Chapter 10

"Okay, this has to be it." Jason insisted. "We've checked every other doorway in this crazy pad!"

"Okay, let's go." Mark replied. Pulling open the door, the three ninjas slipped inside.

They were standing in a giant control room at least ten stories high. In the middle, the missing nuclear weapon was suspended, nose down, over a hole that went deep into the ground. On a platform high above the missile stood Dr. Zoltar, Keyop, and Frau Mala. Hundreds of green-suited goons swarmed around the platform, and the launching area.

It only took one sharp-eyed goon to notice them.

"Groovy-Force!" the soldier cried.

"I told you, Dad!" Keyop poked his father.

"Kill them!" Zoltar cried, ignoring his son's comments.

The guards ran toward Mark, Jason and Princess.

"I love this part…" grinned Jason. He whipped a handful of chest hair darts out of his belt and threw them in rapid succession at the nearest goons, with pinpoint accuracy.

"Teeth Rang!" screamed Ken, pulling the false malformed appendage out of his mouth and sending it to slice the necks of another dozen soldiers, before returning to his outstretched hand.

"Compact Strike!" shouted Princess, sending her weapon into another horde of approaching goons and exploding them to bits.

Together, the three of them cut a wide swath through the green-uniformed army. Jason pulled out his cable gun while Mark made good use of his appropriated laser weapon. Jun slipped a ribbon out of her hair from underneath her helmet and electrified it, throwing it into the approaching minions to devastating effect.

Slowly, they waded through Zoltar's soldiers until they finally stood at the foot of the platform upon which the purple-clad villain stood.

"You're too late, Groovy-Force!" the Doctor sneered. "I have already begun the final launching sequence. There is no abort button! You cannot stop my evil plan now!" He pointed toward a giant countdown clock that was ticking off the seconds until the Earth's destruction.

10… 9… 8…

"Nooooooo!" screamed Ken.

"We have to stop it!" cried Princess.

7… 6… 5…

Jason pulled out his last chest hair dart, and threw it at Zoltar's control panel where it slipped inside the machine.

4… 3… 2…

The countdown clock stopped.

"What?" screeched Zoltar, frantically checking the readouts from his panel. "That dart… it somehow slid into the control mechanism and jammed it!"

He turned toward the three ninjas, his eyes flashing with rage.

"Damn you, Groovy-Force!" he spat, before snatching up Mr. X, turning, and running out of the room through a heretofore hidden exit.

"Brrt… Dad… don't leave me!" cried Keyop, sobbing frantically in Frau Mala's arms.

"It is okay, Keyop." she said angrily, "He alvays does zis, but I vill be here for you, I promise…"

"That dart won't hold forever!" Jason informed his teammates. "We have to destroy this place!"

"The Zark bombs!" Princess exclaimed.

The three Groovy Ninjas ran for the arsenal.

88888

A loud eruption of sound echoed throughout the hallways of the evil complex.

"Urrrrrrrppppppppp!"

"What was that?" asked Mark, startled, just as a large, kilted man turned the corner in front of them.

"Oh! There yeh are!" exclaimed Tiny.

"Tiny, where have you been?" asked Princess.

"Well, after tha appetizer of shark sushi, I foun' this lil' barbeque pit, an insi' was mah entrée…" he explained.

"Entrée?" asked Jason, confused.

"Yeh… thar was a big helpin' o' Kentooky Fried Cronus…" Tiny grinned. "Tastes like chicken…"

Mark turned a delicate shade of green.

"Let's just find that arsenal…" he muttered.

88888

Five minutes later the entire Groovy-Force Team was fleeing Zoltar's secret base as fast as they could, Princess' explosives having been set for detonation within the stockpile of Zark missiles. Mark drove the Phoenix as fast as possible while Jason and Princess were on the lookout for signs of trouble.

Only seconds before the bombs were set to go off, they saw the rock mouth on the Zoltar mountain crumble, to reveal a shiny metal escape pod in the shape of the Doctor's lips.

The glossy mini-mecha zoomed off into the sky, just as the base exploded in a spectacular display of fireworks.

"Trust that slimy bastard to always get away…" Mark muttered.

His teammates didn't hear him. They were too busy making out on the shag carpet in the back of the minibus.

Mark looked sadly at his wayward daughter.

"Jun is going to kill me…" he sighed.