Here we go people. It's the race against the clock to save Will and the Guardians' families. I do not own anything.
Kurt Wagner combs his hair back and gives a knowing smile to his reflection in the mirror. He points at himself in the mirror and chuckles, "Time to give Dawn a nice afternoon." He teleports in front of Dawn's door and straightens his clothes to look ready to give her a nice day out.
He reaches to knock on her door when he hears, "You can come in Kurt."
Kurt chuckles and teleports onto the balcony's ledge of her room to see her staring out at the view. He sees the blank look on her face and asks, "Is everzing alright?"
Dawn sighs, "No Kurt, it's Stacy."
"Oh boy…"
"Her aura is fluctuating Kurt. She's about to go into something that she has never done before, and I can't tell what it is." Dawn's cool demeaner crumbles as she grips the ledge of the balcony. "She's…she's heading into a battle Kurt, and I don't know why it's making me worry."
Kurt looks away in thought. 'Why would Stacy about to be fighting some battle? She's…Oh yeah, she sneaked along vid Danny.' "Danny would make sure noding will happen to her."
"There's more to it than that Kurt." She mutters sadly.
"Huh?" Kurt looks at his girlfriend in surprise.
"I'm feeling the auras of the people around her Kurt." She closes her eyes and starts to shake. "She's…she's fighting kids Kurt, and I don't understand why she would be doing that."
Kurt's eyes widen understanding why she is frightened but realizes one specific detail she said. "Vait, did you say kids?"
"Yeah, their aura shows that they are young kids, but it just…doesn't feel like they're normal kids."
Kurt blinks, "You zink ve need to talk to da Professor?"
Dawn shakes her head. "I want to, but this…I don't think Professor Xavier would know anything about this."
"Zen vhat do ve do? You look to shaken up about it, and if you don't vant to talk to da Professor…"
"We'll talk to Max." Dawn says getting Kurt to look unsure. "I know that this is weird Kurt, but his aura has a small bit of the weird aura I'm feeling from these kids. I might not know what it is, but you should trust me when I say that Max Tennyson might know what I am talking about."
"If you're sure…
"I am." She looks at Kurt with a pleading look getting him to sigh in defeat.
"Fine. Let's go talk to Max." He grabs his girlfriend's hand and teleports them to a different part of the mansion.
The leader fires his laser guns, and Will and Irma put a field of electricity and water to block the shots fired. Ninja jumps over the field and lands on the big vehicle in front of the leader with his sword pointed at the leader's face. "We'll say this once kid. Drop your guns before we force you and the others to surrender." Ninja warns the leader.
"No!" The leader points his guns at Ninja only for them to get slapped out of his hands from Ninja's sword.
Ninja moves his sword behind his back and deflects another shot fired his back and glances at the kids behind him. "I suggest you do what I say."
The leader pulls a walkie out and yells, "Activate Operation: Guardian!"
Ninja shakes his head when all the kids point their laser guns at him. "Why does everyone take the hard way and never the easy way?" Ninja complains hating that the kids refuse to give up their silly notion of hating teens.
"Because they want to destroy the world." Phantom says freezing all the laser guns in the kids' hand surprising the kids from the sudden attack.
Aqua raises an eyebrow, "And you know that because…?"
"I had to deal with their kind before." The kids drop their weapons and pull out more laser pistols getting a frightened look from Aqua.
"And just how many weapons do these kids have?" Aqua asks not liking their situation.
"Don't know, but I'm not wanting to find out either." Will has electricity run off her body getting ready to short circuit the guns.
"I'll take care of these guys." Ninja tells them as he points his sword at the leader who does not flinch from the weapon. "You guys get inside and find the families."
Suddenly the area around them becomes dark as giant metal doors close around the whole parking garage. The leader smirks as multiple guns pop out of the wall and says, "You should have killed me when you had the chance."
"I don't kill." Ninja tells the leader.
Phantom grabs the girls and becomes intangible getting them to become intangible as well. Irma shivers and looks at her body to see through her hands. She watches as they go through the ground and looks at the others to see they are not bothered by what is happening to them. She looks at Ninja s he jumps off the vehicle with his sword still pointing at the leader and his team of ten kids. 'Be careful.' She thinks before her sight goes blind as they lower into the ground.
Ninja gets into a battle stance and smirks, "Let's see what you really got 'leader.'"
The leader growls, "Get him!"
The kids start firing their lasers at Ninja as he gets low to the ground. Ninja pulls out a smoke bomb and throws it on the ground immediately disappearing from the spot as the lasers hit the smoke. A bright ball lands in the middle of the kids, but none of the kids notice it until it blows up in flames getting the kids to fly in multiple directions. Ninja reappears next the garage door and slices the laser gun off the wall. 'Time to get stealthy.' He throws his Ninja rings and destroys two of the lights getting the kids to flinch as their visibility goes down.
"What's going on?" One of the kids asks as he is the last to notice that the room is getting darker.
"He's obstructing our sight of him by destroying the lights." The leader explains as two more lights get destroyed.
"Pretty smart." Ninja remarks throwing two more ninja rings destroying two more lights. "Of course, it would be wise to surrender before I humiliate all of you."
"Fat chance teen." A random kid says before a chain surrounds his waist. "What the…?"
"Too bad then." Ninja replies pulling the kid away from the others. He moves the kid behind a pillar and knocks the kid unconscious by chopping the kid on the back of the neck. He ties the kid up with some rope and moves the kid to a comfortable position. "I'll be honest about something." Ninja jumps onto the pillar then moves to another pillar. "You kids should learn from your piers about what is right and wrong."
"We don't need to listen to you and your lecture teen." A blond girl says as the team looks around carefully.
"Of course, you wouldn't." Ninja throws two ninja rings at two more light and another two ninja rings at the closest laser guns on the wall destroying all four at the same time. "Of course, that would matter if you didn't capture adults especially the parents of my friend, so not bruce." Ninja pulls out an electric ball and throws it in the middle of the kids.
The kids watch the electric ball fly in the middle of them, and the leader notices the electricity spark off the ball. "Duck and cover!" The leader orders his team.
The ball hits the ground causing a flash of electricity to come out and hit the weapons making the kids drop their weapons immediately. Ninja destroys two more lights making the area barely visible for the kids to see him. "I'll be honest with you guys. I was expecting something more." Ninja throws his scarf out and wraps it around to of the kids before pulling them into the darkness. He pulls out some rope and knocks the two kids out before tying them up.
The leader looks around starting to notice his team was a little smaller and tries to keep his eyes peeled on his opponent. "We're not scared of you!"
"You should be." Ninja shoots a blast of wind out and hits the leader making him fly back and hit a pillar. He walks out into the open with his chain sickle in his hand. "Now, are you going to give up or make this harder?"
Phantom phases the girls and him into the main room and notices the cells in front of them. "Wow, they really don't try to organize around here." Phantom mutters not sure why a garage and jail cells would be in the same room.
"Makes it easier for us to find our parents." Will admits liking the idea of not looking around too long for her mother and stepfather.
Aqua drops onto the ground out of Phantom's grip and looks over the cells. She slides across the floor to the first cell and sees no one in it. "This one's empty."
Will and Irma get out of Phantom's hold as well and fly to different cells to check them. "Mine's empty too." Will announces.
Irma sighs, "Same here."
Phantom lands on the ground and looks at his surroundings as Aqua checks the next cell. "Got another empty one here." Aqua tells them.
Phantom tunes out them announcing if they found the adults as he notices how empty the room is. He looks around carefully when it finally clicks. "Where are all the kids?" He asks getting the girls to stop in their tracks.
Aqua looks around quickly noticing that Phantom's question brought up a good point. "He's right. Where are the kids? If I announced the plan name over a walkie talkie or whatever, I wouldn't have the whole team with me upstairs with that ninja." Aqua points out.
"Would that mean our families aren't here?" Irma asks not liking what she is hearing.
"We got one more cell to check." Will flies over to the cell and sees that it is empty as well. "Darn it!"
"Where would they take them?" Irma asks as she balls her hands up angrily. "What do they have to gain from attacking our families?"
"Well, they hate teens." Aqua starts.
"Thank you for pointing out the obvious." Irma remarks.
"They hate anyone who isn't a kid." Phantom says knowing where Aqua was taking the conversation. "Only downside is that we don't know what they want or are going to do."
"Then we try to find out what it is then." Will says getting Aqua and Irma to nod their heads.
Phantom puts his right hand on his chin and thinks, 'We could find out what they're going to do, but in order to do that we need one of the agents. Unfortunately, they won't tell us a thing. They've been trained enough to keep their mouth shut if the last team is anything to go by.'
"Phantom?"
Phantom looks at Will and nods, "I'll try phasing through the base and try to find them. You guys take care of any kids you find and try to figure out where your families are."
Will nods, "Ok, let's go then." She waves for Aqua and Irma to follow her before flying off with the two following her.
Aqua glances back at Phantom who gives her a serious look. Don't have second thoughts. He mouths to her getting her to nod understanding his words. She runs out of the room and follows Will and Irma hoping to save the Guardians' families.
"Why am I starting to feel uneasy about this mission now?" Phantom mutters not sure why he was getting a bad feeling of their situation.
A blue portal opens a few feet behind Phantom, and Bunnyx walks out of the portal with a frown on her face. Phantom turns around noticing the frown on her face as the portal closes behind her. "Hey Phantom…" Bunnyx starts unsure of how she should start their conversation.
"Where are the kids?" Phantom asks raising an eyebrow.
"Safe with Marinette." Bunnyx answers with no hesitation. "I went through time to get a specific time she can watch all three of the kids while we handle this."
Phantom smiles, "Good, now we just need to find the adults and save them."
Bunnyx makes an uneasy face and mutters, "That's why I'm here."
"What do you mean?" Phantom's uneasy feeling grows at her facial expression. 'Why would she say something like that?'
"As I mentioned when we met, I can travel through time and space, and I recently learned that I can see what and things will happen for the event." Bunnyx admits.
"Where are you going with this?"
Bunnyx swallows nervously, "I learned that something terrible will happen on this mission, and no matter what plan we make…" Bunnyx pauses and takes a deep breath with a sigh. "We still fail."
"Fail?" Phantom mutters not liking what he is hearing. "What do we fail at?"
Bunnyx balls her hands up. "Saving Will and her friends' parents."
"The signal's strength is coming from the downtown area." Aelita says as the Avengers run and fly after her.
"Do we even know what is going on?" Hank asks while riding a flying red ant.
"Wish I did." Tony admits as he examines Phantom's location from his satellite. "Jarvis, close the view into Phantom's location."
Right away sir.
Tony's view on the screen in front of him inside his armor moves in and stops on a building completely covered in metal. "Ok, that is definitely weird."
"What is it?" Wasp asks glancing at Tony not sure on how she should react to his words.
"Phantom's location is coming from a building that's completely covered in metal, and my sensors indicate that it's not from this planet." Tony explains.
"Then we'll just smash it!" Hulk says hating that he must move at their pace wanting to jump to Phantom's location immediately.
"I wouldn't do that big guy. My scanners are indicating that this metal is almost like vibranium. One punch could cause some major backlash to the city."
"How can you tell when we're not even there?" Hank asks raising an eyebrow under his mask as he rides a flying ant near Tony.
"Angelic Code might have upgraded my satellites the past couple months with her abilities. It actually comes in really handy especially when the building has metal covering the top of it." Tony admits not feeling ashamed about boosting his ego.
"I do not know a single thing of what is being said." Thor mutters not liking the idea of being left out of the conversation.
"Wait a minute." The camera changes the view from the building to the people surrounding the building. "Great, Shield's here. This is just what we need." Ironman sarcastically remarks not liking the idea of S.H.I.E.L.D. being involved.
"Leave it to Shield to leave something else out." Wasp mutters distastefully.
"Hmph, let's just find Phantom and forget Fury." Hulk suggests wanting to fight some villains.
"Wish it was that easy Hulk, but Fury is most likely blocking our way to get into that building." Tony points out not liking the situation they will need to face. "Though it is very tempting."
Nick Fury looks up and sighs when he sees the Avengers coming in his direction. "This is not what I need right now."
Aelita lands on the ground first with the others landing behind or beside her with Hulk bring up the rear. "Alright Fury, what's going on?" Tony asks getting right to the point.
"That's none of your business Stark." Fury answers not wanting to deal with the new team right now.
"None of my business, huh? Then why does that metal covered building filled with energy that could cause destruction to the entire city?" Stark asks not liking the readings he was getting from his scanners.
"That's just how the Galactic Kids Next Door work." Aelita answers getting her teammates and Fury to look at her. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Aelita give Fury a knowing look while crossing her arms.
"Knowing you, you'll find out in a few days without us even knowing, but my thoughts are more on the fact that I wasn't expecting to see you guys here." Fury admits finding that the Avengers should be dealing with the escaped prisoners not stopping a group of alien kids.
"We're here for my cousin." Wasp answers as she flies up to Fury's face. "You know…the teen who could walk through walls…"
"I know he's your cousin Wasp." Fury interrupts before she can continue her explanation.
"Oh good, have you seen him?"
"No, but why would he be here in the first place? Wasn't today your first day in Stark's new Avengers' mansion?"
"It was supposed to be, but one of us got called in to help fight some villains without calling the rest of the team in." Tony admits not liking what he is telling Fury.
"Hmph, he should have brought us along." Hulk remarks hating that he was not fighting evil villains.
"He would have if it wasn't a last-minute decision." Aelita reminds Hulk. "Plus, you saw the park. Something like that leading to this is definitely not good."
"You want to tell us what's going on now Fury, or are we going to have to find out on our own?" Hank asks not wanting this to get complicated but knows that the situation is not good for anyone.
Fury sighs deciding that the Avengers need to know what is going on. "For the past few months Shield has been picking up strange signals across the world. We've never been able to track these signals until a few months ago in France when we've finally got a lead on some suspicious activity from some kids. Luckily we've learned bits and pieces about the secret organization known as the Galactic Kids Next Door before having Maurice track down those kids in France."
"You mean the team you sent before that the kids killed?" Aelita asks crossing her arms getting Hank, Tony, and Jan to widen their eyes in surprise while Hulk and Thor kept neutral faces.
"That was supposed to be a scout team, and it is bad that we lost them, but that is not what I'm trying to point out." Fury points out getting Aelita to shrug. "Our sources have been trying to track down more teams planted on our planet, and we were able to track down this team."
"Looks like you were late finding them." Hulk points out getting Fury to sigh.
"You're right Hulk. We were late… except for Maurice." Fury adds getting Aelita to hold her tongue. "Maurice decided to leave before the team to scout things out. The upside is that we've confirmed him to be inside those walls, but the downside is that he's on his own with whoever is inside."
Maurice watches Ninja mess with the kids and smirks, "Man, he's playing around with them like no tomorrow. I better wait for the right moment to join in."
The leader looks around starting to notice his team was a little smaller and tries to keep his eyes peeled on his opponent. "We're not scared of you!"
"You should be." Ninja shoots a blast of wind out and hits the leader making him fly back and hit a pillar. He walks out into the open with his chain sickle in his hand. "Now, are you going to give up or make this harder?"
'There's my cue.' Maurice thinks moving from his spot to be near the leader.
"We're never going to surrender to you, teen scum." The leader growls as moves to get back on his feet.
Maurice puts his foot on the leader's back getting the kid to fall back onto the ground and points one of his pistols at the leader. "You know I would normally agree with you when I was younger." Maurice starts getting the leader to look up at Maurice. "Sadly, I've learned that you are not members of the Kids Next Door. So, I'm just going to repeat what this ninja asked. Surrender or face seeing your team get beaten."
"Numbuh 9…" The leader mutters in fear. "How do you remember?"
Maurice gives the kid a serious look and mutters, "Nothing personal kid, but you don't have clearance to know. Now surrender."
The other kids stare at Maurice in shock allowing Ninja to knock all of them out before they could react to him. He walks over to the leader and Maurice and asks, "Well, what's your decision leader? Get knocked out like the rest of your team or give up and stay conscious?"
The leader glares at his captors and says, "You really believe that I should listen to a couple of teens? Please, I wasn't born in a barn or even on this planet. Do your worst. I bet you…" Maurice knocks the kid unconscious and sighs disappointed with the kid's choice.
"Ok, who are you, and why did you do that?" Ninja asks not sure if the teen in front of him is a friend or foe.
"Name's Maurice. I'm here because Fury sent me to infiltrate this base and try to figure out where the Galactic Kids Next Door are hiding their other bases on our planet." Maurice answers giving the leader a disappointed look. "To think the members of a Kids Next Door unit would hit so low."
"Are you the only one here that Fury sent?"
"Yes, mostly because I went ahead against orders." Maurice admits smirking at Ninja. "You got a problem with that?"
"Does Fury tend to make people dislike him more than friends?"
Maurice chuckles, "Left a bad impression on you too?"
"You could say that." Ninja admits deciding to leave the conversation for another time. "Anyway, should we continue into the base or try to get these kids to Shield?"
"Let me contact Fury." Maurice pushes the button on his com link and says, "Fury, you there?" He hears static and waits a couple seconds for a response. "Fury, are you there?"
Ninja hears the static the second time and pulls his communicator out. He brings up the call screen and hits 'Wade' on the screen. He hears the communicator ring and waits for Wade to answer. The communicator continues ringing getting Ninja to raise an eyebrow. 'That's weird. Wade usually answers immediately. Is there something blocking us from communicating with people outside of here? Can't be. Angelic Code is the best technological person on the planet, and I doubt someone was able to block her private signal…unless…' Ninja pulls out his Electro ball and mutters, "Hope this works."
"What are you doing?" Maurice asks when he sees the green and yellow ball in his hand.
"Making a powerful signal…I hope."
"What's that supposed to mean? Our communication devices are blocked from being sent or received. No one can make any contact with us." Maurice explains not wanting Ninja to complicate the situation.
"Relax." Ninja spins the Electro ball in his hand and gives Maurice a serious look. "I can handle this." He touches the Electro ball onto his communicator and watches the sparks go through the device. 'Come on Wade. Answer it.'
The device spasms a bit before Wade appears on the screen with a concern look on his face. "Ninja, you need to answer me now! Come on…Ninja!" Wade yells happy that he has finally got in contact his friend.
"Good to see you too Wade, but I don't know how long we'll stay connected."
"That's why I've been trying to strengthen the signal. You and the others are trapped inside a giant cage of energy that can destroy the whole city if not shut off!"
Maurice makes a serious expression thinking, 'Well that's not good.'
"Have you figured anything out about the base?"
"I was able to download the schematics of the base and am sending them to you as we're talking. You need to shut off the main power source without causing any problems with the power to cause negative feedback to the city."
"Wait, one wrong move can destroy the city? What the juice? How stupid are these kids?!" Ninja asks not liking anything about his situation.
"Alien kids, but that's not the point." Wade reminds Ninja. "You and the others will have to find…to shut…"
"Wade, you're breaking up!"
"The signal…find…power…off."
The screen goes to the main call screen getting Ninja to sigh. "Well, looks like we got a mission." Maurice says getting Ninja to look at him.
"What do you mean we?" Ninja raises an eyebrow at Maurice with a questioning look.
"You really expect me to stay here when I need to get to the mainframe to find the other base locations?"
"Good point." Ninja puts his communicator down and pulls some rope up tying up the leader of the alien kids. He grabs the communicator and opens the small letter getting the schematics of the base to appear on his screen. "Looks like we might be able to join up with the others along the way."
"Now that I think about it, why are you guys here?" Maurice asks realizing that he has not asked why Ninja was here along with the others.
"They took my friend's parents captive. That a good enough reason?" Ninja asks not wanting to explain more of the situation.
Maurice nods, "Yep, let's go."
"What do you mean Will's parents and her friends' parents will die?" Phantom asks wanting to make sure he heard Bunnyx right.
Bunnyx sighs, "When we first met, I told you guys that I can travel through time, and I also told you that I am new with my powers."
"You did mention something like that." Phantom admits recalling how they met before things started to go south from the previous fight.
"I recently found out that I can see time."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Phantom makes a confused on her explanation.
Bunnyx thinks on how she will explain what she means and says, "The last few times I've burrowed I went to specific parts of time meaning I knew where and when I wanted to go in time."
"Okay…?"
Bunnyx sighs, "On my way back, I didn't know and found myself in my burrow which allows me to see events about to happen or already happened in history."
"Hence the time seeing?"
Bunnyx nods, "Yeah, at first I was confused…I mean who wouldn't be. When you use time powers for the first time you expect things to a bit easier than it actually is."
Phantom makes an understanding face. "I think that's any power."
Bunnyx smiles, "Yeah, you're right about that." Bunnyx shakes her head realizing that they are starting to get off topic. "Long story short, I was able to find the specific part in time where we try to save the adults, and the results…" Bunnyx frowns and looks away in shame. "We lost."
"What do you mean?"
"I was able to see all of the possibilities of how we try to save the parents, but every idea I could come up with or find ended the same with other drastic results." Bunnyx admits making an uneasy face.
"What's the worst?"
"The whole city blows up with everyone in it leaving a giant crater and nothing else."
Danny makes a disgusted face at hearing that and shakes his head not wanting to end with that result. "The best result?"
"Only the ten adults die."
"Why do we fail in saving them? It's not like they're being tied down by some specific bomb or something that will go off if someone else touches it." Phantom points out unaware he just explained the whole situation. He notices her wince and close her eyes sighing in defeat. He widens his eyes realizing he just explained the whole situation. "No way."
"Yeah, there's nothing we can do."
"There's always something…"
"Not this time." Bunnyx interrupts him. "The alien tech is smart enough to know when it is tampered with. The kids have been studying and making all kinds of tech that can counter any power on this planet. The only people they can't counter are Thor and Hulk, and it'll only be Hulk in a month if the base hidden underwater isn't destroyed and dealt with."
"Uh…spoilers I guess?"
Bunnyx balls her hands up and mutters, "Do I have to keep explaining our situation even more?"
Phantom looks away sighing in defeat. "You say that there is nothing we can do to save them, but I don't believe it."
"Time out!"
Bunnyx watches the area around her freeze and looks the area around her nervously. "Uh…who said that?"
"I did young Alix."
Alix turns around taking a couple steps back with her umbrella pointing at the man in a purple cloak holding a staff with a clock on it. She notices the clock-like mechanism in his chest and asks, "Who are you, and how do you know who I am?"
"All in good time young Alix, but I'm not here to talk to you." The man shifts into an old man with a long beard without changing his style of clothes and pulls out a time medallion.
"What is that?" Alix asks narrowing her eyes at the old man. "And how did you change your age?"
The old man shifts into his young child form and smiles, "In full Alix, there is so much you are going to learn when it comes to your powers both magical and mutational."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"So many questions so little time. I would like to answer them, but that would be cheating. I only came for Danny to help him understand the direness of the situation."
Alix catches on what the age shape shifting male in front of her is saying and lowers her umbrella. The male shifts into his adult form and walks past her getting her to turn around and watch him walk up to Danny. 'Who is this guy?' She wonders as the man puts the medallion around Danny's neck.
Danny blinks and continues, "There's just got to…be…" He stops when he sees the male standing in front of him with Bunny standing a few feet behind him with a confused look on her face. "Uh…who are you, and how did you get here?"
"My name young Daniel is Clockwork, and I know you'll have many questions as to what is going on, but the road you are about to get on is something that I must interfere with before you make the choice to let your world lead to ruin." Clockwork answers getting Danny to flinch from those words.
"Wait a minute, road leading to destruction? What kind of decision could I make that could lead the world to destruction?"
"Hundreds of them."
Danny frowns, "That doesn't really answer my question."
"Oh, but it does. The choice you will make here can lead to multiple scenarios most of which will lead to the destruction of the city." Clockwork shifts into his old form getting Danny to take a step back in surprise.
"Destruction of the city? I want to be able to save everyone. Is that so wrong of me to do?" Danny asks rhetorically not liking the idea of destroying the city.
"They can't be saved Danny." Bunnyx says walking up next to Clockwork. "Every path leads to the death and destruction of Will's parents and her friends' parents. I already told you that."
"I know, but you can't just expect me to believe someone I just recently met that I should believe everything you just told me." Phantom reasons getting Alix to sigh and Clockwork to smile.
"A wise choice of words Daniel, but the choices you make here will kill everyone in the city including Aelita."
Danny narrows his eyebrows and asks, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your team is here worried about your well-being Daniel. Did you really think they wouldn't track you down and leave you alone?"
"Well…" Danny trails off realizing that he has not thought about what the Avengers were going to do while he is gone. "Ok, I never thought about it."
"Wow, I honestly thought you would have thought about them." Alix remarks a little surprised that Phantom did not think about his teammates.
"Can you blame me? I've been busy the past couple hours fighting the Elementals and making sure Will's friends are ok." Danny points out.
Alix makes an uneasy face realizing that she was busy saving the children at that time. "Sorry."
Clockwork chuckles, "It is good to see your heart in the right place Daniel, but your journey has only begun. This situation has multiple outcomes, and young Alix has seen multiple outcomes with only one success where you and your friends survive."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Phantom asks not sure what Clockwork means.
"He means that out of all the times I watched us trying to save the families; there was only one time where all five of us survived. All the other times, one of us went in there to try and remove the bomb with the…" Bunnyx trails off looking away in despair. "The kids set a room up to trap us inside with the parents. The moment someone goes in there the doors will automatically shut with a safety feature to make sure we can't escape once the bombs go off."
"So, we just turn off the walls then?"
"I wish it was that easy." Alix admits tightening her grip on her umbrella. "Every time I've seen the walls up, the explosion goes beyond the building and destroys the city."
Danny balls his hands up and asks, "Is that all that happens?"
"There are more details, but you don't need to know them yet." Clockwork answers not missing a beat. "You are young Daniel, but there are things that you will need to learn on your own."
"Then why are you here, and what is going on here?" He finally feels the medallion around his neck and asks, "What is this thing?"
"Why am I here? Hm, a good question, one of which I can answer if you actually decide to listen to what I have to say." Clockwork summarizes getting Danny to ball his hands up.
"Fine."
"Good." Clockwork walks past Danny shifting into a young form. "You are in a shift time where everything around us is frozen in time. The medallion around your neck allows you to here with me and other time users."
"Like Bunnyx?"
Clockwork smiles, "Exactly, time is a mystery to those who never understand it. Of course, I know everything. My power allows me to see time from all points: the twists, the turns, and the natural. All humans see life as something they want to save or destroy. You and Bunnyx want to save the lives of those who deserve to live, and I want to make sure that time does not fall in on itself."
"What do you mean?" Phantom asks raising an eyebrow.
"That's something you'll have to find out on your own. I can't reveal everything that'll be cheating, but your choice to save Will's family will only bring catastrophic events."
"Right, you guys keep saying that the city will blow up or one of us will die, but why should I believe you if you never showed me the truth?"
Alix sighs, "Think of it like a surprise party. Would you like to see yourself die over and over again by making the wrong choice?"
Danny winces at the implication. "Ok, I see your point, but you still can't expect me to believe everything you say."
Clockwork nods, "True, but your judgement of character has led you to be a good leader for the X-men and a good friend even to some of your enemies."
"Then why all of this? Why would you come visit me personally? What is so important that you have to come to me?"
Clockwork sighs and becomes an adult. "Daniel, this explosion will cause a major unbalance not just for the people but for the power of time itself." Clockwork makes a screen appear in front of Danny showing a little boy being held by Will.
"Wait, that's Will and her brother." Danny blinks surprised to see a picture of his friend and her little brother.
"A brother whose magical power can rival that of any caliber of power if not trained properly." Clockwork explains.
"Including you?"
Clockwork frowns, "This boy's power is dangerous, but he's always had the Guardians protecting him."
"And with three of them out of commission the other two could die leaving him unprotected." Danny realizes seeing the big picture Clockwork was showing him.
"There are multiple reasons including this one for why you need to make the right decision Daniel. I know you'll make the right choice." Clockwork makes the screen disappear and shifts into his old form. "Keep in mind 'Not all choices feel right even if it is for the better.'"
"Time in!"
Danny blinks noticing that he was hearing the devices around and mutters, "I feel like this is not going to be good no matter what."
"Not going to argue." Bunnyx admits noticing that Clockwork was not anywhere in the room with them.
"But why did it sound like he was leaving something important out?"
Bunnyx shrugs, "Don't know, but he has good reasons, even if I did just meet him as well."
Danny sighs, 'He almost sounds like a crazy lunatic, but he never sounded deceitful. Everything around us was frozen, and it's almost impossible to freeze time unless…Clockwork, just who are you?'
"What are you going to do?"
Phantom sighs, "I still believe that there's another way to do this, but…for the sake of Will, I don't want her to lose her family."
"If there was a way to save everyone, I would tell you." Bunnyx closes her eyes and sighs, "This isn't going to be easy for either of us."
Danny runs his hands through his hair and turns around to look at Bunnyx. "You're right, and if I find out there was a way to save them, I'm going to blame you."
"I'll accept that, but from what I saw, there's a high chance one of us will die if we do this wrong." Bunnyx looks down and thinks about something for a second. "Why are you being so doubtful anyway?"
"Would you accept that you'll fail what you came here to do by someone you just met a couple hours ago?" Phantom asks her.
Bunnyx makes an understanding face and nods accepting his answer. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Either way, I don't want to accept the fact that we only came here to lose, and well, it doesn't help we barely know each other." Phantom admits looking down at his hands with a frown. "No one likes losing real or fake, and trust…Well, trust is a two-way streak."
Bunnyx looks away contemplating what she should reply with and makes her choice. "You're right. My real name is Alix."
Phantom looks at her with a blank look. "I didn't mean you had to tell me your real name."
Alix twirls her umbrella and rests it on her shoulder as she says, "Let's just call it even since I learned your name by accident. Deal?"
Phantom smiles, "I guess I can accept that."
"You do know that the others won't believe us."
"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Phantom admits as he grabs her shoulder and asks, "You know the way to the room?"
Alix nods, "I do, but we're going to need to avoid meeting the others in order to make sure they survive."
Phantom sighs and runs his free hand through his hair. "Why does it feel like this mission is a death sentence?"
"Honestly, I don't know, and I don't want to find out why." Alix admits shuddering at what could be occurring behind the scenes with the alien kids. "I'll tell you which way to go, and you fly us there." 'I can't let him go into the Burrow. If he ever finds out that he could, future me would be angry if Danny changes the time stream. There are so many things we need to avoid changing. Why does protecting time sound so hard and easy at the same time?'
Danny shrugs, "Sounds good to me."
"This probably would have been easier if we knew where to go." Irma says as the three girls hide behind a wall with Will looking around carefully.
"Not going to argue with you Irma, but our situation wouldn't be much better if we did know where to go." Will points out.
"Probably would have been easier if I had gone ahead like I suggested a couple minutes ago." Aqua remarks getting the other two to shush her. Aqua rolls her eyes and drops to the ground as a puddle of water. 'Want me to prove you wrong? Fine, I will.' She goes off down the hallway Will is looking and heads off ahead of her with Will missing the puddle of water moving.
"Coast is clear." Will tells them.
"You sure took your time there." Will turns her head and gives Irma a dirty look who shrugs in response. "You did. I bet the readers are thinking the same thing."
Will blinks, "What readers?"
"You know. They're the people reading this story we're in."
Will flicks Irma on her forehead and shakes head. "Focus on saving our families then try to lighten the mood."
Irma shrugs and smiles, "Can't blame a girl for trying."
Will rolls her eyes and smiles softly, "I can, but I won't."
"Fair enough."
Will turns her head forward and gets her mind back on their situation. "Let's just go. Don't fall behind Aqua." The girls take a couple steps before realizing that Aqua did not respond. "Aqua?"
Irma turns her head to see no one behind her. "Ah man, we lost her…again."
"Or she went on ahead…again." Will admits with a sour face.
"How in the world do we lose her five times in just six minutes? That's got to be a record."
Will shakes her head. "Let's just hurry up and catch up with her. By the way, it's twice and four minutes." Will reminds her friend.
Irma scoffs and waves off Will's excuse. "Details, the point is that she still did it, and we're chasing her."
"Fine, let's go." The two fly off after Aqua unaware of what they are about to face.
Aqua moves through the hallways in her water form and stops when she hears multiple footsteps heading her way. She moves up against the wall and watches as multiple kids run past her. "Hurry it up team. The Guardians need to be delayed long enough for us to get those adults in the trap." A blonde kid, wearing a pot on his head, orders the other kids as they were running down the hallway.
"Do you think the leader will be able hold them long enough with his team?" One kid asks the blonde kid.
"I don't know, Numbuh -471, but we need to believe." The blonde kid answers.
Aqua chases after them and makes her head pop out of the puddle of water. 'I can't let them delay Danny's friends. They need to find their families!' Stacy forms the rest of her body and yells, "Hey kids!"
All the kids stop in their tracks and turn around to see Aqua standing there with water dripping off her body. "Who is she?" A random kid asks.
Aqua makes her water stop in mid-air and narrows her eyebrows at the group of kids. "Ok, this is what is going to happen. You're going to tell me and my friends where the adults are being kept, and…"
A kid snorts, "Yeah right, we're not idiots."
"You probably should have let me finish." Stacy remarks before throwing all the water on the ground and in the air at the kids.
"Duck!" The blonde kid yells getting all the kids to drop to the ground from her attack. The blonde kid looks up at Aqua with a glare and points his weapon at her. "I don't know who you are teen, but you made the wrong choice to attack us here in the middle of the open."
"I would say the same thing." She moves her right hand down getting a water drop to become sharp and slice right into the blonde's weapon. The kid's eyes widen in surprise, and the gun explodes making the kid fly back and hit the ground groaning in pain from the surprise attack. Aqua walks slowly to the kids as they look up noticing the water that is waiting above them to make. "Please don't make this harder for me. I'm not exactly happy to be around here either."
"You won't hurt us." A bold kid says as he gets on his feet. "You wearing a mask shows you prefer being a heroic type than a hurting type, teen."
"You're right." Aqua swings her fist out stretching it out in water and punches the kid in the stomach. "But I'm also in a hurry and know that you're not human. So, your big lead of trying to surprise me is already out the window." She removes her fist allowing the kid to fall to his knees in pain as he drops his gun and grabs his stomach where Aqua punched him.
The blonde kid gets back on his feet and glares at Aqua. "That means the Guardians are inside then, but we're not a bunch of idiots to let you make a fool out of us." The blonde kid pulls out another gun and fires a laser at her smirking as he sees it hit her.
Aqua looks at her shoulder to see a small hole in it before it reformed like she was never hit. "Huh, I'm laser proof. Who knew?" Aqua mutters happy that she cannot be damaged by the laser guns the kids are pointing at her.
All the kids watch with wide eyes as Aqua's shoulder heals like it was never damaged making some of them look at her in fear while the blonde kid stares at her with wide eyes. "No one is supposed to be like him. No one was supposed to be like Numbuh 1." The blonde kid mutters starting to understand the situation. 'We're facing a mutated teen, and our weapons are going to be useless on her. Galactic Command is not going to like hearing about this.'
"Now, will you kids surrender, or will you make it harder for us?" Aqua asks them, wanting this to be over to find Will and Irma's parents.
"We'll never surrender!" A random brunette girl yells as she and the other kids get back on their feet getting their determination back. "All teens and adults need to be put in their place, and you will learn that."
"Just like all kids need to learn that they will grow up." Aqua counters before flicking her hand getting the water droplets surrounding the kids to slice up their guns.
"Hey! Those were our weapons!" A different kid yells as a couple kids take a couple steps back in fear.
'Why are kids scared to grow up that they resort to this? I know they're aliens, but this is a little ridiculous.' She makes her hands grow bigger and slams them onto the ground launching herself at the group of kids. "I'm sorry kids, but I need to do this." The kid closest to her swings his fist at her only for his fist to stop and get surrounded in water just as he touches her. Aqua stops and looks at the kid who smiles sheepishly and waves at her with his free hand. She flicks the kid back and shrinks her hands back to normal. "I'm over thinking this." She drops water on the ground and moves it at the kids getting them to start walking away from the water.
The kid, that Aqua flicked, moves back against the wall and glances back realizing he trapped himself with her water. "Uh, what's going to happen?" The kid asks nervously. The water comes at him and goes up his shoes getting him to shriek. He tries to move but finds himself unable to move. "I'm stuck!"
The other kids realize their current situation and run away only to stop when they see the water move around them and cover the rest of the hallway making them unable to move. "We're trapped!" The girl yells not liking their situation.
The blonde boy grits his teeth and mutters, "We never had a chance." He looks around the area and notices how empty the hallway is and sighs, "The one time we actually cleaned this place is when we are trapped with no way to escape." He feels the water touch his shoes and sighs again. 'So much for everything going our way. I am definitely reporting this to Global Command when I escape.' He moves his left foot back barely avoiding it getting caught and orders, "We need to get one of us out of here!"
"We can't Numbuh -309!" The girl says.
The blonde boy turns around to find his entire team trapped in water covering everything except for their heads. He feels the water trap his entire body and falls to the ground along with the rest of his team and tries to break free only to find himself unable to move his limbs. 'Just how strong is this teen?'
Aqua sighs, "You forced my move kids." She turns around and starts walking away hearing the kids behind her struggle to free themselves. 'Just ignore them Stacy. You have a job to do, and you can't let these kids get away with what they are doing.' She tells herself wanting to ignore the kids struggling against the water bonds she put on them.
"You think you'll win!" The blonde yells hoping to entice the teen. "You won't stop what's to come. The Guardians will fall along with their parents! It's meant to happen, and your power won't stop it!"
Stacy pauses in her step and mutters, "Maybe we will, or maybe we won't." She looks back at the kid and frowns, "The downside is that someone always loses, and I'm going to make sure you guys fail your mission." She looks ahead of her and walks away leaving behind the struggling kids trying to break out of their prisons.
Aqua sighs and continues her walk down the halls when she sees Ninja run past her down another hallway with another teen following him. She watches them leave her sight and mutters, "Wonder where they're going." She moves to follow them when she feels someone grab her shoulder. She jumps and turns around to find Bunnyx standing with a stoic expression.
"Sorry about that." Bunnyx apologizes.
"Wait, you're that girl from earlier." Aqua realizing who the girl in front of her is.
"Yeah, but we don't have time to chit chat." Bunnyx says before Aqua could say anything more. "You need to listen to me well Aqua."
"How do you…"
"No time, Ninja and Maurice can handle their job, but there's one thing I need you to do."
"Uh, what is it?" Aqua asks not sure if she should be listening to a girl in a bunny costume who has never been properly introduced to her.
"When you find the room, you need to make sure Will and Irma do not enter the room where their parents are." Bunnyx explains getting Aqua to flinch. "I know that you don't me, but if they go into the room, something bad will happen."
Aqua makes an uneasy face and asks, "What kind of bad?"
Bunnyx gives Aqua a blank look and mutters, "Death."
Phantom floats into the control room with Bunnyx on his back and drops onto the ground with her getting off him behind him. Bunnyx walks to a window and sighs when she sees the unconscious parents of the Guardians. "Are you having second thoughts?" She asks Phantom.
"I've had second thoughts about this plan since you told me what we need to do." 'Probably should not have mouthed those words to Stacy earlier.' Phantom admits as he walks up next to her. "How long do we have until Will and Irma get here?"
"5 or 6 minutes, but that's only if Stacy listened to me." Bunnyx admits.
Phantom blinks, "Wait, what?"
"Time travel, I'll explain when this is over." Bunnyx admits deciding that Phantom should understand what she means later.
Phantom sighs, "Fine, just tell me what I have to do to close the doors."
'The best timelines are never the ones where things are easy.' Bunnyx think as she and Phantom turn their backs on the adults in the room. 'And now I'm going to make a choice to save those who can save the earth from the incoming doom heading our way. This is such a great first day on the job.'
The story of Stacy's major decisions is coming people. What will happen to Stacy and the others? Will Ninja and Maurice find what they are looking for? Is this really the best choice for the teens to make? So many questions…Well, you get the picture.
R&R