On Today's Episode: The spies head to the old Beverly Hills Amphitheater to confront Metalhead and hopefully stop her grief-fueled rampage before it can truly kick off, but like many baddies, she has one last trump card up her sleeves, and it can belt out a wicked drum solo. Can the spies defeat Metalhead and trash her secret weapon, and can they hopefully bring Mallory back to her senses before she does something she'll regret for the rest of her life?
Act 3: Fever Night
8:06 P.M. – Beverly Hills
The Abandoned Amphitheater
"Oof, I was right, this place is still creepy even after the last time we fought something here," Alex shuddered as the spies explored the amphitheater in hopes of finding Metalhead.
"You can never go wrong with good ol' rule twenty-two," Haruka responded.
One thing that was different since the last time the spies had been to the amphitheater was that now, the walls were decorated with old posters of Metalhead back during her days as Mallory Metallic, posters advertising her shows.
"Oof, look at all of this," Britney quipped. "I sincerely hope she's not going to do anything too drastic..."
"That's why we should keep our guards up, no matter what Metalhead tries to spring on us," Sam answered.
"Hey, I think I see her up ahead!" Clover stated.
Sure enough, the amphitheater's main stage was just up ahead, and Metalhead was standing on the edge of the stage floor as if expecting the spies.
"Well, well, you actually made it on time," Metalhead proclaimed. "Color me impressed. I figured you were just going to flake off and leave me to my own devices."
"What, and miss the biggest show of the decade?" Nick taunted. "You must be crazy."
"Maybe," Metalhead chuckled as something activated behind her. "Now that you're all here, I won't bore you with cliché villain talk, so, without further adieu, let the show begin!"
As a loud, blaring heavy metal song began to play from the loudspeakers across the stage, the lights surrounding the stage all flashed on at once to reveal what exactly Metalhead had in store for the spies.
("Otherworld" by Nobuo Uematsu feat. Bill 'Xtillidiex' Muir plays)
Just behind Metalhead was a large robot in her likeness, connected to a gigantic drum set that flashed multiple colors. The robot itself bent down as far as it could to open up the glass window of its cockpit, and Metalhead jumped into the cockpit to take control of the robot.
"Behold, spies, the instrument of your doom," Metalhead proclaimed. "Say hello to my fantastic new creation, the Weapon of Mass Percussion!"
"...am I weird for thinking that's actually a catchy name?" Dawn quipped.
"This is where the curtain falls, you meddlers!" Metalhead shouted as the Weapon of Mass Percussion brought out actual large drumsticks to play on the drums surrounding it.
As the Weapon of Mass Percussion played, discs of bright red energy began to fly out from weapon ports built underneath the spies, forcing them to start jumping around and eventually take to the sky with their Jetpack Backpacks to avoid the discs.
However, the Weapon of Mass Percussion began playing a different drum solo, and this caused discs of green energy to start flying towards them from weapon ports across the walls of the arena.
"Man, is there really no safe ground for us?!" Clover exclaimed.
Nick noticed that eventually, the Weapon of Mass Percussion would stop drumming for a couple seconds and reset itself before resuming its drumming.
"I'm willing to bet we need to hit the thing between its drum solos," Nick stated, throwing up a psychic barrier to protect Seven and Rain from another salvo of energy discs.
The spies did what they could and dodged through the barrage of energy discs until the Weapon of Mass Percussion stopped to switch to a new solo, allowing Nick to blast it in the chest with a Final Shine Attack, causing the machine to rock backwards before resuming its earlier stance.
"Will you stop interrupting my set?!" Metalhead shouted as the Weapon of Mass Percussion continued to drum, though now the energy discs came out in different patterns.
Seven ducked behind one of the nearby hallway walls to avoid the barrage of energy discs until she found an opening, reaching into the Jetpack Backpack she'd been supplied by RiCO and pulling out an Electromagnetic Curling Iron.
To provide cover for Seven, Rain jumped through the barrage until she landed on the stage itself.
"No idols allowed on the drums!" Metalhead proclaimed as the Weapon of Mass Percussion slammed both of its drumsticks down in an attempt to crush Rain, only for Rain to backflip away from the attack.
This gave Seven the perfect vantage point to fire her Electromagnetic Curling Iron into the machine, stalling it just long enough for Nick to hit it with another Final Shine Attack. This blast sent the Weapon of Mass Percussion reeling slightly until it re-oriented itself, its drums glowing ominously.
"What's the matter? Don't like death metal?!" Metalhead shouted. The Weapon of Mass Percussion discarded its drumsticks and started banging its fists on the drums. Instead of firing energy discs like it did before, this action caused rumblings that forced the spies to stay in the air.
"Okay, now you're just being rude!" May exclaimed as she flew towards the Weapon of Mass Percussion and started bashing at its chest plate with her anchor.
"Hey, paws off the stereo!" Metalhead shot back, moving to punch May off of the stage, only for both fists to be blocked by a psychic barrier courtesy of Nick.
"Tag in, Nick?" May asked.
"That was the plan," Nick laughed as he rushed forward to blast the Weapon of Mass Percussion in the chest with another Final Shine Attack, finally showing visible damage on the machine. "Man, this thing's pretty sturdy if we're only now seeing damage on it."
The Weapon of Mass Percussion hit its drums with its fists, creating a booming sound wave that knocked Nick and May off the stage and back towards the rest of the spies.
"So, spies, how do you like my performance?!" Metalhead taunted as her machine continued to belt out drum solos, which caused more energy discs to start flying towards them.
"Hey, I think I noticed something about the big bad bot," Haruka quipped. "Its little drum solo is actually in time with the music she's playing. You catch my drift?"
"So, if we can find a way to change the song, we can confuse the machine and take our chance to wreck it?" Sam responded. "That's brilliant! ...but what song should we use?"
"Anyone have any ideas?" Mat asked.
"I might have one," Seven giggled, dodging through another pair of energy discs to hand a flash drive to Nick.
"I'm on distraction duty, then," Bridget proclaimed as she flipped open her X-Powder. "Sonic Mode, online!"
Once she was transformed, Bridget sped off like lightning to zip and zoom around the Weapon of Mass Percussion while Nick and May moved towards the music player nearby that Metalhead had been using to play her metal song.
"Stand still, you caffeine fiend!" Metalhead exclaimed as Bridget actually ran along the side of the Weapon of Mass Percussion.
"Better insults, ya know," Bridget laughed as she jumped back before blitzing towards the Weapon of Mass Percussion and hitting it in the chest with a Metal Masher Boxing Glove, actually breaking off the chest plate to reveal the machine's generator before the Weapon of Mass Percussion blew her off the stage.
"Got it!" Nick exclaimed as he plugged the flash drive into the music player, then switched to the song Seven had told him to play.
The heavy metal song that had been playing during the fight stopped, only to be replaced by what seemed to be a synthwave-style ballad.
("Fever Night" by Takanashi Kiara plays)
"Ooh, yeah, that's the groove!" May laughed, as she recognized the song as Seven and Rain's duo song from Idol Opportunity's latest album.
Once the song picked up, the Weapon of Mass Percussion seemed to still play its drums in rhythm with the song, but this only frustrated Metalhead.
"Come on, you stupid drummer, play my song, for cryin' out loud!" Metalhead exclaimed.
But when Seven and Rain started singing the song together, Metalhead stopped in her tracks when she realized what exactly this song reminded her of.
The first thing that had come to her mind was one of the synthwave bands that Maria had liked to listen to. Synthwave was an up-and-coming genre of music, after all, and it was something the two of them had listened to before...
Before she knew it, Metalhead let a few tears fall as she was once again reminded of her lost friend.
"I think I see our opening!" Melissa exclaimed.
Nick didn't waste a second, jumping onto the stage and firing off a Final Shine Attack, the blast piercing through the Weapon of Mass Percussion's generator and destroying it rather handily.
The machine rumbled and quaked before exploding violently, Metalhead ejecting from the cockpit before she got caught in the explosion herself.
With the Weapon of Mass Percussion thoroughly destroyed, Metalhead tumbled to the ground in front of the spies, who prepared themselves for whatever she would do.
They expected her to curse them out, make thinly-veiled threats of revenge, anything like that...
...anything except what she actually did.
Instead of cursing at them or making empty threats...
...Metalhead started crying, her grief too overwhelming to hold back any longer.
Naturally, the spies were suddenly unsure of what to do.
Nick took a few cautious steps forward, wondering if he should say something. He definitely wasn't expecting Metalhead to lunge forward and hug him.
"...you okay, Mallory?" Nick tentatively asked.
"...I just wanted them to take responsibility for what they did to my best friend," Metalhead sobbed. "That's all I wanted... she didn't deserve to die because some stupid meatheads didn't bother with safety..."
"I may be able to help you with that," RiCO stated from Nick's X-Powder. Metalhead looked down as Nick opened his X-Powder. "After you explained what happened to the spies, I did some digging and traced that incident back to the performance you mentioned. And it looks like the Florida authorities actually responded, so they're going to open an investigation into the cover-ups."
"W-wait, does... does that mean...?" Metalhead gasped.
"Your friend is going to get the justice she's been denied," RiCO answered. "They may be able to cover things up with hush money and all that jazz, but the super-advanced artificial intelligence sees all."
With that reassurance, Metalhead glanced back at the wreckage of the Weapon of Mass Percussion and, now that she was in a calmer state of mind, realized just what she'd been doing.
"...what... what have I done?" Mallory gasped as the shock finally set in.
"You lost yourself in your grief," Nick answered. "Trust me, I know how that feels. But that's the lesson I had to learn, too. You can't let your grief control you, otherwise... well, we get what happened to you."
"That's a lesson I really wish I'd learned before all of this," Mallory admitted as Nick helped her to her feet. "I guess the jig is officially up, huh? I surrender, spies. I'll come quietly. Just make sure the bastards who covered up Maria's death get their just desserts, okay?"
"We'll make sure of it," RiCO responded as Nick raised his hands to form a pair of psychic handcuffs around Mallory's wrists, as he saw no need to put her in a psychic bubble since she'd willingly surrendered.
"Am I glad that's finally settled," Alex proclaimed. "Now can we please get out of this haunted theater before an actual ghost decides to poke out?!"
That got a good laugh out of everyone, even Mallory.
As the spies made their way out of the theater, Mallory caught a glance at one of the posters she'd placed on the walls, an advertisement for one of the last shows she'd done before she lost Maria.
She got a good look at herself as Mallory Metallic, the "Smiling Metal Maiden", and reflected on how far she'd fallen.
"If it's any comfort, Mallory," Seven stated. "Even if you fall, like you did, you just have to find a way to get back up. That's how I see it, anyway."
That finally got a smile out of Mallory, a smile she'd hadn't had for a long time.
"Despite we sympathize with your dilemma, we're taking you in now," Sam stated as the W.O.O.H.P. jet showed up with Jerry at the controls.
"I understand," Mallory replied.
"Great work, spies," Jerry commended. "And RiCO and I are looking into Mallory's case and we should have an ultimate verdict much sooner than usual."
Mallory had a big grin on her face.
"In the meantime, we'll jet you back to your regular daily lives," RiCO remarked.
9:53 A.M. – Malibu University
The Spies' Penthouse
Two Days Later
Two days later, the spies had breakfast and such and were prepared for some fun to celebrate the end of another mission. Carmen had stayed with them while Gabby and Stella had initially arrived with Carmen, but were elsewhere.
"Hey, check it out, guys!" Nick proclaimed when he saw some online news. "That incident Mallory told us about... the Florida PD already arrested that entire band that was guilty of killing Mallory's friend!"
"In two days?!" Blaine chastised.
"That's quick police work," Bridget commented.
"It looks like each member of the band got charged with second degree reckless homicide for unwittingly causing Maria's death, and they also got hit with criminal conspiracy for covering up the accident to save their own asses," Nick explained as he read the article. "Serves those chuckleheads right, honestly."
"Now Mallory can do her time knowing the band's been brought to justice," Haruka quipped.
Mat had put on the TV news and saw the exact story was being featured on a midday news broadcast.
"I guess RiCO's a firm believer in guaranteeing justice," Nozomi stated.
"And then some," Carmen commented.
"Well, in other matters..." Gabby replied, eyeing Mat and Sam. "Care to tell us about your proposal?"
Sam laughed a bit and blushed.
"Mat proposed over dinner," Sam explained. "Here... actually; he pulled out the chair for me, then he got on two knees and proposed... I couldn't stop crying."
During Sam's explanation was when Mat came to hold her.
"I just love him so much," Sam sighed as she returned the favor.
"We're in it for the long haul, to say the least," Mat added with a kiss on Sam's cheek.
Gabby was above and beyond overjoyed to hear her daughter had gone from having a boyfriend, a serious relationship, and now... engaged.
"Your dad will be just as happy as I am for you, Sam," Gabby replied. "I just know it."
Stella looked on at Clover, thinking she'd be the first one to be engaged and not Alex.
"How about you two?" Stella asked Clover and Blaine.
"Taking it slow," Blaine immediately stated.
"Totally," Clover replied. "But we're in it for the long haul, too."
"By the way," Melissa spoke up. "We don't know if we said this to you or not, but..."
She then came towards Mat, and Nozomi came to Nick.
"Mat opened up his heart for me," Melissa told Gabby. "I kinda... fell for him after he interviewed me for one of his Journalism classes."
"And Nick and I reconciled since he and I were an item before," Nozomi added to Carmen.
"I know this would probably considered strange in a normal setting," Carmen giggled. "But knowing what I do about your adventures, I'm just glad you're all happy and stable together, really."
"Trust me, Carmen, we've all pretty much accepted that our lives are never going to be normal again," Nick laughed.
Suddenly, the spies heard a knock at their penthouse door. May was the first to jog over to open it, only to be surprised to see Seven and Rain standing there, backed by a few of their agents, no doubt security officers.
"Oh, hey, you two, what's up? I kinda thought you already zoomed back to Japan," May quipped.
"We kinda wanted to stick around for a couple more days to sample Beverly Hills stuff, since we didn't get to do that last time we were nearby," Rain admitted.
"Also, we kinda wanted to do some karaoke, if that's all right?" Seven giggled. "We heard that a lot of you actually have some really good chops when it comes to singing, so..."
"Oh, I'm all for that!" May laughed.
Just then, Nick's X-Powder let out a beep. Wondering what was going on, Nick flipped his X-Powder open, only to see RiCO on the screen.
"Is... everything on the up and up, RiCO?" Nick wondered.
"Right as rain, Nick," RiCO answered. "The reason I'm calling you is that, well... there's someone who wanted to talk to you."
RiCO waved her hands, and the screen changed to a video feed of Mallory in her cell in the W.O.O.H.P. Containment Facility, having washed all of her Metalhead face paint off since her capture.
"Hey, everyone," Mallory stated. "Jerry and RiCO actually told me the news, so I just wanted to thank you all for actually helping me find justice for Maria."
"That's kinda what we do, Mallory," Alex replied. "We help the people out."
"You're one of a rare few villains we've fought that actually had sympathetic motives, believe it or not," Sam admitted. "I almost wish we didn't have to take you in, but..."
"You were just doing your job," Mallory responded. "I can't fault you for that. I can at least rest easy knowing that the people that got Maria killed finally got their due punishment."
"And I know for a fact that she's watching over you, Mallory," Nick stated. "So don't ever forget that, okay?"
Mallory wiped a tear from her eye and smiled.
"I certainly won't."
Totally Spies: Heavy Metal Queens
~The End~
Final Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger: And that's once again a wrap! This one was very fun to write for me, especially given our original villain. You may have noticed that I try to give original villains of my own design sympathetic motives for their villainy (Professor Genesis aside, obviously), since I feel it was probably something that the OG Totally Spies could use a little more of. I mean, I know the whole "extremely petty villain motivation" is the running shtick, but I feel a slightly more sympathetic baddie every now and then could explore some interesting avenues. But hey, I'm not a writer for the show, I'm just a fanfic writer, so...
But anyways, let's talk about what's coming up next on The New Adventures, shall we? There's a new water park in town, and it's attracting lots of people to enjoy the last vestiges of summer, but it's also attracting trouble from a certain surfer dude who's back for another round. Splash on down to the madness next time on The Water Wars, which will be posted by Mat. So, until next time, have a fantastic day, don't listen to the screeching morons, enjoy this preview of The Water Wars, and we'll see you next mission!
"Huh, I don't think I've seen this place before," someone asked as a small crowd approached the building marked "The Flow".
"It looks like a water park of sorts," a woman stated as she looked inside. "Is that what they were saving this space for?"
"It looks pretty fun, to be honest," a third person answered. "Why don't we see what all the hub-bub's about?"
That was all the crowd needed to push their way inside and behold the majesty that was The Flow.
"Holy crap, this place is amazing!" one person exclaimed.
"Yeah, look at all of the effort they put into it," a woman laughed. "This is no second-rate water park, let me tell you that much."
"Well, what the heck are we all waiting for?!" another person proclaimed. "Let's go in there and have some fun!"
The rest of the crowd made their way towards the water park with excitement on their minds, not knowing that they were being watched from the shadows by a certain surfer dude.
"Ah-ha," Frankie Dude chuckled. "Right into my trap, just as planned."
To be continued in Totally Spies: The Water Wars...
