Family
Chapter 520 Factory Boom
By: Major144
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a story for fun
800 years in the future.
It had been a few months since Bubblegum and her team had successful allied themselves with the freed territories to go up against Gumbaldia's armies. Chicle and Neddy had given Bubblegum her own lab to work in where she became a member of the Research and Development department of Sanctuary. Bubblegum spent a good time in the lab developing all kinds of weapons and gadgets for the forces of Sanctuary to use in both their daily lives and in the upcoming battle against the forces of Gumbaldia. She also went about upgrading her Battle Ready Arm for future conflicts. The work Bubblegum did help gain the respects of the locals and warriors of Sanctuary and it also gave Bubblegum a reputation of being a recluse, since Bubblegum spent a good deal of time in the lab.
Bubblegum did leave the lab to train and practice with her Elemental powers, attend battle plans and meetings, and attend family meals. She spent so much time in the lab, not because she was rude, but because she was very fearful and concerned about the coming battle. Bubblegum knew even with all the power of the people of Sanctuary and the freed territories that there was no guarantee that they would be able to defeat Gumbald and his armies or return Bubblegum to the past. Gumbald's forces were still bigger then the forces of Sanctuary and the freed territories and very likely well armed and trained as well. Even if Bubblegum and her allies there was still Gumbald himself to deal with plus the Timenado. There was a good possibility that Gumbald would destroy the Timenado to prevent Bubblegum from returning to the past. Bubblegum had to do everything in her power to make sure her allies won against the forces of Gumbaldia, so if the Timenado did get destroyed their sacrifices wouldn't be in vain.
Bubblegum also went over Intel collected from all the years of spy work on Gumbald and Bebe and discovered something peculiar about them. It seemed that Gumbald and Bebe had been collecting a large number of artifacts and other objects that seemed to be connected to Sugarey the Goddess of Candy as well as beings who might have been past Candy Elementals. Bubblegum had no clue what it could mean, but she felt like she needed to check it out.
Bubblegum finished up the current project she was working on and looked at the clock to see it was time to attend a important war meeting. She quickly cleaned up, left the lab, and headed to the meeting room. The meeting was attended by Simon, Betty, Neddy, Eria, Lolly, Chicle, Marceline, Lance, Henry, Lucinda, Peridot, Lapis, Peridot, Django, X, O, Mara, and Serenity. The leaders and some representatives of the freed territories also attended the meeting as holograms. There was Lumpy Space Empress, El Niño Loco, Jungle Warfare Princess, Zim, Gridface Princess, Silico, and King Beardbottom.
Bubblegum took a seat next to Neddy and Chicle and the meeting began.
"Alright people before we launch any full attacks against Gumbaldia we need to takeout a few key resources they have at their disposal. One of the most important resources Gumbald has is the Safety Bot factory. Originally designed by Bubblegum before Gumbald took control and began to use it to create Safety Bots and other weapons for his forces. I'll let Bubblegum take it from here." Said Simon.
Bubblegum stood up and addressed the group.
"It's true I created the factory and Gumbald has added on to it once he sent me to the future. From the Intel that has been gathered from our spies and agents the factory isn't too different from the one in my time. I have come up with a way to destroy the factory along with all the products and materials inside."
"What's the plan?" Asked Lance.
"A small team including myself will go into the factory and place explosive charges in key locations. Two will be the main factory computer and ammunition depot. The explosions will be timed and we should have plenty of time to get out before they explode and take the factory out." Said Bubblegum.
"What about all the robots that aren't in the factory?" Asked Gridface Princess.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to takeout the robots that happen to be outside the factory, but we will be able to stop the mass production of more and take out a serious resource of Gumbald's." Said Bubblegum.
"Good enough for me." Said King Beardbottom.
"There is also something else I wish to do, while in Gumbaldia." Said Bubblegum.
"What's that?" Asked Neddy.
"I have been following reports about Gumbald and Bebe gathering and accumulating artifacts and items connected to Sugarey the Goddess of Candy as well as past Candy Elementals. They appeared to be gathered in one area of the castle and I'm very curious about what Gumbald and Bebe are doing with these items and I think it's worth investigating. I will go in there alone and take a look. It should only take me a few minutes and with the stealth and camouflage upgrades I've made to my BRA I can easily sneak in and out without anyone noticing and rejoin the team at the factory." Said Bubblegum.
"It sounds a bit risky." Said Chicle.
"I'm willing to take the risk and on the off chance something does happen I will be sure to give the team clear instructions on how to destroy the factory." Said Bubblegum.
"I trust my mother, so I say we let her do it." Said Neddy.
"I second it." Said Eria.
Marceline and a few others agreed that Bubblegum should investigate what was going on in Gumbald's castle.
"Alright now who should be in charge of destroying the factory?" Asked Simon.
"I will go of course and I think Marceline, Lance, Lucinda, Henry, Peridot, Lapis, and Chicle shall go as well." Said Bubblegum.
"Very well. Sounds like we have our plan and our team." Said Simon.
The meeting ended and Neddy, Eria, Lolly, Chicle, Marceline, and Lance headed over to Bubblegum in the halls.
"You want any of us to come with you when you sneak into the palace?" Asked Marceline.
"No, I can do this on my own. The main priority should be destroying the factory." Said Bubblegum.
"How do you know this isn't some kind of trap to lure you into the palace to get captured?" Asked Lance.
"This doesn't feel like my uncle's style." Said Bubblegum.
"I agree my father wouldn't use artifacts as bait for a trap. He's studying them for a reason and any information you collect in this time can help you out in the past." Said Chicle.
"Then I'm going to check it out. If it's a trap and I get captured, don't abort the mission of destroying the factory. You can come break me out later." Said Bubblegum.
"Yeah, but if you get killed in this time mom, then there's no way to undo this future." Said Neddy.
"I'm aware of that. I promise you I will do everything I can to stay alive and return to my time and fix everything, but there is still a possibility that I could die. In the event of that I'm going to do everything I can to help give you a fighting chance against Gumbald and his forces." Said Bubblegum.
"And we're going to do everything in our power to make sure you return to your time alive." Said Eria.
"Yeah we're going to undo all the horrible things my father has done and stick it to him." Said Chicle.
Bubblegum smiled at her family and nodded her head in agreement. The heroes then split up to gear up and prepare for the mission.
A few days later Bubblegum, Marceline, Lance, Lucinda, Henry, Peridot, Lapis, and Chicle were all dressed in black and had backpacks full of explosives and gadgets as they headed out of Sanctuary and towards Gumbaldia and the factory. Bubblegum and Chicle used the boot jets on their armor to fly as the others used their powers to fly. Peridot and Lapis had fused to form Turquoise for the mission. The team reached the lands of Gumbaldia and they split up with Bubblegum heading to the palace and the rest of the team heading to the factory.
Bubblegum activated her camouflage feature and went invisible as she neared the palace and entered through a window. She silently pressed herself against a wall and waited a few minutes to she if her presence had been detected. After not hearing any alarm sounds or the sounds of any guards rushing down the hallways, Bubblegum made her way through the halls and towards the room where she knew the artifacts were kept. She carefully opened the door and went inside.
The room Bubblegum entered look like a mix between a study and some kind of museum or private collection. There were glass display cases with pots with strange images of people, old dolls, and stone tablets with ancient writing and images of people on them. Bubblegum inspected the displays closely as she made herself visible. The images of the people on the pots and tablets had pink, blue, red, and green skin. Those had to be past Elementals! Bubblegum turned to the dolls and saw that the dolls were also pink, blue, red, and green wearing various clothes from different times and cultures. She then saw a display of pictures and old newspaper articles in one case showing pictures of men and women with pink skin over the ages and in different parts of the world. Bubblegum then took interest in a big display showing a large yellow sarcophagus. The top of the sarcophagus depicted a man holding a crook that resembled a red and white candy cane and a flail that resembled red licorice. There was also a couple of glass display cases showing a lollipop scepter and a yellow and green Nemes hat sitting on a mannequin head. Bubblegum took notice that there appeared to be a large empty hole in the center of the Nemes. She guessed a jewel or something was supposed to go there.
"Admiring the collection?" Asked a voice from behind.
Bubblegum whirled around to see Bebe enter the room with a small wooden box.
"What exactly is all of this? I doubt this little collection is just a hobby you and my uncle have, so why don't you tell me what's really going on." Said Bubblegum.
"Very well, I'll tell you. You see Bubblegum I was created from a sample of your DNA, with a mix of my creator's DNA, and a few other alterations. Like your son I inherited some unique powers and abilities from you, due to you being the Candy Elemental. However, I've only been able to due a few things with that power. Sure I can turn other beings into candy to devour and either gain their power or store them in my body as prisoners and hostages, but I haven't been able to shot candy or sugar drinks from my hands like you, Neddy, or your grandkids. So my father and I began to research past Candy Elementals to try and become a true Candy Elemental like yourself." Said Bebe.
"Have you had any breakthroughs?" Asked Bubblegum with a bit of curiosity.
"A few interesting developments." Said Bebe as she went over to a glass display next to the sarcophagus.
Bubblegum saw that the glass case contained four colorful jars and she recognized them as Canopic jars, jars that were used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process, to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. The jars held the lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach. Bebe stood by the jars, removed the top of one off, and placed it off to the side along with the box she was holding.
"The sarcophagus over contains the mummified remains of one of your more interesting and powerful past lives. His name was a powerful pharaoh named King Two-Tons-of-Candy." Said Bebe as she reached into the open jar and pulled out what appeared to be a slightly withered looking stomach organ.
Bubblegum stared at the organ as Bebe produced a knife and cut a tiny bit of the organ off and placed the rest back in the jar.
"You see I discovered if I consume a part of a past Candy Elemental or inject myself with liquid created from their remains my own power gradually increases and I feel more in touch with Sugarey the Goddess of Candy. In a way I'm becoming closer and closer to becoming a true Candy Elemental." Said Bebe before placing the tiny bit of organ in her mouth and began chewing it.
Bubblegum felt sick as she watched Bebe chew and swallow.
"You're...a sick monster." Said Bubblegum.
"Call me what you will and think whatever you want, but it gets results." Said Bebe as a ball of red liquid began to form in her hand and swirl around.
"Is...that blood?" Asked Bubblegum slightly freaked out by the sight.
"Cherry soda actually. I thought it would be more dramatic and freak you out a little." Said Bebe with a smirk.
Bebe then turned her attention to the box and opened it up.
"What's in there?" Asked Bubblegum.
"A powerful artifact created by King Two-Tons-of-Candy. I present to you the Blurpleberry Supreme." Said Bebe as removed a large blue emerald from the box.
"And what exactly does that do?" Asked Bubblegum.
"Once the Blurpleberry Supreme is placed in King Two-Tons-of-Candy's Nemes it will become a great and powerful weapon much like the crown and tiara that Simon and Betty powers will increase and I can produce large amounts of candy and create candy creatures to do my bidding without the use of a lab." Said Bebe with a smirk.
Bubblegum felt a cold shiver of dread go down her spine as she realized how dangerous Bebe was going to become. She had to get that emerald away from Bebe at once! Bubblegum fired a laser at Bebe, who dodged it and fired a blast of red soda at Bubblegum that had some sharp rock candy spikes in it. Bubblegum quickly activated her shields and the candy spikes shattered and the soda just hit the shield and dripped down once it struck the shield doing no damage. Bebe made a dash to King Two-Tons-of-Candy's Nemes, but Bubblegum quickly created a licorice rope that wrapped around Bebe's legs and made her fall to the ground making her lose her grip on the Blueberry Supreme as it skidded to the other side of the room. Bubblegum let go of the rope and dashed over to the gem and picked it up quickly putting it in a pouch in her armor and activating the camouflage function to go invisible.
"Nice try." Said Bebe as she shot to her feet and unleashed a cloud of powdered sugar that blanketed the area.
Bubblegum let out a gasp as she became visible due to the powder on her body. Bebe fired some large jawbreakers that slammed into Bubblegum knocking her into a wall. Bubblegum let out a slight groan as Bebe approached her.
"Now why don't you be a good girl and give me the gemstone." Said Bebe.
Bubblegum glared at Bebe and fired a glob of frosting from her righthand and fired a laser blast from the laser gun on her left wrist. Bebe stumbled back blinded from the frosting as the laser blast struck a water pipe above. The pipe burst open and water poured down on Bubblegum wiping the sugar away making her invisible once more. Bubblegum quickly ran out of the room as Bebe wiped the frosting from her face.
"Savor this little victory Bubblegum. I'll get that gemstone back and you and everyone you care about will suffer dearly!" Declared Bebe.
Bubblegum ran down a hallway located a window and quickly flew out of the palace with her stolen treasure and headed to the factory to rejoin the others.
As all that was going down Chicle, Marceline, Lance, Lucinda, Henry, and Turquoise were approaching the factory. The little group headed to the side of the factory being careful to avoid any patrolling guards and security cameras. They made it to the side of the factory and Turquoise used her powers to rip a hole into the wall without making too much noise. The team headed into the factory and took everything in. The factory was a buzzing hive of automotive activity. Dozens of conveyor belts were going about with hundreds of robotic arms with tools and drones went about assembling Safety Bots, Gumball Robots, REDs, and MONQIs as well as tanks, helicopters, ships, and weapons.
"My father really made this factory his own. I'm going to enjoy destroying this place." Said Chicle.
"Remember the plan. Set the explosives in the key locations, are the timers, and regroup back here to make our exit." Said Lance.
"Alright let's do this." Said Turquoise.
"Be careful." Said Marceline to Lance.
"I'll be careful. Let's do this for the kids and the future." Said Lance.
"My sparky knight in shining armor." Said Marceline with a smile.
"My vampire queen." Said Lance returning the smile.
The two of them kissed and then Lucinda and Henry kissed as well, before they all split up to plant explosives. Marceline and Lance flew to the west side of the factory, Lucinda and Henry went to the east side, and Chicle and Turquoise headed to the center of the factory. Each member of the group snuck around creeping past guards and security cameras as they planted explosives on support beams and a few machine that ran the assembly line. So far the team had successfully planted most of the explosives without being spotted or setting off any alarms.
Bubblegum arrived at the factory a bit later and sent a quick message on her communicate to the others saying she managed to get out of the palace. The communicators were on silent mode, but they would vibrate a little to alert the the others of messages. Bubblegum gave a quickly summary of what she found and her little fight with Bebe. She urged the others to hurry since there was a good chance the security forces might check in on the factory and the factory could go on high alert if they suspect any intruders might have snuck in. Bubblegum remained at the exit waiting for the others to return.
Marceline, Lance, Lucinda, and Henry finished up planting their explosives and were heading back to the exit, when a alarm suddenly went off and the face of the Bubblegum's security program PAL appeared on all the screens in the factory.
"Attention all factory drones and robots. A alert has just come in from the palace about a high level intruder. There is a 62% that intruder is not alone and a 78% that they will target this facility. I am now sending a imagine of the intruder to all hard drives and servers." Said PAL.
PAL's face was replaced by a imagine of Bubblegum.
"The intruder is former Queen Bubblegum. Emperor Gumbald has given the order that she must be destroyed if spotted along with any of her allies." Said PAL.
"Crap! This isn't good at all!" Thought Bubblegum with dread.
It was then things got worse as the Master Safety Bot stomped into the middle of the factory followed by a couple other Safety Bots.
"All units search the factory for any intruders or signs of sabotage." Ordered Master Safety Bots.
The Safety Bots nodded as they began to search the area with their robotic eyes. They were quickly joined by more Safety Bots, Gumball Robots, REDs, and MONQIs, some of searchers even came right off of the assembly line. It would only be a matter of minutes before they spotted any members of Bubblegum's group or the planted explosives.
Bubblegum had to create a distraction to buy a little time and get the robots to focus on her. She spotted one of the assembled tanks and got a crazy idea. Bubblegum went invisible and dashed to the tank and jumped inside. She activated the tank and was glad to see that it was armed. Bubblegum took the controls and aimed the torrent at one of the searching Safety Bots and fired! The shell flew through the air and struck the Safety Bot in the head making it explode and the now headless robot toppled into a assembly line knocking over some partially assembled robots and crushing a few small search robots in the process.
"Intruder!" Yelled Master Safety Bot.
"All units stop that tank!" Ordered PAL.
Immediately all the robots stopped searching and set their eyes on the tank. Gumball Robots and MONQIs charged at it and Bubblegum decided the best way to deal with them was to charge forward with the tank. Bubblegum hit the pedal and the tank sped forward running over several of the robots in the process as a few hopped on and began to bang on the hatch trying to get in. A Safety Bot stomped towards the tank and Bubblegum quickly fired another she'll striking the big robot in the chest blowing a hole in it and caused the robot to collapse to the ground. The tank swerved to avoid a swinging hand from another Safety Bot who only succeed in knocking off some of the Gumball Robots and MONQIs off the tank's top. Some REDs flew after the tank from behind and began to fire at it with their lasers, but before they could do any real damage a dozen of the assembly line robotic arms suddenly swung out and struck the flying robots out of the air and knocked off the remaining Gumball Robots and MONQIs off the top of the tank.
"Warning! Outside force has taken control of some of the assembly line!" Said PAL.
Bubblegum smirked as she realized that the robotic arms attacking the robots must have been the work of Turquoise using her power to aid Bubblegum. More REDs flew after Bubblegum from the front only to get taken out by a blast of lightning. Lance flew by from above and began to zap some more robots. Marceline, Lucinda, and Henry flew in on the scene as well and joined in on the attack as well.
"Destroy all intruders!" Ordered Master Safety Bot as he pulled out a enormous firefighter's ax and stomped forward to engage the enemy.
"Engaging all factory defenses! Battle mode engaged" Said PAL as his normal white face turned into a menacing squared red one with green eyes and horns.
Bubblegum fired a few shells taking out a few more Safety Bots, before the robotic arms of another assembly line shot out and grabbed the tank lifting it into the air. The Master Safety Bot stomped towards the tank raising his ax in the air only to get blasted with a mix of lightning and water that sent him reeling back. The arms holding the tank suddenly let go before they were ripped off of the assembly line and hurled at some robots smashing them to bits. Turquoise floated above one assembly line as she pulled out her blaster and blasted some REDs to bits.
"You will pay for the damage you caused!" Yelled PAL as a few laser turrets popped out and began firing at the heroes.
Turquoise pulled out her swords and sliced the turrets to bits before grabbing them with her powers and sent them crashing into some assembly lines causing more chaos. Bubblegum blasted some screens and a couple more Safety Bots before her tank was grabbed and lifted into the air by the Master Safety Bot who tore the top of the tank open with his ax and glared down at Bubblegum.
"Bubblegum found! Commence with destruction!" Said Master Bot.
"I am your creator Master Safety Bot! I order you to stand down and release me!" Yelled Bubblegum.
"Negatory. This unit as well as all units in this factory now serve Emperor Gumbald. You no longer have any authority." Said Master Safety Bot.
"Figures." Said Bubblegum as she fired a laser right into Master Safety Bot's right eye destroying it and causing the big robot to reel back and drop the tank to the ground.
Bubblegum flew out of the remains of the tank before it crashed to the ground. Master Safety Bot recovered quickly and swung his ax at Bubblegum, who just barely dodged it. Bubblegum fired some more lasers at Master Safety Bot, but they only struck his chest area and did little damage as his freehand shot towards Bubblegum and attempted to grab her. The candy woman almost got grabbed and crushed by the hand, but Lance flew in and knocked Bubblegum out of the way and got grabbed instead.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Shouted Lance as the massive hand squeezed down tightly upon him.
"Lance!" Cried Bubblegum in shock.
Master Safety Bot lifted Lance up to his face.
"You are Lance the mutant husband of Marceline the Vampire Queen. You have caused a great deal of trouble to Gumbaldia and my master. For those crimes you be executed." Said Master Safety Bot as he began to squeeze Lance even tighter.
Lance screamed some more as there was a loud cracking sound from some of his bones breaking from the force of the squeeze. The mutant struggled as he managed to get one arm free and point it at the exposed hole in Master Safety Bot's face where his eye had been.
"The one dying here is you, you over sized ugly tin can!" Yelled Lance as he fired a powerful blast of lightning into the hole!
"Rrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Screeched Master Safety Bot as the lightning struck his robotic brain and fried all his circuits!
Master Safety Bot spasmed around a few seconds before he fell onto his back with a thunderous crash. Bubblegum stared down at the down form of Master Safety Bot as his hand unclenched and Lance rolled out to it onto the floor his right leg twisted and brokered along with his left arm as blood stains spread across his clothes.
"No..." Said Bubblegum in shock.
"Lance!" Screamed Marceline as she sliced through some robots and flew to her husband's side.
The other heroes quickly fought off the robots keeping them at bay as best they could as they joined Marceline and Lance's side.
"It's...going be ok Lance. We're going to get you out of here and back to Sanctuary to get fixed up and you'll be as good as new." Said Marceline cradling Lance in her lap.
Lance looked up at Marceline with a weak smile on his face as some blood dripped from his mouth.
"Not...this time. I don't think I'll last that long." Said Lance.
"I can bite you and turn you into a vampire." Said Marceline.
"I think...I lost too much blood and took too much internal damage for even that to work." Said Lance.
"No...I refuse to let you die! We've been through so much!" Cried Marceline as her eyes began to water.
"I...know. Being married to you was the best thing...that's ever happened to me. I don't regret a single moment being with you." Said Lance.
"We need to get going those bombs will go off soon." Said Chicle with a bit of urgency.
"You...and the others need to get out of here Marceline. I'll stay...and cover you and make sure every last creep in this factory gets...taken out." Said Lance.
"You always did want to go out in a blaze of glory." Said Henry.
"Seems like the perfect...place to do it." Said Lance as Marceline helped him stand up on his good leg.
"Is...there anything you want me to tell the kids?" Asked Marceline.
"Tell them I...love them...and I'll be watching over them and you from above." Said Lance.
"I will. I love...you Lance." Said Marceline.
"I love you...too Marceline."
The two shared one last kiss and then Lance turned his attention to the robots and he unleashed a mighty blast of lightning that destroyed dozens of them in one shot from his good hand. Lucinda grabbed Marceline and flew her away from the scene followed by the others. Lance unleashed one powerful blast of lightning after another as his wife and allies exited the factory.
"You're resistance is futile! What can you possibly hope to accomplish by yourself?" Said PAL.
"Well I'm making one hell of a distraction to make sure the others get away and while you've all been focused on me and the others the bombs we planted should be going off pretty soon taking this whole place down!" Grinned Lance.
"What?! Find those bombs! Evacuate the factory!" Screamed PAL with a look a fear on his digital face.
"Too late...you digital dummy!" Laughed Lance as he blasted several of the screens with lightning blowing them up.
The timers reached zero and the bombs started going off around the factory destroying the robots and the assembly line in the process. PAL desperately tried to get his digital form out of the factory computer and send it to the palace, but it was too late for him.
"Aaaaaaaaaaa!" Screamed PAL as the console that held him was destroyed in a explosion.
Lance just smirked and closed his eyes as he was soon enveloped in a wall of flames and died.
Outside the factory, Bubblegum, Marceline, and the others looked on as the factory blew to pieces and a few missiles shot out from the remains and struck a few buildings in Gumbaldia destroying them in the process and taking out some soldiers in the process. Bubblegum looked over at Marceline who had rears in her eyes as she looked at the destroyed factory clenching her fists. The vampire turned to Bubblegum.
"Tell...me honestly. Did my husband's death give us a chance against Gumbald and his army?" Said Marceline.
Bubblegum looked Marceline in the eye and spoke.
"It did and I will make sure that his death wasn't in vain."
"Good...enough." Said Marceline as she looked away.
The group headed back to Sanctuary with a big victory as well as their first casualty. Bubblegum had a feeling that many more friends and allies would die before she returned to her time, but hopefully it would all be worth and she could undo it all. The Candy Elemental said a little prayer to Sugarey and the Cosmic Owl for guidance and victory hoping that everything would work out in the end for the sake of the future.
To be continued.
Glossary
Codename Kids Next Door: King Two-Tons-of-Candy