“That’s right!”

    “BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” Fleabot couldn’t hold his laughter in any longer. He rolled around on Visionary’s shoulder clutching his stomach. “This was SO worth the trip!” The robotic flea accessed his communications systems. “Hey, Trickshot, guess what?”

    “Sorry about him,” Visionary apologized as he plucked Fleabot from his shoulder and locked him in the tackle box. “The doctors told me that the fresh air would do him good.”

    “That’s okay, we get that a lot,” said Kenora, Mistress of Power as she hovered above the boat. “But we do good work here. We help people!”

    “And fish,” pointed out Visionary.

    “Fish and any animal that needs it, yup!”

    “So how come I’ve never heard of you guys before?”

    “Well, we’re pretty low-budget. We don’t have a big sponsor like Bautista Enterprises to bankroll us like the Lair Legion. Our area of coverage is pretty much the surrounding few miles of the lake. But we’re looking to expand to the Manitoba and American borders if we can adjust our budget to cover the extra gas.” Visionary had started to row the boat back towards the shore as they conversed, and Kenora followed.

    As Vizh moored the boat to the dock, Kenora touched down next to him. “It’s pretty quiet out here today, so you could come and check out our headquarters if you like! It’d be a real honour to have a member of the Lair Legion see our operation.”

    The girls demeanor reminded him of Yo, and Vizh could tell that to refuse would dampen her spirits considerably. “Lead the way.”

    “Well, would you mind driving? I flew here and I think you’re too heavy for me to carry back.”

    “The crullers are a cruel mistress,” he mumbled to himself. “Sure, I can drive. Help me load up the gear?”

    “Sure!” she beamed. Vizh picked up the tackle box he’d shoved Fleabot in and gave it a shake to try and shut up his miniature partner, who was still laughing inside.

    Kenora directed Visionary to a small RV park just outside of town. They made their way to the back of the park, and Vizh spotted their final destination. A trailer with a Lair Legion logo he had rejected back in his days as leader adorned the side with an image of the Lake of the Woods behind it.

    “This is your headquarters?” Vizh checked.

    “Yup!” Kenora replied brightly as she undid her seatbelt.

    “Don’t you guys find it kind of cramped?” He shuddered at the thought of living in such a small space with Kerry.

    “This is just our meeting place, we don’t live here! Well, except for Vob,” she corrected herself. She pulled open the door and stepped inside. “Come on in!”

    Vizh stepped over the pizza boxes by the doorway and sidestepped the kitty litter box. He almost knocked over a large, unorganized pile of papers stacked on a counter, but he managed to avoid it at the last moment. Other than the size, it felt like the Lair Mansion. And sitting at the table on the other side of trailer was the Lake of the Woods Lair Legion, playing cards.

    “Vob, everyone! I’ve got a visitor! Visionary, from the Lair Legion!” Kenora gushed. The team all turned instantly to face their guest, cards flying everywhere. There was a mad dash to greet the Legionnaire, all but the small man in the corner.

    “Gah!” Vizh cried in reflex as he fell down against the rush of superheroes. They quickly pulled him to his feet and led him to one of the lawn chairs by the table.

    “Gosh, sorry about that Visionary! How about I introduce everyone to you?” offered the Mistress of Power. Vizh nodded for fear that they would do it themselves.

    Kenora pointed to the girl wearing what looked like a cross between the costumes of Deadpool and Harley Quinn. “This is Belle Ringer. She can clap those bells she’s holding together to create intense sonic vibrations. Or she can just smash someone over the head with them. She’s the most versatile member of the team.”

    Vizh noticed that the look she was giving him wasn’t entirely friendly, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. “We haven’t met before, have we?”

    “I applied for the Lair Legion a couple years ago. Everyone was so busy laughing at my costume I got laughed out of your mansion. I didn’t even get my interview.” Her shoulders sagged slightly, and Vizh was struck by how sad a girl dressed like a clown could be.

    “Well, umm, if you still want, I could put a good word in for you,” Vizh offered weakly.

    “No, I’m happy here as deputy leader of the Lake of the Woods LL!” She perked up, pushing the sadness aside to put on a happy face. “Besides, we could totally take the Lair Legion.”

    “Anyway,” piped up Kenora, “our next member is the Mosquito Bandito!”

    Vizh looked at the man in a forest green camouflage with the bug-eyed mask. “I’d think a guy with a name like that would have a more, Mexican, looking costume,” he ventured.

    “And how does a yellow raincoat personify a Visionary, eh?” retorted the Bandito. Vizh was glad Fleabot was still locked in the tackle box. “I have the ability to control mosquitoes. Bandito rhymes with mosquito. It has nice alliteration, eh?”

    “Yes, very nice,” agreed Visionary. Was it his imagination, or was he getting itchy?

    “Say, anyone seen Enty recently?” asked Belle, absent-mindedly fiddling with her bells.

    “NTU-150 is a member of your team?” Vizh could see why Jaime would prefer to keep it quiet that he was a member of the Lake of the Woods Lair Legion.

    “No, Enty, the walking, talking tree. You’ve seen Lord of the Rings, right?” asked Kenora. Visionary nodded he had. “Well, Enty is an Ent. His real name is something we humans can’t pronounce, so that’s why we call him Enty instead. He says he’s the last of his kind, so we help him to protect the trees in the area.”

    “He’s on stake-out,” spoke the final member of the team, who Visionary assumed was Vob Ontari. He was short, about the height of an Ewok, Visionary figured. He wore a robe that was a little too large for him, belted with a piece of rope at the middle. He looked to be in his 40’s or so, and was bald. “Nobody blends into the forest better than Enty. Now that you’ve met everyone, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your vacation.”

    “Vob, be nice! He’s our guest!” argued Kenora. She turned to Visionary and spoke apologetically. “He’s been a little testy since the rest of his people were freed from George Lucas and he was left behind.”

    “Keep quiet, Kenora! I’ve told you before, you need to keep things to yourself more! I bet you already told him your secret identity, didn’t you?” scolded Vob.

    “Umm, no?” she replied weakly.

    “Wait a minute, so you’re from the Star Wars universe? I thought Vob Ontari sounded like a Star Wars name. What’re you, like, the famed bald Ewok or something?” Vizh didn’t like how he spoke so harshly to Kenora.

    “Yes.”

    “Oh, well, uh…” That wasn’t the response that he was expecting. “How come you speak english then?”

    “Why do you speak english?”

    “Because I was taught to.”

    “Bingo genius.”

    Visionary figured it was time he left. It was very obvious Vob didn’t want him there, and he did kind of put his foot in his mouth. “Well, I should be going…”

    “Don’t go Vizh! Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you join us on Enty’s stake-out!” Kenora gushed brightly.

    “Vob’s gonna kill you,” hissed the Mosquito Bandito to the Mistress of Power.

    Vob was about to reply, most likely in the negative, before a sly grin came to his face. “Yes, we could use the extra set of eyes. Near the bog.”

    “The bog?” Vizh didn’t like the sound of that.

    “Yes, it’s a possible avenue of escape for the poachers we’re after. We need it covered. And since you were the leader of the mighty Lair Legion, who better to hold down such a key position.” Vob grinned wickedly.

    “Um, I’m technically on vacation. And I think I’m allergic to bogs. Or will be, anyway,” stammered Visionary.

    “Please, Vizh? It’d be so awesome to work with you!” Kenora beamed. Vizh looked into her eyes, and it was the Yo-ness factor that won him over.

    “Fine. When do we leave?”

To be continued…

Footnote: Various denizens of the Star Wars universe were freed from the tyranny of George Lucas in a recent adventure of De Brown Streak. Vob, who wasn't present, wasn't returned to his home universe like everyone else.