8:34 A.M. – The Shatterverse
Ancient Ruins
"Oh, come on with this crap!" Nick exclaimed as large, razor-sharp axes started slicing through the hallways up ahead.
Nick figured that, if the traps were getting more and more elaborate (and deadly), then he must be getting close to the resting place of the temple's treasure. And he sincerely hoped it was what he believed it was.
"...wait a minute," Nick quipped, looking down at the Red and Yellow Prism Shards in his hands. "Can't I just use these to get through?"
Nick raised the Red Prism Shard and focused, causing a bright red flash of light to travel down the hallway and freeze the axes completely.
With that taken care of, Nick quickly jogged down the corridor, still searching for his target.
Thankfully, a bright purple glow caught his attention around the next hallway. When he rounded the next corner, he saw a large pillar surrounded by piles of treasure and gold.
But what Nick was really searching for was resting right there, inside an already-open treasure chest.
The Purple Prism Shard.
"There you are," Nick chuckled as he walked over to the chest to take the Purple Prism Shard out of it. "You can have the gold and doubloons. I just came for this."
Nick clutched the three Prism Shards close to his chest as he retraced his steps to make his way out of the temple, glad to have finally found his quarry.
"I just hope Alex is doing all right back there," Nick noted. "Hey, I shouldn't be worried. Alex has a Prism Shard and Captain Dread doesn't. She'll be just fine."
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(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)
Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger are proud to present:
Totally Spies: The New Adventures
Episode 112: Mad Love
Story Rated: T for Teen
Story Created: July 27th, 2024
Story Summary: The one-hundred and fiftieth co-op project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger, and episode one hundred and twelve of our mission-based series Totally Spies: The New Adventures. Someone from Melissa's past is in town, and apparently, he used to have feelings for Melissa when they were younger. This guy doesn't know that Melissa's already going out with Mat, though when he sees Mat with Sam, he believes that Melissa still might want him. Unfortunately for the spies, this draws the attention of who else but Tim Scam, who sees an opportunity to take out three birds with a single stone by using this situation to his advantage. Can the spies make this persistent paramour see the light and keep Scam from enacting his latest scheme?
Author's Notes from Mat49324: We're approaching the end of season 9, and we have just two more projects to go, counting this one. Hope you've enjoyed this season up to date, and we have a 10th season coming up! After S9 is done, our movie, New Cinema Labyrinth, will be up next; we finished that a long time ago. On another note, The Blue Time Ranger will hit 100 projects himself, so give him some kudos BTW. Let's just say this one got some inspiration from certain people who don't let go of feelings for people from so long ago, and that's what's happening here. For now, here's The Blue Time Ranger for anything he'd like to say.
Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger: Only two to go in season nine, and wouldn't you know it, good ol' Tim Scam is back to take advantage of another hairy situation for poor Melissa. I'm sorry we keep putting you through these. Also, my next story, our season nine finale, will be my 100th story on my Blue Time Ranger account! HOLY CRAPBASKETS! I'll tell you more about the season finale at the end of this, but for right now, let's deal with this problem. ROLL IT!
And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters or locations created by us truly for the story. Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we did own Totally Spies, which we don't, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?
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Act 1: On Again and Off Again
12:17 P.M. – Malibu University
The Spies' Penthouse
It was another early week for the spies at Malibu University. Some were in classes, sports practices, or whatnot, but Mat was occupying the TV once again for the next round of the 2010 Supercross season. He was watching the Lites broadcast from Anaheim 3; the usual team of Ralph Sheheen, 1997 Supercross champ Jeff Emig, and pit reporter Erin Bates were calling the race. This was the last Western race for a good two months while the Eastern series would start up at the next round in Indianapolis.
The Supercross class was won by Team Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto #2 in a gate-to-flag style; it was the second win of 2010 for that #2 Kawasaki. Things had happened already when Jason Lawrence #338 became the second big name to not qualify for a main event in 2010 (Grant Langston was the first at San Francisco); points leader Ryan Dungey had finished 4th for the second straight race due to a late race slideout.
Nick, Britney, and Nozomi were keeping Mat company while Sam, Clover, and Alex were at classes; simultaneously, Blaine had come to visit the penthouse having just finished beach volleyball practice.
"Hey, Breast Cancer Awareness?" Nozomi wondered.
"Oh, it turned out Grant Langston's eye tumor was a form of eye cancer," Mat stated. "And February is Breast Cancer Awareness month, too."
"Oh, geez," Blaine cringed when he overheard what was going on.
Simultaneously, Haruka came in, and she was happy to see Nick. As she sat down by Nick, she did the "arm loop" thing, and was visibly happy that he reciprocated.
"Someone's happy to see me," Nick chuckled.
"Maybe," Haruka teased as she leaned over to kiss Nick.
The second of two heat races had just finished, and Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Josh Hansen #100 took the first heat win; the second heat had gone to Hansen's teammate Jake Weimer #12, but the race had to be red-flagged due to #48 Max Anstie on the DNA Shred Stix Yamaha and Josh Clark on a #251 privateer Kawasaki crashing at almost identical times.
"I have to say that Jake Weimer is proving that if Dungey wasn't so spot on last year, he'd have been the champion then," Mat commented.
"I'd certainly agree there," Nick stated.
"I thought he was done for when he cased that triple," Britney replied.
"Guess the Smashing is on hold, then," May commented, coming into the den.
The LCQ results showed two more privateers in Tanner Reidman on a #737 Honda and Hugo Dagod on a #811 KTM completed the 20-man field in the 15-lap Supercross Lites main.
Meanwhile...
Melissa and Dawn were heading back to the penthouse, too, but they also had some foods with them because Melissa wanted to have a picnic at the penthouse pool with Mat.
"Melissa, quit stressing," Dawn told Melissa, who was looking through her X-Powder. "Mat's not going to say no to your picnic."
"I know," Melissa retorted.
When they came in, the Lites main event was moments away from beginning.
"I'm picking Weimer or Hahn," Mat told the others.
"Yeah, probably same here," Bridget quipped.
There was also a pit report from Erin Bates that Trey Canard on the #38 GEICO Powersports Honda was going to jump up to the 450 out East for Team Honda to fill in for Andrew Short, who crashed at the last round at San Diego with only 2 laps to go in the main event.
"That's going to be interesting to see how Trey Canard does," Mat replied.
"No kidding," Haruka answered. "I just hope Short's gonna be all right, because that looked nasty."
The main event started with Wil Hahn on the #49 Troy Lee Designs Honda getting the holeshot with Canard and Weimer in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
"Oh, we got a perfect setup again," Mat remarked.
"Let's hope Canard doesn't pull a déjà vu," Nick commented.
On lap 2, Canard got around Hahn for the lead.
Simultaneously, Sam, Clover, and Alex had returned to the penthouse from their classes.
Ralph: Yeah, Weimer has separated himself from [Broc] Tickle now, and of course, Weimer is trying to join Ernesto Fonseca, Ivan Tedesco, and Ryan Villopoto, who have swept all 3 Anaheim races in the Lites class here during their careers. Fonseca did it in 2001, Ivan in '04, and Villopoto in '07.
"That's a big accomplishment in my view," Bridget remarked.
On lap 4, Weimer made the move on Hahn for 2nd place.
"That for the lead?" Sam asked, having seen the Weimer pass briefly.
"Not yet," Mat answered. "But he should..."
His statement was stopped by a groan from the crowd during some replays.
"Uh oh!" Mat exclaimed when the replays had stopped.
Ralph: Weimer down! And he can't get the Kawi restarted!
"What the heck?!" May chastised as a replay came up.
Jeff: Something doesn't look right. Watch this as... oh, he comes in and loses his balance; just gets too far to the inside, which is the right, and just lays the bike over. There – he finally gets going, but that's gonna put him... last.
"That points lead could be no more, then," Haruka deduced.
"Not quite," Mat remarked. "Weimer was ahead by 26 – that's just a little more than a full race since 25's for a win..."
Sam came to Mat for a little bit; she knew she had to just support her fiancée since the Supercross series was something Mat truly cared about, along with college sports journalism.
A graphic of the points showed Weimer would be ahead by 2 points over Trey Canard if the race were to end right now, but it was only lap 6 of 15.
"So, he's gonna be fine then?" Alex asked.
"Weimer just has to do damage control now," Mat replied.
In the meanwhile, Broc Tickle on the #20 DNA Shred Stix Yamaha had moved up to 2nd ahead of Wil Hahn.
While all of this was happening, Melissa and Dawn were still setting everything up.
"Melissa, you gotta stop freaking out," Dawn chuckled. "This is Mat we're talking about. I'm sure he's gonna love the idea."
"It's just... I don't think I'm as experienced in these matters as Mat is with Sam, or my brother with Alex," Melissa admitted.
"They've just been in relationships longer than you," Dawn answered. "It's just something that comes from experience, really."
Mat looked back to see Melissa and Dawn getting things set, but he didn't think anything of it.
"I guess Mat's pick's out the window," Britney remarked.
Currently, Weimer had fought his way up to 10th after his crash.
"I could go for some lunch," Clover groaned as she looked for something to eat.
Melissa and Dawn had finished and came to see the end of the Lites main.
Jeff: ...what we were just talking about with Weimer about why he would be happy with... right now he's running 8th... why he would be happy with that: It really boils down to the effort. If you give 100% and you know that you did your best, the finish is what it is. Now, same thing with Trey Canard – I've spoke to him some times where as long as he gave it his best effort, and did the best he could, whether it's 1st or 3rd, he's happy.
Ralph: Making his way to the checkered flag... FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR, TREY CANARD'S A WINNER!
Broc Tickle had crossed in 2nd, and Wil Hahn rounded out the podium in 3rd; however, the racing was not over just yet for Jake Weimer, who was up to 8th and had a chance at getting up to 6th.
Weimer was going for 7th place Travis Baker #585 and 6th place Phil Nicoletti #175. Unfortunately, Weimer did not make any passes and was forced to settle for 8th.
"Your take, Mat?" Bridget asked.
"Well, I do think Weimer could have won that one, but he made the most of it after that crash," Mat answered.
The points standings had showed Weimer still as the points leader with 135, but Canard had chopped 12 points out of his 26-point lead, and the gap was down to 14.
"But I think we have to forget that title fight for now, right?" Nick wondered.
"Yep, the East series starts next week at Indianapolis," Mat pointed out.
Before long, Melissa had already started to walk back outside after she got Mat's attention and asked him to come outside, too.
"I wonder what that's over," Haruka quipped.
This time, Mat didn't stay to see who lost the bet and what the consequences were and went to follow Melissa; Mat's consequence would have to be waived due to whatever it was Melissa wanted.
Meanwhile, Melissa, bikini on and all, had told Mat about what she wanted.
"You mean... lunch with you poolside?" Mat asked Melissa after he'd seen her.
"Mm-hmm," Melissa nodded.
"Well, you know I'm not going to say no," Mat replied and used his DS to change to his swim shorts.
Melissa was delighted despite knowing Mat would accept her offer.
"So, Mat, you sure you aren't beating yourself up per se with still watching your Supercross series?" Melissa asked.
"Not anymore," Mat sighed. "But although it still hurts sometimes, something was telling me James Stewart was going to be forced to exit the season sooner or later..."
"Looks like you were right," Melissa chuckled.
After enjoying a little bit of food, Mat and Melissa got a little cuddly.
Their romantic moment was later interrupted by at least a couple spies coming for the pool area... likely for their "consequences."
"H-Hey, watch the hat!" May exclaimed.
"You're the one who lost the bet, May, so you're gonna suffer the consequences," Clover chuckled as she and Bridget both carried May across the walkway before heaving her directly into the pool.
"Did you have to be so thorough about it?" May sputtered after resurfacing, and that's when she noticed that Mat and Melissa were both there. "Oop, we didn't interrupt anything, did we?"
"I kinda figured you'd get it eventually, May," Melissa chuckled. "Your luck couldn't last forever."
"Duly noted," May quipped as she jumped out the pool and followed Bridget and Clover out so the couple could have their alone time.
"That was... certainly a thing that happened," Melissa noted.
"We're certainly a bunch of cards," Mat conceded.
"Honestly, Mat, I'm just happy you wanted to do this," Melissa admitted.
"You really thought I'd say no?" Mat wondered.
"I dunno," Melissa quipped. "I said this to Dawn while we were getting it all set up, but I know I'm not as experienced in this whole thing as you and Sam or Nick and Alex, since they've been in relationships much longer. I just wanted to do something nice, so..."
Mat quickly shut down Melissa's fears by wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in close, and kissing her.
"You really don't have a thing to worry about, Melissa," Mat stated. "After all, I'm just happy to spend time with you."
Melissa couldn't help but smile at that.
After the picnic was finished, Melissa heard a loud shout of surprise just as they were finishing putting everything away.
"Is everything okay over there?" Mat wondered.
It turned out that Mat and Melissa had left the pool just in time, as it had suddenly turned into a whirlpool for a couple seconds before receding and causing a large metal tube to emerge from the pool and aim towards them.
"And that would explain it," Melissa chuckled.
"Let's go see what Jerry has to say today, shall we?" Mat quipped as he and Melissa joined hands before jumping into the tube together.
Sure enough, the rest of the spies were already in the office and suited up when Mat and Melissa landed.
"I figured I'd let you two finish your date before calling you here," Jerry proclaimed.
"Thanks for that, Jer," Melissa answered.
"All right, so who's getting their keester kicked today, boss man?" Clover stated.
"I'm afraid it's this rapscallion again," Jerry responded as the office viewscreen changed to show a mugshot of Tim Scam.
"Oof, not this greased nutball again," Sam groaned. "Whenever he's around, he usually has some stupid scheme to make me his queen. Ugh..."
"Well, whatever he's got up his tacky five-dollar sleeves, we'll squash it flatter than those poor pancakes Mindy tried to make," Melissa responded.
"Seriously, what was that girl thinking using the spatula on top of them?" Clover quipped.
"Back on topic, is there any sign of Scam?" Haruka wondered.
"Thankfully, it looks like he's still in Beverly Hills," RiCO answered after materializing in the office. "According to our superdrone, Scam is currently meandering around somewhere downtown."
"Goody, that means we can commence with the beatdowns right away," Sam proclaimed. "Though, if I know a certain someone..."
"Ah, say no more, Sammy!" Sortiliena exclaimed as she skidded to a stop inside the office, throwing her hand up in a salute like she always did. "Combat instructor and L.A.M.O.S. beatdown deliverer, at your service!"
"Right on time as usual, Sortiliena," Nick chuckled. "Shall we go and knock a dumbbell around?"
"By all means," Sortiliena quipped as the spies all picked up their gadgets and set out into the city to find Scam.
2:19 P.M. - Downtown Beverly Hills
"Where, oh where might you be hiding, Scam?" May quipped as she and the others searched around for any sign of Scam.
"Knowing him, I'm sure he'll turn up eventually," Sam noted. "It's what freaks like him tend to do, after all."
The spies were so focused on finding Scam that they didn't notice somebody staring at their group from a couple blocks away, his gaze focused mostly on Melissa and how she didn't seem to be holding hands with anybody like Sam and Mat were.
Hmmmm... I wonder if that means I've still got a chance? The guy thought.
Nick suddenly skidded to a stop when he sensed trouble approaching.
"Something wicked this way comes?" Alex asked.
"Yup, and guess who it is," Nick teased.
Sortiliena turned around slowly towards where Nick had sensed those thoughts, just waiting for their attacker to try and ambush them.
And of course, the instant Scam jumped out of a nearby bush to try and grab Sam from behind, Sortiliena twirled around and whacked Scam in the face with a rising roundhouse kick that sent him tumbling backwards.
All of the spies shifted into fighting stances as Scam picked himself back up.
"Are the face kicks really necessary, little lady?" Scam quipped.
"When it comes to creep-a-tronics like you, Scam, then yes, they're very necessary," Sortiliena retorted.
"You've got some nerve showing your face around us again, especially after that whole business with the rocket," Sam growled. "What hare-brained plot do you have in store this time?!"
"All in due time, my dear queen," Scam laughed. "But right now, I think I need to get the rest of you meddlers out of my way so I can be with my destined queen."
Nick quickly placed himself in front, letting his psychic aura explode to life around him.
"Yeah, just try it, jerkhole," Nick taunted. "See what happens!"
"Destined queen? You sure not 'Martin Sheen'?" Mat taunted at Tim Scam.
Nick, Britney, and Melissa got a few snickers out of that.
"Maybe you ought to be reasonable there instead of those dumb statements," Scam sneered, trying not to be greatly offended.
"No idea what makes you think I'm going to be yours, but that's NEVER going to happen!" Sam emphasized.
"Just make it easy on yourself, Miss Sam," Scam sneered at her.
He didn't offer any notice and executed his attacks on the spies.
"This is a yawner," Nick remarked and used his psychic shots to block each of Scam's attacks.
"Call this a prelude..." Scam still sneered as he threw something else towards Sam. She only had the time to notice that it was sphere-shaped before it opened up and started sparking with electricity.
Nick acted quickly, snatching Sam in his telekinetic hold and yanking her away just as the sphere erupted into a wide, spherical field of electricity.
"No roasted spies on our watch, Scam," Nick taunted.
"Okay, now it's my turn to stop you, Tim Sham!" Melissa proclaimed as she waited for the electric field to dissipate before jumping forward to pounce on Scam, and even though he dodged, she used her Expandable Cable Bungee Belt to yank Scam back so she could clock him in the face with a right hook.
"And that still never gets old," Melissa chuckled.
"Damn it!" Scam score. "Then call this a draw..."
For a change, he threw a small ball in the sky and shot at it, where it caused a big smokescreen of some mysterious substance which was enough to allow Scam to escape. Sam and Clover used their Cyclone Blast Hairdryers to disperse the cloud of smoke.
"Crapbaskets... got away again!" Alex exclaimed.
"We've really got to work on eliminating that problem..." Sam sighed.
"I think this is where I could reference Kevin Windham looking for that 'great ride' per se," Mat commented.
"We'll get that problem rectified somehow," Haruka remarked.
Sam, Britney, and Nozomi were looking at the powder for a bit.
"I guess the mission's over for now, right?" Blaine wondered.
"Hold up," Haruka stated. "I got something..."
The other spies looked closer, and it appeared to be a gear that belonged on an assembly line of sorts.
"...that's not suspicious at all," Nozomi quipped.
"I wonder what he's trying to build this time," May wondered.
"Maybe Jerry and RiCO can fill in the blanks here," Dawn remarked while Haruka scanned the clue to them.
"Well, now it looks like we can have a break this time," Bridget deduced.
"I'm not picking up anything disturbing at the moment," Nick told the others after using his psychic radar.
The spies agreed since there wasn't much going on, so it was back to Mali-U for now.
"We have to get back anyway for water polo practice," May stated after checking the time.
"Oh, crapbaskets, you're right!" Bridget exclaimed, quickly transforming into Sonic Mode and grabbing both May and Haruka so they could speed off.
"...that's about what I expected was gonna happen," Nick chuckled as the rest of the spies followed suit.
3:15 P.M. – Malibu University
Upon returning, some of the spies opted to use their penthouse pool while May, Bridget, and Haruka were away at water polo practice, but Sam had another one of her classes up next, and Mat went with her. Sam told the spies that she would join when she came back.
"Hopefully Jerry will have some answers soon," Sam stated.
Mat nodded in agreement, and the two held hands until Sam reached her designated building.
"Hey, we'll be waiting," Mat told Sam.
The two shared a kiss, and Sam disappeared into her classroom.
While all of this was happening, the same mysterious person from earlier was walking around Mali-U, still debating if he should go for it.
After all, she didn't seem like she was seeing anybody at the moment, so maybe he still had a chance?
Later that day, Melissa rounded the corner, an extra-large bag of Ms. Appleseed's cookies clutched firmly in her hands. After all, May had asked Melissa to pick some up when the store opened, since she'd be at water polo practice and couldn't do it herself.
"Man, what exactly is it about these cookies that's gotten her so hooked?" Melissa chuckled. "If only I could try one right now and find out, but then May would probably kinda freak..."
Melissa looked around before smiling cheekily. "Well, there's a lot of cookies in here. Maybe one wouldn't hurt," Melissa quipped as she opened the bag and plucked one of the cookies (and there were indeed a lot in there) out before munching it.
"...oh my lord, these are delicious!" Melissa laughed. "Now I see why May loves these things so much."
Melissa quickly sealed up the bag before heading back towards the penthouse.
"Well, well, I didn't think I'd run into you here."
Melissa quickly put herself on guard, only to see that the person who had said that to her didn't look like trouble.
"It's been way too long, huh, Melissa?" the guy quipped. "I almost thought I'd never see you again."
It took Melissa a couple seconds, due to having to gather her thoughts, but she gasped in surprise when she recognized the guy in question.
"...wait, Darien?" Melissa gasped.
"You do remember me!" Darien chuckled.
"Well, you were in most of my middle school classes," Melissa teased. "I didn't know you were in town."
Inwardly, though, Melissa was worried a bit. Darien had been a boy in her middle school classes that had apparently had quite the crush on her, though she hadn't reciprocated, though not out of any malicious intent, simply not being interested at the time.
And if he still harbored those feelings... what would he try and do?
As Nick was walking by, just taking a casual stroll around as he didn't have anything else to do at the moment, he suddenly picked up those worried feelings from Melissa and ducked behind a nearby corner to observe the situation.
Nick discreetly read Darien's mind, only to breathe a sigh of relief when he didn't pick up any subliminal messages or other signs of mind control.
"Well, considering that I'm in the neighborhood, Melissa," Darien started.
Oh, here it comes, Melissa thought.
And that was Nick's cue to step in.
"Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, Darien, but... I'm already seeing someone," Melissa responded.
"Really? I saw you earlier today, and you weren't with anybody specific," Darien noted.
"My boyfriend just wasn't in that specific group," Melissa answered. "It really was great to see you again, Darien, but if you'll excuse me, I'd better get back to our penthouse with these cookies, or May's gonna have my head. And trust me, you don't want that."
Excusing herself, Melissa made her way back towards the penthouse, only to run into Nick after a couple steps.
"Oh, Nick, I didn't even notice you there," Melissa quipped.
"You doing okay there?" Nick asked.
"Guess you figured it out, huh?" Melissa sighed. "I wasn't expecting to see him, of all people, again. And given that he tried to ask me out, I was worried that he might have been brain-bleached or something..."
"Well, I actually checked out his mind when I noticed what was happening, and I didn't detect any signs of mental tampering," Nick responded. "Though we should keep our eyes out regardless."
"Too true," Melissa chuckled as they entered the penthouse, only to be almost immediately jumped by May. "Oof, M-May, really?!"
"I tried to stop her," Alex laughed.
Melissa reached into her bag and pulled out the cookies, knowing that's what May was after.
"Ah, sweet victory at last," May giggled. "I missed Ms. Appleseed while she was away..."
"And now I can see why you love those cookies so much," Melissa teased before realizing she'd inadvertently blabbed. But May didn't even look upset.
"...why do you think I asked you to grab an extra-large order for me?" May chuckled. "I did that so we could all try 'em out."
"I almost thought I'd have to give one to Darien as a peace offering," Melissa quipped.
"W-Wait, you mean that Darien, the guy who had a huge crush on you in middle school?" Dawn gasped. "He's in town?"
"It's a bit of a story, but thankfully there's no trouble right now," Melissa answered.
Unbeknownst to Melissa, however, Darien was now walking around the outskirts of Malibu University, wondering when he'd lost his chance, and he conversely didn't know that someone else was watching him, seeing a wondrous opportunity.
"Did I wait too long to make my move?" Darien asked himself. "I couldn't remember if she'd ever gotten hooked up before we left middle school, and..."
"Just got left out in the proverbial cold, eh?"
Darien glanced over towards that voice and saw Tim Scam approaching him, trying his best to look cordial and non-suspicious.
"And you might be...?" Darien wondered.
"Just someone who sympathizes with your plight," Scam proclaimed. "I, too, seem to have lost my chance to hook up with the woman of my dreams, and I wouldn't want to see it happen again with somebody else."
"Do you know what I have to do?" Darien asked.
"Simply follow my lead," Scam offered, and Darien followed him, not noticing the sinister smirk on Scam's face. Oh, this was easier than I thought. Now I can kill multiple birds with one "stone", so to speak.
Darien didn't question Scam's authority while he followed him.
"I guarantee you will have your girl with my help," Scam continued to Darien.
4:01 P.M. – The Spies' Penthouse
Sam had returned to the penthouse following the conclusion of her class. There was a bright flash nearby because Sam had used her X-Powder to switch to her green bathing suit. Much to her surprise, the only ones at the penthouse pool were Mat, Blaine, Clover, and Bridget. Mat even gave her a wave while Sam dropped her belongings and went straight for Mat.
"How'd it go?" Mat asked.
"Still stayed on it if that's what you mean?" Sam giggled.
"That's good," Mat replied and motioned at the pool as if to ask Sam if she wanted to go for a swim.
"You bet," Sam replied.
With that, Sam and Mat held hands and went for their swim.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" Sam asked Clover, Blaine, and Bridget.
"Just about everyone is still fawning over the cookies Melissa came back with," Bridget chuckled.
"See, I told you these cookies are some of the most delicious things your taste buds will ever experience!" May laughed.
"Hey, let me try one," Sortiliena quipped, as she'd elected to hang out with the spies until there was another sighting of Scam. "...oh my, these are amazing."
"Told ya!" May chuckled.
Simultaneously, Nick, Melissa, and Dawn were returning from somewhere else on campus. They all made wardrobe changes back to their swimwear and came to the pool area.
"Something up?" Bridget asked them as Nick and Dawn immediately jumped in the pool.
"Melissa ran into somebody from our past," Nick replied after resurfacing.
"Darien," Melissa sighed. "He had THE BIGGEST crush on me from middle school..."
"You don't sound too thrilled about it," Clover observed when the rest of the spies had come to the pool area, including Sortiliena.
Melissa was interrupted by May's usual "PIRATE DIVE!"
May ended up landing right on Britney, and quickly swam away as fast as she could, not wanting to face Britney's wrath.
"Anyway, like I said, you don't sound too thrilled about Darien," Clover repeated herself.
"You don't know the half of it," Melissa sighed. "I admit, I TRIED to make things work, but he called me almost every weekend to hang out..."
"There's way more than that," Nick warned.
"We had to intervene a couple of times, too," Dawn added. "Like that one time he seriously wanted Melissa to hang out while our grandparents were visiting! Seriously, who does that?!"
"Thankfully, he never went too far into the 'eek' territory, if you catch my drift," Melissa stated. "But he was very stubborn about it."
"Sounds like he wasn't your type from the get-go," Sortiliena cringed.
"Not really, no," Melissa admitted. "And to be fair, that's not his fault, he's just not my type."
"Hello, spies," Jerry remarked as his visage appeared in the spies' pool.
"Jerry?" Nozomi wondered.
"I may never get used to that," Haruka chuckled.
"I apologize for interrupting your pool day, but RiCO and I got somewhere with the gear Haruka sent us," Jerry announced.
"You did?" Mat wondered.
"Well, let's hear it," Nick remarked.
"According to my analysis, the gear comes from some kind of assembly line," RiCO explained. "Which probably means Scam's up to something in his secret lair."
"When it comes to our villains building stuff, that can't be anything good," Haruka quipped. "You think it's time to go and find mister creepy smile?"
"That might be a good idea," iCO cut in. "Because our superdrone just picked up Scam's signal wandering around Venice Beach."
"Sounds like it's time to do what we do best," Sortiliena stated.
"I feel you on that one," Alex chuckled. "Let's go and beat down on the creep, everybody!"
While all of this was happening, all the way over at Venice Beach, Scam was explaining to Darien how they were going to take care of their little "problem".
"Wait, so that red-headed woman is actually a..." Darien gasped.
"Sad to say, it's true," Scam sighed. "And I'm worried that she might be attempting to 'enslave' others with her wicked charms."
"What can I do about this situation?" Darien wondered.
"Well, that's actually pretty simple," Scam responded, bringing out a helmet that he'd created in his secret lair. "With this helmet, you'll be able to see through that little harlot's lies and deceit."
I don't know if I'd go that far, Darien thought. "If this will stop Melissa from getting tricked by that lady, then... let's give it a shot."
"Just place the helmet on, and it'll do the rest," Scam answered.
Darien took the helmet and placed it on his head, and almost immediately, the helmet started humming softly before causing Darien to stiffen up, the handles of the helmet clamping down on his head. After a couple seconds, Darien's eyes opened up again, and they were dulled, a clear indicator of mind control.
"What would you have me do, master?" Darien droned in a monotone voice.
Scam couldn't help but indulge in a little evil laughter. "Oh, this is going to be delightful," Scam laughed. "Now I've got a brand new weapon to destroy their relationships, and make Sam see that I'm the only one for her. Darien, let's head off and wait for those little punks."
"Of course," Darien answered as he followed Scam towards Venice Beach to wait for the spies. Scam was excited to see how this was going to work.
To be continued...
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Next time...
Alex: All right, where is that jerk-o?
Melissa: He didn't dip out on us, did he?
Nick: No, he's here. He's not exactly trying to be subtle. All right, you, come out of hiding, because we aren't in the mood.
Mat: Wanna explain what's with the stupid grin before we slap it off of your face?
Sam: I don't know how many times we have to brick it into your stubborn skull, Scam, but there's ABSOLUTELY no room in my future for a sleazeball like you. Just accept it already!
Scam: I think you'll change your mind soon enough, especially when you consider what I've got up my sleeves this time.
May: Dare I ask?
Scam: Oh, you'll see. I don't want to spoil the surprise, after all.
Sortiliena: Oh, no you don't, you're not getting away from us!
Haruka: All right, who's the wise guy now?!
Bridget: I guess we'll have to find out next time on Totally Spies: Mad Love, "An Unrequited Mess"!
Sortiliena: Man, those helmets actually look kinda uncomfortable. Can you really do all that with it on?
Darien: I'm trying my best. Anything I can't get done with it on, that's what we've got stunt doubles for.
Nick: Finally, someone gets it!