Prince of Tides

Synopsis: Sequel to 'Of Kings, Queens and Castles'. The Spies confront an unusual and clever villain by the name of Tsunami, or the 'Prince of Tides' as he labels himself. He reminds Clover of Dr. Gelee, but Tsunami (later found out as Umiro Kairo) is completely different and she finds herself swept away by his rougish charm.

Chapter 1—Shades of Blue

Clover felt unusually down in the dumps today. Normally she would've adored heading to the zoo with her girlfriends and their husbands. But she was the only one among them who had neither kids nor a husband and it made her feel strange. She felt lonely, different and worst yet, depression was starting to hang over her like a thick, gray cloud.

"Don't look so sad, Auntie Clover ! We're going to the zoo today !", Alex said, his green eyes glimmering merrily.

"Yeah ! We'll get to see giraffes, zebra, lions, tigers, bears...", Constantina began.

"Oh, my !", Alex added with a belly laugh. She couldn't help but smile at the chidlren's enthusiasm, especially Max and Alexandra's 'swarm' as they were affectionately called. There was a lingering tear in her eye, but she wiped it clean.

"You're absolutely right, Alex and Tina. This is already beginning to be a great day.", Clover said, straightening her posture and beginning to smile. Maybe being the only single girl in the team wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Clover's family loaded into the limousene, while Alexandra's was already in flight, not by a plane but their own wings. "Mert, go please.", said Laertes, and they headed off toward the zoo.

It was approximately noon when everyone met at the local San Francisco Zoo. They all met to eac lunch before they set out on their pathway toward learning and discovery. So far, Clover was having a blast, but once she saw Sam, Laertes and Max and Alex becoming goo-goo eyed over each other, that previous thought about being single was null and void.

"Being single sucks.", she thought to herself, trying not to become teary eyed in front of her best friends and their families. They would've wondered what was causing her so much sorrow. They would've understood, but it was difficult to put themselves in her place, especially since they had forgotten the unpleasant tinge of lonliness.

"I'm going to go watch the polar bears. You guys can go on ahead without me.", Clover said, turning around from them and walking away before her tears began trickling down her face. She felt calmer once she began watching the polar bears. They were so majestic and graceful, she felt her heart lift within her. Feeling a little happier, she decided to move along in the Artic Zone and take a look at some of her favorite creatures: penguins.

Chapter 2—Mesmerized By 'Aquaman'

While watching the penguins swim effortlessly to eat their meal tossed to them by a trainer, Clover noticed something unusual. A Japanese man, costumed in a turquoise wetsuit, flippers, a breathing apparatus had come in to feed the fish himself, as if he were an employee there. But, Clover didn't remember him. She would've remembered such a youthful, and frankly, handsome face. His violet eyes were shielded underneath goggles and his spiky raven hair seemed to defy the elements. The animals seemed to adore him, rubbing up against him as if he were their mama.

Clover had to laugh, but her attention was quickly whisked away when the man stared right at her and he smiled at her dreamily. He seemed to fire something from his wrist that went through the plexiglass and struck Clover in the neck.

"Ow !", Clover exclaimed, in surprise. The intiial sting hadn't been so bad, but how the dart permeated the plexiglass was beyond Clover. Before she could wrap her head around the process, her eyes had become heavy. This Aquaman had completely wrapped her in his trance, somehow or another, and as odd as it sounded, she wasn't frightened by what was about to happen next.

Chapter 3—Getting Acquainted in Kairo's Laboratory

A few hours later, Clover came to. She was dressed in a beautiful ocean-blue, transluscent gown with clamshells adorning the long skirt. On her feet were ballet flats with faux starfish on top, and on her head was a golden crown with an ocean wave engraved in the middle.

"Where am I ?", she thought as she began walking around the stunning room, which seemed like a huge aquarium. She then realized she was underwater, but could breathe perfectly.

"Whoever brought me here has vast understanding of how to impliment the elements in order to survive. He must've built this immense structure on his own. Must've taken forever.", Clover pondered as she wandered the halls, completely stunned by the glory of the golden domes and the opulence and practicality the laboratory had.

"I see you're awake.", the Japanese man in the wetsuit said. Clover jumped back slightly, startled by his sudden appearance. He appologized and explained who he was, in detail.

Clover clearly knew that this villain wasn't anything like Dr. Gelee, who had tried forcing her into an arranged marriage years ago. Thinking about him made her skin crawl. But this man was a gentleman, and a whiz with gadgets. He had helpful robots to attend to his needs, each with different names. One was Crank, another Ratchet, another Lugnut, and the forth was Grommit.

Upon becoming further acquainted with the rejected oceanographer, she learned this man's name was Umiro Kairo. His alias had been 'Tsunami', which is probably the name she would've recognized easier. The Spies had a run-in with him years ago and bested him, but at that time, Umiro admitted he hadn't been bold enough to take her back to his underwater lair.

"Your hair was golden in the sun that day, and nothing has changed. You are still as angelic as ever.", he stated poeticly, taking her hand and kissing it. Not only was Umiro eloquent, but he was quite the romantic. Clover felt her cheeks unexpectedly florish at Umiro's heartfelt affection to her.

If he had been a villain then, why had he changed so much now ?

Chapter 4—Clover MIA

Back at the Zoo the Spies had gotten an alert that their best friend was missing, most likely kidnapped.

"It's by the nefarious water-tech wizard Tsunami. Not certain what he is plotting, but be on your guard. I'll have GLADYS teleport you there with wetsuits applicable to the situation.", Jerry said.

The Spies were suited up in a blinding flash of light, equipped with ear-cons and teleported to Kairo's underwater lair to begin their search and rescue of their missing comrade. Sam saw the undersea palace and pointed to it. Alex swam up to the doors and tried pulling on them, but they wouldn't budge a millimeter.

"This palace is definitely airtight, but that makes sense. I can understand why Tsunami wouldn't want to drown himself.", she admitted.

"Let me see if I can transport us through. It'll take a lot of concentration. This will be my greatest trick ever.", Laertes said. He held out his hands to his wife and to Sam as well. Everyone linked their hands together and he began to chant.

"I really hope this works.", Max whispered to Alex, trying to lighten the mood a bit. In about a millisecond, the group began to swam through the walls of the aquapalace and entered with no trouble whatsoever. After Laertes' golden glow subsided, they let go of one anothers' hands.

"I guess the trick worked !", Laertes said with genuine relief. Alexander clapped and whistled, making his dad feel 10 feet tall.

"We don't have time to be cheering. Come on, let's keep moving !", Sam reproved gently, although she was still mightly impressed with Laertes' 'greatest magic trick ever'.

Chapter 5—A Man's Aquapalace is his Castle

Everyone was positively astonished at the intricacy and meticulous nature of the aquapalace.

It was positively gorgeous, and practical in many different ways. Sam could hear soft romantic j-pop being played over a Bose stereo system. If she hadn't known any better, she would've thought that there were people serenading Clover.

The group entered the dining room and saw Tsunami (later learning his true name was Umiro), holding Clover's hand and singing along with the beautiful music. At first they demanded an explination to Umiro's kidnapping of Clover.

"Granted, everyone, I didn't come here of my own free will, but it appears that Umiro loved me from the moment we crossed paths.", Clover stated, honestly.

"It's true. Though at that time I was still a coward. It took me 10 years to finally express my adoration for this ocean-eyed beauty.", Umiro confessed.

"How did he manage to get you here ?", Max questioned, puzzled. Umiro stated that his wetsuit had given him the ability to permeate objects, if only temporarily. He hadn't meant to be so brutal in his method of bringing her to his aquapalace but his mind had been trumped by his heart.

"Forgive me for the sleeping dart, it was never my inention to knock you out.", Umiro said, looking at Clover, feeling rather chagrinned. Clover smiled and nodded and blushed at his touch.

"This is starting to look and feel rather familiar, don'tcha think ?", Alex mentioned, coming off as sounding slightly smart-alecky. Sam chuckled. Indeed, everything down to the aquapalace castle to the villain turned benevolent had a certain ring of familiarity to it.

"You do realize that Jer isn't going to be a happy camper if you decide to join the forces of good.", Arethusa said, brightly. Isis nodded fervently, agreeing with her sister. Nicholas, a recent addition to the team, noted how much more convincing the Spies were as they grew in number, but he wondered how long Mandy could fight alongside the group since she was expecting her first child.

"I know the risks. Clover has filled me in on all the details. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be by the side of my princess.", Umiro said. Even if the training was going to be harsh and arduous, it didn't matter. Besides, with a tech wizard who had power over the element of water and could communicate with the creatures of the sea, he was bound to be an awesome asset in missions to come.

Chapter 6—Strength In Numbers

It had been a year after Mandy's delivery (a rambunctious boy named Maurice) that Jerry had uncovered a secret that made his hair prickle. There was someone within WHOOP that had been trying to extract data and secrets for OOPSIE, but this covert agent was so incredibly stealthy that no one knew who he or she was. In any event, he or she needed to be stopped before the information could be uploaded to OOPSIE's database, causing the eventual destruction of WHOOP. If the public knew about WHOOP they would become more suspicious and the world would eventually fall into a chaotic state. Jerry was bound and determined that such a thing wouldn't occur, especially not on his watch. He alerted the Spies and their families to the threat immediately. Thankfully, Mandy hired a baby sitter to care for Maurice while she and Nicolas were gone chasing the OOPSIE traitor.

The Spies had scoured WHOOP from top to bottom, searching for the OOPSIE agent, but just as soon as they were ready to throw in the towel and give up the search, Isis spotted a man in delivery clothes beginning to walk out of WHOOP.

"Wait a minute. I recognize you from the top priority files !", she exclaimed, remembering her training. Tim Scam couldn't believe someone had the ability to see through his disguise. He felt that it was foolproof, but he had forgotten that a bug's eyesight was sensitive, especially to smell.

"You don't smell like one of our agents, either. It would behoove you, Tim, to drop that CD of information immediately, hand it over to us, and no one will get hurt.", Isis said. Alexandra was surprised at how much her daughter had grown in the past years, but she was adept at 'sensing' good intentions from bad and discerning a person's true heart. Tim turned and smirked, maliciously.

"You would like this to be simple, wouldn't you. Well, darling, I have news for you.", Tim said, pressing a button. Instantly, robotic spiders sprang to attack everyone and Tim was certain he had a clean getaway by making a diversionary tactic. The group was subdued fighting off the combatant robots, but Laertes had predicted Tim's desperate move and reappeared before the hatch.

"Not so fast, Scam. The disc, if you will.", Laertes stated, calmly. Tim, completely defeated, handed Laertes the CD and with a blinding flash of light, the CD was obliterated from view.

"Cuff 'em !", Clover said, powerfully. WHOOP tactical agents surrounding Tim quickly took him to what would become his permanent home.

"I don't think this is the last we'll hear of OOPSIE. They have something else up their sleeve, and I fear it will be far more sinister than just stealing our secrets.", Laertes said, a hint of darkness in his tone.

"You're right, darling. Don't worry. With our numbers increasing and our abilities growing, we will remain diligent and vigilant. No matter what happens, we'll continue to keep this world safe from the hands of those who would want to destroy it.", Sam agreed.

Chapter 7—Veronica's Decision

A week after the arrest of Tim Scam, there was another disturbance not far from the Palm Shopping Center. An apist woman, Veronica, was set on having bugs possess dominance of the world, making insects the prime species. Yet, there was something more incidious behind this seemingly typical and predictable attack. Victoria synthesized her DNA with the DNA of bees, and she was a scientist specializing in genetics. Max seemed to have some recollection of this woman.

"This Veronica, I believe that she was in entemology class with me in college ! I knew she looked familiar. Her motives are not unlike my own before I changed my ways.", Max said, holding Alexandra's hands affectionately, causing her to blush.

"She's talking to someone over an ear-comm.", Isis noted, quietly. Veronica wasn't in this disturbance alone and the bees were certainly troublesome. If someone who was allergic was stung by one of them, they could get anaphalactic shock and possibly die unless an epipen shot was delivered swiftly, combatting the deadly effects of a possibly fatal bee sting allergy.

"We need a way to lure the bees out of here, and fast." Sam said, as she noticed Veronica preparing her myriad of bees to begin their attack on unsuspecting mall shoppers.

Arathusa released a floral scent from her wings, causing the bees to become attracted to her, and rapidly, the bees were soon out of the mall and away from causing anyone harm. Veronica looked panicked.

"Phase 1 has failed, Stephen.", she said over her comm.

"I think she said Phase 1 failed, Stephen. I wonder who this Stephen is. His name isn't stirring any images to mind.", Constantina stated, having had the ability to read lips even at a distance.

"Stephen Cadmos. Dr. Cadmos in fact. Just thinking about him gives me the shivers. I worked with him long ago before venturing out on my own as a self-sufficient villain. He was going to partner with Veronica to use her bees to release a contagion that would have the ability to wipe out humanity as a whole. I don't know why she would want to do such an incidious thing, but I am not very familiar with her methods. It certainly looks like though she is beautiful, she has a deadly sting.", Umiro said, a bit morbidly.

"This is definitely way bad. We are going to need back up. We may need to call in special ops and other Spies to help us.", Clover said, trying to bite her nails even though they were covered in her red catsuit.

"We have to think of something and fast.", Sam said. It was no time for them to have a think tank about how they would combat Veronica. They were pretty certain that it was a diversionary tactic because back at base, Jerry had been trying to reach them that security had been breeched by Steven's override codes. This villian had worked for WHOOP when he was younger but was soon thrown into the loony bin when Jerry came to realize his true intentions. Tim Scam and his adept skills with mechanics and innovation would be an honorable foe, but there were soon to be an armada of OOPSIE agents coming into Palm Heights...and there would begin the greatest fight the free world would ever know.

Isis was becoming antsy watching Veronica fiddle with her comm, waiting for a response from Stephen. Something told her that she wasn't exactly thrilled with being responsible for genocide. The word itself was gruesome, sterile and atrocious. How she could ever let that man talk her into something so awful was even beyond her plan to have bees rule the earth.

"Veronica, you don't have to do this you know. They're just trying to control you, make you their lap dog.", Isis began. Veronica was confused, but intriegued when she saw a humanoid not unlike herself. The entire family, Alex, Max, Isis, Arathusa, all revealed themselves.

"Please think about this carefully. I know that something's going on...", Sam started, before Veronica stopped her.

"I'll help you, but only because I disagree with OOPSIE's arian tactics. It doesn't mean that I'm your friend or anything. Don't go getting any ideas. After this battle is over, I'm going back to OOPSIE, or perhaps I will go solo. Whatever I decide to do, you won't ever put me behind bars.", Veronica said, with some venom in her voice. The team doubted the truthfulness to those words, though they weren't certain what she meant by a 'battle' coming to Palm Heights. They would soon figure that out in no time flat, though. They would soon figure that out in no time flat, though.

Veronica was briefed off the situation, and made an agreement to send her bee-person armies to the right locations. The Exterminus family, the WHOOP members, and the spies meanwhile had to think up a backup plan.

Chapter 8—The Calvary Arrives

Before a vast OOPSIE armada arrived on the scene, Sam had used her earcomm to contact other Spies of different ranks. Even the Special Op team had been called in to fight against OOPSIE.

Tim Scam was on his way, looking cockier and more concieted than ever.

"You may have gotten lucky and incarcerated me once, but now I have a whole army behind me. Beat THAT, rejects !", he crowed, triumphantly. It was true that OOPSIE had WHOOP outnumbered, but not for long.

The Amazing Spiez had come to the rescue no sooner than they were called. Other agents that the Spies weren't even aware of from all around the globe had come to battle against OOPSIE. Tim Scam, who had a confident look and sefl-assured strut, seemed less faithful in himself as well as his friends, particularly since Veronica was assisting WHOOP.

"What are you waiting for ? Attack ! Give them everything you've got ! Show them no mercy, comrades !", Tim screamed savagely. The warcry sounded more like a nerdling defending his stash of Pokemon trading cards or X-Men comics.

Back at WHOOP...

Jerry did what he could to recoup GLADYS and the backup computer systems that kept WHOOP up and running. Normally Jerry wasn't a religious man, but he hoped to whatever sentient force was awake and listening to his pleas that the Spies, Special Ops and other spy agents would be able to put an end to this feud between OOPSIE and WHOOP forever. Even then, there would still be evil in the world that the Spies would have to combat, but taking OOPSIE out of the picture would make WHOOP's job that much easier. For now, servo bots helped clean the mess that OOPSIE had made and WHOOP didn't resemble itself. However, Jerry kept an optimistic thought. Like the fabled phoenix, WHOOP would rise out of the ashes once more, and their databanks would be fortified behind mightier energy fields and firewalls. That was his vow, since he knew eventually someone would come to take his place. For the moment, however, he was happy that he still had a job and could run WHOOP better than anyone else in the espionage business.

At Palm Heights...

The battle surged onward and practically exploded in the mall. Thankfully no people were inside during this skirmish, or there most likely would've been casualties or worse. Many of the members of OOPSIE were being taken back to a refirbished WHOOP prison and one by one, OOPSIE's army began to lose ground. Desperate, Tim Scam pressed a button to call forth his latest invention, the Mech Warrior 2.0. Completely mad, his eyes blazing with insanity, hatred and desparation, he used the remote control to steer the gaudily yellow and black colored Mech to pick him up and take his place at the cockpit.

"Who wants some ?", he beckoned in his best Duke Nukem impersonation.

"Uh, guys, how are we supposed to compete against that ?", Clover gulped.

"You forget...the power of magic is on our side.", Laertes stated, with a wink.

"And the elements as well, m'sweet.", Tsunami said, gathering the waters together from the fountains that surrounded him.If nothing else, he could rust out Mech Warrior 2.0's joints and Laertes could call forth a little thunderstorm to shock the mech into submission. And that was exactly what the duo did.

Chapter 9—All's Well That Ends Well

Tim Scam's scowl said it all. Max had known that Tim had the chance to redeem himself but just wouldn't listen to reason.

"You should've gotten out while you had the chance, like me. Take him away.", Max said, as he waved his hand dismissively and Special Ops hoisted Scam and the others into a massive padded and armored vehicle to deliver the criminals back to maximum security prison. Palm Heights looked like it had been run over by a combine, chewed up and spat out by a tornado and trampled by a herd of a plethora of angry buffalo. Knowing that the job was far from over and celebrating would have to wait until everything was repaired, the Amazing Spiez and spies from all around the world pitched in to begin the clean up effort.

Palm Spring didn't take too terribly long to clean up. With all those workers, it was only two weeks refurbishing tops that rebuilt the mall and re-established it. Whatever had been destroyed in the massive outlash and melee was completely restored. It was almost like the battle between OOPSIE and WHOOP never occurred. The only loose end to be tied up whas WHOOP itself. Tech support had put GLADYS back together and the supercomputers were up and running again. WHOOP still looked like a sledgehammer had knocked the whey out of it. It would more than likely take more than a month to fully repair all the damages. At last, Umiro and Clover could at last finalize their wedding plans that they had collaborated upon long ago after having been together for over 2 years. Everyone would be invited to the festive occasion, and unlike the travails Alexandra and Samantha had to go through, Kairo had been more than welcomed as a new member to Clover's family.

Epilogue

The wedding was held at a large church on the outskirts of Bev Hills. Clover's bridal dress was ocean-themed with seashells adorning the long skirt. She even had a tiara crafted out of seashells and the aisle was decorated with plastic starfish and seahorses. There was even an aquarium close by that made a spellbinding backdrop for the entire affair. Even the bridesmaids had nautical-themed dresses, not tacky or gauche, but delicate and feminine.

Everything about Clover's ceremony was lovely, right down to the cake that had been specially made for the occasion. It looked like an ancient representation of a tsunami, and had it not been so craftfully made, people probably wouldn't have wanted to eat it. But it was a cake to simply die for.

The music was J-pop and J-rock, and Umiro even serenaded his bride. It was an unforgettable night for all guests involved.

After the party had come to an end, everyone said their final goodbyes, the Spies wished Umiro and Clover well on their honeymoon. Apparently, from the money he made as a technician and newfound oceanographer, he had earned enough to buy a yacht. As back in his aquapalace, he had server bots rigging controls so he could have full reign of the boat while he and Clover headed to their destination in the Caribbean.

"Be sure to take lots of photos for us, ok ?", Sam called. Clover laughed, waving back at her friend from the deck of Umiro's yacht.

"Sure, girlfriend. I'll get all of you souveniers, too !", Clover promised. Everyone had fresh tears in their eyes as the boat sailed away. Yet, they knew that soon Clover would return after a month being away.

Clover had millions of photos taken of the fish and marine life as well as the glorious flora that had bedecked and adorned all the islands. She had tropical souveniers for everyone, since Umiro had plenty of abundance to share. He wasn't stingy about it. In fact, he had begun a society where less fortunate children and children with impairments could swim with dolphins. He had done so after reading the tale of Winter, a dolphin who had lost her tail tragically and been fitted for a prosthetic tail. He was hopeful that the son or daughter that Clover and he were expecting would be one of the first to see Dolphins For Disability open its doors in the not too distant future.

WHOOP had been rebuilt after Clover had given birth to her daughter, Marina. Marina had plenty of friends to play with at school, though they were older than she was, but she was more than happy with such a great number of friends at such a young age. Dolphins For Distability had opened its doors at last and she had become its spokesperson at the tender age of seven. Clover knew she had inherited her father's passion for keeping animals of the deep alive and well. As for loose ends after the Palm Heights incident and refabrication of WHOOP itself, Veronica's vow never held any water. She had told a fib about playing both sides during the heat of battle. Honestly, she hadn't really known what side she was really intent on supporting until everything was said and done. She had supported the spies throughout everything and had been a useful asset when all had come to a close after the crux of out and out war. She agreed that she would reform her ways, attend community service and become a member of WHOOP like her friend Max. She was elated he had done so well for himself and thought perhaps she could do the same for herself in time.

As for the other adventures of the spies, I think that can wait until another day. A new generation waits in the hallways for their day of glory; their chance to gleam in the sun. A day that isn't afar off, but just around the horizon. For the present, each one of our spies is happy that OOPSIE is out of the picture but remain dilligent and viligant, honing their skills, wheting their intellect and maintaining themselves wholly to the defense of the earth against terrorism, scandal and danger in any event small or grand. Many of those who follow the hallowed call of espionage aren't known of except in their own circles, but we citizens on the outside can be greatful that there are corageous individuals who lead this lifesyle for the freedoms we have today.

The End