Part 11: Phoenix Wish

The WOOHP jet flew over the water, spotting occasional patches of land after the several hour flight from WOOHP headquarters to the Egyptian desert where their parents had been vacationing. The sand had swept into the ocean, and there were occasionally sea-creatures lying buried in it as it settled down once again. Sam didn't recognize some of them at all, probably deep-sea creatures that were pulled in by the flood never seen before by man. It would've seemed more fascinating if she wasn't so worried about her mother.

Soon they left the water behind and went into hover mode over the relatively dry land toward the center of the country. The ship set down beside a small series of tents that had been hastily erected once dry land had begun to emerge. People were either resting or flitting about nervously, some shouting angrily at the sky in a language Sam couldn't understand, and others openly weeping.

"Welcome, girls." A man approached them with a thick, but understandable Arabic accent. "I was informed of your arrival... I absolutely welcome you to our humble little rescue effort." His face looked worn and tired, but still he greeted them with a smile and gestured toward one of the tents. "May I interest the heroines of the Earth in a meal?"

"Thanks, but if it's all the same to you, I think we'd rather get down to business." Sam said. Clover and Alex nodded in agreement at her sides.

"Of course... is there anything I can do for you?" The helpful guide asked.

"We're looking for someone. Have you seen Gabriella Simpson around here?" Sam asked worriedly. "She's American... brown hair, green eyes, a little taller than me. Would've been traveling with two other women?"

"I am sorry, I have not seen any Americans around. Do you know where she was staying precisely?" The guide asked.

Sam thought about it desperately, but finally sighed and slumped her shoulders. "No... all I know is the last time she called was from Egypt. She said something about wanting to see the pyramids."

"We get many tourists here for that... though I don't know if that will continue." The guide replied. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I guess not... thanks for your help anyway. We'll look around on our own for a while." Sam replied.

"As you wish. Good day to you girls, and please seek me out if you need anything." The man nodded and turned to walk back to the tents. Sam sighed and turned to her friends, who were both looking down at the sand sadly.

"It looks like if our moms were here, they're not now..." Alex said softly. "Where do you think they'd go?"

"Maybe they decided to go back to the states early... by boat. So they might be floating out at sea right now just waiting for us to find them." Clover insisted. Alex perked up slightly at that, but Sam put one hand on each of their shoulders, drawing their gaze to her.

"Let's not get our hopes up too high girls... logically speaking, they probably..." Sam was interrupted by Clover.

"I don't care what logic says, damnit! They're alive!" Clover shouted. Sam stared at her blankly for a few moments, trying to come up with a response that didn't make her sound like a pure ice-queen. At last she sighed and nodded, giving her blonde friend a slight smile.

"Yeah... they're fine..." Sam said softly. "Come on... this heat is killing me. Let's find some shade and plan out our next moves." She turned to walk toward the tents with Clover. It took them a while to realize Alex wasn't following them. They turned to see their brunette friend staring out across the ocean, to where one of the pyramids was slowly emerging from the water. "Alex?"

"They said they were going to see the pyramids right...?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. So?" Clover asked irritably.

"But the guide said he never heard of them." Alex turned back to them, crossing her arms curiously around her chest. "If he was part of the pyramid tour groups, wouldn't he remember them if they came to look at the pyramids?" Sam and Clover paused. She was right... if they had been part of a tourist group coming here, the guide would have remembered them. They weren't exactly easy to forget.

"I don't get it... why would they lie about something like that?" Clover asked.

"Maybe they didn't..." Sam muttered. "Maybe our oh-so-responsible mothers just didn't take the tour." Sam looked over her shoulder. The soaked remnants of the tour lodge were sitting behind her. The pyramid in front of her was the closest to the lodge... it was also the one Professor Zero had been using as his base. "Maybe they went in the wrong pyramid at the wrong time."

"Professor Zero!" Alex gasped in horror. "What if he did something to them? He was totally psycho, he might've..."

"We don't deal in what-ifs Alex. We find out the truth." Sam grabbed her elbow as she passed, marching toward the pyramid. Silently Alex and Clover followed close behind her. Soon the pyramid loomed large before them. They had been here just two days before, but it looked so different now. The water rose up to their calves as they approached the out-of-place looking steel doors.

They made their way inside, feeling their way through until they saw the light of Processor Zero's lair from the ceiling up ahead. They hadn't bothered to conduct a thorough search of it when they first apprehended them. Normally once they caught the bad guy, they were done with the hideout. And they had no idea what to expect in here, since they'd only explored a small portion of it.

They pulled themselves up into the atrium, where Alex put her hands on her hips and looked around. "So how do we start looking?" She asked.

"You two search on foot, I'll see if Professor Zero's computer files turn up anything about intruders before we arrived." Sam said.

"Roger." Alex and Clover turned to head deeper into the bottled jungle while Sam made her way back to the command console near the back of the room. She booted it up and began to poke through various files, searching for any sign of women, or intruders, or intruding women. All he found however were logs of the environmental conditions surrounding each species of plant. Everything from sunlight intensity to humidity were carefully measured.

"Come on... this is the only possible lead we got." Sam cancelled the searches and began poking through his files one by one. All kinds of technical garbage relating to the pyramid and its modifications, but still nothing about security logs. At last she saw a single file in the security section of the mainframe, a security recording marked with a star.

She quickly brought it up on screen, and immediately saw an image of three women moving into the tunnel. Flashlights lit their way, and Sam watched as they discovered and approached the security camera.

"Wow, they're right when they say those ancient Egyptians had good security measures." Alex's mother Carmen quipped.

"Who do you think put it here?" Gabby rubbed her chin in confusion. "Who COULD have put it here? This entire place is solid."

"Hey, look what I found!" Stella shouted from off-camera. Gabby and Carmen moved to follow her. They moved out of the camera's range, and their voices faded into the distance. The file ended when there was no trace of them left.

Sam stared grimly at the screen. This must've been why the steel doors over the entrance were installed... their mothers discovered this hiding place several days before the gravity machine was activated. But what had Professor Zero done with them? She was about to turn away when she noticed a symbol in the lower right corner of the screen. Symbol... it looked more like a distortion in the video, but there was definitely a pattern.

Sam tried to enhance it, but the distortion remained elusive. She plopped herself down in the chair and got to work, so focused on the task at hand that the world around her faded into the background. She stared at it, trying everything she could think of to bring it to light. Somehow she knew this would reveal Professor Zero's mysterious benefactor. After all, he was an ex-con, not a multi-billionaire like some villains they'd faced. His money had to come from somewhere.

At last, she managed to amp the contrast up beyond its maximum level, and the image came clearly into view. Her heart skipped several beats, her very blood running cold as she stared at the shining WOOHP logo in front of her. She didn't believe her own eyes in that instant... she must have been dreaming, or hallucinating. Jerry would never...

She didn't have long to examine it before the computer gave out from the strain of producing the image. Smoke began pouring out of the computer's shell and the screen flickered several times before fading into darkness. Sam stared at the monitor for several more minutes, watching the spot where the logo had been shining until she heard a voice behind her.

"Sammie! We found them!" Alex's joyous shout echoed through the pyramid. This drew Sam's mind away from the horror of one discovery, and into the excitement of the first good news she'd had since this all began. She leapt from the computer chair and raced through the pyramid in the direction of Alex's shout. She heard voices from up ahead, squealing and talking in excited tones.

"Sam! My Samantha!" Sam barely broke through the bushes into a small clearing before she found herself wrapped up in her mother's tight embrace. "Oh my God, I was so worried! He kept ranting and raving about doing what had to be done... I thought he killed you... I'm so happy you're safe." Her mother blurted out quickly, pinning Sam to her chest.

"Worried about ME?" Sam pushed back and stared at her mother in amazement. "WE were the worried ones! What were you thinking going into a pyramid without a guide? These things are mazes mother! That was totally irresponsible! What if you got lost, and we were left all alone?" Sam huffed. Gabby stared at her in shock. Sam's friends and their mothers all exchanged a group glance, then busted up into uproarious laughter.

"Well I'll try to be more responsible in the future." Gabby replied with a wry smirk.

"You'd better." Sam huffed. She couldn't maintain the anger when her mother threw an arm around her shoulders, leaning against her gleefully.

"Let's get out of here Samantha. He gave us food while we were here, but we haven't eaten in the last two days and I'm dying for a nice robust meal." She started toward the exit, with Alex, Clover, Stella, and Carmen following close behind them. Sam remained silent. She just didn't have the heart to tell them what had been happening... that the world as they knew it was gone...

And that Jerry might be responsible...

"Anything happen while we've been gone Alex?" Carmen winked and nudged Alex in the ribs.

"No... just worrying about you mommy." Alex flung her arms around her mother's neck again. Clover dutifully 'awwww'ed, not really paying much attention to them. Soon they emerged into the Egyptian desert side by side, the sun high in the sky and the water slowly vanishing. Stella blinked when she saw the water gathered around the pyramid high enough to cover their ankles.

"Well... this is certainly a strange desert environment." Gabby said in amazement.

"We'll tell you all about it on the way back to base, mom." Sam said. Gabby blinked and looked at her steadily, clearly for the first time in full daylight, getting a good look at her green WOOHP jumpsuit.

"What is this base? And what is that you're wearing?" Gabby asked in confusion.

Sam looked down at herself, then looked at her mother. Clover and Alex whistled as their own mothers turned to eye them with growing suspicion.

"Alex? Are you hiding something from me?" Carmen demanded.

"Clover?" Stella added. Neither girl said anything, just trying to whistle and appear innocent.

"We'll explain on the way, okay?" Sam said. "For now let's get out of here. We don't want to stay in the sun too long." Sam turned to walk up the sandy hills toward the lodge, where their WOOHP jet was still waiting to take them back home. The three older women eyed it in amazement, and looked even more amazed when Sam, Alex, and Clover were greeted with respect at the entrance and let inside without question.

"I... I really don't understand..." Gabby sat down as the ship's crew began to make preparations for their flight home.

"Oohh, excellent service though." Carmen snatched up the complimentary peanuts when they were brought by, digging in like she hadn't eaten in several weeks. Stella and Gabby both heard their stomachs growl at the same time. They both blushed in embarrassment.

"Maybe we should get you something to eat before I tell you what's going on." Sam snapped her fingers. "Could we get something good to eat over here please?" Sam yelled. Within minutes the six women had plates of food in front of them... fairly simple room-temperature food, but food nonetheless. Stella, Carmen and Gabby ate with gusto, savoring it after their prison-stay.

"Now what is this all about?" Stella demanded once her stomach had been partially filled. "Why are you being treated like stars? Why was the desert flooded? And what is this 'base' you talked about?" She stared straight at her daughter. Clover coughed and looked at Sam.

"YOU wanted to tell them..." Clover said meekly. So Sam sighed and looked around at the three mothers.

"Alright..." Sam said softly. "Here's everything you need to know..." So she told them everything. About WOOHP, their training, their employment, the missions they'd been on over the years. And of course, she told them about the recent flood that wiped out much of the world's population, Professor Zero, and that they were going to WOOHP headquarters, the only place on the planet that had remained completely safe...

"I don't believe it..." Stella stared at Clover in shock and wonder. "You're a secret agent...?"

"Well, not so secret anymore..." Clover replied. "But I'm still an agent." She smiled jokingly. Her smile faded when her mother just stared at her, unblinking and unspeaking. The silence was growing intolerable until Carmen spoke.

"Well, I think there's only one thing to say..." Carmen cleared her throat and turned toward her daughter. Alex gulped and watched fearfully as the older woman moved closer. "Oh my God oh my God oh my God! I am so proud of you!" Carmen squeezed her daughter tightly, bouncing up and down in her seat and squealing like an excited schoolgirl. "I can't believe my own daughter has been such an important woman this entire time!"

"Uh... thanks... mommy..." Alex breathed around her mother's crushing grip. Gabby turned toward Sam, her eyes narrowing.

"You were accusing ME of being irresponsible and reckless?" She quirked one eyebrow. Sam coughed nervously.

"Hey... I do it for a good cause." Sam said softly. Her mother frowned, but before she could chide her recklessly heroic daughter Stella chimed in with her thoughts on the situation.

"Well if you're grown up enough to be a secret agent you're grown up enough to get your own place." She nodded firmly.

"What?" Clover screamed. "You can't kick me out of the house!"

"You have a job, you can pay for it." Stella said.

"We don't get paid mom, we do it because it's right." Clover retorted.

"Well that's not very good business sense. Okay, you can live with me, and I'll teach you how the real world works." Stella nodded like the discussion was over. Clover grumbled and collapsed back onto her couch. Sam shook her head, bemused at the mother/daughter spectacle. Then to avoid her own mother's disapproving gaze, she turned to look out the window, spotting a familiar sight over the watery horizon.

"Hey, we're almost there." Sam exclaimed.

"Really? Let's see this headquarters of yours." Gabby said interestedly. So everyone quickly moved to the window, watching as the giant 'W' building hove closer, still surrounded by water. They all watched through the window as they moved up over it, going into hover mode and slowly moving down on top of it. They landed easily on the landing pad.

"We've touched down!" No sooner had the pilot made his announcement than the three spies were running out the door, trailed quickly by their mothers. They stopped just off the landing pad.

"Come on, we'll show you to our rooms and you can rest. We'll talk to Jerry about getting you your own rooms too." Alex said. The parents nodded but Sam hesitated a moment before speaking.

"You guys go on ahead, I have to take care of something first." Sam said.

"Is something wrong, honey?" Gabby asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll catch up in a few minutes." Sam waved her off.

"Okay... don't be too long." Gabby turned to follow the others down into WOOHP headquarters. Sam followed them down, but headed off in another direction from their rooms. She was glad to have her mother back... but there was other urgent business she had to take care of now. She stopped outside Jerry's room for a moment, steadying herself before she began to push it open.

The solid steel door to Jerry's office closed with a thunk behind her, as if trapping her in the strange world she'd found herself suddenly a part of. A world where Jerry was no longer a caring boss/father figure... but a criminal capable of genocide on a scale never even dreamed of. Yet his manner was still one of cool kindness and concern as his gaze turned on her from behind his desk.

"Is something the matter, Sam?" He asked innocently. Mentally Sam's conviction wavered... she didn't want to think of Jerry like this, but she could not ignore the possibility. She had to know the truth.

"Are you... is WOOHP responsible for the flood?" Sam asked directly. Jerry didn't seem surprised by the accusation. In fact, he was downright calm and resigned as he stood and approached one of the walls of his office.

"GLADIS, window please." Jerry said. GLADIS beeped in acknowledgement as a section of the wall slid open, revealing the ocean as it continued to lessen. Jerry beckoned Sam closer with a gesture, so Sam approached cautiously. People of all kinds were moving about below on the boats, working to plan the rebuilding of their homes, and their lives. "Tell me Sam, what do you see down there?"

"I see people whose lives were taken by force..." Sam looked at Jerry again, almost willing him to deny her charge. "But... I'm not sure by whom." Sam finished.

"Really?" Jerry asked. "I see peace..." Sam blinked in surprise, never looking away from him. "There is no conflict now. Whoever they were, whatever they believed, has gone by the wayside. I have the names of everyone down there; some were card-carrying Ku Klux Klan members or Neo Nazi Radicals. Now it doesn't matter... those petty social biases and hatreds have been wiped clean." Jerry turned toward her, studying her face. "Unity now has a chance."

"You ARE responsible..." Sam breathed, her heart feeling as if slammed against a block of ice. "How... how could you...?" She stuttered.

"You are familiar with the mythological Phoenix, yes?" Jerry asked. Sam didn't respond, so he continued. "A Phoenix is a bird of flames... it grows to burn bright enough to eclipse the sun itself, in time. But it can only grow so bright in one lifetime. So it burns itself out, only to rise again from its own ashes, destined to grow brighter than in its previous life. Our society... our world... has been on the brink of self-destruction for years. The old world had to burn out before it could grow any brighter."

"You killed billions of people..." Sam said, still feeling numb.

"I regret that... and those lives will be on my conscience for the rest of my life." Jerry's eyes were filled with sadness and conviction. "But I do not regret my decision. It was what had to be done to keep us from destroying the entire planet."

"There had to be another way." Sam insisted futilely.

"I've been looking for one ever since I founded WOOHP... but I found nothing." Jerry shook his head and put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "War was just around the corner... a third World War, with so many nations bearing nuclear arms, would have crippled this planet beyond hope of repair. If I didn't act now... it would have been too late."

Sam looked away. "You used us... and Professor Zero... it was all a play so you could remain blameless..."

"I'm sorry Samantha." Jerry said softly. Sam looked back up at him, feeling the tears of shock and betrayal flowing down her cheeks. "I beg for your forgiveness... the world needs us to be strong and united now more than ever. The slightest shifting in trust could plunge the world into a dark age, where everyone fights each other over every scrap of food and land."

"I... I don't know..." Sam wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand. "I have to think... I need to think about this." She turned away from him quickly, unable to stand the sight of him. She walked quickly to the door and pulled it open. She stopped for a moment when Jerry spoke.

"Even if you cannot forgive me... please understand me." He said softly. Sam left without responding, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it, resting her head back. She knew Jerry was right about one thing... the direction the world had been going before this could have only led to ruin. But still... taking so many lives... it was indefensible, wasn't it? Did the ends justify the means after all...?

She shook her head and turned to walk numbly down the hallway. She stopped at the window at the end of the hall, staring out at the ships far below. She could see the people... All races, religions, and orientations mourning together, and planning the construction of the new city together. The way she saw things, she had two choices now.

She could reveal the truth... condemn Jerry to death, and probably destroy the fragile peace that this disaster has brought the world as anger and tempers flared, everyone declaring themselves the rightful ruler of this existence. Or try to help build a new, peaceful society where everyone is tolerant and equal... all based on the most heinous of lies.

"Sam? Are you okay?" Sam jumped in surprise and quickly wiped at her eyes as Arnold walked up beside her. Arnold looked out the window, standing beside her with his hands jammed into his pockets. "I guess it is all still pretty amazing huh? That everything's changed... in less than a week."

"Yeah..." Sam replied, not really wanting to go into her problem. She had a decision to make, and she had to make it alone. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't get a second opinion. Arnold smiled at her tenderly. "Arnold... do you believe... that good can be accomplished by doing evil?"

"I really don't know." Arnold replied. "I guess it depends on the situation, y'know? I mean, fighting is wrong... but if someone else is being attacked, you're right to fight the attacker, aren't you? You're doing something evil... but you're doing it for a good reason, with a good outcome."

"But what if it hurts countless innocent people...?" Sam asked softly.

"I don't know..." Arnold replied. "I guess it's a matter of opinion and perspective." He reached out and put one hand on her chin, turning her face to look at him with a gentle touch. "Do you know something, Sam? What are you thinking?" Sam just stared at him, letting his hand rest against her cheek. Soon she brushed his hand away and turned her gaze to the window.

"Nothing..." Sam replied. "It was a hypothetical question..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Sam left it at that, staring out the window. Arnold watched her for a moment, then shook his head and turned to walk past her.

"If you want to talk to me... I'll be here any time you need me." He said. Sam didn't respond, so he let out a small sigh and walked down the hall away from her. Sam leaned her forehead on the cool glass, staring down at the roiling ocean. Her emotions felt so turbulent she might as well have been out at sea... and finally she couldn't take it any longer. She sank to her knees in front of the window and began to cry, holding her face in her hands. The line between good and evil was often thin... but what was she supposed to do when it vanished altogether?

TO BE CONTINUED