Attack of the Klowns: Part 5 (Lauren)

When we last left our sidekick, he had been abducted by clown-like aliens. - Lauren

When Ben awoke (yes, he had fainted) he found himself laying on a smooth, clean, cold floor.

He groggily sat up. The yellow balloon was still tied to his wrist.

"I feel groggy," he said.

A teenage girl wearing glasses who sat beside him (and also had a yellow balloon tied to her wrist) turned to him.

"I'm so glad you're awake," she said. "Do you think they're Skrulls?"

"You mean like the paper scrolls or like Marvel Skrulls?"

She laughed. 

"Marvel Skrulls, silly!"

Ben thought the way she said "silly" sounded much better than it did coming from Nicole.

"Are they green?" asked Ben.

"That's the thing," said the girl. "I can't tell. They're shape shifters, though."

"If they speak Skrull, then we'll know," said Ben.

"Oh, you understand Skrull, too?" asked the girl.

"Sure," said Ben. "I ordered the Skrull dictionary from that one FF issue."

"Me too!" said the girl. "I read it cover to cover and bought the pocket edition."

"Did you order the limited edition Ronan action figure?" asked Ben excitedly.

"Of course I did!" said the girl. "Hey, has anyone ever told you that you look like Dr. Spork?"

Ben puffed out his chest proudly.

"I am Dr. Spork," he said.

"No way," said the girl. "I'm like your biggest fan! I was so bummed when you didn't do your interview for the Lowdown."

"Yeah," said Ben sadly. "I was too busy getting engaged."

"Getting engaged?" The girl frowned. "None of the fan sites said that you were planning on getting married."

"Yeah, it was pretty recent," said Ben. "Even I was surprised."

"Don't tell me," said the girl. "Was it the reporter?"

"The reporter?" said Ben.

"Marci Gray," said the girl impatiently.

"No..." said Ben.

The girl gasped in horror.

"It's no Jazmin Blake, is it?"

"No," groaned Ben. "It's someone worse."

The girl's eyes widened.

"Not... Nicole Soapdish?!"

Ben moaned.

"I'm so sorry," said the girl, grabbing his hand sympathetically.

Ben only moaned again.

"Look on the bright side!" she said. "Maybe some villain hates you enough to try to ruin your wedding day!"

"If he really hated me, he would let me go through with it," said Ben.

"Earth specimens 41 and 42 please report to the examination office," said a voice with an Australian accent.

"Whose 41 and 42?" asked Ben.

"That's us," said the girl. "I think they're examining us."

"Who is who?" asked Ben.

"You're 41," said the girl.

"Don't worry," said Ben, standing up and grabbing her hand. "I'm a superhero. I won't let anything happen to you."

"This is so exciting," whispered the girl.

The door slid open and they cautiously walked out into the hall.

"Specimens 41 and 42," said an Australian voice so loudly that Ben jumped and cowered behind the girl. She assumed a ninja-like pose.

"What do you want with him?" she asked.

In a whisper, she asked Ben, "How am I doing?"

"What are you doing?" asked Ben, straightening up.

"I always thought I could be a superhero," she said. "How about the Ninja Girl?"

"Do you know any ninja moves?" asked Ben nervously, for he could hear footsteps coming down the hall.

"Actually, this is the only one," she admitted. "Recognize it? It's the Iron Fist pose."

"Cool," said Ben impressed. "Look, I'm sorry for hiding behind you just now..."

"All heroes lose their courage once in a while," she said. "Hey, do you have that stethoscope with you?"

"No," said Ben.

"Then we'll just have to hope we're scary enough," said the girl.

Ben took a deep breath. He decided he would rather die here, beside his new friend, than escape and spend the rest of his life with Nicole.

"I'll take the Wolverine pose," he said. He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms fiercely. The footsteps came closer and closer. The yellow balloons on Ben and the girl's wrists bobbed up and down.

And then the alien came into view.

"Gu'day, mates," he said pleasantly. "I'm Doctor Murray."

Ben and the girl both screamed in shock and then stopped as they saw him more clearly.

He had extremely pale skin, large red lips, blue hair, and was wearing a doctor's coat. He had a clipboard in his hand.

"Specimen 41, I'm going to have to ask you to step right this way," he said, motioning to a door on his left. "Specimen 42, Doctor Dorothy will see you in this other room."

Ben and the girl looked at each other.

"Good luck," whispered Ben.

"Stay on your guard," said the girl.

Ben followed Doctor Murray into the examining room.

Wednesday: Sven arrives on the scene.


Read the next section: Attack of the Klowns: Part 6 (Spidophile)