Chapter 31 - Bonkers, Wonka, There Are Robbers
Night Time, ?, Melbourne, Australia
Shadow Squad G's truck was wedged against many trees in the dark forest. Excessive, yet efficient. Its dark paint and the shadows overshadowing all life below the leaves prevented moonlight from shining in. For some reason, the truck added to the creepiness of the dark forest.
The forest was still a beautifully-crafted art structure and the sounds of the crickets provided comfort for those who walked alone in these woods.
But for Kitty, it was the uncertainty of who else might wander through these woods, whether sentient or not.
Inside the truck, it was a tad too silent for Kitty. It was made-believe, but there was a nagging thought that something would pop out of the blue inside. The darkness of the woods provided a blanket for the vulnerable and the hungry.
Lifting her binoculars to her eyes again, she knew that there wouldn't be any other car driving close to where she hid.
Through the bushes blocking her, she could see the glowing headlights of multiple armored trucks and private limousines. While she was practically going against them, they would be her best comfort if something happened to her. The vehicles were in a near-perfect line, but the nagging voices and honking illustrated a dysfunctional order.
Kitty chuckled to herself. Guess that grown-ups could be impatient as well, just like Diane being the governor. Or Doom being too impatient in making wise choices at this age.
Her gaze slowly drifted to the left, noticing the line descending from her eye level on an apparent downward hill. It seemed to lead into a large crater with minimum illumination to identify its presence.
Was it really a black site? If so, morning hikers in these woods couldn't easily ignore this. But then again, looks could be deceiving. It could be a colossal electricity factory with barbed wire fences decorated as warning signs.
Her eyes drifted to the right, noticing that the end of the line wasn't too far, fortunately. She tried to find if another vehicle would arrive and that was when she saw a limousine far away. Riding through a road on a hill where the forest stretched to. She adjusted the night vision feature on her binoculars and inspected its plate number.
Pressing into her earpiece lightly, she spoke. "This is Kitty. I'm reporting that your target is up on the hill."
"Sweet!" chirped Diane's voice. "Now, Piranha, do your thing."
It was nearly hard to see, but a blur of Piranha's small body burst out from the woods and through the front seat's side window. At first, no other activity occurred aside from the limousine strangely riding off the road and peacefully onto the grass. Once far away from the road, the top of the vehicle rattled.
Kitty lazily pressed on her earpiece and her ears folded backwards at the sounds of Piranha grunting loudly and someone screaming.
She immediately switched her earpiece off, frightened. Despite her casual conversations with the Bad Guys, they were still dangerous criminals.
The shaking stopped and the doors burst open. On cue, the rest of the squad hiding in the forest popped out and made their move. They entered the limousine. A few minutes later, they carried out the unconscious bodies dressed in camp clothes. One of the Bad Guys dragged out a large tent from the bushes and tucked their targets in.
Kitty couldn't help raising an eyebrow. This would be a creative way of leaving your targets outside when stealing their clothes.
The Bad Guys returned to the limousine with Wolf in the front, driving the vehicle smoothly.
"Oh, we are in!" hissed Wolf victoriously.
"I don't see any witnesses around," said Kitty. "Seems that you successfully subdue your…what's the opposite term of imposters?"
"This is it, boys," said Diane's voice. "Get ready. Kitty, we won't get a good signal from you once we enter. But it's important to alert us if there is unwanted activity outside."
"Copy that," said Kitty. For all she knew, this would be a really long night.
The Bad Guys chuckled, nostalgic for another get-together. While the past few days had been fun, coming together as nearly an entire team motivated them to give their all. They were careful not to fall back into their old habits, but they couldn't contain their excitement about such an exciting heist.
Wolf was already fixing his collar with his right hand on the wheel. He wore a black and white uniform with a neat top hat. The classic family driver. He wondered if anybody would mind if he came along with the group while still disguised. Sitting next to him was Shark, dressed in a black military outfit. The jacket was a little stiff due to its material, but the giant shark was already used to it. It felt strange when he moved his shoulders around like they were restricted.
At the back and sitting on the couches, Snake tried seeing through the windows. To his dismay, they had to keep them tinted. He looked down on the tuxedo he wore, complete with shades. It was a while since he wore a disguise, so he wasn't used to trying to act so…fancy. One way to keep the guards off was to pretend to converse with others.
Scanning the room, he spotted Webs nearby, stretching her arms. Being the only one not needing a disguise, she looked like someone getting ready to go on a city tour.
On the opposite side of the room, Piranha adjusted the tie from his tuxedo. He convinced Fuchsia to let him stand on top of her, having her act as the legs. The clothes covering both made it look like Piranha was much taller, but not enough to reach the height of an actual human. But as long as the mustache he wore was similar to the guy he chose, then he should be fine.
"Remind me again," said Piranha, wiggling his arms up and down. "Why can't we just find one of the higher-ranked staff to get past the holographic field?"
"No," said Diane's voice through their earpieces. "They won't be likely to give up the passcode. Kidnapping them might tip them off. These are smart people here."
"She's right," said Wolf. "Everybody ready?"
"Yep," said Snake, rubbing his top hat.
"Copy," said Shark.
"It's crime time, baby," said Webs.
Oh, yes, it was. Getting past security at the front was easier than the next two coming soon. As Shark winded down his window, the instance he showed his face and ID card to the security guards, they barely faltered and allowed them to go through. Wolf drove the limousine forwards and his eyes were filled in amazement by the large hunk of a building before them.
It looked like a mini-industry factory. It stood out from the forest with its large pipes on top, overshadowing the trees. Those would be the kind to spill black smoke out. The architecture of the building was squarish, with the walls seemingly made from hard concrete. There was barely any paint on the building, making it look like a dull toolshed.
To Wolf's surprise, the road to the building formed into a steep ramp downwards. He drove slowly as it descended into the underground dark tunnel. He feared that he might scratch the car, but to his relief, the tunnel was long and curvy enough for the longer limousine to drive through without accidentally bumping into something.
Once they reached around six levels underneath the surface, the limousine finally arrived in a grand parking spot. Similar-looking limousines and armored police trucks lined up. Not many visitors were sticking around, already hopping out and walking towards a passageway that provided bright light.
Wolf steered the limousine to an empty parking spot as smoothly and casually as he could. Almost everybody rushed out of the limousine when he turned off the engine.
Piranha simply flopped out and face-planted against the floor. Fuchsia, his feet, kicked her tiny legs around, oblivious to her surroundings.
"Oh dear," said Shark, immediately picking Piranha upwards. "Hope that doesn't ruin the suit."
"Thank you, chico," cooed Piranha.
"Gracias," muttered Fuchsia, her voice muffled by the underpants.
At the back of the limousine, Webs unlocked the trunk, revealing Diane in her spy outfit with her ninja headset on. The tarantula gave the thumbs up when no one was watching and Diane rolled out from the limousine.
"Remind me why you don't want to be in disguise," asked Wolf.
"One, there were only five people," said Diane. "Two, the tuxedo Snake is wearing isn't my size. And three, your disguises are still a little sloppy."
"Nobody's complaining," grumbled Snake, gazing at the many guests heading towards the passageway. "This always works on our end."
"Now, remember," informed Wolf. "Stay close to the shadows and observe the rooms without cameras. We're all playing Hornet's role, so it's important not to be seen while informing any distractions. Webs will be on the computers, but we'll need extra eyes."
"On it," said Diane, saluting.
"Say," said Webs, hopping onto the fox's shoulder. "Why does it feel like we're robbing a museum again?"
"I don't think this is any ordinary museum," said Piranha.
"Never imagined so."
Diane immediately ran off with Webs holding onto her. This left the four male Bad Guys to make their way towards the passageway.
True to Pirnaha's word, the minute they crossed the other end of the hallway, they arrived in one of the biggest rooms they could ever imagine. This place was the combination of a futuristic science laboratory and a modern museum. The grey steel walls were shiny with blue and purple stripes glowing brightly to provide a fresh feel to the black site. The floor itself had stripes that seemed to act as a guide in traveling.
And, of course, there were tons of people walking by. The majority of them were standing around, possibly waiting for the black market to begin. For a bunch of shady guys, they were all wearing black suits or military outfits, giving a presence of authority. Every man and woman had their eyes up, not conversing much with the strangers around them.
An order seemed to carry around, but it was to be careful. Careful in not letting yourself be exposed in foolishness.
Meanwhile, the Bad Guys looked like sore thumbs on five fingers.
But nobody batted an eye towards them.
Wolf checked the time. The first part of the black market was going to come very soon. He gave the others a nod and they all went their separate ways.
Diane and Webs were already in the main security room on the other side of the underground level. Diane subdued the original security guard, carrying him away to a more comfortable bed to rest on. Webs didn't need to bid the fox farewell, hearing her crawl away through the top vent.
Pulling out her laptop, the tarantula already got to work on a huge desk. She attached a couple of wires and overdrive protocols to the main computer and watched as all the gigantic monitors in front of her turned a pink color.
She snickered, typing on the keyboard. "I'm in, boys. I have control of most of their servers. Let's see what we can find here…"
She switched through the camera images on the monitors before coming to a stop on where the Eden Apples might likely be. Making sure she checked her tracking device and the map of the black site, she found their spot.
The camera was facing a large circular door that resembled a vault. A group of elite special ops were already guarding it, dressed in black armor. She expected them to be stoic and still, but they seemed to be in a casual conversation with each other. They were moving around too freely.
"I see at least eight guards around Display Room #11," said Webs. "Piranha, flank right. Snake, flank left. Diane, see if there is anyone inside this room."
With Piranha, he and Fuchsia managed to hide in a secluded hallway of the black site. Well, sort of. It was hard not to catch attention since Fuchsia had trouble knowing where to go. With only Piranha being her eyes, he told her where to walk. It was a shame that Fuchsia kept sticking to the walls and repeatedly banging into them.
Eventually, one more hit and the disguise fell off. Piranha came tumbling down while Fuchsia immediately tore off the pants covering her entire body.
"I knew I should have been the legs!" the little fish hissed. "Why can't I be at the bottom?"
The red-eyed piranha groaned. "You weigh much lighter than me. Your farts would blow it, Pepe."
"What did you say? I can handle carrying you!"
"Well, according to my memory, you didn't make three seconds in carrying a totem of your brothers."
"I only got Petrol's face smacked by a pelican one time, Fuchsia. ONE. TIME."
"Mini Shrek, Mini Donkey," buzzed Diane's voices through their earpieces. "A group of scientists just ahead."
The two piranhas immediately rolled across the floor and hid behind a corner. At the front, Piranha peeked around and spotted a group of scientists squabbling at each other. One, in particular, was wearing blue shades and his hair was dyed sky blue. In front of him was a trolley cart carrying what appeared to be…electrical bolts?
"We're wasting time now," grunted one of the scientists. "Just pack your things and leave them back there."
"They're not ready for auction yet!" protested the blue-haired scientist. "As a professional scientist, it's my sworn duty to ensure my products work efficiently and safely. I just need one more test subject to shove my bolts right up their-"
"The longer they are exposed without a proper container," argued another scientist. "The less effect they'll have. Do you expect some available rat to crawl here?"
"That's my latest target."
"But that won't prove anything!"
"Yes, it does!" said the blue-haired scientist defensively. "It gives results for the slums in Melbourne! Nothing works better than having something NOT in the shape of pills!"
"I need you to steer those bozos away on your right," informed Webs. "They're heading to Display Room #11."
Piranha nodded to himself. "Alright then. Looks like fun…"
Fuchsia peeked over his head, her eyes glowing a vibrant red. "Fun?"
"Yep! Who says we cannot rough them up a little? Now, I'm thinking that we should give them the element of surprise by-"
He trailed off when he realized that Fuchsia wasn't with him.
"...she didn't wait for me, did she?"
With a frozen smile, he watched the charging Fuchsia yelling a ridiculous war cry, a knife in her hand. She jumped upwards, hoping to taste her prey's blood…
Naturally, the scientists immediately saw Fuchsia the second she yelled and the blue-haired scientist grabbed her by the neck without even trying to.
The red-eyed piranha gasped in disbelief. Those guys looked smarter than they looked! She immediately tried squirming around, slapping her hands against her captor's meaty hands. But little experience with physically strongerenemies worked against her as the blue-haired scientist casually observed her body.
"...eh," he said. "I guess this will count."
"You have thirty minutes to get this procedure done," grumbled another scientis apatheticallyt.
"Oh, make it less than triple!" said the blue-haired scientist with an air of arrogance, wrapping Fuchsia around his left ary. "This little menace will be in for a treat once she becomes one of the new commoners to feel their large intestines cleaned inside-out."
Fuchsia's eyes widened, shifting at the glittering lightning bolts. They looked like toys but appeared quite fizzy due to the electricity sparkling out spontaneously. They didn't look safe at all…even for her intestines.
"Wait, wait," she started to say. "Hold on a second!"
Piranha could only watch with a blank look as the group of scientists merrily marched away. All while the blue-haired scientist sang a little jaunty with the screaming Fuchsia in his grip. She kicked, punched, and even bit, but her captor barely responded.
Piranha felt a sweat drop rolling down his face, hearing her shrieks of command equivalent to a bratty child dragged away from her favorite ice cream section.
"...should I help her?" asked Piranha.
Webs sighed from her end. "No need. I think I can save her. Just need to see which science lab they'll go to."
Piranha nodded emotionlessly, staring at where Fuchsia failed her 'surprise' attack.
"...good luck!" he said to no one before scrambling away. "What am I doing? What am I doing…?"
Near Display Room #1, Wolf already got himself into position with talking to co-managers of the weapon market. Walking through the crowd of bumbling guests, he found one guy greeting his guests. He wore a sharp-looking grey jacket, a black shirt and a blue tie with his brown hair neatly combed back. His smile appeared soft, but his eyes looked sharp enough to remind people that he held his edge.
Wolf smirked a little. This guy looked like fun. Webs told him that this was the guy he and Shark should aim to take the necessary key card. Already in the zone as the mastermind, Wolf walked towards the co-manager once he had no one else to talk to.
"Surprisingly, you got style, grandfather," started Wolf, pretending to gaze at the walls keenly. "Cooking a lot here?"
The co-manager chuckled, grinning in pride. "They say that the best corporate was built from the ground, developing into the future. You must be Mr. Washington's driver?"
"Yes, of course," said Wolf, smirking. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr…"
"Benjamin Franken," answered the human, shaking his hand. "You know, my brother used to be the lead researcher of his little experiment back in Sunnyside Labs."
"Well, I heard some news about him and his inventions," said Wolf, strolling around Benjamin casually. As he did so, he immediately snatched the key card from his back pocket without dropping his smooth walk and pretended to rest his elbow on Benjamin's other shoulder. "Kind of a mystery what he wants with them. However, too bad the famous Bad Guys sailed right in to stop his catastrophes. They unintentionally saved billions of lives."
Benjamin sighed, looking annoyed. "Oh, yeah, that bit. I actually got his projects here for the market tonight."
"Oh really?" said Wolf, pretending to appear surprised.
"Yeah," explained Benjamin, putting his hands on his hips. "Got to give it away to someone sane for once. Do you know what kind of trouble I had to go through? My brother believes in immortality, but even when that dead-rat Marmalade joined, he couldn't even hold a candle to artificial intelligence."
Wolf's ears nearly lifted up, but he kept them flattened to not tip his hat over. Did he say Marmalade?
But…that couldn't be it. Diane and Buck Thunders didn't say Marmalade was included in the creation of the Eden Apples if that was what Franken referred to. It wouldn't make sense since Marmalade spent most of his time in charities and rehabilitation sessions to build his image. Sure, he knew how to use the Love Crater Meteor, but that was only once.
It didn't make sense for Wolf, so he shrugged it off. "Huh, so I'm guessing there's some nice sibling rivalry between you two."
"I broke off when he started talking with the hornet," said Benjamin flatly. "The guy should have been in a mental ward the second he thought of increasing his lifespan. That's an impossible innovation."
"Whoever has his inventions, they'll be sure to live longer than anyone else, I guess," said Wolf with a teasing smile. "You know how inventive they are."
"To be fair, they are just mob gangs and black ops collectors. They don't care about the functions of a weapon. They only care about the spectacle. That's why I trust them to put them behind a locked case."
"Then, you'll be in luck if you believe that," said Wolf with a wink.
The co-manager didn't get the stealth insult until Wolf blended back into the crowd. He was a little annoyed but surprised this limousine driver had the nerve to tell him this warning. He shrugged, deciding not to worry. He has a market to host.
Benjamin's attention was drawn away when apparently 'Mr. Washington' bumped into him. The two of them ended up awkwardly walking to the hallway on the left. Benjamin didn't notice at first that he was steered away from the room for the weapon market auction.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said 'Mr. Washington' meekly.
"It's all good," said Benjamin off-handedly. "We still got a lot of time…"
But the second he was drawn into a small storage room, he noticed something odd. He turned around, watching 'Mr. Washington' lock the door behind him. His mustache was gone.
"OK, so it's either you're here to kill me or you're here to steal my wallet," said Benjamin nonchalantly.
"It's the second one," said Shark bluntly.
"Ah! Gotcha!"
WHACK!
Outside, Wolf leaned against the wall, shifting the key card in his hand around. He admired the light's shine on it, similar to the shine of coins he had stolen before. His grin couldn't die down, matching his growing giddiness. It was just like old times, but it was more serious today. Still, he couldn't help but fantasize about the thrill and pride in his early progression.
The janitor's door opened and Shark came up wearing the same gray jacket, black shirt and blue tie. He had already applied a wig which looked close enough to Benjamin's hairstyle. Sort of, since it looked plastic, but close enough. Making sure to put a fake mustache back on, Shark grinned and Wolf returned the same.
"Bingo," said Wolf, flipping the key card in the air and catching it. "We got our first ticket. Shark, your move now."
"Roger, Roger!" said Shark, running off.
As the two Bad Guys departed and made their own ways, Wolf noticed the increasing number of people heading towards Display Room #1. They seemingly ignored him, passing by the canine. The weapon market was happening really soon.
With Shark taking over, not only would he keep the witnesses at bay, but even remove any suspicions they might have.
Meanwhile, Diane crawled through the dark vent passageways. Activating her thin shield, the fur seen from the eye hole was coated in red with light salmon stripes. It even provided her with night vision to see in the dark. Like always, it was a little narrow to get through the vents. But she was used to this. She knew how to get through.
Her instincts from her Crimson Paw persona were rising, firmly allocating herself to be cunning and silent. With every single footstep and hand planting against the floor, she carefully made them light and nimble. A ballerina's footsteps for the perfect performance.
Once she arrived at the grills she targeted to reach, she pressed her earpiece to communicate.
"How's the hacking going, Webs?" asked the fox.
"Eh, this is more…harder than I thought," grunted Webs. "The holographic door that contains our sweet jar of taffy has more components than I thought. Who in the right mind placed a long online ESSAY as part of the encoding process? But no rush; I'm starting on the quicker parts of the decryption process. The override USB I need for the more difficult parts. What's your observation so far?"
"I spot at least two groups on the left of Display Room #11," said Diane, lifting up the grills below her carefully. "They are at different spots, but they're somewhat close. I'll be distracting the group that is in the north hallway. Someone needs to distract the group in the south hallway."
"Affirmative," said Wolf's voice. "Everyone, find a way to distract or subdue nearby parties. We need to make sure that we are not under watch."
With an open hole in the vents, Diane gracefully leapt out and did a somersault in the air. She landed lightly on her heels and when she stood up…she yelped at the sight of a sour-looking Snake glaring at her.
"What are you doing here?!" she squeaked.
Snake rolled his eyes. "I came here first to distract the group in the north hallway."
"But I just said that I'll take care of this one," pointed out Diane.
Snake grimaced. "Both of us can't do the same thing."
"OK," said the fox hastily. "Let's just cut time. What do you propose?"
A devious smirk crossed over on Snake's face. It was one similar to his devious grin whenever in his robberies. He pointed his tail at a nearby door next to him and Diane peered through the window.
To her horror, there was a massive group of guinea pigs inside. Too many of them were in the room that it looked like a mini ball pit! Some of them were cluelessly pressing their faces against the window.
"I…I don't…" Diane sighed dejectedly, her stuttering gradually turning into a cold, resigned statement. "Actually, I can believe it. Not as ethical as Sunnyside Labs, eh?"
"The guinea pig escapade worked two years ago," said Snake with a crazed grin. "Why not do it again?"
Diane raised both of her eyebrows. "I don't know. It can work, but…I hope they go in the direction we want them to go."
Snake chuckled deeply. "Oh, just let me handle this."
Diane didn't question, focusing more on the guinea pigs. She could hear Snake slithering on her left, hissing in anticipation. Pulling out a small paperclip from her pocket, she poked it right through the keyhole and was greeted with a satisfying click. Immediately, the fox pulled the door back and let the guinea pigs flood out of the room.
As soon as the crowd of pigs landed in the middle of the hallway, Snake suddenly leapt upwards, exposing his sharp teeth and shrunken pupils.
"SNAKE ATTACK!" he yelled menacingly.
At the sight of the reptile jumping upwards, the guinea pigs immediately fled in the other direction. Diane watched in surprise as the horde of guinea pigs scurried out of the room and turned the other way once they saw the unhinged-looking Snake. Hissing and repeatedly biting down on his teeth many times. These guinea pigs could really run!
In the distance, a group of scientists turned around the corner, only to find a couple of guinea pigs running around their feet. Immediately, one sight and one scream led to all of them hopping around in a blind panic. As the rats ran away, one or two scientists tripped over. The rest immediately ran off to chase after the guinea pigs.
"C'mon, slowpoke!" yelled one scientist, helping their fellow worker get up.
"Can you don't call me names?!" hissed her fellow worker.
"I'm just trying to tell you a lesson, man!"
"Well, say it in a kinder tone!"
Diane sighed in relief as the group of scientists disappeared around the corner. She hoped the guinea pigs would stall them long enough to reach their prime target. She felt terrible for the guinea pigs; she wondered why she didn't know this black site was holding them as test subjects. A part of her knew places like this were hidden for a long time, but she was stubborn in wanting to know from the start.
A squeak elicited her ears to bend backwards. That was strange. She thought that all of the guinea pigs were gone. When she turned around, her eyes nearly popped out from her headset.
Snake was already holding one guinea pig in his curled tail, his mouth wide in a hungry, razor smile.
Diane could see why Wolf often gets annoyed by his boyfriend's appetite in guinea pigs. "Snake…"
"What?" said Snake, annoyed. "I'm just gonna eat-I mean, GREET it…" He briefly looked away, trying to improvise an excuse. "...greet it to Wolf."
"We shouldn't be stealing even food from here," hissed Diane.
And then, her eyes caught a nearby vending machine. It was tipped over when the guinea pigs scrambled through the hallway. Several bags of chips and lollies surrounded the broken vending machine. The vibrant colors of the packages were enough to draw Diane's attention.
The fox grabbed a handful of five chip packets, grinning underneath her mask.
"But I guess that's what they are here for!" she said.
Snake cracked a snicker, surprised to see Diane's slight eagerness.
The fox departed, jumping back through the hole in the vent where she came from. Snake shrugged a little, knowing that she had a role to play. He preferred Hornet over her, but at least Diane was tolerable. As the reptile returned to his meal and opened his mouth to take the first bite…he heard a loud scream from around the corner.
He immediately dropped the guinea pig and, without looking at where it was going, slithered close to the corner of the long hallway…and found Piranha innocently walking by.
"Oh, hey, chico!" he squeaked. "Having a good time so far?"
Snake couldn't help looking over his head. It was bizarre to see not just many unconscious guards in a pile but at least two of them having their heads drilled into the wall. He looked up to see many with their heads stuck in the ceiling. By the sound of their moans, it was like the metallic walls were made from foam or they would be dead!
He glanced back at Piranha.
"...they were like this when I got here," lied Piranha.
Snake rolled his eyes playfully, moving past the little fish. Well, if there was one thing he shouldn't deny, Piranha was crazy enough to take down an entire squadron of guards. Even though he was becoming more mature, he still held that edge as the team's muscle.
It was even reinforced when he made it to the vault door of Display Room #11. The elite special ops there were already in a huge pile. They weren't groaning, but they weren't dead. Piranha must have taken care of those guys spectacularly. Wolf was also there at the scene, scanning the key card to unlock the vault door.
"Got to say, this might be easier than we thought," said Wolf with a cocky smirk.
"Don't tempt fate," warned Snake. "We still got a laser door."
"The more challenges, the more fun it can be." Wolf chuckled, running a hand through his ears. "Sweetheart, this feels kind of…amazing!"
Snake nodded. "True. And like you said, easier than we thought."
Wolf had a thought. "Hey, do you think…this is what you mean? Do you get the same feeling as being feared? I mean, this is more for a good deed, but it's the classic heist!"
Snake didn't need to think hard to see his point. It had been fresh in his mind ever since Piranha encouraged him to get revenge on the Spalding household. He noted that Wolf seemed to be digging into being a villain again, judging by his tail wagging without notice. The reptile, at first, felt happy that the two of them were reminiscing old memories.
On the other hand, he remembered clearly that Wolf wanted to do this the greater good. Lately, the two of them seemed to be slipping back into some old habits despite the seriousness of the mission. The fun they had from before. It made Snake wonder when Wolf would start going back to being bad with all this power.
Snake smirked to himself ironically. Whatever the case, he was glad he wasn't the only one feeling this way of being a full Bad Guy.
A successful click from the vault door and Wolf's ears wiggled in glee.
"Like to join me, sweetheart?" said Wolf, raising a hand forwards.
Snake blushed, a little smitten by the open gesture. "Sure, sure, bud. But it's not a date."
Wolf laughed, immediately grabbing Snake's tail. "You would say you'll just be here to provide the override protocol USB."
The vault door slowly opened dramatically, giving a gentle echo as if welcoming them to things they had never seen before. As they walked forward without hesitating, they were greeted by the bright lights left on inside. They shone over all the room's main exhibitions for the weapon market and the whole design of the interior.
The metallic walls were in a gorgeous, seamless gradient, fading from black to a purple-blue color. The ceiling was so far up that it was difficult to see, but a large futuristic chandelier hung above. The glowing LEG arches of the chandeliers provided spotlights on a gigantic circular platform with multiple glowing rings.
And on that platform were many black boxes that acted like display cases to hold valuable weapons and gadgets. Half of them were protected in glass cases, giving the feel of museum artifacts.
Some weapons looked like the standard guns, blades and armor you would expect from the military. Surprisingly, a good number of the weapons looked like art. A clear example was a couple of guns in bright red with sharp golden decorations, taking the appearance of feathers. There were even some weapons that looked like toys.
The gadgets themselves weren't exceptions. The majority of them appeared to be wearable, such as a jetpack taking the appearance of a video game asset or a set of robotic armor that could be mistaken to be for a knight. Some circular gadgets were surprisingly coated in glitter or sharp-edged gem pieces like expensive doughnuts. Those ones made Wolf's eyes sparkle in awe.
A few display cases stood out on both good and bad. One looked like a carbon copy of the Infinity Gauntlet. Another was an ant farm bottle, except the ants glowed in a cyan aura. A large skull of what appeared to be a saber-toothed feline rested on the right. A colorful stereo with heart-shaped speakers.
If there was a list of the most expensive rooms to rob, then this one was at the top of that list.
But what stood out from the room was the storage rooms lining the walls, all blocked by orange holographic fields that acted as their doors. Each tall holographic door appeared to be made out of virtual pixels since the two Bad Guys could spot pixels glitching out of place. The same went for the digital keypads on the walls, their screens coated in orange.
Those doors were transparent enough to present what might be in the storage rooms. However, most of the storage rooms were dark inside, only providing silhouettes of dangerous weapons and objects. And fortunately, one of the storage rooms had a familiar turquoise glow in the dark.
Wolf and Snake shared a chuckle, exchanging a similar look of hype, before marching forward.
"Jackpot!" hissed Snake.
"How many of those wonderful toys do you think of taking?" said Wolf, wiggling his fingers.
Snake hummed, rubbing his chin. "I thought we only have them for later. Once we get the Eden Apples."
"Well, it's a free market," said Wolf. "We got all the time until the holographic barriers drop. I mean, what do you think is on your shopping list?"
Snake stared at the hundred inventions in front of them. "A backpack kit with hands?"
The canine responded with a laugh, playfully wrapping his arm around the reptile with a gentle shake. "That sounds like it would come in handy. But they can be a little wonky. They are not organic."
"Would be more fun to slap people in the face," said Snake flatly. "Or knocking their heads off. And you?"
"I'm thinking maybe one of those diamond-looking bombs," said Wolf, pointing to one of the bombs coated in sharp gem pieces.
"What do you think that would emit?" asked Snake.
"I don't know. I'm expecting something explosive, something glittery. Something that will blow my mind and get my enemies begging on my knees to not fall to their death-" All of a sudden, Wolf felt the floor disappearing and his first response was to flail his arms around. "AAHHH! OH MY GOODNESS!"
Oh my goodness, indeed.
His boot-covered feet felt the edge of the gap in the bridge, surprisingly smooth instead of the known sharp crack texture created on destruction. The canine took several steps back, trying not to slip over. Once he retained his balance, he slowly gazed over the edge of the broken bridge.
It turned out that the room wasn't as foolproof as it seemed. Only a large pit below the platform. The tall balance pole holding the platform was decorated with spinning blades. From top to the dark bottom. Frighteningly, the walls were coated in sharp metallic shards. With the cannon built within a wall shooting glass shards across just merely above the turbine blades.
Both Wolf and Snake shared a look and glanced upwards. It came to their attention that they didn't pay attention to the bridge they were on. There was a long roof hovering above them, but much like the bridge, it appeared to have a large hole. A large noticeable gap blocked a safe walk to the main platform.
Fortunately, the gap didn't appear too long and the other end of the bridge at least connected to the central platform. The distance appeared to be around the length of the average human height.
Snake arched an eyebrow in surprise, eyeing the cannon repeatedly shooting glass shards.
"This thing seems to be randomly spraying shards of real glass across the pit…" he narrated. "Quite convenient if you ask me."
Wolf was incredulous. "T-This wasn't what I had in mind when we talked about 'several defense and security systems'! Who expects thieves dumb enough to fall for THIS? Are they harvesting their remains?!"
"They're…harvesting people now?" questioned Snake.
Wolf scratched his chin, trying to rationalize. "Mmm, well, I assume they somehow thought harvesting their intruders was a good idea. It is a black site where they get to do freaky and edible experiments. Especially on cannibalism."
But when Snake looked back down at the spinning blades and the cannon shooting spiky shards aimlessly, the reptile found it too hard to take it seriously.
This was overkill. After the mayhem that occurred in Melbourne, he found this kind of 'defense system' too edgy to take seriously. Unless any of them fall right into it.
But the two of them should be fine. They could use the thin shield to protect themselves even if they fall in. They did fall into a large crater before.
The reptile burst into an uncontrollable giggle. "This is too much! I mean, looking at this, I can't take this black site seriously. It looks…kind of metal!"
Wolf smirked in amusement. "Yeah, and you know, it would be funny if someone working at the black site would lean against the fence and be like…" He began motioning his arms around to mimic an incompetent worker. "Oh, what's that? Oh, what a brilliant sight! OH NO! Aaaaa-AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Unfortunately, the moment when he swung one of his arms downwards to motion a person falling into the pit, so did he. His instincts kicked in, grabbing the other end of the broken bridge. The tip of his feet remained, his second support holding on.
Seeing the spinning blades below struck fear, but also made him laugh distressingly.
"Oh, good lord! Oh, good lord!" he barked in between laughs. "Just like this! Just like this! Just like this! Help me! Help me!"
Behind him, Snake nearly fell apart, wheezing. At the same time, he immediately rushed forward in a protective instinct to save his friend. He wrapped his tail around Wolf's feet and pulled backwards.
"Just hold on tight, Wolf!" he exclaimed. "Whatever you do, don't-WHOA!"
Naturally, the second Wolf's hands let go of the other hand of the bridge, his body swung downwards, adding more weight to carry. As a result, Snake found himself dragged along, his body pulled right through the gap. Feeling himself slipping into the impending doom below, he quickly bit into the edge of the bridge and his long tail uncurled to allow Wolf to grab it.
Now, the two Bad Guys were in a life-or-death situation, with Wolf holding onto Snake, who was holding onto the bridge.
"...well, that's better," remarked Wolf sarcastically.
"How is this better?" grunted Snake. "You need to go on a diet, man."
Wolf chuckled, a contrast to the scary doom below them. "Now, let's think. What do we do, sweetheart? We're trapped. So we need to get out of this as a team."
"And your plan is?" asked Snake.
Wolf suddenly had an idea. An awful idea. "I've got it!"
Snake was about to ask when he felt Wolf slowly swung him around. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what the canine was doing. After all, when uncurled, Snake's body could act as a long, thick, slippery rope.
"Now, whatever you do, sweetheart…" said Wolf, swinging around to gain great momentum.
"What are you doing?!" squeaked Snake.
"DON'T LET GO! ALLEY-OOP!"
At the right moment, Wolf swung forward and kicked his legs upwards. Just enough for him to land on the other side of the bridge.
"HA!" yelled Wolf victoriously.
He failed to see Snake eventually releasing his bite at the mere second his feet were about to come into contact with the bridge. Still uncurled, Snake's upper half flew upwards at a 90-degree angle and his face crashed into the roof.
BONG!
Once Wolf retained his entire balance and confirmed they landed on the bridge connected to the main platform, he turned around to see the dizzy and crumpled Snake wobbling over to him. His face looked like it had received a punch in a cartoonish manner. His eyes resembled fish eyes, easily emitting stars to see. His wrinkled hat reflected the current mood.
Immediately, the canine felt sheepish for doing this, rubbing the back of his head. Squatting down, he rubbed Snake's back gently, hoping that would deviate some tension.
"See?" he said with an anxious grin. "What did I tell you? Isn't teamwork just great?"
The only response Snake gave was a pained groan.
Meanwhile, outside…
Kitty was close to Slumberland, but she refused to commit to boredom. She was still on a mission and her role was to watch anything that passed by.
She left the radio on, letting its music fill the entire truck. Some classic pop music played from the Smooth FM channel, but it was fitting. Some of the songs playing were reasonably upbeat. She loved the more crisp and authentic sound than the current modern pop sound. It reminded her a lot of when she was younger during the good old days.
Resting her legs on the dashboard, she hummed to the keys of the song playing, checking her nails without aim. The panther felt only a little comfortable in this angle since her large afro was pressing tightly against her scalp. But she was already so comfortable that she didn't want to move. Her tail was even in a lovely spot, wrapped around her legs. She didn't want to move it that much.
Her eyes trailed back to the front window. It was still dark outside with no headlights. She thought she would be alerted the whole time, but it felt peaceful after a while. There was a sense of serenity when staring at the dark and quiet forest. The crickets were still chirping, but they added to the cooling silence. It turned into a space where she could recollect all her thoughts.
It felt like it was a step away from any previous drama. Well, she knew her friend and the Bad Guys would be handling some trouble in the black site, but so far, no distress signal. That might mean things should be good.
The disadvantage was that the dark forest reminded her greatly that it should have been time for her to sleep. She was more of a morning owl, to be honest. Kitty chuckled to herself, remembering how strict she was with getting her kids to bed. The little kittens couldn't stay still, much to her husband's amusement. If Kitty could find a blanket somewhere around here, she would use it to quickly make anyone or herself go out like a light.
Kitty tried distracting herself to remain awake. She glanced up at the sky above. She hadn't focused on it for the last few minutes or hours. With the lack of headlights glaring at her, she could see the colony of stars igniting in the sky.
The panther was amazed by the surprising display. Some of the stars formed together to create shapes. The most prominent were the ones that formed to make ocean waves in the sky.
She grinned to herself, purring a little. She wondered if a meteor shower might come in next. And just in time, she saw a few falling stars with beautiful pink and purple tails. It gave her some kind of dose rush, like watching a painting come to life. Kitty decided to imagine them as wishing stars.
She wished that Diane would be well, that she would get to see Doom at the Million Hearts Musical Awards and that nothing bad would happen ever again.
But strangely, the meteor showers seemed to be coming closer.
"That's strange," thought Kitty.
She narrowed her eyes, lifting up her binoculars.
Those meteors were getting bigger as they came near the horizon. They were flying by fast! And for some reason, she could hear the sounds of helicopter blades…
Wait, those weren't meteors.
Kitty only had that much time to realize when the helicopters in the sky suddenly fired an excellent round of ten missile rockets right around the black site. Something similar to balloon popping and multiple cries could be heard as the ground rumbled. Jolting upwards, Kitty was back on high alert, her adrenaline rising.
Was the black site actually attacked? Were those helicopters gonna kill everyone?
There was a low hiss outside and from the remainders of the explosions were long trails of purple and pink smoke. The helicopters hovering over the black site opened their doors. Several figures, both humans and animals, jumped out and landed around the black site area.
Kitty lifted her binoculars to inspect a group of people facing their backs against her. All three were human…though they were wearing clothes that seemed to resemble superheroes. Decked in neon colors with a clash against matching dark black armor.
Now, this is becoming really weird here…
One of the helicopters hovering in the middle opened its door to reveal a pink-haired cyborg woman and a cyborg man wearing a spiky metallic helmet. They glanced at each other, exchanging a serious look before looking down at the black site.
Hidden in the safety of the truck, Kitty meekly picked at her earpiece.
"G-Guys?" she said.
Approaching the storage room with the Eden Apples inside, Wolf had already got to work and plugged his override protocol USB into the keypad device. There were five input holes that would allow any USB to be inserted in, so these were helpful. Snake went in next and the two stepped back to let Webs do her thing.
The keypad device glitched and the entire screen turned into a more reddish-orange color. The tarantula's symbol appeared on the screen. The override protocol systems were already in work.
"Good work, guys," said Webs through their earpieces. "I'm already covering a fourth of the decryption process, but the two extra overrride protocol systems through the keypad will help speed up the progress. I can't tell exactly how long is left, but you must do everything you can to prevent anyone from coming close to Display Room #11."
"Roger that," said Wolf.
"You got it!" squeaked Piranha.
"I got eyes on a few passerbys," said Diane.
Back in the security room, Webs was typing at nearly supersonic speed, getting through multiple blocks and obstacles. As she hacked through the decryption progress of unlocking the holographic door, she kept looking back at the monitors in front of her.
Everything was still going smoothly, from Diane and Piranha searching around the black site for any likely witnesses to Shark keeping the major body of visitors busy.
However, the tarantula had to keep an eye on where Fuchsia was. To her surprise, the scientists who kidnapped her got lost too many times. She feared they would return to Display Room #11, but fortunately, they were far away. In fact, they were running in circles. The bad thing was that it put Webs at odds in saving Fuchsia, not to mention her teammates might be too far away to save her in time.
She should have sent Piranha to save Fuchsia…
Fortunately, the group ended up residing in a small, humble laboratory. Webs immediately got to work, hacking into the engines and computers built in the room. To her surprise, there were motion sensors connected to the sprinkler systems…with an option to use harmless chemicals.
"This black site makes great security systems," commented Webs. "But not great dispenser systems. Let's see what we got here…water, hydrogen peroxide, hexadecenoic acid, butanediol, aceton, potassium iodine…dish soap? Alcohol? Pig's blood? Geez, they're work-friendly."
Using her previous knowledge in chemical science, she went to work with creating a distraction.
Right on time, the blue-haired scientist planted the sweaty Fuchsia against the table.
By the throat.
The red-eyed piranha gave up trying to fight back, her eyes bugged in resignation for the unpleasant treatment.
"Now, folks!" said the blue-haired scientist hammily. "You'll be witnessing history! Have you ever hated stomach aches, diarrhea, periods or hair growing from your butt?"
Nobody responded. Nobody.
Nevertheless, the blue-haired scientist went on. "Well, too bad! You'll be needing it anyway! I believe this will benefit your inner systems so you won't have a boo-boo on the go-go!"
He grabbed one of the lightning bolts from the tray with his free hand, lifting it high like a dagger. Fuchsia inhaled sharply, buggy-eyed.
"This may look deadly, but that's the pleasure! It'll make you feel like-!"
SPLAT!
The tarantula's grin of sociopathy edged near the bottom of her eyes as yellow cream foam rained all over the scientists in one big goop. The excessive foam from the sprinkler system sprayed around in a thinner stream, but the damage was done. The blue-haired scientist remained in place, his smile frozen.
Surprisingly, the table Fuchsia was placed on was safe from the rain of soap foam. Immediately, she crawled off the table and hid underneath.
"A little bit of dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide," narrated Webs. "Classic big bang theory.
"I really owe you this one, Ms. Spider," mumbled Fuchsia's voice through her earpiece. "I'll see what I can do from here…"
As Fuchsia sat in her hiding spot, the rest of the scientists began to clamor in disgust.
"Great!" said one. "Just great. I knew we should have turned off the motion sensors!"
"This is as worse as your giant guinea pig experiment," said another.
The blue-haired scientist gasped dramatically. "Oh, exCUSE me! That side project is my greatest creation and my hobo hound will ensure that…"
A light buzz from her laptop and Webs drew her attention to the decryption progress. Opening up another tab, she gasped at the completion bar filling up. Quickly, she checked on the mini boxes below. They were already filled with code, managing to fight back the anti-virus protocols.
"Whoa!" she cooed. "Already reaching 60% of near completion…the two override protocols connected to the keypad are working FAST! Whoo-bam!"
She couldn't help pumping her fist in the air. She felt like a kid again. Webs feared that the hacking process wouldn't work, but keeping backups of override protocols was worth it. Guess that meant she could hold a candle to higher criminals after all.
She was about to continue when she heard a static sound from her earpiece.
"G-Guys?" crackled Kitty's distorted voice. "Guy-y-y-ys?"
"What is it, Kitty?" asked Webs.
"We might have a problem and I…I think…" Kitty trailed off, unable to form careful words together.
"Pull yourself together. What's wrong?"
"There…there is someone outside. And they just wiped out all the guards outside!"
"Wiped out? What do you mean by that?!"
There was no response from Kitty.
"Hello?" called Webs. "Anybody home?"
No reply.
Only silence.
AN: Not wanting the antagonists to stray away from the protagonists for long, we have the Mecha Underlords attacking the black site the Bad Guys are invading. This will be a bit awkward for Snake, Piranha, Shark, Splaarghön and Oscar. For the others? Um…
This chapter is an entire callback to the first film, mainly the Golden Dolphin heist. I was actually nervous about pulling this off and it's not as complex as previous heist scenes in classic capers. So, sorry if this isn't elaborated enough. But I had fun coming up with creative ideas and new ones to keep up the action.
Piranha's and Fuchsia's run-in (and the latter's inevitable fate) took inspiration from SMG4: The Meme Games 2022 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Film. At this rate, Piranha would wonder if Fuchsia would ever learn from her mistakes. But the difference is that at least Fuchsia got an escape path via Webs pulling a prank on the scientists, taking inspiration from The Big Bang Theory.
Diane taking a candy snack from the broken vending machine references The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Similarly, Kitty finding the Mecha Underlords arriving references The Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2.
Wolf and Snake reenacting a scene from Book 2 of the book series takes some elements from this gameplay video called 'Fireballs, YUM - Rayman Origins #38 (Co-op)'. When I took inspiration from Shaård's world in the books for the storage room, my mind immediately went to lampshading the ridiculous 'defense system' stored with Wolf and Snake unable to take it seriously. Though, that was said in hindsight since it is STILL dangerous. For a good reason soon.
Finally, the weapon display in the storage room they entered had a couple of Easter Eggs. The glowing ants in a glass case take some inspiration from The Big Bang Theory (though the joke was the other way around), the stereo is similar to Brezziana's in Just Dance, the red guns with golden decoration took inspiration from the wardrobe of How You Like That in Just Dance 2024 Edition and finally, the mentioned backpack kit with hands is a reference to Poppy Playtime.
Thanks for reading this chapter! Next chapter will be when things get crazier. What do you think of this heist and the exploration of this black site? Let me know in your reviews. If you enjoy this story so far, be sure to favorite or follow. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but if any flames, then it's down the drain.
Until next time, keep on rocking!