"So Endgame got the Bucs Megacore?" Juniper asked as she stood before her leader, RZ.
"Affirmative. Endgame knew we would be more focused on the game in Los Angeles, so she target the least likely target: Tampa Bay–"
"That's thirteen now in her possession." Jack mumbled under his breath. "Every time she shows her ugly face, she wipes the floor with us. How the heck do we stop someone like that!" Jack groveled angrily.
"Your concern is understandable Jack, rest assured Shandra is working–"
"I thought Endgame got her research data in New Orleans?" Juniper interrupted, which earned head nods from Jack and Hunter.
"She got most of it." RZ said in a slow calculated tone. "But Shandra kept her best secrets in the one place Endgame could not hack: her brain." RZ said with a smile. "Even I do not know the full extent of her research, for I want to know little in the event that Endgame tries hacking the HOK computer. But thankfully it seems that the countermeasures we installed have prevented Endgame from entering the HOK for sometime." RZ said proudly as he pulled up the remaining nineteen stadiums. "As the season winds down, these are the remaining nineteen Megacore's, and today we will be defending one of them, that being the Indianapolis Colts." RZ said as he pulled up an image of the Colts domed stadium.
"What's going on in Indianapolis?" Hunter asked his leader.
"Peyton Manning will be auctioning off autographed Colts gear for a charity even, alongside former Head Coach Tony Dungy. With the Colts Megacore absorbing all the positive community energy–"
"That much energy will be like ringing the dinner bell to Endgame." Jack hissed in anger, a sentiment echoed by his fellow rookies.
"With the rest of your fellow Guardians occupied or on other missions, I need you three to link up with Stallion and help out at the charity event. Best case scenario is that Endgame realizes we will be already there and decided not to attack." Endgame said with an optimistic tone.
"The worst case scenario?" Juniper asked.
"It'll be you three and Stallion against Endgame." RZ answered.
"And if she brings a Crusher?" Jack growled.
"It'll still be four on two..."
-Meanwhile-
'Oh how right you are, RZ.' Endgame mused to herself as she sat listening in through her stolen NFL-R's Communication App. 'It is so ironic that they have yet to catch unto how I'm always seemingly one step ahead.' Endgame laughed mentally as she eyed the stolen Guardian device. 'They expect me to attack Indianapolis, so might as well give them what they want.' Endgame mused as with a single thought one of her thirty-two Crusher pods opened and out walked a Crusher almost identical to War Horse, but it was slightly smaller and lacked a few of the details War Horse had. 'Widow Maker, let us obtain our fourteenth Megacore...'
-Meanwhile-
"Can't believe I just met Peyton Manning, one of the best players of all time." Hunter said in a giddy tone, a sentiment echoed by Stallion and Juniper, but not by Jack, who just rolled his eyes.
"Stallion are we allowed to bid on any of the merchandise?" Juniper asked Stallion.
"Sorry Guardians, I wish you could, but sadly this gear is going to the local kids." Stallion said in an apologetic tone, which earned a laugh from two of the three Guardians.
"Forgive me for not laughing, I'm more concerned about what happens if Endgame shows up." Jack growled, which earned a serious look from his fellow Guardians and Stallion. "Please tell me you are not going to have the Megacore near the auction?" Jack asked Stallion.
"The team debated that, but I convinced them it was too much of a security risk to have the Megacore on the field. It's in a safe, yet hidden location." Stallion said with a confident smile.
"Where might that be?" Hunter asked Stallion.
"I'll show you..."
-Later-
"Why are we in a room filled with a bunch of footballs?" Jack asked Stallion as they entered a side room that was filled with inflatable footballs, each having the Colts logo on it.
"Jack, did you ever watch the archive files?" Juniper asked her fellow rookie Guardian.
"Not as much as you have." Jack mumbled under his breath, which did not go unnoticed by Juniper.
"Well the Colts have hidden their Megacore in this room before, using the footballs as a decoy." Juniper said as she looked around trying to spot the Megacore amongst all the inflatable leather footballs, but to no luck.
"You are correct." Stallion said with a smile. "However after Wild Card and Drop Kick stole our Megacore despite of our countermeasures, we moved the Megacore to a more... secure location." Stallion said as he picked up a football and spiked it into the ground, and a few seconds later, the floor tiles began to shake slightly, and another few seconds later the floor opened, revealing a hidden stone staircase.
"I'm guessing the Megacore is down there?" Hunter asked Stallion, who proceeded to smile and walk down the staircase, the Guardians following suite.
-Meanwhile-
Unbeknownst to Stallion and the three Guardians was the face that Endgame and Widow Maker had just arrived out of sight inside the domed stadium. 'Why waste time looking for the Megacore myself when I can let that idiot Rusher and the armored children lead me right to it.' Endgame mused as she pressed a hidden button on her metal wrist and a holographic map emanated from her wrist, and it showed three blinking red dots moving very quickly underground, each dot representing an NFL-R. 'If I attack more Guardians might appear.' Endgame thought to herself as she rubbed her metal chin in contemplation, and after a few moments of scheming, she had formulated a battle plan and she pressed another hidden button on her wrist, activating two more Crushers. 'F-18, Traitor, launch diversion attacks on the Patriots and the Jets, and keep fighting until I have secured the Colts Megacore.'
To Be Continued...