Dexter's spoon slipped from his fingers and clattered noisily on the table, not that the boy was paying any attention. He was staring gob smacked at the little T.V. mounted in the family's kitchen. It was playing Coast to Coast; a show his mother enjoyed watching in the evening. The host, retired hero Space Ghost, was speaking to some captain of an underwater research base and a bird-themed lawyer who was once a superhero himself. The interview was nothing substantial, however, since the captain's delirious rant about people touching his Happy Cake oven derailed it like a locomotive off its train tracks. It was utter nonsense, but it wasn't the interview that had short-wired Dexter's mind.
Just seconds ago, Harangue had revealed that Alice shared DNA with Fusions.
Coast to Coast had been playing as regular when it very suddenly jumped to channel three and began playing Harangue Nation. Dexter had tried switching it, since he wasn't interested in listening to that man's drivel after the long two days he had. To his bafflement, the remote wasn't working, and he was forced to watch as Harangue held up his documents and revealed his findings.
Dexter's surprise very quickly morphed into wrath; how did Harangue get a hold of his documents? Computress didn't register anyone entering DexLabs unannounced; no one broke in or snuck in. Who dared steal from him? Mandark would be his first suspect, because he always was. The only catch was that this wasn't Mandark's typical MO. Uneasy alliance aside, Mandark was more interested in upstaging Dexter rather than targeting a third party unrelated to their scuffles. Reluctantly, Dexter had to rule him off the list.
Beeping from Dexter's watch pulled the boy genius reluctantly from his suspect list. Douglas was sending him frantic messages. Apparently, this was Harangue's most watched episode. Based on the numbers Douglas was sending him, just about everybody witnessed the event. The forums - specifically the Conversation Section - was flooding with furious volunteers, many of them calling Alice unkind names. Many were attempting to get a hold of her NanoCom's number to send her personal messages, and even more were demanding her home address so they could dish out their own sense of justice that was one hundred percent against the law. Douglas was in the middle of shutting Conversation Section and Help Wanted down to temporarily stanch the flow of outrage. The Dexbots that moderated the forums were busy locking and deleting threads and issuing out bans and suspensions. When the forums would come online later, Douglas would make an announcement that - under no circumstances - were name calling and calls to violence acceptable on the forums.
The whole thing was pretty disturbing, and it pushed him to action. With his adrenaline pumping in his veins and pushing back his exhaustion, Dexter pushed away from the table and jumped out of his chair, rushing for the elevator installed in the house. His mother startled from her stupor when her youngest child rushed by her.
"De-Dexter?" she called after him, her voice shaky from processing the revelation. "Dexter, sweetie, you need to be-"
Dexter entered the elevator shaft alone, the doors shutting close before his mother could finish her statement. His mother would be furious and ground him, but that was the absolute least of his worries.
"Computress!" Dexter barked into his watch as the elevator shot downward. "Disconnect Alice's NanoCom. Do not let a single call, message, or email come through; I don't care who it comes from! She can only have contact with you, understand?"
"Understood, Dexter," Computress parroted.
"I want you to have her come to DexLabs immediately. Don't let her know why she needs to be here; I don't want her to run before we have a chance to explain this, just in case she hasn't seen this. Have her come from the connection in my old lab."
"Understood, Dexter."
Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And check all our security footage for this intruder! I want them found!"
"Affirmative."
If not for the fact that the TV was one of his most precious possessions, Eustace would have thrown a remote through it as soon as that hack Harangue popped up. Harangue's visage was off their TV screen, replaced by the Nowhere Newsman who was regurgitating the latest news of the night. Like everyone else, the Bagge's TV had been magically switched to Channel Three, and they had bared witness to Harangue smearing Alice's name through the mud.
Muriel and Courage had jumped into action when they were returned to Nowhere News. Muriel ran into the kitchen, while Courage rushed up the stairs. Eustace didn't know where the dog was rushing off to and didn't exactly care; he was busy glaring hard at the TV to worry about what the stupid dog was up to. From his favorite chair, he could hear his wife's voice as she tried to call their niece.
"Alice, deary, are you alright? Has something happened? Please call me. Please call as soon as you see this," Muriel's voice was colored with worry, and she was on the verge of tears. "I'm worried, dear."
The hands resting on the arm rests curled into fists as frustration continued to build up in Eustace. That stupid boy had ruined the lives of his family once again. It was because of his faulty buses that his sister-in-law was dead, and his niece was an orphan. It was his insistence for volunteers that had his niece joining a dangerous war instead of being home with them where it was safe. It was his stupid tests that made his niece public enemy number one. Three strikes.
If his chair wasn't so comfortable, if Tech Square wasn't so far away, the boy genius would be answering to his mallet.
The Professor and Blossom stared at the TV in disbelief, matching looks of horror painted across their faces. Blossom was visiting home since Numbuh Two was visiting Numbuh Five in Genius Grove. The Professor had been cooking them a nice, simple dinner when their TV was hijacked. The Professor had rushed into the room at Blossom's call, and the two had watched the ordeal in horror. The older man slumped down onto his couch's cushions upon seeing Stuart Best videoing the crowd forming in front of Dexter's company building, his legs unable to keep him upright.
At City Hall, seated on the steps leading up to the capitol building, Bubbles was watching Stuart Best's live feed from her communicator. The skin between her eyebrows pinched in worry, and her fingers trembled ever so slightly. Bullet was curled around her neck, whimpering at the situation the two of them were watching.
"Oh, Alice," Bubbles whispered in concern.
Lounging on her bed in their rundown apartment, Buttercup - still donning her Belladonna persona - frowned at her communicator as Stuart Best interviewed a protester. Her memories were still hazy, but she could call on snapshots of the alien girl Harangue was fingering as a part of the Fusion army. What he said made her want to rush across town and slug him.
"Ha!" Ace cried from where he was huddled at the TV set. "I knew she was a monster. Should have dealt with her myself."
"We could alwayssss join the crowd," Snake offered.
Buttercup frowned and dropped her communicator on the bed. She stood up and glared at her teammates. "None of you, are going to do anything, got it?"
Ace frowned at the Powerpuff, flaring his nostrils as a challenge. Buttercup released a growl and held up her fist threateningly. Ace immediately surrendered and looked back at the TV set, releasing a huff at being thwarted. Things had been going so well for the band until that girl Alice appeared; if she wound up hurt because this whole incident, well...Ace wasn't shedding any tears.
Numbuh Five peeled her eyes away from DeeDee's TV, sharing a worried glance with her fellow Sector V teammate at Numbuh 10's report. Numbuh 10 and her cohost were denouncing Alice, mentioning that it was no surprise a teenager was involved with Fuse, and posing the question on who else was a traitor. The Kids Next Door Nightly News' anchors could condemn the alien teenager since they didn't know her, but Numbuhs Two and Five knew Alice better, and hearing the rude things didn't sit well with them.
LeeLee and MeeMee were on the couch, each of them with an arm wrapped around their friend DeeDee. The blonde was frantically texting her little brother, shaky fingers sending off messages filled with typos.
"Please answer, Dex," DeeDee whispered desperately. "Please, please, please!"
Double D's complexion was the color of a ghost as he sat perfectly still, eyes glued to his television screen. Alice had already revealed she was an alien, so the surprise had worn off, but this? A connection to the bad guy himself?
Eddy was not nearly as ridged as his smarter compatriot. He was up on his feet, face red as a brick as he ranted and raved about what a traitor Alice was and that he knew it. Double D was too shell-shocked to combat him.
Suzy was kneeled in front of the Bravos' TV, a hand cupped over her mouth as she stared at it in disbelief. Bunny Bravo was seated beside the girl, a comforting arm around her as she whispered comforting words to the girl. Carl was behind them, looking on in surprise at the revelation. Johnny Bravo was in the kitchen, continuing to eat the dinner his mama had made for him (and his friends) without a concern for what was going on.
Junior was in front of his cousin's TV set, his hands clenching the frame protecting the electronic equipment. He had been glued in that position ever since Harangue's image came on screen. Even though they were currently watching Sassy Cat Sasstacular Cartoon Show, the memory of what Harangue had spoken on his show wasn't easy to shake. His fingers curled as a new wave of fury raced through him, and he applied pressure to the furniture, forming crack lines that threatened to splinter if more pressure was applied.
"Heeeeeey," Billy complained, pointing an accusing finger at his cousin. "Move aside! I'm tryings to watch TV!"
Junior seemingly obeyed Billy's complaint, moving away from the entertainment set so his cousin could watch the show. Instead of returning to the couch, Junior moved to the door and threw it open, disappearing into the night without a word to Billy. Billy watched the half-demon disappear, shrugged, and went back to watching his show.
"If this girl is linked to Fuse, then she's part of the time anomaly!" Larry ranted to his temporary roommate. "Oooh, and I even had contact with her and had no clue! I let her get away!"
"The whataly?" Coop and Jamie asked in confusion.
"Time anomaly, you troglodytes!" Larry snapped.
"If she's the time anomaly you were sent here for," Kiva put forward, having kept up with the robot's ranting, "then what are you going to do?"
"That is what I'm still working on," Larry responded begrudgingly.
"You gonna arrest her?" Jamie asked.
"Awh, don't do that man. She's just a kid," Coop complained.
"Would you imbeciles be silent!"
Numbuhs Three and Four, and Mac huddled around Numbuh Four's communicator, listening to WKND. They were troubled by the news, giving each other worried looks. Many other operatives stationed at the camp were listening to the radio station, chattering with each other about how Alice was connected. The Magic Tree listened to the chatter silently. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.
"What did you hope to gain from this, Him?" he questioned no one.
Diane Farrah's interview was at a low volume, providing background noise for the occupants in Cesar's workshop.
"I'm surprised it took them so long to figure it out," Cesar commented conversationally as he worked on his latest experiment.
"I'm not," Amber responded, muting her communicator as White Knight's image flashed across the screen.
Cesar leaned over, grinning when he saw White Knight's image.
"He's going to be mad if you keep ignoring him," the engineer teased.
Amber pocketed her communicator, a neutral frown on her face. "Not my problem."
"What the heck is going on, Dexter?" Ben demanded the moment his call connected. "You went to Harangue about Alice?"
Ben was beyond unhappy. He felt betrayed. No, he was betrayed. Ben had given Alice's DNA (which had Grandpa Max sending him an email demanding to know how Dexter got her DNA) to the boy as a gesture of trust, not once believing Dexter would post it out publicly. And he didn't even post the results to his public website, which would have still been bad on its own. No, he went running to Harangue, a xenophobic man who gleefully blamed everything on Ben. And now Harangue had just targeted a new subject.
Dexter stared back at the teenage hero in anger. "You believe I would ever-"
"It has your name on the pap-"
"I WAS ROBBED!" Dexter blew up.
"Yeah? And who did it?" Ben challenged.
"...I do not know." Ben's eyebrow raised upward accusingly. Dexter saw the action and pointed a finger at him once again. "I do not have to sit here and take your accusations! I am currently busy."
"With what?"
"Finding out who stole from me," Dexter answered. "And meeting with Alice."
Ben perked at the second answer. Courage had been bombarded his inbox asking Ben to get into contact with the girl. The dog figured that as Alice's guide, Ben had special privileges that could get him in contact with her. Unfortunately, all attempts to contact Alice were met with silence.
"You're in contact with her?" Ben asked.
"I am," Dexter responded. "I've invited her to the laboratory so that I can discuss this with her, so you will understand that I have no time for this conversation."
"Hold on, we're not-"
Dexter ended the call, leaving Ben to stare at his communicator indignantly.
"He hung up," Ben commented to no one, frowning at his device. He tried calling again, but the call went unanswered. The hero glared at his blank screen, annoyance creeping into his voice. "Dang it, Dex. Don't do something stupid."
The girl who the world was talking about was completely oblivious to her sudden celebrity status. She was at the sink, cleaning the dishes that had been used when she made her dinner. Her mother's record player was playing Austin Roberts - her mother's favorite musician - from the other room. The technology was outdated compared to Alice's Bluetooth speaker, but the memories of listening to the records with her mother kept her from putting it away into storage. She had just put the plate in the drying rack when her NanoCom chirped. She dried off her hands and checked her NanoCom.
Greetings Miss Spacebyte,
You are formally invited to an immediate meeting with Dexter at his headquarters, DexLabs. For your convenience, you may use the gateway located in Genius Grove. Speak to the Dexbot behind Dexter's old house, and it shall connect you to DexLab's underground facility. I will be there to greet you and escort you into DexLabs.
-Computress
Alice blinked in surprise at the message. She had fully expected it to be an update to the NanoCom; never did she think she'd be called to DexLabs. The last she and Dexter spoke was at her mother's funeral, and that had only been a few words. She racked her mind for anything her team had done that would garner an audience. Nothing came to mind.
The evening air was still warm, so Alice didn't bother grabbing a coat as she closed the door behind her, using her telekinesis to lock it behind her. She took into the air, flying in the direction of Genius Grove. It was a very short trip, although she didn't see Dexbot from her aerial advantage. When she touched down, a Dexbot suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. Alice approached it, already reaching for her NanoCom to present it to the robot, but its eyes lit up before she had the chance.
"Greetings, Alice Spacebyte," the bot greeted. "Prepare for transport."
Alice blinked, and, when her eyes opened, she found she was in a completely different environment. She was in a large room tiled top-to-bottom, wall-to-wall. Realizing she was on a balcony, she ventured over to the railing and looked down, spotting various work stations and gizmos she couldn't begin to identify. A large replica of the Great Nano Machine was situated close to the balcony. Three Nano Stations situated themselves around the large machine in a triangle formation. A holographic image of Dexter was staring at her from the left of the Great Nano Machine.
"Thank you for your prompt arrival, Miss Spacebyte."
Alice spun around, finding Dexter's personal assistant hovering between two identical looking Dexbots. The AI floated backwards and extended her arm to the Dexbot on the right.
"If you will please follow me, I shall lead you to Dexter."
Alice agreed with the nod of her head, stepping away from the railing and approaching the Dexbot. Just as before, she blinked and found herself in a new environment, although this new place looked similar to the one she had been in. The difference was that she was in a hallway, not a giant room.
"If you will please follow me," the AI assistant prompted the teenager, already leading the way down the corridor.
Alice fell in step behind the assistant, her eyes naturally wandering since she'd never been inside the facility before. The trip down the corridor was short, especially since the first door they came across was the door Computress stopped at. She tapped her tablet, and the door slid open. The robot assistant held her arm out, gesturing for Alice to enter the room before her. Alice stepped in with Computress hovering behind, the sliding door closing with a soft click behind them.
Alice took a sweeping look around the room, unsurprised to see it looked exactly like the corridors. The walls and flooring were tiled, so clean that Alice saw her own reflection. The room had a curved wall at the back, and occupying this wall was a large, curved LED screen. On it were a multitude of news channels, but Alice didn't linger on the screen. Her eyes moved around the room, spotting the owner of the company sitting at the desk situated to the left of the room.
"Dexter, Miss Spacebyte has arrived," Computress announced.
Dexter jumped up from his work station, approaching Alice with a smile that was supposed to be welcoming, but came off as forced. Alice studied the fellow teenager, frowning when she noticed the dark bags under his eyes and the off-color complexion of his skin. It looked like Dexter hadn't slept in a very long time.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Alice," Dexter greeted, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm sorry if this has caused any inconvenience on your part."
"Is everything okay?" Alice asked in concern, drawing her hand back to her side. She tilted her head slightly as she focused intensely on the bags under the inventor's eyes. "You look tired."
Dexter waved her concern away. "It is a small matter. I'm afraid what I have to say is important." He used his hand to gesture at his desk. "Please, have a seat."
Cautiously, Alice sat herself in a chair across from Dexter. She had worked out that it had to be important if she was speaking to the boy genius himself; the boy wouldn't have asked to meet her so suddenly, and so late into the night, especially when the boy was clearly exhausted, if it wasn't of great importance. She just couldn't fathom why it was her he needed to speak with.
"Before we begin," Dexter said as he took his seat, "I have to ask if you've seen the news tonight."
Alice shook her head. She fidgeted slightly, like she was embarrassed. "I...haven't been keeping up with it lately."
Dexter sighed and his shoulders dropped, almost like he was relieved by her answer. This caused her to blink, because it was an almost similar reaction to that day at the funeral. Almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Dexter had composed himself and straightened his spine, leaning forward slightly.
"Right, that's good," the redhead muttered, primarily to himself than for Alice's benefit.
"Was...was there something I missed?" Alice asked in confusion.
Dexter glanced at his assistant, but Computress' facial expression gave nothing away.
"We'll get to that in a moment," Dexter decided, looking back at his guest. "Alice, do you know what the Leaderboard is?"
Alice blinked at the sudden pivot, but she nodded. "Yes, but I don't use it." Remembering that the Leaderboard was a product of DexLabs and that she was speaking to its owner, she hastily added on, "I-I'm not interested in a competition, so I don't look at it."
If Dexter was offended that something of his wasn't being used, he didn't show it. Instead, he picked up a controller and pressed an oval button on it. The curved LED screen switched from the news channels to show the Leaderboard. Alice looked at the screen, gasping when she found who was occupying the number one spot. She had never bothered checking in on the board because she didn't have any interest in its competition, so to say she was surprised to find her name at the very top of the list was more than an understatement.
"As you can see, your number is nearly double what the second spot is," Dexter pointed out. Alice spun around to look back at the redhead, her eyes open wide in worry. Dexter held up his hand, stopping whatever was about to exit her mouth. "I've already had it checked out; those are the actual numbers."
"Bu-but I don't know how," Alice protested.
"That was the million taro question, so I decided to do some tests," Dexter stated. "I got a sample of your DNA" -Alice stared wide-eyed at the boy- "and found it had a 90% match with another sample."
Alice's eyebrows furrowed together at the information, confusion springing forward. Max Tennyson had said that she was probably the only survivor of her race; who did she match with so nearly perfectly that the head of the Plumbers didn't even know? Her eyes flitted over to the LED screen, her brows slowly climbing to her hairline as the cogs in her brain began spinning. Dexter had to run a test on her...after seeing her kill count...which was larger than anyone else's on the list...against their enemy who was... Dread replaced her blood as her throat closed.
"Whose?" Alice croaked.
Dexter released a weary sigh. He could see she had already worked out the answer, but she was still holding onto the tiny hope that she was wrong. Woodenly, he pressed the button on his controller, and the LED screen changed to the data he had collected and analyzed. The one that had been aired for all the world to see. The one with the ugly truth. Alice turned shaky eyes back to the screen and released a gasp at the same moment Dexter answered her question.
"Fusion DNA."
When Alice had been a little girl, she used to read her mother's medical books. While many of the words were too long and too difficult to pronounce, there were a few she had been able to read. One term she had memorized was vertigo, and although she wasn't practicing medicine, she could safely say she was experiencing it.
The room was spinning, and Alice was sure if she wasn't white-knuckling the chair she'd have fallen right out of it. She found that she couldn't catch her breath, despite her labored breathing. Her stomach dropped, twisting and tying itself into knots that only served to discomfort her. Her body trembled as she tried to digest the news, and she raised her hands so that she could stare at them. They were still their normal color, not green like a Fusions. But she wasn't supposed to be a Fusion.
Max Tennyson had told her about her Arthenadite blood, and what reason would he have to lie about that? He was startled when he had made the discovery, so there didn't seem like any time for him to make it up. But would Dexter lie to her? She didn't think so; he prided himself on his science. He was telling the truth when he said that her DNA matched with a Fusion. The thought threatened to empty out her stomach. She needed to get out of there.
She pushed her chair back, rising to her feet in her attempt to escape. Dexter rose from his chair and reached across the desk, attempting to grab her. Alice recoiled from the scientist, bringing her arms in close to her body. She wasn't afraid of him touching her, but what if she hurt him? Fusion skin was toxic, right? Had she been spreading toxins to her friends and family without even knowing? Was she slowly killing them?
"Alice, wait-!" Dexter called, attempting to throw himself over the desk to make another grab for her.
Unfortunately for the boy, the adrenaline that had been keeping him on his feet evaporated with the motion. He collapsed against the table top, his arm stretched in front of him. Against his wishes, his eyes closed, the last image being of Alice slipping out of the office.
The blue-haired alien entered the corridor and gave the area a sweeping look. She recalled the way back to that one Dexbot, but the path was blocked by two approaching Dexbots. Panicking, Alice ran the opposite way, her eyes searching out for the exit. Overhead, sirens and alarms sounded, and Computress' voice echoed in the entire building.
"DexLabs is on a lockdown. All exits shall be sealed. DexLabs is on a lockdown. All exits shall be sealed. DexLabs is..."
Panicking, Alice looked around more feverishly. There were still no doors, but there were windows. She didn't want to damage anything, but she didn't want to stay locked in. Cupping her palms together, Alice fired off an energy ball that blasted through the window, providing a large enough hole for Alice to slip out. She took to the skies, flying up over the building. She paused momentarily when she heard a loud commotion below her. Alice focused her eyes downward, finding a crowd gathered at DexLabs' front steps. She couldn't pick out their words, but she caught her name on one of the signs, and felt her blood drain even faster.
The crowd was there for her. They knew what she was.
Why was she always the last in the know when it came to her life?
By a stroke of luck - or maybe the universe had some pity for her - the crowd didn't notice her hovering in the air, and Alice didn't want to stick around and see what they would do to her if they did. She immediately flew away, not particularly picky about her escape route.
"You look terrible."
Dexter glared at his computer screen at the unhelpful - and, in his opinion, unsympathetic - observation. Despite waking up around noon thanks to his body shutting down, Dexter still looked like death warmed over. Ben matched the glare with a challenging look of his own, his brows dipped downward in a sign of annoyance. The two were holding a video conference with each other, Ben opting to use the video-phones provided by Memorial Hospital instead of his communicator.
"Do you have any news?" Dexter questioned.
He was trying to stay civil, but the headache playing drums with his skull was making that difficult. His sleep had been beneficial, for sure, but it did nothing to minimize his stressors. Alice was still missing with Computress unable to get a hold of her and no Dexbots able to spot her. Furthermore, thanks to Harangue making the rounds on many morning news shows, Alice's reputation continued to nosedive. Ben calling all of ten minutes after Dexter was awaken only added on to his stress. It would have been easy to simply ignore the other guide, but Ben had taken up the search for Alice while Dexter had been in shutdown mode. If Ben had found anything, then Dexter wanted to know. It would at least alleviate one stress.
"Nothing from the Plumbers' Helpers," Ben answered, dashing Dexter's expectations. "I had Cooper try and get in contact with her NanoCom, but he's been unable to get a trace on it."
There was an accusation in the hero's tone that had Dexter's glare intensify. It seemed that Ben was still bitter about the results leak, and Dexter didn't appreciate that it was him who was the target. When was Tennyson going to get it through his head that Dexter was the victim here?
"It was done for her protection," Dexter growled.
"Alice Spacebyte's NanoCom has been turned off by its user," Computress jumped into the conversation, whether out of loyalty for Dexter or simply to make sure the facts were being presented accurately. "I have attempted to turn it on remotely, but she has repeated the process."
"Without it on, we won't be able to find her," Ben added.
"What has her family said?" Dexter asked.
"They haven't heard from her," Ben answered. "I wouldn't try calling them if I were you, either. The old farmer didn't have anything nice to say about you."
Dexter frowned, briefly remembering the day of Gale Spacebyte's funeral; the old man hadn't been as friendly back then, either.
"Alright, how about Miss Ignis?" Dexter questioned.
"You mean Amber?" Ben clarified. "Why her?"
"Miss Ignis trained her for a while, didn't she?"
Ben nodded. "Well yeah."
"So we should give her a call," Dexter admitted. "If your team hasn't been able to find her, there's a possibility she's hiding with Providence."
Ben leaned back in his chair and thought about it. While he didn't think she'd run off to Providence, there was a small chance she had. They'd only know if they tried.
"Alright, bring her into the call," Ben said.
"You know her better than me," Dexter countered a little too quickly. "You should be the one."
Ben raised an eyebrow upward in surprise. Dexter had been the one to suggest it but now he wanted Ben to talk to her? Why? The teenage hero narrowed his eyes, studying the scientist. Aside from his pale skin and dark eyes, the boy seemed twitchy, tapping his finger against the desk top irregularly. He didn't look composed like he typically looked. If Ben had to take a guess, he'd almost say Dexter was...
"Dexter...are you scared of Amber?" Ben questioned, a teasing tone worming its way into his words.
"Wh-what?!" Dexter spluttered. "Do not be ridiculous with these stupid notions!"
"No way! You actually are!" Ben questioned, dissolving into a fit of laughter. "This is too rich!"
Dexter's cheeks turned a rosy red and his eyes narrowed. He did not appreciate being laughed at.
"Now listen here, Tennyson. I am not afraid of Miss Ignis."
Ben smirked at the younger teen and crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? How come you won't call her Amber?"
"I am perfectly capable of calling her by her given name," Dexter remarked heatedly.
"Oh yeah? Prove it," Ben goaded. "Call her up."
"I will."
"And you're going to call her by her name?"
"Of course!"
Pride and ego running the show, Dexter called Amber's number, bringing her into their call. Ben watched on eagerly from his end, his smirk opening to show some of his pearly white teeth. Dexter ignored the boy, waiting for the woman to pick up the call. On the fourth ring, just as Dexter was prepared to end it and deem her unavailable, she picked up. A look of annoyance colored her face as she glared into his screen.
"What do you want?" Amber demanded.
Dexter squared his shoulders and raised his chin, acutely aware that Ben was staring at him intently. It was only a name. He shouldn't be so afraid to use the woman's first name. The red-haired E.V.O. brought her eyebrows down in a clear sign that her patience was wearing thin.
"Well?"
"...Miss Ignis," Dexter addressed, ignoring the snickering he heard from Ben's screen. He would exact revenge against the teen later. "Alice went missing."
Amber crossed her arms and snorted. "No doubt from last night's surprise."
Dexter grit his teeth, holding back his growl at the jab. Would everyone just let it go? Ignoring the glare Dexter was sporting, the E.V.O. continued, "You had better not be wasting my time asking me to clean up your mess."
"It is not-!" Dexter cut himself off and took in a deep breath. Deep breaths, Dexter. Deep breaths, a voice sounding oddly like his sister reminded him. "We can't find her, Miss Ignis, and wondered if she was with you."
"She's not," Amber answered without missing a beat. "She has no reason to be here."
"You trained her," Dexter pointed out.
"And that was all. She has no further business here," Amber retorted. "Is there anything else you want to waste my time with?"
"I am trying to find her," Dexter remarked. "You could be a little more useful."
"No, not really," Amber responded. Upon seeing Dexter's open mouth sputtering like a goldfish, the E.V.O. frowned at him. For a genius, he wasn't getting the hint that she didn't want any part of the conversation. "I don't know the girl, so quit playing this little questioning game."
"It is not a ga-"
"-You're a supposed genius,-"
"-Am a genius, how dare-"
"-so talk to the people who actually know her," Amber finished, not letting Dexter's outbursts stop her. "Don't bother me again unless it's important." She severed the call without another word.
Dexter stared wide-eyed at his screen for a moment. Then, when his synapses started firing once again, incoherent noises spewed from his mouth, unable to formulate a sentence out of frustration. Finally, he released a scream and ran his hands back and forth through his hair. He only stopped when he was sure his hair was going to combust.
"That woman is infuriating," Dexter groused.
"Yeah, but she isn't wrong."
Dexter focused furious eyes on Ben, only momentarily forgetting he had been involved in the call. What a big help hewas. Actually, it was surprising Ben had remained so silent through the whole thing. The answer to this was because the teen hero wasn't looking up at the screen. Instead, he had his attention on his communicator, tapping away on it.
"Anything you want to share with the class?" Dexter demanded.
Ben grinned lopsidedly at him. "Well, we've already talked to her family, but Alice wasn't in this alone."
On seeing the look of confusion crossing Dexter's face, Ben held up his communicator so that Dexter could get a look at the two contacts Ben was communicating with. Dexter took one look and released an annoyed sigh; not because of who Ben was talking to, but because he hadn't thought of checking with them. He'd just blame it on the lack of sleep.
The Prickly Pines forest was bathed in the warm glow of the afternoon sunlight, but it did nothing to warm the chill that clung tightly to Alice's body. Sullen, red-rimmed eyes stared despondently at her reflection in the water. Her shoes sat next to her on the water bank as she flexed her toes in the water, the only movement that proved she was not a statue.
When she had escaped from DexLabs, she had unconsciously made the decision to go to her aunt and uncle's house. She had been passing Foster's Home when she realized she couldn't stay with them. She was a monster, an enemy; what if they didn't accept her? Her aunt had said they would be family no matter what, but this had to break that contract, right? The very thought stopped her from continuing forward; the thought of her aunt turning her away unsettling to her already upset stomach. With nowhere to go, she had sought refuge at the waterfall and its mini-lake in the forest. She remembered it from the times her and her mother would go camping, and it was the only secluded place she could think of.
She had been up the majority of the night, sobbing into her arms and uncaring if she attracted the Lazy Metal Boy Scouts that patrolled the forest (although the "lazy" in their name was probably well-earned because she never encountered one throughout the night). Her emotional exhaustion drained her to the point of sleep, but the nightmares that plagued her ensured she received very little rest. Most of her waking time was spent crying her eyes out, but the tear ducts had tried by the first morning light, and the remainder of her time was spent simply staring at a sad reflection that stared back.
Alice had hit her proverbial bedrock, but there was no going up from here.
"Alice!"
Alice moved slowly, her joints protesting against the effort after having been rooted for so long. Despite her mind recognizing that the call was from somebody she knew, she was still caught off guard when a body slammed into hers, two arms wrapping her up in a tight embrace. The momentum had them falling for the water, but a quick materialization of a shield shaped like a crescent caught the two. Alice breathed a tiny sigh of relief, even if dread was beginning to bubble.
Despite her efforts, Suzy had found her. Two tentacles reaching out, one wrapping around each girl, pulling the two girls away from the water edge was the indicator Junior was with her. When the two were back on solid ground, Suzy pulled back so she could stare at her friend, making sure to keep both hands on Alice's shoulders. Moisture was forming at the edges of the girl's eyes, and upon seeing the blossoming tears, Alice dropped her gaze.
"Oh thank goodness we found you. You had us so worried!" Suzy said in relief. "Junior, get a hold of Courage. Tell him we found her."
Despite her lethargy, Alice jerked into alertness at the sudden mention of the pink Beagle. Courage knowing where she was meant that Muriel and Eustace would know where she was hiding, and she absolutely didn't want them to know. This wasn't a game of hide-n-seek; it was just hide.
"N-no," Alice protested. "Don't."
Suzy and Junior looked at her quizzically, clearly thrown off.
"You can't tell him," she further explained. "No one was supposed to find me."
"Oh Alice," Suzy breathed. "Of course we were going to find you."
"Everyone's been worried," Junior tacked on, dropping to his knees so he wasn't talking down to her. "We searched all night for you."
"You shouldn't have," Alice protested, looking at her knees.
"Of course we would!" Suzy replied back. "You're our friend, and we weren't just going to let you go through this alone."
The blue-haired alien shook her head. "But I'm a mo-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Suzy cut in, removing one hand so she could hold up a finger to Alice's face. "You are not a monster, Alice Spacebyte."
Alice snapped her head upward, confusion written in her eyes. "But I'm-"
"Yes, I've seen the news," Suzy cut in once more. "It doesn't change a single thing about you."
Alice's brows came together. "I'm a Fusion."
"You have Fusion DNA," Junior joined in. "But that doesn't make you a Fusion."
"And it certainly doesn't make you a monster," Suzy added. "You're not them, Alice."
"But-"
"I'm a half-demon who lives at the Center of the Earth," Junior cut off Alice before she could come up with an excuse. "Do you think I'm a monster?"
"No," was Alice's immediate response.
"So why are you so quick to call yourself one?" Junior asked.
Alice opened her mouth to argue, but shut it when nothing came to mind. She had never thought of Junior as a monster because he was a good person; him having demon blood was no different than him having genes for black hair. If she was judging him by his actions, then why was she so quick to put herself in the same league as the alien invaders? Had she already forgotten her mother's lessons?
Gale Spacebyte always stressed to her daughter to judge a person (or being) based on their actions and not what they were; actions were the true characteristics of a person. There was good and bad in every group, and it was important to look at a person as an individual and not a member of a group. Him may be the definition of a demon, but Junior was kind. Vilgax was a terrifying alien, but Ben used his aliens for good. Princess was a snotty, villainous brat, but Suzy was one of the kindest, upbeat persons she'd ever met. Bad. Good. It was about the person, not the group they belonged to.
"I'm sorry," Alice apologized, and she was surprised when she felt her eyes water up. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Suzy said, pulling her friend into another hug. "You were scared. This was scary, but you're not alone in this."
"You're not alone, dear. You have so many people who love you and will support you. Remember that no matter what happens, you will always be loved, forever and ever."
Alice closed her eyes and let some tears slip, her aunt's words coming to her mind. In her fear and grief, she had forgotten her aunt's reassuring words. She had a family who was worried for her, and good friends who went out of their way to look for her.
Alice pulled herself out of Suzy's embrace and wiped at her eyes. With a smile, she said, "Thank you."
Suzy and Junior smiled back at her, relieved that she was okay again. Suzy jumped to her feet, excitement coursing through her veins.
"Now that we've made it clear we will always be here for you, let's go to your aunt's house," Suzy suggested. "Your aunt said she's made some Scottish Dream Cookies for when we find you and it sounds delicious."
Alice smiled, getting to her feet with some assistance from Junior. Going home was something she really, really wanted to do.
This took longer to write than I hoped, but things had come up for the past two months that kept me from working on it. With this chapter complete, we have officially hit the halfway point.
Having so many references to news programs was inspired by Ray01's Cartoon Network Universe: Earth One - FusionFall. Some of the news casters/programs you may recognize, but just in case, Stuart Best is from the Powerpuff Girls' episode "Meet the Beat-Alls." Like that episode, Stuart Best is a reference to real life former Beatles members Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. In the episode, he was more like a narrator for a behind-the-music-scene type program, but I really wanted to reference this one-shot character and having him go interview protestors was the best idea.
While it wasn't intended from the start of the story, the start of this chapter referenced three well-known adult swim shows: Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Sealabs 2021, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Since these shows relied on Hanna-Barbera property, I figured they could fit into this world pretty easily (since Hanna-Barbera was the original animation studio before it morphed into Warner Bros. Animation). Their characters aren't important and won't be popping up after this, although having Space Ghost and Harvey Birdman come out of retirement to fight the alien invasion would be a fun topic to run with. Maybe for a different project.
Austin Roberts is a real life musician who provided the second rendition of the main theme to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You, along with various chase songs in season two of the show. I was trying to find any other bands that may have existed for Gale to have records for, and figured he would be the perfect one to have. The record playing would be called "The Ultimate Collection" which is a nod to Austin Roberts' Scooby-Doo Snack Tracks: The Ultimate Collection.
The video-phones is flat out ripped off from Pokemon. I'm not apologizing.
The Scottish Dream Cookies Suzy is referencing comes from the movie Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog. I wasn't sure how the movie would have affected this story, but I'm not going to draw too much out of it. The cookies, however, were totally showing up. Alice is having a crappy night and now the world is after her? You better believe her aunt is making her a batch of those heavenly cookies.