Uptown Danger!

Part 4

Hello, all! Thank you for being so patient for what MIGHT be the last part in this story. I may have one more trick or two up my sleeve *wink wink* Anyway, here is Part 4, and I hope you enjoy!

A siren sounded throughout the streets as firefighters were en route to the Splendidville Zoo. It had been at least 20 minutes since the explosion when Arch-Enemy and Sebastian had gotten away with Gamma Girl. A wall of fire separated Captain Man and Kid Danger from the rest, and Charlotte and Jasper coughed as they searched through the smoke for their friends.

"Captain Man!" Charlotte called out.

"Kid Danger!" Jasper called out.

"This is the absolute worst possible thing that could ever happen", said Emily, still in shock. "Not only has my sister been kidnapped by one of the most, if not THE MOST, diabolical villain she's ever faced, but he also knows her secret identity!"

"Get it together, Emily", said Susan. "We have to take this one step at a time."

"Why couldn't I have gotten superpowers good enough so that I can go after her?!"

"It will be alright. Let's not focus on what we can't do."

The air was filled with the roars and screeches of the zoo animals as the fire spread.

"Now, we can't do anything for Emma right now, and based on what you've told me she can buy herself some time; what we can do is save the zoo animals."

Emily nodded and followed her mother over to where Charlotte, Jasper and Schwoz were.

"I know you guys are worried about your friends", said Susan, "just like we're worried about Emma; but if you have a way, could you help us save the animals?"

"Oh, yah, that is no problem!" said Schwoz. "Let me just pull out my portable fire extinguisher."

"You have a portable fire extinguisher?!" they all said, and Schwoz shrugged.

"Always."

He quickly pulled it out and extinguished the flames where the source of the fire began.

"Schwoz, help the Troswells put out the fire", said Charlotte. "Jasper and I will keep looking for Captain Man and Kid Danger."

"On it!"

Schwoz ran off with Emily and Susan as Charlotte and Jasper continued calling for Captain Man and Kid Danger.

…

Captain Man groaned as he came to, surrounded by darkness. He slowly got to his feet and brushed the debris off his suit.

"Holy explosion", he muttered. "That was bigger than any we've seen before, eh, Kid?"

He expected Kid Danger to agree with him, but instead was met by silence.

"Kid?"

Captain Man looked around, but he was alone.

"Kid!"

Beginning to panic, he started digging around in the dirt.

"Kid, where are you?!"

Suddenly, a cascade of dirt and debris fell over him. Coughing as the dust cleared, Captain Man looked up to see a light above him.

"Captain Man!" he heard a voice cry.

"Kid Danger!" another called.

"Hey!" Captain Man called up, waving his arms to get someone's attention. "Hey, down here!"

But no one acknowledged his presence.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me", said Captain Man, pacing the floor. "How the heck can I-"

He froze as he spotted a blue and red glove buried under a pile of rubble.

"Oh, my god", he said, getting down on his hands and knees. "Kid!"

He began to dig frantically, ignoring the debris that continued to fall on his head.

"Oh, come on, Kid", he muttered, "don't do this to me…"

At that moment, Kid Danger emerged from behind Captain Man, staring at him confusedly. He looked up to see another barrage of debris about to fall on him.

"Oh, man-Look out!" he cried, and used his hyper-motility to pull him out of the way.

Not seeming to notice that Kid Danger had just saved him, Captain Man stifled a sob.

"Oh, no!" he squeaked. "He's gone. HE WAS SO YOUNG!"

Kid Danger covered his mouth with his non-gloved hand as Captain Man began to wail.

"Whyyyyyy?! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!"

Kid Danger could no longer contain himself and accidentally let a snort escape his lips. Captain Man froze, and spun around.

"Okay, I know this looks bad", said Kid Danger, "but in my defense...you sounded REALLY funny just now, dude!"

Kid Danger started laughing as Captain Man continued to stare at him.

"By the way, do you know a way out of here?" said Kid Danger.

"No, I do not!" said Captain Man. "I was a little busy, trying to save your life!"

"Well, I'm alive, dude, so can we focus on getting out now?"

"Sure, whatever you'd like, dude."

"Okay-so I feel like that was really sarcastic."

With a growl, Captain Man launched himself at his sidekick.

"I'll show you sarcastic, you little twerp! GET OVER HERE!"

…

Charlotte thought she heard high-pitched screams coming from a distance.

"Wait-Jasper, did you hear that?" she said, putting out a hand to stop him.

"Hear what?"

The screams could be heard again, and Jasper nodded.

"Sounds like Kid Danger, and he's in danger!" he said.

A slightly more masculine-sounding yell sounded out, and Charlotte and Jasper looked at each other.

"He's being chased by Captain Man", they said simultaneously.

"Alright", Charlotte sighed, "let's go see what he did this time."

They followed the source of the screams to a hole in the crater the bomb created, where they looked down and saw Kid Danger running from Captain Man while dodging laser blasts.

"Come on, man, it was just a joke!" said Kid Danger, ducking behind a rock as a blast from Captain Man's laser shooter impacted it.

"It wasn't a joke to me!" said Captain Man. "You know how I hate it when people make me cry!"

"Yeah-plus, it sounds really weird."

Kid Danger let out a squeak and ducked behind the rock again.

"Guys!" Charlotte called. "Up here!"

"It's us!" said Jasper.

Captain Man and Kid Danger looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Charlotte!" Captain Man exclaimed.

"Jasper!" said Kid Danger. "Oh, man, it is really good to see you guys."

"Just hold on!" said Charlotte. "We'll find you a way out of that hole!"

"What?!" Captain Man called.

"She said, "We'll find you a way out of that hole!"" Jasper called in a louder voice.

"What?!" the two superheroes said.

"WE SAID, WE'LL-!"

BOOM! Another cascade of dirt, rubble and debris came raining down on top of them.

"NO!" Charlotte cried.

She and Jasper stood in shock as the two heroes were buried once more.

"Henry", she said softly.

"Ray", said Jasper.

A gloved fist popped out of the ground, and Captain Man's head soon emerged, taking a deep breath.

"I'm okay", he wheezed. "He might need some help, though."

Kid Danger soon popped out of the ground as well, breathing heavily as Captain Man tossed Charlotte and Jasper a rope.

"Okay, now I see why my joke wasn't all that funny", he said as Charlotte and Jasper helped pull them up to higher ground.

…

BANG! Arch-Enemy's jeep smashed through the gates of a seemingly abandoned warehouse and pulled into the parking lot. Sebastian got out and did a quick perimeter scan before opening the door for his boss.

"Yes", said Arch-Enemy. "This will do nicely. Take our guest inside."

Sebastian smiled and reached inside the back of the jeep, tossing the still unconscious Gamma Girl over his shoulder.

Double doors slid open as the two villains entered a laboratory.

"You see?" said Arch-Enemy. "I never get the cool hideouts-the doors that go whoosh, that's like a villain's DREAM lair!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but said nothing as he carried Gamma Girl over to a containment cell.

"I speak from experience when I say do not take those cuffs off of her until she is one-hundred percent secured. The last time I thought she was unconscious, she...well, never mind. Put her in."

Sebastian carefully lowered the girl into the cell and removed the cuffs before quickly shutting the door behind him.

"And now, to explore our new home", said Arch-Enemy. "What shall we do first, Sebastian: See the town, steal some things, get churros? I'm open to suggestions."

As the double doors closed behind them, Gamma Girl came to and groaned.

"Huh? Where am I?"

Gradually, she got up and looked around.

"Did Arch-Enemy get another new lair?"

Suddenly, it all came flooding back to her: The attack at the zoo, meeting Captain Man and Kid Danger, trying to save her mom...and inadvertently revealing her secret identity to one of the worst criminals she had ever come across before being knocked out.

Gamma Girl subtly examined her surroundings.

"I'll say this for Arch-Enemy", she thought to herself, "he certainly has gotten some upgrades. But the color scheme doesn't really seem like his style."

She noticed a smashed glass shelf on the floor and a partially-opened door behind her.

"Strange, I don't think I've ever seen this part of Splendidville. Wait a minute…"

She had just noticed a sign on the door behind her: Swellview Gas Company.

"Uh-oh", she thought. "That's because I'm not in Splendidville. Arch-Enemy must have taken me to-!"

WHOOSH! Arch-Enemy and Sebastian entered the room.

"Ah, Gamma Girl", said Arch-Enemy, "or should I say, Emma Troswell. I see you're awake. How do you like your new home?"

"I'll admit, it's not bad..not despicable like you, anyway", said Gamma Girl, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Jest all you want, dear girl, for soon this town shall be under my command!"

"I don't think so. As soon as Captain Man and Kid Danger get back-"

She was cut off by a cackle from the supervillain.

"I'm afraid your new friends won't be joining us, anytime soon. You see, they were caught in a rather "explosive" crime scene."

"What?!"

"The same goes for your family."

"You...you...you MONSTER!"

Gamma Girl launched herself at the glass, her eyes glowing green, but nothing more happened.

"Foolish child", said Arch-Enemy. "Did you not think I would come prepared? I had Sebastian rig that containment cell with just the slightest hint of Vitamin C; not enough to kill you, but it will keep you from escaping until I decide exactly how to dispose of you."

"You'll never get the chance", said Gamma Girl darkly. "When I get my hands on you-"

"That's where you're wrong", said Arch-Enemy. "Every time you try to escape, the Vitamin C levels will increase, draining you of power even further. If the levels get high enough, well...let's just say you'll spoil my fun."

Gamma Girl's eyes darkened and she growled.

"Well, I would just love to stay and chat", said Arch-Enemy, "but I'm off to let the people know who their new leader is, now that their dear, departed superheroes are no more!"

Sebastian followed his boss out of the room as he cackled, electricity sparkling in his hair.

"I don't care what he said", said Gamma Girl. "I have to get out of here!"

She began beating on the glass and immediately felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Looking past the shattered glass, she could see a gauge with the Vitamin C levels in her cell: 15%.

"On second thought, I'd better not push my luck", she thought, and sat down.

…..

Back at the remains of the Splendidville Zoo, Schwoz and the Troswells were putting out the last of the fire when they were joined by Captain Man, Kid Danger, Charlotte and Jasper.

"Captain Man!" Schwoz cried, running up to him and throwing himself in his arms. "Thank goodness, you are alright!"

"Uh, heh-Schwoz", said Captain Man, patting him awkwardly, "we've talked about this!"

Schwoz quickly got down.

"Well, at least we didn't lose everybody", said Emily, still dejected from her sister's kidnapping.

"Hey, don't worry", said Kid Danger, sitting down beside her. "We will find your sister, and she will be fine."

He went to put an arm around her.

"I have a boyfriend."

"Right."

Kid Danger backed away.

"Now, you guys know the lay of the land", said Captain Man. "Any idea where they would've taken her?"

"Oh, Arch-Enemy has lots of evil lairs hidden throughout various parts of Splendidville", said Emily.

Kid Danger and Captain Man groaned.

"But luckily, most of them were destroyed by Gamma Girl."

Kid Danger and Captain Man cheered.

"Which only leaves 17 for us to check."

The two superheroes groaned again.

"Seventeen?!" said Kid Danger. "Geez, how many did this guy have to begin with: 200?"

"Actually, it was 293."

Captain Man and Kid Danger stared at Emily incredulously.

"Wow", said Captain Man.

"Yeah, that's uh...that's a lot of lairs", said Kid Danger.

"So I guess we should be glad that there are only 17 left out of 293", said Charlotte. "If we each download maps of Splendidville on our phones with the lairs' locations highlighted, the seven of us should be able to go through them in no time."

"Odds are, one of us is bound to find out where they took Gamma Girl", Jasper chimed in.

"You know what, you're right", said Emily, pulling out her phone. "I'll send each of you guys a labeled section of the map. That'll be the place for you to explore."

"And if we see anything, how are we gonna let each other know?" said Susan.

"Mom? They're called cell phones."

"Oh...right."

"This plan is gooood", said Kid Danger. "Let's do this!"

Within a few minutes, everyone had different sections of the map on their phones and they spread out across the city to look.

Jasper was sent to the downtown district, where one of the evil lairs was located underneath an abandoned swimming pool. There he came across a bunch of teenagers engaged in an epic a cappella battle, but there was no sign of Arch-Enemy.

The next location took him to an old motel, where he witnessed some shady figures standing outside in alleyway. Across the street were some detectives who seemed to be hunting the shady individuals. Assuming Arch-Enemy was not there, either, Jasper ran away quickly before a fight could break out.

His last location brought him to a seemingly-abandoned retirement home, where he looked through a window and saw a bunch of old ladies bowing down to a group of cats. Jasper shuddered.

"I am really glad Gamma Girl is in charge of this city", he thought to himself, and moved on.

Charlotte was sent to the upper part of town, where all the rich folks lived. Her first evil lair was located within a gated community, underneath the tennis court, where she found nothing. But when she tried to leave, the residents tried to stop her, claiming that no one ever left Swell Air. Luckily, she was able to escape using a smoke grenade Schwoz had given her.

The next evil lair for her to check was at an old restaurant that had recently moved to a new location, where she saw a group of masked figures meeting in the kitchen and discussing the next meeting location for the P.F.C.R. But there was no sign of Arch-Enemy.

Her last location for an evil lair was at a rich-looking park, where she saw a crazed woman talking to all the squirrels around her as if they could understand her, but nothing more.

Captain Man and Kid Danger were sent to similar locations, as were Susan, Emily and Schwoz: There were five different theme parks in Splendidville, but none of them had any clues as to where Arch-Enemy was, and none of the five found anything.

Kid Danger and Captain Man went to an old grocery store and an abandoned video store, while Susan and Emily checked an old racing ground and a boarded up youth center.

Schwoz went to the 16th lair location on his own: A museum that was said to be haunted by evil spirits. But it turned out to be nothing more than a tourist attraction, complete with a sideshow of four men in jumpsuits with vacuum cleaners on their backs.

Finally, the seven of them came together to check the very last location: The old Splendidville library.

…

Captain Man kicked the doors open and the group stepped inside.

"So let me get this straight", said Emily. "Out of 16 locations, no one found anything?"

"Well…", said Charlotte.

"I wouldn't say we didn't find anything so much as I would say, we didn't find anything relating to Arch-Enemy", said Jasper.

"Yeah, you guys have got some seriously messed-up people in this town", said Kid Danger.

"And what the heck is the P.F.C.R.?!" said Captain Man.

"The People for Chickens' Rights?" said Emily and Susan simultaneously.

"Yeah, they've been having meetings since 2005", said Susan.

"Yeah, I heard they once started protesting during some sort of chicken wing-eating contest", said Emily.

"That poor, chubby kid", they said together.

"Okay, let's focus", said Charlotte. "This is our last shot at finding Gamma Girl."

"Right", said Captain Man. "Everyone, spread out and shout out if you find something."

The group went their separate ways: Kid Danger and Jasper headed upstairs, Captain Man and Schwoz went downstairs, and Charlotte, Susan and Emily stayed on the main floor to search for clues.

"I've been meaning to ask", Charlotte said quietly to Emily, "how did you know about all of these places?"

"Emma told me. She figured it would be a good idea if one of us kept a list of potential hiding places, not just for Arch-Enemy but for all potential villains."

"How very resourceful of her", said Susan. "Here's hoping we find her so I can tell her how proud I am."

"Okay, so let's say you were stranded on a deserted island", said Kid Danger, "and you had no food for three days."

"Dude, if you're gonna ask me whether or not I would eat my own foot, the answer is totally yes", said Jasper.

"I know, right?"

Jasper suddenly tapped Kid Danger's shoulder.

"Check it out!"

He pointed to a bookshelf in front of them with a hardback novel that was slightly sticking out of the shelf: How To Be a Better Villain.

"Oh, sweet!" said Kid Danger, reaching for it.

"Uh, Kid Danger, maybe we shouldn't-"

SWOOSH! As soon as Kid Danger grabbed the book, the wall slid around and swallowed the two of them in darkness.

Captain Man slowly walked around on the lower level, sighing as Schwoz clung to his back.

"Just because we're not with the others does NOT give you permission to treat me like a little kid's dad, Schwoz."

"But I am scared!"

When Schwoz refused to let go, Captain Man let him fall to the ground.

"Well, that was very mean!" said Schwoz, rubbing his head from the ground.

Captain Man shrugged.

"I warned ya!"

Suddenly, they heard a loud banging coming from the wall in front of them. Schwoz screamed and went to jump into Captain Man's arms again, but he stood aside and let him fall.

"Alright, who's in there?" Captain Man demanded, pulling out his laster shooter. "Come out with your hands up!"

The banging grew more incessant, and Captain Man sighed. He went up to the wall and started tapping on the bricks. Still upset with him, Schwoz leaned his hand on an old candle on the mantle, and the wall slid open. Kid Danger and Jasper walked through, coughing.

"Thanks, dude", said Kid Danger.

"Man, it was dark in there!" said Jasper.

"What are you two doing down here?" said Schwoz.

"Yeah", said Captain Man, "aren't you supposed to be-"

"Guys, up here! QUICK!"

Looking at each other, the boys scrambled to get up the stairs, once again getting caught in the doorframe at the top. As soon as they had untangled themselves and gotten to where the girls were, they were shocked to see the looks on their faces.

"What is it?" said Captain Man.

"What's wrong?" said Kid Danger.

"The good news is, we know where to find Arch-Enemy", said Emily.

"Yah", said Schwoz.

"And the bad news?" said Jasper.

Charlotte looked at them and handed them a slip of paper. It was a to-do list labeled by Arch-Enemy:

Monday-pick up dry-cleaning (make sure they used starch on the cape!)

Tuesday-threaten splendidville with villainous scheme #354

Wednesday-repeat #2, if not successful on tuesday

Thursday-repeat #s 2 and 3, if not successful

Friday-if still unsuccessful, capture my greatest enemy and find a new town to conquer

Any day now-take over the world!

"Oh, my god", said Captain Man.

"He's gone to Swellview!" said Jasper.

"This is not gooood", said Kid Danger.

To Be Continued…

Hey, guys, Imagigirl20 here! I hope you enjoyed this extra-special extended chapter, and kudos to you if you were able to identify the specific references within! Don't miss the exciting conclusion to Uptown Danger...you know, as soon as I have time to write and post it. Until then, feel free to share your thoughts about this chapter and I'll see you soon!

-Imagigirl20