The Hand of Fate by Dylan Rinald Hunter, Exile, Blitz, Colleen, Master (c) WB Dylan, Mike, Alan (c) Dylan Rinald Cricket (c) Emma Brown Jeff (c) William Cooper Alethia (c) Kylen Miles Dervish (c) Casey Johnson DJ (c) Jake Williams Star (c) Kathrine Gore Dawn (c) Dianne L. Scene: RRMC. Many Rovers are gathered together for an important mission briefing. MASTER: Rovers, this mission is indeed a serious one. HUNTER: Aren't they always? MASTER: Did you expect anything less? COLLEEN: I guess not. DERVISH: So what's the deal? MASTER: The government is currently developing top secret weaponry to be used only in case of sudden and desperate defense. CRICKET: Oh..... MASTER: I fear Parvo may have his sights set on obtaining the blueprints for the weapons, and - Alarm sounds. MASTER: Just as I thought! Rovers, you MUST race to Roche Labs in New Jersey and stop Parvo mmediately! DJ: You got it!!! JEFF: C'mon! Let's go! ALL: RIGHT!!! All race out but Dylan. Cricket stops, turns, and hurries back. CRICKET: Dylan, what's wrong? DYLAN: *grim look* I dunno. I just get this really bad feeling... CRICKET: Oh don't worry. It'll be fine. C'mon, we gotta go. DYLAN: *sighing* Okay. They run out. Scene changes to outside Roche Labs in New Jersey. People are running away like crazy as canomutants run rampid in and out of the labs. The SkyRover is seen landing, and Dervish, Star, DJ, Blitz, and Colleen leap out as it does. Naturally fighting ensues (what else? :) ). BLITZ: *chasing canomutants around, teeth gleaming* Come back here, girly dogs! Lemme give you a haircut!!! DJ: He's been getting into your Pepsi, hasn't he? STAR: Hey, s'not my fault I prefer to buy it in bulk. Hunter, Alethia, Cricket, and Exile leave the SkyRover finally and dash towards the labs, while Mike clears a path for them. MIKE: *catching breath* Whew. You guys better hurry in there already, you know. ALETHIA: In the process... HUNTER: Of what? ALETHIA: Forget it... HUNTER: Why does everybody always say that? They enter quickly, Mike following close behind. Exile freezes an oncoming canomutant and Mike pops one in the face. From the opposite end Fluffy comes charging, with a blue piece of paper in his clutches....but he's not paying attention. MIKE: *noticing* Hey he's got the plans! HUNTER: Then let's get 'em! Fluffy now notices, stops, and runs in the opposite direction. Hunter blazes after him in pursuit, and finally tackles the canomutant to the round. Alethia follows over and snatches the plans. ALETHIA: Got 'em! She is suddenly grabbed from behind by another canomutant (stealthy huh?) and she struggles to break free. MIKE: Hey! Is that how you treat a lady?! Mike flies at the cano with a hard kick to the jaw and knocks it senseless. Alethia dusts herself off. ALETHIA: Merci beaucoup. HUNTER: Merci bo-what? EXILE: Frenchski, Hunter. HUNTER: Oh yeah. Duh. Hunter takes the plans and looks them over. HUNTER: Gee, rather complicated, isn't it? VOICE: What did you expect? They all turn around and see Parvo and two canos standing there. MIKE: Back for more butt-kicking, eh Parvo? PARVO: You little brat! Now hand over those plans, or do I have to use force? ALETHIA: Forget it, tinhead. No chance. PARVO: So that's how it's going to be, is it? Fine, then.........take this! He blasts a smoke bomb on the ground and the entire hall is full of smoke, and the Rovers gasp for air. When the smoke finally clears... EXILE: Wha? Parvo went vamooski!!! ALETHIA: Well at least we... The turn to Hunter, who has a face of disbelief. HUNTER: The plans. THEY'RE GONE! MIKE: Oh man! Now what? ALETHIA: C'mon. We've got to stop them! They race out of the building and find the other Rovers waiting on the lawn in a bit of confusion. MIKE: Where'd they go? DERVISH: Parvo got away I guess. The Groomer showed up and smoke-bombed the area. HUNTER: You too? Bummer! DJ : Did you manage to save the plans? EXILE: *hanging head* Nyet. BLITZ: Oh nice going! STAR: Now what do we do? HUNTER: Nothing at the moment. We have to stop Parvo from using those plans. That's all we know. COLLEEN: Better head back to base quickly then. CRICKET: Wait a second. *looks around* Where's Dylan? STAR: Is he still in the Sky Rover? Dylan pops his head out of the Sky Rover. DYLAN: Right here. No need to worry. STAR: Everything okay? DYLAN: Yeah, I was chatting with this guy over here. A teenager pops his head out as well. TEEN: Oh. Hello. HUNTER: Who the-. DJ: What's up? DYLAN: He says he might be able to help us out. CRICKET: I hope so. HUNTER: C'mon. We gotta get going. The kid better come back with us. ALETHIA: Agreed. They all enter the SkyRover. At the door Star stops. STAR: Is something still wrong, Dyl? DYLAN: Sorta. STAR: Cricket told me. What kind of bad feeling is it anyway? I'm sure it's nothing serious. DYLAN: It's like...well...this feeling that someone is - . DERVISH: *from farther inside* Dyl. Star. Come on. Let's go. STAR: I'm sure everything will be just fine. She walks away. DYLAN: But.....*sighs and takes his seat* DERVISH: *to Star* Is Dylan okay? STAR: He's pretty worried about something. DERVISH: What about? STAR: I dunno. I've never seen him so concerned before. DERVISH: Neither have I. I mean, gee, it's not like someone's gonna die or something. STAR: He probably just needs a little rest. DERVISH: Yeah... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back at RRMC, the Rovers are seen interrogating the teenager. The Master looks on, intrigued. TEEN: So basically, some guy ran out, followed by this woman and a bunch of freaky mutant dogs. DERVISH: That we know. COLLEEN: Any mention of where they were going? TEEN: Well I hid behind some crates at the time, but I heard ---. BLITZ: Tell us already! CRICKET: *looks at Blitz* Can you BE any more impatient? BLITZ: I am not impatient!! EXILE: *under his breath* Weird boy... STAR: ANYWAY...what was that you said? TEEN: I heard something about Wyoming and such, but that's about all I could make out. DAWN: Well we know the state, but that's not very much of a lead. ALETHIA: Actually, it does make things easier. HUNTER: How's that? ALETHIA: I managed to plant a small homing device on that canomutant that grabbed me. MIKE: *smiling* Alethia, you cease to amaze me. BLITZ: But how did... ALETHIA: I have my ways. COLLEEN: Point being, we'll have to fly over Wyoming for a bit. Those blinkers have a range too short to reach here. HUNTER: Right. Maybe I can visit my mom if we have time. ALETHIA: Unlikely we will. We don't have a whole lot of time to spare. HUNTER: *snaps his fingers* Aw nuts. MIKE: *rolling his eyes* Oh brother... They all continue to talk, but something strikes Alethia as odd: Dylan's not around. She leans over to Dawn. ALETHIA: Is Dylan in his room? DAWN: I think so. He looks awful, though. ALETHIA: I'm gonna go check up on him. DAWN: I'll come too. This conversation's starting to veer off, anyway. Alethia and Dawn leave the congregation and proceed down the hallway. When they reach Dylan's room, they find the door slightly open. They near it, but Alethia gets a brief chill through her body. DAWN: *to Alethia* You okay? ALETHIA: Yeah...I guess I'm a little cold. DAWN: Oh. Well it's drafty sometimes around here. ALETHIA: Not normally. DAWN: *shrugging* That's true. They knock on the door. DYLAN: Who is it? ALETHIA: It's me, Dylan. DAWN: Me too! ALETHIA: May we come in? DYLAN: Sure. They enter the room, and they see Dylan sitting on his bed, looking a bit troubled. Alethia and Dawn sit next to him. ALETHIA: *concerned* What's the matter? You look so down. DYLAN: I'm thinking about something. DAWN: Still? What is there to think about now? ALETHIA: *putting hand on Dylan's shoulder* You really must... She stops, and the look on her face changes. Dawn is puzzled. DAWN: Ale? ALETHIA: *taking hand off of Dylan* ...His heart is full of fear. DAWN: Oh dear...*looks at Dylan* Is it about this mission? DYLAN: *biting his lip, shivering a little* Yeah... ALETHIA: It's no different than other missions, Dyl. Why are you concerned with this one all of a sudden? DYLAN: It doesn't feel the same as others. I mean, I haven't been on as many missions as you guys, and the ones I have been on were dangerous and all, but this one gives me some bad vibes. DAWN: Like how? DYLAN: Parvo has the blueprints. He may very well be able to produce the weaponry, and we may be able to still stop him, but... ALETHIA: But? DYLAN: It's just, I get this feeling that....maybe....well, something might happen... DAWN: *shakes head* Nah. Nothing's gonna happen. Everything always works out. ALETHIA: She has a point, Dyl. Things do seem to work out for us. DYLAN:...I guess you're right... Alethia and Dawn get up and walk to the door. ALETHIA: Everything will be just fine. Try and get some sleep. It'll help. She smiles, and Dylan returns it, faintly. DYLAN: Thanks. DAWN: *waving* G'night. They leave, closing the door behind them. Dylan lies down, his right hand on his chest. He still looks distraught. DYLAN: Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm just imagining things...but...why do I still feel so worried? He soon falls asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scene: The next day. We see the Sky Rover once again. Hunter is piloting, with Dawn, Alethia, Dervish, Cricket, Star, DJ, Jeff, Colleen, Blitz, Exile, Mike, and Dylan in their seats talking with each other. Alethia turns in her seat and looks at Dylan. ALETHIA: Feeling any better today, Dylan? DYLAN: I little, I guess. ALETHIA: Still worried? DYLAN: A bit, yeah. ALETHIA: Don't worry. Things will be fine. Dylan nods, then simply watches out the window. Suddenly, the radar detector goes off. COLLEEN: Looks like we're in range finally. HUNTER: That didn't take long. STAR: Well.... Hunter turns to Star for a moment and cocks an eyebrow. STAR: *rolling her eyes* ...Nevermind. HUNTER: *turning back* O-kay.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Within 20 minutes, the signal has become strongest, and the Rovers locate an odd-looking building, but clearly, the initials "GP" could be seen. HUNTER: Found it. COLLEEN: *snickering* How could you tell? HUNTER: Well it... ALL: Nevermind!!! HUNTER: *confused look* Why is it that I never get this stuff? The Sky Rover lands in a nearby forested area. All the Rovers exit and casually stand around. HUNTER: Okay now, what's the best way to get in? STAR: We could--. HUNTER: Did that before. DERVISH: Why not--. HUNTER: Nah. Too risky. All give Hunter a pressuring, yet a bit displeased look. HUNTER: I got it! Let's split up. Two groups act as distractions while the others sneak in. That always works! He smiles, then notices the others glaring at him. HUNTER: WHAT? COLLEEN: *sighing* Let's just get going, Huntey. The Rover split up into groups: Group #1 was Hunter, Colleen, and Star. Group #2 was Dervish, Jeff, and Cricket. Group #3 was Exile, DJ, and Blitz. Group #4 was Mike and Alethia. Group #5 was Dylan and Dawn. HUNTER: Okay, Groups #1 and #2 will pull away any guards around the area. Afterwards, Group #3 will enter at the east entrance, Group #4 will take the front, and Group #5 will sneak into the back. Everyone got it? All nod. Hunter smiles. HUNTER: Okay then, let's roll!! All the groups split. While the latter 3 groups wait, the first two slowly proceed to the front entrance, which is heavily guarded by at least 10 canomutants on each side of the gate (Eesh! Tight!). Being disguised as bushes, the Rovers manage to get within 40 feet of the canomutants...easily (Yeah, canomutants can be pretty gullible). HUNTER: *whispering* On three...one...two... The six Rovers jump from their foliage and make asburd faces at the canomutants. The canos finally take notice, are confused for a moment, then begin to shoot. The six split and run around the perimeter of the building. Soon, they all emerge again, pulling along tied-up canomutants. The other 7 Rovers come out from hiding and meet up with the 6. DAWN: That was quick, but how'd you guys manage to get them all tied up? COLLEEN: Brand new weapon model. Comes in handy for sheep herding too, might I say. DERVISH: Not like they were very hard to mess with anyway. Obviously these canos aren't very bright. DJ: Are they ever? They laugh a bit. STAR: You guys are up now. We'll be able to hold off any others out here, I think. DAWN: Okey dokey. Let's go. Exile, DJ, Blitz, Mike, Alethia, Dylan, and Dawn. Split into their groups and head off. COLLEEN: *to Hunter* You think we can pull this off, Hunter? HUNTER: Of course. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the east entrance, the small door is slightly open. DJ tries to open it further. DJ: *struggling* Eeeeeergh! Won't budge much. You take it, Exile. EXILE: Dokey okey comrade. Exile pulls open the door with little trouble. DJ: Thanks bud. DJ enters. Blitz turns to Exile, pouting. BLITZ: I can do that too, ya know... EXILE: Don't be weird boy. They enter. This part turns out to be the stock room. Crates of explosives, missles, and assorted weaponry are all over. Off farther are some GP troops stacking and inspecting the crates. The 3 Rovers duck behind a nearby stack. DJ: We got this far. Now what? BLITZ: I say I bite their tushies. EXILE: Too much of riskski, weird boy. DJ: He right. We don't want to set off any of these explosives. BLITZ: Why not?? Better to blow the place up, ja? DJ: *sighing, frustrated* No....maybe we should find another way. They all start to back up, but suddenly bump into something. Blitz turns around and looks up. BLITZ: Um... DJ: What now? The other two turn and look. EXILE: Oooooh boy... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the front entrance, Mike and Alethia have gone through the main gate and are now inside the complex. They tip-toe down the hall. Surprisingly, it's quiet...too quiet. ALETHIA: This is odd. MIKE: What's up? ALETHIA: The silence is disturbing. MIKE: Hmm. Yeah, that's pretty strange. Footsteps can be heard farther down. Miek and Alethia stop. MIKE: Shoot! We got trouble! ALETHIA: *looking up* I have an idea. MIKE: What's that? *looks up* Ahhhh...Nice thinking. They leap up and manage to move one of the ceiling tiles out of the way. Quickly they climb into the ceiling area, replacing the tile, but leaving a small crack. A few moments later, the footsteps stop, and Mike and Alethia can see three GP troops below, talking. TROOPER #1: Shouldn't be long now before the stuff is finished. TROOPER #2: Yeah. I feel bad about those guys who have to constantly work on them. They haven't gotten sleep for the past two days. TROOPER #3: That Parvo guy's pretty rough, if you ask me. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind. TROOPER #2: Go ahead, but I wouldn't try it. He'd probably throw you in the prison cell with those three Road Rovers. Alethia and Mike look at each other, worried. ALETHIA: Three?? That means... MIKE: DJ, Exile, and Blitz got caught. ALETHIA: We have to do something! The troopers look around. TROOPER #1: You hear something? TROOPER #3: No...you must be imagining things. TROOPER #1: yeah, you're probably right. I need some sleep. ALETHIA: *whipsering* Close one....*thinks* I have an idea. It might work. MIKE: Like what? Alethia whispers in Mike ear. Mike's eyebrows rise. MIKE: It's worth a shot. Alethia and Mike leap down in front of the troops, throwing the off guard. MIKE: *grinning* Hello there. TROOPER #2: Another one! And some kid!! ALETHIA: I have a name, you know. Two troopers swing at them, but miss. Mike knocks one down with a swift sweep kick while Alethia disables the other in an arm lock. The third trooper back away, frightened. MIKE: *looks at the frightened trooper while binding the disabled ones with rope* It's two one on now. Care to try your luck? They finish binding the two troopers and put them to the side, then they approach the third, who is slowly backing up in fear. ALETHIA: Hey, don't be so paranoid. We just want to talk with you. TROOPER #3: *sweating* Umm...ooookay... They all stop finally. Alethia steps forward. ALETHIA: Now then, what were you three saying about "stuff" being finished soon? TROOPER #3: Umm...did we say that? I don't... Mike and Alethia glare at him. TROOPER #3: Oh yeah....that stuff. Um...we meant those offensive weapons and such, you know. MIKE: Mmm hmm. Now just how close to being completed are these weapons? TROOPER #3: Uh...just about finished. I estimate an hour's time at most... ALETHIA: *to Mike* That doesn't leave much time!! *to the trooper* Listen! You said you hate Parvo, right? TROOPER #3: Well yeah, but...I work only for the money...which isn't even much... MIKE: Then help us out. If you really don't like him so much, give us a hand. TROOPER #3: But you're the enemy. ALETHIA: We both hate Parvo for one reason or another. I think that makes us allies enough in that respect. TROOPER #3: Well...*sighs* Heck, I might as well. The benefits here bite anyway. *extends a hand* Alan Cook. MIKE: *shakes hand* Mike Johnson. ALETHIA: Alethia. C'mon let's get going. ALAN: *shakes head* Won't be that easy. I do have one idea, though. MIKE: Oh? What's that? Alan pulls out a rope and hands one end to Mike and Alethia. ALAN: The hall down there is concentrated with mutants and other troopers. To get past it, it'll need to look like I captured you and I'm taking you to the prison cells. ALETHIA: Ahh, I get it. Mike and Alethia loosely wrap the rope around their wrists. ALAN: Got it? Let's go. Alan proceeds down the hall, Mike and Alethia following. He opens three sets of doors and enters the next hallway. Apparently Alan was right about the number of forces. All along the way there were canos and troopers stationed, some not even paying attention and goofing off. The three slowly continued, but Alan was stopped shorty along the way. TROOPER #4: You! Hold it! ALAN: *saluting* Yes sir! TROOPER #4: What ya doin' with that there Rover and kid? ALAN: Taking them to the prison cells, sir! Mike and Alethia look around. Some canomutants glare at them, some foaming at the mouth. A few take aim with their weapons and come closer. TROOPER #4: *waving hand* Let them be, mongrels! *to Alan* Okay then, proceed! ALAN: Yes sir! The three continue along the hallway. They come to another three-door set, and pass through. A few more halls down they come to the prison complex. A few canomutants are stationed along the walls. Alan approaches each one individually, whispering something. Each leaves its post and exits. MIKE: *confused* What just took place? ALAN: *smiling* I told them I'd handle everything from here. I've always wanted to do that...*clenches fist* Geez this feels great! ALETHIA: Very sneaky! Mike and Alethia remove their rope bondage. MIKE: So where would our friends be? ALAN: Oh yeah! Them! Sorry about that. They must be in here somewhere. ALETHIA: Let's start looking. They walk down the hall, amazed at all the prisoners locked up. Some call out to them and ask for help. PRISONER: Help! Please! I don't deserve to be in here! MIKE: Don't worry. We'll get you out of here safely. ALETHIA: So many...where could they be? DJ!! EXILE!!! BLITZ!!!! MIKE: WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?? DJ: *from afar* Alethia..? Mike..? Down here!! ALAN: C'mon!! They race down to the end of the area, and to their left are DJ, Exile, and Blitz in a cell. DJ: How'd you guys get here?? MIKE: A little help from our friend here. He points to Alan. He smiles and waves. ALAN: Alan Cook. Nice to meet you. BLITZ: But he works for Parvo! Are you nuts? ALETHIA: Not really. We'll explain later. He's on our side now. EXILE: Dokey okey, Alethia. Can we get outski? ALAN: Sure. We'll just use the same trick as before. ALETHIA: *to Mike* I'm worried about Dylan and Dawn. MIKE: Me too. DJ: What? You haven't seen them? ALETHIA: No we haven't. I hope they're okay. MIKE: He have to go find them. We only have...*checks his watch*...Dang! Parvo might be finishing those weapons soon, if Alan's estimate was right. BLITZ: Just get us out of here first! EXILE: Weird boy... BLITZ: Hey! ALAN: *handing Mike the keys* You guys get them out. ALETHIA: What will you do? ALAN: If there's two of you still around, I'll go find them for you. I have the best chance. MIKE: He has a point. DJ: Okay then, we'll get reinforcements while you do that. ALAN: Right! Man I've always wanted to be the good guy! ALETHIA: Let's go! ALAN: *handing Alethia a walkie-talkie* Here. We'll communicate this way. ALETHIA: *nods* Okay then. Alan walks to the nearby door and leaves. Mike opens the prison cell and DJ, Exile, and Blitz come out, relieved. MIKE: We haven't much time. DJ: How do we get back? ALETHIA: Try the ceiling. She moves a tile out of the way again. BLITZ: I knew that. ALETHIA: Comes in handy. She smiles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dylan and Dawn had managed to slip in at the back entrance (oddly enough, no guards). While the others had been busy, they were sneaking around the dimly lit halls, searching for a way to reach the technology lab while knocking some troopers out cold, of course. 15 minutes later... DAWN: This is tiring. DYLAN: Yeah. He sees a door marked "TECH LAB - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!". DYLAN: Well... DAWN: At least we found it, and easily, might I add. DYLAN: Shall we? DAWN: *nodding* We shall. She kicks down the door, and three workers stop their work, startled. DAWN: Hold it right there!! WORKER #1: Wha?? WORKER #2: Road Rovers!! The workers back up, shuddering. WORKER #3: Please don't hurt us....please.... DYLAN: We're not going to. WORKER #1: Wha...what do you want from us? DAWN: Where are the weapon plans? WORKER #2: R..rright here..... He hands Dawn the plans cautiously. DAWN: That was easy. How about the weapons? WORKER #3: Um....they're not here. DYLAN: What do you mean they're not here? WORKER #1: Wwwell.....well, you see,....it's actually one big weapon. DAWN: One big one? WORKER #2: Y..yes...one big one. DYLAN: *worried* Where is it then? WORKER #3: It's being shown to General Parvo at this moment for final evaluation. DAWN: Shoot! We have to hurry and stop them! DYLAN: Right, but we might be too late. DAWN: Dylan? Are you still worried? DYLAN: .....Yeah.... WORKER #2: We didn't want to build it, but if we hadn't Parvo would've tortured us to death. DAWN: Figures. Look, just get out of here. This situation is too dangerous now. The workers nods, then they run out past Dawn and Dylan. DYLAN: Oh geez... DAWN: C'mon. We gotta go! DYLAN: Yeah...you're right. DAWN: I think we can go this way. She rushes to a door in the back. Opening it, she sees it leads down another hall. She motions for Dylan to follow, and both go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Alan is walking through each sector of the complex, looking for Dylan and Dawn. Five minutes have passed since last seeing him. ALAN: Where in the world could those two Rovers be? *stops* Why'd Parvo have to make this place so big anyway? He opens a door, but before he can walk through, he bumps into an odd figure, who has fallen to the ground. ALAN: Huh? Are you... Dawn hurries off the floor and backs away quickly. DAWN: *straight-faced* And you are? ALAN: You're Dawn right? DAWN: *poised* Yeah....so? ALAN: Hang on! I'm on your side. DAWN: Oh? And just how do we know that? ALAN: I offered to look for you and some Dylan guy. Alethia, Mike, Ex--. DAWN: You know them? Dylan comes up from behind Dawn. DYLAN: Wha? ALAN: You're Dylan, right? DYLAN: Um...yeah. Who are you? ALAN: I'm Alan Cook. Don't let the uniform fool you. Your friend Alethia convinced me to help you guys. Dawn relaxes. DAWN: Okay, I believe you. Now that we've met, we gotta get going. ALAN: *checking his watch* Dang, you're right about that! We've only got--. DYLAN: A few minutes. ALAN: What? You mean... DAWN: The weapon's complete. Parvo's probably got it right now. ALAN: Then what are we waiting around here for?! Let's move! Alan turns around, and suddenly all show a look of shock. A trooper entered the area and spotted the three. TROOPER #5: HEY YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! He whips out a communicator. TROOPER #5: Intruders in Sector 6!!! Intruders!!!! ALAN: RUN FOR IT!!!!! The three dash towards the trooper, knock him out of the way, and race on through. Sirens go off and red alert light flash. DAWN: Great! Just great! We really needed this! ALAN: Race on through!! We haven't any time to stop!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By now it has become dark outside. The other Rovers have been devising a plan to help invade, but they notice the alarms going off. COLLEEN: Oh dear! Trouble! DJ: They must've gotten caught! CRICKET: Well, what're we waiting around for? HUNTER: We have to come up with a strategy first. STAR: Hunter, there's no time for that!!! ALETHIA: Besides, we might be out of time! DERVISH: For what? MIKE: The weapons! C'mon! I'm going in! Mike races off towards the building. EXILE: Comrade! Waitski! Exile follows. COLLEEN: Huntey! Now! HUNTER: *grumbling* Fine, fine. Forget the plan. Let's go, Rovers! All the other Rovers follow Mike's lead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Central Operations Facility, Parvo, the Groomer, a few canomutants, and some troopers look over the weapon. It is approximately 15 feet high, 40 feet long, and 10 feet wide. It is a combination of a missle launcher, and giant laser, and a vending machine (pretty odd-looking to me). PARVO: So what exactly does it do? COMMANDER: General Parvo sir, it has the capability to destroy small buildings in a single blow. PARVO: And? COMMANDER: And that's all, sir. GROOMER: They probably misread the directions. PARVO: *sighing* No matter. It still has enough destructive power for me. Suddenly a trooper rushes in. TROOPER #6: General sir! PARVO: What now? TROOPER #6: Road Rovers have been spotted in Sector 6, sir! They're heading this way! GROOMER: They never mind their own business, General. PARVO: *disgusted* Take all security measures! Do not let them get in here! TROOPER #6: Yes sir! He takes off. PARVO: It's time we see how this baby works. Charge up the....the... GROOMER: What do you call it, General? PARVO: ....The Disruptor! GROOMER: I LOVE it when you come up with such interesting names. She twirls his mustache. Parvo chuckles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Alan, Dylan, and Dawn are backed up against a wall only about 50 yards from the Central Operations Facility. In front of them are 25 troopers and canomutants, poised and ready to fire. ALAN: We're in trouble... DAWN: Um, yeah. Pretty much. DYLAN: Some help would be nice right about now. MAJOR: Ready.....aim... Suddenly the door bext to Dawn blasts open, and Hunter and Blitz emerge, blasters in hand. They fire constant streams of tennis balls at the enemy. ALAN: Well!! We got what we asked for! The other Rovers enter and add to the fire power. The troopers and canomutants become overwhelmed. MAJOR: Retreat! Retreat, I say! He and the others run off screaming and yelling. HUNTER: *putting his blaster down* That wasn't so hard. BLITZ: Run you little boys and girlies! Run like the sissies you are! COLLEEN: How ironic... ALETHIA: You three okay? DYLAN: Thanks to you guys. DAWN: Yeah. ALAN: Parvo's probably in the Central Operations Facility. C'mon, it's not far from here! Alan takes off in the right direction. The others follow. They soon reach a set of doors (lotsa doors here, huh?). ALAN: In here! He throws open the doors and... PARVO: Road Rovers!!! A bunch of canomutants ready their guns. The group stops dead in their tracks. Alan takes a step forward. The canos move in closer. PARVO: Well well well. Seems one of my own men is a Rover sympathizer. ALAN: What's it to you, tinhead? PARVO: Why if it isn't Alan Cook. As I recall, you've been very reluctant in taking my orders. I should've disposed of you long ago. ALAN: Yeah? Well you didn't, and you won't! PARVO: Quite a mouth you have there. Well then why don't you just watch with the Road Rovers just how powerful my Disruptor is! HUNTER: Come again? DAWN: *to Dervish* I don't like the look of this. DERVISH: If we move... The ceiling opens up. 3,000 feet in the air they can make out an hovering craft, motionless. PARVO: I had one of my jets be used as a target for our little demonstration. Groomer, lock on top the target! GROOMER: Yes General! She turns on the auto-lock mechanism on the Disruptor, and it aims at the craft above. ALETHIA: Uh oh... DJ: That's not even the word. PARVO: FIRE!!!!!!!! The Disruptor charges and fires a pulsating blast of light at the craft. In seconds the craft explodes in a flash of flames, light, and combusted matter. All look on in amazement. PARVO: *laughing insanely* I just love total destruction!!! Silence.....then... COLLEEN: NOW!!!!! The Rovers fly at the preoccupied canomutants. A giant melee ensues. Parvo and the Groomer are thrown off guard. PARVO: Stop them, you idiots! Stop them! *turning to 5 other canos* Get this weapon out of here and load it onto the ship! GROOMER: Let's let them to their own devices, General! It's safer elsewhere. PARVO: You're right. They start to leave quickly. Alan manages to break from the fighting. ALAN: PARVO!!! I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU!!! He grabs a blaster from the floor and fires. The shot hits Parvo in the leg. He falls. PARVO: *struggling* Curse you, Cook! I'll get you for this!! ALAN: Yeah right you will!!! He blasts the canomutants by the Disruptor, and they run away in fear. He takes aim at Parvo again, but the blaster is now out of power. ALAN: Shoot!!! PARVO: My Disruptor!! GROOMER: Forget the stupid thing, General! You can always make another! The Groomer and another canomutant help carry Parvo away. When they reach the doorway, the Groomer pulls out a sort of remote and pushes a button on it, but her thumb lands on nother one at the same instant. GROOMER: So long Road Rovers!! Parvo, the Groomer, and a few canomutants exit. All stop fighting. SPEAKERS: SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED!!! COMPLEX WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 5 MINUTES!!! AUTO-TARGET MECHANISM ACTIVATED!!! TARGET: STATUE OF LIBERTY. FIRE IN 4 MINUTES 45 SECONDS!!! The canomutants and troopers run frantically all over and dash out the doors. The Rovers stand in confusion. HUNTER: This place is gonna blow! CRICKET: Let's get out of here!! MIKE: There are still prisoners in the prison complex! We have to save them first! ALETHIA: That's right! ALAN: Come on! I know a shortcut there! HUNTER: Let's get out of here, Rovers! Alan leads the group down a series of hallways and into the prison complex once again. Mike whips out the keys and hands one to a few others. >>>>> 3 MINUTES TO DETONATION!!! <<<<< MIKE: Open them as fast as you can! STAR: Naturally! The key-equipped Rovers set about opening the cells. Prisoners run out happily. MIKE: Told ya we'd be back! ALAN: *to the prisoners* Everyone!!! We have little time and must get out of here quickly!! Follow me!! The prisoners and Rovers follow Alan down a few more halls and to the front entrance. ALAN: Everyone get as far away as you can from this place, but stay together as a group!! All race out of the complex frantically. Dylan stops suddenly. DYLAN: WAIT!!!! ALETHIA: What?? DYLAN: That weapon is set to blow up the Statue of Liberty!! We have to stop it!! He races back down the hall. DAWN: Dylan! Where are you going?? DYLAN: I'm gonna stop that thing no matter what!!! DAWN: But... Alethia pauses for a moment, looks down for a few seconds, then abruptly raises her head, wide-eyed and shaking a bit. ALETHIA: OH MY...!!!! DYLAN!!!!! STOOOOOOPPPP!!!!!!!!!!! DAWN: Ale? DJ: Alethia! Dawn! C'mon! Hurry up! He pulls Dawn away in a hurry. DAWN: Alethia! We gotta go! Alethia runs off with them, looking back. >>>>> 1 MINUTE UNTIL DETONATION!!!! <<<<< ALETHIA: I should've figured it out before... DAWN: What are you talking about? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dylan has made his way back to the Central Operations Facility. The Disruptor is set to fire shortly and is charging its homing laser. DYLAN: *approaching the setting panel* Gotta stop this sucker now! He punches a bunch of buttons. No response. DYLAN: Dang it! >>>>> 30 SECONDS TO DETONATION!!!!!! <<<<< DYLAN: No choice but to scrap this thing! He kicks open the control panel and finds the power cables inside. He pulls on them as hard as he can. DYLAN: Come on!! COME ON!!!!! Finally the cords snap, and both the unit and the Disruptor power down. DYLAN: GOT IT!!!! He grabs a nearby pipe and smashes the Disruptor as much as possible. DYLAN: There!!! He runs to a nearby door, but it won't open... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>>>> 15 SECONDS TO DETONATION!!!!!! <<<<< Hunter is taking final roll call near the Sky Rover. HUNTER: Everyone here? ALETHIA: No!!! HUNTER: *startled* What? JEFF: She's right! Where's Dylan? DJ: Yeah! Where is the dude? DAWN: He's still in there!!!! ALL: WHAT????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suddenly...the complex explodes in a giant blaze of fire!!!! All shield their eyes from the light and heat of the blast. DAWN: DYLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!!!!!!!!! DJ: ..... COLLEEN: *holding on to Hunter* He's...... DERVISH: ...Don't even say it.... BLITZ: *faint smile* Dead. Cricket turns to Blitz, and manages to see the smile. She approaches him. CRICKET: Excuse me?! BLITZ: What? CRICKET: What's with that bit of a smile?! BLITZ: What smile?! CRICKET: *glaring, upset* You don't care, do you? BLITZ: And what if I didn't? Without warning, Cricket delivers a hard smack to Blitz's face! CRICKET: I can't believe you!!! You're so heartless!!! Blitz rubs his face, then walks off and into the Sky Rover. HUNTER: Forget him. Cricket turns to Dawn. She is crying on DJ's shoulder, and he tries his best to comfort her. Tears run down Cricket's face, and she then turns to Alethia, who is sitting on the ground with her head in her hands. She kneels down by Alethia. CRICKET: *sniffling* We'll pull through.... ALETHIA: *crying* But... Cricket puts her hand on Alethia's shoulder. They all continue to look off at the blaze, speechless and with heavy hearts... ~~~TO BE CONTINUED~~~