"Where?" asked Kwame.

"It's our headquarters," Ace told him.

"It's a bit of a walk from here," said Kat.

"Or we could just take the GeoCruiser," suggested Wheeler.

"The what?"

"It's sort of a plane, and it's how we get around. Oh, and it's bright yellow."

"It's also environmentally friendly," added Gi.

"Nope. No way. We get enough 'alien sightings' around here as it is. Anyway, the walk will do you good." Kat nodded at the Knights.

"We'll meet you there," said Ace.

Kat started walking, and the Planeteers followed her.

Ace looked down at Captain Planet. "I assume you fly?"

In answer, Captain Planet rose into the air until he was level with Ace and Sparx. "Of course."

"Then let's go!" Sparx took off in the same direction the kids had taken. Ace and Captain Planet followed her, each trying to fly faster than the other.

"Men!" muttered Sparx, dropping to the floor of the Thunder Tower. She walked over to the transformer and stuck her hands in it.

"What are you doing?" Captain Planet asked her as he and Ace touched down at the same time.

"I'm powering up," said Sparx, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're wasting energy!"

"No, she's utilizing it for the greater good of your dimension." Ace lined up behind her.

"The greater good? Energy is a precious resource. What use is your 'greater good' when it's all gone?"

"Trust me, if we didn't power up, you'd have a lot more to worry about than how much energy we use." Sparx stepped aside and let Ace use the transformer. He took twice as long as usual, just to annoy Captain Planet.

Mark and Chuck walked in soon after he'd finished. They stopped when they saw Captain Planet.

"Mark, Chuckdude, this is Captain Placard. He's an energy saver." Ace didn't go out of his way to explain.

"That's Planet. And I'm a environmental hero." Captain Planet nodded at the boys.

"Ace, what's all this about?"

"Mark!" Kat walked through the door, followed by the Planeteers. She introduced them.

"This is Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi, and Ma-Ti. They're the Planeteers and they work with Captain Planet to stop the destruction of planet Earth." Kat had been putting her skills as a journalist to good use during the walk.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mark, this is Chuck."

"Hey dudes, dudettes."

"So, is anyone going to tell us what's going on?" asked Mark. The Planeteers and Knights told their sides of the story, with Kat throwing bits in. She was sitting on the desk next to Sparx and scribbling down notes.

"So this Looten Plunder guy is paying Sly Sludge to dump toxic waste in the ocean?" asked Mark.

"Yep," seethed Gi.

"And we're here to stop it," added Linka. She smiled at Mark, getting her own back on Wheeler.

"Well," said Ace, "Now that's sorted we'd better let Captain Pathetic do his job. I for one would hate to stand in the way of a hero and his vital ecological mission." He waved his hand at the door.

"It's Planet!"

"Sure it is."

Sparx rolled her eyes. "Such maturity," she said to Kat, who didn't hear her. She'd been thinking over what the others had said, and something didn't fit.

"Why would a factory that makes rat poison have heaps of toxic waste? Wouldn't they use all the poisonous stuff in their product? And from what you've told us about this Plunder guy, he doesn't sound like the type to mess around with a small town factory."

The Planeteers looked at each other. She was right.

"What are you getting at?" Kwame asked her.

"I don't really know. I'm just saying it doesn't make sense. What do you guys reckon?"

"I can picture Sludge being involved in something like this, but Plunder?" Wheeler sounded confused.

"Maybe we should go back to the factory, see if they're making anything other than rat poison," suggested Kwame.

"We'll come," said Kat. Mark and Chuck nodded reluctantly. Mark could tell that Kat wasn't going to be talked out of this, so he figured it would be a good idea to tag along and make sure nothing bad happened to her. She was still new to the hero business.

"Ace, Sparx. You coming?" asked Mark.

Ace looked ready to shake his head when Sparx spoke up.

"Come on Ace, It's been ages since anything interesting has happened. I'm dying for some action."

Ace sighed. "Yeah, why not?"

"Then let's get moving," Captain Planet said, jumping up.

"After you, Captain Sunshine."

"It's PLANET!"