A/N: Time to get online again with this not-so-dramatic episode! Let's get online for Double, Double!
Double, Double, Spoil and Trouble: Part 1
In some kind of high-tech lab, cameras are scanning every area in the entrance when a vent near one of them opens as a mysterious figure with a cape comes out of it and quickly enters the lab near him.
"Hard drive, hard drive, where for art thou, hard drive?" he asked to himself as he scans around the area to search for his target. When he found the computer, he snickers as he approaches it and attaches some kind of PDA with a cable, causing it to download some data from the computer.
When it's completed, the figure detaches the cable as he says, "All's well that ends well, my futuristic friend."
As his goal is completed, he then exits the lab, only for his cape to get caught by the sliding doors, causing the alarm to go off.
"Oh, crud!" he groans as he pulls his cape off from the doors, causing it to get ripped and makes his escape, unknown to him that the camera caught him in the act.
At Fils-Aime Moffitt School, in the front grounds, a young handsome 15 year old student was sitting playing guitar when Calla suddenly sat next to him.
"Hi, I'm Calla Gale. If you're totally looking for a girlfriend, I'm 13, popular, single and ready to mingle," she said. "What do you say?"
"Thanks, but I've got a girl already," the student said as he pulled out a picture of her and showed it to her before walking away. Calla, stunned looked down, until he saw a 13 year old Goth kid, and strolled over to him.
"Hi, I'm Calla Gale. If you're totally looking for a girlfriend, I'm your lady. I can make all of your wildest dreams come true. So?"
"Sorry," the goth said as he got up. "You're not my type."
As he walked away, Calla just sat there pouting, until in the corner of her eye, she saw a nerdy but still good looking boy of about 14.
"Well, third times the charm," she said as he got up and walked over to him.
"Hi, I'm Calla Gale. If you're totally looking for a girlfriend, I'm the woman of your dreams, popular, rich, and available."
"No thanks," the kid said. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now."
Calla is stunned as the boy walked away. How could no boy here, not even a nerd, want her as a girlfriend?
"It's not fair," Calla complained to her friends back in the Mid-Zone lounge. "Why is it no boy here want's me as a girlfriend?"
"No boy at all?" Bren asked. "That's a low point especially for you, Cal."
"Bren, you're not helping," Jordan said. "What's with the sudden need to have a boyfriend all of a sudden?"
"Because you and Itzal have something gong between you two, Andre's crushing on Kani, plus Layla told me that she still has a boy at her old school," Calla reasoned. "I just wish I could have somebody that I like in that way."
Jordan, now realizing what she wanted, put a hand on her shoulder, and said, "You shouldn't be so eager to rush yourself into love, Calla. That guy will come when he comes okay?"
"Well he'd better come soon, because I'm real sick of being single."
Just then Mr. Bigby walked into the room carrying a poster of some kind of theater play.
"Uh, Mr. Bigby? What's with the poster?" Jordan asked.
"Oh, this? Well, there's a new theater club and they are looking for not only new members, but also also some students who want to act in their new upcoming play this Saturday," he replied.
"A play?!," Calla thought excitedly. "That's it!"
"What's it?" Kani asked.
"My ticket to popularity with the boys, especially the artsy ones. Everyone loves a good actress, so if I get the lead in the play, I'll get noticed by every boy in the school! I gotta get to that club like, right now!"
After Calla left in excitement, Jordan and Kani stared at her in confusion as Bren starts to have interest on the play.
"A play, huh? Maybe this is my ticket to be on showbiz!" Bren said as Jordan takes a closer look at the poster. "Just think of it, Brenton Revie, super heartrob! My name's gonna be all over the Walk of Fame once I'll get the main hero part of the play!"
"I doubt that would happen," Jordan spoke up. "Because this play is an one-man play!"
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah, it's a literal one man play. As in, there is only one actor, one character onstage, no others. Which means nobody to help you in case you screw up. And we all know you will screw up!"
"Aww, man! That's so not fair!"
In the school auditorium, where the new club was being held, Calla walked down the aisle searching for somewhere to sit.
"Now to find the perfect seat for cute boy viewing," she said. Then in the corner of her eye she saw a boy who was apparently very upset.
"Aye, these students are dragging me down to the Earth's core with their disrespect of the arts," he said in a dramatic tone. "It's like the the whole planet is conspiring against me!"
He kicked over a chair on the stage, which somewhat un-nerved Calla.
"Whoa, combustible much?" she said. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
She turned to leave, but the boy saw her and shouted, "Nobody shall leave the club with out my permission. If I am stuck her, so are you, even if it's for an eternity!"
This shocked all of the students in the class especially Calla. The boy then retook his composure, and said to the kids, "And that everyone is the example of an angry scene. Welcome to theater club everybody!"
Everybody cheered on including Calla who was now impressed by the boy.
"Now everyone, as you know I am holding audition for my one-man play, so–"
Calla rushed on stage and asked, "Oh, you should totally cast me as the romantic lead! I have tons of acting experience!"
The boy looked over Calla for a second, and then said, "Actually I have something else in mind for you."
Meanwhile, Jordan, Itzal, Zeus, Kani, and Bren are walking down the hallway when the latter is still wondering about Calla.
"I just hope Calla gets into the club," Jordan said. "She's a great actor and she's really great at those costumes."
"Nah, she only want to be in that club to get boys," Bren said when he quickly stops at the entrance of the Mid-Zone lounge.
"Yeah, like you ever use the same method to get dates," Jordan said in sarcasm, which Bren ignores at her remark. "Hey, Bren-less! What are you-"
She quickly screamed in shock when she sees the same thing as Bren. The others soon joined them and they are also shocked at what they saw: a real-life cow in the lounge! Then, Andre pops up behind the cow and asks, "Hey, guys! Like my new cow?"
"Like? More like MORTIFIED!" Jordan said in shock. "Where the heck did you get a cow?!"
"I bought it online so I can send it to my online friend," Andre answered. "He's a rancher, by the way."
"Did it ever occurred to you that you'll get in trouble for bringing a real-life animal to the school?!" Kani asked in anger.
"Don't worry, I'll just hide it inside this perfectly disguised box," Andre said as he shows the mentioned cow-sized box, with the front saying, "NOT A COW!"
"Dude you brought a cow onto school grounds?!" Bren asked.
"Yeah, and?"
"What the heck's wrong with you, man? Do you know how much trouble we could get in?!"
Confused at Bren is against Andre's plan, Kani asks, "Okay, who are you and what happened to the real Bren?"
"Actually, he has a good reason that he's against this," Jordan explained. "During my last visit to Manila, his little brother, Jomar wants to bring their family cow around Manila."
"Let me guess, he brought the cow to the city's sites?" Zeus guessed.
"He brought it to SM Mall of Asia!" Jordan said, much to the others' shock.
Flashback: Jordan and Bren stood at the center of the main mall in shock and disbelief as they watched the cow walking around inside the mall.
"We have to call security to bring our cow back to our house backyard," Bren explained.
"I see," Kani said.
"Which is why this cow cannot leave this room, understand Andre?," Jordan told him sternly.
"Yeah, I got it," Andre said.
"Good, now how about we check on Calla?"
"I'm up for that," Zeus said.
"Me too," Itzal agreed.
"I better stay here and make sure Andre's cow won't mess up the school," Bren said to his cousin.
"Me too. I just don't want the cow to eat the books at the library," Kani added.
"Okay, guys. See ya," Jordan said as she, Itzal, and Zeus left their two friends when they come across an excited Calla.
"Guys, guys, you won't believe this," she shrieked. "But I met the head on the theater club, and he is amazing."
"Really, well tell me more," Jordan asked. Calla then explained everything that happened in the club.
"So he kick of a chair like he was crazy, and later he told me he has a role in mind for me. It could be a damsel-in-distress, or a femme fatale. Oh and he is so cute in a tortured artsy sort of way."
"Wow," Zeus said. "So you really liked your first class, huh?"
"Have you not been hearing me! I think I've found my life's calling."
"Right, well we're getting some lunch," Itzal said. "You coming?"
"No thanks, I got more oogling to do."
"Suit yourself," he said as the trio left.
Outside the school, the Runners decided to eat their lunch at the bench when they saw a black suited man approaching them.
"Sorry to interrupt, but are you three Jordan Waters, Itzal Kurosawa, and Zeus Starr, Runners of the Black and White Union?" he asked to the three kids.
"Yeah. We're- Hang on a second, how did you know we're Runners?" Jordan said in suspicion.
But without even giving her an answer, Jordan, Itzal, and Zeus are being dragged away by the man, which they try to struggle free before they got forced into the limo.
As the limo took off, the Runners recovered from their abduction as Itzal asks in anger, "Hey! Who are you and why did you just kidnapped us?!"
Then, the man shows his arm to the Runners, revealing his own RunCom, much to the others' shock.
"I was sent by Ms. Reyheart to get you three. You are needed at the CodeX United immediately."
"So you're just sending us to Ms. Reyheart? Should she have call us through our RunCom or something?" Jordan asked in confusion.
"Because it's a very serious mission, I can't give the details."
"Well I'd like to talk to Ms. Reyheart about this grabbing us thing when we get there."
"Me too. You're lucky nobody saw you guys, or they're be big trouble from this," Itzal said.
Later, at CodeX United, in Tina's office the Runners had arrived.
"Excellent, you're all here," she said.
"Um, Ms. Reyheart before you get into the mission brief, we'd like to talk to you about they way you had your guys fetch us," Zeus said.
"Yeah, just grabbing us and carrying us away like that, that's sort of like kidnapping," Itzal said. "Somebody could have seen what happened"
"And my dad's a cop, so if he ever assumed I was kidnapped, he'd have the entire force running around trying to find me," Jordan finished.
"Well I'm sorry about that, but we have an urgent situation," Tina said as she turned toward the TV screen of her office. "A lab in our company's Chicago branch was broken into last night."
"Was there anything taken?" Zeus asked.
"Nothing taken, but something was copied and download from the computers."
"What?" Itzal asked.
"The hypnosis program for ULO," she told them.
"Hmm, what would somebody want with that?" Zeus thought.
"Did the cameras catch the guy's face?" Jordan asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Which is why you are all heading to Chicago to investigate."
Unknown to the Runners, a cloaked figure approaches to them slowly as Zeus asks, "Well, is there anything you like to add for safety precautions?"
"Yes, because of the police is investigating the lab against my wishes, I suggest you three need to sneak in to the lab to get in," Tina explained as she pulls out 3 ID cards from her desk. "And if you are spotted by our scientists, show these IDs to confirm your identities. They might able to help you investigate."
She then throws the IDs to the Runners, which they catched it as Jordan says, "Thanks a lot, Ms. Reyheart! We'll find the culprit who copied my favorite game's hypnosis pro-"
She was quickly interrupted when Jordan, Itzal, and Zeus are suddenly grabbed by the same figure who snuck up on them. As they recovered, they saw the figure's true form: a samurai-like robot.
"Since when we are invaded by a robot samurai?!" Jordan asks in shock.
"I dunno, but it messed with the wrong Runners," Zeus said as he drew his -Light Katana- and Jordan drew her -Ice Crystal Blade-. They both got into combat postion and then ran and slashed at the robot multiple times. The robot quickly blocked all of their attacks, and then pushed them back. It then charged at superspeed and unleash it's own flurry of attacks with its fists. Jordan and Zeus parried as many blows as they could, but eventually the robot broke through their defenses, and started beating them down hard, before kicking them away.
"Jordan, Zeus!" Itzal shouts in shock and worry after he saw his friends are defeated, which it turns into anger as he saw the robot. "Okay, no more Mr. Nice Spy!"
He summons his secondary weapon, a sword called -Black Ice Blade-, which is a black sword with a purple diamond on the hilt and a black moon-shaped crystal as a pommel.
"Let's dance, you bucket of bolts!" he taunted to the robotic samurai.
This time, the robot attacked first with it's own flurry of attacks. Itzal back-flipped and dodged all of them. He then came at the robot with his blade and sliced of both of it's legs and it's left arm. Standing over the robot, Itzal prepare to plunge his sword in it's chest to finish it off.
"Stop!" Tina cried, stopping Itzal.
After the robot is defeated, it was able to recover and says, "The dark one is strong and skilled. The water and light ones are weak and need improvement."
Jordan and Zeus become very angry at what the robot when it suddenly turns off by itself as Tina approaches them.
"Sorry about that," she said. "This is one of our training robots. It fights and then analyzes it's opponents fighting skills and levels."
"Well what's it doing here?" Itzal asked.
"This one unfortunately has tended to go rogue and I've been meaning to have it reprogrammed."
"Well you might wanna do that ASAP, before it attacks somebody again," Jordan said.
"I agree," Zeus collaborated.
"And before you go, I need to tell you something," Tina said in a serious tone. "If word got out that the hypnosis program is copied, not only it will sever the company and the game's reputation, but it will increase the chance of the program stolen or copied to criminals around the world. So whatever you do, don't let the police know the true colors of this robbery."
"Noted," Itzal said as the three left her office. As they exited the building itself, Jordan and Zeus were still pretty angry about their defeat at the hands of the robot.
"I still cannot believe I got beaten by a machine," Jordan growled.
"Me neither, and I have the most experience here," Zeus agreed. "And how could it say we were weak?"
"And needed improvement. I'm one of the best players of ULO for crying out loud."
"Guys, will you cool it?" Itzal said.
"Easy for you to say," Zeus said. "That robot loved you!"
"Yeah, you beat it so easily," Jordan added in.
"I know, but I don't care about it's criticism. Although I don't want to take sides, but the robot is right," Itzal said. "Judging from your moves back there and seeing that the robot has a special A.I. capable to analyze it's opponents' skills, it somehow able to beat you two because you seem to just charge right in and start attacking head on ."
Despite the two are now more angry at what Itzal said, they calmed down after realizing that he's right.
"Well, I do need help at improving my fighting skills," Jordan said in dismay.
"And I need to work on my swordmanship a little bit," Zeus added. "But let's talk about that later after we're done with the investigation. Chicago's calling us and we need to get there fast."
"Right!" Jordan and Itzal said as Zeus creates a portal in front of them as they stepped into it, transporting them to Chicago.
At the streets of Chicago, the Runners in their avatar forms use their enhanced speed to get to the high-tech computer lab.
"Alright, Runners. The sooner we'll finish this mission, the sooner we'll get back to school for Calla's play," Jordan said in determination.
"I don't know, Jordan. Calla in an one-man play who's main role is already taken? I doubt her role isn't pretty," Itzal said in worry.
"Hey, Calla is my new best friend. And whatever she's in, I'll support her all the way."
"In that case, we can't let you support her alone."
"Yeah, we're friends, too, Jordan. And whoever you support, we'll do it, too," Zeus added.
"Thanks a lot, guys! Now let's wrap up this mission quick and get to that play!" she said as they arrived at their destination.
At CodeX United's Chicago lab, police are guarding the entrances, including the back door when the Runners quietly jumps to the windows and Itzal uses his Laser Razor to cut through the glass window so they can enter.
As the scientists left the lab, the Runners enters the lab through the vents after they waited as Itzal puts some kind of a watch to a table as he aims it at the sliding doors.
"My Spy Bag Ultimate Spy Watch has a motion alarm function on it, so if someone's about to enter the lab, this baby can detect it," Itzal explained to his friends.
"Thanks, Itzal."
Zeus then materializes his RunCom as he choose one of his secret apps in it and says, "With the data scanner app Ms. Reyheart gave us, we should be able to find what hypnosis program is stolen."
He then connects his RunCom to the computer of the lab with a wireless connection as Jordan says, "I hope it's not the Unimatrix Neo-Link. Like Ms. Reyheart said, we can't ruin CodeX United and ULO's reputation."
After a few seconds of scanning, his RunCom beeps in completion as Zeus takes a look at the results.
"Well it's a hypnosis program, alright," he said. "But like Jordan said, it's not the Unimatrix Neo-Link."
"Then what is it?," Jordan asked.
"A program called Tranze. It's supposed to be able to hypnotize people exposed to this special pulsing light pattern it produces."
"Whoa, high tech. Too bad we don't know who exactly copied the program"
Then, Itzal notices something at the door as he says, "But we do know that they left this ripped piece of fabric behind."
He picks up a red fabric at the door and shows it to his friends.
"Nice job, Itz! Now let's send it to Ms. Reyheart for analy-"
Suddenly, the Spy Watch gives off an alarm, which Itzal knows one thing.
"Oh no, the Spy Watch's motion alarm! Someone's coming!" Itzal said in a serious tone.
"Quick, hide and when they come get ready to make a run for it," Jordan said. They quickly ran and ducked for cover as a group of police officers entered. As soon as they opened the door, the Runners ran out taking the police by surprise.
"Hey what the–," the head officer said. "Hey stop! Get back here."
The Runners kept running and running down the hall, dodging officers and workers alike.
"We can't keep running forever, you guys. Calla's play starts soon and we gotta get back to support her," Jordan said.
"Don't worry," Zeus said. "I got a plan. This way."
They quickly turn a corner into another hall and turn into a dead-end corridor, Zeus forms a portal into the floor, taking them into an unknown location. The cops follow and see that they've vanished, mystifying them. The officers continue running down the hallway, not realizing the trio was sneaking out of a room right behind them.
"Sweet plan, Z," Itzal said.
"Thanks, Itz"
Having lost the police, the three walked back to the main hall. As soon as they reached it, however, they are quickly blocked by some scientists, which the Runners recognized them as the scientists of the Chicago CodeX United lab.
"What are you kids doing here?" one of the scientists sternly asked to the Runners.
"No wait! We're the Runners from the Los Angeles division!" Jordan explained in panic.
Then the three show their IDs Tina gave them earlier as Zeus added, "We got the IDs to prove it! We're being sent here by Councilwoman Reyheart about the break-in."
Realizing that they are telling the truth upon seeing the IDs, the scientist apologizes, "I'm sorry about that kids. You must be the new Runners from the Black and White Union, correct?"
"Yes. And we're just finished with the investigation and now, with the police on our tail, we can't return to L.A.," Itzal explained to the scientists.
"Well, is anyone of you have the special ability to create portals?" another one of the scientists asks.
"That would be me. But I need a 15 minute recharge before I can do it again," Zeus said.
"Well follow us," the head scientist said. The group lead the trio to the roof to where a small chopper stood ready.
"This helicopter is specially modified to go 30% faster than a regular chopper would. It'll get you back to L.A. in 45 minutes to an hour."
"Wow, thanks a lot, guys!" Jordan said in gratitude. "You really saved us back there."
"Your welcome. And please, catch this culprit before he uses that copied program for his evil deeds," the scientist said.
"Tell Ms. Reyheart to say hi for us and to tell her that we have complete trust in you, Runners," the other scientist said with trust.
"Will do," Itzal said as the Runners climbed into the chopper and it flew of back to Los Angeles.
A/N: Now that their investigation is over, there's only one thing to do while wait for the results: watching the play! What kind of role Calla get? Stay tuned and review!