AUTHOR'S NOTE: I forgot to mention, four of the characters you will meet in this chapter (Tara, Arjun, Rahoul, and Maya) are named after characters in the game that inspired this story. They are *not* the same characters from the game, just named after them (because I couldn't think of anything better).

The next day, Big D, the Impossibles, Skittles, and the girls were aboard one of the SSHQ's jets, on their way to India.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have taken the Impossi-Jet," Fluey said. "Or one of the jets with the gigantic cargo holds, then we could've taken it with us."

"Believe me, Fluid," Big D said. "Where we're going, your car wouldn't be of much use."

"Where are we going, anyway, chief?" Shawn asked.

"A small village in India known as Cherai," Big D said. "A lot of it is thick jungle, which is too thick to see through from your car when it's in jet mode, and the roads are not meant to be driven on with a car. There has been some modernization to the village over the years, but concrete roads were never one of them. My old friend, Rohit Patel, lived there all his life. He used to be a guard at the Taj Mahal before he retired. I was stationed in India right after I joined the Secret Security Headquarters. It was my very first assignment."

"Is there were you guys met?" Shawn asked.

"No, I had known Rohit long before that," Big D said. "When he learned I was going to be stationed in India, he invited me to stay with him."

"How long were you in India on this assignment?" Multi asked, as Skittles jumped off his lap, and onto Big D's.

"Quite awhile," Big D said, petting the super puppy. "It was quite a big assignment, especially for a rookie agent. I was assigned to guard the Maharaja himself. There had been an attempt on his life, and he called the agency, wanted some extra security. It was a dangerous assignment, and I think they only sent me because I knew India quite well."

"Been there before you joined up with HQ, huh?" Fluey asked.

"Yes, you might say that," Big D replied. "I don't know if I would."

"What?" Fluey asked, shooting the chief a weird look. "What in the world does that mean?"

"Never mind," Big D said. "I'll tell you some other time."

"Get back to your assignment, chief," Multi said, changing the subject. "We want to know more details."

"Very well," Big D said. "When I was at the palace, Rohit and I noticed the court magician was acting very suspiciously. I'm sure you inherited that sixth sense you have from me, Fluid. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We decided to spy on him, and, as it turned out, our hunch was right. The court magician was plotting against the maharaja. He was going to use his magic to kill him and take the throne."

"How did you stop him?" Coiley asked.

"Rohit and I reported to the rest of the maharaja's guards what we saw," Big D said. "And they, in turn, reported to the maharaja, and he ordered us to arrest the magician. The magician went to his secret laboratory every day at the same time, so we decided to stake it out. Then, we stormed inside. The magician was not pleased with this, and he tried to escape."

"I bet a few well placed karate moves prevented that, huh, chief?" Fluey asked.

"That's one way of putting it," Big D said. "But yes, I managed to get the drop on him with the martial arts. I had expected the maharaja to execute him, but he didn't. He just banished the magician to the hills. I hadn't heard anything from him since then."

"Do you think he's still alive?" Danalleah asked. "Maybe that's the reason your friend called you?"

"That is something I'm not sure of," Big D said. "I'm sure we'll find out more once we get to Sita's house."

Finally, the plane landed in India, and our heroes set forth toward the village of Cherai, via pick-up truck for the time being (as the Impossi-Mobile was left in Megatropolis). Big D had been right about one thing, however. Cherai was practically nothing but jungle. Our heroes went as far as they could in the truck, but stopped when the road turned into a dirt path.

"It's not far from here," Big D said. "And believe me, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Just tell me they have running water and electricity," Shawn said.

"Yes," Big D said, then he sighed. "You girls are far too civilized."

Big D led the group down the path, telling them not to use their code names while they were there, even though the person they were seeing already knew the chief was bringing a couple of agents with him. The group walked until they saw a large house. There was an older Indian woman standing on the front porch. She wore a yellow sari with magenta accents, and her hair was gray, and in a long braid. She immediately ran down the steps of the porch, and down the path, straight into Big D, nearly knocking him off balance.

"Davis, I am so happy to see you!" she shouted. "How long as it been? Fifteen, sixteen years?"

"Sixteen," Big D said. "And I hope this meeting will be under better circumstances than our last one, Sita, considering the last time we saw each other was Jackson's funeral."

The woman nodded. Big D turned to the others and was about to say something, but before he could, someone came out of the house. It was a younger woman, possibly in her late twenties, or early to mid thirties. Her hair was also in a long braid, except it was black instead of gray, and her clothes were more contemporary. She ran down the path, and flung her arms around Big D's neck, nearly knocking him over like the older woman had.

"Is this who I think it is?" Big D asked, once the younger woman released the chief from her greeting.

"Yes," the older woman said, with a chuckle. "It's Tara, all right."

"Tara," Big D repeated, taking a good look at the younger woman. "You had to have been thirteen or fourteen when we last met. Just an awkward, gangly thing. I almost didn't recognize you."

"Hello, Uncle Davis," the younger woman said.

"Whoa, wait a minute, hold the phone here!" Fluey suddenly cut in. "Did she call you what I think she called you, chief?"

"She did," Big D said, putting his arm around his grandson's shoulders. "Meet my sister-in-law, Sita Dawson, and my niece, Tara. Sita and Tara, this is Jackson's son, Franklin. He's actually one of the agents I brought with me."

"Uhhh, hi . . . ." Fluey said, a little uncertainly. This came as quite a shock to him, so it was going to take some time before it all sank in.

"And these are the other two agents I brought along," Big D said, indicating Multi and Coiley. "Mark Mills, and Calvin Collins, alias Multi Man and Coil Man. And Franklin's alias is Fluid Man. Collectively, they're known as . . . ."

"The Impossibles!" a high pitched voice shrieked suddenly.

Before anyone could say anything, three children (two boys and a girl) came racing out. The boys looked like they were around ten and eight, and the girl looked about six years of age.

"Mama, Mama, Mama!" the girl shouted, tugging on Tara's skirt. "It's the Impossibles! Are they going to play a concert here?"

"Wait, wait a minute," Tara laughed. Then she turned to the chief. "Uncle Davis, I'd like you to meet my children. These are Arjun, Rahoul, and Maya. And, as you've undoubtedly guessed, they love the Impossibles."

"I've noticed," Big D said.

"Children, this is my uncle, Davis Dawson," Tara said. "And do you want to know something?"

"What, Mama?" Arjun, the ten-year-old, asked.

"You're going to like this, Maya," Tara said. "Your favorite Impossible is your cousin."

Maya let out a huge shriek of delight, and ran straight into Fluey, so hard she actually did knock him off his feet. Then she latched onto him, and didn't want to let go. The others just laughed.

"She's got the makings of a First Class Fan Girl," Multi commented.

"Yeah, man, this is gonna get old fast," Fluey replied.

"All right, all right," Sita said, prying her granddaughter off Fluey. "That's enough now, Maya. I'm sure your cousin and his friends are tired after their trip."

"Good idea," Fluey said. "I think I need a minute to lie down and let this sink in."