"Wait, what?" Benny said.
"I think so, anyway." Business looked over. "Jinkies, isn't it?"
"Jenkins," she replied, narrowing her eyes.
"That's what I said," Business said, waving his hand as he continued. "You were right about it being a matter manipulator. But there's more to it. This basic design strongly resembles my design for the Think Tank." His tone ended on a theatrical note, like he expected a dramatic reaction to a grand revelation.
All he got were blank stares.
"And?" Wyldstyle asked.
Business sighed and lowered the phone. "I built the Think Tank to be able to extract thoughts from peoples' minds, right? This machine is also designed to get into peoples' heads. But it's a manipulator."
That got the stunned silence he'd been looking for as the possibilities behind the statement sunk in.
Unikitty was the first to speak. "Mind control?"
"Potentially, yes," Business replied. "It's definitely what's controlling the plants – the Forest is semi-sentient, so the combined efforts of its matter and mental manipulating functions, he can get the plants to do whatever he wants. As for using it on people… I'm not really sure. From what I can tell, these blueprints are an early draft. It's likely the machine he has now has gone through plenty of modifications and upgrades. Even so, mind control is extremely difficult, especially on the scale he might want to attempt. Believe me, I've tried."
His last sentence earned him a few glares, and he raised his hands defensively. "Come on, guys, I've given that stuff up."
Benny had been silent for a while, and now he spoke up. "Something that big needs some kind of power generator."
Business consulted the phone again. "This doesn't have any information about that, but if it's anything like my Think Tank, well… It was hard to find a good power source, but I finally managed to create a self-perpetuating energy generator from the ideas of a Master Builder I caught from…" He trailed off, looking at Unikitty with an odd expression. "…from Cloudcuckooland," he finished.
Realization dawned over Unikitty's face, and they gasped. "I know what you're talking about!" With increasing excitement, they bounced on their toes, shaking out their hands as they tried to organize the ideas that were suddenly rushing in. "If I can draw on the power- And the machine has to do with mind stuff- I can recharge- Use it as a conduit-" Practically vibrating, they turned to Good Cop and Benny. "We can save Bad Cop!"
The words took a few moments to register, and then a rush of hope surged through Good Cop. He put a hand on Unikitty's shoulder, gripping it lightly. Struggling to control his voice, he asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Unikitty said, but at the same time, Business said, "No."
All heads swiveled to look at him, and he held up the phone. "I told you – this is an early version. If I had to guess, it's probably the first draft. We have no way of knowing what changes he's made to it, or even if the power source is what we think it might be. We can't be sure of anything."
"But it's possible?" Benny asked, holding Good Cop's arm to keep him from advancing on Business.
"Well," Business said, fiddling with the phone, "yes. Of course it's possible. But probable?" He hesitated. "I'd have to take a look at the machine itself. I might – might – be able to make a few modifications of my own to suit our purposes. But there's one thing about this machine that will almost definitely not have been changed."
"The key," Jenkins said with sudden realization.
Business nodded. "Without the key to access it, the machine is useless to us. If we want even the slightest chance of winning, we need that key. However," he added, "as much as we want to save Bad Cop, saving the city should be our number one priority."
"Why, you-" Good Cop snarled, yanking away from Benny.
Surprisingly, it was Jenkins who stepped into his path, putting out her hand to stop him. Despite her thin, gawky frame, she managed to make a formidable barrier. "He's kind of right, sir."
Good Cop tried to tower over her, but with her back straight and her shoulders squared, she was nearly as tall as he was (no mean feat), and she was unflinching. Before he could reply, she said, "The chief means a lot to me, too. He's helped me so much, and there's nothing more I want right now than to save his life. But if we can't use the machine to bring him back, then we need to finish what we came to do."
"It's going to work," Good Cop said.
Behind Jenkins, Business opened his mouth to say something, but Wyldstyle elbowed him in the ribs to stop him.
"You'd know better than anybody," Jenkins continued, "how much the chief emphasized the importance of practicality. We need to be prepared for the possibility it won't work."
Good Cop's expression was still thunderous, but he fell silent. Benny had stepped back a little, hand over his mouth as he muttered under his breath, explaining the situation to Bad Cop's faint presence.
Unikitty put their small hand on Good Cop's clenched fist. "We're going to do our best," they said.
He looked down at them, but his only response was to pull away, his gaze flicking to the branches beneath his feet.
"Bad agrees, G," Benny said. "The city comes first."
Good Cop swallowed and kept his eyes fixed downwards.
A low drone began to vibrate the air around them, steadily growing louder, and everyone looked up as a large shadow fell over them.
It was the micromanagers and the copper-choppers, swooping in to attack the canopy. The micromanagers tore at the branches as the robots opened fire, the lasers setting the wood and leaves aflame.
"We gotta get out of here," Wyldstyle shouted as an explosion rattled the branches under them.
Benny looked to Jenkins. "Take your squad and join the bots. Get under the canopy and try rallying our officers back together."
Business pulled out a small, rectangular device and handed it to Jenkins. "This'll authorize you to give them orders."
Jenkins nodded and took the device, then turned and waved to her squad, directing them away. She hesitated, looking back over her shoulder at Good Cop and Benny. "Good luck," she said, then raced after her squad.
Benny grabbed Good Cop by the arm. "Let's go," he said.
Good Cop looked at him, his expression hardening into something unreadable that unsettled Benny for reasons he couldn't quite name.
There was another explosion, and they stumbled. The bots had managed to blow a hole in the canopy, and they dove through as a shriek from below grew louder and in pitch, like an enraged teakettle. The canopy began to lurch and writhe beneath their feet, and the six of them scrambled for the car. Benny hopped behind the wheel, took a second to make sure everyone was in – Good Cop, Business, Unikitty, Wyldstyle, and Emmet – and hit the gas. The car shot upwards, and managed to clear the layer of micromanagers and copper-choppers just before vines erupted from the canopy to lash out at its attackers. More explosions echoed from beneath the car as it sped away, headed for the large black disc hanging in the sky.
Benny thought of the confrontation ahead of them, felt Bad Cop's faint presence. He floored the gas pedal, and hoped they would be able to make it in time.
Kinzel stood up and approached the huge observation window as he noticed a red speck rapidly growing closer. He put a finger to the glass, and a blue ring of light appeared under it. Sliding his finger along the glass, he dragged the circle to focus on the speck, then spread it wide, expanding the image until he could clearly see the car and its occupants. Rawley came to stand beside him, and he smiled and said, "It seems the final showdown is on its way."