Sun shone through her window. Mahina ignored them, focused on the map of the island in front of her. A radio reported facts in a dull murmur. Mahina kept track of it, pushing push pins all over it. Not many places, but a few distinct spots.
Mahina spent a year working alongside some of the smartest human minds on Earth. Each of them with their own set of skills that Mahina absorbed like a needy sponge. One such skill involved triangulating patterns to determine locations. She pinned the Birds of Paradise Hotel, then put pins backwards.
Around the bulletin board were hastily scribbled drawings. Vague outlines of places around the island. She connected them with blue pins and string, tracing the path that Lilo & Stitch took in the movie. A chaotic path, darting back and forth around the island. They were definitely two kids that hadn't figured out tracking.
Mahina listened to the radio again. It reported another sort of electrical attack. Mahina pinned a yellow push pin on the map. That certainly helped her out. It gave a more exact area of attack, along with a possible projection of Sparky's flight path.
Grabbing a pen, Mahina mapped that line out. The spots most likely to get noticed by Sparky until he arrived at Birds of Paradise.
She heard a knock from downstairs. Mahina tucked as much as she could into her desk. With her work space cleaned, she rushed off downstairs. She paused to make sure she dressed in normal clothes instead of her pajamas or normal dresses. Professionalism counted more here than comfort.
Mahina ran past Nani to reach the door first. She maintained a calm expression, swinging the door open.
"Cobra Bubbles." Mahina greeted, politely nodding.
"You called." Cobra deadpanned.
Nani came up behind Mahina. "Cobra! How are you?"
"Sleepy." Cobra replied.
Nani blushed. "Oh. Sorry."
"Next time, we'll tell the kidnappers to wait until you're awake." Mahina offered.
Cobra stared blankly. Or glared. The sunglasses were terrible for telling his facial expressions. His knuckles did uncurl, just a bit. That's his amused expression.
Pleakley rushed down the hallway. They threw themselves at Bubbles' feet. "Cobra! Thank goodness. It's terrible! Just terrible! Jumba's been-"
"Kidnapped."
"That's right. By-"
"Dr. Hämsterviel."
"And he's demanding a-"
"Ransom."
"Of the-"
"Other experiments."
Pleakley narrowed their one eye on the agent. "You're good. How do you know all that stuff?" Pleakley asked.
Mahina reasoned it's the multiple bugs around the house. She spent a week playing a game with Bubbles of finding every bug, moving them to a different spot, and seeing how long it took him to notice. Eventually, the agent took Mahina aside to explain that they needed to stay there. Mahina played innocent child, saying it was weird but agreeing 'cause an adult said so.
"Information is power. And I like power." Bubbles supplied as an answer.
Mahina tugged on his sleeve. "What'd we do next?"
She knew exactly what should happen next, from the plot of the movie. Her training in the FBI gave her a more detailed description of what needed to happen next. The goal of most hostage negotiations is to release the hostages while capturing the suspect, preferably in their escape.
Capturing the demented hamster was the goal. Mahina believed that completely. The safety of the hostages mattered- Jumba, and the 625 experiments. The state that the hamster ended up in? Well that's going to be up for debate. Granted, Mahina had no gun to attack him with, she could improvise. Home Alone his ass, that'll be fun to brag about to Pops.
"Wait for Hämsterviel's next call." Bubbles instructed them. He lowered his head, focusing the sunglasses on Mahina. "Once we have the rendezvous location Pleakley and I will exchange all the remaining experiments for Jumba."
"Pleakley? But he's my dad." Mahina argued.
"It's against policy to bring children on missions." Bubbles stated. A reminder for Mahina, who knew the policy back and forth. "From there, we follow the governmental procedure."
"And what's the governmental procedure?" Pleakley asked. Bubbles stared forward, face unflinching and fingers uncurling. Pleakley laughed awkwardly. "Classified. Right."
Lilo and Stitch walked into the living room. Mahina was grateful for their arrival. She needed somebody to distract her from this rage. Yeah, she'd sneak out to the negotiation anyway, it's just nice to be invited to things. Mahina wanted to save her dad- it would happen with or without Bubbles' permission.
"This is now an intergalactic incident. You are to take no further action... other than what I have indicated." He lowered his glasses to give "Is that clear, Mahina and Lilo?"
Mahina put on a smile. A well practiced, picture perfect smile of innocence.
"Yep. Mahina, me, and Stitch are gonna go out and play. And not take further action." Lilo wrapped her arm around Mahina's back. She guided the other girl towards the door.
"Won't do a thing!" Mahina waved at Bubbles. The door slammed behind them.
Stitch stuck his head through the dog door. "No action."
Lilo let go of Mahina, running down the stairs. "That kidnapper wants all the experiments. We've got to find the sparky little electrical one... we lost or no Jumba. We've gotta search the entire island." She stopped them at the foot of the stairs. "Mahina, did you invent anything to help us look for 221?"
Mahina tilted her head. "No." She thought about it last night. Of building a device similar to the container. It detected when they activated, so that meant it could detect either the release of energy from being re-hydrated, or the use of their powers. There's dozens of designs in her head for ways to track that specifically, or to detect the energy fluctuations associated with Sparky.
But the family didn't need Mahina Jookiba's skills. They needed Megan Quinn. Megan Quinn could find the experiment with her eyes closed.
Mahina reached into her shorts pocket. She brought out a neatly folded map. As her two friends watched, she unfurled it to reveal the map of their city. "I researched local spots of power outages, or people who couldn't turn stuff on this morning."
Lilo stared at the marked up map. She really expected Mahina to have built something cool. Cooler than a colored map.
"And see, they all point in one direction!" Mahina traced her finger along that line. "Or, it's a bit over the place, but it's almost a line! Which counts! So if we go here, we can find him!"
"How do we get there?" Lilo asked. She smiled, her and Stitch looking at Cobra's car.
Mahina stepped in their paths. "Or! Or we don't steal the car."
Lilo pouted. Stitch crossed his arms, his ears deflating beside his head. They both had the same thought- this Mahina was way less fun than normal Mahina.
"It's too obvious we're the ones that did it." Mahina warned them.
Coming straight to their home made the most sense, especially for a hostage situation while waiting for a phone call. Only Mahina knew when that call was coming- nearly a full day later. Bubbles could do anything else with that time- drive around time, step outside to catch up with the Grand Council, anything. It's better to not take the car. Besides, later Bubbles and Pleakley would need to drive fast. Getting to the hostage negotiation spot mattered much more to Mahina than driving around in a cop car.
"But then how are we gonna catch the experiment?" Lilo asked.
Mahina smiled then. "Well...guess who fixed the hovercrafts?"
Lilo and Stitch beamed at her. Mahina made the right choice, she decided, in not being Mahina Jookiba for a few hours. She only needed to last a little while longer.
==M!TF==
Mahina flipped the switch again. The three hovercrafts instantly blended in with the world around them. She turned another switch to lift her craft up in the air. Lilo and Stitch floated up beside her, giggling as they hovered in the air. The speaker in her hovercraft kept the three of them connected, and kept their ships soundproof.
"Okay. You two remember the-"
Stitch let out a loud hollering laugh. From Mahina's detection, he was flying his hovercraft in circles around the lawn. She hid a wince.
"-the plan for-"
Lilo started doing the same. Her and Stitch chasing each other around in the air.
Mahina grit her teeth. "Remember the-" More laughter from her housemates. Mahina reminded herself that she was a grown adult, and these were children. She's an adult, these were children.
Another bark of laughter.
Yep. She's an adult, time to be an adult.
"Hey!" Mahina snapped. The two other hovercrafts stopped. They turned to her. "We're on a mission! Be professional!" They pouted. Their disappointment did little to change her mind. "Now, to the trail!"
She sent her overcraft off. The comms let her hear the immediate complaint.
"This Mahina is a lot less fun."
She's not Mahina. She's SSA Megan Quinn. Megan's not supposed to be fun. Megan saved people, and that's it. Fun was something you got to do when people weren't dying.
==M!TF==
She hovered over the Birds of Paradise hotel. People were beginning to retreat, but in smaller droves than before. Lilo made a noise of surprise. Mahina tried not to take it personally. She's not just good at building stuff. Mahina got to build all the weird tech her heart desired. Megan had a fucking job to do.
They landed the Hovercrafts behind nearby bushes. Lilo pointed at the screaming crowd.
"That way?"
Mahina was already gone. Stitch quickly behind her.
==M!TF==
Sparky was actually very easy to catch. Lilo got a glass jar meant for flowers. Stitch distracted him. Mahina grabbeda phone, dropping it in the jar as bait. Sparky leapt into the jar. Lilo flipped it around to keep him from escaping again. Mahina even provided a lid from somewhere nobody noticed.
They carried him in Mahina's hovercraft to the house. Bringing him to Lilo and Stitch's room was mentioned, before Mahina asked how to get them by the adults without them noticing and still parking the hovercrafts away. They settled on Mahina's lower room, conveniently right by the hovercraft charging ports.
Mahina stared at Sparky and Stitch. Sparky snarled and hissed at them for a good long while. The blue experiment flopped his ears down. Sparky copied the act. They glanced at Mahina. She pointed to her flat ears.
Stitch grew his extra arms. Sparky watched, then copied. Mahina just raised up her arms like they did.
Stitch used his tongue to pick his nose. Sparky copied without hesitation, and so did Mahina.
Stitch turned to Mahina, curious. Mahina nodded.
"Cousin!" They both cheered. They hugged the jar, wrapping Sparky's jar in a hug sandwich. Hugging a jar was different to hugging a person. Mahina wished all hugs were like this.
Whelp, decision made. Mahina needed to protect this little yellow guy all her life. Protect him, all their other cousins, and her dad. Their dad? Were they cousins, or siblings? Mahina liked being an only child, so cousins suited them better. Maybe? She needed to talk to Jumba about that.
Lilo tapped her shoulder. Mahina jumped away from the hug, standing at attention for Lilo.
She held up a sketchbook. A yellow outline of Sparky was on it, almost half filled with red.
"Ah. He's definitely a cousin if he gets a badness chart." Mahina cheered.
Lilo nodded. "As you can see, it's not nearly as bad as Stitch's was." She showed off the full red outline of their friend.
Stitch preened at his character growth.
"And your's." Lilo flipped the page again. A new outline was there, down in blue. Mahina gawked at a human-ish shape. A gingerbread outline with long hair, made to look like her. This was about 76% evil.
"Whoa! Why do I get so much?"
"You worked with aliens that wanted to take Stitch away."
"Yeah but I didn't wanna take him away."
"That's why you went down." Lilo explained.
Now Mahina was deeply offended and weirdly praised. "How long ago did you make this? I've known you for a year, why didn't I know?"
Lilo shrugged.
Mahina would dive into that later. So much later. "How much did I go down?" Why did I ask that? I won't like the answer.
"Oh basically to the bottom." Lilo said. It did actually help. Mahina preened too, glad that while Lilo did see her as 'bad' that Mahina redeemed herself. Somehow. Again, getting into it later. "Too bad we have to give you away."
"No!" Stitch held tighter to the jar.
"What do you mean, no?" Lilo asked. "We gotta get Jumba back."
"Cousin. Ohana." Stitch insisted.
Lilo looked to Mahina. "What about you?"
Mahina checked the yellow experiment. His antennae lit up with blue sparks, dancing along the long lines. His big, bug-like eyes blinked at her.
"I think I have a better idea." Mahina said.
Lilo pouted. "Like the one where we don't hotwire Cobra's car?"
Mahina grinned. "You'll definitely like this."
"What is it?"
"I'll tell you later." Mahina nodded at the jar, walking up to look at Sparky again. "We just gotta get Sparky to go with it."
"Sparky?" Lilo asked.
Mahina paused. Fuck, hadn't meant to say that. She turned to Lilo. "You got to name Stitch." She said quickly.
"You know what? You're right." Lilo stood by Mahina. She smiled at Sparky. "It's like I said... we're all one big happy family."
A big, happy family. Mahina liked that. She liked that very, very much. She'll think about that later too.
==M!TF==
They waited for the call. Mahina kept the kids distracted. The hours they would've spent distracted were cut short by Mahina's own actions. They spent the time instead playing with Sparky, getting his 'badness' level to lower. It seemed to be doing a lot.
The phone finally rang. Mahina dropped the game of Hangman they were playing, running out of her room. The others followed. Maybe. She didn't care.
"It's the call! The call!" Pleakley shouted. They grabbed the phone. "I'll get it! I'll get it!"
Mahina let them. She recalled her notes. The first call was for Pleakley. The second was Hämsterviel. She just needed to wait. The rest of the house came by as Pleakley tossed the phone up in their rush, barley catching it.
Pleakley held the phone. They looked at Cobra, unsure.
"Be calm. Get the rendezvous information, then hang up." Cobra instructed them.
Pleakley nodded. "Calm, rendezvous, hang up. Here I go." They pressed a button, holding the phone to their head. "Hello-o-o?"
"Hello, Mr Pleakley. Hi. This is the 'New You Wonder Girdle Company' calling regarding your order."
"Oh! Wrong number." Pleakley ended the call, tossing the phone in the air. Mahina caught it. "Girdle? I wouldn't need a girdle for my disguise because it's an undergarment. Why would I use a girdle?"
The phone rang again. Cobra tried reaching for it. Mahina dodged, answering the phone. "Hello. How are you, Dr Hämsterviel?"
"Hämsterviel! Hämsterviel!" The evil hamster yelled into the phone.
"That's what I said." Mahina replied. She worked hard on the pronunciations. It's a sore subject for the rodent, and the last thing she wanted right now was to anger him.
"You again! You pilfering piece of-" He continued spitting out terrible insults. They didn't hurt her feelings, they were literally terrible. The kind of things middle schoolers write on bathroom walls, but also they're too scared to swear.
"Thank you, Mr Hämsterviel, for my nasty names." Mahina spoke up, cutting off his next tirade. "You said you wanted something for P- for Jumba?" Exposing her and Jumba's familial connection could mean bad news for everybody. She didn't want to give Hämsterviel any sort of leg up.
Hämsterviel yelled out his demands, and then the location and time that Mahina memorized weeks ago. He curtly hung up the phone too. Mahina never even got to say anything.
"The lighthouse in ten minutes, don't be late." Mahina reported. She ran back to her room.
She packed her bag the night before. In between meticulous plotting of Sparky's path, and her latest identity crisis, she tucked away items into a go-bag. An instinct that stayed with her from her old job, and from living on the streets those weeks before Jumba.
She came downstairs to find only Nani at the door.
She got bad vibes. Lilo and Stitch stumbled in after.
"Where's Pleakley and Cobra?" Mahina asked.
"They went to the lighthouse to get Jumba back." Nani answered.
Her hand tightened on the bag. She expected it, but it still irritated her. "But-"
"I've got to go to work." Nani said.
"But-"
"No more buts. Just stay here." Nani ordered. She walked out of the house. The door locked behind her.
Mahina turned to the others. "Ready?"
"But they took their cars!"
Mahina tilted her head.
"...the invisible hovercrafts!" Lilo realized.
Stitch cheered.
==M!TF==
Twenty minutes later, Mahina hovered over the cliffside. She kept herself disguised. She also left anything that might be labeled a weapon at home. It's hard enough explaining why a seven year old can build so much stuff, it's harder to explain why she's got a perfect kill shot.
She'd kill Hämsterviel later. Maybe. Who knows how long she can hold a grudge? She's only twenty-seven. Did she have any grudges at 27? Well, okay, Trenton Bixby pushed her and Jimmy Cipes to the ground once in kindergarten, and she's still miffed about that. But that's totally normal.
Gantu's ship came into sight. Mahina stayed tense. Sparky sat up, staring at her hovercraft. The experiment was still in his jar. Mahina did that for her own safety. The experiment was only just barely on the good side, and her hovercraft needed to fly.
The little ship landed on the edge of the cliff. It lowered the exit walkway. Hämsterviel walked out first. Clearly, the little hamster was trying to stomp on the metal to be more intimidating. It didn't work.
"That's Hämsterwheel? He sounded much bigger on the phone." Pleakley commented.
"Stop talking about me, you gossipy pea-brains!" Hämsterviel shouted. Mahina grit her teeth behind her unmoving expression. "Do you have the ransom?"
"Do you have Jumba? That's my question to you, sir." Pleakley yelled back.
"Bring out the four-eyed fathead!" Hämsterviel called back to the ship.
Is it too late to bring a gun here?
Gantu stepped off the ship. Floating beside him in prison transport, arms locked in alien handcuffs, Jumba Jookiba. Looking a little worse for wear, after days being locked up these kooks.
Her dad was alive. Her dad was safe. He would be home too, before the hour was out. Mahina could be Mahina Jookiba again.
"Jumba, you're okay!" Pleakley cheered.
"Enough with your teary reunion." Hämsterviel snapped. "Commence with the giving me all the experiments."
Mahina turned to Sparky. "You remember the plan?"
He buzzed.
"I release you, you retreat, wait for the big yellow ship, attack its electric butt to your heart's content." Mahina stated. Sparky held up a clawed them. "Good."
Pleakkry looked at Cobra for guidance. The agent nodded. The alien carrier the prison orb to the child sized rodent.
Hämsterviel clapped. He pressed the control pad on the containment pod.
"623 experiments logged and functional."
"623? There's one missing." Hämsterviel complained.
Mahina smiled at Sparky. He smiled back, all teeth.
"My ransom demand was for all the experiments. You are trying to pull a sneaky thing." Hämsterviel accused, pointing his paw at Pleakley.
"Ha ha! What is one tiny experiment between old partners?" Jumba asked.
"Quiet. I am blaming you for this." Hämsterviel snapped. "Dispose of him." He ordered Gantu.
Gantu brought out his plasma gun. "Gladly."
"No! He's allergic to plasma blasts." Pleakley cried out.
Jumba nodded. "Listen to him. Is true."
"Don't even think about it." Mahina called out.
She and Lilo deactivated their invisibility. The hovercrafts landed by the powered down lighthouse. Mahina brought Sparky out, keeping careful hold of the large jar.
"Little evil genius!" Jumba gasped.
"As you can see, we've got the missing experiment." Lilo stated.
Mahina put the jar down on the sandy ground. She and Stitch stood guard for Sparky.
"What? Who are they?" Hämsterviel asked Gantu.
"Little Earth girls who can be gigantic pains in the rear." Gantu grumbled.
Mahina gave him a curt nod. "Dr Hämsterviel? We spoke on the phone. You called me many nasty names."
"Well done, girls." Cobra stepped over to them. He reached for something on his collar, keeping a cautious hold of it. "Now give it to the diminutive gerbil-like creature."
"Hämster-like! Not gerbil, hämster! Give it to me!" He stomped over and over on the ground.
"No." Lilo shook her head.
"You can't make us." Mahina crossed her arms.
Stitch copied her. Sparky copied them both.
"Mahina, Lilo, it's the only way you can save Jumba." Cobra advised them.
"But we got to save Sparky, too." Lilo said.
Cobra lowered his sunglasses. "You've named it?"
"Mahina named it. We're gonna name all the experiments together." Lilo stated, confident as any child with power.
Stitch nodded. "Iki pataba."
"Shut up with all your not shutting up. Hand it over." Hämsterviel yelled.
"Nope." Morgan cheered. "I'm not giving you one, or the other 623 now that I think about it."
"Girls. Do what he says." Cobra instructed.
"Whose side are you on?" Lilo asked.
"He's on saving-my-life side. Is good side." Jumba called out to them. Gantu stuck the plasma gun on his back to shut him up.
"Well we're on the side of ohana!" Mahina called back. "Why can't both sides have that?"
"You fail to comprehend the complexity of the situation." Cobra warned them.
"Maybe I understand more than you!" Mahina snapped.
"Do you want your Jumba or not? Make your choice, little girls." Hämsterviel warned. The words made her stomach roll.
He's so disgusting, actually.
"Okay. Fine." Mahina grabbed the jar. "You want him? You can have him!" She raised the jar.
Sparky flew up in the air. His electricity going off, hitting anything that dared get too close. He flew off towards land, hiding behind the tree line.
"Yeah!" Lilo cheered. "Be free, little cousin!"
"Stitch go!" Mahina ordered.
"Chuppy cheepa." Stitch ran out at them.
"Begin the shooting." Hämsterviel shouted.
Gantu moved the gun from Jumba. "Finally."
Cobra scooped up Lilo and Mahina. He carried the girls away. Mahina kicked at the hold. She could manage her own damn self! Cobra did put her down by the time they reached the safety of the car.
Stitch got the blasts. He tossed them out at Gantu. They exploded, sending the three sprawling.
Mahina rushed out.
"Mahina!" Cobra shouted.
Mahina paid no mind. She's Megan Quinn, and she saves people.
She grabbed the prison hovercraft. She dragged it away. The anti gravs helped her guide it away from Gantu and Stitch's firefight.
Jumba screamed as they ran. Mahina kept her breathing steady, moving them away. She needed him far and needed him okay. That's the mission. Stitch could handle Gantu.
She pulled her and Jumba to a stop, once they were nearer to the car. She panted, covering it up with a professional smile.
Jumba stared back at her. Concern and worry all over his face. "Little evil genius, what are you thinking!"
Mahina grinned.
Gantu blasted Cobra's car. The shot took out half the vehicle, removing the hiding spot of the others.
"Code green! Now! Now!" Cobra shouted.
The earth began to shake. Mahina stumbled, catching the prison craft for balance. A giant yellow spaceship came out from the water.
"Dr Hämsterwheel, you are hereby ordered to surrender-" Grand Councilwoman announced from the speakers.
"It's Hämsterviel, you absurd Grand Councilwoman with your large pointy collar-"
"Prepare to fire." Grand Councilwoman ordered.
The spaceship raised the large weapons. Hämsterviel yelled, scrambling to avoid the plasma blasts.
"Don't shoot! He's got Stitch and Mahina's cousins." Lilo yelled.
Mahina looked back. On cue, Sparky flew by. His blue lightning charges blasting around him. He flew into the Grand Council ship.
The ship quickly stopped firing. Sparks went off from the sides, the guns, everything that could be powered by energy. Mahina beamed, proud.
Hämsterviel started wheeling the other experiments away to the ship.
That's her cue.
She clicked buttons on the prisoner device. All at once, it fell to the ground. The cuffs too. Mahina started to move away but Jumba swept her up in his big arms.
"Gah-" She yelped.
"This is Cobra. 10-13. 10-13." Cobra stood up, walking closer towards the ship.
Mahina gave him another moment for the hug.
Pleakley brought Lilo & Stitch over to them.
"Thank goodness. Our little broken family is back together." Pleakley cheered, wiping a tear from their eye.
"I have family." Jumba agreed. He squeezed tighter to Mahina. "Yes, little evil genius, we are family."
Mahina pushed at his arms. Jumba, on command, let her go. Her feet his sand, she started running.
"Little evil genius!" Jumba yelled out. "Wait! Where you going?"
"We have more family!" Mahina yelled. She pointed at Gantu's ship. "I'm getting them back! Nobody left behind!"
"Yeah, come on Stitch!" Lilo grabbed his blue claw. The two rushed to join Mahina.
"Lilo! Mahina!" Cobra
The ship started to rise. The walkway began to close back up.
Mahina pushed herself. Closer. Closer. Closer!
"Lilo!" Cobra shouted. "Mahina!"
Mahina jumped. She caught the path. Reaching back, she got Stitch. Stitch and Mahina helped Lilo aboard. Just in time for the ship to close properly. Them all inside.
Three against two (everyone knows 625 doesn't count).
==M!TF==
AN: Hey guys! I wrote this during Hurricane Ian, with my power out and battery dying.
Sorry for any delays, but I've been working a lot of hours to afford rent and stuff. Being an adult sucks.