Voodoo Vagrant
A few hours later, the girls were leaving Greece in a WOOHP jet and heading back to the US. Alex was hunched over a textbook while she did her homework. Sam was boring holes in her compact trying to cover up the bruise, which had turned an ugly shade of blue-ish black. Clover stared out the window and sighed.
"What is it, Clover?" asked Alex over her homework.
"I just lost my big chance, is all. Lousy double totally ruined my big debut. Just who the heck was she anyway?"
"I don't know," said Sam without looking up, "but at least you don't have this gigantic bruise to try and cover before we get back to school. Man, this thing's never going away."
"Besides," said Alex, "there's still the school pageant. We all know you can beat Mandy blindfolded."
"Yeah, but how is Beverly Hills supposed to stack up to Athens? They're not even in the same ballpark. Heck, they're not even the same game for crying out loud!"
"You're totally overreacting, Clover. That was just a mission, you'll get your chance at the pageant."
"But I can't wait that long! I want to be recognized now!"
"Don't worry. Your chance will come as soon as we solve this case."
"Yes, and the sooner you solve it the better" said Jerry's disembodied voice.
"Yipe!" the girls jumped in their chairs and quickly scanned the cabin, but found no Jerry.
"Jerry? Where are you?" asked Alex.
"Sorry, having a bit of trouble with this thing." A holographic image of Jerry flickered to life on the rug in the middle of the cabin. "Ah, there we go."
"Sheesh, Jer. You scared the living daylights out of me." Said a still-pale Clover as she clutched her chest.
"So sorry, Clover. We just installed this thing, and it still has a few bugs to work out." He saw Sam and raised an eyebrow. "It seems your report from earlier was a bit understated."
Sam blushed and hid her face. "Jerry, please! Don't you think this is bad enough already?"
"I'm sorry, Sam. Just making sure you're alright."
Alex shut her book and crossed her legs. "So what's with the hologram? Why didn't you come here yourself?"
"I would love to, Alex. But the truth is things are very busy right now and I had no choice but to do this remotely. At any rate, GLADIS will have to be my hands for the time being."
"GLADIS? Uh-oh."
A multitude of cameras appeared from behind panels all over the cabin. One popped straight out of Clover's seat from between her legs and stared her straight in the face.
Jerry looked upset. "GLADIS, I thought I told you-"
"Negative. This array offers maximum surveillance of WOOHP personnel without compromising security."
"GLADIS, they are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Besides they have another assignmen-"
"Negative. It is now 2300 hours. Developing adolescents need sufficient rest for proper daily function and growth. Recommend cessation of WOOHP activities for Sam, Alex, and Clover until 0600."
Sam angrily stared one of the cameras down. "Come on! It's only 2:00 in Beverly Hills!"
"Yeah!" joined Alex. "Besides, tomorrow's Sunday. We don't have school!"
GLADIS was silent for a moment. "Confirmed. You may continue WOOHP operations." Most of the cameras retracted back into the wall, leaving three still in sight."
Jerry cleared his throat. "I swear, I'm going to take a magnet to that machine someday. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. There have been a number of strange sightings in New Orleans. People are reporting an unusual, humanoid creature with great speed and strength sneaking around government offices in the area. Most recently, it was caught on security cameras inside a BellSouth office building." Jerry played a video that showed a blurry figure running around inside an office room.
"So what does this have to do with our case?" asked Sam.
"The creature's description from eyewitnesses matches the one from the vandalism in New York."
"Has anyone caught it?" asked Alex.
"The police have yet to see it. I sent a few agents to check it out, but this is all they came back with." A blurry photo with a menacing-looking, but blurry figure popped up. "So far, this is the best evidence we've had of it."
"So what's our mission, Jerr?" asked Clover.
"Find this "creature" and capture it. Then find out if it's related to the vandalism cases." Jerry's hologram pressed a button. "You'll need some new tools for this job." A robotic arm handed Sam a small device that resembled a spider. "I call this the Spider-Snare. Throw it at the target and it will ensnare him with unbreakable Titanium alloy wires." Another arm handed a headset to Alex. "This is the Echolocator Mark II. It will allow you to track things by the sounds it emits and even tell you where they're coming from. Use them with your Motion-Tracking Infrared goggles and they'll never get away."
The arms then doled out Jetpack Backpacks. "And you're familiar enough with these."
"Alright, where should we start?"
"First, you should wait until you're over land. Second, I almost forgot to give you this. It's the Zero-Point Energy Barrier Bracelet. When activated, it will stop any physical or energy attack. Unfortunately, it only lasts six seconds." An arm tossed the bracelet to Clover.
"Six seconds? Gee, might as well just give me a "kick me" sign, Jerry."
Jerry's image smirked. "I'll remember that remark next time I'm handing out vital equipment, Clover. Good luck, spies. I'd rather see a speedy resolution to this ordeal."
"Bye, Jerry!" said the girls as Jerry's image flickered and vanished.
"So what do we do when we find it?" asked Alex.
"First off," said Sam, "we don't even know if it exists. It's probably a guy wearing some high-tech suit that people mistake for a monster when they see it in bad light. Second, when we do find him, we'll catch him and finally get a lead on this case."
"And that me look-alike?" said Clover.
"I'd put money on these two being the same person."
"So how do you explain those stunts she pulled back there?"
"Hey, we've seen people stop the Earth's rotation and travel through time on horseback. I don't think some kind of muscular augmentation or super-strength formula is too far out of the question."
"So where do we start?" asked Clover. "Jerry said there were witnesses who saw it."
"Yeah, we should start with them." Sam turned to one of the cameras. "GLADIS, print up a list of all the witnesses who reported the 'creature.'"
GLADIS paused for a moment. "Unable to comply."
"What?"
"Eyewitness list is not on any network that I can find."
"How is that possible?" asked Alex. "I thought you could find anything on the internet."
"Yeah." Said Clover. "Like one time, I was desperately searching for these really cute sandals, but I couldn't find them at any store in all of Beverly Hills. So I…" she trailed off when she noticed Sam and Alex glaring at her. "Oh yeah! The mission. Now what about that list?"
"GLADIS, who is covering the story?"
"A local paper called the Signet has been covering this story rather extensively."
"Good, we'll start there."
-
The girls walked into the Signet's office bright and early the next morning. It was less a newspaper and more like a magazine or tabloid. The small office on the edge of the business district had obviously seen no real renovations since the 70's, and the lobby didn't even have a receptionist. But with six old chairs, a window, and a door leading to the office, it could hardly be called a lobby, either. Clover approached the window and rang the bell. A few moments later, a young man in a Polo shirt appeared, surprised to see three attractive young ladies walking into this place.
"Bonjou, sha. Sa ki to ole?"
Clover blinked a few times, and almost snapped. "What? What kind of arcane speech is that babble?"
The clerk backed away a step and held his hands up. "Whoa! Sorry! I thought y'all were one of our regular clients! Most of 'em barely speak English."
"Well what kind of nonsense was that?"
"It's Cajun French. You really aren't from around here, are ya?"
"Er, no. We're from, uh, up north!"
"Must be from Shreveport or something. Nobody dresses like that around here."
"Like how?" Clover never took kindly to people passing insults about her fashion sense.
The clerk sighed. "Nothing. All right, let's start over. What can I do for you?"
Sam decided to take over. "Hi, we're doing a report on the newspapers in the area, and we wanted to research yours in light of the recent stories." Alex leaned in from behind and smiled cutely.
"Oh, you mean the bebette."
"The what?"
"It means 'bug' or 'critter' in Cajun. Kind of a bad joke one of the columnists started. Anyway, I'll go get the editor. Just hang on a minute, okay?"
The clerk left the window. Moments later, the door opened and an older man in suspenders walked in. He smiled benignly and gently shook their hands.
"Bienvenue ladies. Byrum Manning. How may I be of service?"
"We're doing some research, and we wanted to ask you a few things about your publication."
"Ah see. Well come back to my office and I'll tell ya everything."
They followed him through the newsroom, which was mostly empty. Framed papers with fairly outrageous stories on the front pages hung from the walls every few feet; the pride and joys of the publication.
"Where is everyone?" Clover asked.
"We don' print on Sunday. The folks here are jus' ketchin' up on some work or takin' calls like Johnny up there."
"So why are you here?"
"Someone's got to pay the bills, and the clients don't feel the same about workin' Sunday as I do."
Clover whispered to Sam. "Do you understand a word this guy is saying?"
Sam whispered back. "Barely."
They entered the office and sat down in the chairs in front of the desk. The walls were decorated with pictures of Byrum and his staff at various events, as well as some of their bigger stories. Many of these consisted of UFO sightings, conspiracy theories, and major events in the local area. Byrum took his seat and addressed them. "Now, what can I do ya for?"
"What?"
"How can I help you ladies?"
Sam started small. The big questions could come later. "Well, our first question is, why run a small paper like this when the Times-Picayune pretty much dominates the area?"
"The answer to that is, New Orleans is a big city, and lots happens in a big city. Too much for one paper if you ask me."
"So what kind of stories do you cover?" asked Clover.
"Mostly the smaller stories the big fellas don't cover. I like to think of this paper as very community-oriented. That's why we don' have a world news section unless we feel it affects the community."
"Like the bebette?"
"Now that is an odd little item. Y'see, the thing's been spotted in places all over the city, even in crowded places like Bourbon Street an' the French Quarter, but the Times is real reluctant to run it. So, we took up the slack an' started interviewin' witnesses and printing the stories."
"How has that gone?" asked Sam.
"The papers are selling like hotcakes sha. It'll be a shame when they catch it."
"What makes you sure they will?"
"Oh, they will. I already had Animal Control, the FBI, the INS, and Wildlife and Fisheries drop by and ask strange questions."
"I'll bet all this intrigue makes for some good stories in the paper." Said Alex.
Byrum chuckled. "Les' just say I'm finally renovatin' the kitchen."
"So who all's seen it?"
"It's a pretty long list, actually. The thing's been sighted all over town, but only a few people have had a real good look at it."
"Can we take a look at it?" asked Sam.
"What for?"
"Curiosity."
Byrum studied them for a moment, and then shrugged. "I don't see why not. They can only tell you what they've told me. Wait here a minute." He left the office.
As soon as he was gone, Clover spoke her mind.
"Sam, coming here was a bad idea."
"Huh? Why? We haven't been here an hour and we've already got a lead."
"Sam, these people can't speak a syllable right, their sense of fashion is decades old, and this humidity is going to kill my hair!"
"Come on, Clover. We're in the Deep South. Of course these people aren't going to behave like its Beverly Hills. What were you expecting?"
Clover shrugged. "I don't know. Plantation owners, maybe?"
Alex suppressed a laugh. "Clover, that was years ago. People don't live like that anymore!"
"Well if I can't tell the difference between an oyster fisher and a newspaper editor, then something is seriously wrong!"
Now it was Sam's turn to start laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Only you would expect people to act the same way in every part of the world, Clover."
"What, there's something wrong with that?"
Byrum returned with a folder and laid it in front of the girls. "For security reasons, we don't have the list on the network. Hackers are breaking in almost every day and rooting around the system. We think that's what they're looking for."
"Why would they go to that kind of trouble?" asked Clover as she looked over the list.
Byrum shrugged. "Beats me, sha. All they have to do is ask and I'll send 'em a copy. But with all this hoopla over a list, I've been reluctant to hand it out to anyone."
Sam sensed a potential roadblock in their investigation. They needed that list!
"So, what are the chances of us getting a copy of it?"
"Slim to none if I think you're from the government. Ah don't trust those guys."
Alex put on her most innocent look. "Do we really look like we're from the government?"
"Heh, I guess not." He slid the folder to them. "The witnesses are ordered alphabetically on the first page, and according to how good their descriptions were on the second. Just what did you want it for anyhow?"
"Well, we were going to ask a few of these people about how the interviews went and do a little mini-column as part of our report."
Byrum snorted. "There is no such thing as a mini-column, petite. You either have a column or you don't have one."
Clover glanced at her watch. "We should really get going. We have a lot of work to do today."
"Well, I'm glad I could be of service ladies. I'll have Johnny give y'all a packet with the paper's history in it."
"Thank you. 'Y'all' have a good day, hear?"
Byrum snorted again. "I knew you wasn't from around here. That was the worst attempt at an accent I ever heard."
Clover started to get indignant, but decided he wasn't worth it. Instead she smiled and said, "Well, I try!"
-
A while later, the spies found themselves standing outside of a restaurant. The sign read, "Roy's Catering and Restaurant." It was a smallish place that shared a parking lot with a hardware store and dry cleaner. The curtains were drawn in all the windows, preventing them from seeing inside.
"This is the place?" asked Alex.
Sam checked the list. "Yep. This is the right address."
"Took us long enough to find the place. We must have passed it at least six times."
"Typical for a hole in the wall, if you ask me" said Clover.
"Doesn't look like a hole to me."
Sam and Clover rolled their eyes and let that comment pass.
"Come on," said Clover. "We've still got a case to wrap up." She pushed the heavy oak doors open, stepped inside, and immediately gagged on the smoky atmosphere within.
"Phew, it stinks in here!" said Sam.
Alex looked around the room while holding her nose. "And it's empty, too."
Sam and Clover stopped gagging long enough to look around. Sure enough, the restaurant was devoid of customers. The old metal chairs were still stacked on the round wooden tables, and a stage at one end of the room sat cold and unlit. Upon closer inspection, Sam found the tables were also old and worn, stained by a hundred old spills and the hundreds of meals eaten on it. The rest of the restaurant looked no better. It had obviously been around for many years, and even seen a flood or two.
"Sammie, this place is dirtier than the underside of my bed! Can we please go?"
"I guess so. It doesn't look like anyone's-"
Just then, a large black man walked out of the kitchen, drying his hands and smiling at the visitors.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselles! The restaurant's open at seven, but you're welcome to place a reservation or a catering order."
Sam stepped forward and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Sam, and this is Alex and Clover. We were hoping you'd let us interview you about the, uh…"
"The monster, right?"
"Er, yeah. Is there a problem?"
"Aw, no problem! You'll just have to do it in the kitchen, 'cuz I'm kinda busy right now. Just don't touch anything that might be hot, 'cuz it probably is. By the way, I'm Roy."
They followed him out of the dark and dingy dining room and into the cleaner, but noisier kitchen. The smell of years of cigarettes and alcohol was replaced by the warm, steamy aroma of simmering stews and the pungent Several large pots lay about the room, most of them cooking something. Roy stopped in front of a cutting board and started chopping celery.
"So," began Sam, "when did you see it?"
"Last time was a couple of days ago, a little after we closed."
"Last time?"
"Yeah, he keeps coming back here and rummaging the dumpster. I think he's got a thing for my cooking."
Alex leaned over a pot and inhaled. "Mmm, no wonder. It smells delicious!"
Roy patted his belly. "It'll fatten you up good, too!" He scraped the celery into a bowl and mixed it into the other ingredients.
"What is this?"
"Gumbo. It's not quite ready yet, but I can hook you up with a cup if you like."
"No thanks, I'm just curious." Alex made a mental note to get some before they left town.
Sam got back to the question at hand. "So where did you see it?"
"The dumpster. Here, I'll show you." He led them out the back door. A lean-to formed a covered porch, where a younger man reading a magazine sat near a burner heating a huge cast-iron pot.
Roy pointed at the dumpster. "That's where I usually see him. He usually comes from the swamp." He pointed at a line of trees a short distance from the building.
"So what's it look like?" asked Clover.
"He's a little taller than me. Got these weird backwards legs, like a bird's legs or something. He's real strong, too. And fast. First time I saw him, he took off into the swamp before I even knew what I was lookin' at."
"Is that all you saw?"
"Like I said, this was early in the morning, before sunrise. It's awful dark out there, y'know."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Roy went back into the kitchen and started stirring one of the pots. Alex looked around and noticed all the food. "Man, you're making a lot. Is it going to be that busy?"
"Probably not. Most of this is for a party in a few hours."
"That's a lot of food for one party." Sam commented.
Roy grinned. "Y'all aren't from around here, are ya?"
"Er, no we aren't."
Roy covered the pot. "Down here, parties are almost synonymous with food. If someone's throwing a party, you can guarantee there's gonna be some prime food as well. "
"Really?"
"Yeah. That's how it is in Louisiana – any excuse for a party. Why else do you think we have Mardi Gras?"
Alex scratched her head. "Because you like to eat good food?"
Roy waved a dripping ladle in her direction. "Now you're getting it! We might just make a Cajun out of you yet!"
Alex wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of living on the bayou for the rest of her life. "Shouldn't we get going, guys?"
"Just one more question" said Sam. "Has it tried to hurt you any?"
"No. Not yet, anyway. Usually it just gobbles down what it can and takes off like a rocket."
"Usually?"
"Well, sometimes it hangs around for a bit and searches the area, like it's looking for something. Or maybe waiting for it. All I know is, it ain't here for no reason, and I'd hate to find out what that reason is."
-
Hours later…
The girls plopped down on a bench in front of a restaurant. Dusk was approaching, and so far they'd had no good leads to the creature's whereabouts, its intentions, or its actions. All of the witnesses saw the same things; an unusual creature that stood upright, slinking around in the dark with some sort of intent. Sadly, after the interview with Roy, most of the witnesses were utter nutjobs or their testimony was simply useless. On top of all that, the girls were now exhausted from running all over New Orleans.
Alex leaned back over the bench and sighed loudly. "Okay, we've seen more of New Orleans in a day than most people see in a lifetime. What did we find out?"
Clover removed a shoe and started rubbing her foot. "Public transportation is underrated."
Sam wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You can keep this place. Give me Southern California back!"
"I sorta meant about the mission and all."
"Oh." Replied Sam and Clover.
Sam took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Well, the 'creature' doesn't work one area, since it's been seen all over town. It hasn't attacked anyone yet, but it's obviously big and strong."
Clover drew a bottle of water from her purse and took a swig. "So what do we do? Roy was the only one who's seen it regularly. Should we stake out his place?"
Sam sighed heavily. "Might as well. So far this case is going nowhere fast." She looked at her watch. "Ugh, but it's a long way to his restaurant, and his place closes at 3 am."
Alex stretched and snickered. "I don't think GLADIS is going to be very happy with us."
Sam looked at Alex for a moment, and then snorted. "Yeah, I'd love to stick it to that overclocked nanny for once."
Clover put her shoe back on. "So, are we going back to Roy's place?"
Sam leaned back. "Not yet. We've got time."
They sat in silence for a while, too tired to talk about anything. Clover opened her Compowder and started checking her voicemails. Sam opened her compact and started reapplying her makeup. Alex let her mind wander for a bit, and then she started hearing something. It was coming from behind them. She looked back and found the sound was music from the restaurant behind them. She could distinctly hear a drum softly accompanying a piano, but it was unlike the music she listened to. It had regular rhythm and meter, but it kept changing, like the pianist was making it up as he went along. But the song's structure stayed the same, even as the notes changed and the song rose and fell. It was more like he was composing it on the spot.
"Huh."
"What is it?" asked Clover.
"That music."
Sam and Clover turned and listened. "I think that's what they call Jazz" said Sam. "They say it was born in this city, you know."
"It's nice," said Alex. "Think we can go in and listen? You did say we have some time to kill."
"'Fraid not, kiddo" said Clover, indicating a sign on the door that read "No Minors."
"Aww."
A bus rumbled by, drowning out the softly rising and falling notes from within. Sam stood up. "Well, let's get going. We should head back to the jet and get our gear. All I've got is the Spider-Snare."
"And I've just got that bracelet" said Clover. "Not like it's of any use, but still!"
Alex stood up with them. "I suppose we should go, then!"
They started walking down the street towards the bus stop. A haggardly old woman approached them in the dusky light, and the girls took care not to get her attention by talking among themselves and generally ignoring her. But as they passed each other, the woman suddenly grabbed Sam's arm and looked her in the eye with her one good eye.
"Yooor lookin' for somethin', are yeh?"
The woman smelled to high heaven of cigarette smoke and several things Sam couldn't identify. Her blind eye, though pale and sightless, still appeared to have some sort of sight within it. A number of charms hung from her clothing and body.
Sam decided the best thing would be to humor this old lady until they could get ahold of a cop or get away. "Um, yes we are."
"But youuu don' know what yer lookin' fer, do yeh?"
"Um, that's none of your business, ma'am! Now please let go!"
The woman only tightened her grip on Sam's arm. "I'm warnin' yeh, chirren, don' go lookin' fer what yeh don' know!"
"You're not making any sense."
"That's 'cause yoor not listenin'! You seek th' devil himself, and youu wanna ketch 'im? Youse askin' fer death, chile!"
Alex and Clover started to pry the old woman off Sam, but Sam stopped them. "Wait, you know what we're looking for? What can you tell us about it?"
"He don' belong here. No, not in this world. He not made by Gawd or anythin' nat'ral."
"You've seen it?"
"Seen it? I knows it! It don' got no place here, so it wan' out!"
"Out of the city?"
The old woman rapped Sam on the head with her cane. "Don' you listen to yer elders? Iss not nat'ral! Oh, you poor chirren!" She pressed a charm into Sam's hand and let go of her arm. "Gawd have mercy on all you pretty chirren." She hobbled down the street away from the bewildered spies.
Sam rubbed her head where the old woman hit her and looked at the charm. It was made of crude materials – glass beads and hemp – but it was expertly tied. "A good luck charm?"
Alex shrugged. "I dunno. What a crazy old lady."
"You said it." Sam pocketed the charm – which she noticed smelled like the old lady – and started walking down the street again. Streetlights came on as shadows grew, driving them back as the night enveloped the city. Clover thought she heard something and looked back.
Sam stopped. "What is it?"
"I thought I heard something. Probably just a cat."
"Probably."
They walked a short ways before Alex looked back and stood motionless for some time.
"You hear something, too?" asked Clover.
"I think we're being followed."
Sam looked around, but couldn't see anything unusual. "Stay calm. Let's keep going, but keep your senses sharp."
They kept walking. Their eyes were looking straight ahead, but their minds were focused on everywhere else. Every shadow turned into a potential ambush site. Every mailbox turned into a potential hiding spot. Every side street looked like a darkened gateway to danger. They hurried between each halo cast by the streetlights, probing the air with their trained senses for danger.
Then they all heard something at once.
They spun around in a flash and prepared for combat. Then they saw their assailant. A stray cat was sitting on the sidewalk and staring at them. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Aww, it's just a little kitty!" said Alex before a clawed hand grabbed her by the collar from above and tossed her into a side street.
Sam and Clover quickly backed away and looked up. Partially obscured by the darkness, the attacker clung to the side of a building and stared at them menacingly. It let go of the building and landed heavily on the sidewalk in front of Sam and Clover. It glanced up at them, then back at Alex, who was just getting back on her feet.
"It's him! I mean it! I mean…get it!"
Sam started to reach for the Spider-Snare. The creature hissed at her and closed the distance with Alex in a single bound.
"Alex! Look out!"
Alex recovered her senses just as a towering form appeared in front of her. It swung at her with its claws and missed as Alex ducked and rolled out of the way. He swung at her again. Alex parried the attack, but the force threw her backwards several feet. She stopped herself as Sam and Clover caught up.
"Sam, is this it?" she asked.
The creature backed away from them as it observed them. It stepped into a dim light and the girls got their first good look at it. The creature stood about 6'6", but it was crouched into a fighting stance, giving it a height of about 6' even. It stood on a pair of powerful legs that were jointed like a bird's feet or those of a cat. Its torso and arms were sleek and covered in well-toned muscles under its clothing. A long neck connected its head to its shoulders, and the head was long and pointed like a reptile's. Only the eyes still looked human. Attached to the right arm was a long blade that was folded away, and the left arm was outfitted with a small cannon of some sort attached to a backpack via a cable.
"Yep, I'd say this is our beast."
The creature hissed at them and raised its left arm and the device began to hum and glow.
Sam began to run. "Scatter!"
The girls ran as the creature tried to shower them with glowing bolts of energy. The shots hissed and burned brick and concrete, setting fire to anything that could burn. Sam and Alex took cover in an alcove as the creature peppered their location with fire. It started to change position to fire on them when it spotted Clover making a break for it.
"Clover, look out!" yelled Alex as the creature opened fire on Clover.
Clover looked back and straight down the barrel of the monster's weapon. She drew her Tornado Blast and pulled the trigger. Much to her surprise, the debris littering the street started moving towards her.
"Oh no! I had it on reverse!"
The creature fired a burst of plasma. Clover saw the white-hot bolts heading for her and braced for the end. But it never came. The bolts' courses staggered and diverted, heading straight for Clover's Tornado Blast. Clover felt the device shudder as each shot entered the muzzle. The device got louder with each absorbed shot and began heating up.
"What the?"
The monster looked equally perplexed. It lowered its cannon and blinked in confusion. Then its eyes narrowed in fury and it raised the cannon again.
"Oh, no you don't!" Clover reversed the setting and pulled the trigger. A massive stream of energy poured out of the Tornado Blast and flooded the narrow street. The creature vanished in the blinding light as it swept down the road.
When the energy wave dissipated, Clover was left holding the smoldering remains of her Tornado Blast. She tossed it away as Alex and Sam emerged from their hiding place. "They just don't make those things like they used to."
Sam looked around. "Did you get it?"
"Well I sure don't see it anymore."
They heard a loud "click" and looked up. The creature was airborne and bearing straight down on them with its blade extended. The girls jumped away as it landed right where they were and plunged the blade into the pavement. Clover charged it, believing the blade stuck. Much to her chagrin, it wasn't. The creature smoothly removed it from the pavement and tore at her with renewed fury. The long, curved blade sang as it swung at her again and again. Clover was pushing her reflexes to their limits to keep away from the creature's weapon.
Sam and Alex attacked it with flying kicks. It saw them coming at the last second and sidestepped Alex and grabbed Sam by the face with its free hand. It spun around with her and threw her down the street before turning on Alex and Clover without missing a beat.
They didn't have time to worry about Sam, because the creature was on top of them in the blink of an eye.
The tip of the blade traced long, graceful arcs through the air as it slashed and swung at Alex and Clover. They were managing to dodge its attacks, but it was so fast they couldn't find time to counterattack. Sam returned from her trip down the street and jump-kicked it square in the back when it wasn't looking. It staggered forward half a step and stopped. It looked over its shoulder at Sam with a very annoyed look on its face.
Sam smiled and sweatdropped before getting backhanded back down the street.
That was the distraction the other two needed. Alex kicked hard at its head and connected. The unexpected blow stunned the creature, giving Clover a shot. She charged forward and elbowed it in the solar plexus, causing it to bend over. Then they both attacked furiously, raining blow after blow on the creature. It started backing off, unable to counter their assault.
Finally, it growled angrily and went on the offensive. Alex and Clover dodged away from each other as it lunged at them. It grabbed Clover by her neck and kicked Alex, sending her flying. It lifted Clover into the air as she struggled in its iron grasp, and then threw her into a pile of garbage. Clover regained her equilibrium just as the creature fired another salvo with its cannon.
Alex and Sam saw it happen like it was a dream. A stream of energy bolts streaked towards the immobile Clover. She vanished in a cloud of dust and debris as the bolts seared the walls and trash around her.
"CLOVERRR!"
The creature ceased firing and lowered its cannon. Its lips cracked into a smile as a low, gravelly laugh issued from its throat. All three of them stared in silence at the dust cloud where Clover had been moments ago. The dust began to settle after a moment, and the creature tilted its head to one side and uttered a sound that resembled a "huh?"
The dust cleared, and Clover was still there. Her arm was extended, the Zero-Point Bracelet glowing brightly. The lights stayed on for a couple of seconds and then died. Clover looked at the bracelet and smiled triumphantly. "Thank yoou, Jerry!"
The monster roared with uncontrollable rage. It charged at Clover with its blade again. She rolled away as it slashed through both wall and pavement with ease. He turned to face the girls just as the Spider-Snare attached to its chest. It looked at the spider-like device, and its eyes widened with realization. Sam waved and smiled at it.
The device's legs extended into thin wires that began wrapping themselves around the creature. First it bound the creature's arms to its sides before binding its legs, causing it to topple over. Unable to use its blade, the creature raged as the wires continued to bind it. Finally, it was secure.
The spies stood for a moment as they caught their breaths. Alex was the first to speak up.
"Well, we caught it."
Clover leaned on her knees. "Yeah, finally."
Sam finally calmed her breathing. "I'm calling Jerry." She opened her Compowder and called him.
"Jerry, we got it."
"You did? Excellent work, spies. I'm sending a pickup team right away."
"What will you do with it?" asked Alex.
"We'll take it into custody and examine it. Right now, you three have school tomorrow."
"Okay, we'll just wait here, then?"
Alex tapped Sam's shoulder. "Uhh, Sammie?"
"What? Oh." Sam looked where Alex was pointing and started getting nervous. The creature was straining against his bonds. Veins were popping up everywhere and its face was strained with the effort. It grunted and its body convulsed with the effort as every one of its powerful muscles strained against the wires holding it down.
"Sam?" said Jerry. "Is there a problem? What's going on?"
With a final colossal effort, the creature broke free. The "unbreakable" wires frayed and snapped and the creature's arms came loose. It used his blade to cut the bonds around his legs and then hopped up onto its feet, its eyes livid with rage. It roared at the spies and flew at them. Sam dodged away and dropped her Compowder as the beast sliced it in two where her head was a moment before. The blade struck the ground with enough force to smash the pavement in and send bits of asphalt flying. It turned around to face the spies and prepared for a death lunge.
"Alright girls, get ready. Here it comes again!"
The creature prepared to jump, and stopped. It looked up to the sky, and then turned to the entrance to the main street. It looked back at the spies and relaxed its muscles. It folded the blade away and picked a device from its belt. It let out another low, grunting laugh again, and threw the device at its feet. The spies were immediately blinded by a brilliant light, into which the creature vanished.
"I can't see!" shouted Clover.
"Just stay where you are and wait for the light to fade!" Sam yelled back.
When the light finally faded, WOOHP vans were pulling up and agents were piling out of them. The girls had a hard time telling to whom the vans belonged due to the many spots in their eyes.
One of the agents approached them. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine, I think." Said Alex. "Where'd it go?"
"I think it got away, ma'am."
The girls looked around. The remains of the Spider-Snare lay on the ground, and the creature was nowhere to be seen.
Sam picked up the broken device and threw it to the pavement. "It got away!"
"'Fraid so, ma'am. We'd better get going before the police show up."
Sam sighed. "Right, right. Let's go, girls."
Clover rubbed her shoulder and rotated her arm. "Man, all this and we still have school tomorrow!"
-
When the plane was airborne for Los Angeles, Sam passed the Aspirin around. She was already starting to feel sore from their intense fight. Clover was looking out the window, and Alex's back was to them as she was hunched over her notebook.
"Aye yi yi, what a night."
"Like, no kidding! Jerry really needs to check his definition of 'unbreakable.'"
"Just what did we fight, anyway? I don't think it was human."
"You're right. There's like no way a human could do that kind of stuff."
"Think it was a robot?" asked Clover without looking at them.
"It's possible." Said Sam. She removed the charm from her pocket and stared at it. "But did you see its eyes? They looked…human."
"Yeah, they were a real pretty shade of blue. A lot like yours…Clover."
An uncomfortable silence pervaded the cabin. Clover finally broke it. "Sam, you don't think…that we're dealing with the same person from Athens?"
"I hope not, Clover." Sam took a deep breath and sank into the plush chair. She caught a familiar scent in the air with that breath. She sniffed a few times. "Hey Clover, do you smell something?"
Clover sniffed the air as well. "Yeah, it smells like that kitchen." She felt her stomach growl. "And it smells delicious. Alex, do you smell it?"
"Nope!" Alex sounded like her mouth was full.
"Alex?" Sam and Clover crept up and looked over Alex's chair. She was hunched over a cup of steaming Gumbo and hastily devouring it. She looked up and saw the hungry look in her friends' eyes. "Oh, no! This is mine, you hear? Stay away! Guys? Guys! AAAH!"