All riiiight! Let's get cooking!

"...the true key to success is to have as many hot 60s-looking girls in your filmstrips as possible!"-Strong Bad E-mail "space program."

Chapter 9: A Story and An Arrest

When she came to, Beautiful Gorgeous found herself lying on sand under a palm tree. Her hands were wrapped in web in front of her, and her forearms were tethered to the roots of the tree. She was amazed to find the pain had gone!

"Hello, Beautiful," Cindy smirked, "Sleep well?" BG groaned and shielded her eyes from the sun. Jamal quickly half-hid behind Cindy.

"I," Beautiful said, "I'm alive?"

"As alive as you're gonna get," was Cindy's answer.

"Why don't I hurt?" the older woman asked, "I feel no pain, but I'm weak. Why is that?"

"Your lack of pain," she answered, "is because of the expert care of my friend. We know that's why you saved us; so she could save you. You're lucky that she had enough compassion to even put you out, let alone perform surgery on you. She took that blade out of you, sterilized you, and put you back together. Your weak condition is due to your loss of blood. You lost a lot of it, apparently. I'd expect any other person to be delirious with gratitude for what she did, but I know you too well to expect that from you." Cindy sat back on her bottom.

"Oh," she added, "And Libby and I took all your standard gadgets while you were asleep. You're not getting away this time." Beautiful Gorgeous said nothing.

"So," she finally asked, "What happens now?"

"Simple enough," Cindy shrugged, "Jimmy's gonna fix his hovercar and we're gonna turn you in." Beautiful Gorgeous scoffed.

"Big deal," she said, "I can deal with prison."

"Not when we've got you on murder," Cindy turned icy, "A government pilot is dead because of you, I understand. I'm afraid you've got a lot more to worry about than orange suits. You'll be losing a lot more than your already poor fashion sense." As they shared a silent battle of eye-lock, Libby walked up to them.

"Jimmy's almost done with the–oh," she said, seeing Beautiful Gorgeous awake, "You're awake. That's good, 'cause I've been wanting to ask you: how in the sam hill did you survive the helicopter crash, and with your injury, too?" Beautiful Gorgeous closed her eyes, sighed, and put her head back.

"Looks like I've got nothing left to do," she said, "It's not that long of a story...

"When the chopper went down, I was sure I was done for. The fire, the explosion, the water filling up inside, (shudder) oh, it was horrible. I don't know how it happened, but somehow, the back blade kept spinning until it broke on the rocks. One of the pieces found me, the same piece your personal doctor pulled out. With pain like that, you'd be paralyzed. I wasn't. I had to get out of that water and find you. I knew about your friend; many people do. My only hope was in her hands. That was the only thing that dragged me on my knees to shore. It pushed me through the jungle, those (profanity deleted) trees and bushes. The humidity was unbearable. When I neared the pond and heard you all panicking, I climbed that huge tree to stay safe. Wounded and a woman are not good things to be in a place like this, even if you're tough as nails.

"Anyway, when I saw your friend tied up in that web blanket and the rest of you being chased by that spider, I put two and two together. All I had was a laser on my wrist, which you two observant young ladies so kindly relieved me of, so I used it on the tree. It was the only tree I could find that would be big enough to destroy that monster, and it obviously worked. And, of course, you all know what happened after that."

"Snap," Libby whispered, her eyes slightly wide, "Bad as you are, lady, you're tough as nails and a survivor. I admire you for that, if nothing else." Beautiful Gorgeous eyed her.

"I'm so honored," she remarked curtly, "to be such a good influence."

"You'd have done better not to be any influence," Jimmy had approached them. A muscular hand touched BG's shoulder.

"Beautiful Gorgeous," Commander Baker said, "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Cindy Vortex and the murder of Timothy Johnson, our best helicopter pilot." He started to lift her up.

"Sir, please be careful," Alex ran to them, "She's recovering from a serious injury..."

"Jimmy!" Cindy stood and faced her fiancee, "Where did these people come from?" She and Libby noticed a squad of agents and what looked like a fancy-pants underwater jet.

"The hovercar won't fit us all and Beautiful Gorgeous," he said, "so I called in a 'personal escort' for her." The two lovers watched Commander Baker escort Beautiful Gorgeous to the water jet under Alex's careful tutelage.

"Hey, Commander B!" Sheen ran after him, "I want to ride with Beautiful Gorgeous in the cool water jet, too!" Growling, Libby shoved up her sleeve and want to remind "the Sheenster" who his heart belonged to. Carl covered Jamal's eyes from it and taught him the "We're spies" song. Cindy leaned wearily on Jimmy.

"It's not over yet, is it?" she asked.

"No," he said, "I'm afraid not." There was one more ordeal to go through with Beautiful Gorgeous...their last one.

"We'll have to watch, won't we?" she looked up at him.

His eyes were troubled, but they held the answer, like they often did.

"They may ask us to," he dully said. Cindy held onto him.

"No, Jimmy," she trembled, "I'm not sure I could take it."

"Hey," he quieted her and rubbed her back, "It's gonna be okay, Cindy. We'll get through this like we did everything else." She nodded wordlessly and looked at her left hand. The icon was still there, like a faint tan line. She smiled, remembering that they had a wedding to plan.

Meanwhile, Alex fussed over Beautiful Gorgeous.

"Oh, listen to this," BG said, "Her friend was hurt too, yet she's freaking out over a villain."

"There's a whole world of difference between your injuries, Beautiful Gorgeous," Alex said icily, "And you know it. You shot Cindy with a .45 in one of the least fatal places it could have reached, and only because you were desperate to hurt her. You were gashed by a helicopter blade, broke two ribs, and nearly lost too much blood to keep you alive! You almost DIED, BG! I don't know about you, but I'd feel a little more meek after having a literal near-death experience!"

"She's got a point," Sheen scooted next to Alex, "Plus, I'd feel grateful to the person who just saved my life."

"Not that we're hinting or anything," Libby said sarcastically next to Sheen, "but a thank you would be nice."

"What for?" BG calmly retorted, "It doesn't matter. I'm going down anyway."

"What do you mean?" Alex snapped her head up.

"She murdered someone, Ms. Turner," Commander Baker touched her shoulder, "You know what that means." Alex stared at him. Of course she knew; BG was a notorious villain who killed and tried to kill. Still, it was hard for Alex. She'd never lost anyone before, and this was tantamount to if BG had died in the first place.

Maybe, she thought, that would have been better.

Author's Review:

Okay, for the record, I don't know about guns or capital punishment or anything like that stuff. It's fan fiction; so just go with it, 'kay?

I think this chapter is probably going to attract some more sympathy for Alex. The last time was in her debut, The Night in New Jersey, where Jimmy and Cindy first met her. Those of you who read that story remember well that her best friend had died by her own hand. But I don't need to explain all that again...even though I pretty much already did. But it's like I said: You definitely catch a little more of Alex's nature of nurture! XD (Get it?)

If any of y'all are wondering what the crap Jimmy and Cindy were talking about in that last scene, just keep your eyes out for the next and final chapter. You've all been great so far, but if you want to finish it out, you're going to have to keep an eye out for me! ;D L8R!

-samuraistar