This was getting way out of control. That was Brittany's only thought as she watched the people swarming up against the makeshift WOOHP Base. Through the communicator on the X-Powder she could hear reports from an increasing number of WOOHP bases, all coming under siege by furious and surprisingly intent forces. This wasn't a simple uprising like they faced the other night, this was a concentrated war effort.
"They're going to break in soon..." Mandy said softly, watching the throng of people out front, howling in hatred and furiously attacking the doors to force them open. They far outnumbered the WOOHP Officers currently in the hotel, even with their advanced weaponry they couldn't hold them off for too long, or hope to win in this outright confrontation.
"I can't raise Jerry on the X-Powder. He's just not responding for some reason." Brittany said. They could both still hear the frantic cries for assistance from WOOHP Officers across the globe that were being similarly swamped.
"I wish we knew what this was all about..." Mandy growled. "You're some kind of super spy and you couldn't find out anything from them in the last few days?"
"Hey, don't start with me!" Brittany retorted. "This isn't the time to start a verbal war!"
"Yeah the REAL war outside is sooo much better!" Mandy retorted. They both stopped when they heard a massive crash float in from the window as a massive shudder swept through the building. "They're inside..."
"It's decision time." Brittany turned to Mandy.
"Why are you looking at ME? I don't know anything about all this!" Mandy shouted.
"You can take off the uniform and walk away, if you want to." Brittany told her. Mandy blinked in surprise. "You're not a WOOHP Agent... you never have been. You've been here with me, and I appreciate everything..." Brittany raised one hand to Mandy's cheek, stroking one of the dark bruises that still dotted her body. Mandy winced slightly at the touch. "But you're not an Agent... not really... I won't make you be one anymore."
"I don't have anywhere else to go." Mandy told her coldly. "Even if I walked away, I'd just be walking into THEM." Mandy jerked her thumb to the window, where there was still a sea of pissed off people in the streets. "And I would rather stay here."
"You know things will only get harder." Brittany told her. "We're not just going on humanitarian missions or trying to outrun an ocean anymore. This is a WAR Mandy. The people are rising up against WOOHP and everyone who's a part of it. I don't want you involved in this... it's waaay over your head. And we both know it."
"Don't insult me." Mandy growled. "I can hold my own... and that's what I'm gonna do." Mandy stared at her, angry that her abilities were being questioned. "I may not have much experience, but I can do this. I can do anything I set my mind to. I've made it this far. I'm not turning tail now."
"Fine..." Brittany said softly. She reached onto the bed and pulled a pair of pink backpacks off of it, handing one to Mandy. "Let's go fight the good fight then... and hope some kind of reinforcements come." They each slipped a backpack on and walked to the windows. "Use any force necessary to neutralize as many people as possible... and try to watch out for friendly fire." Indeed, they could both hear rifle fire from the bottom floor where WOOHP Officers were trying to keep the intruders out of the building.
The Jetpack Backpacks started with a furious roar, and both girls flew from the window out into the open air. They both pulled a collection of Mini Smoke Bombs out of their belts, hurling them down into the crowd. They exploded in clouds of pink gas, engulfing large sections of the crowd. The two spies flew down into the crowd, moving like a pair of synchronized swimmers and landing easily in the middle of the crowd.
Instantly Brittany reached into her pocket and pulled out a small cylinder with a handle, which rapidly expanded into the shape of a Laserheat Hairdryer. She lowered it toward the stunned crowd around her and pulled the trigger. A massive blast of superheated air blew through the crowd, knocking back anyone it touched. The glowing yellow beam swept through the crowd, knocking dozens of people to the ground.
She released the trigger and whirled, kicking one attacker in the stomach and punching him in the face to knock him back. She brought her hairdryer around again and started another sweep, knocking people back. This was actually easier than she thought; the WOOHP gadget was easily able to keep her attackers at bay en-mass. It looked like they would actually win.
She gasped in shock when an arm wrapped around her throat from behind, catching her in a shockingly tight stranglehold. Quickly she brought the hairdryer up and fired it straight into her attacker's face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his head disappear in a splatter of silver... only to reappear moments later, reforming right from his shoulders. She blinked in shock, taking a moment to realize what it was.
"Scamlar..." Brittany said in surprise. Of course... she'd completely forgotten about Tim Scam's bid for power. For some reason she thought she'd seen the last of him after the assassination attempt on Jerry failed. Obviously he had other plans. This knowledge didn't help her in her current situation though, her throat being crushed by a Scamlar solder and a group of pissed off civilians gathering around her.
The steel wings broke out of her backpack and she took to the sky again, trying to pull the Scamlar warrior off of her as they moved through the air. The heat of the engine quickly disintegrated its legs, but its torso clung tightly, wrapping around her throat like a steel boa constrictor. Her eyes were beginning to go dark from lack of oxygen.
She turned downward and streaked toward the ground, pushing her backpack to its highest velocity. She whirled and pulled up at the last moment, slamming back first into the pavement. The figure on her back let out a hideous squeal as it slammed into the pavement, leaving a trail of silver behind it. Still it held on however, and they were hurtling toward the WOOHP hotel headquarters.
Brittany pulled up suddenly, flying straight backwards into the building. Finally the Scamlar warrior was thrown clear, lost in the debris that came down around them. Brittany fell to the ground, panting and rubbing her throat painfully with one hand. One of Tim Scam's warriors... what was it doing fighting alongside the civilian army?
Of course... they were inciting the war, a war Tim Scam could help stop. If Tim Scam stopped the war, the people would be indebted to him... a true hero of the hero. The entire planet would fall to his grasp, and these people were playing right into his hands. Brittany knew that reasoning with them would be pointless though, they were too enraged, so she turned to the WOOHP personnel holding cover inside the building.
"Retreat to the emergency base!" Brittany shouted.
"Sir? We have orders to stand our ground and regain control!" One of the Officers protested.
"Things are more complicated than Jerry knows." Brittany replied. "I'll explain later, for now just retreat! I have to go retrieve Mandy!"
"Yes sir." The officer gave a sharp salute and turned to issue more orders to the others. Brittany's Jetpack flared to life again and she took off from the building, flying above the heads of the crowd.
"Mandy!" Brittany shouted above the crowd. She didn't hear a response from anywhere, and she couldn't see any sign of the girl in the thick crowd. "Mandy answer me!" Brittany shouted. She hovered above their heads. Some people threw things at her, but she was easily able to block the clumsily tossed pipes and 2X4s.
Worriedly she whipped out her X-Powder and opened it, activating the homing beacon in the Lip-Stalk she knew Mandy had in her pocket. The signal flashed on screen, indicating that the gadget was pretty far away already. In fact, it was clear outside the range of the crowd. How or why Mandy would go that far was beyond her... no human could move that far that fast...
Brittany kicked her Jetpack into overdrive and took off like a bullet, a blue streak in the air as she passed over the pissed off crowd. She soon left them far behind, moving at easily 80 MPH, but somehow the signal stayed far ahead of her. She didn't give up, weaving through the city streets as rapidly as she possibly could, making her way after the signal.
It wasn't long before she left the city, still racing after the signal over the grass-covered plains. She saw something up ahead of her, so she reached into her pocket and pulled on a pair of Binocular Shades, zooming in on the shape. It looked like a sleek silver car speeding across the grass, carrying several civilians and Mandy unconscious in the back seat. Nobody seemed to be driving it.
She swooped down closer to the ground, gaining more speed as she lost altitude. She loomed up close behind the car, coming up right on their rear bumper. She whipped the binocular Shades off and tossed them aside, suddenly turning upward and cutting power to her Jetpack. She flipped through the air and came back down on top of one of the guards in the car, knocking him into the front seat. His body bent over backwards in a most disturbing manner, only to reshape itself momentarily. More Scamlar... she should've known.
"I think this is mine." Brittany quickly scooped up Mandy before the Scamlar warriors could take stock of the situation, and took off again, flying straight up into the air with Mandy cradled in her arms. She looked down at the girl, wincing when she saw that there was a large bruise forming on the side of her face. Mandy must've been knocked unconscious in the melee... Brittany knew better than to let her fight alone. Why would she let Mandy go like that? She couldn't blame anyone but herself...
"Urgh..." Mandy groaned and opened her eyes painfully, looking up at her. Brittany smiled back.
"How you feeling, girl?" Brittany asked.
"Major headache..." Mandy said softly.
"Sorry... for everything..." Brittany replied. Mandy looked about to respond, but suddenly a hail of bullets flew around them. Brittany screamed and dodged back, whirling to see what was going on. The Scamlar from the car were coming up toward her, riding in the same car they were in before, but this one had a pair of wings and flaming jets on the rear. "More Scamlar improvements I guess."
"Run!" Mandy shouted. Brittany didn't really need the order as she turned and streaked away from them as fast as her Jetpack would carry her. She flew low to the ground for speed, a hail of bullets plunging into the Earth all around her like a vicious hailstorm. She felt several slam into her metal wings, though they didn't punch through.
"We have to lose them!" Mandy shouted fearfully.
"Thanks for the news flash!" Brittany growled, turning to fly straight down a nearby alley. She turned up when she reached the back wall, flying out into the sky and coming back down again on the other side of the building, pulling up right before hitting the ground. Somehow the Scamlar warriors paced them the whole time, the hail of bullets never subsiding. Obviously, there was no way she could outmaneuver the machines.
"You up for a quick assault Mandy?" Brittany asked.
"What do I have to do?" Mandy asked fearfully.
"Just follow my lead." Brittany pulled up from the ground, letting Mandy fall slightly so that she could wrap her arms around her torso, holding them together as they flew back toward their pursuers.
"Are you insane?" Mandy screamed.
"Just hold on." Brittany let Mandy go and quickly grabbed her hands, holding her out at arms length. She began to spin in midair, the bullets flying around them as she flung Mandy around. Suddenly she released the girl, sending her hurtling toward the Scamlar ship. Mandy screamed, but she slammed into the two riders and knocked them overboard to the ground far below. Mandy shrieked as she began to fall as well, but Brittany swooped down and grabbed her before she could get far.
"See? I'd never let you down." Brittany smiled.
Mandy pounded on her head and shoulders as hard as she could, screaming furiously. "Never do that again you evil sadistic little witch!" She screamed in her face.
"Ow! Ow! Okay! I'm sorry!" Brittany shouted. Mandy stopped beating on her and huffed, allowing Brittany to shake her head clear. "Man, you're strong when you're pissed off."
"That's right. So don't piss me off again." Mandy told her in a satisfied tone. She looked up, and shrieked again suddenly. Brittany looked up, then dodged out of the way just in time to avoid the riderless vehicle as it flew straight at them like a flying battering ram. It turned to keep up with them flawlessly, no matter how Brittany tried to turn.
"Their vehicles must have A.I. just like the soldiers!" Brittany shouted.
"No shit Sherlock!" Mandy screamed back over the wind. "What do you propose we do about this? I don't think throwing ME at it will solve this one!"
"Maybe it will if you can get to the controls and disable the A.I. program!"
"I don't know anything about A.I. programs! How do I disable one?"
"I don't know! Grab the controls and start hitting buttons! And whatever you do, don't miss!" Brittany turned to fly straight up, followed by the vehicle.
"What? AAAAAIIIEEEEEE!" Mandy screamed as Brittany just let her go, letting her fall toward the vehicle. It was oriented on Brittany, thus didn't pay any attention to her. It flew right past her, but she lashed out with both arms and grabbed the flight stick before it could get away, suddenly yanked along after it as it weaved through the sky after Brittany.
Brittany turned to fly horizontally, letting the vehicle follow her along just that axis, so that Mandy could steady herself. She pulled herself up to the controls and began jamming on any buttons she found there at random, praying for something to happen. Suddenly the vehicle began to move slowly downward, the jets on the back beginning to fade.
"Hey! It's going down!" Mandy screamed as she vehicle plummeted faster and faster toward the ground.
"MANDY!" Brittany streaked down after her, but it was falling faster than she could fly. Suddenly the vehicle seemed to buck back into the air, its bottom slamming into the ground as it pulled up and streaked back into the sky, still streaking away from Brittany. "Mandy, get off that thing! It's out of control!"
"I can't!" Mandy screamed back. "I think the A.I. came back on! If I let go of the stick it'll just go after you again!"
"Mandy! Get out of there now!" Brittany screamed desperately. Mandy had tight control of the stick, yanking it to the side to send the vehicle flying back toward the city at maximum velocity. It jerked to either side constantly, as if struggling to turn. Suddenly Brittany saw the problem... Mandy was guiding it straight into the side of one of the buildings. "MANDY! STOP!"
"Raaaaaagh!" Mandy screamed and leapt off the back of the vehicle just before it was about to plunge into the building. It tried to pull up, but it was far too late. The silver vehicle plowed into the building, breaking vertically through several floors, bringing that side of the building crumbling down around the street. Several piece of debris fell outward, raining down around the falling and screaming Mandy like the Earth's teardrops.
"NO!" Brittany turned toward her lover and pushed the Jetpack into the red zone, weaving through the debris and occasionally punching straight through it in her rush to reach the screaming girl. At last she lashed out with her arms, wrapping them around Mandy's torso and pulling up a scant ten feet above the ground, weaving through the debris as it slammed into the street just behind them with thunderous impacts. They streaked back into the sky, holding each other tightly and taking stock of what had just happened.
"Oh my God..." Mandy gulped. "I... I can't..."
"Ssshhhh... relax, you're in shock." Brittany turned down her thrusters and floated more calmly toward a nearby building that was still standing. She landed them gently on the roof and tried to set Mandy on her feet, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Brittany knelt down with her, holding onto her tenderly.
"I feel... numb..." Mandy said.
"It'll pass..." Brittany cooed gently, running one hand through the frightened girl's lustrous black hair. "I've gotta say... I never knew you had that kind of strength in you." She pushed Mandy back slightly to look in her eyes with a slight smile. "I've never seen anything so brave... but if you ever scare me like that again, I will kick your ass."
Mandy just nodded numbly, her face pale and her eyes glazed over. Brittany pulled her into a gentle kiss on the lips, then wrapped her arms around her again to hold onto her. She gave her time to calm down, her body time to let go of its excess energy, and her mind time to absorb exactly what had just happened. Brittany was surprised she'd been moving at all lately, after everything that had happened. Mandy really was a strong girl.
At last Mandy was able to sit up on her own, still shivering but no longer on the verge of freaking out or passing out. "How you feeling?" Brittany asked.
"Still a bit shaky... but I'll be alright." Mandy replied. Brittany reached into her backpack and took out a small flask of water, holding it out to her. Mandy sipped down as much as her queasy stomach would accept. "How are things back at the hotel...?"
"More complicated than we knew." Brittany replied simply. "Tim Scam is playing these civilians like suckers... those were Scamlar sentries that tried to take you, and one of 'em tried to off me a little while ago."
"That creepy guy with the T1000s?" Mandy grimaced. "I hoped we'd never see him again..."
"Me too, but it was stupid to just forget about him. God knows how many of those things he has by now. And now he's using them to instigate a war between WOOHP and the civilian population." Brittany shook her head. "He quietly orchestrates WOOHP's downfall, then steps in to claim power himself. It's so simple I can't believe it looks like it's working."
"Should we try to warn that Jerry guy?" Mandy asked.
"Yeah, we need to warn him as soon as possible." Brittany replied.
"Okay." Mandy pushed herself to her feet, wobbling for only a moment before regaining her balance and approaching Brittany. "And... thanks for saving me."
"Don't sweat it, it's my job." Brittany activated her jetpack's wings. "You still have your Jetpack Backpack with you?"
"No... I think it was destroyed in the fight." Mandy replied.
"Alright, come on." Brittany swept Mandy up in her arms, cradling her against her chest. "Let's get you somewhere you can rest, we'll get a warning to Jerry, and maybe he'll have a way to put a stop to all of this insanity." Brittany's jetpack flared to life, and she flew across the sky back into the city. She didn't see any sign of the civilian army that had attacked earlier... they must still be back at the hotel, venting their frustration on the former WOOHP base. That was just fine, they didn't need it anymore. Hopefully this war would end soon without much more bloodshed...
TO BE CONTINUED
