Disclaimer: I don't own PAW patrol.
Grim Discovery
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
The middle aged woman looked around in confusion, trying to find the source of the childlike voice.
"Down here."
She looked to her feet to see a German Shepherd pup looking up at her with an inquisitive look. Her eyes lit up instantly and she moved both her hands down to assault him with affectionate petting.
"Well aren't you a cute little police puppy! You have a uniform on and everything!" She purred as she rubbed him behind the ear.
He just rolled his eyes, too used to being petted without his consent. "Yes… uh thank you, but…"
"Can I get you a puppuccino with some treats?!"
"Actually, yes please, but can I ask you something important first?" The pup asked.
"Why of course, sweetie." She agreed and leaned on the counter as the pup climbed on the barstool to meet her level. He then used his mouth to pull out a mugshot from his side and placed it on the bar, showing a dyed–hair woman with a vicious scowl.
"I'm Chase of the PAW Patrol and I've been looking for this lady, have you seen anyone like her?" He asked.
"Hmm." She hummed as she pulled the photo to her and tilted her head, her eyes widened in recognition. "Victoria Vance? Isn't she that terrorist that tried to blow up Adventure City?"
"Well technically she used a meteor magnet which ended up pulling meteors to the city, which a fellow member of mine stopped." Chase explained. "Seen or heard anything?"
The bartender shook her head. "I'm afraid I haven't, I'm good with faces and I would have easily recognized someone like that." She responded sorrowfully.
"Oh." Chase lowered his head a bit in dismay. "Well, thank you for your time."
"Now don't you go anywhere mister, not before I get you that pup cup and treats." She lightheartedly ordered before she disappeared through the kitchen doorway.
"I don't think I can pay for it!" Chase called out.
"It's on the house!" The bartender called back.
Chase's tail wagged a little before slumped on the stool.
Another dead end in some no–name diner in some no–name town outside of Adventure Bay. Four days since her second escape and still nothing, no trace or sign of her whereabouts.
It was strange too, her specially contained cell was still locked and was practically dig proof, like she just disappeared into thin air. The warden or the guards didn't see anything as one of them just found the cell empty after investigating her lack of a response to meals and exercise. Chase did have the slight hunch that the warden wasn't being fully cooperative with him despite how hard they pressed him.
Chase found it hard to sleep for the last two days, knowing how dangerously smart Victoria is and the fact that she already had plenty of time to work on any plot of vengeance against the PAW Patrol. On a good note, Humdinger was still locked up so they didn't have him to worry about.
The bartender emerged back from the kitchen with his puppuccino and dog treats.
"If it's anything, I had some shady fellows waltz in here a few days ago, I could pull the camera footage from my phone if you want?" She offered as she set his food down.
"Shady… how?" He asked, his interest peaked.
"They wore suits and shades, and spoke in an accent… I think it was Indian." She answered as she scrolled through her phone trying to find the right date.
"What's so strange about that, they might have been businessmen?" Chase inquired.
"I don't know, they just had a vive that didn't sit with me. They just rushed in here, ordered some tea and asked for directions to Tenth Street in Adventure City before rushing out, they didn't even leave me a tip!"
Tenth Street, Chase thought a moment before his eyes widened in realization. The only notable thing there is the prison!
"Alright, I think this is it." The bartender said as she placed her phone on the bar before Chase.
The Shepherd's brown eyes focused on the footage, darting over to the door as it opened. Two suited men entered at a brisk pace and made for the bar, conversing with the bartender. Like she said, they left as quickly as they arrived when she brought them their tea. His vision then focused on the date at the top corner of the screen, it was the day Victoria broke out.
"Did you get a name from one of them?" Chase asked frantically, his excitement rising.
"I'm afraid I didn't." The woman confessed. "They left before had the chance to."
"What did they pay with?" Chase asked, hoping they used a card so they can get info.
"Cash." She admitted. "Though they did let me keep the change at least."
Dammit! Chase inwardly exclaimed as his eyes fell to the bar.
"Sorry I couldn't be of much help." The lady apologized, noticing his frustration.
"No no!" Chase barked. "You gave me a new lead at least, it's the most we've gotten in the last few days."
"Well glad I could help with that." She said appreciatively. "Now you enjoy your food and if you need anything else just say so."
Chase nodded before she walked off to clean or whatever, and began to nibble at his treats and allowing his thoughts to run.
Even though he'd hit a dead end with these guys, it was at least something. They could have just been visiting an inmate, but it just seemed too much to be a coincidence. One thing was for certain though, they were going to have another talk with the warden and they were going to make sure they get straight answers from him.
With the satisfying thought, Chase finished the rest of his treats and took a swig of his puppuccino. The coffee taste washing down the treats brought a smile to his muzzle as he watched the afternoon sun set out of the windows. I just had a good feeling about today.
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
The alarming noise broke the police pup out of his relaxed state of mind and drew his attention to the diner's tv. He perked his ears as he saw it was an emergency broadcast.
The well–known news reporter Sam Stringer sat away from the camera, his head lowered. Chase stood on his stool, watching the tv in anticipation of what was going on.
"Sam, we're live." A voice cut out from behind the camera.
"I know… just…" Sam slowly looked up at the camera, a hollow stare etched on his face.
"This is Sam Stringer of Adventure City news…" He hesitated, his voice was almost devoid of any emotion. "I've come to bring you a report that you don't want to hear given recent events in Adventure City."
Sam was shaking as the broadcast screen above him showed a large asteroid. "This is Anomaly KN5, a planet–killing asteroid."
Chase froze in place, his heart stopping. He can already see where this was going, he just didn't want to believe it. Everything around him began to phase out as he focused on the reporter.
"NASA, along with every other space agency have confirmed imminent impact." Sam stopped and hung his head low, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.
Panic began to take hold of the pup as his heart began to race. Frantically, he was thinking of any ideas to combat this thing or any other way they could all avoid this.
"It spans roughly twenty five kilometers in diameter… more than twice that of the one that killed the dinosaurs, and with the speed the asteroid is moving the impact date is close to six years from now." Sam informed gravely. "If you want to try to prepare or… spend time with your family or enjoying yourself, now's the time to start."
Chase was in somewhat of a stupor now, he didn't even hear the sound of the waitress dropping a glass or her gasping. Just when they get a break, things get worse, way worse. Without thinking, Chase snapped out of it and ran outside for his cruiser.
He had to get back to the Aircraft Carrier HQ no matter what.
The sun had set by the time he boarded the vessel and disregarded his vehicle. The traffic was absolutely insane in Adventure City and the sidewalks were chaotic, which was understandable given the circumstances. The building wrap screens and tvs in various storefronts were talking about the asteroid, every channel and every station.
The police pup stormed down into the bowels of the vessel into the cargo bay. They were all there, their faces showing either fear or hopelessness as the mission monitor droned on with different news outlets showing the same thing. The screen clicked off as Ryder entered.
Crying could be heard as Liberty did her best to comfort the Junior Patrollers who in turn were weeping in light of the news.
"Are we… are we going to die?" Nano sniffled.
"Hey! No! Don't talk like that!" Liberty shut him down. "No one's gonna die… we just need to think of a plan."
Liberty's false hope did little to comfort the trio as they continued to whine.
"Ryder," Skye spoke first, getting the boy's attention. "What do we do?"
"We…" Ryder trailed, not truly knowing what to do and desperately trying to think of an action plan.
"What do you mean 'what do we do?', we have the crystal's don't we?" Chase suggested.
The other pups looked at him in solemnly, acknowledging his presence. Chase followed their gazes to the floor where their once radiant mighty crystals sat in the middle of the room, colorless. Chase walked over to them and picked one up, the crystal's light was gone and the aura of power it had was absent. It was little more than a rock now.
The police pup dropped it and looked back at the others in shock. "What happened?"
"They just… died." Rocky squeaked.
"They dimmed out just before you came back, we don't know what caused it." Ryder confirmed.
Chase narrowed his eyes at the dead crystals, a mixture of frustration and hopelessness filled him like water in a sinking ship. He figured with their mighty powers they could stand a chance against the incoming rock but that was off the table now. It was all truly pointless now, any plan they would come up with will just delay the inevitable.
"How much do you guys wanna but Victoria had something to do with this?" Liberty blurted, breaking the silence.
"Liberty, I don't think…"
"Just think though, ever since she escaped shit's just been going…!"
"Liberty!" Ryder and a few of the other pups cut her for her language.
The Dachshund put her paw to her muzzle, forgetting about the trio. "Pardon my french." She apologized sheepishly before flipping back to her hard inquisitive tone. "Think about it, everything has been going down in the dumps since Victoria got out."
"Yeah but I don't see how she could do this, if she had more crystals than surly those would be dead also." Ryder tried to reason.
"But what if the mad lady caused it? You know she has it out for us." Liberty continued.
"And how would she be able to do that when she's only been out for a few days now?" Ryder countered. "No magnets or any other expensive devices have been reported stolen and all law enforcement agencies kilometers from here are actively searching."
"I don't know, but she is a mad scientist." Liberty reminded.
"Hey." Chase spoke up as he thought back to the diner, Victoria's name temporarily bringing him out of his depressive state. All eyes fell on him.
"I think I have a lead on her, a bartender at the place I came back from had camera footage of some men in suits asking directions for the prison. This was the same day she disappeared." Chase presented.
The pups look surprised and Ryder raised a brow.
"Did you get a copy downloaded or any other information about the men?" Ryder questioned.
"Dang it! No." Chase slapped his paw on the floor. "The broadcast came on before I could think to ask, and she didn't have much on the guys other than they had Indian accents." Chase admitted.
"Hmm." Ryder thought at that sole detail. "I'll organize a team first thing tomorrow to check out the prison again, see if we can get the full truth out of the warden and search for any more clues we might have missed."
The rest of the PAW patrol exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.
"If she did had something to do with that asteroid, we'll hunt her down and stop her even without our powers." Ryder finished with determination.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Liberty agreed.
The pup's moods were raised just a bit, they had a plan of action now even if there was a high probability Victoria Vance had nothing to do with Anomaly KN5. It was still something, just a small amount of hope.
"Nice job bud." Ryder rewarded Chase with a pet for the new lead, filling the pup with a new sense of pride that seem to block out the fear of imminent death.
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
"Ahh!" The pups yelled simultaneously, startled by another emergency broadcast on their mission display screen. Ryder shot it an annoyed glare to see a man in a black suit with a purple tie and turban. The man's smile radiated confidence and seemed contagious.
"Greetings citizens of Earth, wherever you hail from." He began, a slight trace of Indian in his accent.
"Hey… that guy looks familiar." Rocky stated as he pointed at the screen.
"It is of great honor that the leaders of the world have given me the spotlight on their national televisions, my name is Rashad Chopra." He paused before continuing. "Many of you recognize me as the head of Starleap, my company that I built from the ground up that has become the lifeblood of modern space technology."
"Wow," Rubble spoke in shock. "They gave this guy the spotlight of the world."
"Why not? He's probably the only one that can do something about this." Chase countered.
Rashad Chopra himself was a very intelligent and wealthy man. Once a revered scientist of ISRO, he left for the U.S. where he can acquire more wealth to build his own space company. That company became Starleap, which easily beat out others in rocket and fuel innovations though they did delve in more secretive fields of research.
"I just hope he has something." Skye murmured.
"Quiet down, guys." Ryder waved his hand back as he nodded to the screen, he was speaking again.
"Today, we have made a discovery that without a doubt has filled all of you with a sense of dread many have never felt before." He paused before continuing. "But you shouldn't worry so much, I have a solution."
The pups pricked their ears, listening closely as to not miss any of Rashad's next words.
"Firstly, I will no longer be a CEO, but a director of sorts, the director of the Haven Colonial Expedition." Rashad announced as he motioned his hand to the right, a picture of a planet appeared. It had two moons, clouds, and bodies of water but it was hard to make anything else out.
"Haven?" Tot piped up, his eyes lighting up with wonder. The two other Junior Patrollers shared his expression.
"What is Haven you might ask, it's a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, just short of a thousand light years from us." He paused as he stood up, now pacing the broadcasting room. "Now I'm well aware that none of our current rockets do not have a chance of reaching it, but I know a shortcut, a path through time and space right to that world."
"Like a portal or something?" Marshall asked.
"Let's let him finish." Ryder reminded.
"Starleap has already drafted a prototype station dubbed a 'Loop Gate' that will require large amounts of power to lead us to the Haven, how this station will do that I cannot reveal." Rashad took a more serious tone as he looked into the camera. "But in order to get millions to our new home, EVERYONE needs to cooperate, no more wars or petty politics, just compliance to our race's salvation."
"Can't argue with that." Liberty noted.
Rashad put his hands in a pleading motion. "Join us, Join the HCE."
That was his final words before the broadcast ended, the screen now showing a green crescent with two dots orbiting it, a White 'H' in the middle of the crescent.
The silence that filled the cargo hold was deafening, every one of the PAW Patrol trying to wrap their head around what they just saw. Ryder eventually turned around to face the pups. "So, what do you all think?"
The pups either looked to their paws or exchanged glances, none of them knew what to think. Haven looked a little sketch, but if it truly was a habitable planet they could get to then they have a chance.
"How does he know Haven is habitable?" Rocky questioned with skepticism. "I didn't see any greenery."
"It might just be a poor shot." Ryder reasoned.
"I bet the waves on that planet are killer with those two moons!" Zuma said excitedly.
"I'd say I'm down for it, unless we find crazy lady beforehand and stop her." Liberty agreed. "If she's even controlling that rock."
Even though a few were still hesitant, all of the pups eventually agreed. Even the Junior Patrollers seem to have their innocent spark of happiness back.
"Then it's settled then, we're joining the HCE." Ryder stated affirmatively.
Most of the other pups felt a sense of relief from this new development of a grim situation. Chase however found himself thinking back to the diner, those men. Something nudged at him, they had the same accent as Rashad and were dressed in business attire. It could have been a coincidence, but he couldn't help himself from thinking they were Starleap. And if so, what could they want from the prison?
Things just got interesting, real interesting.