6:49 P.M. – Somewhere in Another Dimension
This time, Ashley was ready when the Quantum Rift opened up and spat her out into a strange field full of gigantic skeletons.
"All right, not what I was expecting," Ashley admitted as she picked herself up and started jogging through the field, pointedly avoiding the skeletons as if she thought they'd jump back to life and attack her.
They actually had in one dimension, so Ashley was wise to be cautious.
Making sure she had Glitch ready just in case, Ashley stepped over a large femur bone blocking the way and beheld a very impressive sight.
A gigantic forest lay just ahead, still completely intact despite all of the skeletons around here.
"Here's hoping I can still protect at least some of these worlds," Ashley quipped as she set out to explore the forest.
Ashley couldn't help but constantly glance into the sky, where multiple Quantum Rifts of various shapes and sizes could be seen periodically opening and closing, almost as if to constantly remind her what she had potentially caused by shooting and destroying the Dimensionator.
"Man, it's getting worse the longer I keep getting flung through rifts, huh?" Ashley sighed. "...wait. Glitch, can you see if there are any information databases in this place?"
"Sure, but why? Is there something you wanted to know?" Glitch answered.
Ashley looked at her wrist device before looking back up at the cascade of Quantum Rifts in the sky.
"I want to know if it's possible to rebuild the Dimensionator."
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(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)
Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger are proud to present:
Totally Spies: The New Adventures
Episode 79: Sink or Swim
Story Rated: T for Teen
Story Created: April 14th, 2023
Story Summary: The one-hundred and tenth co-op project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger, and episode seventy-nine of our mission-based series Totally Spies: The New Adventures. It seems like the spies can't even enjoy a simple day at the beach without trouble rearing its ugly head or heads. Helga von Guggen is back, and she's teamed up with Sunny Day to create a line of "killer swimwear" that will more than likely spell doom for said swimmer if they try to actually swim with them. The spies will definitely have their hands full trying to save the swimmers while dealing with Helga and Sunny, but can they keep it together and save everyone's summer?
Author's Notes from Mat49324: Well, Jewelry Joust is officially completed, and it is time for our next project. I know a lot of you (myself included) was wondering about that mysterious Ashley OC that Nick introduced, and hopefully, he filled in some blanks there. For now, we're going to move on to our next project, which is full of water again – proverbially speaking of course. I've titled this one Sink or Swim, and we're having two more femme fatales teaming up to find a way to ruin summer again. Who are they? You'll have to read and find out. BTW, before we begin, this is my 116th project on my page, and this is historic for me – not because this is 116 projects total – reason being is because this is now my 100th Totally Spies project alone going back to when I first started in 2004 (despite I did get burned out and moved on to other shows in 2007 before getting back in contact with Nick in 2019 and revamping something I certainly missed). For now, here's The Blue Time Ranger for anything he'd like to say.
Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger: And season seven continues rollin' on with another villain we haven't seen in a while. I have a feeling this one's gonna be interesting, so let's get started! Get your sunscreen and surfboards, and let's ROLL IT!
And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters or locations created by us truly for the story. Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we did own Totally Spies, which we don't, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?
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Act 1: Pushed By the Waves
1:50 P.M. – Santa Monica Beach
It was another normal summer day for the thirteen spies. They were all enjoying a day at Santa Monica Beach.
"Hey, you!" May exclaimed at Dawn while they were trying to jump waves like hurdles.
"Why not?" Dawn giggled back as they both tried to see who could jump higher.
Simultaneously, Nick and Bridget were going up against Clover and Blaine in a two-on-two beach volleyball game.
"Gotcha!" Clover shouted as she dove to return a serve just before the ball could hit the sand.
"What was that?" Nick quipped as he and Bridget relayed the ball between them for a few seconds before Nick sent it flying with a spinning strike.
Blaine managed to knock the ball up with a rising punch before Clover spiked it down, far too fast for even Nick to catch in time.
To Clover's surprise, though, Bridget performed a spectacular diving save to bump the ball towards Nick so he could spike it back, scoring a point.
"You were saying?" Bridget teased.
"Good stuff, guys," Melissa called from the side.
It turned out that she and Haruka went in the water together while Alex and Britney were enjoying some nachos at their spot.
"I suppose it's only natural that we get a beach day in with summer in its infancy," May remarked at Haruka and Melissa, then looking at the rest of their group of friends.
Mat and Sam were sitting on the beach, but Mat was thinking to himself about the 2009 Glen Helen Motocross opener; the 450cc class went to Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto #2 in a 1-1 sweep; Suzuki's Chad Reed, who had announced he was in for the 2009 450cc Motocross series, finished 4th overall with a 4-3. The 250cc class went to Suzuki's Ryan Dungey #10 with a 2-1 score. On the other hand, Sam, who decided on her classic green swimsuit, was enjoying a smoothie while looking at others passing by.
"How's the water?" Mat asked as he noticed Melissa coming to him.
"Feels refreshing," Melissa giggled.
"Maybe I'll go in a little while," Mat replied.
"Thinking about the Glen Helen race?" Sam asked Mat.
"Well, yes," Mat answered. "I was actually pretty surprised by the rookie Justin Barcia in that first 250cc moto."
"I'll say, he led a long time in that one," Melissa commented.
Some of the spies agreed there.
"Something tells me he's a likely candidate for wins," Mat deduced.
"Not going to doubt that," Dawn replied, who was beside them as well.
"What about Chad Reed getting 4th overall?" May wondered as she came for a break at her spot and had overheard Mat.
"Well, like I said earlier," Mat replied. "I didn't expect him to win, but it's still just to feel things out, and 4th place – albeit slightly disappointing – is an OK start."
Some of the spies looked to see Haruka going to where the beach volleyball game was still going on. Nozomi and Dawn were playing referees. Suddenly, Alex and May suspected that Haruka was going to tease Nick with her two-pieces again since she had a two-piece on again.
"She's something else, isn't she?" Alex chuckled.
"No kidding," May giggled.
"On to you, Beautiful!" Blaine exclaimed to Clover.
"Got it!" Clover shouted as she spiked it down on the sand.
It was too fast for Nick and Bridget to react, and Clover and Blaine got the point.
"4-1," Dawn announced.
Haruka looked on at Bridget and Nick as they got the next point easily over Clover and Blaine – an ace by Bridget to be exact. She folded her arms and waited to execute her plan: play matchmaker on Nick and Bridget (and tease Nick with her bikinis again like before as a bonus).
After Clover and Blaine attempted a double strike on the ball, they were surprised to see Nick and Bridget do the exact same thing.
"Maybe don't broadcast your secret technique!" Nick laughed as he spiked the ball back over the net.
"Nice one!" Bridget exclaimed after Nick got the next point and it was now 8-5.
She and Nick even shared a high-five. That was when Haruka decided to try execute her plan.
"Man, you two are absolutely killing it out there, huh?" Haruka quipped.
"I'd say so," Bridget chuckled. "I used to play a lot of volleyball as a kid, before I decided to join the track team."
"And it definitely looks like you've got those two on the ropes, huh?" Haruka giggled.
"Oh, don't count us out yet, Haruka!" Clover retorted. "We haven't even begun to fight!"
"That kind of skill must come with knowing each other as long as you two have, huh?" Haruka stated.
Before Haruka could continue, however, Nick raised his hand to quiet her, having sensed something rather strange somewhere nearby.
Haruka was about sigh in slight annoyance that Nick had unknowingly derailed her plan, but that feeling went away when she looked over and saw what Nick had seen.
Someone was flailing about in the water, almost as if they were trying desperately to stay above the water, but something wasn't letting them.
"I'm on it!" Bridget shouted as she charged forward, naturally being the fastest of the spy team, diving into the water to help the lady and bring her back to the surface.
As Bridget helped the lady regain her balance, she noticed something that the lady was wearing. It appeared to be a strangely-designed one-piece swimsuit, and for whatever reason, it seemed like it was actually clamping down on her body.
"Is everything okay, miss?" Bridget asked.
"I... I don't know what happened," the lady answered. "I just got this new swimsuit this morning, and it fit perfectly when I put it on, but almost the instant I went into the water, it... I don't know, it felt like my swimsuit was trying to drag me underwater or something! I hope that doesn't sound too weird, but..."
"Hey, weird is kind of everywhere lately," Bridget responded. "Go get changed into something else before that suit tries anything, 'kay?"
The lady nodded and rushed off to the closest changing booth so she could get out of this killer swimsuit, leaving Bridget with some thoughts as she rejoined the rest of the spies.
"Okay, so what was that about?" Clover wondered.
"From what she said, it sounds like her swimsuit tried to literally murder her," Bridget stated.
"Now we're dealing with killer swimwear?" Alex quipped. "What will they think of next?!"
"I dunno, I've got the sinking suspicion that someone from our rogues' gallery might be behind this," Melissa stated.
And like clockwork, a large metal pipe emerged from the sand and aimed for the spies.
"And there's the confirmation," Haruka proclaimed as Nick projected a psychic barrier to block the suction coming from the pipe until it stopped. "Well, let's go and see who's being a real b-word this time."
All thirteen spies jumped into the pipe before it slid back down into the sand.
2:34 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters
Jerry's Office
When the spies had landed in Jerry's office, they were already in their spy suits and ready for their latest mission.
"Sorry to interrupt your beach day, everyone," Jerry admitted. "But, as you can probably tell, we have some trouble on our hands."
"Killer swimwear kind of trouble?" Sam asked.
"Why do I suddenly think that'd make for the weirdest horror movie?" May quipped. "Honestly, I've seen some out-there concepts..."
RiCO materialized in the office, waving her hand to show photos that W.O.O.H.P.'s data satellites had taken, most of them being of people attempting to swim or do other things in the water, only to seemingly fail miserably at it.
"What you saw on Santa Monica Beach wasn't just an isolated incident," RiCO explained. "This has apparently been happening all over California, and the thread connecting all of these incidents together is their swimwear. Apparently, they'd bought this new swimwear very recently, and it only started trying to drown them the instant they went into the water."
"Do you know who's responsible for this one?" Mat asked.
RiCO waved her hands again, this time changing the office viewscreen to mugshots of both Helga von Guggen and Sunny Day.
"Welp," Nick quipped. "Looks like Helga didn't learn from what happened with Alice Hiiragi, did she?"
"Not to mention we just put her away not too long ago!" Clover proclaimed.
"And wow, it's been a while since we had to deal with Sunny," Nozomi stated. "At least thanks to her, I got to reconnect with Hikari and the old gang, so that's some kind of plus."
"All right, then, so which angle are we attacking first?" Dawn asked.
"I think we should split up for the moment," Sam responded, naturally shifting into 'leader mode' (Nick's words, not hers). "We need to find out if any stores in our area are still selling this bogus swimwear, but we also need to make sure that no one else is gonna get dragged underwater by it like discount Jaws."
Thankfully, it didn't take too long to decide on which team would take on which angle of the case. Sam, Clover, Mat, Blaine, Britney, Melissa and Dawn would search the stores around the area for any of the killer swimwear, while Nick, Alex, May, Nozomi, Haruka and Bridget would investigate the beaches to help anyone who had already bought the swimwear.
"Man, sometimes it feels like we can't even enjoy a nice, simple day at the beach without being dragged into trouble, huh?" Alex sighed.
"I've pretty much accepted it by now that trouble's gonna follow us as long as we're spies," Nick quipped. "Such is the curse of spy work."
"All right, everyone, let's move!" Sam proclaimed as the spies split up into their assigned teams and headed out to hopefully solve this problem before any casualties could happen.
3:04 P.M. – Los Angeles
Rodeo Drive
"Geez, a bathing suit's a must for summertime, but what's the point of buying one if you can't get wet with it?" Clover commented.
"That's what we're going to ask Helga and Sunny when we find them," Sam proclaimed. "And we'll wring it out of them if it's the last thing we do!"
"Where do we start?" Mat wondered.
"We should stand out to others around here first of all," Clover quipped.
With that, they went from their catsuits to regular clothes so they didn't stand out from other patrons walking nearby.
"And let's hope we can still get some enjoyment at the beach even though summer is still young," Blaine added.
"Totally," Melissa added. "Plus whoever heard of a 'swimsuit you shouldn't get wet' since that's what they're for?"
"No idea," Dawn answered. "But we have to find a way to get one of these bathing suits to Jerry and RiCO for them to analyze."
"I don't think that'll be a problem," Clover quipped, getting out her credit card and sauntering into a store.
"Well, if only it was this easy to get some clues," Mat commented.
"Wouldn't we all like that," Sam chuckled. "But I'm not letting this discourage me from anymore days at the beach or our pool."
"I love the sound of that," Melissa giggled.
"Don't let anything like that toy with you psychologically," Dawn quipped.
Clover came out with her said swimsuit in the shopping bag. Unknown to Clover, the employee who made the purchase looked on, thinking Clover's days were numbered when they really weren't; naturally, that employee was one of Helga von Guggen's henchwomen.
"Got one now," Clover told the spies. "Now, we better make sure we get this to Jerry and RiCO for them to analyze."
"Well, let's head to W.O.O.H.P. then and hope we get some answers," Sam quipped.
"I wonder how the others are coming," Blaine stated.
They all took to the skies to get to WOOHP and get the bathing suit Clover bought to Jerry and RiCO.
3:28 P.M. – Venice Beach
Trained lifeguards were working overtime to get some swimmers out of the water after their swimwear got wet. Nick, Alex, May, Nozomi, Bridget, and Haruka were getting their workouts in.
"What is going on here?" one lifeguard chastised as he helped two girls in.
"I'm getting overworked!" another lifeguard exclaimed as she helped two men in.
Nick and Bridget worked together to help other lifeguards bring in a 200-lb. woman also wearing the defective swim attire.
"Wow, what a job!" Bridget wheezed.
"I think I know what Nozomi meant when she said a beach lifeguard is not her calling," Nick groaned.
Alex and Haruka were helping a woman in another defective swimsuit. Another lifeguard – a woman – came swimming to them to help that said person, too.
Nozomi and May were already exhausted helping another swimmer to a lifeguard.
"This is total madness!" May exclaimed.
"Tell me about it," Nick responded. "And considering I can't use my psychic powers in front of all these lifeguards, that makes this a little trickier."
"That kind of is the point," a voice called out.
Nick glanced in the direction it had come from, and sure enough, it belonged to Helga von Guggen, dressed in a rather gaudy-looking summer outfit with Sunny Day standing right behind her.
"So, spies, how do you like our new line of summer swimwear?" Helga taunted. "It's already proven to be a killer seller, if you know what I mean."
"You wanna explain why you're pulling this crap before I come over there and bean you both with my anchor?!" May shouted.
"Hey, sometimes you don't really need a reason to do things," Sunny proclaimed. "Honestly, doing it to see you squirm is reason enough."
"Okay, so how are we going to take care of this one?" Nozomi wondered. "There's still people out there that need help."
"Bridget and I can more than handle these nutballs," Nick responded. "The rest of you go and help the other swimmers."
"Roger!" Alex stated. As the other four spies tore off to assist the remaining swimmers, Haruka couldn't help but notice something.
Maybe this'll work after all, Haruka thought.
"Just you two, eh?" Sunny cackled. "This'll be easier than I thought."
Nick and Bridget glanced backwards to make sure nobody else was paying attention, then turned back to Helga and Sunny.
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Bridget retorted as she reached for her brooch. "Sonic Mode, online!"
Once Bridget had transformed, she reached her hand out to Nick, her intent obvious.
"Hey, Nick, you thinking what I am?" Bridget asked.
"Oh, you bet I am," Nick responded as he extended his hand so that Bridget could take it, the two of them dashing towards Helga and Sunny. "Let's give these summer flops a taste of the Purple Comet Attack!"
"The Purple whats-it now?" was all Sunny had time to say as Nick and Bridget bum-rushed her, using their boosted speed to send Sunny into the air with their joined arms, causing her to fly into the air flipping.
Nick and Bridget let go of each other so they could go on the offensive, Nick landing a lifting flying kick to send Helga higher into the air, while Bridget leapfrogged off of Nick's shoulders and snap-kicked Sunny back down to the ground.
Before either villainess could even bounce, Nick and Bridget were on them again, lashing out to hit both villainesses with multiple super-fast strikes before sending them back into the air with dual flying kicks.
"Ready, Nick?" Bridget exclaimed.
"Let's stomp 'em!" Nick shouted.
With that, Nick and Bridget charged, attacking Helga and Sunny nonstop from multiple angles, making it look like they were being pinballed around in the air.
For the finale, Nick and Bridget both grabbed Helga and Sunny and smashed them into each other before dashing back in and charging through them, sending both villains careening into the ground.
"Maybe now you'll stop running your mouths," Bridget quipped.
"Sam, do you read me?" Nick exclaimed after flipping his X-Powder open. "Bridget and I are engaging Helga and Sunny as we speak! What's the sit-rep over on your end?"
"Clover bought some of the offending swimwear from a nearby clothes store so we could send it off to W.O.O.H.P. for analysis," Sam responded. "As for the villains, don't worry, Nick, we're on our way!"
"You honestly think that's going to stop us?" Helga cackled.
"Well, considering that Sunny's currently stuck upside down in a sand dune, probably," Bridget chuckled.
"Let's see you run your mouth after this, little track girl!" Helga proclaimed as she raised her hands and fired a trio of inner tubes that expanded and then contracted around Bridget, trapping her in her spot. "Yeah, you can't use that speed of yours is you can't move, can ya?!"
As Helga and Sunny approached with obvious intent to do bodily harm, Bridget just smirked as Nick came rushing by, slashing at the inner tubes with a psychic energy blade to pop the tubes, and once Bridget's hands were free, she snapped her fingers to expel the kinetic energy she'd gathered thanks to the Purple Comet Attack, blasting Helga and Sunny with an electric shockwave.
"They had no clue what hit them," Bridget chuckled as she high-fived Nick.
That was when the remaining spies all arrived on the scene, their gadgets ready for action.
"You might wanna step off right now," Sam proclaimed.
"Yeah, because you're really not in any position to be making wisecracks when it's thirteen on two," Melissa stated.
"Yeah, we rescued all the swimmers that bought your crap," Haruka quipped.
"Who said this beach was the only one?" Helga laughed as she fired a laser blast into the sand, kicking up a cloud of sand that allowed them to make their escape.
"Who can say they saw that coming?" May sarcastically stated.
"Pardon the interruption, everyone, but we've finished our analysis of the swimwear that Clover sent our way," Jerry proclaimed from Sam's X-Powder.
"There's some kind of gravity-altering material weaved into the fabric of this swimsuit, which would probably explain how it kept dragging people underwater," RiCO explained. "If you can find any more of this stuff, send it our way, since I'm not sure if it's the same with every piece they made."
"Roger that, RiCO," Nick responded. "Right now, we're gonna head off after those witches. We've got some lumps to dole out, after all."
4:44 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters
Jerry's Office
"Hold on, spies!" Jerry exclaimed to the spy team in his office.
"What's up, Jer?" Sam wondered.
"Our WOOHP satellites are picking up activity at more beaches," RiCO answered for Jerry.
"Great..." Clover groaned.
"And lifeguards are REALLY getting overworked!" Jerry added himself.
"Now what?" Melissa chastised.
"Maybe Nick and the others can..." Sam started before RiCO cut in.
"They were all rescuing others, according to what we saw via satellite," RiCO told Sam.
"Oh, goodness!" Mat exclaimed.
"This is going to be one helluva mission!" Clover groaned again.
"Well, some of us are going to have to go after Helga and Sunny," Britney stated.
"Nick and Bridget are already on it," Jerry quipped. "I've traced their X-Powders to the Santa Barbara area."
"Malibu Beach is also going through a mass of swimmers with the defective swimwear, so some of you should get over there." RiCO added.
Sam, Clover, and Britney opted to join Nick and Bridget in chasing down the two femme fatales while Mat, Melissa, and Blaine went to help the rest of spy team B with more swimmers in distress.
"I guess we better get our deep breaths and then some," Mat replied, not looking forward to the circumstances. With that, spy team A left Jerry's office.
"Nick, where are you and Bridget?" Sam asked as she contacted them on Nick's X-Powder.
"We're on the edge of Santa Barbara beach," Nick answered.
"Nick's radar picked them up so you can get there and help us," Bridget added.
"The others are still recovering a bit from helping some of the lifeguards," Nick added. "And hopefully not gotten any reprimands for trying to help..."
"Okay, Jerry and RiCO also picked up some more swimmers in trouble in Santa Barbara," Sam replied. "Mat and the others are going to help the swimmers."
"You better tell them that could be a diversion," Bridget warned. "I'm getting a gut feeling that's Helga and Sunny's intentions..."
"Sounds pretty cookie-cutter to me," Britney commented.
5:13 P.M. – Malibu Beach
In the meantime, Mat, Melissa, and Blaine caught up to where Alex and the rest of the spy team B were.
"These lifeguards are certainly earning their money now..." Mat commented.
"I won't disagree there," Melissa quipped.
That was when a lifeguard came out of the water with a VERY familiar face... Sortiliena Serlut.
"Sortiliena?!" Blaine exclaimed.
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised you guys are here, huh?" Sortiliena chuckled once she found her footing.
"Did you buy some of that killer swimwear, too?" Alex asked.
"My own stuff still fits me just fine, I told those two that," Sortiliena quipped. "I was actually investigating when I heard Helga was out and about, and then this other weird lady ambushed me, put me in some of that swimwear and tossed me into the ocean. I guess I'm lucky I can swim so well, because that's probably the whole reason I'm not six feet under right now."
Sortiliena brought out her X-Powder to quickly change into her combat instructor outfit before tossing the cursed swimwear aside.
"Ah, much better," Sortiliena proclaimed. "Now let's go find those two villains so I can give 'em some lumps."
"They should be somewhere in Santa Barbara, considering that's where Nick and Bridget went," Mat stated.
"Well, then, let's move, move, move!" Melissa exclaimed as a Skyskimmer parked nearby, no doubt called for by Sortiliena, so she could head to Santa Barbara and assist Nick and Bridget while the rest of team B continued to assist the lifeguards in helping the swimmers.
5:37 P.M. – Santa Barbara Beach
("Vacation" by Vitamin C plays)
So, naturally, when Sortiliena finally touched down in Santa Barbara, she quickly followed Nick's X-Powder signal to the beach where he and Bridget were currently engaged with Helga, while Sam, Clover and Britney were fighting off Sunny.
"Try and get me up here, you little speed freak," Helga laughed, wearing an eagle-themed outfit, complete with wings holding her aloft.
"Um, do you want to get creamed by another Purple Comet Attack?!" Bridget taunted. "Because we'll do it again if we've gotta."
Helga responded in kind by spinning around with her wings so that said wings fired a salvo of razor-sharp feathers towards Sam, Clover and Britney. Nick quickly raised his hand to project a psychic barrier near them to block the feathers.
"Resorted to cheap tactics, I see," Nick quipped.
"Sometimes, you have to fight dirty when it comes to the likes of you," Helga admitted. "Now prepare to die!"
"COMBAT INSTRUCTOR COMIN' THROUGH!"
Nick and Bridget glanced towards where that voice had come from just in time to see Sortiliena charging forward and bowling over Sunny in the process, before leapfrogging off of Nick's shoulders to jump towards Helga and pounce on her, driving her back to the ground.
"You again?!" Helga gasped. "I thought I'd taken care of you!"
"See, this is why you double tap," Sortiliena laughed as she reached down to yank Helga's wings off of her outfit before kicking her towards Nick and Bridget.
Nick and Bridget nodded to each other before charging towards Helga while she was still stumbling, pummeling her with another Purple Comet Attack that sent her flying into Sunny.
"See? We warned you," Bridget chuckled.
"Get off your duff and take them out!" Helga growled.
"Maybe get your foot out of my duff before you start barking orders at me!" Sunny retorted.
Sam and Clover both threw a Tornado in a Can of Hairspray towards Helga and Sunny before backing away as Nick pierced both cans with a pair of psychic bolts, creating a whirlwind that tossed Helga and Sunny around for a bit.
Once the whirlwind subsided, Sortiliena jumped in to continue the assault, roundhouse kicking Sunny away before lunging forward to slug Helga in the gut, causing her to double over. This allowed Sortiliena to grab Helga's outfit and rip it off of her, leaving Helga in just her regular villain clothes.
"So much for your eagle suit," Sortiliena taunted.
"Oh, but we're just getting started," Helga laughed. "Sunny, let's get out of here!"
Sunny then threw down a flashbang to cover their escape.
"Have I mentioned how I hate it when they do that?" Britney groaned.
"At least we sent 'em running for the moment," Sam quipped as she opened her X-Powder to contact the rest of the spies. "How goes the lifeguard duty, everyone?"
"All the swimmers over here have been saved and accounted for," Melissa responded. "What's going on over there?"
"Sortiliena just arrived and helped us send our baddies running for the moment," Nick stated. "Wanna join us so we can hunt 'em down?"
"Oh, heck yes!" May proclaimed.
Once all fourteen spies had regrouped, they set off after Helga and Sunny, using a signal from RiCO's superdrone to find the way.
"Wow, so you hit 'em with two Purple Comet Attacks in one day?" Haruka quipped.
"Hey, they were asking for it," Nick chuckled.
"Man, you two are killin' it out there," Haruka laughed. "Talk about a terrific tag-team, huh?"
"Hey, I've got something!" Alex proclaimed.
While everyone else was checking out the signal, Nick and Bridget both glanced at each other, knowing that something was up. They decided to communicate telepathically to keep it to themselves and not to arouse any suspicion.
You noticed it, too, Nick? Bridget thought.
How could I not? Nick thought. Haruka's been really complimentary of our skills lately.
I mean, you and I obviously work well together, but this is getting kinda silly, isn't it? It's like she's trying... to... ...oh. OH.
Yup. That's what I thought, too.
Seriously, you've got two extra girlfriends in addition to your fiancée. Doesn't she know when enough is enough?
You'd think I'd know my oldest friend inside and out by this point in my life, but I guess logic ain't what it used to be.
We're gonna have to set her straight when we're done with this mission, you know.
Don't worry, Bridget, I already have a plan forming. We'll just keep it on the downlow for the moment, 'kay?
Got it.
Believe me, Bridget... Haruka WON'T forget it, or even THINK to try THAT again!
Nick WAS right, after all – having a third additional girlfriend with a fiancée was too much. He fully remembered how May confessed her feelings all those missions ago in the hotel mission, and he also didn't forget his past when he and Nozomi were an item before unforeseen circumstances caused them to break up. Mat was in a similar boat with Sam as his fiancée, then having Britney as a second girlfriend following Eugene Snit toying with her heart, and Melissa as a third girlfriend following Mat's Broadcast Journalism class at Mali-U where he got an interview with her.
"Liena, we're surprised you're already on the stick here," May told Sortiliena.
"Well, call it 'off-duty' or 'right place, right time,' May," Sortiliena giggled, knowing by heart the spy team knew anytime the LAMOS were running loose, she'd be there.
"I guess we're blessed with perfect timing," Alex commented.
"Not gonna argue there," Sam quipped, remembering prior times.
Jerry seemed to think so, too at times.
"So, where did the drone get a reading?" Haruka wondered, getting her thoughts back to the mission.
"Down in the Davis area supposedly," Sam answered.
"Well, they're sticking close by, which can be a problem..." May quipped.
"We can certainly count on lifeguards there being overworked when it's almost 'quittin' time' there," Mat deduced.
"No question about it," Clover stated. "They've totally crossed a lot of lines by taking the 'get wet' concept out of a swimsuit here!"
"But nonetheless, we won't let this stand in the way of enjoying our summer vacay," Nick emphasized.
"Did you see anything that could help us, Sortiliena?" Nozomi wondered.
"I heard something about an 'offshore area' that Helga mentioned," Sortiliena quipped. "That's probably where their lair is."
"Which means we'll be heading off there after we take care of this little problem," Bridget stated.
6:01 P.M. – Davis, CA
"Over there!" Alex proclaimed.
"Well, there's not a lot of people in the water," Blaine replied.
"But I can see Sunny and Helga nearby," May stated.
"Okay, so what's the game plan?" Mat wondered.
"You can all rescue the swimmers out there, and Nick and I will handle the baddies," Sortiliena proclaimed. "I owe them some lumps, after all."
"Well, then let's go give 'em out," Haruka laughed.
"What about rescuing the people?" Alex wondered.
"I think we might have lucked out here," Bridget deduced.
There were no more than ten people still in the water as the sun was going down.
"Well, let's get them startled..." Sam quipped, getting out her Laser Lipstick.
She then fired a couple of shots to make them "dance."
"Time to execute our game plan!" Sortiliena exclaimed.
"You lumbering ninnies again?!" Helga shouted. "Don't you know the meaning of the words 'give it up'?!"
"Um, how about no, we don't?!" May shot back as she summoned her anchor and slammed it into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand to obscure Helga and Sunny's vision so Sortiliena could go on the offensive.
"I hope you're ready for a ride on the pain train," Sortiliena taunted. "First class all the way back to containment!"
"I'd like to see you try," Sunny cackled as she started doing cartwheels forward so she could jump towards Sortiliena.
Much to Sunny's shock, however, Sortiliena simply grabbed Sunny by the leg, spun her around, and tossed her back into another sand dune.
"Maybe don't telegraph your attack so blatantly," Sortiliena quipped.
"Oh, what, are you suddenly some kind of martial artist, too?!" Sunny shouted after picking herself out of the sand.
"Actually, yes," Sortiliena replied. "W.O.O.H.P. Combat Instructor, after all."
"We'll see how that combat training helps you when you're not even allowed to move!" Helga shouted as she fired off a bunch of inner tubes much like she had done to Bridget.
Sortiliena simply dodged each tube with graceful flips and weaves while Nick fired a flurry of psychic bolts to pop each tube, then a few more to send Helga crashing to the ground.
"Nice try, lady," Nick stated.
"Well, then, how about you stop focusing on us and maybe go and save the... swimmers..." Sunny taunted, only to trail off when she turned around and noticed that all of the nearby swimmers had already been rescued by the rest of the spies.
"We already took care of that little wrinkle," Sam proclaimed.
"And as for you," Bridget challenged, transforming back into Sonic Mode. "Let's see how you like this!"
Bridget charged forward at lightning speed, bowling over Sunny before lunging back to grab Sunny by the legs and toss her into Helga, sending both villains crashing to the ground.
While this was happening, Nick raised his hands and fired a barrage of psychic bolts all around Helga and Sunny while they were picking themselves up, then clapped his hands together to make all the bolts he'd fired converge on the two villains at once, flooring them again in an explosion of yellow light.
"And that's what I call 'owned'," Nick taunted.
"Oh, yuck it up, little man," Helga groaned. "We'll see how much you run your mouth when we have our secret weapon ready to do."
Helga threw down a flashbang so that she and Sunny could make their escape.
"Have I mentioned that that's really getting old by this point?" Haruka sighed. "Because it's getting really freakin' old by this point!"
"I'm pretty sure this means they're heading to their secret lair," May quipped. "So let's all bust out the UPWATIs and go after them!"
The fourteen spies all rushed towards the ocean, equipped their UPWATIs (Alex deciding not to make the obvious joke, as even she felt it had been overused to heck and back by this point) and swam out through the waters, following RiCO's instructions to make their way to Helga and Sunny's secret lair.
To be continued...
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Next time...
Alex: Whew, that was a trip. It's been a while since we had to bust out the UPWATIs.
Bridget: My question is, what the hell is this place? Who the heck needs this big of a secret lair?!
Nick: I'm willing to bet this has something to do with the 'killer swimwear' they've been making.
RiCO: Correct, Nick. I can see multiple manufacturing machines inside of that place. This must be where they made all of that swimwear.
Melissa: Well, then, I think it's time to get in there and shut this place down!
May: Um, yeah, that seriously sticks out like a sore thumb.
Mat: What else are those two nutballs building here?
Sortiliena: I guess we'll find out soon enough, next time on Totally Spies: Sink or Swim, "Sea Shell Shenanigans"!
Clover: Seriously, these sets just keep getting more and more elaborate each season. How much money are the people in the set department spending?!
Nick: You don't wanna know, Clover.