Disclaimer: I do not own the Road Rovers. They belong to Warner Brothers. Princess Jasmine is owned by Disney. The characters of Anne and Robin belong to me.
The New Mistress in Town
It was a bright and sunny day in the small Indiana town. The sky was blue and cloudless, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. At the local animal shelter a young volunteer was in the closed in outside play area playing fetch with one of the dogs.
The volunteer was a 21 year old girl named Anne. She was slender and had hazel eyes and blonde hair pulled back in a Princess Jasmine type ponytail that was missing the top headband. She was pretty but this was not what anyone would notice first when they looked at her. No the first thing people would notice was that she used a wheelchair to get around.
The dog Anne was playing with had just brought back the ball it was fetching and had dropped it at her feet. She reached down and picked up both the ball and the end of the leash that was around the dog's neck.
''Come on boy it's lunchtime'' she said as she began to lead the dog back inside completely unaware that her life was about to change greatly.
High in the mountains in another part of the world Confuseus sat on his pillow on his mountain. The small white and brown dog was meditating and finishing some cocktail weenies that he had left over from the Road Rovers last visit.
All of a sudden a series of pictures flashed through his mind. These included an image of many dogs at a shelter, a young girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes, an amulet shaped like the head of a barking dog, and the outline of a state. After these images stopped flashing through his mind he opened his eyes and found the amulet on his lap. He immediately picked up the amulet and contacted Road Rover Mission Control. ''Master'' he said ''send the Rovers to me now. I think I can help them locate a new ally in Indiana.
When the Rovers returned from their meeting with Confuseus they were very excited. They ran into the briefing room and started telling the Master what they had learned. When they had finished their tale Hunter asked ''When should we start looking for this shelter with this girl''?
''Right away Hunter.'' replied the Master ''the sooner we find our new recruit the better''.
''Yes Sir'' Hunter said and then turned to his friends ''come on guys we have a new recruit to find'' he said. The other Rovers nodded their agreement and followed Hunter to the Road Rover Mission Control computer lab.
Shortly after breakfast the next morning the Rovers piled into their six seater plane and headed for Indiana. It had taken all night but they had been successful in using the Master's world searching technology to find the girl they were searching for and determine which shelter she most likely worked in. As they flew all of the Rovers talked excitedly about what they thought their new friend would be like.
''I bet the new guy will be very nice'' said Hunter.
''Da'' agreed Exile ''and smart too''.
Shag mumbled something to which Hunter replied ''Yes I'm sure they'll like your cooking Shag''.
''Well'' said Colleen ''you blokes know what I think? I think the new guy will be a girl''.
''Yeah'' said Blitz suddenly excited ''a really pretty girl who will admire how strong and handsome I am''.
''In your dreams Fluffy'' came Colleen's reply.
Blitz started to protest but before he could say anything Hunter landed the plane and said ''All right we're here everyone put on a happy face and try to behave O.K.?''
''Whatever you say 'Untie-Wuntie'' Colleen cooed.
''I'll behave if SHE behaves'' Blitz grumbled.
When the Rovers entered the shelter they found themselves in a room that was full of cages of cats! Normally this would have made the Rovers get excited and start barking but they restrained themselves because they knew they could not afford to be thrown out of the shelter before they completed their mission.
In the right wall of the room was a door leading into a small office. In the left wall was a door leading to the cages where the dogs were kept.
When the Rovers walked in a woman who had been feeding one of the cats looked up. ''Hello'' she said ''can I help you''?
''Yes ma'am'' Hunter said ''we want to see the dogs you have. We have reason to believe one of them may be able to help us''.
''I see'' said the woman ''I need to finish in here but I think there is one of our volunteers in there who can help. Let me check''. She walked over to the door in the left wall, opened it, and called out ''Anne would you please come here a minute''.
In response to her call a young woman in a wheelchair with hazel eyes and blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail came into the room. The Rovers recognized her at once as the girl from Confuseus's vision.
''What can I do for you Robin?'' the girl asked pleasantly. Robin nodded at the Rovers.
''These gentleman and lady would like to see our dogs would you please give them any assistance they might need''.
''Of course'' the girl now identified as Anne responded. Then she turned to the Rovers and said ''If you would please follow me I'll show you our dogs''. The Rovers nodded and followed Anne through the door.
Half an hour later the Rovers were feeling discouraged. They had looked at every dog in the shelter but had not been able to tell which one they were looking for. They had even taken out the amulet hoping it would give them a sign but nothing had happened. Finally they decided that they needed to admit defeat.
Hunter and Exile walked over to Anne and Hunter was thanking her for her help when Exile exclaimed ''Comrade look''!
''What !'' Hunter said alarmed.
''The amulet it is glowing''.
Hunter looked down and saw that the amulet was indeed glowing a bluish color.
''l would not have predicted this'' he said slightly puzzled.
''If you don't mind my asking Sir what does that glowing mean?'' asked Anne.
''I think it means we found what we were looking for but I better make a call just to be sure''.
A few minutes later Hunter was on the radio in the Rovers' plane explaining their findings to the Master. The Master agreed with him and asked to speak with Anne who came out a minute later and stayed by the door of the plane while she listened to the Master.
''…And we have reason to believe that the amulet has indicated you are to be our new recruit'' the Master concluded.
''Wow'' was all a now very confused and excited Anne could say.
''Of course you do not have to join us'' the Master said reassuringly. ''The choice is yours to make. We will not force you to do anything you do not want to do'''.
Anne took a deep breath and then answered ''Sir I would be honored to join your team''.
''Wonderful!'' the Master exclaimed. Then he continued ''unfortunately there is no entrance to our mission control that you can use right now but don't worry I will fix that and contact you when I am done''.
''All right'' Anne said ''until then you know where to find me if you need me right''?
''Yes'' the Master said simply. ''Now you will need to excuse me. I have some work to begin. I will talk to you later''.
After the radio went silent Hunter turned to Anne and said ''It is getting late my friends and I should go too''. He then looked over his shoulder and noticed that the other Rovers had come outside. ''Let's hit the road Rovers!'' he yelled. Upon hearing this, the other Rovers came over to the plane and climbed inside. Hunter was about to climb into the plane himself when he suddenly stopped and turned back around to face Anne. ''Here'' he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out the amulet. ''I think you should keep this. I don't know what it can do but since it led us to you maybe you will find it helpful someday''.
''Thank you'' Anne said as she slipped the amulet over her head and hid it under her shirt. She then said goodbye to Hunter and watched as he climbed into the plane and took off. When the plane had disappeared from sight Anne went back into the shelter and got back to work but she thought about the incident with the Rovers the whole time.
For the next week Anne's life continued on just like it had before she'd met the Road Rovers. But on Saturday morning she finally was contacted. It happened right after she had finished breakfast. All of a sudden a bright light shone down on her and she heard the Master's voice telling her to go to the shed in her backyard. When she got to the shed the Master told her to open the door and step inside. After she had done this an elevator came up out of the floor of the shed. When the elevator's doors opened Anne stepped inside it. Once she was in the elevator its doors closed and it began to travel downward quickly. Several minutes later the elevator stopped. When the doors opened Anne got out and found herself in Road Rover Mission Control.
The room Anne found herself in was very spacious but did not have much in it. In one wall was a bunch of luge runs and in the opposite were the transdogmafiers. In a third wall was a balcony on which the Master appeared.
''Hello Anne. Welcome to Road Rover Mission Control'' he greeted her cheerfully.
''Hello Sir'' Anne replied.
''Please call me Master.''
''Okay Master.''
''How did you like the elevator?'' the Master asked.
''It was very fast'' Anne answered.
The Master smiled at this and said ''good when I call you I will need you to get here as quickly as possible. Now I'm sure you're eager to meet your new teammates'' the Master continued ''but first I have a surprise for you''.
''Oh what is it?'' Anne asked excitedly.
''If you step in there'' the Master said indicating one of the end transdogmafiers ''you will see''.
Anne wheeled herself into the transdogmafier. As soon as she was in the machine two robotic arms grabbed her wrists and pulled her into a standing position. Then a bluish mist filled the machine. When the mist cleared away Anne was surprised to see that the robotic arms had let go of her and she was standing on her own.
''Whoa that is one cool machine''. Anne said amazed as she stepped out of it and tried out her new legs.
''My Rovers gave me the idea to make it'' said the Master. ''They reminded me that many villains do not have wheelchair accessible hideouts''.
''That was good thinking'' Anne agreed. ''Now Master I don't want to be rude but can I see the Rovers now I have been anxious to get to know them better''.
The Master laughed. ''They have been anxious to see you again too. If you wait a minute I will announce that you are ready to see them and then they can show you around''. After saying this, the Master went over to an intercom and made that very announcement. A minute later the Rovers appeared in the briefing room.
''Hey I see the Master has shown you your surprise'' Hunter said grinning.
''Yes he did' replied Anne ''and I wanted to thank you for giving him the idea…oh I'm sorry I just realized I don't know your names''.
''My name is Hunter'' the retriever mix replied.
''Hello mate I'm Colleen'' the collie said stepping forward.
Exile started to speak next but Blitz cut him off by shoving him away and saying ''My name is Blitz pretty lady''.
''No your name is Weird Boy'' Exile grumbled as he walked up to Anne again.
''Don't call me that!'' Blitz yelled but Exile ignored him and addressed Anne instead.
''I am Exile Comrade Anne and I would like to give you warmest welcome''.
''Thank y…'' Anne started to say before she found herself in one of Exile's bone crunching bear hugs.
When Anne had been released from Exile's grip and had her breath back the final Rover, a giant white sheepdog, spoke up. ''Ry rame ris Rag'' he said
''Excuse me ?'' Anne asked confused.
''He said his name is Shag'' Colleen translated.
''Hello Shag pleased to meet you'' Anne replied
Once the introductions had been completed the Rovers asked Anne if she was ready for a tour of Road Rover Mission Control which of course she was. During the tour Anne learned that the Mission Control was a very big place. Aside from the briefing room there was a kitchen, computer lab, a garage where the vehicles were kept, a few recreational rooms, a gym, and several bedrooms.
When Anne had seen all of the rooms the Rovers took her back to one of the recreational rooms and they sat down so they could talk and learn more about their new friend. When the conversation turned to hobbies Anne found that she had more in common with her new friends than she had originally thought. For example, she learned that Exile liked to read. When she asked if he had a favorite author he replied that he was very fond of the works of Dr. Seuss.
''I like Dr. Seuss too'' Anne said ''but it has been a while since I read one of his books''.
''If you like you may borrow some of mine'' the husky offered.
''Thanks'' Anne replied '' I'll bring some of my favorite books here sometime for you to borrow if you like''.
''I would like that very much'' Exile said honestly.
''What other hobbies do you have?'' Colleen asked.
''Well I practice Tae Kwon Do'' Anne responded.
''Really!'' Colleen said excitedly ''What belt are you''?
''I just received my first degree black belt'' Anne replied humbly.
''Congratulations'' said Colleen ''maybe you and I can practice together sometime''.
''You bet we can'' Anne agreed. Then she turned to Blitz. ''Are you okay Blitz you look sick all of a sudden''.
''I'm fine'' the Doberman said quickly. However he was not fine. ''This is terrible'' he thought. ''If she practices Tae Kwon Do with Colleen I bet she will be persuaded to use her moves on me! I know I did not use the right approach to make Colleen like me but I hoped I could at least have one girl on the team who I could be friends with. Now that chance is ruined''!
Luckily for Blitz, Anne was not as like Colleen as he feared. While Anne also did not particularly like braggarts she was able to put up with them by either ignoring or walking away from them.
Blitz would also find that if he said something braggy Anne would not make the situation worse by immediately calling him a mean name which would only make him want to lash out. Instead she would politely but firmly ask him to tone down the bragging. She also would use this technique to inform him that she was not happy when he said mean things to the other Rovers for no reason (i.e. When he made fun of Hunter for being a mixed breed).
Finally, Anne was not as quick to use her martial arts training to solve problems as Colleen. Once again Blitz would find that Anne would rather not create a problem that needed to turn into a fight. She would use her training only if she was attacked by a person whom she had not provoked.
Colleen on the other hand would use her training on Blitz after her threatened her because she was bullying him. This knowledge was of not help to Blitz however because he had yet to learn it. This lack of knowledge also caused Blitz to feel down hearted for the rest of the day as well as much less enthusiastic about having a new teammate than he had been that morning.
Anne spent the rest of the day visiting with her new friends. It was very late when they stopped talking so the Rovers and the Master offered to let Anne spend the night at Road Rover Mission Control. Anne accepted their offer and Colleen showed her the bedroom that she would use at Road Rover Mission Control. Since it was late and she was tired Anne did not look around the room. Instead she only took off her shoes, climbed under the covers on the bed, and fell fast asleep.
When Anne awoke the next morning she looked around her new room. In the room there was the bed, a bedside table, a dresser, a closet, and a full length mirror. As Anne continued her inspection of the room her eyes fell on a box that had been placed just inside her door. Anne walked over to the box and picked it up. She noticed that it was the kind of box that clothes usually came in and that it had a message written on the front. The message read '' Hope this fits- Master''. Curious Anne opened the box and inside found a blue and silver armor plated suit like the ones the Rovers had worn the day before. Anne took the suit out of the box and tried it on. When she looked at herself in the mirror she was pleased to see that the suit fit well and looked good. As she was turning around admiring her reflection Anne noticed that something was still in the box. The something turned out to be a collar like the Rovers wore. Anne put the collar around her neck but found that it irritated her and put it on her head instead completing her Princess Jasmine hair style. Now that she was dressed Anne put her other clothes in the bedroom closet and went in search of her new friends and some breakfast.
Anne found the Rovers in the kitchen and joined them for breakfast. When they saw her the Rovers greeted their new friend and complimented her on her new uniform. Anne thanked them and then began to eat her breakfast. She was just finishing up when the Master's voice was heard over the intercom. ''Rovers report to the briefing room'' he instructed.
Once the Rovers and Anne were all in the briefing room the Master addressed them. ''Rovers we have a problem. It seems that cano-mutants have been robbing banks throughout Indiana''.
''What are cano-mutants?'' Anne asked.
In response to her question the Master turned on a large screen T.V. showing a newscast of several banks being robbed by large, muscular, half-human half-dog creatures who looked both meaner and dumber than the Rovers. ''Those are cano-mutants'' the Master replied. ''They are the creations of one of our arch enemies General Parvo''.
''Have those cano-mutants stolen anything other than money?'' Hunter asked.
''No'' said the Master. ''Apparently Parvo needs money more than anything else right now. However, you still need to stop Parvo and his cano-mutants before they make more trouble or hurt someone''.
''You can count on us Master'' Hunter said then her turned to the others ''Let's hit the road Rovers''.
''But where to?'' Blitz asked ''the news reports said several banks in Indiana had been robbed. How do we know where in Indiana they may be now if they are even still there''?
''I think I know where to start looking'' Anne said.
The Rovers turned and looked at her in surprise. ''Where'' they asked in unison
''At the shelter where I volunteer'' Anne replied.
''What makes you think we should look there?'' Blitz demanded.
''The fact that I recognized the cano-mutants in the news broadcasts as dogs that I have worked with there'' Anne replied calmly.
''Oh.'' Blitz said softening his tone of voice a little. ''Maybe you're right''.
''At least it's a start'' Hunter said. ''Now lets REALLY hit the road Rovers''! This time all the Rovers howled in unison and headed for their vehicles. Anne went with them as well.