ELEVEN: Grand Scheme

The monsters were now heading back towards the Americas after their mission in Norway. Sentinel piloted once again whilst Dr Sprocket began sifting through all the data they had collected from the plant.

In the cargo hold Cobra was fast asleep in the back whilst Sharon was being fussed over by Polly, insisting she should be checked up over her radiation absorption, even altering her clothes to look like a nurses.

"I keep telling you I'm fine!" Sharon told her, "Just feeling a bit itchy, that's all!"

"You could have radiation poisoning! All your hair could fall out! I'm not having my friend go bald!"

"It's sweet that you care but the radiation levels inside me are already dropping, Doc's spare Geiger counter proved that. In a few hours I'll be radiation free."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Well then, I feel ridiculous wearing this outfit now." She said and she turned her clothes back to normal.

Sharon scratched her itchy arm as she smiled at Polly. Then she looked over to the sleeping Cobra, "So I never really asked: What's Cobras part in this? How was he immune to this mind control energy?"

"He was in a coma at the time so he became resistant to the effects. Unlike his family, his mother tried to kill him a few days ago, y'know?"

"Oh my gosh! The poor kid," she said through her fingers, looking at the sleeping reptile again.

"Neither was seriously harmed. He's doing this, I think, just to get his family back."

"And yourself: family?"

"Grown in a petri dish. My closest relative would be B.O.B as his indestructible cells are what made me but we don't send each other Christmas cards. I'm doing this to see my friends again when they're not trying to liquefy me."

"And Dr Sprocket and Sentinel?"

"Same really: Save friends as well as the world. You probably got the most to lose. That large family of yours, all those sisters and nieces, your mom and dad!"

"They're not really my…I'm not really they're…"

"You're doing this for them, because they are family. Your flesh and blood."

Sharon still had a hard time accepting that she had relatives. But Polly was right, she was doing this for them, and she was going to make damn sure they were going to be saved from this alien menace.

Dr Sprocket then rushed out of the cockpit and hung over the railing, "Chaps!"

Cobra woke with a start and fell on the floor.

"Come up to the cockpit! I've found out what's going to happen!"

The White House, Washington

The Oval Office…

A number of generals and scientists (including Dr Cockroach) were gathered round the President's desk, he had just been informed of the Nuclear Power Plants destruction. He looked up at them, their faces trying to mask their fear.

"Gentlemen," he said calmly, "With our grand scheme close at hand there is really no margin for interferences. And with this latest predicament I have reached a level of anger so high that there isn't a facial expression for it, and I must stay that way because if I start to calm down I might end up…"

He pointed his robotic arm at one of the scientists and vaporized him on the spot.

"…doing something like that. Stay angry. Stay angry." He told himself.

"Sir," a general stepped forward, "Witness reports say there were five monsters present at the scene. They overloaded the reactor core after downloading detailed files from the main computer."

The president still had a look of calm on his face, "Five?"

"Yes, the Cobra boy, the Polymorph, the robot scientist, the Nano-drone and…a giantess."

"That is not possible," he got up and looked out the window, he could see his giantess army patrolling the grounds, they were all accounted for, "Every giant earther is under my control, protecting my location."

"Reports say this giantess resembled that of Ms Susan Murphy but with different hair." Said the General.

"It is Susan's clone: Satanica, My Lord." Said Dr Cockroach, "That is why she is immune to your power."

The President had to restrain himself from blasting the bug scientist there and then; he still needed him, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"My memories are…clouded…can't think…" Dr Cockroach began to twitch, his antennas shaking violently.

The President pressed a button on his desk and increased the mind control energy, bringing the mad scientist back under his control.

"You're not escaping me that easily, bug. But it seems I can't know everything you know without releasing my hold over you."

"Sorry, sir." Said Dr Cockroach.

"Just get back to your station. I trust construction of the tower is nearing completion?"

"Should be ready nearly soon, My Lord."

"Good. The enemy is now learning of what we are achieving and will try to stop us, get any remaining nuclear plants to finish the work on the nukes. Now leave me."

The crowd turned and left. Leaving the alien alone, his temper slowly fading to a level where he couldn't hide it anymore. He blasted a couch and watched it burn before zapping the flag off the wall.

There came a knock on the door and another scientist entered.

"Mr President, you wanted an update?" he said, keeping his distance.

"Yes. What progress have you made on Dietl?"

"He's back on his feet, well not really his feet, but he's standing again. And we've replaced the damaged tissue, bear in mind he has suffered 89% burns."

"Take me to him. I need a change of scene to cheer me up, seeing a radiation scarred human will do just fine."

"So what's the scoop, Doc?" asked Cobra once they were all (except Sharon) in the cockpit.

Dr Sprocket sat at the computer monitor, notes and documents scattered across the screen.

"We know that this alien President has been putting nuclear missiles at strategic places across the planet. This is so he has a 360 degree rate of fire; he can shoot at his enemies in all directions."

"What enemies?" asked Polly.

"The ones across the galaxy, possibly the universe."

"But how's he going to do that? Nuclear missiles can't reach that far!" Sharon pointed out.

"That was the first of two horrifying things I uncovered. Seems he's not just been making missile launchers, he's also been tunnelling down to the Earth's core and fitted a generator of power I never thought existed. It's a power system that can move the planet out of its orbit and pilot it anywhere across space."

"He's turned the whole freaking planet into a warship?" exclaimed Cobra.

Polly went white (literally) as Sharon covered her mouth in shock.

"Soon. It's not quite ready yet. He's been getting the humans to build this system for him, it's nearing its final stages."

"Then what becomes of the humans and everyone else who are possessed?" asked Polly.

"That's the second horrifying thing I discovered. Once it's completed: they're expendable. The President has also had Dr Cockroach construct one of his old 'Doomsday Devices' and give it a major boost. It's a large tower of concentrated neutrino energy, when its released it will reduce every living thing to dust. The President has made the White House immune to the energies effects as well as his command bridge for the 'Starship Earth'."

The room was silent for a moment. Then Dr Sprocket summed it all up.

"Planet becomes largest warship in history. Humans go bye-bye."

"That does it! We have to stop him NOW!" said Sharon, close to ripping off the railing again.

"Where can we find this tower of genocide?" asked Polly.

"Surprise surprise. It's under the Washington monument. He gets to observe the extinction of earth from the comfort of his office. The tunnel to the planets core is directly underneath the tower as well, that's where it gets its energy."

"Right, so we need to stop the President, save everyone from those mind-control satellites, take down the tower-o-genocide and destroy that planet moving generator? Just another day at the office then?" Said Cobra.