On a typical day in the Darklands, there would only be one S.C.A.M.P.E.R. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was only used for transportation between the island and the mainland. For any fast travel in the island, a fighter relied on the Skyway Agents. It wasn't uncommon to see the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. be utilized twice or thrice times a day. Watching three S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. arrive and land in sync just as the sun was rising over the horizon clued Alice in that something important was happening.
Mandark stepped out of one of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S., his face pinched together to indicate his disgust with the Darklands. His disgust was interrupted by a frustrated looking Dexter shoulder-bumping the taller entrepreneur on the way out of the flying transportation. Mandark whirled around and used his height to look down on his intellectual rival. Undeterred, Dexter returned the glare right back at him. Alice swear she thought she saw lightning flash between their eyes.
If they were about to get into a physical fight, it was thwarted by Ben and Rex grabbing them and pushing them apart.
"Alright you two, we're here to play nice, remember?" Rex reminded as he pushed Mandark away.
"I am not the whiner who complained the whole trip over!" Dexter accused, pointing a finger at Mandark from over Ben's arm.
"I had a right to complain when I have better methods of travel than some shoddy Kids Next Door 2x4 technology!" Mandark shot back, pointing his own finger at Dexter.
"Then why didn't you use that, huh!?" Dexter demanded.
"Because I refuse to let you get to my airship before me," Mandark retaliated. "When it's your airship, then you can arrive there first." A sudden smug smirk appeared on his face as he stared at Dexter haughtily. "Oh, that's right. You don't have an airship. It's in an infected zone."
Dexter lunged for Mandark with a cry of rage, but he was held back by Ben and Rex. Mandark laughed at the rise he had gotten out of Dexter. Samurai Jack released a small sigh and approached the warring geniuses.
"That will be enough," Jack commanded firmly. He didn't raise his voice, but Mandark and Dexter immediately stopped what they were doing and fell silent. "There is no time to be fighting when we have all gathered for an important discussion. You two are figureheads and should set a better example for everyone in attendance."
Mandark and Dexter dropped their heads like chastised children. They didn't dare argue back with the samurai, although their frowns indicated they did not enjoy being chastised. After a moment of nursing their egos, they recovered themselves.
"Whatever," Mandark said. "Before the meeting starts, I will conduct a walkthrough of my airship."
"I'll escort you," Tetrax offered.
Mandark scoffed.
"I built this thing, I can find my own way around this place," Mandark retaliated.
Although he was rebuffed, Tetrax still followed behind the young entrepreneur. Even if this was Mandark's ship, Tetrax prided himself as its captain and only felt it was right to accompany Mandark on his tour, to ensure everything still ran smoothly.
More passengers were hopping off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s, but Alice was busily thinking about what Jack had said. The team had been roused from their sleep without a clue on why they were woken so early. Alice figured it had to be something big with so many S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s, but Jack's words merely reaffirmed it and piqued her interest.
"Lance?" Alice asked since she was standing next to the taller teenager. Alice waited until the boy was looking at her before she continued. "What do you know what's happening?"
"You mean you don't?" Lance asked in surprised.
"No," Alice answered with a shake of her head.
"We were woken up before the sun and told to get our butts up here quick," Junior explained, having listened in on Alice's conversation. "No one's told us a thing."
"Ah, my apologies," Octus spoke up from the other side of Ilana. "I was caught up in important business and neglected to inform your team that you were invited by Dexter to an important meeting."
"Were you talking to Kimmy again?" Lance questioned.
"No," Octus denied a little too quickly.
Lance and Ilana shared a he's-such-a-bad-liar look but didn't badger him on it further.
"Anyways, we're joining together to discuss how to bring our fight with Fuse to an end," Ilana explained to the team.
Team Super Stars shared a look of surprise with each other before looking back at the Titan team.
"You mean like a final fight?" Suzy asked for clarification.
"Correct," Octus said.
"But why are we here?" Alice asked. She really wanted to ask why am I here? but she felt it sounded too selfish.
Lance stared at the girl in confusion.
"What do you mean? Dexter invited the top ten fighters from the Leaderboard, which all three of you are in," Lance explained. "And your team holds the number one spot by a large margin."
The answer made sense, and left Alice feeling dumb for asking the question. Her self-deprecation was interrupted by the sight of the Professor approaching her. He was all smiles as he approached her and her team, with Blossom joining him.
"It's good to see you again, Alice," the Professor greeted, pulling the girl into a hug. He broke the hug and held her at arm's length so that he could look at her. Immediately he went into dad mode. "How have you been? Have you been eating enough? Have you been getting enough sleep?"
"Professor," Blossom lightly admonished. "Give her some time to actually answer you."
"Oh, yes I suppose that is necessary," Professor Utonium agreed, chuckling sheepishly at the end.
"It's fine," Alice said, assuring him. "I'm doing well."
Alice didn't dare tell him about Fuse's multiple attempts on reading her mind. She hadn't said a word of it to her aunt and uncle. If they knew, there was no doubt Uncle Eustace would come up to the Darklands and drag her back to the Nowhere farmhouse, and Alice didn't want to put him into danger. Plus, she didn't feel him being a problem now, so there was no reason to raise the alarm for something that wasn't bothering her currently.
The Professor didn't suspect a thing and smiled in relief. Blossom mimicked that smile before directing a kind one at Alice's teammates.
"So what have you experienced out here?" Blossom asked. "I doubt Jack's been keeping you locked up on the airship."
"He tried, but after we beat his Fusion duplicate, he let us have free reign of the Darklands," Junior answered.
"Considering how tough the battle was, the reward was certainly well earned," Kwame's voice said as he made his approach toward the team.
"Hey, you're here too, Kwame?" Suzy greeted.
"Yes," Kwame answered with a grin. "My team was invited, but they will not be able to arrive at the airship until much later, so I am the representative of the Planeteers."
"I know this is a big meeting to basically end the war, but this feels like one big whos-who coming to participate," Junior commented.
"Yes, it's going to be a big event," Kwame agreed.
"It's supposed to be our last attack on Fuse," Blossom said.
"Ooh, I do hope this won't wind up like the Battle of Hero's Hollow," Double D's voice contributed to the conversation. The sockhead wearing boy joined their growing circle. Unlike Kwame and Blossom, the poor boy looked spooked by his surroundings. "The last time there was a major battle out this way, we lost."
"You need to think positive," Ilana admonished. "Just because Hero's Hollow was lost doesn't mean we'll lose this too."
"I hope not," Double D said a bit pessimistically. "If this doesn't go right..."
"We won't have another shot at it," Lance finished grimly.
"Again, let's think positively," Ilana hopped in again.
"Okay, I think we will positively have a rough time," Lance said.
The teenager crossed his arms and smirked in response to the annoyed glare Ilana sent him. Alice hoped he didn't actually believe that the fight against Fuse would turn out in a loss for their side. It was always a possibility, but Ilana was right; they had to be positive in this scenario.
"Should we be heading in or something?" Junior asked, looking around. "Or are we having the meeting out here?"
"No, there is a conference room set up," Octus answered. "It would not be logical to hold a meeting out in the open."
Double D seemed to pale at the implications, but Suzy gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.
"Oh, don't lose your coloring so soon. There haven't been any Fusion Monsters attacks up here," Suzy said. Double D did seem relieved by this response, right up until Suzy tacked on, "Of course if a villain wanted to attack us..."
At the thought, Double D's eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath. Frantic eyes roamed around the open-air space in paranoia.
"You don't possibly think-"
"There is no fear of a villain attack," Ilana cut in, keeping her voice soft and soothing. "No villains were invited."
"Not even Mojo?" Alice asked in surprise.
He was a guide, so shouldn't he have been present? Not that Alice was eager to see the simian again.
"After what he tried to pull, he's pretty much banned from all future meetings," Lance said. "His only worth now is his Skyway Agents."
"And Tetrax already sent them off early this morning, so they won't report back to Mojo Jojo about this meeting," Ilana added.
Double D heaved out a sigh of relief. He had never personally interacted with the simian outside of the one meeting way back when, but Mojo's insistent desire to take over the world was just deranged enough to be terrifying. He sometimes questioned the logic behind Dexter's decision, but he'd always been too busy keeping the Cul-de-Sac and surrounding area safe from invaders that he hadn't taken the time to ask Dexter about it.
Junior put his hands on his hips and looked around. The passengers of the three S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s were still mulling around the deck, shooting the breeze in the early hours of the morning.
"Soooo are we starting this thing soon, or...?" Junior asked, trailing off at the end.
"Attention, everyone," Computress' voice boomed, as if she had heard Junior's question. "We will now be meeting in conference room three. Please direct yourselves to conference room three. The meeting shall begin in five minutes."
"Ask and you shall receive," Suzy teased.
"Yeah, sometimes the universe does that for me," Junior said.
"We'd better start heading in," Professor Utonium suggested.
The Professor led the group down the ramp along with the various other visitors to Mandark's airship. Team Super Stars had reached the bottom of the ramp when a voice called out to them.
"Hello, Team Super Stars."
The hair on the back of Alice's neck stood up as her blood turned ice cold. The voice sounded pleasant, but their was an injection of darkness in the words that had Alice gasping in fright. From her peripheral vision, she caught Junior tensing up and uttering out a tiny curse. Suzy seemed to be the only member of the team unaffected, and she spun around to greet the voice with her patent grin on her face. Alice couldn't believe that when facing her, Suzy could still keep up her unflappable attitude. Still, seeing Suzy's bravery, Alice turned - slowly - toward the voice. While Alice flinched upon looking at cold, grey eyes, Suzy smiled brightly and waved.
"Hey, Mandy. Came to pick up Billy?"
Mandy stood at the top of the ramp, her arms crossed as she stared down at the team. Her loyal servant Lord Pain stood behind her, his face betraying no emotion. The rest of the guests had entered the inside of the airship, with only Blossom remaining at the doorway. Her pink eyes flicked between Mandy and Team Super Stars, clearly debating if her superheroics was needed. Mandy never paid any attention to Blossom, and instead kept her focus on the team.
After a tense moment, Mandy finally deigned an answer. "No. After all the chaos he's started, I'm content to let him sit in prison a little longer."
"So, you're here for the meeting then?" It was supposed to be a statement, but Junior made it sound like a question.
"Yes," Mandy responded. "Since Mojo was not allowed to attend, I am here taking his place."
"Right, well, we should probably be joining that," Junior said, trying to create an opening to leave.
Mandy didn't take the bait. She uncrossed her arms and instead clasped them behind her back, never breaking eye contact with the group. Alice had to stop her muscles from shaking under Mandy's scrutinizing gaze. Seeing the cold eyes firmly reminded Alice of why she'd avoided Mandy at school: the girl was terrifying. To Alice's knowledge, she didn't have any powers, yet there was an aura to her that exuded terror.
Mandy began to descend down the ramp, taking slow, measured steps. Lord Pain followed behind, matching his master's speed so that he was always a step behind her.
"From the monkey's rantings, I learned that it was you three that thwarted Mojo's plans," Mandy said. "I wasn't privy to how exactly you stopped his mutated Chemical X, but I don't need to know that exact detail. I'm sure everyone was quite relieved when you stopped him from creating a legion of Fusion monkeys that would have been hijacked by Fuse." Her eyebrows came together to show her displeasure. "I was not. In thwarting Mojo's plans, you thwarted my plans." Anger began to color her words, and Alice briefly debated if she should raise up a shield to protect her and her teammates. "I was very displeased to learn that you involved yourself in my affairs and sabotaged them."
From behind her, Lord Pain's face briefly morphed into guilt and panic as he recalled his failure to complete his master's orders. Luckily for him, Mandy's attention was trained on the team so she failed to see his emotions betray him. The girl continued to stalk down the ramp, and Alice was worried about what Mandy would do.
"However," Mandy said, her anger evaporating. "Because of your actions, Mojo never suspected I was working against him and allowed me to stay close to his side, giving me further access to his plans and all the ways I could set them up in flames. So, while you crossed me, you did allow me further access to the monkey. Therefore, I consider us even." Mandy sounded like she was being gracious in her assessment. Alice didn't feel like this at all, but kept her mouth shut. "Since I'm feeling generous, I'll give you a fair warning." She leaned forward, a deadly look on her face. "Cross me again, and I'll bury your body where nobody will find it, capeesh?"
Alice and Junior nodded their heads sharply. Suzy was still grinning, and crossed her arms. It almost looked like she was challenging Mandy.
"Awwh, don't be like that Mandy," Suzy said. "You and I both know your plan wasn't a very good one and we cleaned up a mess you would have brought down on the whole war effort."
Alice's skin paled to a sickly white color. Junior whipped his head in Suzy's direction, looking aghast. Her tone had been light and playful, but her words cut at Mandy's pride. While it was true Mandy has made mistakes, no one was dumb enough to say it to her face and live to tell the tale. Lord Pain seemed to agree and raised his mace upward, prepared to beat Suzy for her insolence to his master. He was only able to take a step before Mandy raised up her hand without glancing back at him; Lord Pain stilled obediently.
Silently, Mandy and Suzy held a staring contest in which neither opponent backed down. After a tense moment, something silent passed between the two girls, and Mandy smirked. The tension in the atmosphere lessened, and Alice felt she could breathe again. Without a word, Mandy walked past the group, Lord Pain hastily following behind. Blossom watched the two pass her, but Mandy didn't acknowledge the superheroine. When the blonde was in the airship, Blossom shook her head.
"You three okay over there?" Blossom called out to the group.
"Super!" Suzy chirped with a grin.
Junior huffed and shot Suzy a you-are-a-freak-of-nature look while Alice forced herself to stay on her feet. While Blossom raised a skeptical eyebrow in Suzy's direction, she sent Alice a worried expression. The expression washed away when Alice managed a reassuring nod.
"Alright, well, we need to get to the meeting," Blossom suggested. "Dexter won't start it without us all being present, but he'll throw a fit if we make him wait too long." She rolled her eyes. "I swear, he claims he's the smartest on the planet, but he has the emotional maturity of a four-year-old."
"Most boys do," Suzy agreed, smiling cheekily when Junior uttered an offended "Hey!"
Everyone was gathered and seated in the conference room when Blossom and Team Super Stars entered the room. The only guest who wasn't seated was Lord Pain, who stood dutifully behind his master. Very few people spared them a glance when they entered since they were busy speaking to their neighbors or staring silently at the wall, the table, or their communicators. Dexter, Computress, and Mandark were up at the head of the table, focusing on the built-in screen on the wall. Even from the back of the room, Alice could see that three video pop ups were on the top of the screen.
Blossom broke from the group to sit with her father up towards the front of the table. Double D, who she was now seated next to, turned his head to the group and stood up slightly so that he could be noticed better. He raised his hand and waved it, further garnering their attention.
"Over here," he called. When the team approached, Double D sat back down and beckoned to the three seats next to his left. "I saved you seats."
The smile Suzy flashed at Double D had the boy's face turn a deep shade of red. Suzy took her seat and giggled behind her hand at the reaction. Alice took the seat next to Suzy and spared Double D a quick look of puzzlement. She wasn't going to claim she knew the boy, but she couldn't ever recall seeing his face get that shade of red before. Junior took the final seat which put him between Alice and Mandy. He sent Mandy a brief glance to gauge if this was acceptable, and relaxed when she showed no signs of caring. Whatever grief she had with them before arriving on the airship no longer existed, and Junior could relax in the knowledge that she wasn't going to lash out at him.
Alice did a quick scan of all the faces seated at the table. Some she knew, some she recognized, and a few she couldn't identify. She was surprised when she didn't see Chad or Maurice in the room, but she supposed that made sense since the boys had been adamant about being off radar. Knowing them, they'd figure out what happened in the meeting all on their own.
Without warning, Dexter spun around from the built-in screen and the guests immediately silenced at the action. As one, everyone - including his rival, Mandark - looked at him expectantly.
"Thank you all for coming on short notice," Dexter began. "However, considering the matter at hand, it was of the utmost importance that we have this meeting as soon as possible."
There were a few murmurs of agreement, and even Mandark reluctantly nodded his head. The ego driven teen looked weirdly subdued as he allowed Dexter to take the reins of the meeting. It was probably because of the severity of the meeting that had Mandark behaving in an uncharacteristic way.
"Before we begin, I will introduce the members of this meeting. It is important that we all know who we are working with on this important task," Dexter continued, and this was also met with agreement.
Dexter introduced the members in a counter-clockwise position, starting with Mandark to his right. He was surprisingly professional with his introduction, referring to him as the owner and CEO of Mandark Industries. He made no jabs about how terrible Mandark's inventions were, or how he was the superior scientist. Everything was strictly professional, and Alice couldn't deny she was surprised that they could actually be civil with each other.
From Mandark, Dexter moved onto the members sitting on the left side of the table, the members sitting across from Alice. Tetrax, a skilled warrior and ally to the Plumbers. Octus, a member of Team Titan and a highly advanced A.I. Max Tennyson, the leader of the Plumbers. Ben Tennyson, hero, wielder of the Omnitrix and a guide. Atomic Betty, member of the Galactic Guardians. Lance and Ilana, members of Team Titan and wearers of the Manus and Corus armors respectively. Kiva Andru, a fighter from the far future and a member of Team Megas. Larry 3000, Otto Osworth, and Buck Tuddrussel, members of Time Squad. Kwame, the bearer of the Earth Ring and a member of the Planeteers. Numbuhs One and Five, members of Sector V in the Kids Next Door organization. Mateo Herrera, number eight on the Leaderboard. Tanya Kaschak and Josiah Acker, numbers seven and six, respectively, on the Leaderboard and members of Team Goliath (ranked third on the team Leaderboard).
Since Dexter was introducing in a counter-clockwise motion, he started at the back on the right side of the table. Caden Maurer, number ten on the Leaderboard. Gabby Camara, number nine on the Leaderboard. Agent Honeydew, Global Security agent. Ezra Otieno and Peach Blossom, numbers four and five, respectively, on the Leaderboard and members of Team Magic and Swords (ranked second on the team Leaderboard). Juniper Lee, the Te Xuan Ze. Rex Salazar, Doctor Rebecca Holiday, and Agent Six, all members of Providence (and Dexter tacked on that Agent Six was the sixth dangerous man on the planet, earning a few wide-eyed looks). Mandy, a spy undermining Mojo Jojo (Lord Pain was given no introductions, so Alice assumed he hadn't been invited and had come on Mandy's orders).
Alice flushed when she, Junior and Suzy were all introduced, especially when their positions were listed off on the Leaderboard (first, second, third, respectively) and their team ranked was mentioned (ranked first). She was thankful that Dexter avoided any mention of her connection to Fuse, but she was sure it was on everybody's minds.
Seated next to Suzy was Double D, a guide. Blossom, superheroine and leader of the Powerpuff Girls. Professor Utonium, creator of the Powerpuff Girls and an exceptional scientist. Samurai Jack, chronically displaced time-traveler and impressive swordsman.
Before he finished off with himself, he introduced the three members in the video screens. There was Admiral DeGill, leader of the Galactic Guardians. White Knight, the leader of Providence and the only known human to not have Nanites in his body. Numbuh 362, Soopreme Leaduh of the Kids Next Door.
He finalized the introductions with himself and Computress, and Mandark was surprisingly respectful by not interrupting or making a snide remark. Dexter was also professional enough to not wax on about his achievements and left it at a simple owner and CEO of DexLabs Inc. and a guide.
"Now then," Dexter said once everybody was properly introduced. "Let us discuss the meat and potatoes of the meeting. As you are all aware, we will be discussing the final assault on Fuse."
"And why did you decide to do so now?" Mandy questioned, her chin resting on the back of her hands. "As I seem to recall, the last time you made an attempt it failed miserably."
Dexter slammed his palms on the table, spooking a few guests - like Alice - since the action was so sudden. Dexter glared at her in bitterness at her jab on their loss in the Battle of Hero's Hollow. Ben and Blossom sent annoyed looks Mandy's way, but their looks were wasted since Mandy didn't even flinch. She merely raised an eyebrow, expectantly waiting for an answer to her question.
"I will admit that the Battle of Hero's Hollow was conducted hastily," Dexter said through clenched teeth. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and then released it slowly while opening his eyes to lock them with Mandy's. "However, we have learned from that mistake and I believe this is the correct time to act. We have all the advantages."
Mandy's eyebrow never moved an inch, and she waited patiently for an answer that would satisfy her. She wasn't against bringing down Fuse (only a complete fool would be), but she didn't want their attack to be another failure. Dexter was a genius, even she wouldn't dispute that, but being a genius didn't make you perfect. His ego and his impulsiveness were his greatest downfalls, and if neither were put in check during this meeting, then the attack on Fuse would be a failure. Mandy was all too happy to be the one to keep his ego - and Mandark and Ben's egos since those boys were known to get big headed - in check.
"I believe Dexter is correct," the British accent of Agent Honeydew said, coming to Dexter's defense. "Since the missing heroes were rescued, the number of Fusion Monsters in Downtown have dropped."
Dexter perked up on the support and he nodded his head eagerly. He pressed on his handheld remote and the monitor behind him displayed a line graph detailing a decrease in Fusion activity in the Suburbs, Wilds, and Downtown. Only the Darklands remained off the graph.
"Yes, yes. With the great heroes like Major Glory and Blue Falcon, Fusion Monster activity has been steadily declining," Dexter said.
The boy in the Cannonbolt armor, Caden, chuckled at her sentence. "Yeah, I had to work really hard to keep my spot thanks to them."
"Having the heroes back and fighting has provided a major morale boost," the girl next to him, Gabby, said. "I've never seen the Forums so positive."
Mandy rolled her eyes, but didn't make a degrading comment. While Caden and Gabby's comments were useless, Honeydew and Dexter were correct. The influx of the missing heroes gave their side major fighter power. Having the Justice Friends, Astounding League of Super People, and more return to the fight inspired retired heroes Birdman and Space Ghost to jump back into heroism. Still, she wasn't going to be swayed on this matter alone and waved her hand in a what-else-you-got gesture. Dexter narrowed his eyes to slits at her and forced himself to take in a deep breath.
"Since we're on the discussion of my goal," Dexter said, straightening up and putting his hands behind his back. "What do you have to report about Mojo?"
"You're already well aware," Mandy retaliated calmly. She then closed her eyes and released a sigh like she was unburdening herself. "However, I suppose if you're wanting me to update everyone here in the room..." She paused for a moment before opening her eyes. "As you're aware, Mojo's desire to build an army wasn't simply referring to his idiot underlings. He wanted to design super monkeys paired with Chemical X. Like all his plans, this one was stupid. He planned to mix in Fusion Matter material, which would result in Fusion super monkeys, giving the advantage to Fuse. Naturally, his plans were stopped."
Mandy's eyes flickered from Dexter's to Team Super Stars. It wasn't a surprise since Mojo had kicked up a huge fuss that it actually got some air time on Harangue Nation, though edited so heavily against Team Super Star that Jimmy Jones had to print the truth of the matter on his blog.
"From there, any of his other plans were so pathetic it was incredibly easy for me to stop," Mandy continued, returning her eyes to Dexter. "He's right now planning ways to sabotage the airship and rescue his idiot kids."
Mandark squawked in outrage.
"That stupid monkey, how dare-!"
"Calm down over there. I sent him the schematics to that one ship in Star Check," Mandy said, cutting off Mandark's inevitable rant. "Besides, if this is our final go with Fuse, you won't have to worry about the ape destroying your toys."
Mandark snarled at Mandy's dismissive attitude over his airship, but any retort was shut down by Dexter holding up a hand. It was an impressive show of professionalism that Mandark did stand down, although the dark look never left his face. Retribution was no doubt on the genius' mind, and it was going to be swift and vicious.
"We were very lucky his plans didn't come to fruition," Dexter commented.
Mandy rolled her eyes. "It was why I paired up with him. I'm not about to let him rule the world."
"If we're sharing goals, then I've got some," Ben piped up from his side of the table. Unlike everyone who was sitting properly in their seats, Ben had leaned his chair back into a more relaxed position. He had tried to kick his feet up on the table, but Max's warning eye kept his feet firmly planted on the floor. He held up a hand with his pointer finger up, the others curled. "All Plumber bases were shut down well before Fuse could get his hands on them, keeping all the tech inside safe."
Alice felt a wave of nostalgia at the mention of Plumber bases. Shutting down the bases was how she met Junior and Suzy, and so she couldn't help but feel thankful for having done those missions. It felt like forever ago since they did them, except she knew it was only a few months.
Ben continued to boast about what had been accomplished, holding up a second finger. "And a Specter Detector was installed so we'd have warning if Ghostfreak or his Ectonurite cronies decided to come and help Fuse."
"They can try," Peach spoke up confidentially. "Thanks to Gwen, we were able to activate some ancient totems that created a defensive system for the planet."
Mandark and Dexter both crinkled their noses at the mention of magic. Dexter had been more accepting of the practice because of his dealings with Jack, but he still couldn't hold back his old prejudices for the unexplained. Mandark was not so willing to accept magic as a reality.
"It didn't seem to help us against the planetoid that was hurtling towards the surface," Mandark remarked snidely.
"Hey, don't knock down magic," Juniper chided. "It can accomplish great things."
Peach shrugged, unaffected by his attitude. "Also, the system went up after the planetoid broke off from the surface. And as I've heard, everything worked out for the better."
Mandark scowled at the memory of the event, since he had been involved. Dexter also scowled, though this was directed at Mandark for his hand in sabotaging Dexter's Ion Cannon. He was also embarrassed that the day had been saved by a pink beagle up in Nowhere. He had thanked Courage privately for the beagle's assistance, but it was still embarrassing to be outsmarted by a dog.
"Yes, well," Dexter said, coughing awkwardly into his fist. "Uhh, Double D, what about your goal?"
"M-mine?" Double D stuttered, startled by the acknowledgment. "Compared to all yours, mine is not very exciting."
"Don't sell yourself short," Suzy encouraged him.
Double D smiled faintly at the encouragement. "Well, all the Crazy Brain Candy was destroyed before Fuse could use it."
"Candy?" White Knight asked from his video screen, his voice indicating how unamused he was in the topic.
The tone of voice had Double D slouching in his seat in embarrassment. He knew he should have just stayed in the safety of his cardboard fortress!
"Hey don't diss it," Peach lectured, raising her hand to wag it at the head of Providence. "My sister said that candy was no joke."
"It's true. As it says, the candy has a way of making the chewer go crazy," Ezra vouched, backing up Peach.
"If Fuse got his hand on that and forced it on our side, then we'd be sitting ducks," Gabby theorized, her hand gripping her chin as she thought it out.
"It's a good thing you got them before Fuse had that chance," Mateo said. "I like my brain being crazy-free."
Caden snickered at the words. Mateo scowled at the boy and pointed an accusing finger.
"You're the last guy who should be snickering!" Mateo shot at him.
"Gentlemen, that's enough," Dexter said, raising his hands to calm the two boys.
While Dexter got the meeting back on track, Double D straightened back up in his seat. He had been embarrassed that his goal to beating Fuse wasn't as glamorous as the others, but the reassurances he'd been given brought a smile to his face. He had done his best to assist in the war, and that was all anyone could ask for.
"Now then, back to Fuse. Thanks to Max Tennyson's satellite, we've been able to get photos of the planet's surface, allowing for us to monitor his actions," Dexter said.
"It also let us reestablish communication with the Moonbase," Numbuh One spoke up, giving a nod of gratitude to Max.
"It's been good hearing from the Earth again," Numbuh 362 said from her video screen. "Unfortunately, this is all we can do on the Moonbase. We're running on a skeleton crew, and the Fusion Matter is built up in our hangars. We're still clearing them out, but I'm afraid we're no use to the Earth at the moment."
"I'm afraid the Galactic Guardians will be unable to assist your planet as well," Admiral DeGill said with a grim expression. "We are nowhere near your galaxy, and our forces are still heavily incapacitated."
"That's all right," Dexter said. "I simply wanted to keep you in the loop on our plans."
"I appreciate it," Admiral DeGill and Numbuh 362 said in unison.
"Are we done strolling down memory lane?" Mandy questioned sardonically.
"I must agree with Mandy on this," Josiah said. "You've told us what we've accomplished, but what does that have to do with bringing down Fuse?"
"It shows that we are in a perfect position to do so!" Dexter argued. "This shows our progress as we've fought tooth and nail to preserve our planet."
"It is quite a feat considering this war shouldn't even be happening," Larry pointed out.
His optics gazed at everyone around the table, but Alice didn't miss how they lingered on her for a fraction of a second longer than others. Otto caught the gesture too, and muttered out "Larry" as a warning.
"In the face of adversity, humanity has always risen to the challenge," Kiva countered Larry, sending the bot a glare.
"You do not get to lecture me, missy. And besides, you of all people would recognize that this war should not have happened," Larry said.
Kiva frowned. She didn't want to go agreeing with the robot, but...
"I'll admit, there was no record of Fuse invading the planet," she conceded. Just as Larry looked ready to gloat this fact, Kiva quickly added, "But then again, I never heard of a mech like Megas in the past either."
"Yes, time is not set in stone. It can change like the ebb and flow of the river," Jack intoned wisely.
"That is not how time travel works! Time is like a string-" Larry's protests were interrupted.
"That's probably just how Time Squad sees it to justify their actions," Kiva countered.
"Hey, can we talk about the theories of time travel later?" Tanya spoke up, resting her cheek in her hand. "I'm sure it's fascinating and all, but I'm here to cry about something that happened and can't be changed. I'm only interested in how Fuse can be beaten."
Dexter nodded gratefully in the blonde's direction. He had also grown tedious of the growing argument on time theory; it was sidetracking from the importance of the meeting.
"The plan is simple. We shall bring the fight to his lair," Dexter said.
"Are we going all in?" Blossom asked.
"No, a small team will be infiltrating his territory," Dexter answered. "The plan is that everyone across the world will begin a wide-range assault on Fuse's forces to distract his attention."
"Without a Fusion Kevin army, Fuse will just have to rely on his regular run-of-the-mill monsters," Ben added in.
"We've had loads of practice against those," Caden joked, sharing a grin with his fellow Leaderboard members.
"Precisely. While our forces are fighting against Fuse's army, a small team will be infiltrating his lair to challenge him," Dexter said.
"Who's making up the team?" Mandy asked.
"I already picked who would be joining," Dexter said. "I will of course be going. I will also be relying on Samurai Jack-"
"I will do my best," Jack said serenely.
"Blossom-"
"You got it," Blossom said with a serious nod.
"Ben-"
"Obviously," Ben said with a smirk, swiping his thumb under his nose.
"Rex-"
"Let's do it!" Rex cheered, pumping his fist in the air.
"Numbuh One-"
"Absolutely," Numbuh One agreed.
"Betty-"
"You can count on me," Betty said, giving the boy genius a thumbs up.
"Juniper Lee-"
"I've been waiting for this," Juniper said, punching her fist into her open palm.
"And Team Super Stars," Dexter finished.
"A super choice," Suzy said with a grin, ignoring the withering glare from Junior.
Alice was stunned that her team was included in the lineup. She subtly checked the room to see if there were any objections to their inclusion, particularly the other members of the Leaderboard. None of them held any resentment in being passed over, though a few did look upset that they weren't included in the fight against Fuse.
She could barely believe she was being chosen in the final fight against Fuse.
"If it's possible, I'd like Captain Planet to join in the battle," Dexter said, addressing Kwame.
"My teammates will be arriving before nightfall. The Fusion Matter is the worst here in the Darklands than anywhere in the world, but Captain Planet would want to be involved in the final fight to save the planet," Kwame said.
"Thanks."
"Argh! Why wasn't I chosen?" Buck demanded, banging the side of his fist on the table. "I want Fuse to taste my knuckle sandwich!"
"I was not looking for a large group to infiltrate," Dexter said. "I initially only wanted ten members, but I knew Junior and Suzy would not allow Alice to join the fight alone so I upped it by two."
"Like you could have stopped us anyways," Suzy said with her bright smile.
"Yes, that is what I had supposed," Dexter agreed with a sigh. "Besides, your team seems to do the most good when you're working together."
"What about the rest of us?" Tanya asked.
"As I said, we will be conducting a full-scale attack not just against Fuse and his lair, but everywhere. Most of you will be needed here in the Darklands since forces out here are spread thin," Dexter explained. "I will be putting certain individuals in charge of the four regions so that they can delegate however is needed.
"For the Suburbs area, I'm putting you in charge, Numbuh Five," Dexter said.
Numbuh Five tipped her hat in Dexter's direction. "Numbuh Five won't let yah down."
"Max Tennyson will be in charge of the Downtown area," Dexter said.
Max nodded his head, accepting the responsibility.
"For the Wilds, I plan on putting Mandy in charge," Dexter said, looking over at the blonde.
Mandy's eyebrow lifted upward. "Really? You're putting me in charge?"
"You like to give out orders," Dexter reminded her.
"Fair enough," Mandy responded.
"As for the Darklands, I'll leave that to you, Tetrax. You've basically been doing the job already," Dexter said.
Tetrax put his fist against his left breast. "I will not fail this mission."
"I've already prepped the emails that will go off in mass tonight, informing everyone of the plan. Specific individuals will be given specific details on where I want them set up. We'll be attacking Fuse's fortress in the early hours tomorrow," Dexter said. He leveled a hard stare with the members of his assault team. "Mandark will be firing cannons at Fuse's lair just as we enter his lair to hopefully divert some of his attention." He turned his attention to the Leaderboard ranking members four through ten. "Since all seven of you are among the best of the best fighters, I want you here in the Darklands. Fuse may prioritize protecting his hold on this island, and so you will be needed here the most." When he saw the nods given to him at his instructions, he turned his stare to the members of Team Titan. "I don't know why you haven't used Titan since the very beginning of the invasion, but we will need its assistance. Fuse can't possibly pass up a chance to take down another giant robot."
Kiva frowned at the indirect mention of Megas. The mech she had personally repurposed from the Glorft army would have been a major help in the fight against Fuse; Megas alone may have single-handedly ended the war early on. If Megas were free of his Fusion Matter prison, then maybe Megas and Titan could team-up and put an end to Fuse without having to risk sending in the assault team.
Lance and Ilana shared a look with each other before turning to look at Octus across the table. Their communication was silent, but Alice could see that there was a conversation being had (at least she could read as such from Lance and Ilana's faces). An agreement must have been made, because Ilana turned her head to acknowledge Dexter.
"You can count on us," Ilana stated in full confidence.
Dexter nodded his head back at the girl in gratefulness. He then straightened himself again and clasped his hands together behind his back.
"Are there any questions?" he asked.
For a moment, no one said a thing. Everything had been explained explicitly, and a follow up message would be sent out later that night, according to Dexter. Just as it seemed no one would have a final say, Larry released a tired sigh and raised his mechanical hand.
"While I have my personal reservations about this plan, given that this time period shouldn't even be experiencing this, I do respect the planning conducted for this endeavor. So, I wish you the best of luck," Larry said diplomatically. "I will also stress how important it is that you pull this off. If you fail, we will not be able to fix this."
"I have absolute confidence in this plan," Dexter told the robot firmly. "Anything else to discuss?"
Larry backed down, but something gnawed at Alice's insides. Dexter's plan was sound, but she knew he was overlooking something. It wasn't his fault, though. He didn't know about it. Knowing she needed to come clean, Alice rose up her hand, surprising her teammates. Dexter's eyes bulged for a moment before returning to normal and he pointed at her.
"Yes, Alice?"
"I don't think I should be on the team."
There were a few murmurs of surprise, while her friends looked at her in concern. Larry's optics narrowed as they focused on her, probably trying to decipher what she was up to. Dexter's own eyes were studying her, looking for the answer on her face.
"Explain," he said in a clipped tone.
"I can sense Fusion Monsters, and that means they can sense me," Alice explained. "If I go with you, Fuse will know we're in his lair. I'll ruin the plan."
"It's because you're linked to Fuse, right?" Josiah asked from his end of the table. At the many dirty looks thrown his way, Josiah held up both hands. "Hey, I'm not accusing her of anything. The girl sits at the top of the Leaderboard, so clearly she's on our side."
"Wait, is that why you're on top? The monsters can sense you so they go after you?" Caden asked, looking at her with curiosity in his blue eyes.
Vilgax's history lesson on how her ancestors created Fuse and his goal to eradicate all Arthenadites from the known universe flared up in Alice's mind. She didn't want to reveal this bit to the group at large, so she nodded her head.
"If he can sense you coming, that'll be a problem," Tanya muttered, putting her fist against her lips as she thought over the new information.
"I'll take her spot!" Tuddrussel volunteered. His answer was Otto shushing him.
Alice turned to look at Dexter, surprised that he'd been silent the entire time since she brought up her concerns. The boy's eyes were closed, and she assumed he was deep in thought. She felt bad for ruining his plans, but it was better to be honest about this upfront.
Dexter finally opened his eyes. "No, you're needed for this mission."
Alice's eyebrows went upward, surprised by his refusal. She would have flushed at being necessary for a mission, but she wanted to make sure Dexter understood why he couldn't let her join.
"But, Dexter-" Alice began, but she cut her protest when Dexter raised up his hand.
"No buts. You and your team have been on the Leaderboard for so long I'd have to consult Douglas to know how long. Your team has been instrumental in many of our victories. You and your team are necessary to bringing Fuse down," Dexter explained. "Losing our element of surprise is upsetting, but it's not unmanageable. Fuse will know we're planning something anyways once our attack gets underway. We'll overwhelm him so that even sensing you in his lair will be a minor inconvenience for him. That's final."
Alice stared for a moment before nodding. She had promised herself to stop Fuse, so she might as well put her money where her mouth was and do her part.
Dexter's eyes swept the table, silently asking if there were any other matters to discuss. No one had anything to add, so Dexter broke the meeting. Many guests, like Mandy and the Time Squad members, stood up and left the room to handle their own business. Some stayed around to hold conversations with each other. Since Alice's team hadn't yet left their seats, Alice was able to pick up on a few of the scattered conversations, like Numbuhs One, Five and 362 discussing what to do about their K.N.D. agents and Tetrax, Mandark, and Dexter discussing how to utilize the airship without endangering it.
To the surprise of her teammates, Alice got up from her seat and went around the table, approaching Max Tennyson. The elderly Tennyson greeted her with a kind smile.
"Hello, Alice. It's been a while."
"Hello, Mr. Tennyson," Alice greeted back. "I wanted to ask a favor."
Max raised his eyebrows in surprise. He raised his hand and motioned for Alice to voice her favor.
"I'm worried about my family in Nowhere," Alice began. "Nowhere is so far away from everything, and there's already no one out there. If Fuse counterattacks, I'm worried they'll be overrun with monsters."
Max nodded in understanding over her concerns. Ben, who had been listening to the conversation being had between Betty and Juniper, suddenly spun around to join the conversation.
"Hey, don't worry about it, Alice. Alan's still out there and he won't let anything happen to your family. I completely trust him," Ben reassured her.
"And I'll be heading out to Nowhere to provide my assistance," Professor Utonium said from his chair. "I already figured they'd need my help and planned to head there as soon as this meeting was over."
"Hold on, you're planning to do what, Professor?" Blossom questioned, interrupting her conversation with Agent Honeydew.
"No need to worry, Blossom. Mr. Cooplowski was able to fix my super suit," the Professor said, reassuring his daughter's concerns.
Blossom looked skeptical but sighed and titled her head downward. When she raised her head again, the worry was still in her eyes, but she nodded in understanding. "Okay, but be careful."
"I believe I should be telling you that," the Professor said.
"We should all be saying it, along with 'come back safely,'" Max added.
"I can get behind that," Suzy piped up from her seat. She got up from her chair. "Now we were woken up before the sun, so I'm grabbing breakfast. Who's in?"
"I could go for some breakfast," Mateo said, getting up from his chair as well.
"Is the breakfast good here on the airship?" Gabby questioned.
"Are you badmouthing my airship!?" Mandark demanded, whipping his head away from his important discussion to glower at Gabby.
"I'm asking a question," Gabby defended, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "You don't have to go mental on me."
"I'm down with getting breakfast," Caden said, putting his hands behind his head. "We can all get to know each other better. We are top ten, so I bet we've got some fun stories to tell."
"Oh, yeah, let's share!" Peach agreed, grabbing Ezra's arm and hauling him to his feet. "We've got time to kill."
"You coming, Alice?" Junior asked Alice.
"Yes."
The Leaderboard fighters exited the conference room, heading for the airship's mess hall. As Alice exited the room, she noticed Larry hanging in the corridor. He was alone, with no Tuddrussel or Otto in sight. When she looked at him, he focused his optics on her and motioned for her to come to him.
"Uhm, I'll join in a moment," Alice said to Junior.
"Alright, I'll save you a seat," he said, not noticing who she was going to talk to.
Alice separated from her fellow fighters and approached the robot. The robot's expression never changed, yet Alice could feel the displeasure rolling off him in waves.
"I meant what I said in the meeting," Larry said as an opener. "This event should not have happened when it did."
"I know," Alice answered.
"If my time pod was still working, I'd go back to the origin of this mess and fix it myself," Larry continued.
Alice flinched. She tried not to think about it, but fixing the timeline meant going back and ensuring that Alice die alone with the planet. It was a rough thought that Alice had deftly shied away from as soon as she learned about Fuse's origin from Vilgax.
Maybe Larry realized what his words entailed because when he spoke again, his voice was noticeably softer.
"My time pod is broken, and will take time to be fixed. This means our only option is that this plan of Dexter's works," Larry said. "Since you are the temporal anomaly, it is your responsibility to right this historical inaccuracy."
Vilgax said something similar, Alice thought, but she kept that to herself. Out loud, she said, "I know. I will."
"No, not will. You must," Larry insisted, walking past her since he was done with the conversation. "The entire timeline counts on it."
Alice watched him walk away, but didn't make a response to his parting words. His words sounded dramatic, but it wasn't completely untrue. It was her fault that Fuse was endangering the planet. If she'd never survived Arthena's destruction, Fuse wouldn't be invading. This was her fault, and therefore she needed to do absolutely everything in her person to rectify the mistake.
In the solitude of the empty corridor, Alice's shoulders sagged as the proverbial weight of the world fell upon them.
Sorry this chapter didn't have any action and was mostly just characters talking, but I wanted to set the stage for the next chapter. I'm not sorry I had this meeting chapter, however, because it let characters from different shows mix-and-mingle, which is the fun thing about a crossover.
Coop fixing Professor's power suit is just following the trend of Coop being able to fix almost anything. Besides, a power suit is just a smaller version of a robot.
Ranking numbers 4-10 from the Leaderboard are OCs from the FusionFall promotional posters. You've already been introduced to Peach and Ezra. Tanya and Josiah are in the promotional fighting the Fire Hydra. Since they were working together, I put them on the same team. Gabby, Mateo, and Caden are in the same promotional poster as Peach and Ezra. Gabby is the girl in the red jacket, Mateo has Hector Con Carne's brain on his head, and Caden is the boy in the Cannonbolt outfit. All three of them have been featured in different material, so they're pretty recognizable. As expected, the first and last names of all these characters are all made up since the characters were supposed to be player stand-ins and therefore had no official names.
For the assault team, the first choice were obviously Team Super Stars since we've been following their story. After that I chose characters that had been in the three-part missions; the only one not returning is Mac because there is no way they'd allow him into the fight. After this selection, I added in characters I thought would be a good selection. I picked one from each show as a representative because again this is a crossover. Lance almost made it on the list but he's so dedicated to protecting Ilana that I don't think he'd deviate from that goal. Plus, it makes more sense for the three of them to form Titan over Lance just using his Manus armor.
We are almost at the end. We only have two chapters to go.