Persona Task Squad: The Heart of the Watcher. Crystal Tokyo Arc. Avatar Mech Mini-Arc.
Chapter 24: The Fight for the Tiger Mech! Clash of the Different Worlds!
(Enter Andrew's POV)
After arriving in the JFK Airport, we then got out into the limo, and were riding to a luxury suite compliments of Kaiba and Travis. Trisha and I were sharing a room, although why they gave us twin beds is beyond me.
"We'll work this out," Trisha said. "Right now, we need a plan."
"I have one on me," I said, "but I need the guys back at Japan to help us."
At that, we heard a knock on the door. I walked over to see... "Travis?" I asked him.
"Hey, Andrew," Travis said. "I've already got everyone else down here. I just need you to lure Sly's gang in here in order for this to work."
"Thanks, man," I said. "I'm just wondering how I should do this. Should I hack into Bentley's channel and contact Sly from there or do I do this another way?"
"Actually, the vigilanties in New York were vast, but I managed to bring some of them here. They're in the Meeting Room, and you should recognize some of them. Heck, some of them work in my department."
I nodded, then went to see...basically a mix of Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network characters along with a few others.
"Not exactly the most organized meeting I've ever seen," I said. "And some of them look like they've been in the dark."
"That's because my Grandpa knows your boss," a kid said. I looked to see Jake Long stand next to me. "You're the guy that needs our help?"
"Unfortunately. You're Jake Long, right?"
"That's something Grandpa forgot to mention," Jake said. "Still, how you got Lilo and Stitch here is beyond me."
"That's something I'll explain to you guys as soon as the meeting gets underway."
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Travis said. "Sorry to interrupt your vacation time, but because of the situation at hand, I'm entrusting your abilities to the Persona Task Squad."
"Dare I ask why?" someone asked.
"Because it's of the utmost importance that you guys listen," I said. "And we'll need an alliance between Japan's heroes and America's good citizens in order for this to work."
"And you are?" someone else asks me.
"I can't reveal my name at this time in case we have interlopers, but you can call me Watcher." Kind of fitting for me. "And although you may not know who I am, I know who you all are."
"So you're a mass murderer like Kira?" I heard a man with White hair ask me.
"No, Nathan, I'm not Kira." The man flinched at that. "And even if I was, half the people in here are immune to the Death God's eyes. And for God's sake, put the toys away unless you're planning to build a replica of both the interior and the exterior of the Museum of Natural History, because it's very vital to what I'm planning."
"Understood," Near said. "And I'll try my hardest, although I might need a map of it."
"I've got one of the exterior," Jake said.
"You need the sewers with that?" A turtle with a purple headband asked me.
"Yes, Donatello." I then cleared my throat. "Now, Travis brought you here because you're the best in your specific areas: Supernatural, crime-fighting, and hacking. However, we need to play by their rules in order to make this work."
"What are you after?" a woman in red hair asked me.
"The Tiger's Amulet," I answered. "And I know you can do anything, Miss Possible. Just work with me here."
"Oh yeah," a kid with glasses said. "The new exhibit brought in. Why are you after that?"
"Mr. Douglas, I'm after it to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. I'm pretty sure that your experiences as Freakazoid would tell you this kind of info."
"Wait, wait, wait," a kid in a white T-shirt said. "Ever since I got here, my Ghost Sense has been going haywire. Are you telling me that the Tiger's Amulet is being hunted by my worst enemies?"
"And everyone else's, Mr. Fenton. And they're trying to do this seperately while we're trying to form an alliance in order to stop them. An organization united is better than a few heroes alone." I then heard a door knock. "Can someone get that?"
"Already on it," Jaden said. He opened the door to reveal his friends. "Syrus and Bastion, welcome aboard."
"What's going on, Jay?" Syrus asked him.
"It looks more like a war room than a business room," Bastion said.
"That would be my fault," I told them. "We didn't have enough to borrow the UN office. You bring the laptop, Bastion?"
"Yes, but why..."
"Trust me, it's very important."
Bastion nodded, then got the laptop to my position. I then hooked it up to the wall and used the wireless projector in order to activate it. With that, a familiar symbol appeared on the projector, one that shocked Near greatly.
(Play "L's Theme" from Death Note.)
"It can't be," Near said in shock.
"Who is it?" Ron Stoppable asked him.
"Greetings to the vigilanties of America and Japan," L said. "And hello to you too, Near."
"L," Near said. "We thought you died."
"I did. Well, my human side did. I'm now working alongside the Persona Task Squad in secrecy. However, due to a barrier, I can't show myself, so I had to use my old habit in order to contact you all. And to those in the database connected to the server, welcome to the meeting." At that, Kim's Kimmunicator beeped and Wade appeared alongside L.
"What's this?" Wade asked him.
"Just a way to communicate with a fellow genius," L said. "And as you probably guessed, I am L."
"Well, it's an honor..."
"I know it's an honor. But we need to get this meeting underway. Watcher, the plan?"
"Right," I said. "Now, as we know, there's no way the Curator would let us get the Amulet because it's under protection by Interpol and Seto Kaiba here has finished funding Kaiba Land, so we had to do the next-best thing: In order to catch a few criminals, we need to hire a few ourselves."
"What makes you think we could accept a crook to help us out?" a Chinese woman asked me.
"Because, Juniper, he's not like the other crooks." At that, everyone guessed who I was talking about. "However, we need a mole, so we're getting the woman in charge of his case along for the ride."
"Already on it," Kaiba said. "I've instructed one of my overseas limo drivers in order to pick up the woman you're looking for. It's the thief that bothers me."
"Which is why I brought Wade and Travis brought Dexter Douglas into the picture," L said.
"Why me?" Wade asked me.
"Because had you been orphaned, I would have taken you in alongside Mello and Near. And Mr. Douglas has a hacking ability that surpasses everyone in the room, as Watcher already mentioned. We just need one that's experienced with doing a heist."
"Exactly, L," I said. "However, you all are going to be facing monsters unlike the rogues you're used to. Because I, too, have an enemy involved in this. Or rather...three."
"And the Slacker's helping you, why?" Chazz asked me.
"Because alongside one of the enemies, Chazz," Jaden said, "one of them is Nightshroud." At that, Chazz shut up.
"Any luck breaking the barrier on your side?" I asked L.
"Do you think we could breathe in space?" L asked me. "Slippy's already trying to make the Keyblade adapt to the Arwings' control, so we'll be through in fifteen minutes to your location."
"That's enough time to get them here."
At that, Kaiba's Cell Phone rang. "This is Kaiba," he said. "She's here? Great. We need her help in this, and I know she won't like who she's partnered with. Send her in the room. Serenity will bring her here. For that, you get a raise. Thank you." He then hung up. "One of Interpol's finest is coming here. And don't be shocked at her appearance. I didn't believe it either, but traveling with Duel Spirits and a were-cheetah can take the sanity out of your day."
"You forgot to mention a reincarnated Pharaoh and the reformed Supreme King," I said. "And a kitsune with an alien."
"And no one told me about this?" Haruhi asked me.
"I came by my will alone, Haruhi," I said. "You'll talk with us after we survive this mess."
"Fine." She then pouted.
At that the door opened to reveal the woman herself. Inspector Carmelita Monotoya Fox.
"To be honest," Danny said, "I'm not surprised. I'm considered a hero in the frozen part of the Ghost Zone."
"Well," Carmelita said, "you don't get to see a lot of humans, even with special powers." She then turned to me. "And you must be Watcher. What the heck are you trying to pull?"
"Calm down, Inspector," I said. "You can arrest me later, but we need to bring in your prey first."
"That reminds me," Near said. "How are you going to contact Sly Cooper?"
"I'm hoping you and L would give me my avatar and Wade, Dexter, and Kaiba hack into his communicator."
"Good luck," Carmelita said. "Cooper's about as slippery as a snake. How are you going to convince him to work for you?"
"I can answer that," Dexter said. "But it's better to show you than to tell you. FREAK OUT!" At that, Dexter changed into Freakazoid. "Basically, I can go through electronics faster than you can with a high-speed connection. If I'm able to hit his frequency, I can tell Seahorse and No-Show to transfer it to Stalker's communication device."
Everyone blinked.
"It's Watcher, Freakazoid," I said. "Not Stalker. Watcher."
"Which one did he mention as No-Show?" Wade asked L.
"I've no clue," he replied.
"How'd you know the literal translation of my last name?" Kaiba asked me.
"I don't know," Freakazoid said. "Freak in." He then changed back to Dexter. "Sorry about that," Dexter said. "He can be a little wacky sometimes."
"I've noticed," I said.
"Wait," Tucker Foley (who was with Danny) said. "Mind putting me in as well?"
"And you are?" Kim asked him.
"That's my friend, Tucker," Danny said. "Basically he's the tech geek of the group. My other friend, Sam, is around. Both of them helped me out with my Ghost-fighting days. Plus he's good with his PDA."
"Then welcome to the Tech Geek division," L said. "Let's get phase one into action. Wade, Seto, Bastion, Dexter, and Tucker, you're with me in rerouting Cooper's connection. Watcher will need to explain to the rest of you the plan. This is L, signing out." At that, the screen faded out.
"I'll explain the rest of the plan once everyone, and I mean EVERYONE gets here," I said. "And don't shoot when he gets here, Inspector."
"I'll keep my pistol in check," she said.
At that, the tech geeks in the room left.
"Danny," I said, "I'm going to need your help."
"Why me?" Danny asked me.
"You're going to scout the area around the Museum of Natural History. Jake and the Turtles will assist you in different areas. And lay low. I heard the Ghostbusters reformed recently."
"Got it," he said. At that, he went into position. "I'M GOING GHOST!" At that, he transformed into Danny Phantom.
"You call that a transformation?" Jake asked him.
"You can do better?"
"Sure can. But wait until we get outside."
"We've got work to do here!" I said. "You can argue about transformations later. Right now, we need to get the layout ready. Near, you're with them on visual in order to get both the Sewer Layout and both the Interior and Exterior."
"Can do," Near said, already getting a computer out. "Oh, and you owe me a couple Legos in order for this to work."
"I'll see what I can do." At that, all the scouts left their stations.
"What about us?" Juniper asked me.
"You guys can fight, right?" I asked them.
"Yeah," Kim said. "Plus Ron's an expert in Monkey Kung Fu."
"I'm not THAT good," Ron said. "I can go on par with Lord Monkey Fist, but not my own Sensei."
"I'm used to facing monsters that I can only see," Juniper said. "Still, it looks like you guys are preparing for war here."
"Somewhat," I said. "And Lilo?"
"Stitch can fight," Lilo said.
"Ih," Stitch said.
"We can't go all out," Travis said. "But in case it's ALL of the enemies, you all need to train. And don't contradict me on this. I've seen mess-ups on the battlefield on a daily basis."
"How?" Ron asked him.
"Because he's older than we are," Juniper said.
"How is that possible?" Kim asked her.
"I'm the Te Xuan Ze of this generation. I can tell who is human and who isn't."
"Great," Ron said. "I'm assuming you know Yori?"
"I've never been to China," she replied.
That's when the beeping through Kim's communicator beeped. "Anything, Wade?" she asked him.
"We're in," Wade said. "It wasn't easy, since it had a defense system a mile wide."
"They're in," Kim said.
"Good," I said. "Now leave everything to me."
(End L's Theme. End Andrew's POV)
We then see a raccoon in disguise as one of the guests. That's when he heard his binoculars beep. In order to save face, he went out of the Museum and into the streets.
"Bentley," Sly said, "what is it now?"
Unfortunately, instead of the face of his Turtle friend, he got a blank screen with the letter A on it.
"Sylvester Cooper," he said. "Don't shut this communication off. Instead, turn it to audio and put the earpiece on your head. We can't let anyone think you're out to stealing something."
"Who is this?" he asked him. "And how do you know my name?"
"I am the Watcher, and I've been watching you, Sly. Head of this generation's Cooper Gang, consisting of Bentley and Murray, but you may have added the Guru, Penelope, and two of your former enemies the Panda King and Dimitri. Don't turn this communicator off, or else I tell Interpol of your investigation. And don't try to double-cross us. Even though we're from different worlds, we both want that amulet out of the Museum out of our enemies' grasp."
He sighed. "Alright. What is it?"
"First off, I know you already got the pictures. When you get to the Safe House in the area, upload them through Bentley's computer and send them through my E-Mail address once you hook it to your computer. I want to talk to the whole gang myself, so they can get an understanding of the full situation."
"Just one question. Why are you taking the route Kira did to kill off the FBI agents?"
"Because unlike him, I don't need a name and a face to kill. All I need is their lust for power, and you have no lust within your system, so you're safe."
"Alright. I'll put you on hold. And what did you mean by calling Interpol?"
"Because," he heard a female voice say, "I happen to be working with you, much to my utter shock."
He smirked. "Normally, I'd be flattered, but how can you be sure to trust him?"
"All that and more can be explained once you get here, Sly," Watcher said. "In the meantime, get over to the Safe House and explain everything to your team."
He nodded. At that, he went to the Safe House.
"Sly," Bentley said. "Someone hacked into our computer and our communications were jammed! What happened?"
"I don't know," he replied, "but I'm going to need everyone in here. I have a feeling that we've dug into something deeper than just a retrieval mission, and the hacking is that of someone whom I'm not sure we can trust yet."
"Alright." At that, he called the others in here and everyone was gathering.
"Hackers?" Murray asked Bentley. "Well, if we meet them face-to-face, the Murray will manage to sever their connection."
"Carmelita's with them," Sly said. "And this Watcher character knows of our pasts, and if we don't cooperate, we're taking a one-way trip to Alcatraz."
"Can't you try to counteract their hacking strategy?" Penelope asked Bentley.
"I've tried, Penelope," Bentley said. "But something's disabling the Anti-Hacker system. And if what Sly said was true, we have an experienced hacker in our midst."
"Not hacker," the Watcher said from the computer. "Hackers with a hyperactive result of a flaw in a computer chip. AKA, the Freakazoid. Nice to meet all of you, Bentley, Murray, Guru, Penelope, Panda King, and Demitri. I am the Watcher."
"If you're the Watcher," Demitri said, "why do you have an A on the screen?"
"What did you expect, the TARDIS?" Everyone sweatdropped at this. "And the A was the only thing I could come up with since I've seen L's work in action. Now, if you recall correctly, you've dealt with spiritual opponents who happen to be Crime Lords, one of them being General Tsao."
"I wasn't there when it happened," Demitri said. "But Sly filled me in on the details."
(A/n: I know Demitri has a french accent, but I'm not good with them)
"How did you know about my daughter's rescue?" Panda King asked him.
"It's a long story," the Watcher said, "and I don't plan on making enemies with you guys. I just got word that Neyla has returned and is after the Amulet herself."
Murray growled at that.
"Save your strength, Murray," Sly said. "How did you know about Neyla?"
"Because she was not only glancing at the Amulet, but also at you." The camera switched to the New Exhibit. Sly was there, and so was a purple tigress in a scarf.
"Okay, I believe you," Sly said.
"How did you manage to sneak a camera into the Museum?" Bentley asked the Watcher.
"This is where I'm explaining the capabilities of my friends," he replied. "However, this is only the scouting party, and one of them's a halfa. Part-Human, Part-Ghost. He's Amity Park's most hated hero, Danny Phantom."
"Oh yeah," Murray said. "Now I remember. The Guru sensed Ectoplasmic energy from the building, but the Freakazoid or whatever blocked us from communicating."
"Exactly."
"But why are you after the amulet?" Sly asked him.
"First let me tell you something about that: The Amulet is just one of the few Avatar Artifacts laying around this world. I have the other five." The screen changed into five Equip Cards. "They weren't originally like that, but something in this world lets me convert them into cards and back. However, a rival of our resident Archeologist got there first, and she had no experience with powers they couldn't comprehend. Unfortunately, only through the Amulet will you get the Avatar Mech."
"You mean the Avatar Mech's are alive today?" The Guru asked him (in his own language).
"Unfortunately, Guru. And they're only getting it for their own gain, but they're missing a crucial element: The user must be of Native American descent in order to fully use it's power."
"And you're part of that line?" Sly asked him.
"On my Grandmother's side. However, I didn't know if any others were in this world, and if it's in America, it's basically painted with a bulls-eye for crooks, and some of them might be from that blood."
"And you need OUR help?" Bentley asked him.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you're the only thieves that steal from other thieves in order to keep criminals away from power, and in order to catch them, we need you because you think like them."
"We'll do it," Sly said, to everyone's surprise. "If you do have the supernatural in your group, then chances are your enemies are worse than that of General Tsao and the Mask of Dark Earth."
"Thank you, Sly," the Watcher said. "One more thing, we've got others, but they're training. A few more people should be arriving that have experience through the forces. They will help me explain what you're going to be up against. The Watcher will see you when you arrive." At that, the computer went back to normal.
"Everything's running smoothly now," Bentley said. "Still, is what that guy said true?"
"I don't know," Sly said. "Part of me is skeptical about this, but the other part tells me there's more to this than meets the eye. Plus he knows my real name."
"If that's the case," Murray said, "the Murray will bring the Cooper Van to...where is he?"
"No need," Bentley said. "I've got a recent E-Mail about their location. That's one heck of a hotel, though. And he's sending a limo for us."
"Whoa," Penelope said. "That Watcher guy must be loaded."
"Actually, it's from Seto Kaiba." Everyone blinked.
"Why would he help us?" Demitri asked Bentley.
"Because he works for the Watcher," they heard someone say. Pharaoh Atem walked up the stairs. "I just happen to be the escort party. Name's Atem, by the way."
"That's a fine piece of jewelry you have there," Demitri said.
"Thanks. It's a family heirloom. Now let's go."
"Alright," Bentley said. "Is it Handicap accessable?"
"Very."
At that, the Cooper Gang were lead to the luxury hotel. However, they were unaware that someone was watching them.
"Unbelevable," the man said. "First he uses my method to kill the FBI agents, then he communicates them through L's technique?"
"Easy, Light," the woman said. "We can't cause unwanted attention."
"I know, Saya. Still, our mission was to keep Andrew alive for our leader's confrontation. Who he befriends is none of our business. That reminds me, where did Neyla come from?"
"She's not with us or the Heartless Generals. Let's report back to the Superior. Something smells like death around here." Light glared, but they went through a Portal of Darkness to get back to their ship.
The day was just dimming. The night will be for planning.
To be continued...