War Between the Living and the Dead

by EchidnaPower

The war between the living and the dead has begun, and the Hyperforce has to go up against their biggest challenge yet. But with help from their allies across the galaxy, they can triumph! Or can they? This is my take on what Season 5 would've been, plugging plotholes and making sense out of a series that left us all hanging. Contains Spova, Chinmay and more(?) Read and find out...

4. The Other Side of Me

Ok, I managed to get this chapter done...it was driving me crazy actually, I actually did a lot of rewriting because I was afraid that I wasn't being true to the characters with what I wrote, even now I have some reservations, but I felt if I changed anymore I wouldn't have the same scene I wanted to add anymore...anyway, enough's enough. I'll let you readers be the judge of how well I did.
_

Just as the Super Robot left Shuggazoom's atmosphere, they were hailed by the Amphiboid mechanic known as Gus, "Testing, testing. Is this thing on?"

"We read you Gus, what's going on?" Chiro responded.

Gus shrugged, "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to make sure everything was working the way it's supposed to."

"Great idea Gus!" Otto exclaimed, "It sure would be pretty awful if we suddenly lost communications out here in space, why, Shuggazoom could wind up blowing up and we wouldn't even know it!"

"Otto!" Nova snarled.

Otto shrunk back, "I was just sayin'."

"Well don't be sayin'."

At that moment, Antauri floated into the screen's view, "Remember Chiro, your objective is to destroy the creature as quickly as possible and get back to Shuggazoom."

"I got it Antauri." Chiro pressed a button and the transmission was cut off to allow the Hyperforce to see their sensor readings, "We're closing in on Skeleton King's crony!"

"I gotta give the bonehead some credit, he designed that ship in good taste...ya know, besides the fact it's made of bone." Sprx shrugged when he got looks from everyone. The enemy ship was very sleek and appeared to be built for speed, much like the speeder the evil Wigglenog had offered Sprx during their chase of the Dark One Worm.

"Sensors indicate we will be in weapons range of the enemy vessel in approximately 32.8 seconds." Gibson reported.

"Approximately? Can't you ever use a round number Brainstrain?" Sprx scoffed.

"Oh no ya don't," Nova stepped in-between the red and blue monkeys and shoved them away from each other, "We're not having another alpha male smackdown between you two, we've got a job to do!"

"She's right!" Chiro looked at the screen, "Only twenty seconds until we're in range, monkeys mobilize!" Chiro and the monkeys headed into their respective tubes while Jinmay hopped into Antauri's, and they were whisked into their respective vehicles.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser 6 GO!"

"Foot Crusher Cruiser 5 GO!"

"Fist Rocket 4 GO!"

"Fist Rocket 3 GO!"

Finally Jinmay's turn to report in came, "Uh...oh yeah! Brain Scrambler Pilot 2 GO!"

"Torso Tank Driver 1 GO!" Chiro shouted, "Sound off team! SUPER!"

"ROBOT!"

"MONKEY!"

"TEAM!"

"HYPER!"

"FORCE!"

"GO!"

"Hey, nice job kid, you're really gettin' the hang of things." Sprx gave the robot girl a thumbs-up.

Jinmay rubbed the back of her armored neck, "Well I already knew it...I just gotta get used to it, my role changes every time I jump into a different part of the robot."

"You did great Jinmay." Chiro reassured as he looked over his cockpit's viewscreen, "Charge the weapons team, we'll be on him in just seconds!"

"And then we'll trash this thing!" Nova's confident declaration came before the enemy ship opened fire on them, "Incoming!"

"Evasive maneuvers team!" Unfortunately the lasers struck the robot at full force, and the team cried out when they started getting shaken up inside their cockpits, "Ok, he had his shot, now it's our turn!"

"I'm all over it!" Sprx pressed a button and the robot launched missiles out of the fingers on Sprx's Fist Rocket, but the bone ship evaded the attack and turned around to make another attack run, "Here he comes!"

The ship zoomed past the robot after firing, causing further damage, "Whatever this creature is using for weapons, they're stronger than the average variety of lasers." Gibson reported.

"He's coming back to set up for another run!" Nova exclaimed.

"Alright, get ready to fire eye beams when he passes!" Chiro watched the blip on his screen rapidly approach, "Now Jinmay!"

Jinmay jammed down the firing button, and the antenna ray warmed up and fired, managing to hit the ship as it passed, "Oops, wrong button...sorry guys, I haven't gotten much practice with the Brain Scrambler!"

"Hey, did you hit the creep? Then who cares?!" Nova exclaimed.

"Hate to rain on this parade..." Sprx chimed in, "But the ship's coming back!"

The ship came around and launched spheres of dark energy at the robot, and zoomed off again before the Hyperforce could retaliate. "This thing's too fast for us!" Otto gulped.

"Gibson, we could use a bright idea here." Sprx spoke up.

Gibson thought for a moment, "If the robot is not fast enough to keep up with the ship," just then the ship came around for another strike, "Which clearly it isn't...perhaps attempting to outnumber it will turn the tides!"

"It's worth a shot, Hyperforce, prepare to disengage!" Chiro shouted.

"Oh boy..." Jinmay launched the Super Robot's head off its torso and transformed it into the Brain Scrambler Pilot 2. "Phew, ok...so far so good." she took a moment to breathe with relief, but that was before the ship started focusing its attack on her, "Monkey Team, I could use a little help here!" The robot girl did her best to try and evade the ship's attacks, but it was clear who the better pilot was.

"That ship's going after Jinmay! But why?!" Chiro said in horror.

"Don't worry kid, we got this covered! C'mon Gibson!"

"Acknowledged Sprx."

The two Fist Rockets flew over to where Jinmay was trying desperately to dodge their adversary's attacks with her limited piloting skills, "Jinmay, take a nose dive and then rocket back up! We're gonna get this creep off your tail!" Sprx ordered.

"O-Ok!" The rattled robot girl followed through and sped downwards, and then once the ship behind her settled in and fired, she started climbing back up and managed to dodge the shots.

"Here they come, you ready Gibson?"

Gibson focused on his targeting systems, "Weapons are armed and ready, target locked!"

Just as Jinmay flew by, Sprx made the call, "Let 'im have it!" The two Fist Rockets fired and the boney ship went spiraling away, "Got 'im!"

Jinmay wiped her brow of nonexistent sweat, "Phew, thanks guys."

Sprx gave a salute with his tail before chasing after the ship again, "Alright pal, you think you're so big and bad picking on a rookie? Let's see how well you handle monkey fighting with a pilot your own size!" Sprx opened fire, but the ship leveled out and managed to dodge the assault, "This thing's pretty good," Sprx smirked, "But not as good as me." Sprx barrel rolled and launched a barrage of energy beams at the ship, managing to hit it a couple of times, "Not so tough now are ya?"

"Sprx, I'm picking up a strange build up of energy coming from that ship...it's getting ready to do something!" Gibson warned.

"You worry too much, this thing's nothin'!" Sprx moved in closer to finish it off, "You're mine!"

But just as Sprx got close enough for his liking, a hole opened up in the back of the ship, and a giant beam of pure dark energy struck and enveloped the Fist Rocket 3. "Sprx!" Nova cried as she heard the red monkey's screeches of agony over the intercom.

"Oh no...the Fist Rocket's hull is beginning to fail, if this continues for much longer..." Gibson was cut off by Nova's furious battle cry.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Nova pushed her thrusters beyond their limits and used all of her ship's remaining power to raise her shields.

"Nova's on a collision course!" Otto shouted in horror.

"Nova don't! Just fire at it!" Chiro exclaimed. But Nova was in a blind rage, she didn't ever hear Chiro's order to stop through the angry thoughts running through her mind. Finally she made contact with the bone ship, and the beam immediately stopped as the ship shattered to pieces and Nova's ship began sparking violently from the sustained damage. "Nova! Come in Nova!"

"Chiro, sensors indicate both Sprx and Nova are unconscious, but alive. I don't know if I can say the same for the Foot Crusher and Fist Rocket." Gibson reported.

"Reengage the robot! We'll use the tractor beams to get them inside the cargo hold!" Chiro ordered. After making sure the ship was currently of no threat to them, the ream reassembled their parts of the robot before using the tractor beams to lead Nova's Foot Crusher Cruiser 6 and Sprx's Fist Rocket 3 safely into the cargo hold, leaving the Super Robot without one foot and one hand. "Alright, Otto, get 'em outta there!"

"No problem Chief!" Otto activated his energy saws and cut a square hole into the Foot Crusher before leaping over to do the same to the Fist Rocket. "We got real lucky Chiro, they're lookin' a lot better than their ships." Otto morphed his hand into the proper plug-in and shoved it into the back of Sprx's head, rebooting his system. "There ya go man, how d'ya feel?"

"Ugh..." Sprx shuddered, "Honestly? I feel exactly the same way I felt when you guys put out that stupid flame that was possessing me." then the memory of what had just happened reached his mind, "Nova!" he leaped out of the cockpit and scampered over to the badly damaged Foot Crusher, "Is she alright?!"

Gibson was about to reactivate Nova when Sprx pushed him out of the way, "Sprx!"

Ignoring Gibson's annoyed outburst, Sprx took it upon himself to reboot Nova's system, and after a few moments, the yellow monkey blinked a few times before slowly getting to her hands and knees, "Oh...I'm never doing that again."

"Nova!" Sprx suddenly had his metal arms wrapped tightly around Nova's torso, "Don't you ever scare me like that again...I thought you were a goner!"

"Ok Sprx...two things..." Nova replied, "First...I'll do my best to keep from doing stupid things like that again."

Sprx pulled back to look into her eyes, "What's the other thing?"

Nova was about to yell in his face and tell him to get off of her, but seeing the utter relief in his eyes softened her, "Never mind, it wasn't important."

"I'm just glad you're ok."

"I'll be the judge of that Sprx." Gibson pulled the red primate off of Nova and kneeled down to examine the yellow monkey's system. "You have a couple of burnouts and your energy cell is leaking again...I think it's time I started replacing some of your more worn out parts."

"Hey, what about me? I said I felt weird after I got reactivated!" Sprx exclaimed.

Gibson glared at the red monkey through his peripheral vision, "Clearly you're just fine if you can find the strength to shove me out of the way before I could reactivate Nova."

"Uh..." Otto timidly raised his hand, "Actually Gibson, he did say that before remembering what happened to Nova."

Gibson grunted in annoyance, "Oh very well, come along, we'll take you both to the recovery ward and get you checked out more extensively." The three primary-colored monkeys headed to the transport tubes and were whisked away to the recovery ward.

"I hope they're ok." Jinmay said with concern.

"They'll be fine," Chiro placed a reassuring hand on the robot girl's shoulder, "I'm more worried about the Fist Rocket and Foot Crusher at this point. Otto?"

"Right, just gimme a sec and I'll have a full report for ya!" Otto hopped into the Fist Rocket and rattled around in there for a second before leaping out and diving into the Foot Crusher and doing the same thing. Moments later, he popped his head out with his lips pursed, "Oh yeah, these things are beat up bad."

"How soon can you have 'em up and running?" Chiro asked.

"It's gonna take a while...with Gibson's help maybe a couple of days?"

Chiro sighed, "Well...it's not like that other ship's goin' anywhere either."

"Uh...Chiro?" Jinmay spoke up as she looked out a large window, "You sure about that?"

Chiro and Otto went over to where Jinmay was looking, and they gasped at the sight of the ship reconstructing itself. "Right...shoulda figured...just like the Citadel of Bone." the Hyperforce leader growled, "We don't have a couple of days Otto, I don't even know if we have a couple of hours, get the Foot Crusher up and running so we can chase this guy down if we have to."

"Aye aye Chiro." a pair of welding goggles sprouted out from underneath the green monkey's helmet, and the mechanic immediately got to work on Nova's Foot Crusher.

"What do you want me to do Chiro?" Jinmay asked, eagerly awaiting orders.

"Besides be here for me so I don't go insane?" Chiro relinquished a small smile, and the robot girl smiled back, "You and I are gonna head to the Bridge to see if we can't get a scan on whatever's in that ship, for all we know we might be chasing a decoy."

As the couple rushed back to the Bridge, Gibson was busy preparing to do some delicate work. "Ok Nova, I'll need to shut you down momentarily so I can replace your energy cell, seeing as this is the second time it's begun to leak, it stands to reason that a replacement is required."

Nova rolled her eyes, "You don't have to explain it Gibson, it's not like this is the first time something like this has happened to us, just get it over with."

"Very well." Gibson morphed his hand into the proper tool and placed it into the back of her head, moments later, Nova fell asleep. "Now then, let's get you properly repaired."

"Just make it quick ok?"

Gibson huffed in annoyance, "Sprx, I am a professional, there is no reason for you to be so uneasy." Gibson removed the yellow monkey's energy cell from her back and went to get a new one, "As for you, you've been acting out of the ordinary for quite some time."

"What? What're you talkin' about?" Sprx scoffed, "I'm one-hundred percent me, myself and I."

"Hmm, yes..." Gibson replaced Nova's energy cell and then got to work on some of her burned out wiring. "What I mean to say is, you seem even more like yourself than normal."

Sprx just scratched his head, "Is your brain shorting out again? Of course I'm gonna act like me, I'm me."

"No Sprx," Gibson sighed, "How should I put this? You seem to be trying too hard to be who you normally are...it's as if you're attempting to hide something from us...what's troubling you so?"

Sprx crossed his arms and scowled, "Even if something was bothering me, why would I tell you? I'm not even willing to tell Antauri."

Gibson smirked, "Ahh, so we can safely say that something's troubling you."

Sprx shrieked, "You know what? That big brain of yours gets really annoying sometimes."

"But it certainly comes in handy, wouldn't you say?"

Sprx huffed, "Sometimes."

"Sprx, I realize you and I have had our differences, and that will likely never change...but despite all that, I still consider you a brother, and despite evidence to the contrary, I do get concerned when you or any of our team is troubled." Gibson closed up the hatch on Nova's back and went to work on Sprx, "Onto the table please."

Sprx obliged and said nothing as Gibson examined his body with his scanner. Finally after a few moments of silence, Sprx spoke up. "How's Nova?"

"She's fine, I've replaced her energy cell and her burned out wires...if I may be so bold Sprx...would I be correct in the assumption that your sudden change in attitude is somehow connected to Nova?"

Sprx hesitated before chuckling weakly, "I don't know why I'm even considering telling you this..." the red monkey sighed as Gibson continued his examination, "I just...I really care about her Gibson."

"As do I, I consider Nova my sister just as I consider you my brother." Gibson took a screwdriver to the pilot's shoulder, "You jarred your shoulder loose in the crash."

"Oh, thanks." Sprx sighed again, "I don't think you get it...I care about Nova...more than that."

Gibson smiled, "That must be the worst kept secret of all time Sprx."

Sprx's jaw dropped and his face soon morphed into a scowl after that, "Knew I never should've said anything." he grumbled.

The scientist's smile never faded however, "Tell me Sprx, if you adore her as deeply as you claim, why do you not simply act on those feelings you harbor? Logically you should be attempting to grow closer to her instead of endeavoring to keep her distant with unnecessary bravado like you've been doing...and then when you do allow your passion to get through, you begin to try even more intensely to conceal it."

"I'm done talkin' to you Brainstrain." the red primate replied, "Besides, it's not like I understood half of what you said anyway."

"Apologies, I admit I can be rather loquacious at times." When Sprx looked at him in confusion, he sighed, "I show off my vocabulary too often."

"Heh, I'll say."

"My point is, don't hide your true feelings from her Sprx, she knows how you feel, you know how she feels, all that was revealed in the immediate aftermath of your deliverance from the Fire of Hate."

"It's not that simple." Sprx sat up and shook his head, "If I try to get too close she'll reject me like she always does..." Sprx looked at his hands, "And who can blame her? She deserves better than anything I could offer...I love her, and if I have to admire her from a distance, then I will..."

"I see." Gibson turned his back on the red monkey and smiled discreetly, "I'll return shortly, I have to go and get something." the blue primate walked out, leaving Sprx alone.

"Take your time...we're not going anywhere." Sprx laid down on the bed with his arms crossed behind his head, "Nova." he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Did you really mean all that?"

Sprx screeched in shock at the sound of the unusually timid voice. He sat up suddenly and was greeted by a pair of awe-filled pink eyes. "Uh-uh-mean? Mean? Mean what?"

"What you said." Nova hopped off the table and walked over to the red monkey, "About you loving me..."

"Well, ya know...I was just sayin'...I mean it's..." After failing to think of anything that could get him out of his own mess, the red monkey slumped and looked down to the ground, "Yeah...I meant it."

Nova smiled softly and got on her tiptoes to kiss the pilot's cheek, "Thank you Sprx."

Sprx rubbed the spot where he had been kissed and shook his head, "Why do ya do that Nova?"

Nova reeled back, "Do what?"

"I mean one minute you beat the living daylights outta me like you hate me, and then the next you...well...do that." the red monkey looked up at the ceiling as if he was searching for answers before looking back at Nova, "I mean, how's a monkey supposed to know what to do? Do you like me or not?"

Nova took Sprx's hand and squeezed it, "I do like you Sprx, I already told you that...it's just...this is totally new territory for me...what I feel for you is something I can't even put into words, or if I could I probably couldn't pronounce them unless I was as smart as Gibson or something..."

Sprx gazed into the yellow monkey's pink eyes, "Then at least answer this...what is it you want me to do? Do you want me to be close to you, or do you want me to give you your space so ya don't clobber me? 'Cause right now I'm about as confused as Otto during one of Antauri's philosophy lessons."

"I...don't really know." Nova admitted, "Just for curiosity's sake...what is it you want?"

"Me?" Sprx chuckled weakly, "What I want...all I want is you." Sprx looked down at the floor, "You know...how Chiro and Jinmay act with each other right?" When Nova slowly nodded at him, he took a deep breath and continued, "Well that's what I want...I wanna be able to...hold you close to me...'cause you're really special to me Nova, I mean all those other girls I've ever hit on, oh yeah, they were cute, some of them were total babes! But...none of them could fill the place I have in my heart for you...thing is...you're still a warrior, and as much as I try to give you that respect...I can't help but see you more as a girl than anything else, because of how I feel for you..."

"Sprx..."

"I-I know, I know...I'm talkin' outta my tail right now." Sprx took his hand back and turned away from the yellow monkey, "Just forget I said anything ok?"

"...no."

"What?"

"No...I don't wanna forget."

Sprx had to do a double take as he looked back at the warrior he knew as Nova...if he didn't know better, he'd say the furious fighter was actually crying. "You don't...you don't wanna forget?" he asked more to himself than her.

Nova slowly shook her head before glomping the now thoroughly stunned red primate, "That...was the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." her voice was beginning to crack, which was very unlike her of course. "No one's ever told me anything like that before, I always get compliments on how good a fighter I am, but you're the only one who's ever told me something like that before."

Nova was sobbing in his arms at this point, and to say the least, Sprx's computer-enhanced brain was struggling to compute what was going on. Nova...was sobbing...in his arms, it just didn't add up, "Nova...what's the matter? Why are ya crying?"

The yellow primate pulled back to stare him in the eyes, with tears leaking out from behind her robotic pink eyes, "It's just that the others forget sometimes that I'm a girl on top of being a warrior...it feels so good to know that someone sees me as a girl, not just a powerful fighter."

"I've always seen you that way..."

"I know that now...being who I am means I tend to hit first and talk later, and that comes with its own set of problems...thing is...I'm afraid that if I let my guard down for even a second, I'll look weak, and to me that's even worse than being considered just a fighter."

"You're anything but weak," Sprx wiped her tears with his thumb, "You're probably the strongest girl I've ever met, and not just because of how good you are on the battlefield, it's also because of who you are on the inside...I've gotten a look at the real NOVA-52, and I get the feeling she's more than just a hotheaded warrior..." he smirked a little as he quoted her previous words, "Now my question is...why're ya tellin' me all this?"

"Because you need to know about both sides of me, and why you only get to see the harsh and aggressive side of me whenever I'm around other people. After hearing you talk to Gibson, I was starting to wonder if I should tell you why I do what I do, and now after talking to you, I realize it isn't fair to keep getting your hopes up and then smashing them to pieces the next time I say something mean or hit you for saying something stupid."

"I see..." Sprx began to sweat a little, "Nova, I wanna do something...you promise not to clobber me?"

"Uh...maybe?"

"Close enough." Taking the yellow primate's face into his metal hands, he slowly closed the gap between them and felt Nova shudder as he got closer, "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"N-No..." she breathed, "Don't stop, please."

Taking her words to heart, Sprx softly pressed her lips against his own, and for the first time ever they shared a joyous experience neither primate was bound to forget any time soon. When they finally parted, Sprx smiled softly at her, "Now that...was amazing."

"It was." Nova hummed in response, "Just...don't get too used to it, remember I still have to keep a tough as nails reputation...even this isn't enough to turn me into a rainbows and candy kinda girl."

"Hey, I can live with your abuse, since now I know for sure you don't mean it. All I ask for is a little compensation every once in a while."

Nova smirked, "I knew it'd only be a matter of time before you said something cheesy."

"Hey, I gotta be me." Sprx shrugged.

"And you should be you Nova."

Sprx and Nova's heads whipped around, and they screeched in shock at the sight of Gibson smiling at them in the doorway, "What're you doin' here?!" the red monkey exclaimed.

"This is the recovery ward is it not?" Gibson replied, "By the way Nova, the entire team is well aware of your 'other side' as you so eloquently describe it, the only one who is convinced that you're nothing more than an angry female simian looking to obliterate a target is yourself."

"You were listening in on us?!" Nova snarled.

"Of course, who do you think activated you so you could listen to mine and Sprx's conversation? I mean really, this whole situation of both you and Sprx propelling yourselves into unnecessary danger needed to cease and desist as soon as possible, and logic dictated that the only way for that to happen was if you two finally stopped this ludicrous song and dance routine of trying to mask your emotions and truthfully pour your hearts out to each other...so now the team gets two of their most important members back, and you get to enjoy a new aspect of your lives together without needing to worry about anyone's opinions other than your own. Courtesy of Mr. Hal Gibson, science officer and relationship counselor extraordinaire." With that said, Gibson took a bow and awaited the thanks he felt he was due.

"Gibson," Nova activated her fists and pounded one into her palm, "I'm giving you 'till the count of three to make tracks before I bash your head in."

Gibson sweat-dropped and put his hands up in defense, "Now wait just a moment, I was trying to help you!"

"One."

"Really now Nova, is this absolutely necessary?"

"Two!"

"A-Alright! Alright! My apologies, just don't hit me!" Gibson cringed as Nova reeled back her fist to bang him into a wall, but then he heard a different banging coming from inside the recovery ward, and the three monkeys stopped to listen for the noise, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah...it's coming from..." Nova turned around and her eyes widened at what she saw, "I don't believe it!"

Meanwhile on the Bridge, Chiro was busy trying to get a reading on the entity inside the bone ship, "This really is more of a Gibson or Otto job...something about that ship is keeping the basic scan from working." he said in frustration.

"Maybe you're going about this the wrong way," Jinmay replied thoughtfully, "Maybe you should try communicating with the thing, ask it for terms of surrender, then at the very least you could get a decent look at what it is."

"There's an idea, I'll try it." Chiro activated the communications console, "The hailing frequencies are open...this is the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce, we offer you this one chance to surrender to us or be destroyed!"

"Now let's see if we get a response." Jinmay commented. Moments passed, then the viewscreen came alive with the image of the creature who was apparently inside the spaceship made of bone, "What...is that?" the robot girl gagged.

The creature was seemingly made entirely of black, dripping ooze, with angry yellow eyes that seemed to see right through them. "I dunno, but at least we know we're not chasing nothing." Then the creature began growling at them, shaking its globby fist in anger, "I get the feeling that whatever it's saying, it's got nothin' to do with surrender." Chiro said.

Then the transmission cut off just as the final piece of the ship was repaired, and it slowly began charging up its thrusters, "It's getting ready to take off!" Jinmay exclaimed.

Chiro activated his communicator, "Otto, is the Foot Crusher ready to be reconnected to the robot yet?!"

"Not yet Chiro, I'm almost done reconfiguring it though, but it'll take longer to get the thruster up and running again!"

"Never mind the thruster, just get the Foot Crusher back on the robot, this thing's getting ready to make a break for it!" Chiro deactivated his communicator and slammed his hands into the control panel in frustration as he stared angrily at the viewscreen, "There's gotta be a way to make sure we don't lose track of it!"

"Maybe I can help!"

Chiro and Jinmay turned around at the familiar voice, and their eyes lit up when their suspicions were proven right, "Captain Shuggazoom, you're ok!" Chiro exclaimed.

The old man walked up to them, and actually stood tall as he opened his helmet, evidently his beard had been trimmed as it no longer simply rolled out of his helmet like it used to. "I dunno what Gibson did for me, but I feel like a new man!"

"You look a lot stronger Captain, and the trimmed beard's a good look for you." Jinmay said with a smile.

"Why thank you Jinmay." the old superhero nodded.

"It was simple really," Gibson appeared with a now apparently recovered Sprx and Nova, "During his time in the tank I injected his body with rejuvenating supplements that replaced the minerals lost in human bone over time and reversed some of the shrinkage and depletion of his muscle fibers, not to mention strengthening his circulatory and nervous systems so that they're more responsive."

"So basically you gave him a steroid that made him feel young again." Sprx smirked.

Gibson scowled at the red monkey, "Steroid?! Absolutely not, anabolic steroids are simply a synthesized version of testosterone which is meant only to increase muscle mass without even building the ligaments and tendons around them, not practical at all! And that's not even counting all the possible side effects of injecting such wretched chemicals into your bloodstream!"

"Ok ok, I get it!" Sprx put his hands up in placation, "Sheesh, don't be so sensitive."

"Ya did good Gibson," Chiro then looked up at Captain Shuggazoom, he was still as old as ever, but he seemed to be full of life, "It's good to have you onboard Captain."

"It's good to be here...now then, we got ourselves a situation here and I think I'm just the man you need for the job!" Captain Shuggazoom replied.

"What'd you have in mind?" Jinmay asked.

Captain Shuggazoom stepped forward, "My idea was that I'd attach a homing beacon onto that ship, you can't do it because you're the ones who know how to pilot the robot, and I'll need you to distract this thing so it doesn't spot me trying to attach the beacon."

"And that'd make sure we don't lose it no matter where it goes! Great idea Captain!" Nova exclaimed.

"And possibly the only option we have available to us," Gibson stepped up to the control panel and began pressing several buttons, "As the Citadel of Bone once did, this ship is thwarting our attempts to scan and gather information on it, but a homing beacon on the outside of the ship shouldn't be affected."

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's do it!" Sprx exclaimed.

Minutes later, Captain Shuggazoom was let out of the Super Robot via a hatch in the robot's back, "Ok Monkey Team, just make sure that whatever it is doesn't see me comin'!"

"No problem," Chiro replied, "Nova, open hailing frequencies, we're gonna keep this thing busy by keeping its mind on something other than its sensors."

"On it Chiro!" Nova pressed a button and the viewscreen once again showed the disgusting creature, "Oh...that's gross." the yellow monkey commented.

"I'll say, kinda looks like someone sneezed after breathing in kerosene for three hours." Sprx added.

"That's more gross!" Nova gagged.

"This is your last warning, surrender to us immediately!"

The creature again began growling unintelligibly, which provoked Gibson to take action, "Activating hyper translators..." despite the translator's influence however, the sounds still came in without any sort of meaning. "How is this possible? Could our communications have been damaged in the battle as well?"

"Check it out Gibson..." Chiro then whispered into Jinmay's ear, "Make sure Captain Shuggazoom's alright, I'll keep this blob thing busy."

With a nod, Jinmay walked out of the range of the viewscreen and contacted the elderly hero, "Jinmay to Captain Shuggazoom, what's your status?"

"Almost there, just gotta find a place to put this thing that it won't fly off if the ship leaves."

"Please hurry, I dunno how much longer we can stall!"

After a few more moments of walking around, the old man found a place where the cylinder shaped homing beacon could be placed where it wouldn't be in danger of getting shaken off, "I found a hole that it should fit in perfectly," cautiously, Cap. Shuggazoom knelt down to set the beacon. "Gotta give Gibson credit, my joints haven't felt this good since I was in my mid-twenties!"

Unfortunately, the oozing monster had once again cut off the transmission, and the ship now seemed ready to leave. "It's getting ready to jump into hyper boost!" Gibson exclaimed.

Chiro activated his communicator, "Otto, the Foot Crusher?!"

"It's ready Chiro! It just needs to get reattached!"

"Make it happen!" Chiro switched frequencies, "Cap. Shuggazoom, you gotta come back before..." Unfortunately it was too late, the ship took off into the cosmos with the fading cry of Cap. Shuggazoom following it. "It's too late..."

"Oh no..." Nova murmured in concern.

Suddenly Gibson began chattering, "Wait! He's still alive, I'm picking up a signal from the homing beacon!"

"Way to go Cap. Shuggazoom, we're comin' for ya!" Chiro exclaimed, "Nova, contact Antauri, we've gotta let 'im know what's happening!"

Nova activated the communications console, but after a few moments of trying, all she got was static, "That's weird...I can't get a decent signal."

"Gibson, check it out!" Chiro ordered, "Otto, is the Foot Crusher in place yet?"

Outside, Otto was using whatever power the Foot Crusher had left to reattach it to the Super Robot's leg. "Done and done Chiro, ya want me to start working on the thrusters?"

"Negative, get back up here and start repairing the Fist Rocket, we'll use the hyper boost engines to try and compensate for the Foot Crusher's absence." Chiro shut off his communicator, "Whaddya got Gibson?"

"Curious, according to my readings the communications console is working at optimum efficiency...which leads me to believe that the source of the problem is on their end." the scientist replied ominously.

"But that's impossible, Gus said their communications console was state of the art!" Nova exclaimed.

"And how often has that kind of thinking gotten our tails whipped before?" Sprx grumbled with his arms crossed, "Something's not right on Shuggazoom, I know it."

"Then there's only one thing to do, I'll contact Antauri through the Power Primate. Sprx, follow the signal the beacon's giving us, and keep an eye out for Cap. Shuggazoom." Chiro walked into his tube and whisked off to his quarters where he would try to meditate on the Power Primate and contact his mentor.

"What do you suppose is goin' on back there?" Jinmay asked.

"I dunno Jinmay, but if the Amphiboids' communications aren't picking up our signal, it's gotta be something bad." Nova replied as she stared up at the viewscreen, "For now, we've gotta get ready for whatever this thing is that we're facing...which means we gotta be ready for anything...Sprx, power up the engines!"

"Aye aye Nova." with a sly wink directed at the yellow monkey, Sprx activated the engines and chased after the signal being emitted by the homing beacon; the team hoped that their friends were ok back on Shuggazoom, and that the hero who shared their home's name was still alive somehow.
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A/N: So you see what it was I was referring to? I was afraid I was getting too OOC with Nova...she's a bit of a tough character to work with, both literally and figuratively. Nova can be a major tomboy at times and at the same time she's shown signs of being quite feminine, so finding that balance and making it work for Spova purposes is hard to do without getting OOC...I dunno, I really played down what my original idea was gonna be, so I'll let you readers be the judge. In other news Cap. Shuggazoom is back, or is he? And something happening on Shuggazoom is cutting off communications, what could it be? The answers lie ahead. Review please, lemme know how I did.