Everyone seems to think they are the perfect couple. Both are bright and beautiful creatures who possess a keen intelligence and devotion to one another. They have endured much in their relatively short lives. In the earlier days of Excalibur, they jumped from reality to reality, from danger to danger, almost daily. Their enemies have been alien, demonic, magical and mystical, or simply evil and human. No matter what the two face, they face it together and somehow they emerge unscathed and smiling.

Now and again, those who do not know them will ask what their secret is. Is it a mutual religious devotion? A severe determination to prevail, or simply an ever optimistic outlook on life? Their teammates would say none of these things makes Brian and Meggan who they are; neither are particularly religious, or determined to succeed. Optimistic, perhaps, but it isn't their cornerstone. An extremely sappy explanation would be their love for each other.

The thing that keeps Meggan and Brian full of life is something entirely different. Something that must be revealed so that others may learn from them.

Observe them now. Visiting New York, Meggan and Brian walk hand in hand down the city streets. Despite the rather gloomy weather and the uncomfortable press of the crowds around them, they manage to carry on an enthusiastic and loving conversation. Meggan stops in mid stride, placing a hand on Brian's shoulder, then motions for him to be still. He pauses and listens. Screams of terror and hopelessness fill his ears. He closes his eyes in concentration, trying to pinpoint the source of the problem. A nearby business building seems to be the location of the chaos; instinctively, he and Meggan run to see if they can help. Brian stops a policeman standing in front of the building and asks what is happening. He is told a bomb is set to detonate in three minutes, and that it will be impossible to evacuate the building in that amount of time.

Simultaneously, even as looks of panic spread across their faces, Meggan and Brian pull identical slender tubes of pale blue from their pockets.

** Doo doo doo doo, doo-doo, doo-wah!**

** It doesn't matter what comes, fresh goes better in life, and Mentos is fresh and full of life!**

Faces smiling even in such despair, the two run across the street to the local Hallmark. Meggan dashes inside for a sheet of paper. When she returns, she gives it to Brian who begins scribbling furiously in bold letters. "BEANIE BABIES NOW IN STOCK," he writes.

** Nothing gets to you, staying fresh, staying cool, with Mentos, fresh and full of life!**

Raising the newly-made sign above her head, Meggan marches toward the doomed building, waving the sign above her head as Brian begins to shout its message. People begin to stream out of the building in a semi-organized fashion, their fear and shock now forgotten in pure determination to buy the toys.

Everyone is in awe as Meggan and Brian take to the skies, circling the building, shouting their plea to everyone in the building's upper floors.

Somehow, the people begin moving with great speed and caution from the building, flooding the Hallmark across the street. Their cries of despair are now cries of hope and joy.

**Fresh goes better, Mentos freshness, fresh goes better with Mentos, fresh and full of life!**

Happily, with the people now safe, Meggan and Brian land on the ground next to a befuddled policeman. The man smiles at their ingenuity, shakes his head and chuckles. Again, Meggan and Brian brandish their identical Mentos tubes (sans one of course) and they each place a piece of candy in their mouths. They smile to the policeman, and to the rescued people, then vault into the sky to return to their home, their friends, and their happy, perfect, fresh lives.

**Mentos: the Freshmaker!**

-- TIC

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