Later

"I scanned the rear and sides, here's what I got." Arnold started as he came back toward his beloved. "The Cobra Drone has enough firepower to rip the Hybrid and any of our vehicles to shreds, and the armor is too thick for any weapon to penetrate head-on, but here's the interesting part."

"What is it?" Rhonda raised an eyebrow curiously. "There's a weakness like in any other one of their drones. The drone's rear exhaust port leads directly toward the power core of the entire tank, the engine in other words. One well-placed shot with the 60mm cannon should take it out." He finished. Rhonda briefly held his hand. "Be careful, sweetie." She gave a peck on his cheek.

Soon, he got inside the Hybrid as the engine fired up and raced behind the Cobra drone.

"Sir, I suggest using the radar to keep track of its movements." Impulse suggested. "One step ahead of ya, buddy." He replied.

Soon, he was behind the new Cobra drone. The Hybrid switched to battle mode, and its headlights switched from blue to bright red.

Within a few seconds, the weapons system locked onto the rear exhaust port that led to the power core of the drone.

POW

KA-POW

BOOM

One bullet from the 60-millimeter cannon was all it took. The power core ignited and exploded the entire tank into flames, pieces, and burning debris.

"Cobra scout destroyed? Impossible! We know what caliber rounds that tank uses, the armor was impenetrable!" The Militia commander said through the hacked network.

"Are you stupid? You can't just roll a single heavy unit out on the streets and expect him to be crushed under it. They're better than that! Initiate stage two attack protocols. Deploy all Cobra units in group formation." Haidra ordered.

"Sir, the Cloudburst device should be ready in a matter of minutes." A soldier told her.

"Rhonda, head back now. I'll take care of the rest of the Cobra drones, alert the others. Have Ariel get the Hyperjet ready, I want it deployed soon to search for the Cloudburst tank." Shadow told her through the earpiece.

"Copy."

Soon, the Hybrid raced off to find the other Cobra drones that were in group formation, while the QR Jet took off back to the lair.

While the Hybrid was out searching for the Cobra drones in battle mode, The QR Jet landed in the lair.

"Impulse, stop the simulation for now, we have big problems forming here." Rhonda started. Her parents were down in the lair, and so were her in-laws, Miles and Stella.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Brooke looked over. "Everyone, to me."

Everyone walked over to her.

"What seems to be the problem?" Sapphire shrugged.

"Guys, the Militia has deployed new tougher tanks, and the Cloudburst device is bound to hit the streets. This entire city is in imminent danger!"

"If that gas releases into the city, it'll be like the dead rising from the grave!" Spinelli mentioned. "Only two things keep you safe from that fear gas, high above the gas, or underground like us right now." Gerald remembered the night of the Hexion chemical plant.

"Impulse, initiate safety protocols for both the lair and the mansion. No one goes back upstairs if the Cloudburst is released." Rhonda directed. "Ariel, Phoebe, prep the Hyperjet immediately! Shadow wants it deployed soon, and we'll need it to search for the Cloudburst."

"Already on it!" Phoebe went to the main monitors. Ariel followed behind. "Warren, Montgomery, I know this may sound scary, but trust me, you're with the best team, and if it weren't for us, you two would probably would've been exposed to the toxin."

"Can't say we faced fires worse than this but hey, we always see something weirder and weirder on the job." Travis replied. "So all we do is stay down here?" Warren asked. The Hyperjet's engine roared to life as it soon took with Impulse on the controls.

"Do exactly as she says." Stella replied. "The amount of danger that's rising here…" Miles mentioned.

"Did it HURT seeing your grandparents' graves?" Haidra started over the hacked network. "'Cause soon enough, you'll be joining them." The voice went deep.

POW

KA-POW

BOOM

"Cobra offline! I got support nearby. I'm sending it in." The Commander said.

The Cobra drone was dispatched to the last known location of the previous Drone.

The Hybrid eventually found it and snuck up behind it slowly. The weapon system locked onto the rear exhaust port.

POW

KA-POW

BOOM

"Whatever you're planning won't be enough." Haidra started. "You can't fix this. Tonight ends with Hillwood's end! And me… Watching you DIE." The voice went deep again.

"Shadow, I want you on the roofs for the meanwhile, I need you to scout for the Cloudburst. The Militia have deployed it." Miles told him. "I'm sending Sapphire to join you."

The Hyperjet flew overhead as it scanned the city. "Copy." He ejected from the Hybrid and onto a roof.

Within a couple of minutes, Sapphire found her secret crush.

"Hey there, handsome." She smiled. Arnold blushed a little. "Anything while you flew over here?"

"Nothing that I know of." Star Sapphire shrugged. "Let's keep an eye out for the meantime, I'm afraid it'll strike before we know where it is."

"What about the Hybrid?" She asked. "It'll be fine. It's not like it doesn't have its defense protocols." He smirked. "You are one smart, charming man, you know that?" Sapphire bit her lip with a flirty look.

Arnold gulped as he gave a nervous smile. Despite being married, he somehow knew how to attract the ladies. For instance, Spinelli, Ariel, Phoebe, and Sapphire. While Phoebe may not show her secretive crush, she knew he was cute. Spinelli didn't care about hiding and wanted him to know, and to her surprise, she got to kiss his lips. Twice. Ariel didn't confess as she was rather scared of what that would do to their friendship. But whenever she gets a chance, she always secretly flirts with him. And Sapphire… She's a love lantern, and it's in her nature to love, but she was certainly still in love with Arnold despite the minor problem she caused when she first arrived. And despite that, all she wished for was to kiss his soft lips once.

Later That Night

It was nearing nighttime, Arnold and Star Sapphire were still out on the rooftops searching for the cloudburst, the Hyperjet didn't pick up anything either.

Back at the lair, everyone was down in the lair as it was mandatory since they didn't know when the cloudburst would strike, or if…

"What's on your mind, Arnold? You look… rather tense." Sapphire noticed. "I'm sorry, Star. I was just thinking back to what Rhonda told me earlier today, and I was just thinking of how those scenarios would play out."

"Scenarios? What scenarios?" She raised an eyebrow. Arnold yelped. "D'uh- I uh…" He cleared his throat. "Nevermind, it was just something rather weird she told."

"Ok…" Sapphire shrugged.

Fast beeping went off on their forearms.

"Sir, the Hyperjet's onboard scanners have picked up something. It's the Cloudburst tank. You'll want to see this." Impulse said.

The onboard scanners and footage were pulled up, and the street address was familiar. Arnold wanted to say he knew what the address was but was rather unsure. Sapphire looked over his shoulder.

"Scans are revealing the tank is manned and emitting a massive amount of energy." Impulse said as the onboard scanners showed the big tank.

"Haidra. She must be inside that tank." Shadow replied.

KA-BOOM

KA-POW

POW

BOOM

A big ball of smoke was seen in the distance, the Cloudburst released its toxin.

The entire cloud of gas spread across the city in a matter of seconds, with dust flying all over the place.

"SAPPHIRE, GET DOWN!" The two took cover as the cloud of toxin was spreading throughout the city.

Everyone on the streets was caught up in it, and were attacking one another, seeing their fears and even worse things… Every vehicle on the streets wasn't safe, including the Hybrid.

Sparks flew everywhere from every car, truck, bus, and every vehicle as their engines fritzed out. The Hybrid's headlights shut off as sparks flew out of the vehicle, and it was even lightly pushed from the toxin cloud. The main power core was shut off from the gas cloud.

The Hyperjet's onboard scanners and cameras fritzed out as well as the gas was now interfering with all technology.

Shadow and Sapphire stood up as they saw a horrific sight. The entire city was covered in an orange-brownish fear toxin. The entire sky was also the color of the toxin cloud covering the city. Everyone back in the lair was wide-eyed and their jaws dropped.

"Welcome, Hillwood…" Alastor started. "… To the City of FEAR!"

"I- I have never seen a chemical agent disperse so fast…" Phoebe radioed, extremely surprised. "It's bad…" Arnold replied.

"Shadow, the power core of the Hybrid was burnt out from the toxin, you have anything in mind, genius?" Spinelli mentioned. "We're heading over to BlackJack airships, mainly after Dr. Rash. He created the Cloudburst, he'll have the means to destroy it." Shadow replied as his armor wrapped around his suit.

"Come on." Shadow briefly held Sapphire's hand. He soon flew off, leaving Sapphire with a blush on her cheeks. She took off behind him.

"Do you see this, Shadow? Your own poisoned, desolate city? people tearing out each other's throats, their own throats? The world sees this too. Next, the world will see what happens to the man who tries to stop me. And when it does, the world will know fear. You aren't fighting for Hillwood tonight. You are fighting for every desperate fool who thinks their fears come to pass, a hero will come save them. And you're losing." Alastor said menacingly through intercoms throughout the city.

"Boy, these guys want you dead, huh?" Sapphire looked over. "Not if I can help it." Shadow flew toward the airships which were still hooked by the Militia. Sapphire admired Arnold and sighed lovingly. She then shifted her focus back to the airships.

Shadow then stopped. "Entrance is guarded by Militia soldiers… Hey, Star. Mind crashing in?" He smirked. "One step ahead of you, hun." She gave a peck on his cheek, causing him to blush. She then charged at the entrance and formed a fist.

"LOOK OUT, IT'S- EUGH!" Several soldiers were knocked out by Sapphire's landing, Shadow landed beside her.

"Heads up!" She threw a soldier into the air. Shadow jumped up, grabbed the soldier, and slammed his face into the ground.

"I'll break your kneecaps with this!" A soldier said while holding a metal pipe. Sapphire immediately snatched away the pipe with a formed hand. She then kept it.

Shadow yanked the soldier's arm and snapped his arm into two, breaking it. Sapphire handed over the metal pipe.

"Oh, Shadow! We got a lucky dog here!" She called out. He smirked.

He soon approached the soldier as Sapphire stepped back and admired Arnold.

Shadow hit the soldier with his pipe, grabbed him and held him in the air for a moment, and slammed his back onto the ground, dropping the pipe. Shadow grabbed the pipe and used it to break the soldier's leg.

CRASH

Sapphire had slammed a brute soldier into the wall.

"Look at him. He probably broke facial bones he didn't know he even had!" She chuckled. Arnold only chuckled as well. "Come one." He then gave a small peck on her cheek and smirked while he walked toward the entrance.

"Looks like Rash knew we would be back." Sapphire mentioned. "Want me to-"

"Hang on, we're not using brute force here. I got this." He pulled out a voice synthesizer device. "Something I picked up off a soldier. Give me a minute here…" Sapphire smiled as she wanted to kiss him.

"Rash Jones. Open." The voice synthesizer ordered. The doors opened on command. "You are so smart, you know that?" Sapphire wanted to feel his tongue on her while she bit her lip.

They soon entered a room full of armed soldiers.

Arnold cracked his fists. "This one's for Spinelli." He smirked. Sapphire looked around the room as she clenched her fist. "Let's get to work on these fools." She smirked at Shadow.

Back at HQ

Brooke managed to find one of Arnold's jackets from down in the lair as she was feeling rather cold.

"DAMMIT!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I've run every diagnostic for the Hyperjet, I can't figure out what's with it right now, or how to fix it!"

"Just keep your cool here, Pheebs. You'll eventually figure something out." Spinelli rubbed her back. "I just hope Arnold's doin' alright." Spinelli added.

"Rhonda honey, what materials are these jackets made out of? They're surprisingly soft and comfortable!" Brooke mentioned. "Why do you have on Arnold's jacket, and isn't it a little bigger for your size?" Rhonda asked. "You look like those teenage girls when they borrow their boyfriend's jackets." She added.

"I guess this is how you felt during high school." Brooke smirked. "Mom!" Rhonda blushed. "She does have a point. I remember the look on your face when you had Arnold's jackets on." Buckley chuckled.

"Dad…"

"AUGH!" A soldier had his head slammed toward a railing for a knockout smash.

"There were twelve, now just two." Shadow grappled up. He grappled over toward a different vantage point.

"This is comedy gold here." He smirked to himself. Sapphire gave a thumbs up to him. Shadow dropped down and pounded both his fists into one soldier's face. He yanked over a medic and crushed his head against the ground. He dusted off his hands.

"Hey, Shadow!" She motioned him over. He soon walked over to where Sapphire was. She pointed at a floor vent that was misplaced. They nodded at each other.

They stomped over to the misplaced vent. Sapphire ripped off the vent from the floor. Dr. Rash was hiding there. They gave an infuriated look. Shadow yanked him out by the throat.

"Get the hell over here!" He held Rash by his clothing. He slammed his back against a cage. "TELL US HOW TO STOP THE CLOUDBURST, or so help me I will hold you responsible for every single person Alastor killed…!" He said in a menacing tone.

"It- It's surrounded by a nimbus field! It helps spread the toxin, amplify the effects. Any vehicle not using a nimbus cell will be fried!" Dr. Rash replied. "So you won't mind if we take one?" Sapphire raised an eyebrow while her other eyelid lowered.

"No! Of course not! By all means!" He pointed to his right. Shadow then opened the cage he had Rash pinned against and threw him in it and locked the cage.

Sapphire had taken out the nimbus cell, which was an exact fit for the Hybrid's power core. She handed it gently to Arnold.

"Guys, Dr. Rash has given us a way to take on the Cloudburst." Shadow went on his earpiece. "Given? How kind." Spinelli replied. "I'm heading back to the Hybrid. I'll have to find a way to fit this nimbus cell into the main power drive."

Spinelli yelped. "Arnold, you do realize that the toxin will be absorbed through the suits fibers, right? Nothing keeps you safe from that gas, not even Sapphire! If you're in there too long, who knows what'll happen!" She replied. "Then I work fast." His comms cut out.

"Shadow, you're not serious, right?…" Sapphire asked, nervously. "If it gets the Hybrid running, I have to." He exhaled. "Come on."

"I knew Arnold was bold, but up until this point, is there anything that describes him anymore?" Brooke asked. "That's Arnold for you. He'd rather stare down a gun to the face rather than let one of us bleed out." Spinelli replied. Brooke yelped. "You know exactly what you said…" She lowered her eyelids.

Later

Shadow and Sapphire were on a rooftop above the Hybrid.

Sapphire held his hand. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" She whimpered. "I have no choice." He briefly rubbed her hand. He soon let go.

His earpiece went off. "Arnold, I seriously hope you aren't planning what I think you're planning. It would be wrong, dangerous, and reckless, even by your standards." It was his mother-in-law, Brooke. "Mom, I have no choice!"

"Listen to me, young man! Even if that gas doesn't incapacitate you immediately, who knows the long-term psychological trauma you'll suffer by then! You were already exposed once, and I don't want this to happen again! Arnold, please!" Brooke pleaded. "I love you, Mom…" His earpiece cut out.

Arnold looked over to Sapphire. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "I seriously don't know if I'll make out but… Just know that I love you all." Arnold then pressed his lips on Sapphire's lips, catching her by surprise.

He soon separated from her, let go of her waist, and gave one last kiss on her cheek. He then dropped from the rooftop.

"SHADOW, WAIT!" Sapphire tried reaching him, but he already disappeared into the toxin cloud.