War of the Dandelions

Who: NewZack
Where: Parrotts
When: Shortly after leaving Dangerous Dan's
NewZack headed for Parrotts, hoping to grab a quick pint to work up the
courage to face his ex. He didn't know where she'd gotten off to, but she'd
taken a shine to pursuing this dimension's Zack and Cubie, and that had left
him with a few moments to spare.
Briefly he felt an urgent need to find his ex before she shredded Zack
and Cubie.
Naah. They were big kids. There was no rush.
Stepping into Parrots, he noticed that the placed was packed. He
smiled and waved. "Hey! Who's throwing the party?"
Everyone who heard him cheered. "Yay! Zack's here!"
Zack blushed. "Oh, shucks. You don't need to-"
A wild-eyed man seized him by the lapels. "Where have you been?! This
place is a madhouse!"
Zack grinned. "Oh you haven't seen nothin' yet." Shaking loose of the
maniac, he headed for the bar. The crowd parted willingly, almost eagerly.
Zack's smile widened as he bathed in all the attention he was getting. "Oh,
please. I can wait my turn like anyone else."
The maniac seized him by the belt and the scruff of the neck. "Get
over there and start serving drinks, you idiot! I'm swamped!"
Zack was bodily propelled over the bar and landed in a heap on the far
side. Standing, he brushed off his jacket. "You want me to serve drinks?"
"YES!!" Owen was at wit's end with Zack. "That IS what I pay you for,
isn't it?"
"You pay-" Zack shut up, finally realizing what was going on. "Er,
yes. Yes you do." He turned a smile toward the nearest customer. "And
what would you like?"
-----
Who: Zack & Cubie
Where: Ventilation shaft 234-67B
When: Two minutes after the jailbreak
"OW!!"
Cubie looked back at Zack. "Ooh! Watch your head."
Zack clutched his scalp with both hands and rolled around as much as
the vent would allow. "Thanks for the head's up, dear."
Cubie grinned. "Maybe if you were watching where you were going
instead of my posterior, you would notice these little overhangs."
Zack examined one hand, looking for blood. When he saw none, he
returned to a crawling position. "Well, since I can't see the overhangs
until you pass through them, I have to watch your posterior to ensure they
don't thwack me on the head!"
Cubie laughed. "So what happened, Mr. Focus?"
Zack sighed. "Well, okay. Maybe I was a LITTLE distracted."
Cubie wiggled suggestively. "That's okay, sweetie. I'd have been
offended if you hadn't been distracted."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Uh, honey . . . ?"
Cubie nodded. "Yeah. Right. Where we going again?"
Zack's smile took on a feral look. "Engineering. We'll need some
Tools of Significance."
" . . . ificance . . . icance . . . ance . . . nce . . . ce . . ."
Cubie shivered. "How'd you make your voice echo like that?"
Zack grinned like a maniac. "I'm in good with the scriptwriter."
The couple scurried on.
-----
Who: Cubiepede and the Union of Socialist Scutters Rebelling
Where: the theater
When: half an hour into 'True Grit'
Cubiepede slashed her way through a bulkhead, insane with fury. That
chubby version of her ex-husband had escaped from her in McKenzie's. She'd
underestimated his resourcefulness - a mistake she wouldn't repeat. And
once he was gone, she'd return to her original objective of disemboweling
her own Zack.
She burst through the bulkhead, and squinted at the spotlight shining
in her face. Adjusting her lenses, she peered out into the darkened room,
trying to gather her bearings.
Almost fifty scutters were in the theater seats. Turning, she looked
up at John wayne's eyes. His nose and mouth were being projected on her
carapace and into the ventilation shaft behind the bulkhead she'd just
clawed through.
She heard the sound of almost fifty bolts going home in almost fifty
chambers. It appeared she was far from welcome at the 2,583rd showing of
True Grit.
That was fine with her - she'd loathed John Wayne movies ever since the
divorce. "You little freaks want a piece of this? Well take your best
shot!"
Cubiepede leapt into the front row, attacking the scutters with the
best seats as machinegun fire erupted throughout the theater.
Zack & Cubie (& NewZack & Cubiepede)