On Today's Episode: It's been about two weeks since Nick, May and Bridget met Sam, Alex, Clover and Mat, and the seven of them seem to have hit it off really well, between planning ice-cream themed movie nights and taking down more members of the spies' rogues' gallery. Nick even feels like he's ready to finally work up the courage to ask Alex out on a date. But there's one mystery that still needs to be solved. Many of the baddies recently have spouted something along the lines of "nature always wins". Could there possibly be a connection?
Act 2: See A New World Worth Fighting For
3:58 P.M. – Beverly Hills
The Groove
Two Days Later
"It's... it's magnificent," Clover gasped when she beheld the majesty, in her own eyes, that was Beverly Hills' newest major shopping center, The Groove. Designed to be a massive step up in every single way from the old Beverly Hills Mall, today was the day of The Groove's grand opening, and Clover had made absolutely sure to drag all six of her fellow spies down here almost immediately after school for the new mall's grand opening.
"It certainly exceeds expectations," Bridget quipped. "I mean, look at this freakin' crowd!"
"They're all as excited as we are, Bridget!" Clover proclaimed.
"You're probably the most excited of all of us, Clover," May responded.
"Hey, if you think this place is grand, you should have seen the mall we used to have back in Mistralton before the owners got caught up in some skeevy stuff," Nick stated. "If it were still around, that old mall could probably eat this one up and still have room for dessert."
Bridget definitely remembered that mall fondly, as it had been where she'd purchased her signature yo-yos for her thirteenth birthday.
"Hey, I think the doors are finally opening up!" Alex exclaimed as she pointed just ahead to the main gate, which was finally opening for the first time at four o'clock sharp.
"Well, then, ladies and gentlemen, let's get in there and do what we came here to do," Sam proclaimed.
If they were awed by the outside of the mall, then the inside made them positively star-struck with how majestic and modern everything looked, especially with all of the brand new stores being added to this one.
"Oh, my god, is that a new shoe store?!" Clover gasped, trying to race towards said shoe store only for Bridget to yank Clover back to their side via yo-yo to the wrist.
"Down, Clover," Bridget teased. "You can look at the shoe store all you want later. Remember, we've got an objective to complete first before we start flocking around the place willy-nilly."
"Yeah, I'd rather find the ice cream we're looking for before it gets mobbed," May stated. "I'd rather not bring up another bad memory of getting there just barely too late..."
With that, the spies split into two teams to accomplish all of their objectives, with Bridget, Clover, Sam and Mat heading off to buy the ice cream and snacks for their upcoming weekend movie night, and Nick teaming with Alex and May to find the movie rental store so they could decide what they were going to watch.
"Wow, they actually have those movies?" Alex gasped when she noticed a particular entry in a trilogy of action movies sitting on the new releases shelf.
"I've gotta get that one for Bridget," Nick answered. "She's been jonesin' to see that one."
"Now where are those silly romantic comedies?" May quipped as she began searching the shelves. This movie store was actually the same one from the old mall, but they'd rearranged everything for the new location, and it was really throwing her off.
As the three of them continued their quest for movies, Nick couldn't help but sneak a glance at Alex, once again noticing just how freakin' gorgeous she was.
Naturally, May noticed this and moved in closer to playfully elbow Nick in the side.
"I saw that, silly," May giggled. "So... any headway?"
Nick took another look at Alex before finally coming to a decision.
"...I'm gonna ask her," Nick stated. "I don't know how much longer I can keep it to myself, and I'd rather not explode from the anxiety."
"Yeah, we don't want that," May quipped, her teasing smile turning genuine. "Go and ask her, Nick. You've got this."
Nick nodded to himself, summoning all the courage he possibly could as he walked over to Alex.
"Ooh, hey, what about this one?" Alex chuckled as she showed off a rather interesting choice of movie.
"...holy crapbaskets, they still make those golden oldies?" Nick gasped. "I thought they'd stopped making them when I was a kid!"
"This one's a recent entry," Alex noted.
"Well, then, I guess we'll have to watch it and see if it's still got the ol' magic," Nick quipped as Alex put that movie into their collection. "But before that, I kinda want to ask you something."
"What's up?" Alex wondered.
One look at Nick's sudden expression change told Alex everything she needed to know about what Nick probably wanted to say.
But she decided to let him say it anyway.
"Ever since I saw you at school on our first day here in Beverly Hills, I've... kinda been crushing pretty hard on you," Nick admitted. "Of course, I didn't want to say anything at first, but May and Bridget have been constantly needling me to tell you before I lost my chance. At the same time, I didn't want you to think I was asking too soon, considering I did something similar in middle school and regretted every second of it. But I decided to finally take the shot so I can at least get it out there."
Hoping beyond hope that this would work out for the better, Nick stared Alex directly in the eyes. "Alex... would you like to go out on a date sometime soon?" Nick asked.
It took a few seconds for Alex to respond, making Nick worry he'd screwed up somehow.
But when Alex looked back and smiled at him, those fears were quickly put to rest.
"I'd love to, Nick," Alex proclaimed.
Nick couldn't help but silently cheer as he jumped forward to hug Alex, only for May to fling herself forward and hug the both of them, sending all three of them crashing to the ground.
"Ack, May, really necessary?!" Nick sputtered.
"See, Nick, I told you that you were gonna nail it," May stated. "Bridget and I never lost faith."
"Well, now that that's been taken care of, how about we go and meet up with the others?" Alex quipped.
"Yeah, we'd better make sure Clover didn't spend a small fortune on new shoes that she's only ever gonna wear once in her life," Nick teased.
As the three of them paid for their selection of movies and exited the video store, Nick extended his hand so he could hold Alex's free hand in his own.
And his smile only grew when she squeezed back.
"So, if you don't mind me asking..." Alex started to say. "What attracted you to me, Nick?"
"Well, aside from the obvious fact that you're freakin' gorgeous," Nick stated, which caused Alex to blush. "You've just got this energy about you that just drew me to you. I can definitely appreciate how sporty you are, too. I've seen you out there on the soccer field at Bev High a few times."
"Aw, you noticed?" Alex laughed. "The others say I've got quite the mean kick because of that."
May just looked on, happy for Nick that this worked out for him.
"Well, I'm happy you're giving me the chance," Nick replied to Alex.
May found her ice cream, and the three of them found the other spies.
"We got what we needed," Sam announced.
Bridget immediately noticed Nick and Alex hand in hand and gave him a grin and a thumbs up.
"Alex, is there something you're not telling us?" Sam giggled when she noticed, too.
Mat saw, too, but he didn't say a word.
"Okay, okay, you want me to go straight to Final Jeopardy, eh?" Nick chuckled. "I did ask Alex on a date, and she said yes."
"Awesome," Mat remarked.
"Hopefully you hit it off like Mat and I did," Sam stated.
"By the way, Clover, you didn't go crazy with those shoes May was trying to pull you away from?" Alex wondered.
"Mmm... probably," Clover giggled as she had a bag on her.
May groaned at that.
"Why, oh why did I freakin' call it?" Nick sighed.
"I hope you have more than one special occasion coming up on you," Mat told Clover.
"Knowing Clover, she'll think of something," Sam sighed.
"Well, movies... check," Nick told the others.
"Ice cream... check," May announced.
"Female companions... che-e-ck," Mat teased.
"Oh, you," Sam giggled.
"We officially have a movie night!" Bridget proclaimed.
4:48 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House
After the spies had come home, everyone was prepping for their movie night with their new friends.
"Did you come to a decision yet?" Alex asked some of the spies.
"Wait, they actually had the new one?!" Bridget exclaimed when she saw one of the movies Nick had found.
"Yeah, I found it there almost right away," Nick quipped. "I knew you were a fan of this series, so the solution seemed obvious."
"How about we see what all the fuss is about, huh?" May stated. "Pop it in, Bridget, and we'll get this movie night started."
"Hell yeah!" Bridget laughed.
Upon noticing Sam and Mat weren't present, Clover looked and saw the two of them approaching.
"Something happen, Sam?" Clover wondered.
"Mat and I just had a couple of minutes together," Sam chuckled. "And he wanted to have a few minutes in the jacuzzi tonight."
"Well, you're just in time, then," Nick stated. "Bridget's already jumping in her seat since I found a movie she liked."
And so, the movie night began.
The first pick, Bridget's choice, was a combination adventure/drama movie being the third in a series of movies she'd loved since she was a kid. In fact, the first movie was the first one she'd ever seen in a movie theater.
Aside from cheering at the "explosively cheesy" (Bridget's words) action scenes, there was also a bit of a romantic subplot between the two main protagonists. Whenever that element was at the forefront of the movie, Sam and Mat snuck glances at each other, as did Nick and Alex.
Once the first movie was over, a growl in the room initially put everyone on edge, but they all quickly settled down when they realized it was just Alex's stomach growling.
"Guess that movie got me kinda hungry by the end of it," Alex admitted.
"How does pizza sound to you guys?" Sam asked, already bringing out her cell phone. After all, they had decided to save the ice cream for later so they could actually eat it without missing dinner.
"Hey, we've gotta get pepperoni and ham!" May proclaimed.
"Why is it always ham with you?" Nick quipped.
"Did somebody say anchovies?" Sam giggled.
"Um, how about no?" Bridget retorted. "To this very day, I still don't see the appeal of tiny fish that stink something fierce."
"But I thought you liked fish, Bridget?" Alex teased.
"Hey, there's a difference between regular fish and fish sticks, Alex, and you know it," Bridget countered.
"What about mushrooms, maybe?" Mat offered.
"Okay, now I'm gonna have to veto that," Nick quipped. "I really cannot stand mushrooms. Just ask May..."
"Trust me, Mat, you're better off not knowing," May noted.
"Yikes, that bad?" Clover wondered.
Naturally, it was a very spirited debate about pizza toppings. Thankfully, it was settled rather quickly, with Nick heading out to pick up the pizzas before the second movie of the night, a romantic comedy that had caught May's eye at the video store.
Nick couldn't resist scooting closer to Alex during the movie, even as he glanced over at Sam and Mat, seeing how natural it was for them.
Well, to be fair, they've probably been in a relationship for longer, Nick thought. Ours might have just started, so...
Nick hesitantly reached out to hold Alex's hand, but felt himself calm down when she did the same thing.
Okay, maybe this'll work out after all, Nick thought.
About halfway through the second movie was when they all decided to get some ice cream, and Nick couldn't help but laugh at how fast Bridget sprung to her feet and made for the kitchen, just to make sure she could get the first scoop of the double chocolate ice cream. Bridget had quite the sweet tooth, after all.
All in all, it was a very good movie night for the spies and their new friends.
6:37 P.M. – Beverly Hills
Four Days Later
"Wow, that place was amazing," Alex giggled as she and Nick left the restaurant. Nick had taken her to the Sunspot Café for their first date, a relatively new restaurant at the edge of town. "It definitely earned all of the five-stars reviews it's been getting."
"I'm just glad you liked it and I didn't make a complete mook of myself for our first date," Nick quipped. "If only I'd been that lucky before..."
"You did mention something about that when you asked me out last week," Alex replied. "Did you wanna elaborate, or did I pry too far?"
"It's nothing that deep, really," Nick admitted. "I had a crush on this girl in middle school, but I asked her out too soon, and I think I accidentally scared her off. I've regretted making that mistake ever since, and it's why I waited so long to ask you out, despite the whole 'crush at first sight' cliché. I really want this to work this time around."
Alex smiled sincerely at Nick as she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Well, I think you're doing a great job so far," Alex stated.
Before Nick could respond, a nearby tree suddenly opened its bark to reveal a metal tube tunnel inside the trunk. On instinct, Nick raised his hand to project a half-spherical barrier of golden psychic energy in front of them to defend against the suction coming from the tunnel until it decided to stop.
"Okay, that was cool," Alex chuckled.
"Guess that means it's mission time," Nick quipped. "I'm just glad Jerry decided to wait until after our date was done. Boss or not, I'd have bopped him one if he interrupted our date."
Nodding to each other, Nick and Alex held hands as they jumped into the tube, eventually finding themselves in Jerry's office alongside the other five spies, who were already suited up.
"Nice of you to join us," Jerry proclaimed. "And yes, I waited until you were finished with your date to summon you. I didn't wish to be rude."
"Thanks for that, Jer," Alex laughed.
"So, then, who's on the prowl today, Jerry?" Nick wondered as he and Alex changed into their own spy suits.
RiCO materialized in the office and waved her hand to change the office viewscreen to show a mugshot of Sebastian Saga.
"Ah, memories," Clover chuckled. "It's been a while since we've had to deal with that guy."
"What's mister rave nut up to now?" Alex wondered.
"From what we've been able to gather, there's a big event being held at the Sky Bridge concert venue in downtown New York City," RiCO responded, the viewscreen showing a photo of the Sky Bridge itself. "But some of the concert-goers have been acting really strange and destructive since the venue opened up."
"Sounds like something Sebastian would do," Mat quipped.
"You all seem to have a lot of nuts in your rogues' gallery," Bridget chuckled. "How exactly do you deal with them so often?"
"Really, it's an ongoing process," Clover replied. "When you've been working for W.O.O.H.P. as long as we have, it's kind of an acquired skill."
"We'd better make sure that no one gets hurt," Nick stated. "We're ready to go anytime, RiCO."
"Roger that!" RiCO proclaimed, waving her hand again to send the seven spies to their Skyskimmer.
6:45 P.M. – New York City, New York
The Sky Bridge
"Wait, it's really still before seven o'clock?" May gasped when she got a good look at the time once they'd touched down in New York City.
"Yeah, I'm still not used to time zone differences, honestly," Nick chuckled.
"According to the Sky Bridge's itinerary, the next concert starts in about fifteen minutes," Sam stated. "That should give us enough time to sneak around and see if we can unravel anything about Sebastian's scheme."
Bridget couldn't help but marvel at the Sky Bridge itself, a concert stage shaped like, well, a bridge in the sky.
"Man, they really spared no expense on this thing," Bridget quipped. "Look at it!"
But before Bridget could continue to marvel at the extravagance of the venue, she noticed something amiss just outside the entryway.
One of the patrons waiting in line was starting to shake uncontrollably before dropping to their knees, letting out a loud yell like some kind of metal singer, and jumping back to their feet and running forward, plowing through other patrons in the process.
"Okay, yeah, I think that counts as suspicious enough," May stated. "Let's get to work, everyone."
With that in mind, the spies moved in to investigate, passing by a few hallways with posters of tonight's opening act, a metal singer who apparently went by the name "Mallory Metallic, the Smiling Metal Maiden".
"I kinda like her look," Alex giggled. "Metal's not often my thing, but I appreciate her dedication."
Nick glanced down the nearby hallway, having sensed troublesome thoughts over that way.
Just as someone stepped out from behind a wall and aimed their hand towards the spies to actually fire his metal hand towards them, Nick quickly raised a psychic barrier to defend them from the grabby hand.
"Well, well, spies, it seems like you have some new friends with you this time," Sebastian Saga laughed. "How fortunate for me."
"Yeah, well, you probably have no idea how we do things, so I'd stop getting cocky before it hurts you," Bridget retorted, bringing out her yo-yos and twirling them around, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"All right, you, what's your game?" Nick stated. "Does your scheme have something to do with Mallory Metallic?"
"How astute of you," Sebastian chuckled. "I'm so sick of these no-talent hacks stealing the spotlight from us real musicians, so I figured I'd teach them a lesson they won't forget."
"Yikes, you really are whacked in the head," May taunted. "Have you actually heard any of her music before deciding to pull your nonsense?"
"Does it really matter?" Sebastian proclaimed.
"When it comes to you, I think it does," Mat retorted.
"So how about you stop with the small talk?" Nick proclaimed, his aura flaring to life around him. And he really enjoyed seeing Sebastian back up a few steps in surprise at the sight. "Let's get it on, jackass!"
Nick immediately traded blows with Sebastian.
"I am surprised he has that kind of power," Alex told the others.
"It's a story of how he got those powers honestly," May told Alex. "...but we can't explain it yet!"
They were all interrupted by some brainwashed patrons who were charging for the other spies.
"Looks like we're gonna have to take this ruckus outside!" Sam exclaimed as the rest of the spies made a break for the outside.
"I think Nick could use some help as well," Alex deduced. "And I'm gonna be that volunteer."
"We better do something to diffuse this," Sam told the others as Alex took to the sky via the Jet Pack Backpack.
"I'm guessing we've got our work cut out for us," May groaned.
"Stop running, you nutball!" Nick exclaimed as he continually fired psychic bolts from his hand, forcing Sebastian to keep dodging and making it look like Nick was making him 'dance'.
"Maybe stop shooting at me, then!" Sebastian shot back.
"Against the likes of you? No thank you," Nick taunted.
"We'll see if this shuts you up!" Sebastian proclaimed, taking out his guitar and strumming a power chord on it, sending a series of booming sound waves towards Nick.
Just then, Alex jumped in and aimed a Sonic Disintegrator Boombox, the sound waves both canceling each other out.
"Need a hand?" Alex giggled.
"Thought crossed my mind," Nick teased. "Let's mess him up good."
"Maybe we can get a quick wrap-up on something under our belts," Sam quipped, getting out the ScanMan 9000.
"We also need these," Mat added, getting out the Sensible Soundproof Earplug.
"Good move," Clover quipped.
"Here goes nothing," Bridget remarked.
The spies all scattered to deal with the mob of brainwashed people for the time being.
"Anytime is nice, Sam!" Mat exclaimed.
Sam then executed her plan to use the ScanMan 9000. It happened to work for her, as the brainwashed patrons woke up from their hypnotized state.
"That did it!" May proclaimed.
"You know what they say, music soothes the savage beast," Sam quipped.
"No doubt," Mat laughed. "Personally, I'd throw in a little classical music, though."
"Make a break for it, people!" Mat told the patrons.
They did not question Mat's request and did leave.
"NOO!" Sebastian chastised at seeing his plan was foiled.
"That's what you get when your plans are certainly not foolproof," Nick quipped. "Now it's time you were sent back to where you came from!"
"You can't stop me forever!" Sebastian shouted. "Nature always wins, right?!"
"Oh, shut up already," Nick groaned as he bubbled up Sebastian and sent him to the WOOHP jet, which happened to be flying by at the right time.
"Well done on stopping Sebastian, spies," Jerry commended as his visage appeared on Sam's X-Powder.
"Thanks, Jer," Sam remarked. "We're ready to head back ourselves now."
"As much as I hate to break the news to you, you'll have to remain in New York just a while longer," Jerry stated.
"What's going on?" Mat wondered.
"WOOHP has detected yet another disturbance," RiCO told the spy team.
"Does that happen a lot with you guys, too?" Bridget wondered.
"Unfortunately, it does," Sam admitted. "Let's go check it out so we can get back home and enjoy ourselves some more."
With that, the spies headed out, following RiCO's directions to where she'd pinpointed the disturbance.
"Say, RiCO, how exactly are you finding these baddies so quickly?" Clover wondered. "Jerry never did tell us about what you're capable of."
"Well, as an artificial intelligence, I can link up with many different pieces of W.O.O.H.P.'s surveillance technology," RiCO explained. "And also, if you ever need to hack into something for whatever reason, I've got you covered on that front."
"...why couldn't we have gotten you as our A.I. buddy first instead of GLADIS, huh?" Alex quipped.
"Aw, you guys," RiCO giggled. "Yeah, Jerry had finally had enough of GLADIS' attitude, so he and the tech boys all spent a while coding me and making sure that I wouldn't be like that."
"Speaking of disturbance, I think I found it," Nick stated, pointing to just ahead of them. The spies all landed on the ground to check out a strange doorway decorated with heavy metal paraphernalia and seemingly locked by a fancy computer console strapped to the door.
"You mentioned you were good at hacking, RiCO?" Sam chuckled.
"Ah, say no more," RiCO replied as Sam held her X-Powder up to the computer device, allowing RiCO to start hacking into it. It only took about ten seconds for RiCO to crack the code and shut down the locking device, allowing the spies to open the door.
Inside the room in question, tied down to a chair in the middle of the room, was a girl She appeared to be about five or six years older than the spies, with long brown hair mixed with black, white and red, along with "hair spikes" along her forehead, blazing orange eyes that were clearly thanks to colored contacts, and an absolutely insane mish-mash of an outfit that called back to many classic metal bands and their fashions.
"W-Wait, aren't you Mallory Metallic, the Smiling Metal Maiden?!" Bridget gasped.
"How the heck did you wind up in here?" Nick wondered.
"I was hoping you could answer that question," Mallory answered. "I'm just chilling in the backroom waiting for my friend Maria to show up so we can head to the stage for our pre-show sound check, and suddenly this weird guy with a metal hand showed up and had his 'manager' tie me up and toss me in here!"
"Manager?" May scoffed. "That chode actually has a manager?!"
"It's gotta be Phil Jenkins, then," Clover quipped. "Those two have worked together before, after all."
"You'd be correct, you bunch of brats."
The spies all turned around and noticed that who else but Phil Jenkins was standing there with a smug grin plastered on his face, as if he hadn't yet realized that Sebastian had already been captured.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Phil chuckled. "And look, you have a new bunch of friends for me to play with."
"Um, yeah, how about you keep those lady-grabbers to yourself, sleazeball?" Bridget retorted, swinging her yo-yos out to deck Phil in the face and keep him occupied while Nick fired a trio of psychic bolts from his hands to sever the bindings keeping Mallory tied to the chair.
"Stay behind us, okay, Mallory? We've got this one," Nick stated, his aura flaring to life around him.
Phil attempted to make for one of the loudspeakers with a glowing CD in his hands, but Bridget threw one of her yo-yos out to hook Phil by his ankle and send him crashing to the ground, where May moved to stomp on the CD to break it.
"What a waste of good music," Nick taunted, raising his right hand to imprison Phil inside of a psychic bubble.
"You little punks will pay for this!" Phil shouted. "You can't fight nature! It always wins, after all!"
"Maybe next time, don't come after real musicians because your music is outdated and suck," Nick retorted. "Think about that."
Nick pushed the bubbled Phil outside to send him up to the waiting WOOHP jet.
"And that should be that," Alex quipped. "Any more disturbances, RiCO?"
"Nope, it looks like everything's good this time," RiCO proclaimed. "You're all in the clear."
"Hey, thank you all for coming to my rescue," Mallory stated. "I don't know if you've heard, but I've got a show starting soon, so if you'd like to show up to it..."
"You know, I think we'll take you up on that offer," Bridget responded. "We don't have school tomorrow because of... well, that, so I think we can spare some time."
Mallory glanced outside when she heard someone shouting her name. "Oop, and that would be Maria," Mallory quipped. "I'll see you all at the show, 'kay?"
Mallory quickly dashed out of the room so she could calm Maria down before she broke something in her panic.
"This oughta be fun," Alex giggled.
"Tell me about it," May noted. "My dad was kind of a metal junkie in his youth, but I've never actually been to a metal concert before. They never showed up anywhere near Mistralton and I just missed a lot of the ones when I was still living in New York..."
"Well, consider this a chance to reconnect," Nick responded.
As the spies sat down to enjoy the Mallory Metallic concert, Nick couldn't help but think about something that seemed off.
All three of the recent baddies they'd caught and captured had all shouted something similar before the spies had taken them down.
It was always those same three words.
"Nature always wins."
Nick was starting to wonder if there was a connection, but he realized that they probably needed more evidence than just a catchphrase to figure it out.
For now, though, it was time to enjoy the concert.
12:12 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House
Two Days Later
"We have arrived with games, as promised!" May exclaimed as she, Nick, and Bridget arrived at the beach house, May's Nintendo GameCube tucked firmly under her arm, Nick carrying the games she'd brought, and Bridget carrying all of the extra controllers and wires they needed.
"Would you believe me if I said I was in a video game once?" Alex giggled.
"Oof, don't remind me of freakin' Lady Dragon again," Clover groaned. "She was a real nutball."
"Say, you mentioned that you two know about Nick's psychic powers, right?" Sam wondered as May moved to set the GameCube up in the living room. "Did you want to elaborate, or..."
"Oh, yeah, we did promise we'd tell that tale eventually," Bridget chuckled.
"So, May, Bridget and I have been working for W.O.O.H.P. for about six months now before we met all of you," Nick explained as he helped May with the wires. "About, I'd say, two months before we moved to Beverly Hills, the three of us got called in to deal with a bad magician. I think he called himself 'The Great Kandinsky'?"
"Yikes, you had to deal with him?" Mat quipped. "I feel your pain already."
"He was just doing his typical thing of fakey lame magic tricks to attempt to steal a bunch of priceless gemstones from a museum," May continued. "After a bunch of back-and-forth and some yo-yo shenanigans from Bridget, we finally had him cornered."
"But these gems, unknown to anyone, had powers," Bridget stated. "Nick was able to swipe the gems from Kandinsky, but he fired a blast of magic at Nick that hit the gems. A few seconds later, the gems started glowing like a spotlight, and when everything settled down, Nick was doing all these fancy mind tricks to take Kandinsky down."
"I guess whatever was in those gems must have activated when Kandinsky blasted them and siphoned its power into me," Nick quipped, his body glowing with a soft golden aura. "It was very strange at first, but it didn't really take me long to get used to it. And thankfully, Jerry was able to set up a training arena of sorts so I can practice with my powers and figure out all the crazy stuff I can do with them."
"So, if you're a psychic, that means you can read minds, right?" Mat wondered.
"Pretty much, but I'm not one of those 'always reads thoughts no matter what you do' kinds of psychics, thankfully," Nick answered. "I actually have to try when I read minds, so your private thoughts are all safe around me."
"All right, the GameCube is all set up!" May proclaimed, reaching out to pick one of her games. "Who wants to play some Super Smash Bros. Melee?"
"I'll spectate, thanks," Mat stated right away.
"What? Are you serious?" Nick asked.
"I'm not much into the fighting games, to be frank," Mat replied. "Power Rangers and VR Troopers is good enough for me."
"That's OLD!" Bridget exclaimed.
"Hey, I liked it when I was a kid," Nick chuckled. "Need I remind you of the hell my mom went through on Black Friday to get me that Dragonzord toy?"
"True, but I'm not the kind of person who is into fighting tournaments or anything like that," Mat replied. "It's just not my cup of tea. If you say Tetris or Mario Kart 64 or Jeopardy, then I'll listen."
"Sounds like someone's too old school..." Clover commented before she volunteered to take part.
"Well, to each his own," Nick stated. "But Jeopardy? You'd give my mom a run for her money, Mat!"
"And I'm more of a solo gamer myself," Mat added.
"I find the game shows to be a little... unusual in a way," May stated. "But nothing wrong with it."
"I think it's good to stay away from the really violent stuff honestly," Bridget commented.
As for Alex, she too got in the fun for Melee, at least the next game, anyway, since the GameCube had only four controller slots.
"What're you two doing now?" Clover wondered.
"Well, we were just going..." Mat started before Sam jumped in.
"Just take a walk around the neighborhood for a bit," Sam answered.
"Okay, sure," Mat stated.
With that, Sam led her boyfriend to the front door, and the two went for their walk.
"Okay, now we're getting into things here!" Alex proclaimed as she dodged an overhead attack from May, who was currently playing as Young Link, where Alex was using Princess Peach.
"I'm just glad no one picked Fox," Nick admitted. He was currently playing Luigi.
"Is he that bad?" Clover wondered.
"Oh, he's absolutely busted in this game," Nick quipped. "So many Melee players consider Fox the absolute most broken character in this whole game. I'm just hoping that means he's gonna be the first to get the nerf bat in the next Smash game."
"Well, they are developing a new Smash game for Nintendo's next system, so there's that," May replied.
"INCOMING WARLOCK PUNCH!" Bridget shouted as she made her character, Ganondorf, execute a Warlock Punch to send both Young Link and Luigi flying off of the stage.
"Oh, you're gonna regret that," Nick teased.
"Come on, Nick, you of all people should know that I am the queen of punish around here!" Bridget laughed.
In the meantime, Sam and Mat were enjoying their walk.
"I'm not going to say no if you wanted to have another swim or use the jacuzzi when we come back," Sam told Mat.
"The pool was actually what I was looking at," Mat stated. "With the jacuzzi before and after dinner."
"Okay, you bet," Sam giggled.
She couldn't help but feel like she'd bagged a winner of a guy like Mat. That was when something donned on her.
"Mat, you said you were attracted to my bathing suit?" Sam wondered.
"Yeah, why?" Mat asked back.
"You... mind if I ask why?" Sam hesitantly asked.
"Besides I'd never seen one like it; other than that, it's... complicated to explain another reason," Mat replied. "But there's a lot more I admire about you than just that, like your smarts, your quick thinking..."
"Well, aren't you a total sweetheart," Sam giggled as she leaned over to kiss Mat.
A while later, they returned to the beach house.
"You go to the jacuzzi," Sam told Mat. "I'll be right there."
"Okay then," Mat replied.
Sam went to get some bottled water for herself and Mat.
"Sounds like things are getting pretty lively in there, huh?" Sam chuckled when she heard the shouts coming from the living room, no doubt everyone enjoying the Smash game.
"No kidding," Mat quipped.
"AND A WINNER IS ME!" Bridget laughed once the current match was finally over. "That's why you fear my Ganondorf and his mighty fist!"
"Yeah, because Ganondorf is just a poor man's Captain Falcon," May taunted.
"Ooh, them's fightin' words," Alex giggled.
"You are gonna regret that, May," Bridget retorted. "You and me, right now, one-on-one!"
"All I have to say is 'bring it on'," May cackled as she and Bridget got back into it, choosing Captain Falcon and Ganondorf, respectively.
"Are they like this a lot?" Sam wondered as she and Mat briefly returned to the living room, having heard the madness from the other room.
"Let's just say that May is quite the avid Smash player," Nick answered as the one-on-one began in earnest. "She actually won a Melee tournament back in New York without using Fox. And considering Fox is the most broken and busted character in the game, that's gotta count for something."
"You'd probably enjoy this one, Mat," Bridget admitted. "I know you said you're not really into fighting games, but Smash isn't like any other fighting game out there."
"Keep your eye on the birdie, Bridget!" May laughed as she Falcon Punched Ganondorf right off the stage while Bridget was distracted.
The GameCube games marathon continued well into the night, with May showing off her extensive collection of games and even managing to get Mat to try out the new Mario Kart game for the system, Mario Kart Double Dash.
"All aboard the Daisy Cruiser for this one!" May laughed as she, Nick, Mat and Alex got into the game.
Much to May's surprise, Mat managed to win that race, using his knowledge of Mario Kart 64 to figure out how to pull ahead.
"Okay, how did you do that?" May quipped as the next race started, this time on Mushroom City. "This is your first time playing Double Dash, right, Mat?!"
"Just lucky, I guess," Mat chuckled. "Guess my 64 experience blended through."
"BLUE SHELL, BITCH!" Bridget shouted as she pulled ahead of May thanks to landing a Blue Shell at just the right time.
"Man, it's getting lively in here, isn't it?" Sam chuckled.
"You should have seen May at that Melee tournament," Nick replied. "I've never hear someone shout as loud as that in my life."
All in all, it was another wonderful night for the seven spies.
"So, that was a pretty eventful night, if I do say so myself," Nick quipped once it was time for him, May and Bridget to head home for the night. "Who would have thought May would finally get some decent Mario Kart competition?"
"Yeah, I definitely wasn't expecting Mat to be so good at it," Alex giggled.
"No kidding," Nick answered. "Well, I should probably get going before mom starts worrying too much. Both dad and I tell her she doesn't have to worry so much when we're just over by friends, but..."
"It's just a 'mom thing'," Alex replied. "Our moms do it a lot, too, though to be fair, they're in a whole other country..."
"True, very true," Nick stated. "So, I guess I'll see you all in school tomorrow?"
"It's gotta be tough, being stuck in a science class with Mandy, of all people," Alex chuckled. "I can't imagine the things she says to you..."
"It's fine, really," Nick responded. "She thinks she intimidates me, but she doesn't, not in the slightest. And honestly, she's been kinda quiet around me lately."
"You think she's still sore about getting humiliated by Bridget?" Alex wondered.
"Maybe," Nick quipped. "Bridget knows her way around a yo-yo."
But just as Nick turned to leave, he found himself conflicted, wondering if he should...
...before deciding to throw caution to the wind and go for it.
It seemed Alex had the same idea, though, as she moved forward as well, just as Nick turned back around, reaching out to grab him by the shoulders and yank him forward so she could kiss him.
Naturally, Nick was surprised that Alex had gotten the drop on him, but when he realized that she was giving him his first kiss, he reached out to pull Alex closer and kiss her back.
They held the kiss for a few seconds longer before they pulled apart, both blushing like mad but extremely satisfied with themselves.
"See you tomorrow," Alex giggled as she waved to Nick and headed back into the beach house.
Nick was still in a bit of a daze as he walked away, which meant that he almost missed both May and Bridget staring at him with wide grins.
Key word being 'almost'.
"...okay, how much of that did you two see?" Nick quipped as the three of them started walking home.
"Oh, we were watching just long enough to see her plant a big ol' smooch on you," May giggled.
"See, Nick, we told you it was gonna work out!" Bridget laughed. "You just had to stop beating on yourself for past mistakes."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nick replied.
Bridget couldn't help but glance at Nick's expressions when he started talking about Alex. To that end, she scooted closer so she could hug Nick.
"...you really love this girl, don't you?" Bridget asked, her voice soft and devoid of any teasing undertone.
It only took Nick a few seconds to respond.
"...yeah. Yeah, I do," Nick answered. "I don't know what it is about her that's so different from other girls I've had crushes on, but there's just something about Alex that just... gets me."
"Well, if you really think she's the one, then don't let her slip by, okay?" Bridget replied. "I can tell you've got something really special this time around, so make sure you hold on to it."
"Yeah, that's why we're not being our usual teasing selves," May responded.
"Honestly, I appreciate that, girls," Nick quipped. "Now let's get back before my mom has a mini-freakout."
"Hey, that's nothing compared to my mom sometimes," Bridget laughed. "You remember way back when that one guy was stalking around Mistralton?"
"Oh, lord, you're talking about that creep-a-tronic, right?" May groaned, knowing exactly who Bridget was referring to. "He was a creep for sure, but he wouldn't dare mess with you. You and I both know you'd have easily given him the business end of your yo-yos!"
"Your admiration of my yo-yo skills is duly noted," Bridget teased.
As Nick, May and Bridget walked home, they didn't notice someone hiding just out of sight, trying their hardest to stay as far away as possible lest Nick pick up on their thoughts.
They put their binoculars down and slinked away for the moment.
"I need more time."
To be continued...
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Next time...
Clover: Hey, why don't you stand still, you little freak?!
Kandinsky: Oh, that hurts my feelings, spies. You'll have to do better than that to catch the world's greatest magician!
Mat: All right, this guy's already getting on my nerves.
Alex: Yeah, who wants to stomp on him this time?
Bridget: I'll take that bet.
Kandinsky: Oh, wonderful, it's the yo-yo girl.
Bridget: Hey, these yo-yos can work some magic of their own, as you know pretty well. Want me to demonstrate?
Kandinsky: Another time, my dear.
Nick: Oh, no you don't! You're not getting away from us!
Alex: And just like that, readers, another caper begins in earnest, next time on Totally Spies the Movie: Another Side, Another Story, "Standing on the Border of Everything"!
Bridget: Oh, I think I get the chapter titles now.
Nick: Yeah, I suggested that to the writers. That song is a bop.