Chapter 9

Once inside, G-Force quietly crept through the base, avoiding both guards and security cameras. They didn't want to alert Zoltar to their presence.

"What's this?" Jason asked. "This doorway looks suspicious…"

"What makes you think it looks suspicious?" asked Mark.

Jason gestured toward the door in question.

Emblazoned on the front in bright red were the words:

Top Secret! G-Force, Do Not Enter!

"I guess we've found it, then." Princess grinned, kissing Jason on the cheek. "Nice work, Condor."

Mark merely rolled his eyes as they slipped through the door.

The three of them gasped in shock as they saw what lay inside.

"Heavy…" breathed Jason.

The room was an arsenal. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of missiles were stacked in neat rows from floor to ceiling.

And each one of those missiles looked exactly like 7-Zark-7.

Mark supposed that it wasn't too much of a stretch. He had always thought that the robot guardian looked a lot like a missile.

Exactly like a missile…

"We have to warn the Chief!" he cried.

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"Groovy One to Chief Anderson! Urgent!" came the frantic voice from Anderson's communication device.

"What is it, Mark?" the Chief responded, wondering what had gotten the Eagles panties in such a twist.

"7-Zark-7…" said Mark breathlessly, "He's… he's a bomb!"

"What?" exclaimed Anderson, "A bomb? Did I hear you right, Groovy One?"

"Yes! He's going to explode! Evacuate! Now!"

Just then, the entire Center Neptune complex rocked violently, throwing the Chief across the room. He scrambled to reach the emergency alarm system.

"This is not a drill!" Anderson announced into his communications microphone, "All personnel evacuate Center Neptune, immediately!"

He had never liked that damn robot.

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"Do you think the message got through to the Chief?" asked Princess, concerned.

"I think so…" Mark said. "In any case, communications seem to be down now. Hopefully that means that everyone is abandoning the base."

"In the meantime, it's our job to stop Dr. Zoltar's plan to detonate that nuclear weapon in the Earth's mantle." Jason reminded them. "His deadline ends tomorrow, so we have to make sure we find that missile today."

Mark nodded.

"You're right, Jason. Let's get out of here." the Eagle said, moving toward the door.

But just as they reached it, a brown-haired youth appeared in front of them.

"Brrrrt…. know who… doot… you are!" he cried. "G-Force!"

"Jinpei?" asked Jason, confused.

"Beep… what are you… brrrt… doing here?" Keyop asked, his eyes narrowing.

"We're trying to stop Dr. Zoltar from detonating his stolen nuclear weapon in the Earth's mantle and destroying the planet." Princess explained.

"Doot… thought so…" Keyop grinned evilly, as he pulled the alarm.

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Less than a quarter of an hour later, the three G-Force members were sitting in Dr. Zoltar's evil conference room, surrounded by at least a dozen green-suited goons pointing evil rifles at their heads.

"You won't get away with this, Dr. Zoltar!" protested Mark, struggling against his bonds.

"And who's going to stop me?" laughed Zoltar, Mr. X cradled in his arms. "Now that my son has turned you over to me, there's no one left to thwart my plans for World Domination!"

"You don't actually expect the Federation to pay?" Jason asked angrily.

"No, Mister Condor, I expect the Federation to die…" Zoltar hissed.

"What are you going to do with us, you monster?" spat Princess.

"I have something special in mind for you three…" Zoltar gave an evil smile. He gestured to a blank wall, which slid smoothly aside to reveal a small platform suspended above a water tank.

"I'm going to leave you there…" he pointed at the platform. "You will be lowered into this pit filled with man-eating sharks with lasers…" The water in the pit splashed, and the G-Force team could see the laser-bearing sharks swirling just below the surface.

"Isn't that… brrrt… kind of… doot… complicated?" Keyop asked. "Just… beep… shoot them!"

"Shoot them? How crude." Zoltar responded. "They need a slow, torturous death to remind them never to fight me again!"

"Brrt… but… if you shoot them…" Keyop protested, "Beep… they will never… doot… fight you again…"

"Nonsense!" Zoltar dismissed his son's opinion. "It's obvious you have a lot to learn about becoming an evil mastermind, Keyop."

The Doctor waved his hand, commanding his guards to take Mark, Jason and Princess over to the watery pit.

"Guards!" he ordered, "Load them onto the unnecessarily slow-moving platform and get back here!"

"Now," Zoltar continued, barely paying attention as his foes were escorted away from the evil conference table. "Let's discuss some changes to my evil plan…" He pressed an evil button, and the wall panel between the evil conference room and the evil shark pit began to close.

"Brrrt… wait!" cried Keyop, "Doot… aren't you… beep… even going to watch them… die?"

"No…" explained Zoltar patiently. "I'm going to just assume that my evil plan has been executed as I have instructed and take it for granted that they die."

Keyop's face was a mask of confusion.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted," Zoltar cast a dark look at Keyop, "I think we need to move up the launch date of the missile. Now that G-Force has found us, you can bet that Federation forces won't be far behind. We will launch the missile in two hours!"

"Brrrt… finally…" muttered Keyop, "A… doot… decision that makes… beep…. sense…"

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The unnecessarily slow-moving platform continued its inexorable descent toward the evil shark-infested waters below.

"What are we going to do, Dad?" cried Princess. She struggled against the chains connecting her to the platform.

"Well, first, we need to think of a way to defeat these sharks…" Jason muttered.

"Sharks…" Mark said thoughtfully. "Sharks… are delicious… shark steaks… shark teriyaki… shark tempura… sushi!"

"That's it, your old man's gone insane." Jason whispered to Princess.

"Di' someone say, sushi?" came a familiar voice.

"Tiny!" Mark exclaimed, "We need you to eat those sharks down there! Just watch out for the lasers…"

"No problem, Commanner!" the Fat Bird replied. He dove into the water, his kilt flying.

"I guess the rumors about what a Scotsman wears under his kilt are true…" grinned Jason.

Princess had a queasy look on her face.

The watery pit turned into a churning, seething mass of froth, laser blasts, growls and squeals. Finally the waters cleared.

A large hand emerged, followed by the rest of the Fat Bird's body. He sluggishly pulled himself out of the pit, breathing heavily. At last he rolled over, and gave a giant burp.

"Tha was delicious!" exclaimed Tiny.

"Thanks, big guy!" Mark smiled. "We owe you one!"

"Naw… I owe yew one." protested Tiny. "After all, yew tol' meh abou' this great sushi…"

Princess finally managed to free herself from her chains. Pulling out her arms, she quickly worked Jason and Mark free of their bonds.

When they turned around, Tiny was gone again.

"We have to find that nuclear weapon!" Mark declared, picking up a discarded laser gun and holstering it.