On Today's Episode: It seems like things are back to normal after Scam's second defeat in two days, but sadly, no dice. Macker may have been defeated alongside Tim Scam, but he apparently left a bit of a backup plan, and now that backup plan's going after Bridget. And on that note, the spies still don't know why Scam went after Alex. Is there another villain behind the curtain, pulling the strings of this ongoing conflict?
Episode 3: Roundabout Ruckus
"Well, that was quite the stressful few minutes, huh?" Sam stated.
"No doubt about that," Nick replied.
"Hey, I feel pretty good!" Alex exclaimed. "We put Scam in his place twice in the span of, what, two days? I'd say that's a new W.O.O.H.P. record!"
The spies looked on to see that Mat was trying to keep up with another rider on a Yamaha 250 4-stroke. The noises of the motorcycles were similar, but the riding styles were different.
"Wow, look at Mat go!" Haruka remarked.
"He IS pretty impressive," Bridget commented.
"I really think Mat could be a pro rider if he wanted to," Sam quipped.
"Tell me about it!" Clover exclaimed.
"I have to admit that Mat's riding is visibly different from the W.O.O.H.P. cycles," Alex replied. "I'm almost tempted to try riding like Mat myself."
The spies looked on to see Mat going through a section of whoops (though technically called "whoop-de-doos") and flowing across the tops smoothly.
"That's the spot that I'm most impressed with," Nick commented. "I can only imagine how good Mat is on his Supercross games, though..."
"Something tells me he might have a long win streak on one of them," Sam laughed.
"Maybe we'll have to ask him when the time's right," Alex quipped.
"I wonder how much longer until Mat comes in for a break," Clover wondered.
"Hey, has anyone seen Bridget?" Nick asked.
"I thought I saw her looking for a bathroom," Sam answered.
They looked up to see Mat still riding, but a guy was pulling him aside; strangely to them, Mat seemed to be really friendly with him.
"I'll bet that's one of the Supercross riders Mat references," Alex replied.
"I certainly wouldn't be able to guess whom that is," Clover stated.
"Only Mat would know," Nick laughed.
"We'll ask him about that later," Sam quipped.
Haruka and Alex looked back for Bridget, and she was coming back.
"Bridget, where'd you go?" Alex wondered.
"I just had to check in with my mom," Bridget replied. "She just worries about me."
"Oh, do I know that feeling," Alex quipped.
The spies looked up to see the guy whom had pulled Mat aside was leaving.
"You think we should get Mat now or let him enjoy the track?" Sam wondered.
That was when the spies had to make a decision since this was the first time they were seeing Mat ride. On top of all this, it appeared that Mat was unaware of what Tim Scam had done.
"There's six of us, after all," Nick replied. "I say we just let Mat enjoy his riding."
"Okay," Alex quipped. "So, now what do we do with Bridget?" she asked.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Bridget wondered.
"Well, you said you wanted to join our team, right?" Sam replied, putting Bridget's mind at ease. "We just figured we'd patch Jerry through and see what he thinks of that idea."
With that, the spies moved outside of the stadium so they could contact Jerry away from prying eyes.
"Hello again, spies," Jerry proclaimed. "And once again, I congratulate you on a mission well done."
"Oh, Jerry?" Bridget giggled. "Sonic Mode was a complete success, just like we figured."
"Good to hear," Jerry responded. "So, is everything on the up and up?"
"We actually wanted to ask you a question," Sam replied. "After everything that's happened in the past few days, Bridget decided that she wants to join our team. We just wanted to know if that was okay with you?"
"I guess I just feel like I've reached the limits of what I can do as a solo agent," Bridget admitted. "Like with my track team, I feel like I could bounce better off of my friends than just doing it on my own."
"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Bridget," Jerry stated. "Let me go submit your information and it should be approved by the end of the day."
"You rock, Jerry!" Bridget proclaimed.
"And the team expands!" Alex giggled.
With all that said, the team returned to the motocross track, sans Bridget, who decided to go get the group some drinks for the next part of Mat's ride.
But before she could get to the concession stands, she saw something out of the corner of her eye that looked oddly suspicious.
Never one to leave a thread hanging, Bridget began following the figure just to make sure that the villains they'd put away weren't trying something.
After finally tailing the figure to just outside the stadium, Bridget decided to play it cool at first to hopefully lull the suspect into a false sense of security.
But when Bridget got a good look at who the figure was, all of her planned reactions seemed to dissolve into nothingness.
The person she'd been tailing was a boy about her age, with short, blonde hair, thin, round glasses framing brown eyes, and a wide smile that she still remembered to this day.
But... there was no way.
"Am... am I seeing this right?" Bridget asked as the boy looked at her. "Is... is that actually you, Jeremy? I... I thought you were dead!"
"I thought so, too, to be frank," Jeremy proclaimed. "But I actually just barely survived that guy's attack."
Bridget couldn't believe her eyes. Her childhood friend Jeremy had supposedly died three years ago when a robber had tried to break into his family's house. Jeremy had attempted to fight off the robber to keep him from going after Bridget, but it had cost him his life.
But now...
"My family and I actually moved out of the city after I recovered, and we didn't tell anyone so that that jerk who attacked me couldn't find us," Jeremy quipped. "Sorry I never got the chance to tell you."
That was enough for Bridget, who let a few tears fall as she rushed over to hug Jeremy.
"I missed you so much, Jeremy," Bridget cried.
"Hey, I missed you, too, Bridget," Jeremy replied...
...as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a rather sharp knife...
"...but I won't miss you this time."
...and stabbed Bridget in the back with the knife before she could react.
Back at the motocross track, Mat had elected to take a small break before his final ride of the day.
"You know, you truly are something else on that bike, bro," Nick proclaimed.
"Well, when you're as invested in motocross as I am, you tend to pick up on things," Mat responded.
"Seriously, honey, you were incredible out there," Sam giggled.
Sadly, Sam and Mat's attempt at a kiss was unintentionally thwarted when Nick suddenly stumbled in his spot, clutching at his head.
"Whoa, what happened, Nick?" Clover asked. "Did you get pre-emptive brain freeze from the ice cream Bridget was gonna get ya?"
"Wait, how can you get pre-emptive brain freeze?" Haruka wondered. "Is that even possible?"
"I know it is, 'cause it happened to me once!" Clover exclaimed. "Remember that one time we had to fight Dr. Gelee?"
Clover didn't get to explain that moment because Nick was staring intensely at the doorway where Bridget had left to go to the concession stands. A sharp, intense pain had just psychically blared in his mind like an ambulance siren.
"Nick?" Alex asked.
"Something's wrong," Nick stated, and he was already dashing off, leaving the remaining spies to quickly follow him.
Inwardly, Nick was freaking out, as he knew who that flare of immense pain had probably come from. Please don't let it be who I think it is, Nick thought.
Sadly, Nick's hopes were dashed when he and rest of the spies skidded to a stop just outside the main stadium gate.
Nick was the first to gasp in abject horror at the sight of Bridget with a knife jammed in her back by a seemingly inconspicuous boy.
"I should have figured you'd find me," Jeremy proclaimed.
"W-what the hell did you just do to Bridget?!" Nick shouted, his body beginning to glow.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jeremy laughed. "I stabbed her. I mean, come on, I jammed a knife into her."
"Wait just a minute, aren't you that old friend of hers that died three years ago?!" Mat shouted. "What the hell's your deal, man?!"
"Everyone, that's not the real Jeremy!" Haruka proclaimed, her X-Powder open. "I just did a quick scan, and this looks like it's another of Macker's clones!"
"Didn't we put him away already?!" Alex exclaimed.
"He must have had a backup plan of some sort," Sam admitted.
Jeremy simply chuckled as he wrenched the knife out of Bridget's back, then shoved her harshly to the ground. "How observant you all are," Jeremy proclaimed. "Now you can just sit there and watch her die."
"...you said you're not the real Jeremy?" Nick growled in a low and hateful voice.
"Nope, just a clone who's here to fulfill my master's work," Jeremy laughed.
"Good," Nick responded, clenching his fists.
The rest of the spies instinctively took a few steps back, almost as if they could all sense Nick's rising rage and didn't want to be caught up in it.
"...because that means I don't have to hold back."
Nick's psychic aura exploded to life around him with such unbelievable force that it actually cracked and splintered the ground underneath him.
Nick took a step forward before flying towards Jeremy at breakneck speeds, slamming his fist into the blonde boy's face before he could react and sending him bouncing down the walkway.
"Do you have any last words, you son of a bitch?!" Nick snarled.
"How about 'bring it on'?" Jeremy laughed.
Nick simply let out a rage-induced howl as he charged Jeremy again, leaving the rest of the spies to tend to the wounded Bridget.
"Is... is she gonna be okay?" Alex gasped, on the verge of tears.
Haruka did a quick scan of Bridget with her X-Powder. "The wound isn't too serious, since it missed any vital areas, but she passed out from the shock," Haruka answered once her scan was complete. "Regardless, we should get her to W.O.O.H.P. quickly, just to be on the safe side."
As Sam opened her X-Powder to contact Jerry, Haruka picked up the unconscious Bridget and glanced back at Nick's battle with the clone of Jeremy.
You can do this, Nick, Haruka thought. Beat that jerk within an inch of his life.
Haruka turned back to the others. "Come on, guys!" She exclaimed.
"We're coming!" Mat exclaimed.
"But what about Nick?!" Alex exclaimed.
"Nick can take care of himself," Haruka remarked. "I know him better than ever that he can handle this."
"I hope you're right," Sam stated.
"I can handle it, Sam!" Nick shouted from where he stood. "And as for you..."
"Oh, what are you going to do, break my neck?" Jeremy taunted.
"You'll wish I did when I'm through with you, asshole!" Nick shouted. "Now get over here so I can pound your sorry face into mashed potatoes!"
Jeremy simply dodged Nick's next punch, only for Nick to instantly spin around and blast Jeremy in the face with a barrage of psychic bolts.
To everyone's surprise, when Jeremy stood up, it appeared that part of his face had been burned off by the blast... only to reveal a robotic exoskeleton underneath.
"Hold on, he's just a robot?" Alex gasped.
"That's good news for me, because that means I really don't have to hold back!" Nick exclaimed, his hand glowing a bright neon green.
Jeremy simply charged towards Haruka, who was carrying Bridget, but Nick was having none of that, immediately placing himself in front of him.
"Say your prayers, you cheap knock-off!" Nick shouted. "FINAL SHINE ATTACK!"
Nick unleashed a bright neon-green blast from his hand that tore through Jeremy's robotic body and caused it to collapse, his eyes fizzling out soon after.
"And that's the end of you," Nick growled as he moved to rejoin the spies.
"By the way," Clover remarked. "I think in all the hoopla, there's a good chance we likely forgot about Macker!"
"Oh, gosh, she's right!" Sam chastised.
"How the hell COULD WE FORGET?!" Haruka shouted.
Sam was already whipping her X-Powder out to get Jerry on the line.
"How goes the mission, spies?" Jerry replied when his visage appeared.
"Not good," Mat replied. "Bridget sustained a stab in the back... literally!"
"Oh my!" Jerry exclaimed. "Not to worry, spies! I'm sending in the W.O.O.H.P. jet right away!"
As Haruka carried the wounded and unconscious Bridget, the spies could see the W.O.O.H.P. jet approaching them.
"Come on, Bridget!" Clover exclaimed.
"We're almost there – we're gonna make it!" Alex exclaimed.
A giant vacuum tube came out and the spies were sucked in. They appeared on board the jet.
"Wait... what about Nick?" Alex asked as Haruka put the wounded Bridget on a gurney.
"Hold on, I can see him coming," Mat replied, looking at the window.
The others came to see Nick was using his psychic powers to float up to where the jet was. Fortunately, he didn't have to go very high since the jet had only taken off minutes ago.
"I hope I'm not too late," Nick jokingly replied as Jerry opened the back hatch for Nick to come on board.
"Luckily, no," Haruka laughed.
"Glad you caught up, bro," Mat replied.
"I could say the same about you," Nick quipped, trying to maintain a joking mood when, inwardly, he was about to lose it.
"Anyway, Jerry, we got a problem," Clover remarked.
"Yes, we're doing everything we can to get Bridget safely to W.O.O.H.P.," Jerry stated.
"It's not just Bridget we're talking about," Clover quipped.
"Oh?" Jerry asked.
"Tim Scam was unleashing multiple bombs on the motocross track Mat was riding on," Sam started as the explanation.
"Oh my!" Jerry exclaimed.
"Luckily, we were able to find them all and diffuse them," Alex continued on.
"But in all the hoopla, we seemed to have forgotten about Macker the Safecracker," Nick finished that explanation.
"Things happen, spies," Jerry quipped. "I'll run a scan to see if Macker's anywhere in the vicinity."
With that, Jerry got to the control panel to run a scan around Beverly Hills.
"H... Help... me..." Bridget weakly stuttered at Nick and Haruka. "Hur...ry..."
"Don't fret, Bridget, we're on our way to W.O.O.H.P. right now," Haruka proclaimed. "We're not going to let you die, I swear it."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Bridget," Nick stated, looking like he was on the verge of tears. Just then, Bridget reached out to put her hand on Nick's cheek.
"Not... your fault..." Bridget gasped. "Don't blame yourself..."
"Too bad this happened," Mat groaned. "I was ready to swap my riding gear for my swim shorts and jump in the pool – almost like Jeremy McGrath away from riding."
"We'll do that when we get back," Clover assured.
"We were deciding whether or not to involve you in what happened back at the stadium," Haruka quipped. "Then we found a bomb on the actual track."
"Wait, there was one on the track?!" Mat exclaimed.
"Yup, but Nick stopped it with a new power," Alex replied. "Basically, he can freeze time around him now."
"I've got something!" Jerry exclaimed.
"What do..." Nick started before thuds were heard on the jet.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good," Clover proclaimed.
Nick extended his senses outward to catch the problem. "I think there's a bunch of clones jumping on the jet!" Nick exclaimed.
"Okay, now Macker's just being rude," Haruka stated.
"I'll go out and deal with them," Nick responded, his aura flaring to life. "You all just keep Bridget safe, no matter the cost!"
"You got it!" Alex shouted as Nick flew outside the jet to fight off the clones.
Almost immediately, Nick could see at least three different clones, all of him, climbing on the surface of the jet and aiming various weapons towards it.
"Hey, suckers!" Nick shouted, catching the clones' attention so that they were aiming their weapons at him. Nick responded by raising his hands to catch them all in his psychic grip, followed by yanking them violently off of the jet.
"They always fall for that," Nick laughed, keeping his senses open for any more approaching clones. Sure enough, there were two more approaching, these being clones of Jerry.
Nick swerved around the clones' attacks before firing psychic bolts at their jetpacks, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Next!" Nick shouted.
"You seem to be making a mockery of my efforts, boy."
Nick whirled around to see a large pod-like machine carrying Macker the Safecracker floating there just between Nick and the jet.
"Yeah, well, when you use one of your dirty clones to try and murder one of my best friends, you bet your ass I'm gonna make you regret it," Nick growled. "Now, I'm only giving you one chance to beat it and get back to your cell before I get even angrier. And trust me, you do not want to see me get angry."
"Empty threats, boy, nothing more," Macker laughed. "You don't have it in you to hurt me. I can tell just by looking at you."
In response, Nick just grinned, which actually unnerved Macker slightly.
"Then you must really not know me," Nick quipped as he charged forward to attack. Macker maneuvered his pod around Nick's strike before flying extremely fast towards the jet, with Nick in hot pursuit.
"Are things quieting down out there?" Haruka asked, her Wind Tunnel 9000 at the ready.
"Not quite," Clover stated. "We've got company!"
The spies readied themselves as Macker jumped out of his pod and onto the ground of the jet, aiming his robotic hand for the spies.
"Well, well, if it isn't a bunch of nosy spies," Macker laughed.
"Back the hell off right now if you know what's good for you," Sam growled as she and Mat shifted into fighting stances.
"Sorry to disappoint you all, but I believe your little track star has an audience with the grim reaper," Macker cackled, opening his palm to charge up an energy blast, then aiming it towards Bridget. "So please step out of the way and allow me to send her there."
"Have you gone mad?!" Mat exclaimed. "When did you jump from getting revenge on us to wanting to flat-out murder us?!"
"Sometimes, the simplest option is the most satisfying form of revenge," Macker proclaimed, energy gathering in his robotic palm.
As the spies prepared to defend Bridget, they heard an odd noise, similar to a blade slashing through something.
Haruka was the first to gasp in surprise when she saw what had just happened.
Macker's robotic arm had just been severed from his body and was now lying completely inert on the floor, the cause being Nick, having formed an energy blade on his hand to cleanly slice off Macker's robotic arm.
"Oh, my god," Clover gasped.
It took a few seconds for the missing arm to register to Macker, but when it finally clicked, Macker clutched the robotic stump and started gasping in shock.
"You little... you bastard!" Macker shouted.
"Oh, please," Nick shot back. "It's not like I cut off your actual fleshy arm, just your robotic one. You can simply build a new one, right?!"
Not in the mood for any more of Macker's rambling, Nick raised his right hand and clenched it to encase Macker in a psychic bubble.
"Now stay in your cell this time," Nick proclaimed, pushing the bubbled Macker slightly outside of the jet, then flicking his hand upwards to send Macker off to containment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at headquarters," Jerry proclaimed as the jet touched down on the rooftop of W.O.O.H.P. headquarters. "Let's get Bridget inside."
"And hurry, Jer!" Alex exclaimed.
3:39 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters
Nick definitely wasn't known for his patience, and it showed as he continued to pace around the office.
"Seriously, Nick, I think you're gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that," Haruka stated. "And I think it's hard to wear a hole in metal."
"My mind's going every which way right now," Nick replied. "I know you said that her wound wasn't serious at all, but that won't stop me from worrying. You know that, Haruka."
Haruka simply nodded, knowing exactly what moment Nick was referring to.
Thankfully, the spies didn't have to wait much longer for Jerry to step into the office.
"Please don't beat around the bush, Jerry, because my heart and brain are going a million miles a second," Nick proclaimed. "Is Bridget going to be all right?"
"You don't have to worry any longer, Nick," Jerry responded. "Bridget is going to be just fine."
"Oh, that's definitely a relief," Alex sighed.
"Like Haruka had said, the wound wasn't serious in the slightest," Jerry explained. "She likely just passed out from the initial shock of the attempt on her life. Regardless, there appears to be no lasting damage to Bridget. We simply plan to keep her here at W.O.O.H.P. for a day or two to monitor her, and she should be back to full strength by then."
"I keep forgetting that W.O.O.H.P. has probably the best medical technology in the world," Clover admitted.
"Can I see her before we have to skedaddle, Jerry?" Nick asked.
"Of course," Jerry replied, leading the group to the room where Bridget was resting.
Bridget opened her eyes slowly, but smiled nonetheless. "Hey, guys," Bridget stated. "Sorry I put you through all of this."
"If anything, I'm the one who should be apologizing, Bridget," Nick replied. "If I'd sensed that jerkoff's intent before..."
"Nick, listen to me, 'kay?" Bridget cut in. "Remember what I said? None of this is your fault, all right? I'm the dumb-o who let my guard down when I probably shouldn't have. You don't need to blame yourself for my screwup."
"I can probably guess why Nick's feeling like this," Haruka replied. "Something similar happened during one of our early missions, before Nick and I joined you guys. We were chasing down some nutball who called himself 'Speed Demon', claiming he was the fastest guy in existence. We eventually caught up with him, but... he kinda knifed me when we had him cornered. I wasn't hurt too bad, but Nick didn't take it very well. He probably would have beaned the jerkwad into a concussion if I hadn't stepped in. Nick just doesn't like seeing his friends get hurt, even if it's not his fault it happened."
"To be fair, I'd probably be the same way," Mat admitted.
"So just relax, okay, Nick?" Bridget replied, leaning upwards as best she could so she could give Nick a hug. "I'll be back to full capacity in a day or two, and we'll all be kicking bad guy keester together."
"I'm just glad you're gonna be okay, Bridget," Nick replied.
"Hey, a silly little knife isn't gonna be enough to take out lil' ol' me," Bridget giggled. "That's just the facts of life."
With that said, Jerry pressed a button on the nearby control panel, opening up a large tube in the ceiling to send the rest of the spies back to their beach house.
3:45 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House
As the spies unwound from that mission, the spies were just enjoying some quiet time.
"Dude, I was really surprised that you can ride like that out there," Nick told Mat.
"Same here," Sam added.
Alex, Clover, and Haruka were no different.
"Bridget was impressed, too," Nick added since Bridget wasn't among them.
"Thanks, guys," Mat replied. "Riding does teach a lot more than what you just saw from me – take it from me."
"I believe it," Haruka remarked.
The couch was the first place Mat went to; he was feeling sore – understandably from riding for the first time in who-knows-when and the unexpected mission that came up with Tim Scam and Macker the Safecracker. Alex and Haruka then went to eat a snack, as did Nick and Clover. As for Sam, she opted to stay with Mat like a good girlfriend would.
"I was impressed myself," Sam told Mat.
"Thanks, girlfriend," Mat replied to Sam.
He sighed and caught his breath from the exhaustion that had caught up with him. Sam was near him and the two of them began to get a little cuddly.
"Any chance you'll let us see you ride again?" Sam asked.
"You can count on that," Mat laughed.
Later that night, Nick and Haruka picked up some food for dinner; Mat was still too sore to move, but Alex and Clover came to keep him company as well. However, when Nick and Haruka came back, Sam was giving Mat a massage.
"Is he still sore?" Haruka asked.
"Yep," Sam chuckled.
Alex even chipped in to help with Mat's legs.
"Mat told us this was the first time he'd gone riding in a number of weeks, too," Alex added in.
"Hey, you don't forget how to ride no matter how long you take off," Mat laughed.
"I believe ya, bro," Nick replied.
Sam gently squeezed Mat's shoulders while Alex got Mat's legs; Clover helped out Alex, too.
"Oh, gosh, that's refreshing," Mat sighed at the feeling.
"Glad to help," Sam replied and added a kiss on Mat's cheek.
The program Clover was watching seemed to have come to an end when the spies began eating some dinner.
"Thanks, girls," Mat replied. "I think that massage on my muscles was what I needed."
"Are you sleeping down here or can you make it upstairs?" Clover asked.
"I can make it upstairs," Mat answered. "Unless I get a little lazy to stand up..."
The spies shared a laugh at Mat's extra comment.
"You'll want a companion, eh?" Sam asked.
"If you wish to," Mat replied.
As it turned out, Sam stayed downstairs to keep Mat company; Mat even let her rest on top of him.
As morning came, Nick and Haruka were first to awaken. Haruka was getting her breakfast when Nick heard a knock at the door.
"Are we expecting anyone, Nick?" Haruka asked.
"Not that I know of," Nick replied as he moved towards the door. "I don't think it's a bad guy, though, since bad guys don't knock."
"Oh, tell me about it!" Haruka laughed.
Keeping his glowing left hand out of sight just in case, Nick reached for the handle and opened the door.
Standing in the doorway was a girl about his age, with bright blue eyes, short golden-blonde hair tied into two spiky ponytails, and a wide and happy smile.
"I knew I'd find you," the girl laughed. "Three years and I've still got it."
That was all it took for Nick to recognize the girl in their doorway.
"Holy crapbaskets," Nick gasped. "Nozomi, is that you? Is that really you?!"
"About as me as I can be," Nozomi Itou giggled as she leaped forward to hug Nick. "Good to see you haven't changed much, huh?"
"I could say the same for you, miss martial artist," Nick laughed. "How'd you even find me here?"
"Well, I've actually seen you around town lately, but I never got the chance to actually catch your attention," Nozomi answered. "I'm here on the student exchange program at Beverly Hills High School. Looks like we're gonna be study buddies again!"
That was when Nozomi noticed Haruka staring intently at her, as if wanting an explanation. "I guess I have some things to explain, huh?" Nozomi quipped.
"Please do that, because the last time something like this happened, it was all a silly misunderstanding and the others here apparently aren't letting that go," Haruka laughed.
"Well, the short of it is, I'm Nick's ex-girlfriend from about, let's say, three years ago," Nozomi answered.
"Wait, you had a girlfriend before Alex?" Haruka wondered.
"Remember, this was well before I met them, Haruka," Nick stated. "I met Nozomi back in middle school in Japan, in my local karate class. And talk about a first impression..."
"Yeah, Nick was kinda transfixed by how cute he thought I was," Nozomi responded. "Next thing he knew, I'd karate flipped him to the mat."
"I never saw it coming," Nick sighed. "We really just hit it off from there, honestly."
"So... why did you two have to break up?" Haruka asked.
"It was really just a case of bad timing," Nozomi replied. "About a year after we started dating, my family and I moved to another part of Tokyo. Nick and I both agreed we couldn't really handle a long-distance relationship, since we were only thirteen at the time."
"It wasn't long after that I came to America, so that was pretty much how that went down," Nick finished.
"So..." Nozomi quipped. "What have you been up to lately?"
Despite him hoping she wouldn't, Nozomi definitely noticed Nick's split-second hesitation before his response, as if there was something he didn't want her to know.
"Well, let's just say a lot of things have been going on," Nick answered.
"Nick, you know you've never been a good liar, especially around me," Nozomi proclaimed. "Hey, let's put it this way. Even if I'm not your girlfriend anymore, I'm still your friend no matter what. So, if there's anything you wanna tell me that you'd rather I keep a secret, I promise you I'll take it to my grave."
"And you learned the whole 'keeping promises' shtick from me, right?" Nick replied. Nick glanced over at Haruka, who gave him an approving nod.
Nick gestured to Nozomi so she could come inside the house, leading her into the living room so they could both sit down.
"Well, Nozomi..." Nick stated. "I hope you like long stories."
To be continued...
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
On the next episode...
Nozomi: Wow, you guys and gals have been through a lot, haven't you?
Haruka: That's really putting it mildly.
Nozomi: Well, I wanna help you guys out however I can.
Nick: ...well, I think I know how you can start.
Alex: Did you sense trouble, Nick?
Nick: Trouble of what kind, I'm not sure, but definitely trouble.
Nozomi: Wait, you can sense that kind of thing?
Nick: That's another long story, Nozomi, but I'll tell you all about it next time on Totally Spies the Movie: Beyond the Looking Glass HD Remix, "Trouble Tumble"!
Sam: Hey, a title that wasn't in the original.
Nozomi: And are your scripts always riddled with these dumb puns?
Nick: Oh, we've got some words for mister scriptwriter about that.