The Brush off

by charles duncan

After Long-glory returned from his retrieval of Long-gloria, who often seemed to have some personality quirks of her own, Long-glory was still having rows with apparently her now father, Halifax, who often saw a lot of depictions of the damage Luminary and his henchmen were causing, and perhaps wondering how were they changing as the Grand Neverrest continued its journey throughout the galaxy to stop the damage being done...

And one day, at the table, where Scarf, halifax, and Long-glory were eating.. and Scarf was really eating, Halifax often would try to talk about the good old days when he was the hero of the universe and all asked for his autograph in the whole stick fighting business, when Long-glory said.. "Maaan can't you stop bringing that up? I mean, you're probably pushing hundreds of years old by now by all the traveling you've done."

Halifax replied, "Listen, back in the day, you ought to know personally it was fun times even if we don't recall them all.. And yes, I do wonder why my wife came back as Sunflower when she could have come back by any means.. but you're still a child of mine and even if you're pushing 120 plus years old despite looking about 18, you still got a lot of growing up to do."

Long-glory then replied, "Well, do you ever think that maybe I've grown up years ago, and maybe even if i have a problem with my manhood currently up in the air.. I could do things on my own without your wisdom?"

Halifax replied.. Since when have you ever been wise?"

Scarf then pounded her head on the table.. "Listen, there's a universal, perhaps omniversal crisis in this universe, and all you two old people can seem to do is bicker about things going on.. really, why don't you talk about something more pleasant?"

"Yeah.. I could, " Halifax said.. "but standards won't let me."

Long-Glory got up from the table and said to Halifax.. "I think I ought to have my name changed, you know, as I personally get so tired of being called 'long'. And considering the fact I have new powers apparently .. Maybe it was time I stepped out of your family's disputes and got back to trying to make my own life outside of this organization I've been like with forever.

"Fine, go on your own stupid adventures, just remember this much.. I still saved your life way back when", Halifax said.

Long-Glory stepped off, and took his brush with him.

Scarf said.. "No, really, how many years have you currently lived, Halifax?"

Halifax said.. "Well, even I don't know any more, considering the crises I find myself in lately... and all the times I feel like time moves faster while I sleep. And speaking of which, I could use some sleep. I'm old." and with that, Halifax fell apart and took to slumbering on the floor.

Daydreamer then came in and cleaned up the mess, and she was mostly like in her civilian clothes, telling them both, "Hey, why don't they just get along, I mean like, they're always fighting about stuff and who did what."

"Well, don't look at me, at one time Halifax was actually a leader of the Incorporateds until he had a nervous breakdown that caused a dispute.", Scarf replied as she got up from the table and gathered Halifax to put him somewhere where he couldn't just float off, considering the pressure he was under  to try to support the group in its later years. 

"Somehow I remember that much, indeed", Daydreamer said as she hauled off the dishes.. "But man, you'd think after all this time they'd just let it go and move on".

"Well, personally, ", Scarf said.. "It's like a never ending story between them of how one did this and one did that."

Just then they got a call from Casey who said.. "I think we have troubles in the country of Caffatree.. because indeed Luminary touched down on a grocery raid.. apparently his black hole needs a lot more food than what hog tried to give him... and he brought Tackle with him to do backup."

"Great", Scarf said.. "Another day on the job. I'm glad I'm not all that alive right now, or i'd like, die from the heck I go through. Think they found a new store, I'm all out of bleach soda."

"Yeah, " Daydreamer said.. "I'm so glad I don't touch the stuff."

As the Grand Neverrest let go the Classic Neverrest to go and investigate, Casey took the pilots seat, along with Halifax and Long-glory, who kept insisting she wear a certain black dress around as long as she couldn't really stop being female for more than 30 minutes at a time, despite some of those researching into the prospects of a beam that could undo female transformations, even if briefly.. and there was this girl named Crayon who hadn't been seen much who also rode in the back while Daydreamer monitored the systems for any strange alterations in reality that were totally unexpected. 

Down in a city called Ravetown, which apparently was a nexus of realities both imagined and not imagined, Casey saw the mess as tackle kept breaking into the store over and over, with dozens of police officers unable to stop luminary from sucking them all up and tossing out dazed female ones through the black hole in his belly, and indeed, some of tunch's supporters were trying to feed him other things as much as they could. 

Casey got out of the bus and kinda saw the mess going on.. and hoped he wouldn't need backup as he walked over to the store.

"Well, at last I will defeat you, Luminary", Casey vowed, and he wasn't that old anymore as he thought he was, so he came right up to Luminary as he could.. and said.. "You indeed, better stop this right now, and go out, because if I subdue you and keep you from leaving you will never hear the end of it!"

Luminary said.. "I'd wish you'd give me a decent meal", he yelled as he turned his suction power on Casey, and said.. "Besides, I already sent your Hog into the future where he might have a lot of personal problems with a ruined world to rebuild more than likely!", as he turned his full suction power on Casey, and Tackle, evading the vortex, tried to hit the neverrest Head on as he collided with it, knocking it over. 

Daydreamer got out as Crayon got hit in the head, as she saw Casey and lots more police officers dragged into the vortex.. and Long-Glory got out too, as Luminary said .. 'At last I have revenge'!! and keeled over. 

NOOO!, Longglory said, as she raised her hands to the skies and said "Your revenge ends today!!", and somehow , a giant brush appeared and came down from the skies... and came down right on top of Luminary's head.. with dozens of cops dazed and regendered all over the ground, knocking him out temporarily as well as the jellyfish he wore on his head. 

Later that day, Luminary came to in a very bright room, wondering indeed.. "Where the heck am I", and Casey said.. "You must be the brains of the outfit, indeed..." from the depths within.. " and you're in real trouble If i get out."

WIth a bunch of strange instruments, they tried to open up the closed portal of Luminary and began examining him for clues as to how to best him in future battles, but Luminary indeed had been such a complex being during his run that noone for sure knew how indeed he personally got that way in such short time.. save for maybe something in the dimensional boundaries between realities he'd thought up during his long travels.. as well as the other ones apparently on the loose. 

"It's like an operation", someone said, as Daydreamer watched from a safe place.. "And really, what the heck is in that thing that could transform beings like that? Because he may be on levels well beyond anyone's understanding."

"Well," said Armstrong, a old 'friend' of the family who kept dropping by who had his own multidimensional problems, "I blame cartoons sometimes for giving people wierd ideas... but indeed, in some of them aired in years past there might be truths of today people could make use of.. even philosophies by paradox."

"I'll say this much.. that horrible blue thing has an appetite.. think we'll find any trace of Hog in there knowing how I got out of there.. and how I even seem to have visions of other Daydreamers nowadays?"

"Anything Is a plausibility", armstrong said, "Even the way to nirvana."

"Ohh, good, I haven't heard from Nervana in years", Daydreamer laughed kinda weakly, as the instruments tried to pry open Luminary and he let out a scream. "Because If Luminary runs off during my watch I'm not gonna be real happy with myself."

"I know the feeling', Armstrong said. Just then, Arden came in to look in as they took out dozens of cops from the insides of luminary, as well as Casey.

And Casey apparently was female now.. plus other horrors were being taken out of the monster who ran out.. mostly screaming. 

"Does anyone know exactly what made that hole in him", Arden said, as Luminary tried to come to, despite perhaps dozens of gallons of sedative they managed to pump into the room while Luminary was out.

"I believe it was some sort of toy that got out of hand after Luminary came by where Scarf was living at the time, after he put on a jellyfish that was really one of our old enemies at the time.. that really set his evolutive powers in motion and put that hole in him both ways", Daydreamer said, ".. Well, I've done research indeed on the matter, anyway.. while I've been catching up with lost times."

"Anyone ever find this toy?", Arden said, as he didn't feel comfortable around daydreamer or scarf much these days.

"That's the problem, it's believed that in scans of the planet it fell through a wormhole in space and time, and some kid bought it as part of his collection... " and we've yet to get clearance to that dimension to investigate its disappearance. "

Suddenly, Luminary woke up slowly, and yelled.. "Maaan, I'm hungry", and started to rise as Casey walked off.. slowly but surely..

"Ohh great, he's woken up", Daydreamer said, as the few remaining beings that crawled out of him got to safe passage, and Luminary reached up into space and crawled into himself, but not before a bolt of energy left him , that penetrated the great room into space. 

"He's gone!!", Arden said.. "He's gone!!"

"Apparently he's going elsewhere", Daydreamer corrected Arden.. "Because I feel like he's appearing elsewhere in the universe."

Casey barely got inside as the air was going out into space, and closed the door, 
and rejoined his friends.. and said.. "I hope that monster's not going back for seconds...Because I've a bad feeling with a monster like that doing unconsciable things .. I wouldn't want to be within myself right about now. So, what happened to Tackle?"

"Tackle apparently was hauled off, but he fainted and lost his spirit so they had to take him off somewhere to be dealt with....perhaps another dimension, likely."

"Well", Arden said.. "Wherever that monster goes, I personally hope that someday, 
we see the last of him.. because I sure wouldn't want to be anyone's meal considering how I used to eat back in the day."

Daydreamer sighed, "Yeah.. those good old days.", as the ship repaired itself, and kept on its way to the battles still going on.. as Casey got in touch with the other Incorporateds.. as many realities as he could.. to give them warning, but some hope.. that Luminary, one of their greatest villians to date.. could be defeated.. but as for destruction outright, well.. that still was another matter.

As for Long-glory, later that night, He outright looked at Halifax right in the face, and told him.... "Why don't you just call me 'Brush' from now on.. because  even I can't go by my old name forever", as they dined and wondered indeed about some recent dreams of theirs.. of all winding up alike..

And all having orange hair as perhaps some final misdefinition.. of the eternal arguments they had about a past that may indeed be changing for them all..

from some very ironic places to have been concieved at.  

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Later on, IN a dark chamber where Luminary's team of villians were reconstituted after their battles, Luminary reappeared, very much the worse for wear, and upset.. and told a ally of his called Omeson Padera, who once tried to run for the leadership of a city and lost miserably, "They're getting to me... And I'm still hungry."

"Were you able to find their starship", said Omeson.

"They found me.. but they have not found my fortress of Irony yet where my plans still go on."

"Hopefully soon they will not find me", said Omeson, a being of such darkness that burned with total blackness, "because I dream of their Destruction every time I wake up.. everywhere. And keep giving me ideas, Luminary.. because that is the only food I can take right about now."
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