OK, let's see: The Road Rovers and Bolt versus a pack of tricked-out techno ninjas. All they have to do is kick their butts while making sure Penny doesn't get hurt. And oh yeah, keep on the lookout for Bolts menagerie of talents.
In the words of the ever-lovin' Thing, "It's clobberin' time!"
Colleen tilted her head and put a hand to her chin, as if critiquing their aggressors. "Well, I can't say much for the color, and the style is dreadful, but I abso-bloomin'-lutely love the accessories."
The figures rushed at them, swiping out with their electrified claws like crazed raptors. "Shag, keep an eye on Penny!" ordered Hunter. "Everyone else, let's roll!"
Colleen lashed out at the first one to come her way. "Tonto!" First, she caught him by the wrist as he took a swipe at her. She yanked on his arm, sending him into a spin. "Kato!" Then, she treated him to a jump-kick in the head, giving him some extra company inside his helmet; a few teeth to amuse him by bouncing around. "Grayson!" Finally, she crouched low to avoid the aimlessly waving claws and spin-kicked his feet out from under him.
The next one went after Hunter, who dodged several strikes before winging a tennis ball into his attacker's stomach.
"GOOoooaaah..."
Or maybe it was a shot-put ball. Either way, the guy apparently didn't like the feeling of it hitting him in the stomach. He clutched his abdomen...
ZZAPP!
Only to remember that, oh yeah, he'd left the old taser talons running (hmm, maybe that's why only licensed professionals get to play around with loose wires). He decided then that it was a really good time to keel over and take a nap.
The next two went after Blitz, who screamed and ducked at the sight of two techno-ninjas about to fry his fur. As he dropped to his knees and covered his head, one ninja tripped over him and fried the other, who very kindly fell on him and returned the favor.
Blitz looked up and saw the two lying sprawled on the ground. "I meant to do that, you know," he smirked.
The next one was Exile's. He fired off two blasts of freeze vision, icing over the talons. Unfortunately, one crackle of lightning was all it took to shatter the layer.
"OK, I do it hard way," he rumbled. He shot off another blast, this time of heat vision, and melted the ground under the ninja's feet, sinking him up to his ankles in hot asphalt. But the guy wasn't there long. The moment he looked down, Exile knocked his lights out.
Unfortunately, while the Rovers had been cleaning up the other five ninjas, the last one slipped past them and was closing in for Penny. And Shag, it seemed, was in no mood to fight. He put one arm in front of Penny and then backed up to the wall.
Bolt jumped forward, teeth bared and throat rumbling. He barked a warning... at least, it was supposed to be a warning.
"ARF!"
The bark came out with such force that it knocked him backwards into the wall behind him, shaking the bricks.
The effect on the Rovers and the ninja was equally dramatic. A gust of wind and a roar of sound lifted them clear off their feet, flinging them backwards right out of the alley like leaves in a hurricane. The good news was, a grocery truck had parked in just the right spot to keep them out of traffic. The bad, or at least painful news, was...
CLANG!
They didn't land in the groceries.
"Ooooaah..." groaned Hunter as he extracted himself from a dent in the side of the truck. The rest of the team echoed similar complaints as they stepped or fell out of the impressions they had made.
As Penny, Bolt, and Shag-the only ones unaffected by the blast-came running, Colleen moaned, "You'd better 'ave the receipt for those voice lessons."
"I knew Daddy made him powerful," Penny admitted, "But not like this."
Bolt was wide-eyed. "Gosh," he said, "I was only trying to scare the guy."
Exile, still rubbing his head, looked at the cyber-ninja. The teched-out warrior was still stuck in the side of the truck with his claws weakly sparking. "I am thinking you maybe overdid-ski," he observed.
"Any other powers we should know about?" asked Hunter.
"It's all new to me," said Bolt. "I know I'm really strong, and I can make things catch on fire by staring at them sometimes, but this barking stuff is new on me."
Penny shook her head. "I dunno," she admitted. "He's strong, and he's got that heat-ray thing and this mega-bark, but that's all I know."
"Rah-roh-ruh," interjected Shag.
"Yeah," agreed Hunter, "That does sound cooler."
"What does?" chorused Penny and Bolt.
"Shag says you should call it the super-bark."
"Whatever," countered Penny. "Right now we have to find what they're doing with my father."
"Hey, just trying to lighten things up," Hunter said, taking the micro-radio out of his pocket. "Exile, think you can figure out a way to get a fix on their headquarters?"
Exile nodded as he accepted the device. "I'll have them found in two blinks of a heartbeat," he promised.
Penny scrunched her face. "Uh, what was that?" she asked.
"I think he means it'll be done in no time," guessed Bolt, although of course the translation was futile.
"Exile will get a fix on the frequency that radio's tuned into, and then we'll follow it right to the blightuhs," translated Colleen.
"I figured that much out," Penny replied.
However, as Exile tinkered with the radio, it began to emit a high-pitched beep. "Um, is it supposed to do that?" asked Blitz.
"I am not thinking so!" Exile shot back. Looking around for a safe place to toss it, he threw it up in the air seconds before it blew into hundreds of tiny fragments.
"Yet another unexpected twist. Bummer."
Penny groaned. "Now what are we going to do?" she asked.
Hunter shrugged. "Well, we could check out your dad's lab for clues."
Penny shook her head. "They probably destroyed the place," she said doubtfully, "But it's the only lead we've got at this point."
Well, here we go again.
