Merry Christmas! Here's a present for you all!
"White! I hereby arrest you on the charges of—" Skipper shouted, rolling his eyes mentally.
NPTA SOPs could be such a bore…. And a waste of valuable time, as Nathan had finished the exact moment they had opened the door. Then again, they had taken a long time wandering through the lair, knocking out any Ants they happened to chance upon. Although exactly where Kowalski had gotten the map from was still a mystery …. which would probably remain a mystery for a long time.
Nathan slapped his forehead – an action that did not properly summarize the situation. Private frowned at White's finger on the button. "Oh dear. It would seem like we're a bit too late."
Well, duh.
Nathan pounced on White – threatening to tie her up only to have her nimbly jump out of the way. Kowalski slid over to the computer, frantically typing commands. "What did she do, Nathan?" he exclaimed.
The penguin ducked, rolled, and flipped to a safe location before answering. "I don't know!" He glared at the albino monkey. "What did you do, White?" She couldn't have done it, could she?
She smirked, tauntingly abandoning her battle position for a relaxed pose with a finger on her cheek while mockingly thinking. "Let me remember…. Oh yes, just sent nuclear warheads to everyone I have a grudge on. Nothing much."
She didn't!
Nathan turned to Kowalski with a stricken expression on his face. The strategist nodded back grimly. Private propped himself on the electrical device with his flipper. "She's sent them to Chicago—"
"There was a mouse there that kept eating all the contents in my larder," White said.
"Cuba—"
"That walrus there loved threatening me with his so-called dangerous weapons." White rolled her eyes.
"Bern—"
"The Swiss. Never did like them for some reason."
"Beijing."
"The panda there always wins in staring competitions!"
Yeah, some of these reasons weren't even valid for revenge...
"And even New York!"
"Ah, yes." White rubbed her hands together. "I have a group of penguins located in Central Park there who keep foiling my plans. Perhaps you know them?"
Rhetorical, of course.
Abandoning his fight with the mammal, Nathan slid over to Kowalski, nearly pushing the penguin away. "Keep White busy while I try to reverse the order," he commanded.
"What?" White screeched.
She bounded over only to be knocked back by Billy, who flashed a grin at her. "Not so fast, White."
And so began the final battle.
Nathan grounded his beak together in frustration. Every time he felt like he was gaining 'ground' he was pushed back by the numerous firewalls White had installed in the system. He tried another path, worming through the virtual wall and by passing the security bots only to have his progress stopped by incredibly advanced bots that had no intention of letting him through.
"How's it going, Nat?" asked his brother.
"Not good" came the reply. "Not good at all."
Kowalski slid over to see if he could help. "It'll soon be too late to stop everything," he warned.
"I know!" he shot back. "But it's blocking my every move! There's no easy, quick way to get in without—" Here he paused, as if having some profound revelation. "White's fingerprint!"
With that, he flipped over backward – somehow knowing that White was right behind him. "Help me get her to the computer!" he shouted.
"No!" objected White as her limbs were suddenly in the air. Squirming and biting did little to help her predicament, however.
"Her finger!" ordered Nathan. "Before it's too late!"
White's finger pressed against the scanner, and the screen turned green for a split second in confirmation before asking for password. "Oh for—" Nathan literally shoved the others away, typing furiously.
3
2
1
Then…
"Password accepted. Missile launch request: Denied."
The penguins slumped down in relief, sighing loudly. All of them had different thoughts running through their heads, but the generally meaning could be gleaned. Thank goodness we stopped White and the warheads in time.
Skipper patted Nathan on the back with a smile. "Good job, rookie," he said, teasing a little.
"Rookie?" Nathan raised a brow, returning his smile. "Who's the rookie, old man?"
Their relief and happiness was short-lived, however, at the insane laughter of White. "Skipper," began Private, inching away from the monkey. "What's going on?"
"You may have stopped the missiles," she cackled. "But you might want to hurry home if you want to save your home."
Skipper's eyes widened, and he took a step back. "You didn't!"
Her grin said otherwise, though. "Oh, yes. I did. I placed a bomb in the Central Park Zoo."
...I will update soon... don't worry.