Baron Barnabas' Bombastic Defeat

 

3Synopsis: After poisoning Tusk with a poison mushroom from the Mushroom Kingdom, Barnabas goes all-out on his quest to conquer the Omniverse. Even the DCU and MCU heroes are called for help. He begins raiding other video game worlds, becoming one, if not the most powerful villain Sonic and crew have ever faced.

 

Chapter 1—Kang has NOTHING on This Guy

               

                Doctor Portobello worked fast to deliver the antidote to Tsar Tusk, who was ailing and near the brink of death in his royal chamber.   His wife, Tallulah, dutiful, doting children Tybalt and Tessa looked on, in tearful hope that their papa would pull out of this precarious predicament.   

                All the while Barnabas was cackling with the power crackling through his system.   Peach, Mario, Luigi, even Rosalinda couldn’t halt him from gaining more power ups. 

                ‘He smacked us aside like we were nothing…’, Mario said, wiping the blood from his mouth.   He and Luigi looked banged up.   Mario’s bones cracked as Luigi hoisted him up.  The pain rippled through them, and they winced from being whipped aside, thrown down like they were trash.   

                ‘My cosmic abilities are useless !’, Rosalinda added, her eyes filling with tears.   Her luma began to cheep and squeak.

                ‘What is Luma saying ?’, Daisy questioned. 

                ‘It’s going on about super heroes, but I can’t make any sense out of any of it.   That crazy badger is plundering the video game worlds for all the power ups they can offer…  What can we do ?’, Toadette asked, her voice quavering.    Toad held her close in a hug, smoothly stroking the top of her cap to calm her. 

                ‘I know someone who can help.   It was a blue hedgehog I bested in a race not long ago, even though he was far more qualified to win than I.’, Mario said, recalling the time that he and Sonic raced to raise mental awareness and build funds to rebuild the kingdom that Bowsette and Tatanga had rampaged.   The two of them were long since put in Mario’s maximum security prison where they had no potential of escaping.   

                The only reason that Bowsette had trashed everything was vengeance for Bowser having snubbed her long ago.   He and Peach had been forced to wed, which delighted Bowser but disgusted Peach at the beginning.   The two had grown to love and adore each other over time, but they had quite a large family of little koopa mouths to feed.   Now she had three other little koopalettes on the way but luckily Bowser was uber rich and the other koopas were glad to lend a claw when the need arose.  

                The biggest problem now was that Mario and Luigi had only a few powerups left.   They had to be extremely cautious about which ones they used.   It was obvious that they needed a whole lot more assistance in beating this maniac.    Right now, though, Barnabas the Warlock was unstoppable.   

                In a moment’s time, Rosalinda had teleported them down to Mobius using her telekinetic abilities.    It was she, Daisy, Peach, Toadette, Toad, Yoshi, Luigi and even Wario and Waluigi who had come along with them.   Wario and Waluigi were miffed because Barnabas had purloined their cash of treasure.   It was true, he was completely unhinged, but why he would’ve taken that booty willy-nilly was so random.    Then when they realized that tokens were universally accepted, they knew they had to reclaim what was theirs or they would be considered bankrupt.    

                Sonic and Amy had been sleeping soundly and their hedgehoglets had all been enjoying their reveries until Mario and his friends came knocking at the Crystal Castle door.   Once everything had been explained, Sonic knew he had to get a hold of Bronto and in turn, call upon the Universe’s mightiest heroes as well as the TVA.   This time, it was the whole Universe they knew and loved which was at stake.   

 

Chapter 2—I Am Invincible ! 

                One by one Barnabas had taken the video game worlds that were most powerful down and subdued them without so much as lifting a finger.   He had already overtaken half of the video game world and was out to wipe out the entire Omniverse.   

                Loki, Q, Quanta, and the entire Avengers had been assembled against Barnabas.   Rocket was unamused he would be fighting a badger.

                ‘Aren’t we almost alike ?’, he questioned.   Groot shrugged his shoulders.   ‘I am Groot.’, came his certain reply.   

                ‘This isn’t anything new and unusual.   We’ve fought anthros before.’, Constantine butted in.    Panda from Earth looked insulted, but he was relieved his friends and comrades from Japan back home had been brought forth by Q and Loki.

                ‘Rice ball.’, Inumake mumbled.   

                ‘We’ve got more than enough force behind us.’, Gojo said, pointing to the Lantern Corps backing them.    There were mages, theurges, enchanters, techno wizards, and most importantly, the ‘quantum heavy hitters’.    Quanta was especially irritated that this was happening because it disrupted the whole placid nature of the Universe that encompassed her.     She had been the first to feel the shockwaves of Barnabas’ exponential prowess.  

                ‘You can pool as many formidable people and anthros as you like together.   Even you, Gods amongst your kind.   I am INVINCIBLE.   Your abilities are nothing when compared to mine.’, he boasted.    The whole Universe seemed to bend when he moved.   It made them lose their footing, but they got back up and regained their balance.   Barnabas was nothing to underestimate, but he forgot all about the element of spontaneity.    Bronto had hailed toons in from Toon Town.   There was Bonkers D. Bobcat, Marsupilami and others that were prepared to use their physics defying powers to catch him off guard where magic and might were useless. Though the aspect of the sorcerers would come in handy in this case, too, since Barnabas was starting to raise legions of zombies to assist him.  

 

Chapter 3—Sorely Striving

                Barnabas had all sorts of power ups at his disposal.   It wasn’t until Generator Rex and Ben 10 joined the fight that he found equally matched opponents.

                ‘I owe you for that, Bronto !   You think of everything !’, Sonic said, finally landing a punch in his super-powered, newly renovated and updated golden hedgehog mech.     Amy joined in, swinging her hammer as if she were playing a high-class game of polo.     Against the marbled terrain of a surreal world they had crashed into, luckily with no inhabitants, Barnabas skidded across the floor, laughed, got back up on his feet and adjusted his robes.   He clenched his fists, causing his knuckles to pop rather obnoxiously.

                ‘Isn’t that adorable.   Now you have other little superheroes I’m needing to decommission.’, he said, with a cocky, razor-toothed grin.  

                Yoshi and his girlfriend struggled to get up. Yoshi opened his mouth, unleashing his long tongue. The tongue slapped Barnabas off to one side, but it wasn’t enough to topple him.   He simply got up, dusted himself off, sardonically grinned and laughed as a nexus of darkness built around him.

                ‘Do you ever shut up ?!  You’re getting on my nerves !’, Bowser said, spitting fireballs directly at Barnabas.     Barnabas deflected the fireballs easily and he laughed. 

                ‘That tickles !    Were those spicy meatballs supposed to consume me whole ?   Phttph.  Please.  Don’t make me laugh.’, he said.    He began to levitate, and he fired different elements against every foe.   For instance, in response to the fireballs, he implemented Sub-Zero’s ice-storm, hail and sleet techniques, freezing Bowzer in place. 

                ‘My love !’, Peach said.   Fire ignited in her blue eyes. 

                ‘I don’t care how powerful this blowhard is ! No one freezes my husband !’, she bellowed irately.  

                'Allow me, my lady !', Toadette said. Toad twirled a grappling hook and launched it at Barnabas.

Barnabas flicked the grappling hook with a thumb and forefinger, cracking his neck with a menacing chortle.  

            ‘Nothing you do will stop me.  Now if you will kindly move aside, I have an Omniverse to conquer.’, he said.   It was then that even though they were surrounded by zombies on all sides each of them decimated the undead with holy counterattacks.    Q, Quanta, and Mortimer joined hands and summoned their highest forms.    DCs most powerful wizards used all defenses and Bronto added his manna in with the mix.   Jujutsu sorcerers piped in energy of their own.   There was Sailor Scouts, Pretty Cures, miku, exorcists, every protagonist one could think of or name.  

            A wave of what could only be described as a firenado overcame Barnabas, but the final blow before Barnabas could use an unbelievable multipressure wave came from Tusk himself.  

            ‘You stabbed me in the back.  Now I’m returning the favor, traitor.’, he sneered, skewering the other badger straight through with a broadsword.    It was an undignified, horrible, cowardly, but fitting death for the Judas that tried killing the Tsar only moments earlier.    What he had done was now undone.    The power ups began to flee from his hands, returning to their own lands.    It was as if time was beginning to reverse and those worlds that he had previously conquered were now healing on their own.

            ‘No…No, I just stole those…I need those…’, he said, tears overflowing from his eyes.   It was difficult to know who the bigger villain in this case was or how Tusk recuperated so rapidly.    None of that mattered now, but clean up had to be done so the video game planets could resume a semblance of normalcy after being hammered by that badger lunatic.

 

Chapter 4—A Proper Funeral

            The magicians sent everyone back after all had been said and done.   The video game world was stable now, at least, until another threat made itself known.   It was difficult to say if any other being would be in existence like Barnabas, but he was long since gone now.    There had been nothing left of him after he was burned alive by his own avarice for power.    

            Tusk was no threat even though he was still considered Sonic’s enemy.   He promised that he would never threaten him again as he had before.   It was the two would join alliances again, but for now, they had gone their separate ways. 

            The Tsar stayed to see an obsidian gauntlet get buried deep below the soil.   It had been inspected before burial.  Necromancial objects such as those did have the ability to reanimate the undead, open sinister portals that would bring in Mobius knows what, or awaken eldritch spirits long since slumbering.   Sonic and the others didn’t want to take any chances, so Bronto, being a White Wizard, easily cleansed the artifact so it was inert.  

            Amon had been triggered by the funeral.   Barnabas had been worse than his own parents had been and he was still grieving their loss even though quite a few years had gone by.  

            ‘I do realize those years were torture for you, but they’re behind you now.  You’ve turned out to be a fine upstanding young man.’, Sonic said, placing his hand upon the young thylacine-hyena hybrid’s shoulder.    Amon smiled slightly while a tear trickled down his cheek.   Funerals would still evoke sorrow within him, but he had healed of the harm his parents had caused.   Their legacy was long gone, and all that remained was the brilliant future he and the Freedom Fighters embodied.  

 

Epilogue

            Using their upgraded abilities had tired Sonic and his siblings out.   Everyone had departed and headed back home for a much-needed respite back in bed, snuggled under downy sheets.   

            All was quiet, but something wasn’t quite right in the realm of reverie.   A dream eater, sapping energy from the land of nod was infiltrating the intimate fantasies each court member was having.   It began innocently enough with the youngest of the Celeritas’ line, but soon the ‘sleeping sickness’ would spread like a plague and they would never awaken.   There was, however, one member of the court that this didn’t affect and it would be up to them to face the rogue vampire, whoever they happened to be. 

 

To Be Continued…