The Planeteers had arrived in Conestoga Hills the day before and were now busy spying on the factory from behind a fence. What they hadn't counted on was all the people protesting.

"It's good to see such an environmentally caring community. Gaia would be pleased." Linka was lying in the long grass that ran along the fence, squished between Wheeler and Gi.

"Maybe, babe, but it doesn't seem to have stopped these creeps from polluting the place." Wheeler replied. When he wasn't teasing Linka, he was flirting with her.

"Guys look! It's Sly Sludge!" Kwame shook his head. "I should have known he'd be involved in something like this!"

They watched the disgustingly overweight Eco-Villain, known for his willingness to do anything for money, as he sauntered out of the factory into a fenced off area. He stuck his tongue out at the angry crowd of people before climbing into a truck loaded with the highly toxic waste. Starting it up, he was stopped by a tall, slim, and shockingly dressed man striding out the factory door.

"Looten Plunder!" Gasped Gi.

Plunder was a tycoon of the crime world. He gave a few short, sharp commands, which the Planeteers couldn't hear over the noise of the crowd. Sly Sludge nodded and put the truck into gear. Watching him pull out, Kwame held up his ring.

"Earth!"

The bitumen cracked and buckled as a mound of dirt rose up in front of the truck. Not wanting to stop, Sludge swerved, tipping the truck sharply. Instead of righting itself, the dangerously overloaded truck continued to tip, threatening to spill its harmful contents right on the Planeteers.

Quickly assessing the situation, they didn't hesitate when Kwame held up his ring and shouted,

"Let our powers combine! Earth!"

"Fire!"

"Wind!"

"Water!"

"Heart!"

As each of the Planeteers called out their powers, a bright beam shot out from their rings. All five beams converged in the sky. Thunder boomed out as the light grew brighter and then took on a humanoid form.

"By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"

"Go Planet!" yelled the Planeteers, happy to see their friend.

With his sky blue skin, grass green hair, earth brown eyes, and sunshine yellow globe on his chest, it was clear Captain Planet was nature itself. He posessed all of the Planeteers powers, but magnified. Seeing the truck tipping over, he flew down to it and grabbed its bull bar. Taking care not to spill any of the toxins on himself, as it would weaken his power, he righted the truck. Whenever they summoned Captain Planet, and for all of the time he spent out helping the Planeteers, their rings didn't work.

"Planet and the Planet punks!" yelled Sly Sludge, climbing out of the truck and running into the factory, hot on the heels of Looten Plunder.

Captain Planet turned to face the Planeteers when he was suddenly hit in the back by a bolt of lightning. This attack completely threw him, and he fell forwards.

Looking up, Linka saw Sparx fly in on the Lightning Flash. Not knowing who or what Sparx was, but blaming her for the attack on Captain Planet, Linka grabbed a nearby brick and hurled it at Sparx, knocking her off the Flash. She hit the ground hard, feeling her energy levels drop. Undeterred, she jumped up and pulled out her sword. Pointing it at Linka, she demanded,

"What are you doing? I'm saving your butts here!"

"No, you're not! He is!" Gi pointed at Captain Planet, who was picking himself up off the ground. Sparx spun around and turned her sword on him instead.

"Sparx! What have I told you about flying off like that . . .?" Ace's voice trailed off as he took in the scene below him. Sparx, surrounded by a bunch of angry looking kids, was pointing her sword at some blue guy.

Making the most of the confusion, Sparx let out a whistle and did a high flip. The Lightning Flash zoomed in and caught her, and she joined Ace in the air.

"What is going on here?" Kat ran round the corner and found herself in a small bricked in courtyard, completely out of sight of the protesters. She stopped short. "Sparx, who are these guys, and what is that?!"

"Cute chick," muttered Wheeler, and received a kick in the shin from Linka.

"I am Captain Planet!" the blue man answered Kat's question.

"Well, whoever you are, you were trying to tip over that truck!" Sparx yelled at him.

"No, I was stopping it from tipping over."

"I'm calling Mark." Kat pulled out her phone.

"You wanna call me sometime?" Wheeler sidled up to her.

"You leave her alone, fly boy!" Sparx told him.

"Well, Captain Placid, would you mind telling us what you're doing here?" Ace asked him.

"That's Planet."

"Whatever."

"I'm saving the world from pollution and destruction!"

Ace and Sparx looked at each other.

Captain Planet stared at them. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing here? And who you are while you're at it."

"I'm Ace Lightning, and this is Sparx. We're Lightning Knights, guardians of the Amulet of Zoar, inter-dimensional defenders, and protectors of the weak and innocent."

"So, in other words, what you're telling me is that you're both superheroes?"

"Yeah, so what are you?" Cut in Sparx.

"I am Capt---"

"Yeah, yeah. We got that bit. But you're not a superhero, right?"

"Of course he is! And a damn good one, too!" answered Gi.

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"Everyone, calm down!" called Ma-Ti. "I can tell from their emotions that they mean well," he told his friends, pausing to look up at Ace with a slight frown before continuing, "even if they aren't particularly good at showing it."

"Excuse me, can I have everyone's attention for a moment?" said Kat.

"You got mine!" Wheeler told her, mostly to annoy Linka.

"Mark said he'd meet us at the Thunder Tower."