Once at headquarters, the Rovers were doing an examination on Scout. After a physical, Hunter looked over the results.
"Everything seems to check out.", he stated, "Heart rate is good, the bone structure is up to date also, and internal organs all look great."
Colleen looked Scout's way as the new Rover was getting his uniform back on a bit worried.
"And when he goes invisible?"
Scout looked at his teammates with a sympathetic look.
"Guys, I assure you that I'm in perfect health and the results prove it. Even in my stealth mode, I'm still okay."
"Stealth mode?", Blitz asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, it needs a name doesn't it?", Scout asked, "That can come in handy couldn't it?"
Shag looked a bit on board also while Exile looked thoughtful. Hunter looked Scout's way still a bit taken aback. As long as the team had known him, Scout was known as the secret weapon due to his mental instability and savage assaults, but now that Scout was stable and now capable of actual speech, it was like he was a whole new Rover.
"You okay Hunter?", Scout asked bringing Hunter out of his thoughts.
"Oh, yeah.", Hunter answered, "I'm just… remembering…"
"When I was who I used to be?", Scout asked guessing what Hunter was thinking.
Hunter nodded and Colleen seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Scout, you still recall what we used to be like?"
Scout rolled his eyes.
"Every detail. Blitz's advances, you and Hunter's relationship blossoming, Shag's acts of cowardice, and Exile's usual banter. No offense."
"None taken.", Blitz answered as he checked his charts, "It looks like whatever made you a Rover straightened out what Parvo did to you."
Hunter flinched as he recalled when he thought of using the transformation chamber to help Scout out, but feared what it would do to him if he did. If he had known that this is what Scout would be then, would he still go for it? Scout then looked firm.
"I heard about what happened to my owner.", he said before looking a bit sad, "It's too bad he couldn't see me as I am now."
Hunter put a hand on Scout's shoulder.
"Scout, it's okay. We'll stop Marauder and continue on cause that's what Shepherd would've wanted."
The others agreed and Scout felt more at ease knowing that they were behind him. After a bit, Dale came in with a serious look on his face.
"Guys, I found Marauder's latest base.", he reported, "Panama."
Hunter looked eager and turned to his new team member.
"Scout, you up for a little espionage?"
Scout smiled.
"Rover Scout at the ready sir.", he said as he gave a salute.
Hunter chuckled as he recalled meeting Scout before they officially became Road Rovers. Sure he didn't know him at the time, but they could talk to each other about anything as if they were brothers.
"Okay Rovers, let's move out.", he said proudly before turning to Dale, "Dale, can you watch over us from the base here?"
/
Dale nodded.
"Roger that. I also made some special lenses you all can wear in case Marauder sends any chameleons into the field."
As the Rovers headed to Panama, Scout was seated and looking more at ease than he ever was.
"Oh, it feels so good to be off that gurney and out of that straightjacket.", he sighed contently.
Hunter couldn't help but smile. It was kind of fun to see Scout no longer bound and maybe having him on the front lines and not as a last resort might be useful.
"We're approaching coordinates.", Blitz reported.
At that moment, a message came from headquarters.
"Guys, I'm sending some new equipment your way including those special lenses I gave you before you left.", Dale reported.
Hunter looked interested.
"What kind of equipment?", he asked.
"Special radiation proof plating, swim attachments including a special underwater apparatus that allows communication and breathing, with more on the way."
Colleen looked impressed.
"What was your job on Marauder's team?", she asked, "Tech development?"
Dale looked a bit embarrassed.
"Guilty."
Soon, the jet had landed a good distance outside Panama City where Dale had reported where Marauder's next move was going to be. Once all the Rovers filed out, Hunter looked Scout's way.
"Okay, ready for this?"
Scout nodded and looked eager.
"I was born ready."
Colleen and Exile looked a bit worried.
"Are you sure?", Exile asked, "It's the first time you're not in a gurney."
Scout said nothing as he just vanished, but the Rovers knew he was still around.
"Okay Scout, simple infiltration and report back to us.", Hunter instructed.
Hunter felt a tap on his shoulder and then an idea came to mind. He pulled out a little pad and a screen came up that showed the other Rovers.
"Scout?", Hunter asked.
"Present.", Scout reported, "Now you guys can see what I do while I'm looking around."
The Rovers watched as the monitor showed the landscape and soon, Scout was outside Panama City.
"Entering Panama City now.", Scout reported.
Hunter turned to the other Rovers.
"Okay, we'll head in though quietly."
As they headed towards Panama City, Blitz kept an eye on the monitor that showed what Scout was seeing when a large sparkling tower was seen above some buildings.
"What is that?", he asked.
The monitor froze as Scout had noticed too.
"I'm thinking that is not a good sign?", Scout asked.
Hunter felt his heart skip a beat.
"Find out what you can, but don't be seen.", Hunter stated, "We'll head in."
"Careful.", Scout reported, "I think Marauder has some of his goons lurking around."
Just then, Dale called in.
"Guys, there's a massive power surge coming from Panama City center. I'm guessing that's where the trouble is."
If the Rovers weren't worried, they were feeling it now.
"We have to get there!", Hunter said quickly.
/
Scout hurried to get a good viewpoint and took out a pair of spectacles that acted like binoculars so he could get a better look. Judging by the guards and clear "Rouge" marking, he knew this had to be the work of Marauder. While still invisible, he clicked the side of his head where a small microphone paired with his spectacles which picked up something he had to hear.
"We'll be ready in three minutes."
"And soon, our demonstration will make a splash in the parasitic race that has run this world for too long."
"Hail the new master race."
"Marauder will be pleased."
Scout put his stuff away and crept closer before he felt a rumble under his feet. For a moment, he thought he was caught, but no light came on him.
"Sorry, discharge of extra energy."
Scout breathed silently a sigh of relief, but as he got closer to the gate, his suit started to vibrate uncontrollably.
"That's not good.", he thought.
Lucky for him, his teammates showed up and drew attention to them and away from him. Scout smiled and hurried to a control panel before calling Dale.
"Dale, I'm going to need a code to deactivate a machine that is about to wipe out Panama City.", he reported as he became visible again.
Dale nodded.
"Roger that. Code on the way. Good thing I have a good memory of those codes Marauder had us learn."
Scout got to the panel and looked over his shoulder to see his team at a standstill with the Rouges on call. He had to work fast if he was going to shut this down.
"Purge executing in two minutes."
Scout's heart skipped a beat as sweat formed on the sides of his head as his fingers flew across the keys. Dale looked just as worried.
"Code uploaded."
Scout hurried to punch the keys, but the code was long and the clock was ticking.
"Purge in one minute."
Scout tried to hurry his typing, but it seemed so far away.
"Purge in five… four… three…"
Scout managed to get the final digit of the code in and pressed the enter key just as the timer hit one. A pause and then a new message came out.
"Purge aborted. Purge aborted."
Scout sighed, but as he noticed his team winning, the Rouges on the scene suddenly disappeared. And then a hologram of Marauder's face came up over the whole team.
"Hello, my puny minded adversaries. I see you met my device."
Hunter frowned.
"Game over Marauder."
Marauder raised an eyebrow under his mask as he raised a detonator.
"Oh, really?"
The Rovers froze as Scout hurried away from the panel he was at so he could regroup with the team.
"Think of this as a test.", Marauder continued, "On a positive note, you passed."
He then pressed the detonator and the Rovers hit the dirt just as the device exploded taking a good part of Panama City with it.
/
As the Rovers headed back, they were feeling miffed and annoyed.
"I can't believe the Panama government is calling our help part of the terrorist attack it just went through.", Colleen said firmly, "We should've gotten that thing taken down faster."
Blitz looked just as firm.
"Excuse me, but Scout was doing most of the work. All we were doing was drawing attention and fighting to stay alive."
Exile growled as he gripped his seat's arms as the jet continued to fly through the sky. Shag felt tension grow as Colleen and Blitz sent banter back and forth.
"Oh, as if you were holding your own Blitz!"
"Wasn't it your idea to take the east flank when I could handle it?!"
Exile then blew some banter of his own.
"As if you had ideas?!"
Scout stood up.
"Enough!", he screamed gaining the whole group's attention, "Look around you! Don't you see?! This is what Marauder wants! He's trying to divide us!"
That made everyone pause as Scout took a few deep breaths to calm down.
"First he gave us a taste of his ideas in Hawaii, now Shepherd's dead, and now this. You call yourselves Rovers and yet we're fighting ourselves instead of who we should."
Colleen, Blitz and Exile each looked sympathetic and then after a while, their intense looks dissolved into shock and realization.
"Marauder said this was a test.", Blitz said, "That means that-"
"He was testing us so he'd be more successful.", Colleen finished.
Hunter's heart skipped a beat as fear started gripping it. Just when he was about to ask a question of his own, Dale called in.
"Well, I have good news and I have bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"
Hunter steeled himself as if bracing for a blow.
"Bad news first."
Dale took a breath before talking.
"Okay, news about the event you prevented has started and people are getting tense and though grateful nobody got hurt, they're still growing anxious about Marauder and his Rogues."
Colleen looked firm.
"Okay, and what's the good news?"
Dale smiled.
"I know where Marauder's main device is located."
/
Marauder smiled as he read a newspaper depicting the devastation his "test" has wrought and his fellow Rogues were equally enjoying it.
"Well Boss, we certainly made a splash.", Garret said grinning ghoulishly.
"That's right boys.", Marauder chuckled, "I've made an impact, but now we need to up our game."
Whiplash looked concerned.
"But what about Dale?", he asked, "He's turned on us and will certainly-"
Marauder silenced him with a look.
"Try to take us down for the death of his close friend, but Carlos knew the risk and was more than willing to throw his friendship with Dale away for it. Dale didn't know, but who's going to tell him that his friend committed suicide?"
As the Rogues cackled with malevolent delight, Parvo and Groomer were nearby and not looking pleased.
"I'd say this guy has lost it.", Parvo said firmly.
Groomer nodded.
"Let's leave."
The moment they turned to leave, Marauder appeared in front of them with a raised eyebrow.
"Leaving? So soon?", he asked as his claw that he was circling lit up with heat, "But our deal is still in play."
Parvo and Groomer had to think fast or Marauder wouldn't think twice on going back on his deal with them.
"Oh, we… were just hoping to check our plan in case our opponents show up.", Parvo said quickly.
Groomer whacked her forehead as Marauder's expression hardened and he stuck the point of his claw at Parvo's face.
"Don't think of double-crossing me cause if you do…"
He paused a moment to point beside the duo and a burst of flames erupted as if a small grenade had gone off there and his claw went to normal as the duo flinched from the blast.
"I won't miss.", Marauder finished.
And with a snap of his fingers, Marauder vanished in a burst of fire. If Parvo and Groomer weren't on edge, they were now.
"Now what?", Parvo asked.
Groomer looked firm.
"Guess we have no choice.", she said though her tone of voice told Parvo that she was feeling the same as he was before she smiled, "Unless, we can use this to our advantage."
Parvo smiled. If there was one from his ranks that he could rely on, it was Groomer.