BarkingPup: Good to hear! ;) I like TV.
Kraven the Hunter: I value your input, and I mostly put those characters in for my own amusement (if it's any consolation, they're more like cameos than characters), but I wanted to make the biggest crossover ever. Yes, it's getting pretty chaotic, and I'm very sorry if some of you don't like it that way, but I thought it would be fun for the most part. Hope you'll continue to read, and again I apologize for the insanity.
Ch. 11: The Beginning of the End
A soft snicker of a child and the closing of a window could be barely heard during the serene night of this strange little town. The boy was probably around the 4th or 5th grade, wearing a red t-shirt and blue shorts, yellow hair rough and spiky, and carrying a bucket of live cockroaches. He swung to the tree branch closest to his window, like the mischievous monkey he is, then slowly lowered himself to the ground minding the sound he makes and the steps he takes, not wanting to be caught or break his skull. He landed on the fresh grass with a soft thud, then scampered off into the night to locate his accomplices and the school principle he very much wanted to prank.
A couple of his insect buddies crawled out of the bucket and escaped every few blocks, but leaving more than enough to make an old man and his mother shriek with terror. Besides the obvious behavior problems, the boy was actually a very nice kid. He had done a lot of bad in his time, but enough good, if not more, to make up for any of his deeds. From reuniting parents with their children to working for the mob to foiling insidious plots, he was regarded as a hero as well as a brat that needed to fade away from society. Sarcasm constantly dripped off of his words, but strictly for playful matters. His eyes were bright and hopeful for the future, anything that he should be scared of hidden in the farthest corner in his mind. Those fears, unfortunately, rose and surrounded him, once he felt the paranoia of being followed.
He whipped around, losing a couple more cockroaches with the motion, then scanned the area for spies. He could have sworn he heard a leaf rustle or a gush of wind that went before it came. He squinted his eyes with suspicion, but saw and heard nothing, so resumed his midnight stroll. Whether he heard anything or not, he turned around every couple blocks to make sure. When something didn't feel quite right, he quickened his pace and ducked behind a bush momentarily. If not a precaution, it may have been play, pretending to be a soldier.
The boy found himself at the lake, the power plant peaking over the horizon. Emerging from yet another bush, he stood atop the steep slope that led to the murky, mysterious waters. He stopped because he thought he saw a splash, now only seeing the ripple. Whatever it was, it must have been a big fish, but as he turned he saw something rise from the corner of his eye. Taking a double take he saw a child standing right in the middle of the lake, covered with mud, and blazing eyes burning through that mud to stare soullessly back. The boy was now in a horror movie.
He grunted as he felt a hard push from behind, losing his precious bugs and tumbling down the bank into the unforgiving rocks and sludge. He would have screamed, but he wasn't sure what to believe, what just happened? He looked behind him to see another child, same burning eyes, who then tackled him with a force inhuman. It's like she floated toward him like a ghost, and hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Who-who are you?" the boy bravely asked, comparing these children's challenge to a playground tussle. He was given no reply, unless one counts the gush of wind. He looked up to see the third child standing back at the slope, same burning eyes, but with horns.
He was pushed further into the water, toward the first girl, then pushed quickly back to the second. "Whoa! Hey man, what do you think you're doing?!" They were toying with him, they were picking at his fear. They could have made it quick, but the instructions were to make this look like an accident. It's highly unlikely that a boy would burst into flames or have a truck fall on him, but drowning? Unfortunately, possible. "Stop it, stop it!" He half growled, have squeaked, never meeting a child smaller than him that could push him so easily, and so far! He prepared to make his own fists fly, but conflicted to hit a girl.
He was now covered with mud, as were the two sisters who continued to play their game of pass. To the boy's surprise, and relief, they eventually stopped, then parted. But then all his hopes of winning this fight were thrown aside, when the child with horns rose from the bank, and glided over the surface of the water like a paper airplane. She floated just above him, letting him realize who here was going to die. "You…can fly?..." His scream was cut short by a sharp splash; the girl made a dive, and took him with her.
Now in the deepest and darkest of the waters, all the boy could see were three pairs of burning eyes piercing through the depths. Big gulps of air shot from his mouth, colliding with his attacker's face, yet had no effect. She held him to the floor, both hands on his shoulders, as he tried to tear them away. The sisters were watching intently, as if taking mental notes, if anything of the mental variety were possible in the minds of brainwashed assassins. One of them felt the pulse of another in the water, and turned around to meet a three eyed fish, her own eyes widening and bubbles flying from her mouth. The surprise brought out the familiar, animal enthusiast ideas that this formerly sweet girl cared so very much about.
The boy's vision was getting blurrier and darker by the second, his arms no longer wading and hands no longer clawing. His bright, pleading eyes moving nothing in the hollow shell of the girl with horns, he let himself slip into the comforting realm of unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was his attacker's eyes suddenly shutting and mouth letting out a silent scream as she was struck by a brilliant blue light.
xXx
"He moved!" "Quiet, quiet, give him some space." "Are you sure he's ok?" "Why don't you ask him?" "I said quiet!"
"Ohhh…" the boy had coughed up the last of the water in his lungs, and though he couldn't see just yet, he instinctively used his arms to back up then clutch a tree trunk for dear life. He was cleaned up a little, like he was quickly rinsed with lake water and dried by wind, but his clothes were wrinkled and he was still shivering from cold and fright. He felt woozy and feverish, and when he opened his eyes the world was spinning. He could however easily make out the girl with horns, who slapped a hand over his mouth when he weakly shrieked with terror.
"It's ok, it's ok, calm down!" she failed to console. He let go of the trunk to latch onto her wrist and attempt to pull her off, but she had an iron grip. He froze, given time to settle, allowing him to notice that they weren't horns, but a far less intimidating red bow. All three pairs of burning eyes were now as bright an innocent as his own, reflecting the moon.
"Don't worry, kid, everything's fine now." The girl in green intruded, their former victim poorly convinced.
"We're very sorry." Said the girl in blue softly, unable to look at him. She wrung her hands shamefully, staring at the ground. "We'll never hurt you again."
Just then, all three ascended slowly away from him, giving one last inspection for injuries, then shot to the sky like blue, red, and green comets in reverse. They left the boy still stunned and trembling, but they could do no more. He had to figure what the heck just happened, and if it really did happen, on his own.
"What do we do, where do we go?" Bubbles piped nervously, her sisters unable to respond for some time. "Do we hide? Do we go back to the Community?" It's not like there was any place they could hide, or they knew where the Community was.
"We keep flying, see what happens." Blossom decided. It wasn't much of a plan, but no one else had an idea. But, their fates were decided for them. As an invisible wave traveled through the air and hit their ears, their eyes suddenly changed back into their empty, emotionless orbs. They lost control of their muscles, and were led safely back to the murderous dome mountain, into their dead quiet neighborhood, into their warm beds, like nothing ever happened. Their mission was put off for another day.
xXx
"Aw, great, what is this?" growled a burly guard, picking up a chewed through coil to more closely examine. He was sent to assist Dr. Specs with keeping him awake, and after a few hours of doing nothing but fetching coffee, he grew bored and began rummaging through the lab like a toddler in a supermarket. "One a yer dirty lab rats break out and had a little fun?" Specs, surprisingly, became immediately defensive, taking it as a personal insult.
"They're mice, and the cleanest things in this place!" Not anything close to an animal lover, his lab mice were the only creatures he could honestly tolerate. He cared more for them than any human.
"Sheesh, touchy." The guard let it go and resumed his wandering, while Specs decided to get something else done as his screen was taking forever to load, again.
"Hey, Thomas." Specs gently nudged the heavily sleeping cat with his shoe, and became very irritated when he didn't show a sign of acknowledgement. "Get up, you lazy, good for nothing furball!" He nearly kicked Tom, which got the desired response. The grey cat with white paws, tail tip, and nose quickly got on his feet, as if standing at attention. "Some rat is loose," Specs told him, assuming the animal knew English. "Get to work, before I have you neutered." Thomas rolled his eyes and started to creep around the building, listening intently for squeaks in the walls and peering around for furry objects scurrying across the floor.
Meanwhile, with his mind still on it, Specs decided to feed his mice. He selected some pellets from a cabinet and placed them in their food bowl, then closed their cage and retreated to his computer. All of the rodents were albino except for one, and that one in particular was not satisfied with mere pellets. A tiny brown mouse gazed at a mini fridge across the room, and dreamt of the wonders it would hold. Unlike the others, this one was much more perceptive, and after watching his master do it so for so long, he was able to open the cage himself.
Once free, leaving his brethren behind, he gradually made his way toward the treasure chest just out of reach. He had to jump pretty far to make it from lab table to lab table, and he over estimated his abilities, and underestimated the smoothness of the table tops. He just barely hung on to the edge of the last table before the fridge, finding it difficult to give his other paw a solid grip. His determination was only misplaced, however, when he felt a tickle on his back. He turned his head to find the whiskers (and the giant, yellow eyes) of the cat he had failed to notice also occupied this domain.
The chase was on, swerving around equipment skidding at corners, knocking over beakers, squeezing into dark and cramped, then dusty spaces. The mouse eventually found a hole in the wall, which he instantly used to his advantage. Tom ran head first into the hole, obviously unable to fit, but blinded by fury. When the cat is outsmarted by the mouse, he cannot help but attempt to go to extreme lengths to save his pride, never admitting defeat and stopping at nothing. The cat reached a single paw through the hole and pawed around for several minutes, and snarled when he found nothing. He paced up and down that wall like a tiger in a cage, waiting for something, anything to crawl out that he may pounce on.
His ears twitched when he heard a scratching of metal, and he found himself crouched next to the opening yet again. He pointed his ears forward and waited for the sound again, and when it hit him, he struck his paw as fast as lightning, grabbing the tail of the unsuspecting rodent. He then grinned and yanked on the tail, causing a thump and a yelp. The cat gained a perplexed expression when it was revealed that the tail he had grabbed looked nothing like that of a mouse. For one, it had red fur, not brown, was a bit furrier than the wiry one he was chasing, and it was five times as long.
"Excuse me, good Sir." Tom looked around to find the source of the sound, but when the gentleman made a coughing noise to get his attention, he discovered that the speaker was at the end of this tail. "Could you let go of that, please?" Tom politely complied, then stepped slowly away from the wall, then stood frozen. "Thank you, sorry for the mix up." Thomas sat, scratched his head, then decided it was best that he brush it off, and go back to sleep.
xXx
"Come in, quickly." Jenny motioned all of her neighbors inside Danny's house; sadly the true host was still out cold. She had gathered them all for hopefully not their last meeting, informing them all that their cover was indefinitely blown. They took their seats, and when the door was completely closed, the panic ensued.
"I told you it was a stupid idea!" Buttercup spat. "Doing nothing, what were we thinking? Now let's just do what we should have done a long time ago, blow that building to smithereens!" Her sisters had other concerns.
"Is Danny ok?" Bubbles asked cautiously, looking over at the boy on the couch.
"He's fine, just asleep." Jenny assured, running her hand through his raven black hair. "But I don't know how we're going to go through with this."
"Hey, give us a little credit." Dexter piped in. "We can be just as good leaders as Casper there."
"One thing's for sure," Dex added. "We can't sit around anymore. They're going to be coming for us, so we'll have to come for them." It was a surprisingly grim comment, at least from Dex, but all too true. "And we can't leave him alone, so he'll have to come with us."
"I'll carry him." Jenny suggested, new mechanical appendages sprouting from her back. She constructed a comfortable chair, complete with safety belts, and she reached her extendable arms backwards to place the ghost boy in said chair, his back touching hers..
"Wow, that works." Conan commented. "But when we enter battle, you'll have to be extremely careful."
"Don't worry, I will."
"There's one more problem, though." Blossom reminded. "We have no idea how this building is laid out."
"Why would we need to know the layout? We just shoot it on the outside!" Buttercup decided.
"Don't you think that the office that holds the man who controls us all would have a few shields up?" Blossom retorted back, which silenced her sister. But speaking of this man brought back a horrible possibility. "Oh-Oh no, he controls us! We can't just barge in, if he sees us he'll just take over our minds, and make us do who knows what!"
"So this needs to be a sneak attack." Conan concluded. "Would have been nice to have the ghost awake, he could make us invisible or something."
"Ah! I have the solution!" Dexter beamed. "I can build an invention that shall give us temporary invisibility! Not to mention I can create some devices that will cancel out our captor's mind control, but, we would still have to take caution. It's doubtful it will work if we stand close to him."
"Why's all that junk gotta be temporary?" Buttercup dared to ask.
"Had I the time, it wouldn't be, but time isn't something we have."
"He's right." Jenny agreed. "And considering our odds, that gives us a much better advantage."
"Any more input? Because after this is over, we're going home, one way or another." Conan looked over his friends, all but one were ready to charge. It was uplifting to hear a guaranteed victory, but they knew this was never going to be easy.
"I'm not going without Mr. Spongey!" Bubbles declared.
xXx
The girl in blue threw open the double doors with such force, they broke. It was no longer the time to be considerate. She was given five minutes to find her "sponge friend" and get out. She made a mad dash toward the aquarium, and then a dive.
"Mr. Spongey, Mr. Spongey!" She cried, her words a bit gurgled since spoken under water. "I have no time to explain, but we have to get out of here, absorb all the water you can, right now!" She gave the motionless bottom feeder a few moments to…sit. "Fine, I'll try to explain. Mr. Big, you know? He's evil! And we're going to destroy this place then go home! Our real home, the world isn't as horrible as we think it is! You see, we've been brain washed, and--" She paused, as if hearing a reply. "What's wrong?...Huh? What, you knew?!" She grabbed her friend and held "him" to her ear. "Why didn't you tell me?...Uh huh?...Uh huh? Despicable!" She huffed, bubbles coming out of her mouth. "Well, don't worry, Mr. Spongey. I won't let him hurt you. We're all going home." She pocketed the sponge then joined the brigade, with another reason to put her sweet and sensitive qualities aside, and let the rage flow.
xXx
"Make sure your ear buds are secure." Dexter advised, everyone adjusting the tiny machines. "Wouldn't want those to fall out." Everyone stood at the plaza, during the wait, destroying the camera and loud speaker out of spite.
"We're good. Now, everyone know when they should activate your cloaking devices?" Dex asked, referring to the steel bands on their left arms.
"At the gate. Got it." Conan said. "And when we are invisible, stay together, or at least try to. Keep your eyes on the ground for foot prints. This might be tough. We'll stay invisible for ten minutes, so it's possible someone might get lost."
"I have heat vision." Jenny reminded. "If I see someone venturing from the group, I'll whisper a warning, but there's no telling what I'll be able to do if there are a bunch of guards around, or if we have to break apart."
"Let's get this over with." Buttercup growled, eager to fight, and not very keen to sneak attacks.
So the group took to the skies, the powerpuffs first, Bubbles carrying Conan and Buttercup carrying Dex. Dexter pushed a button on a backpack he wore, which turned to shreds as mechanical arms and legs plucked him off the ground, easy to handle controls folding in front of him. He activated his rocket jets to catch up. Jenny avoided taking the front lines, more worried about putting Danny in danger than anything else.
When they made it to the gate, all was eerily quiet, not another life form in sight. They expected an army of soldiers to be guarding the entrance, didn't they suspect they were coming? The children knew there was no time to think about that, so flipped switches on their arm bands, which then of course made them invisible to the naked eye.
"We're going in." Dex whispered, an attempt to sound cool.
A powerpuff bent the bars apart with ease, allowing their troop entry. They tiptoed slowly toward the front door, afraid to stumble over each other. Since Blossom was in front, everyone assumed she would take on the role to break down the door, but they were surprised yet again. The door was already open.
They stayed very quiet, going down the single hall that twisted in front of them. Too afraid to speak, the children could only peer around suspiciously, itching to confide in the others why no one was around that could possibly discover them. Never seeing the inside of this building before, they expected a ton of people around every corner, but there was no one to be found. They noticed cameras in the ceilings, however, which made them feel slightly less silly to go through the trouble to become invisible. Every now and then, they would come to a fork in the hallway, and someone had to be brave and whisper hoarsely, "This way" after making a decision. Jenny made sure no one separated from the group. Five minutes had gone by, and their minds were put at a chilling ease. This shouldn't be this quiet, they expected to have knocked out a few guards by this point. But even if someone had crossed their path, they wouldn't have bothered. Their target is Mr. Big, no distractions.
Having said that, they heard a scratching of metal that made their spines tingle. Frozen for quite some time, a few of them suspected that they might be alone, the rest of the group not hearing their imagination and moving forward, but it wasn't anyone's imagination. Whatever it was, it was coming closer, scouring the halls like a dog. They heard it more clearly, it was claws tapping on the floor, and a nose sniffing the air. All (or at least all who needed to) made a heavy breath when they spotted what had startled them; around the corner came the slender, red-haired rodent.
But still, they didn't make a sound, not wanting anyone's attention. They attempted to go around, but every step that was made caught the attention of the creature. He darted his head toward every sigh, every shift, to the point he stood right below Jenny, debating if that was a snore he detected.
"…I know someone is here." He said clearly, which made everyone jump, proving his theory.
It talks! Was the thought on every mind, except for the sleeping Danny.
"Do not be afraid, I am the ally Vlad spoke of, unless he failed to mention that."
"He-He did." Jenny bravely said. "It's just that…no one ever said you were going to be a squirrel."
"I. M. Weasel."
"Weasel, sorry." Jenny corrected.
"You're invisible, good move, or possibly bad. Is everyone together?" a chorus of "I'm here"s all around. "I was told there were eight. One of you is missing!" He whispered harshly.
"No, no, he's just under a sedative." Jenny explained. Weasel stood on his hind legs, appearing more human. His ears twitched as he heard the gentle snoring of Danny. Jenny thought she would have to explain further, but Weasel seemed to be putting the pieces together on his own.
"I'll guess that this was the Dr.'s doing. So that would give you the reason to be here, you're aware that they've found you out," Weasel pressed, receiving no negative answer. "So you feel that you must take matters into your own hands." He shook his head in disappointment. "What a mess we're in."
"Mr. Weasel," Bubbles intruded. "Aren't there any guards or something around?"
"Of course there are." Weasel replied. "But to put them everywhere would only cause confusion, they plan to let you come to them. There are only two places where they swarm: the office of Mr. Big and…the display room." It hurt to say it, for some reason.
"What is the displ—" Bubbles was interrupted.
"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that you all stay together. Can I stress that enough? None of you should be left alone!" Weasel spoke to the air. At that moment, the ten minutes were up, the invisibility flickered away, and the arm bands became useless. The metal fell to the ground with soft clanks, the now exposed adolescences staring awkward at each other. "I suppose this is a relief, according to my maps, we're past most of the cameras, so all of you just stick close to me, and we'll find Mr. Big, without being caught."
No one could help the feeling that this Weasel could lead them to a trap, his name being Weasel and all, but they decided they didn't have much of a choice. Weasel appeared to know where he was going, his fur sometimes tingling when he didn't feel very right in a certain direction. Like animal instinct, sometimes he would freeze, narrowing his eyes as he stared ahead, and when he was satisfied all was clear he would continue.
"There's a camera over there, it's not pointing at us this moment, so we need to hurry. Go, go." The children did what they were told without question. The animal had a commanding air of respect about him, but a likable one. Once they were safely away from the camera, Weasel twitched and looked around like a wary antelope. "Something's coming."
"How can you tell?" Dexter asked.
"Don't you hear it? Goodness, I—I thought they were staying in those two spots. They must have expected us to be caught by the cameras and shot by the lasers by now. Impatient savages!" Weasel refrained from baring his teeth like a wild animal. "Remember, kids, do not, I repeat, do not separ—"The sound became loud enough for the humanoids weak ears to hear.
"That was either a lot of footsteps at once, or it's about to rain." Conan uttered.
"We can take 'em, c'mon girls." Buttercup was waiting for this moment, and she shot off ahead.
"Wait, Buttercup!" Blossom called after.
"No! Stop! Didn't you hear what I was say—" Weasel was cut short yet again when the other two powerpuffs flew after her. "I told them to stay together!"
"You have to give them a break, Sir." Jenny defended. "They are kindergarteners." Weasel simply sighed and rubbed his temples with his tiny paws.
"What do we do now?" Dexter asked. "Are those stuuuupid girls going to ruin everything?"
"Let's hope not, we're going after them, but for the love of all that is sane, PLEASE stay together!" The rest of the brigade ran after the girls, hearing carnage not very far away. Weasel almost ran with them, but he realized he almost broke that one rule. Dex lingered in the back, frozen in his tracks. Weasel looked around, and saw that the rest had already left. He sighed again. "Children…you love them, but by George, you can never work with them or animals." He turned to Dex who was shaking like a leaf and had an expression as blank as a deer looking at the headlights. "Come on man, what's holding you up?" Dex couldn't move; for the past couple of days he had been at his bravest, but now, staring at the face of danger, he couldn't muster up anything close to courage. It became all too real, he could die.
"I—I can't do it. I can't do it, I thought I was ready, but I'm not!"
"Just calm down, what do you mean? Can't your power stop them?" Weasel assumed, jumping up to him.
"M—maybe, but, but I haven't used it on my own for so long! What if it…wh-what if he…what if he still works for them?" He fell to his knees. "What was I thinking, I'm not cut to save anyone, not even myself!"
"Hold it together, man." Weasel tried to calm him down. "Everything's going to be all right. You're saying you're afraid to use your power?"
"Y-yes." Dex admitted. "There's really, really no telling what could happen."
"I know things look frightening out there, but your friends need you. Sure, there's no telling what could happen, but will any good come out of cowering like this? Sometimes the only thing that you can do is try, heck, I'm going to, and I don't have any powers!" Besides the power to speak, of course, but he didn't think of that as anything spectacular.
"You don't? Then how, why, what—"
"True, I'm only here for my skills with technology, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to at least try and help you kids fight."
"But what if you get shot?!"
"I'll die instantly."
"Oh my God." Dex covered his ears and shut his eyes tight, the cold statement only stressing the importance of not messing up. He didn't want anyone to die today!
"But if I did nothing and lived, only with the guilt that one of you got hurt, well," He closed his eyes as he pictured such a fate. "that would be long four or so years, filled with regret and nightmares." He looked back at the quivering teenager, who only shook more when a second wave of stomping footsteps came from the opposite direction. "I guess you have a choice, man." Weasel stated dryly. "Go down or go down fighting."
Whether or not the boy made a choice, some heroic force was taking hold. "What technology were you sent here to toy with?" Dex questioned, a glow in his eye.
"Well, um, I'm supposed to take down the shield so that Mr. Plasmius's army can join the onslaught, but, I'm needed here right now."
"Go."
"What?"
"Complete your mission, I'll do what I can." Dex stood up, his hands balled into fists.
"You change personalities fairly quick, don't you, Mr. Douglas." Weasel wasn't trying to mock, there was truly something different about Dex, for one, he was no longer shivering. Secondly, within a second, he held a crushing grip on the wall, pulling off a piece of screeching metal that sparked with white lightning.
"Go!" Dex then grabbed Weasel by the scruff of his neck, and threw him into the opening, so that he may search for a safer place to emerge. Then he ran toward his enemies, unafraid of anything they could throw at him. Of course, ditching the red haired creature, he became alone, therefore, vulnerable. The kids did just what they were expected to do: scramble.
Those who tried to catch up to Buttercup only ended up in separate parts of the maze, each facing their own waves of soldiers. They grew further and further apart the more they fought, and one by one they fell. Dex refused to use his power until he absolutely needed it, and unfortunately for him, he over estimated his abilities. His shrill cry carried through all the halls of the labyrinth, as he fell to the floor singing from the single shot of a laser gun. The echo distracted Jenny for a moment, fearful for Dex's life as well as comparing that pain filled voice to Danny's, which forced her to check if they were still back to back. She covered him with several layers of shields, so that when shot from behind, he wouldn't be harmed.
The echo also distracted young Conan, whose tiny body could only dodge so many lasers as he shot his own weapon. Piles of guards fell unconscious, thanks to his tranquilizer dart watch, and many were kicked to the side with his high powered sneakers. But it was hopeless, not having flight or power blasts, he was doomed to collapse after feeling like he was struck by lightning.
Two trouble makers out of the way, the remaining guards flooded to the other's aid, taking down Bubbles, then Blossom, then Dexter, in barely eleven minutes. Buttercup was reluctant to go down, and thought it cowardly to retreat, so she took the blasts with gritted teeth. She didn't care that she fought alone, that no one could watch her back, she wasn't going to give up! Her stupid pride was her own downfall, unable to withstand so much pain without crashing into her own crater in the metal floor.
Jenny was fairing no better, the heartless guards decided to hit the weak spot. They hammered on the layers of shields to the point no more could be made, and were prepared to shoot Danny even though he was already subdued by the sedative. She kneeled on the ground, cradling the limp ghost boy, shouting the one thing that threw all hope away. Her dreams of reuniting with her "mom", fooling around with her human friends, feeling safe and secure. What she would give to deal with being a teenage robot, it had to be better than this! All of this effort for naught, coming so close to freedom. This violent struggle that seemed to have no end, the light at the end of the tunnel never coming closer, it was so unfair!
"We surrender!..We surrender"
xXx
"Such naughty children." Were Mr. Big's choice words. He spoke, once again, through an intercom, the coward too afraid to face his employees himself."But I know that deep down you're very sweet, obedient children, so unlike Zim."
"You bastard!" Buttercup retorted. She had barely recovered, she couldn't even lift her arm to shake a fist at the air.
"Being that you are first time offenders, perhaps I could just let you off with a warning. But just this once." Mr. Big said with his infinite charity.
"You're not going to brainwash again." Jenny challenged. "We won't let you."
"You're kids! You have no say in the matter!" Mr. Big's voice rose, the sign of anger. "I know what's best for you. Now be good children and sit tight as we prepare the lab! And someone figure out why they're not responding to my mind control device!"
The heroes sat, huddled together, in the very middle of the display room. It was the room where they once showed off their deadly skills pummeling defenseless robots. Every available guard surrounded them, some poking their heads and their locked guns through missing tiles in the walls, which apparently doubled as windows. Every time one of them tried to speak, they heard the hum of a charging laser, and fell silent.
They were allowed to make coos of joy once Danny was finally showing signs of waking up, groaning and rubbing his eyes, the world spinning. That confusion was replaced with anger as he gazed at the army that pointed their lasers dauntingly. "Where am I?!" He demanded. "What happened?!"
"Danny…we're so sorry." Jenny said softly. "We failed, they got us." Danny looked back at Jenny, and couldn't believe it. She did not just say that, the good guys are supposed to win!
"What are you talking about?" Danny pried. "Why aren't we fighting? Why are we letting them do this?"
"We tried, we gave everything we got." Jenny told him. "It just wasn't enough." Danny had woken from his dreams into his worst nightmare. He tried to tell himself he was still asleep.
"This isn't over, it's not over!" Danny cried, transforming to Phantom. He gazed at every single guard, reading their glares and daring them to shoot. There were only a few dozen, he could take them.
"Cool it." One of them warned. "Don't cause more trouble than you're already in."
"Danny, just sit down." Dexter said in a defeated tone.
"What's the matter with you guys?" Danny growled angrily, standing up only to immediately fall back down from the dizziness. "We can't give up, we're so close!"
"There's nothing more we can do." Blossom agreed. "Only hope for your friend to do better than we did."
"That's it, you heard the story, kid. No more talking." A soldier snarled. "Just sit down and shut up."
"Say that to my face." Danny raised a fist, glowing green, but it was lowered by the gentle touch of listless Jenny.
"Let's just wait, OK? We can't fight right now anyway." She pointed to their friends, they were still weak from the burning of their insides. "You're right, it's not over…but maybe your friend is our only hope."
"I can't believe this. This-this can't be happening." Danny held his head in his hands. "This isn't happening. We still have a chance."
"I said shut up!"
"You shut up!" Danny, given time for his eyes to adjust, stood up again to shoot that mouthy guard square in the chest. His response was a shot through the heart.
"Danny!" all the kids cried, close to tears for a second, before they realized that the shot only when through him because he let it. The hole in his torso closed up in a second.
"I'm all right, or at least I'm gonna be, when all these jerks get kicks in the teeth!" He readied more blasts in both his hands, before he heard a boom in the distance, followed by a series of annoying, blaring alarms. "What was that?" Every head turned to the ceiling, some covering their ears.
"Mr. Big, Mr. Big!" a scientist burst into his office, hair disheveled, and more wrinkles in his forehead than in his shirt. "The shields are down, we're under attack!!"
"WHAT?!" the mad man's shout shook the entire structure, though it helped that the sound was magnified by the intercom.
They're here, Danny thought. They're really here! "Ha! Not so cocky now, huh, Mr. Big." He said hotly. "Whether you admit it or not, this place is going to crumble. Now it's just going to crumble faster." His excitement rose, his blood was rushing, his whole body felt tingly! He especially felt a tingling in his ear, which struck his curiosity.. "Hey, what's this?" He removed one of his ear buds, the only things protecting him from losing all the values, all the memories, he holds dear.
"Yes, what is that?" Mr. Big's voice asked from the ceiling, intrigued. The heroes hoped he had not been watching, unable to find a camera.
"Quick, Danny! Put it back on, you fool!" Dexter warned.
"Why? Whatzit do?"
"Don't question me, just—"
"Ah! I think I understand." Mr. Big chuckled. "That must be why you won't listen to me. Well, I can fix that in a jiffy." In his dark, cramped office, Mr. Big turned a dial on his desk which made the lights in the white room flicker, then shatter. All the guns sparked once, then the intimidating glow of the charged lasers faded away, leaving the humans powerless, of course. The earbuds burned, cracked, and made a buzzing noise, which caused the heroes to take them out and throw them to the ground and stop the pain. The only light in the room was the glow of Danny's aura, and brilliant green eyes.
"Sir! What are you doing?!" one of the poor guards asked.
"I've cancelled out all of the technology in that room." Mr. Big informed. "It was a precaution I made in case the robot soldiers went a little nuts. Apologies, Ms. Wakemen, but I'm afraid your only powers include the average punching and kicking as of this moment." Jenny started to growl like an animal. "Anywho, point, yes. Those little ear things shouldn't work anymore, unless all you're trying to do is block the flow of blood of coming out your ears." He laughed at his own joke. "Now, you all will be quite susceptible to my commands. Now what shall it be? Will you cooperate? Or must I have my staff place bets on which of you shall perish first, as you all duke it out amongst yourselves."
"You wouldn't" Blossom suggested. The others tightened at such a concept, with anger and worry.
"I most certainly would. Everyone here is expendable. It shouldn't be too hard for me to replace eight assassins, my team would easily find a dozen more children, this universe of ours full with super powered, easily manipulated children."
The guards slowly made their way toward the only exit, for a fight was imminent, but they discussed who they planned to place their money on.
"The kid with the bow tie. He's nothing without his watch and sneakers, which we took anyway."
"You kidding? What about the little red haired boy? He's a baby, really, so going down on the word 'go'."
"That scrawny nerd looks like easy pickings, wait, what was his power again?"
The three boys with glasses cringed in unison, too frightened to feel insulted. That thought clicked in Jenny's head, and she knew they had to ask. "Dex," She pleaded, grabbing his shoulders. "If that power, if 'he' can help us right now, could you please, please let him out?"
"I don't know, I just don't know." Dex groaned, so hesitant to make such a huge decision. It felt like the entire world was on his small shoulders.
"Unless Vlad can bust in here within the next sixty seconds, we don't have much of a chance. So I beg you, please, please, just try!"
Dex had to think back to the pep talk from Weasel, knowing that he indeed had to try. If he didn't, could he live with the guilt? If that little guy was willing to jump head first into a skirmish that would most certainly kill him in a matter of seconds, why couldn't he run like a maniac, guns blazing? He looked all around him, the scared faces of his comrades not giving him a whole lot of confidence, but the voice inside his head was telling him it was time. Heck, not only time, but long overdue. It was now or never.
"Oh…FREAK OUT!!"