On Today's Episode: The spies and the Jellyfish Pirates chase after Captain Dread to save Haruka, even when her big secret is possibly about to be revealed. Alongside that particular problem, James is still trying to kidnap the women of Tachikawa to make Sam see his twisted way of thinking. Can the spies take care of both sides of this conflict? And what will the spies' reaction to Haruka's big reveal be?
Act 2: Strength of Heart
8:09 P.M. – Tachikawa, Tokyo
"Wait, so you're telling me that your dimensional counterpart broke the Paradox Prism trying to keep it out of that Tim Scam's hands?" Dizzy wondered as the spies regaled the Jellyfish Pirates with what they'd learned about the Shatterverse while chasing down Captain Dread.
"What's worse, I have a feeling Captain Dread isn't native to that particular dimension," Alex noted. "What the heck she wants with the Paradox Prism is beyond me..."
"I'm more concerned with why she kidnapped Haruka," Nozomi stated.
"Nutjobs like that rarely need a good reason to do the scummy things they do," Mat quipped.
"I just realized something," Mira asked. "How are we supposed to track her? Since she's probably not a part of your rogues' gallery here, she might not be in your database for RiCO to do her usual thing..."
"Never fear, Mira, I have just the solution," RiCO chuckled from Nick's X-Powder. "I'm actually tracking the energy signature emanating from the Prism Shard that Captain Dread's carrying."
"Even interdimensional pirates can't hide from RiCO's all-seeing eye," Nick quipped. "Let's hurry up, everyone."
"Yeah, let's burn all the rubber!" Bridget proclaimed. "Sonic Mode, online!"
As everyone picked up the pace, May and Bridget glanced at each other discreetly, being the only two spies who knew what Haruka had been keeping bottled up for a while.
And no doubt they both knew what Captain Dread was attempting to do.
Putting that thought in the back of their minds for the moment, the group continued to race across Tachikawa, hoping to find Captain Dread quickly.
After about ten minutes of searching, the trail led the group to the site of the old Tachikawa Attached Junior High, May's old middle school.
"Oh, good, at least it's still standing," May quipped, remembering how the school had been one of the many buildings in Tachikawa that had been wrecked by the chaos of the 'Shattered World Crisis' until Nick and Alex had used the Time Stones to fix everything.
"Let's get up there fast," Sam stated as Nick covered everyone in a large psychic bubble and levitated them up to the rooftop, where Captain Dread was waiting for them.
"How nice of you to join the party," Captain Dread chuckled. "Now we can really get started."
"This is the only warning you're going to get, 'captain'," Nick proclaimed, his psychic aura flaring to life around him. "Let Haruka out of that bubble or there's going to be consequences."
"But don't you want to hear what she has to say?" Captain Dread retorted, gesturing to Haruka, who was still trapped in that bubble of light. "Go on, tell them. Or would you rather I use my power to vaporize them on the spot?"
Haruka sighed in frustration. She knew there was no way out of it now. All she could do was reveal her big secret, and hope the spies would understand.
"...well, I guess..." Haruka started before trying her best to compose herself, knowing she'd probably be a bit of a mess by the end of this. "I guess there's really no hiding it any longer, huh? The truth is... I've fallen in love with Nick. It really only started recently, but I've been keeping it to myself while I think of a way to say something to all of you and hope you'd understand. Even though this kind of thing has happened before, I didn't really think I'd be as lucky as the others were. I wanted to say something after this mission, but..."
"But it looks like all of your delicate little plans just went belly-up," Captain Dread retorted. "When I figured out what you were hiding from them, I figured it'd be a great way to sow the seeds of a little anarchy. Oh, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize you're nothing more than a dalliance."
Before Haruka could reply to that, Captain Dread was suddenly knocked out of the air by a much stronger Final Shine Attack from Nick, sending her reeling backwards.
"Watch what you call my friends, you two-bit pirate cosplayer," Nick stated.
"Yeah, what Nick said!" Alex exclaimed, aiming a Cyclone Blast Hairdryer towards Captain Dread. "You have no right to interfere with a girl's feelings, regardless of who they're for!"
"She obviously agonized over this for a long time until you had to go and ruin it," Mat proclaimed.
Haruka was surprised by the spies' expressions, almost as if...
"...wait, you knew?" Haruka gasped. "You all knew?!"
"We didn't want to say anything about it at first," Sam answered. "We figured you'd find the proper time to tell us, and so we waited."
"Yeah, we've been in this kind of boat before, so we kinda knew the signs," Britney quipped.
"See, Captain Dread? You don't have anything else to use against us," Nick stated. "Now why don't you beat it and let us talk it over in peace?!"
Nick could have sworn he'd seen Captain Dread staring longingly at him before she recomposed herself.
"I assure you, this isn't over," Captain Dread proclaimed as she used the Blue Prism Shard to open a Quantum Rift for her to escape into. The instant Captain Dread was gone, the bubble surrounding Haruka vanished, allowing everyone to run up to her and see if she was okay.
"...you really all knew what I wanted to say, didn't you?" Haruka asked, looking like she was about to start crying any second.
"It's like we said, we all had a feeling, but we secretly decided we'd rather let you tell us of your own volition," Melissa replied. "That's how these things usually go, right?"
"Sorry that Captain Dread had to screw up your plans," Blaine quipped. "That's gotta suck, huh?"
"Hey, at least it's out there, right?" Bridget noted. "You finally got to say what you wanted to say."
"...that's true," Haruka admitted before she walked close to Nick. "So... I hope this doesn't mess up anything between us, Nick..."
"You really thought it was going to screw anything up?" Nick answered. "Come on, Haruka, this is me we're talking about."
"I guess you've got a point there," Haruka chuckled. "I'm just surprised this happened to me recently, instead of earlier, but... you know what, I'm gonna stop using my words right now and just... let my heart do the talking."
Haruka stepped closer to Nick so she could take his hands, and when she looked up at him, he was smiling, that classic "everything's gonna be all right" smile that she loved so much about him.
After smiling back, Haruka closed her eyes and leaned forward. Not wanting to keep Haruka waiting any longer, Nick did the same, and their lips met halfway.
They stayed together for about ten seconds before they parted due to the necessity of air, and smiled brightly at each other, much to the relief of the spies.
"Thank you for giving me a chance, Nick," Haruka sighed happily.
"Hey, you've been my longest friend," Nick answered. "You've always had a place in my heart, not to sound cheesy."
"Okay, sorry to be the one to have to ruin the moment, but we do have a psycho ex-boyfriend to find and stop, don't we?" Souji quipped.
"Oh, jeez, you're right!" Haruka gasped. "Stupid Captain Dread had to come in with the worst possible timing..."
"She'll get hers eventually," Nick chuckled. "But for now, let's go and deal with the more immediate problem."
"Before we go... can I say 'it', if you know what I mean?" Haruka asked.
"Might as well while you've got the chance, considering who we're dealing with," Nick responded.
Haruka nodded before pulling Nick in for a hug. "I love you, Nick."
"I love you, too, Haruka," Nick answered immediately. "Now how about we find James and kick him where it hurts?"
"Exactly what I was thinking," Haruka chuckled.
After levitating everyone back down to ground level, Nick once again employed his psychic radar to search for James, and the entire group took off in that direction.
Haruka felt better that her feelings came out, despite it was not under the ideal circumstances she wanted.
"When did this happen, Haruka?" Nick asked.
"I guess when we were stopping Max Exterminus and Violet Vanderfleet," Haruka admitted. "Especially when I was feeling the worst of all..."
"Oh, that makes some sense," Mat replied. "Feeling like crap and you never experienced love at all."
"May, is this becoming a theme among you guys?" Souji quietly asked May.
It took her a bit to answer because Souji wasn't wrong considering Sam and Mat are engaged, and Britney and Melissa became extra girlfriends, too; Nick and Alex are engaged, too, then May fell in love with Nick after the first trip to Tachikawa, and Nozomi wanted to reconcile with Nick... and now, this.
"It seems like every time we call you, someone else has matched up with either Nick or Mat," April added.
"I think it's just fate," May commented.
"Plus, Haruka and I are childhood friends after all," Nick added, overhearing them.
"Well, when you say 'childhood friends,' that makes perfect sense," Fena replied. "It seems pretty appropriate in that sense."
Akira nodded in agreement.
"It's a little cliché, but I'm surprised you were not an item from a long time ago," Dizzy remarked.
Haruka seemed to be happy that May didn't bring up how many times she teased Nick with her bikinis. Was that where it really started, or did she just know Nick like a book?
"I'm kinda thinking that back when we first became friends, we were a little too young to know what love was really like, despite seeing it a lot in all those old movies," Haruka answered.
"And, well, by the time we were old enough to figure it out, I was already going out with Nozomi," Nick continued. "Oh, the stories I could tell you about Haruka's reactions..."
"Later," Haruka chuckled, knowing exactly what Nick was talking about.
"Should we call this a defect of a big spy team?" Clover wondered.
"I wouldn't say it's a defect," Mat replied. "Everybody has their good reasons, after all..."
"Valid point," Dawn commented.
"Totally," Alex quipped. "Love works in many ways, after all."
Clover couldn't help but have a slight amount of jealousy inside since she only had Blaine, and Nick and Mat were taken by several other girls on the spy team.
Blaine seemed to notice Clover's distress and moved over to give her a hug.
"You okay, Clover?" Blaine asked. "I can probably tell what you're thinking right now."
"And it hurts that I'm even thinking that," Clover admitted. "I mean, I'm definitely happy for them, but how are they so lucky?! I mean, there was a time when I had a couple boyfriends at once, way long ago..."
"Your 'hypersonic dating' phase, I assume?" Nick quipped.
"Pretty much," Clover stated. "I'm sorry if I came across a little... well, jealous that this is number four for you..."
"Trust me, Clover, I'm not doing this on purpose or anything," Nick quipped. "If anything, I'm surprised it keeps happening as much as you are."
"But you're a good guy," Clover proclaimed. "I know that from all the years I've known you. Like I said, I'm surprised you're so lucky..."
"Hey, if I knew the secret behind it, I'd definitely let you in on it," Nick teased.
"Of course you would," Clover chuckled. "But maybe I'm just looking too deep into this. I should just be happy with what I have, right?"
"True that, Clover," Blaine stated, pulling Clover into a kiss.
"I wouldn't get too hung up on that stuff, Clover," Bridget told Clover.
"You see James anywhere yet?" Britney asked Nick.
"Soon," Nick replied.
Moments later, he fired a psychic shot to his left, and James was smoked out of his hiding place.
"You can't escape the psychic," Nick quipped.
"No matter..." James sneered. "It's time for me to turn you into tomorrow's lunch for me..."
"Seriously, workshop some better lines, because those suck," Bridget taunted. "Sonic Mode, online!"
After transforming, Bridget ran towards Nick, her intent very clear.
"I'd stand still if I were you!" James cackled as he moved in to attack, only for Haruka to leg sweep James off of his feet.
"All right, give him some hell, you two!" Haruka proclaimed.
"That was definitely the plan," Bridget chuckled.
"Let's show this psycho the brand new Purple Comet Attack!" Nick exclaimed.
James attempted to get back to his feet, but Bridget was naturally faster, using her momentum to uppercut James into the air.
Nick followed by leapfrogging off of Bridget's shoulders and knocking James back to the ground with an overhead fist slam.
Before James could even bounce, Bridget sped by him, causing him to spin around in place for a couple seconds.
Nick lunged forward to kick James in the back and send him stumbling forward.
Nick and Bridget ran to either side of James and started attacking in perfect sync with each other, landing four direct punches each before snap-kicking James into the air.
"Ready for the finale?!" Bridget shouted.
Just as James started falling, Nick and Bridget charged, striking James rapid-fire from multiple angles and making it look like he was being pinballed through the air.
For the final blow, Nick and Bridget joined hands once again, then flew swiftly towards James, using their joined hands to clothesline him and send him crashing back into the ground.
"Bet that didn't feel good, did it?!" Bridget taunted.
"It doesn't matter in the end, does it?" James chuckled after picking himself back up. "Once my master plan comes to fruition, Sam won't have any choice but to be at my side for the rest of her life."
"All right, shitwheel, you've officially grated down my very last nerve," Sam snarled. "What part of I have a fiancée isn't registering in that dumb peanut brain of yours?!"
"Such a mouth on you, Sam," James proclaimed. "I figured you'd have a little more decorum than that. After all, you're going to be my bride by the end of this day, so..."
Nick had finally had enough, foregoing his psychic powers for a moment to simply slug James in the face with a wicked right hook, sending him reeling backwards.
"Don't give him anything, Sam," Nick proclaimed. "This guy's been a lost cause for a long time now."
"Maybe you should focus on finding the other ladies I've 'found'," James quipped. "You'll come around before long, I'm sure of it."
And with that, James retreated for the moment.
"...is it just me, or does he get more insufferable with every passing moment?" April wondered. "Because that's the vibe I'm getting from him."
"Oh, if only he were just a typical member of our rogues' gallery," Sam sighed in frustration. "One time, long ago, after we took care of him, I actually managed to have a civil conversation with him about how he lost his chance with me. I really hoped he'd change his ways after that, but it feels like he's just double and tripled down on his obsession with me."
"The obsessives are usually like that," Akira noted. "We've had to deal with more than our fair share of that since we formed the Jellyfish Pirates."
"Oof, I think I know exactly who you're talking about," Yuki stated. "Was it that one guy who tried to woo Johnny our entire first year in middle school, only for Jam to..."
"Please stop," Jam groaned. "I didn't mean to actually slap her that hard..."
"It was funny, watching you defend your boyfriend," May giggled.
"Back to business, is there any sign of mister crazy?" Nick asked as he flipped open his X-Powder to contact RiCO.
"His signal stopped somewhere in the suburban area near where you all are," RiCO responded. "Most likely his dastardly secret lair."
"And that's probably where the rest of his hostages are," Sam stated. "I think we all know what needs to be done."
"Yeah, let's go kick some butts!" Fena exclaimed as everyone headed off to find James.
10:21 P.M. – Tachikawa, Tokyo
James' Secret Lair
"...I have no words for this... this..." Sam gasped once everyone got a good look at James' secret lair, which was designed to resemble a wedding chapel.
"I wish I could say I was surprised, really," Alex sighed.
"Yikes, this is gaudy as heck," Yuki quipped. "And I say this as a craftswoman who's seen her fair share of gaudy creations."
"Ooh, I'm going to enjoy tearing this place down and dropping it on James' head," Sam proclaimed.
"Let's actually find him first," Mat teased. "Then I'll let you wail on him all you want."
"Sounds like a plan to me, honey," Sam chuckled.
"Any idea where to start?" Dizzy asked after glancing around at the many different paths in this place. "There's a lot of ways to go, and I have a bad feeling that some of these paths are nothing but traps..."
"That's what you've got me for," RiCO quipped. "iCO and I will keep you guys updated on any anomalies I find so you don't fall into any traps."
"Don't know what we'd do without you, RiCO," Nick chuckled. "All right, everyone, let's motor."
With that, the spies and Jellyfish Pirates started moving down one of the nearby paths, RiCO and iCO keeping their digital eyes out for any sign of trouble.
The spies were still flabbergasted at seeing the wedding chapel that was.
"I see James' M.O. now," Clover told the others.
"Totally," Alex groaned. "Trying to make Sammy jealous with the women he gets... totally whacked out!"
"Should we say 'desperate' or 'lame-ass' with him?" Mat wondered.
"Why can't we do both?" May chuckled. "He's clearly both of them."
"Very, very true," Mira quipped.
"Somebody ought to teach him how to treat a lady, too," Britney remarked.
Nobody disagreed with Britney's statement at least.
"Especially with Haruka doing what she did just now," Melissa added.
Everybody took a look around to see if James was hiding somewhere trying to pounce on them unexpectedly.
"I don't see that disgusting womanizer around anywhere," Yuki told the others.
"Same," Nick added. "My radar's not picking him up."
"I admit if this was for Sam and me, I might show some appreciation," Mat admitted.
Nick nodded in agreement with regard to Alex.
"Okay, stay alert," Mira told the others.
"This James guy has got to be one of the biggest morons I've ever heard of," April commented.
"He spilled his guts to us all, and now he's saying Mat took Sam away... very flawed statement," Alex quipped.
"Flawed is an understatement," Souji remarked.
"You won't be saying that for much longer..." James' voice sneered from who-knew-where.
"Where's he at?" Yuki asked.
Some of the spies looked everywhere like lifeguards in water looking for a drowning victim.
"So, you're going to prove what a coward you are?" Jam taunted.
"Coward..." James taunted back. "That's rich!"
Before long some of the flowers on the wedding arch started to come to life.
"What the heck?!" Alex chastised.
"Makes me wonder if this James guy got in contact with Violet Vanderfleet..." Haruka remarked.
"Nonetheless, we've got another messy situation on us now," Bridget told the others.
"No doubt we do," Sam quipped.
"Right out of the Super C playbook," Mat commented at the flowers that came to life.
"Why don't you stupid plants just chill?" Alex taunted as she brought out a bottle of Ice Queen Perfume and sprayed it around, instantly freezing a good chunk of the killer plants so that Nick could blast them apart with a Final Shine Attack.
May tossed a pair of Incendiary Earrings at the bunch of Piranha Plant look-alikes to incinerate them before they could start snapping at the spies.
"Jeez, he's really pulling out all of the stops, isn't he?" Nozomi quipped as the spies continued to deal with the snapping plantlife.
"If he wasn't such a scumbag, I'd almost be impressed by this level of dedication," Nick replied as he blasted another plant back. "Key word being 'almost'."
"Speaking of plants, can you sense anybody else in this place, Nick?" Sam wondered as she continued to fend off more killer plants.
After blasting another bunch of plants back to get some breathing room, Nick used his psychic radar to scan for any other thoughts in the area.
"Nope, it looks like it's just us and James," Nick responded after a couple seconds.
"He seriously doesn't even have any henchmen?" Dizzy gasped as she kicked another plant backwards.
"Well, considering he's so insufferable even among our rogues' gallery," Alex chuckled. "It's no wonder nobody wants to be his disposable mooks."
"So Violet isn't here?" Dawn wondered.
"They still could have shared ideas," Mat noted. "That's happened a few times in different capers."
"Yeah, like when Helga and Fox used Diminutive Smalls' resizing tech to make the Empress grow to the size of a kaiju," Melissa stated.
"On that note, I wonder how Siren's doing over there?" Nick wondered. "It feels like it's been a while since I've gotten to check in with her and Rei."
"Maybe stop reflecting on the past and focus on what's in front of you?" James' voice laughed as more plants sprouted out from the walls and ceiling.
"All right, I am really not in the mood for any of this," Clover proclaimed, whipping out a Cyclone Blast Hairdryer and setting it to "Overheat Mode" (patent soon to be pending) before firing it towards the plants, burning many of them up at the stems. "Can you just get out here so we can kick your gaudy face in?!"
"Tut, tut, there'll be a time and a place for that," James chuckled. "In the meantime, why don't you all take a seat?"
Multiple mechanical hands all burst from the ceiling and attempted to grab the spies and force them into the seats nearby.
"Back, you savages!" Jam shouted as she kicked the robotic hands away. "No bad touch on my watch!"
"Okay, this is just getting sad," Nick sighed as he fired a Final Shine Attack into the ceiling and swept it along the ceiling to destroy the grabby hands one by one. "Last warning, James. Get out here now before we make your face look even worse than it already does!"
Silence for a few seconds, then a door at the other end of the wedding hall slid open and James came marching out, decked out in a metallic suit of armor almost resembling the Brute Suit.
"...okay, I guess that makes sense," Haruka quipped. "You don't actually know how to fight, so you need a suit to do it for you."
"You won't be clucking your nonsense for much longer, ladies," James laughed, clashing his suit's robotic fists together in a show of intimidation. (The spies weren't impressed.) "After all, you know what this venue is for, right? And who it's for?"
"You're this close to crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed, you psychopath," Mira proclaimed as the Jellyfish Pirates all got ready to fight. "And as the captain of the Jellyfish Pirates, you're gonna wish you'd never even stepped a toenail in our neck of the woods."
"Oh, that's cute," James taunted. "The little 'captain' thinks she can stop me. Just so you know, there's no way you can stop Sam and I from tying the knot. Doesn't that just crush your little conscience, or..."
James was so busy gloating that he didn't notice Mira slipping behind him and leg sweeping him in the back of his shins, a spot on his suit that wasn't armored, and this caused James to go splat rather ungracefully on the ground.
"Sorry, but I've already been through that phase, thank you very much," Mira retorted. "Once per lifetime is more than enough, honestly."
"Oh, don't think you've won yet!" James growled as he picked himself back up and bum-rushed the spies, slamming his suit's fists into the ground to create small craters with each impact.
"Okay, that suit might be a bit of a problem," Britney quipped.
"Then we'll just have to trash it like we always do!" Sam proclaimed.
Clover moved in to attack, slashing a Platinum Credit Card across the side of James' suit, and when he turned around to try and catch Clover, she had already backflipped away.
"Let's see how well your suit stands up to some velocity, you stubborn douche-canoe!" Bridget shouted. "Sonic Mode, online!"
After transforming, Bridget equipped a Metal Masher Boxing Glove before blitzing forward to punch James directly in the suit's chest. The force of the punch combined with Bridget's amped-up speed created enough of a force behind the punch to send James flying backwards, crashing through one of the archways in the process.
"Suck on that, ya loony!" Yuki shouted.
"You're going to be mine, Sam, no matter what anybody says," James cackled. "It doesn't matter! Not when the entire universe screams that we're supposed to be soulmates!"
"...this guy's literally lost his freakin' mind," Fena groaned. "No sane person would ever talk like that, especially to a woman!"
"That's probably just a sign that we should beat his ass and get this over with," Blaine quipped as he started firing a Boomerang Bazooka to keep James in place.
However, James simply tanked each shot with his suit before lumbering towards Haruka.
"You're mine, girlie!" James laughed as he leaped through the air towards Haruka, only for Nick to slide under him and fire a Final Shine Attack directly upwards into James, sending him crashing into the ceiling. Nick ducked out of the way as James came tumbling back down to the ground.
"That didn't feel so nice, did it?" Nick taunted.
"Oh, don't think I don't see the fireworks between you two now," James chuckled. "What would your other little lover-girls think about that?"
"First off, we were there when it happened," Alex quipped, blasting James back with an Electromagnetic Curling Iron. While this was happening, Nick spread his hands out, his left hand surrounded by a green glow and his right hand surrounded by a yellow glow.
"Second, our love life is none of your damn business!" May shouted, running forward to bash James around with her anchor.
"Third, unlike you, our relationships are built upon actual love and trust!" Nozomi exclaimed, flipping onto her hands so she could spin her feet around and kick James multiple times in his non-armored face. Nick slammed his hands together, the two glows combining into a larger silver glow around both of his hands.
"And finally, you have no flip-truckin' right to speak about love and relationships when you're nothing but an obsessive, bull-headedly stubborn psychopath!" Haruka proclaimed, running forward to punch James in the chest with her own Metal Masher Boxing Glove, sending him stumbling backwards and into the wedding hall.
"So why don't you take this as a sign that you will never have your way as long as we have something to say about it!" Nick shouted as he wrenched his hands apart, a trail of silver light connecting his palms, before clapping them back together to unleash his gathered energy in the form of a massive wave of silver light almost resembling an ocean wave. The Shining Star Attack utterly destroyed the wedding hall before colliding with James and exploding in a glorious flash of silver light, destroying James' suit and sending him careening into a nearby wall.
From the look on James' face, it was clear to the spies he had nothing left to fall back on. And that meant Nick took great pleasure in raising his hand to corral James inside of a psychic bubble.
"Now stay in there and think about the crap you've been spouting," Nick taunted. "All right, everyone, let's get the heck out of here."
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Sam laughed as the spies all retraced their steps to exit James' lair.
Naturally, the W.O.O.H.P. helicopter was waiting in the air once they'd made it out.
"And Jerry still has impeccable timing as always," April chuckled.
"He's never lost it, really," Nick quipped as he flicked his hand upwards to send the bubbled James up to the chopper.
"Welp, I guess that means we have to go," May stated. "I really wish we could have stayed just a little longer."
"But university calls," Jam chuckled. "Don't I freakin' know it."
"Hey, how 'bout we come back and visit for winter break?" Alex offered. "I'm sure that'd be a lot of fun."
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," April quipped.
Before the spies could say their goodbyes to the Jellyfish Pirates, a Quantum Rift suddenly opened up a few feet away, and Captain Dread came flying out of it, her body shrouded in a blue aura of light.
"Surprise!" Captain Dread laughed, only to get knocked back by a home-run swing from May's anchor.
"Maybe don't announce your 'surprise attacks'," May retorted.
"And just what are you doing back here?!" Haruka shouted.
"I came to pay you back for the last time you humiliated me," Captain Dread responded.
"Um, lady, you did that to yourself," Sam taunted. "Don't go blaming us for your mistakes."
"Such a smart mouth on you," Captain Dread chuckled, the Blue Prism Shard shining brightly in her hands. "We'll see how long that lasts once I'm through with you."
Before any of the spies could move in to attack, Captain Dread flew off.
"It looks like she's heading for the Skywhirl Tower!" Sam exclaimed.
"Because of course she is!" Souji groaned.
"Why can't that place stop being a danger magnet for once?" Dizzy quipped.
"We'll take you there lickety-split," RiCO stated as the spies and Jellyfish Pirates all ferried into the helicopter so it could take off for the Skywhirl Tower.
They hoped they could stop Captain Dread before she could pull off whatever she was planning.
To be concluded...
Next time...
Britney: Is she still up there?
May: Hard to miss her, really.
Jam: We'd better hurry before she tries anything devious.
Sam: All right, you, start talking. What are you planning to do here?!
Captain Dread: If by that, you mean "am I going to destroy this tower?", then hardly. I just wanted to bring you all to a suitable venue so we could have an actual battle. After all, our first encounter was cut disappointingly short by unenviable circumstances.
May: If you wanted to scrap, you just had to say something. I'll teach you to disrespect my image!
Mat: And you won't be taking anymore shards of the Paradox Prism. I don't care what you're trying to do, it can't be worth all of this nonsense!
Captain Dread: Oh, if only you knew, boy. But it seems like talking won't solve anything at this rate.
Nick: Now you're actually making sense. Let's just skip the small talk and get this party started, shall we?
Captain Dread: Exactly what I was thinking.
Nozomi: Well, readers, we've got a long-awaited showdown rolling into town next time, so don't miss the final act of Totally Spies: Fleeting Feelings, "Fear and Dread"!
Haruka: Gotta say, I really like the lighting they put together for this fight.
Nick: I keep saying, our effects department is one of the best in the business. They would never half-ass anything like this.