(This is the next chapter of "Beyond the Looking Glass." We hope you like it.)
(Note from S.P.D. Gold Ranger: We are SO SORRY for the long wait. My computer has an ungodly habit of crapping out on me at the worst times. Here's the long-awaited...)
Chapter 11: Roundabout Ruckus
(Written by Mat49324)
(Brief A/n: I forgot to mention what happens during the two-minute warning: when that happens, teams can replace anyone on the floor with any other player.)
(up in the booth)
Bil: Welcome back to Extreme Dodgeball. The Armed Response has fought back from as much as a 5-point deficit and have come back to take a 3-point lead, over the Denver Hurlers. Zach, in your run-of-the-mill life, have you ever seen such a comeback?
Zach: Never have in my life, Bil. With 2 minutes left, let's get back down to the floor and see how this one wraps up.
(down to the floor...)
(Mathew's P.O.V.)
"On the whistle, guys, alright?" Burns said to us, holding the whistle.
He blew the whistle, and the clock resumed it's ticking down.
"This is it, guys," I said to my team.
Everyone on my team nodded their heads. They switched their dead-man from Kel Watrtin, to me once again. Denver switched from Adrian Quihuis, to Gary "Spaz" Davis yet again. After we took about 10 seconds, Burns gave Roe and Benedetto a 5-count.
"Alright, you both got 5 seconds," Burns said.
"Animal, throw the damn thing," I said to him.
I was hiding behind Tanya Fenderbosch for added protection and other various reasons. After Burns' 5-count reduced to 2, Benedetto finally let loose with the red ball he held. He just barely missed Roe, and Bobby barely missed Benedetto from his own throw at him. I had looked at both throws and sighed in relief when Roe's throw missed my teammate. But, things quickly got ultimately scary when Kelly Lovato made a catch on Kel Watrin's throw, pulling the Hurlers within two.
"That was big!!" Bridget screamed.
"Now what'll they do?" Haruka said, looking worried.
"Calm down, girls. I know they can do this," Nick said to them.
I decided to take a chance and play up for just one throw. Mandy Sommers, who had a ball, trusted me and gave it to me. Taking a big chance, I threw it, and it really paid off when I had hit the dead-man, "Spaz", resulting in a two-point play. Danno Kingman took the headband and all the girls and Nick were relieved.
"That was too close!!" Sam said, clutching her chest.
"You said it," Clover said, clenching her fists.
"This is gonna be close," Nick said, crossing his fingers.
With just over a minute left to play, Danno Kingman threw a ball and it hit Tanya Fenderbosch on her knee. Good thing she was in front of me because if she wasn't, that would've been two points for Denver. I called Mandy (Sommers) over to protect me. I was doing the smart thing -- keeping myself protected.
"I can't take it anymore -- my stomach is too tight!!" Alex said, but she refused to leave her seat.
However, the lonely kill by Kingman was Denver's final point for the game. The score was 46-42, with only 10 seconds left. I decided to call off the protection and everyone on my team threw the balls in celebration for the last 5 seconds. The buzzer sounded. It was all over!! The Armed Response had won their first game of their 10-game season and 5,000 dollars. Everyone on L.A. was celebrating. I was too ecstatic, I was embracing both girls on my team and high-fiving all the guys.
(up in the booth)
Bil: That's it!! That's the game!! Armed Response has won their first game of the season. What a game, Zach!!
Zach: You said it, Bil. Armed Response, they fought back. They were down by as much as 5 points, and then look at this, they have won!!
Bil: They fought back indeed, Zach!! Michele, whaddya got for us?
(down on the floor)
"Armed Response has won for the first time this season. Sebastien Sciotti, 11 kills, 1 catch, how does it feel?" Michele asked, feeling excited for us.
"Man it feels so good," Sebastien said, looking pumped.
"We knew we needed a win -- badly, and then look at this, we finally got one."
Michele moved over to me.
"Now, we know Sebastien here had 11 kills and a catch, but you... you... 10 kills, 3 catches, 4 dead-man walking -- Mathew Vasconcellos, you're just a rookie -- fill-in I should say, and look at that, you just seriously helped your team out!!" she said to me.
"Yeah, thanks, Michele. It's been one of my lifelong dreams to actually play dodgeball, but it's not just me and Sebastien here that helped us with this win -- everyone on this team deserves some credit," I said.
"And, even today, I told myself that none of my teammates would expect much out of me, but I wanted to give them a good performance and a good impression. Let's do this, guys!! We're gonna rock the rest of the season!!"
"There you got it guys, a happy L.A. Armed Response team, back to you, guys!!" Michele said.
(up in the booth.)
Zach: Thanks, Michele. Huge win for Armed Response, and they earned their first share of the 5,000 dollars.
Bil: Yeah. You had it your way and here's who you selected as today's Burger King "King of the Court":
1. Sebastien Sciotti: 20, 2. Danno Kingman: 0, 3. Mathew Vasconcellos (me): 60
(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)
"YES!!" all of the spies screamed, cheering for the Armed Response and their first win.
"See, Sammy, I TOLD you that Mat could pull it off!" Nick said to the redhead, giving her and Haruka a high-five.
"You think I ever doubted my own boyfriend?" Sam replied.
"Did I ever say that?" Nick shot back playfully.
"Hey, where's Bridget?" Alex asked.
"She stepped out to get some air. She was really tense during those final plays," Haruka replied, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
Meanwhile, outside the arena...
Bridget sighed in relief. "Man, that's a relief. I'm SO glad that Mat and his teammates won the game."
Taking a walk around the outskirts of the arena, Bridget began recalling one of her past missions...
Back in the arena...
Suddenly, Haruka's X-Powder beeped. Out of curiosity, she opened it up. "Hmm... strange..."
"What is it, Haruka-chan?" Nick replied.
"My X-Powder's picking up a strange DNA reading somewhere outside the stadium," Haruka explained. "I'm extrapolating the code and translating the signal... now."
After a few seconds, a 13-year-old boy's profile popped up on Haruka's X-Powder screen.
"WHAT?" Haruka shouted; luckily, no one else in the stadium heard her shriek.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Sam asked.
"Look at this!" Haruka exclaimed, thrusting the X-Powder screen in front of the other spies. The name on the profile read Jeremy Taylor.
Outside the arena...
Bridget was so lost in thought on her past missions, she didn't even notice the boy coming up to her until she slammed into him. Falling flat on her back, she quickly attempted to form an apology.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm SO sorry-"
Her apology stopped on a dime when she noticed the boy she'd slammed into.
"Oh, my god! Jeremy?"
(Written by Mat49324)
(Bridget's P.O.V.)
I couldn't believe my eyes. Was my supposed-to-be-dead cousin, Jeremy standing right in front of me? I wasn't convinced. Maybe someone was trying to set me up.
"Jeremy, is it really you?" I said.
"Of course it's me," Jeremy said.
"Ain't you glad to see me?"
(Sam's P.O.V.)
Back in the stadium, I was standing with the rest of the girls and Nick. Mathew had told us he'd meet us back home.
"Haruka, are you sure that's what your X-powder's saying?" I asked.
"Why would you doubt something WOOHP makes?" Haruka said.
"If that's what it says, then it's 100 percent positive that I'm getting a reading from Jeremy somewhere in this stadium. The only question really is... Where is he?"
"I wonder if he's outside with Bridget?" Clover guessed.
"We better get there, guys," Nick said. "This might be another trick."
"Hel-lo, Nick, how can this be another trick when both Scam and Macker are locked in jail?" Clover said.
"You never know, Clover, there's a possibility that it is," Alex pointed out. "We've faced down crazier situations before..."
(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)
"Jeremy, of course I'm glad to see you!" Bridget responded, rushing up and throwing her arms around Jeremy.
"How did you survive that, Jeremy? Everyone said that you died!"
Jeremy smiled. He had a feeling that Bridget would ask that.
"It's actually a long story, really," Jeremy explained. "A few days after--"
Jeremy's monologue was interrupted when Bridget threw her arms around him again.
"Oh, Jeremy... I'm just so glad you're alive!" Bridget replied, a few tears streaming out of her eyes.
"Could... could you take off your braids for me, Bridget?" Jeremy asked. "I never got a chance to see your hair down before I 'left'."
"Sure. Anything for you, Jeremy," Bridget said, reaching for her braids.
Once Bridget's hair was down, Jeremy was about to make a compliment on how cute Bridget looked, but was stopped by a mighty battle cry from afar...
...one that Bridget recognized!
Relying on instinct, Jeremy just barely dodged Nick's flying kick, stumbling back a few steps before bracing himself for Nick's next attack. Before Jeremy had supposedly 'died', he'd been taking karate classes, so he was able to counter Nick's attacks with some fancy moves of his own.
"What's your problem, kid?" Jeremy exclaimed while countering a spinning kick.
"I think you know what the problem is!" Nick shouted as the others arrived on the scene. Taking his chance, Nick hopped back and began charging up a psychic energy blast. Before he could fire it, however, Bridget rushed up and defended Jeremy.
"Nick, stop!" Bridget shouted. "Jeremy didn't do anything to you guys!"
"Get out of the way, Bridget!" Nick shot back. "This kid isn't what he seems!"
"And how can you prove that?" Bridget exclaimed.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Jeremy had taken a short sword from his pocket. Reacting fast, he thrust the sword towards Bridget...
(From Mat49324)
(Sam's P.O.V.)
I couldn't believe what we saw. Bridget's supposed-to-be-dead cousin was about to attack his own cousin.
"Let her go," Nick ordered.
"Oh, I don't think so," Jeremy snickered.
"Oh, shoot," I said.
"What's that, Sam?" Clover asked me.
"Nick took care of Scam, but we all forgot about Macker," I answered.
"I'm SO embarrassed," Haruka said with a little frustration in her tone.
"Never mind, guys," Nick said to us. "We've gotta get our Bridget out of his grasp and FAST!"
"But what do we do?" Alex asked.
"We've gotta do something fast," I assumed.
"Sorry, girls, it was my mistake," Nick apologized. "Bridget and I were so caught up in stopping Scam's thing that we totally forgot about Macker."
(Written by S.P.D. Gold Ranger)
"You guys!" Bridget shouted, protecting who she thought was her cousin. "Don't treat Jeremy like this!"
"How can you even be sure that IS Jeremy, Bridget?" Nick shot back.
"He knew about my braids! That was our biggest secret! Even Macker couldn't figure THAT out!" Bridget defended, holding her arms out in Jeremy's defense.
Unfortunately, that lull gave 'Jeremy' the perfect opportunity.
It happened so fast that no one, especially Bridget, saw it coming.
Suddenly, all Bridget could feel was a sharp pain in her back. Jeremy had just driven the knife straight into the emerald-haired girl's back.
"Wha... Jeremy... why?" was all Bridget could get out, too drained by her sudden wound to say anything else. The other spies gasped in shock as Bridget dropped to the ground, completely unconscious and seriously wounded.
No one said anything for a short while, until Alex noticed that Nick was glowing red with immense psychic energies.
"You... you BASTARD!" Nick exclaimed, charging for 'Jeremy'.
Jeremy held up his knife and tried to stab Nick as well, but the raging boy would have none of it. Nick quickly slapped the weapon out of Jeremy's hand, and delivered a powerful uppercut, one that sent Jeremy flying.
Not showing any mercy, Nick continued the attack with a psychic energy burst that did considerable damage.
Suddenly, Haruka noticed Nick's rage-filled eyes. Oh, no. I know that look, Haruka thought. The last time Nick's eyes had that look was the last time Nick's powers spiraled out of control. The last time it happened, well... things hadn't been pretty.
I've got to stop him before he kills someone, Haruka realized.
Nick quickly continued the assault, giving 'Jeremy' no time to counterattack or even catch his breath. Nick was pounding into the boy quite severely, and that red aura was growing, and quickly turning a dark purple.
Soon enough, the clone of Bridget's cousin Jeremy was nothing but a ripped-apart pile of mechanical nuts and bolts on the ground. But Nick just wouldn't stop pounding into the clone's remains. That was when Haruka made it a point to step in and stop her rampaging best friend.
As the aura around Nick quickly turned black, Haruka grabbed Nick's left arm with both of hers, forcibly pulling her lifelong friend back from the remains of Jeremy's clone. "Nick! STOP! You remember what happened the last time you lost control?"
Nick suddenly stopped, looking at Haruka. Slowly, he settled down, and his psychic aura shifted back to its normal yellow color. Once the aura had dissipated, Nick threw his arms around Haruka and started crying. "Oh, Haruka... I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, Nick. It's okay," Haruka comforted, returning the embrace.
"I just don't want Bridget to die," Nick said.
"Then let's get to W.O.O.H.P.," Sam noted, picking up the unconscious Bridget. "If we hurry, I'm sure she'll make it."
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Next time:
Chapter 12: Reckless Rush
Bridget sustained a severe wound during the last battle, and Nick and the gang are desperately trying to get to W.O.O.H.P. before it's too late to save the emerald-haired beauty. Unfortunately, Macker knows this, and has sent his best clones to stop the spies. Can they get past the clones and reach W.O.O.H.P. before time runs out for Bridget?
Ja ne,
Mat49324 and S.P.D. Gold Ranger