Paradise lost
In the nearly twenty years since the destruction of the Right Path movement, the town of Royal Woods had seen a radical transformation. Mayor Davis had retired from public office to spend more time with her new grandchildren. Sad as the town was to see her leave, they understood her reasoning. In her place sprung an unlikely candidate, and no, it wasn't Vic again. After all, how could he run from a prison cell? That was, assuming anyone would be mad enough to cast their vote for the slimeball.
The one that took Davis' place was none other than Lola Loud, who had graduated college with a Political Science major. Leveraging her past experience and popularity in the pageantry circuit, her experiences with her many siblings, and what she had learned in college, Lola was easily able to win over the townspeople with her vision for Royal Woods. Many, including her own family, expected her to be a firebrand conservative like Congresswomen Marge Tyler Gren and Laura Roberts, but surprisingly, Lola steered towards a more centralist view, hoping to bridge the gap between left and right.
When she took office, Lola's major policies boiled down to the following; LGBTQIA rights were respected and enforced strictly. Not that Royal Woods had any problems with this, but the exposure and destruction of the Right Path conversion camp was still in everyone's minds. Lola campaigned on the assurance that nothing like it will ever happen again on her watch. After all, her sisters Lisa, Luna, and Lynn were instrumental in bringing them down. This, along with the fact that Luna and Lola's twin sister Lana were in same-sex relationships, lent great credibility to her claim.
She also extended these rights to the polyamorous. However, in this regard, she did limit the number of partners polyamorists can take on to one opposite-gendered partner and one same-gendered partner. After the discovery that two of her siblings had engaged in such behaviours, Lola sought to understand the polyamorous community. She engaged them in conversations about their lifestyle and what they would wish, while also acknowledging that some boundaries needed to be set. She discovered that polyamorists had curiosities and wanted to explore them without judgment. Lola promised an environment in which they could thrive.
Transgendered rights were also something Lola touched upon. She made certain that those wishing to transition between genders would get the assistance they require. However, she also mandated extensive background checks on those wishing to change their biological sex. After all, during her college years, Lola encountered a trans female in the bathroom and was nearly assaulted in there. The perp was swiftly expelled, and it became clear that they only changed their gender to gain access to women's bathrooms. Thus, Lola wanted to be sure their wishes were genuine. Any gender re-assignment operation would follow at least a year of counselling for gender dysphoria and a record showing no history of sexual assault allegations. Non-binary rights were also enforced, as well as those with different gender identities, though Lola did restrict the number of genders to four; male, female, trans, and non-binary, and that was it. Anyone self-identifying as cats or attack helicopters, for example, would get the psychiatric assistance they so obviously needed.
Knowing this would alienate the conservative vote, Lola put in those restrictions, as well as those surrounding the polyamorous, as a compromise, as she did with abortion rules. While others may be content with the mantra 'My body, my choice', and Lola certainly respected that, she was also of the view that terminations shouldn't be a fallback option for when two people who clearly aren't mature enough to use protection and/or not financially able to support a child accidentally conceive. To that end, she instituted a ban of 24 weeks, with exceptions for cases of rape and incest, and where it is a medical necessity to save the life of the expectant mother. She also safeguarded medical personnel from lawsuit and prosecution in this event, and the rape and incest exceptions had to be accompanied with a police case. However, terminations outside of these exceptions would not be covered by insurance and fetched a high price.
She combined this with an increased emphasis on relationship and sex education in schools. Curriculums had been updated with appropriate lessons on all aspects of love and sex, including how to have sexual relations safely, though this lesson was confined to the later years of high school. She also expanded access to protection for anyone ages 16 and up, offering cheap access to condoms, contraceptive pills, and implants designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. After all, if two people in heat, but not seeking to start a family would take cheap protection over expensive procedures and potentially a lifetime raising a child they were not ready for. Armed with the knowledge and safe in an environment lacking in judgment, the rates of teen pregnancies decreased dramatically to nearly zero. Recognising that hormonal feelings were natural and no amount of praying would do anything about humans being human, Lola lowered the age of consent to 16, but maintained laws against child marriage, ensuring that only those aged 21 or over could get married.
But perhaps her most substantial policy, and one that has garnered her the most attention, for good or ill, was the insistence of a separation of church and state. After the fallout of Right Path's destruction, many in the clergy could not reconcile their faith and the actions of those bad actors. Many more abandoned their respective churches for fear that they too were hiding something equally as sinister. Mayor Davis tried her best to contain the damage, but conspiracy theories were spreading like wildfire. Paranoia was everywhere, and disillusionment was on the rise. In a bid to save mainstream religion from self-inflicted annihilation, Lola instituted certain restrictions. While those still wishing to practice their faith were free to do so, they could not let their beliefs influence sensitive areas of society, such as politics, law, education, medicine, psychiatry, and media, among others. Public preaching was also outlawed, though church services were still permitted, and all churches were subject to intense scrutiny to make sure they paid their taxes and didn't run any secret conversion camps. All churches were also required to respect equal marriage laws and conduct same-sex ceremonies when asked of them. All business were also mandated to respect LGBT rights and required to serve all customers, regardless of their preferences, so no more Christian bakers refusing service to same-sex couples seeking a wedding cake.
All this and more got the attention of the White House. Specifically, Democratic President John McKay, previously Attorney General of Michigan and Head of the Anti-Right Path Task Force. He campaigned on his war against religious extremist hate and his success on safeguarding LGBT youth against malicious practices. Like Lola, McKay used his previous experiences in his long career to demonstrate why he was the best candidate for the Presidency, but he didn't stop there. He gave the people a clear vision on what his presidency would look like, rather than resorting to celebrity endorsements, cheap attack tactics and fearmongering about his opponent. This won him the popular and electoral vote and he was half-way through his first term. President McKay wanted to use Royal Woods as an example of what American society at large could be like if Lola's policies were introduced on a national scale. While his critics would say 'why not make Lola President while you're at it?!', his supporters would say he's just taking inspiration from a natural leader like himself.
After all, Lola Loud wasn't the only reason McKay had been keeping an eye on the place. Royal Woods had become the birthplace of an industry dubbed 'green tech'. A gifted individual had invented a line of green robots meant to tackle the climate crisis. They used robots that looked, and almost acted like, animals, to carry out various operations such as cleansing the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, eating the micro and macroplastics, as well as chemical pollutants, from rivers and oceans, replanting entire rainforests, and cloning animal meat so that people could enjoy products like steak, beef and hamburgers without the senseless animal death that came with it. Who was this individual?
Stella Hunnicut
Originally named Stella Zhau, she proved herself to be a prodigy in the art of robotics, even putting Sid Chang to shame. She started with developing farming aid apps that told farmers when sheep needed shearing, cows needed milking and set up friendlier alternatives to electric fencing that didn't use as much power. With the money from those endeavours, Stella paid her way through college with ease, which she breezed through, earning a BSc in two years instead of the usual three, a Master's in six months, and a PhD in four years. Her designs were simple; the robots that cleaned up the skies looked like hawks, falcons, and all manner of birds of prey. The ones deployed to the ocean looked like sharks, whales, and other sea-faring creatures, with smaller fish-like robots for rivers and lakes. Robots replanting trees resembled deer, elks, rams, and other land-based mammals, and her latest creation; robots tasked with refreezing the polar ice caps, looked like giant crocodiles.
It did not take long for governments and foreign investors to want a piece of the action. Soon enough, Zhau-Tech, the company Stella formed to manufacture and distribute these robots, had branches in five continents, and over two hundred countries, creating jobs everywhere they took root. The investments made Stella Royal Woods' first trillionaire in as little as three years of the company's formation. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for her efforts in green tech and dubbed 'The Woman Who Healed the World'.
You would think that someone like that would be living it up in a fancy, twenty-room mansion with a private runway for her jet, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis court, home theatre, everything a wealthy person typically hoards in their home big enough to have its own zip code. Instead, she resided in Hunnicut Farm with her husband Liam and young son Adam.
"Money corrupts. I wouldn't want Adam to see me like that," Stella would say when asked why she wasn't living the high life despite being able to. She doesn't even send Adam to private school, instead placing him in the public education system so he would have the same growing up experience she had. Her family didn't mind this. In fact, they preferred it when Liam told the story of how he and his meemaw struck oil when he was a kid and previewed the high life for themselves. It changed them, and that was not something he wanted for his kid. To counter-balance her vast wealth, Stella engaged in philanthropy, donating vast sums to causes such as ending world poverty, natural disaster relief, and research to cure diseases. For this, she was also dubbed 'The New Dolly Parton', although some may call her 'Tonia Stark' in jest.
These donations to cure diseases often went to Royal Woods' finest medical researcher; Lisa Loud. While her main occupation was as a tenured Physics professor at a highly esteemed university, Lisa worked that job from home, and she only did it for money, opting instead to use her free time to develop cures and vaccines for the world's worst ailments. With her gifted mind, she was able to completely eradicate HIV/AIDS, along with most, if not all, STIs, most forms of cancer, though she was still working on others, Ebola, rabies, and she was in the middle of testing the world's first universal flu vaccine. Trial runs were promising, and if successful, would mean annual flu shots would become a thing of the past.
All this and more made Royal Woods a booming utopia that had healed from the scars of Right Path very successfully. Royal Woods had been voted in the top ten happiest towns to live in through all of Michigan, and top twenty in all of the US. While most American citizens were impressed with how Royal Woods has become a bastion of modern living and liberties, there were some who despised what Royal Woods stood for. The few Right Path members that survived the initial exposure and destruction had since lived off-grid, incognito, or underground, hiding from what they called the 'Deep State'. At their head was Susan Hill. Ever since she had been ousted from her teaching position, she sought out Right Path members in hiding all across the country. Finding them was difficult, but she suspected as much. Had it been easy to track them down, the Deep State would've nabbed them ages back. McKay's task force was very thorough in rooting out Right Path members he labelled 'extremists'. She was leading Vic, her new partner-in-crime, to a secret, abandoned bunker in the middle of a forest.
"This place has seen better days," Vic commented.
"It's a hold-over from the Cold War, in a forest those deer-bots aren't replanting, so luckily the Deep State never found it. It was commissioned by the rich of those days for them to hide in case things went nuclear with the Russians. No cell signal can get in or out. No Wi-Fi either. Perfect hiding spot for us," Susan explained. Vic checked his phone and found that he had no signal or internet connection.
"How did you find it?" Vic asked.
"By accident. I was out here running, clearing my head after I had been terminated. By chance, I found a small outcropping, hiding the entrance. All I did was venture inside. It must have been the Almighty's will that I found this place. Further evidence that our cause is just. One by one, I led others here. We number at least two thousand strong, more than enough to take and hold Royal Woods," Susan explained. She then showed Vic the small army she had recruited, undertaking firearms training, running combat drills, and practicing taking down animal bots.
"Those mechanical monstrosities are one thing. Other humans are quite another. Are these guys prepared to fight Deep State soldiers?" Vic inquired.
"Ready, willing, and able. Everyone here knows what's at stake. I won't lie, Vic. Failure here means the end of Right Path. If church-state separation is successfully implemented nationwide, all paths to the Kingdom of Heaven will be lost. Every day, those things cut us off from the Almighty. Every day, young people are indoctrinated to trust in science instead of Him and His words. We are losing this war. Every day, Deep State operatives find and imprison more of us. This is our last chance. We need someone to stem this tide. Right now, that is you," Susan espoused.
"I am honoured to accept this task. Please tell me your battle plan," Vic replied.
"What we've learned is that battle plans never survive contact with the enemy. But if we just go blundering in, the Deep State will realise what we're up to and send the National Guard, if not the military, to dispel us. In a straight-up fight, we'd lose. Instead, an advance guard, which you will lead, will rush the Mayor's office, take her hostage, then you can let us walk right through and do what we need to," Susan outlined.
"Sounds simple. May I suggest taking Mayor Davis' family hostage as well to ensure her compliance?" Vic probed.
"She is not in charge anymore. The current mayor of Royal Woods is one you're familiar with. An old nemesis by the name of Lola Loud. Before you ask, we had considered taking her family hostage as well, but as you know, there's too many of them, and they've mostly scattered to the winds. Finding them all and securing the Mayor's office will take time we do not have. As much as I sympathise with your need for revenge, the mission comes first, you understand," Susan corrected. Vic was surprised to hear a Loud had been elected mayor. He always thought the town hated that family. After all, they were always being kicked out of places, causing a noisy ruckus wherever they went, and more times than not, stuff always got broken around them. Why Royal Woods would elect one mayor is something Vic will probably never understand. If taking Lola hostage was what these people wanted, Vic was all too happy to comply.
"As long as I get to make them suffer, I don't care how long I have to wait. I would also like to get my hands on those two women Ruby and Shannon. Make them pay for denying me what was mine by right," Vic raved.
"Ah yes, the Tannenbaums. Enemies number one and two. It is a good thing you bring them up, because we also need their young boy Henry. He is worth a lot of money. Fifty thousand dollars, to be precise. Her (I hate this term) 'mothers' are making sure it is used to fund Henry's college tuition, no doubt so they can alienate him further against us. He's a Barsonthor. That family contributed lots to Right Path. Now, thanks to the Tannenbaums, the Barsonthor family is in ruins. We will do our best to procure him ourselves, but should you get the opportunity, we would appreciate it if you brought him to us. If you do not get such an opportunity, we will adapt. Just something to be aware of," Susan requested. Vic was especially elated to hear that Right Path wanted a boy worth a five-figure sum. Maybe he could keep part of it as reward if Vic ever found this 'Henry Tannenbaum'.
"I'll keep it in mind," Vic agreed.
"Excellent, then all that's left is to brief the advance guard. With your knowledge of the office layout, we are sure to come up with a plan," Susan responded. She then took Vic to meet with a pair of drill instructors down the hall. These two men looked like they had seen plenty of action. Vic surmised that these must be career military, or at least spent every day training for the fight of their lives. "I give you Eton Mesk and Arnold DeSanta. The best fighters we have. They have trained our hand-picked elite guard to help you carry out the mission. All we need is your input," Susan summarised.
"It's been a while, but I'll do what I can," Vic said as he prepared a briefing for Eton, Arnold, and their fighters. Working off memory, Vic doodled a rough schematic of the mayor's office onto a large sheet of paper. It had been nearly twenty years since Vic saw his old workplace, so he was quick to tell Eton and Arnold that this information may be inaccurate. "There is one thing that, if we're lucky, Davis and Lola never found. While I was working in the Mayor's office, I had secret escape tunnels dug that lead from the town hall to a remote location in Tall Timbers Park. I built them in case I ever took over and the townspeople rebelled against me. I believe our goal should be to use those same tunnels to sneak into the town hall and trigger the emergency lockdown. Once activated, the town hall becomes a fortress. No outside force can get in, and no staff can get out, leaving Lola trapped with us. We post guards at both entrances to the escape tunnels to make sure no-one sneaks out the same way we came in," Vic briefed.
"Good plan, Vic, but there is every chance those tunnels could've been discovered between when you had them dug and the present time," Eton observed.
"I have not heard of such in my monitoring of Royal Woods news reports. However, if they have been discovered, we will regroup and come up with a plan B," Susan interjected.
"It is a Hail Mary, I won't lie, but it is our best shot," Vic added.
"I'll begin assembling teams. You get us in there, we'll handle the rest," Arnold volunteered.
"One question; these robots Stella built. Did she build any designed for security?" Vic queried.
"Militaries from all countries have approached her to build defence bots plenty of times. Every time, she's refused. It seems she's a pacifist as well as a philanthropist," Susan answered.
"Then we should encounter minimal resistance once we're inside. However, town hall guards keep in constant contact with each other. The instant anyone fails to report in, the lockdown is initiated, regardless of if Lola is in there or not. We can't risk that happening. Once we're inside, put your weapons away until you reach the tech room. The lockdown can only be triggered manually from there," Vic concluded.
"I have constructed fake IDs to help us move around the town hall un-noticed. Avoid interacting with staff. We don't want to arouse suspicions," Susan instructed. She then handed everyone a lanyard identifying them as under the employ of the Mayor's office.
"Any questions?" Vic put to the group, who all shook their heads to respond in the negative. "Then May God be with us," Vic wished.
"May God be with us!" everyone else repeated. With the briefing finished, everyone set out for Tall Timbers Park, on the mission to end all missions.
Back in friendlier territory, President McKay was getting ready to host a press conference about tomorrow's vote on his church-state separation legislation. He was faced with a legion of reporters and paparazzi, eager for answers about a historic vote that would decide the country's identity. McKay was used to this kind of attention. He had faced similar scrutiny in his time as Attorney General. Once or twice, he missed his simple prosecutor job, but what he was doing now was equally as important. While it had been nearly twenty years since Right Path's destruction, the memories were still fresh in the minds of the people. He took his place on the podium and began to speak.
"My fellow Americans. Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on the Separation of Church and State Act, or SOCASA for short. My administration has been following the policies set by Mayor Lola Loud of Royal Woods, who graciously volunteered to assist us with the writing of this amendment. If we get the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers, church-state separation would be an unassailable part of our Constitution, the most sacred document upon which our country was built. No more rogue actors would ever again use their faith as justification for acts of bigotry, hatred, and discrimination in the United States. Church-state separation would ensure freedom and liberty for all of her citizens," McKay gave his speech, then opened the floor to questions from reporters.
"How do you respond to those that say you are criminalising faith with this bill?" one reporter asked.
"Nothing could be further from the truth. When I say that this bill ensures freedom for all, I meant it. People that practice religion are still free to do so. We're not going to start rounding up Christians, Jews, or Hindis. The primary purpose of this bill is to keep religion from being used as an excuse for heinous acts committed by zealots," McKay assured.
"Please speak plainly, Mr. President. Right Path, that's who this is about, isn't it?" another reporter probed.
"I have spent a good portion of my legal career leading the fight against those extremist cultists. I still remember showing the footage of what took place in one of their conversion camps during the Tannenbaum Trial twenty years ago. I wish I could say I've come to terms with it. SOCASA will ensure that never happens again, and that anyone who tries will face the full extent of American justice," McKay vowed.
"If this bill is inspired by Mayor Lola, why not make her President?" another reporter challenged. McKay simply chuckled.
"Yes, I've been hearing that a lot. Lola is a fine woman. Her ability to see both sides of the aisle and come up with solutions is a fine example of her political acumen. When she qualifies and chooses to run, I might just support her on the campaign trail myself once my term limits have expired. For now, I have enjoyed consulting with her personally. She is a worthy town mayor, and I have no doubt she would make a fine President someday," McKay mused.
"Is that an endorsement, Mr. President?" another reporter jibed.
"I guess it is," McKay replied. Meanwhile, Ruby, Shannon, and Henry were in the car listening to this on the radio. The thought of Lola Loud becoming President made Shannon shudder.
"President Lola? Yeeesh, that's cause for running and screaming," Shannon stated.
"You said the same thing about Lola becoming mayor, and you still haven't done it. Besides, I can think of worse candidates," Ruby argued.
"I guess you're right. Could you imagine Ivanto Hump as President? We'd be a laughingstock of a country," Shannon quipped.
"Isn't that the guy facing seven separate criminal indictments?" Henry inquired.
"And counting, if the inquiry is anything to go by," Ruby responded.
"Alright, I'll just pretend the ball is his head then, shall I?" Henry joked.
"That'll score some homers," Shannon replied in kind. In the years since Ruby and Shannon adopted Henry, he had become a fine young man, taking an interest in baseball and getting so good, Coach Francisco has hopes for him going to Little League. He was also proven to be quite smart. Not Stella Hunnicut smart, but he got straight A's in school, and not once has he been sent to the principal's office, even with Jasmine Stein as a best friend. Daughter to Luan and Benjamin Stein, two notorious pranksters Ruby and Shannon had been friends with since they were teenagers in theatre club together, the Tannenbaums were worried that Jasmine would take after her parents just a little too much. However, they did notice that, after her little brother William was born, Jasmine went into 'older sibling' mode and did not engage in prankery, choosing instead to become a role model for him. Speaking of the Steins, the Tannenbaums arrived at the baseball field to find the Stein family had come out to see the game.
"I don't get it. Doesn't Luan have her show today?" Ruby observed.
"I guess seeing their godson play takes priority," Shannon surmised. The very first day Henry became a Tannenbaum, Ruby and Shannon made Luan and Benny his godparents. While Henry sadly couldn't remember his biological father, owing to him and Henry's biological mother getting murdered when he was only six months old, he saw Benny as a father figure in his life, one he cherished greatly. While Benny had a modest career as a successful talent agent, Luan hosted a political satire show called Mad Takes. In it, comedians and even career politicians making guest appearances made jokes about the week's news. The show was so successful, it had been running non-stop for fifteen years and counting. The Tannenbaums loved watching this before retiring for the day. It was something of a bedtime tradition for them. Henry was elated to see Jasmine and William, two people he considered almost like siblings. The two families hugged and greeted each other warmly, then took seats on the stands, except for Henry, who joined his team and Coach Francisco in the dug-outs. Ruby and Shannon were surprised again to see their old drama club had come out in force, along with their kids. Spencer and his wife Tiffany brought their son Ritchie. Amy and Rex came along with their twins Josh and Emily. Even Leo and Lyberti brought their daughter Katie, whom they named after their old drama teacher, Kate Bernardo.
"It is so nice to see everyone again," Ruby gushed over her old friends.
"We wouldn't miss this for anything," Spencer replied.
"How's the coaching gig going, Spence?" Ruby asked. While Spencer had enjoyed a fruitful career as a football player, he ended up taking one too many hits to the head. An unaffiliated doctor who had evaluated him for a concussion after one particularly nasty hit told Spencer that if he took one more headbash, it would cause permanent brain damage, so Spencer retired his jersey and switched to coaching football rather than playing it. His experience earned him a lucrative contract as Head Coach for the Detroit Lions.
"It's going great. I think we'll make play-offs this season," Spencer relayed.
"Hey, save some praise for the real MVPs, my cheerleaders," Tiffany remarked. She made Head Cheerleader for the same team Spencer coached. Her squad practically redefined motivation.
"Yeah, they're definitely something. If only I had the energy," Rex commented.
"Instead, you have a wife and twins," Amy interjected.
"I have to be honest, I'm surprised you didn't have more," Shannon said.
"Amy made me get snipped after the twins were born. She said two was enough for us, and I agree," Rex recalled. Amy was a cosmetologist and Rex a dentist. It was true what Rex said. After Josh and Emily's birth, Rex did indeed get a vasectomy. When asked why, Amy would say that she didn't want a family as big as the Louds.
"Fair enough. We decided on the 'one and done' approach ourselves," Leo piped up. Utilising his theatre club experience, as well as his exceptional culinary skills, Leo became a professional TV chef and has written several recipe books teaching others how to make his creations. Ruby and Shannon have used a few entries themselves.
"Childbirth was not something I wanted to do twice," Lyberti justified. Lyberti became a travel agent. She could spot the best hotel deals from half the planet away.
"Been there. Know the feeling. Totally get it," Amy agreed.
"Hear hear. Sorry, Ben-ben, but I'm not squeezing out eleven little Steins," Luan interjected.
"It's hard enough keeping up with two. I am with you," Benny backed up his wife's assertion.
"Mum, they're about to start," Jasmine alerted everyone to the start of the game.
"Good afternoon, Royal Woods. It is a fantastic day to play some baseball. The sun is shining, the hawk-bots are keeping the air clean, and not a cloud in sight. Isn't that right, Pep?" Travis, the co-commentator, announced.
"Why am I still doing this job? It's been twenty years!" Pep groaned.
"Haha, never change, Pep. Stepping up to the plate for the Royal Woods Squirrels is one Henry Tannenbaum, local prodigy. I understand some Little League scouts have their eye on him. Give them a good show, Henry," Travis encouraged. Trying not to let the pressure get to him, Henry stepped up to the plate to face the pitcher for Fern Valley.
"Eyes on the ball, Henry," Henry muttered to himself.
At Tall Timbers Park, Vic, Susan, Eton, Arnold, and their squads were relieved to see that the entrance to Vic's secret tunnels was still there. This boded well for their infiltration mission, as it was a sign that the tunnels had not been discovered by the current administration. Vic opened the entrance up and led his team through the dark, unlit tunnels. After five minutes of trudging through the underground, Vic and the team reached the other side without incident. The exit led to the basement of the town hall. Obviously, this side hadn't been discovered either.
"We're in luck. They haven't found it. Stealth manoeuvres everybody," Vic instructed. Every fighter put their weapons away and wore their fake lanyards. One by one, they emerged from the basement and split up into two teams. Arnold and team Beta made for the tech room, with directions from Vic, while he, Eton, and Susan led team Alpha straight to Lola's office.
"Vic, you should stay close behind me. While staff won't recognise you, Lola might. We don't want her spotting you too soon," Susan suggested.
"Good idea. I'll blend in with the men," Vic affirmed. Making sure that Vic was disguised amongst the team, Susan kept an eye out for Lola while subtly checking on team Beta's progress. As if on cue, Arnold reported in.
"Team Beta in position. Waiting on your signal," Arnold updated.
"Team Alpha, checking in. I've just spotted Lola. She's with her PA, Winston," Susan replied. Sure enough, Lola and her PA/husband Winston were discussing the upcoming SOCASA vote.
"If tomorrow goes well, your experiment will surely have been a success, Madam Mayor," Winston said hopefully.
"How many times, Winston? I'm your wife, not your boss," Lola reminded.
"Sure, but we must keep up professional appearances in front of the staff. I swore I heard them gossiping about our 'activities' in your office the other day," Winston responded.
"One of the reasons I had the office sound-proofed. Wanna 'test it out'?" Lola flirted.
"When did you get into 'public relations'?" Winston replied in kind.
"Blame my sisters. They bring out the devil in me," Lola deflected. The two of them then went into her office to do….whatever, when Vic and company decided to move in. Lola and Winston were passionately making out, with Lola sitting on her desk. Winston was just about to unbutton Lola's top when Vic and Susan barged into the room. It took a second or two for Winston to notice their presence. When he did, he stopped dead.
"Errrr, Winnie, what's up?" Lola asked impatiently, what with her facing Winston, she had no idea of the intrusion.
"I hate to interrupt you two making another addition to your already large family. Actually, no I don't. I revel in it. It's been far too long, Lola Loud," Vic menaced. Lola knew his voice, even if it sounded a lot older than she remembered from her childhood. She turned to face Vic and his entourage.
"You're supposed to be in prison," Lola spat.
"Got out. I was never a lifer. Now that I'm back, things are going to change around here. My new benefactors have plans for this town, and you're in the way. Hold them," Vic ordered his men to take Lola and Winston hostage at gunpoint.
"We have them. Punch it," Susan ordered Beta team to trigger the emergency lockdown. Soon enough, alarms started sounding all across the hall.
"Emergency lockdown commencing. Activating bulkheads," a computer voice informed the staff, who started panicking and screaming as giant steel bulkheads separated sections of the building, including isolating Lola's office. Lola stood fast against her captors.
"Let me guess, Right Path?" Lola hypothesised.
"Got it in one. Who said Lisa was the genius of the family. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an announcement to make," Vic shoved his way into Lola's seat and fiddled with the town-wide broadcast systems until he found the frequency he wanted.
Oblivious to the chaos in the town hall, the baseball game between Royal Woods and Fern Valley carried on without a care in the world, other than having fun. Henry's swing hit true, and he was off to the races. The ball was knocked out of the park and Henry scored a clean home run for his team, earning him cheers and adulation from team-mates and audience alike.
"Homer for Henry! Repeat; homer for Henry! Royal Woods scores! Question is, can his team-mates….." but Travis' commentary was soon replaced with static.
"Apologies, everyone, but we seem to be having technical difficulties. Please continue to enjoy the game and we will have normal service resumed in no time," the staff announced over a megaphone, but the silence was soon replaced with a voice speaking on all local wavelengths.
"People of Royal Woods, please attend carefully," came a voice Luan recognised all too well.
"I know that voice," Luan whispered in abject fear.
"I am Vic McGillicuddy, and as of right now, I am in charge of this town. I have taken your beloved mayor Lola Loud hostage. Royal Woods will now submit to my rule and become a stronghold from with Right Path will be reborn. Resistance is futile, and any attempt to do so will result in…ugly consequences for your former pageant queen. Come on in, guys!" Vic then called out for the troops to begin marching in. From all sides, Right Path soldiers came pouring into Royal Woods, sealing off every road in or out of the town, prompting widespread panic. Calls to restore order were in vain.
"This is Catherine Mulligan reporting…hey, let go of me!" Catherine Mulligan tried to report the takeover, but Right Path thugs grabbed her before she could get her words out.
"I urge you, stay in your homes!" Police Chief Schoffner calmed, but even that wasn't enough, as Right Path stormtroopers started bashing in doors. The drama club watched this unfold with panicked looks in their eyes. Ever since their first encounter with Right Path twenty years ago, they had hoped never to hear from them again. Now they were here in force, and they dreaded what would come next, as it surely couldn't be good.
"They've taken over the whole town," Benny observed.
"It's not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory," Shannon corrected glumly. Luan, however, had other, more pressing worries on her mind.
"Lola," Luan pined to see her sister safe and sound, hoping she would be OK amidst all this.
Author's note: Well, as the old saying goes; that escalated quickly. I want this chapter to serve as a glimpse of what we could have had had things gone the other way. and what we're probably going to get in the future, now that the vote has been decided. For those that didn't want to read this, well, I didn't want to write it either, but more than half of America chose this chaos over saying 'Madam President' so you only brought it on yourselves. I'm only delivering what you guys apparently wanted. I do hope your conscience is clear when your neighbours start disappearing in the middle of the night. I do hope the price of groceries was worth it when your medical insurance is either denied or obscenely expensive. I do hope you consider owning the liberals a justified response to ever-intensifying climate catastrophes your insurance companies won't even cover the costs for. I do hope you can look your female family members in the eye when you tell them you voted to take virtually ALL their human rights away and handed power to people who see them as nothing more than walking incubators, to be discarded when they become faulty and only a termination of pregnancy could save them. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy, while you can.