A/N: Sorry this took so long, I lost the disk. And all my readers mutter "Yeah, right!" But I swear it's true. Enjoy!
The next few days passed quickly for most, although Sparx and Wheeler were bored stiff by Friday. Wheeler had spent the entire time watching the bad guys, and was now confident that they'd be able to catch Nukem off guard before they went into battle. Kwame's research into the factory had come to nothing, but they now knew that the only way for the bad guys to escape was through one of the usual exits. Gi had been in her lab every day, trying to work out what they were making, but as far as she could tell, no commercial product could be made from the chemicals in the factory. Linka was certain that she could get past the security system with no hassles. Ace and Sparx had been doing some pretty heavy training, with Ma-Ti's help. His hard work and perseverance had won both of the Knights' respect.
As they piled into the GeoCruiser in the dark of Saturday morning, they were all feeling pretty confident about the approaching battle.
"Do not forget, you are still greatly out-numbered, and they may be expecting you," Gaia reminded them.
"Don't worry, Gaia," Gi replied.
"Yeah, we're the good guys. We can't lose." Sparx added.
"But you can, and possibly will. And remember, don't kill anyone, violence is not the solution."
"We promise to avoid violence if we can, Gaia," Kwame was at the controls of the Cruiser.
"What part of 'we're Lightning Knights, we blast people' makes you think that's possible?" Sparx asked.
"The 'but we also happen to be very caring people' part that I know is in both of you," Gaia told her. "Now hurry! You have a mission to complete."
As the GeoCruiser lifted into the air, Ace contemplated what Gaia had just said. Caring people? But, they weren't real.
---
When the GeoCruiser landed in front of the Thunder Tower a few hours after sunrise, Mark, Chuck, Kat, and Random were waiting for them. The Tower, abandoned by the builders for the weekend, was in pretty bad shape.
"That's nothing, you dudes should've seen it the morning after the fire! I'm telling you, it's hard to believe Sparx wasn't burned to a crisp!"
"Chuck!" Mark elbowed him, but Sparx didn't look too upset.
"When can we move back in?" she asked, as the Lightning Flash came out from its hiding place in the woods to meet her.
"Um, the latest news report said it should be finished in a month. I don't know what we're going to do with you 'till then."
"Don't worry, kid. If we lose today, we're not going to need anywhere to stay." Ace reminded him.
"Are we all ready?" Mark looked around at the group. Three superheroes, one emotionally insecure, one mentally insecure, and one over-confident, and eight kids.
"Oh, boy," he muttered, "It's gonna be one of those days." In a louder voice he said, "Let's go!"
Sparx and Ace walked along with the rest of the group, to listen to Mark telling them what had happened around the factory when he and the others went spying (nothing), and to keep an eye on Random, who seemed to be in full control of his evil side. The Planeteers told the others what they had learned during the week.
When they arrived at the factory, Wheeler checked his watch.
"We timed that well. Nukem should come out in twenty minutes for his daily radiation recharge. His source is in that shed over there. If we can get him before he's recharged, it'll be a lot easier."
"Maybe you guys should let us handle this. There are no spare HazChem suits, and we don't know what kind of effect radiation can have on people from a--another dimension." Kwame told Mark and the others, as the Planeteers suited up.
"Fine, we're going to need all the energy we have when we get in there, anyway," said Ace, before Sparx could object.
"I hate these things," grumbled Gi, stepping into the heavy, bulky suit.
"It's better than being fried," Linka reminded her.
"I know, I know."
As they waited, the group went over their plans, sorting out any last wrinkles and going over it until it was entrenched in their memories.
"Here he comes," Wheeler looked up from his watch and nodded at the huge, fluorescent yellow figure emerging from one of the factory's many doors.
Mark, Kat, Chuck, and the Knights all waited impatiently as they watched the Planeteers slowly approaching the shed where Nukem and his lackey, Leadsuit, were headed. They ducked behind it, and Kwame knelt to the ground and muttered something, before standing up, clutching a handful of green foliage. At the same moment that Leadsuit opened the shed door for Nukem, the Planeteers sprang into action, a difficult thing to do in HazChem suits. They grabbed Nukem and Leadsuit from behind, Kwame shoving something in Nukem's mouth, while Linka used her ring to send Leadsuit spinning into a fence. After a brief struggle, Nukem fell to the ground. Wheeler, Gi, and Ma-Ti dragged him over to the long grass and hid him with the now unconscious Leadsuit. Then all five of them ran back to the others and stripped off their suits.
"It's O.K. to summon Captain P. if we need him," Kwame informed them.
"Great," mumbled Ace.
Sparx glared at him "He did save me, you know,"
"Yeah, well, at least I don't wear my undies outside of my clothes!" Ace shot back. Sparx mentally agreed that that was a major fashion mistake.
"So much for no violence," said Chuck.
"That was not violence," said Linka, polishing her ring. "It was . . . necessary force."
"What did you do to Nukem?" Kat asked Kwame.
"I fed him some Deadly Nightshade, it's a herb,"
"But isn't that . . . deadly?"
"I didn't give him a lethal amount, and Nukem has the constitution of an ox. But he'll be feeling pretty sick when he wakes up."
"Now for phase two, for which I'll pass you on to the lovely Linka," said Wheeler. "We've got fifteen minutes before Nukem's due back, and I guess another five after that before anyone notices he's missing."
Linka smiled before saying, "There's a security lock on all of the doors, if we can get in and activate it or, better still, activate it and then get in, there'll be no escape for them. The only thing I don't know is how to operate it."
Sparx grinned at Random. "Think you can help?" she asked him.
"I might be of some use. There."
Linka looked from Random to Sparx and back again. "There what?"
"The locks are activated. I'll let us in."
Linka nodded. "I don't suppose you can program the cameras to replay the same piece of footage in a continual loop, so they don't see us?"
Random was quiet for a moment, then said, "Done."
"Great," said Linka.
Kwame nodded, "Then I think we're ready."