The death of NSYNC?

For a while, Justin, J.C. and the three who sing backup were marked boys.

It was almost bye, bye, bye for the former Mickey Mouse Club pop stars. That is, until the mother of a 17-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee, discovered the deadly details of Operation Death Strike. Though assassination attempts are normally reserved for figureheads like presidents, third world dictators, mafia dons and even quality rock stars like John Lennon, this is the 21st century, after all, where art, like plastic toys, rarely holds up to the quality of the offerings of the past. So, instead of trying to knock off some quality crooner like Tony Bennett or even Beck, this schmuck decided to target five guys whose combined talent barely holds a candle to Courtney Love.

The mother apparently found a folder in her son's room labeled "OPERATION DEATH STRIKE" in block print. So much for subtlety. The plan was a detailed attack that was to begin with an assault on a local gun store. The young man planned to take out the owner, steal some guns and then head toward Atlanta, hoping to eventually ambush the baby-faced boy banders. He aimed to tear up more than their hearts.

Police commented that the plan was "pretty detailed." They also pointed out that the plan was pretty unrealistic, noting that robbing guns from a gun store is about as safe as stealing teeth from a crocodile. It should also be noted that the young man did not own a car and would have had to borrow his mother's.

The motive for all this violence? Not the overall lousiness of the band's latest album, No Strings Attached, or even the intolerable smirk of Joey "The Fat One" Fatone. Instead, this guy wanted to bang up the boys simply because "they get all the good girls."

And you thought P.M.S. was scary.