Idols

*For the in-game object, see Idol.*

**Idols** is an episode of Venturian Battle.

## Synopsis

Barnett Felix meets his role model, Zion Lebedev, who joins him on a Void Monster extermination mission. Little does he know that Lebedev has been corrupted over time, and plans to wipe out Felix's entire squad.

## Plot

Zion Lebedev, after years of having been thought to be dead, has returned, and is ready to go on one final military operation before retiring for good. After General Adams informs Lebedev of a Shoggoth Spawn attack at a fast-food restaurant, Mac Reynolds, he joins the suicide squad to be sent there, composed of him, Barnett Felix, Hyde Gunn, Raphael Snyder, Grundy Lynch, and private Koch Fokker.

Upon arriving at Mac Reynolds, the squad finds the restaurant to be filled with Spawns of Shoggoths and their hosts. Zion Lebedev claims that they should open the doors, and take cover from outside. Koch Fokker is sent to open the door, and does so remorsefully. The Shoggoth Zombies notice him, with one of them getting a metal stool and chucking it at his head, knocking Fokker. The Shoggoth Zombies feed on Fokker, with Lebedev claiming they should fire while the zombies are distracted, and do so with great haste.

Fokker is dead by the time the team has gotten rid of the zombies feeding on him, and Lebedev claims that they should be more careful. More zombies approach out of the bathroom, and Lebedev claims that they should wait until their targets go near the open doors, and fire from outside. The team does so, and, after wiping out most of the zombies, Lebedev claims he's going to investigate the bathroom, and tells everyone else to stay outside, so they don't "end up like Fokker".

Lebedev, retrieving a sheet of paper, puts one of the Spawns of Shoggoth in the toilet of an empty stall, causing it to multiply. Lebedev then runs out, claiming that there are more Shoggoths to deal with. However, Grundy Lynch is able to secretly sneak inside, and finds Lebedev's paper. Realizing that they're being betrayed, confronts Lebedev about this. Zion closes the bathroom door on them, before shooting Lynch. The shot is heard by Barnett Felix, who comes to investigate.

Lebedev, quickly killing one of the nearby Shoggoths, claims that Lynch was bitten by a Spawn of Shoggoth. Barnett is initially suspicious, but gives in, before noticing the sheet of paper himself. Lebedev is about to shoot him as well, but Felix draws his gun quicker, and fires at Lebedev's forearm, crippling it. Barnett, killing the remaining Spawns of Shoggoth, brings Lebedev outside, and tells the team about their ally's betrayal.

Hyde Gunn suggests executing Lebedev for backstabbing them and killing one of their teammates, but Barnett claims they shouldn't until they know if this is his first time. Lebedev explains that the reason why he was the only one who made it out of battles alive isn't because he was skilled, but rather because of the fact that he was always the last one to get killed. Eventually, he realized that he'd become more famous (and therefore less likely to be forgotten in the Underworld) if he started killing his teammates. He mocks his squadmates, claiming that they are too cowardly to shoot him. Barnett is about to, but tosses his pistol away, deciding that they should just bring him over to General Adams and have him arrested. However, Lebedev is shot through the head, sending blood and brains across the walls and floor.

The killer turns out to be none other than Raphael Snyder, who was once thought to be the least brave of his team. Barnett is furious about finding this out, but understands why Snyder did so. Entering the managers' office, they find the manager to be the last remaining Shoggoth Zombie. Barnett realizes that they were too late, and that the mission failed. Deciding to put the manager out of his missery, Gunn shoots the Spawn of Shoggoth, albeit also ending the manager's life. Barnett, despite believing their mission to be a failure, claims that there was one good thing they learned from all of it; never commit bad actions, unless you want a bad legacy.

As a helicopter arrives to bring them back to the United Regions of Vepture, Barnett claims that he is impressed by Gunn for ridding them of a corrupt leader, but that he will serve jail time for it. As they lift off, Barnett lets out a sight of disappointment, now knowing that one of his role models was secretly a homicidal, irredeemable psychopath.

In a post credits scene, Zion Lebedev's soul is greeted by a Spirit Guide, and then sent immediately to Hell. Lebedev claims that he'll become a ruler someday, and that it will being a king in the Underworld is better than serving in Nirvana. His views are challenged, however, when a group of decaying demons chase after him, before digging their teeth into his exposed esophagus and trachea, turning him into one of them.

## Cast

* James Lafferty as Barnett Felix
* Christopher Plummer as Zion Lebedev
* Michael Hogan as General Adams
* Rick May as Hyde Gunn
* Patrick Lowrie as Raphael Snyder
* Garrett Hedlund as Grundy Lynch
* Sergey Brin as Koch Fokker

## Allusions

* McDonald's: Mac Reynolds' name is a play on that of the fast food chain. In addition, a joke about the frozen yogurt machine breaking down is a reference to meme involving the McDonald's ice cream machine constantly being under maintenance.
* Up: Zion Lebedev's role in the episode is much like that of Charles F. Muntz from Up, with both of them being a role model to the main character, when in reality they are secretly corrupt. In addition, they are both voiced by the same actor.
* 9: Lebedev's tactical visor is based on the visor that is part of 2's candle hat. Plummer was also a voice actor in 9, although he played 1 instead of 2.
* Overwatch: The term "tactical visor" that Lebedev uses is taken directly from the name of Soldier 76's ultimate attack. The usage of the visor is also similar to Soldier 76's, as it determines targets and locks onto them, like how the ultimate is essentially an Aimbot.
* Half-Life: The Spawns of Shoggoth taking control of the citizens by latching onto their heads is based on the behavior of the Headcrabs and their subsequent Headcrab Zombies in the Half-Life series.
* Team Fortress 2: Hyde Gunn shooting Zion Lebedev and obliterating his skull with a shotgun is similar  to BLU Soldier murdering BLU Spy in Meet the Spy. According to Brendan, this is not a coincidence, which is also why he hired Soldier's voice actor, Rick May, to do Gunn's voice.