"Man," Takada snickered as he got comfy on the flying jet. "You girls get to use your own jet whenever you go on missions? Ichijyo never lets us do that. He's way too cheap."
"No, he just doesn't let you near them," Tazuka corrected. "Remember what happened when you convinced him to test out that new jet fuel?"
"Hey!" Takada cried. "It would have worked perfectly fine! There were just a few bugs!"
"Ano," Ryuki frowned. "Didn't you bring the plane to life somehow and it tried to kill us?
"So my fuel messed with the electronics onboard and created a homicidal AI," Takada shrugged. "We all survived, didn't we?"
"And destroyed one of Smart Brain's private airports in the process," Tazuka nodded. "Ichijyo's ban is still in effect, however."
"The cheap snake," Takada growled.
The Spies only watched as their prospective boyfriends talked back and forth about one of their past adventures. They weren't sure how a plane could be brought to life, but they've seen some freakier things during their employment with WOOHP.
The Spies were currently dressed in some formal wear which was best suited for the party they were going to. Clover was donned in a red dress which hugged her body in all the right places and had Takada drooling when he first saw her in it. Sam's green dress was more formal as it reached down to her ankles, but Tazuka gave her an appreciative eye as he saw her for the first time in it. Alex was in something sportier, a yellow dress which was looser and allowed her to move more freely. She also had yellow gloves which reached up to her upper arms. Ryuki blushed when he finally saw her in it.
The boys each had their own tuxedos on. Tazuka's had a blue tint to it with a shark symbol over the breast pocket with a blue carnation that matched. Takada's suit was mainly black with a blue rose coming from his dog embroidered pocket. Ryuki's was red tinted with a normal rose and dragon symbol. His goggles were also gone since this was a formal event and his hair had been combed back properly before he tied it into a braid. A pair of bangs did stick out and frame his face. Tazuka and Takada kept their hair the same.
Ryuki was still fumbling with his tie as he tried to get it on. He never could figure it out and his sister, mother, or bodyguards always ended up having to do it for him no matter how many times they tried to teach him.
"Need help, Leo?" Alex asked curiously as she noticed Ryuki struggling with the strip of cloth.
"I can't get this stupid bowtie on!" Ryuki complained as he tried to get the thing on.
Alex giggled and offered, "Here, let me." She reached up to fix the tie.
"You're very good at this," he complimented.
"Comes with practice," Alex smiled. "I'm surprised you don't know how to put on one of these."
"I was never a fan of these sorts of social gatherings. While I do attend my mother's fashion shows, I prefer to be elsewhere during the party," he said. He couldn't stand being around a bunch of society snobs. Alex could understand.
Clover then said, "You know, you guys haven't exactly shown us your own gadgets. Do you even have any?"
"We do, and I'll be glad to show you." Takada smirked as he rolled back his sleeve to reveal a wrist watch. Tazuka and Ryuki knew he would start bragging. He always did when it came to Smart Brain's tech. He did help develop a few. "Ladies, this is the SB-Watch. It may look like a normal watch, but I assure you, it isn't." he began showing the girls the many options it had. "It's a 2-way communicator, GPS tracking device, voice synthesizer (he demonstrated this by making himself sound like Sean Connery), and holographic generator." The final option was demonstrated when he generated a full holographic version of himself.
"Wow, that's cool!" Alex spoke, impressed.
"And this, ladies, is the SB-Cell," Takada proclaimed as he pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. It had Smart Brain's emblem on it too. "This handy little phone comes equipped with a scanner, wireless internet capabilities, a memory eraser and can also be turned into a ray gun." He flipped the phone open and changed it into gun mode by pushing the top over the side. "Ta-dah!"
"All Smart Brain Operatives have them," Tazuka said.
Sam heard the mention of a memory eraser and decided to ask "A memory eraser?"
"Well, at times, there are some things we need to keep secret," Ryuki explained, pulling out his own SB-Cell. He pointed at the small camera lens. "The flash from the lens will erase any pre-selected memory we want within a given time-frame. It's really handy." Of course, the last time Ryuki'd used it, it'd caused him pain.
"WOOHP sometimes has to do that," Sam nodded. "One time Arnold got this weird ring which let him suck the coolness out of people. He was going to turn all of California into geeks until we stopped him. His memory then got wiped."
"You mean Arnold was a super villain?" Takada blinked. He then started to snicker at the thought. "I guess it takes all kinds."
Over with Ryuki and Alex, the dark-skinned girl had finished putting the tie on Ryuki properly.
"There," Alex smiled. "All done,"
"Arigatou," Ryuki smiled.
"It's no problem," Alex smiled. She then gripped the lapels of Ryuki's jacket. "Now, c'mere."
Alex tugged on Ryuki's jacket and pulled him close. Ryuki was caught off guard as she planted a soft kiss on his cheek. She could feel his skin heating up underneath her lips before she drew back. Ryuki's face had turned bright red. She couldn't help but giggle a little at how cute he looked.
"Hmm," Clover smiled as she observed the kiss. "That looks like fun."
"I admit that was fun," Takada admitted with a grin as he recalled the soft kisses he and the blonde had shared only hours before. "I take it you're after a repeat performance?"
"You suggested it and not me," Clover giggled as she leaned up to Takada and began another round of soft kisses.
"Some self-control, please?" Sam sighed as she saw her two friends flirting with two of the Riders.
"Let them have their fun," Tazuka chuckled. "Alex would be good for him and Takada fits Clover rather well."
"Oh?" Sam blinked. "What do you mean Alex would be good for Leo?"
"Well," Tazuka sighed. He then started whispering so only Sam could hear him. "Leo and I were on a mission in Canada. Ryuki met a girl there and they began a relationship. Unfortunately she got involved in the mission and had to have her memory erased. Ryuki decided that she would be safer if she didn't remember him or that they even had a relationship."
"Oh my gosh!" Sam gasped. Poor Leo! Sam couldn't even imagine the world of hurt that Leo went through when he made that decision. Still…
"He's not having Alex replace her is he?" Sam asked in concerned.
"More like Alex is trying to start her own relationship," Tazuka snickered. "Otouto is much too kind to do that to a girl. Alex is actually one of the few girls who have gotten to a relationship level with him."
"And Alex hasn't had that much luck with guys either," Sam sighed. "It's good to see her with a guy who really likes her back."
"Ryuki-kun is an honest for goodness and genuinely kind person," Tazuka said. "He's not a poser and he doesn't possess any ulterior motives for dating a girl. He does it because he likes the girl, not because he wants anything out of it." He chuckled, remembering how Ryuki had so many girls chasing him back home. "He's one of the rare ones, I give you that."
"I believe you," Sam nodded. "And what about Takada?"
"While Takada is vain, shallow and a bit of a braggart, he's actually a good person," Tazuka said. He wasn't going to add that his friend had trouble staying faithful to a single girl. It wasn't right to badmouth his fellow Rider. However, he may give a subtle warning to Clover so she could keep a firm hold on Takada's 'leash'. "He's a genius as well, despite the numerous mishaps and misadventures his inventions cause."
"You mean like the jet fuel that brought a plane to life?" Sam asked.
"Let's just say if he asks you to come to the lab to show you something, run the other way," Tazuka joked. Sam giggled. Takada heard the joke and grumbled.
"Oh, sure, accidentally blow up a school building and nobody lets you forget it!" Takada said.
"You blew up a school?" Clover asked.
"Our school," Ryuki began to explain, "Takada was showing us this new invention he had just made and it accidentally exploded, blowing up a large portion of our school. Fortunately, no one was hurt but a lot of the students had to be transferred temporarily to other schools until repairs were done." He looked towards Tazuka, "That's when we found Tazuka-niisan."
"I still say Ichijyo was just overreacting," Takada shrugged.
"Well, you're not the son of the school's owner," Ryuki pointed out.
Alex looked out the window. "Hey, we're already here!"
"Just in time too," Tazuka said, checking his watch. "The event starts in half an hour."
"How does my hair look?" Clover asked Takada.
"Lovely as always," the Rider smiled. Clover blushed at the compliment.
Ryuki informed them, "Ichijyo's already arranged a ride for us."
The large black limousine pulled up in front of the 5-Star Hotel where the event was being held. The limo had Smart Brain's emblem on the driver's side door. The chauffeur, an employee of Smart Brain, came out of the limo and went to open the door for the passengers. Clover and Takada came out first, her arm hooked around his. Next was Alex and Ryuki who were holding hands and finally Tazuka and Sam with their hands clasped together.
This was a big event. It was charity thing. Fabio Balducci was a known nature lover and his designs reflected on his love for animals. He was against the use of fur coats to create his line of clothing, which resembled animal skins in appearance and feeling but were in trust synthetic fibers. He was still made famous by this and was filthy rich as well.
The charity fashion show was also an auction. After all the designs were displayed, there would be an auction, selling off the new exclusive designs. The money would go to all of the nature charities that Fabio supported.
The hotel was closed off to the public and there was a bouncer holding a list. Those without invitations would have their names listed and those who didn't would be kicked out on their rear.
The Spies and Riders approached the door, wearing press badges. The boys were holding cameras. Luckily for them, they had been given invitation by their bosses. Of course, for Ryuki, that wasn't really necessary seeing who his mother was.
"Invitations," the bouncer demanded, holding out a hand. The Spies and Riders handed them over. He checked them, "OK, you're all clear." But then he counted them. Only 5 invitations. He pointed at Ryuki, "Hey, where's your invitation?"
"Please inform them that Ryuki Leonard Hasuma has also arrived," Ryuki said calmly. He hated using his family influence but it did gain him some advantages.
The bouncer read the list and nearly had a heart attack. His mother's name was there and under it was his name as well. "Right, Mr. Hasuma! You and your friends can go right in!"
They entered and Alex said, impressed, "Wow, that was awesome."
Ryuki rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well, being the son of a rich and famous designer does come with some perks."
"Lucky bastard," Takada muttered. Ichijyo and Ryuki both belonged to prestigious and influential families. Ichijyo's family was known in the business world while Ryuki's family was known in both the realms of martial arts and fashion. Takada was only known for, infamously, in the world of science and even that didn't get him many fans.
"Oh, lighten up," Clover giggled.
"We are supposed to be undercover here," Tazuka frowned.
"Might not work so well with me," Ryuki shook his head. "Most of the people here probably know me because of my mother. Okaasan has this habit of showing me and my sister off."
"She's just proud of you," Takada said. "And maybe get you a rich girlfriend."
"I can get a girlfriend on my own," Ryuki crossed his arms.
"I agree," said Alex, leaning against Ryuki's arm with a smile.
They then entered into the main ballroom where the event was being held. A lot of high society types were there in their expensive clothing and large amount of jewelry.
"OK, team, we need to watch over Fabio. Jerry says he might be the next target for the kidnapper," Sam said, seriously.
"Well, we could enjoy the party too," said Takada as both he and Clover moved towards the punch bowl.
"Just keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious," said Tazuka.
"Hai, niisan," Ryuki nodded.
"Got it, Tazuka," Takada nodded. He stared into the glass he was holding and could see Cerberus and Darkwing in the reflection.
Tazuka looked over to a collection of ice sculptures resembling animals and could see Overbite, Sharkhan and Stingdiver flying past in the reflections. Ryuki could see his own collection of Zodiac Beasts in the clean and shiny walls of the main ball room.
Fabio took the stage as all the guests listened. He spoke into the microphone, "I'd like to thank you all for attending this event. Nothing makes me happier than to see so many people care for the animals."
Ryuki rolled his eyes. The only reason some of the people here attended was because it benefited them in their rich and overly-materialistic world.
"After my show, I expect to see everyone ready to buy my designs when the auction begins," Fabio said. "Until then, please enjoy the food and beverages. "Thank you." He stepped off the stage as the crowd began to mingle.
Tazuka spoke into his SB-Watch to Takada, "Anything?"
Takada was taking pictures as Clover looked around. "No, nothing on my end. How about you, Draco?"
Ryuki was with Alex, sitting at a table as they took some food. "Still nothing yet, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of trouble. Fabio is still in my sights."
"Good, don't lose him," said Tazuka again. "Jawz out."
Ryuki looked around and then his eyes widened when he caught something in the corner of his eye. When he turned to look again whatever or whoever it was had gone.
"Something wrong, Leo?" Alex asked in deep concern.
"I thought I saw someone," Ryuki said, rubbing his eyes. 'I could've sworn I saw onee-chan, but she hates these things.'
Ryuki's eyes hadn't been deceiving him, but Kat had gotten out of his sight quickly. She did not want to be found by her brother. She was in a black dress which left her shoulders bare and a black choker which accented her neck.
She had spotted her brother and quickly made herself scarce. She didn't want to be noticed and her attitude was not helped by being at the party. She especially didn't appreciate some of the leering looks that some of the men in the room were sending her. At least when one of the rare women checked her out they were polite and discrete about it.
She heaved a sigh to clear her head. 'Keep calm. This is no time to let my feelings at him get in the way. Mama is in trouble and if he's on the job then I can get some help. Simple as that.'
She spied her brother who was sitting with some girl she hadn't met before. On one hand she was upset that her brother went dating in the middle of this crisis, but her sisterly side was relieved that her little brother seemed to be in a happy relationship. Her eyes scanned the area. Tazuka was there and so was Takada, both with some new girls. She hissed as she saw Takada. Their relationship hadn't exactly ended on the best of terms. She needed to stay out of their sights so that she could carry out her own mission.
Kat cast her eyes at the glass she was holding and saw her Alpha Zodiac Beast, Techno Panther, staring right at her. She knew that if the kidnapper showed up, she would be alerted.
The lights then dimmed and music began to play. Spotlights were dancing around as Fabio took the stage. He was about to present his new collection. Leaning against a wall, she decided to see if he had anything worthwhile. In her opinion, the other designers didn't have anything that would interest her. Her only admiration was for her mama.
The models paraded on stage, showing off the many dresses and outfits Fabio had designed. They were based on animal skins without the use of animals. There were leopard spots, white tiger stripes, zebra stripes, and many other popular faux animal skin clothes being showed off. Takada was snapping pictures of the models. They were gorgeous and Ryuki could identify a few his mother had employed in the past. The guests all applauded as they saw the designs on stage. Fabio had done his best to introduce them and to give a short summary of his inspiration. He was a true animal lover.
The show was soon over and the models were all lined up in their outfits. Fabio was starting the auction now.
The Riders then regrouped.
"Anything?" Tazuka asked.
"Still nothing," Takada responded with a shake of his head. "No signs of anything suspicious."
"Well, I thought I saw onee-chan," said Ryuki. "But maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"Keep that in mind," Tazuka commented. "We'll see about that fact later. Other than her, anything else you think might be strange?"
"Nothing," Ryuki answered.
"Keep watch then," Tazuka ordered before he, Takada, and Ryuki split in different directions. As they were meeting, the Spies were also having their own conversation through their X-Powders.
"Where'd Leo go?" asked Clover.
"I think he saw someone he recognized," Alex answered. "I'm not sure who though."
"Hmm, do get the feeling they know something we don't?" asked Sam.
"Well, duh!" Clover frowned. "Of course they do! We're all in the spy business after all! They probably just aren't allowed to tell us."
"Probably," Alex nodded. "But it would just be our luck if they turned out to be double agents or something."
No one laughed at Alex's joke.
The show continued without a hitch. There were no major disturbances beyond someone spilling a drink by accident. The fur designs went off without a hitch, but the next series of designs were the reptile skin designs. It was when a model came out in a chameleon themed outfit that things got dicey.
The familiar ringing noise echoed through the ears of the three Riders, signaling the arrival of Mirror Monsters. All three heard their contracts reacting and heading towards the source.
"Uh oh," Takada gulped as he saw Cerberus and Darkwing racing away.
The source of the noise was from one of the overhead windows. The glass began to ripple before two creatures fell from it and landed in the middle of the audience. They were green and humanoid with chameleon-like attributes. They also looked very dangerous.
"Biomeleons!" Ryuki hissed as he saw them. He then threw off his tuxedo, revealing that he was wearing his uniform underneath.
"Huh?" Alex blinked. He knew what they were called?
Takada was already out of his seat as he went to face the Biomeleons, throwing off his tuxedo to reveal his uniform. The Biomeleons were tricky and if they lost sight of the two then they would be vulnerable to a sneak attack since they could blend into the walls. At the shocking sight of the two monsters, the guests started to panic.
In the midst of the chaos, Fabio was being taken away by his bodyguards. They didn't get too far before a pair of shuriken were suddenly embedded in their necks, dropping the dark suited pair.
From above, two people dressed up as ninjas dropped to the ground. Both of them were covered in green. One was male while the other was female. Their faces were covered and had chameleon-like goggles on. Both also had a Gemini symbol on the left side of their chests.
"You're coming with us," The male hissed before the female suddenly whipped a rope around Fabio, ensnaring him.
"So come quietly," spoke the female.
"Mirage! Façade!" spoke a stern voice.
Both ninjas turned to see the voice and saw Tazuka in his Rider uniform, having thrown off his tuxedo, ready for a fight.
"Oh, brother, look who it is," said the female, Façade, chuckling.
The male, Mirage, snorted, "It is only the fortune teller, dear sister. Nothing to worry about."
"Let the man go," Tazuka ordered, reaching for his SB-Cell.
"Sorry, Jawz, but we can't do that," Mirage said.
"You see, my brother and I are on a prior engagement so we cannot be delayed," Façade added. Tazuka aimed his SB-Cell, now in gun mode, at the two mercenaries.
"I wasn't asking," Tazuka said, readying himself for anything.
"And we weren't obeying," Mirage frowned before Façade tipped her head. That was when one of the Biomeleons lashed out with its tongue and knocked the phone from Tazuka's hand from behind. As Tazuka recovered from the attack, Mirage and Façade vanished from behind a smoke bomb, taking Fabio with them.
Tazuka frowned and turned to see the Biomeleon which had attacked him. The two reptilian Mirror Monsters were now lashing wildly at the panicking audience, which were struggling to get away from the two monsters.
Both Ryuki and Takada knew they had to get involved. They couldn't transform in the middle of all these people and their contracts couldn't get involved unless it was taken to the Mirror World. Still, they had some abilities.
Clover herself was very much scared of the weird creatures which were attacking, but she also knew that these things were not going to stop. So it was up to her and her friends to make them stop.
"Hey, stop, whatever you are!" Clover shouted, now in her red spy suit. She had on the Cat-Fight gloves and the claws came out. The Biomeleons regarded her for a moment before one of them lashed at her with its tongue. She was able to leap out of the way, doing a perfect somersault. "Hah, is that all you got?" They then shimmered away from view. "Huh?"
"Clover, watch out!" Takada yelled as he pushed her out of the way. Suddenly, one of the Biomeleons reappeared lashed its tongue out and wrapped it around Takada's neck. It was trying to crush his throat. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
The second Biomeleon was stuck to the ceiling using its sticky hands and feet. Its eyes rolled around for a suitable target and found two female humans. One had red hair and wearing green while the other had dark skin wearing yellow. Its tongue hung out hungrily before it shot the appendage at its target.
"ALEX-CHAN!" Alex heard Ryuki yell before he planted himself in front of her. He grabbed the tongue in his hand. Alex stared but then her eyes widened when Ryuki's free hand was engulfed in flames. "This is for okaasan!" Ryuki yelled before throwing a fireball at the Biomeleon. The monster let out a pain filled cry as the fireball hit it. Ryuki turned to see Alex staring at him. "You want an explanation, right?"
Takada, meanwhile, was struggling with the Biomeleon that had its tongue around his neck. He had his SB-Cell in gun mode and firing at the monster. It was shot several times before realizing that this was not worth the trouble. It let go of Takada before jumping into a window, disappearing into a rippling portal. Its twin followed it.
Sam went to look for Tazuka and he was frowning. "They got away, huh?" Sam stated the obvious.
"With Fabio too," Tazuka frowned.
"There goes our lead," Sam sighed.
"Yeah," Clover sighed. She then turned to the boys. "But how the heck did you guys do what you did? That thing should have crushed your neck, Takada."
"Yeah!" Alex nodded quickly. "How'd you throw that fireball, Leo?"
"Um…Ano…" Ryuki gulped nervously.
"It's their special skills," Tazuka answered. "Much like my clairvoyance, otouto and Takada have abilities of their own. Ryuki possesses pyrokinesis while Takada in indestructible."
"No way!" Clover gasped. "That's incredible!"
"That's so cool, Leo!" Alex squealed. Not only was the guy good looking, kind, gentle, and cool, but he was unique too!
Sam frowned slightly as she heard the explanation. They sounded reasonable to her, but there was still something she felt they needed to know, "Okay, since secrets are coming out, why don't you guys tell us who those ninjas were."
Now it was crunch time. Takada knew he had to keep Ryuki's mouth shut because the boy couldn't lie period. The young genius was much better at it but Tazuka would be the one who was best at it since he could keep things vague.
"They are called Mirage and Façade," Tazuka answered coolly. "They are mercenaries who sell their services to the highest bidder."
"But how do they move through glass and what were those things with them?" asked Clover.
"Their armor is a special suit which allows them to pass into a kind of mirror world," Tazuka explained, making it sound like he was talking about reports. "As far as we know, that world is populated by creatures which are tamable. Like those chameleons with them that we've dubbed as Biomeleons. Those two also have powers of illusion. We've dealt with them before."
"Then why didn't you tell us about them before?" asked Alex. She was slightly confused why such a big secret was kept from them.
"We decided not to because all files concerning them are classified," Tazuka answered. "We had orders to keep it that way until we had confirmation that it was them. Once we did then we were allowed to tell you all we know."
"Well," Sam sighed. As much as she knew that Tazuka had valid reasons for this secret, she still felt a little agitated that he kept it. "I'd say it's confirmed. Now, what are we going to do about it?"
"I think I have an idea," Takada grinned.
Tazuka tuned everyone out as Takada explained some lie about how he might be able to track them when he was just having the Mirror Monsters they had follow them. At the moment, Tazuka was feeling another vision coming on. He could se it clearly as usual, but the images foretold danger. It seemed things were going to get dicey.
Just their luck.