AN: This was the last time I used my computer to edit a document on this site! Once again, I lost progress and I had to start a whole section all over! Take my warning, guys! Use the application to edit documents. It saves automatically when you quit.
I stayed up until almost midnight to finally finish this, so please forgive me, but I won't bother with a long Author's Note and just get straight down to business.
Chapter 2: Humble Catboy (The Copy-Masks)
It was a busy week in the class of Connor, Amaya and Greg. They will be getting three new students today and also had a very big test coming up. They were excited about the former and nervous about the latter.
"Are you excited to meet the new kids, Amaya?" Connor asked as he sat down next to her.
"You bet I am. This is the first time new students came to our class since we first enrolled. I mean don't get me wrong, our class is great, but you know what they say, the more the merrier." she cheered. "Have you been studying for the big test this week?" Connor just waved her off.
"I already know everything I need. Every test I took this year turned out great!" he said casually. Greg overhead the conversation from behind them.
"I don't think you should be taking this so lightly, Connor. Who knows, there might be something you forgot, or some extra stuff you missed the first time. It's not good to be so overconfident." he warned, but Connor paid it no mind.
Their teacher entered the room and he had a rather gloom look on his face, one that the heroes figured out meant something was wrong by now.
"Good morning, kids." he began on a tone that matched his expression. When he spoke, all of the kids saw that there was something very wrong, but before any of them could ask, he continued. "I'm sure you're all wondering why your new classmates haven't shown up yet." None of the kids actually did, but now that he pointed it, they got curious. "Well, their parents phoned it this morning and they seem to have... disappeared." all the kids in the room gasped, but there was little they could do about it.
After class, the three friends discussed the news their teacher shared with them.
"That's horrible!" Amaya lamented. "How do three kids go missing during one night?"
"It is strange." Connor agreed. "Looks like we have work to do tonight. PJ Masks, we're on our way..." he yelled, extending his fist. The others joined in.
"INTO THE NIGHT TO SAVE THE DAY!"
(PJ Masks transformation sequence)
Night in the city and a brave band of heroes is ready to face fiendish for villains to stop them from messing with your day!
Connor, Amaya and Greg looked out their windows and saw the moon was up. They got out of their beds and got ready.
Amaya becomes...
Amaya pressed her bracelet and the red energy engulfed her, transforming her into her superhero alter ego.
..."Owlette!"
Greg becomes...
Greg pressed his bracelet and the green energy transformed him into his superhero self.
"Gekko!"
Connor becomes...
Lastly, Connor's bracelet unleashed blue energy, which transformed him into his superhero persona.
"Catboy!"
The three young heroes were then transported to their HQ in the park in three colorful beams of light and landed in their central room.
"THE PJ MASKS!" they cheerfully announced, ready for the night's mission.
The PJ Picture Player came up, displaying a map of the city.
"So how do we begin?" Gekko asked. "After all, we have no leads."
"No, we don't." Catboy said. "But there are three missing children out there who need our help and we have no time to waste. We have to get out there and start searching! To the Cat Car!" he touched the icon of his vehicle and the blue car in the back of the room has come alive with blue lights. The trio ran to it, jumped into their seats, buckled themselves up and launched themselves into the night.
"Cat Ears!" Catboy called when they were far enough into the city. He listened for anything that might be useful, but for a while, he only heard the humming of his car's engine. But suddenly, something else hit his ears. It was laughter! A strangely familiar laughter which caused him to narrow his eyes.
"I think I'm hearing something. It sounds like Romeo!" he told the other two heroes.
"Do you think he's responsible for the new kids' disappearance?" Owlette asked.
"We're about to find out!" Catboy replied, heading towards the source of the voice. Within a minute, they arrived to a deadend and saw something that made them gasp collectively. Similarly to how Romeo once kidnapped Greg and Amaya and kept them in hanged cages, was now one cage hanging there with Romeo's robot standing guard in front of it while the young scientist villain was a few steps away from it, fiddling with some machine in his hand.
"Yup, that's Romeo alright." Gekko said bluntly. "Did he capture those missing kids?"
"Owl Eyes!" Owlette yelled, activating her super sight. She saw three small silhouettes in the cage which obviously belonged to children. "There are definitely kids inside that cage and three of them!" Catboy scowled.
"Kidnapping innocent kids! Romeo's crossed a line this time." he growled as he unbuckled his seatbelt, opened up his vehicle and jumped out, followed swiftly by his colleagues.
"Romeo!" Catboy yelled, causing the villain to look up from his machine and look at the trio. He broke into an evil smile when he spotted them.
"Ah, the PJ Masks! Once again you have come to foil my evil plans!" he said.
"We're here to save those kids you've kidnapped!" Owlette yelled back at him. Romeo glared at her.
"Don't you interrupt me, feather brain!" he yelled. "Now, where was I? Oh, I forgot it!" he fumed.
"Why did you take these kids, Romeo?" Gekko asked. Romeo just smirked in response.
"That's not really any of your business, lizard boy. And don't think you will stop me this time. Robot, get them!" he howled at his large robotic henchman. "I want them to hang in a cage right next to their precious daytime friends by morning."
Robot instantly leaped into action, but the heroes weren't having any of it. They came to rescue these children and that's what they were going to do. Owlette flew up and Catboy used his Super Cat Jump to get Robot's arms to chase them. Robot took the bait and the two heroes started circling around Robot's legs. As it reached after them, it's long arms were wrapped around it's legs, which lead to the giant machine falling over.
Catboy and Owlette stopped in front of each other and shared a high-five.
"Nice work, Owlette." Catboy praised, smiling brightly. Owlette looked down at her feet and rubbed the back of her head with a slight blush."
"Thanks. Romeo is a pretty slow learner for a genius if he still hasn't figured it out that his tin can is no match for us." Speaking of which, the young mad scientist was watching from the sidelines and yelled in frustration about his partner in crime's humiliating defeat.
"Argh! You pesky PJ Pests always ruin my plans!" he screamed, while having a jumping up and down tantrum.
"Can't they come up with something new?" Owlette teased as she smirked at Catboy. "This "PJ Pests" is getting old." Catboy chuckled in response.
"Why you little..." he never got to finish whatever insult he had in mind as he noticed the key to the cage which was in his pocket floating away. "What the..." he asked in surprise before Gekko materialized before him, holding the key with a smug smile on his face. "Hey, give that back!" Romeo yelled, reaching for the key, but Gekko reached up and grabbed his goggles, then pulled on them before letting go of them and they flew back into Romeo's face, causing him to fall on the ground.
"Run along and play with your chemistry set, Romeo." Gekko taunted as he turned around to go and open the cage.
"He'll have plenty of time for that in Mahkra." Catboy quipped before wrapping Romeo up with his Super Cat Stripes and pulling him to his feet to take him to the Cat Car.
Gekko handed the key to Owlette who flew up and opened the cage. "It's okay. You can come out now." she told reassuringly to the kids inside. She flew down next to the boys and the three captives jumped out and landed in front of the heroes, but as they saw them for the first time, they were left rather dumbfounded by their appearance. In front of Catboy was a light brown skinned girl with blue eyes and curly brown hair, wearing a navy blue jacket and brown trousers. Owlette was facing a boy with glasses, short brown hair and matching brown eyes, wearing a red shirt and red shorts. Gekko was looking at a blonde girl in a hoodie with the hood up and a bang covering her right eye.
After a few seconds of silent staring, Catboy finally broke the silence.
"Are you guys seeing anything strange here?" The other two heroes shot another glance at the three kids, then turned back to Catboy.
"Nope." Owlette replied.
"Not a thing." added Gekko.
"Who are you guys?" asked the blonde girl. The heroes responded by proudly straightening themselves out and getting into heroic poses before announcing "THE PJ MASKS!"
"Wow! That's awesome!" the girl replied cheerfully. "I'm Gwen, by the way. These are Connie and Amado." she introduced her cohorts.
"Nice to meet you." Owlette said. "What did Romeo want from you?"
"That creep in the labcoat?" Amado said. "We have no idea. We were just on on our way to our new school when he ambushed us with his robot and put us in that cage." he explained.
"Now that I think of it, he kept blabbering about some grand scheme that will finally help him defeat his arch enemies and take over the world." Gwen told them with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah, that sounds like Romeo." Gekko said with a sigh. "He tends to do things like that. Sorry you guys got caught up in the middle of it." Gwen just waved it off.
"Don't sweat it. Thanks for saving our skins." she said as she offered Gekko her hand. The lizard themed hero raised his to shake it, but the moment their hands touched, there was a green flash and green energy was seen leaving Gekko's body and flowing into Gwen.
"Gekko!" Catboy and Owlette exclaimed in shock, but before they could do something, they were approached by Connie and Amado, who put their hands on their shoulders which resulted in the same process.
It only lasted a few seconds. The heroes collapsed on the ground and looked up at the three kids standing in front of them engulfed in blue, red and green light respectively. When the lights faded, the kids reappeared, but instead of their clothes, they were wearing similar costumes to theirs, but with a few slight changes.
Connie's cat costume was completely dark purple and the symbol on her chest resembled a black panther. Amado's bird suit was dark brown and the mask covering his face resembled a hawk rather than an owl, just like the symbol on his chest. The most noticeable difference was with Gwen. Her suit was dark green rather than light like Gekko's and on her head, she was wearing an alligator helmet. The PJ Masks watched in horror before their shock was broken by Romeo's signature laugh. The scientist villain was watching the events unfold while still being restrained in the Cat Car and was highly pleased with the end result.
"Did you really think I would be defeated so easily if it wasn't part of my master plan?" he gloated. "A little modification of my power copier machine and the willing participation of our three friends over there were all I needed to create the perfect foil to your insufferable trio! Catboy, Owlette, Gekko, meet..."
"...Panther!" Connie announced with her hands on her hips, grinning evilly.
"Nighthawk!" Amado shouted, spreading the wings of his costume.
"And Gator!" Gwen finished walking up to the others from behind. Catboy was the first one to get over his surprise.
"Cheap copies of our superhero personas, Romeo? You're running out of ideas." he mocked. Romeo glared at him.
"Let's see if you will say the same after this. Copy-Masks, attack!"
"Don't call us that." Catboy jumped in surprise when he heard Panther's voice coming from right behind him. The girl grabbed him by the shoulders and used the copied super speed ability to twirl him around a bit. Before Owlette and Gekko could intervene, Nighthawk used his wing wind ability to blow Owlette away towards Gekko, while Gator casually walked up to him and flicked him on the forehead and he flew towards the ggirl and the two crashed into each other in the air. Panther then threw Catboy at his friends and he landed on top of them with his eyes still spinning.
"Okay, maybe they're not so cheap after all." Catboy groaned. Romeo laughed evilly at the trio's quick defeat. Or, as evilly as he usually could make it sound.
"Nice work, my new villainous minions." he praised. "Now get me out of here, so I can finally take over the world without those PJ Monkeys getting in my way." The three new villains however were not so eager to obey.
"Not so fast." Panther said with narrowed eyes. "Didn't you say that your device would steal their powers for good instead of just copying them?" Romeo chuckled nervously.
"Uh... I may have exaggerated a few details, but only because I didn't want to put weight on your shoulders. I thought the idea of facing superheroes right on your first night as nighttime villains might be stressful." he tired to save face, but apparently unsuccessfully as the trio only shot him unamused looks.
"Right. And now that we know we have to face them, how do you think we feel?" Gator asked. Romeo rolled his eyes.
"Oh, please! As if they would concern themselves with worthless underlings like you. I'm the mastermind behind this entire operation! I'm the only thing they need to worry about!" The Copy-Masks looked at each other than back at Romeo.
"Well, if you feel that way, you obviously do not need our help." Gator said with her arms crossed. "Come on, guys! Let's leave the mastermind to plot his brilliant escape on his own." And with that, they left without even casting a second look at Romeo.
"What?" he yelled in surprise. He started to struggle in panic to escape his restraints, but it was to no avail. "Oh, you ungrateful traitors! I'll get you for this! Robot, get them!" But the large machine was still tangled up in it's own limps.
"I have been incapacitated, sir." Romeo yelled in frustration.
"Oh, you useless tin ball, why do I even put up with you!" He turned away from Robot to look for a way to escape, but what he saw instead was the PJ Masks standing in front of the vehicle and looking down at him with very pissed off looks on their faces. Romeo gulped. "Uh... I suppose it wouldn't be the right time to suggest a truce?" he tried. In response, Catboy undid his restraints, grabbed him by the labcoat and pulled him out of the car.
The next thing Romeo knew, he was being pushed against the side of the Cat Car with Owlette and Gekko each holding one of his shoulders.
"I guess not."
Catboy walked up to him and raised his finger at his chest. "Listen, Romeo! Tell us everything you know about your new friends!" Romeo was usually defiant, but even he knew when to fold them.
"They just moved to town. I made a deal with them. If they helped me taking you guys down, I would give them your superpowers. They said they were always teased and made fun of where they lived so they quickly agreed."
"Where did you meet them?" Gekko asked, giving his left shoulder a tight squeeze. Romeo winced.
"I was trailing them all day. They were mostly hanging out around the lake. That's all I know." he confessed. Catboy stared at him for a moment before realizing he was telling the truth. He then looked at his friends and motioned towards the incapacitated Robot. Getting the message, they carried Romeo there and wrapped him up with Robot's tangled limbs.
"Call Mahkra." Catboy told Owlette. "Give them the address where they can pick Romeo up and tell them to wait for three more prisoners." Owlette nodded and the three heroes headed back to their vehicle.
"Oh, just you wait you insufferable, goody-two-shoes dimwits! I will get you next time. And I will rule the world. You'll see!" Catboy sat down in the driver seat and pressed the furball launcher which sent a projectile right into Romeo's mouth, shutting him up. Without saying anything, the heroes drove off.
"Let's go bag these 'Copy-Masks'." Catboy said bluntly.
"Wait, just like that." Owlette asked. "Don't you think we should make a plan?"
"I have a plan. We find them and capture them." Catboy replied, full of confidence.
"I think Owlette has a point." Gekko said. "You probably shouldn't take this so lightly."
"Guys, do you remember, how much trouble we had getting used to our powers? Imagine how poorly these three impostors will do during their first night? There'll be no problem." Owlette and Gekko looked at each other. He did have a point, but they still had a bad feeling about the rest of this mission.
(Catboy Symbol scene transition)
The heroes arrived at the lake and got out of the car. Catboy and Owlette activated their super senses and started looking around. Little did they know, the villains they were looking have been following them since they abandoned Romeo in the dead-end. Gator and Panther have been watching them from the top of a tree and were only waiting for Nighthawk's sign.
"This is almost two good to be true." Panther mused. She used her own super hearing to overhear them in the car and was perfectly aware of how in over his head Catboy was. "He will lead them right into our trap."
"Shh." Gator hushed. "He's got super hearing too."
"We're about to blow our cover anyway. As soon as Nighthawk gives the sign." she waved her off. " Who named you our leader anyway? You're the youngest."
"I may be the youngest, but I'm clearly the brians in the team." Gator replied casually. Panther was clearly offended and was about to say somethimg, but Gator beat her to it. "That's the truth, just accept it!"
Meanwhile in the distance, Nighthawk flew up to the top of another tree and used his own Owl Eyes to monitor the Masks' movement from afar. The traps were already set, they just needed to shut the trapdoor. Seeing that the heroes were in the perfect position, he silently flew back to his cohorts and gave them a double thumbs up. Gator smirked. "It's time."
Back on the ground, the heroes were still looking for their new enemies.
"Do you think they'll try to hit HQ?" Gekko wondered back on the ground.
"No way." Catboy answered. "PJ Robot is on the lookout. They won't get past him."
Suddenly, the villains they were looking for jumped off from the tree and landed right in front of them.
"Looking for us?" Gator asked with an evil grin. The heroes jumped in surprise, but Catboy quickly recovered.
"There they are! Get them!" he yelled. Counting on this move, the Copy-Masks split up and ran off. Catboy smirked cockily upon seeing this.
"They're splitting up! They're even more arrogant than I thought if they think they can handle us individually. Let's go after them!" Owlette and Gekko looked at each other.
" I don't know, Catboy. Don't you think they might be up to something?" Owlette suggested.
"I agree with her." said Gekko. "I don't think they'd just jump at us without a plan. They definitely have something up their sleeve. If anything, you seem to be the one who's in over your head," Catboy just waved him off.
"I think it's just you who needs to have more confidence in yourself. Did that ever occur to you?" he countered. "For real, guys! We have the advantage of experience. let's make it count!" he cheered boastfully, before speeding off after Panther. The other two just sighed before proceeding to head after their counterparts.
Ahead of them, each of the Copy-Masks stopped to make sure if they have gained a significant advantage over the pursuing hero and once they were sure they did, they changed direction towards a crossroad where they met up with each other again. Gator switched path with Nighthawk, Nighthawk switched with Panther and Panther switched path with Gator. The villains kept running towards the spots where they set up traps for the pursuers.
Gekko was the first one to arrive at the place where the trap was set. He already had his Super Gekko Muscles activated, expecting a clash of muscles with Gator. So he was in for a surprise when Panther ran up to him, jumped on his chest and used her Super Cat Jump - or in her case, Super Panther Jump - and with the force in her legs, she kicked Gekko against a tree. She then ran around the tree several times and tied Gekko to it with her Super Stripes before he even knew what happened.
"Gasping geckos!" he yelled in surprise. "Where's Gator?" Panther stopped in front of him and smiled.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she chuckled. "As soon as she's dealt with your friends, we will take your place as the heroes of this city and you can go to Mahkra in our place." Gekko gasped in shock, before shooting her an angry look.
"That's not going to happen!" he yelled, trying to get out of the stripes, but they were too strong. Realizing that it was futile, he came up with a new idea. He turned his head to the left which earned a curios look from Panther.
"What are you doing?" Gekko slightly banged his head against the tree and spoke.
"Gekko to Owlette, do you copy?" Panther realized that he was using his communicator to warn the others. She quickly reached to take the device, but she just gave Gekko the perfect opportunity to escape. He lifted his legs and kicked Panther away from him. With his Gekko Muscles, it was far from difficult. This loosened the hold of the stripes on him and he was soon free. "I've got to warn the others!" he said before running off.
"Oh no, you won't!" Panther yelled when she recovered. She tried to run after him, but Gekko activated his Camouflage and turned invisible, preventing her from seeing and stopping him. Growling to herself, Panther sped off to inform her cohorts of this unfortunate turn of events. 'Gator's gonna eat me alive for this.' she thought.
Meanwhile, Owlette stopped to look around with her Owl Eyes and spot Nighthawk. Little did she know, that Gator was creeping between the branches of the tree beneath her, carrying a rope. When she was sure Owlette wasn't looking, she jumped and grabbed onto her ankles, pulling the surprised heroine down to the ground with her. When she reached the ground, she used her super strength to hold her down and tie her up with the rope before she had any time to react. She even tied in her mouth to make sure she won't speak.
"Done." Gator said, dusting off her hands. "Now let's hope I made things easy enough for those two pinbrains not to mess up." As if on cue, Panther appeared out of nowhere and stopped in front of her, panting. Gator immediately knew what this meant. "Looks like I spoke too soon. Where's Gekko?" she asked in irritation. After catching her breath, Panther replied.
"He... He went to warn the others about our plan." she replied nervously, already afraid of the girl's reaction. Gator blankly stared in front of her in disbelief, before exploding.
"YOU TOLD HIM MY PLAN?" she grasped her head in frustration. "I always knew you two were not the brightest bulbs on the christmas tree, but I didn't expect even you to be this stupid!" she screamed. After a few moments, she managed to calm enough to come up with something new.
"Go find Nighthawk and tell him to rendezvous back at the lake. One PJ Mask is more than nothing." she muttered, taking a glance back at the bound Owlette on the ground.
"And then what?" Panther asked. The other girl glared back at her.
"You already botched up one of my plans by revealing it to the enemy. I'm not making that mistake again. Go!" Panther rolled her eyes, obviously not liking how she talked to her, but deciding there was little she could do about it, she did as she was told. Gator picked up the tied Owlette, threw her on her shoulder and headed back towards the lake.
(Gekko symbol scene transition)
Catboy ran at full speed to catch Panther, but he was surprised to find that no matter how fast he ran, not only could he not catch up with her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Like she was so fast that she already outran him by a mile. This raised his suspicions. There was no way this was possible. And for the first time that night, his underestimation of the enemy actually paid off.
He stopped just before arriving at the spot where Nighthawk was planning the ambush. The bird themed villain was about to fly out from his hiding spot and tie him up with a rope. But when Catboy didn't show up, he became confused. He flew up to take a look with his Hawk Eyes and saw him standing between the trees just at the edge of the clearing. That was not the ideal place for capturing him. As he was thinking about how should he proceed, Panther jumped up to the branch he was sitting on.
"What are you doing here?" he questioned.
"Change of plans. We have the owl, but the lizard got away. Gator wants us to regroup at the lake. We're setting another trap there." Nighthawk was obviously displeased at this turn of events, but didn't object. He was much more obedient than the feline themed girl. He looked back at Catboy who was approached by Gekko in the meantime and they were talking about something, no doubt the green one was already warning him about their plan.
"Fine, follow me." they flew and jumped off the branch and landed in front of the heroes. Catboy and Gekko looked up at them and glared.
"You!" Catboy growled. "Don't bother trying anything. Gekko already warned me about your plan. There was no way it's going to work anyway, but now that you told us about it, you might as well just give up." he boasted, making Gekko groan in exasperation. The two villains narrowed their eyes at them.
"I don't think so." Nighthawk replied. Panther decided to let him do the talking. She was much more impulsive and might have said something she shouldn't have or jumped into action when she shouldn't have, messing up the plan again. "We already have the bird and if you want to see her again, you're going to come back to the lake before the sunrise." Catboy and Gekko gasped in shock, though Catboy's shock soon turned to anger and Gekko actually had to restrain him from attacking. Nighthawk grinned when he saw his anger. They touched a nerve.
"We'll be waiting." they then sped/flew off into the direction of the lake. Catboy was practically shaking with anger.
"Gekko, does Mahkra have a hospital wing?" Gekko was surprised by the question.
"I think so..." he answered uncertainly.
"Good. Because they will be needing it when I'm done with them." he was about to run after them, but Gekko pulled him back.
"Wait! You're getting in over your head! We can't just run in there without getting prepared! You have already underestimated them once tonight and it lead to Owlette getting captured. Don't make the same mistake twice." he warned. Catboy managed to calm down and pulled his tail out of his grasp.
"Okay. They adapted to their powers faster than I thought. But there is now way their teamwork is as good as ours just yet. If we two work together, I'm sure we can take the three of them, no problem." he said, quickly dismissing Gekko's warning, making him sigh. He already had a bad feeling about Catboy's next plan.
Meanwhile, Owlette was currently hanging from a tree, completely tied with the rope Gator captured her with. She was hanged above the lake, upside down and the end of the rope was tied to a tree nearby. She was visibly squirming under the ropes, trying to get loose, but Gator who has been watching her was starting to get annoyed by this.
"There's no use in trying to get out of those." she told her. "I tied them with my Super Muscles." Owlette merely rolled her eyes and continued to move around under the ropes. Gator just sighed and decided to let her be. Just then, Nighthawk and Panther arrived on the scene. They took a glance at the heroine hanging from the tree then turned to their leader.
"What's this supposed to be?" Panther asked.
"Leverage." Gator answered. "When the other two arrive, they will surrender their powers and willingly go to Mahkra in our place or birdy goes swimming." she explained. Nighthawk just nodded in understanding, but Panther had a much less approving reaction. Her eyes widened in shock and she walked up to confront the younger girl.
"Hold on! That wasn't part of the plan!" she yelled at her, holding up her finger against her chest. Gator just shrugged.
"Well, it is now. And do I need to remind you that we needed a change of plan because you messed up." she narrowed her eyes at her accusingly, causing Panther to immediately back down. Before she could reply Nighthawk interrupted them.
"Sort this out later, here they come." he pointed between the trees where Catboy and Gekko just emerged from. The two boys gasped in horror when they saw what the three villains did to Owlette. Catboy growled and was seeing so much red that it was like Owlette's suit was everywhere. He pulled Gekko closer to him.
"Listen, Gekko, keep the crocodile off of me, I can handle the other two." Before Gekko even had a chance to reply, Catboy already ran off into the middle of the fray. Shaking his head, Gekko activated his Super Gekko Muscles and walked up to the leader of the opposing trio.
"He seems pretty confident, doesn't he?" Gator asked teasingly. Gekko just glared at her.
"None of your business." he replied, attempting to catch her, but she used her own camouflage, quickly got behind him, grabbed his tail and lifted him into the air.
"Well, maybe not but this is your business. Stand down or we'll send your little birdy friend on a journey to the deep." Gekko just glared up at her before turning back to look at Catboy. Silently hoping that he will fare better.
Catboy approached Nighthawk and Panther who were standing at the edge of the lake just under the spot where Owlette was hanging from.
"I'm giving you one last chance." he growled. "Let go of Owlette and give up!" The two villains laughed.
"You still think you have the upper hand here, Catface?" Panther mocked. "That's cute." Catboy smirked cockily.
"With Gekko keeping your leader busy, I can handle you two easily, you greenhorn impostors." he declared proudly. Nighthawk just raised his hand and made a beckoning motion with it.
"Come on, then." he challenged. Catboy growled.
"SUPER CAT SPEED!" he yelled as he charged at them. Just before he reached them however, they split up and Catboy almost fell heads first into the lake. He barely managed to stop himself in time. Nighthawk used his Hawk Wing Wind to push him towards the water, but he managed to catch himself in time and reactivated his Super Speed in time to manage to run across the surface and back to solid ground.
Annoyed by this, Panther rushed at him with her own super speed, but Catboy managed dodge, causing the villain to almost fall into the water herself. As she tried to balance herself at the edge of the lake, Catboy softly bumped his hip into hers and pushed her in.
"Oops. My bad." he apologized mockingly before turning to Nighthawk. He rushed at him, but he flew up before he could reach him. Annoyed, Catboy summoned his Super Cat Stripes and lassoed the villain, catching his legs. But Nighthawk just smirked and kept flyingflying upwards. Catboy tried to pull him down, but in the end he proved stronger.
"Oh...I did not think this through." Catboy gulped, before he was carried off into the air. After a few seconds of dragging the screaming Catboy around in the air with him, Nighthawk noticed Panther getting out of the lake and shaking herself dry.
"Hey, Panther, coming your way!" He yelled, using his Hawk Wing Wind to send Catboy flying towards her. She noticed and jumped up, grabbing both of Catboy's shoulders and throwing him down on the ground. She then landed on him and grabbed his arms holding him down. Catboy struggled to get loose, but realized it was hopeless when Nighthawk landed next to them and joined in.
"Gekko, help!" he called out, but the response he got was not what he expected. Instead of Gekko, Gator walked up to him, still holding the green costumed hero upside down by his tail.
"How unfortunate." Gator mocked. "Looks like your plan didn't turn out like you wanted it to, kitty." Catboy cast his eyes down in shame, finally realizing just how careless he was with his overconfidence. Gekko was trying to break out of Gator's grasp, which annoyed the villain greatly. "Now, I wanted to be nice and give you a chance to give up, but looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson." she said, walking up to the rope that held Owlette above the lake. "Tell me, can your friend swim as well as she can fly?" Catboy's and Gekko's eyes went wide, but more surprisingly, so did Panther's.
"Wait. You're actually going to go along with that?!" she asked incredulously. "I thought you were just bluffing!" Gator narrowed her eyes.
"Do you know me as a bluffer?" she rebutted.
"You can't be serious?" Panther yelled. "You can't do this!"
Well just watch me! "Gator was about to sever the rope but before she could, she heard a loud snapping noise from Owlette's direction.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she yelled up at her. "Didn't I tell you it's useless to struggle?" but then, she heard another snap. And another. And another. And suddenly, the ropes around Owlette came loose and she flew out of their hold. Gator's eyes widened.
"But... but how?" Owlette proudly held up a feather about the size of a dagger.
"A new trick I learned a few nights ago. I can remove feathers from my cape and use them for several purposes. They can cut ropes or... they can do this!" she then threw the solid feather at Gator and it hit her in the head with enough force to knock her to the ground, making her release Gekko. She then flew up to the other two and blew them off of Catboy with her Wind. She then quickly gathered the two boys by their necks and flew off with them. Gator managed to recover and quickly turned to her cohorts.
"What are you waiting for you dummies? After them!" she ordered. They didn't need to be told twice.
(Owlette symbol scene transition)
Owlette landed the boys in the middle of the forest when she was sure they were out of the sight Copy-Masks.
"That was awesome, Owlette!" Gekko cheered.
"Yeah! I didn't know you could do that!" added Catboy.
"Neither did I until a few weeks ago." she confessed, before turning back to Catboy angrily. "But let's not digress. Did you see what happened because you got in over your head?" Catboy hanged his head down.
"Yeah. I know I messed up. I'm sorry. But I know how to make it right. Now I really have a plan." he declared. But before he could explain, they've heard a noise in the distance.
"I suggest you explain it quickly." Owlette said, scanning the ground with her Owl Eyes. "I see Panther coming this way." Surprisingly, Catboy smirked.
"Perfect!" his colleagues looked questioningly at him, wondering what he had in mind.
"It's time to be a hero!"
Back at the lake, Gator was pacing back and forth in frustration. Nothing seemed to be going her way tonight. But apparently, that was about to change.
"Hey, Gator!" she Panther call from the distance. She turned to her to see her to see a very pleasant surprise. Panther was holding all three PJ Masks tied up with her Super Stripes. Her mood immediately took a 180 degree turn.
"You caught them all by yourself?" she wondered. Panther smiled proudly.
"Yup. Wasn't that hard. The cat still thought he can take me easily and messed up their while plan." she explained to her and Nighthawk who just arrived back. Gator smiled.
"Great! Well then, all that's left to do is to remove their costumes and hand them over to Mahkra in our place!" she stepped over to Catboy to deactivate his powers and remove his wristband, but when she stepped closer to him, she noticed that oddly enough, he was smiling. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's so amusing? You were just defeated."
"You're right about one thing, Gator. It's time to remove the costumes. Panther..." Gator turned back to Panther and to her utter bewilderment, she reached up to her her wrist and switched off her costume herself, freeing the PJ Masks.
"What are you doing?!" Gator yelled in panic.
"Stopping you before you go too far." Connie replied as she handed her wristband to Catboy. Gator gulped and was about to retreat with Nighthawk, but they were stopped by Gekko who managed to sneak up behind them while they were busy getting over their shock.
"Going somewhere?" he asked before he banged their heads together, knocking them out. He and Owlette then removed their wristbands as well and Catboy tied them up with his Super Cat Stripes. Owlette's communicator then beeped and after answering the call, turned to her teammates.
"Just got a call from Mahkra. They've collected Romeo and waiting for the three other prisoners."
"Tell them they are on their way." he replied, before turning to Connie. "Sorry, Connie. I know you helped us and I'm grateful, but you still have to take your part of the punishment." Connie looked down and nodded.
"I understand." she said.
"Traitor." they've heard the voice of Amado, who in the meantime has recovered from Gekko's knockout along with Gwen and the two were now angrily glaring at Connie.
"I thought you were out friend." Gwen spat at her. Connie however didn't flinch.
"I am your friend. That's exactly why I stopped you from making a huge mistake. This was going too far and you know it. You're just too mad to admit it to yourself right now." she replied. Catboy smiled at Gwen.
"Looks you got a little too in over your head about your leadership." he mocked, earning a glare from the girl.
"Don't worry, guys." Connie said as she walked past Owlette and Gekko and stood between the heroes and her friends. "I'll keep my eyes on them from now on and make sure we won't get into anymore trouble." she promised, smiling sweetly. Gwen and Amado would have rolled their eyes at this, if they didn't notice something very interesting. Not only did Connie have her fingers crossed behind her back, but between her fingers, they could clearly see the wristbands the heroes just took from them. They looked at each other and smirked. Looks like they weren't out of the game just yet. The oblivious heroes just smiled at Connie.
"Good. Then follow us to the prisoner transport." Connie nodded before turning to her friends and winking at them with an evil smile. She may have been softer than them, but hey, still a villain.
"PJ Masks all shout hooray!" Catboy started.
"CAUSE IN THE NIGHT WE SAVED THE DAY!" the other two joined.
(Scene transition to daytime)
The news about the new students spread like wildfire throughout the school, but to Connor, Amaya and Greg, that was not the most pressing issue. Instead, it was the result of the test they took earlier that week as they would get them today.
"Oh, boy." Connor moaned in worry. "I hope I did good." Amaya smiled at him teasingly.
"What's wrong, Connor? I thought you were confident in your ability to take the test."
"That was before the Copy-Masks incident. The next day, I started actually studying and I realized just how much was there I didn't learn yet. I tried to catch up, but I'm not sure how much I could." he told her.
The teacher entered the room, carrying the test papers and started handing them out. By the time he got to Greg, Connor was already a nervous wreck.
"Hey! 82%! That's not too bad!" he cheered.
"Good job, Greg!" Amaya cheered. "I got 88!" she announced, sharing a high five with him. "What about you, Connor?" Connor quickly ran through his paper before answering.
"91! Wow! I can't believe it! I guess it really works when you don't let your successes get to your head and actually work harder everytime!" he said.
"And all it took was a fight with our evil counterparts for you to realize that." Greg joked, causing all three of them to break out laughing.
(end of chapter)
AN: Hope you like it! :) Please share your thoughts!
FUN FACT: The Copy-Masks were originally going to be the villains of a multi-chapter PJ Masks story of mine that would have been inspired by the video game "LEGO DC Supervillains". The PJ Masks would have disappeared and replaced by the Copy-Masks, causing the nighttime villains to come together to take them down.
Next time on "Bad to the Bone":
Catboy's Lucky Night
A villain stole the lucky trinkets of every daytime kid who had one, including Amaya and Greg and wants to use their fortune for himself. Connor doesn't believe in luck, until he has to face it heads on.
See ya!
