Part 08: Weathering the Storm

Mandy groaned softly and opened her eyes. She felt a bit stiff, having fallen asleep in a pretty awkward position. Her eyes widened when she saw Brittany sleeping peacefully right in front of her, her arms wrapped around Mandy's torso. She hadn't really been held like this before, by anybody, let alone another girl. It felt kind of comforting... but still a bit strange. The boat rocked curiously hard to one side, waking Brittany with a start.

"Huh...?" Brittany grunted dazedly, still half asleep. Mandy stared at her, then shoved her back right off of the bed. Brittany fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Don't touch me like that, sicko!" Mandy shouted.

Brittany raised her hand dazedly. "Good morning Mandy..." Mandy huffed and turned to pull her gloves and boots on while Brittany pulled herself up from the floor. Mandy stood up once she had her boots and gloves in place, putting her hands on her hips and turning back to her light-skinned companion. Brittany was rubbing her head and pulling her boots on.

"I'm going to find out what rocked the boat so hard." Mandy said sharply. Brittany grumpily waved her off, still fumbling with her boots. Obviously Brittany wasn't much of a morning person, so Mandy turned to march to the door... but found it locked. She looked, but couldn't find any kind of locking mechanism on the inside... they were locked in.

"Hey, we're trapped!" Mandy exclaimed.

"I know." Brittany replied calmly from the bed.

"You know?" Mandy whirled on her. "You just let them herd us in here and trap us? You don't know what they plan to do to us!"

"I didn't hear you fighting very hard." Brittany pointed out.

"Well you're the one who's USED to this crap!" Mandy shouted angrily. "How am I supposed to know when someone's leading me into a trap?"

"Relax, chances are they're not going to hurt us." Brittany said.

"How the Hell do you know that?"

"If they were they would've done it by now." Brittany explained with that annoying calmness of hers.

"They're saving us until later to fulfill their sick appetites. I mean look at me. I'm young, I'm beautiful, I'm supple. I'm any guy's dream. It's only a matter of time before one of them storms in here and ravages me!" Mandy's voice grew more panicked with each word. Brittany rolled her eyes and stood up. "We've got to get out of here... we've got to get out of-" Brittany slapped her across the cheek hard enough to sting, but not hurt her too badly.

"Chill out." Brittany demanded. Mandy silently sat down on the bed, staring up at Brittany and holding her red cheek. "They're not going to ravage us. I promise if they try I will stop them. Okay?" Mandy nodded slowly. Suddenly the X-Powder in Brittany's pocket began to beep. Both girls looked down at it in confusion. It wasn't supposed to be working...

Brittany pulled it out and flipped it open. "Jerry?"

The voice on the other end of the line was somewhat garbled, but it came through well enough to be understandable. "All WOOHP agents report to disaster relief areas. The waters are receding but we must act quickly to preserve what resources we have left, and save what people we can who did not make it to safe harbor in time. Repeat, all WOOHP agents report to disaster relief areas."

"Jerry?" Brittany pressed a few buttons, then tapped the side of her X-Powder with no effect. "Jerry, come in. Damnit, the X-Powder must not be strong enough to send a return signal."

"But that's good news, right? He said the floodwaters are going down! Soon everything will be back to normal!" Mandy shouted excitedly.

"Even after the water goes down, it'll be years before anything is normal again, if it ever is." Brittany replied. This brought Mandy's elation down a few notches. Suddenly the door lock clicked and a man pushed it open, stepping inside.

"The captain wants to speak with you." He said coldly. Mandy and Brittany exchanged a glance, then turned toward him.

"Alright, let's go." Brittany said. Mandy gulped and followed as they were led back through the moderately sized ship up to the deck. The sun was high in the sky, and to one side they could see the mountains climbing higher into the sky than they had the night before when they landed on the boat. The man they'd met the night before was standing against the railing, staring out over the water.

Mandy and Brittany walked up behind him, led by the arms by two nearby crewmembers. They waited silently for the man to turn back to them.

"It looks like the waters are receding." He said.

"That it does." Brittany replied, not letting on that they already got a transmission telling them as much.

"What does old Jerry have to say about that, I wonder?" Mac raised one eyebrow. Mandy blinked and looked at Brittany in surprise, but the more experienced spy didn't bat an eyelash.

"I don't know who you're talking about." Brittany said.

Mac smirked and approached her slowly, his hands crossed over his chest as he stared down at the lanky teenage girl. "I know you're working for WOOHP... and I know an opportunity when I see it." Suddenly the other crewmembers grabbed Brittany and Mandy, jerking their arms roughly behind their back and pinning them there with the strength of an iron cuff.

"Hurgh... what're you..." Brittany growled and stared up at the man. "You... look familiar..." She blinked, seeing him clearly in broad daylight for the first time. "Tim Scam!"

"You've heard of me? I'm flattered." Tim smirked.

"All WOOHP agents are warned about you." Brittany growled. "You're the most notorious criminal on WOOHP's database. A vengeful little troll who just can't wrap his brain around the fact he's nothing more than a second rate terrorist with a pitiful vendetta against those more powerful than he is." Tim Scam seemed nonplussed by the scathing description.

"That's the thing about natural disasters. They have a tendency to tip the balance of power." Scam grinned. "One just has to know how to tip it in the right direction."

"You'd use this flood to further your own ambitions?" Mandy exclaimed in shock. "This is a DISASTER and you're thinking of nothing but yourself?" Brittany looked impressed, but Tim Scam did not.

"On the contrary, after a disaster is the best time to look after yourself. Because no one else will." Tim Scam smirked.

"So if nobody's looking out for you, how did you escape prison?" Brittany asked. "If YOU broke out, it would have been all over the WOOHP network. Agents from all over the globe would be hunting you, but I never heard a word."

"Because I just broke out when the floods started. The water shorted out the power to the prison, causing the magnetic locks to open. I simply walked right out... after taking back what's rightfully mine." Scam reached out and touched one of the ship's crewmembers, reaching right into his chest and withdrawing a small ball of liquid silver.

"Ewe, what is that?" Mandy demanded.

"Scamlar. A handy invention I've been improving over time, eliminating weaknesses, improving strengths." He grinned. "By now, it's the most powerful substance on the planet. It was easy to use it to confiscate this ship from its crew and keep myself afloat while the rest of the world drowned. Finding you two in WOOHP uniforms out in the middle of nowhere was simply an added bonus. An opportunity I can't pass up."

"If you're going to threaten us into helping you you're wasting your time. Neither one of us is willing to serve you." Brittany didn't back down, keeping her head high and her back straight. "So take your goo and shove it."

"I don't need your cooperation. Just your DNA." Tim Scam suddenly hurled the silver liquid at her. Brittany tried to dodge, but the crewman behind her was still holding tight, holding her in place while it slammed into her chest, sticking like syrup. It dripped slowly down her chest, moving more quickly as it fell to the floor in front of her.

It expanded and grew until Brittany was facing a carbon copy of herself. "I seem to remember reading that you tried this before." Brittany smirked. "What's the matter? So out of your league you have to rely on old tricks?"

"Old device, new trick." The second Brittany said with a grin, though her eyes remained cold and lifeless.

"This Scamlar is capable of fooling those around it into thinking it's whoever it looks like... namely you." Tim Scam grinned as he approached her. He reached into Brittany's pocket and pulled out her X-Powder, handing it to his duplicate. "Nobody will ever see it coming before it strikes... once it determines the best possible time to bring the most chaos, anyway."

"It'll never work." Brittany argued. "One look in its eyes and they'll know something's wrong."

"Maybe." Tim shrugged. "But WOOHP will undoubtedly be occupied with the relief effort. I doubt anyone will pay such close attention to a random WOOHP agent... she'll be able to walk right up to Jerry and decapitate WOOHP. When that happens, the organization will fall into disarray, and the world will be left without a lifeline... until I come along to pick up the pieces that is."

"So you play the hero and wait for the nations of the world to declare you some kind of ruler." Brittany smirked. "I read you were out for revenge, when did you become interested in world domination?"

"Sometimes success is the sweetest revenge against those who hate you." Scam replied, then turned to his other crewmembers. "I don't need them anymore, take them below deck and get rid of them permanently. I don't need them sending out a warning or escaping." The crewmembers nodded and turned to head to the door that led down into the boat, shoving Mandy and Brittany along in front of them.

"Brittany, I think it's time to keep your promise of protecting me!" Mandy struggled, but she couldn't even begin to break her captor's grip.

"I'm thinking!" Brittany shouted back. The Scamlar sailors pushed them back into the room they were trapped in before, closing the door behind them and shoving them onto the bed. Each one pulled out a gun, the hammers clicking softly as they were pulled back to a ready position. "Gotta be a gadget or something..." Brittany said through gritted teeth.

"I'm too beautiful to die!" Mandy screamed as the Scamlar sailors leveled their weapons at the two spies. Brittany leapt from the bed in a spin, her foot lashing out in a wide arc. The sailors' hands liquefied on impact, the guns flying across the room. Brittany landed and in one swift move plunged her hand into one of the men's chests, but her hand embedded itself in the silvery substance, trapped.

"Damn liquid metal!" Brittany shouted, trying to pull her hand free. Suddenly she gasped. "Metal! That's it! I-" Her voice muffled as the sailor slapped a hand over her mouth, gripping her face tightly and pulling her close. It shoved her back suddenly, sending her flying into the wall with a violent impact. She grunted and slid down the wall limply.

Mandy slid back across the bed, trying to put as much distance between herself and the approaching Scamlar minions as she could. "C... come on... can't we work this out?" Mandy squeaked as their hands reshaped themselves into glittering silver blades the size of her arm. "I won't tell anyone! I'll keep quiet!" She screamed as they raised their blades over their heads.

Brittany howled as she charged in from the side, swinging her fist in a heavy punch. All three Scamlar sailor flew across the room as if hit by a wrecking ball, splattering into liquid silver chunks on impact. The liquid dripped slowly down the walls, already beginning to collect at the bottom. Mandy stared at Brittany in awe.

"How did you do that?" Mandy asked in amazement.

Brittany held up her arm, pointing to a pink bracelet. "High-Sensitivity Electromagnetic Bracelet. Can be set to repel metal. Now come on, we have to get out of here." Brittany grabbed her hand and yanked her up from the bed, running for the bedroom door. She kicked it hard enough to knock it off the hinges and ran out into the hall, glancing around quickly.

"This way!" Brittany pulled Mandy down the hall at a run. They took several passageways until suddenly they rounded a corner and came face to face with another Scamlar soldier. Brittany let out a scream and bent over backwards, narrowly avoiding the silver blade that passed right over her chest. She stood up straight and thrust her bracelet-wrapped hand forward, sending the soldier flying back into the wall.

"Over there!" Mandy shrieked and pointed as several more soldiers came barreling toward them from another hallway.

"This boat's gonna be swarming with them soon." Brittany said. "Head back the way we came quickly!" She held up her hand as the soldiers approached, but even as they swung their blows veered off-course or simply stopped in mid-air as if striking a wall. Mandy nodded and turned to run back toward their room, but let out a shriek and skidded to a stop to avoid slamming into more Scamlar minions.

Mandy ducked just in time to avoid the thing's blade, which cut the air inches away from her scalp. Her own hair rained down around her as she stood and backed away furiously toward Brittany. "Can't go this way!" Mandy shouted frantically. More soldiers were filing around the corner, moving toward her slowly with long hand/blades at the ready.

"No way to get away... gonna have to go through them." Brittany said.

"What? Are you insane?" Mandy shouted. Brittany put an arm around her waist and pulled her close, still holding the bracelet up in front of her.

"Stay close to me, and run on my signal." Brittany said. Mandy nodded and watched as the Scamlar soldiers struggled to get through the magnetic field, swinging their blades and lunging at them desperately. "NOW!" Brittany charged forward, bringing her arm back and swinging it in a wide arc to send those minions within range flying down the hall.

The two spies charged down the hall, running through small pools of silver on their way through. Brittany swept her arm at any others minions that approached, sweeping them into the wall with sickening splats. Finally they found the stairs and charged up them, running for the door with all their might. They hands were locked together, holding tightly.

They emerged onto the deck of the ship after breaking through the door, coming to a sudden stop. Tim Scam was standing on the other side of a veritable sea of minions. Apparently this stuff was good at replicating itself somehow... there had only been a fraction this many the night before.

"You WOOHP agents are so annoying. There's nowhere for you to go you know. Even if you get off my ship, it's only a matter of time before you drown." Tim Scam said. "It's hopeless."

"It's hopeless when we give up." Brittany released Mandy's hand and discreetly began to remove her bracelet. "And that's something we'll never do."

"Inspirational, but futile. Even your gadgets can't stop a bullet." Scam replied. His minions each raised a gun, leveling them at the spies with deadly accuracy. Mandy gulped and took a step back, but Brittany didn't flinch, clutching the bracelet in one hand. She reached back and grabbed Mandy's hand as well, squeezing it tightly.

"Don't need to stop them. Just avoid them." Suddenly Brittany thrust her hand toward the side of the ship, letting the bracelet go flying. The Scamlar minions between them and the side of the ship flew in every direction as the powerful electromagnet passed, splattering onto the deck of the ship or flying overboard. This opened up a clear path to the edge of the ship. "Come on!"

Brittany and Mandy darted through the gap in the enemies, keeping low and moving fast to avoid the hail of gunfire that erupted around them. Mandy's heart was pounding like a drum. She probably wouldn't have been able to move if not for Brittany pulling her along. And her heart must have stopped when they leapt over the side of the boat, bullets flying through the air on every side of them like hailstones.

They hit the water and sank beneath the waves, still holding hands tightly. Mandy started to swim back up to the surface, but bullets cut through the water all around her. Brittany yanked her to the side, swimming away from the large fishing boat as fast as she could. Mandy pumped her legs, trying to keep herself calm despite the bullets falling down on every side of her.

They swam until stars began to show in Mandy's vision. But soon the hail of gunfire subsided and Mandy could no longer see the boat behind them. Brittany turned upward, breaking the surface of the water. Mandy gulped the air in greedily, the stars dissipating from her vision as she slowly caught her breath.

"We've got to... find a way... to warn... WOOHP..." Brittany said between deep breaths, looking as worn as Mandy felt from the lack of oxygen. "You still have your X-Powder... give it here." Mandy reached into her pocket and pulled out the pink compact to hand it to her. Brittany opened it, then swore softly to herself. "Damnit... it must've been fried when you were electrocuted..."

"Speaking of which, why aren't we frying now?" Mandy asked. "We're still in Vegas aren't we?"

"The generators must've flooded and stopped working." Brittany sighed and dropped the useless gadget into the water with a small plunk. "We're stranded out here..."

"Don't you have some kind of gadget or something we can use to wait until the water goes back down?" Mandy asked.

"Hmmm..." Brittany started searching through her pockets with her hands, her tongue sticking cutely out of the side of her mouth in concentration. "Can't find anything... check your suit."

Mandy started rummaging through her own pockets, finding things she'd never felt before. She dragged out as many as she could and held them up out of the water. "Any of this turn into a boat or a life preserver or something?" Brittany took them and looked them over.

"I don't recognize half of these..." She said.

"You're the expert. Shouldn't you know what you brought with you?" Mandy asked in surprise.

"I'm still new at this okay? I've only been a WOOHP agent for a few months." Brittany replied irritably.

"Fantastic. I'm stuck with a rookie." Mandy grumped. She grunted when her head plunged under the water. She heaved and pulled her head out of the water, coughing and sputtering. She hadn't even noticed her limbs were giving out... she was getting tired. "Just find something." Mandy's voice shook nervously as she struggled to keep out of the water.

"Nothing." Brittany grunted in frustration and threw the useless pile of gadgets into the water. She looked around, then her eyes widened. "Hey, I see-" Her voice was lost as Mandy fell into the water again. She struggled to get back to the surface, but her limbs refused to move. She began to panic before she felt a pair of hands grab her arms, hauling her to the surface again.

Mandy coughed and sputtered, leaning back against her savior. "Thanks..." She said softly.

"Don't mention it." Brittany replied. "Come on, I see a table floating over here. We can rest on that." Mandy was pulled through the water as Brittany moved toward the table, keeping an arm around Mandy's chest to hold onto her. They finally reached the thick wooden table and Brittany pushed her up onto it carefully, letting her sprawl out on the surface.

Mandy panted and closed her eyes, happy to be able to let her muscles relax for a while. She opened them in a moment and looked over to see Brittany still in the water holding onto the table.

"Why don't you get on too?" Mandy asked.

"We'd weigh too much together, we might sink it." Brittany brushed a few small plastic chips away as they floated by her. Mandy blinked and looked behind her to see all kinds of things floating idly through the water. Playing cards, poker chips, chairs, all kinds of things undoubtedly floating up from Las Vegas' world-famous casinos.

"We're floating over the city." Mandy realized.

"Yeah... hey, check it out!" Brittany pointed suddenly, her eyes going wide. Mandy looked at her, then turned to look across the water. They saw a massive structure sticking up out of the water. It was dull gray and looked weathered by the flood, but it was still standing, not floating.

"Has the water gone down that much? But I don't see any other buildings." Mandy said confusedly.

"It's the Stratosphere Tower. Tallest building in the Western United States. Come on, we can hole up there and stop floating." Brittany swam toward it, pushing the table in front of her. She grunted and strained as she swam, obviously getting more tired by the second. Mandy watched her for a moment, then looked up as they reached the edge of the massive tower top.

Mandy grabbed the rails and pulled herself over them easily, her feet landing ankle deep in water on the top of the tower. She wasn't sure how tall it was, but even it must have been submerged completely at the height of the flood.

Brittany pushed the table aside and swam up to the rail. She grabbed the top and tried to pull herself up, but a small squeak of pain escaped from her lips and she fell back into the water. Mandy ran over and reached down to grab her quickly, pulling her out and up over the railing with a mighty heave. They lay on the ground, panting heavily.

"Does it seem like... we've been doing the same things... over and over...?" Mandy asked.

"Running from Mother Nature will do that to ya..." Brittany groaned tiredly. Mandy chuckled and sighed, staring up at the pure blue skies overhead. No more rising waters to outrun. No more maniacs to escape from. No more mountains to climb. Maybe things would finally calm down and they could move on with something less tiring.

"What do we do now...?" Mandy asked curiously.

"We get to WOOHP... try to warn Jerry. I just hope we're in time..." Brittany replied warily. And here they were trapped once again... well maybe their luck would start to turn around from here on out.

TO BE CONTINUED