The smoke had been too much for him. If it had been a real fire, he would have been a goner. Thankfully for Marvin Parsons, the Hacker’s ruse had lasted just long enough to scare the CSWAers and fans off the boat. The smoke stopped pumping through the ventilation systems and quickly dissipated. Marvin’s body coughed, expelling some of the carbon monoxide, but his mind remained asleep. Until several hours later…

The pre-dawn light trickled through the porthole embedded in the nearby door as the coughing started up again. This time, the mind and body were linked again, bringing Marvin to his knees to pull some of the black mess from his lungs. That disgusting necessity aside, Marvin began to take in his surroundings. He had made it so close to the door – but in the smoke, it might as well have been a mile away.

Getting to his feet, he pulled the hatch open and stepped out onto the deck, bracing himself for the worst. Instead, he found… nothing. No one. No fire damage. And no lifeboats. It didn’t take long for even a Parsons to figure out that his friends, colleagues and the fans were no longer aboard. And yet, the ship was still intact.

Marvin quickly stepped back, closed the hatch and started back down the stairs. It was time to think this one out. Why would the Hacker have made it look like the ship was in trouble? Just to get everyone off? Even after he himself had flown away in the helicopter…

What if he hadn’t? What if there was a reason he wanted he wanted everyone off here?

And what else did Marvin have to do but find out? And what better place to start than the Red Midget’s own little lair?