Hi! Well, I've finally reached it: the finale of Season 1. To all my readers, thanks for sticking with me this long.
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Chapter Forty-One
A Spy is Born Part 1
Hollywood-9:45 AM
Same as she always did, Julia Hastings sat in the back of her luxurious limousine, memorizing her lines as she was on her way to the set of her next movie. She had acted in no less than thirty films ever since she was a teenager, having gotten her big break at the age of seventeen. And while she had garnered worldwide recognition and accolade, she had yet to win any major awards.
So she was certain that this next movie would be her chance for at least an Oscar nomination.
No sooner than did she begin fantasizing her acceptance speech did her train of thought stop, interrupted by the sharp sound of her limo's brakes.
The limo had halted in front of a T.V film crew's van, the door to which was opening as she opened the sunroof and stood to get a view outside.
"Why are we stopping?!" she demanded as a man holding a camera ran out of the van in front of her. "I need to get to the set!"
The man, a young one with a short beard, ran over to the side of her limo and pointed the camera at her.
"What the-" she started, but never finished before the camera fired a pink beam of energy. She screamed as the beam hit her and she became as stiff as a statue.
Moments later, two other men came out of the van and pulled her out of the limo. Then they carried her into their van, speeding away before anyone could process exactly what happened.
And just like that, one of Hollywood's biggest stars had vanished.
Beverly Hills High School-9:06 AM
The next day, four best friends walked up to the entrance of their school, oblivious to the events of the other day. And to the events that would occur very shortly.
Sean noticed the crowd gathered in the entrance to the school and heard the muffled chatter from nearly the entire student body about... something. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that he and the girls would find out soon.
"I wonder what all the excitement's about?" Sam pondered.
Sean shrugged.
"Don't tell me Mandy got a new necklace again," he groaned.
As if on cue, the girl herself popped up in front of them.
"Hello, clueless people!" she greeted rudely, holding up a blue hardcover book. "Our yearbooks came out today!"
"Hey, that's right!" Clover remembered, rushing off to buy one before Mandy jumped in her way.
"Now, let's see," Mandy said, opening the book's pages. "Where's the page that announces to one and all that yours truly has been voted the most popular at Beverly High?"
"And what makes you think you won?" Sean inquired.
Mandy scoffed. "Do I really need to answer that? I beat you in a writing contest, and I can win this!"
"Uh, you didn't win," Sean reminded. "You got disqualified. For stealing my draft. Remember?"
"Are you sure that was you?" But Mandy's face suggested that she did, in fact, remember.
Sean groaned. "You know what? You're not even worth it, Mandy. I don't know who got voted "most popular" and I don't care. But if it's you, I'm tearing out the page with you-"
But before Sean could continue his tirade, Mandy's gasp interrupted his train of thought.
"Oh no!" she wailed. "This is terrible!"
"What is it, Mandy?" Alex asked.
"Only the biggest disaster ever to hit Beverly High!"
Mandy held out the yearbook, letting Sean take it.
"What are you talking abou-"
He trailed off when he saw what the issue was: Sam's face dominated an entire page with the words "most popular" printed in boldface below the picture.
Sean was too stunned to speak, so Clover took the book from his hands and read the page herself.
"It says Sam's been voted "most popular!'" she said excitedly.
Sam and Alex leaned over to get a better view.
Sam? Sean thought. Most popular? How did that happen?
He didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was happy for her. But her being the most popular student in school meant that she was likely to not have much time for him and the others. Plus, he was afraid of the possibility of all that attention going to her head and turning her into... well, Mandy.
Speaking of Mandy, she was not taking losing very well to say the least.
"Well," she said indignantly. "Obviously, there's been some mistake! Everyone knows that I am the most popular girl in school!"
"And the most humble," Sean muttered. "Not!"
"Why would everyone vote for me?" Sam asked, more modest than Mandy would've been.
"Duh!" Alex replied like it was obvious. "Because you're smart, funny, and totally cool, Sammy!"
Not to mention beautiful, Sean thought.
"That's why we want to hang out with you this weekend!" a voice said.
Everyone looked in the voice's direction to see Caitlin and Dominique coming up to them.
"You do?!" both Sam and Mandy asked, surprised.
"Of course," Caitlin replied. "We just love surrounding ourselves with popularity. Ciao!"
As her two friends left, Mandy fumed in frustration.
"That's it!" she snarled. "I am gonna put a stop to this madness right away! I demand a recount!"
"Okay," Sam said as soon as Mandy was out of sight. "This is officially weird."
"Not really," Sean countered. "Mandy's never taken losing at anything well."
"Not that. I'm talking about me being voted 'most popular'. I mean, I didn't even try."
"There's gotta be some reason people like you more than Mandy," Sean said.
"Then again," Clover added. "This is Mandy we're talking about. It's not like she had to try very hard."
Arnold soon came up, holding a bouquet of flowers.
"I got these for you," he said as she took them.
Unconsciously, Sean clenched his fist, though the girls didn't see it. And he was grateful they didn't. Clover might have picked up on his jealousy for James and maybe this as well, but he hoped Alex wouldn't notice. Alex was absolutely terrible at keeping secrets and if she knew about this, the whole school would know inside a week.
"Thanks, Arnold," Sam said humbly. "You shouldn't have."
No kidding, Sean thought.
"But you deserve them," Arnold argued. "Miss Popular."
Sean agreed. He even thought of the gesture himself, but he had a feeling that Arnold was only giving them to her because of her new popularity. At least the flowers weren't plastic, he had to admit.
"Hey, Sam," another boy's voice said, much to Sean's dismay. "Would you sign our yearbooks?"
Sam and her friends looked ahead to see what had to be the entire football team crowding them, holding up their yearbooks for them to see.
"Me too!" another said.
"And me!"
Sam began to panic while Sean stepped in front of her protectively.
"Uh, maybe later, guys," she said nervously, but more and more students formed a mob in front of the quartet.
"Right now I've got stuff to do. Important stuff."
The mob wouldn't back down and Sean could tell where this was going.
"Any ideas?" Alex asked hopefully.
Sean gulped.
"I've never had a mob hound me before," he said. "But I think I know how to get them to back off."
"And what's that?" Sam asked, narrowly avoiding the hand of another groupie.
"Run!"
Sean took off faster than a bolt of lightning, with the girls following close behind him. But the mob was hot on their heels as they rounded a corner in the hallway.
Thankfully, Sam spotted a janitor's closet and gestured for her friends to follow her in. As soon as all four were safely inside, she slammed the door and silently hoped that the crowd of rabid fans wouldn't think to check in there.
"Sammy, this is the janitor's closet," Clover pointed out.
"Yeah," Alex agreed, seeing the flimsiness of her friend's earlier excuse. "What 'important thing' could you possibly have to do in here."
"Hide," Sam answered weakly.
"For how long?" Sean countered. "Maybe you've forgotten, be we can't stay in here all day."
"Not all day," she argued. "Just until 3:00."
Reminds me of when I wanted to hide all day in middle school. Except Sean wasn't popular in those circumstances.
"Sam," Clover said. "I realize that your newfound celeb status may be a bit overwhelming. But trust me. You can't run from the limelight; you've got to embrace it!"
She gripped Sam's wrist with one hand and the door handle with the other.
"Now let's get back out there and meet your fans!"
"Wait just a minute!" Sean said, jumping between the two. "Are you doing this for Sam or you?"
Clover scoffed. "For Sammy, of course! And the perks that come with being friends with the most popular girl in school!"
Sean was not amused.
"Such as?"
"Come on, Sean! Did you see all those boys out there?! If Sam could just put up with one of them, they might ask me to Winter Formal!"
As Clover gushed over the prospect, Sean crossed his arms.
"So, it really is just for you," he said dryly. "I can't believe you're gonna sell out your best friend just to date some dumb quarterback!"
Clover's face dropped into a scowl.
"Hey!" she said. "Avery Bryant is not some dumb quarterback! He's a totally luscious quarterback!"
Sean facepalmed as his friend gushed again.
"Why do I even bother?"
Clover ignored him and once again prepared to drag Sam out.
"Now let's go!"
"Not so fast," Jerry's voice came from somewhere in the room. The four looked up then down, already knowing what to expect.
The floor opened up beneath them as they were once again sent plummeting down the chute.
"For once, I'm actually happy to hear from Jerry!" Sam shouted over her friends' screams.
The ride ended with them landing on a mattress in a janitor closet at W.O.O.H.P in lieu of Jerry's office like usual.
Jerry himself stood in front of the door as a screen lowered from the ceiling behind him.
"Spies," he said, his voice grave. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news."
Sean groaned, remembering the last time Jerry was this serious.
"Don't tell me we've been cloned again!" he exclaimed.
"No," Jerry denied as an image of a redheaded woman came up on the screen followed by a blond man. "Julia Hastings and Dirk Johnson, the world's top box office movie stars have been mysteriously abducted."
The spies gasped, but Sean's was the loudest of all. Julia Hastings was one of his favorite actresses, and not just because she looked so similar to Sam.
"Okay," Sam said, recalling her earlier statement. "I take it back."
Jerry ushered the spies into his office, where they sat down at a long table that had been set up.
"So, how did it happen?" Alex asked.
"In broad daylight, actually," Jerry answered. "Which is particularly odd."
"That is odd," Clover emphatically agreed. "I thought stars only tanned indoors under artificial sunlight!"
"Do we have any suspects, Jerry?" Sam asked.
"None at all," Jerry said as another screen displayed an image of a muscular man in his late twenties with brown hair and a face covered with stubble. "That's why W.O.O.H.P would like you four to go undercover and keep an eye on Brock Williams. Since he's the third biggest box office star, we suspect he may be the next target."
The girls dropped their jaws in admiration. And Clover in particular was very excited.
"No way!" she squealed. "Brock Williams is totally hunkalicious!"
"Yes," Jerry said awkwardly. "I'm glad you're enthusiastic, but remember this is a very high-profile person. Discretion is key. We don't want the media finding out."
"Relax, Jer," Clover tried to reassure her boss. "We're totally professionals!"
"As long as some of us aren't flirting," Sean reminded as an agent wheeled in the assortment of gadgets that would be given to them. The first was a pair of purple shoes.
"No way!" Clover exclaimed. "Those are so cute!"
"They're called Rocket Fueled Mules," Jerry explained.
"They're called fabulous!" Clover said excitedly while her friends rolled their eyes. "And I call dibs!"
"Better give her this one, Jer," Sean said cautiously.
"Yes," Jerry continued as he continued to showcase the other gadgets. "We also have Breathe Easy Go Anywhere Air Masks, Hoop Earring Communicators, Banana Clip Boomerangs and that old standby, the Jetpack Backpack filled with a few low-key disguises."
He tossed the spies their backpacks.
"Thanks Jer, whatever," Clover said as she and her friends put the backpacks on. "We'll take it from here."
The spies fired them up and soared through holes in the ceiling, off toward their destination.
Brock Williams' Residence-10:25 AM
Brock Williams' mansion was as opulent as Sean expected, but surprisingly light on security. If they could sneak into the place with no issue, then so could the people behind all of these abductions.
The four spies stood up from their positions in the hedges that surrounded the mansion, each in their own disguise. Clover's disguise was a maid's uniform, Sam's was a light green shirt and pants with matching overalls and hat, and Alex was dressed as a chef complete with white toque and apron.
"Okay," Sam said, annoyed. "So, why am I the gardener again?"
"Because the maid outfit matches my new shoes," Clover argued. "And you're a terrible cook."
"Gee, thanks."
"Just be glad you didn't get stuck as a plumber!" Sean said as he stood up, gesturing to his own disguise of a blue pair of overalls and red sweater with matching cap. He had initially wanted to be the chef, but none of the girls wanted to wind up as the plumber. So, he got stuck with the worst disguise provided.
"Okay," Clover said. "Let's do like Jer said and keep our eyes on Brock."
"Right," her teammates said, following her lead in using their Bungee Belts to scale the wall of the mansion.
Leaping over the railing of the balcony outside Brock's bedroom, Sean pushed the sliding door open and let himself and his friends in.
"Oh, man!" Alex said, looking around at the enormous room. "This place is so sweet!"
"That's because it's Brock Williams' bedroom!" Clover swooned. "And look! He has a water bed!"
Excited, Clover ran to the bed and planted herself on it face-down.
"Clover," Sam reminded. "We're supposed to be investigating, remember? You know, looking for things out of the ordinary."
"There's a motorcycle over there," Sean pointed out, gesturing to the giant red bike in question. "If that's not out of the ordinary, I don't know what is."
"I meant out of the ordinary for a movie star," Sam corrected.
"Good point."
Clover, however, was wrapped up in her own investigation of Brock's water bed. It didn't last long before she pulled out a pair of floral print boxer shorts.
"Do these count?" she asked slyly.
"Hey!" Sam objected. "Put those back!"
Clover did so, eliciting a disapproving look from Sean.
"When we get done here, we're having a serious talk," he said.
"Uh, guys," Alex broke in. "You might want to check this out."
She pointed out the window as her fellow spies came over to her. Alex had gestured to the tree just outside the mansion, but Clover's attention was fixed on the pool below it. Or more accurately, the man lounging on a floatation chair in the middle of it.
"Hello, handsome!" she said as Sean and Sam rolled their eyes.
"Actually, I was talking about him," Alex clarified, pointing to the young man in camouflage crawling up the tree. Because of the distance from the tree to the house, the spies couldn't tell what he was holding. But they assumed the worst.
"That's gotta be the abductor!" Sean said. "Come on, girls! We've gotta stop him! Let's go!"
While Sean, Sam and Alex made a dash down the stairs to the door that would lead outside, Clover took a more direct route, opening the window and flying out with her Rocket Fueled Mules.
"No time like the present!" she exclaimed as she zoomed toward the tree. She gripped the branch just above the man's head before swinging herself around and landing on top of him, restraining him with her legs.
"I'll teach you to abduct very important and very attractive celebrities!" she said. She was, however, unaware that the added weight of both her and the man was putting immense pressure on the tree limb they were standing on. The pressure finally caused the limb to snap in half and send Clover and her confused opponent tumbling toward the ground... right into Brock's pool.
"What the hell?!" he asked as the limb and its occupants fell into the water, knocking him off his chair in the process.
The other spies came down just in time to see Clover's misfortune. But she believed it to be otherwise.
"Don't worry, Brock!" she reassured, dunking the man under the water. "Camo boy's stalking days are over!"
Brock looked confused, then insulted. "That's Mr. Williams to you. And your so called stalker is a highly respected photographer!"
"Huh?" the spies all asked.
"I don't appreciate my hired help attacking the media," Brock continued.
The photographer finally managed to escape Clover's grasp.
"I'm not your hired help!" she objected. "I'm a domestic engineer! Besides, I was just trying to protect you."
"From what?" Brock asked rhetorically. "Ending up on the cover of some fabulous, high-profile magazine?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," the photographer complained as he got out of the pool. "My camera's completely ruined! You'll be hearing from my lawyer!"
"Look," Clover said awkwardly. "I'm really sorry!"
Brock seemed dismissive of Clover's apology.
"Yes, whatever. Just get back to work. All of you."
Clover got out of the pool, sulking the whole time.
"You okay, Clover?" Sam asked.
"Fine," she answered. "But my crush is so over!"
"I don't blame you," Alex concurred. "Brock just went from hunkalicious to jerk-afriffic."
"When you two are finished with your fan disillusionment stage," Sean broke in. "We still have to protect him, remember?"
The girls nodded before heading back inside the house, not knowing that even though the threat to his life was nonexistent that time, Brock would be put in danger for real. And much sooner than they thought.
At that moment, under the water of the pool, a grate came loose... letting another man in a diving suit swim upward toward the unsuspecting Brock.
The man pulled out a round, camera-like device and aimed it at the actor.
On the surface, Brock continued to lounge when he saw the pink flash of light. Screaming, he fell off the chair and backwards into the water just as the beam hit him, paralyzing him like it did with Julia Hastings.
In the house, the spies were just about to resume their positions when they heard Brock's screams.
"Did you hear that?" Clover asked.
"Loud and clear," Sam replied. "Let's go!"
They ran out the door just in time for Brock to vanish completely.
"We've gotta do something!" Alex exclaimed.
"Already on it," Sean said, kneeling and taking out four ovular pink masks out of his backpack. "The Breathe Easy Go Anywhere Air Masks."
Tossing three to his teammates, he kept the fourth for himself and quickly applied it to his face.
Underwater, Brock's captor had stuck a device to his famous victim's face which allowed him to breathe underwater. Even though he didn't know what his abductor's intentions were, Brock could let out a sigh of relief that this person wanted him alive for now.
The spies dove in after the kidnapper, through the hole where the grate had been and into a long pipe where the four managed to see both men begin to disappear into the dark water.
"They're getting away!" Sean shouted.
"Not for long!" Clover said, activating her shoes again. She grabbed Alex's hand and then Sean's. Sam gripped Sean's hand to complete the chain just as Clover's shoes sped them through the pipe.
In seconds, they caught up with Brock and his abductor just in time to see daylight on the other side.
"Hey, where'd they go?!" Alex screamed as they both disappeared. That question was answered by the spies pouring out of the pipe and into the ocean. As they surfaced, they heard the roar of a boat's engine not too far way from them.
And it was doubtless who was on it.
"Great," Clover said. "Now what do we do?"
Sam looked at the nearby marina, her face brightening.
"We borrow that," she answered, referring to red jet ski moored at a nearby dock.
The ski's owner heard the engine start up and was shocked to see it start up and accelerate out into open water.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, annoyed.
"Don't worry!" Sam called back, gripping the controls. "We'll return it!"
"That's what we said to those moped owners in Madrid, remember?" Sean recalled. "With how often we have to steal our own rides on missions, I'm surprised no one's pressed charges yet."
Ahead of them, the boat's driver turned back to see the spies gaining on him. From behind Sam's back, Sean could briefly make out a face but he had no time to examine it before the man swerved into a marina, hiding him from sight.
The spies screamed as their jet ski jumped over a wave created by the larger craft, which sped between two fishing boats.
Another wave swelled, this one much larger and sent the jet ski flying over another boat.
The spies had no time to catch their breath when the boat's driver threw a propane tank overboard and aimed what appeared to be a gun at it. The shot was fired, and the resulting explosion left the surface of the water on fire for a brief amount of time. However, it would last just long enough for the spies to be affected.
"Abandon ski!" Sam shouted as they all bailed.
The jet ski went off on its own, leaving four spies floating at least one mile offshore.
"Oh, well," Alex said, holding up the same camera used to kidnap Brock. "At least we have this."
"What is it?" Sean asked.
"I'm not sure," she responded. "I saw the abductor drop it in the tunnel."
"We better send it to W.O.O.H.P," Sam said as she placed her call to Jerry.
Jerry's face came up on her Compowder in an instant.
"That's a good idea," he said. "So what's the update, spies?"
"Unfortunately," Sam reported. "We just lost Brock, Jer."
"Oh, dear. Well, we'd better get you home. I'll send a chopper tout de suite."
"Good," Clover sighed. "I could use some rest."
But Jerry wasn't quite finished. Sean knew him well enough to tell he had more for them.
"Actually, I have another assignment for you," he said as an image of a tanned woman with blonde hair and gray eyes came up.
"What is it?" Sean asked.
"Amber Stone," Jerry began. "Another big box office star is having a premiere tonight in Hollywood. One of you must pretend to be Amber and bait our elusive villain so the other three can move in and stop him."
"Well," Clover said, perked by the idea of pretending to be a famous actress. "Obviously, I should play the part of Amber. You know, being the most dramatic one of the group."
"And the most humble," Sean said sarcastically.
"Sorry, Clover," Jerry consoled. "But you're too tall. That's why W.O.O.H.P has chosen Alex as the celebrity decoy."
"Alex?!" Clover shrieked, offended.
"Me?!" Alex asked, startled
"We're pressing an Amber Stone facial mask as we speak," Jerry went on as another agent brought him a large pink box. "Now, in other celeb news, it seems that Sam-in her absence- has been inundated with fan mail. It seems you're quite the overnight sensation."
"Terrific," Sam groaned, remembering she could no longer go to school without being hounded by adoring fans.
"Do us a favor and don't read any of those to her, Jerry," Sean said. "Sam's kind of uncomfortable with the spotlight."
"Not a problem," Jerry responded. "Now make sure you get plenty of rest. Ms. Stone's premiere is at 9:00 tonight. As they say in the theatre, break a leg."
Hollywood-8:57 PM
From his position at the doors, Sean watched as dozens if not hundreds of people crowd themselves outside the El Capitan Theater. W.O.O.H.P had informed Amber Stone of a potential threat to her life and persuaded her to let Alex take her place at the premiere. While Sean stood in the lobby, watching for any sign of trouble, Sam and Clover were in two separate parts of the building, their eyes fixed expectantly on the spot Alex would be walking through.
"Testing," Clover's voice said in his hear. In order to stay in touch, the spies had worn their earring communicators. "Sam, Sean, you guys there?"
"We're here," Sam confirmed.
"Read you loud and clear," Sean added.
"Now remember," Sam continued. "The bad guy used a camera lens to abduct Brock."
Sean scanned the crowd, which consisted of an even mix of actors, fans, reporters, and photographers. And he was especially worried by the number of cameras he saw.
"But that could anyone here," he said.
"That's why we should keep our eyes peeled," Sam reminded.
Clover, on top of the balcony on the lobby, looked down to see an attractive young man with his brown hair in a ponytail.
"Believe me," she fawned. "I'm keeping my eyes peeled."
"I'll bet," Sean grumbled, annoyed.
"Shh," Sam silenced them. "Here comes our starlet now."
The crowd was in an uproar as Alex, disguised as Amber, entered the building. She wore a dark pink dress with a white wrap to help sell the part. But looking like Amber wasn't enough, she knew. She had to talk a little too.
"I just want to thank everyone for supporting my new movie!" Alex said as she turned to address the adoring crowd. "This has been my most challenging, rewarding role yet."
While everyone else applauded, Clover was less than thrilled.
"Overact much?" she scoffed. "That should be me down there."
"I heard that, Clover," Alex said into her earring.
"Okay," Sean announced to the girls in his. "Let's take our places, then we can catch this guy."
Inside the auditorium proper, the spies took their seats as the lights dimmed and Sam pressed her finger to her ear.
"So far no one's taken the bait," she reported from her seat in the third row.
"It's quiet right here, too," Sean said from five rows behind her.
"The kidnapper probably isn't buying Alex's lame impersonation of Amber," Clover said jealously from her place on the mezzanine.
"Maybe Jerry was wrong," Sean suggested.
"So what do we do?" Sam asked.
"Let's just sit tight for a little longer. The kidnapper could still strike at any time. Besides, I've never been to a Hollywood premiere before."
But Sean's first Hollywood premiere was about to end very badly as a pink beam of light zipped out of the projection booth and into the audience, hitting the man who sat next to Alex and completely paralyzing him.
As the audience realized what was happening and stampeded out of the theater in droves, Alex stood and activated her earring.
"Guys," she said fearfully. "I don't want to be a movie star anymore! Clover, you can play Amber if you want!"
The beam flew into the audience a few more times, but the spies couldn't see its origin point.
"Where's the beam coming from?" Sam asked.
"I can't tell!" Clover said. "You two keep an eye on Alex while I figure it out!"
As the beam fired again, this time narrowly missing Sean and then hitting the man who was escorting Alex to safety, it became apparent where Clover was meant to look.
"Clover," Sean said into his earring. "It's coming from the lens of the projector!"
Using her jetpack, Clover floated back to the ground level as Sean rejoined Sam. Clover had just landed when the beam finally made contact with Alex, who was grabbed by two men in ushers' uniforms.
"Alex is hit!" Sam cried out.
"The ushers are taking her!" Sean added.
"Why do all the cute ones have to be bad guys?!" Clover lamented.
Sean heard a door open behind him. He quickly turned around to see a man running out of the projection booth. If he had to guess, this was the same man who abducted Brock. And unlike before, Sean could make out his features clearly.
He was dark haired, with a five-o'clock shadow, brown trench coat and wore glasses.
Sam saw him too, apparently.
"Quick!" she shouted, pointing at the man. "Grab him!"
But before they could even move, the man pulled out a camera and aimed it at the three teens. And just like their kidnapped friend, Sean, Sam and Clover were frozen in a flash. Literally.
The man chuckled to himself before running out of the theater in triumph.
Sean wasn't sure how long he and the others were paralyzed, but some time later three W.O.O.H.P agents walked up to them and emitted a special light from a camera Jerry had developed to counteract the effects of the ray. Soon enough, Sean's muscles felt less stiff and more fluid, enabling him to move again.
"What happened?" Sam asked from his left. "I feel like I slept in a cement mixer."
"Not quite," Jerry's voice came from beside the doors. He held up the camera the spies had sent him. "It appears Marco Lumiere used his experimental camera lens on you?"
"Marco who?" Sean asked.
"Marco Lumiere," Jerry replied. "A frustrated experimental filmmaker who invented a camera lens which has the ability to freeze its subjects in place."
For emphasis, Jerry held up the lens in question.
"He lives on a secluded island off the coast of South Africa."
"It's a good bet that's where he's taken Alex," Sam said, taking the lens from Jerry.
"I've arranged for your quick transport," Jerry said. "Good luck, spies."
The "quick transport" Jerry mentioned turned out to be a compact sub with only enough room for four people. And barely even that. As it sped underwater, Sean could feel the air growing thin. Another problem was that Jerry had forgotten to take his height into account, so his head was straining on the sub's glass ceiling.
"Just when you thought W.O.O.H.P technology couldn't get any worse!" Sam complained from behind the controls.
"Guess it's a good thing Alex was abducted," Clover added from Sean's other side. "Or there'd be even less room in here!"
Sean looked at the screen in front of him, optimistic.
"Well, according to this," he said to the girls. "We're approaching the coordinates Jerry gave us. I think it's time to surface."
Somewhere near South Africa-7:23 AM
The sub leapt out of the water with a violent crash of waves and skipped haphazardly along the surface before finally sliding onto the shore and crashing into the island's tree line, tossing the three spies out.
"Finally," Sean said with relief. "Some leg room!"
After a quick stretch, he stood and helped Sam get to her feet.
"Now let's find Lumiere," Sam said, scanning the area around them: a tropical island with no sign of life in sight. Or so it would seem.
"I think we already have," Clover said from behind them.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked, turning around. Behind him, Clover stood in front of a map posted on a large wooden sign. Above the map were the words "Lumiere Island" painted in bright yellow letters.
"Never mind," Sean said.
After about an hour of exploring the island, Sean and the girls seemed no closer to finding Lumiere or Alex. But this island clearly had to have had some human presence on it, judging by the area they now walked through.
There were several objects that should not have existed in the same place, including a giant model of the Statue of Liberty, a fallen skyscraper, a train car from the late 19th century, a wrecked plane, and a dilapidated water tower.
All in all, this was beginning to remind Sean less of a deserted island and more of a giant makeshift movie set. And if all of this was here, that meant someone had to have built it.
As they rounded a corner, Sam let out a gasp and shoved Clover and Sean down.
Perking his head just up enough to see, Sean could see a group people clustered together in front of a giant artificial shipwreck. And Sean could recognize all of them as the missing actors and Marco Lumiere.
"That's him!" he whispered.
"And there's Alex and our stars!" Sam added.
They went quiet, hoping to hear exactly what Lumiere's plan was.
"You're all probably very curious as to why you've been assembled here," Lumiere said loudly. His voice was high and very clear.
"Not really, pal," Brock Williams said from beside a disguised Alex. "We just wanna get the hell out of here! My agent's probably worried sick about me!"
"Aw, too bad!" Lumiere snapped. "Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. In the past, Hollywood has been very dismissive of my work! Now, I plan on making a film they won't be able to ignore! A film starring all of you!"
He pointed to the assembled actors.
"I wouldn't star in your stupid movie if you offered me top billing and all the money in the world," Julia Hastings said adamantly.
Lumiere just let out a small chuckle. "Trust me. This is an offer you can't refuse."
"And if we do refuse?" Alex asked, thankful no one knew her identity yet.
Lumiere smirked.
"You have no choice. This island is a giant movie set... rigged with traps and explosives! And of course, cameras to catch all the carnage!"
To demonstrate, Lumiere took out a small remote and pressed a button on it.
Behind the actors, the ground burst into flames.
"Who knows?" Lumiere continued. "If somehow you manage to survive my blockbuster masterpiece, I might even shoot a sequel."
"Yikes," Sean whispered under his breath. "No wonder Hollywood let him go: his movies are a lawsuit waiting to happen!"
Clover, however, was preoccupied with something else entirely.
"First Alex gets to play the role clearly meant for me," she grumbled. "Now she gets to be in a movie? When do I get my big break?!"
Sean and Sam were exasperated.
"Earth to Clover?" Sam reminded. "Alex has been abducted and is being forced to play a role!"
"What's your point?" Clover asked, earning a groan from Sean.
"As usual, your priorities never cease to amaze me," he said. "Anyway, we've gotta stop this nut before he starts shooting the movie. Clover, you distract Lumiere's thugs while Sam and I round up the actors."
He scanned the area, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"One," he counted. "Two..."
"Action!" Lumiere announced.
"Now!" Sean said to his two teammates, and the three ran onto the scene just as a barrel was tossed, letting out a huge cloud of smoke.
The barrel, it turned out, had come from the giant shipwreck above them, and dozens more were raining down on the set.'
Before either Sean or Sam could reach the actors, they had already begun to flee with Alex's mask coming loose in the process.
Alex stopped briefly before continuing to run for life.
"Guess I'm just back to playing myself!" she said as she disappeared from the set.
Brock, in the meantime, had run in the opposite direction of the others and had bumped into Sean, Sam, and Clover.
"Incoming!" Sam shouted as another smoke bomb was dropped. The four evaded it just in time, running off in the direction of a different part of the island.
Lumiere, in the meantime, had walked onto the now empty set... and found the mask Alex had left behind.
"Looks like I have an imposter on my set," he said, intrigued.
Deep in the jungle, as explosions rocked the earth around them, Alex, Julia and Dirk hoped to find some form of refuge in the dense foliage.
As they stopped to catch their breath, Julia gasped sharply upon seeing Alex.
"Wait a second!" she exclaimed. "You're not Amber!"
Alex shook her head. "My name is Alex; I'm here to save you!"
"Well, you can start anytime now!" Dirk said, just as another explosion nearly knocked them off their feet.
"Follow me!" Alex urged, gesturing to a cave just ahead of them.
The minute they were inside, Julia and Dirk sat behind a rock.
"Let's stay in here until things die down," Julia suggested.
"Could you please not say the word 'die?!'" Dirk begged.
But the rumbling behind them told them that staying put wasn't the best idea either.
They looked behind them to see a giant smooth boulder rolling down the incline of the cave towards them.
Without thinking twice, they ran out of the cave as Lumiere sat at a camera pedestal, capturing the trio's terror on film.
"Nice work!" he shouted. "Keep it up!"
On another part of the island, Sean, Sam, Clover, and Brock had wandered into what looked like a ghost town of the Old West, complete water troughs, stables and a saloon.
"This looks safe," Sam observed. "Let's hide in the saloon."
But they had barely taken their first steps toward the building when it exploded into a million pieces of flaming wood, and causing the four to duck for cover.
"Hey!" Sean shouted, as he sat back up "What kind of Western movie has an explosion that big?!"
"Apparently, Lumiere didn't get the memo," Clover added dryly.
"Look out!" Brock shouted in warning.
As the dust settled, three men rode in on horseback, each throwing sticks of dynamite.
One of the sticks landed directly in front of Clover's face, eliciting a scream from her.
"Let's get out of here!" she cried out as she led the others to a horse drawn carriage. Sean took the reins and ushered the horses to take off.
When they were gone, they were oblivious to Lumiere at his camera again shooting every moment.
"Who are these kids?!" he asked angrily. "They're not movie stars!"
Just when they thought they were safe, their pursuers had caught up to the carriage, with one of them climbing on, only for Brock to throw him off.
"Y'all come back and visit real soon now!" he said.
"Could you please keep a lid on the one-liners?!" Clover asked.
"Sorry," Brock said sheepishly.
"Don't look now," Sean said, looking back. "But we still have company."
The others turned around to see the rest of the men gaining on them, flashing pistols filled with what Sean guessed were real bullets.
"We've gotta lose these losers!" Clover said.
Sam looked ahead, seeing a steep gorge.
"There's our ticket out!" Sam announced as she stepped down to the carriage shaft and unfastened the horses from it.
"Sam, what are you doing?!" Sean asked, concerned.
"Just trust me!" she said insistently.
Reluctantly, Sean nodded as the carriage flew off the edge of the gorge and the spies flew out of their seat, screaming all the way.
"This is exactly why I use a stunt double!" Brock screamed just as the spies remembered their Jetpack Backbacks.
Activating them, they caught Brock by the arms and held him suspended in midair.
Back on the ledge, Lumiere sat at the camera focusing on Sam, Sean and Clover as they flew away with Brock.
"Those kids are good," he said, genuinely impressed. And what impressed him even more was that they appeared to have no real acting experience. There was something about them that was just... real.
He pressed fingers under his chin, contemplating.
"Looks like I just found some fresh young talent to exploit."
Back in the jungle, Julia and Dirk followed Alex to what they hoped would be safety and a return to civilization.
Their hopes were dashed as three men jumped down from the trees in front of them.
Rather than take their chances, Alex and the two actors took another path that lead out of the jungle and onto a rope bridge. Though Julia expressed doubt about the bridge being safe enough to cross, Alex pointed out it was either that or face the wrath of Lumiere's extras.
Needless to say, Julia and Dirk opted for the bridge, though that would soon prove to be just as unsafe.
Back at the starting point, one of their pursuers took out a machete and used it to cut through one of the ropes. Another rope was sliced through soon and the whole bridge came loose and left Alex, Julia and Dirk dangling for their lives from the wooden planks.
Alex gasped as she looked up to see more of Lumiere's thugs on the opposite ledge, each sporting a machete and began hacking away at the ropes.
"Oh no!" Julia cried. "Do something!"
But Alex could only grit her teeth in frustration and fear.
After flying away from the gorge, the remaining spies and Brock had landed at the far edge of the island, which contained an exact replica of a desert like the one they had just escaped. But this desert was one Sean had only seen in pictures... of Mars.
"This is really eerie," Clover said.
"Well, at least it's a change of scenery," Sean said. "And at least we lost Lumiere's cronies."
As if to prove him wrong, a giant yellow sluglike creature crawled out from behind a rock, growling.
The spies screamed and began to run again along with Brock, who stopped immediately.
"Wait a second!" he said. "It's just a mechanized prop! There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Once again, they were mistaken as the slug opened its mouth and fired a long, hot beam of energy at them. The spies tackled Brock to the ground as the beam faded.
"Uh, do the props you work with usually do that?!" Sean asked.
"No," Brock admitted. "But props are getting so convincing these days!"
"Uh oh!" Sam said, looking up. "Some of his friends!"
Up above, four drones soared just over the spies heads, firing blue lasers.
"Run!" Sam shouted, ushering them behind a rock.
As they ducked, Sam took out her Banana Clip Boomerang and aimed it carefully at the drones. Hurling it, she watched in amazement as they were knocked out of the sky and the boomerang returned to her hand.
"Never underestimate the power of a good accessory," she said as Sean collapsed.
"Seriously?!," he complained. "This guy couldn't have done a romantic comedy?!"
As soon as she saw the drones landed, Sam studied them, an idea forming in her brain.
Back on the bridge, Alex could only watch helplessly as the men above continued to hack away the ropes that kept her and the others from falling to their doom. But then she remembered: as part of her Amber Stone disguise, she had left all of her gadgets with Jerry. All but one, that is.
"Grab hold!" she called out, extended the buckle of her Bungee Belt. "I have a plan!"
She threw the buckle and the attached cable upward, wrapping it around a tree limb. In no time, she was zipping up toward the tree and to safety with Julia and Dirk holding on to her ankle.
As the ascended, the two actors landed on the men cutting the ropes, knocking them unconscious
"Looks like we're in the clear," Julia said. "And I thought those soldiers were bad!"
Not for the last time that day, this proved to be a case of tempting fate. At that moment, four muscular men dressed in various different costumes from Roman gladiator to Egyptian warrior popped up from under the brush.
"These guys look twice as mean!" Dirk exclaimed fearfully.
"Except for the part where they're wearing revealing mini-skirts," Alex pointed out, as the men readied their weapons.
"Normally," Julia said. "When I'm surrounded by a mob of crazed men, they're trying to get my autograph!"
"Something tells me these guys aren't fans," Alex said, taking a combat stance.
But she didn't need take action, for that was when a blue laser made its mark between her and their four opponents.
"What's going on?!" Lumiere shouted from his place behind the camera.
Everyone looked up to see Sean, Sam, Clover and Brock flying in on the same drones from the Mars set. Sam had the to hotwire them to make them serve as vehicles and as a way to get to Alex safely.
A few more laser blasts sent the men running as the spies landed.
Fixing her attention on Lumiere, Sam pulled out a camera outfitted with the same lens he had used to abduct Alex and the three stars.
Knowing where this was going, Lumiere turned to run, but soon enough.
"Not so fast, Lumiere!" Sam called out, activating the camera.
The beam frozen him instantly.
"I guess we can say 'cut'," Sean said.
"That is a wrap," Clover added.
Later, a W.O.O.H.P helicopter arrived on the island, bringing Jerry and a few other agents in to arrest Lumiere.
As the disgraced filmmaker's frozen form was dragged on the helicopter, the four spies stood in front of the actors with Jerry coming up behind them.
"Excellent work, spies," Jerry congratulated.
"Yeah," Julia added. "Thanks to you, we can get back to being stars instead of seeing stars."
That was Sean zipped over to Julia.
"I know my friends and I just saved your life and all," he said nervously to her, then holding up a notepad and pen. "But can I get your autograph?! I'm a huge fan!"
Julia nodded eagerly and signed the pad.
"If you ever consider a career in movies," Dirk said as Sean took the notepad and went back to the others. "Give us a call."
Before Clover could even form a syllable, Jerry stepped forward.
"Oh," he said. "Now that you mention it, as a child I always did fancy the thought of myself on the big screen. Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer."
"Too bad they don't make silent movies anymore, Jer," Clover joked.
Everyone laughed, Jerry included.
The spies were unaware of it at the time, but their celebration was about to be short-lived.
Even though Jerry had reversed the effects of Lumiere's lens, what didn't know was that it was designed to only be temporary. And the W.O.O.H.P helicopter was barely into international waters before it began to wear off on Lumiere himself.
Thinking fast, he opened the side door and jumped out into the ocean below.
As he surfaced, he thought back to the scene on his island.
Those kids showed more raw emotion than any actor he had ever worked with. His feelings toward them were mixed. On one hand, they provided more excitement to his production than he himself had anticipated. On the other, they had gotten him arrested.
And even though he was infuriated about that last part, he couldn't help but admire them somewhat.
Maybe there was a way he could get even and return to filmmaking at the same time.
Beverly Hills High School-9:10 AM
"I don't know about you," Sam said as she, Sean and Clover walked up the steps to the school building (Alex was running late, which struck Sean as odd). "But I am so glad to finally be home."
"You said it," Sean agreed.
"Totally," Clover added. "I've had it with celebrities."
The first site of Sam and the mob activity from the day before started up again, and before any of the three friends knew it, they were surrounded.
"Oh no," Sean groaned. "I forgot all about this!"
"What do I do?!" Sam panicked.
"I think you've got just enough time to make it to the janitor's closet," Clover suggested. "You know, if you want."
All at once, a voice coughed into a megaphone.
"Attention, everyone!" Mandy's magnified voice declared. "I have a very important announcement to make!"
The mob, once so focused on Sam, all turned to Mandy, who stood on a recycling bin with the megaphone in her hand.
"After recounting the official ballots, I have found that there was an error in the tabulation. As I suspected, I am the most popular girl in school!"
With that announcement, the crowd immediately forgot about Sam and stampeded toward Mandy instead... which, Sean decided based on the little amount of room they left her, probably wasn't such a bad thing. At least they had enough room to go their first class.
"Wait!" Mandy called out over the noise and demands from the mob to sign their yearbooks. "Slow down! I was just kidding! Do not touch the Mandy!"
It was no surprise to anyone when she fell off that recycling bin.
"Do you think we should tell her about the janitor's closet?" Sean asked his two stunned friends.
"No way," Clover replied.
"Didn't think so."
Ducking the mob that now focused their attention on Mandy, Sean and the girls made their way to their first class, where they hoped to find Alex.
Instead they only found silence and an empty classroom.
"Hey!" Clover exclaimed. "Where's Alex?!"
"I don't know," Sam answered. "Sean?"
He shrugged.
"Don't ask me. I thought one of you knew."
"Maybe she's out sick or something," Sam suggested.
"Weird," Clover commented. "I mean, you'd think she'd have least called one of us."
That was when Sean's wallet phone rang from within his pocket.
"Maybe that's her," he said as he answered it.
As the screen lit up, Sean's mouth went dry in shock.
On the other end was Alex... tied to a chair and looking scared out of her mind.
"Help!" she cried out as the screen went to static.
"Alex?!" all three exclaimed.
In a remote location, Alex sat tied to that same chair as her captor crushed her Compowder with his foot.
"Don't bother," his high voice said menacingly. "No one can help you now."
Alex could only gulp nervously.
To Be Continued
Well, that's a wrap for Season 1. Who would've guessed I made it as far as I did? Stay tuned, though. My biggest plans thus far are for Season 2. And I will see you next time for the second part of A Spy is Born.
In Honor of James Earl Jones
1931-2024