Chapter 34: End Game
Laurel looked up from Nimnul's notebook on hearing the distinct four-pulse pattern of static on the two-way radio. Putting down her pen and closing the book, she retreated into the shadows.
Above her, the door to the surface opened, and onto the platform floated Emperor Norton Nimnul, dressed all in black and sitting in his black hover-pod with silver weapon systems. Many of those silver hemispheres were fractured or shattered, and Nimnul's red hair was somewhat grayer than normal thanks to a heavy mixture of dust and debris. It took a few seconds for him to adjust to the lighting in the bunker, as there was this strange bright yellow orb floating in the sky behind him. Resting on a bracket on one edge of the hover-pod was a cardboard box filled with components, many of them obviously explosive. His attention was drawn to the brick wall at the end of the room, which looked like it was made of gravity-defying mercury.
"You'll never get away with this, Davros."
Nimnul, who had left the platform and had begun his descent, stopped the pod so it was hovering twenty feet above the ground. "It's about time that somebody caught the reference. Although I am disappointed that I had to go completely black before anyone recognized it. So I have a would-be hero to face, do I? Show yourself!"
Laurel stepped into view, watching as Nimnul continued to descend. "Oh, I'd say the resemblance to the Doctor Who villain was pretty obvious. I'm surprised you haven't started screaming 'Exterminate!' yet." While they were talking, she noticed the outer door quietly reopen to admit the Rescue Rangers into the bunker.
"It's more of a homage," said Nimnul. "More importantly, unlike the original, I know that sometimes the best reaction is to run. Now is one of those times. Now stand aside so I can leave this world. Surely you have no objection to that?" The emperor had piloted a diagonal course to the ground, putting the Dimensional Controller between himself and Miss Weir. After setting the controls, he removed a makeshift time bomb from the box he had brought, and attached it to the Switcher. He placed his hand on the scanner, but was annoyed to see that the screen remained black. "What have you done to the Viewer?"
"It's the scaling circuit. You shouldn't have used sub-standard equipment." Laurel began to slowly approach Nimnul, her eyes fixed on his goggles. "What I object to, Nimnul, is you avoiding your responsibility. It's quite an apparent character flaw you have. You fled your world to ours because..."
"...because my world had no place for me, was unwilling to reward me as I deserved. As your television show has taught me, I was living in a world where the universe revolved around a team of vermin. So I came here, and it took a while, but I found that this world is not for me, either. So I leave your world saved from alien annihilation, my victims unharmed. You ought to thank me for what I've done for you all, so why are you so disappointed?"
Nimnul was answered by the voice of David Kano. "We are disappointed because you squandered your potential. You have no idea how much we gave up to put you in this position, and what did you do once you got it? You planned to invade the Galaxy rather than take the perfect retirement! How could you not foresee that this course of action would doom the Earth even more thoroughly than the Danaans could ever dream? Does your arrogance have no bounds?"
"Who...how...?"
Laurel held out an arm. This was the signal for Sparky to emerge from the safety of her hair.
"Gah!" Nimnul sputtered, pointing. "You must both belong to that race of shape-shifting aliens from the show!"
"We're not Fleeblebroxians," Sparky, or should I say David, replied. "I simply reproduced your Metamorphosizer. When I was injured on the Moon, it must have gone off before it was destroyed, trapping me in this form."
"You're lying!"
"Can you come up with a better explanation?"
"...no." He then noticed how close the two of them had crept while he was pondering this. "I would appreciate it if you stepped back a foot or two."
"What if we don't want to?"
"You should know that I'm armed with six different doomsday devices..."
"You abhor killing!" exclaimed Laurel. "Why else would you abolish the death penalty as your first act after the war?"
"...six different doomsday devices, and fifteen different ways to cause pain or unconsciousness." He flicked a switch on the hover-pod's control panel. "If you make one more move, they'll start firing. Now to get that scaler fixed..."
Laurel and David saw Foxglove landing on the back of the Dimensional Switcher. "What alternate Earth will you flee to?" David asked in hopes of distracting Nimnul. "The one where the Roman Empire never fell, or the one where men are ruled by apes?"
"You've been reading my notes, then. No, I'll return to my home dimension. I've learnt enough here to be able to take over that world even easier than I gained this one, and this time, there will be no rebellions. Even better, there will be no Rescue Rangers to stop me, because they will be stranded on this world... forever!"
Laurel snorted. "Why are you even bothering with explosives? The plans for that equipment are already posted on the Wired. We'll be able to rebuild in days."
"Even the Dimensional Switcher?" Nimnul grinned at Laurel's momentary scowl. "The Switcher is my invention, and there isn't a man on this planet who will ever be able to reproduce it!"
"You can't go back there, I'm warning you!" David exclaimed. "We have been told of the future of your world, and you will destroy it if you return. You will not mean to do this, but that is the inevitable result."
"Who told you this?"
"My counterpart, Sparky."
"I knew I never should have trusted that rat! He's going to the top of the enemies list when I return."
"See, that's the sort of attitude that will destroy your world. Sparky knew that would happen before you messed up his memory. We only found out about the fate of your world should you return due to a moment of clarity he had when he saw me."
"Destroy the world? Don't be ridiculous! I'll conquer the world, and bring it the peace and prosperity it always deserved. Why would I want to destroy the Earth? It's where I keep all my stuff!"
"You don't get it, do you Nimnul? You're too self-absorbed to really try and help anyone if there's nothing in it for you. You won't take responsibility for your actions. You run away from them instead. It's your selfish streak that threatens your world. No. You're not going to escape this time. We'll personally see to it."
"Over my dead batteries! Eat amperes!"
CLICK-CLICK went the button on the control panel, but nothing happened.
"Uh..." Nimnul looked worried now and tried several other controls with the same results.
"Looking for this?" asked Foxglove, holding a crucial circuit board from the hover-pod.
"You...no, it can't be! You're not supposed to be able to talk!"
"She had a little help from her friends," said Chip as he and Dale hopped down from the hover-pod.
Laurel resumed her approach to the hover-pod, stepping around the Dimensional Controller. Nimnul backed away from both the Rangers and Laurel, putting him next to the Switcher. He looked over at the timer on his bomb in time to see Gadget finish pulling apart the timer.
"The bomb's deactivated, guys!"
"You!"
"Oh, hello, Nimnul! You know, you really should have asked us before bringing us here. I mean, it's nice to see a new universe, but being stuck 'half-there' in your head for a week is rather awkward. You know what I mean?"
"Gah! I was so much better off when I couldn't understand you!" He reached out and pulled Laurel close to him, not noticing her lack of resistance. She allowed David to leap to safety. "I'm going back home, and I'm taking a hostage! You will not use the Switcher to follow me, or I will hurt her!"
Laurel grinned wickedly. "A Switch? What a great idea!" Before Nimnul could react, she shoved the hover-pod into the barrier, causing both of them to fall unconscious.
Gadget and the Chipmunks ran for the barrier.
"STOP!" screamed David and Lou simultaneously from opposite ends of the bunker.
"What is it?" asked Chip.
"Allow me to fix the scaling circuit, and then you can see the sort of world where Laurel truly sent him," explained David.
The Rescue Rangers converged at the Dimensional Viewer. Gadget stepped onto the metal plate. A few seconds later, an image finally appeared on the screen. The complexity of the visuals looked to be halfway between the worlds of Earth-1 and Earth-A, in a style resembling high-end computer graphics. The screen showed the Rescue Rangers on patrol in...well, it at least looked vaguely like a car, but with Gadget's distinct touch to the design. The scene they were traveling through resembled a war zone. Debris and broken buildings could be seen in every direction.
Gadget gasped. "Perhaps it is our world, and something horrible happened while we were gone."
"That's not our world, Love," Monty replied. "Those are the remains of a war decades old. Look how Nature is reclaiming everything. I think Laurel sent Nimnul there for punishment."
"That is correct," said David, turning off the Switcher. Alongside him were Lou, Bud, Francine, Dr. Helena Russell and Carolyn. Carolyn moved to take care of the two unconscious figures, while the others joined the Rangers. "Laurel called that place Earth-C," David explained, "for 'Catastrophe'. We agreed that Nimnul is to stay there for three days."
