They only knew her as the lunch lady who spooned watery mashed potatoes on their trays, or sometimes Craig-Face Cathy, even though her nametag proudly proclaimed her name to be Glenda. She wasn't attractive, even by a loose application of the word. She was round, with short, fat fingers. Her hair, more salt than pepper was stringy, and it always looked desperate to escape from her hairnet. Poor dear, even her constant and radiant smile couldn't save the kind woman from a life of ugliness.

And, yet, beyond all that, she was essential, wonderful, and very, very crucial. You see, Glenda was not Glenda alone. Glenda was Kemleoga Fasmilituhg, Special Protector of Third Planet of Sol, Last Line of Defense Against the Long Dark.

For, unknown to the denizens of this tiny beautiful rock, the End of the Universe stalked the Milky Way. A creature of fathomless evil and eternal patience, the End of the Universe sought to eradicate all organic life, and usher the universe into a future of dark matter and Things That Live Between the Stars.

For ages of galaxies, Kemleoga and its people had warred with the End of the Universe and its vile minions. Stars and planets themselves had become weapons in the war, each force seeking some tiny advantage over the other.

And never was the balance so delicate, the knife-edge so keen, as it was now. For, on Earth was born a child who had, deep within him, the power to vanquish the End forever. This child was the most important living being in the entire universe. And Kemleoga, fiercest and most skilled warrior in the universe, would be his mentor.

And Kemleoga's guise was Glenda. Day after day, Glenda spooned gruel onto the child's tray as he laughed and joked with his friends. When he went home, Glenda followed in secret and kept watch over the house.

And knew that soon, the burden of all life in the galaxy would fall on the boy. Only days now.

For the End had discovered the boy, too.