A New Subordinate
Disclaimer: I do not own Atomic Betty or any of the characters from the cartoon series. The show is owned by Atomic Cartoons Inc.
Thank you to those who have reviewed my fic so far. I'm glad there are other Atomic Betty fans out there! Well, now that I'm going away from the prologue and into the chapters, you should prepare yourself for more description and length. I like making my chapters long because I tend to take long breaks in between writing. Heh.
Oh, and remember! If you're interested in how upcoming chapters for this fic are doing, check my profile! I update weekly with info like how many words for a particular chapter are completed and a 'predicted' date for it's release! Okay, onto the first chapter!
Chapter 1 – The Arrival
Betty woke up to an annoying alarm ring on the top of her dresser, but for the first time, she gave gratitude to the clock for awakening her. Today was going to be a day she would never forget. She quickly took a shower, put on her casual clothes, and raced down to get breakfast.
"Good morning, Betty dear," her mother said in somewhat of a sweet tune as the young girl entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, mom," Betty responded. She inhaled deeply through her nose to grasp every wonderful scent of soft pancakes and orange juice. She took the seat closest to her at the kitchen table. The first thing she noticed was the empty chair across the counter.
"Dad's at work now, right?" Betty said under her breath. After a long pause, she assumed her mother did not hear her due to the loud sound of the sizzling pan on the grill. Betty's father provided so much for the family, but it came with a personal cost. The disadvantage to this was the lack of time the girl was able to spend with him. Father-daughter activities were becoming more rare, to the point where Betty feared that he would have absolutely no time in his schedule for her. It was a harsh factor of reality that she had to deal with for most of her young life.
"Breakfast is ready now, Betty," her mother exclaimed as she turned on the oven fan to cool down the grill. "I tried to be a little creative today, so I added blueberries and bananas into the pancake mix!"
After hearing that, Betty began to feel a little skeptical on how fulfilling this meal would be. Her arms stiffened for a moment as the oddly-prepared breakfast was placed on a flower-painted plate and then onto the table. An uncomfortable gulp traveled through her throat while she managed to erase the slightly frightened look on her face and actually look at the meal. The pancakes did not fit the characteristics of normal pancakes: they were not circular.. they were not even flat. The breakfast consisted of fine pancake mix invaded by large lumps of banana slices and whole blueberries. The die from the berries had traveled through the mix in thin strips, making the food look like skin with visible veins and bumps. It was a horrible way to describe it, yet Betty knew from experience that looks were deceiving.
In a daring attempt, she grabbed her fork and knife and chopped through the thick slices. She brought the fork up to her mouth, observing the half slice of banana embedded in the mix before eating it. It was only then that she noticed, in the corner of her eye, that her mother was watching her eat, as if Betty were a professional food critic. She took no more interruptions, slipping the piece off the fork and into her mouth. Before she began to chew, she let the piece rest on her tongue, the blueberry juice spreading across the surface. She only took ten chews before swallowing.
"This is.. not too bad, mom!" she said. Was she lying? Hmm.. yes and no. It was definitely an exotic taste that she had never tried before. Strangely enough, she could not determine whether it was good or bad. Nevertheless, it was only natural that Betty wanted to keep her mother happy. Betty continued eating the pancakes while managing to keep a smile towards her mother.
"Really? That's wonderful, Betty! Your father said the same thing! Oh, I'm so excited!" Betty's parent squealed in delight as she began to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Betty was glad she was able to please her mother. Really.. the food was not that bad...
Once she brushed her teeth, she grabbed all her work necessities and prepared to head off for school. The instant she opened the door, Noah was standing at the sidewalk in front of her house. He made a wave, not bothering to shout out anything. Betty did the same. After saying goodbye to her mother, she closed the door and met with the boy.
"So, how was the dental appointment?" Betty began as they strolled down the pathway.
"Doesh thish anshwer you qoestion?" Noah said, pointing at his cheek. It was only then that Betty recognized a lump from the back of his jaw.
"Oh my- you never told me you were going to the dentist to get your wisdom teeth removed! How does it feel?" Betty shouted, concerned for her best friend. However, she did not need a response to know that Noah was in at least some sort of pain.
In a short time, they had reached the school, luckily before the annoying bell had rung. The two entered the building and headed off to their first destination: the lockers. While Noah was busy fiddling with his lock combination, hoping to gain access to the books he forgot to take home two days ago, Betty was just holding her own lock that was still attached to the locker. She placed one hand over the turner, but her eyes were not on the lock at all. In fact, they were wandering around the hallway, shifting from left to right, looking for.. yes.. Dylan.
It was only after Noah had closed his own locker, with three large books being held by his left hand, that he noticed Betty's odd glances across the area. Confused, he could not help but bring up the question. "Uh.. Betty? What aw you duing?"
If took a few seconds before Betty realized that Noah was questioning her search. "Oh, I'm looking for Dylan." She said, quickly returning to her initial activity.
Although he wanted to say something in return, Noah could not bring himself to it. It was normal.. to hear this. Betty has an enormous crush on this guy, he thought to himself. I don't know how long it's been, but it has become very common to hear her mention his name at LEAST once every school day. This is normal now. I shouldn't be jealous. I should encourage her. Yeh, that's what I'll-
"Thash nice. Why?" his support for her was presented by continuing the conversation about Dylan. What else could he do? He could not just confess his feelings towards her. They have been friends for so long. Never would he take such a risk. He would hide his pain from her until it killed him.
"He's taking me somewhere special!" Betty heard herself say. She was too preoccupied to even tell Noah the full details regarding the concert.
"Oh.. I she. Wew.. where ish he teking y-" before Noah could finish the sentence in his depressed tone, the school bell rang. Betty sighed once the noise ceased, but reassuring herself that she would most certainly see Dylan after school.
"Oh well. We better get to class now," Betty confirmed. Noah nodded and followed her to their classroom.
The class and lunch time were long in Betty's mind. She did her best to avoid staring at the clock, urging time to pass as quickly as possible until it reached 3pm. Once the minute hand reached its desired destination, she sprung from her desk and left the room.
This was to Noah's disappointment. Betty would usually wait for him as he gathered all his books so they could walk to their lockers. He did not want to give up, but considering how much homework he had to organize in his backpack, he decided not to run after her. Also, he was beginning to have a paranoia of the other students becoming suspicious of his actions being more than just out of friendship.
Betty spun across the corner towards her locker, hoping to bump into Dylan in a clichéd manner. However, she stopped when no one was there. If she did not find him, there was no chance of going. When hope slowly began to decrease, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She dramatically turned around and found who she was looking for.
"Oh, Dylan!" she said happily.
"Hey, Betty. Good thing I found you. I need to give you this," Dylan said while presenting a blue piece of paper with what looked like a name and location typed on it. "It's the ticket to the concert."
"Oh, thank you!" Betty exclaimed as she took the ticket.
"And... I was also wondering. The concert shouldn't end later than 7:30pm, so.. could we, perhaps, work on some science homework together? We've got that test coming up and I'd love to have you as a study partner again."
During the week before their previous science test, Betty and Dylan worked hard together. They both adored the subject, so they undoubtedly had a great time studying their interest. Betty thrived on the chance to work with him again.
"Oh, of course. I'd really like that," Betty answered. No, it was still not a date, but at least she was able to have an opportunity to spend time with him after the concert.
"Glad to hear it. I'll see you at five then," Dylan concluded as he waved good bye and turned the other way. Betty looked at the ticket, smiled, and continued to walk to her locker.
"Hey, Betty!" a voice shouted from behind her. Noah was not far from her, so she waited until he caught up to her. By the end of school, his mouth was feeling a lot better. "Hey, why did you run off in such a-"
Before he could finish his question, he noticed the blue ticket in Betty's hands. In bold black letters was written, "The Music Stamina Concert at Mindallen Hall, with performances from fresh, young bands with a desire to share their work!" Noah saw Dylan talking to Betty before he turned around and left, so he automatically assumed that this paper was from him.
Wait a sec... Dylan's in a band? I would've never guessed.. Noah thought to himself. Although wanting to satisfy his curiousity, he decided not to ask questions and just, dreadfully, let things be the way they were. He quickly looked at the ticket again. There was a date and time scribbled on the bottom of the card, but by then he was not interested anymore.
She probably didn't even notice that my jaw feels better...
"I.. guess I'll see you tomorrow, Betty," Noah said and turned to leave the school. He decided not to go to his locker. All this happened before Betty could even protrude one word from her lips.
Is Noah angry? Maybe he wanted to go to the concert too.. she thought to herself, although she was not sure if that would be in Noah's true interest. Besides, she only had one ticket.
Noah was too far gone for Betty to catch up to him. Perhaps she would call him after the concert. That seemed to be the best solution that came to her mind. With that, she quickly went to her locker, took a few textbooks from it, and dragged her backpack home.
Despite the heaviness embedded on her shoulders, her excitement for tonight numbed the pain away.
She could not wait.
"Oh, this is too exciting!" Maximus said giddily. It would only be a matter of minutes before his new subordinate arrived at his lair. There were too many thoughts piling over each other in his mind, all linking to one objective: degrading Atomic Betty's identity and finishing her off once and for all. After so many failed attempts and lost opportunities to complete this desired task, he finally felt victory at the tips of his sharp fingers. Once the subordinate arrived, he would, without a doubt, have it completely in his hands to grasp.
Meanwhile, Minimus tipped his head and placed it on the side of the large window. The hard glass was cold and uncomfortable, but he did not make any attempt to move. He sighed deeply as he stared into the depths of space, wondering what this new 'sidekick' would do to his reputation. Many thoughts were overlapping in his mind as well.
Maybe I should be nice to her. She might be friendly. Hah! I bet she'll take advantage of us.. then I can say 'I told you so!' in front of the boss' face. If I talk to her, maybe we can find some understanding and work things out. I bet you anything she's Atomic Betty in disguise. Yes, that's what I'll do. Talk to her. Maybe we can find stability with our jobs. Jeez, are you even listening to what I'm say- er.. thinking? Right after the introductions, I'll have a nice chat with her. There's no need for nastiness. Gah! It's just a darn sympathy complex with you, isn't it? I've had it! Go feed your ants or something..
Having two sides of himself was not easy, but Minimus managed to keep the discomfort tucked away from Maximus and, for that matter, everyone else. For most of the time, his eyes were out of focus, until a moving object caught his attention.
He quickly took his head off the glass by pushing his arms towards the hard surface. With his hands now touching the cold plane, he looked upwards. Hovering at approximately three hundred metres away was a small black spaceship, fit for only one passenger, which was the pilot. He squinted at the ship, trying his best to get a glimpse of the person inside, but was interrupted by Maximus violently pushing him aside and onto the floor. He let out a short, high-pitched squeak as he hit the ground.
"Fool! Why didn't you tell me she was coming? Ah, finally! The wait has ended!" Maximus shouted, keeping his eyes focused on the small craft.
Minimus got up and dusted himself off. His sycophant form could not care less of the abuse, considering he went through this kind of thing 24-7, yet his grumbler form was not so tolerant. "I have half a mind to push YOU aside and see how YOU like it, your unscrupulousness!"
Maximus effortlessly ignored his minion and watched the ship make its way down towards the side of the villain's craft. Within a few short minutes, some clicks and gear rotations signified the attachment of both ships. In just a moment, Maximus' new, additional subordinate would enter the room.
"Now, Minimus, don't say anything stupid to insult her. And don't interrupt her when she's talking. In fact, just don't speak at all," Maximus said, all the while maintaining his full attention to the sliding door which would open at any moment. Minimus watched the door too, but unable to show any emotion as of yet.
And then...
Swoosh!
A whirl of smoke escaped the opening, traveled through the floor of Maximus' lair, and disappeared. It seemed like such a clichéd entrance, but her appearance brought in a new style of introduction.
It was as if the entire room descended into shadows. A dark energy emerged from the door and presented herself into the room. However, it was actually a.. human. The tremendous feeling of night was caused by her short ebony hair which was unevenly cut, with a long batch of it stick out on front, covering her right eye. The first movement she made was to flick the hair away from her covered eye, but the effort failed as it dropped back in its original place. Her eyes were light green.
She was surprisingly short.. perhaps just a little bit taller than Atomic Betty and Minimus. One would expect that Maximus would chose a new subordinate of larger height to keep the balance between her and the other one. However, looks were, at times, deceiving. Maximus assumed this was the case.
Her suit was somewhat complex. It consisted of the colours brick red and black, yet they swerved and blended together like two snakes. Two long stripes, one red and one black, crossed each other at the belly button from the top of the shoulders to her knees. The rest of her suit flooded in the two colours. Her long gloves, the right one being black and the left being red, seemed intentionally tattered in many places across the hands. The one piece of clothing that did not hold any red or black texture was the brown belt that held very loose around her waist, but seemed to hang naturally. On the sides of it were large pouches that could have held some sort of small but deadly weapons.
The one thing that grabbed the most attention was the awing glow emerging from around the girl's neck. It blazed the colour of neon purple, as if it were her life force. It was thick and fit snuggly around the middle of her neck, making it seem like it was attached to her own body. Peculiar.. haunting.. and mesmerizing.. the glow seemed to shout out for attention.. or in anger.. it was hard to tell.
Once all the steam had escaped, the first word from the strange girl was ready to form from her mouth and awe the atmosphere of the entire universe and possible parallel universes.
"Hi!" the girl said unpredictably and cheerfully. The feeling had disappeared, and everything returned to exactly as it was before. "It's a pleasure to be here, Sir Maximus. No, I'm sorry, it's an absolute honour. I've been waiting for this day for quite some time."
She headed towards Maximus and let out her hand. Without effort, Maximus grabbed it with both of his hands and firmly shook it. "No no, the pleasure, and honour, is mine. I've certainly been waiting for you to arrive as well! Welcome! Please, make yourself comfortable during your stay!" He said while taking one hand away and spreading his arm to present the ship, as if it were a miraculous work of art. The first thing the girl noticed was Minimus. Maximus noticed where she had eye contact, and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Oh yes.. that is my other assistant…... Minimus." As he said the lackey's name, Maximus took away his other hand.
The girl, wanting to be as polite as possible, walked towards Minimus. As she stood in front of him, one could tell that she was just a few centimetres taller than him.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Syn-D," she said courteously while bringing out her hand once more. Minimus did not waste another second as he brought out his hand to hold hers in a gentle handshake.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you Syn-D. I hate you!" As his grumbler mode came into view, the handshake had turned into a violent grip that Syn-D could not break from. She struggled for a bit until Minimus finally let go and gave a devious smile. "Hehehe," he chuckled under his breath. That made him feel a lot better.
"Oh... really?" Syn-D responded with a fake giggle as she tended to her hand, exhaling soft breaths of pain. It was clear that their introduction did not go very well.
"You idiot!" Maximus yelled as he hit Minimus on the back of his head, causing it to spin around several times. "Are you trying to make her feel uncomfortable? Whether you like it or not, she's going to stay here!"
He quickly drew his attention back to the girl. "My apologies. My assistant here has a slight personality problem. Eventually, you will get used to it like I have."
"Oh... I understand. Don't worry, I can take on anything you have here. It's the least I can do for all that you've carried out for me," Syn-D said with devotion as she placed a hand to the middle of her neck.
"What are you talking about?" Minimus asked loudly and rudely. Maximus finally had enough and kicked him all the way to the other side of the control room. His head hit the corner hard, causing him to moan in pain for the rest of the time. Syn-D's attention was fixed on Minimus' result of torture until Maximus spoke once more.
"Indeed," he continued. "I will call Spurdly Tim Kanishi immediately to notify him that you've arrived safely."
"Thank you, sir," Syn-D replied with a smile. She could not wait to get to work here. After many years of hard work and struggle, she managed to pull through with all her strength and still remain independent enough to begin a full-time villain job.
Without hesitation, Maximus made the call. He turned the phone on speaker mode so he would not have to speak into a small receiver. To avoid repetition, he put the number of the school on auto-dial. After two short rings, a woman's voice spoke. "May I help you?" she said without introduction.
"Yes, this is Maximus. I'd like to speak with Spurdly Tim Kanishi, please. His student has just arrived at my station," Maximus spoke boldly.
"Oh, hold please," she said. Instead of waiting music being played, the two could still hear her breathing, plus a few pressing of buttons.
"Please repeat your name into the receiver," the woman said, her voice slightly faded as she seemed to be working out some controls in the background.
"Er... Maximus," he said as he leaned forwards, his lips almost touching the speaker. He stood back up and waited for an answer.
Then, a computerized-voice was heard in the background. The words were a bit weak, but it sounded more or less like 'Voice Activation Complete'. Maximus had forgotten about the tight security at the dark school's base. He had to go through countless steps just for their phone number, one being a voice scan.
After a short struggle with the phone, the woman was back on the air. "Thank you for your patience. I will direct you to Kanishi-sensei in one moment." And with that, the strange telephone music initiated.
During the wait, Maximus ceased the perfect opportunity to continue a friendly conversation with his new assistant. "So.. Miss Syn-D.. do you enjoy exploding planets?"
Syn-D was startled, not because of the oddity of his question, but because of her unawareness. She had absolutely no experience of celestial body domination or even annihilation! There was much more to Maximus than she new, and at that moment, her astonishment turned into a feeling of being unprepared. Syn-D understood that she must do whatever her boss commands, even if it was global destruction. Come on Syn-D, she said to herself. You've been trained to do things like this! You're excited to do this work, aren't you?
"Well, I-" Syn-D was ready to give Maximus a response along the lines of 'no, but if you want it, I'll do it!' but was interrupted when the phone music stopped and an odd crumpling noise could be heard over the speaker. It was long and unrecognizable. Maximus was ready to speak over it, when someone finally talked over the other line.
"Activate High Security Video Transmission," a dark yet calm voice said on the speaker. Syn-D smiled. It was great to hear his voice again. Her happiness beamed even more as the video screen for the phone popped up from the control desk and turned on. There was a lot of static, mainly due to the long distance between Syn-D's school and Maximus' base, but a blurry image could be seen. It was undoubtedly the highly respected Spurdly Tim Kanishi.
"Maximus-san," Kanishi began. "I assume this call is to notify me of my student's safe journey to your base." His old age was defined not by appearance, but by the slight discomfort in his throat as he spoke. Nevertheless, he addressed his words in a way that caught the attention of even a small flea. If you knew Spindly Tam Kanushu, you would understand more why Kanishi was also evil rather than just his half cousin. His figure did somewhat resemble that of Atomic Betty's teacher, yet, his skin was in the colour of black. The texture of his clothing could only be recognized by squinting through the several blocks of static on the screen. It was a crimson red coat with black and white stitching across his shoulders. Each complicated design symbolized a field of dark martial arts that he had mastered and taught. He was by far the most powerful and recommended instructor that anyone with evil intentions had seen. No one ever knew if the two half-cousins ever met in person.
"A pleasure to speak with you, Master Kanishi. Indeed, she has arrived without harm. I must thank you once more for the reference letter. Syn-D's qualifications are more than I expected." As Maximus spoke with Kanishi, Syn-D began to blush at the new boss' positive comments about her.. and he did not even seen her in action yet! There was still so much that she could prove to him, and she would not let him down. All the while, Kanishi did not seem to buy Maximus' kind tone. He knew exactly what his intentions were, from the instant Syn-D stepped into his school.
"I am not surprised. If you do not mind, I would like to speak with Syn-D for a moment," Kanishi quickly added during his turn in the conversation.
"Oh, not at all," Maximus allowed. He moved aside and motioned his hand in front of him to allow Syn-D to step forward and speak to her former master.
"Kanishi-sensei..." Syn-D began at an emotional level, but could not continue. The last conversation they had face-to-face was not sympathetic or heart-filled; it was blunt and serious, just like the atmosphere of the dark arts temple. Nevertheless, she had developed strong feelings for her teacher. Without him, she would truly not be who she was today.
"Syn-D-chan, yaru kara ni wa ii shigoto o shinasai. Watashi wa mata anata ni aitai to omoimasu," Kanishi said subtlety, only wanting Syn-D to hear the words. This was the first time he ever expressed himself in a somewhat emotional way, and Syn-D was glad to hear it.
"Hai. Osewa ni narimashita," Syn-D returned the respect with a show of great gratitude. She knew that that was all he was going to say, so she bowed towards the screen, closed her eyes, and stepped back to make way for Maximus. He took the hint and returned to his conversation with the teacher. Before Maximus could say anything, Kanishi spoke once more.
"It was more than obvious, if that is even possible, that you would chose her after the.. 'generous contribution'. It has helped her tremendously.. and brought ease to the school. Therefore, you have absolutely no need to perjure yourself in my presence." His statement was very direct and surprising. Syn-D overheard this and was shocked, not because of Maximus' somewhat obvious intentions, but because Kanishi actually mentioned this. She felt as if she was put in an uncomfortable position, as she fiddled with the brace around her neck.
"Oh, it was just something in the making anyway. But I'm glad it was useful. You have my word when I say it was a mere coincidence," Maximus tried to reassure him, although there was no need to. Kanishi knew too well what his plan was, and he did whatever he could to make sure Syn-D knew as well, which he succeeded in doing so. Above all things, he did not want her to feel used because of her barrier. It definitely made her life a lot easier, but she did not deserve to think she had to depend on that one little thing that surrounded her neckline.
I was not just Kanishi who helped her. Truly, if it were not for Maximus, Syn-D would not be where she was.
"I shall end this conversation now," Kanishi said once again in a blunt tone. "Syn-D will not disappoint you. Good evening." With that, the screen turned static and descended back into the control desk. There was absolutely no way the location of where Kanishi was talking from could be tracked. High security indeed.
Maximus found Spurdly Tim's abruptness quite rude, but decided to brush it off. "Well," he said, turning towards Syn-D, "I hope you don't mind if we get to work now."
Her head slightly turned to the right as she overheard Minimus moans again. Her focus returned to Maximus within a second. "Not a problem."
"Then let's get to the point," Maximus commenced. He reached for the third blue button closest to him on the control panel which caused a large screen to enter from above. In an instant, the screen presented a map of a solar system. There was at least twenty planets in this system, but Syn-D did not want to distract herself by accurately counting. Maximus pressed a button on the corner of the screen which automatically made it zoom in to a particular planet. With one extremely thin ring around it and a slightly gray and orange colour, it proved to be a planet that she had never seen before.
"The planet's name is Armvarn," Maximus lectured. "It's not known for much really. They're ranked in the top ten most peaceful planets in the universe. Their people are passive, kind, and can be easily manipulated. I need the perfect planet to bring my arch nemesis to the scene."
The screen went blank for a moment, and then several pictures of the person Maximus was referring to had shown. "Her name is Atomic Betty. She is by far the most threatening blockade to my missions, to the point that my aim is to find her home planet, expose her identity to the people, and have her humiliated beyond belief and deal with a feeling worse than death. That or just destroy her. Whichever is more convenient at that time."
"Death is a feeling?" Syn-D found herself say. Maximus turned to her, giving a raised eyebrow and a look of unimpressive ness.
Syn-D made a fake cough as she tried to come up with words to cover up her juvenile behavior. "Ah.. ahem.. well, I've heard of Atomic Betty before. In fact, Kanishi-sensei had warned me that if I were to work in deep space business, I'd eventually meet her." She momentarily pondered on her former teacher's words, which always had a meaning, but was hidden in a way that needed to be broken down.
"Well, he was right about that. In roughly thirty minutes, we'll be paying a visit to the planet, raiding their territory and causing havoc that will surely bring Atomic Betty to the 'rescue'. Once she has come, I'm leaving everything to you. I want to see why I hired you in the first place."
Syn-D pretty much got what he had ordered, and she enthusiastically accepted. "Yes, Sir," she said with one swift hand to her head. "I'll be sure to take care of her."
"Excellent. Minimus!" Maximus shouted over Syn-D's shoulder and the slumped assistant. "Set a direct course to Armvarn! We haven't got a minute to lose!"
"You don't have to ask twice, your maliciousness," Minimus said as he got up and headed for the controls. Maximus stood there, his eyebrow raised once more at his lackey's remark.
"Since when did I ask twice?" Maximus sharply questioned, although quickly wishing he could withdraw the pointless argument.
Minimus sighed and mumbled something that consisted of the words 'figure' and 'speech'. With the tap of a few buttons and levers, the base had swerved into the direction of the gray/orange planet. During the journey, Maximus contained his excitement.
This time.. for certain.. she will perish.
After spending hours finishing her homework and finding the right clothes for the performance, Betty was ready for tonight. The outfit she prepared after digging up and down in her closet resulted in something not too casual but not too formal. She decided to wear a long red skirt that her mother gave her during the usual shopping sprees. She also bought Betty a beige blouse with a stylish stitch on the front. Today, it made a great addition to the rest of her outfit.
For the first time in a long while, Betty decided to let her hair down. She wanted to save it for graduation, but it was not like all of her school friends were going to see her at the concert anyway. She wanted to look the best she could for tonight.
After quadruple checking that everything was in order, Betty ran downstairs and headed for the door.
"Are you sure you don't want a ride, honey?" Betty's mother shouted before she could even turn the doorknob.
"No, it's alright. It's not that far away, I'm fine walking."
"Okay then, but call me once it's over. I want to be sure you're alright."
Betty smiled with her back facing her mother. "Thanks mom, I will." And with that, she exited the house and made her way towards Mindallen Hall.
Mindallen Hall was not a popular concert hall. It only had two washrooms, two vending machines, and the main room which stored no more than one hundred and fifty seats. Nonetheless, many successful performances were held at the place.
Once she had made it to the entrance of the building, Betty desperately looked around to see who was entering the place. It was mainly students from different schools that she assumed she never heard of. There were even ones who were in high school. There was a rare amount of adults, which did not surprise her.
She opened the doors and made her way through the foyer. There was a bunch of people in line waiting for the main doors of the hall to open. Betty made an effort to stand on her toes to see if Dylan was outside of the room at all. When she could not find him, she made her way towards the end of the line. Just then, she heard a voice behind her that was recognizable. She turned around to see the boy talking to four other students who Betty supposed were the other members of his band. She inhaled deeply and began to march towards him.
And then, the unwanted occurred. Betty's eyes widened in disbelief as she heard her galactic wrist gear beep behind her back. She felt as if she was caught in an act that did not require a punishment.
"I don't.. believe this," she muttered as the people around her began to notice the noise coming from her wrist. Her first intention was to completely ignore the message and just continue to stay in line. Perhaps the beeping would cease in a minute or so. It was after half a minute that she realized who she was, Atomic Betty. She had been through situations like this before, having to leave at the worst possible time. She was beginning to suspect that evil forces were doing this to her on purpose. She closed her eyes, took a long breath inwards, and dove into the nearest restroom.
To her luck, the only woman in the washroom had just left. She had the place all to herself to deal with the situation.
"Atomic Betty, reporting for duty.. as usual.." Betty could not help but mutter the last part of her sentence.
Because it took a lengthy amount of time for Betty to respond, Admiral DeGill had his back turned and stood staring into space from his large window. Once he heard Betty's call, he took his pipe out of his mouth, but not before taking one last exhale and exposing a small bubble from the top. He turned around and went straight to business.
"Atomic Betty, thank goodness," DeGill began. "One of our most peaceful planets, Armvarn of the Quinrigo Solar System, has been invaded by Maximus. As of yet, his intentions are not quite clear. We need your help to investigate his intended goal and stop him from achieving them."
"Wait a minute," Betty interrupted. "What good is a peaceful planet to Maximus? Do they have any significant resources?"
"No, they do not," DeGill responded bluntly. "They don't believe in weaponry, fuel, or anything that could damage the fragile environment. That's why it's your job to find out of what use this planet is to Maximus."
Betty sighed. There was no way she could get out of this. "Alright, I'm on my way." She turned the signal off and sensed the ship with Sparky and X-5 hovering right above Mindallen Hall. She closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the beam that shot from the ceiling and encircled her body.
Nevertheless, she was a galactic guardian. Although she suffered through many hard missions, she managed to return at a good, or to the least, acceptable, time. Despite the fact that her main goal was to stop Maximus (again), she made sure that her other objective was to return in time for the concert. She would not let Dylan down after what she said. Absolutely not.
"I'm sorry Dylan, but I swear I'll be back in time."
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