This time downtown, there was a giant plant monster on the loose and attacking Shuggazoom City.
"All right, guys, it's time to 'beat' our greens!" Lynn proclaimed.
"Geez, General Bonehead must be really reaching for ideas if he's gonna send a walking salad to kick our butts!" Raul replied as he got out his claws.
"I'm a fan of Veggie Tales, but this is too much!" Kimberly added.
"This guy gives sunflowers a bad name!" LJ remarked. "I say we give 'im a taste of the Lasertron Fury!"
"Yeah!" The group agreed.
The giant plant continued to attack as the Super Robot soon came on in for the attack.
"There he is... Flowey," Chrissy narrowed her eyes. "Flowey the Flower..."
LJ shuddered. "Please don't say 'Flowey'," he then said. "Trust me, my mom had a bad experience with a flower named Flowey."
"Um, okay?" Akito said, confused.
LJ smirked. "Now you know how we feel whenever you make Pokemon references. Look it up after this," he replied. "Suck on this, chlorophyll for brains!"
Chiro fired the Lasertron Fury, but the Sunflower Monster just absorbed it.
"Oh, yeah. That did it alright." Nova remarked sarcastically before the Super Robot was smacked back by one of the vines.
The team fired the finger missiles, but the beast absorbed those too!
"The beast is absorbing our quantum-field munitions!" Gibson exclaimed.
"We're quantumlicious; great..." Sparx joked. "So now whaddo we do?"
The sunflower monster opened a door on its pot and shot out strange-looking seeds at the Super Robot's torso, which then grew and covered it entirely.
"It appears to be of the phylum bryophytaro, some form of fast-growing mutant moss." Gibson reported, as massive plant claws sprouted from the mass of moss and attacked the Super Robot, digging into the torso and attempting to tear out the wiring.
"Otto, damage report." Antauri requested.
"Defense systems failing fast. We're running out of power!" Otto replied.
"Can it get any more gross and scary?" Chrissy groaned.
"It's eating up the sewer lines!" Nova exclaimed.
"*gulp* That'll do it." Chrissy then said as she suddenly looked sick to her stomach.
"And he's putting on some weight." Sparx soon added.
"Wait, there's a Mega Grow Warehouse two blocks away," Chiro alerted the others. "If this thing's hungry, then let's feed it."
"I hope you know what you're doing." Akito said to him.
"C'mon, have I ever steered you wrong?" Chiro replied.
"Yeah, don't go doubting your co-leader!" LJ smirked proudly. "If the big galoot's hungry, let's feed 'im, and feed 'im, till he can't eat no more! And then, we'll feed him, a little bit more!~"
The Super Robot charged toward the sunflower before it grabbed the giant mutant plant and flew into one of the warehouse containers. The plant and its claws began to expand, before they exploded, with the moss melting away.
"See?" LJ asked. "Toldja it'd work!"
The people cheered at the success of the Hyperforce, even if they were covered in moss, flowers, and rotting fish.
"That's a disgusting victory, but at least it worked." Kimberly remarked.
A clean-up crew soon rushed into town to take care of the remains of today's big battle.
"All right, get to work!" The leader told the others. "We got cleaning up to do!"
And so, the damage control team got to work cleaning up the mess and vacuuming up the damage...
Except for a thin, wiry-looking man whose attention was on the Super Robot. "Monkey Team... Triumphant as always..." he said as he patted the robot's foot. "All my life I wanted to rise above it all and be like you... The Monkey Team..."
"KRINKLE!" shouted his boss angrily, jolting him out of his soliloquizing. "I'VE WARNED YOU ABOUT THAT! LEAVE THE ROBOT ALONE! Go clean up Quadrant D!"
"Sure, boss; no problem," said Krinkle, rubbing his head. "That's why I exist."
The boss stomped away as Krinkle went back to his work.
"Well, that wasn't such a chore." Nova smiled at the others from inside the robot.
"Uh, can we get out of here?" Sparx begged. "The smell is making me wanna hurl."
"I'm right behind ya." Chrissy added.
"Hold on, there's somebody down there," Chiro realized. "Who is that guy?"
"Some lowly janitor?" Raul shrugged.
"Appears to be a member of the clean-ups," Gibson reported. "The high-tech janitors geared the clense the city after our vast rubble inducing battle."
"If only Townsville did that for The Powerpuff Girls." Lynn shrugged.
"Lowly, schmowly!" LJ exclaimed. "Guys like him are the reason this city is still standing at the end of each day! I think we can go down and maybe help him out."
"I agree," Chiro nodded. "Let's go."
The kids soon went off together to go and meet this janitor who was hard at work.
"Hi." Chiro's voice said from right behind.
Krinkle stood up on end, slightly startled as the clouds opened up to show the sunlight as though something blessed him from the Heavens up above.
"Uh, can we help you?" Chiro then asked.
Krinkle slowly turned his head and reached out, touching Chiro's face.
"Ooookay, stranger danger much?" Lynn blinked.
"Monkey Team badge for a Monkey Team member..." Krinkle said.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." Akito shrugged.
Krinkle shook the kids' hands eagerly. "Name's Gyrus Krinkle. You...mind if I have an application?" he asked.
"Application...?" asked Kimberly.
"For membership!" Krinkle replied. "I figure the Monkey Team could use someone like me! Maybe I could... Pilot the robot's ears or something?"
"The Super Robot doesn't have ears..." Chiro replied nervously.
"Maybe you could be our go-to gadget guy!" LJ suggested. "Like... Coming up with new weapons and upgrades!"
"Really?" exclaimed Krinkle. "Y-you mean it?"
"Well, nothing's official yet," LJ replied. "But I'll be sure to keep you updated. You've done a pleasant job cleaning up, so to that I say thanks, and continue the good work, Mr. Krinkle!"
"...Nice talkin' to ya." Chiro added as he and the others left.
"Be seeing you... Friend!" Gyrus waved to the group as they left.
"That wasn't creepy to anyone else, was it?" Lynn asked the others.
"Now, now, be nice," Akito suggested. "He's probably just eccentric."
"Yeah, probably as eccentric as my neighbor Mr. Grouse." Lynn rolled her eyes.
"Look, the guy is a bit odd, sure," LJ shrugged. "But who can honestly that they're not odd themselves?"
"Everyone has their quirks," Raul commented. "My grandmother has a book for everyone that she claims is a fact."
And at that, the kids were gone, leaving the eccentric man all by himself.
"GYRUS! I WARNED YOU!" A man behind Krinkle snapped, startling him back into reality. "This obsession is unhealthy! I'm firing to the grounds of excessive creepiness!"
Gyrus groaned as he sunk low and felt just as low as his new position and punishment. The boss then stormed off as Gyrus latched off his pack that was on his back.
"That's okay... I'll just keep on cleaning... You'll see!" Gyrus snarled before grinning darkly and viciously.
Dark storm clouds soon moved to the skies as it began to rain down on him.
Meanwhile, the kids were back at the Super Robot, spending their downtime however they chose. Chrissy decided to practice some singing, Kimberly was drawing a bit to show LJ some artwork of hers later, Lynn kept up with her sports, and Raul ended up having to deal with several missed calls and text messages from his worrying parents. LJ also finished up his adventure report while Akito decided to do some personal training that he learned from the Loonatics.
"Never ignore phone calls or texts from your mother," Raul advised to the others. "She won't let you forget it."
The others nodded as that sounded like good enough advice.
"Fair enough." Chiro chuckled as he was checking out a new robot toy that he really wanted.
"What's that?" asked LJ.
"The Techroid A-88, the most amazing robot toy this side of the Nexa-4!" Chiro replied.
Just then, Nova came into the room. "Kids! Come quick!" she exclaimed. "There's been an accident in the lab! Gibson's turned himself muscular and female!"
"...That statement raises so many questions that I am afraid to ask." LJ replied blankly.
"We gotta see this!" Chiro remarked.
And so they took off as Nova led the way. The Yellow Monkey smiled as the door soon opened while the other Robot Monkeys were shown in a room with a cake.
"Happy Birthday!" The Robot Monkeys cheered.
The kids all looked confused, except for maybe one.
"You... You guys remembered?" Chiro beamed at his teammates.
"Ohh..." The others then said and realized that it was Chiro's special day.
"Wow... I feel terrible... I didn't even know it was his birthday." Chrissy said nervously.
"Honestly... I wish I'd gotten him something," LJ replied, embarrassed. "I guess we all forgot... Sorry!"
"Aw, that's okay, guys," Chiro smiled. "Making, meeting, and having new friends like you guys was kind of an early birthday present. It's no big deal though."
"If you say so, dude," LJ replied. "In the meantime, let's enjoy the party!"
And so, began Chiro's birthday party which proved to be the best day ever for the Hyperforce Team.
"I got you this calyx space gem," Nova said as she handed a gemstone to Chiro. "It changes shape with your emotion."
Chiro smiled as he accepted the gemstone before it suddenly shrunk down in size in the palm of his hand.
"It's so pretty and unique," Kimberly smiled. "How thoughtful, Nova."
Antauri handed Chiro a book. "I hope you enjoy this book of theronite philosophy, Chiro," he told his young charge. "It takes approximately 97 human years to read."
Chiro blanched at the massive amount of pages. "97 years?... I'll start tomorrow."
"Can a human even live that long?" Akito commented.
"I'm pretty sure that's how old my Pop-Pop is." Lynn shrugged.
"Tech would love that book too." Akito then remarked.
"Then he should borrow it a little." Chiro whispered as he gave the book over to Akito as Gibson brought out what looked like a slug that creeped and grossed Chrissy out.
"My gift is known as a Zoglodor: the only slug in the galaxy known to secrete candy!" Gibson explained as he squeezed the back end, sending a wave of candy-flavored slime onto Chiro's face.
The boy chuckled sheepishly. "I'll... Taste it later." he replied.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever eat candy ever again." Chrissy grimaced.
"Welcome to the club," LJ told Chrissy. "Though to be fair, I never ate candy to begin with, but why split hairs?"
"Hey, has anyone seen Sparx?" Raul suddenly asked.
"I guess he must be running late." Nova shrugged.
"Sparx will be here," Akito replied. "He's probably showing up fashionably late."
"I made a little something too." Otto smiled.
"Oh, Otto, how sweet," Kimberly smiled back. "What is it?"
"It's a handy little gadget," Otto replied, showing the instrument that had a set of teeth attached to the end of it. "It prechews your food!"
Chiro and the other kids grinned nervously at that. "Heh... Cool presents..." The birthday boy said sheepishly as Nova's gemstone changed shape randomly in the background while the slug sat next to it.
Just then, Sparx came inside, holding something.
"Hey, Sparx," said Chiro. "...Whoa! I can't believe it! You got me a Techroid A-88?!"
"I did?" Sparx asked. "Uh, I mean, I did!"
"This is by far the greatest birthday present EVER!" Chiro gushed.
"Where did that thing come from?" Nova whispered to Sparx.
"Dunno, found it outside," The red monkey replied. And I'll tell 'im later."
"Who wants some cake?!" Otto grinned as he let the teeth chatter.
"Keep those teeth away from me!" Chrissy groaned. "It reminds me of a nutcracker or ventriloquist dummy. I mean, what's that all about anyway?"
Otto let the teeth soon splat onto the cake and the cake nearly exploded over all of them.
Lynn slid her finger over Akito's face and soon licked the frosting off with a smirk. "Mm... Not a bad flavor." she then said.
"I've had worse." LJ shrugged.
THE NEXT MORNING...
The Hyperforce were in a meeting.
"With the advent of monsters such as Stun Flower and Flytor, we should boost our security to-" Antauri began, but he never got to finish since an alarm was going off.
And a look from the viewing screen showed the group that it was some sort of four-legged spider robot.
"We're under attack!" Antauri exclaimed.
"Battle stations, team!" Chiro declared. "HYPERFORCE, GO!" he and LJ shouted as they raced into action.
And so, the team went to take off into action as always in the same old way.
"Ugh! I despise the common arachnid." Gibson grimaced.
"Eh, they're not that bad." Lynn shrugged.
The spider then jumped up in the air and hit the Super Robot right in the torso.
"Though I'm not keen on this one!" Lynn then suddenly glared.
The Super Robot soon grabbed the spider and tossed it, sending it flying in the air. The spider robot soon shot out a web and latched onto a building to avoid crashing before shooting right back on the other side and shot right at the Super Robot again without a hitch, sending the Super Robot down flat on its back in the middle of the road. The Arachnobot then spawned a pair of energy blades to slash the Super Robot to scrap metal. Luckily the S.R. managed to grab it and keep it from hitting its target, but they were living on borrowed time.
"Otto! Get us operational!" Antauri ordered.
"Workin' on it...!" Otto grunted as he strained with the controls.
"Time to be squashed, Arachnobot!" LJ grinned. "Ready the Shoulder Blaster and Torso Cannon!" Chiro grunted as he pressed a button which made a shoulder gun pop up from the Super Robot's side and open fire on the Arachnobot.
The Arachnobot soon jumped up and suddenly landed right back down on the road with no trouble.
"We can't get a beat on it!" Chiro cried out.
The Arachnobot soon ran around in circles with its webbing and spinnerets around the Super Robot's legs.
"It's got us!" Kimberly cried out.
"LASER EYES!" Akito commanded as they tried that next.
The Super Robot's laser eyes soon attempted to shoot at the Arachnobot only to fail miserably.
"The legs aren't responding!" Raul warned the others.
"We're stuck!" Otto added.
Eventually, the Arachnobot had wrapped the legs up completely.
"Fist Rocket 3/4, GO!" Sparx and Gibson yelled.
The fists shot off the Super Robot's arms and grabbed the Arachnobot out of the sky, before throwing it straight through a building.
"Good riddance." Raul said once they got their fists back on the Super Robot.
The group then left the Super Robot as they took a look at the tied up legs as it looked even worse from that perspective.
"Ugh! Looks like we've got a lot of unsticking to do here, guys." Chiro groaned.
"Can I be of some service, Monkey Team?" A familiar new voice asked.
The group then turned around to see that it was Gyrus from earlier, though he looked very different from his janitor uniform.
"Uh, sure, I guess," Akito shrugged. "If you have any way to help, that would be, um, helpful."
Gyrus took out a green blaster and fired at the webbing, dissolving it completely.
"Whoa... Nifty!" LJ exclaimed.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Kimberly added.
"Thank you, that was-" Chiro started.
"Conveniently effective to say the least." Gibson interjected.
"Guess I'm part of the team now, huh?" Gyrus smiled hopefully.
The others gave him blank looks and felt confused.
"Guys, it's me," Gyrus told the Robot Monkeys. "Gyrus Krinkle."
"Ah, Gyrus, uh, yeah..." Chiro chuckled sheepishly in confusion. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but we're not looking for new members, but we appreciate your help."
"Yeah, we gotta go," LJ added as they went to turn away and go back into the Super Robot. "I felt pretty crummy about doing that." he sighed as they left.
"Hey, someone had to tell him," Kimberly said. "At least no one's gonna do that to us."
"Heya!" A voice called out right in front of the kids of the group.
The kids yelped and suddenly fell on their backs as they saw a familiar kid from a different neighborhood.
"What the...?" Akito asked before he saw who it was, wearing a bit of a silly costume. "Jonny 2x4 from the Peach Creek cul-de-sac."
"Hey, guys, and that's Captain Melonhead to you, buddy!" Jonny said as he was hanging upside down from the door as he held Plank who wore a mask as well. "And this is Splinter the Wonderwood!"
"Our mistake," Lynn rolled her eyes. "So what do you want?"
"I'm gonna go on adventures like you guys!" Jonny replied. "How 'bout it?"
The group looked at each other before they kept going inside. "Naaaah!" they then told him.
THAT NIGHT...
Chiro was playing with his new birthday present.
"You're goin' down, Mousekaizer D!" he remarked. "Photon Fist Fury!"
The door opened and Gibson, Nova, and Sparx came inside.
"Um... That Techroid toy?" Sparx told Chiro. "It didn't really come from me, kid. I found it. Some fan put it outside for ya and I didn't have a present, so..."
"So pretty cool, huh?" Chiro replied.
"Yeah... Guess someone knows whatcha like a little better than us." Nova noted.
"Just as a suggestion, perhaps I should dissect this in my laboratory?" Gibson suggested. "Just to make certain it's not dangerous."
"Dissect it? It's a toy!" Chiro scoffed as he kept the tiny robot out of the Blue Monkey's reach. "Look, your gifts were okay. It's the thought that counts, right? So... See ya in the morning."
"Yes, it's late," Chrissy added. "Some of us need our beauty sleep."
LJ nodded. "Good night, folks," he yawned as he left. "Oy, I feel like nothing could wake me up..."
As the others went to bed, Chiro put his Techroid-A88 on his bedside table before dozing off.
Meanwhile, outside the Super Robot, two familiar faces came back. Gyrus appeared to be wearing some sort of Chiro costume as he brought out several tools with a manic grin on his face.
"I will join you guys," Jonny narrowed his eyes as he held onto Plank. "You think you're so cool because you get to go all around the world and meet new people while I'm stuck with a bunch of Wood Haters? I don't think so!"
Gyrus chuckled as he pushed the Chiro mask's ear on his costume before the Techroid-A88's eyes flashed and eventually, a door opened for the two of them. As Chiro slept, the Techroid-A88 leapt out and jumped onto Chiro's face. As the boy woke up, he began to scream in terror as it started to cover his face.
"Chiro's in trouble!" Antauri exclaimed, waking up. "MONKEY TEAM, ASSEMBLE!"
"Hang on, Chiro!" LJ yawned as he and the others sprang into action. When the group arrived, Chiro was in Hypermode, but he was pinned to the wall.
"Chiro!" Otto yelped, summoning his saws.
"Otto, no. You'll hurt him!" Kimberly stopped the green monkey.
Antauri nodded. "We need strategy instead of force."
"Get this thing off me!" Chiro shouted as the helmet became more square-shaped, and began to form a spiral pattern.
"EVERYONE, COVER YOUR EYES!" LJ shouted as he turned away from the hypnotic patterns.
The other kids turned away, though the Robot Monkeys seemed to fall victim into the hypnotic force.
"What's happening?" Nova asked wearily. "I don't feel so good..."
"I think I'm freaking out!" Sparx cried out.
"Hold onto your cerebrals!" Gibson warned.
"It's kinda cool... Oh, no, it's not!" Otto panicked suddenly.
LJ and the others left the room to save themselves.
"They've been zombified!" Raul panicked. "What're we gonna do, guys?!"
"What else? We fight." LJ declared.
Gyrus smiled. "Looks like you've become attached to your gift..." he remarked. "Wait... Someone's missing..."
"Someone is?" Jonny asked Gyrus.
"Yes... That tiny boy with the big head..." Gyrus replied. "Go look for him."
"I bet I know where he is." Jonny smirked as he snuck around, trying to be like a superhero with Plank as his sidekick.
"Super Robot Monkeys!" Gyrus announced.
The Monkeys turned to him. "It's the Clean Ops technician..." Gibson exclaimed. "Gyrus Krinkle!"
"No! Not Gyrus, little monkeys. I am your new Chiro!" Krinkle told them as his hypnotic commands began to take effect. "Your minds have been cleared... Now, become my monkeys! BECOME MY MONKEYS!"
The kids hid away as they tried to think of a way to stop Gyrus. Jonny soon slowly came up right behind them and lifted Plank high up in the air and whammed him down to knock out LJ and snatch him away.
"...Huh? What in the Matrix?" LJ mumbled as he soon woke up. "Whu' happen... Where am I?"
"Hello there, adventure leader," Jonny smirked as he stood over LJ. "I'll take it from here."
"Like HELL you will, you little troll!" LJ growled. "This is for people with experience! And the only experience you have is in being a grade-A pain in the butt!"
"You can't talk to Captain Melonhead like that!" Jonny glared as he tossed Plank out to him. "Splinter the Wonderwood, GO!"
Plank soon flew in the air and hit LJ right on the head as he fell right down.
"Take that!" Jonny smirked. "You gotta let me join now, this is my revenge and I promised to help Gyrus out with the Hyperforce Robot Monkeys or whatever they're called!"
"How about you piss off?" LJ retorted. "And once I get myself free, you're gonna wish you'd stayed in the Cul-de-Sac, and I'll send a termite army to devour your little sidekick."
"Who's gonna stop me?" Jonny smirked. "Your mom?"
"Nope: HER SON!" LJ declared as a green aura surrounded his body, and he threw Jonny off with a primal screech. "...So this is the strength of the Power Primate? Well, that's just Prime!"
A butterfly soon flew into the room and stuck to the wall before chuckling as it was shown to be Thor. "Well done, LJ," he then said. "Looks like you didn't even need an emergency call."
LJ nodded. "Yup! I just needed to tap into my inner powers. And now to save my friends!" he declared.
"How're you enjoying your adventure by the way?" Thor asked.
"Oh, it's amazikng," LJ said. "I really like this... Even if Akito butts in sometimes."
"Yeah, I can understand that," Thor nodded. "Your sister also can't wait to see you."
"Felicity?" LJ asked. "How's she doing in school?"
"Almost done with her work, not to mention making sure a school play directed by Mr. Wiggins goes smoothly," Thor replied. "Apparently he's a perfectionist... I guess he got that from hanging around Governor Ratcliffe all the time."
"I guess so," LJ replied. "We'll talk more about this later!" And so he raced off to see that the Monkey Team was attacking what looked like a massive version of Techroid-A88. "What... What's going on?" he asked. "And where are my friends?!"
"Your friends will be next since you won't accept me or Gyrus," Jonny glared. "You need Captain Melonhead in your adventure team and you know it."
"We need you about as much as a car needs a flat tire!" LJ declared. "You're NOT a hero, you're just an idiot with a watermelon on his head! Now gimme my friends back, or I'll snap your board over my knee and hammer you into the ground like a tent peg!"
"You wouldn't dare, Wood Hater!" Jonny glared. "You don't scare me, kid!"
"I can and I would!" LJ remarked, as he spin-kicked Jonny in the chin and knocked him into the wall. He then walked over to his board, picked it up, and chopped it in half like he was performing a karate chop demonstration.
"Plaaaank! WOOD HATER!" Jonny cried out and then snapped. "I'm gonna sue you!"
"Aw, SHUT UP ALREADY!" LJ retorted as he grabbed Jonny and threw him out the window.
Jonny soon yelled and screamed as he fell out the window... To possibly die, though it was unlikely, but hopefully, he wouldn't come back for a while.
"Guys?" LJ called as he went to look for his missing friends. "Guys!"
A bright sky blue bubble appeared and soon Akito was shown to be controlling it as he sat with Kimberly, Chrissy, Lynn, and Raul before he had the bubble drop down in front of LJ.
"Oh, thank goodness..." LJ said as the bubble popped. "I thought you guys were gone forever."
"I borrowed a spell from my Charm School book," Akito replied. "That wood loving maniac was getting a bit dangerous."
"This is why you're second in command," LJ replied. "So you're able to handle stuff that I'm not able to take care of! But yeah, Timber Brain wasn't much trouble. Just had to get him to let his guard down and BLAMINSKY!"
"Guess he's not as smart as he think he is." Akito smirked.
"He thinks he's smart?" Lynn rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother! Seriously, that kid needs to get a life."
"Now that that's taken care of, we need to figure out what to do with Chiro and the Robot Monkeys." Chrissy suggested.
"First off, we need to get Chiro out of that metallic suit," stated LJ. "And then, we subdue Gyrus and make sure he can't cause any more mayhem."
"Right." The others nodded to that.
"We'll have to be careful and be quiet," Kimberly advised. "One wrong move and he might take us next."
The group returned to the room, where the Hyperforce were fighting a robot with a human mouth.
"Guys! What's the big idea?!" exclaimed Raul.
"We're under attack from the Techroid!" Nova exclaimed, as Otto tried to saw the robot in half.
"It didn't have to be this way, Techroid..." Gyrus remarked. "You should've accepted me... Should've let me LEAD you!"
"Alright, time to take you down, commander crazy!" Lynn remarked.
"Gyrus! You wanted to be a hero, right? Help us out?" asked LJ calmly. "...This isn't what a hero would do, man. Believe me: I know what it's like, always being stuck in someone's shadow...wanting to step up and become a hero."
"No! You don't! You have no idea what I am going through, kid!" Gyrus scoffed. "I suggest you and your friends stay out of my way or else you're NEXT!"
"Yes, I do!" LJ replied. "All your life, you wanted to be a hero, but you couldn't get the chance. I know you want to be a hero, but this isn't the way! If you do this... YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN SKELETON KING!"
Gyrus glared slightly before that hit him suddenly and he began to look and feel struck.
"I know your pain," LJ said. "You wanna stand out and crawl out of the shadows and be somebody... You wanna be part of a team that looks like a lot of fun, especially when it's people you deeply care about. You just want people to know your name and story, but can't you see? This is not the way to get people to know you."
"It... It isn't?" Gyrus asked softly.
"Certainly not!" LJ replied. "This just isn't the way to go!"
"...I guess I hadn't thought about it like that before..." Gyrus said softly as he had a sudden realization.
"But you can still be a hero!" LJ encouraged. "You can put a stop to this!"
"I can... Put a stop to this..." Gyrus slowly repeated in a shallow voice as he began to think about what was being said.
"That's right!" LJ declared.
"C'mon, and hit me with your best shot!" Chiro shouted at the Monkey Team. "Come get some, ya ugly monkeys!"
Sparx fired off magnet blasts at Chiro's leg, shattering the armor plating around it.
"He's goading them!" Raul exclaimed. "So when they attack him, they destroy his robot armor! Pretty brainy!"
"That idea always scares me... Seeing the friends and family you've known and loved for so long are suddenly turning against you." Kimberly frowned.
"I'll admit, it's definitely a nightmarish thought," LJ agreed. "I can honestly say that's my worst case scenario."
Kimberly and LJ both shuddered in fear and nervousness.
"We know they're in there somewhere, we just gotta let 'em come out and save Chiro." Chrissy comforted both of them.
As Gibson fired his Spin Shocker, it broke more of the metallic armor.
"Yeah, that's more like it!" Chiro grinned. "C'mon, you little yellow furball!"
Nova fumed in rage, and delivered a flurry of punches to Chiro's chest, sending him through a wall.
Luckily, it broke the torso/midsection armor, but it left Chiro with some leftover pain. "Ooookay... That wasn't a good idea..." he groaned as the Monkeys came out to attack again.
"Should we help?" Akito asked LJ as the Robot Monkeys attacked Chiro since they didn't know him anymore.
"No, they're almost there." LJ replied as Otto tried to saw Chiro's head in half, only to cut through the helmet.
"Guys! It's me!" Chiro exclaimed as he beamed proudly.
"...Chiro?" Otto blinked.
"Yes!" The kids cheered as that was a good sign.
"Thank goodness," Chiro sighed in relief. "That was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do on this team."
"No! This isn't how I planned it!" Gyrus yelled. "I didn't want to have to destroy you!"
"I don't think you have much worry about that, pal." Sparx remarked.
Gyrus just smirked as a bunch of robotic implementations came from his suit. "Think again!"
"Alright, team, let's subdue it to it!" LJ declared.
"Right!" The others chorused.
A bullet soon shot right at Chiro and he used the very lengthy book as a shield and the impact exploded right on target. Gyrus snarled as that didn't work, but he wouldn't give up so easily. Chrissy soon picked up the gemstone and charged with it and shot it right into the open hole and it grew and expanded inside of the gun, dismantling it, much to Gyrus's surprise.
Gyrus then got to his feet and fired missiles from the ears of his Chiro suit head, but Antauri was ready to disable them. "CLAW DISRUPTORS!" he shouted as he slashed through one, making it explode in mid-air.
Gibson was about to be hit by one, but Sparx caught it with his magnet-hands. "Don't worry, brain-frame; I got'cher back!" he grinned as he threw it back.
As Gyrus blasted it apart, Otto leapt through the smoke cloud and deflected the blaster fire. The kids watched happily, but they did remember to help out. The Robot Monkeys were clearly a very nice and suitable family for Chiro and they were glad to have witnessed it and also be apart of it. Gyrus snuck up right behind Chrissy and grabbed onto her before she could Sonic Scream at him. Lynn gasped before glaring and she soon went running and jumped high in the air and kicked Gyrus away and off of Chrissy with a soccer kick that was a lot more epic and dangerous than a regular soccer player's kick almost like she had flames in her feet.
Gyrus smacked against the wall, and got to his feet, pulling out a glowing purple staff. "Enough of this CHILD'S PLAY!" he declared, slamming it down and generating an energy field that trapped the Monkey Team to the ground.
"Gibson! Otto! Get us outta here!" Chiro told the blue and green monkeys, who couldn't make a dent.
"And now to end it!" Gyrus declared as he held out a timer counting down from 30 seconds.
Antauri gasped in horror. "A quark detonator! That'll incinerate the entire park!" he exclaimed.
"Less than 30 seconds," Gyrus replied as Otto tried to saw his way out. "You'll need more time than that to get free, my little traitors."
23... 22... 21...
"This is bad." Akito said.
"Great observation," Raul replied. "Now how do we get out of it?"
"Gyrus! Gyrus, wait!" Chiro cried out.
Gyrus soon stopped and turned his head. "Now what?" he then demanded after hearing a speech from LJ.
"I thought you were gonna pilot the robot's ears for us?" Chiro replied.
"I thought the Super Robot didn't have-" Lynn began.
"Shush!" Kimberly and Chrissy shushed her.
"If we build some, then he could." Chiro decided as he sweat-dropped with 13 seconds left.
Gyrus looked at the timer, sweating a bit. "...I don't know..." he replied.
"After all, we do owe you," LJ stated. "You did say the team could use somebody like you."
"Y-Yeah..." Gyrus replied. "Guess... Maybe we could..."
"So, whaddya say?" asked LJ.
"Super Robot Monkey Team...?" added Chiro.
Finally, Gyrus relented. "...Hyperforce, Go..." he sighed, deactivating the timer.
LJ sighed as he placed a hand on Gyrus' forehead. His eyes and hand began to glow as he muttered something, and Gyrus' eyelids began to droop, before he fell asleep.
"Whoa... How'd you do that?" Lynn asked LJ.
"I learned it from my mom," LJ replied. "I made Gyrus fall asleep. I only hope that whatever we do with him, he'll be able to get the help he so desperately requires..."
"I hope so too." Lynn replied.
"I feel bad for him, but he really needs to get some serious help." Kimberly added.
LJ nodded.
And so, Gyrus was left at the mental health facility on the moon of Ranger 7, but odds are, he would somehow return... Jonny 2x4 promised that he would too, but hopefully that wouldn't be for a long... Long... Long time. Everyone then went to do their own thing after another mission had been completed.
"Poor Gyrus, I hope he feels better soon." Kimberly said as she got comfortable.
"And hopefully he knows to keep better company than that Jonny 2×4 brat." Raul grumbled.
The others nodded as they got settled. LJ soon checked the mail and smiled once he saw a postcard from Felicity and began to read it aloud.
'LJ,
Almost done over here, I really miss you guys and I look forward to seeing you and what kind of wild and crazy adventures you have gotten yourself into this time. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos say that you guys can honorarily become Rotten to the Core if you would like, just don't show off too many Ways to be Wicked, but you should consider thinking that It's Good To Be Bad sometimes. That's their job. I'm closer and closer to see you as of this writing, but Exam Week can't be done and out of the way sooner.
-Felicity'
LJ smiled at that. "Honestly? I can hardly wait to see you, Flick," he replied. "So I don't forget my roots."
"Postcard from your sister?" Kimberly asked, coming to see him.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," LJ nodded eagerly. "She should at least visit once her exams are over."
"Well, that sounds exciting," Kimberly smiled before blushing. "...You gonna tell her about... More than just us?"
"Sure," LJ replied. "As long as she asks about it first."
"I look forward to her visit," Kimberly smiled. "Hopefully this Skeleton King guy cools down by then at least."
"Or at least he's taken care of by then," LJ replied. "And let's make sure of it."
Kimberly smiled and nodded before hugging him.
"Aww..." LJ smiled back as he hugged her back.
"You're so cuddly... Like a unicorn~" Kimberly giggled. "I should let you meet the Kaitlyns some time after we see your sister."
"Hmm... Alright, that could be fun," LJ replied. "I could use some normality after how hectic things have been."
"Great!" Kimberly smiled. "I'll give them a call."
"I'm not sure how I feel about those girls honestly," Chrissy commented. "Like when you told us how they made fun of your cat friend Gordon's tail for being too short or how you guys shaved him, Mr. Blik, and Waffle at your slumber party."
"Oh, the Kaitlyns mean well," Kimberly reassured. "Plus they're members of The Unicorn Club where we cherish love, friendship, and forgiveness. I'm sure Nova will at least enjoy their company."
"Perhaps," LJ replied. "I suppose we can see for ourselves when we come to cross that bridge. In the meantime, we've got a few days off so we may as well use them."
Kimberly beamed as she clapped her hands and soon skipped along to make a phone call or two.
"I think you just made her day." Chrissy giggled.
"And it makes my day to know that!" LJ beamed as he laid down on a beanbag chair.
"I've thought about telling my aunts about what more we're doing," Chrissy said bashfully. "I just know Aunt Sonata would get too overprotective from most stories though. Plus Aunt Aria would probably wanna torch The Skeleton King for everything he's ever tried to do."
"Maybe we don't tell until we're sure things are quiet, and that Skeleton King has been taken out of the picture for good," LJ replied. "We could probably pay them a visit today. The schedule is gonna be clear for a good few days."
"Uh, okay," Chrissy nodded. "Let's take some time to relax and have some fun."
"That's the spirit, Chris!" LJ smiled.
Chrissy smiled back as she whipped out her phone and sent a group text to her aunts about coming to visit.
"And now, I'm gonna get some pizza or something." LJ sighed as he walked off.
"Hopefully there's enough to go around," Raul warned LJ. "Lynn was just telling me how whenever they order pizza at her house that it's war on who even gets a second slice."
"Well, there's way less of us," LJ stated. "So therefore there should be plenty to go around, if I can find a pizza place."
"You should try Pizza Planet," Raul grinned. "That place is the-"
There was then suddenly a bleeping sound heard.
"Aw, come on!" Raul glared. "I was gonna say 'bomb'!"
"What was that sound?" asked LJ, glancing around.
"Apparently I just got censored for some reason." Raul huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Huh... That was unusual," LJ replied. "But, I will take your food place suggestion to mind."
"Yeah! Pizza Planet!" Raul grinned. "That food's amazing, my man!"
"Well, then, I'll be sure to give 'em a call!" LJ nodded as he walked off.
Raul chuckled a bit.
Eventually, LJ went along before he got a call from an unknown number. "Hello?" he then asked before suddenly passing out before he left the Super Robot.
No one really seemed to notice what happened to LJ as he suddenly woke up somewhere else.
"...The Foo was that for?!" LJ complained before looking around. "Where am I?"
"LJ! Relax!" A maternal voice soon called out, a bit sharp, but still calm and soft.
"Huh? Who said that?" LJ asked, glancing around.
"Come now, LJ," The figure said, standing in front of him with a hood covering her face before lowering the hood to reveal herself. "Surely you recognize your own mother."
"Mom?" LJ blinked before smiling and hugging her legs. "Mom!"
"Yes... Hello, there..." Cherry nodded at him. "I sensed you using one of the abilities of a Dream Walker."
"You mean how I was able to make Gyrus fall asleep?" LJ asked. "Oh, yeah. I remembered how to do that from watching you do it!"
"You did very well," Cherry replied. "I had to do the same with you and your sisters sometimes on rough nights, especially after a long night of bad dreams you would have."
LJ blushed, sheepish. "Heh... Yeah, I guess that makes sense." he replied.
"Also, I have this feeling..." Cherry soon said.
"...Yes?" LJ asked in concern.
"I can't really describe it in full detail," Cherry said. "Though I feel like somehow... Someway... You're about to run into some old friends of mine in a way that could be unexpected and different."
"Sounds curious," LJ replied. "But interesting as well..."
"I'm not fully sure how to explain it, though I feel something strong going on," Cherry said to him. "Would you like to borrow my scrapbook for some references?"
"Sure!" LJ replied. "Maybe it could help. I'd at least wanna be able to recognize these guys when they show up."
"All right..." Cherry nodded. "And as you know, if I give you something in your dream, you'll have it in real life too when you wake up."
"Yeah, I know, Mom, you've told me before," LJ replied. "Especially when I found out I could do this Dream Walking too."
"Just making sure you listen to me when I talk," Cherry said before she waved her hands randomly and a very thick and large book appeared in her hands. "One of my gifts from The Almighty Zeus for helping his son, Hercules, who stayed with Megara instead of ascending to Mount Olympus."
LJ nodded as he reached out.
Cherry then handed her son the scrapbook that was labeled as "Cherry's Adventures" as it glowed in his touch.
"Whoa..." LJ exclaimed. "Pocket-sized, too!" he spotted a section of the scrapbook that had been bookmarked.
"I'm just glad I could summon that book to school with me rather than hold onto it every day in my backpack," Cherry smirked. "It was enough back strain carrying homework for two classes when I took Magic Lesson Training with your Uncle Atticus, Aunt Mo, Patch, and Sabrina back in high school."
"With a massive workload? I can see your point." replied LJ.
"Take good care of that book for me," Cherry said as she put her hands together. "I've had it for a good part of my life."
"I will, Mom." LJ nodded as he held onto the book securely.
"See that you do," Cherry replied. "I also see that you have a new female friend... I guess you're quite the ladies man." she then added as a playful, motherly quip.
LJ blushed. "Aw, Mom..." he replied, with a sheepish grin. "Lucky for me we've got some time off today, so I'll have time to look over this."
"You'll need all the time you can get leafing through that thing," Cherry said. "I'd swear my whole life was in there... Though it does start with your Disney aunt, Cinderella technically."
"You ever think of labeling it?" LJ asked.
"Details. Details. Goodbye, LJ." Cherry smirked before she suddenly disappeared and he blacked out before waking up with the scrapbook in his hands.
"Aw, Mom." LJ smiled to himself as he shook his head.
"Hey, uh, you gonna be okay?" Raul's voice asked from behind.
LJ soon looked over and stood up as he hugged his mother's special book and saw Raul right there.
"You just kinda zoned out," Raul said to him. "Did you faint or something?"
"Nah, my mom was contacting me through my brain," LJ replied. "She just dropped by to give me her special scrapbook."
"I've seen that thing," Raul said. "Especially hearing about it from when she saw my parents for those kinds of adventures like with my distant cousin, Miguel."
"Well, it's pocket-sized now thanks to a little magic," LJ said as he showed it. "We might be due for meeting someone later."
"From her past?" Raul asked with wide eyes before backing up. "Keep whoever they are away from me. I hear your mother's met some crazy demons and horrors back in the day. No wonder she's so scary nowadays."
"Oh, calm down," LJ replied. "You don't even know who it is yet, but I intend to find out." he turned to the page with the bookmark on it.
Raul soon decided to sit with LJ to see what he would do with the old adventure book which these days was considered a historic and ancient relic.
"I wonder... Who could it be...?" LJ muttered as he looked at the page.
Raul sat closer to see which page LJ would go to. LJ looked all around, seeing the description for the page he landed on.
"What's that?" Raul asked.
"An adventure with Mom's good friend Katie," LJ replied before reading aloud the description. "'I joined my dear friend Katie Day for a new adventure with Katie's little cousin who was named Frisk, who was neither boy or a girl, and preferred to be called 'they' or 'them' whenever using pronouns. We went on a hike for Mount Ebott with a legend of those who fall will never return. We found this out the hard way as they accidentally trip and end up in another world against humans known as The Underground as they meet many strange characters and encounter strange places and experiences. I call this 'The Adventure of The Under Tale'."
"...Weird." Raul blinked.
"Which is just another word for 'interesting'." LJ remarked as he continued to read on, surprised to learn further about the creatures that his mother had encountered during her escapade through the Underground.
"You think your mom has her old friends from this world coming back or something?" Raul asked before wincing. "Ugh... Those Skeleton Brothers or whatever they are just make me think of Dad's old stories about Sartana of the Dead."
"Dude, chill out," LJ rolled his eyes. "These guys, Papyrus and Sans, are super laidback. That Undyne lady seems rather exuberant and high-strung, but she's just really loyal to what she believes in."
Raul decided to take a closer look. "What's this?" he then asked. "A Lisa Simpson Dinosaur?"
"No, it says her name is Alphys," LJ replied before he read aloud the next page's description. "'Alphys was a very good friend of mine and we shared a lot of common interests in anime and fan fiction... I wish I could've brought her home with me... Almost reminds me of Velma Dinkley at times'."
"Also says that Undyne and Alphys later hooked up after your mom helped her work up the courage," Raul said. "Is it me or does that Frisk kid kinda look like a mix of Akito's Pokemon friend Brock and that one girl, Dora Márquez?"
"I guess so," LJ replied. "Probably because of the eyes and haircut."
"I wonder whatever happened to her?" Raul then said.
"Frisk is a them and I'm not sure," LJ replied. "But mine and Mom's feelings refer to this adventure specifically... I'm not sure why honestly."
"Talk about cryptic..." Raul replied.
"Yeah," LJ nodded. "I guess I'll see what happens down the road."
Raul nodded back. "So pizza?" he then smirked.
"Pizza." LJ nodded as he went to go call Pizza Planet.
Raul nodded back. Kimberly soon began to look excited after she got off of the phone with her two friends.
"They better not make fun of me." Chrissy narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, Chris, I doubt that they'll make fun of you," Kimberly said. "Plus I'm best friends with these girls. I wouldn't befriend a bully."
"I hope you're right..." Chrissy replied as she crossed her arms.
"Come on, have I ever let you down before?" Kimberly asked. "...Aside from that time we had that fight over LJ because your old imaginary friend came back?"
"No, I guess not." Chrissy replied.
"So let's chill out and have some pizza," Kimberly smiled. "It's going to be alright."
"Can't argue with that." Chrissy replied as she and Kimberly walked off to wait for the pizza to arrive.
"Kimberly has friends coming over..." LJ commented. "I guess we could do that while we wait. Chris, your aunts still coming?"
"They said either later tonight or early tomorrow, but either way, yes," Chrissy nodded. "I just hope that Aria's in a good mood."
"I guess it should be interesting having them over," replied Akito. "Might be fun getting to know them better, especially when they're not being snippy at Aunt Cherry."
"Yeah," LJ agreed. "I think they're gonna try to be friends now though. They didn't like the idea of me and Kimberly dating at first cuz of what happened back in Canterlot High School, but once they saw us happy together, they decided to be more friendly with each other."
"I'm not sure how I feel about them myself, but that should be fun for ya," Akito nodded. "I know I have fun with Ash and Emi, especially whenever I see Delia on occasions."
"Well, I guess that's pretty neat," LJ replied. "Although I suppose only time shall tell how this visit turns out."
"Mm-hmm..." Akito nodded.