Ma'alefa'ak's March Madness 2013: The Championship

Blood trailed down the length of Scorch's thigh, barely perceptible against her crimson flesh as it mingled with her profuse sweat. Her breasts heaved as her taut body fought against the evil White Miss Martian's probing tentacles (which, while manifesting from her fingertips, in no way diminished the appeal of her svelte post-adolescent frame.

"Lovin' it!" cried the Interferer. The bald behemoth couldn't help but insert his own interests into the narrative for maximum personal appeal, but Ma'alefa'ak was distracted from the present events. He had attacked his brother's friends and allies at four key points without the slightest reservations, but despite his increasingly appalling transgressions, his intended audience was nowhere to be found. Where was J'Onn J'Onzz, and how could he sit by, allowing these horrors to be perpetrated against his loved ones?

Diane Meade woke up with a knot on her head, but was otherwise unharmed. "What happened? Who stopped those ghastly creatures?" Chief Harding and the men of the Middletown Police Department chuckled. "The little lady must have had quite a tumble, boys. We'd better get her checked out by the doctor." Sally Winter felt bad about having spiked that volleyball, and was a little less patronizing, but was perplexed when her fellow patrolwoman again asked about Karen Smith and Patty Marie. "Who?" This was Middletown's annual Apex Picnic, held each year during the one season when spontaneous meteor showers weren't a concern. No one there had ever heard of any Officer Thomas Lappas or sordid newcasters like Spencer Lee. Diane was comforted by this, but remained suspicious...

Scorch had her mind tampered with by J'Onn J'Onzz and Fernus, and the damage done then helped her fight off the compulsions of Ma'alefa'ak. She had also tried to protect her universe from the Interferer, keeping the Book of Diabolu out of the hands of his amalgamated agent, The Erdel. Scorch had teleported the book to Gypsy before being cast away to Mars II and certain defeat against M'gann M'orzz. Now all of their fates were in the hands of Gypsy and her mysterious benefactors...

Cynthia "Cindy" Reynolds had seemed to others like a suburban runaway who affected the trappings of the gypsy like a valley girl appropriating "street" culture. However, there had always been nagging questions as she hid her legitimate ties to the Roma in plain sight. This made her more sensitive to the magic of the sorcerers, and more adept to serve as their protected agent against the manipulations of the Interferer and Ma'alefa'ak. Together, they had collected all the scattered pieces of the Idol-Head, the last acquired from a necklace around Diane Meade's neck, as well as successfully shunted the first universe to preserve its integrity. Now, Miss Martian had traveled from Mars II, and the final confrontation was at hand within Gypsy's sanctuary, the House of Mystery...