Chapter 1: Prologue
"Location: Retroville, The World Of Nickelodeon, July 11th 2109"
Space.
Vast. Eternal. Cold. Dark. Roomy. Soundless.
Across this vast canvas of nothingness, a meteorite about the size of a shack hurled towards the Earth. As it approached the Earth's atmosphere, it was set alright and began to break apart. A single fragment survived, tumbling through the night sky towards a desert. With a clap of thunder, it crashed into the ground, creating a crater the size of a car. There it laid for an hour, steam emitting into the cold night air. Eventually, a gloved hand picked it up.
"Hmm... so the Alien Summoning Engine worked. I must remember to thank that scientist." a voice said.
Eustace Strych smirked down at the fragment that he was holding.
"Nothing brings Sugar Rush out of their game like a villain. And when they come out, I can squash them, and then Neutron." Eustace said to himself.
"What the heck does this runt have to do with anything?" Crocker asked, looking at a photo of Eustace.
"Eustace is one of Sugar Rush and Neutron's enemies. Not a particularly threatening one, but bait is bait." Calamitous replied, pacing around the shady warehouse that the Syndicate had chosen to meet in that night. He stopped pacing, put his arms behind his back, and said "More to the point, Strych's uncle is the head of the Retroville Air and Space Museum, and a certain group of arcade characters will be unveiling a Space Elevator there tomorrow.".
Plankton rolled his eyes.
"So a team of known criminals are going to show everyone a spaceship. What could go wrong?" Plankton asked sarcastically.
"I will be in a cunning disguise." Calamitous replied.
"Oh, right, that'll help..." Plankton started to say sarcastically.
"What is he doing here?" a voice asked angrily.
The Syndicate jumped. Vlad walked into the room, his arms crossed.
"Plankton's always here. He's a member of the Syndicate." Calamitous replied.
"He tried to brainwash you and take over all of our worlds for himself! And your just going to let him get away with that?" Vlad asked angrily.
"Bygones." Plankton replied.
"Come now, we all get a little bit over our heads sometimes." Calamitous said.
"I won't work with him, Finbarr. Unlike you, I do not look kindly on traitors." Vlad said.
Calamitous frowned.
"Well then, I suppose that nobody's forcing you to stay around, then, if the Syndicate isn't your thing." Calamitous said.
Vlad's jaw dropped.
"Are you telling me..." Vlad began to ask. He scowled, shook his head, and snapped "Fine. If that's how it's going to be, then consider this partnership terminated.".
He turned around and marched away, slamming the door shut behind him. Calamitous blinked before shrugging.
"Well, he'll be back. For now, let us begin with Operation Maroon." Calamitous said.
