"All right. The time has come to deal with Grizz. This guy is a menace to the time continuum. Not to mention the arts. And it's time to shut him and his counterfeit cave painting production down." Bentley said as he went over the plan. "It appears he's already beefed up security. So he's probably expecting us. But thanks to Carmelita, we have complete schematics of his mountain base. So once we get inside, I'll be able to target the egg vats and make sure they're scrambled. Just a little... egg humor."
"Bentley..." Penelope said while shaking her head as Brie stuck her tongue out at her father's attempt at humor.
"Next, Bob, both you and John will need to climb the main generator tower and pry the pressure valves open to completely disrupt power. That should start a fatal chain reaction in the system. Murray, Jing King, at this point both of you will have to get to the master control panel and make sure no one can reset the system before the damage is done. Of course, you'll need to use your fighting skills on any guards that might get in your way. After this, the system will be completely disabled and we can do a little bear hunting. Sly, it'll be you and Ben's job to take down Grizz when we find him. Well, that's the plan. You should all be clear on what needs to be done. So let's get out there and put this bear on ice."
"I've never hunted a bear before." Neyla purred as she readied her whip. "Ben-Darling, how would you feel for a new rug in our living room?"
"I'd say that is a massive federal offense but let the chips fall where they may."
The Cooper Gang made their way to Grizz's base of operation, going past the gate and getting into some production plant cars as they were hauled inside.
"Okay. This is our ticket inside. Carmelita, you, and Penelope will be riding with Murray and Jing King. Sly, you're with Bob, John, Ben, Neyla, and myself."
Bentley disembarked at his stop as Penelope and Brie both gave him worried looks but he smiled and nodded as he made his way to the egg beaters, destroying them with his explosive darts.
"Now that's what I call an eggs-treme malfunction!" Bentley quipped before contacting Bob and John. "There's the tower, you two! You'll need to find the valve covers and pry them loose to disrupt the power output."
"That looks like a dangerous climb," Bob said in his caveman native tongue, John nodding in agreement.
"Yes, it is a dangerous climb. But if anyone can do it, you can."
"We'll see you at the top, Bentley! Count on us!" John said as he and Bob got to climbing, bypassing wooden spike traps and fires as they found the valves and with their mighty strength, pulled them loose with a few good twists before rejoining the others on their cart, however, they lost their footing as Murray and Jing King quickly caught them.
"The Murray leaves no man behind!" Murray said as he and Jing managed to pull the two Caveman Ancestors to safety, but lost their balance and fell off.
"Murray! Jing!" The others cried. Fortunately, a conveyor cart on a lift saved them.
"Murray! Jing! Are you two alright?" Sly asked.
"We'll live. But that was quite the harrowing experience..." Jing breathed as Murray made sure his wife was okay first before speaking to the others.
"Don't worry about us. We'll find you guys after we figure out how to get off this crazy thing."
"And it looks we've got ANOTHER problem," Penelope said as she looked over things with her RC Chopper as Brie burbled worriedly. "We needed Murray and Jing to cover that control panel, but they're gone! If the guards the system, not only will this mission be a failure, but we'll be sitting ducks!"
"Well, time for a little speedrunning!" Ben said as he, Sly, and Neyla all rushed to the control panel. Ben fired his bionic arms grappling hook to pull him, his wife, and brother along until they reached the control panel by using steam updrafts and their Paragliders to make the final stretch.
"Sorry about this, mate!" Ben said as he fired a powerful tranquilizer dart from his bionic arm that had enough power to put down a bull elephant. The Mammoth Beastkin guard fell dead asleep as Neyla smashed the control panel to pieces. The others sans Murray and Jing King quickly rejoined the trio.
"Not bad. A little sloppy though, don't you think?" Carmelita said as Neyla smirked.
"A compliment from you, Old Ironsides? I'll take it."
"Way to hustle, you guys," Bentley said as John slapped Ben on the back proudly.
"Let's celebrate later. We need to find Murray and Jing King."
Murray and Jing King were still being carried on the conveyor line before finding themselves back in the ice caps and saw none other than Grizz waiting for them.
"It's gonna be nice, like sugar and spice. When I put that Cooper Gang on ice." The Black Bear Beastkin chuckled as he jumped back and slid on the ice rink before preparing to take his leave.
"It's Grizz! We can't let him get away, Darling!" Jing King said as Murray nodded before Thunder Flopping in front of the fiend.
"The Murray and his Bodacious Bride have a beef with you, punk!"
Jing King gracefully landed beside Murray as she struck a fighting pose. The rest of the Cooper Gang arrived but they were blocked by a giant barrier of ice.
"Oooh, snap! What have we here? It's a pink nightmare." Grizz chuckled. "And we got some Fung Shui in black and white, eh?"
"Trust us, pal. You AIN'T dreamin'!" Murray said, clenching his fists.
"And my study shows that you have an 80% chance of ending up in the nearest hospital with the highest dishonor!" Jing added.
"I'm tired of you Cooper chumps! Le Paradox, everybody! All I ever really wanted to do...is skate. That's right!
"Uh, okay?" Murray asked in confusion as Jing frowned.
"If that's true, why did you never pursue your passions?"
"Because life got in the way! Crime! Fleeting Fame! Every day, I never got the chance!" Grizz explained. "you know why the Grizz loves skatin'? It's clean man. It's like, just me and the ice. No complications, no hassles, no worries. Ever since I was a little kid, a little cub, It's the only time I truly feel free. And now, you Cooper punks roll in and you gonna spoil my dream? Well, it ain't goin' down like that!"
"If that's how it is, then we have no choice but to stop you!" Jing King said while also thinking to herself. "And he mentioned someone named 'Le Paradox'..."
Grizz broke his necklace in two and applied them to his feet like skates as he began skating around the rink, Murray and Jing King balanced themselves before following after him. As Grizz tried to distract them with ice shockwaves, Murray grabbed Jing and spun her around before tossing her straight at Gizz with a fiery flying kick that hit the wannabe artist in his big gut, sending him flying into the ice barrier and shattering it, allowing the rest of the Cooper Gang to pass.
"Nice moves, you two!"
"You both were great!"
"That duet earns a '10', you two."
Bob came over and patted Murray and Jing King on the shoulders. "You both are true warriors."
John picked up Grizz's crown and inspected it before handing it over to Ben, who in turn, handed it over to Bentley.
"Eureka! This is just what we need to get to the next temporal disturbance; Medieval England!"
"Alright, the time of Sir Galleth Cooper. This'll be good." Sly said with a smile as the gang made their way back to the Cooper Van in order to head to their next time period. John and Bob bid the two farewell, the two Cavemen even giving Brie a prehistoric doll to remember them by.
As they made their way through the timestream, Jing King mentioned the 'Le Paradox' that Grizz mentioned earlier and that troubled Carmelita.
"Cyrille Le Paradox? The billionaire art collector is the one behind this?"
"Sounds like we might have our mastermind to stop," Ben said. "What can you say about him, Carmelita?"
"He had done time in his youth, but I always thought he'd been squeaky clean ever since. And INTERPOL had never considered him a suspect. There were rumors about the source of his wealth, but nothing had ever been proven. Now I think we know why."
"Alright, looks like we got a time-traveling art fiend to take down. The question is...why is he erasing Cooper History?" Sly wondered.
Next Time: Of Mice & Mechs!