A/N: Chaper three, blah, blah, blah.
Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Johnen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.
Their enemies before had captured five of the eight heroes-in-training, long ago during their first encounter with Gary, when he had transported them to the Nega-Chin's base. During that time their escape had been direct, with the only stealth involved being on Muncher Lad's part. Now, however, they had to sneak around until they found their weapons, and they found themselves incredibly nervous. It really shook the nerves to know that they had to avoid being found, since two of them were not at full potential, and they had an extra person who, as far as they knew, had no combat experience.
That made it all the more confusing that Dib seemed completely collected in what he was doing. He peered around a corner down a long hallway. Two Yugopotamian guards were slithering around a corner and out of sight. Once the coast was clear, the newcomer motioned for the heroes to follow him. While a bit put off by how professionally the boy was conducting himself, they followed him anyway.
The nine children were halfway down the hallway when they heard voices.
"I got penitentiary duty once we get back to Yugopotamia," a voice said.
"Tough break. Did you tick off the Bodacian princess?" another asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I thought the Irkens had a temper, but man…" As the voice replied, the shadows of two more Yugopotamians appeared on the wall at the end of the hallway.
"Guards!" Cleft said in an alarmed whisper.
"Great, there's nowhere to hide!" AJ began to panic, his nervousness only doubled by the fact that he couldn't move on his own.
"Relax, look," Dib said, pointing to a small grill above them. "That's an air duct. We can sneak through them until we find our stuff."
"That sounds reasonable," Sonic said. Without waiting for confirmation, the Indian hero flew up to the duct and pulled it open.
"Wait a minute, that won't work," AJ began to point out. "Contrary to popular belief, air ducts make for poor methods of stealth. I mean, all the banging around you'd make trying to move would-yipes!" The boy genius's cry of surprise was due to the fact that Wonder Gal tossed him up toward Sonic, who caught him and shoved him into their new ally's hiding place.
"Relax, it's an advanced duct. They've made it completely soundproof," Dib assured as Sonic picked him up and flew him up to their sanctuary. Within a matter of seconds, they were all inside, with Sonic closing the vent just before the two guards turned the corner.
After recollecting his bearings, AJ continued his directions. "Alright, keep going down this way, then turn right." The rest wordlessly followed his instructions, for the most part. In the back, Fatale whispered to Muncher Lad.
"Doesn't this seem a little suspicious to you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" her hooded teammate asked.
"I mean, this guy is a civilian trapped on an alien ship, but he's treating it like a routine mission," the clawed girl pointed out. Muncher Lad nodded. Dib was taking this whole thing rather well.
"You think he's up to something?" the gluttonous hero whispered back as they rounded the corner.
"I think we should keep an eye on him. Remember the last time we trusted someone we didn't know? Gary nearly got us killed."
The boy sighed, but nodded. He really hoped it didn't come to that.
Knowing that you're doomed is not a pleasant feeling, as one Yugopotamian guard was realizing at that point. After his prince had left him and his companion to attend to the invasion, he noticed his remote was missing. Desperately retracing his steps, he went back to the cell that previously half nine prisoners-of-war, and it was empty.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
"Sound the alarm!" he ordered his companion. The other guard responded by lifting up his own remote and pressing a button.
Instantly a loud, shrill alarm rang through the ship, and other noises confirmed that the entire ship was now on alert.
The guard that sounded the alarm noted his companion's somber expression. "We could just act surprised, like we had no idea what happened," he suggested.
"No, they'd find out eventually that I lost my remote. I'll admit my mistake and take full responsibility to Prince Mark and Princess Mandie."
The other guard shook what passed as a head. His friend was doomed.
The shrill alarm caused the stealth-using heroes to practically jump. "They must have noticed we've escaped!" Princess shrieked.
"Brilliant deduction," AJ rolled his eyes. "But actually, maybe not. It could be worse."
"How could it possibly be worse?" Sparky asked incredulously.
"Well, it could mean that the ship is under attack by Skyway Patrol or the heroes, and since they probably haven't realized we've been abducted yet, they'll blow the ship apart with us in it."
There was a silence.
"Let's hurry up and find our stuff," Cleft suggested. The others readily agreed.
"Relax, we're right above my chair now," AJ said, looking through a grill in the duct. Indeed, he could see his chair, as well as his friends' belongings, below.
"Can you see any guards?" Cleft yelled over the alarm.
"I don't think so," the boy genius answered.
"Good. Trixie, you know what to do," the leader said, figuring it was pointless to conceal their real names to a kid who had seen them unmasked.
The super-strong heroine nodded, then grabbed the grill, ripping it off as effortlessly as most kids open a can of soda. Placing the former cover to the side, he jumped down, AJ still in her arms. She looked around for a moment. The room was pale, just the metal walls, a few steel crates, and their things. She gently placed her teammate in his chair before searching for her tiara, lasso, wristbands and earrings.
Meanwhile, the others jumped down as well, each looking for their stolen masks and weapons. Cleft tucked away his staff and strapped on his utility cleft while his companions replaced their capes and masks.
However, there was one that they weren't expecting to find stolen property.
"All right, it's here," Dib said, picking up something of his own. As he began to put it on, the others stood in shock.
Whatever it was, it was mechanical, sleek and deadly looking. After a few seconds, Cleft realized that it was a pair of steel gloves, with the fingers filed into claws. They reached up past his elbow and stopped at his armpits. Completing this ensemble was an ear piece that held a small computer screen in front of his left eye.
"Dib…what is that?" Princess couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, well…" he began, but something cut him off.
More specifically, it was AJ, who at that moment used his powers to push the boy in black into the wall.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Cleft demanded.
"Look what's written on his gloves," the genius said bluntly, not stopping his concentration. The others obeyed this command, and saw three letters written in dark purple: S.E.N.
"SEN? What is this?" Sonic pondered, putting a hand on his chin.
"The Swollen Eyeball Network," AJ answered with anger. "A splinter cell of the government; they're nothing but a bunch of traitors!"
Several Yugopotamians in the cockpit smelled burnt flesh. Normally this would be soothing to the warrior race, but not in this case. What was left of their companion was sliding down the wall, leaving a faint trail of toasted innards.
"Apology accepted, soldier," Mandie said coldly, still clutching her flaming sword angrily.
Mark, standing next to her, looked horrified. "That was harsh, babe. Couldn't we have given him a dishonorable discharge instead?"
"Mark, dear, you need to learn to be tougher. We need to make it clear that mistakes like this are not to be tolerated. Now come on," she ordered, grabbing her fiancée's arm tentacle and pulling him toward the halls.
"Where are we going?" the prince asked, a little worried.
"We're going to handle this ourselves," she said menacingly.
There was a pause among the group as AJ's accusation sunk in. Finally, Cleft spoke. "What's SEN, exactly?"
"A group of traitors," AJ spat, not taking his eyes off the immobilized Dib. "They betrayed the Guys in White and Skyway Patrol years ago and began helping their enemies. I'll bet he's involved with the Yugopotamians somehow!"
"Brilliant deduction, genius," Dib snarked. "Then why was I in a jail cell? And why did I help you guys escape when they clearly had you?"
"I don't know, but you're up to something," the boy genius asserted.
"Hold on a minute, AJ," Cleft said. He turned to the pinned boy. "Well, what do you have to say?"
"Yeah, I'm a member of SEN, the youngest ever," he admitted without pause. "And yes, we do go against the government, but you don't know the full story behind it."
"Don't listen to him!" AJ yelled. "These guys helped some hostile aliens escape from a Skyway Patrol base five years ago!"
"Quiet AJ," Cleft snapped. "Continue," he said to Dib.
"We did help aliens escape, but it was Skyway Patrol that was hostile. The visitors came as peaceful emissaries, but they were more concerned with getting their hands on some of their technology. When they refused to hand it over, they turned violent. They held the group in their base and performed painful experiments while they began applying their technology for military purposes.
"A group of them, however, were disgusted with the way they were acting. At that moment, they formed the Swollen Eyeball Network. They dedicated themselves to reversing the policies that Skyway Patrol and, later, the Guys in White. The first thing they did was help those poor aliens escape. Unfortunately, their existence was discovered in the process. The ones in charge lied to their superiors, saying the aliens were hostile. Like it or not, we're the good guys."
"A likely story," AJ scoffed.
Sonic, however, was a bit more reasonable. "Well, that explains Skyway Patrol, but what about the Guys in White?"
"Don't tell me that you haven't realized that they're prejudiced against superheroes," he said bluntly. "All of you should realize that better than anyone."
"He's right!" Muncher Lad exclaimed. "Remember a few months ago when we stopped the Nega Chin? We were the bad guys for being too powerful!"
"See? And they're not just going to talk about it for long. They're just waiting for the opportunity to push a lot of legislation against you. We're fighting against that. We're on your side."
"I don't believe it," AJ said bluntly, discreetly looking at his secret girlfriend for support.
"I agree with AJ," Princess spoke up, a bit weakly. In truth, she wasn't sure, but she decided to side with her boyfriend.
"I'm going to have to side with Veronica on this one," Fatale admitted.
"Well, I believe him," Wonder Gal spoke. There was agreement from Sonic, Muncher Lad, and Sparky.
"So do I," Cleft said. "AJ, release him."
"Come on, Timmy, you can't be serious," the boy genius said.
"Yes I am. Let him go," the boy chin wonder said bluntly.
"No way, I can't do that," AJ said defiantly.
Suddenly Cleft was in front of him, mere inches from his face. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you just as willing to make me leader last year?" he said, coldly and sternly. "You chose me as much as anyone else. I'm usually not very fond of shouting orders, but this is one. Let him go."
AJ, as well as the rest of the class, was a bit surprised at how assertive, and intimidating, their de facto leader was acting. Perhaps that's why the boy genius lost his grip, allowing Dib to land gracefully on his feet.
Cleft nodded, placing his hand on his hips. "Now then, we should find a way out of here before…"
As if on cue, the door then opened, and two Yugopotamian guards slithered in.
"Hey!" one of them shouted when they realized they were in there. Quickly the nine heroes got into battle stances, but it made no difference. One of the guards pointed his remote at the escapees and pressed a button. Instantly, they were basked in a blue light that engulfed them.
When the light subsided, they were no longer in the same room.
They were in an arena.
A large arena with stands filled with Yugopotamian soldiers jeering at them. The arena was steel, like everything else on the ship. The ceiling was a steel dome, with no view of the dark space outside.
And, floating above the arena on a metal disk, was a gray Yugopotamian guard.
"Loyal soldiers of the Vooras Alliance, we are proud to present tonight entertainment for our soldiers. In this corner, nine pitiful Earthling youths!"
A wave of boos greeted the introduction, causing them to stand indignitly.
"And in this corner, our beloved leader and his fiancée, fighting for our glory, Prince Mark, and Princess Mandie!"
At that point, the heroes finally noticed said rulers standing across the arena. Mandie had her flaming sword drawn, while Mark was holding what appeared to be a large gun. It was rectangular, with nine barrels arranged on its front. He was holding it like a rocket launcher, with it being propped up on what would pass as a shoulder.
Mandie grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. "You are going to regret crawling out of the hole you came from, you little worms."