A/N: Last time, the Runners discovered that Dreamer's Gestalt's influence stretched to as far as inside ULO, forcing them to step up their preparations to take them down. And when the Clarks began their own mission into the Gestalt, Lee wound up going AWOL during infiltration. Are we looking at a team up for the ages here? Find out on part 5, right now!
In a mysterious building located in the middle of the woods, several kids marched inside the entrance. As they did, two familiar kids popped up from the bushes wearing the same white robes that the other kids were wearing.
"Can't we wear something other than this, Marc? I look like a ghost in a tacky white sheet of a blanket," the girl asked in dismay.
"We have to blend in with these guys, Megan. It's the only way to get close to them and find Lee," Marc said. "Now let's go."
But as the siblings headed towards the entrance, the three Runners peaked out behind several trees as they watched the two enter the building.
"Good. Looks like they managed to get in," Jordan said. "All that's left is to find our way in."
"But how do we do that? Judging by the structure of their headquarters, even our skills aren't enough to dig a hole through that building's floor or wall," said Armand, who was still in his child form.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the right item in my inventory to help us bypass those cult guards," Zeus said as he stared at his RunCom.
However, Jordan turned and gave a small, mischievous smirk towards her friends.
"Who said we're breaking through the wall?"
Before the boys knew it, they were standing right in front of the wall located behind the headquarters. They then looked up and stared at the open window above them.
"I know this seems a good place to sneak in. But you are aware that neither of us has any ropes, hooks, or any sort of climbing materials on hand?" Armand reminded his young friend.
"Don't you think I know that?" Jordan answered. "Besides, we're not using ropes for this sneak in. Z, can our new RunCom use skills outside of our Runner forms?"
"Um... yeah. But you'd need to go through several menus and cast time if you want to use it," Zeus answered, which his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, are you saying..."
"That's the idea. But now that you mention it, we need to avoid being seen first."
As they tried to think of a solution, Armand stared at his RunCom and smiled.
"Just leave that part to me."
Not long afterward, several members of the Gestalt were patrolling the back of the building, when they both stopped in their tracks.
"Hey," the first member said. "You get the feeling that we're not alone here?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," answered the second member. They looked around the area but could see nothing but the trees and the back wall. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the two shrugged it off.
"Eh, probably just nerves."
"Yeah. Let's get inside."
But as they left for the entrance, the wall started to distort, and the Runners then reappeared, as did the actual wall, which was mostly covered in ice. Armand gasped in exhaustion.
"S-See that? I call that -Camo Barrier-," he said triumphantly despite his weary state.
"Amazing," Zeus muttered at what he saw earlier.
"I'll say. You combined -Hide- and -Drain Shield- to create a camouflage barrier that blends anything behind into our environment," Jordan added. "But are you sure you're okay? You looked like you used most of your -SP- back there."
Armand took a few more gasps of air before he sighed.
"Y-Yeah. The skill is to work in progress, so I'll work out some of the kinks in URO later. Come on."
Using the ice spikes sticking out of the frozen wall, the Runners climbed up towards the open window. Once they enter it, the ice spikes suddenly melted down into the water as the excess splashed on the ground.
Inside one of the upper floors of the building, the Runners snuck through the white and gray hallways as Jordan and Armand grew uneasy at the interior.
"Sheesh, isn't this a little too much white?" Jordan complained.
"I know this strange Gestalt group focus more on dreams and stuff, but their interior decorum makes me more awake than sleepy," Armand added. "No wonder why Daisy didn't want to join."
However, Zeus shushed both of them and said, "Quiet, guys. Someone's coming."
Realizing this, the Runners quickly hid behind a nearby door just as two Gestalt members marched down the hallways.
"Do you think that we're one step closer to the promised Wonderland?" one of them asked.
"The queen said that we will get there after we gather as many dreamers as we can," the other member answered. "But fret not. She will reveal some kind of breakthrough in tonight's meeting that will aid our mission a lot faster."
"Whatever it is, I can't wait for the promised meeting."
As the members left, Jordan and Zeus peeked through behind the door to see that they were gone.
"Phew. For a second there, I thought our first Runner mission together was gonna be a big bust. Thanks, Z," Jordan whispered.
"You're welcome. But what we just heard isn't enough to know exactly what we're up against," said Zeus. "What we need is some kind of file or blueprint that will let us know more about the Gestalt's true motives."
"Guys... I found something."
The two Runners widened their eyes as they turned around and saw the shrunken teacher staring at the computer. As they did, they quietly closed the door and slowly walk up to him.
"Wh- How did you hack into someone's PC?" Jordan asked. "Don't tell me. They left a note containing a password, right?"
"Not exactly. When I booted it up, it redirected me to a question prompt. When I typed in "Wonderland" from their conversation, it accepted it and allowed me to access their files," Armand explained.
"Huh. Simple, but ineffective as a security code. Anyways, let's see what they have here."
Jordan scrolled through the files until she stopped and noticed something.
"Check this out. "Mind Manipulation: How Nanobots Can Influence Thoughts and Memories". Don't tell me what I think it is?"
Zeus moves in as he reads a bit closer to the files.
"According to this, it details that nanobots can redirect the nerves and brain cells once it's injected into the patient's bloodstream, allowing them to manipulate the thoughts and memories of them."
"Wait, are you saying that those things can brainwash anyone as to whoever controls them pleases? That's an insane alternative to mental therapy," Armand protested.
"Not to mention inhumane. Any sane researcher who saw this would reject it on the spot," Zeus pointed out. "That would explain the members' sudden change of personality."
"But while all of these files answer most of our questions, it doesn't answer the question of the culprit's identity," Jordan said.
"My only suggestion is to find the leader's quarters. But we might waste time trying to find it in this facility."
"Maybe not. Let's try wandering around for a while. If we're lucky, we might able to find it before dawn strikes."
"And how do you expect that we can find it in time?" Armand asked.
Jordan flashed a small smirk as a reply.
"I told you, I have my ways."
Meanwhile, Marc and Megan were wandering around the halls Gestalt building, looking for any sign of Lee.
"Man, where could he be?" Megan asked.
"I wish I knew. And I wish Tony were here. He'd at least make a joke to lighten the mood," Marc added.
Just then, the two found themselves in front of a strange-looking door that had strange blue, red, and green decorum on it. They looked at the door as they wondered to themselves.
"Where does this lead to?"
"Only one way to find out…,"
"I hope we don't end up regretting it."
With that, Marc suspensefully placed his hand on the doorknob. He and Megan gulped in fear as he started to turn the knob, when…
"Oof... Watch it! I don't want to break my new UniCom!"
Marc and Megan gasped as they heard a familiar voice. They back away from the door and turned to see Jordan, Zeus, and Armand surrounded by the Gestalt members. The two quickly hid behind a corner and watched the scene.
"You know, I begin to question your nonsensical plans, Jordan," Armand said as he raised his hands while his friends do the same.
"What are you all doing here?" one member asked.
"And why are you snooping around for?" asked another.
"Just… taking a look around the place, and–" Jordan started trying to explain, when…
"There you guys are!" a familiar female voice said. The trio turned to see Megan and Marc sporting cheerful grins as they approached everyone.
"We've been looking all over for you!" Marc said as he turned to the other members. "Sorry, we were just escorting these potentials to initiation and their curiosity about this place must've gotten the better of them."
"We'll just take them back if you don't mind."
The members all looked at each other before their leader said, "Okay, but the ceremony starts soon. So don't be late."
"Will do," Megan said as she and Marc quickly escorted the Runners away.
Once they were out of the members' earshot, the siblings glared at the "potentials" as Marc angrily whispered, "What are you three doing here? And why in the world are you sneaking here for?!"
"I was about to ask you the same question," Armand snapped back until Jordan stops him.
"Easy, Gus. They seem to be here for the same reasons as us. We should at least tell them the truth," she said.
"Truth? Wait, don't tell me..."
Jordan took a deep breath before she said, "We're here to investigate the mystery behind the Dreamer's Gestalt's sudden popularity as part of our expose article we're working on for our school journalism club."
"We are?" Zeus asked in confusion before he realized what Jordan was doing. "Oh, yes. Yes, we are."
"Indeed," Armand quickly added. "The Gestalt's popularity has reached our school, and from what we've seen in the news, it's stretched all over the world. Probably even several worlds... At least that's what the rumors said it is."
"And we want to know what their secrets to this are."
"Not to mention we want to make sure this club is on the up-and-up if you know what I mean," Jordan pointed out to the Clarks.
"Well, if you ask me, it's anything but," Megan said. "Lee was in here to see the same, but we lost contact with him."
"And we came in to look for him, but so far, no luck," Marc added in.
The three Runners all looked at each other in concern and then back at the Clarks.
"Lee's really missing?" Jordan asked before asking, "You don't think that–"
"We're hoping not," Megan said, realizing what Jordan was implying. "I just wish that–"
Just then, the five kids all heard fanfare coming from down the hallway. They looked to see multiple members and potentials headed down the hall in the direction of the music.
"The induction is about to start," one of the members said, which the Clarks and Runners overheard.
"Well, you heard them, we best not be late," Zeus remarked.
"Affirmative," Marc agreed as all five of them headed in the same direction of the other kids and teens.
Later, they all arrived in front of the large door where they noticed the music and cheers were now louder behind it.
"The induction is there, all right. And I have a feeling there are more of those Gestalt fanatics than we imagined," Jordan said.
As for the shrunken teacher, he stared at the door and frowned at this.
"I'm not sure about this. On one hand, we might able to locate your older brother and find whoever's responsible behind this crazy cult," Armand spoke up. "On the other, we could get exposed by a risk that we won't be able to escape once inside."
"He's right. If we split up into three, the chances of being caught will increase," Zeus added.
"Then how about two of us will go around and find some kind of a queen's lair or office or something? One of us should stay here and pretend to be an inductee. That way, there will be a lesser risk of us getting caught," Jordan suggested.
Marc hummed for a few seconds.
"That sounds like a good idea. But which one of you three be the "inductee"?"
As he asked this, the three Runners glance at each other in surprise...
After a short while, they decided to draw sticks from Megan to decide. Jordan drew a short stick and Zeus drew the longest stick from the pile. As for Armand, his jaw dropped when he saw that he drew the shortest stick, which the others noticed.
"Sorry, Gus. We need you to stay here if we want to solve this mystery and save the Clarks' older brother," Jordan apologized.
"Just try to get through the whole induction until we get back," said Zeus.
Armand sighed in dismay.
"Fine. But if you two don't get back quickly, I w- I mean, the teacher won't be happy to see me absent tomorrow."
"Girl's scout's honor! Come on, Z!"
The two kids then left the siblings and the shrunken teacher's side as the latter sighed in dismay. Unknown to them, a strange figure in a black coat was observing the whole thing.
Inside the auditorium, every Gestalt member was lining up as Marc and Megan stood in the corner with Armand standing next to them.
"Man, just how many kids and teens have they recruited?" Megan whispered.
"I don't know. But I just saw Lee and the girl from before in the crowd," Armand also whispered as he pointed at the said people. "Guess our theory of him participating in this strange organization is right. All that's left is to find out more about this so-called queen."
"We don't have to wait much longer on that, though."
Just as Marc said this, fanfare music boomed through the speakers as a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes and wearing a white gown and tiara walked onto the stage. Everyone bowed at her presence, including the Clark siblings to avoid attention. Armand, on the other hand, silently stared at the woman as he became uncomfortable at her appearance.
Meanwhile, Jordan and Zeus were in at the outside of a room with a blue, red, and green decorum on the door as the latter used his RunCom to hack into the door's security system. He succeeded and slowly opened the door.
"No member in sight. At least we're doing this during the ceremony," he said.
"True, but can we get in there before you jinx it?" Jordan said, at which they entered and she shut the door behind her. When they did, their eyes widened as they saw that the room not only had a small lab near the office, but most of the decoration consists of portraits of the "queen". "Hello, Queen Ego."
The Runners slowly walked through the "queen's" office as Jordan stared at the portraits, including a picture of a younger "queen" wearing a glittery dress and crown during some kind of event.
"She's even vainer than some of the WOOHP villains I know. This makes me wonder if she's Lena's long-lost aunt or something."
As she saw even more portraits, she noticed that Zeus was now in front of the computer on the desk as he types on the keyboard.
"Did you find something there?" Jordan asked.
He continued to type until he stops and sighs in frustration.
"I would, but unlike the last PC we found, you actually need a password to access this one's contents," said Zeus.
"Dang it. Do you have anything in your RunCom that can hack into it?"
Zeus placed his hand on his chin and said, "I could use the hacking tool from it, but it might raise an alarm in the system."
As he looked around the desk, he noticed several files near the computer and took one of them to read its contents.
"Altari Yume, a researcher specialized in personality and dissociative disorders," he read out. "According to this, she's the one who wrote the thesis that we found earlier."
The Water Runner took a closer look at the file. As she read, she noticed the file's photo of a young woman with blonde hair tied into a bun and rimless glasses wearing a lab coat and ID in her pocket. Almost immediately, she recognized her.
"No way. The researcher is the same woman from the portraits," Jordan declared in realization. "And I'll give you one guess as to what happened to her career after submitting that crazy thesis."
"I agree. I can understand her motives, but it still doesn't explain how she has been able to fulfill her thesis and obtained a large number of followers in just two weeks," Zeus wondered.
Jordan then rummaged through the desk until she found and picked up a picture of the said researcher hugging a man of her age as they smile in front of it.
"For a crazy researcher, she managed to snag herself a date. I don't know whether to congratulate her or just throw it out of a window in disgust."
Before she could do anything with it, though, Zeus noticed something in the photo. His eyes widened as he snatched it from her hands.
"Hold on... that badge on the man's shirt. It looks a bit familiar," he said as he took out his RunCom and scanned the photo with it. Once he did, he waited for a few seconds until the device beeps and when he saw the results, he gasped in horror. "I knew it. The man Altari is dating is a member of Black Tundra!"
Jordan also widened her eyes once Zeus declared this.
"You mean those cult jerks that almost brainwashed most of the residents here so they can turn them into their puppet soldiers?! How do you know?"
"They have a crooked icicle as their logo. You can mostly find them in a form of a badge or a logo on their uniform."
"Makes sense. I did see some of those logos back during my first mission. But don't tell me Yume's part of it, too?!"
"Not exactly. The Tundra guys are very discreet when wearing something related to their cult out in the public. I'm guessing this photo is meant to be only in her office and she only knew his identity and who he was with, but she never joined them. Although, she might have gone to their black market to buy illegal technology to fulfill her twisted dreams."
"Whatever the case, it's still bad news. We have to warn Armand and the Clarks befor-"
Before she could finish, Jordan was suddenly grabbed by a white Gestalt member from behind as he tried to pull her away from the desk.
"Hey, let me go!" she snapped angrily. "Or I'll break your arm!"
"Get off of her!" Zeus snapped as he started to come at the man, but the member grabbed him by the throat, stopping him.
"U-Ugh..." Zeus groaned as he tried to struggle free from the boy's grip. "For an 11-year-old, you sure are strong. Maybe too strong for your age. Activating -Flash Block-!"
Before the boy knew it, a bright white light flashed in front of him, causing him to release Zeus as he covered his eyes in pain while Jordan looked on.
"Jordan, use a skill on his wrist! There's an invisible gauntlet hiding there!"
Realizing what he meant, Jordan snapped out of her daze before typing in her RunCom's screen and said, "Activating -Crystal Grenades-!"
A small ball of ice appeared on Jordan's right hand and she smashed it on the boy's wrist, at which it explodes in ice. To their shock, a black gauntlet suddenly materialized on the boy as his appearance glitched and changed to a man in his 40s wearing a black jumpsuit with an icicle logo on his chest.
"Nice job, Z! He's the same guy from the photo!"
"H-How did you brats know that it was me?!" the Black Tundra member shouted in frustration.
"You might able to use the guise of a brainwashed child, but your gauntlet's weakness of feeling through it wasn't enough to cover your tracks," Zeus reminded him. "Grabbing my friend was a bad move on your end."
Jordan got up from the ground and said, "He's right. Why don't you put down your gauntlet and surrender peacefully? It's two of us against one of you!"
"Yeah, well, I like those odds!" the man sneered confidently as he then threw a pair of glowing bands to the two Runners. The bands then wrapped themselves around the two, trapping them. Jordan and Zeus then struggled to reach their RunComs to transform themselves, but the man quickly snatched them from their wrists. "Uh-uh-uh, can't have you going Runner on me. Besides, it's time for you two to take a little nap!"
Back at the auditorium, the audience finished clapping as the Queen started her speech.
"Children of Dreams, welcome once more to m- I mean, our Gestalt. Ever since we first opened our doors to the children of the future, we have gained over ten thousand followers around the world in just two weeks. Without your contributions and support, Dreamer's Gestalt would be nothing more than a forgotten dream. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with us for many weeks, months, and years to come! Children, rejoice to Wonderland!"
"Rejoice to Wonderland!" everyone chanted as the siblings and Armand stared at them with high uneasiness.
"Now then, I have wonderful news for everyone. As you all know, many people don't believe that dreams will bring them to Wonderland because of in their minds, our growth will be stagnated over our high beliefs of fulfilling our dreams. As such, they are not worthy unless they open their eyes with a special sleeping potion."
"Sleeping potion? What kind of nonsense is she blathering about?" Armand whispered in disbelief before the Clarks quietly shush him.
"Thanks to the gods from the snowy tundra, they have granted me this special potion that lets you achieve whatever you want through a shared dream world conceived by yours truly!"
The queen snapped her fingers as a large monitor emerged from the wall behind her and showed footage of a young boy with a bored expression on his face. As the heroes watched, a syringe appeared and stuck into the boy's neck, injecting him with a strange gray liquid. Through an x-ray in the next scene, the liquid slowly climbed from his neck to his brain and delivered a large amount of static to it. When the footage returned to the boy, he was now smiling as he now wore the Gestalt white robe.
"With this, not only you will live the rest of your lives fulfilling your dreams in our shared Wonderland, you will fulfill the wishes of the Gestalt! The wishes of our dreams shall be the wishes of the slumber!"
"The wishes of our dreams shall be the wishes of the slumber!"
As the members continued to chant, the Clarks and Armand became horrified at what they saw.
"Slumber, my arse. That's nothing more than pure brainwash!" Armand growled.
"We have to get Lee and Tami out of here, stat!" Megan whispered as she was about to move to do just that, but Armand stopped her.
"If you do, they will just call us out and blow our cover. We have to find a way to deactivate those nanobots first."
Realizing that he's right, Megan frowned and returned to Marc and Armand.
"Now, I'm sure some of you must have questions in mind regarding my explanation about our dreamy procedure. Come on, don't be shy. Who has a question?"
The kids noticed that the members didn't raise their hands in response to the queen's order. Armand then turned to the stage and noticed that the "queen" seemed to be annoyed at this and pressing a button on the badge attached to her chest, the members began to twitch for a few seconds until they stop and one of them raised their hand.
"Ah, the boy in the second line at the back row. What is it, Caleb?" The queen asked.
"Your highness, we know how important this induction is to the Gestalt, but how will this relate to your announced discovery?" the boy asked in an emotionless tone.
"Now that is a good question. As I said, we do have some detractors and non-believers who have their eyes on shutting down our organization for all the wrong reasons. What's even worse is that strange secret organization, WOOHP, absolutely refuses to listen to any of our reasons for keeping the Gestalt's existence for the world."
At that, the members and potentials all started booing loudly in disgust, much to the surprise of the Clarks and Armand.
"But worry not, my dreamers. Our recent induction managed to recruit someone from that evil organization and thanks to him, we have the tools and knowledge to counter their evil plans to destroy our Wonderland!"
At that, Lee, now wearing a Gestalt robe and sporting a creepy grin, then stepped forward, much to Megan, Marc, and Armand's shock and horror and the cheers of the members and the potential.
"Young Lee Clark knows the ins and outs of WOOHP, and he will provide us every move they plan to make and help us counteract their threat to the Gestalt's existence!"
Everyone cheered even louder at this.
"No way, Lee would never betray us or WOOHP," Megan said in disbelief.
"He must be under the influence of that potion. It's the only explanation," Marc added.
"I'm guessing that thanks to potion, she's become aware of this "evil organization". Which by the way, how do you know about this "WOOHP"?" Armand asked the Clarks, causing their eyes to widen. While he was genuinely suspicious about the siblings, he couldn't help but secretly smile a bit knowing what Jordan said about them is true.
"Um, well, we've… uh, heard about WOOHP, but…" Megan stammered with a blush.
"We don't really know all that much about it… really," Marc said while averting his eyes from Armand.
Armand sighed in response and said, "Whatever the case, we need to stop them right here and now. Though where are those two friends of mine? They should've come back by now."
"Oh, and before we go on to discuss our plans to stop WOOHP, we should move on with our usual induction ceremony. Starting with these two prospects."
As the heroes turned their attention back to the stage, their eyes widened as they saw Jordan and Zeus being pushed onto the stage with their hands tied behind their backs.
"Oh no... Jordan! Zeus!" Armand whispered as he could only watch as his friends were forced to approach the queen.
"Hey, don't push, you Tundra jerk!" Jordan shouted as the disguised Black Tundra member kicked her to force her to walk forward.
"You won't get away with this!" Zeus also shouted as he tried to struggle free to no avail.
"Oh but we are, and you will both become a part of us," the Queen said as she took a syringe of the potion and grabbed Jordan. "Starting with you."
Jordan gasped and struggled as the queen moved into injects her, while screaming, "No! NO! Let me go! I don't want to join you!"
As Marc and Megan watch the proceedings, Armand hung his head and said, "Guys, I'm sorry."
"Huh? Sorry for what?" Megan asked.
"For what I'm about to do and for lying about who we are."
Before either of the siblings could ask, Armand quickly charged through the crowd and jumped onto the stage as he glared at the queen and shouted, "I've seen enough of your twisted ceremony, queenie! You got three seconds to let my friends go or else!"
The Clarks became stunned at Armand's stunt and Jordan and Zeus groaned at this.
"That reckless idiot," Jordan muttered in frustration.
"Oh... And how will you do that, young man? You know that if you're against the Gestalt, you're against the dreams of all children," the queen smirked.
"Their dreams? You mean you're just doing all of this to fulfill your twisted goals! That's nothing worse than a scam involving brainwashing!" Armand protested. "And if you don't stop this instant, then I'll make you."
But before he could charge at her, the disguised Tundra member tackled him to the ground and bent his arm to his back.
"Uh-uh-uh... Interfering the queen's work is a violation of the Gestalt's Code," the "boy" warned as he flashed a big evil grin to the shrunken teacher.
"Now back to business," the queen said as she continued to move to administer the potion to a still struggling Jordan.
But just before she could, a black blur dashed in between the two and cut the syringe in half, spilling the potion, much to the queen's shock.
"What?!"
Before she could react, the blur then zipped back and cut the Runners' bonds, freeing their arms.
"NO!"
The Tundra member was stunned upon witnessing this. That was all that Armand needed to headbutt him, and then kick him to the ground. Seeing Jordan and Zeus's RunComs on his belt, Armand snatched them, and then jumped back on stage to rejoin his friends.
"I think these belong to you two," he said as he offered the RunComs back to his friends.
"I have good faith to smack you for getting all Reckless Ricky on us again. But just this once, I'll make an exception," Jordan said as she and Zeus accepted the devices from Armand. "Still, what was that blur just now?"
"I don't know. But we got other problems to worry about," Zeus said as he glared at the queen, who became incensed at this turn of events.
"Y-You non-believers..." the queen muttered. "How dare you do this to my peaceful organization?!"
"Peaceful?! Don't make us laugh, lady! All you're doing to these kids is stealing their free will so you can create a twisted version of your so-called "Wonderland"!" Armand countered.
"He's right, Queen. Or should I say "Ms. Yume"!" Zeus declared, causing the said queen to gasp in horror. "We know everything about your past, and we're going to make sure your twisted dreams do not come true!"
"Tch... You talk big for a kid. Unfortunately, three kids aren't enough to bring down the Gestalt. And you will feel the wrath for destroying our blissful paradise! Dreamers, attack!"
With the queen's command, all of the members reacted as they turn their now-black eyes to the Runners.
"Uh oh... Something tells me this isn't good for us," Jordan said in worry before everyone charged at them with a battle cry. As they did, she noticed that the queen was starting to leave the stage. "Hey, get back here!"
Before they could pursue, the members swarmed on the three Runners, who blocked, ducked, dodged punches, kicks, tackles, and grabs from them. The trio was trying hard not to fight back, as these were still innocent kids despite the brainwashing, and they didn't wish to harm them.
"It's no use," Zeus said as he ducked a member's punch. "We can't transform and use our powers to hurt them."
Jordan then dodged another member's kick and added, "And we can't fight them back acapella either."
"Then what do you suggest?" Armand called out as he blocked and struggled to push his attackers back. "We can't dodge and block forever here!"
Just then, all of the members suddenly froze in place, finding themselves unable to move. The Runners became puzzled until they heard someone clear their throat. They turned to see Megan and Marc walk towards them, with Marc holding an ocular-like device in his hand.
"Did you guys–?" Zeus asked.
"Marc did, with some modified Eye-Tech," Megan answered.
"I scrambled the signals of the nanobots in everyone's brains. As long as the jamming signal from this is active, they're not going anywhere," Marc explained.
"Good. Think you can hold off these guys, while we handle the queen and her lackey?" Jordan asked the Clarks.
"Uh, sure…" Megan replied, much to her Marc's surprise.
"Trust us. We have a bit of experience when it comes to crazies like her."
Jordan, Zeus, and Armand then turned to the queen and the disguised Tundra member, who was utterly shocked at her army being paralyzed. They then raised their left arms in front of them.
"Are you sure we're going to do this in front of them?" Zeus asked.
"It's not like we have much choice in this matter. Right, Waters?" Armand said as he flashes a smile to his friends.
"Yeah. It's now or never, boys. Let's show the queen how we dream, Runner style!"
As Jordan declared this, she and her friends placed their RunComs on their wrist and tapped an app icon that changed the screen into a glowing neon circle in a black background.
[IDENTIFICATION APPROVED. STARTING ULO INSTALLATION SCAN.]
The RunCom flashes several holographic neon rings in purple, blue, and white that surrounds the three Runners.
[SCAN COMPLETE. YOU ARE NOW READY TO CONVERT.]
"-Run Convert! Log In!-"
With that declaration, they pressed the -CONVERSION- button on the app, causing the rings to envelop them in purple, blue, and white lights.
[AVATAR: ACTIVE]
[ELEMENT: ACTIVE]
[SKILLS: ACTIVE]
[EQUIPMENT: ACTIVE]
[CONVERSION START!]
As everyone covered their eyes, the Runners' clothes began to change and once the lights disappeared a few seconds later, the three had changed into their Runner forms with Armand wearing the new clothes that he and his friends had bought back in ULO. Upon seeing this, Marc and Megan stared at their transformed friends in pure silent shock.
Without any word, the trio drew cards from their deck boxes and transformed them into their weapons: Jordan with her blue magic staff, Zeus with his katana, and Armand with his dagger. However, the Black Tundra member jumped in front of the Gestalt queen and dropped his holographic disguise as he drew his Aura Gauntlet.
"I don't care if you have fresh meat in your ranks. You will never stop our dreams!" The member shouted.
"Really? Then why don't we test that theory?" Armand grinned as his eyes flashed purple.
"Right! So let's get it online!" Jordan declared, at which Armand and Zeus turned their gaze to her in confusion.
"Let's get it what?" Zeus asked.
"What? I thought it was our battle cry or something. Every hero team has one."
"I don't know whether to compliment it or just question your unnecessary need to call it out," Armand said until he glanced over and noticed something coming. "Look out!"
The three Runners then jumped out of the way as the Tundra member attempted to slash them with a pair of dark energized katana swords.
"Let's just talk about this later," Zeus said as he charged at the member and slashed several waved of light at him. The Tundra member deflected the waves away, and both of them clashed their blades. The clashing lasting about a minute until their blades locked into a stalemate and the member pushed Zeus off him.
But no sooner had he done that that Jordan rushed in, blasting Water and Ice spells at him with her staff. The Tundra member blocked all of them, and after locking his blades with a powerful Ice spell, cut through it and headed straight for Jordan.
However, Armand zoomed in and tackled him down before he could reach her, and unleash his own flurry of dagger strikes and Rogue skills on the Tundra lackey. He blocked them all and eventually sent the newest Runner flying backward with a strong kick in the chest.
"Gust!" The two Runners shouted as they catch their friend before he can hit the ground or wall. He then growls as he regains his footing.
"I'm okay, but that guy is too fast with those swords," Armand said.
"If I can compare him with one of the ULO monsters, he's very on par with the Mini-MVP Vermillion Drake Soldier," Jordan commented.
"That means if we want to beat that Tundra member, we have to weaken him somehow," Zeus wondered, which Armand widened his eyes in realization as he noticed his hands on his lap.
"Maybe we can," he remarked as he then turned to Jordan and removed himself from their arms. "Jordan, can you freeze the stage floor with your magic?"
"Yeah. But I don't think he's in a mood for figure skating," she answered as the Water Runner stares at their enemy, who seems to be preparing to charge at them.
"Trust me. Figure skating is the least of his problems."
With that, Jordan aimed her staff at the floor, and with one blast, froze the floor solid. The Tundra member cackled snidely at this.
"Is that all you've got?!" he sneered. However…
"Not even close!"
With that, Armand charged forward and slid on the ice at high speed towards the member. As he did, he charged his fist with a purple aura, much to the Tundra member's horror.
"-Void Touch-!"
Before he could raise his sword, Armand curled his enveloped right hand and, with a strong swing, he punched onto the Tundra member's chest which created a small black hole from his fist. When it did, the member's swords began to crack before he found himself thrown back as he crashed into the large projector screen and rolled across the ground.
Horrified at this, the queen watched her ally fall from the new Runner's attack and shouted, "Elan!"
Elan, though injured, tried to get up, but then noticed that his swords were broken and his gauntlet's gem was cracked. He felt a shadow stand over him and looked up to see Armand, who then kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold.
The other two Runners were shocked to see Armand finish off a Black Tundra member for the first time as they flocked to their friend in astonishment.
"I can't believe you knocked him out with a single skill," Zeus remarked.
"Correction: A refined new custom skill," Jordan pointed out. "I have to admit. You managed to fix some bugs in a single day, Gus."
"Thanks. But that's not the only skill I have on my sleeve." Armand said as he grinned at his friends.
As the trio spoke, the queen drew a syringe containing gold liquid. She then snuck up behind the trio, hoping to dose one of them before they noticed.
Except…
"-Ice Spear-!"
The queen then screamed "NO!" as the syringe icily exploded in her hand. She then turned to see Jordan aiming her staff and Zeus and Armand pointing her blades at them.
"You have no army and ally to hide. Your twisted dream ends here, Yume," Armand coldly declared as they surround the Gestalt Queen.
"My twisted dream?! You have no idea what you've done here! All I wanted was to fulfill my dreams by proving the thesis I had spent my life making, and everyone deemed me crazy and nonsensical: colleagues, peers, superiors, everyone. And then Elan offered me the chance to fulfill my dreams and help others do so too, and you brats took it all away from me… again! Well, now, you shall endure the true wrath of the queen!"
Before the Runners could act, the queen drew another syringe. This one, however, contained an eerie dark-blue liquid, which Zeus gasped upon seeing it.
"Ms. Yume, don't do it!" he called out in horror. But it was too late as she quickly stabbed it into her neck and injected the fluid into her. Then, as she dropped the syringe, she started to cackle insanely as a black aura began to seep out of her body. Much to the Runners and Clark siblings' horror, her eyes slowly changed from normal blue eyes to gold compound eyes as her cackles turn into a buzzing screech.
Her arms and legs mutated into those of a bee, and two more legs sprouted from her hips. Her lower region became extended and mutated into a long gold-and-white-striped bee's lower half with a big black stinger. Her chest area became puffed up and covered in black hair, and her head mutated into a bee's head with her gold compound eyes. She then buzz-roared at the Runners, who looked shocked and horrified at her transformation.
A/N: Now that was bizarre! How will the Runners and Clarks now deal with the now-mutated Queen? Can they defeat her and put an end to the Gestalt once and for all? Find out on the grand conclusion part, coming next week!