Hi! This is another episode I've been looking forward to adapting for my story. I hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Queen for a Day

Lyrobian Palace-9:16 PM

All was quiet both in the palace and outside of it. The young queen of Lyrobia, Tassara sat in front of her vanity, brushing her hair.

Much had been on her mind in the past few weeks, from her younger sister recently turning 18 to the peace conference she was scheduled to attend in Geneva.

With all these thoughts flooding her mind, she wondered how she could get any sleep. Still, though she didn't look it, Tassara was very tenacious. She was sure that sleep would come soon enough.

Blowing out the candles on both sides of her bed, she settled down and closed her eyes, forgetting all her recent troubles, at least for the moment.

Little did she suspect that soon getting a good night's sleep would be the least of her worries.

A sound from outside her bedroom window caused her to jolt up, and a beam of green light enclosed her.

Screaming in fear, she felt herself being lifted into midair as if being scooped up by a giant hand.

Hearing her cries, Akim, her advisor came rushing into the room.

"Tassara!" he shouted, springing into action.

Taking a rope from one of her bed curtains, he lassoed it around her ankle, trying to pull her to safety.

But she wouldn't budge.

"I've got you!" Akim cried, but the beam just continued to pull her outwards.

While he continued to tug at the rope with all his might, Akim soon found the queen hitting his body.

As suddenly as it appeared, the beam just vanished.

Tassara and Akim rose to look out the window.

They couldn't see much, other than two individuals fleeing on horseback.

Beverly Hills High School-11:10 AM

Sean followed Clover to the DVD player in the school's cafeteria. He couldn't say he was surprised when he learned she was running for Homecoming Queen, but he didn't think she would go this far in campaigning.

"I'm telling you guys," she said, slipping the disc she had Alex and Sam film and Sean help in editing into the player.

"With my new digital video camera, I'm a shoo-in for Homecoming Queen."

"I hope so," Sean said. "It took me hours to get that video right!"

On the huge TV screen above the player, an image of Clover materialized, wearing a crown and surround by pink versions of the leaf that was her namesake.

Her fingers were pointed up. forming a "V".

"Vote Clover for Queen!" she announced enthusiastically. "I swear I won't be mean!"

"Brilliant, isn't it?" the real Clover asked her three friends, who looked a little less than impressed.

"It's... um, great, Clover," Alex declared.

"Yeah, in a painfully honest kind of way," Sam muttered.

"I helped edit that thing," Sean added. "And even I think it's lame."

Their conversation was cut off by the sound of the school's marching band, who entered the cafeteria, led by Mandy.

Nudging Clover out of her way, she took the disc out of the player and put her own in.

"Out of my way!" she said, rudely.

Mandy showed up on the screen, appearing on a blue background with the image of a crown behind her.

"Clover is so over!" she said. "It's Mandy who's dandy! Vote Mandy for Homecoming Queen! Yeah!"

The background turned pink, then showed Clover's face obscured by a large "No" symbol, followed by Mandy's face popping up beside and the words "Vote Mandy!" appearing in bright blue letters.

Compared to Clover's video, Mandy's generated a larger response.

The whole room, save Clover, Sean, Sam, and Alex was cheering.

Clover, in the meantime, stood stunned.

"Aw, cheer up, Clover!" Mandy said in a false consolation tone. "You did your best. Besides, it's not like you ever really had a chance at becoming Homecoming Queen. Especially since I've got the entire football team in my back pocket!"

"Junior or varsity?" Sean asked.

"Both," Mandy replied.

"Wow!" Alex said, awed. "Impressive."

Clover elbowed her in the side for that slight betrayal.

"I think so!" Mandy said, conceited. "So, why don't you just give up now, Clover and save yourself the humiliation of losing to me in front of the entire school?!"

Clover growled angrily as Mandy walked away in triumph.

Sitting at a table, Clover fondled her cup of orange juice, pondering Mandy's words.

"Looks like you'll need to do some serious campaigning to beat Mandy," Sam said.

"Are you kidding?!" Clover asked, angrily, swallowing her orange juice. "I could beat Mandy on my worst hair day!"

"Listen," a voice spoke up from above.

The girls and Sean looked up and on mezzanine of the cafeteria, leaning over the railing was Arnold.

"Clover, I overheard everything and I think I can help you with your campaign. Heck, I might even be able to secure the nerd vote for you. There's more of us than you think."

"Huh," Sean admitted. "That's great of you to offer, Arnold."

Then he turned to Clover. "Why don't you take it?"

But Clover just crossed her arms in disinterest.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Brainiac," she said dismissively. "I do my own campaigning."

Arnold raised an eyebrow, as did Sean. Then the bespectacled boy walked off.

"You do your own campaigning?" Sean asked. "Last, I checked, you couldn't make that video without us!"

"Oops," Clover said. "I meant to say, I don't accept help from geeks."

"Sheesh," Sean said. "Why don't you say how you really feel?"

She stood up. "Come on, guys. You've gotta help me campaign."

And she suggested starting by stopping Mandy's campaign.

Walking over to the player, Clover pressed the eject button and the disc Mandy slipped in was out.

As they left the cafeteria, Clover stopped by the trashcan to deposit the disc.

But as they began to walk away from it, they heard a strange whirring noise coming from it.

They opened the lid, and looked into it... and then were sucked inside.

Arnold, in the meantime, stepped outside as well, fuming over what Clover said.

He looked at the papers, sucked off the bulletin board from the force that whisked away Sean and the girls.

They floated to the floor like large, misshapen snowflakes.

"Hm," he said to himself, wondering what could have caused that.

Then his mind wandered back to Clover.

He didn't know why he thought she would accept his offer. But she didn't seem to do a good job campaigning on her own.

His cousin could have made a better video, and he was blind.

Meanwhile, Sean and the girls slid down the metallic chute before being thrown into a large, bullet shaped chamber.

The door to it slammed shut and the chamber, thanks to a rocket booster attached to the bottom achieved liftoff, taking off through a hole outside the school.

The spies screamed as the rocket left Earth's atmosphere.

Upon re-entry, it began to heat up.

"Ew!" Alex exclaimed as her clothes were now covered in garbage, along with her friends. "Jerry's really crossed the line this time!"

"I hope he knows a good dry-cleaner!" Sam growled.

"At least your clothes can be dry-cleaned!" Sean shouted, wiping himself off as best he could.

Finally, their capsule landed, docking in a special port on a ship in the North Atlantic.

The doors opened, letting the spies fall out.

Clover took in her surroundings eagerly.

"If this means Jerry's offering us a surprise cruise, then I'm willing to forgive him for ruining our clothes!"

Jerry stepped in front of them.

"No such luck, agents," he declined.

Soon afterward, Jerry directed their attention to a screen as they sat on a couch that rose up from the deck.

"Right now," he began. "You are en route to the Northern African nation of Lyrobia where there's been a rather unusual kidnapping attempt on the nation's queen, Tassara. We suspect it may have been perpetrated by the neighboring enemy nation of Kenopia. The two countries have been at war for 20 years."

"What do you mean by 'unusual kidnapping attempt?'" Sam asked.

"Apparently," Jerry explained. "The perpetrator used some sort of anti-gravity device to literally lift the queen from her palace."

"Cool!" Alex exclaimed, earning a glare from Jerry and Sean in that order.

"I mean, that's terrible!" she corrected herself. "Just terrible!"

Jerry gestured at the four teens in front of him.

"Precisely why I'm sending you to protect Her Majesty; we don't want the existing conflict to escalate and spill over into other nations of Africa."

"Great!" Clover complained, scowling. "How am I supposed to campaign when I'm stuck in Africa?!"

"And now for the gadgets," Jerry continued, ignoring her. "Today, you'll be receiving Heat Sensor 6000 Infrared Motion Detector Sunglasses, compressed water capsules for proper desert hydration, High Sensitivity Electromagnetic Bracelets."

He activated the last one, which sucked him up to the ceiling of the shelter he stood under.

Turning it off, he landed behind the desk.

"Powerful little gadget. And last, but not least, keys to a brand new R.A.T.V.A.T!"

"A brand new rat-what?" Alex asked.

"A R.A.T.V.A.T," Jerry clarified. "Rugged All-Terrain Vehicle and Tunneler. It will be waiting for you when you arrive at the palace. And don't ding it! We just had it painted."

"And how do we get to the palace?" Sean asked.

Jerry had a look that said, "I hoped you would ask that," and pressed a button on his desk.

The couch they sat on flipped over, sending them tumbling down a hole into four seats... wedged inside a torpedo.

As a glass dome enclosed the four teens, the torpedo launched, leaving a waving Jerry behind.

"Ta-ta!" he said.

Lyrobian Desert-1:05 PM

In the sweltering desert heat, Sean panted as his camel was barely able to keep up with Sam's.

"Where is this palace, anyway?" he asked, popping one of the water capsules he'd been given into his mouth.

"I wish I knew!" Sam replied angrily, shaking the map she'd been given back at the bazaar. "This map is completely useless! It's just sand, sand, and more sand!"

"That map's not the only useless thing around here," Sean added, wiping sweat from his forehead. "These camels are slower than Clover is in the fitting room at the mall!"

The man who'd sold them camels insisted they were a fair bargain. But what he really meant was that they were cheap, not fast. Sean's camel in particular was old and in the last five months of its life. So it was slower than the girls'. Not only that, it almost spat on him when he tried mounting it the first time.

Clover scowled at him, not amused with being compared to a camel.

"Well, we'd better get to civilization soon," Alex said from behind him. "Because this heat is totally drying out my skin. I need a mud mask A.S.A.P!"

"It's official!" Clover whined, slumping forward in her saddle. "This country is completely miserable and so am I! I can kiss my dreams becoming Homecoming Queen goodbye!"

Sean looked back at her. "We're trying to help a country that's been at war for 20 years, and all you can think about is being Homecoming Queen?!"

"I'm just a girl with simple needs," she countered.

"And a lack of priorities," Sean added quickly. "Besides, if you really wanted to become Homecoming Queen, you'd have someone back home do the campaigning for you."

Clover's frown turned into a grin. "That's it!"

She took out her Compowder, sitting back up.

"What's it?" Alex asked Sean.

Clover activated the "voice only" option on her Compowder, calling Arnold, who answered.

"Arnold," she said sweetly. "It's Clover. You know, your best friend. I'm out of town, and I was wondering if your offer to help me with my campaign still stands."

"Of course, Clover," Arnold responded.

"You will?" she asked, clearly getting her hopes up. "That's great!"

"When monkeys fly!" Arnold shot her down. "You mean mean mean person!"

Clover panicked, then waved a hand dismissively.

"Come on, Arnold," she denied. "It wasn't my fault. I ate some bad sushi that made me act that way."

"Okay," Arnold relented. "I'll help you... on one condition."

"Anything, Arnold! Just name it!"

"When you get back, you have to be my girlfriend for one full week."

"What?!" Clover shrieked in disgust, before calming down. "How about a nice lunch date instead?"

"No way," Arnold refused.

"Fine," Clover said, giving in. "I'll do it. But only for one day and only if I win."

"Don't worry," Arnold's voice reassured her. "You'll win, I'm sure of it."

Clover closed her Compowder. "Things are suddenly looking up."

"What happened to doing your own campaigning?" Sean asked, coyly.

But Clover just turned her head, ignoring him.

"Okay," Sam said, putting her map down. "I say it's high time we call Jerry, ask for real directions, and get out of this desert."

"Or," Alex suggested, pointing into the distance. "We could just ask someone at that nice house over there."

Sam looked straight ahead, as did Sean and Clover.

Before them was a huge domed building white as pearls which stood out against the dull sand of the desert. Surrounding it were four minarets.

"That's not a house," Sam said. "That's the..."

"...palace!" Sean, Alex, and Clover joined her in finishing the sentence.

Sean was briefely awestruck by the building's grandeur, before he turned to the other three.

"All right, girls," he said. "Be on your best behavior. Remember, we're dealing with a real queen."

He shot Clover a look.

"That goes double for you."

The spies were led to the throne room, where the queen, a young woman not that much older than any of them, sat on a throne beneath an ornate canopy.

To Tassara's left was a much younger woman wearing a green dress.

"Welcome to Lyrobia," the queen greeted as the spies knelt down on one knee.

"I'm Queen Tassara, and this is is my sister Makeda."

She gestured to the woman in green off to the side.

"I assume you've been briefed about the kidnapping attempt."

"Totally," Clover said casually, but changed her tone upon seeing the glare in Sean's eye. "I mean, indeed. Jerry told us all about it. It's positively frightening, Your Honor."

"Especially considering the king of Kenopia and I are to attend a peace conference in Geneva to sign a war-ending treaty. The fate of our nations depends on my safety."

"Well," Alex said. "The best way to keep Her Excellency safe is to keep her-I mean you-out of sight."

Tassara frowned. "True. Unfortunately, the palace is having a celebratory party tonight, and I'm obligated to attend."

"Well, in that case," Sam broke in. "We'd better come up with a plan."

"And fast," Sean added. "When is this peace conference, Your Majesty?"

"In two days," Tassara responded. "So there's not much time."

"Excuse me," a man's voice broke in.

A man with tanned skin, long dark hair and a very muscular build walked into the throne room.

"But I need to consult with Makeda about this evening's festivities."

A smile flashed across his face, leaving Clover swooning.

"No, problem," she said as her teammates facepalmed.

"Excuse us, Your Majesty," Makeda said, bowing before turning to the spies. "I can't tell you how grateful our people are to have your protection."

"Thank you," Sam returned to Makeda as the Lyrobian princess left the room.

Then she turned to Tassara.

"Would you be so kind as to show us where the kidnapping attempt occurred?"

Tassara ushered them into her bedroom.

Although briefly awestruck by the room's opulence, Sean and the others focused long enough to begin their search.

"Well," Clover said. "Besides the solid gold bed, nothing looks out of the ordinary to me."

"Except for the floor," Alex said. She knelt by the window, where the floor was covered in green powder.

"It's totally dirty! I mean, no offense, Your Highness."

Tassara and the others walked over.

"This is where I landed when Akim saved me from the anti-gravity ray," the queen explained.

"Strange," Sean said, kneeling down. "What kind of anti-gravity ray leaves this behind?"

Sam knelt down beside him, taking out a test tube.

"I'll send a sample to Jerry for analysis right away," she said, sprinkling some of the powder into the tube.

Sean snapped his fingers. "I had an idea about tonight's party."

He gestured to the girls.

"The plan is one of you pose as Tassara. The rest of us pose as servants and thwart any kidnapping attempts. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea, Sean!" Clover said gleefully, plucking Tassara's crown off her head. "And of course, I'll play the role of the queen!"

She rushed over to the mirror, admiring herself and her newest accesory.

"Now that I get to be a real queen-a fake real one, at least- I could care less about being a dumb high school homecoming queen!"

"Uh, Clover?" Sean walked up behind her, interrupting her fantasy. "It's nice of you to volunteer, but I was actually thinking Alex could do it."

Clover snapped back to reality.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Why?!"

"Well," Sean tried to explain. "Of the three of you, she looks the most like Tassara. You? You look like her as much as I do."

Clover groaned in frustration, turning her face away from Sean. Then, her lips curled up in a mischievous smirk.

Turning back to face Sean, she made her eyes as wide as she knew how, while lowering her lip, making it look like she was about to cry.

Sean folded his arms, scowling.

"That's not going to work on me, Clover," he said, resolved.

That was when Clover pulled out her Compowder. She pressed a button on it, and the room was flooded with the sound of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Sean's resolve began weakening thanks to the music combined with the dog-like whimpering noise Clover was making.

He grit his teeth, groaning in frustration.

"Fine!" he said, giving in. "Fine! You can do it! Just stop looking at me like that!"

Turning off the music, Clover's simpering face went back to her previous smiling one.

"Works every time!" she said, returning to admiring herself in the mirror.

Sean walked back over to Sam, Tassara, and a very steaming Alex.

"What?" he asked.

"Coward," she spat.

Sean threw up his hands in defense.

"You try being on the end of... that!"

He gestured to Clover with his left hand.

"I wonder what my first queenly duty should be?" she wondered, still admiring her reflection. "Oh, I know! I'll go on a royal shopping spree!"

"Uh, Clover?" Sam broke in. "Why don't you let Tassara decide what your duties should be?"

She gestured to the queen, who now looked very stunned.

Lyrobian Palace Ballroom-9:32 PM

While Sean pretended to be a palace guard, watching over the events from a back wall, and girls and Tassara posed as servants, Clover was stationed at a receiving line, greeting guests. However, she wasn't enjoying it nearly as much as she thought she would.

Standing there in one of Tassara's dresses the queen had lent her along with a wig Jerry sent over for the occasion, Clover was more miserable than she expected she would be.

Makeda stood behind her. According to Lyrobian tradition, both the monarch and the heir had to be present when guests were arriving.

"Man," Clover complained under her breath. "I thought being the queen was supposed to be fun. This reeks!"

"Is there anything I can do for you, Your Majesty?" Akim asked, coming up.

Clover got that usual lovestruck look in her eyes. Sean instructed Tassara and the girls to keep the ruse a secret, something Clover was now very grateful for.

"Yes," Clover said eagerly, but still trying to sound formal. "You can save me from this totally lame receiving line and help me cut a royal rug!"

Akim blinked at her, confused.

"Duh," Clover clarified. "I want you to dance with me!"

She tried to drag him out on to the dance floor, but he stopped.

"Very amusing, Queen Tassara," he said dryly. "You know that it is your duty to stay in the royal receiving line."

"But you have to let me dance!" Clover argued, unaware of Makeda looking flushed. "I command you!"

The Lyrobian princess moaned before collapsing to the floor.

"Makeda!" Clover and Akim shouted.

The entire ballroom, the spies and Tassara included, gasped.

As Sean, the girls and Tassara ran over, Akim picked the fallen girl up.

"Makeda?" he asked. "Makeda, are you okay?"

Makeda opened her eyes. "I guess all the evening's excitement must have gotten to me."

"Perhaps you ought to go lie down," Akim suggested.

"Good idea," Makeda suggested as Akim and Sean helped her to her feet.

While Clover and Akim escorted Makeda to the roof of the palace, Tassara sighed in relief.

"That was quite nerve wracking," the queen said.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Sean reassured the queen. "Everything's going to be fine."

That was when every light in the room switched off.

Sam and Alex ran over to where Sean was.

"Could be the kidnappers," Sam whispered. "We'd better investigate."

Sam and Sean took out their Motion Detector Sunglasses, while Alex directed the queen to the curtains behind the throne.

"Hide behind here, Your Majesty," she instructed.

Sam and Sean scanned the crowd with the glasses, but so far, nothing looked suspicious. But there was the scent of smoke coming from nearby.

"I don't see anything," Sean said. "But I definitely smell something."

The smell, it turned out, had come from the palace kitchen. As Sean, Sam and Alex walked into the darkened room, they could pinpoint the exact origin from a counter in the far corner.

Sam flipped a switch on the circuit breaker, letting the lights come back on.

On the counter was Alex's Compowder. It was connected by a cable to an electrical outlet in the wall.

The outlet was scorched and smoke was pouring out of the Compowder.

"Oopsie," Alex said, nervously. "Guess this wasn't the best place to recharge my Compowder."

"Well," Sam said, both shocked and relieved. "At least it's just a blown fuse and not the kidnappers."

That was when they heard the scream.

"That sounded like Clover," Sean said, rushing out of the kitchen.

Everyone in the ballroom looked on shock as two men in headcloths made a beeline for the exit, a screaming Clover draped over one of their shoulders.

Before they could carry Clover through the door, Alex stepped in their way.

Spreading her arms, she blocked them from exiting while Sean and Sam ran up behind them.

"Let her go!" Sam shouted at them.

Clover's captor just laughed as a green beam engulfed them.

Sean and Sam flinched as the light filled the room, and the men holding Clover were lifted up.

"Help me!" Clover shrieked.

Thinking fast, Sam vaulted herself up into the air using a guest's shoulders, while Sean jumped up from a large urn.

They both clung to a tapestry, climbing up after the false queen and her abductors.

Sam managed to snag off a piece of the man's cloak, but thanks to the combined weight of her and Sean, the tapestry ripped, sending them plummeting to the floor below.

As Clover and her kidnappers disappeared through a window, Alex pushed a couch under the falling duo, the torn tapestry covering them.

Alex took it off of them as Tassara rushed over.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"We're fine," Sean said. "Wish I could say the same for Clover."

"Makeda has been kidnapped too!" Akim said, rushing in. "I went to check on her and she's gone!"

The remaining spies and Tassara gasped.

Indeed, as Akim said, Makeda was not on the roof. But in her place was a very familiar green powder.

"Woah!" Alex commented as she and the others knelt down. "Deja vu!"

"Let's see if Jerry has any info on this stuff," Sean said, standing up and pullet out his wallet phone.

A minute later, Jerry appeared on the wallet's screen, holding a cup of tea and eating a cookie.

"Good evening, agents," he said. "How's the mission going?"

"Oh, it's going great, Jer!" Alex said. "Lyrobia's way cool!"

Sean and Sam glared at her, reminding her that their friend was in danger.

"I mean, except for the part where Clover and the queen's sister have been kidnapped."

"Oh my," Jerry said, dropping the cookie in his tea.

"So," Sean said. "Do you have any info on the sample we sent you?"

"We think it might help us find them," Sam added.

"Yes, actually. The residue. Apparently, it's some kind magnetic compound found only on asteroids in outer space."

"Asteroids?" Sam asked.

"That's strange," Sean commented.

"And sad," Alex said. "I mean, just think of poor Clover! She hates outer space! She got a D in astronomy class."

"And yet she's been to space twice," Sean said.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the asteroid crater in the northern part of Lyrobia," Tassara pondered.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," Sam said as Sean closed his wallet phone.

"Come on!" he said to the girls.

"Wait!" Alex broke in. "What about Queen Tassara?"

"I'm coming with you," Tassara announced. "I've got to find Makeda. I feel responsible."

"I don't know," Sam said, hesitating. "It might not be safe."

"Well, it isn't exactly safe here," the queen pointed out.

"Good point," Sean conceded.

The next morning, the R.A.T.V.A.T, as Jerry called it, was speeding across the desert. It turned out to be a large, pink tank with an equally enormous drill attached to the front.

Alex, sitting between Sean and Tassara, sighed.

"You know, the desert's not all that bad when you don't have to cross it on a stinky old camel," she said.

But no sooner than those words left her mouth, the wind began to pick up outside, stirring up large quantities of sand that obscured their view.

On a console between Sean's legs, a red warning flashed on the screen. It read "Sandstorm."

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you, Alex!" Sean exclaimed fastening his seat belt. "The desert sucks no matter how you cross it!"

The girls and the queen mimicked his actions, buckling up.

"Get ready to dive!" Sam shouted as she adjusted to controls to turn on the drill.

In minutes, the R.A.T.V.A.T bored under the desert soil, before disappearing completely.

A periscope emerged from the sand, letting Alex see above the dunes.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Cool!"

The periscope sank back under the sand as the R.A.T.V.A.T continued its way under the desert.

Somewhere in Lyrobia-11:23 AM

Elsewhere, in the rubble of an abandoned city destroyed by the war between the two nations, a man in a turban opened a crate.

Inside was a very familiar girl, tied up and gagged.

The leader of Clover's captors took the gag off of her, prompting her to look up in fury.

"Is this any way to treat a queen?!" she complained.

The man ripped the wig off of Clover's head, proving that their mission had been a failure.

"That's not the queen you fools!" he growled, throwing the wig away. "You got the wrong girl."

He pointed off into the distance.

"Go find Queen Tassara and bring her to me immediately!"

The thugs who brought Clover there ran off, hoping not to enrage him further.

"What should we do with this one?" one of the others asked, indicating Clover.

"She's useless to us," the leader said. "Ship her to Siberia!"

Clover's jaw went agape as the crate was closed again.

She whimpered, on the verge of tears.

Meanwhile, the R.A.T.V.A.T emerged from the sand, in the jungle surround the asteroid crater, right where Tassara said it would be.

"This is it!" the queen announced as she and her protectors exited the R.A.T.V.A.T.

With the sunglasses Jerry gave them, the spies looked around.

"Talk about a change of scenery," Alex said, taking everything in.

"If there's any activity around," Sam said, tapping her glasses. "We should be able to find it with these."

Then through the filters of the lenses, Sean saw something move.

"There's something across the crater!" he announced.

Then he noticed that the... whatever it was, began changing direction.

"It's coming this way! Maybe it's the kidnappers!"

They rounded a corner, hiding behind a cluster of trees.

"I don't see anything," Sam said.

"It was there," Sean said. "I swear!"

He reached for a large leaf, pulling it away.

Then the body heat signature he picked up was now in front of him, growling.

Wait a minute. Growling?

He took off the sunglasses to see a large, ravenous lion in front of him. And this lion looked like he hadn't eaten in a long time.

"Uh-oh," he said, as the girls went still in shock behind him.

"Keep very still," he instructed them. "They can sense movement."

Then the lion roared in his face.

"Apparently, they can also hear me talking."

Then he turned around.

"Run!"

At Sean's instruction, he and the girls and the queen took off through the jungle.

The chase didn't last very long as Alex came to the edge of the crater.

The ledge gave way sending the screaming teenagers sliding down the edge before landing in a puddle of mud.

As Sean caught his breath, Sam turned to Alex.

"I guess you finally got the mud mask you wanted," she told her friend.

As they each stood up, Tassara pointed at something.

"Look!"

In the ruined town in the crater, there were lamps, generators, and vehicles typically used in construction.

As they explored the ruins, Alex spoke up.

"This must be it! I mean, it practically screams 'bad guy hideout'."

Sean knelt down, rubbing a familiar green substance through his fingers.

"This looks like the dust we found in Tassara's room," he announced. "Let's check it out."

They crept through the ruins, unaware of a camera emerging from a wall.

On the other side of the camera, the kidnappers watched with glee as the three remaining spies snuck around their base with the very girl they were trying to abduct.

"Call off the search," the leader declared to one of his men. "The foolish children have been nice enough to deliver the queen right to our front door."

After a while, they stopped beside a crate. They'd been looking for fifteen minutes and there was no obvious sign of Clover. Or anyone else for that matter.

"Maybe I was wrong," Alex said, sitting on the crate. "It doesn't look like anyone's been in here for 100 years!"

Then the crate she sat on smashed open, revealing...

"Hey!" Clover complained as Alex was sitting on her right now.

"Clover!" she exclaimed in relief.

"Have you seen Makeda?" Sam asked as she and Sean knelt down.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking!" Clover said in less than pleased tone. "And no. I haven't seen Makeda. I haven't seen anything but the inside of this crate!"

As Sean untied Clover's wrists, Makeda's voice rang out from across the rubble.

"I'm right here."

Makeda stood in an empty doorway, apparently unharmed.

"Makeda!" Tassara said, relieved.

She ran over to her sister, hugging her.

"You're okay!"

But Sean noticed a sinister smile creep across Makeda's face.

"Yes!" she said, pushing Tassara back as the lights came on and they were surrounded by men who dressed very similar to the ones who kidnapped Clover back at the palace.

"Unfortunately," she continued, gloating. "I can't say the same for the five of you!"

Tassara looked to her sister, then to the men, then back again.

"What's this?" the queen asked.

In response a green beam of energy engulfed them. The energy emanated from a gun that one of the men with Makeda had stationed in front of them.

"What's happening?!" Tassara demanded.

"You're being kidnapped," Makeda explained. "Once and for all."

"Wait," Sean said, confused "You're behind this? Why would you want to kidnap your own sister?"

"How else can I stop her from going to Geneva and signing that treaty?"

Sean's jaw dropped, along with the girls'.

"You see, if the war ends, I won't be able to sell my anti-gravity guns to the general of Kenopia."

"I don't get it," Sam spoke up. "Why would you sell weapons to the enemy?"

"It's simple, really," Makeda responded. "I struck a deal. When Kenopia wins the war, I'll be queen of both countries. In fact, I'm going to Lyrobia's weapons factory right now to finalize my deal with the general."

Then she looked up at Tassara.

"Besides, it's time you passed the crown."

"But what about us?!" Tassara asked, hurt by her sister's betrayal. "You can't just leave us floating here forever!"

"Don't worry, sis!" Makeda said, crossing her arms. "You won't be floating for long."

One of her men placed a long, cylindrical device just below them. And the countdown timer told Sean exactly what it was.

"This place is rigged to explode in a matter of minutes."

She and her henchmen left, as Makeda began waving.

"So long!"

When they were out of sight, Clover spoke up.

"Great! Now what are we supposed to do?!"

"We've gotta break that gravity field before that bomb blows us even higher!" Sean said.

"And how're we supposed to do that?" Alex said, pointing to her bracelet. "The only devices we have left are these dumb bracelets, which might I add, are totally gaudy."

Sam's eyes widened. "Alex, you are a genius!"

"I am?" Alex asked, confused. "I mean, yes I am! How am I a genius again?"

"Quick!" Sam instructed. "Everybody turn your bracelets on!"

Sticking their arms together, each teen did as instructed.

The powerful magnetic field the bracelets generated pulled them out of the field, with Tassara holding on to Clover so she would be able to break free too.

They hit the ground, and took off running as the bomb only five seconds left.

By some miracle, they escaped the blast radius just as the explosion knocked them forward into another mud puddle.

"Okay," Alex said, sitting up. "My pores are officially overhydrated."

"Stop messing around, Alex!" Sean said. "We have to get to that weapons factory right away!"

"It's hidden in Mount Killilea," Tassara revealed. "I can take you there."

Then a series of growls came up from above the crater.

They looked up to see the same lion from before prowling above them.

And this time, it had friends.

"Not again," Sean muttered, as they ran off toward the R.A.T.V.A.T.

Killilea Mount-7:05 PM

On a cliff that Tassara guided them to, Sam observed a building that was undoubtedly the weapons factory, through a pair of binoculars.

"There's the entrance," she said to the others. "Just like Tassara said."

The other four nodded, then followed her to the R.A.T.V.A.T.

It took about seven minutes, but they were able to tunnel into the facility.

Unfortunately, their entrance did not go unnoticed.

An alarm sounded and in minutes, dozens of guards began swarming in.

Luckily, the didn't notice them, due to Sam having the idea to hide behind a series of oil drums.

Running up the stairs, it wasn't long before they came to a doorway.

The doorway led to a catwalk, situated high above a laboratory where below, guards kept watch under scientists who were working on various weapons.

And judging by the high-tech shackles on their ankles, Sean could tell they were here against there will.

"What is this place?" Alex asked.

"Apparently," Sean answered. "This is where Makeda's scientists build the anti-gravity guns."

The wide doors to the lab pulled apart, letting in Makeda and a man that Sean realized was the general of Kenopia.

"Okay," he whispered. "If we stay as quiet as possible, we should be able to catch Makeda before she-"

"Hey!" a voice interrupted him. They turned to see a guard in the entrance they came through. He was holding a gun.

He fired it, prompting the spies and Tassara to leap over the edge.

They each grabbed a cable that descended from the ceiling and slid down very swiftly... right in front of Makeda.

The rogue Lyrobian princess got over her shock very quickly.

"Guards!" she shouted.

An alarm sounded while the general pulled out his own weapon and began firing at the spies.

Sam ducked behind an indent in the wall, kicking a gasoline container into the air.

The bullet hit the container, distracting the general long enough for Sam to slide out on a cart brandishing a large fire hose.

Turning it on, she sprayed the general with a forceful torrent of water.

Elsewhere, Sean and Alex were guarding Tassara in front of a workbench.

That was when Makeda came out of hiding and threw a metal sphere at the two teens.

The sphere opened, revealing a net.

"Look out!" Tassara said, turning on the rocket propelled boot she had slipped on. Propelling herself through the air, she pushed Sean and Alex out of the way.

Getting back up on her feet, Alex aimed a laser gun she had picked up from the workbench at Makeda. Firing it, Makeda picked up a metallic, circular shield, causing the beam to ricochet around the lab until it hit Alex.

Alex for the most part, was unharmed, but her hair stood up in all directions.

"What kind of an evil place is this?!" she asked.

Meanwhile, Clover had picked up and put on two metal gauntlets that could enhance a person's strength.

Gripping the electronic manacles restraining the scientists, she shattered them, letting them go free.

She was so relieved to see them go that she didn't see the enormous guard sneak up from behind her.

Gripping her shoulders, he picked her up over his head and threw her to the floor, her gauntlets coming off in the process.

Then he picked her back up, and the next thing she knew, she was being tossed around the lab like a football.

Alex, smoothing down her hair in a reflective surface, saw Clover's misfortune through the reflection. The shock caused her to drop the laser gun, initiating the firing sequence and zapping the guard tormenting Clover. He doubled over in pain as the beam hit his lower region.

"Take that!" Clover said.

Sean, in the meantime, was now being cornered by Makeda and the general.

In desperation, he reached at the workbench behind him and picked up something without even looking at it first.

"Don't move!" he warned them. "Or I'll blast you with this..."

But then he saw what he had grabbed.

"...radio? Oh, shit."

"Are you crazy?!" Makeda asked fearfully. "Put that down! You'll destroy us all!"

"Huh?" Sean asked, bewildered.

"It's a highly sensitive earthquake generator, you fool!" the general warned.

"Sure it is," Sean scoffed, not convinced. "And I'm Justin Timberlake."

He pressed a button on the radio, turning it on.

A low, rumbling noise began to erupt all around him, and structures began to fall from the ceiling.

As Makeda and the general ran for their lives, he realized that they were telling the truth.

When the building began to crumble, the guards and scientists fled. In the commotion, Sam picked up a large device that she label told her was an early version of the anti-gravity gun Makeda had used to trap them back at the crater.

Outside, Makeda and the general had each climbed into a motorized glider.

Tassara rushed outside just in time to see them take off.

"We've got to stop them!" she called out to the spies as they ran out. "They're getting away!"

Sam, now joined by Clover, aimed the anti-gravity device at the two gliders.

"Not so fast!" she shouted.

And the two girls turned the gun on.

The beam froze the gliders in place as three W.O.O.H.P helicopters hovered overhead.

Makeda, in frustration, pounded the controls to her glider, trying to make it move again.

But it was no use. A claw descended from one of the helicopters, snagging the glider and flying away with it.

As another helicopter did the same with the general's glider, Jerry stepped out of the one that had landed.

"Excellent work, spies," he said.

"No time for congratulations, Jerry!" Clover said as she and the others rushed Tassara into the helicopter.

"We have to get Tassara to the peace conference in Geneva right away!" Sean added.

Complying, Jerry closed the door to the helicopter.

Beverly Hills High School-10:12 AM

Clover stretched her arms as she and her friends walked through the school hallway.

"I am so glad to be home," she said. "I mean, is it me or was that the worst mission ever?!"

"Worst mission ever?!" Sam asked.

"What are you talking about?" Sean spoke up next.

"Yeah!" Alex added. "We just helped end a 20-year war!"

"Whatever!" Clover exclaimed. "Being queen was totally lame!"

The sound of fireworks kept the conversation from going any further.

"Hey!" Alex said, pointing to the skylight. "Check it out!"

Above the school was a pink blimp with fireworks going off all around it. On the blimp was a screen that displayed the message, "Vote For Clover!"

"Speaking of being queen," Sean said. "Looks like Arnold's been busy."

They rounded a corner, bumping into Arnold, who now looked very pleased.

"Clover!" he said. "You're back!"

"Attention, students," the voice of the vice principal called out over the intercom. "The results of the homecoming race are in. This year's queen is none other than...Clover!"

As soon as her name was called out, the entire student body erupted into applause.

Well, all except one.

"I can't believe it!" Mandy complained. "I lost!"

As the cheering, applauding, and the chanting of her name grew louder, Clover's exhaustion turned to glee.

"I can't believe it!" she shrieked excitedly. "I won!"

She wrapped her arms around the girls and Sean.

"Isn't it the greatest?!"

Sean pulled himself out of her grip.

"I thought you were over the whole queen thing?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?!" she said. "I can't wait to begin my reign. And I promise to make you three my servants... I mean advisors!"

"Congratulations, Clover!" a member of the football team said, coming over, in spite of Mandy desperately trying to cling to his arm.

"Say, what do you think about you and me going steady?"

Clover looked at him slyly.

"I say you've got yourself a da-"

"Hold your horses, Clover!" Arnold cut her off, coming over. "Remember your promise?"

He put a hand on her shoulder, causing the cheering to intensify.

"You're my girlfriend, at least for today."

Clover looked unsure.

"R...right," she said, after a while.

Despite this, the student body didn't seem to care that she was dating Arnold for a day.

If anything, it probably boosted her popularity.

Even so, she still held up a sign behind her back for her friends to see.

"Help!" it read.

"Oh, well," Sam said. "Every king needs a queen."

Sean nodded, but for some reason imagined him and Sam in that position instead.