And we're back in the past and can check the eyrie archive
once again.

And here's where you can find The Bellerophon Gambit (and other
MISC LNH tales):

https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/Misc/

And we have the conclusion of The Bellerophon Gambit by 'Dial "D" for'
Dave Van Domelen! Is it time for PegaSYS to trash an office?!
Is it time for (fictional) Dave Van Domelen to embrace his DESTINY?!
And what about X-Chequer?!? What about him?! Are we going to get
an X-Chequer miniseries -- or at least a One Shot?!!!

Find out in...

_
| | Classic
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| |__ | [] | | [] | | | | [] | | _ \

|____| \__] \__ | |_| \__/ |_|\_\
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|_| OF NET.HEROES

ADVENTURES #305

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THE BELLEROPHON GAMBIT The Conclusion
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Part Three "To Ride PegaSYS"
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On Andale Atoll, Acton Lord moved into a flurry of activity. The
Superbowl had just ended, and Action Lord had to be sent back in time using the
Foreshadower Tubes in order to implement his part of the plan. Meanwhile, the
tracer Acton Lord had placed on the PegaSYS during a chance encounter on
TrekMUSE Refuge had only twenty minutes of operational power left. The base
was chaos in perfect orchestration.
Acton Lord no sooner threw the switch on the Foreshadower than he leapt
into the machine himself, resetting it for crosstimeindex to send him on the
trail of the mystical beast he sought. In his hand was a harness forged from
AlmostUnobtainium, a material not quite as strong as Unobtainium, but also
more, well, obtainable. As he began to fade he fervently hoped that the delay
hadn't cost him his prize to the all-powerful Fan.Dom of the Alt.Ra....

* * * *

The all-powerful Fan.dom of the Alt.Ra was at that very moment finally
closing in on alt.greener.pastures, where his instrumentation told him the
PegaSYS was.
"Honestly, Damn Yankee, one would think you had no sense of direction
whatsoever! We lost almost two weeks on that shortcut you took through
alt.religion.kibology. Oh well, at least I was able to add to my collection of
Obscure Religious Icons."
"Sorry, boss. Say, if you're so all-powerful, why didn't you just zap us
ta da alt.greener.pastures?" asked the Northern Nabob of Negativity.
The Fan.Dom sighed. "I've told you this before, you know. Well, it'll
pass a few paragraphs, if nothing else." Ignoring Damn Yankee's puzzled look
at his turn of phrase [Ed. note: The Fan.Dom is all-powerful, hence KNOWS he
lives in a fictional universe], he continued. "You see, I learned soon after I
gained my powers that absolute power is really boring. I mean, what's an
immortal life with no challenges? Thus I intentionally hobble myself in order
to make existence tolerable. Certainly, I could own everything I wished
with but a thought, but it's not the having, it's the thrill of getting.
Haven't you ever intentionally done something the hard way just for fun? I
mean besides that last 'shortcut'."
"Er, no boss. You created me outta whaddya call whole cloth. I've only
been around for a few months, tops. But is dat why ya got all dese gizmos and
henchmen and stuff I see around the base? Ta make tings more challenging? So,
like, it's more exciting to win by a field goal in the last five seconds than
to run away with the game 52-17?"
After a momentary look of puzzlement at his lackey's statement, the
Fan.Dom replied, "Exactly. I also damp down my omniscience so I don't always
know what lies ahead. The closer to the wire it gets, the happier I am. And
although I am curious as to why you became so incompetent recently, I am
intentionally not letting myself know, since it will obviously provide me with
some sort of later challenge."
Damn Yankee gulped and said sheepishly, "Aw, boss, can't a guy have an off
week or two? Ya ain't gonna...bag me...are ya?"
"No, not yet. Maybe after I get the PegaSYS. So you have that long to
shape up."
"Yes, sir!"

* * * *

In a major Midwestern university, the being who was once known as Dial "D"
for dvandom, capricious scourge of RAC, sat despondently in his tiny cubicle,
wracking his brain over Quantum Mechanics equations for his Midterm that week.

* * * *

Acton Lord suddenly found himself about forty meters above the ground, a
rather untenable position for a native ground-dweller. Obviously the PegaSYS
had been in flight as he homed in on it. But he had anticipated such an entry,
and activated his powers, corrupting the curvature of spacetime to reduce
gravity locally and allow him to descend unharmed.
He surveyed his location. It looked for all the world like a grassy
valley between two craggy hills. A few twisted bushes and briars clung to the
sides of the hills at painful-looking angles, and the grass was interspersed
with ankle-high clover. Some area looked to have been recently cropped by some
animal. In the distance, he heard a small brook murmuring.
Heading toward the sound, Acton Lord surveyed the skies, looking for the
PegaSYS. A few fluffy clouds drifted lazily by under the noonday sun. A swarm
of gnats buzzed nearby, but didn't approach near enough to be swatted. A
winged form caught his eye, but it was only an owl of some sort. "Odd for an
owl to be out during the day...the creator of this news.group must have been
lax in his research," thought Acton Lord. Briefly kneeling, he pulled up a bit
of the turf, revealing a label reading "alt.greener.pastures". Nodding quietly
to himself, as if this confirmed a pet theory of some kind, he stood back up
and rounded a knoll.
There before him was the brook, wending down between the hills. On the
other side was some sort of pavilion, walled on three sides by evil looking
briars. The side facing him was open, and just beyond it he saw the object of
his search...the PegaSYS!
Stealthily he crept toward the beast, careful to keep the briars between
him and it. He had wisely worn a dull brown jumpsuit, which blended well into
the bushes. He had just reached the point on the hedge nearest the PegaSYS,
when suddenly a flying craft screamed into view! Cursing as he recognized the
insignia of the Fan.Dom of the Alt.Ra on the side, Acton Lord leapt for the
startled pseudo-horse.
Time seemed to stand still. The PegaSYS leapt skyward in the direction of
the pavilion. Acton Lord rose to meet it. And from the craft emerged a mylar
snug, rapidly hurtling toward both of them. A powerbeam lanced out from Acton
Lord's right hand, deflecting the bag, and at the same time his left hand
snared the PegaSYS in the AlmostUnobtainium harness. The PegaSYS bucked, and
Acton Lord was forced to hang on with both hands while activating the harness's
control circuits. He was a sitting duck for the next mylar snug, should it
come. But suddenly the craft lurched, as if hitting an unexpected thermal,
and the bag flew wide of its mark. Laughing at the obvious success of his
plan, Acton Lord then initiated control, and the PegaSYS warped out as the
third bag zoomed toward it....

* * * *

"THAT'S IT! I'm SOOOOO cheesed, Damn Yankee. I think it's time I flex a
little metaphysical might and find out exactly why you *intentionally* made me
miss that shot!"
"But boss! I thought you said you liked a challenge! So I made it harder
for you to aim..." stammered the Rust-belt Raider.
"Sorry, that doesn't cut the mustard...ACTION LORD! Don't try to leap out
of my lackey's body, mister," said the Fan.Dom as he wrapped the hapless
individual in Spiritual Snugs. "Now, Damn Yankee, just step out of there and
leave our couch potato friend behind."
Damn Yankee did so, and nearly fainted. "Eurgh! Nearly a month with that
spud letting my body go to pot! And I have a splitting headache from watching
so much TV...and I feel nauseous!"
Action Lord could say nothing, as he had no mouth in his disembodied form.
Yet he had the strangest urge to scream.
"Now, you personified typo, we'll see where you look best on my wall, and
then go about getting the PegaSYS away from your ally..." chuckled the Fan.Dom
of the Alt.Ra....