maria and Luis, while Gabby started walking away from the neighborhood.

“Hey!! Will you foreigners keep it down there?!?!” Bob said. “It’s already bad enough that my wife’s deaf! You wanna make me the same way?!” Another resident, a man named Gordon, stuck his head out as well and shouted.

“Why not?!” He said. “You’re already got us deaf from listening to your nasty singing.”

“Well, boy, if my singin’ is so bad, then why don’t ya just move out?!” Bob exclaimed, just as Gordon’s wife, Susan, came out and threw her bags into a beat-up yellow Volkswagen.

“We’re way ahead of ya, cheapskate!!” Susan yelled.

“Thank God! Now if we could just get the foreigners out, then this would be one happy place to live!!” Bob uttered.

“Listen, I’m getting tired of you callin’ us that, you…” Luis remarked, and before he could’ve finished what he said, Fred stepped in and stopped all of the arguing.

“That’s enough!!!” Fred yelled. “You guys aren’t supposed to be this way!” As Fred addressed the residents, Velma looked at the section of the street where the Foster’s mansion should’ve been, only to see the charred remains of a place that had been burnt to the ground and never rebuilt. “You’re all friends…you’re all family.”

“Not anymore, Freddy.” Someone said, and the gang looked to where Hooper’s Store should’ve been, seeing Scrappy and the Sleazes coming out of a place that was run down and dingy, with the words “El Sleazo” spray-painted in black over the words “Hooper’s” and “Store.” “This is the new and improved Sesame Street of the ‘Phantom Planet’!”

“New and improved?” Velma said, with an odd look on her face. “Scrappy, there was never anything wrong with Sesame Street.”

“Yes, there was!” Scrappy snapped. “It was too darn happy! This place is much more grouchy and mean…Oscar would love a place like this.” While Scrappy was talking, Sid Sleaze looked as if his heart had been broken, not from learning that Carmen Sandiego was a fabrication, but more from what he witnessed out of the dreadful version of Sesame Street.

“Well, we hope you guys had enjoyed your hour on it, because you’re coming back to good old Earth with us.” Fred said, and Scrappy & Sam chuckled, while Sid refrained from laughing.

“We ain’t goin’ anywhere, kids.” Sam said. “We’re having too much fun here.” Sam walked over to the yellow Volkswagen that Gordon and Susan were putting their things into and lifted the vehicle high in the air with one hand, showing off the abilities that were granted to him upon landing on the “Phantom Planet” as well. “Ya see?”

“You guys don’t understand.” Velma said. “If you don’t get off this planet soon, then you might cause a rift in our universe that’ll surely put an end to all of humanity.”

“Why? Because Superman’s daddy said so?” Scrappy said, with a wicked grin. “I’ve got news for ya, Velma. I actually belong here.”

“No, you don’t.” Velma told Scrappy. “You belong on Earth, just like the Sleazes and the rest of us do.” Scrappy just chuckled over Velma’s naïveté.

“You don’t get it, do ya?” He said. “I’m not the weak little puppy that you guys knew back when he was a part of your little crime-solving group. I’m the ‘Phantom Zone’ version of him!” The gang just looked at Scrappy-Doo in confusion and suspicion; they wondered if he was pulling another cruel prank on them. “Like Jor-El stated in his warning, this planet often reappears and disappears; and while it was doing that in your galaxy, both myself and the ‘Phantom Planet’ had been doing a bit of research, mainly on Superman. We tapped into his origins, and once it was discovered that his powers came from the sun, the ‘Phantom Planet’ reprogrammed itself to where everyone here could have the same Kryptonian DNA that Superman has to allow the sun to ‘program’ him.”

“So…we’re not the only ones here who have superpowers?” Shaggy asked, and he & Scooby got a little scared, as all of the residents of “Sesame Street” started to surround the gang, each giving them nasty looks. “That explains why we saw Batman flying over Gotham City.”

“What I don’t get is why you came to our planet and fooled us into thinking that you were the real Scrappy-Doo?” Velma asked.

“Because I wanted to see if you people were just as powerful as Superman was.” Scrappy remarked. “And when I found out that all of you were just weak little beings, I got the notion that I…we could conquer your world and others, thus giving us total control over infinite universes!”

“Not everyone here on this warped planet will go along with you plan, Scrappy.” Fred contradicted. “There were thousands of people that were horrified by our sight in your version of Gotham City.”

“That’s because Gotham City is the only part of this planet that’s not super-powered, sans the idiot dressed up in the bat suit.” Scrappy said. “When it was discovered that your Gotham City is just as bad as the rest of our planet, the ‘Phantom Planet’ decided that there was no need to create a darker version of it, since it was already dark enough. That’s why it developed a happier and weaker version with people that are more cowards than Shaggy and Scooby here and a hero that couldn’t even leave the city, even if he wanted to.” As the “Phantom Zone” version of Scrappy-Doo revealed his shocking plan to a shocked Mystery Inc., Sid Sleaze began to doubt the side he was on.

“Where’s the real Scrappy-Doo?” Daphne asked.

“Oh, come on! You’re Mystery Inc.!” Scrappy replied. “You’ll figure out where he is. Oh, wait…no, you won’t…because you’ll be dead by then!” Scrappy then gestured for the Sleazes and the evil residents of “Sesame Street” to go after the gang, using their godlike powers to kill them. That’s when Sid stepped in and stood by the Mystery Inc. gang, forcing Scrappy to gesture for Sam and the other villains to stop. “You fool! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“This ain’t right! None of it is!” Sid exclaimed, and the gang felt pleased that Sid realized that it was, while Sam felt really embarrassed.

“Sid, don’t chicken out now!” Sam exclaimed. “Think about what you’re doing! For cryin’ out loud! We’ve got the power now to stop Superman!”

“I don’t care, Sammy.” Sid said. “We’ve gone way too far this time!”

“No, we haven’t gone far enough.” Sam contradicted.

“Enough of this!!” Scrappy exclaimed, and he gestured for Sam to go after Sid. “Kill him!” A shocked expression appeared on Sid’s face, as he stared at his brother, who stared right back at him with the same type of look, just before turning towards Scrappy with an angry glare in his eyes.

“What did you say?” Sam asked him.

“Ya heard me!” Scrappy shouted. “I said kill your brother!” Sam stared at Scrappy for a long time, and then he approached a nervous Sid, who was wondering if his own brother was going to acknowledge Scrappy’s command. But instead of killing Sid, he just put his left arm around him and gave Scrappy a dirty look.

“I may be a lot of things, but the one thing I’m not is a killer.” Sam said, and Sid looked at him, pleased but yet confused in a way.

“But all that stuff you said about doing away with Superman?” Sid asked, and Sam just chuckled.

“Are you kiddin’?” Sam queried. “I’d wet my pants just standing ten feet away from that caped strongman!” Sid smiled at Sam and gave him a big hug, which didn’t last long, because Sam had brushed him away. “Alright! Alright! Don’t make a scene. I’m not going that soft.”

“Looks like you’re short two men, Scrappy.” Velma said, but Scrappy didn’t show any intimidation on his face.

“No matter.” He said. “I still have a billion more.” With the snap of a finger, Scrappy ordered the wicked “Sesame Street” residents to continue advancing threateningly towards the Sleazes and Mystery Inc. But just when it looked as if it was the end for them, a large beam of light with a mixture of blue, yellow, and red colors in it had come through the dark clouds in the sky and shined over the Sleazes and Mystery Inc. The group stared at Scrappy and the evil “Sesame Street” residents, as they were frozen in place outside the light, just as they were sucked right off the ground and into the sky, departing from the “Phantom Planet.”

Once they were out of the planet’s atmosphere and into outer space, they all stared through the clear walls of the wormhole in amazement, as they saw what appeared to be an entire island floating away from the Earth and towards the “Phantom Planet.” Little did the group know that the island was actually the one made out of kryptonite and covered in bedrock that Lex Luthor had grown (courtesy of Kryptonian technology) and escaped from, shortly before Superman (who used heat vision to melt the island away from the sea floor, before it got a good hold) ultimately got it into space.

The Sleazes and Mystery Inc. watched with intrigued looks on their faces, as Superman hurled the entire island away, making it float towards the “Phantom Planet.” As the island got closer to it, the olive and brass colors of the planet quickly turned to a dark shade of purple; but it was the nasty shade of gray that told the Sleazes and Mystery Inc. that the planet and everything else on it was dying, as the kryptonite island entered its atmosphere. It was only a brief moment before the island crashed to the “Phantom Planet’s” surface, rupturing through its crust and coming down to its core. Once the kryptonite island hit the core, there was a momentous chain reaction that caused the entire “Phantom Planet” to vaporize, along with its inhabitants, all never to be heard from again.

While an unconscious Superman started crashing back into the Earth’s atmosphere, the Sleazes and Mystery Inc. were sucked back to the Arctic zone and straight into the Fortress of Solitude, where they landed on the same spot that they had left from. Mac, Frankie, Madame Foster, Eduardo, Bloo, Wilt, Coco, Bugs, Daffy, Big Bird, and Grover all were happy that they were able to bring the group back to Earth, and they were also pleased that Superman had unknowingly destroyed the dreaded “Phantom Planet” before both it and its inhabitants could’ve caused any serious damage to their universe.

“You’re back!!” Mac exclaimed, as he ran up to Velma and hugged her.

“And just in time, it would appear.” Velma said, with a smile.

“How was it like on the ‘Phantom Planet’?” Mac asked, and Velma and the other members of Mystery Inc. just grinned.

“Let’s just say it feels awfully swell coming back to someplace you can really call Earth.” Velma said, and while the group was celebrating over Mystery Inc.’s return and the destruction of the “Phantom Planet,” they barely noticed the head of Lefty peeking out from behind a large crystal. He had been hiding there from the moment the VILE agents had malfunctioned, waiting for the right moment to escape from the Fortress. When he realized that it was his chance then, he moved away from his hiding place and towards the exit; that was until the Sleaze Brothers, who weren’t all that happy to see him, blocked his path.

“Hey, boys.” Lefty said, nervously. “How was yer trip?”

“Oh, we’ll be happy to tell ya all about it.” Sam said.

“On the way to the ACME prison.” Sid added, and the brothers grabbed both of Lefty’s arms, as they walked with him towards Bugs and Daffy, who they were going to turn themselves in to.

“Oh, this is not riiiiight.” Lefty uttered.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN​

 

[muppetwriter]

As I had promised, "The Superman at the End of this Story."

Epilogue​

While Bugs and Daffy had taken Lefty and the Sleazes to the ACME prison, the Mystery Inc. gang had returned to Metropolis with their friends from Foster’s and Sesame Street, only to discover news about Superman crashing into Centennial Park, where he laid unconscious in a massive crater that he created. He was shortly afterwards rushed into the Metropolis Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him; but due to his invulnerability to needles and electric shock, all they could do was hope and pray.

A day later, while everyone in Metropolis (including residents from Sesame Street, the Mystery Inc. gang, and two visitors from Smallville—Ben Hubbard, Rowlf the Dog, and Martha Kent) all stood outside the hospital in hope to hear some positive updates on the status of Superman’s health, Lois Lane had gone inside the building with her son, Jason, and visited the Man of Steel. Out of everyone in the city (with the exception of Big Bird and maybe a few others), Lois Lane was the one citizen that was closest to Superman. While she was inside the hospital, a depressed yet hopeful Kermit the Frog gave a report, amidst the huge crowd of people (some of which he interviewed weeks ago).

“Uh, hi…ho. Kermit the…Oh, you know who I am.” Kermit said, sadly. “There probably aren’t many of you viewers out there, seeing as how almost the entire city of Metropolis is here in front of the Metropolis Hospital right now. But, for those that aren’t aware, Superman had suffered from a massive dose of kryptonite poisoning, a day ago, and…well…he’s in there right now…probably somewhere between life and…death.” Kermit stopped reporting for a moment to look back at the hospital complex and wonder about Superman’s condition. Jim the cameraman, who was still had the camera on, noticed how Kermit was ignoring the fact that he was on live television.

“Uh, Kermit?” Jim said, and Kermit snapped out of the trance he was, going back to his news report.

“Oh, um…sorry.” Kermit uttered. “Uh…we’ll keep you updated on Superman’s health, Metropolis. But until then…just…just hope and pray that our Man of Steel will survive.” Kermit looked downwards as he finished off his report. “This is Kermit…uh…oh, never mind. Just go back to Chevy, will ya?” As Jim shut off the camera, Kermit joined the crowd, as they all looked up at the hospital and prayed. Nearby, Fred and Velma seemed to have been the only ones in the crowd that were able to muster some smiles, thinking about how Superman stopped the “Phantom Planet.”

“He saved a lot of lives on this planet.” Velma said. “But if only he knew about the lives he saved on other planets as well.”

“Yeah.” Fred remarked. “But I have a feeling that he knows. He is Superman, isn’t he?”

“Got me there.” Velma said, just as the smile on her face was replaced with a frown. “But even the mightiest hero of them all can have his flaws.” Fred’s smile disappeared also, once he realized what she meant. Both of them joined everyone else in prayer, just as Lois and Jason came out of the building and rejoined with fiancee and father Richard White (nephew of Perry White), who drove them away from the scene.

--------------

That night in Metropolis, while some people still stood in front of the Metropolis Hospital, others were at home fast asleep. The Mystery Inc. gang had left the city in search for the real Scrappy-Doo, and the residents of Sesame Street were asleep themselves—all except Grover, who stood on the roof of one building in his Super Grover garb, keeping watch over the neighborhood and hoping himself that Superman would be alright.

Most of everyone on Sesame Street slept indoors; but Big Bird could only sleep outside in his nest, where he was most comfortable. It had been a long adventure for him, solving mysteries and searching for items from other worlds. He was in deep sleep at that time, and nothing (except maybe an alarm clock) could’ve woken him up. However, there was one thing that did; a slight gust of wind blew past the bird, forcing him to open his eyes and see if there was a storm coming. But instead of seeing a storm, Big Bird was surprised to see someone that he had a lot of history with: Superman.

“You’re here! And you’re okay!” Big Bird exclaimed, as Superman smiled at him. “Oh, wait ‘til everyone hears about this! I’ve got to wake them up!”

“Let them rest, Big Bird. It’s the middle of the night, you know.” Superman said. “Sesame Street and the rest of Metropolis will eventually find out that I’m okay.”

“Everyone in the city’s been so worried about you.” Big Bird stated. “We all thought you wouldn’t make it this time.”

“I thought that myself.” Superman said, with a grin. “But I’m okay. In fact, I’ve never felt so good in my whole life.”

“That’s nice to hear.” Big Bird said, smiling. “You know what some of my friends and I found out recently? We found out that there was a planet forming in our solar system, and at first we thought it was Kryptonian, but then we discovered from a message that your dad sent in your home up in the Arctic that the planet was in fact some kind of alien copy of ours.”

“You took your friends to my Fortress of Solitude?” Superman asked, a little surprised.

“Well…yeah, we had to in order to stop the Sleaze Brothers and some other bad guys that wanted to use the planet for evil purposes.” Big Bird said. “Even Madame Foster from across the street found out about it before I did. But we all promised not to tell anyone where it is, because we respected your privacy.” Big Bird noticed how Superman was looking down, seeming to be a little distraught. “You’re not mad, are you?” But instead of getting upset, Superman started chuckling, looking very happy.

“No.” He said. “But hearing that made me think about a friend of mine, who has this son whose biological father is actually…” Superman stopped once he realized that he was talking to a bird that had the mind of a six year old and probably wasn’t ready to hear about the “Birds and the Bees” just yet. “Just promise me that you’ll never tell anyone else…about the Fortress and my other secret, and maybe I’ll treat you to another visit. Okay?”

“Sure thing, Clark…I mean, Mr. Kent…I mean, Kal-El…I mean, Mr. El…or should it be…?” Big Bird stammered, and Superman chuckled as he put a hand on Big Bird’s shoulder.

“Just stick with Superman, Big Bird.” He said, and Big Bird nodded with a smile. “Well, you get back to sleep, while I go and see who else needs my help.” Superman smiled at Big Bird, as he lifted himself off the ground and slowly flew away from Big Bird’s nest and home, waving goodbye to him in the process. “Good night, Big Bird.”

“Good night, Superman.” Big Bird said, watching the Man of Steel as he flew right past the building that Super Grover was patrolling from. The appearance of Superman had taken Grover by surprise; it surprised him even more when Superman stopped flying for a moment to turn and face Super Grover, as he hovered in the air.

“Thanks for keeping watch while I’ve been gone.” Superman said, and a speechless Grover just gave Superman a thumb up in reply. “I just have one little bit of advice for ya. Stick to protecting Sesame Street, while I protect the rest of the world. Okay?” Grover wanted to respond in words; but all he could do was nod in reply. “See ya around, Super Grover.” Grover had fainted on the rooftop, just as Superman zoomed right up to the sky, breaking the cloud cover; he could once again go back to protecting the Earth, now that he had returned.

SESAME, D.C.​

 

[The Count]

But is that the end of Chapter 13? Or the end of the story?
And what a Bizarro World twist it took. And yet... It kinda makes sense, once you register the information/plotline.

Though there's still the little matter of finding where the real Scrappy-Doo is, hopefully not killed off on the Phantom Planet.
Oscar as blue? It works, though maybe it'd be more evocative to have made him orange.

Anyway, great story... Hope for more from you soon.
Oh, and check the thread titled "The Requested Spoiler Thread" at Creatus Maximus for some Spidey 3 speculation.

 

[muppetwriter]

But is that the end of Chapter 13? Or the end of the story?
And what a Bizarro World twist it took. And yet... It kinda makes sense, once you register the information/plotline.

Though there's still the little matter of finding where the real Scrappy-Doo is, hopefully not killed off on the Phantom Planet.
Oscar as blue? It works, though maybe it'd be more evocative to have made him orange.

Anyway, great story... Hope for more from you soon.
Oh, and check the thread titled "The Requested Spoiler Thread" at Creatus Maximus for some Spidey 3 speculation.

Thanks, Count. But you did read the epilogue, didn't you? It doesn't tell much about what happened to the real Scrappy-Doo (I'll get into that in another tale), but it does include what I thought was a cool part that involved Superman and two of the SS residents.

And I thought about making Oscar orange, but I figured blue made him seem like he was a more peaceful monster, like Grover (who is also blue).

As far as the "Phantom Planet" goes, it really freaked me out to type that kind of dialogue for the "bizarro" versions of everyone. I mean, I clearly made Bob a racist and turned the Rodriguezes into a dysfunctional family. Luckily, like Fred said, none of it was real.

And I'll check out Creatus Maximus for that Spidey 3 speculation. I've visited superherohype.com several times for speculation there; but I'll see what everyone there thinks will happen. Who knows? I might come up with some more ideas for my next Spidey/Muppets tale.

And be sure to check out the "What's Next..." thread to see what my decision will be on what I'll do next.

 

[The Count]

Sorry... You ziffled me with the epilogue.
"The" in "The both of them" when you've got Freddy and Velma talking to each other should be eliminated.

Rully a great ending. It was nice to see Kermit a little depressed again for once, Superman's little chat with BB and his advice for a speechless Grover.
So... Lois married the actor who played Cyclops... Now I know.
Also, I liked how Daphne reacted to her superhearing power... Reminds me of the reaction Page Halliwell expressed when becoming a full white lighter in Season 8 of Charmed.
Rully looking forward to whatever's next, already plugged into that particular thread.

 

[muppetwriter]

Sorry... You ziffled me with the epilogue.

That word is really starting to grow on me.

"The" in "The both of them" when you've got Freddy and Velma talking to each other should be eliminated.

So... Lois married the actor who played Cyclops... Now I know.

Thanks again, Count. I also changed my description of Richard White; instead of "husband and father", I just changed it to "fiancee and father", considering the fact that we never really found out if Lois married him or not. They weren't technically married in the movie.

Also, I liked how Daphne reacted to her superhearing power... Reminds me of the reaction Page Halliwell expressed when becoming a full white lighter in Season 8 of Charmed.

I'd almost just left it to where she reacted in pain to it and then Velma suggesting that she located Scrappy-Doo with it, and then that was it. But I knew people were going to ask, "Well, if she can swim in freezing cold water, then why would her own superpowers cause her pain?" And that's when I came up with the explanation of the subconscious mind of someone born as a ordinary being and how it's not so used to the operation of physical superpowers like heat vision, superhearing, super breath, or others that they just recently gained.

 

[The Count]

Oh... OK then.

Actually, the explanation was believable as far as comic book franchise movies and their animated counterparts fare. Just reminded me of the reaction from one of the Charmed Ones in a good sort of way.

Like I said, looking forward to whatever's next on the docket.