Writer: Alan Grant

Penciller: Kevin O'Neill

Inker: Kevin O'Neill

Letterer: Bill Oakley

Colorist: Vasquez

Synopsis: In late twentieth-century Scar City, Space Cabby stands before a judge accusing him of numerous violations of traffic codes and law. He pleads not guilty, and proceeds to tell the court his story. He tells them that he usually operates in the year 2154, but he took a time-travel job, and upon arriving in Scar City, his fare fled, leaving him without the money for the part he needed to return to his home era. Suddenly, he was hailed by a man named Barrington Wilkes, and although he did not have a license to operate in Scar City, he took the insistent and apparently ill Mr. Wilkes, who had threatened to sue him if his condition worsened due to any delay in getting him home. While driving Mr. Wilkes home, Mr. Wilkes told Space Cabby that he had been on vacation to a planet where the natives looked like demonic insects. While waiting at a stop light, Lobo, in the next lane on his bike, lit a match on the outside of Space Cabby's cab and sped off once the light turned green. As Space Cabby continued to drive the now-unconscious Mr. Wilkes, Lobo had goten ambushed by the Satan's Shnooks gang, who he had been trying to capture for bounty, resulting in Lobo's bike being destroyed. Lobo, desperate for transportation, hailed Space Cabby and forces himself on as a passenger, making Space Cabby chase after the Shnooks gang despite such impediments as red lights and speed limits. Lobo noticed that Mr. Wilkes had some sort of substance growing on him. He then spotted some of the Shnooks gang and killed them, much to Space Cabby's horror. Lobo then forced Space Cabby to chase down another Shnook and, despite Space Cabby's protests against the violence, Lobo, after getting some information, killed that one as well. While Mr. Wilkes, in the back seat, became covered in the now cocoon-like substance, Lobo forced Space Cabby to bring him to where the rest of the Satan's Shnooks were hanging out and to serve as his transport while he killed them. Lobo saw Sammy, the leader of thegang, heading for outer space, and ordered Space Cabby to follow him, promising him that he'd pay the proper cab fare. As Space Cabby was following Sammy through an asteroid belt, Mr. Wilkes's coccon opened to reveal a demonic insect creature, which attacked Lobo. As Lobo took care of the demon insect, Space Cabby used his superior maneuvering skills to lead Sammy to fatally crash his bike into an asteroid. When Space Cabby landed back in Scar City, he and Lobo discovered that his meter was broken and said, "Free Ride." Lobo walked away, and the police took away Space Cabby's cab and put him in custody. The judge decides that Space Cabby cannot be taken at his word, and sentences him to five hundred years hard labor, but before Space Cabby gets on the prison transport, Lobo, who had stolen Space Cabby's cab from the impound lot, drives it into the courtroom and rescues him. Lobo tells Space Cabby that he has money for him for helping him capture the Satan's Shnooks gang, and offers him the chance to celebrate. Space Cabby declines, preferring to get his cab repaired so he can return home.

Notes: Space Cabby refers to 2154 as his usual beat, indicating that that was the year in his personal time that this story takes place.

All characters and images are copyright DC Comics.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page