To Save The Prince
Co-authored by Phoenix710 and Merigirl
Summary: In this chapter, the Rovers break Prince Xavier out of his cell, and prepare to return him home. However, Parvo and Groomer spot them, and the Rovers must split up. Hunter and Colleen take the Prince, while Exile, Blitz, Shag, and Muzzle deal with Parvo, Groomer, and the Cano-Mutants. In the process, Hunter takes down Groomer with a tennis ball grenade, and Exile and Blitz tie her up. Can the Rovers safely return Prince Xavier to his family, and what will happen with Groomer? Find out in this installment of To Save The Prince.
Disclaimer: Neither Merigirl nor myself claim any rights whatsoever to the Road Rovers. All characters and locations associated with the series are trademarks of Warner Bros. All original characters, however, are products of the imagination of Merigirl.
Rated: K+
Chapter Four: A Rover-Style Jailbreak
Prince Xavier was frightened at first, until Colleen stepped up, and said, "Easy now…you're among friends. We're here to take you back home." Looking up at the brown and white-furred, armor-clad female collie, the Prince said, "How? I'm tied to the bed, and I can barely move." Colleen looked the situation over, then said, "Exile, could you lend a hand here?" Stepping up, the big Husky said, "My pleasure, Comrade Colleen." With hardly any effort, Exile broke the ropes securing the Prince with his bare hands, and Hunter helped him up. The Prince said, "Thank you so much, whoever you are." Hunter said, "We're the Road Rovers, and your father, The Sultan, sent out word that you needed help, so here we are. Don't worry, we'll have you back home in no time." Prince Xavier smiled, and said, "Thank you, but may I ask a favor?" Hunter said, "Sure, anything." The Prince said, "Does anyone have anything cold to drink? All I've had is water, and it's not very cold." Colleen growled, and said, "Typical Parvo…he never was a very good host." Hunter said, "Shag, see if you've got something on ice in there." The big white-furred dog in question reached into his fur, and pulled out a cooler full of soda. Astonished, the Prince asked, "H-how does he do that?" Hunter said, "I don't know, but he sure makes himself useful with that never-ending supply of hidden stuff in his fur." The Prince selected a can of Coke, and happily drank it. Once he was done, he threw the empty can into a bag that Shag provided, and Colleen said, "Right…now let's get you out of here." The Rovers, with Prince Xavier in tow, began to work their way back towards the exit. However, when they were about three-quarters of the way there, Hunter signaled for them to get behind a wall. The reason quickly became clear, as Parvo, Groomer, and three Cano-Mutants walked by. Parvo said, "After we have our little…hehe…chat with our 'guest', I think I'll pay his father another call, and remind him of what'll happen if he doesn't pay up." Groomer said, "Parvo…you're so clever sometimes…it's scary." Once the villains were out of earshot, the Rovers, and the Prince, resumed their journey. The Prince asked, "How are we going to get out of here?" Hunter replied, "Easy. We've got our vehicles waiting outside. You'll ride with Colleen and I, while Exile, Shag, Blitz, and Muzzle cover us from the rear." The Prince then asked, "Who's who among your team, anyway?" Hunter said, "Oops…my bad..I'm sorry for not introducing ourselves earlier. I'm Hunter, the team leader. The female collie is Colleen, our second-in-command, resident medic, and expert at hand-to-hand combat. The Husky is Exile, our technician and demolition expert. The Doberman is Blitz, and he's our uh…" Blitz said, "I'm the resident expert at tooshie biting, and the one who should be leader, not that mixed breed!" Exile said, "Blitz, don't be weird boy!" Colleen said, "Watch your mouth, Fluffy, unless you want dentures!" Hunter took charge, and said, "Enough! We need to get out of here, so quit bickering. Blitz, I'll talk to you later." Hunter then turned back to Prince Xavier, and said, "Sorry about that. The big white fellow is Shag, and the one in the cart is Muzzle. We only let him out when we REALLY need to use brute force." Once introductions were finished, the group resumed their trek, but they suddenly heard Parvo's enraged scream. "AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! THAT LITTLE BRAT!!! I'M BETTING THOSE PESKY ROAD ROVERS ARE BEHIND THIS!!! ALL CANO-MUTANTS, FIND THE ROVERS, TAKE THEM OUT, AND BRING THE BRAT TO ME!!!" Colleen said, "Blimey…Huntie, I think we should make like a banana, and split!" Hunter smiled at her, and said, "Sounds like a plan. He then scooped up Prince Xavier, and said, "Hang on, Your Highness. We're going for a ride!" With that, Hunter dashed off at top speed, while the other Rovers plowed through the Cano-Mutants that tried to stop him. Colleen jump kicked one of them, with a yell of "HIYA!!! EXCALIBUR!!!" Exile froze three of them, then iced the floor behind them, causing the remaining monsters to go slipping and sliding all over the place. Once the Rovers made it outside, Hunter set the Prince into the Sky Rover, buckled him into his seat, and was about to step inside, when Groomer said, "Hold it right there, mutt! Hand over the brat, then all of you get over here, and surrender." Hunter said, "How about…WHEN PIGS FLY!!!" With that, he loaded a sleeping gas-filled tennis ball grenade, and fired. Groomer and most of the Cano-Mutants went down like flies, and Colleen quickly dispatched the few that remained, except for the four that Muzzle took care of, after Exile released him. Once everything was sorted out, Hunter said, "Okay, team…Colleen and I will take The Prince back home. Exile, you, Blitz, Shag, and Muzzle, I want you to bring Groomer back to The Master, so he can have her locked up." Exile scooped up Groomer, and said, "You betski, Comrade Hunter! We see you later!" With that, the Rovers headed for their respective vehicles, and took off. Hunter headed the Sky Rover back towards Srenraw, while Exile flew the Cloud Rover back to Road Rover HQ. While Hunter flew the Sky Rover, Colleen checked the Prince over. She said, "He's fine, Huntie, aside from a few bruises from the Cano-Mutants roughin' him up a bit. I put some cream on the bruises, so they should go down. He's sleepin' right now, so we should be all right." Hunter said, "Great. Nice work, Colleen." They kissed gently, then went back to their duties. Meanwhile, Parvo, having finally noticed that Groomer was missing, went back to his Stealth jet, the Airshark, and took off in pursuit. He intended to personally send each of the Rovers through his Cano-Mutator, then have them destroy Professor Shepherd, before making them the elite strike force of his new world order. He had no idea, however, that he had made the biggest mistake of all: He had angered Hunter and Colleen, and the other Rovers, by kidnapping the young Prince, and on his birthday, of all days.
Meanwhile, Hunter and Colleen finally entered Srenraw airspace, and Prince Xavier, who had woken up by now, showed them which way it was to the palace. The radar beeped, and Colleen said, "Huntie, we've got five incoming aircraft at our six. They're Su-37's." Prince Xavier said, "That's our Royal Air Force. Slow down and let them catch up, then I'll talk to them." The lead pilot pulled his white and gold-colored jet up outside the Sky Rover, and said over the radio, 'Attention, unidentified aircraft…this is Talon One, of The Srenraw Air Force. You are ordered to land immediately, or we will open fire.' The Prince, with Colleen's help, pressed the transmit button, then said, "This is Prince Xavier, heir to the throne of Srenraw. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT fire on this aircraft. These two here saved me from my kidnappers, and they are taking me back home." Moments later, the pilot of the Su-37 responded with, "M-my apologies, Your Highness! My flight will see to it that you are safely escorted back to the palace! All Talon aircraft, form up around the jet in front of us. They are friendly, and are escorting our Prince home.' With that, the five powerful fighters arrayed themselves around the Sky Rover, and Hunter resumed his flight towards the Palace.