The Dragon Riders were currently in the Lair listening to Jun's presentation on dragons.
"Yes, they are fantastic!" she said. "Many so-called myths are actually real stories, or at least based on them. And we can use these stories to better understand dragons. In that spirit, Mom, I hope you consider me as a trusted advisor in the quest to learn more about these great creatures."
She then looked at the others hopefully. "How was that?"
"Woohoo!" Tom cheered.
"That was on point," said D'Angelo, clapping.
"You crushed it," said Alex.
"It was textbook," said James.
"Yeah. You almost convinced me," said Eugene. "I mean, almost."
"No, that was perfect," said Tom.
"You sure it was okay?" Jun asked uncertainly. "Not… not too fast? Maybe another practice round?"
"Don't worry. You're going to nail it," Tom encouraged.
"I hope so," Jun sighed. "I just want to show my mom once and for all that studying myths hasn't been a big waste of time."
"If this doesn't win her over, nothing will," said Tom.
"Knowing Mrs Wong, it's probably nothing will," said Alex pessimistically and Tom narrowed her eyes at her. Alex then quickly gave her the thumbs up. "I think you've got this in the bag."
Jun took a deep breath. "Okay, it's go time." She then began jogging on the spot and punching the air like she was ready for a fight. "Who's got what it takes? You've got what it takes! Ha-ha, yeah!"
She then saw the rest of the Riders giving her blank looks.
"Doesn't everyone get amped up by fighting shadow demons?" she asked.
The Riders looked at one another, unsure how to respond to that question.
An alarm went off on Jun's phone, and she saw the time. "Oh, no! I'm going to be late."
She then quickly dashed off.
Jun wasted no time to get to ICARUS Station and quickly jumped into the elevator before the doors closed.
"If you left earlier, you wouldn't have to rush," said a voice behind her. She quickly turned around and saw her mother standing directly behind her. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"I'm coming to see you," said Jun. "I made an appointment, remember?"
"Oh, yes, of course," she nodded. "I was surprised to see your name. Well, my schedule is packed today. Why don't we do the meeting right here?"
"You-you mean now?" said Jun nervously.
"Unless you're not prepared."
"No, no, I'm prepared. Let me just get my visual aids," said Jun, pulling out her phone. However, she was so nervous that she accidentally dropped it and laughed nervously at her mother. "No, never mind. I don't need that anyway."
She then cleared her throat. "So, you know myths, right? And dragons? You met those. Well, they… they are proof that myths exist. I mean, not that… not that they 'exist' exist, but that they are… They're like, you know, proof of, like, the myths. They're a base. Base, basis. Yes, yes, a basis… for…"
The elevator door then opened, and Jun felt immensely embarrassed.
Her mother looked at her. "Look, I know this is important to you. I just… I have more pressing matters right now. Let's circle back another time. Put a pin in this, okay?"
She then exited the elevator, leaving a disappointed Jun behind. Jun then pressed down on the elevator to go down, but just before the elevator doors closed, Sledkin grabbed them and pulled them open.
"'Circle back,'" said Sledkin as she entered the elevator. "I've heard that one before. Might as well say, 'We'll never talk about it again.'"
"Yeah, pretty much," Jun nodded as the elevator started moving.
"For what it's worth, I think you're onto something."
Jun looked back at her, surprised. "You do?"
"Oh, yes," Sledkin nodded. "We could do well to look at stories and myths of the past in a historical context. There is much to glean about science, culture, technology, even dragons."
"Yes, exactly," Jun beamed.
"Don't let your mother get you down. She's underestimated me on several occasions."
The elevator door opened at the visitor centre, and Sledkin stepped outside, but then she looked back at Jun.
"You know, I could use someone with an intimate knowledge of the world down there, such as yourself. You're an expert. I mean, if you are open to helping, of course?"
"What did you have in mind?" Jun asked, stepping out of the elevator.
Jun soon returned to the other Riders, and they were rather surprised that she had invited Sledkin into the Hidden World.
"You want to show her what?" Tom stared.
"Someone gives this guy an ear swab!" said Eugene. "She wants to take Sledkin down to the Hidden World!"
"He heard perfectly fine Eugene; he simply can't believe it, and be frank, neither can I," said James.
"I'm just going to show her some dragonsite," Jun explained. "We'll be in and out. It's not that big of a deal."
"Not a big deal?" Tom stared. "How is bringing Sledkin to the Hidden World not a big deal?"
"Because ICARUS is literally a science facility that was built to study the fissure," Jun pointed out. "And now that they know about the Hidden World, it makes sense that they'd want to study that, too."
"Yeah, but…"
"But what?"
"But it's Sledkin," said Alex.
"It'd be different if it were one of our parents," said Tom. "The Greens, someone like Sledkin down there…"
"Someone like Sledkin?" Jun frowned. "What does that even mean? And it's Dr Sledkin. She is an accomplished scientist, and she's brilliant and focused and determined, and she sees me as an expert."
"Jun, my mom has known Sledkin for years, and she's always said that she seems more interested in herself in science," said Tom.
"Well, we had a conversation that was all about science. So maybe you're letting your mom's feelings about Sledkin cloud your judgement."
"Or maybe the high praise Sledkin delivered to you is clouding your judgement," said James. "My mum says that she uses people for her own ends, and she doesn't care who gets hurt so long as she gets what she wants."
"I don't know, James," said D'Angelo. "What if we're wrong? Everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt."
Jun smiled and looked up at Wu and Wei as if that settled things. "Hear that, Wu and Wei? Or going on a scientific expedition. D, you with me?"
"It would be a good idea to have a doctor on the expedition," said D'Angelo."
"Okay," said Tom. "Why don't you two take Sledkin down to the Hidden World and we'll hang back here and relax, maybe go for a swim?"
"Yeah!" Eugene cheered.
Plowhorn growled at D'Angelo.
"You can get some laps in later, girl," D'Angelo promised. "Promise."
Then he and Jun went to the dragons at the entrance.
Tom gave them a nervous wave goodbye before looking back at James and Alex.
"I still think something's off with Sledkin," said Tom. "Why is she suddenly so friendly with Jun?"
"Yeah, she's never taken us this seriously before," James agreed.
"All right!" said Eugene excitedly. "Who wants to play Marco Polo?"
"We're not really going swimming, Eugene," said Tom.
"While Jun and D'Angelo are off with Slekdin, we're going to do some investigating," Alex smiled.
"To find out what Sledkin's really up to," said Tom.
"Then we go swimming," said Eugene.
Both James and Alex groaned.
Meanwhile, Jun and D'Angelo had picked up Sledkin, who was clinging to Wu a few hundred feet up in the air and began talking about some of their adventures.
"You should have seen it," said Jun.
"Jun's right?" said D'Angelo. "It was like being a zombie attack, but with dragons."
"Oh, yes, I can imagine," said Sledkin, who was more focused on clinging to Wu than listening.
"And that's when I realised stories about zombies probably came from moulting Featherhides," said Jun.
"Of course, zombie lore has its origins in the animal kingdom," said Sledkin. "I've always wondered about that."
She then screamed when she saw them approaching a tall mountain peak. Jun quickly swerved the two-headed dragon around the peak, and Sledkin screamed as she slipped off Wu and hung upside down around his neck.
"Uh, Dr Sledkin, maybe ease up on the choking a little," Jun advised.
"Yes, of course," said Sledkin as she climbed back up. "Dragons are such wonderful creatures. I sometimes get a bit overzealous."
She then threw up.
Meanwhile, at ICARUS Station, Tom and the others had managed to sneak into the station.
"Coast is clear," said Tom as they exited the elevator.
They carefully entered the science lab and headed to Sledkin's workplace. Tom opened the door slightly. Once he found the place was empty, he and the others entered the room.
"Spread out and look for anything suspicious," Tom instructed.
Alex instantly made her way to the laptop, and the others began looking through the lab itself. Eugene opened a few cabinet doors and gasped.
"Score!" he yelled.
"You find something?" Tom asked excitedly.
"Sure did. A treasure trove," he said, pulling out a bag of gummy worms. "Gummies! Sweet haul, right?"
"Not exactly what we're looking for," said Alex.
"You ever see someone use gummies as a froyo topping?" Eugene asked.
"I love gummies on my froyo," said Tom.
"Ehhh, of course, you do," said Eugene.
James rolled his eyes and looked at Alex. "Please tell me that you found something useful?"
"Actually, I have," said Alex. "Then email from Sledkin to Linda."
Tom leaned over her shoulder and began reading the email. "'Linda, I uncovered a valuable deposit. Need to gather more later.'"
"And there's a photo," Alex added.
Then, the destroyed Deadly Nadder nest that Tom encountered popped on the screen.
"Wait a minute," said Tom. "That means Sledkin is the one who raided the dragonsite from the Nadder's nest. It wasn't Buzzsaw!"
"And cause the dragons are gonna frenzy on the surface," James added.
"But if she already has some dragonsite, why does she need more?" Alex asked.
"Good question," said Tom.
"If disturbing one deposit of dragonsite sent the dragons on a frenzy, can you imagine how much more damage he could do mining more than it," said James.
Tom nodded. "Quick, snap a photo of that."
"On it!" said Eugene, pulling out his phone.
He then pressed down on the camera, but the flash hit him in the eyes, and he accidentally ate the gummy worm in his mouth, which turned out to be quite sour.
"This is sour," said Eugene in a high-pitched voice.
"Hmm, sour gummies are sour," said Alex dryly. "Any other pearls of wisdom you care to bestow?"
They began making their way out of the lab, and for something pleasing, Eugene kept eating the sour gummy worms.
Meanwhile, Jun and D'Angelo had finally landed within the Nature Realm.
"What an amazing world," said Sledkin as she looked around.
She then slid off Wu's saddle and hit the ground. Jun quickly jumped down to help her up, but she pushed them aside.
"I'm fine. I'm fine!" she snapped. "You mind if I record our findings? I want to capture everything. Maybe include some of it in my next book. With acknowledgement to you, of course."
D'Angelo then slid off Plowhorn. "Well, actually, rule one of Dragon Club is…"
"I think it's okay this time, right, D?" Jun interrupted. "I mean, as long as it's for science?"
"Uh, I guess, if it's for science," said D'Angelo uncertainly.
"Wonderful," said Sledkin, taking pictures of the surrounding foliage and wildlife.
D'Angelo winced every time she took a photo.
"Now, I'm pretty sure there's some dragonsite over here," said Jun.
They then began to escort Sledkin to the dragonsite deposit when they encountered a Scuttleclaw.
"Is that one of those Terrible Terrors?" Sledkin asked, rushing over to it.
"Nope. Nope, I wouldn't," said D'Angelo, stopping her. "That's a Scuttleclaw. Don't mess with those."
"It looks pretty harmless," she said.
"Yeah, they may look cute, but they have a dangerous screech. Humans can't hear it, but it agitates other dragons."
"Especially Terrible Terrors," Jun added. "It'll set off in a firing frenzy."
"That sounds like the last thing we'd want," she said, looking back at them. "Good thing I have you two with me."
Jun and D'Angelo smiled.
"Oh, over there!" Jun pointed.
We rushed over to a couple of Terrible Terrors, who unleashed their fire blasts on a piece of dragonsite, which began to glow.
"Now, those are Terrible Terrors," said D'Angelo.
"Look at that," said Sledkin as she bent down towards them.
"Yeah, they like to blast the dragonsite," Jun nodded as Sledkin took pictures. "Not sure why."
"Astounding. Rocks and physically react to Dragon Fire," said Sledkin as she began taking more pictures. "But it's not just glowing. The heat seems to interact with the composition of the stone. Jun, this is incredible."
D'Angelo coughed, still not comfortable with all the pictures being taken.
"It's okay, D," Jun assured him.
"Are you sure?" D'Angelo asked questionably. "It's not just breaking the rules; it's breaking my constitution!
"She's a doctor."
D'Angelo sighed. "I guess she does seem to be all about the science."
"Totally. And you can believe a scientist of her calibre asked me for help? I got to say, it feels pretty good for an adult to finally listen to me. Never would have guessed it'd be her."
It was sunset by the time Tom and the others exited the station.
"We got to tell Jun what we found," said Tom.
"No way," said Eugene. "She's not getting my gummies."
"Technically, they're not yours," James pointed out.
They then noticed that Jun and D'Angelo had returned with Sledkin and were seen off.
"Good luck, Dr Sledkin," said Jun.
"Thank you both again for your help," said Sledkin. "It was eye-opening."
"Ugh, she's being too nice to them," said Alex, fighting the urge to throw up. "It makes me want to hurl."
"You and me both," said James.
They then began to approach Jun and D'Angelo, and Tom couldn't help but narrow his eyes at Sledkin, who returned the favour and smirked at them as she walked by.
"Hey! It went great," said Jun.
"Yeah, she really impressed me," said D'Angelo. "She was very… scientific."
"And totally nice," said Jun.
"Yeah, well, that's probably because she's using you," said Tom.
Jun and D'Angelo gasped.
"Using me? For what?" Jun asked.
"For, well, I'm not sure, but I do know she's not being honest with you."
"Yeah, and I found a straight-up undeniable bombshell proof of it on Sledkin's computer," said Eugene, pulling out his phone. He then noticed the glares coming from James and Alex. "I mean, we found it."
"Wait, you snuck into Sledkin's office while we were gone?" Jun stared. "Seriously?"
"Yes, but it was to protect you," said Tom.
Eugene then pulled out the image he had taken in the office and showed it to Jun, but strangely, she didn't look too impressed.
"Right," she said. "How else would you get proof that Eugene is a giant doofus."
Confused, they looked at the picture and saw that it was a selfie of Eugene just as he ate one of the sour gummy worms.
"You forgot to turn the camera around, numbskull," Alex groaned as Tom pulled his hair out, and James looked as if he wanted to strangle Eugene.
"It's not my fault," said Eugene. "They should put a sour warning on the package."
"I knew it was a mistake bringing you on an infiltration mission," said James.
"Okay, fine," said Tom, calming down. "So we don't have the photo, but we saw an email Sledkin sent, admitting she's the one who took the dragonsite from the Nadder's nest."
"So?" Jun asked.
"So?!" Tom stared at her incredulously.
"She's a scientist. She does scientific research, and that can mean collecting samples."
"True," said Alex. "But her collecting messed up the dragon's ecosystem."
"And how many times have we accidentally done that?" Jun asked.
"Got to give that one to Jun," said D'Angelo.
"But it's clear that she is doing secret research; I bet she has an informed Director Wong of this mining venture of hers," said James.
"And how do you know my mom hasn't authorised it?" Jun asked. "Have you actually asked her?"
"But if she's already down in the Realms, she could have just gone whenever she wanted," Tom pointed out. "She didn't even need you."
Jun actually looked hurt by that comment. "Gee, Tom, did you ever think that maybe she wanted me there, that I have something to offer?"
Tom remained silent, but the answer was crystal clear all over his face.
"Yeah," she said, walking away. "That's what I thought."
"Nice going, slick," said Eugene, looking at Tom. "Now dinner is going to be super awkward."
Later that night, Jun was in her room looking through her books and ignoring her phone, which continually buzzed.
"Why are you ignoring my texts?" Eugene asked as he leaned on the doorway.
"Tom's been texting me to apologise, and I'm ignoring him," she said. "And why are you texting me from 10 feet away?"
"I was in a comfortable spot on the couch," he said. "Didn't want to get up."
Jun rolled her eyes and returned to her book, and then her phone buzzed again.
"Stop texting me!" she yelled.
"I didn't!" said Eugene, holding out his empty hands.
They then heard a knock on the door.
"You get it!" said Eugene.
"You're closer," Jun pointed out.
"You're closer," he said as he walked away.
Annoyed, Jun opened the door, found the other Dragon Riders standing outside, and groaned upon seeing them.
"Oh, sorry," she said, closing the door. "I'm not in the mood."
Tom stopped her before she closed the door. "Look, I know you're mad, but this is about the dragons."
Jun and Eugene looked at one another.
When they got outside, they saw that all the dragons were in a frenzy, all except for Feathers.
"What's wrong with them?" Jun asked.
The Riders quickly rushed over to their dragons, trying to calm them down.
"Thunder, shh," said Tom gently.
"It's okay, girl," said D'Angelo, but she wouldn't stop thrashing about. "I can't calm her down."
Then, suddenly, the dragons immediately became calm.
"What was all that about?" Eugene asked.
"I don't know," said Tom.
"Well, whatever it was, it's over now," said James.
"Guys!" said D'Angelo, pointing.
They turned and saw Linda running towards the station; they watched as she swiped her key card on the security pad and entered the facility.
"Kind of late to be doing research," said Tom.
"And we know Linda is working with Sledkin," said James.
Tom looked at Thunder, who was growling anxiously at the station.
"Thunder seems to think whatever's barring the dragons is coming from the lab," said Tom. "We need to check it out."
They managed to enter the station and made their way to the science lab. Once they entered, they first noticed a Terrible Terror inside a research container with a big chunk of dragonsite inside it.
"What's a Terror doing in here?" Jun asked.
"Linda, get that one out of there and put the fresh one in," said Sledkin's voice coming from her office.
"Guys! Sssshh!" Eugene hissed.
They quickly hid just in time to see Linda exiting the lab carrying two cages. She opened the research container and pulled out the exhausted Terrible Terror placement in the empty cage.
"Poor thing's totally exhausted," D'Angelo noted.
"Exhausted doing what?" James pondered.
Linda then opened the second cage, which contained a Terrible Terror, but this one was far from exhausted. The moment she opened the cage, it flew out, and she quickly grabbed it, wrestling it into the research container.
She gave a sigh reliever. She closed the door and carried the cages back into the office. "I'm getting the hang of this."
"I don't get it," said Alex. "What's she doing?"
The lights then switched off.
"Ready?" said Sledkin's voice. "Five, four, three, two, one."
The Riders expected something horrific to happen, but nothing happened in the slightest.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," said Alex.
"Oh, no," said Eugene, looking at the Terrible Terror. "Check it out."
They turned and saw the Terrible Terror, which looked like it was in terrible pain. It began lashing out and leasing its dragon fire, which hit the dragonsite which immediately began to glow.
"It's just like in the Nature Realm," said D'Angelo.
A horrible thought entered Jun's head. "You don't think…?"
They then all looked at Jun.
"Tell them, Jun," said D'Angelo.
Jun sighed. "We ran into a Scuttleclaw and told Sledkin about its silent screech, sending the Terrors into a frenzy, causing them to blast."
"So she took a Terrible Terror and a Scuttleclaw?" said Tom.
"I don't see a Scuttleclaw," said Alex.
The lights came back on, and they saw Sledkin entering the lab with Linda. That's when they noticed that she pressed on her phone, and instantly, the Terrible Terror calmed down.
"Of course!" said D'Angelo. "She was recording with her phone. She must've recorded the screech."
They then watched as Sledkin and Linda returned to the office.
"That's why Thunder and the other dragons were so agitated," said Tom.
"So Sledkin was using me the whole time," said Jun, looking crestfallen. "I guess you were right, Tom."
"Look, Jun…"
"I just wanted someone to take me seriously," she said. "And now those poor dragons are paying the price."
Tom placed a hand on her shoulder. "It could have happened to anyone. Let's just focus on rescuing the dragons."
"And Mom doesn't have time for me. Sledkin was just using me. I should take the hint and stop trying."
"What?" Tom stared. "No way. No. You have so much to offer, Jun, no matter what anyone else says. But right now, we need you. Let's go save some dragons."
The two of them then shook hands, and a split second later, Sledkin pulled the carts they were hiding behind a part.
"Maybe next time you should whisper your sweet nothings a bit more quietly," Sledkin advised and then began to advance towards them furiously. "How dare you interrupt my important work? I expect…"
Eugene then suddenly tossed his gummy worms at her, and she turned on him.
"What?" he said. "Distraction technique."
"Distract me?" she glared. "You're interfering with Rakke Corp business…"
Linda then cut across her, bending down to pick up the gummy worms on the floor. "My sour gummies!"
"Don't pick those up," said Sledkin. "What do you think you're doing?"
The Riders immediately took advantage of the distraction. Tom, Jun, James and Eugene quickly rushed past them. Sledkin tried to follow, but Alex quickly pushed a cart in front of her, and then she and D'Angelo ran by her.
This gave Tom and the others time to free the Terrible Terror in the research container, and they quickly rushed into the office, closing the door behind them.
Jun then rushed and freed the Terrible Terror, which was still in the cage.
"It's okay. It's okay," she said gently. "We got you."
Sledkin then burst into the room, holding her phone. "Get out of here this minute!"
Her sudden outburst at the Terrible Terrors instantly flew around in a panic. They flew around Sledkin, and one of them knocked the phone mine out of her hand. The moment the phone hit the ground, it played the recording of the Scuttleclaw roar, and the Terrors went into a frenzy.
"Take cover!" Eugene yelled.
The Terrible Terrors immediately unleashed their fire breath, and everyone hit the deck and took cover.
"Look what you did!" Sledkin snapped.
"Us?! You're the one doing illegal experiments!" James counted.
"Jun grabbed that one," said Tom as one of the Terrors flew by.
"I can't; they're out of control," she said.
Sledkin quickly went for her phone, but before she could switch off the recording, one of the Terrors snatched it right out of her hands. He then dropped it, smashing the screen on the desk.
"At least the phone's smashed," said Tom. "That ought to calm them down."
Sadly, the Terrors were still flying around uncontrollably.
"Nope," said Alex.
The Terrors flew out of the office, and Sledkin rushed towards the door. Tom followed after her, but he was too late. She closed the door behind them and locked it from the outside.
"Better luck next time, kiddies," Sledkin smirked.
She then grabbed the cage and dragged Linda after the Terrible Terrors.
Once outside, they quickly followed the Terrors, who were now flying around town, and it sounded like they were turning over trash cans.
"There they are," said Sledkin, pointing towards the sound and reaching into her pocket. "I have an idea." She then gave Linda the van keys. "Start of the van."
Tom and the others, meanwhile, are still trapped inside the office, and Alex was picking the lock.
"We can't let her get away with them," said Jun as she paced up and down. "We can't let Sledkin use those Terrors like lab rats."
"We won't," James promised.
"Oh, come on, already," Eugene moaned. "We've been here for hours."
"You have no concept of time," said Alex. "It's literally been two minutes." She continued focusing, picking the lock, and then they heard a clicking sound. "Got it!"
The moment the door opened, they quickly rushed out.
The dragons were waiting outside the research station and looked happy to see their Riders.
"Did you see Sledkin?" Tom asked Thunder as he scratched him. "Where did she go, Pal?"
Thunder snarled, pointing his head towards Linda's van, who had just put a cage in the back. She then quickly hopped into the driver's seat and drove off.
"She's got a cage in the van," said Jun, quickly mounted Wu. "Come on!"
The others mounted their dragons and soon chased after the van.
The van itself was taking the main route out of ICARUS, and Linda apparently had her foot hard on the accelerator, judging how fast the van was going.
"Whoa, she's really flying," said Eugene.
"Two can play that game," said Tom. "Come on, Pal."
Tom then swooped down towards the van, and Linda could see him in a wing view mirror. She then pressed down even harder on the accelerator, gaining more speed.
Tom looked down at Thunder, who fired a lightning blast at the tree, causing it to fall over and blocking the road. Linda quickly screeched to a halt before she slammed into the fallen tree. Once she stopped, the Dragon Riders immediately surrounded the van.
Feathers landed on the top of the van and looked through the windscreen, causing Linda to scream. She quickly jumped out of the van and immediately turned to Tom.
"Are you crazy?" she said. "Lightning? Who shoots lightning at someone?"
"Hand over the dragons," Tom demanded.
"What dragons?" she said innocently.
"Oh, ho, ho, that's rich," Eugene scoffed. "Like we won't find them in…"
"Tom! The cage is empty," said D'Angelo, opening the back of the van and holding out the empty cage.
Jun quickly turned on Linda. "Where's Sledkin?"
Linda immediately stood to attention and kept her mouth firmly shut.
Jun growled in frustration, realising what had just happened. "Sledkin set the van as a decoy to distract us."
"While she goes after the Terrors," Tom finished.
"So smart," said Eugene.
"If we hurry, we might still be able to stop her," said James.
Tom nodded. "Come on. We got to get back there before she finds them."
They quickly took off and returned to Rakke Town as quickly as they could.
Sledkin was indeed in Rakke Town, and she had found the terrified Terrible Terrors, who quickly backed away from her.
"Don't be afraid," she said as she opened the cage. "I just need to run a few more tests."
The Terrible Terrors winced in fear but landed on the ground in front of Sledkin, Tom and Thunder.
"Leave them alone, Sledkin," he said.
"Out of my way, Thomas," she demanded.
The other Riders then landed and surrounded her.
"We're not going anywhere," said Jun.
"I expected this from him, but I thought you were smarter than that," said Sledkin, looking at her while she gestured at Tom.
"I'm smart enough to know what you're doing is wrong," said Jun, dismounting Wu. "I know how you feel. You're frustrated that you've been overlooked, but hurting dragons to prove yourself—it's awful."
"You don't know how I feel," Slekdin scoffed. "You're just a child. I'm a world-renowned scientist. And I'll do whatever I must to leave my mark. Which means using those dragons however I see fit. Now, get out of my way!"
The dragons growled as they protected the Terrible Terrors and showed no signs of moving.
"What's all this commotion about?" said May's voice.
"Director Wong," said Sledkin, finding her standing directly behind her. "I'm so glad you're here. I was doing some very important research—you know, my job!—when I caught these children sneaking into my lab."
"What?!" May gasped.
"Yes. They even ruined some of my equipment," Slekdin nodded. "They must be punished."
"Is this true?" May asked.
"She wasn't just doing experiments," said Jun as she approached the Terrible Terrors. "She was torturing these dragons."
"It's true, Mom," said Eugene. "She was totally missing with these guys."
"And the only thing really destroyed was her phone," James added.
"Director Wong, this is ridiculous…" said Sledkin.
"Mom, you have to listen…," said Jun.
"Enough!" May yelled at the top of her voice, then narrowed her eyes at Sledkin. "There have been zero authorised experiments involving dragons. So, Dr Sledkin, I suggest you return to your actual job."
"Unbelievable," Sledkin fumed. "This is outrageous!"
She then stormed off, and the Riders smirked.
"As for you, there will be consequences for your actions," said May, looking at the Riders. "But first, carefully take these dragons back to where they belong."
The Terrible Terrors were currently nuzzling, no doubt, out of gratitude.
"Yes, Mrs Wong," said D'Angelo as they began to escort them.
"Jun," said May, looking at her daughter. "A word."
Jun then turned to face. "Mom, I know you're disappointed in me, but you don't understand Sledkin, she…"
Her mother then held up her hand. "Don't worry. I will be keeping a more watchful eye on Dr Sledkin. Anyone could see those little ones were upset. But right now, I'm more concerned about you and your safety. It can get dangerous out here at night."
Jun looked at her surprised and then smiled. "I'm okay."
"Good," she nodded. "Now, if I'm to understand Dr Sledkin, I'm going to need a better understanding of the dragons. Perhaps you know a consultant?"
"I think I do know someone," Jun smiled.
"Perfect. And I bet whoever it is, she'll have plenty of time to enlighten me after she finishes her homework?"
Jun watched as her mother walked away and instantly did some kung fu moves. She then noticed that both Tom and James were watching, smiling and giving some encouraging nods.
Jun instantly ran and joined her mother, and the two of them began walking home.