Part 24: Rescue Mission

Brittany lay back on the mountaintop, staring up at the clouds floating serenely through the fiery orange sky. The sun was fading beyond the horizon, casting its inevitable glow across the landscape. Mandy lay beside her, her hands resting underneath her head. They had been there for several hours, waiting for further word from Jerry. Their last order had been simply to stand by and wait for further orders... but those orders didn't seem forthcoming.

"Maybe something happened." Mandy suggested idly. "Not that I mind being able to just... lie here. I mean, it's so peaceful for a change. Nobody hunting me, trying to kill me, no imminent threats I don't know are there. Just... peace and quiet..."

"Yeah." Brittany sighed contentedly.

The peace lasted only a few moments before Mandy shouted suddenly "I'm bored!"

Brittany chuckled and looked over at her. "What's wrong? Can't take the peace and quiet tranquility of nature?"

"Nature's overrated..." Mandy got up on all fours and crawled over to Brittany, sitting down beside her. Brittany stared up into her deep violet eyes as Mandy's hand brushed over her cheek. "You know, in the last few days I've felt like I never have before. Stronger... more complete." She said softly. Brittany smiled up at her, putting one hand over Mandy's on her cheek.

"Well, you're working for something more important than popularity now." Brittany told her. "You're capable of so much more than you ever gave yourself credit for. You CAN be a hero if you try, and you believe in yourself."

"And it's thanks to you I guess..." Mandy said softly. "I would've drowned when this all first started if you hadn't found me."

"I just saved your life... you did the rest." Brittany put a hand on the back of Mandy's head and pulled her down to kiss her lightly on the lips. Mandy kissed back contentedly, lying down on the ground with her torso propped up against Brittany's. They held the kiss for a long time, neither moving to carry it any farther, they were happy simply to spend a little time together, because God knew when they would be thrust into some life-threatening situation again.

As if on cue to her internal monologue, Brittany's X-Powder began to beep. Both girls sighed in resignation as Brittany pulled the device out of her pocket. Mandy rested her cheek against Brittany's as she flipped it open. They both quirked their eyebrows when they saw little more than a flashing symbol on the face of the X-Powder.

"What is that?" Mandy asked.

"It's a data packet." Brittany replied, her thumb moving across the face of the X-Powder to open it. "It arrived on a tight beam transmission..." She got it open and a small flood of contents seemed to wash across the screen. A small message with the word 'rescue' rested in the lower left corner of the screen. In the middle was a large blueprint, with the words 'AREA 51 BLUEPRINT' across the top. The blueprint was intricately detailed, and there was a flashing red dot over one of the rooms not very deep inside the base. Across the right side of the screen were pictures of three women who Brittany recognized only vaguely...

"Hey, those are Sam, Alex, and Clover's parents." Mandy realized.

"This doesn't make sense, why would we have to rescue them from Area 51? That's a WOOHP base." Brittany said softly.

"Maybe someone took the base... they did warn us not to go there didn't they?" Mandy pointed out. Brittany looked up at her, then nodded and closed her X-Powder.

"Right... we should go try to rescue them." Brittany stood up, shoving her X-Powder into her pocket. "Someone's asking us to help rescue them... we can't let them down."

"Hold on." Mandy put a hand on her shoulder. "What if it's a trap? If they took over one of the WOOHP bases they might be able to call us. They could just be baiting us." Brittany thought about it for a few minutes, then shook her head.

"If they are waiting for us, we'll just have to be extra careful not to get caught. Come on, we're not too far from there." She turned to walk toward the base, with Mandy walking along right beside her. Their hands clasped between them as they walked, letting go only temporarily to scale across particularly harsh vertical sections of the mountain. Soon they climbed their way up a cliff side, and stood looking down at a rather small-looking, inconspicuous facility.

"Oh my God..." Mandy paled and covered her mouth with both hands, looking to the side. Brittany looked, growling when she saw a mass of red dotting the side of the mountain, coating what looked vaguely like they once might have been human bodies. "I've never seen anything like that..." Mandy gurgled and turned away, falling to her knees and heaving.

"Rest up, I'll do some recon." Brittany told her. She slid down the side of the mountain carefully, crouching down on a nearby ledge. She pulled out a pair of Telescopic Optic Sunglasses, slipping them on and zooming in on the base. A swarm of officers was patrolling the area, walking to and fro in conspicuously tight patterns. Their feet treaded over the same spaces so precisely that their footprints were beginning to show clearly in the dirt.

She heard Mandy slide down the mountainside into a crouch beside her. "Feeling better?" Brittany asked.

"No..." Mandy grunted. "What've we got to deal with?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but those look like either Scamlar guards, or the best trained officers I've ever seen." Brittany scanned the base, studying the guards' patterns for several minutes.

"So how do we get in? Can we break through a wall or climb in a window?" Mandy asked.

"Too risky, could be Scamlar patrolling the halls. Better to remain out of sight... come on, let's head down." Brittany removed her sunglasses, stored them in a pocket, and slid down the rest of the mountain. Mandy slid down behind her more slowly. When they both reached the ground Brittany looked back at her friend and lover to see that she was still quite pale and shaking somewhat, but her eyes were fiery and determined.

"What next?" Mandy asked.

"We be very, very quiet." Brittany reached into her pocket and pulled out a tube of bubble-blowing liquid. Mandy blinked in confusion, then frowned.

"You're joking, right?" Mandy asked.

"Bubble Blaster Invisibility Shield." Brittany told her. "As long as we're wrapped in the bubble, no electronic surveillance devices can see us. Including the Scamlar."

"But what about people?" Mandy asked.

"Scam has been surrounding himself with Scamlar, he's probably the only flesh-and-blood human here, if he's here at all. As long as we avoid him, and don't make too much noise, we should be fine." Brittany dabbed the small wand into the liquid and held it up. "Are you ready?"

"I guess so... ick..." Mandy grunted in disgust, but allowed Brittany to wrap her up in a large bubble. Brittany did the same to herself, tucked the bubble fluid safely away, and gestured for Mandy to follow her.

"Follow my steps exactly, we have to be careful not to make noise OR touch them. Ready?" Brittany asked. Mandy nodded, so Brittany huddled down to wait as a nearby soldier walked toward them. Two more soldiers walked past behind him, and Brittany darted forward between the first guard and the wall, turning immediately to the left to avoid another guard as he came out of a nearby room. She ran through the middle of the courtyard, weaving through the swarm of guards like a snake moving through blades of grass. Eventually she reached the other side and hit the door to the largest bunker in the base, turning to see how Mandy was faring.

Mandy was slowly moving through the guards, carefully not to let her bubble touch any of them and occasionally making a clumsy dash through holes in the swarm. Several minutes later she emerged from them and hit the door beside Brittany, panting. "I told you to stay behind me." Brittany whispered harshly.

"Kiss my ass." Mandy hissed back. Brittany smirked and pushed the door open, slipping carefully inside. She waited for Mandy to join her, then pushed the door closed again and walked down the dusty, unkempt cover for the highly technological sections she knew lay underneath the ground. They approached the elevator, but stopped when it opened right in front of them, several WOOHP agents standing inside.

Brittany and Mandy dodged in separate directions before they began to leave the elevator, brushing right past them without even a glance in their direction. Brittany swore she saw Sam among the throng of women, but it was only a glimpse, and she didn't want to press her luck through further examination. So she slipped onto the elevator before it could close, beckoning for Mandy to follow her. When the doors closed she whipped out her X-Powder.

"The blueprints say our captives are on the third floor." Brittany said. So she pushed the '3' button, and sat back to wait.

"You know, this spy stuff is actually pretty easy." Mandy said.

"We're not through yet, so don't get cocky. Anything could go wrong at any time." Brittany warned her seriously. Mandy's cocky expression faded as she returned the nod, falling back into a serious, professional demeanor. In a few more moments the elevator doors opened and they crept into the hall, stepping lightly to avoid making too much noise in the empty metal corridor.

They flattened themselves against the wall whenever soldiers approached, passing uncomfortably close to the bubbles, but thankfully none of them came into contact with them. Brittany used the blueprints on her X-Powder as a guide until finally they reached the indicated door. Pressing her ear against the door, she could hear three female voices talking in tense, hushed tones, as if afraid they would be punished for their words, though she couldn't tell what they were saying.

"Electronic lock..." Brittany noted irritably. "Fine, I'll have to do it the hard way. Mandy, watch the halls and warn me if anyone's coming." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautiful ring with a large jewel on the top. It began to whir and spin on top of her finger.

"Right." Mandy moved out into the hall to keep an eye out while Brittany popped her own bubble and plunged the Boring Amethyst Charm into the steel door. Sparks flew from the steel door as she slowly moved the ring around in a circle large enough to crawl through, a horrendous metallic screech giving away their presence if anyone happened to be in range. Thankfully, the base was full of machines who probably didn't suffer from the human instinct of 'curiosity', and wouldn't think to investigate unless ordered to do so.

She finished drilling the hole and pushed the circular steel slab into the room with a loud clang before crawling through herself, standing to face three frightened looking women, the same ones from the pictures in her X-Powder.

"Don't be scared, I'm here to rescue you." Brittany told them quickly in a hushed tone.

"Who are... wait... you're Clover's friend." Stella stepped forward and took her hand gratefully. "I remember you from lunch. Thank you so much, I don't want to think what that snake would do to us if we stayed here another second."

"Don't thank me yet, we still have to get out." Brittany reached into her pocket and pulled out her bubble fluid again. "We're gonna have to get out of here, then use this stuff to keep out of sight. Once we're in the hall and in our bubbles, just stay quiet and follow me."

"But wait, how did you find us here?" Carmen asked.

"We don't have time for that. Now hurry, someone could be along any second." Brittany pointed to the small hole in the door. Finally the woman complied, moving to crawl out the door. The one with the brown here looked numb, mindlessly doing whatever the others indicated that she should do. Brittany didn't have time to play therapist though, crawling out after them and quickly enshrouding them all in bubbles.

"Follow me." Brittany whispered, walking down the hall with the line of women following close behind her. They flattened against the wall several times to avoid Scamlar soldiers, and suddenly red lights began to flash throughout the entire base, as a siren began to blare.

"They must know they're gone." Mandy realized.

"Don't worry, they still can't see us. It doesn't matter if they're looking for us or not." Brittany told them. They continued down the hall quickly, dodging the occasional running Scamlar officer. Suddenly they all flattened against the wall, but one knuckle clipped the edge of Carmen's bubble, popping it on contact. Brittany, Mandy, Gabby, and Stella stared at her in shock as Carmen started shaking. The Scamlar Soldier didn't notice, already past her.

"Uh... uh..." Carmen stumbled.

"Relax, I got ya covered." Brittany popped her bubble with one finger and ran over to enshroud the older woman in another bubble as quickly as possible. She was about to enshroud herself again when she heard a shout from further down the hall.

"Freeze!" One of the Scamlar ordered coldly. Brittany didn't turn around, staring straight ahead with her back straight. If she enshrouded herself now, they would know they there could be more hidden in the bubbles. More thorough searches... better chance of them getting caught.

"Mandy." Brittany whispered softly. "Get the women out of here, I'll distract them."

"What? Brittany I... I can't..." Mandy started shaking worriedly.

"Yes you can. You're as strong as you think you are... and from what I know of you, that's pretty damn strong." Brittany glanced at her out of the corner of her eye as she slowly raised her hands over her head. She heard footsteps approaching behind her as the Scamlar approached. "You know the way out, get them out. I'll meet you outside, I promise."

"You'd better..." Mandy said softly. She gestured for the older women to follow her as she turned down another hallway. They followed her, disappearing beyond the corner as the Scamlar walked right up behind Brittany. Suddenly the spy lurched forward, rolling vertically and popping up again in a crouch, facing the soldier. She was taken aback when she saw the entire hallway full of soldiers.

"We've already been through this once." The Scamlar in front told her. "It didn't end well for him either."

"I'm the best there is, I can take you all." Brittany stood up, punctuating her bluff by stroking an impressive looking fighting pose. The machines weren't very impressed, but it did psyche her up for one of the most insane things she'd ever done in her life.

Every single one of the Scamlar raised their arms, which turned into shining silver blades at least two feet long. Brittany let out a howl and rushed forward, pumping her legs as hard as she could. The Scamlar surged toward her, their blades poised at the ready to plunge straight into her body. Brittany moved as close as possible, within three feet...

Suddenly she leapt to the side, flying over the heads of the first wave of Scamlar as her boots touched the wall. The Magno Gogo Boots flared to life and she ran along the wall, straight over the heads of her attackers. It took them only a moment to reorient however, their blades plunging through the air straight toward her. She leapt from the wall across the hallway, landing on the opposite wall and throwing herself over the last of the Scamlar.

She kicked open a nearby door in the middle of her roll, leaping backward into the air to stick to the wall above the door. She found herself in a small control room. Against one wall was a large window looking out over an enormous steel room with vehicles of various kinds in it. The Scamlar began to pour in through the door, so she hurled herself at the window feet first, covering her face with her arms.

She broke through easily, falling into the large hangar bay amid a shower of glass. She threw her legs back quickly, the boots sticking to the solid steel wall and breaking her fall. Her suit was torn apart from the glass, and droplet of blood were falling toward the floor far below, but she didn't feel any serious injuries.

She looked back, then shrieked and quickly stepped to the side as one of the soldiers fell past her, slamming into the ground as a puddle of silver liquid, that quickly reformed into the officer. They couldn't climb on walls... but they could still try to take her down. Brittany ran along the wall as fast as she could, her heart pounding with a hailstorm of Scamlar bodies falling all around her.

She weaved around them as best she could, but finally one of them slammed straight into her, knocking her off the wall and wrapping its arms around her tightly. Brittany struggled to get free, but it was like trying to fight a crane. They slammed into the ground with the officer vaporizing into a puddle of liquid silver. Brittany grunted when she struck the ground, her blow only slightly cushioned by the officer underneath her.

She tried to push herself up shakily, but instantly dozens of Scamlar were on top of her, gripping every inch of her arms and legs to keep from moving. Brittany strained against them, but couldn't even begin to move her arms, let alone break free.

"You again." Scam shook his head as he approached from behind one of the vehicles. Brittany growled, narrowing her eyes and staring at him. "You know, you've been pretty annoying. Disrupting my boat, revealing my spy, stopping the conflict in Japan from escalating. I'd almost think you weren't working for a megalomaniac." He laughed.

"You're the only maniac I know of, bub." Brittany growled.

"Enough small talk... where are the women?" Scam asked. "I have plans for them... and it would really be a shame if I couldn't go through with them after so much preparation."

"I'll cry when I care." Brittany shot back acidly.

Tim Scam frowned and grabbed her throat with one hand, his grip squeezing her windpipe. "Where are they, Brittany? They're the final piece to my revenge against Alex and Clover." Brittany couldn't respond of course until Scam loosened his grip, but his hand remained on her throat. She gulped in air for a few moments before responding.

"I thought the world was your target..." Brittany grunted, more to stall for time than because she cared.

"It was." Scam replied. "But now that I have that... I have other matters to attend to too. Like my revenge, now where are they?"

"Gone." Brittany replied. "You don't have the world... the people are still rioting, and the WOOHP officers are still fighting. The world is in chaos."

"It's only a matter of hours now before I ride in on my white horse and save the people from the evil WOOHP organization." Scam said with a grin. "And the irony is, WOOHP really IS the evil organization here. I don't even have to pretend that part."

"What are you talking about?" Brittany demanded.

"Oh, you never heard? You haven't figured it out?" Scam smirked. "The flood that almost wiped out humanity was orchestrated by Jerry."

"Are you insane? I'll never believe that..." Brittany growled hatefully.

"Why should I make this up? It's not like it matters now. Jerry is dead, WOOHP is in disarray, and as soon as I ride in to save the people, the world will willingly crown me their capable and caring leader. Really, I could never have asked for better... I'll have to thank Jerry once I see him in fifty years or so from my grave."

"No... Jerry..." Brittany stammered.

"Betrayed you and the rest of the world... only to be felled by the sword of my righteousness..." Scam laughed, then sighed. "But now it looks like my white clouds have a black lining... my revenge just won't be complete without those women to help me accomplish it. It was such a perfect revenge plan too, I just don't know how I can top it... I guess a comrade-in-arms will have to do."

"I'll never help you." Brittany growled hatefully, with a fury more intense than any she'd ever known in her life.

"Oh I know that's the heroic thing to say... and I guess the most villainous thing I could say is..." Scam grinned evilly. "You have no choice. Preparations are complete, take her to the experiment room." Brittany struggled in vain as the Scamlar pulled her toward the exit, toward a fate she couldn't begin to guess. For some reason, she just wished she could keep her promise to Mandy...

TO BE CONTINUED