Samurai Pizza Cats HITTING TOWN Author: G.A. Wildcat Alrighty, back to normal! Let's see what's going on today! The Animal Legion of Doom is fully recovered and plans another heinous plot: a laser designed to crack open the official Weapons Vault of the Shoguns. All in a day's work for the Pizza Cats....or IS it?....You'll also find out just where in the world Seymour got that device that diverted the course of the comet! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find out! Close your eyes, now! Alright, alright. You can open your eyes now.....No, I didn't say it was in 3-D, Princess! Yes, you're in this story! Now get out of here if you're not going to keep quiet! Long-eared, loud-mouthed, bratty piece of royalty.... -------------------- (The story opens in a jet airliner, flying several miles above the landscape. Everything seems to be perfect; the plane is stock-full of passengers, most of them tourists coming to visit Little Tokyo just for the sake of visiting it. Then, above the plane, near the engines, we see a lone figure: Quarter.) Quarter: (under his breath) Go for it! (There are several bright sparks; then a square panel blows off the top of the airplane and drifts away. Blackout pokes his head through the hole.) Blackout: Alright, boss! Come on before the stewardesses return! They're already after me for scarfing up all the peanuts! Quarter: (climbs inside, into a luggage room) I hope you cracked open the shell, first. Blackout: I cracked open them all, Quarter. They taste a whole lot better that way. (licks his lips) Quarter: (annoyed) Not the food, Blackout. The shell protecting what we came here for. Blackout: (winces) Yes. Caner's laser beam almost bounced off and hit ME. (points toward his tail) See? Quarter: (nods) Yes. I can use our new-found wealth from Plan B to help cover that. Now, let's grab the sapphire and hit it. (Quarter and Blackout join Flasher, Flashdog, and Caner in the back, with the sapphire) Quarter: (grins) All set, now? Then let's blow this joint! (The 5 of them run out through the escape hatch, use one of the jet's wings as a catapult, launching them onto a nearby cliff. Flashdog almost drops the sapphire, but manages to hold on to it.) Quarter: 2....1.... Flashdog: The joys of being evil.... Flasher: ...are too numerous to count.... Quarter: (whispers) Fire! Caner: (irritable) ....so shut your mouth. Blackout and Caner: HI-YAH! (Blackout launches one of his Spheres of Twilight at an engine. As backup, a small missile launches from Caner's cane, hitting another engine. Inside, as the explosions are occuring, the crowd and the pilots are thrown into a state of panic.) Pilot: (over intercom) I've good news and bad news, folks. The good news is, we'll be hitting town 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Co-pilot: (yells) WHAT'S THE BAD NEWS? Passengers: YEAH! WHAT'S THE BAD NEWS?! Pilot: (looks out the viewport) The bad news is, we'll be hitting town! * (The plane continues to plummet towards the ground. While the exchange listed above takes place, we see the residental area of Little Tokyo, as well as the Rad-Cats' headquarters. The main door on the house opens, and a female Siamese cat walks outside, wearing a yellow and red basketball uniform and spinning a Frisbee on one finger.) Chico: (shouts out a window) You sure you don't want us to come, Alice? We'll be showing up at the park in an hour anyway to throw Teasy's baseball around! Alice: (shakes her head) Don't bother. I need to meet up with an old acquaintance of mine that I met some years back. Chico: Suit yourself. (closes the window) (About a few seconds later, we see Polly and Francine out at the park, wearing their old school uniforms out of nostalgia. [Which still fit, surprisingly enough!]) Polly: I have to say, Francine....that new Garlic Jr. Pizza ** you introduced sure helped us rake in the cash! Francine: (smiles) Earning money is one of my strong suits. Whoever said I wasn't good at that has never seen my bank account. Polly: (turns her head to Francine) You know, it's been 2 full months since the last attack from Quarter and his crew. Do you think something's up? Francine: How should I know? You're the one that's been fighting him, not me. Polly: That reminds me. You looking forward to joining us in the fight? Francine: DO I, POLLY? I've been looking forward to helping you guys out ever since Curtis and the others brought in that new armor! When I first saw it, I absolutely FREAKED out. I've never seen armor like that in my whole career! Polly: (laughs) Tell me about it. If I remember correctly, you almost knocked Curtis out cold. That's how excited you were! Loud Voice: MISS-MONEY-MISS-MONEY-MISS-MONEYYYYYY! Francine: (puzzled) Huh? (turns her head towards the opposite end of the park) Is that who I think it is? (The two of them spot an approaching figure. As the figure gets closer to them....) Francine: (grins) Well, what do you know? It's Alice Melika! Haven't seen her for 3 years! Polly: You mean Teasy's older sister? Francine: (nods) That too, but she's an old schoolmate of mine! Polly: .....! That explains everything swell! Why is she calling you "Miss-Money" if she hasn't seen you in years? Francine: (grins again) I was just as eager to earn money as a senior in school as I am now. (Alice reaches Francine) Alice: Good to see you again! How've you been? Francine: Just fine, thanks! I have myself a job as manager at the Pizza Cats Pizzeria, and it's still going strong. Alice: I just graduated from Little Tokyo High last summer. Thanks to me, the varsity basketball team has won the title 3 straight years! How's that for straight shooting? Even set a high school record with 82 points during this one game! Polly: Hold on a second. If you're Alice Melika, and the Melikas lived in America, then what are you doing attending school in Little Tokyo? Alice: (grins, and spins the Frisbee again) I got sent here as a PERMENANT foreign exchange student. I was a freshman the year Francine graduated from----- (In an instant, and in a blaze of black, Ambush Cat leaps onto the scene, snatches the Frisbee in his jaws, and dashes off) Alice: (yells) Hey! That idiot just stole my frisbee! Polly: (growls) That's Ambush Cat for you! After him! (follows Alice towards Ambush Cat) Francine: (screams) HEY, WAIT FOR ME! (follows them) (Ambush Cat dashes clear out of the park and runs as fast as he can back towards the Rad-Cats' home, with Francine, Polly, and Alice fast on his heels) Alice: (reaches out) ALMOST THERE!....(grabs Ambush Cat's tail) Gotcha! (With a roar, the severely damaged aforementioned jet comes hurtling down into the park and collides into the spot where the three were conversing just seconds earlier. Everyone grabs something to hold on to as the ground shakes momentarily, then quiets down) Polly: (quietly) So THAT was it! (winces) Fran, let go of my tail. It's starting to hurt. Alice: That, and that's not the best place to grab anyone, let alone a cat. (lets go of Ambush Cat) Francine: (trembles) Sorry. (lets go) Polly: (fearful) (looks at AC) Ambush Cat: (drops the Frisbee) I wonder if there's any survivors. I'm going back to---- (He gets cut off in mid-sentence as the rear of the jet detonates, enveloping the entire plane in an explosive fireball) Ambush Cat: So much for that. Guess now I'll get Curtis to loose the Rad-Cats on the case. That detonation was TIMED! That was why it delayed after the plane hit the ground in order to take out anyone who was watching! Francine: (shakes) I don't know, but I'm too scared to hang around here anymore! (runs off, shouting) SPEEDY! GUIDO! GOOD BIRD! SOMEONE, PLEASE! Alice: She may be good at earning money, but she's one real scaredy-cat! Polly: No kidding. Let's get out of here. I DON'T think we'll want to be around for the aftermath! (grabs Alice's arm and runs off, while Ambush Cat blitzes in the other direction) (Later on, inside the palace, the Council, the Emperor, and Princess Violet have gathered together in the main room.) Big Al: (reading off an agenda) First item of business: the airplane that crashed in Little Tokyo Park earlier today. Does anyone know what happened to it? Hippo: The rear of the jet exploded and took out just about everyone that was aboard. The only ones that escaped were 5 individuals who were last seen running out of the city. Question is, WHY? Vi: Maybe to make it home safe? Koala: My sentiments exactly, your Highness. Vi: (shakes it off) Now that we've gotten that settled, why don't we move on to some real business? Al: The discussion of Empress Frieda's return and of your turning 20 will have to come later, your Highness. We still need to solve the mystery of how the plane actually went down so that we can prevent it from happening again in the future. Vi: Couldn't we talk about that LATER?? We have other stuff to talk about that's much more important than a stupid jet crash! Al: (protests) Personally, Princess, I don't see what could be more important than figuring out the mysterious deaths of several hundred people! Who knows? This could spark a series of plane crashes in the area and an increase in the death rate! Vi: Let's just talk about something else, ok? I have a lot of stuff to do today that I want to get done! For example, that carrot cake I've been meaning to make for the last month..... Voice: That's a first. (A sword blade tears its way down the curtain behind Vi and Fred, causing the halves to fly apart. Curtis is standing there with Shape-Shifter in one hand, and he does not look like a happy cat. [Imagine the Imperial March from "Empire Strikes Back" for this scene. ^_^) Vi: (indignant) You're late, mister. Curtis: (growls) Don't call me that again, Highness-ness, or I won't show up at Council meetings, PERIOD! Fred: Fa-raud! FRED!!! Curtis: (walks over to the door, then turns around and faces them) Whatever, Fred. Anyway, Vi, you've been paying way too much attention to yourself and less attention to outside events. That's really not behavior becoming a Princess. A real Princess cares about her people--- Vi: I do! Curtis: (hisses) Shut up. I'm not finished. Vi: (anger boiling; sits up) You WILL be, if you say that to me one more time, Grand Admiral! Curtis: (patience wearing thin) That to me one more time, Grand Admiral. Now, BE QUIET AND PAY ATTENTION. Vi: (sits back down reluctantly, an exasparated look on her face) Oh, all right. But make it snappy. Curtis: I've been working on finding a way to reduce your overall anger over insignificant subjects. Al told me once how you tried to send the floor to Prisoner Island. (From the "Terror of Prisoner Island" episode) Does not really sound like a person in charge, if you get my drift; only a person who constantly gets high blood pressure. Besides, if you actually sent the floor to Prisoner Island, you'd get one floor with a ceiling twice as high as the floor after. Think about it! Vi: (pauses) Uh.... Curtis: Okay, that's enough thinking. My point is that you really have to focus on controlling your anger. One of these days, you're going to give yourself a heart attack if you keep this up! And if you do, what will become of the line of heritage that has existed in Little Tokyo since it first became something resembling a city? A baseball stadium in America once went down in flames over one silly act of anger! 2 World Wars have been started over anger and violence: first the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, and then Hitler's invasion of Poland! 4 U.S. Presidents were killed out of anger! For all I know, your death could trigger an international holocaust strong enough to cause chaos over the entire Earth! Vi: (stands up) Enough of this. I don't really have to do what you say, you know. I could send you to Extras Island and be done with it, and I wouldn't have to worry about you anymore. Also, I wouldn't have to listen to your insipid use of complex language. Curtis: (nods) True. Unfortunately, it wouldn't really gain you anything. (Shape-Shifter morphs into a golf club driver) Except for say, maybe, a bruised face. If you recall correctly, the last time you tried to do that, no one got within 6 inches of me without getting slammed. (As he speaks, we see a flashback from 7 weeks before. Curtis is sitting next to Princess Vi in front of Curtis's television in the Palace, playing the old Nintendo game "Double Dribble". Out a window, the sun is hiding behind some clouds, but no sign of rain yet) Curtis: (voiceover) All this over a simple little basketball game. I had forgotten to tell you that I was pretty good at that game. I had plenty of practice playing my older brothers back home when I was little, who beat me repeatedly day in and day out. All this practice came in handy when I played against you! (We get a close-up of the screen. We get a slow-motion view of a basketball player dunking the ball.) Curtis: That makes 26 points with 2 minutes to go in the first quarter. So far. Vi: (livid) 6 3-pointers, 1 regular jump shot and 3 dunks, while I only have 17 points! How come you keep on making those shots?? Curtis: (smiles) Because I do. (winks) Vi: (unleashes her anger) AL!!! Curtis: (voiceover; laughs) It was kind of amusing that this was pretty much the same you treated the architect of the palace! Vi: (voiceover) That was different. You beat me at "Double Dribble", and Beam beat me at a pinball machine as well as 2 other games! [The pinball part I threw in myself; the game part came from "The Terror of Prisoner Island". Again.] Curtis: (voiceover) True. True. (Big Al throws open the door and walks up to Curtis, a snarl framed on his face and a growl escaping his jaws. Curtis looks up at him with the expression that you would normally expect from a cat: >~_~<) Curtis: (calmly) Yes, Al? Al: (angrily) Let the Princess win for once, Curtis. Curtis: Yeah. I'll let you breathe oxygen. Al: Did you hear a word that I just said to you? Curtis: (cups his left hand near his ear) Huh? Al: (shouts out a door) GUARDS! (The whole of Palace security, a hundred guards in all, come together in the adjoining room. Curtis eyes this with delight) Curtis: What's the matter? Can't take a joke? (grins and takes out his sword) Quick Boomerang, activate! *** (his sword morphs into a medium-sized purple energy boomerang) Dish them out, dish them in! (throws his boomerang and leaps over the guards) (Upon seeing this, everyone takes out their weapons and charges towards him. Curtis's plan works, though; the boomerang flies into them and clears a long path) Curtis: (voiceover) After I used my Rolling Sphere **** to keep the guards off me and to explain the events that had happened, the security guards and I....(fade to present time).....declared a ceasefire. (Violet clenches both hands, but doesn't say anything. The Council follows likewise) Curtis: I tolerate your presence, your Royal Worship, but if I don't get the respect and dignity I deserve, then that's it. I could just as easily abandon Little Tokyo and let Quarter and his marauding pirates take over the city and destroy the Samurai Pizza Cats. (Shape-Shifter turns back to normal) However, I'm not going to, because I made a commitment back when I was 10 to do my best to protect the citizens of this planet from the forces of evil. Whether I like it or not, that includes you. And it doesn't matter if you're 5 years older than me, either; I still desire respect. (under his breath) Brat. (gestures with his left hand towards a door and calls out) Commander Carlos Cosmos, will you come in, please? (Carlos opens the door and walks in, shutting the door behind him) Carlos: Yeah, Curtis? Sea Lion: (angrily) ANOTHER blasted civili---- Curtis: (yells) BE QUIET, OR IT'S A ONE-WAY TICKET TO NORTH DAKOTA!! (The Council members are startled silent by this outburst) Curtis: (glares at the Council, then turns back to Carlos) Would you mind telling them about that one incident that happened 1 year ago in Macedonia? Carlos: Sure. Not long after I had first joined him, I did something that I had no right to do. I forget what it was, though. However, after I did it, Curtis blew a fuse, screamed in my face, and told me he was going to boot me clear out off the planet. Funny thing was, a power-hungry business tycoon had set up his headquarters in Macedonia, and I made it my business to track him down and defeat him. But an hour later, there I was, trapped by a group of soldiers, a fractured ankle slowing my process to the exit, when the last person I had expected to show up came along: Curtis! He fought off the soldiers and got me to safety, swatting aside those things he had said to me earlier. And now....(smiles)....here I am. Curtis: (turns to Violet) Do you get my point now, Princess? (No answer) Curtis: (blinks in disbelief) Do I see what I think I see? (Violet is staring straight at Carlos's face, her expression filled with happiness. Carlos is staring back, taking it in with a grin. After a few moments, Carlos winks, and Vi sighs deeply.) Elephant: Well, what do you know! Al: I forgot to mention, Curtis; Vi's in love with Carlos. Curtis: (snickers) Amazing what love can do to an ignorant child! Right, your Majesty? Fred: (nods, and spins a fan on one finger) Fred. Carlos: You got that, Vi? Think you're up to a self-control session? Vi: (snaps out of it, thinks for a moment, then nods) I suppose. Now, about getting a snack? Carlos: (walks away with Vi) Sure. How about splitting that leftover taco....? Curtis: (turns to the Council) Anyway, I believe we were discussing that airplane that went down at the park earlier? Al: Yes, we were. Do you have any ideas about what might've caused it? Curtis: (snarls) I only have one idea, and it's a pretty solid one. Quarter and his henchmen must've recovered from that severe defeat the Pizza Cats dealt them in Los Angeles. If we fight them, it'll give the Pizza Cats the opportunity to test out the new armor that Guru Lou developed for them. It should even the odds a little, but I still need to know what Quarter and Seymour are up to. Now, if you don't mind, I've got some work to do. (opens the door and walks away) (Cut to the underground headquarters of Seymour "Big" Cheese and the A.L.D. Seymour and the others are in a top-security strategy session. They're sitting at a rather large table, like the kind you'd see in a conference hall in an office building) Seymour: So tell me, Quarter, was your mission to retrieve the special jewel complete? Quarter: (nods) As complete as it ever will be. As you guys know, I embarked upon this mission to destroy the Samurai Pizza Cats many months ago; any team that can destroy a comet is worth taking out. That Comet Buster weapon I sold you would've done the trick, except that the big dynamic fight that took place in there destroyed the whole thing. Flashdog: (raises a paw) Something gets me, though; you hadn't ever SEEN the Samurai Pizza Cats until they showed up in that Los Angeles nightclub. How exactly did you learn of their existence? Quarter: (grins, and holds up a pad of paper) The story that that Jonas guy wrote may not have been real, but it certainly provided me with the information I needed. (drops the paper) After watching the video files I collected, I discovered that in an earlier effort, Bad Bird and his Ninja Crows attempted to dig their way into the Shoguns' Weapons Vault. The tools the robots used were effective, but they didn't do the job fast enough before Polly lost a few screws. Jerry: So, what exactly do you plan to do with the sapphire you collected? (taps the table with his walking stick) Quarter: We've been working on a unique little device: one that should pierce the wall of the Vault enough for us to get in. It requires a 30 minute charge time. We're going to delay the activation of the laser until sundown; that way, the Pizza Cats will lose the solar energy that they collect from the sun while they fight. Once we have the weapons, we can finally fight at Curtis's level. The laser requires the use of the sapphire to fire, though. Blackout: We've also arranged for our attack drones to attack the Cats once they reach the vault. It will keep them busy while the laser strikes. Seymour: (clasps his hands) Good. Very good. (notices something out of the corner of his eye) I'm not sure, but I think I saw something on the second floor. Blackout: (gets up from his chair) I'll go check. (walks up a stairway to the second-floor balcony) (From up above, we see a black shadow. A black shadow with familiar eyes. Curtis.) Curtis: (holds back a sharp gasp) (moves further into cover) (spots a nearby doughnut and raises a claw) (shoots a small laser that leaves a red spot on the doughnut) Blackout: (turns to the light) Hey, I'd forgotten about that! (moves over to the doughnut, grabs it, and swallows it whole) (While Blackout was distracted, Curtis reaches over and smacks a self-destruct lever. Alarms instantly wail throughout the complex, startling Blackout out of his wits) Caner: (leaps to his feet) Something hit the self-destruct lever! Quarter: (barks) WELL? WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? LET'S SHUT DOWN THE SEQUENCE, AND THOSE BLASTED ALARMS! (As the A.L.D., followed closely by Seymour and Jerry, move to shut down the sequence, Curtis jumps to lightspeed and vacates the hideout) Curtis: (to himself) That was a close call! (elevator reaches top floor; Curtis then dashes up a small set of stairs and out of a hidden tunnel) (jumps to lightspeed) (Time passes. We venture into the late evening, in the upstairs hallway of the Pizza Cats' living section. The walls are painted a light shade of green, due to Francine's constant insisting. All the regular employees are chatting; and we notice that Fran and Polly are back in their everyday attire) GB: (to Speedy) So, when Bat Cat almost destroyed the boat and Cameo informed me the propeller was destroyed, the other Crows and I had to drag the boat ALL the way to Prisoner Island. (Same episode, again.) Speedy: (shakes his head) That shouldn't have taken so long. What exactly took you so long in coming? GB: Well, Big Frank was still in the boat, singing his robotic head off. His being in there made the boat heavier than it normally would be. (Meanwhile, Polly is trying to knock some sense into Guido, who has a CD Player in one hand and headphones on his ears, and is reading a sci-fi novel) Polly: (knocks on his helmet) Guido? Anyone home? (knocks on his helmet again; gets angry) If that cat's not going to pay attention to me..... Francine: (laughs) Maybe something to do with those upgrades Guru Lou installed? He DID say to Curtis and GB that he had put in something that keeps their craniums from cracking easily. Polly: (says something inaudible and turns red with anger) Speedy: (faces Polly) HEY! That wasn't nice! Polly: (yells) WHAT ISN'T NICE?! (feigns innocence and gets a cute look on her face) I have absolutely no clue as to what you're talking about, sweetheart.... Speedy: (gets frustrated) DON'T GET ALL LOVEY-DOVEY WITH ME THIS TIME, POLLY! YOU KNOW ALL THE REASONS TO WHAT YOU'VE DONE ALL THIS TIME! Polly: (mutters) Except why I married---- Voice: (roars) WHAT WAS THAT??! (Everyone turns to see Curtis standing in the door, clenching his hands) Polly: (sheepishly) Never mind. Curtis: (hisses) You know perfectly well why you married him, Passion Explosion. (fidgets) But that's beside the point. I've just uncovered what the A.L.D. crashed that jet for. Guido: (switches off his CD Player) What for? Polly: (clenches her fists) So you WERE paying attention! Guido: Paying attention, yes, but not to YOU! (laughs loudly) (Trembling with anger, Polly draws back a fist, preparing to knock Guido into next week. Francine and the others look on, not doing anything, but Curtis, who is even more exasparated than Polly is, grabs her fist and holds it in place) GB: Anyway, Curtis, you were saying? Curtis: Quarter stole a sapphire from the luggage compartment of the jet. He has built himself a giant laser and plans to raid the Weapons Vault of the Shoguns, using the sapphire as a makeshift power crystal. (Everyone gasps except Polly, who is straining against Curtis's grip) Curtis: What's more, they are delaying the activation of the laser until night. They know about your most potent weakness; you guys are charged on solar energy! They plan on keeping you busy with special fighting drones until your energy is being drained! Once that's done, they'll grab the weaponry, and I won't be as much a match for them anymore! Polly: (strained) Let....go..... Curtis: (squeezes his hand) Don't think so. Matter-of-fact, I don't think you're going to be any help to us at all if you're going to keep on arguing. Fran: (disbelieving) What are you doing this for? Curtis: To teach an important lesson: DON'T CROSS THE CHAMPION OF THE SUPER-CATS. (squeezes even harder) Speedy: (flicks his right ear) What was that small popping sound I heard? (Curtis repeats the process with the other hand) Curtis: Let's just say that she won't be assisting in the fight. As a matter-of-fact....(Ambush Cat walks in, pushing a small TV in front of him)....I don't think she'll be going at all. (Everyone looks at Curtis angrily, but he just ignores them all. Ambush Cat plugs in the television, winks at Curtis, then walks away. Curtis releases his grip on Polly, who walks over to the television and sits on top of it, glaring at him) Curtis: (growls) Sorry I had to do that, but I can't afford to have arguments tear the team apart. Now, lets go. Aldonza will be stopping by here later to keep an eye on Polly. Polly: (frowns) You'd better be ready to apologize once this is all over. Curtis: (words sounding distant) Yes, I hope so, too... Speedy: (looks at Curtis) You all right, kid? Curtis: (shakes it off) Yeah, I'm fine. Kind of. Speedy, Guido, Fran, get suited up. While you're doing that, I'll run by the Rad-Cats' residence and pick them up. (looks out a window) This fight will not be easy. (Speedy, Guido, and Fran leave) GB: Are you SURE you're okay? You sounded like you were on Endor. */ Curtis: Just grab your armor and get going. I'll tell you about it later. If there IS a later, that is. (GB leaves) Curtis: (voice is a whisper) Shila..... Polly: (looks at him) Huh? (gets off the tv and sits down slowly) Curtis: (shakes his head) Never mind. Aldonza will be bringing a few video tapes over, so you can watch them if you want. I'll apologize later; right now, I've got a city to defend and honor to uphold. (jumps to lightspeed) Polly: (looks around and sees that she's alone) I wonder what kind of honor that is. (becomes angry) Blasted cat! (kicks at a wall as hard as she can, denting it) (Over at the residence of the Rad-Cats....) Teasy: (slaps a King of Diamonds on the table) I win! My King of spades beats your 6 of hearts! Runner: (mutters) Oh, can it. (There is a sudden tearing sound as Curtis cuts a hole through the door) Curtis: (shouts) Rad-Cats! Transform! NOW! (Curtis's shout startles the Rad-Cats into action. Standing in a line, they begin the transformation) Teasy: (shouts) VIOLET! Chico: (same) INDIGO! Daniel: (same) MAROON! Runner: (same) SILVER! All: (yell) RAD-CATS TRANSFORMATION! (Mace and laser on Teasy; bass speaker and needle launcher on Chico; flamethrowers on Daniel; grenade launcher and an iron bracelet on Runner. They each strike their individual poses, with Daniel's being the fanciest.) (The 4 Rad-Cats, geared up and ready, race out the door, with Curtis close behind. The sky is now pitch dark. Everyone has arrived at the Shogun Vault, including the Pizza Cats) Curtis: (gathers everyone in a circle) All right. While you guys were getting changed, I did a little extra recon work. The laser base that Quarter and the Big Cheese are at is approximately 1 quarter mile east. They'll send out their attack drones at any moment now, so be ready. (points at Speedy) You, Guido, Teasy, and Chico will stay here and guard the Weapons Vault. Guido: (gives a thumbs-up) All set! (Speedy, Teasy, and Chico all give their affirmatives) Curtis: (to GB) You, Francine, Daniel, and Runner will go take on the laser base. Francine: What about you? What will YOU be doing? Curtis: What do you think? (clambers up to the top of the Vault and falls asleep) GB: (shaking his head in disbelief) Either this guy has great confidence in our abilities to handle our jobs... Teasy: ....or he hasn't been getting any sleep in the last day or so. Guido: Something been keeping him up? Teasy: (nods) Yeah. Princess Violet. Speedy: (waves his hand) Don't say another word. Let's just do our jobs. (A set of glowing shapes appear in their sights) Speedy: (throws his hands to his sides; his Ginzu sword is in one, and a Star of Ginzu is in another) GET READY! (The attack drones appear. If you want to know what they look like, think of Sigma's Mecha-Dog from Mega Man X: a quadruped, purple robotic mutt with the ability to bounce off walls and shoot fire and energy particles. [Queue the KNT song "Hold on Teyande".]) Speedy: AIM! (Everyone aims their weapons in front of them) Speedy: FIRE! (Speedy hurls several Stars at the drones, which don't do a wealth of damage at first; but then detonate, damaging them slightly. Guido severely damages a drone with a flame blast from his Sunspot Umbrella. Teasy finishes off that drone with a laser beam, while Chico peppers another drone with needles. In the confusion, Daniel, Runner, GB, and Francine slip away) (Meanwhile, back at the living area of the pizza parlor, Polly is cycling through the list of movies that Aldonza brought with her to the parlor. It's a LONG list.) Aldonza: (thinking) I don't know.....what do YOU want to watch? Polly: (silent for a moment) Maybe "Dracula: Dead and Loving It"? Aldonza: (shakes her head) It's your call, but I don't really like that movie. I don't know why I even bothered to bring it with me. Polly: (glances again at the list) Or how about "The Princess Pilot"? Aldonza: (sits against the wall) Maybe later. Right now, though, I have to ask you. Why are you here, anyway? Polly: I got into an argument with Speedy and Guido. As usual, Curtis showed up to dish out justice. (looks at her hands) And the pain's still there, too. Aldonza: What do you think you should've done? Polly: (sighs) I suppose I should've apologized to Speedy and Guido both; but then I'd appear to be an idiot. Aldonza: So, you pretty much prefer pain to losing your dignity? Polly: (pauses) Yeah. Aldonza: (shakes her head) Not a good idea. You should follow what is, all in all, the RIGHT thing to do. Do what you feel is right. Don't act on instinct. Think before you swing. Polly: (looks at her) What are you saying? Aldonza: I'm thinking that if you REALLY love Speedy and support Curtis's goal of wiping out crime, you should suit up and join the fight. AND stop arguing with him every minute of your life. As the song goes, "Be True to Your Heart". Polly: (shaken) Well, what do you expect me to do if he starts yelling at me again? (feels her hands) Besides...my hands are still numb. Aldonza: (taps her chin for a moment in thought, then smiles) I think I know a pretty good way to insure that he won't. (Back to the fight, this time inside the laser base. The team sent in to deactivate it is being confronted by Caner) Caner: (irritable) Great. Just what I needed. A bunch of bozos to relax my nerves. Runner: Who are you calling a bozo, bozo? Caner: (raises cane [ha!]) You'll regret that remark. (points towards a circuit breaker) LIGHTS OUT! (shoots a missile at the breaker) (All the lights in the base go out) Francine: (startled) NOW how do you expect us to see?? Caner: That's not really the point. We already know that you run on solar energy. When you use it all up, you become easier to defeat. And, as I always say....(aims at the team)...the sooner, the better. Daniel: (hisses) In that case, it's time to light up the place! FLAME ON! (raises a flamethrower and soaks a wall with burning-hot fuel) (That entire portion of the wall glows brightly, then cools down. Daniel looks at it in disbelief) Caner: We had you in mind when we designed those walls. Interesting to know that I can see in here, and you can't. (Though we can't see them, the 4 search about frantically for a way out. GB spots it, first; a bit of moonlight shining in through a narrow crack in the wall. Thinking quickly, GB raises his sword and positions it so that the moonlight reflects off the metal and into Caner's eyes) Caner: (yowls) Blast you! If I COULD see you, I'd destroy you all! (slaps at his face with his free hand) Computerized voice: Laser launch in 5 minutes. GB: (shakes his head) What a dolt. Caner: (gropes blindly) Even if I can't see you, I can still hear you! (starts firing missiles in the general direction of the team) (Everyone spots the light that the missiles are giving off, but no one has any time to do anything about before the explosions. All 3 cats, and the bird, are in a shambles [with the probable exception of Runner]) Caner: Well, so much for that. LIGHTS ON. (The lights flick back on again. Daniel, RUNNER, GB, and Francine all appear to be toast. Caner turns around, thinking his job is done. Behind him, Francine manages to pick herself up) Francine: (spots Caner walking away) Oh...no....you're....not....! (Fran grabs her sword, which turns into the nonchuks, and starts spinning them rapidly. Then, at the last moment, the nonchuks turn back into the sword, and a brilliant beam of energy shoots from it) Francine: (yells) ION CANNON!!! (Maybe I'm biased, but I think "Ion Cannon" is a good name for an attack.) (Caner turns around and sees the greenish-white beam shooting at him, but is unable to dodge in time. The force of the attack sends him flying out of the building) (Now, let's head on back to the Shogun Vault. The 2 Pizza Cats and the 2 Rad-Cats have all taken care of the first wave of drones, but all are showing signs of near-exhaustion. Speedy has a gash along the side of his helmet, along with several chinks in his armor, and Guido's armor is slightly blackened. Both of the Cats' headpieces are blinking. Teasy is holding the tail of one of the destroyed drones in his paw, breathing heavily. His jacket has a large tear in it. Chico is standing next to him, his needle launcher in the process of rematerializing. His collar is ripped, and his sunglasses are missing. [Yes, they wear their sunglasses at night. Don't ask me why; it's a coolness thing] Chico, too, is short of breath) Speedy: (coughs) Man, those drones were tough. What's next? Giant robotic Sigmas? Teasy: (trying to catch his breath) I hope not. I could never beat him. Chico: (same) Not the shape YOU'RE in, bro. You could like you could barely take on a gumdrop! (Right after Chico says this, another group of drones land in front of them. They look like Ninja Crows, but are slightly bigger, and have larger swords. As one, they suddenly charge) Teasy: (pants) Man....this isn't....good....! What I would do to have General Catton here! (swings his mace, connecting against one of the drone's swords) Speedy: If you think YOU'VE got a problem, I can't even reach my cat bell! (has both his swords in position against two of the Crow drones) It's been modified to contact Carlos Cosmos! Chico: (using his amplifiers to hold a drone at bay) That's bad enough! What's even worse is that Guido's just been taken out! (glances at Guido, who is pinned to the ground by a drone) Teasy: (hisses) We're going to need some assistance, and fast! (knocks the drone's sword out of the way and bashes in his head with the mace, but is immediately attacked by another drone) (Just when everyone is about to fall at once, though, suddenly the Crows go flying backwards, screaming all the way) Guido: (gets up off the ground and wipes off his face) What....? Speedy: That's what I'd like to know, too! What in the world's going on? (Teasy looks around, and suddenly gets a grin on his face) Teasy: (grinning) Uh, guys.... Speedy, Guido, and Chico: (yelling) WHAT!? (The screen turns black, and suddenly, red claws marks slice their way across the screen. The screen brightens again; and we see the entire group of drones ripped to pieces. Polly Esther is standing on top of one triumphantly) Speedy: (shocked) POLLY! (The shock of seeing her causes his headpiece to stop blinking) Polly: (dusting off her hands) Don't look at me. It was Aldonza's idea, not mine. Teasy: (folds his arms triumphantly) NOW do you get what I was about to say? I don't think any of you saw the red hearts floating around. She was using her Passion Paws of Power technique! That's the only thing that could explain why the Crows reversed direction! Polly: (turns to Speedy) Speedy.... Speedy: (frowns) Don't start. Polly: (shakes her head) I wasn't going to. I was just going to ask you something.... (Cut back to the laser base. The main room has become a shambles as a result of Francine's Ion Cannon blast. Everyone has recovered) Daniel: (stretches his arms) I figure that now that we've defeated Caner, we can find the controls for that laser and knock it off course. Francine: Or, even better, shut it down COMPLETELY. Runner: Personally, I don't think Quarter was stupid enough to have inserted an "off" switch when he built this thing. He never has been. GB: (checks the controls) Yes, you're right. There's no deactivation switch. The best we can do would be to try to knock the laser off course. Anyone know how to control this thing? Computer: 30 seconds until laser launch. Daniel: I think I know how. Everyone, stand back! (walks forward as everyone scoots out of the way) He uses the buttons, instead of a joystick like most villians we've fought used. Watch. (Daniel presses a blue button on the console twice, then a yellow button right under it 3 times) Computer: Reconfiguration confirm, please. Runner: (in imitation of Quarter's voice) Confirm. Computer: Laser aim configured. (A small simulation on the computer's monitor shows a laser impacting 7 meters away from the Shogun Vault) Francine: (nods, and applauds Daniel and Runner's actions) Bravo! Now, let's get out of here while we still can! (Meanwhile, back at the Vault....) Speedy: (speaking to Polly) Okay, I'm sorry, too. You PROMISE to buy me that Starcraft: Brood War CD by next week? Polly: (nods) Yes. I promise. Teasy: (laughs) YOU? Play Starcraft? You can't even figure out how to work the parlor's cannon, let alone play a tough game! Guido: (growls) Don't start on him, Teasy. At that moment, a brilliant flash from the direction of the base shows that the laser has been fired. It reaches the halfway point in 5 seconds) Speedy: (panics) POLLY, LOOK OUT! (The laser is heading straight towards Polly. However, Polly is unable to step out of the way) Speedy: (screams) POLLY, NO!! (As Polly herself screams in horror, a blazing white form appears in front of her, straining to counter the strength of the laser with his own. Curtis is holding his glowing sword in front of him, channeling energy through it) Curtis: (voice is strained) OUT OF THE WAY, POLLY! (After Polly gets out from behind him, part of the laser gets through, hurting him slightly. The fringe of the beam slices through Polly's shoulder) Curtis: (fights back the pain) OH, NO YOU'RE NOT, BRIGHT-EYES!! (with a sudden burst of strength, he deflects the laser into space) (Curtis lowers his sword, the surge of energy fading away. Everyone rushes towards him) Chico: Curtis, you all right? Curtis: (gripping his arm) No, I'm not. I'm sick and tired of staring at that base! Everyone, on 3! (powers up his Quad-Strike sequence [And just so you remember, the REAL name of that sequence was the Shape-Shifter Samurai Slammer. You understand why I like the name "Quad-Strike" so much better?]) (Everyone powers up their respective sequences) Curtis: 1..... 2.....3! (screams) NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN!! (Curtis fires his energy blast, and the powers of all 5 individuals combine into one fantastic looking ray, which impacts the laser base. In a series of astronomical explosions, the base goes down in flames, leaving nothing but smoldering debris) (The remaining 4 team members rejoin with the others) Speedy: (concerned) Curtis, are you SURE you're all right? Curtis: (nods) Yes, but isn't POLLY the one you're supposed to be paying attention to? She got hit a lot harder by the backwash of that beam. Polly: (rubbing her shoulder) I have something to say, first. Curtis: (holds up a paw) Polly, please. I already know what you're going to say. Polly: Then you accept my apology? Curtis: (grins) Yes. However, there is something I need you to do before I consider you fully absolved....(spots movement out of the corner of his eye) Quarter: (charges out of his hiding place) EAT MY DUST, YOU WALKING QUILT!! (raises his disintegration gun) (At that very moment, a flying frisbee appears from around the corner and knocks the gun out of his hands. Quarter rushes over and picks it up, but by the time he recovers it, everyone already has their weapons aimed at him. Disgusted and defeated, Quarter walks away. In the meantime, Alice strolls over and picks up her frisbee) Alice: (smiling) Amazing what a little target practice can do, isn't it? (reaches behind her back and pulls out a first-aid kit) I think you may need a little help, first, Polly. (begins applying rubbing alcohol)) (In the meantime, Lucille walks on by, oblivious to the conversations and intent on getting home) Curtis: So, anyway, like I was saying..... (A loud voice interrupts him) Blackout: (raising a Sphere of Twilight) NOT SO FAST, MISTER WIL------ (At that moment, a number of familiar explosions echo their way across the night. A split second later, a series of missiles impact and explode around Blackout, sending him flying. The Sphere of Twilight sails off harmlessly into the stratosphere) Curtis: (growls in annoyance) Anyway, like I was saying when I was rudely interrupted, there's something I need you to do for me once all the pain goes away. Polly: And what's that? Curtis: (gets a wide grin on his face) Two LARGE Happy Himalayan sundaes. One chocolate and vanilla, and one raspberry and orange sherbet. (You know, from "Destructo Robots at Popular Prices"?) (The eyes on all the faces become the size of saucers) Polly: (after recovering) Yeah, I think we could do that. Question is, could YOU handle it? Curtis: Obviously, you've never said hello to my appetite. I've been known to consume 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese in less than 1 hour. Funny part is, I accomplished that 4 years ago! Polly: All right, then. Curtis: (nods) Good. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get ready for tomorrow night. (walks away calmly, humming a tune) Speedy: (confused) Why? What's tomorrow night? Guido: I don't know, but whatever it is, I'm sure he has good reason for dealing with it. Come on, let's get back home. (As everyone leaves the destruction of the dangerous and deadly drones behind, we switch quickly over to the A.L.D.'s hideout. Flashdog is holding a set of blueprints in front of him.) Flashdog: (speaking to Flasher, who is standing next to him) All right, here is the layout for the construction of the Bouldermobile. Think you can complete it in 2 nights? Flasher: (nods) Easily. Flashdog: (shakes Flasher's paw) All right, then. Let's get to it. ------------------------------------ All right, that's enough of that. Want to hear what's next? You do? All right, here's the preview. It's not long after the attack on the Shogun Vault that the Pizza Cats thwarted, and the A.L.D.'s attacking again. But first, the other Melika sister shows up in town, and she's driving Polly to the point of insanity and Curtis to the point of hysterical laughter! Find out about all this and more, in.... # 6: Embers of Jealousy I can be reached at supreme_cat@hotmail.com. Bye! G.A. Wildcat