As the team of scientists got their equipment packed into crates and the Rovers helped, they were soon ready to hit the road.
"So, where we going?", Blitz asked curiously.
"We have a testing site out in the countryside so our work won't be trouble for the rest of Paris.", Dr. Verb stated, "It's where we go to test if we think we're close to making a breakthrough."
Hunter tensed. This felt like trouble if Parvo and Groomer caught wind of this and Colleen must have read his expression.
"You okay?", she asked him.
Hunter looked her way a bit worried.
"Colleen, I think we might get wind of trouble if Parvo knows about this."
Shag shivered as his face gave the expression of anxiety or at least it would if they could see his eyes, but most of his hair covered the top of his face, but the other Rovers had been around him long enough to guess what he was thinking.
"Shag, we'll be okay.", Exile assured him, "We'll be okay."
Soon, Dr. Verb's team had packed up and the vehicles were revving up ready to head out. The Rovers drove alongside the convoy, but a small cockroach spy camera had captured everything and the French bulldog Rover had seen everything and a cruel smile came to his face.
"So, they must have found the proper sequence and power level that Marauder was looking for.", he said to himself, "Time to make my move."
He turned and snapped his fingers and a wall beside him slid open and three large shadows walked out. It was too dark to see what they were, but the Rover knew what they were.
"You know what to do don't you?", the Rover asked slyly.
"Of course sir.", all three answered.
The Rover then snapped his fingers again and another wall opened up revealing a set of stairs.
"Your vehicles are well prepared and were adjusted last night.", he said firmly, "Don't let me down."
The three shadows filed across the room and were heading down the stairs.
"We take it you won't be joining us?"
The Rover looked amused.
"No, I have an idea and I think I know the Rover who would be more than willing to let me in."
Her got up and walked over to a closet and entered before closing the door behind him. A while later, he came out again wearing a familiar Road Rover uniform and smiling ghoulishly.
"Road Rover Pierre at your service.", he said bowing humbly.
"Brilliant.", a shadow answered.
"The Rovers won't know I'm behind everything until it's too late.", the Rover said slyly, "We'll have the research and be gone before anyone knows what happened."
The shadows were soon gone, but "Pierre" went to his garage where his own limousine was waiting. A servant opened the door and he got in. The driver also got in and they were soon outside as "Pierre" tapped a button on the arm of his chair and a television screen flipped over from the roof and showed Parvo and Groomer.
"I'm on route to the extraction point.", he reported, "My little surprise will be in position after the Rovers meet me."
Parvo and Groomer didn't look amused.
"You had better. Marauder doesn't like failure."
"Pierre" nodded as the screen flipped back up to the roof of the car. The limo parked a couple blocks away and he got out.
"Head back the other way.", he told his driver.
The driver did so and "Pierre" swiftly made his way to a crossroad where he peaked around a corner and noticed a car that he knew was part of the convoy the Road Rovers would be guarding and grinned.
"Time to make my move.", he chuckled.
/
As the convoy kept up on route to the site, but in the Rover's vehicles, there was some anxiety. Shag in particular. He was seated near Muzzle and though Muzzle gave a friendly smile, Shag had something going through his mind. Ever since Blitz had grown a nerve and though him and Colleen had made up and forgave each other, there was something that didn't feel right. He recalled Colleen stating that she had seen something about Blitz not being the real one, but the following day after that talk, Blitz returned and even though he gave space and was more humble, what could've caused Blitz to change his ways so well? Could what Colleen had said be true and Blitz wasn't who he appeared to be or did Blitz finally change his ways? He didn't know, but as the vehicles kept driving, his gaze fell on what looked like a Rover on the street and even though he had hair over his eyes, he saw that this Rover stood up to reveal he was a black Labrador retriever with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. The Rover made eye contact and Shag felt a shiver go down his spine as if he was looking at something horrific.
"Shag?"
Shag slipped away from the window and looked to Colleen who looked where he did, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"What were you looking at out there?", she asked him.
Shag babbled, but Colleen knew he said that he had no idea. The tone in her voice caught her off a bit, but that was put on hold as an explosion went off and almost flipped the vehicle.
"Rover, move out!", Hunter called out.
The Rovers jumped into action as more explosions went off and clearly it was an attack. Dr. Verb was buckling as his staff tried to secure the stash of control rods.
"What is going on here?", Exile called out.
A large smoke cloud erupted in front of the whole convoy making it stop and when it cleared, the Rovers were seeing three large Rovers (all Great Danes) with a steely gaze and matching sneers.
"Go no further!", they all said in unification.
The Rovers tensed, but Blitz made the first move in conversation.
"Who's asking?", he asked.
The Danes just then leaped into action and attacked. Even though it was five against three, the fight was even. Whatever the Rovers threw at them, the Danes seemed to be able to predict and intercept it with precise accuracy. But after a bit, as it looked like one of the Danes was about to deliver a killing blow, another Rover representing a French bulldog interfered and with a few quick swipes with his cane, the Dane backed off as the other two gathered by his side.
"This isn't over.", One said coldly as all three jumped up to a roof and vanished over the other side.
As Colleen gathered her breath, the new Rover offered his arm like a gentlemen.
"Madam.", he said politely, "May I help you with getting to your feet?"
As the rest came over, they couldn't help but notice and grow concerned.
"Who were those Danes?", Blitz asked.
"A trio of hired assailants.", the new Rover answered, "But they won't be bothering us any time soon now that I'm here to help."
Hunter brightened.
"The Master sent you?", he asked.
"Sure.", the new Rover answered smiling warmly, "I'm Pierre and I just started work today."
Hunter looked eager.
"We could use your help if those… goons show up again."
Pierre nodded and followed the Rovers back to their vehicle, but when their eyes were off him, his look turned predatory.
"Perfect.", he thought deviously to himself as a smirk came to his face, "Excellent work boys. You played your part well."
/
With a new Rover on the team, the convoy went on its way while the Rovers spoke with the new guy.
"What were those Rovers that attacked earlier?", Exile asked.
"Those were the Marksons.", Pierre answered looking firm, "A trio of great Danes that were made to serve as assailants."
Hunter looked confused.
"I thought Stephen was the only one who could have that technology."
"Well, apparently someone had the resources and tech to be able to recreate it or enough to make one of their own.", Pierre answered, "There is evil out there and its growing."
Blitz was a little bit tense.
"That explains that Charae girl I met on my break.", he thought to himself, "And Theo as well."
"Blitz?"
Blitz came out of his thoughts as he noticed Hunter looking his way.
"You okay?"
Blitz thought fast.
"Yeah, just… recovering from our encounter earlier."
Colleen found that unlikely, but since Blitz was giving her space and respect, she chose not to object to it. Something just didn't add up though. First a core that was nuclear and now control rods that harness radiation? What was Parvo and Groomer's end game this time? As she looked Pierre's way, the cane caught her eye. Unfortunately Pierre saw her notice and gave her a humbled look when he placed a hand across its topper.
"A gift from my former owner.", he said calmly, "For good measure."
Colleen seemed to accept that, but behind her expression, she wasn't buying it. That cane was the property of someone she had heard about back in the British Embassy. She couldn't quite place a name, but the cane rang a bell. After a while, the convoy had arrived at a large open field that clearly looked set up for the testing. As Dr. Verb and his team set up, Colleen took Blitz aside.
"What's up?", he asked a bit surprised.
"Isn't it a bit odd that a trio of evil Danes show up and when they're about to win, he shows up?", Colleen asked mentioning towards Pierre.
Blitz noticed the new Rover, but he didn't look on board.
"I don't know about you, but I think something's off about him."
Colleen nodded.
"Yeah, that cane belonged to a wealthy diplomat from Paris who owned a French bulldog. He was a bit snippy, but he did a great job of representing his country."
Blitz raised an eyebrow.
"I don't follow."
Colleen looked his way a bit miffed.
"His owner died a couple months back. Police say it was some kind of wild animal, but the evidence to me said otherwise."
Hunter then noticed the two talking and came over.
"Everything okay?"
Blitz and Colleen quickly slapped on the best expressions they could in the moment.
"Yah, we're just talking.", Blitz answered, "We just find it odd that a trio of… assailants show up and now Pierre."
/
Before Hunter could question further, Dr. Verb called out that the test was ready. As everyone took their places and the control rods were in place, Dr. Verb started up the panel.
"Goggles on please.", he instructed.
Everyone placed their special goggles on though Muzzle needed a bit of help so Shag put his goggles on for him and Dr. Verb's team continued.
"Uranium getting into position."
A large sphere was carted to the center of the rods by a couple of workers in protective gear and was set down gently before they parted.
"Beginning control rod activation.", another scientist answered after pressing a button.
The sphere began glowing and the rods did also. An ominous hum came out as both charged further.
"Alright, cross your fingers.", Dr. Verb instructed before hitting a button.
Several streams of uranium flowed from the sphere to the rods as the hum grew louder. The readings went into yellow, but the flow was stable. After a moment or two, the streams ended and the rods remained intact.
"Doctor, we have a successful uranium containment.", a fellow scientist reported proudly.
The Rovers were ecstatic as they joined the applause. This would help so many people after the bomb droppings and Dr. Verb's rods continued lighting and dimming like a set of lights.
"We've found the material.", Dr. Verb said before turning to someone taking notes, "Did we get it?"
The fellow scientist nodded as she held up a notepad with the writing. Pierre however looked a bit sly as he pressed a button on his arm and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"They found it. Commence phase two."
Dr. Verb then pressed the button again and the streams of radiation started flowing back into the sphere from the rods.
"Alright, just need to return the radiation and-"
Unfortunately, that was when everyone noticed the streams stop and flowed upward into the sky.
"What's going on?", Dr. Verb asked in alarm.
The Rovers got into fighting positions when a message came through their communicators.
"Rovers, I just had some special anti-radiation gear updated to your armors. That should protect you from this assault."
Hunter had no idea who it was, but he was not going to.
"Move out!", he called out.
Just as the Rovers had started, the sphere sparked and the dials on the panels went red.
"Containment critical!", a scientist called out, "We need cold."
Exile went into action using his special freeze ray to keep the sphere from overheating while Shag helped people get away with Hunter. Blitz, Colleen and Pierre helped also with Muzzle being carted back.
"We have to get out of the blast zone.", Blitz stated.
Exile managed to buy everyone some time, but then the familiar trio of Danes showed up again and the fighting resumed. Even with Pierre on their side, the fight was even, but as Hunter and Pierre were a good distance away, Hunter was feeling a bit tired.
"Geez, where did these guys are tough."
"I know.", Pierre answered slyly, "I sent them here."
Hunter froze and turned to Pierre just in time to see the Rover thrust his cane into face and a puff of gas erupted. Hunter gagged, sneezed, and coughed before he fell down unconscious and Pierre caught him and made a call on his communicator.
"Target retrieved. Return to base."
As the Rovers had managed to hold off the Danes enough to let Dr. Verb regain control of the sphere, Colleen noticed Pierre carrying Hunter into a jet with the Danes.
"Rovers, stop him!", she called out.
Even though the Rovers ran forward, the jet already took off and was soon out of sight. Colleen stood there in shock, but then she was angry.
"Traitor!", she called out to the open sky.
She then slumped to the ground hitting it hard as angry tears flowed from her eyes. Blitz was strongly reminded of himself and now he had to help her now.
"Hey, we'll get him back.", he assured, "I promise."
Colleen tried to calm down. She knew getting angry wouldn't solve anything. Dr. Verb came over looking relieved.
"Well, the sphere and rods are under-", he started before noticing that Hunter was missing and the other Rovers were looking shocked and upset, "What happened?"
Colleen rose to her feet looking determined and firm.
"Hunter was kidnapped by a traitor.", she informed, "And we're going to get him back."