FUSIONFALL OR:
HOW WE GOT TOGETHER TO FIGHT THE INVASION
PART 9: MEETING WITH MANDARK
Dexter piloted the carrier in silence whilst the rest of the group lost themselves in thought. Ben leaned against the edge of the table; arms crossed as he stared at nothing in particular. Blossom and Numbuh 1 sat together at one end, whilst Jack and the Scotsman sat at the other. Mojo stood in front of the screens with his hands clasped behind his back, face hidden. Dexter's dropping of Mandark's name had caused an argument to break out between him and the others: the latter debating with the former about whether the infamously nicknamed 'Bad Businessman' was as difficult to deal with as his reputation would have them believe. But Dexter held his ground, reassuring them that if there was one person he knew better than most, it was Mandark. Negotiating with him was going to be just as insurmountable a challenge as stopping the invasion. Reaching a standstill, the others relented. There was only one way they were all going to know for sure.
They sailed, until they were passing Monkey Mountain again, flying till they cleared the rock and were continuing over the Wilds, then leaving them with a temporary sense of finality as they came upon the Pimpleback Mountain range. The mountains gave way to the Prickly Pine forest, where families of conifers, beeches, and birches still fought strong. Eventually, even they fell behind, and the suburbs of Townsville rose up once more in their place to meet them, with the city beckoning in the distance.
The carrier returned to the city to find that the battle, whilst still going, had significantly calmed down. The group gathered around the screens to see that numerous assorted vehicles belonging to the military, the police force, the Plumbers, and the KND had been landed in clusters throughout the city, supporting a system of barricades they had erected to block off and funnel the fusion monsters down specific streets, where firing squads lay in wait to mow them down. At the same time, more squads sat on the rooftops, watching the skies for new terrafusers. It seemed that the rate of their descent had also reduced as only the occasional one could be seen falling now, giving the squads plenty of time to light them up before they were anywhere near the ground. Dexter also noticed a number of his Dexbots among them, surely sent by Computress to help in his absence.
As they approached Tech Square, they saw Bubbles and the Justice Friends spread out above it. They were taking turns to dive into the streets to wipe out waves of fusion monsters at a time, launching themselves back to the square to recuperate until their next turn. In the middle of the square, they could see that the heroes had also cleared the debris to set up a makeshift base of operations for the non-combatant. Major Glory saw the carrier gliding towards them and signalled to the others, who turned to wave greetings at the carrier. They shifted their positions to let the carrier pass through smoothly. Dexter manoeuvred so that it slid into the square's airspace, then after a brief thought decided to bring it to a hover over an open area beside the base rather than navigate all the way to Dexlabs' private bay. The carrier began to sink, lowering until it landed with a soft thud. The group filed out of the bridge and rode the elevator down from the deck, where waiting for them on the ground were Professor Utonium, Computress, Numbuhs 5 and 2, and… Dee Dee.
Dexter's eyes widened when he saw his sister. "What are you doing here?!" he shouted as he ran towards her. He grabbed her by the shoulders, moving her so he could check behind her in case he had missed them before next asking, "Where are Mom and Dad?!"
Dee Dee pushed him off. "I came to find you!" she said. "Mom and Dad are safe at home with some of the neighbours," she continued, "I activated the old lab's defence systems before I left."
"What possessed you to come here, Dee Dee?! It's not safe!"
"I just thought I could help-"
"What business do you have here to help with?! You should have stayed home and waited for me to come to you! Now I've got to get you a babysitter?!"
"I'm sorry…" Dee Dee's bottom lip quivered as her brother berated her. Dexter saw this and sighed. He raised his hand to pat her awkwardly on the arm. "Forget about it," he said. "Just… stay close so Computress and I can keep an eye on you." Dee Dee nodded.
Meanwhile, Blossom was pulling her father into her arms. She hugged him tight for a moment, then pulled back so they could look at each other. "How are you doing?" she said. "I'm okay. Bubbles too," Utonium replied with a soft smile, before glancing past her shoulder to cast a wary eye at Mojo standing with Jack and the Scotsman. Beside them, Numbuh 1 consulted with his team. "Numbuh 2. Numbuh 5. What do you have to report?" he inquired.
"Actually, it ain't been half bad since you left, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 5 said. "With the Justice Friends here plus the other reinforcements we've been gettin', we've managed to get things pretty under control. 3 and 4 are still back out there helpin' direct the KND reinforcements that are comin' in."
"Yeah, and from the reports I've been getting from the suburbs, the KND have barely needed to provide any kind of help over there," Numbuh 2 chimed in. "The guys have been telling me that the local kids have built a fortress made out of cardboard that's somehow resisting all the monsters' attacks!"
"Interesting," Numbuh 1 said. "Keep tabs on those kids regardless, prepare to send backup if necessary."
"Already done," Numbuh 2 confirmed.
"So… how was it? Did you find what you were lookin' for?" Numbuh 5 asked, her and Numbuh 2's curious gazes on him.
"We did," Numbuh 1 said. "It's… bad. Very bad."
"What did you find?" Professor Utonium interrupted them to join the conversation, Blossom, Dexter, and the others in tow. Numbuh 1 looked to Dexter for explanation.
"The source of the signal coordinating the invasion's movements is a supersized terrafuser acting as prime," Dexter took over. "Judging from the root pattern it is most likely part of the first wave that landed, if not the very first to make contact with Earth. Destroying it is the obvious solution to destabilising the invading forces, but as it is supported by an extended network of sub-terrafusers, we need to target the entire network at once to prevent it simply regenerating. To do this we need an electro-pulse cannon."
"I see," the Professor said. "And judging by your expression, you don't have one. Who does?"
"Mandark."
"Ah. How are you going to get it from him?"
Dexter shrugged. The two scientists contemplated the notion of just walking up to Mandark Industries and somehow persuading its owner to share one of his most valuable inventions with them. Maybe, in light of the current situation he would be reasonable… Yeah right, and maybe one of those dozens of fan-made remakes of that Sumo Slammers MMORPG from back in the day would actually see release.
But then, Dexter's face illuminated with a look of realisation. He turned towards his sister. "Actually, Dee Dee… there might be something you can help with after all…"
Dee Dee brightened up with excitement.
Minutes later, the excitement had keeled over and died when Dee Dee found herself face to face with the front doors of Mandark Industries; Dexter and Computress standing expectantly behind her. The entrance loomed over them, taller than it was wide, a nauseatingly obnoxious love letter to every gothic cliché imaginable. Blood red spikes protruded all along the frames of the extra black doors, as well as around the windows and along the sidewalk around the building. Even the doorknobs were spikey. A low, sinister hiss jeered at them as they stood in its presence, the sound coming from the countless generators that grinded away deep within.
Dee Dee felt her lip curl as she eyed the intercom lodged in the wall beside the doors. She turned to look over her shoulder and called out to Dexter. "Do I have to do this?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, this is the only way," he said hurriedly. He kept looking around him, paranoid eye out for one of those pesky Mandroids that might dare attempt a sneak attack.
"Can't you just build one?" she tried.
"I'm sorry Dee Dee, but there's just no time."
"Computress, is he telling the truth?"
"I'm afraid he is, Dee Dee," Computress confirmed.
Dee Dee sighed. "Fine." She stepped forward and reach up to gingerly push the button for the intercom, cringing at its rough yet oddly greasy surface. She wiped her finger on the back of her thigh while she waited. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the intercom sputtered out a crackling noise which was followed by the rude voice of a Mandroid answering.
"What do you want?" it asked.
"Uh… We need to speak to Mandark," she said.
"Only those with the authorized access are allowed to speak with Mandark. Who are you?"
"Uh… Dee Dee?"
The Mandroid paused. "Access authorized," it said before switching off the intercom. Dee Dee waited, only for nothing to happen. She turned to look at Dexter again, who shook his head in confusion. She motioned for her to try the intercom again. Dee Dee rolled her eyes and reached up once more when
"WHO DARES CALL UPON THE GREAT AND POWERFUL MANDARK?" boomed a thunderous, but distinctly nasal voice. Suddenly, a great big hologram projected into the space above them. In it was a towering, sharply angled silhouette of a giant figure, with massive shoulders and an immense collar shadowing its face. It stood there, allowing its presence to speak for itself.
Dexter reached forward to nudge Dee Dee. Dee Dee sighed again.
"Hi, Mandark, it's Dee Dee. We – uh, I – need your help."
The silhouette seemed to freeze. Then it flickered, as the lighting in whatever room it was projecting from changed to reveal a pasty teenage boy with crooked teeth, gangly limbs, and bowl-cut hair trimmed so that it hung in the shape of an 'M' over his temple. Mandark pushed his half-moon spectacles up the bridge of his nose as he peered into the camera. His eyebrows jumped when he saw who he was indeed talking to.
"Dee Dee?" he squeaked, his voice cracking as he spoke. He coughed and cleared his throat before he continued. "Yes, yes, anything for you my love! Tell me what you need, I am yours!"
"Can we borrow your electro-pulse cannon?" Dee Dee's face muscles strained to keep faking a smile.
"My electro-pulse cannon?" Mandark's voice adopted the unpleasant sugariness of overcooked caramel. "Why would you need such a thing?" he cooed.
Dee Dee grimaced, then quickly hid her face in her hands before he could see it. She took a deep breath to compose herself, then looked back up to power through.
"Well, I don't know if you've seen but we're currently in the middle of an invasion and we could really use it."
"Hmmm… Yes," Mandark mused. "But it is one of my prized possessions, something that only I know how to use… What do I get in return? Maybe you and I could-"
"Oh come on Mandark, just give us the stupid cannon!" Dexter barged in front of Dee Dee to yell at the hologram, sick of Mandark's creepy antics.
"Dexter!" Mandark snarled as he saw his mortal enemy. "I should have known. You will never lay your hands on my superior technology!"
Dee Dee shushed Dexter before he could roar in reply. "Mandark…" she pleaded, "Pretty please? You would make me really happy if you let Dexter use it."
Mandark appeared to swoon. "Oh… How can I say no to you, my love! But on one condition – I have to come with you! I don't trust that fool to understand the complexities of my invention."
Dexter threw his hands up in the air. "Okay, this is a waste of time. Computress, prepare the lab, we'll make our own." He made to march back to Dexlabs.
"Dexter, come on!" Dee Dee reached out to grab him. "Without his help, we'll never beat those things! You said so yourself – there's no time to make an alternative so we have to team up!"
Dexter sighed. "Ugh, fine." He walked up to the hologram and jabbed his finger towards it. "But I'm only doing this to save the world!"
Mandark smirked before he switched the hologram off.
END OF PART 9