FUSIONFALL OR:
HOW WE GOT TOGETHER TO FIGHT THE INVASION
PART 1: WELCOME TO THE WORLD
The city of Townsville was as busy as ever.
It was rush hour on a beautiful bright spring day, which meant Main Street was flooded with visitors. People poured in from all over – here to window shop, catch up over food and drinks, see the sights, walk in the park, or just make the most of their breaks from work. It was a time when everyone came out to enjoy the wonderful weather, in a place where humans, animals, aliens, robots, monsters, imaginary friends, and countless others rubbed shoulders alike.
Amongst today's visitors, in line at a quaint little Morbucks Coffee on the corner, was Dee Dee. She was packed in amongst a crowd of disgruntled customers, who like her, were stuck waiting for a group of businessdogs in front to decide their order. An excitable bunch, the businessdogs had initially raced into the shop, affirming each other's choices with loud choruses of Yup! Yup! Yup!, seemingly ready until the barista asked them what they actually wanted. Apparently, such a question had made things too real for them; so, for the past half hour they had been constantly shifting between suggestions, unable to commit to a decision -much to the rest of the shop's chagrin.
Unlike the others though, Dee Dee didn't really mind. She wasn't in too much of a hurry anyway, happy to spend the time daydreaming about the fantasy world she usually conjured up for such occasions. While she stood, she also swayed to a little tune she hummed to herself, moving every now and then to adjust the weight of a basket hanging off the crook of her arm. Packed inside was a feast of freshly baked goods, the delicate smells wafting out to tease the senses of those around her. Never mind the waiting: today was a lovely day, and that's all that really mattered.
A sigh of deep relief echoed through the line, stirring Dee Dee's attention. She tiptoed to see that the businessdogs had finally settled on something unanimous. The barista (who had all but fused with the counter she had been leaning on) dived to prepare their drinks, swiftly passing them when ready into the businessdogs' eagerly awaiting paws. The line sped forward as they happily trotted off, until it was at last Dee Dee's turn to be greeted with a practiced smile and the classic Morbucks hello: "Welcome to Morbucks Coffee, what would you like to pay for?"
"Hi! Please may I get a not too big not too small chocolate and salted caramel iced mocha with extra cream on top and low-fat skimmed milk and one strong black coffee, unsweetened please. Thank you so much!" Dee Dee beamed.
The second drink was for her brother, Dexter, whom she was on her way to visit. Neither she nor their parents had seen him in several days, as he had spent the past few nights at his lab finishing work on his "super-secret" project. After a year of rampant speculation about what exactly it was he had been dedicating all his time to, he was finally preparing to make his great announcement at the end of the week. This also meant that he had been stiffer and more paranoid than he usually was about anything and everything that could go wrong - driving him to test every ounce of Computress' unlimited patience by repeating check after check after check. Dee Dee was planning to drop by right as he was scheduled to finish a meeting with the Professor this morning, to check up on how he was doing and make sure he got something homemade in him as well. And possibly, gently but firmly nudge him in the direction of a shower before the big day.
Balancing her drinks in a cardboard rack in one hand and holding the basket above head, she waded through the mess of remaining customers, expertly swerving around the businessdogs who had yet to decide whether they wanted to sit in or take out. Outside, she joined the flow of pedestrian traffic in the direction of Tech Square. The walk down Main Street through the City Centre never failed to impress: as all around hundreds of moving posters and holograms employed every combination of light and sound possible to grab attention for what they were advertising. There were rotating models of Dexlabs' latest innovation and Mandark Industries' latest copy. Logos flashed above the newest items on the menus of Morbucks Coffee and Burger Frenzy. And gliding through the air above were floating billboards with feel-good messages endorsed by various celebrity heroes, reminding you to stay safe or eat healthy. Buildings plastered with these colourful images huddled over Main Street like patchwork giants.
Things quietened down, however, when entering Tech Square proper. The area had managed to retain a quiet, business-like atmosphere despite the technological and economic boom of recent years. Here the buildings were more spaced out, reflecting the different companies that owned them and the grounds they occupied. Advertising was minimal and instead the glass-and-metal structures mostly reflected the cool blue of the sky above. Standing confidently at one end of the main square was the company most widely credited with launching the boom, and on the other end sat its rival. The buildings of Dexlabs and Mandark Industries faced off every day just as much as their employees did when they passed each other on their way to work. Thankfully, any real drama usually remained between the CEOs themselves, making the tension felt between the employees of either company generally seem more like that of opposing sports fans than anything else.
Dee Dee walked up the steps leading into Dexlabs' entrance hall. By this point, several people had recognized her, calling out a hello or raising a hand, to which Dee Dee responded to all with equal enthusiasm. She passed through the hall and its exhibits and approached the front desk, greeting the receptionist-bot with a warm smile.
"Welcome to Dexlabs Headquarters. How may I help you today?" said the receptionist-bot.
"Hi! Dee Dee here to see Dexter?" Dee Dee replied.
"One moment please," the receptionist-bot said as it ran a facial scan to confirm her ID. A small beep sounded when the light finished sweeping over her. "Identity confirmed. Please stand by for a Dexbot to come escort you."
"Okay!"
Almost immediately, said Dexbot came gliding towards them, zig-zagging through the crowd in the entrance hall. It moved with a frantic energy, hands flailing as if wringing them nervously. It ground to a halt beside Dee Dee and glanced quickly between her and the receptionist-bot, as if gauging whether it was interrupting any conversation.
"Hello. I am here to escort Miss Dee Dee," it said.
"Miss Dee Dee, your escort is here," confirmed the receptionist-bot.
"Hi! I'm Dee Dee, nice to meet you!" Dee Dee greeted the Dexbot.
"Hello Miss Dee Dee. How are you doing today?" the Dexbot replied.
"I'm great! How are you?"
The Dexbot appeared to hesitate.
"… I do not have a programmed response to that question."
"Oh… okay…"
"Please accept my apologies. I will report this to my manufacturer. Your ticket number will be-"
"No, no, it's fine, it's fine! Why don't we, uh, just go to see my little brother?"
"Certainly. Please follow me."
Seemingly relieved, the Dexbot took off. Dee Dee gave the receptionist-bot a little wave and turned to follow her escort to Dexter's office.
"You've built a time machine."
Professor Utonium sat back, struggling to find any other words in response to what he had just listened to. He stared at the boy sitting opposite him, who confidently held his gaze and did nothing to hide his smirk.
"Yes, Professor. That is exactly what I have done."
Yesterday evening he had received a phone call from Dexter, asking whether he was free to meet in the morning. When the Professor inquired about the nature of this meeting, Dexter had simply replied, "I'd like to show you before anyone else."
The boy looked dishevelled when he saw him the next day. His hair was messy, and he had dark circles under his eyes. But he strode towards him with purpose, greeting him with a firm handshake and the other hand reaching up to grasp his shoulder. He had ushered in him into the office and gestured to the comfortable chair in front of his desk. Then Computress had quickly moved to lock the door behind them. They had proceeded to systematically inspect every part of the office, confirming everything to each other in hushed voices the whole time and only stopping when they seemed satisfied. The windows were tinted, the lights were dimmed, and finally Dexter sat down in his chair opposite; his assistant hovering at his side.
Then Dexter revealed his big secret. Aided by images projected by Computress, he walked Professor Utonium through the events of the past year. How by developing a commercially viable way to mass-produce warping technology, he found himself having more and more ideas about the possibilities of travelling beyond the confines of space. How bit by bit he had begun to dedicate increasing amounts of time and resources into researching what originally started as a theoretical exercise. How one day he realized that he had actually developed a new theory, and the beginnings of a method to test it. He showed the Professor every attempt, every failure, and every lesson learnt from each failure that prompted the next step in his journey. And then, he showed him the readings that proved his success.
"Dexter… I don't know what to say. You're a genius."
"Says the man who evolved three super-powered girls from a cocktail of glorified pantry goods."
"That took a decade, happened by accident, and no one, including myself has been able to reproduce it since. You did this in a year!"
"Well then. I guess we're both geniuses."
The Professor shook his head, amazed at Dexter's casual cockiness. "So this is the demonstration you've been preparing... What are you planning to do?"
Dexter leaned forward; his tone matter-of-fact. "When the day comes, I will introduce the public to the machine. A live audience will be invited to Dexlabs - mostly press and a select number of VIPs, such as yourself and the girls. Cameras will be set up to livestream the event for everybody else – on screens outside the building for those who wish to gather there, and of course on the Dexlabs website for the rest of the world.
Next, I will introduce the public to my volunteer, selected specifically for this purpose. We will go through the usual formalities beforehand, confirming that we did not know each other prior to the experiment, that they have no vested interest, are sound of body and mind, informed consent, blah blah blah. And finally, when that is done… I prove to the world that time travel is possible."
Dexter paused to compose his next words. "A dramatic change in weather, some significant natural event – anything that cannot be definitely orchestrated nor predicted. The volunteer will travel to the near future and obtain evidence of this. Only about a month or so, not much more. They will take this evidence and bring it back to what we call the present. Carbon dating will immediately convince the scientists - the rest of the world, of course, will remain sceptical, as nothing particularly impressive will have been seen to happen. But give it a month for our time to catch up… And the truth will reveal itself."
Dexter leaned back, satisfied with his explanation. Now it was the Professor's turn to pause so he could mull over the details. Another question pressed him. "This volunteer, Dexter - who exactly are they?"
"An outstanding individual who was the only one to pass every assessment I set."
"You assessed them? You told them about the machine?"
"Not immediately. Every potential candidate knew what they were being assessed on, but not why. Candidates were assessed at different times, on different things, in different ways. None of them had anything in common in the unlikely case that if somehow they made contact with each other, it still would not be possible to piece together the aim from what they collectively knew."
"What about when you found your volunteer? What did you tell them?"
"The truth. By then, I knew that I had the right person. I wasn't concerned, but you can imagine how the conversation went."
"And that's it? They were up for it?"
"They saw the data. You've seen it too. It works, and they couldn't deny that. They jumped at the opportunity to be part of it – of course, the hefty sum I offered as payment helped to persuade them as well. "
Professor Utonium thought back to when he first saw those incredible readings. Dexter was right, there was no denying it. You'd have to be crazy to refuse this kind of opportunity. "I'm still just trying to process it all… You've achieved the impossible. When you go up onto that stage, your announcement is going to change everything."
They were both silent for a moment, minds turning with the endless number of new possibilities this would open up for their fields. It was then that a realisation dawned on the Professor: "But Dexter, you'll be putting yourself in a dangerous position."
Dexter nodded; his eyes hardened. "Yes. Yes I will."
"Then… Are you sure that revealing it so publicly is such a good idea?"
"I have to. For the sake of science, you and I both know I have to. Sooner or later the public will know anyway – you've seen how many of my designs have leaked onto the black market despite my efforts. No Professor, this is the best way to do it. Show the world exactly what Dexlabs is capable of, and whoever comes for the machine after… Let them come. We will be prepared."
Dexter said this last sentence with conviction, hinting that it was something he had already been debating with himself about for a long time. The Professor noted this and stopped, instead considering the implications of the decision. Several seconds passed before he continued. "Dexter, you know you have my support. As your colleague and as your friend. Whatever help you will need to protect the invention - you know you can count on me."
"Understood."
Both scientists stood up at the same time, reaching forward to shake hands in solemn agreement.
"All that being said…" Professor Utonium couldn't help but burst into a grin. "This is just so cool."
Dexter smiled too. "Thank you, Professor. For everything."
Computress had already moved to unlock the door. Just as it opened, a gust of Dee Dee came bursting through, rushing past her to smother Dexter. A Dexbot carrying a basket glided in to follow.
"Mister Dexter, Miss Dee Dee is here to see you," the Dexbot announced.
Dexter's reply was muffled. "Yes, I can see that. Thank you Dexbot, you may return to your duties."
The Dexbot set the basket down on the desk and glided back out. Dexter peeled himself away from Dee Dee's grasp.
"Hey, Dexter!" She sang.
"Hello, Dee Dee," he said.
"How are you?"
"Busy. What did you bring?"
"Food for two days, a batch of Mom's muffins, and a coffee."
"Why did you bring me coffee? I have a coffee-bot."
"The muffins are apple and cinnamon."
"Ooh!"
Dexter pushed her aside to dig around in the basket. Dee Dee turned to greet the other two in the room while her brother stuffed his face. "Hey, Computress! Hey, Professor! How are you?"
"I am operating at desirable capacity. Thank you for asking," Computress said.
"It's good to see you, Dee Dee. How have you been?" the Professor responded.
"I'm great! How are the girls?"
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old. They save the city from bad guys - I make sure they do their homework and get back in time for dinner. Say, Bubbles has been telling me about the work you guys have been doing at the conservation club – I hear you're quite the botanist!"
Dee Dee giggled. "Oh, it's just something I've been thinking about majoring in. I really love plants, and so far, I think they like me too!"
The Professor chuckled. "Well Dee Dee, if you're interested, I actually ordered in a fascinating book the other day on plant taxonomy. I've mostly gotten what I needed from it, so if you want, why don't you come by my office before you go to borrow it?"
"Aww, thanks Professor! I'd love to."
"Yes, yes, good!" Dexter interrupted them through a mouthful of muffin. "That sounds like a reason for you not to stay. Thank you for stopping by Dee Dee, but I have to return to my very important work. Tell Mom I said hi and that I'll be back home the day after tomorrow for dinner. See you later, Professor."
He shuffled past them with the basket in his arms and out the door. Computress watched him leave then offered them both a smile that was almost apologetic. She waited for them to step out too and locked the door behind them.
"It was pleasant to see you both. Enjoy the rest of your day," she said before turning to follow.
Professor Utonium chuckled again as he watched her glide to catch up with the boy and his basket. He turned to Dee Dee. "Right, well my office is just this way. Why don't we go for a walk?"
"Sure!"
They turned in the opposite direction and started walking.
Later that afternoon, on the far side of Townsville, in the bay where two cities were connected by the Xià Tiān bridge, a fog had settled over the water. It was a thick, low fog, gathering mostly below the bridge while the sun continued to shine down on its topside. The density of its form also meant the fog was difficult to see through, prompting the ships that had to briefly navigate it to exercise particular caution. Once inside, they could expect to be visually isolated from the rest of the world for several minutes at the very least. Just the right conditions for Mojo Jojo.
He crouched on one of the beams underneath the bridge, flanked by members of his Umbra Troop. The minions, each a different species yet the same in each other's eyes as members of Mojo's elite team, all kept an eye on their leader as he calmly observed the space below him. The air was much cooler in the shade, which caused some of the smaller minions to shiver, and it was permeated by the salty scent of the sea. Above them the low hum of hovercars passing across could be heard, and in the distance, the cries of seagulls.
Yadda Yadda, Mojo's second in command, stood to his right. He was a tall, broad-chested mandrill with hair the colour of charcoal, who preferred to use as little words as possible if he had to speak at all. A crackle came from Yadda's earpiece as a scout connected to him. He listened to the message, then reached up to press a button and grunted a response. He squatted down to inform Mojo. "Simian Supreme, the ship is approaching."
"Excellent," Mojo murmured, then raised his voice enough for the others to hear him. "Minions! Prepare yourselves, for now is the most important time to be prepared."
The troop members readied their stances, muscles tensing in anticipation. The sounds of activity around them faded away into irrelevance as they all focused their attention on the fog. For a little while, there was nothing. Then, with a booming blast of its horn a shape came into view. A large, dark silhouette drifted towards them; its body longer than it was wide. The minions bared their teeth and hopped a little closer to the edge, their excitement like whalers finally spotting their prize. Mojo raised an open hand sharply to control them. They watched as the old boat slowly passed into and out of focus, completely unaware of who was perched above. When it almost reached the halfway point, Mojo raised his hand a little higher, subtly telling them to hold. Slowly but steadily, he could see their target drawing nearer - a large metal container bolted right into the centre of the ship's deck. This container had a ring of guards around it, and there were more stationed further along the deck, keeping watch from a distance. It was expected, considering what was being held within – several million taros' worth of raw material that in the right hands could be processed to make Chemical X.
Mojo kept his hand up as the container inched closer. He could see the guards clearer now: they were simple sailors but still heavily-armed, burly, and itching for a fight. He signalled his minions on the beam opposite with his other hand - they each confirmed that they had set sights on their individual targets. He felt the hair on his back raising as the container gradually came into range. In those last few inches everything seemed to drag out to a moment of infinite quiet, like time itself had held on just to tease him for a few seconds more, before finally allowing the container to come into position right below them. He closed his hand into a fist and brought it down, giving the order.
Drop.
All at once, Mojo Jojo and his Umbra Troop jumped from the beams. They descended in a rush of grey and purple, with Mojo and his cape billowing out like a pair of great wings at the forefront. The minions opened their mouths wide in an aggressive shriek as they came hurtling down, and it was this sound that began to alert the sailors, though too late as the simians landed upon them in a cacophony of violence.
The smaller monkeys went straight for the ring directly guarding the container. The impact alone crumpled half, but the guards with faster reaction time managed to move just enough to evade and start shooting. The larger apes hit the deck on the either side, and immediately turned to charge at the other sailors who were running towards them. Mojo and Yadda landed right on top, and Yadda immediately got to work cutting through the roof. Mojo stood up to his full height and turned to savour the scene unfolding around him. Ahead he saw the gorillas dispatching their enemies in a beautiful tag-team, taking turns to grab and throw them up for the other to slam into. Just below he could see and feel the pressure of dozens of bolts whizzing through the air from the guards frantically shooting at the monkeys, who were too agile to be caught in their clumsy fire. He watched the sailors being quickly overwhelmed by their force and his lips peeled back into a wide grin. This was going to be easy.
His attention was disrupted by a grunt immediately followed by a loud crunch of metal from behind him. He turned back to Yadda, who had drawn a square big enough for them to fit through and was now making his first cut along one side. Mojo grabbed the other grinder and got to work cutting along the opposite. Once they had made all the cuts, all they needed to do was lift it open, climb down, and load all the canisters stored inside into their packs. The plan was to be in and out in under fifteen minutes, just as the bow of the ship began to emerge out of the other side of the fog. Sparks flew from the surface as they made progress, prickling their skin. Yadda completed his first cut and moved to get started on his second, when he let out another grunt and recoiled in pain. He brought his elbow up for them to find the hair on it burned, and they turned to see the sailor from whom the rogue shot had come from sprinting in the direction of the ship's bridge. He was shouting and waving his arms, trying to get the helmsman to understand him. Mojo's eyes narrowed. The alarm had already been sounded, which he had expected, so whatever new course of action this one wanted to take was not something he could allow.
Barking an order at Yadda to keep cutting, he leaped from the roof to give chase. The human sailor was moving fast, but Mojo was superiorly evolved and would easily overtake him. The sailor was climbing the steps leading up to the helm, taking them two at a time, all the while still shouting instructions. Mojo was rapidly closing in, having knocked the heads of two fools who tried to intercept him and using the momentum to propel himself from their shoulders. He was now close enough to make out what the sailor was telling the helmsman to do – something about firing the distress something – and close enough to hear the helmsman's worried response that they were in civilian territory. Mojo threw himself up the steps with a roar, reaching up to grab the sailor just as he and the helmsman had reached an agreement. His fingers grazed the shirt on the sailor's back when a piercing explosion rocked the space they were standing in. They looked up to see a small device shoot up through the fog, high into the air above the boat. Mojo's eyes widened as he recognised the distress drone. They weren't supposed to have this technology – not a ship this old. He spun around, trying to find something he could climb, some sort of vantage point to get a sense of where exactly in the bay they were.
He needed to figure out who would be coming.
"Aww, come on!" exclaimed Ben as the words GAME OVER faded in yet again on the console's screen. He half-heartedly slapped the side of the machine, digging into his pocket for another coin to resume the game. Around him the sounds of the arcade continued to blare out, a chaotic noise of genres chasing after each other around the flashing displays that cluttered the space. The smell of fried food called for attention too, drifting in waves from the diner adjacent. Ben ignored all as he threw himself into the world of SUMO SLAMMERS CLASSIC once more, slamming his hands on the buttons in a rhythmic fashion as he went through the motions of making his way to the boss of the level he was stuck on.
"Ben, as much as I enjoy our breaks for food and entertainment, I really think we should be heading back out on patrol soon," said Rook, Ben's partner, as he came to join him. His hands were loaded with a heavily packed tray, teetering with a small mountain of food that threatened to topple at any second. Rook watched Ben with mild interest as he carefully laid out their orders on the table – moving Ben's double portion of chili fries, extra-large soda, and greaseburger to one side and pulling his meatball sub, side salad, and water towards his own. "Our food is here once you have finished losing," he said as he unwrapped his sandwich to take a bite. As if on cue, Ben let out an indignant cry as the Jade Sumo crushed his avatar to death for the sixteenth time. He finally resigned himself with a deep sigh and trudged over to plonk down opposite Rook. "They've completely changed it from the original version man, how is it my fault if there's now four times the number of mobs? I get to the last guy with like a quarter health left! What am I supposed to do with a quarter? So unfair." He continued to grumble to himself as he tore into his meal, his chin dripping with grease from the burger.
"Perhaps Ben, if you got better at the game it wouldn't be so hard," Rook replied absentmindedly, ignoring the dirty look Ben shot him. They kept munching in silence, forgoing conversation in order to turn their full attention to their food. Although it was dim where they were sat, they could see that the weather outside had been getting brighter and brighter: the sunlight pouring in from the door that connected the arcade to the diner. Aside from the machines, the arcade was actually fairly quiet at this time – in fact, apart from a couple of curious customers from the diner Ben and Rook were really the only two people hanging out. Made sense, considering that most people were supposed to be at work.
Ben's phone buzzed with a message, prompting him to pull it out. He lazily poked at the screen to unlock it, going for another bite while he did so. What he saw caused his eyebrows to furrow. The phone had immediately loaded up the Plumbers app and was now flashing aggressively with an alert. Something was up.
"Hey… Rook, are you getting this message from HQ? Says a distress drone just got fired off..? Aren't those for special ops missions only? Rook? Dude!"
Rook wasn't listening. While Ben was checking his phone, the TV screen on the wall had caught his attention. Breaking news – a sudden explosion had been heard from out on the Orchid Bay, followed by a sonic wave that shattered all electrical equipment along Bellwood's waterfront. Similar reports were coming in from Townsville. It was unclear at the current time what had caused the explosion, but ships about to leave the harbour had been instructed to stay put to allow for investigation. Due to the ambiguity of the situation, it was possible that heroes might be needed on the premises.
Rook turned to look at Ben, who was glancing between his phone and the TV. He looked down at his own communicator, finally noticing that it too was flashing. He looked up to meet Ben's gaze, now getting the message. They were the closest Plumbers on patrol to Orchid Bay – they had to go.
The partners dashed out of the diner to their patrol car, Ben slapping some taros on the counter as they ran out. "Keep the change!" he shouted over his shoulder. They slid in and buckled up, Ben switching on the Plumbers radio while Rook revved the engine. The voice on the radio repeated what they had already deduced, for all available forces operating in the area to make their way over to the Xià Tiān bridge. The car lurched into the air to enter a hover, the nose angling down as Rook pulled them into the road to speed down Bellwood Boulevard. The patrol car's siren started wailing as Rook pulled them up over the legal height limit, flying over the civilian cars below them. Ben fiddled with the Omnitrix as they drove, flicking through options to decide which alien form might be appropriate for this mission.
The car banked as it swerved round a corner, throwing them to one side as it angled back into a stable position. Ahead of them, the shining amber form of the Xià Tiān bridge rose into view, towering above the ocean mist surrounding it. Rook slowed down as they approached a gathering of Plumbers and Bellwood cops parked near the bridge's entrance. They hopped out of the car, hastily greeting their colleagues. "So what's the situation?" Ben asked them.
"We got a lone ship out there on the bay. Low visibility around the bridge – fog that's settled and won't disperse. No other ships supposed to be in the area but we're not sure yet. The ship is what must've fired off the distress signal, so we're assuming something serious is going down over there to warrant the move."
Ben turned to scan their surroundings. The cops had blocked off all incoming traffic as a pre-emptive measure, leaving the bridge empty. The Plumbers had already made their way down onto the water, preparing to approach for contact. He shared a glance with Rook, both thinking about how they could help. He made a decision.
"Rook, I'm gonna go out onto the bridge, see if I can dive over as Water Hazard from there."
"Understood. I'll join the Plumbers on the water. We'll follow you for backup."
The partners nodded at each other and made their moves. Ben jogged onto the bridge, pulling up the Omnitrix's menus again to change his choice. He lifted his hand to hit it when he noticed a figure standing in the distance. It was swinging an arm in what appeared to be a wave. He hesitated, narrowing his eyes, confused. Guard raised, he held off on transforming and closed in. As he approached, he gradually began to make the details out – size, height, posture. And most importantly, the colour the figure was wearing. Green. Ben grinned.
"Dude, I didn't know you guys were coming?!"
"Oh man, you got the call too?! Sweet!"
Ben raised his fist to bump it with Buttercup's. They greeted each other warmly, good friends surprised to run into each other.
"You guys know what caused the explosion yet?" Buttercup asked Ben.
"HQ's saying it's a distress signal. Not supposed to have any go off in civilian territory, it's more of a special ops thing."
"Weird. Sounds like this one's gonna be fun. You think it's one of yours or one of ours?"
"Only one way to find out."
They turned to face the water, eyes on the ship that had now fully come out of the fog. They could just about make out the activity surrounding it; flashes of fast-moving colours and the distant sounds of guns firing. Above, Ben could now see Blossom and Bubbles had flown out to survey and control the area. Buttercup stretched beside him, getting ready to take flight as well. He turned back to the Omnitrix, bringing up the silhouette for Water Hazard, about to transform again… when he had an idea. He changed to another alien and turned to Buttercup.
"Hey Buttercup, can you do me a favour before you go?"
"What's up?"
"Throw me?"
Buttercup's gaze was momentarily perplexed. Then she understood. "Sure," she grinned.
Ben sucked in a breath as Buttercup put her arms around him. "Ready?" she said. Ben nodded. In one smooth move she hoisted him up and tossed him upwards, launching him towards the ship. Ben soared through the air, whooping with joy and a massive surge of adrenaline. Buttercup laughed as she took off to follow him. His clothes flapped with turbulence around his body, his limbs straining as they angled to control his momentum. The wind carried him for longer that it should be possible, keeping him almost level with Buttercup's path beside him, until he could feel himself beginning to descend, prompting him to quickly bring the Omnitrix back up to his face. Satisfied with his final choice, he slammed his palm down onto the silhouette.
Ben Tennyson disappeared in a flash of green light, and moments later Four Arms crashed into the deck of the ship. He and Buttercup stood to finally see what they were dealing with, and who.
"Mojo Jojo. What a surprise."
The villain was crouched on top of a large container bolted into the deck of the ship, a sailor's rifle in one hand whilst the other was reaching down into a hole in the container's roof. Other minions were scattered across the scene, still tangled up with the ship's crew they had been fighting. Mojo's eyes were wide open with shock, caught in the act. He stared at them, momentarily unsure of what to do, then curled his lips into a snarl.
"GOOO!" he turned to roar at his minions. He reached back down to pull a larger mandrill out of the hole, who brought with him several packs which he slung over his shoulders. The simians nodded at each other in solemn agreement, before the mandrill dived over the far side of the container, taking the packs with him.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere!" Buttercup yelled as she dashed after the monkey.
"Not so fast," Mojo growled as he pulled up his rifle to intercept her. He squeezed the trigger, bolts spraying through the air in her direction. Buttercup bobbed and weaved, dipping in and out of super speed to avoid them.
Four Arms ran after her, only to be accosted by a fury of minions from all directions. He felt a chimpanzee jump onto his back, wrapping a sinewy arm around his neck to choke him. He reached up to pull the minion off, but suddenly felt the wind knocked out of him as a howler monkey drop kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled back, losing his grip on the chimpanzee who immediately tightened his hold. He could feel his air getting cut off, the minion's impossibly powerful arms crushing against his windpipe. He gritted his teeth and squatted, then jumped backwards hard, throwing the chimpanzee into the deck with the force of the impact. The chimpanzee screamed, loosening its grip. Four Arms immediately jumped back up, rising up to meet the howler monkey's chasing blows. He grabbed a hold of the minion's arm as it came swinging in and twisted with it, using the momentum to flip the monkey over his shoulder and fling him into one of the containers.
He turned to look to Buttercup, who was chasing Mojo as he jumped from container to container, dodging bolts and grenades he threw at her. He watched her close in, bringing up her fist to crunch into his face, when a gorilla came flying towards her, violently slamming her to one side. She hit the wall of a container hard.
"Hey!" Four Arms shouted as he ran towards them. The gorilla glanced in his direction and immediately charged to meet him. The minion leaped into the air, teeth bared and powerful arms spread. Four Arms prepared for impact, only to feel a fist drive into his kidney, throwing him off balance. He tripped, grunting from the pain, and fell back to see a second gorilla had ambushed him. The twin minions fell into position, spreading outwards to flank him on either side. He could see the carvings on their helmets glowing like all the others, indicating another shot of Chemical X pumping through their blood vessels to enhance them. So these were Mojo Jojo's infamous minions. They were good.
Buttercup stumbled back to her feet, shaking her head free of the daze. She met Four Arms' eye. "Need help?" she asked. "Maybe a little," he replied. She floated over to his position, then turned to angle her back against his. "Let's do this."
The heroes both crouched like boxers, raising their fists to guard their heads and upper bodies. The gorillas circled them, matching their steps with warier energy now that they were two for two. They faced off, reading each other's movements. Then one came flying towards Buttercup. This time she saw the feint, twisting instead to block the second gorilla's swiping arm with her elbow. Four Arms jumped over her to catch the first gorilla mid-air, forcing his knee into the minion's face before he could shift out of the way. The gorillas slinked back, momentarily put off, but before they could recover the heroes came following through. Buttercup launched herself off Four Arms' back to drive an elbow into a throat. Four Arms went low for the other one, flipping their original move on its head as he feinted a false reach with his upper arms for the gorilla's shoulders and instead wrapped his lower arms underneath the minion's ribs. He pulled him into a suffocating bear hug, feeling the gorilla struggle to pull himself free, then knocked him into unconsciousness with a headbutt. He let the gorilla drop to the ground beside his comrade, whom Buttercup had just finished.
The heroes stepped over the minions to face Mojo once more. The villain had taken advantage of the situation to take off towards the back of the ship, running to pull his fallen minions back up so they could escape. Other minions had climbed up atop the roof of the bridge to shoot at the other Powerpuff Girls, keeping them from getting any closer. Those who had reached the railing were diving off, donning breathing apparatus so they could swim away.
Buttercup flashed forward to dismantle their escape. She seized the minions by the collar as she moved through them, throwing them against the wall one after the other. She flipped up onto the roof, ripping the guns from the shooters' hands. Finally, she flashed back to grab Mojo last, dragging him up with her as she flew to dangle him in the air. "Show's over, Mojo," she growled. The villain wrestled with her, trying to kick her away from him and attempting to twist her wrist so she would let go. "Unhand me from your grasp!" he yelled, "Release me at once! I will not be captured by you, not if you free me so that I can strike you properly!"
"Yeah right, I will." Buttercup said sarcastically as she easily resisted. "How many times have we got to teach you this, man. You'll never get away from us. Any time you try to pull something off we'll be there to stop you," she scolded him, patronising him with her tone. Mojo finally seized his efforts, choosing instead to glare at her with utter contempt.
"Buttercup!" the voice of Blossom called out to her as the sisters flew down to join her. "Mojo?" she continued, now confused. "What are you doing this far out here?"
"Looks like there was something on this ship he wanted to steal," Buttercup explained as they floated back down to the deck. "Looks like they got away with it too. I saw Yadda Yadda take off with a couple of packs." She turned back to Mojo, whom she still had in a tight grip. "Only for a little while though, we'll track the others down when we bring this guy into custody." She smirked when she saw the villain's disgusted look.
"You guys all right?" Ben walked over to join them. "All good," Blossom replied. "We took out a couple of scouts hiding out on the water, likely failed back up for the heist team. Looks like you guys had quite the fight here."
"Ah, we had it covered," Ben bragged. "Me and Buttercup make a good team. I gotta say though… This juice these guys are on is tough. I had Four Arms struggling even with the smaller monkeys."
"Yeah, it's a new formula. We're still trying to get a sample for the Professor to analyse. But Mojo's synthesised it to evaporate too quickly so far to collect any. Isn't that right?" Blossom said the last bit to Mojo. The villain refused to meet her gaze, still glowering from his defeat.
"Well, maybe we'll get some off him this time," she trailed off as something caught her eye over Ben's shoulder. "I can see the Plumbers are pulling up. Can we leave you guys to recover the scene while we take him back to Townsville?"
"You mean we clean up so you guys can go home?" Ben joked. "Sure, no problem."
The girls laughed. Blossom and Bubbles thanked him before grabbing Mojo and his minions and taking off into the air. Buttercup bumped his fist again. "Thanks for having my back, man."
"Any time, dude."
She took off after her sisters. Ben yawned and stretched, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for Rook and the others to board the ship. Then he sighed, as he remembered the amount of paperwork he'd need to fill in for an incident of this size. Looks like he was going to have to beat SUMO SLAMMERS CLASSIC another time.
It was pasta night at the Utonium household and the girls still weren't home.
The Professor stood over the hob, watching the pot of water he had just salted come to a rolling boil. Beside it, two more pots were simmering gently: a beef ragù he had been nursing for the past couple of hours, and a vegan mushroom alternative for Bubbles. A packet of tagliatelle sat on the counter nearby, waiting to be cooked. He looked up at the clock above on the wall. Should he should chance putting it in now? The pasta would take about twelve minutes to fully cook – but Buttercup liked it really al dente, so he'd need to pull out her portion at 10 minutes. Not to mention that Bubbles liked to let it soften in the hot water for a little while longer, so really it was closer to being a fourteen, fifteen minute operation in total. Essentially, the girls needed to be walking into the house within the next five minutes at most for such a plan to work. The big question, of course, is would they. The Professor sighed. Might as well set the table while he waited.
He began pulling out plates from the kitchen cabinets, opting for the ones with a flat middle and curved edges so that the pasta could be laid out without worrying about spilled sauce. He grabbed another side plate to place the garlic bread he was keeping warm in the oven, and nabbed the napkin holder so he could start filling it up. The Professor took them over to the table, stepping around the bar counter that divided the kitchen and dining area. He set out four places, walking back to reach into the bar drawers for glasses and cutlery. When they were arranged, he got to work folding a dozen or so napkins into triangles, a number which might seem excessive but with how fast the girls went through them, it was just about enough. He got to folding the sixth when the front door swung open.
"Hey Dad, we're home!"
"Sorry we're late Professor, we got caught up by the Townsville Gazette wanting a statement."
"What's for dinner, I'm starving."
The girls piled into the house, kicking off their jackets and shoes, all talking over each other to greet their father in unison. Bubbles skipped over to peck the Professor on the cheek, whilst Blossom immediately moved to help fold the rest of the napkins. Meanwhile, Buttercup went to snoop through the pots, grabbing a fork to try what was in them. The Professor called out to her, "Buttercup, mind that you don't cross contaminate. Could you also get the pasta going please, you know how we do it." Buttercup grunted acknowledgement through a mouthful of meat. The Professor turned to Bubbles, who had started watching a video on her phone, about to wander upstairs. "Bubbles, could you please get the garlic bread from the oven. There's a salad in the fridge too if you can." This brought her back to focus, stirring her to follow his instruction. Blossom went to grab some drinks, exchanging a secret smile with her father over her siblings' typical carefree attitudes. Eventually, everything was in place – the table was set, napkins folded, drinks poured, pasta laid out according to preferred sauce and doneness, and sides sufficiently distributed. Professor Utonium and the Powerpuff Girls dug into their meal.
"So, how was school?" the Professor asked generally.
"Good," Buttercup replied first. "Man, you shoulda seen me and Ben take out Mojo and his goons today. We-"
"Did you hand in that Biology assignment you were telling me about?" the Professor interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah, I did. Anyway, so you know those gorilla twins from his main squad? They-"
"What about English? Did you get the results back for that paper?"
"Dad, I'm trying to tell a story here!"
"And I asked you about school, not the fight. Let's get that addressed first."
"Fine! No, I didn't get them yet, teach said it'll be this Friday."
"Great. I'm sure you've done very well. I know you spent a lot of time on that one."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Can I tell you the story now?"
"Sure."
Buttercup relayed the events of the ship, colouring it with exaggerations that Blossom and Bubbles interjected to correct. The Professor nodded along, making the appropriate hmms and ahhs that would encourage the girls. Like any father, he didn't much enjoy listening to the stories of his daughters' conflicts, but it was a fact he kept to himself to ease their worry. Of course, he had also had to accept a long time ago that whether he liked it or not, the girls had embraced a gift and attached duty that came with it, a responsibility that they would certainly carry for the rest of their lives. But while he still had them under his care, it was his duty to ensure that at least their sense of normalcy was protected.
When the story concluded, the conversation next turned to the Professor's activities this morning. The girls knew that he was a regular collaborator of Dexlabs, but Dexter's ambiguous phone call from the previous night had piqued their curiosity.
"Well, actually girls, I've got some news," the Professor began.
"What is it? Did he tell you what he's been making? Is it another giant robot?"
"Is it a new Dexbot model? Or an AI update for the current ones?"
"Ooh, I love the Dexbots, they're so cute! Could he get them to do a dance with you if you ask them?"
The girls leaned in to huddle over the table, jostling to get their ideas heard. The Professor chuckled, shaking his head as they got more and more fantastical.
"No, no, not quite any of those things. Actually, I'm not sure I can actually tell you… Dexter wants to keep it as a surprise."
"Oh come on, Professor! It's us. We've been neighbours with them for how long, the only reason Dee Dee hasn't told Bubbles yet is because she doesn't know either!"
"No, no, I really can't. Plus, it's only a couple of days more. And believe me girls, it'll be worth the wait."
"So what have you actually got to tell us?"
"Well, we've been invited as VIPs to the big reveal. He wants us to be there in person, right up front when he unveils it."
"Oh… cool."
The girls didn't bother to hide their disappointment. Like everyone, Dexter's new invention had been their main topic of conversation to circle back to these past few days. It didn't help that the notoriously secretive genius was being extra annoying about it, opting to make no public mention of it aside from placing a single simple countdown on the Dexlabs homepage to reference the reveal date. Unfortunately, they knew the Professor's lips would remain just as tightly sealed. They would have to wait and find out at the same time as everyone else.
The family finished their dinner and turned in for the night.
The city of Townsville was fast asleep.
Dexlabs' employees had long left for the day and the Dexbots had entered their rest modes after finishing their rounds. The building was devoid of noise, absent of all activity… Save for two. Dexter and Computress were still up in his private lab, still working on their final checks.
"Okay, let's try that again. Increase acceleration by two steps. Hold the resistance."
"Acceleration increased by one. Two. Resistance holding."
"Time for max speed?"
"8.32 seconds."
"Good. Temperature check?"
"325.85 Kelvin."
"Hmm, we're still a little high. Increase baseline ventilation by 4%. I know it's a little much, but I think we can recover the heat during the transition period. Run that again and give me the readings."
"Max speed reached at 8.86 seconds. Peak temperature reached at 317.6 Kelvin."
"Much better! It'll take a little bit more to begin transition, but we'll have much more stability this way. Okay, let's go through the environmental analyses again. Particle check?"
"Currently reading 4872 particles per cubic centimetre. No abnormal levels of radiation detected."
"Air scan?"
"Standard ratio of elements present in the surrounding space. Lower than standard levels of pollution, although this is likely due to Dexlabs' filtering system."
"Compare to Dexlabs' system readings."
"No significant discrepancies between data sets."
"Excellent. Okay, I think we'll conclude this session there. Save data and run group analyses for when we resume."
"As you wish."
Dexter stepped away from the lab bench, feeling his stiff joints pop as he finally stood up straight for the first time in hours. He rubbed his face, reaching absentmindedly for the last sip of his coffee only to find he had already drunk it. He checked his watch. Just gone past 3am – they had finished early. He looked over at Computress, who was gliding around the machine, going through the standard procedures to ensure a safe shutdown. It sat there, a massive rounded thing, with dozens of wires and cables connecting it to various monitors. It emitted a low, steady hum while it waited for Computress to switch it off, and a pale blue light pulsed slowly from its many crevices.
Dexter stared at it, a strange feeling passing over him that had revisited him several times over the past few days. The feeling of knowing that this was his masterpiece. Either that… Or his undoing. He thought back to his meeting with the Professor that morning, going over his friend's warning again in his head. Utonium was right, of course he was. Dexter had reached the exact same conclusion. But he couldn't just not tell anyone about his achievement. That would be folly, it had to be shared. And yet…
Dexter sighed. He looked to Computress again. Maybe she had a different opinion.
"Hey… Computress?"
"Yes, Dexter?" Computress instantly paused what she was doing to give him her full attention.
"Do you think what we're doing… Is right?"
"Yes, our data trends are indicating that development is proceeding smoothly. Although I can run a full analysis again if you would prefer-"
"No, not like that. I mean, uh, morally. Are we being responsible? Presenting the machine in such a way?"
"I see, you are alluding to Professor Utonium's thoughts this morning matching your previous doubts about the project. Apologies for the confusion. As you know, Dexter, I am programmed to be your assistant. My role is to serve. I do not believe I have the capacity to truly disagree with you."
"Good point."
"That being said, the personal debates you have had in my presence have raised equally strong arguments for both sides of the issue. I do not see why one might necessarily be considered superior to the other. However, I think it may be helpful for this conversation to echo a sentiment that you have repeated to me on multiple occasions: 'If it will benefit science, it will benefit the world.'"
Dexter laughed, a short bark of a laugh. She got him; she really did.
"Thank you, Computress. That's exactly what I needed to hear."
"It is always my pleasure."
"You know, building all of this," he made a vague gesture at everything around them. "Sometimes I just think… Things were so much simpler when I was still experimenting at home. No need to worry about the implications. I just 'did', you know?
Don't get me wrong, I am glad I have Dexlabs. But since starting it up… I guess I've gotten a lot more cautious."
"I understand."
He nodded. Of course she did. He hesitated, unsure of what to say next, and she waited patiently for him to realise that they had said all that needed to be said for now. When he did, he moved away from the bench he'd been leaning on once again, and put his hands together.
"Okay, well I'm going to turn in. Good night, Computress."
"Good night, Dexter."
As he walked away, she watched him slowly shed the brief vulnerability he had allowed her to see, cloaking it again with that familiar confidence that set his shoulders with strength and his stride with purpose. When he left, she passed through the lab to conduct one more security check, and finally entered rest mode herself.
Meanwhile, someone else had also stayed up late.
Whilst the other operatives of Sector V went to bed, Numbuh Two had decided to stick around to finish some work. He typed and typed, fingers gliding over the keyboard, reaching occasionally to sip his soda or pop another corn puff into his mouth. The only source of light left in the room, the monitor reflected off his goggles, an alternating pattern of colours accenting them as the screen continued scrolling.
In the corner of his display popped up a notification. He clicked on it to expand a new window over. "Hmm," he murmured, as he read that it had come from one of the KND's outer satellites. Apparently, an exceptionally large unidentified object had just entered the solar system. He brought up his inbox to see if any of the other bases had said anything about it. Nothing. Numbuh Two scratched his head, contemplating whether to raise an alert. No, not so soon. Things passed in and out all the time, it being larger than usual wasn't enough to warrant serious investigation just yet.
Feeling comfortable with his decision, Numbuh Two made a note to keep a track of its progress and went back to what he was doing.
END OF PART 1