Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The perpetual gray clouds hung over Eternal Meadow's cemetery like a blanket, creating an eerie atmosphere that sent shivers down the spines of even the bravest souls. On a typical day, Alice Spacebyte would be frightened of the place, even if she was walking on the other side of the street. But Alice wasn't frightened, and today wasn't typical.

Today, she was burying her mother.

Sitting perfectly still in a simple black dress and matching black flats, Alice watched Dr. Gale Spacebyte's coffin lower into the ground. The death had come out of nowhere. It had happened on a Monday only three weeks into spring semester at Pokey Oaks Junior High. Alice had been in her third period class when she was called into Principal Goodvibes' office to be given the news by Officer Valerosa. It had been a complete accident. Her mother had been returning home from her shift at Memorial Hospital, using the DexLabs bus sliders as she always did, when the vehicle fell off its railing. There were no safety restraints on the vehicle, and so her mother had fallen off ahead of the vehicle, and was ultimately crushed by it. She was dead before emergency crews could reach the accident site.

The news had numbed Alice to the core; all feeling had left her and had yet to return. Loneliness and grief were all that remained. Her Aunt Muriel had picked her up from school and took her to the middle of Nowhere, where the elderly woman and her husband, Eustace, lived. They were the only closest living relatives she had, especially since she had no father to fall back on. Alice spent her days hiding away in the spare room of the old house, often accompanied by the family pet, Courage.

Sitting through the funeral service was painful for the twelve-year-old. As Gale's only offspring, she was placed in the first seat of the first row, with her aunt to the right of her, holding her hand the entire time. Her aunt was sitting tall with her shoulders back, a sad little frown on her face. She wasn't crying, not like Alice was, but Alice knew her aunt was feeling the loss of her youngest sister all the same. Muriel was now an only child; her other sister, Dorothy, had died years ago. She tried to put up a strong front for her niece, but Alice had heard her aunt sobbing night after night after Eustace would go off to bed. Her aunt was just as affected by the loss as she was; she was just hiding it better.

Her Uncle Eustace was sitting beside his wife. He wasn't in grief like her aunt and she were, but he didn't mock or say something snarky through the service. Her mother and him had an animated relationship, and more than one time they would get into heated arguments over the simplest things. Her mother had explained to her, one day, that this was their way of showing that they loved each other. His silence was probably proof that deep, deep down, he really did love his sister-in-law.

Her cousin Fred wasn't in attendance. He couldn't make it because he was busy overseas with his business, and Alice was slightly glad he couldn't show; her uncle preferred to call him freaky over his actual name, and Alice agreed with him wholeheartedly. He had such an obsession with cutting hair that he'd threatened Alice and Courage with a pair of rusty scissors on many occasions, up until Gale had put her foot down and forbade the man from cutting anyone's hair in the family. Fred was a terrifying figure, but her mother had been a woman no one dared to cross.

The funeral service was attended by hundreds of people who loved Gale, not just the deceased woman's family. Her mother had always been a popular soul in comparison to her daughter's own social life, which was non-existent. Students ignored her and teachers overlooked her entirely. Mr. Green, the permanent substitute teacher since their regular English teacher, Mr. Warburton, was out on medical leave, was the only person who seemed to care about her. Alice couldn't exactly blame them, since Alice didn't like to talk to people. As a little girl she had been bullied because of her unnatural blue hair, which she has had since birth. The experience had her feeling left out, a feeling that stuck with her all her life.

The coffin was fully lowered into the ground, and the cemetery workers began to fill up the hole from the dirt pile sitting beside it. The tombstone would be put up later in the afternoon, and would be viewable at that time for anyone who wanted to visit. That concluded the service, technically, but Alice, her aunt, her uncle, and Courage stood beside the iron gates of the cemetery, thanking the guests for coming and to also receive their condolences. Eustace was situated at the front of the line, with Muriel in the middle and Alice at the end. Courage sat at her side, leaning against her in a show of emotional support.

Guests Alice didn't recognize approached and shared their sorrows with the three. They spoke primarily to Muriel and Eustace, but they did express their condolences to Alice and even told her that she could rely on them if she needed anything. Alice remained silent on the matter, mutely accepting their words and shaking their hands.

A family that stepped forward that Alice recognized was the Xyrespace family. Alice didn't know them personally; she did know that both of the parents were doctors at the same hospital her mom had been employed with. Alice had seen them at the Christmas parties the hospital staff would throw, but she didn't talk to them. Both of them were kind, having a real passion for helping people. With them was their daughter, a young kid with pink hair. Alice couldn't remember her name, even though they had seen each other at the parties; the little girl would usually hang around the other little kids or sit around listening to the adults tell stories about their jobs.

Both adults stepped up and shook hands with Muriel and Eustace, expressing their sympathies while the daughter moved around them and zeroed in on Alice. Without even a bit of hesitation, the kid stepped up and wrapped her arms around Alice in a hug. Alice was stunned by the action, taken aback that someone, let alone someone she wasn't even friends with, would do such a thing. She didn't hug the girl back, but she didn't push her off either.

"I'm sorry about your mom," the girl said after she broke from the hug.

Alice stared at the girl blankly, still surprised by the embrace. Alice had heard the sentiment over and over again, and kept silent with all the others, but because this was a kid, Alice felt compelled to reply back.

"Thank you," she murmured.

The girl's mother ushered the child away, and the Lincoln family approached next. Dr. Lincoln was another good friend and former co-worker of her mother's. Alice interacted with him occasionally at the Christmas parties, and she always found him to be friendly, even if it was hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. His wife, Mrs. Lincoln, was also a kind woman who Alice had caught occasionally dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief at the service. Next to the couple was their two children, Cree and Numbuh Five. Alice didn't know Cree too well; she was a high schooler and was usually texting her friends when at the parties. Alice didn't know Numbuh Five either, but she knew of her. The girl was a member of the Kids Next Door, and although Alice never had a desire to join the organization, she'd seen the kids that made up Sector V around the Suburbs, fighting off whatever adult tyranny threatened kid kind.

Dr. Lincoln and his wife were talking to Muriel, expressing their sorrows and talking about a good memory they had of Dr. Spacebyte. Cree bypassed the adults and stood in front of Alice. She didn't shake hands with the girl, and Alice wondered if she was nervous, based on the way she was standing. The older teen wouldn't even look her in the eye.

"Sorry," the older teen said, and then she walked out the gates, away from the cemetery.

Alice should have felt some sort of anger at the way Cree had spoken to her, because she didn't sound very sympathetic for Alice's loss, but Cree's younger sister was taking up her spot before the emotions could register. Numbuh Five sent a quick glare at her sister's back, before smiling empathetically at Alice. The kid shook hands with her.

"Sorry 'bout my sister," she started off with. "She's not good at funerals."

Alice remained silent, not sure what she was supposed to say to that. Numbuh Five probably wasn't looking for a reply, because she was already continuing with the conversation. "'M real sorry about your loss."

She was sincere, and then she reached in and gave Alice a hug. Alice remained motionless, but allowed the girl to hug her. When Numbuh Five pulled away from the embrace, she gave Alice an assuring pat on the arm. She ran off after her sister, a glare set on her face. Alice watched for a moment before her attention was pulled away. Dr. Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln gave Alice their own condolences, and then left with their children.

Dexter and his sister approached the family next, completely throwing Alice by surprise. To her recollection, Alice and he had never had a single conversation, not even in school. Computress, Dexter's scientifically advanced artificial intelligence secretary, stood - or rather, hovered - at the gates of the cemetery, waiting on her creator. Dexter offered his hand to Eustace, but the old farmer refused to take it, even scoffing at the gesture. Muriel was more amiable, and shook hands with the teenage genius.

"Thank you for coming," she told him, just as she told all the other guests.

"On behalf of DexLabs Inc., I'd like to express my deepest and sincerest apologies for the tragedy you and your family have gone through. I would like you to know that I have looked into the incident extensively and am working on changes to provide better safety features for the slider system, so that this does not happen again," Dexter addressed the older woman in a professional manner.

"Lotta good that did," Eustace grumbled, his glare dead set on the redhead.

Dexter turned to look at the grumpy farmer, and Alice half-expected Dexter to get into an argument with her uncle. The boy's bouts with Mandark were legendary, and it was often done over the pettiest of things. However, to her surprise, Dexter remained silent on the matter and allowed Eustace's jab to go unscathed.

"Now there'll be none of that, Eustace," Muriel scolded her husband, taking up Dexter's defense. "The boy already apologized several times over. Don't forget that this whole thing was an accident out of his control."

Her uncle didn't seem to appreciate the talk down. He crossed his arms and grumbled further under his breath, but it was too quiet for anyone to actually hear. Muriel ignored her grumpy husband and proceeded to pull the teenage entrepreneur in for a hug, thanking him for coming and reassuring him that she had no hard feelings regarding him. While DeeDee went and hugged Muriel, Dexter stepped over and held out his hand to Alice.

"I deeply apologize for the tragedy that fell upon you."

Alice stared at the boy blankly. Should she shake hands with him? Accept his apology? Was she mad at him? Should she be? It was his technology that had resulted in her mother's death, after all. That would mean she had every right to be angry, didn't it? If that was indeed the case, why didn't she?

Maybe it was because of what her aunt had said. This was an accident. Dexter didn't pick out her mother to die; it was an accident that the slider malfunctioned. Nothing more, nothing less. So, Alice followed in her aunt's footsteps and shook hands with the teenage genius, and she thought she saw his shoulders deflate a little in relief.

Dexter hadn't even released his grip when his sister shot off like a rocket at Alice, wrapping her into a big hug. The action was becoming a common theme of the day, and so Alice wasn't entirely surprised anymore (though Courage did jump back with a surprised yelp due to the suddenness of the action).

"I'm so sorry this happened to you!" DeeDee said through her tears. "If you want to talk, you can visit me in Genius Grove anytime!" She pulled back and rummaged through her purse. "Here, here, let me give you my address."

It wasn't necessary, since Alice wouldn't take her up on the offer, but she didn't say so. DeeDee seemed so eager, and Alice didn't want to take that from her. So she stood by quietly, watching DeeDee search her purse for a scrap of paper and pen, and then accepted the slip of paper once DeeDee had written her home address down. Underneath it was the young woman's phone number, no doubt to call her if she just wanted to talk.

The siblings left, joining their A.I. on the way out of the cemetery. Dexter was not to be the last surprising guest in attendance. Following up after him were Ed, Edd, and Eddy, known around the neighborhood as the Eds given their similar names. Their attendance was surprising but not incredibly so, considering the three were neighbors of hers, living in the cul-de-sac across from her home.

Double D led the trio, which was very understandable. Eddy was the leader of the trio in normal circumstances, but this wasn't a scam that they were running. This was a formal event, one that was out of Eddy's element. Double D, on the other hand, was skilled in this area. He stepped up to the family, with Ed glued to his side and Eddy standing just a few steps off. All three were dressed in tuxedos, though Double D's sock hat was still firmly on his head.

"I am so sorry for what's happened to you and your family," Double D expressed to the matriarch, shaking hands with her. "Please accept my deepest sympathy."

"Awh, thank you for coming, dears," Muriel expressed to the three boys, shaking hands with Double D. "You three are her neighbors, yeah?"

"Yes," Double D answered. "We came to support Alice."

Alice blinked; they came for her? Well, it did make sense. She was in their grade level, and they were unaccompanied by any adults, so they had to of come for her rather than her mother. The thought still stumped her, though.

Although it was normal for students at school to avoid her, Double D was very kind to her. Whenever they crossed paths with each other in the school's hallways, he'd often greet her and ask how she was doing. Perhaps they could have been friends, but he was usually busy during school with the school paper he was running and after school he was busy helping run one of Eddy's schemes. She and Ed didn't have any classes together, but he was also kind to her.

"How kind of you!" Muriel cried, wrapping Double D in a big hug. "How very kind of you all."

Ed happily received his hug from the woman, commenting on how "Hugs are nice." Eddy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, but still, he accepted Muriel's hug with only faint grumbling about the ordeal. Double D and Ed moved over to Alice, expressing their same words of sympathy. Double D shook hands with her, and Ed hugged her, nearly crushing her lungs with his strength. Double D had to pull him off before she could lose the ability to breathe. Eddy stood back, scuffing his shoes on the brick path. Double D elbowed the shorter boy to get his attention and then motioned his head in Alice's direction. Eddy rolled his eyes, but stepped forward so that he was standing in front of her.

"Sorry about your mom dying," Eddy said to her, sounding somewhere between uncomfortable and sympathetic. "That...bites."

Double D released a huff of annoyance, glaring at his friend. Alice stared, not entirely surprised. Her and Eddy, after all, weren't anything close to friendly ever since he had scammed her out of her money when she was a little girl. So, instead of saying anything, she merely nodded at him. Eddy immediately took that as his cue to leave, and he was gone and out the gates like Cree had moments earlier.

"Eddy!" Double D called after him in exasperation. He sent Alice a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about him. We'll see you back in school." He grabbed Ed's elbow and led him out of the cemetery. "C'mon, Ed."

"Are we going to the comic shop now, Double D?" Alice heard Ed ask as the boys left.

Alice's attention followed the Eds for a moment, until she heard a loud groan coming from her right. A boy in a red baseball hat was standing in line, waiting his turn. He had been the source of the groan, and Alice recognized him on sight. Billy was an oddball guest, especially because Alice had no classes with him. This was probably because of the fact that he had a negative IQ score, which she hadn't thought possible until she met him.

"This is so boring," the boy complained, earning a few dirty looks.

Alice wasn't surprised by his outburst. Billy didn't have a filter in his brain that warned him whenever he was about to say something rude. He usually had Mandy there to correct him, but Alice didn't see the girl in attendance.

"Hey, you know what would lighten this party up? A karaoke machine! Who's go-YEOUCH!"

Billy was rubbing his arm, his face twisted up in pain. Standing beside him was a boy his size and age, and Alice recognized him since the two did share a class together. Nergal Junior was glaring at his cousin in annoyance, and was saying something to him that Alice couldn't hear. When it was their turn to approach the three, Junior was guiding his cousin by the wrist, whispering one more thing to the other boy before he was shaking hands with Eustace. Eustace refused to shake Billy's hand, which didn't bother the boy a single bit. His eyes wandered over until they landed on Alice, to which they brightened in recognition. He skipped past Muriel and came to a stop right in front of her.

"Hiya Alice!" the cap-wearing boy shouted. "I didn't knows you was here. What a small wo-YEOUCH!" Billy rubbed his other arm, glaring at his cousin. "What'd ya do that for, Junior?"

"I told you to behave," Junior hissed at his cousin, his brows furrowed in a glare.

Billy frowned and huffed loudly, crossing his arms. "I am. I just didn't think I'd see Alice here. Why would she be?"

Junior's eyes darkened and he punched Billy in the arm again, resulting in a yelp of a pain from the victim.

"This funeral is for her mother, idiot!" his cousin hissed, trying to keep his voice from raising but he was struggling.

"Oh," Billy said lamely. He swiveled around to look at Alice once again. "Your mom got buried? That's gotta suck, right?"

Alice blinked at the question, mildly surprised that this was the second time someone used that phrase or something similar to it. Junior was not content with the response, but he didn't want to make another scene; Eustace was giving the boys a dirty look, as were some of the remaining guests. So, instead, he took in a deep breath and turned his own attention on Alice. Whatever nerve he might have had seemed to disappear. Taking in another deep breath, he reached out his hand.

"I'm sorry about your mom," he said, his voice not sounding as strong as it had been when he spoke to his cousin. "And I'm sorry about my idiot cousin."

Alice shook hands with him and nodded. People seemed to be apologizing on the behalf of others lately.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Junior nodded back in return, and pulled his hand away. With his other hand, he grabbed his cousin by the arm and dragged the boy out of the cemetery, but not before Billy was able to shout out "See ya later, Alice!" Eustace grumbled rather unkind things under his breath until Muriel shushed him.

The final guests to approach the family were equal parts surprising and equal parts expected. Professor Utonium led his two famous daughters, Blossom and Bubbles, forward to shake hands with Eustace and Muriel. Seeing them at the funeral wasn't terribly surprising considering what good friends the Professor and her mother had been. The surprising part was that the family had come at all, considering they had lost a family of their own.

It had been four months since Buttercup had been missing. Although the Utonium family classified her as M.I.A., everyone figured she was dead; four months was an awfully long time to be missing. The community set up a memorial for her by commissioning statues of the girls to be placed in Pokey Oaks park, in front of the gazebo. Buttercup's statue had been (and still was) flooded with flowers and candles and cards from the community. Sometimes, when Alice was passing the park on her way from school, she'd catch the Professor standing in front of Buttercup's statue, staring at it and bringing fresh flowers to lay at its base. She had often wondered what it must feel like to lose your child. She didn't know the answer first hand, but she now wondered if it felt the same as losing your parent.

Her mother had been friends with the Professor ever since Alice had been little; her mother would invite the Powerpuffs to her birthday parties, and the Professor would usually hang around and chat with her mother. The same thing would happen whenever she was invited to the Powerpuffs' birthdays. Alice had mistaken it as love at one point, but her mother corrected her that they were simply friends. When Buttercup had gone missing, and the Professor became a shut-in, her mother would bring meals to the family to help them get by, and sometimes her mother would invite the three of them over for dinner. It didn't fix the situation, but it seemed to help lessen the pain.

It was strange for Alice to think that she had known the Powerpuffs her whole life, but she didn't classify them as her friends. They weren't mean to her (although Buttercup had occasionally said insensitive comments to her when they were younger), but they were so popular that Alice didn't want to compete with the other kids who would vie for their attention. Even at her own birthday party, the kids' attentions would be on the Powerpuffs instead of on her. She never felt any jealousy, though, because the Girls were heroes and it wasn't their fault for being heroes.

The Professor and Muriel shared a hug while Blossom and Bubbles spoke with Eustace.

"Oh, thank you for setting this all up," Muriel spoke kindly to the man. "I don't believe I would have had this all done so well."

The Professor smiled and shook his head. "Please, don't even worry about it. It's the least I could do."

Alice's brows dipped a little in confusion. She had assumed her aunt had been setting up the funeral service, but it was actually the Professor? Why? The Professor and her mother had been good friends, but that was it. Why would he put so much effort for them? She didn't voice these concerns and stood by silently.

"Will Alice still be in Nowhere this weekend?" Professor Utonium inquired.

"Oh no, we're currently residing in my sister's house," Muriel answered. "Alice will be going back to school on Monday, and so we're easing her back in."

The Professor nodded.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to come by and pick her up. Her mother wanted me to tell her about you-know-what," the Professor said, his voice dropping an octave at the 'you-know-what' part.

Alice's confusion only grew. Her mother had made a request of the Professor? And it involved her? Muriel nodded easily, not looking confused at all.

"Of course," Muriel answered. "What time can we expect you?"

"Eight."

Muriel nodded with a smile. "Splendid. I'll have her up and ready by then."

Alice looked even more confused, and wanted to know what they were talking about, but her attention was pulled away by the sudden arrival of Blossom and Bubbles. It was strange seeing the girls out of their iconic red and blue colors and in black dresses for the formal affair. Blossom had a serious look to her, and Bubbles had tears in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to throw herself at Alice, but was holding herself back.

"As leader of the Powerpuff Girls, I want to extend my sincerest apologies for failing to save your mother," Blossom addressed. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for her. She was a good woman, and her loss will deeply impact us."

Bubbles took this as her cue (or she couldn't hold herself back any longer) and she launched herself at the orphan, wrapping Alice up in a hug. Thankfully, unlike Ed, Bubbles was aware of how strong she was and didn't suffocate the blue haired girl. The girl's tears began to fall like a pipe had burst.

"I'm so sorry, Alice!" she wailed. "We were in Downtown when it happened, and we arrived too late!" Bubbles pulled back from the hug so that she could look Alice in the eye. "Please forgive us."

Alice stared at the pig-tailed Puff in surprise. Looking over at Blossom, the long-haired Puff's serious look had cracked to reveal the guilt she felt over the situation. It hadn't ever crossed Alice's mind that they would feel any sense of guilt over her mother's death. Should it? No. It was an accident. That's what she said to Dexter, wasn't it?

Alice's eyes dropped to her shoes. "It was an accident. It wasn't your fault."

She spared a glance, but found that both girls still looked guilt-ridden, and they actually looked even sadder after her words. She screwed up. Of course they'd feel horrible; they were heroes. No, not heroes. Superheroes. That meant they were supposed to do more than the regular hero. Alice couldn't help but feel pity for the high standard they were putting on themselves. It wasn't their fault; it was no one's fault.

Thinking quickly, Alice muttered out, "I don't blame you."

This response seemed to do the trick. The girls' shoulders relaxed just a bit, and the guilt on their faces lessened. There were still remnants that shone in their eyes, but they seemed to be relieved that Alice didn't put the fault on them. Breaking her somber expression, Blossom sent a small smile at Alice.

"Why don't you come over for dinner this weekend? You'll be in the neighborhood, yeah?" the leader asked.

Alice immediately wanted to say no, a similar reaction to DeeDee's offer of talking it out. She couldn't, however, and not because the girls were eager to do this kind gesture (even though they were; Bubbles' eyes had lit up excitedly at the offer). The reason being was because it was a role-reversal. Only months earlier it had been her mother offering to cook them dinner, and now the Girls were offering the same. It would be rude to deny them such a request.

"How about this Saturday?" the Professor suddenly jumped in, catching his daughter's request. He looked to the elderly couple. "We'd love to have all three of you be our guests."

Alice looked up, suddenly remembering that the Professor had been talking to his aunt about picking her up that Saturday. Her aunt jumped on the idea, clapping her hands together in joy.

"Why that's a marvelous idea!" she remarked. She looked over to her husband. "What do you say, dear?"

"Free food is free food," Eustace remarked, which was his way of agreeing.

"We'll be there. Will six be good?" Muriel asked, once again having a conversation with the Professor.

He nodded. "Perfect timing. We'll have dinner ready."

"And I'll bring a salad," Muriel stated. When the Professor looked ready to protest, the elderly woman held up her hand. "Now there'll be no protest. It'd be rude to come without bringing some sort of dish."

The Professor consented, not wishing to argue with the woman. With the matter settled, the Professor turned back to Alice, his daughters moving to talk with Muriel and Eustace (but mostly Muriel).

"Alice, I am sorry for your loss. If you need someone to talk to, I'm always available," He smiled a bit sadly, looking older than he really was. "I know how you feel."

Alice dropped her gaze for a moment, pity and sympathy running through her. She didn't want to burden him, not while he had his own problems to deal with. But she couldn't just deny his offer; it'd be rude.

"Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes again.

He smiled at her, but a hint of nervousness entered his smile.

"Alice, did you happen to overhear what I was talking about with your aunt?" he asked.

Alice didn't immediately answer his question, because she wasn't sure if she should tell the truth. How much would he tell her if she said she had? How much would he actually tell her if she said she hadn't? Alice looked to Courage for a second opinion, and he nodded, conveying his message: Tell the truth.

"You mentioned about picking me up Saturday morning," Alice answered. "My mom wanted you to tell me something."

The Professor nodded. "Yes, it's something very important. I've already discussed it with your aunt, but I would like to get your confirmation on this. It does concern you. Will you be alright with me picking you up this Saturday?"

Alice thought about it. Maybe she should be mad they were making these arrangements without her consent, but that wasn't Alice. Her mother and aunt obviously trusted the Professor, so she would, too. She nodded, and he smiled just a bit wider.

Whatever the you-know-what was, she'd find out Saturday.

The car ride early Saturday morning was silent. Painfully, awkwardly silent.

Professor Utonium had arrived at the Peach Creek Commons home at the time he had promised, eight o' clock. Just as her aunt had promised, Alice was up, dressed, and full from the oatmeal she had been fed. Her aunt wouldn't be joining her to wherever the Professor was driving her to; she was going to the local Malphs store to pick up ingredients for that night's dinner. It was only going to be her and the Professor.

It was quite possibly the most awkward situation Alice had ever been in.

The Professor was a nice man; one would have to be to create the Powerpuff Girls. He was always very kind to her while she was growing up. He'd ask her how she was and how school was doing and if she was participating in any sports or clubs and if she had any hobbies. Alice's shy nature would usually kick in right around the second question, and her mother would step in, picking up a conversation with the man that would distract him from her daughter for the rest of the visit. Given the fact Alice hadn't been in school for a couple weeks and the recent tragedys they had both suffered in the timespan of only a few months, the Professor didn't have many conversation starters to pick from, and Alice was getting the idea that the scientist was nervous, based on the way he was tapping on the steering wheel. So, Alice made herself as small as possible in her seat, and spent the trip staring out the window, watching familiar locations fly by as the car moved from the Suburbs to Downtown. Interestingly, there were no buses on the slider system running.

It was as they were turning left onto Sunny Bridges Street that Alice realized they were headed in the direction of Memorial Hospital. The right-hand turn onto Memorial Drive confirmed Alice's suspicions. A wave of panic crashed over Alice as she saw the back of the hospital come into view. Was that their destination? Why? The Professor knew that her mother used to work there. Why would he do something so cruel? She still wasn't over the death; he of all people should understand!

To Alice's immense relief, the Professor didn't take the winding road up to the hospital that was tucked up against Offworld Plaza's mountain side. To her confusion, he made a left, and drove up to the gate of the Space Port, a launching site for rockets and space shuttles. The Professor rolled down his window and announced to the guard on duty that he had a meeting to see Max Tennyson. Alice didn't know who Max Tennyson was, but the last name sounded eerily familiar. The guard waved them through after handing over two visitor passes to the Professor and telling him where to go. Alice took in the sight as they drove past, staring in wonder at the shuttles lined up. She'd been to the place a few times for school visits, but seeing the shuttles never failed to amaze her.

The Professor parked them near the building in the back, handing over one of the two visitor passes to her. The two entered the building, finding a pristine hallway empty of any other soul. The tiled flooring was so shiny, Alice could actually see her reflection. The Professor led the way, his dress shoes' click-clacking drowning out Alice's softer tapping in the quiet space. Nervous about what would be coming next, and of who this Max Tennyson was, Alice dropped her gaze to the floor.

The two arrived at the end of the hallway, coming upon a door guarded by two men dressed head to toe in a red jumpsuit, wearing a helmet over their heads. Alice found their getup strange, especially since the guard at the front post hadn't been wearing the same uniform. One guard opened the door for the two of them, giving them a nod as they passed. The Professor nodded back respectfully, but Alice dropped her gaze nervously. They entered the small room, finding it empty save for a circular platform in the middle. After they stepped onto the platform, it descended, surprising Alice. It was moving swiftly, and because there were no safety features on the platform, Alice scooted a little closer to the middle of the platform. The Professor reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, keeping her balanced.

The platform reached its bottom, the metal doors opening sideways like in a sci-fi film. The elevator had dropped the two guests into what Alice could only guess was a control room. A large screen was positioned on the wall directly opposite of them, and situated under it was one long station with several computer screens designed into it. Situated in the middle of the room was a rectangular conference table, lined with eight chairs. There were two metallic doors on opposite sides of the room, leading to who knows where.

Waiting for the two guests at the bottom of the steps were greeted by an older man wearing a red Hawaiian tee shirt. The man had a kind smile on his face, which turned into a toothy grin when he saw them. The Professor led the way down the steps, extending his hand out to the man with a matching grin of his own.

"Thanks for agreeing to this," the Professor said as a greeting.

"It's not a problem," the man answered easily. "It's better now than never, right?"

The Professor nodded, and then he reached out and guided Alice closer, despite her hesitation. The only thing keeping her from running, aside from the fact that the elevator doors were shut, was the hand the Professor kept on her shoulder.

"Hello, Alice," the stranger greeted her kindly.

Alice dutifully shook the elder man's hand, murmuring out a meek, "Hello." She felt embarrassed to be meeting a leader of an organization wearing a simple blue shirt and capris, but she figured he didn't care considering his taste in clothing. Plus, he was smiling at her kindly, so that helped to ease her worries.

"Alice, this is Max Tennyson," the Professor introduced for her. "He's the leader of a secret organization known as the Plumbers."

"Why is it a secret?" Alice asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Both men shared a brief glance, which confused Alice more. Were they unsure of telling her? If so, why did the Professor bother to bring her all this way?

"Because we deal with aliens," Max finally answered.

The surprise hit Alice pretty hard, since it was so out of left field. However, on some level it made sense. This was the Space Port, where shuttles and rockets went up into space. Aliens came from space, so of course an organization that dealt with aliens would be operating there. But then Alice began to wonder why she was there. Why had the Professor brought her to meet the leader of the Plumbers? They dealt with aliens. So, if he had brought her there, to the Space Port, to the leader of the Plumbers, to a man who dealt with aliens, then that had to mean...

"Why am I here?" Alice asked meekly, hoping that her line of thought was wrong.

Again, the men shared a look. Perhaps they heard the fear in Alice's tone and were trying to figure out what to say. The worried looks they shared with each other certainly seemed to indicate this was so.

"Because you're an alien, Alice," the Professor told her as kindly as possible, to lessen the blow, but it was no good.

For a brief second, the lights in the underground facility flickered. Alice's world narrowed as she repeated the revelation in her head. She must have gone pale in the face, because the two adults were suddenly hovering over her with alarmed looks on their faces. If it wasn't for the Professor holding her up, she would have certainly fallen to the ground, perhaps even fainted. She actually felt like throwing up.

An alien? she thought.

"Let's go and have a seat before we continue our conversation," Max suggested.

The Professor helped Alice walk to the conference table, helping her into her seat before he took one next to her. Max sat on Alice's other side, leaning back in his chair. He was trying to look relaxed, but his eyes were alert and watching. The Professor took in a deep breath, collecting himself.

"Thirteen summers ago," the scientist began, "I was studying the stars. I'm not an astronomy buff, but I wanted to give it a try. It just so happened that I spotted what I thought was a falling star that night. I was following its descent when I realized it was heading for the ground. I jumped into my car and followed it, eventually coming to Peach Creek Estates where it had landed. When I approached the impact site, I was expecting to find a rock. To my surprise, it was a baby girl with a full head of blue hair. That baby as you." He paused in his story, gauging Alice and her reaction. She wasn't going to faint, but the surprise was evident in her eyes. Seeing that it was safe, he continued. "I was in a panic. I've never had a kid before, and I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to do. I finally calmed down enough to think things through, and decided to bring you to the hospital; if anyone would know what to do with a baby, it would be them. When I arrived and asked for a doctor, your mother approached and asked how she could help. She had already seen your blue hair, surprising her like it did me. I didn't tell her anything, at first. All I told her was that I found you on your own and wanted to have you checked on. She disappeared with you for almost an hour, probably running every sort of test on you that they could do on a baby. She left me in the waiting room."

"At this point," Max broke in, startling Alice because she had momentarily forgotten his presence, "I arrived. Our satellites had picked up on your arrival, but by the time I arrived at your landing spot, the Professor was getting into his car with you. I followed him, but at a safer distance. I wasn't sure of what he was going to do, so I tailed him to ensure your safety. I entered the hospital when the doctor, your mother, took you to test your health. It was at this point that I approached the Professor. I asked him what he knew and what he was intending to do."

"Given the strange turn of events that night, I was a little surprise to be addressed like that," the Professor picked up his side of the story again. "But I answered honestly. I didn't know much, except that you had come from off planet, making you an alien. I wasn't intending anything."

"I believed him," Max contributed. "Even though I was a Plumber, and should have taken you into my custody, I believed the Professor. Something in my gut told me he could be trusted, so I left you in his care."

"After meeting Max, and getting a number from him in case I needed his assistance in the future, I waited for your mother to return with you. And when she did, she wanted answers."

"You told her?" Alice asked, speaking for the first time since her heritage had been revealed to her.

"She sorta forced it out of me," the Professor answered sheepishly. "She's a hard woman to lie to, so I told her everything. She didn't laugh or think me crazy. She asked if I intended to raise you. I answered no." He flashed her a guilty smile, worried that he may have hurt her feelings by admitting that he had passed on raising her. "You see, I wasn't ready at the time to take on the responsibility of being a father. I thought for sure your mother was going to berate me for it, but she surprised me. She declared she was going to raise you."

"Even though I was an... an alien?" Alice asked.

The Professor smiled gently at the girl. "She didn't care. Human or alien, all she saw was a baby who needed someone to raise her."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Alice questioned, feeling betrayed. Her mother had told her she'd tell her no lies, so why hadn't she told her the truth of her past?

"She didn't want to make you feel like an outsider," the Professor answered. The Professor glanced away, a painful look settling on his face. "It can be hard on a child when they feel like they don't fit in."

Alice dropped her gaze to her lap, feeling terrible for bringing up a painful memory. It hadn't been her intention. Her mother's own intentions were good, but it did little to help Alice because she had felt like an outsider since she was little. Why not tell her the truth sooner?

Wait, why was the Professor telling her now?

"Why are you telling me this?" Alice asked, not looking up from her lap.

"It was a request from your mother," the Professor answered. "She had meant to tell you when you turned thirteen, but she made me promise to tell you the truth in the case something happened to her."

"Where do I come from, then?" Alice asked, looking up.

"That's why you were brought here," Max answered in the Professor's place. "Because I left you in the Professor and your mother's care, I didn't get a chance to test your blood and analyze it. With your permission, I'd like to do that now."

"It's up to you, though," the Professor added.

Alice looked at Max, then the Professor, and then her lap. She wasn't sure she actually wanted to know where she came from, but what harm was there? She might as well get some more answers.

"Okay," she answered.

Max smiled and stood to his feet, disappearing for a moment before returning with a cylinder-shaped item in hand. Alice froze at the sight of it. Growing up with a doctor for a mother, Alice didn't have the normal fear of needles like other kids did. When Max had talked about retrieving blood, she had assumed he'd return with a needle. The cylinder-shaped device wasn't at all what she had been expecting, and that momentarily had her panicked. Max saw the look on her face and smiled in that grandfatherly way to set her nerves at ease.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you," he assured her as he approached. "It'll be like pricking your finger on a pin. I only need a little bit."

Alice nodded, feeling ashamed for freezing up at the device; it was just a super-advanced needle. She held up her arm expectantly, and he pressed the cylinder to her skin. True to his word, the pain was as minimal as her finger getting pricked, and it only lasted for a few seconds. He pulled back his object, just as the elevator opened and revealed a famous teenage boy.

"Hey Gramps," Ben Tennyson addressed his grandfather. "Sorry for being late."

Max shook his head at his grandson. "On the contrary, you're on time." He jerked his head in Alice's direction. "Would you mind keeping Alice company while I go over this? It'll be a while, and I don't think she wants to be bored by our conversation."

"Not a problem," he called back to his grandfather, coming to a stop next to Alice's seat and extending his hand out to her. "Hey there, you're Alice? I'm Ben. You've probably heard of me?"

Who hasn't? Ben Tennyson was a celebrity like the Powerpuff Girls and Imaginary Man. He was the boy who could turn into aliens. His identity had been outted months ago on Harangue Nation, ran by its host and namesake, William Harangue. Since then, his heroic deeds had made him a media darling (aside from Harangue Nation), and a teenage heartthrob for teenage girls. Practically every girl at her junior high had a picture of him in their locker, fantasizing about the day they would be called "Mrs. Tennyson."

Alice nodded at Ben's question, but kept her hands to herself. Ben pulled back his hand and used it to rub the back of his neck, his smile not diminishing in the slightest. The Professor pulled the teenager to the side, holding a discussion in hushed tones. Max was at the station underneath the large screen, placing the cylinder into a panel on the console. He took a seat in the swivel chair, beginning to analyze the blood sample.

Left alone, Alice allowed herself to think about everything that had been revealed to her. She believed everything she learned was the truth; the Professor was too kind a man to be playing a cruel trick on her. The reveal made some sense, when Alice really thought about it. Her sense of loneliness, her hair color. But all of this meant one important thing: her life was a lie. Her mother and her aunt and her uncle and her cousin weren't actually her family; not her blood family, anyway. They had been lying to her for almost thirteen years, and that thought brought on a feeling of betrayal that had her tearing up, but she wouldn't let them fall. She didn't want to cry in front of strangers.

"So, how're you holding up?"

Ben's question brought Alice out of her thoughts. He had taken the Professor's seat next to her, looking at her with concern. A quick sweep of the room found that the Professor was at Max's side, glancing over his shoulder so he could see the work being done.

Ben watched Alice carefully. When his grandpa had asked him to come to Plumbers HQ to meet a new alien, he had been excited. With the negative press Harangue was pressing upon the public about aliens (him in particular), Ben wanted to reassure new aliens that they had nothing to be afraid of. Of course, that's when his grandpa had explained a little bit about the girl. Losing a family member and then learning that you were actually an alien the whole time would be a giant burden on anyone's shoulders. He was being brought in as a fellow youth to help her navigate the strange waters.

Alice blinked away her tears and dropped her gaze to her lap. She didn't want to admit to Ben how she was holding up; he'd judge her poorly, because she wasn't holding up well.

"It's okay to be scared," Ben said, taking her silence as an answer. Her head snapped up, looking at him in bewilderment. He frowned at her in sympathy. "I heard about what happened to your mom, and I'm sorry that happened to you. It's probably not easy going from losing a family member to learning that you're actually an alien."

Alice nodded her head slowly.

"I can't necessarily say I can relate, because I'm still human, but I do have this nifty watch that lets me become whatever alien is in it," Ben continued, holding up his Omnitrix to show off to the girl. "Though, my family has a history with aliens. My grandma's an alien, and her DNA passed on to my cousin." He grinned when he saw Alice's eyes widen. "Hey, do you have a phone on you? I could give you her number so you could talk to her about your concerns. She can relate to you better than I can. I was brought in because I was available."

Alice's shoulders drooped a little, like she was disappointed in what he said. Reaching out, Ben clasped his hand on her shoulder, giving her a wide smile that had her looking at him in surprise.

"Hey, just because I can't relate as well doesn't mean I'm not going to help out," Ben told her. He gave her a thumbs up. "What kind of hero would I be?"

"The results are in," Max declared, interrupting the youths. He looked over at the young pair from over his shoulder.

"Are you ready, Alice?" the Professor asked softly.

Alice slowly nodded. He motioned with his hand for her to come closer, and she obeyed with Ben following at her side, his hands resting on the back of his neck. He was remarkably more relaxed than she was, but then again, he wasn't the one about to learn his heritage. Alice stopped behind Max's chair, staring up at the screen that was showing off the results.

ARTHENADITE - 100% MATCH.

Alice, Ben, and the Professor were stumped on the meaning behind the name, but Max's eyes widened and a gasp escaped him.

"It can't be," he muttered.

"Arthenadite? Never heard of it," Ben said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, you wouldn't," Max replied, shaking off his shock. "Their planet, Arthenia, was wiped out completely almost thir..." Max paused, swiveling in his chair to look at Alice with dawning recognition. Alice edged closer behind the Professor. "Thirteen years ago."

"Wiped out? You mean they're gone?" the Professor asked, surprise coloring his face.

"Them and their planet," the Plumber replied with a nod of confirmation.

"Except Alice," Ben noted, looking at the girl. She didn't meet his gaze.

"As far as we know, she's the only Arthenadite alive," Max theorized. "Based on her arrival, I'd estimate that she was sent here before the planet disappeared."

"Do you know what caused the planet to disappear?" the Professor asked, his curious, scientific mind on overdrive. "A black hole? A supernova?"

Max shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The planets within the Olyquis galaxy were wiped out, but from what is still a mystery. There's several theories, but none proven right."

"Could you tell us a little more about the people?" the Professor asked.

"They were isolationists, so there aren't any records coming from the people themselves," Max began the history lesson, crossing his arms as he recalled what little he knew of the peoples' history. "What we know about them comes from other species that attempted to overpower their planet. None were ever able to conquer them."

"Any special abilities?" Ben asked, also curious. He hadn't come across an Arthenadite in his Omnitrix, and he wondered if Azmuth would even bother to add one.

"There's nothing concrete, but digging through the records from these would-be conquerors point to a few powers," Max explained. "Some psychokinesis, some telekinesis, some energy manipulation, and more. It's unknown how common one or all of these powers are, but based on the records, they are incredibly powerful."

"So, Alice could have one or all of these powers?" Ben asked, his eyes widening.

Max nodded in affirmation. "It's very possible."

"Have you experienced any abilities, Alice?" the Professor asked, addressing the girl who had been content to stand in the background.

Alice's first response was to decline, but something stopped her. A small memory not too long ago. After Officer Valerosa had given her news on her mother, and the officer and Principal Goodvibes had left the room to give her privacy, the lights had flickered. It was brief, and Alice hadn't thought about it at the moment, too overwhelmed with the loss of her mother, but was that an indicator? Had she unknowingly used her powers in that moment? Alice wasn't confident it was a good example, so she kept it to herself and shook her head.

"No," she answered.

Ben looked a little disappointed in the answer, but he shrugged it off and looked to his grandfather for an answer. The Professor also looked to the aged Plumber for answers.

"It's possible that she hasn't unlocked them yet," Max explained, hearing the unspoken question from both Ben and the Professor. "Or it's possible she doesn't have them. Without testing them out, we don't know for sure."

The Professor turned to Alice, about to open his mouth and ask a question, but stopped when he saw how pale Alice was. Although he really wanted to see what sort of power she may have (and knew from personal experience about how bad it would be to let a young girl run loose without proper control of her new powers), he wasn't going to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. Besides, there would be time later to experiment such things.

"Thank you for everything, Max, but we'll have to bow out for now," he answered on Alice's behalf, reaching out and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I think Alice has had more than enough excitement for the day. Besides, I need to help the girls with dinner tonight."

Max nodded easily, understanding perfectly. Ben frowned momentarily at the answer, but seeing the look on Alice's face, he changed it to an easy-going grin.

"Guess we'll have to see what you got later," the celebrity teen said teasingly.

Alice didn't hear him. She was too focused on what the Professor said. In all the excitement of learning she was an alien, she had forgotten about dinner with the Utoniums. She hadn't been excited to go to the dinner when it was proposed and now, with this bombshell, she was absolutely dreading the visit.

Alice stepped into her home quietly, carefully closing the door behind her. It was nearing lunch time, so Muriel was most likely back from the store by now, and Eustace would be in front of the television watching the local news channel so he could complain about the stories. She didn't want to be noticed by the adults yet, though Courage had heard her despite her efforts. The trusty pink dog walked up to her, sensing something off with her. She gave him a quick pet, and then made her way for the stairs. She was moving as quietly as possible, but it wasn't quiet enough. Muriel heard Alice's footsteps as the girl passed by the kitchen.

"Alice, dear, is that you?" the woman called to Alice, stopping the girl in her tracks. "Are ya home so soon?"

Alice closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and entered the kitchen. She didn't want to confront her aunt so soon, but she might as well get it all out. No time like the present, right?

"Yes," Alice answered simply.

Muriel paused from making the salad to look at her niece. Something in Alice's tone tipped the woman off that her niece was not doing well. A look in her direction confirmed Muriel's suspicion. The girl was pale as bone, and her shoulders were slouched forward. Muriel frowned in sympathy, having an idea of why her niece was looking so glum.

"Alice, dear, are you alright?" she asked, approaching the girl.

Alice shook her head slowly, worrying the elderly woman.

"What's the matter?"

"How..." Alice cleared her throat and tried again. "How long have you known?"

Muriel stared at the girl, but she didn't need further clarification on what Alice was asking about. She knew where Alice had gone to that morning. She knew what Alice had learned. She knew what Alice was asking.

"Your uncle and I have known since my sister brought you to our home," Muriel answered, a soft smile on her face. "She was so excited to show you off to us. Of course, the color of your hair raised a question on where you came from, not to mention that my sister hadn't had a date since her high school days. Your mother told us everything."

"Didn't you think it was strange?" Alice asked. "That I was an alien?"

"Yes, that was surprising for the first few seconds. But you were such an adorable little thing, that it didn't matter. Human or alien, you were our niece." Muriel smiled. "You were the cutest baby I'd ever seen."

Alice's eyes watered up at her aunt's declaration, and she averted her eyes.

"W-why did mom keep it a secret from me?" she asked. "Why did no one tell me?"

Muriel's smile dropped. "Your mother wanted you to be part of this family, and she was worried you wouldn't feel like you were if you knew the truth," Muriel answered, and Alice flinched by how true that statement was. "She wasn't going to tell you, but after that young boy was revealed to be all those aliens runnin' around, she eventually decided you deserved to know the truth. She talked it over with myself and with Professor Utonium. She wanted to tell you on your thirteenth birthday."

Alice's tears were beginning to fall slowly, but Alice was doing her best to hold them back. Courage, who had been at her side the whole time, whimpered out of sympathy for the girl. Muriel approached her niece and pulled her into a bear hug.

"This is all so new to you, but understand this. Your mother loved you with her heart and soul. You were her pride and joy, and she wouldn't have traded you for anything in this world or others."

"B-but she's gone," Alice choked out. "I'm all alone."

Her aunt tightened her embrace, rubbing her niece's back to comfort her. Courage joined in on the hug, holding tightly onto Alice's leg, conveying his love and support for her.

"You're not alone, dear," Muriel assured the distressed child. "You have so many people who love you and will support you. Remember that no matter what happens, you will always be loved, forever and ever."

Alice's restraints broke. No longer holding back her tears, Alice buried her face in her aunt's shoulder and sobbed, releasing everything she had been feeling since the news of her mother's death. Her aunt tightened her hold on her niece, petting her niece's hair to calm the upset teenager. After her tears dried and her sobs subsided, the girl pulled herself away from the embrace, rubbing at the stains on her cheeks.

"Feel better?" Muriel asked, receiving a nod from the teenager. "Talk to me whenever ya feel down, alright dear? I'll be here for you."

Alice smiled faintly and nodded. "Of course, Aunt Muriel."

Muriel grinned back. "I'm almost finished with the salad. Once I'm done, why don't I help ya find an outfit for tonight?"

"Okay," Alice agreed. "I'm going to go wash my face."

"I'll be up in a moment," the elderly woman told her, turning back to the salad bowl.

Alice scooped up Courage into her arms and walked up the stairs. It hadn't been planned, but her conversation with her aunt helped her feel better. She was still hurt over losing her mother, and learning she was an alien explained her feeling of separation from her peers. But for the moment, she didn't focus on any of that. The future was still scary, but knowing she had her family backing her up made it seem just a little bit less scary.

Chapter Text

Numbuh 789's occupation on the Moonbase used to be a simple, easy job. For eight hours during the third shift, he'd watch over the Kids Next Door satellites that floated around in space, keeping a close eye on the many adult satellites that ventured the Milky Way Galaxy. His companion, Numbuh 987, considered it a babysitting job, but Numbuh 789 didn't mind. He could read his Yipper comics and catch up on the latest Hokeymon episodes.

However, over the last three days, seven of their satellites weren't responding, throwing Numbuh 789's peaceful time into absolute chaos. Soopreme Leaduh Numbuh 362 was demanding to know what happened to their satellites, and Numbuh 789 had no answers to give her. He couldn't retrieve any data off of the fallen satellites, and it wasn't like he could have another satellite go and check the area. They had sent off a team to investigate, but there was no response from the team. The Soopreme Leaduh was not willing to send another manned team after that.

Numbuh 789 did notice that there was a pattern to their satellite losses, making him believe that this was a deliberate act and not an accident. Whatever was destroying their satellites was on its way to the Moonbase, and Numbuh 362 wanted it stopped before it reached them.

So, with a Rainbow Monkey mug filled to the brim with freshly made hot chocolate, Numbuh 789 sat and stared at the display screen up on the wall, looking for any sign of the destroyer. Just as he was taking a sip, the proximity alert sounded off, drowning the room in a red light.

"No, no, no," the operative whispered desperately, pulling up the security feed from the exterior cameras, searching for their intruder.

Based on previous experiences, he was expecting to see Stickybeard's Sweet Revenge, or maybe even something from Father, but that wasn't the case. Something flew by the Moonbase quickly, but it didn't hit the Kids Next Door central headquarters, which had Numbuh 789 sighing in relief. The object was heading for Earth, and considering there was nothing he could do on the matter, Numbuh 789 turned off the alarm. The superheroes down on Earth would handle the object.

"Just a false alarm," he sighed to himself, pulling out a Spore comic book from his stash under the desk.

With the alarm turned off and his attention put on his comic, Numbuh 789 completely missed the shadow of a ginormous green planet encroaching upon the moon.

"Sir?" Plumber Jim called for his boss. He continued when Max Tennyson arrived at the plumber's station, "We just received a scrambled message from the Galactic Enforcers."

"Where are they sending it from?" Max asked, leaning over the plumber's shoulder to get a better look at the console.

"X'Nelli. It arrived moments ago," Jim answered.

Max put his hand to his chin, frowning at the information. The Galactic Enforcers and the Plumbers were allies, and while they didn't have constant contact with each other, sending a scrambled message sent a red flag in Max's head. Something important was being sent, and the Enforcers didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it.

"Notify me when it's done," Max said to his subordinate.

Jim saluted his boss and immediately turned his attention to his station, getting to work unscrambling the message. Max walked away from the control room and entered his private office, taking a seat in his chair. Laying on his desk was his tablet, which he picked up and checked. There was a message waiting for him, having arrived just seconds before. He almost thought it was the same message from the Galactic Enforcers, but it was from the Galactic Guardians instead.

The Galactic Guardians and the Plumbers had a long history of being allies, though Max had some personal reservations about the Galactic Council. Admiral DeGill had reached out to Max a week ago, asking for assistance in searching for one of their lost crews manned by Atomic Betty, a figure whose popularity in the universe rivaled his own. Their personnel were searching the galaxy and was asking Max to have his people search around on Earth for either Betty or her spaceship. Max had instantly agreed and sent out a small team to look for the team, but they hadn't yet found them.

Max opened the message, frowning at what he read:

BE ON ALERT. SOMETHING IS COMING YOUR WAY.

Max re-read the message again, his frown growing more concerned at the implications. The last time they had talked, only one of Admiral DeGill's team was missing. Now, it was twenty-five percent of his fleet. And something was coming to the Earth? None of their satellites had picked up anything entering the Milky Way that wasn't common to this part of the universe.

Almost as if it was reading his mind, his tablet beeped. Instead of a new message, he was watching a live feed from one of their satellites. A purple mech was hurtling toward Townsville. Below, he could make out two colored light streams shooting up at the falling mech. He put his tablet back on the desk, assured that the matter was being handled.

"MAGISTER TENNYSON! MAGISTER TENNYSON!"

Max jumped to his feet, alarmed by the sudden cry of his subordinate. Plumber Carol burst into his office, keeping one hand on the door's frame to stop herself from flying forward. The plumber's face was white as snow and her eyes wide as saucer plates. She was breathing heavily, like she had run a marathon in a short amount of time.

"What's the matter?" he asked her. "Is this about the mech?"

"N-no, sir," she answered, shaking her head. "It's a planet!"

The giant mech that had sped past the Moonbase entered the Earth's atmosphere. Its entry had done little to slow the mech's descent, and it only seemed to speed up as gravity took control and pushed the mech further towards the ground. The citizens of Townsville screamed when they saw the mech coming right for the Downtown area, but they didn't really have to worry. Moving at the speed of light, the two Powerpuff Girls intercepted the falling mech, slowing its descent. They lowered it to Townsville Park, the only area in the Downtown district that was empty enough for a giant mech. They recognized it as one of Mojo Jojo's.

The mech did not look to be in good shape. The right leg was missing at the knee, and the left arm was dislodged at the shoulder, hanging limply at the side. The body unit had puncture wounds scattered haphazardly, and the girls could see that while the helmet was still in one piece, there was an obvious, hasty patchwork at the top of the dome. Hitting the outside button, the dome's hatch popped open and revealed the user of the mech.

Mojo Jojo was still in his seat, harnessed in. He was barely conscious, with one eye swollen shut. His helmet that hid his giant brain was cracked and had holes scattered about. His body had some cuts and bruises, but he still had all limbs attached.

With a frown etched on her face, Blossom reached in and pulled Mojo out of the mech, ripping him out of his harness in the process. The advanced simian grunted from the action, blearily staring up at the Puff leader with his good eye.

"What did you do, Mojo?" Blossom demanded, her eyes narrowing in accusation.

Mojo didn't answer her. His head lolled backward to look over her shoulder, his dull eye making contact with something far away. Bubbles leaned forward so she could be in Mojo's line of sight. Unlike Blossom, her face was filled with worry for the villain.

"Mojo, what happened to you?" Bubbles asked, more compassionate.

Mojo coughed and, using whatever energy he had in him, raised his arm upward and pointed at something over them. The two Puffs looked over their shoulders as one, staring wide-eyed up in the sky. Up, up in the sky was a giant green planet. With their supervision, they could see several somethings exiting the planet, entering the Earth's atmosphere with a loud sonic boom.

"Will you be coming in for lunch support today, Alice?" Mr. Green asked the girl as she passed by his desk on her way to the door.

The girl stopped steps away from his desk and nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, sir," she answered him.

The substitute teacher smiled and went back to looking over his paperwork. "See you at lunch."

It would be Alice's third time spending her lunch in Mr. Green's classroom for lunch support. Mr. Green and her P.E. teacher had excused her from the work she was missing while she was away in Nowhere, but the rest of her teachers still asked for all those missing assignments, putting Alice far behind in her classes. Mr. Green, on the Monday she had returned, told his class he was offering lunch support to catch up on work from his or other teacher's classes, an offer that a few kids took him up on. Alice was one of those students (because it wasn't like she had any plans at lunch), and, with Mr. Green's help, was able to complete a third of her work.

As Alice made her way to her locker, she tried desperately to not pay attention to her fellow students staring at her from a distance. Without needing to look at them, she could sense their eyes on her. Things hadn't been the same since she'd returned to school two days prior. Before leaving, students didn't know she existed. Now, after returning from a long hiatus, all eyes were on her. She was the gossip of the school, and she absolutely hated it.

She swung her backpack onto her back once she was finished switching out her supplies, and was in the process of closing the locker door when she paused, the hair on the back of her neck standing at attention. Something in the pit of her stomach felt wrong, like something bad was about to happen. She glanced up and down the hallway, but found nothing out of place. Nobody seemed to have noticed either, which sent chills down Alice's spine. What was the cause of this feeling? Why did she seem to be the only one affected?

A sonic boom above their school startled Alice. Everyone else around her didn't even flinch, probably assuming it was the Powerpuffs or even the Rowdyruffs flying by, maybe even a military jet. But none of that made sense. The Powerpuffs would never fly over the school so fast, the Rowdyruffs avoided school like the plague, and the nearest military base was situated in the Nowhere desert, far, far away from the school.

In the pit of Alice's stomach, she knew something was coming.

Suddenly, something green slammed down through the roof at incredible speeds, imbedding itself into the floor. This caused the students to scream in terror and run for the exits. Students were getting pushed and trampled. A few, like Alice, were frozen, startled by what they were experiencing.

The green thing was bulbous shaped, almost looking like a plant based on its roots that were imbedding themselves into the floor tile. It was a strange sight, yet Alice found herself walking the nearly empty hallway to the plant without even thinking about it. Despite her wariness over the thing, she couldn't stop herself. Something deep down inside her was calling her to it. As she got closer to it, she realized that the mysterious plant was the same height as her. She also noticed that it was moving in and out, almost like it was breathing. Slowly, cautiously, Alice reached out a hand to touch it, but immediately recoiled when the plant began to ooze out a green, gooey substance. The gooey substance took on a spherical form, with a fin at the top of its body and red eyes. Before she had the common sense to run away, the gooey substance sprang out from the plant, aimed directly for her.

Alice raised her arm up and the gooey substance opened its mouth, revealing jagged looking teeth that bit into her arm. Alice released a shriek, and that section of the hallway went into darkness very briefly. Reflexively, Alice flung her arm to the side, and the creature flew off her arm, hitting the wall with a watery splat. It fell to the ground and bounced back, shaking off the hit it took. Alice brought her injured left arm to her body, noticing the blood flowing out of the puncture wounds, but her attention was pulled to the plant. It was oozing out several more of the same creatures.

Alice did a quick scan of her surroundings and found that she was the only student left in the hallway with the creatures. The others were gone, seeking exits, which is what Alice was supposed to do. Rising to her feet, Alice ran down the emptied hallway and took a right turn into a hallway that was scattered with students also trying to get away from the monsters. It was empty of any of the monsters, until a monster smashed in from the roof, blocking their exit way and raining debris on the students. This monster was different from the green ball shaped monsters of the other hallway. It was far larger than them, having the top of its head touching the roof above it. Unlike the green body the smaller monsters had, this one was almost nearly made out of telephone poles, giving it a metallic look.

Many of the students turned and ran in the opposite direction upon seeing this much larger, much scarier monster, pushing each other out of the way, but Alice was frozen in place. Alice had been the only one who spotted that a fellow student of hers - Suzy from her sixth period math class - was in immediate danger. When the monster had smashed in from the roof, it had caught Suzy underneath it, trapping her and making it hard to escape. The monster had its arm raised high into the air, preparing to smash Suzy, who threw up her arms to defend herself as a reflex. Alice's eyes widened in fright as the monster's arm swung down. Overhead, the florescent lights buzzed angrily, briefly brightening that part of the hallway.

Alice released a high-pitch scream and threw out a hand at the monster just as the lights shattered, throwing the hallway into darkness.

She didn't know what she could accomplish by just screaming at it, but something very strange happened. Lockers flung themselves off the wall and flew at the monster, striking it in the head before clattering to the ground. Because of the momentum, the monster was pushed to the side, hitting the wall and briefly falling through it. Both Suzy and Alice stared in surprise. Alice shifted her surprised gaze from the monster to her hand. She would have been freaked out by what happened if Max Tennyson's words didn't ring through her head.

"Some psychokinesis, some telekinesis, some energy manipulation, and more."

"Alice!"

Alice snapped out of her thoughts just in time to witness the monster rush at her with its arms raised up in an attempt to grab her. Before the monster could clear the distance between them, something small wrapped itself around her waist and tugged her backward, pulling her away from danger. Not a second too soon, either, because the monster smashed the spot where Alice had been. Nergal Jr stepped in front of her and pulled down his glasses. The monster froze in place and didn't move, behaving like a garden statue. Junior returned the glasses to their place on his face, his tentacle retreating back into his body. Alice stared at him in surprise, wondering where he had come from.

"Are you okay?" he asked out of concern.

"Yes," Alice answered. Her eyes widened when she remembered they weren't the only two in the hall, and looked in Suzy's direction. "Su-"

"Don't worry about me, I'm doing alright," Suzy interrupted Alice, stopping next to the girl and smiling brightly. "Just a few bruises. It would have been a lot worse if you two hadn't come to help me. Thanks for that, by the way."

"We're not in the clear yet," Junior responded to her, eyeing the large hole in the ceiling in which several monsters were beginning to circle around the opening. "We need to leave."

"What about the others?" Suzy asked.

"Can't help them right now," Junior answered, pointing at the ceiling hole. "Those things are multiplying fast, and I can't keep freezing them forever. We gotta leave and let professionals deal with it."

Suzy frowned at the idea, but she saw the logic behind it and nodded.

"Right, okay. The Powerpuff Girls will be here any minute to deal with this," Suzy agreed reluctantly. "Let's go."

Junior took the lead with Suzy following behind. Alice didn't follow after the two immediately. She looked back at the frozen monster. Although it was dark, she thought she saw something green starting to form where the monster touched the floor. What it could be puzzled the girl, but she didn't get to ponder the mystery for very long.

"Alice!" Suzy's voice called out to her. "We need to go!"

Alice turned at the call, spared the weird green spot beginning to form a quick glance, and then jogged to where Suzy and Junior had stopped to wait for her. As she was moving past a set of lockers, a ball shaped monster launched itself from the wall, latching itself to the girl's backpack with its sharp mouth. As Alice was in the process of dropping her backpack off of her, the monster leveraged itself upward, landing on her shoulder and baring its sharp mouth at her. Alice could feel the spot where it was sitting begin to burn. She swatted the monster off of her before it could take a bite out of her, feeling the back of her hand burn from contact.

The monster fell backward and bounced back, prepared for another launch at its prey. It was stopped midair by a gloved hand grabbing it by its fin and throwing it in the opposite direction. Mr. Green shook his gloved hand, like he was ridding it of the monster's gooey structure. He watched the creature hit the ground with a splat on the other side of the school.

"Mr. Green?" Alice asked, confused on why he would still be in the school.

The substitute teacher whirled around and grabbed his student's arm, hauling her to her feet.

"We need to leave, now," the adult stressed, his only eye momentarily noticing the blood stains on her sleeve. He frowned, and pulled the still confused girl over to where Suzy and Junior were still standing.

"We need to leave," Mr. Green repeated his warning to the students. "The school has been overtaken by these creatures and they're beginning to effect the school's structure. If we remain here any longer, we'll be caught in the collapse." His good eye surveyed their area, noticing that a few of the creatures were frozen on the spot. "Did you freeze these, Junior?"

"Yeah," Junior replied. "They'll recover eventually, but we'll be long gone by then. I can't use it constantly, though."

Mr. Green nodded. "Take the lead and freeze as many as you can. I'll take the back and make sure they don't ambush us. Head for the front doors."

Junior did as he was instructed, and started to jog for the front of the school. Suzy and Alice followed him immediately, with their teacher following behind them.

"Hey Alice, think you could move some lockers again?" Suzy asked, looking over her shoulder to talk to the girl.

Alice dropped her gaze to the floor.

"I...I don't think so," Alice admitted. "I don't know how I did it."

Suzy frowned, but shrugged. "Well, that's okay. We'll leave this to the boys."

The four only encountered a handful of monsters on their trek to the school's front doors. Junior froze any that tried to attack head on, and Mr. Green would occasionally toss aside a monster or two that tried for a sneak attack. None in their group was injured by the time they made it to the school's entrance.

The front doors were hanging by their hinges, one door swung inward and the other outward. The green substance Alice had noticed forming under the large monster was snaking its way up the doors. It was light, but it was there. Junior exited first, pushing the inward swung door forward so that it was now like its twin. Lined up along the school's sidewalk were police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. Further down the street, Alice could see that parents were being reunited with their children, while others were waiting. Once they were safely past the archway, Mr. Green herded the three teenagers to a group of paramedics huddled together, having a serious conversation about something that Alice couldn't really hear.

"Excuse me," Mr. Green interrupted their discussion, getting their attention. He ignored the way the human paramedics jumped back once they realized they were speaking to a demon. He gestured with his hand to the kids. "These children need to be looked over."

One paramedic zeroed in on Alice, a look of recognition in his eyes.

"You're..." he trailed off and shook his head. His eyes moved downward to her sleeve, where he could see the dried blood stains. "Jason, Kimberly, check over these two." He used his hand to motion at Junior and Suzy. "Alice, follow me."

Alice shrunk at the mention of her name, but Mr. Green put his arm on her shoulder, smiling at her in his reassuring way. He looked over at his other two students.

"Will you two be alright if I accompany Alice?" Mr. Green asked them.

Junior and Suzy nodded in conformation, already letting the two paramedics look them over. Mr. Green kept his hand on the teenager's shoulder and guided her after the medic to his ambulance. The medic helped her up into the vehicle while Mr. Green stood at the door.

"You probably don't remember me," the medic said as he rolled up Alice's sleeve. "I went to the funeral. I knew your mom from work. Name's Curtis."

Alice looked away from the man, staring at her knees. She vaguely remembered seeing him at the funeral. He had been one of the many that told her to rely on him if she ever needed help.

"Huh, that's weird," Curtis remarked to himself, pulling Alice's attention.

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Green asked.

"No. Just based on the blood, I figured the wound would be wider," Curtis answered, studying Alice's injured arm. "They look like they're almost healed."

Mr. Green's eyebrow rose at the answer, and he looked over at the teenager's arm as well, studying it for himself. Alice looked down at her arm, amazed to see that the puncture wounds were nearly closed up. Was this part of her alien DNA?

"I'll just make sure it doesn't get an infection and wrap it up," Curtis stated, getting to work.

Alice watched the man work quietly, not answering any of his questions or making small talk with him. Mr. Green picked up on the girl's anxiety and drew the medic's attention away from his student, answering questions on her behalf.

"Alice?! Alice?!"

Alice's eyes moved up from her arm to the open doors, surprised to hear someone call for her. Aunt Muriel and Uncle Eustace were out in Nowhere, and there was no way they could reach the school in such a short amount of time. Plus, it didn't sound like either of them. She watched Mr. Green raise a hand and give it a quick wave.

"Over here, Professor," the demon spoke up loud enough for the man to hear.

A second later, the Professor appeared at the door, slightly out of breath. Alice blinked in surprise, wondering why the Professor was around.

"Oh, thank goodness," the Professor sighed in relief. "I came as soon as I heard."

"Have you any word on the Girls, Professor?" Mr. Green asked. "I haven't seen them yet."

"They're still in Downtown. They were called down there before all this happened," the Professor answered.

The Professor's eyes widened when he realized that Alice was in the back of an ambulance and was having her wounds wrapped up. His face went pale in fright.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Minor wound," Curtis answered in Alice's place. "Just need to have it bandaged."

The Professor nodded, color coming back to his face.

"Okay, okay," he sighed in relief. "Will you be finished soon?"

Curtis paused in his administration and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Professor.

"Why do you ask?" he asked.

The Professor's eyebrows flew up into his hairline, whether because of the medic's question or the way he said it.

"Her aunt asked me to look after her," the Professor answered.

"Unless you're her legal guardian, which I know you're not, then the school has to give the okay," the medic stated, standing his ground.

"I'm on her emergency card!" the Professor argued. His eyes travelled until they landed on a particular figure walking by. "Mrs. Atoms!"

Mrs. Atoms, Principal Goodvibe's secretary, arrived a second later, looking frazzled and stressed. In her hands was a clipboard. Her eyes landed on Alice and a relieved smile appeared on her face as she wrote something - Alice assumed her name - on the piece of paper attached to the clipboard.

"Mrs. Atoms, could you release Alice to my care?" the Professor asked the secretary.

"Does she need to go to the hospital?" Mrs. Atoms asked her question to the medic.

"No, just a wrap up," Curtis answered, taping up the end of the bandage.

"Is your aunt with you, Alice?" Mrs. Atoms asked Alice, her voice soft.

Alice shook her head and answered simply, "Nowhere."

Mrs. Atoms nodded. "Very well then. You are an emergency contact for her, so I'll leave her in your care." Her eyes darted around. "If you'll excuse me, I need to continue finding students."

"There's still missing students?" Mr. Green asked worriedly.

Mrs. Atoms nodded, a sad frown forming on her face. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm still missing four hundred and thirteen students."

Alice felt her blood chill at the number. Four hundred and thirteen was a lot of students to be missing. Maybe some of those weren't accounted for, yet, but the pit in Alice's stomach didn't loosen at the thought.

"I'll help," Mr. Green offered the secretary.

Mrs. Atom's sad frown turned into a thankful smile, and she moved away from the ambulance with Mr. Green in tow. With Alice's wound addressed, Curtis, reluctantly, released Alice to the Professor. The older man put a hand around her shoulder and walked her to his house, away from the school. Alice took one last glance over her shoulder and noticed that some of that green gooey substance was beginning to leak out of the school's exterior.

"ARGH!" Dexter shouted out in frustration, swiping his hand across his desk and knocking off everything on the surface.

His A.I. secretary stood on the opposite side of the desk, staring unflinchingly at her boss' display of aggression. Dexter fell into his seat, hiding his head in his hands. Behind him, Ultimate Exposure and the Kids Next Door Nightly News were reporting on the alien invasion happening in the Suburbs and Downtown. They had been reporting on the invasion all day, showing the efforts being made by the heroes - the Kids Next Door, the Powerpuff Girls, and Ben - to keep the aliens at bay, but the strategy was defensive and was doing little to stop the advancing aliens who were multiplying faster than the heroes could put them down.

He hadn't been able to go out on the front lines and help much against the aliens since his Dexo-Transformer suit was still being repaired after someone borrowed it and broke it. He kept an eye out for the Justice Friends, or Monkey, or Imaginary Man, or Captain Planet, or the military, or one of the giant robots, either Megas or Titan, but with each passing hour, he grew more and more disturbed by their absence. So, he immediately made some calls.

His calls went absolutely nowhere. The Plumbers, Kids Next Door, and the Professor had answered him, but they had no information that was useful. The military and Global Security were silent, not answering his calls. He didn't know how to get a hold of Imaginary Man, Titan, Captain Planet, or Megas. Providence demanded to know how he got their number and to lose it. Overall, it was a wasted day with no solution in sight.

With his calls doing nothing productive, he turned his attention to what else the two news programs were reporting on: the environmental damage. Already, parts of the Suburbs and Downtown were being infected by strange bulbous looking plants that were pumping out tiny, ball shaped aliens. The infection was harmful to humans, but without a sample to test on, Dexter had no way of studying it, let alone curing it. That would have to come later, which left him with nothing productive to do, which made him even more furious.

"What am I supposed to do!?" Dexter demanded outloud, venting his frustrations.

"Dexter?" his assistant called to him. "May I make a suggestion?"

"What?" Dexter snapped, still on edge.

"I believe you should go through with your video conference," Computress told him.

Dexter removed his head from his hands, turning to give his robotic assistant a look of disbelief. Dexter had planned the video conference a day prior, before everything slipped into chaos. The intention of the conference was to talk about the bus slider's new feature. The new feature was a force field that would be activated while the bus was in motion to keep the passengers safe. With all that had happened so far, having a conference was the furthest thing on his mind.

"What good would that do?" Dexter demanded. "How do you think the public will react to my talking about the bus's new feature while there's aliens running around on their front yard?"

"You are mistaken. I did not say you should talk about the bus slide's new feature," Computress countered in her programmed calmness.

Dexter blinked, stumped.

"You should reassure the public about the invasion and tell them what is known so far," Computress continued.

"We don't know anything," Dexter countered. "That's my frustration."

"That is true, but no one has spoken to the public yet," Computress answered. "It will make the public feel better if someone can go and reassure them that information will be found out and shared."

Dexter blinked again and leaned back in his seat. It was true, no one had come forth to reassure the public. The Mayor was probably hiding away in City Hall, trying to stay safe from the aliens, and Ms. Bellum would be busy keeping him safe. The military wasn't answering his calls, so there was no chance General Specific was going to make a public statement (not like it would have been reassuring to begin with, anyways). Ben and the Powerpuffs were busy handling the situation on the ground, so they wouldn't get the chance either. If Dexter couldn't help in the fight, he could at least do this small bit to reassure the public that things would be okay.

Besides, with Global Security and the military on radio silence, and the aliens multiplying their forces every second, they might need to ask for volunteers, and now was a good time as any to plant the seed.

"Alright then," Dexter agreed. "Let the media know." Computress nodded, preparing to follow through with her orders. She was about to make contact with the only news sources still working when Dexter stopped her. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"Of course, Dexter," Computress said easily. This honestly wasn't the first time she'd seen him so angry, and so she didn't take stock in his emotional outburst.

With Computress taking care of the media, Dexter leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Time to write," he muttered.

Alice sat on the Professor's couch, her knees tucked up against her chest and on arm wrapped around her legs. Her hair was wet, fresh from the shower she had just taken. Her clothes had been put into the washer so they could be cleaned, and the Professor had given her a spare shirt and shorts to wear in the meantime. Her bandage was off, having done so prior to the shower. Curtis would probably be mad, but she hadn't wanted it to get wet. Besides, it didn't matter. The wound wasn't there, leaving no trace of injury. The burning she had felt from the creature was also gone, but that had stopped hurting even before she had evacuated from the school.

She stared at her hand, the one she had thrown out at the creature when it went to attack Suzy. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she was positive it had been her doing. And then there was the way the hall had mysteriously gone dark in that moment. There had also been a flicker when she had been bitten by one of the creatures. Coupled with that time back in the principal's office when she had learned the fate of her mother, there seemed to be a pattern.

Alice was alone in the Professor's living room, watching Ultimate Exposure, the only news program that was in operation. With all the chaos going on, the Girls wouldn't be returning home till maybe late into the night. The Professor had been in the basement after he sent her to take a shower, and when she had passed the door on her back to the living room, she had heard him talking to somebody on the phone. Whatever it was that he was doing down there, it was important and she didn't want to interrupt him.

She had been able to talk to her aunt before she took her shower, reassuring the older woman that she was fine. Her aunt, uncle and Courage were okay, too, just shaken up from what was going on around the world. Alice's school hadn't been the only place that got hit by those strange creatures. The news was talking about the creatures, showing that these things were taking on newer and scarier forms, some of them much larger than a regular human being. Every thirty minutes, they mentioned how many people were missing, and the number kept rising. She had to close her eyes and cover her ears when the reports came up. She didn't want to know; she didn't want to think about it.

"Is the T.V. not working?"

Alice almost fell off the couch in fright, startled by the Professor's sudden appearance. She whirled around and stared at him with wide eyes, which must have spooked him because he held up his hands in a gesture to calm her down.

"Sorry, Alice. I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized, moving around the couch and taking a seat inches away from her.

"Sorry," Alice murmured, pulling her knees closer to her chest, embarrassed for her outburst.

"It's okay. You've got a lot on your mind," he reassured her, smiling his fatherly smile. "Oh, the T.V.'s working again."

She looked to the screen, finding that they were reporting on the creatures down in Orchid Bay. She shivered when she saw the large creatures roaming the area, looking even more terrifying than the creature she saw at the school.

"Professor, do you know what those things are?" Alice asked, gesturing to the screen.

"No. Nothing except that they're not from our planet," he admitted, his eyes moving away from the T.V. screen to the girl. "The news mentioned there was going to be an announcement from DexLabs, right?"

Alice nodded in answer, remembering about them mentioning it and also silently wondering how he knew since he was in his basement. Was there a T.V. down there that he was watching off of? Was the T.V. loud enough for him to hear? Did someone call him?

The Professor smiled and then his eyes fell on her arm, the one that was supposed to be injured. His eyebrows raised up into his hairline; he looked surprised, but not shocked. It was a curious look to have, but it made Alice feel self-conscious, so she placed her hand over where the puncture wounds used to be, hiding it away from the adult.

"It healed," Alice supplied, feeling like she had to explain her injury's sudden disappearance.

The Professor nodded his head in agreement. "Your mother mentioned it to me when you were littler."

"I never noticed before," the girl said, moving her hand off of the healed section. "When I wouldn't get sick, mom always told me my immune system was stronger than others." Alice began playing with her hair, frowning at it lightly. "I guess there were a lot of signs I wasn't normal."

The Professor shook his head, leaning back further into the couch.

"Our world is filled with super humans, - some of them created, some of them born with it - aliens, talking animals, EVOs, demons, Imaginary Friends, and more." He turned and grinned at her. "I think the definition of normal shifted years ago."

Despite herself, Alice returned his grin with a small smile of her own. She wasn't comfortable yet with her heritage, but when the Professor listed out all the different kinds of people that made up their world, her being an alien really didn't feel like such a strange phenomenon.

"...This just in, Dexter McPherson has begun his live video feed," Diane Farrah announced, calling their attention to the T.V. set. "Let's listen in."

The Professor looked at his watch and clicked his tongue. "Five minutes late."

The T.V. showed DexLab's logo moments followed shortly after by a live video feed of the boy genius himself, showing Dexter sitting at his desk, his arms resting against the mechanical surface.

"Greetings. I am Dexter, CEO and Founder of DexLabs Inc.," Dexter began, his tone professional and calm. "As you already know, we have been attacked by alien invaders." Alice curled in on herself a bit more, and didn't say a word when the Professor rested a hand on her shoulder. "Based on the field reports I have received, the invasion hit harder in certain parts of the world than others, spreading a toxic substance in the area, coupled with a larger number of alien creatures. I am looking into a way to contain the area and cure the substance. All I can say for certain is that this substance is harmful to humans, so do not touch it."

As Dexter was speaking, images of the areas that were heavily infected appeared over his left shoulder. Alice recognized a few of the locations, such as Father's development site in Peach Creek Estates and Goat's Junkyard. "There is still more to learn about these aliens that have invaded our planet. Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers at this time, but I will be seeking them out. For the time being, stay indoors and away from these creatures as much as possible."

Dexter's brows knitted together, looking troubled. It took him a few seconds to start again. "That being said, the current prediction is that we will require volunteers to assist in this fight against the aliens. These invaders are multiplying at a rate that cannot be matched, and our current roster of heroes might not be enough this time around. For anyone able and willing, any help would be appreciated. Anyone over the age of eleven will be considered. More details will be provided at a later time." His brows unknitted, and his face relaxed into its professional mask. "Thank you for tuning in, and good night."

The DexLabs logo appeared once more, before it returned to the news studio. The Professor turned down the volume, since Diane was now repeating Dexter's words and speculating over the future. The Professor used his free hand to run his fingers through his hair, a heavy sigh escaping his mouth.

"Not terribly enlightening, but it's only day one," the Professor commented. "Asking for volunteers so young, though..." He shook his head. "I guess there's the Kids Next Door... And my daughters were young when they began their crime fighting... And Dexter and Mandark both have businesses at such a young age... Even Ben was doing his alien heroics as a younger kid..." He hummed in deep thought. "Is it a statement of our society that we rely so much on kids?"

Alice didn't answer the Professor's question, though considering the contemplative look on his face, she didn't think he was actually looking for an answer and was merely posing a rhetorical question. She looked back over at the T.V. screen, taking in a sharp breath. The news was showing footage of the planet that was looming over theirs. Alice shut her eyes in fright and buried her head in her knees. The T.V. went black for a moment, and the lights around them shut off, temporarily throwing the room into darkness. A second later, the T.V. and the lights turned on.

"What the-? A power surge?" the Professor asked, looking around in surprise. "Must be those creatures. I'll go che-"

"No!" Alice interrupted, whipping her head to look at him. If he went outside thinking one of those aliens had done this and he was hurt or killed...Once again, the T.V. and lights turned off and on, surprising the Professor.

"Alice, what's going on?" the man asked, looking at her in worry.

Alice looked away from him, staring at her hand, the one she had used against the monster at the school. She wasn't prepared to tell him, but she had to tell someone. He had raised three superpowered little girls; who better than him would understand?

"The lights...that's me," Alice answered. "At the school... the lights went out when I moved some lockers...without touching them." She closed her eyes, pressing her clenched hand to her chest. "I-I have powers."

"...WHAT?!"

Chapter Text

"This is a bad idea."

"Yes, Tennyson, I know," Dexter growled out, arms crossed, one hand clenching the opposite arm in annoyance. "You've told me several times now."

"Have I mentioned it's a really bad idea?" Ben challenged, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind the back of his head. "Because this is a really bad idea."

"Ben," Gwen scolded, swatting her cousin on the arm. "You can knock it off now. It's getting old."

"You're starting to sound like a four-year-old," Kevin piped up from the other side of his girlfriend, resting his head lazily in his hand.

Ben leaned forward, resting one arm against the conference table he was seated at.

"Sorry, but I just have to point out it's a bad idea to have those two in a hospital filled with injured citizens," the teenager remarked, pointing a thumb at where Mojo Jojo and Mandark sat. Mojo rolled his eyes, not wanting to engage in verbal combat with someone he deemed of lesser evolutionary standing. Mandark was seething as well, mostly because he was annoyed to be lumped together with Mojo. "Why are they even here?"

Dexter grumbled some unkind words under his breath, rubbing the spot just between his eyes in aggravation. He was running low on sleep, coffee, and patience. Since the alien invasion, Dexter's stress level went higher and higher. He was busy with rolling out the new force-field containment for the heavily infected areas in the world, and he was trying to manage the volunteers that were pouring into Tech Square. There were people lined up when he left for Offworld Plaza, and so it's why he left Computress behind to see to their registration. On top of all that stress, there was also this meeting, which he hadn't even planned at the start.

Max Tennyson had phoned Dexter in the late afternoon the day prior, stating that he had vital information on their enemy, and wanted to share it with the genius and whoever else Dexter deemed important enough to know. However, because of the aged man's responsibilities with the Plumbers, he was sending his grandson's team in his place, and tasked Dexter with getting the ball rolling. So, Dexter filled out the rest of the roster, with all but one currently in attendance.

As loathe as Dexter was to admit it, the boy genius had called in Mandark for the meeting. While Mandark was infinitely in superior to Dexter in every way possible, Dexter couldn't deny that Mandark would be an asset in the war that was being waged. The Professor, Bubbles and Blossom were obvious choices as well. The Powerpuffs were heroes and would need to hear this information, and the Professor was a leading mind in science. Double D, Mojo Jojo, and Kiva Andru were out of left field choices, but were necessary. Double D was a kid from the Cul-de-Sac that Dexter had encountered occasionally at science fairs. The kid was a scarily talented engineer, and he had contacted Dexter about his theory on the alien invaders, and that had piqued Dexter's interest. The boy genius had extended an invitation to Coop Kaplowski since he was Megas' driver, arguably the most powerful thing to fight the aliens, but Kiva Andru had come in his stead. Kiva deemed the meeting too important to let Coop come alone to, so she invited herself (and apparently, Coop and Jamie had a Beasts and Barbarians video game tournament running that Coop deemed more important than a meeting to save the world). Sitting next to her was the Providence representative, Amber Ignis. Although he had been unsure if Providence would even bother answering his call considering how that went last time, the woman had been the first to show up. Mojo's inclusion had earned him an annoyed glare from Blossom (and Ben's many vocal complaints), but Mojo's reason for being there was for something Dexter was planning after the meeting. The only unknown, uninvited individual was the lone samurai sitting in the corner. The stranger had just appeared out of nowhere and sat himself in the corner, pulling his straw hat over his eyes and probably resting. No one dared to approach him and tell him to leave, so he was allowed to stay.

The group in attendance was at Memorial Hospital, using one of their largest rooms for the meeting. The initial plan was to have it at DexLabs, but Dexter didn't want Mojo or Mandark near his technology. The hospital seemed like neutral territory, though the annoyed look they had received from a pink haired volunteer upon arriving made Dexter wonder how long the staff would allow them to use the room before coming in and kicking them out. The meeting was supposed to have started ten minutes ago, but they were being held up by one missing member. Dexter had sent out an invitation to Kids Next Door operative Numbuh One of Sector V, and the eleven-year-old had yet to make an appearance.

The door at the front of the room suddenly opened, and in stepped Numbuhs Two and Five of Sector V. Not Numbuh One.

"Oh. Are we late?" Numbuh Two asked, staring back at all the eyes on him.

Dexter almost responded, because honestly, he was reaching the end of his fuse. However, Numbuh Five beat him to it. She took off her hat and whacked him on the shoulder with it.

"Of course we're late. Numbuh Five told you to hurry up, but you had to mess with the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. anyway," his fellow operative lectured.

"Well I couldn't just let that noise slide," Numbuh Two argued back, defending himself. "How was I supposed to know it was a hamster getting a tan?"

"Can we get to the matter at hand?" Dexter cut in, shutting down their argument. "I sent the invitation to Numbuh One. Where is he?"

"He's back at the Treehouse," Numbuh Five answered, already moving toward an open seat on the opposite of Mandark. Numbuh Two followed behind her dutifully, flashing an embarrassed smile at the group. "With communications down between us and the Moonbase, Numbuh One is filling in as Soopreme Leaduh. He sent us in his place."

"Fine. With you two here, we can finally start," Dexter said with a sigh, resisting the urge to run his hand down his face. He turned and addressed Ben, "What can you tell us about these creatures?"

Ben pulled out a disc the size of his palm from his jacket's pocket, and placed it in the middle of the table. He then tapped the glassy surface, bringing up a holographic projection of the planet that was looming up in the sky.

"So, according to the Galactic Enforcers, this is Planet Fusion," he explained, resting his arm on the table once more. "The planet is ruled by some jerk known simply as Lord Fuse, and his underlings that invaded our planet three days ago are referred to as Fusions. They come out of Terrafusers, which are the plants that are taking root in our soil. No information on how long he's been around, but the estimated belief is that he has been conquering and consuming planets far longer than a millennia. The Galactic Guardians-"

"Uh... you mean the Galactic Enforcers?" Numbuh Two cut in, attempting to correct Ben.

"Nope. There's the Enforcers and then the Guardians," Kevin answered in the other teen's place. "Pretty unoriginal naming if you ask me."

Gwen elbowed her boyfriend as a warning.

"Yeah, so anyways, according to them, only two planets have survived an assault by Fuse. The Glorfts managed to repel Fuse-"

"Of course they did," Kiva complained with a huff.

"- and the Ectonurites joined forces to protect themselves against him," Ben continued, not at all stopping when he heard Kiva's comment. "All other planets that have crossed paths with Fuse and his planet were wiped out completely."

There was a moment of silence after the info dump Ben laid on them. Each person was digesting the information they had been given. Kevin and Gwen were the only two unaffected, already having heard this from Max. They had more time to digest the information over the others.

"So... is there any way to stop this Fuse?" Professor Utonium asked, looking around the group uncertainly. "Mojo, you went up against him and came out of it in one piece. Any ideas?"

Mojo crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from everyone in the room.

"Hmph. It is true that I, Mojo Jojo, encountered Fuse in my giant robot and that I, Mojo Jojo, returned to Earth in one piece. However, there is no information to be given," the simian answered.

Mandark snorted, rolling his eyes from behind his glasses. "Well that was useless."

Bubbles frowned in Mandark's direction, but turned a comforting smile in Mojo's direction.

"It's okay, Mojo. You did what you could," she encouraged him.

"So there's no way to stop him?" Double D fretted, wringing his hands out of anxiety.

"The military is in shambles," Dexter reported, one finger tapping the table surface rhythmically. "Global Security and the Justice Friends haven't responded to any of my calls. Communication was lost with the Moonbase. Imaginary Man and Monkey, along with low-tier heroes, are missing."

"Megas is completely covered in that Fusion goo," Kiva added in, frowning. "We've been trying to get close to it, but haven't made any progress."

"The Galactic Enforcers are too far away to help," Gwen jumped in. "The Galactic Guardians have agreed to help, but twenty-five percent of their fleet have gone missing, presumably by Fuse."

"What about those volunteers?" Blossom asked, directing her question and gaze at Dexter. "You mentioned something about them in your broadcast. Are you serious about it?"

Dexter exhaled through his nostrils, trying those deep-breathing exercises his sister lectured him about.

"I didn't have any plans finalized on the matter, but many popped up the morning after, signing up to help in whatever way possible," Dexter answered, rubbing his left temple. "The Kids Next Door opened up their own volunteer system, haven't they?"

Numbuhs Two and Five nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, just yesterday in fact," Numbuh Five answered. "So long as they're under the age of eleven, kids can sign up as volunteers only without joining the organization officially. They're given supplies and weapons by us, but they can't enter a Sector's treehouse or be in any of our meetings."

"Rolf is doing something similar with the Urban Rangers," Double D piped in. "Although Rolf is making them join the organization as official members, and they can't venture far from the Suburbs."

"The Plumbers are planning to go public and supply the volunteers with whatever technology they can give to help out," Ben contributed to the conversation, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his neck. "I talked to Rex over at Providence, and apparently they're thinking of doing something similar. That's still the plan, right Amber?"

Amber's frown deepened into a scowl, annoyed with the familiarity Ben had when speaking to her. She didn't vocalize her issue, however, and settled for nodding in confirmation at his question.

"DexLabs is already producing weapons and armor to help," Dexter said. "What about you, Mandark?"

"Of course Mandark Industries will be producing weapons and armor," Mandark stated, slightly appalled that Dexter would imply otherwise. "I can't have you flooding the market with your inferior product!"

Dexter rolled his eyes, not letting his heckles rise at the jab. He had other things to take care of. "After today's meeting, I will be issuing a public statement in regards to volunteering. I hope to have it more fleshed out once I finalize one last issue," Dexter explained vaguely, not going into any detail about what the issue was. "In the meantime, if organizations or groups you are apart of can help supply the volunteers with gear, armor, weapons, whatever, that would be of great assistance. In the crisis to come, we will need every bit of help we can find."

"Excuse me. If I might ask, how much is known about his underlings?" the samurai questioned, causing a few members to jump in their seats due to having forgotten he was around. He was standing up in the corner, lifting up the brim of his straw hat so that he could see everyone.

"Well... the smallest monsters are called Fusion Spawns," Ben answered. "But that's all the information we have on them. Apparently, the new variations that have been popping up are new."

The samurai frowned slightly in thought. "I see. So it is possible for them to take on any shape they wish?"

"From what we've been told, yes," Gwen answered.

The samurai nodded, his face clearing with a look of epiphany.

"I see, so that explains why the creature looked like myself," the samurai commented aloud.

Various people stared in surprise at the samurai, some dropping their mouths open in surprise. Mojo Jojo looked alarmed by the revelation, Double D looked ready to faint, and even Amber, who had been apathetic throughout the meeting, raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Could you repeat that?" Dexter questioned. "Did you just say one of these Fusion monsters looked like you?"

"Correct," the samurai answered. "I was in the Darklands when a small monster - I believe you would call it a Fusion Spawn - rushed up and stole my sandal. After a second or so, the creature began to transform, and it took the shape of myself," The samurai rubbed his left eye almost absentmindedly, and it was then that the assembled group noticed the freshly made scar running down his eye. "I did battle with it, and managed to drive it off."

"You weren't able to get rid of it?" Bubbles asked curiously.

The samurai dropped his head in shame. "Unfortunately, no. The Fusion was more powerful than I suspected it to be. I only managed to stave it off. I suspect it is still somewhere in the Darklands."

Dexter dropped his head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as he collected his thoughts. At that moment, they were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by the same pink-haired volunteer from earlier poking her head in.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but are you almost done?" the kid asked. "We need the space."

Dexter glanced over Ben's way, silently asking the teenager if there was anything else he was leaving out. Ben shook his head in the negative.

"Yes, that's all," Dexter answered the girl. "But I'll need the room for only a few minutes more."

The pink haired kid frowned in annoyance. "Fine, but only five more." She closed the door behind her a bit aggressively.

"Well, on that note, I want to thank you all for coming," Dexter addressed the group. "We've learned a lot today, and we have a monumental task laying before us. "

The members stood up and began to exit the room, some talking amongst each other about what they had learned, others already making phone calls.

"Ben, Double D, Mojo," Dexter called, stopping the three from leaving. "I need you three to stay behind for a moment. I need to have a word with you."

Ben raised one eyebrow up, but waved off his cousin and her boyfriend, re-taking his seat and sending a frown in Mojo's direction. Double D, with a perplexed look on his face, mirrored the hero's action and took his seat again. Mojo had been sitting already, so he settled for re-crossing his arms and waiting for whatever it was that Dexter wanted; he had more important things to do. Dexter waited until the last of their guests - the unknown samurai - exited the room before addressing them.

"I need to have a brief conversation with you three about being guides..."

"...Day Five of Fuse's Invasion, and already the total number of missing persons has risen to..."

Alice muted her television, not wanting to hear Diane Farrah's report. She never used to watch so much news before the alien invasion, but it was the only thing that was on. A majority of the channels had been knocked off air, leaving only a handful still operational. In only a short amount of time, Ultimate Exposure and Harangue Nation became the most watched programs, and even channels that didn't carry the two picked them up. Ultimate Exposure used to be dedicated exclusively to EVOs, but Diane had expanded her reach to talk about the Fusions, and was among the first to do so. Harangue Nation had been knocked off air for a day, but had quickly found a way to get back on T.V., and his anti-alien messages became wildly popular with the invasion going on. Alice stayed away from Harangue, not wanting to hear about what he had to say. Alice had heard that the Kids Next Door had a channel dedicated exclusively to their organization, but they didn't release it for the public, and Alice didn't know how to get access to it. Considering she was just shy of thirteen, she didn't think they'd just willingly tell her.

So much had happened in only a short amount of time, but Alice was used to things changing at the drop of a hat. One day she had a mom, the next she didn't. One day she thought she was human, the next day she found out she was an alien.

One day the world wasn't invaded by aliens, the next day it was.

Since the invasion, information on their invaders began popping up. The planet was known as Planet Fusion and was controlled by an alien by the name of Lord Fuse. The creatures attacking were called Fusions, with the small green ones known as Fusion Spawns. The plant that they came from was known as Terrafusers. The larger creatures didn't have a name, so Dexter was sending out volunteers to catalogue all the different variations and name them. So far, more than three-fourth had been named.

That was another addition: volunteers. Although Dexter had mentioned them in passing on the night of Fuse's invasion, it seemed that people jumped to the call regardless. They signed up and began assisting the heroes in fighting off the Fusions. The Urban Rangers had seen a surge in numbers, and the Kids Next Door were running a volunteer program for any kid under the age of eleven. With these new volunteers, armor and weapons produced by DexLabs, Mandark Industries, the Urban Rangers, the Kids Next Door and the Plumbers (after they went public about their organization) were starting to be sold. Dexter supplied every volunteer with an updated version of his DexLabs communicator, designed specifically for the war.

The volunteers did everything from fighting off Fusions to patrolling to cleaning up Fusion Matter in the Infected Zones. The Infected Zones were the areas that had been heavily damaged by Fusion Matter. A day after the invasion, Dexter had rolled out force-field technology that enclosed the heavily infected areas to keep the toxic substance from spreading faster. Some group known as S.A.C.T. was partnering with DexLabs to clean up the Fusion Matter in these zones since they had some sort of technology that could help contain the toxic substance.

Alice didn't join in the frenzy, choosing to stay tucked up safely in her home. She would have gone to Nowhere to be with her family, but the journey was dangerous now that there were creatures roaming around powerful enough to hurt people. They couldn't come and get her, and she couldn't go to them. Still, that didn't stop her aunt from calling her every day to check in on her, making sure she was doing alright and that the Fusions hadn't gotten her.

Looking away from the news report, Alice glanced out her window, staring out toward the Cul-de-Sac. The Urban Rangers liked to patrol around Peach Creek Commons and Estates, taking out the local Fusions. From time to time, a few Fusions would get close to Alice's home, but the Rangers took care of them without fail. Today, however, something new had been added to the Cul-de-Sac. She got off the couch and stepped out onto the porch, staring across the street to get a better look.

Cardboard boxes surrounded the outline of the Cul-de-Sac, about three layers high. She could see several Urban Rangers standing at the top of the construct, using a pulley system to move the boxes. Curious about what was happening, Alice left her front porch and followed the sidewalk to the entrance, approaching the opening of the fortress which was being guarded by two Rangers Alice didn't recognize. They looked younger than her, but not by very much. The two didn't say a word as Alice walked past them, venturing further inwards. She glanced around as she looked for Double D, finding that the neighborhood had some patches of Fusion Matter spattered around, but not in dangerous doses like the Infected Zones. As she got closer to the dead-end, she found Double D standing at the base of a throne made out of cardboard, a purple chair sitting at the top of the platform. The boy had his back to her, scribbling away on his tablet.

"Double D?" Alice called out cautiously, not wanting to frighten him.

"Yes?" Double D questioned, turning his head to look over his shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw the girl. He turned around so he could face her properly. "Oh, Alice! Salutations! What brings you here?"

"What's this?" Alice asked, gesturing at the walls surrounding them.

"This is our latest creation," Double D explained gleefully. "We're creating a protective fortress around the Cul-de-Sac to keep out the Hydro Hammers and the Power Painsaws." He seemed a little uncomfortable as he added, "As well as the Kankers."

Alice gave the fortress-in-progress another look around. Along with the cardboard boxes being set up around the perimeter, a handful of Rangers were setting up stands around the curved part of the road. In the center was the throne with a red carpet leading up to it. Alice looked back to Double D and frowned.

"Will this be enough?" she asked, remembering how the Fusions had been able to enter the middle school with almost no effort.

"I believe so," Double D responded with confidence. "Once we get this complete, it'll be too high for the Fusions to invade. There'll also be doors at the front, large and sturdy."

Alice looked back over her shoulder at the entrance. Even with the what was put up, there was no normal doors high enough. How it was going to work wasn't noticeable to Alice at the moment, but Double D was one of the smartest people she knew, so she didn't question it. Instead, she focused on another issue she had noticed upon entering the neighborhood.

"It's empty," Alice noted.

In her life, the Cul-de-Sac had never sounded so quiet. The Eds would usually have some sort of scheme running that was large and fantastical.

"Ah, yes," Double D began, briefly pushing back his sock hat so that it was still on his head correctly. "Rolf is away right now, leading a team of Urban Rangers to Foster's to get more cardboard boxes. Madame Foster was kind enough to give away the boxes for free, so long as we went to collect them. Jimmy is somewhere on the outside, helping build the fortress and keep the monsters from getting close. Sarah is doing some reconnaissance for me in Candy Cove. Kevin was pretty upset about Cutts and Bruises Skate Park being turned into an Infection Zone, so he and Nazz went down to Orchid Bay to see if they can help out." Double D frowned slightly as he finished up in an annoyed tone of voice, "Eddy is in his house right now, waiting for construction to finish."

Alice listened, mentally counting off all the kids he mentioned, but frowned when she realized two kids were missing.

"What about Ed and Jonny?" Alice asked.

"Well...Melonhead hasn't been seen in two days..." Double D trailed off slowly, letting Alice fill in the blanks.

Alice nodded, remembering she had heard about the Cul-de-Sac hero's disappearance. Jonny was a good kid, but Alice didn't think he properly lived in their reality. It wasn't that hard to imagine that he answered the call to protect the Cul-de-Sac and squared off against an enemy he vastly underestimated. He was officially labelled as missing.

"And Ed?" Alice asked gently.

Double D released a sad sigh, glancing away from the girl.

"No clue," the sock-hat boy answered. "He just disappeared."

"I'm sorry," Alice said, frowning in sympathy.

Double D's smile returned, but it didn't reach his eyes like it had before.

"It's fine. Ed's strong, so he should be fine," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "You know, he reads so much monster comics, he's probably an expert on dealing with aliens."

Alice nodded, not saying anything. Double D was obviously trying to be optimistic about Ed's disappearance, and she didn't want to say anything to contradict it. She wasn't nearly as optimistic; not with how high the missing numbers were.

"How are you doing, by the way?" Double D asked the girl. "I'm surprised to see you're still around these parts. I would have figured you'd be in Nowhere. Are your aunt and uncle with you?"

Alice shook her head in answer. "No, they're still in Nowhere. They can't come out this way, but they're doing okay. Aunt Muriel calls every day."

"That's good to hear," Double D said, nodding his head. "You know, if you don't feel comfortable living alone right now, you can stay in our spare room. I'd have to ask my parents, but I can safely say that they'd be more than okay with it."

"Thank you, but I'm okay," Alice answered, repeating word for word the exact same thing she told the Professor.

Professor Utonium had made the same offer only days ago. When he had finished raving over the knowledge that Alice did have powers, he had offered a room to the girl so that she wouldn't be alone. The girl had declined, primarily because she wanted to be at her own home.

"The offer stands if you change your mind," Double D replied.

"Hello! Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt."

Double D and Alice turned as one to the new voice, and Alice's eyes doubled in size when she got a look at the newcomer. A very tall, red being was walking toward the two pre-teens, his only arm curled up, holding flattened cardboard boxes. His other arm ended in a short stump, and one eye was looking broken.

"Hi, Wilt," Double D greeted. "You weren't really interrupting." He turned to Alice, using a free hand to gesture at Wilt. "Alice, this is Wilt, from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. He's been helping us gather the cardboard boxes." He then turned to Wilt and gestured at Alice. "Wilt, this is my classmate, Alice."

"Hello, Alice," Wilt greeted, transferring the boxes from his good arm to his bad one, and Alice was moderately surprised to see that he could use the stumped arm properly. He extended his working arm out toward her. "It is very nice to meet you."

Alice shook hands with him, returning his kind greeting with a shy "Hello" in return.

"Pardon me if this is rude, but are you one of the volunteers?" Wilt asked kindly.

Alice noticed the excited look in Double D's eyes, and glanced away to stare at the concrete. Double D was more involved in the war effort than Alice was, having been announced as one of the four Guides who were spearheading the effort to bring down Fuse. After there were so many people volunteering to help out, Dexter had decided to create the Guide system so that, along with taking out Fusions, there would be more concentration on stopping Fuse. Each of the Guides, made up of Dexter, Ben, Double D, and, surprisingly, Mojo Jojo, had their own path to end Fuse.

Dexter believed that they needed to find the missing heroes like Melonhead, Imaginary Man, Monkey, and so forth so that their firepower could be added to the fight. Ben believed that alien technology needed to be found and kept out of Fuse's hands, so that the alien overlord wouldn't have access to them and turn their powers against Earth's army. Mojo Jojo wanted to improve on his monkey minions, wanting to create a large enough army to fight Fuse. Double D believed that there was hidden candy out in the world that could be used against Fuse.

Knowing that Double D was busy with putting up a fortress and providing guidance to volunteers while Alice sat at home away from danger filled the girl with guilt. She felt like such a coward.

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "I live across the street. I saw the fortress and wanted to see what this was."

"Ooh, that's too bad," Wilt commented. "Wait, was that rude? I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Wilt," Double D assured the Imaginary Friend with a gentle smile. "Thank you for helping out. With the way this is going, we’ll have the fortress done by tonight."

"Oh, it's my pleasure!" Wilt replied cheerfully, grinning widely. "I’m always happy to be of assistance."

Alice's attention moved away from the two holding a pleasant conversation, sliding her eyes over the fortress walls, top to bottom. She couldn't be sure, but she felt something bad was close to the other side of the wall. The hair standing on the back of her neck wasn't exactly proof, but that still didn't ease the dread rising up in her.

"Double D-" the girl began, about to ask the sock hat-wearing boy about the safety structure of the fortress.

"FUSIONS OFF THE SOUTH SIDE!!" a voice hollered out loudly, cutting off Alice.

Alice looked around in confusion, trying to remember which way was north and south, but Double D had figured it out quickly, turning in the correct direction. The south side was to the right of the throne, and a lone Urban Ranger was at the top of the wall, firing off with a pistol type weapon. A moment later, a Fusion Monster broke through the wall, creating a hole and sending cardboard boxes flying in different directions. The red hydrant body Fusion Monster took two steps into the neighborhood, using its yellow hydrant hands to smash at the ground.

"HYDRO HAMMER!" an Urban Ranger shrieked.

The Rangers that had been setting up stands either ran off or ran toward the invading monster, depending on if they had a weapon on hand or not. The Hydro Hammer whacked its attackers away with the swipe of its hand, sending the kids flying. Wilt dropped the cardboards he'd brought over from Foster's and was able to raise his arm up, catching a kid that flew by, saving her from hitting the ground.

"Thanks!" the kid chirped, grabbing her baseball bat from off the ground and running back to fight the monster.

"You're welcome," Wilt called after her.

"That isn't a Hydro Hammer," Double D observed, his eyes widening. "It's the boss, High Hydro Hammer. Quickly, we need to get somewhere safe."

"I'm sorry, but shouldn't we help out?" Wilt asked, frowning in concern. "That monster is bad news."

Double D worried his lower lip, glancing around his neighborhood. A small number of Urban Rangers were trying to kill the invader, but more Rangers were lying on the pavement, curled up in injury. Despite Double D's first instinct to run, he took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Right, let's get the injured Rangers out of the fight," Double D agreed. "They're sitting ducks if they stay where they are."

Alice stood rooted in place, watching Wilt and Double D work to get the injured Rangers to safety. Double D moved the Rangers closest to him away from the fight, while Wilt ran closer to the injured Rangers near the hole in the wall. A few Urban Rangers had recovered on their own and went back to join the fight and push the invader back. The High Hydro Hammer didn't want to be cornered at the hole it had created, however, so it swiped at the line of Urban Rangers blocking its path, sending the kids flying back. Wilt ran to their side, scooping up two with his working appendage. He paused in his actions when he noticed the shadow looming over him. He looked up, finding the boss Fusion raise its hand up high over its body, aiming for Wilt and the injured Rangers.

Alice's eyes widened, and for a very brief moment, her scenery changed. She was back in her junior high's hallway, watching a Fusion Monster raise its hand at Suzy and swing it down. When Alice blinked, the scenery returned her to the Cul-de-Sac, and she watched as the High Hydro Hammer brought its hand down upon Wilt and the Rangers he was assisting.

Alice screamed at the top of her lungs, dimly aware that lightbulb glass was breaking around her. She raised a hand up on instinct, like she had done days ago in the junior high hallway, except that nothing flew at the monster. Instead, a ball of energy shaped in the palm of her hand and shot at the monster, hitting it in the side. The monster paused in its attack, turning its attention away from its captives and onto Alice. Moving over the humans below it, the Fusion Monster ran at Alice. Acting on instinct, Alice raised her second hand and fired off more energy balls, one after the other at the monster to slow it down.

The High Hydro Hammer raised its hand up and swung down on Alice, with the girl reflexively crossing her arms into an X above her in an attempt to protect herself. The High Hydro Hammer pressed its hand further into the spot, to ensure that its enemy was defeated, but it felt resistance. Slowly, the hand was pushed back, revealing that Alice had been unharmed. A bright light encased the girl like an outline, and she was protected in a sphere constructed out of blue light. Her hair floated around her and her eyes glowed a bright blue color, hiding away her irises completely.

Alice rose off the ground, using the sphere to push back against the Hydro Hammer's body part until she completely knocked it away from her. The monster stumbled a step from the force, righting itself before it could fall over. Dropping the protective sphere from around her, Alice raised both her arms, and the High Hydro Hammer's arms mimicked her actions, raising up high into the air over its body. Then, with a downward swipe, the High Hydro Hammer's arms mimicked her actions and descended, hitting itself with its own body parts. The momentum sent the boss Fusion to the ground, and it dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter.

The light that surrounded Alice like an outline died away, and the light in her eyes gave way to her normal bright blue. She crumpled to her hands and knees, the energy that had powered her vanishing. Anything that had been in her stomach promptly exited out her mouth, becoming a puddle below her. Alice's energy was leaving her, and the muscles in her arms strained with the effort of keeping her upright. A presence at her right side was the only thing stopping her from buckling in exhaustion. She caught a glimpse of a black beanie and an orange shirt, and her mind groggily supplied that this was Double D holding her up. His mouth was moving, but it took a second for Alice to make out what the words were. They sounded muffled, even though she was sitting right next to him.

"-mmy, go and get me a bowl of water, a rag, and a cup of water. Ranger Ralphie, grab a bucket and mop, and clean this up. Ranger Charles, Ranger Melissa, get the injured medical attention. Ranger Joey, gather all the Rangers and protect our fortress. Do not allow another monster to enter!"

A chorus of "Affirmative" sounded out from the Rangers Double D had barked orders to, and they were off running to act upon them. Alice was momentarily surprised by Double D's authority; she'd seen him, on the rare occasion, blow up on Ed and Eddy when the two crossed a line, but she had never seen him take command. Maybe his position as the school's editor-in-chief gave him some leadership experience.

"I'm sorry, but can you move?" a voice to her left caught her attention.

Turning her head to look at this new voice was a lot harder than it should have been, but she eventually did it. Crouching at her side was Wilt, his one good eye looking at her in concern. Alice thought over his question, and then shook her head. Her legs were functional, but moving about on her own would end up with her falling over.

"That's okay," Double D said, his voice soft and assuring. "We've got you."

As a team, Double D and Wilt lifted Alice onto her feet, and dragged her to a chair underneath one of the canopies. The shade felt nice and cool to the girl, and she closed her eyes momentarily. Falling asleep sounded like a wonderful idea, but Double D was at her side, keeping her awake. Jimmy arrived with Double D's requested items, handing over a water bottle instead of a cup. He didn't hand over the bowl of water like Alice assumed he would. Instead, he put the rag in the bowl, wringing out the excess water. He was about to clean her face, but paused when he saw the startled look in Alice's eyes. Smiling softly, he held out the rag to the girl, and although she was still drained from her burst of power, Alice managed to grip the rag in her hand and clean around her mouth.

Double D handed her the water bottle after opening it, letting her take a drink out of it on her own instead of doing it for her, saving her from the embarrassment. Her energy was coming back to her, and so she was able to hold it steady. She took a long sip of the drink, recognizing that it was one of Jimmy's fancy brands. She dropped her gaze to her lap, embarrassed by the way the trio fussed over her. She meant to thank them for their kindness, but Eddy's sudden arrival and the accusing look on his face shut her up.

"What the heck was that!?" Eddy demanded, freaked out.

"A Fusion Monster," Double D answered, rising to his feet. "Specifically a High Hydro Hammer."

"I'm not talking about that, genius," Eddy snapped, glaring at his slightly taller friend. He thrust out a hand in Alice's direction. "I'm talking about her! I wanna know how an EVO got in my fortress!"

Alice reeled back from the accusation; not because she was actually an EVO, but because his words were laced in venom.

"Eddy!" Double D snapped, a disapproving glare on his face. "She just saved the Cul-de-Sac, which includes you! Try to show some gratitude."

"Defending the fort was your job," Eddy argued back. "We wouldn't have needed her help had you done your job right."

Double D sputtered indignantly at the accusation.

"I'm sorry, but that's not okay," Wilt jumped into the conversation with a frown on his face, coming to Double D and Alice's defense.

"Yeah, even if she is an EVO, she was still nice enough to help us!" Jimmy added in.

"I'm not an EVO," Alice spoke up, her free hand flying up to cover her mouth just a second after.

She didn't know what compelled her to speak out, but the words were left out in the open, and all attention was back on her. Eddy's eyes narrowed in accusation.

"What then? A demon?" Eddy demanded. "That's even worse!"

Alice removed her hand from her mouth, moving it to her lap. She didn't dare meet anyone's eyes, worried about what the response would be when she revealed the truth.

"I'm an alien," she answered slowly, closing her eyes. "I...I was sent here when I was a baby. I only just found out very recently."

"An alien, huh?" Eddy questioned. He pointed at the hole in the wall made by the High Hydro Hammer, keeping his narrowed eyes on Alice. "Like one of them?"

Alice flinched at the accusation, keeping her eyes clenched shut so she wouldn't have to see the frightened looks on everyone else's faces.

"Take that back!" Jimmy spoke up, his voice rising several octaves. "She saved us, so she's clearly not on their side!"

Eddy frowned, transferring his attention from Jimmy to Alice. The girl continued to sit in the lawn chair, skin still pale from her earlier display of power, eyes shut tightly. Her face was twisted up in fear. Eddy's anger and fright simmered down, and he looked away in guilt. He didn't know Alice as a friend, but he did know what she was like, and she wasn't his enemy. He had been scared when he saw the Hydro Hammer break through his fortress' defenses and then at Alice's power, and he had taken that fear out on Alice. He knew that wasn't right, but he was too proud to admit it.

"Whatever," Eddy muttered, turning around and heading back for his home.

"I'm sorry, but that was seriously rude of him," Wilt commented, frowning at Eddy's retreating form.

Double D sighed in frustration, already preparing the lecture he would give to Eddy later in the day. "That’s Eddy for you."

"Are you feeling better?" Jimmy asked Alice, smiling when he saw her open her eyes.

"Yes," Alice answered. "Thank you."

"Awwh, it's no problem," Jimmy said. "Eddy's just a big bully."

"Alice, if I may ask, what exactly did you do?" Double D asked, crouching down at Alice's side again.

"I... don't know," Alice answered, looking down at her hands. "Not entirely. Mr. Tennyson said it could be a few things, but he doesn't know either. I...I never tested them to see what I could do."

She clenched her hand, feeling guilt course through her. The Professor had relayed to Max Tennyson that Alice had powers, and Max had relayed that information to Ben. While Max wanted her to come and see him in Townsville Park (Plumber Headquarters under Space Port was quarantined off in an Infected Zone, so Max and the Plumbers had to relocate elsewhere) to test out her powers, he had Ben as the messenger since Ben was closer to Alice's age than he was, and he figured she'd be more willing to agree. Ben was nothing but persistent, and contacted her at least once a day, trying to get her to go meet his grandpa and to join the war. Alice had ignored each request, choosing to stay home.

It was an incredibly selfish move.

"Ohohoho. What has happened while Rolf has been away?"

The tension was momentarily broken by Rolf's sudden appearance, his band of four Urban Rangers following immediately behind him. Rolf hopped off of his trusty pig Wilbur, directing the pig and his Rangers to take the cardboard boxes to the hole in the wall, and then made his way to the group.

"Hello all," Rolf greeted cheerily. "Ranger Jimmy, report."

Jimmy saluted, instantly falling into his Ranger persona.

"A High Hydro Hammer invaded the Cul-de-Sac, but Alice fought it off, sir!" Jimmy reported.

Rolf's eyebrows raised up into his hairline, skeptical of his subordinate's assessment. He glanced around Jimmy's person to look at the girl in question, frowning heavily when he saw the girl curl inward.

"Hmmm?" Rolf hummed, scrutinizing the girl. "You are sure?"

"It's true," Double D stepped in, backing up Jimmy's story. "Of course, she didn't do it with any physical strength."

"Hmph. Rolf does not believe Alice girl knows how to fight," Rolf stated. Wilt opened his mouth to protest, but Rolf was finished with the conversation. "No matter. There is work to be done. Ranger Jimmy, back to your post!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Jimmy shouted, following behind his leader. He paused just long enough to look over his shoulder and give a "See ya later, Alice!" before he continued after Rolf, grabbing Wilt's dropped cardboard boxes along the way.

"Thank you, Alice," Double D said out of nowhere, surprising the girl.

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Why?" Double D repeated, looking back at her in confusion. "You saved us!"

"I'm sorry, but if it hadn't been for you, that monster would have gone on a rampage," Wilt added in.

"More Fusions would have breached our defenses," Double D continued. "The Urban Rangers would have been badly hurt, or even worse."

"If you hadn't stepped in, I would have been squished." A shiver ran through the Imaginary Friend's body, like he was recalling a bad memory. "I'm sorry, but that is not a fun experience."

"I know you've been through a lot," Double D stated tenderly. "And this may be scary, but the alliance could really use someone like you."

Alice's face flushed in embarrassment under their praise, her hand tightening up around her water bottle. She averted her gaze, letting her attention wander over her surroundings. The Fusion Matter had been cleaned up, and the Urban Rangers - under Rolf's loud instructions - were making quick work on patching up the hole.

Double D and Wilt were right. If Alice had stayed holed up in her home instead of investigating the Cul-de-Sac's fortress, the High Hydro Hammer could have done more damage than a hole in the wall. Who knows how many more Rangers would have been seriously hurt? Would any of them have gone missing? And what about Double D? He was a Guide, making him a very important person to the war. What would have been lost if Double D had been attacked by the boss Fusion?

"You're right," she muttered. "I'll... I'll join the volunteers."

Wilt and Double D shared a brief look of surprise with each other before turning their attention back on the girl curled inward in the chair in front of them.

"Are you sure?" the Imaginary Friend asked her with a concerned frown on his face.

Alice gulped and nodded, moving her eyes away from the hole to look at the water bottle in her lap.

"Yes," she agreed, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt.

Alice fidgeted, running her eyes side to side in anxiety. Her eyes roamed over the space, taking in the appearance of all the other kids waiting in line around her. All of them looked more confident in their choice than she felt. She hadn't told her aunt and uncle about her choice yet, mainly because she was afraid of losing her nerves if she talked to them about it. Her aunt and uncle disagreed with letting young people join in the war efforts, and there was a good chance neither of them would approve of her joining.

She was in Tech Square, in front of DexLabs, where five stations had been set up to process the incoming volunteers. Hovering overhead were three large bulletin boards, each one displaying a holographic image of DexLabs founder, Dexter. Alice had heard the recorded message enough times to have it memorized.

"Greetings. Thank you for joining in the effort to protect the Earth from our alien invaders. Before you may participate, you will be required to choose a Guide. This Guide that you will choose will provide you with specific requests in an effort to bring an end to our enemy. If, for whatever reason, you no longer wish to be with this Guide, you have the option to change from one to another at a later time," Dexter's pre-recorded message explained. "Remember: The time is now. The hero is you."

A Dexbot stood at attention by each station, helping streamline the process as volunteers traded in their old communicators for new ones, specially designed for the war. The morning after the invasion, the entire plaza had been filled with people wanting to sign up. Because it was later in the day, there were only a few.

The kid in front of Alice stepped away from the station, taking their newly minted communicator with them. Alice took a hesitant step forward, putting her communicator in the slot. On the screen of the station was an image of the four Guides with a small info box underneath each one to explain what their goal for the war was. Alice had been thinking about her choice the entire trip over.

Alice ruled Mojo Jojo out instantly. She didn't want to work with him or for him. While many villains were pledging to assist the heroes in the fight against Fuse (or at least they promised not to interfere in the heroes' efforts), Alice didn't trust their intentions. Mojo's attempts to take over Townsville again and again and again didn't harbor a whole lot of trust for the brainy simian. That left Dexter, Double D and Ben. While Alice did want to help Dexter find the missing heroes, and she knew Double D better than she knew the other Guides, Alice ultimately chose Ben as her guide. His mission with alien technology spoke to Alice more than the missions of the other two. And, maybe, she'd learn more about her blossoming powers.

Alice's new communicator popped out of another slot, having changed from white to green, and the DexLabs logo that was used as the communicator's background image changed to the green hourglass symbol of the Plumbers. All of her contacts, emails, photos (not that she took many) and anything else she saved on her old communicator was transferred directly into the new one. Alice picked up her new device and walked out of line, letting the kid behind her use the station.

She moved away from the lines and went down the steps till she arrived at the fountain that acted as no man's land between DexLabs and Mandarks. No one else was in the vicinity, giving Alice some privacy. She took a seat on the fountain's ledge and balanced her new communicator on her knees. She lightly tapped on the communicator's glassy surface. A holographic projection of a chibi sized Computress appeared from out of it.

"Greetings," the Chibi Computress began, doing a quick bow in greeting. "On behalf of DexLabs Inc, I would like to thank you for agreeing to join in the fight for our world against Lord Fuse and his legion of Fusions. Your new communicator functions as your old communicator did, and all data from your communicator was transferred to this device. Your communicator has been outfitted with several functions necessary for the fight ahead. A hammerspace function has been added to carry your items for you, no matter the weight and size. Simply pressing the digitize button will put your item in the communicator. Tapping on the button again will de-digitalize it. Your communicator's ID number has been registered with DexLabs, and has been given its own unique email address. With this new address, DexLabs, your Guide, and important members to the war has access to it and can send you emails requesting your assistance. A journal application has been added to your communicator, to help keep track of what requests you have taken on. A directory on Fusion Monsters has been added, and is updated frequently to reflect the most recent data. A Fusion Matter containment unit has been equipped, and will clean up Fusion Matter from defeated Fusion Monsters. It also functions as a counter, keeping track of the number of Fusions you defeat. Your communicator will also give you access to the Infected Zones. Simply present it to the Dexbot attendant, and you will be..."

Alice followed Chibi Computress' tutorial, watching the holographic projection show where each new function of the communicator was. As the tutorial went on, the reality that she was committing herself to the war twisted her stomach into painful knots. Her hands shook as the fear flowed its way through her, and her breathing became labored. What was she thinking? Why had she thought she could do it?

Alice closed her eyes, attempting to get herself under control.

Mom, I'm scared.

Her eyes were closed tightly, so she hadn't noticed when Chibi Computress finished the tutorial and disappeared. She did, however, hear her communicator chime. The email icon was flashing, alerting her that she had an email. Tapping on it, she opened the app to find a robo-email from her guide, Ben. She could tell it was a robo-email by the generic message that lied within.

Subject Line: Welcome Aboard

Hey, thanks for joining! The mission is to keep Fuse's dirty claws off Plumber technology. When you're needed, I'll be sending you out on missions to stop him from getting any sort of alien tech that'll be useful to him, and hurtful to us.

-Ben

Alice stared at the message for who knew how long, not really thinking, just staring, before another chime happened. She had a second email, from Ben again. There was nothing in the subject line, which had her confused.

Subject Line: (not available)

Alice! You joined! I didn't think you would. You weren't answering me back, and I was getting worried. But this is great! We could honestly use all the help we can get. I didn't realize how many secret Plumber bases there really were until this all happened, and I need as much help to get these bases secured before Fuse and those lackeys of his get to them. Btw, Gramps still wants to test your powers, but last I talked to him, he was starting to get busy. But he'll still make time if you let him know in advance. And hey, since you're in the Downtown area, swing by Offworld Plaza. I'm at the hospital to keep an eye on the Space Port. Can't let Fuse's freaks get too close, ya know? Uh-oh. Vilgax is getting into an argument with one of the volunteers. I need to go deal with that. We'll talk later, k? Oh, and Alice, don't be scared. You got this!

-Ben

Alice's breathing steadied, and the shaking in her hands ceased as she read his second message. Her nerves had been alleviated just slightly from his second message. Whereas his robo-email was just a simplistic "nice to meet ya, welcome to the team" type of a message, Ben's second was personal, encouraging Alice more than the other message had.

Maybe she wasn't as confident as the others about joining, but she had to at least try.

Chapter Text

Alice glanced over the top of the wall, searching the area. She made a small noise of displeasure in her throat when she saw a mob of Ultramagno Beetles wandering around below. She had hoped the K.N.D. Training Area would be empty, but the monsters were invading the area. It wasn't all that surprising, considering that the perimeter wasn't completely closed, but it was still disappointing. Alice wanted an empty space, free of people and monsters, to try out her powers.

Alice disappeared back down on her side of the wall, pulling up the notes app in her communicator. Just before she had studied the directory of known Fusion Monsters, she had typed up everything she knew about her powers.

Move objects

Energy ball

Protective energy sphere/ball/bubble

Hovering?

It wasn't a very long list.

Alice looked over her list, frowning in thought until she felt the hair on her neck stand up. The girl whipped her head around to see an Ultramagno Beetle hanging over the wall, a hair's breadth away from her. The monster released an unearthly screech, and tried to headbutt her. Alice yelped and tumbled backward off the box crates, landing unceremoniously on the ground. The Ultramagno Beetle screeched again, beginning to crawl down the wall on its pursuit after her. Alice shifted to her knees, staring at the monster advancing on her.

Do something, do something, do something!

Alice raised her hand, hoping to move a wooden crate or form an energy ball in her palm to be shot out at the monster. However, nothing happened. Alice stared at her hand in shock, distressed nothing had happened. Another screech from the Ultramagno Beetle told Alice it was much closer to her, and rearing back for an attack. Alice closed her eyes, raising an arm to protect herself from the hit that was to come.

It never came.

Opening her eyes, she found that she was in an energy dome, protecting her from the monster's attack. From out of nowhere, a pair of pink laser beams hit the monster, not letting up until the creature turned into a puddle of Fusion Matter. The dome that had been protecting her disappeared, leaving Alice to stare at the puddle in a mixture of surprise and disappointment.

"You okay, Alice?"

Alice twisted her upper body around to stare at Blossom, who was hovering a foot off the ground just behind her. The Powerpuff leader touched the ground and extended a hand, helping Alice to her feet. The Puff gave the girl a quick look over for any injuries, smiling lightly when she found nothing concerning.

"What brings you over this way?" Blossom asked, jerking her head just slightly in the direction of the training ground.

"I..." Alice tried to get out, but finding the words difficult to form. "I..."

Blossom waited patiently for Alice to explain herself, but the other girl couldn't do it. Alice dropped her gaze to her shoes in shame, unable to look Blossom in the eyes. The Powerpuff smiled in understanding, and laid a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Practicing your powers, right?" Blossom supplied.

Alice nodded, keeping her mouth shut. She wasn't even shocked that the Powerpuff would know; she hadn't asked the Professor to keep it a secret, so of course he'd tell his daughters.

"I guess it didn't go as you expected, huh?" Blossom questioned. She knew the answer, but she wanted to get Alice talking.

Alice nodded her head again.

"I...I don't know what to do," the girl finally admitted out of distress. "I don't know how to get them to work."

Blossom hummed in thought, her pink eyes wavering over at the two Ultramagnos that were attempting to creep up on the girls. A quick use of her ice breath had the creatures encased in a pillar of ice before they could even go "Boo!" Blossom returned her attention to their conversation, not commenting on the surprised look Alice wore.

"I'm going to take a stab at this, but I'm guessing the first time you used your powers, it was just by instinct, right?" Blossom asked, her voice nothing but understanding. She continued after Alice gave a nod of confirmation. "That's understandable. When my sisters and I were created, our powers were as natural to us as breathing. And that's what's happening to you right now. Your powers are instinctual, involuntary, like when we sweat because it's too hot, or shiver when it's too cold."

Alice nodded, following along with the lesson.

"You just have to take that involuntary action and make it voluntary. You have to focus and concentrate on your power," Blossom continued. "Think about what you want to use, and harness that power. If you don't, things could get out of control." Blossom's eyes drifted off in memory, an embarrassed smile flitting across her face. "Townsville sure didn't appreciate an epic game of tag by three little girls."

Alice nodded along, recollecting the time the Powerpuff Girls had a game of tag using their super speed. The result had been total devastation of Downtown Townsville. Thankfully, the girls had learned their lesson and downplayed their property damage.

"So let's practice," Blossom suggested, her eyes sweeping the grounds again because she thought she saw an Ultramagno getting close to them again. "We won't start off with an attack, but how about that dome you made. Try forming it again. Make it as big or small as you want."

Alice took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. First, she imagined the dome. She imagined its color and its shape. Then, she imagined that it was surrounding her, protecting her from the air to the grass. Then, she imagined - she willed - it into reality.

"Nicely done."

Blossom's compliment had Alice opening her eyes, just to check. Sure enough, a dome was once again surrounding Alice protectively, and her body was outlined in the same blue light as her dome. Alice kept the dome up for a second more, before willing it away.

"See, you're a natural. You just needed a push in the right direction," Blossom stated, grinning ear to ear. Her smile halted and she turned her head slightly to the right, as if she was listening for something far away.

"Is everything alright?" Alice asked after a moment, when Blossom's attention continued to be put elsewhere.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no worries," Blossom reassured the girl, flashing a grin at her. "Someone's just looking for me at the treehouse."

Alice blinked twice and looked over the red-head leader's shoulder. "The treehouse?"

The treehouse belonged to the Kids Next Door, and it was hard to miss. To keep the base safe, Sector V worked with DexLabs and Mandark Ind. to create anti-gravity technology that lifted up the treehouse from ground, well out of range from the Fusion Monsters on the ground. The only thing keeping it from floating off into the stratosphere was metal chains anchoring the island to the ground.

"Yeah, Dexter's sending kids this way to search for Major Glory," Blossom answered. "He was last seen at Pokey Oaks Junior High before..." Blossom paused, glancing worriedly in Alice's direction. Seeing the way the girl's skin began to lose color, Blossom hurried on, "Anyways, his last known appearance was somewhere out here in the Suburbs. I'm sending the kids out to look for any sign of him."

"Has anything been found?" Alice asked.

"Nothing yet, but we'll find him," the Powerpuff leader answered. Her eyes shifted, looking off towards the mountains. Alice followed that line of sight, and above the houses, Alice could make out holograms peeking up above the rooftops. Buttercup's hologram, in particular, looked like it was staring at them. "We'll find all our missing heroes."

"Do...Do you think she's still out there?" Alice asked cautiously, understanding that this was a touchy subject.

"I have hope," Blossom answered, her tone confident. "Buttercup is a fighter. She's somewhere out in the world; I just have to find her."

Alice dropped her gaze away from the hologram; the longer she looked at Buttercup's image, the more ashamed she felt. When the search had been called off, Alice had been among the many that believed Buttercup was gone for good. Alice believed all the heroes that were missing could not be found. When did she lose hope?

Blossom shook herself from her thoughts, mentally scolding herself for letting her thoughts wander. Turning to look back at Alice, the Powerpuff spotted a small Ultramagno attempting to sneak up on the two of them. A blast from her eye beams left a gooey mess behind. The attack shook Alice from her thoughts, turning her head to look at the spot where the monster had been.

"They're especially active today," Blossom commented lightly. "Hey, would you mind doing me a favor? I planned to have a picnic with the Professor today, but he hasn't shown up, and I can't get in touch with him. Would you be willing to go and get him?"

"Okay," Alice agreed with a nod.

"Thanks! He mentioned this morning that he was going to Genius Grove, so he may still be down that way," Blossom explained. "Check DeeDee's house first."

Alice frowned. She remembered DeeDee had given her the address, but she hadn't looked at it since the day of her mother's funeral, so she didn't have a clue where in Genius Grove DeeDee resided.

Luckily, Blossom picked up on Alice's confusion and clarified further, "It's across the street from Mandark's old house. You know, the giant eyesore." Alice's confusion cleared, and she nodded. "Thanks! It really means a lot to me. Give me a call if there's any problems."

Alice nodded her head in agreement once more, and then left the training area. Blossom followed Alice's movements until the other girl was out of immediate sight, and then shifted her gaze back inward toward the KND Training Area. Two Ultramagno Beetles that had been skirting around the area suddenly lost interest and turned away, wandering over to a group of its kind further away. Blossom frowned in confusion at their odd behavior, but kids were waiting for her at the treehouse, so she filed away the monsters' behavior for later and took to the sky.

It was easy to find DeeDee's house. Since Mandark had a not-so-secret laboratory behind his former house that was as tall as the mountains, it could be seen anywhere in Genius Grove (even when inside the containment field). All Alice had to do was head in the direction of the black and red building, which was actually close to the line that separated Pokey Oaks South from Genius Grove. Even from the corner, Alice could tell that DeeDee's house was different from the many cookie-cutter homes that existed throughout the Suburbs. It was pink, and had rainbows, Pony Puff Princess from the wildly popular Pony Puff Princess cartoon, and a simplistic portrait of DeeDee herself painted over it.

Out on the front lawn of the home was the man she was looking for, holding a conversation with the owner of the house and Numbuh Five. DeeDee was the first person to spot her as Alice approached the residence.

"Alice!" the ballerina enthusiast greeted the girl, waving a hand wildly in the air to catch her attention.

"Oh, hello Alice," Professor Utonium greeted, looking frazzled. "What brings you to Genius Grove?"

"Hello," Alice said as a greeting to all three, getting a tip of the hat nod from Numbuh Five in return. "Blossom sent me to see you, Professor. She set up a picnic, but she couldn't get in contact with you."

The Professor's eyes widened in realization and slapped his palm to his forehead.

"Oh no, did that already happen!?" the man questioned. "I didn't think that much time had passed. She must think I skipped it."

Alice frowned, noticing that the Professor's normally nice lab coat had some tears and spots of dirt scattered along the coat. His usual neatly combed hair had loose strands and looked a mess.

"Professor, did something happen?" Alice asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Professor answered. "My lab was attacked by Gravel Golems, and those ruffians destroyed my communications equipment. I was already coming out this way to check on the house, so I went into Dexter's old lab to see if it might have something, but none of the wires are quite right."

"Maybe the Gravel Golems still have it," DeeDee suggested. "You could always try getting it back from them."

"I haven't participated in a fight in years," the Professor lamented. His eyes brightened for a moment as an idea popped into his head. He turned to the kid of the group. "Numbuh Five, maybe you-"

"Sorry, but Numbuh Five can't," Numbuh Five interrupted, holding up a hand to stop the man's request. "Numbuh Five was tasked here to make sure those nasty creatures can't get into the lab and get their claws on some fancy tech." The kid operative glanced over at Alice, noticing the communicator resting at Alice's waist. "Say Alice, is that your communicator?"

Alice startled at being addressed, but nodded, glancing self-consciously at her communicator. DeeDee and the Professor looked at the device too, noticing that it wasn't the standard white. The Professor's eyes doubled in size, surprised to see that Alice was in the possession of the new communicator.

"You joined?" the Professor asked.

Alice nodded, continuing to feel self-conscious. She hadn't exactly told anyone about her decision.

"Oh! This could work out in your favor, Professor," DeeDee stated. She hopped over to Alice's side, invading the girl's personal bubble. "Alice, do you think you could get the Professor's wires from those mean Golems?"

Alice tensed at the request. She hadn't been able to use her offensive attack back at the training grounds, but Blossom's lessons had enabled her to create that energy dome. All she had to do was apply that same method onto her offensive attacks, and it should work. At least in theory. She only had one way to find out.

"Yes," Alice answered, nodding her head in agreement.

"You're sure?" the adult questioned, eyeing her curiously.

Alice nodded.

"Okay then," the Professor said, his face morphing into relief. "They're in Pokey Oaks South. You'll need to recover three wiring fragments in order for my device to work. Bring them back when you have them."

Alice had consulted the Fusion Monster directory as she travelled through Pokey Oaks South, identifying what the Golems looked like and the area they typically frequented, which was the southeast corner of Pokey Oaks South. The Gravel Golems, taller than her by a whole other body, wandered around the houses, looking to have no real aim than to cause mayhem and damage property. Alice didn't feel confident taking on a mob, so she waited for her opportunity to take on just one. She was in luck when a lone Golem wandered close to her hiding spot.

Alice closed her eyes and concentrated on calming her nerves. She couldn't let her nerves fail her now, not when she had accepted the task. She had to do this. She had to learn to use and control her powers. Taking in a deep breath, she moved from behind her hiding spot and faced the Gravel Golem head on, her hand raised up and aimed at the monster. The Gravel Golem had only a second to release a furious roar, but Alice concentrated hard on forming an energy ball in her palm. She successfully formed the energy ball and fired it at the monster, hitting it in what Alice assumed was its gut. The monster stumbled from the hit, catching itself before it could fall. Alice didn't hesitate, and fired off three more energy balls. All successfully connected with the Fusion Monster, and it dissolved into Fusion Matter, which was then collected by Alice's communicator.

The girl frowned in disappointment that the felled Gravel Golem didn't have the items she needed. She surveyed her area once more to see where the next Golem was, but was struck from behind, sending her falling forward. Rolling onto her back, she caught sight of the Golem's fist descending on her. She rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the hit. She moved to her knees, trying to get her footing again, but the monster had recovered faster. It swung at her, scraping her arm as she dropped back to the ground. Alice rolled onto her back and created a dome to cover her, forming it fast enough to block the hit the Golem aimed at her. The Golem roared in anger and began pounding on the dome, attempting to break it. Keeping the energy dome in place, Alice forced it to expand, pushing the Golem back.

While the monster continued to attack the dome, Alice glanced down quickly at her arm, to check on it. Despite the monster striking her, her sleeve didn't have a tear in it. Her choice in clothing was pretty pedestrian compared to the armor that the K.N.D., Dexbots, Mandroids, and more were selling, but DexLabs' nanite technology could be used to coat any piece of clothing. These nanites were a substitution to armor, protecting the wearer from hits and scrapes. It had taken up almost two months of her allowance, but given how her sleeve held against the attack, she considered it money well spent.

She did a fast survey of her surroundings, and found a rock just several feet away. She started to lift it, but stopped when a hit from the Fusion Monster weakened her shield. She focused back on her shield, keeping it strong. Throwing an object from the safety of her dome hadn't worked out as planned, so she needed to do something new. Thinking fast, Alice pushed her shield back further, sending the monster tumbling back. She then dropped her shield and thrust her hand in an arc sweep, sending the rock she had been trying to lift before at the monster's head. It made contact with the monster, but didn't seem to hurt it. It just made it angry. Panicking, Alice got to her feet and moved backward, looking for another item to throw at it. A park table and attached benches were close by. Forcing herself to concentrate, she lifted and threw the entire table on the creature. Thanks to its weight, the monster was dropped to the ground, giving Alice an opening. Instead of sending out energy balls, Alice tried another technique. Focusing, she sent an energy beam at the monster, not letting up until it dissolved into Fusion Matter that her communicator collected.

Her adrenaline running in her veins, and her heartbeat pounding in her eats, Alice walked over to the broken park table and looked under it, finding a wiring fragment. She couldn't help smiling in relief, but was disappointed to see that it was just the one, not three. She'd have to take down more of the monsters to get the other two.

Five Gravel Golems later, Alice was reentering Genius Grove with the Professor's three wiring fragments being kept in her communicator. Approaching DeeDee's house, Alice found that only Numbuh Five was out in the yard; Professor Utonium and DeeDee were missing.

"Hey Alice," Numbuh Five greeted. "Back already?"

Alice nodded her head.

"Is the Professor still here?" she asked.

"He left about ten minutes ago," Numbuh Five answered. "He went back to his house. Asked Numbuh Five to let you know when you showed up since he doesn't have any form of communication."

Alice nodded in understanding. "Okay. Thank you."

She turned to leave, but Numbuh Five stopped her. "You doing okay?" The K.N.D. operative tilted her red cap up, inspecting the blue haired girl. "You look pale."

"I'm just a little exhausted from fighting the Gravel Golems," Alice answered, not elaborating that she was exhausted from fighting the monsters because she had used her powers. After yesterday's outburst from Eddy, she was cautious on revealing her actual heritage.

"You going to be alright?" the operative asked.

"I'll be okay," Alice answered, attempting to reassure the other girl's concerns. "I have to get going. The Professor needs the fragments."

Numbuh Five frowned, but nodded. "Right. See ya later."

The Utoniums' house wasn't very far from DeeDee's house, so it didn't take Alice long to arrive. The house's lower level windows were broken, probably from the Fusions that broke in. The door, on the other hand, was still intact. As Alice was walking up to the door, it opened suddenly, and the Professor exited, wearing a new coat. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her.

"Oh, Alice!" the Professor greeted with a relieved smile on his face. He examined her, looking for any sort of scratch she might have received. "Are you doing alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," Alice answered as she pulled out the wiring fragments from her communicator. She handed them to him. "The Gravel Golems had them."

The Professor's eyes widened in surprise, taking them out of her hand and pocketing them. "You managed to get these from them? Did you use your...?"

Alice nodded, watching as his eyes brightened in scientific enthusiasm.

"That's incredible! What do you have? How do they work? How powerful would you say they are?" the Professor asked, moving through his questions rapidly.

"I think you should call Blossom, Professor," Alice reminded him, instead of answering his question.

"Oh, yes, of course," the Professor replied, flushing in embarrassment for getting carried away. He turned as if to go back in the house, but paused in thought. He then spun around so he was facing Alice again. "Actually, could I ask for another favor?"

"More items were stolen?" Alice asked, assuming he needed her to fight more Fusions.

"Nothing like that. Although a few of my inventions were wrecked," the Professor replied. "No, I was wondering if you'd escort me to Sector V? I don't have anything to fight off the Fusions if I were to get cornered by them, so it'd be safer if you would walk with me. Would you mind?"

"I don't mind," Alice answered.

"Thank you," the Professor said to her, beginning to walk away from the house. "If my Powerprof. Suit wasn't destroyed, I would have equipped it and those Fusions wouldn't be a problem, but those Golems wrecked it when they raided the house. I'll start fixing it back up when I get back from the picnic." He released a sigh. "I have a few things I have to fix thanks to them."

Alice didn't comment on his statement, primarily because she didn't know what he'd have to fix. Aside from the suit and communication equipment, she didn't know what else the Golems had wrecked, but they were probably important. Weird that the Fusions knew what to destroy.

"Sooo," the Professor began, trying to establish small talk. "Does your aunt know about this?"

Alice didn't need clarification on what he was referring to, but she also didn't want to say the answer out loud because it felt like a betrayal of her family. So, instead of answering, she continued to remain silent, keeping her eyes straight ahead. The Professor nodded knowingly.

"I understand," he said.

"Do you think I made a bad choice?" Alice asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Do you?" the Professor questioned back.

"I don't know," the girl answered after a moment of silence, dropping her eyes to her feet. "I don't know how I feel."

"I can't answer that," the Professor advised her, falling into his dad role with ease. "This was a choice you made, and only you can decide if you feel you made the right choice or not." He reached out a placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But for whatever it's worth, you have my total support."

Alice smiled lightly. She didn't get the answer she was looking for, but it sounded like something her mother would say, so that made her feel just a tad better about her decision.

"And I won't tell your aunt," the Professor continued, removing his hand from the pre-teen's shoulder. "That's something for you to do when you're ready."

"Thank you," the girl said.

The two fell into a comfortable silence for only a few seconds before the Professor asked, "Sooo, what can you do?"

The walk over from Pokey Oaks South to Sector V consisted, primarily, of what Alice's powers entailed. She answered his questions to the best of her ability, since she still didn't know how much she could do. She did give him a demonstration on her powers, since she had to use them a few times on the trip. She made a shield for the Professor when a Pesky Pony made a swipe for the man's head, and had to blast away a couple Ball-Peen Meanies that got close. For a man who had created three superpowered little girls, the Professor seemed enthusiastic to see her powers in action. She chalked it up to him being a scientist.

Once they stepped within Sector V's boundaries, Alice had sent out a message to Blossom on behalf of the Professor, letting her know to meet him at the picnic site. As they passed the treehouse, Alice noticed movement going on down underneath the floating island. She looked, but didn't see any Fusion Monsters gearing up to attack them, so she brushed it from her mind and focused on protecting the Professor.

"I can continue on my own from here," the Professor stated once the two of them were only a block away from the picnic area.

"Will you be okay?" Alice asked, warily eyeing the Caterplugs that slithered along the ground. They weren't clumped together in groups like other monsters, but the Professor was unarmed and wouldn't be able to fight off even one of them.

"Of course. It's only a few steps away," he reassured her. "Besides, there aren't many Caterplugs around, so I'll sneak around them. I can probably out run them."

Alice frowned in worry, not entirely trusting his plan, but she spotted the red hair of the Powerpuff's leader. Instantly, her worry went away. Even if the Professor was to get into trouble, Blossom was within the vicinity to save him. She wasn't needed anymore.

"Okay," Alice said. "Goodbye, Professor."

"Goodbye, Alice," the Professor returned, waving his hand. "Thank you for helping my daughter and me."

Alice gave the Professor a brief wave in goodbye, watching him make his way to the picnic site. When he drew closer to where Blossom was waiting, Alice turned and headed further into Sector V. With nothing to do and no favors to fulfill, she found herself passing the treehouse on her way to Heroes Square, the life-like holograms of missing heroes beckoning her to them like light beckons moths.

As she passed the floating island, that same movement from before caught her attention. She looked, but instead of finding nothing, she found a small shape sitting at the base of the chains that kept the floating island occupied by Sector V's treehouse in one place. Bending down, Alice was able to get a better look. It was a round shape, almost looking like a bomb, and a strange face was painted on it. It wasn't making any noise, and didn't seem to be breathing, further confusing Alice on what it could be. Was this from the Kids Next Door? Was this from a Fusion? Out of curiosity, the girl reached out to see what material it was made of.

"Don't touch that!" a voice warned from the left of Alice.

Alice retracted her hand instantly and brought it to her chest. Turning, she watched a young pink pig-tailed haired girl run toward her. In the other girl's hand was a small pistol weapon, shaped like a hair dryer. The girl raised up her weapon and fired off a shot at the bomb with the face paint, dissolving it into Fusion Matter in one shot.

"Did you happen to see the Soulo that dropped this?" the girl asked.

"Soulo?" Alice parroted, rising from her crouched position.

"So you didn't see it," the girl replied, a disappointed frown settling on her face. "Darn."

"Yoo-hoo! Cherry! I got another Soulo Shell!" an exuberant voice called from behind the girl.

The girl, Cherry, turned to the new voice, and Alice looked to see who was calling as well. The girl looked to be only a year older than Alice, and she had the exact same shade of pink hair as Cherry did. Some of the girl's hair was pulled into a braid, and her stray cowlick flicked back and forth as she ran over to the two girls. She carried a book in her hand, which was surprising. Although DexLabs (and Mandark Ind, sorta) was making leaps and bounds in technological advancements in a short time, almost everything was turning digital. Books were still in circulation, but not to the same extent they had been ten years ago. Was the girl using it as a weapon?

The newcomer paused as she got nearer, glancing at Alice in curiosity. Alice shrunk under the gaze.

"Oh hey, I've never met you before," the newcomer commented. "Did you already make a new friend, Cherry?"

"We just met," Cherry retaliated. "I was busy stopping her from touching a Soulo Shell to ask for her name."

"Cherry, what have we talked about? You can't just go up to random people without introducing yourself!" the older girl scolded, wagging her finger in Cherry's direction. Cherry swatted the finger aside, her freckled cheeks turning a soft shade of pink in embarrassment. The older girl twirled around so that she was facing Alice, a gloved hand outstretched toward Alice. "Hi! Please accept my apology on behalf of my sister's rudeness. My name's Peach Blossom, and this is my sister, Cherry Blossom."

"Our parents are botanists," Cherry added in, like she felt the need to explain the origin of their names. "They took one look at our hair color and thought it would be fun to name us after flowers."

"Who might you be?" Peach asked, her hand falling back to her side when Alice didn't reach out and shake it.

"Alice Spacebyte," Alice answered.

Cherry frowned momentarily, her brows creasing together like she was trying to remember where she'd heard that name, but Peach didn't miss a beat.

"Were you sent here by Numbuh Two to help catch that nasty Soulo?" the older girl inquired. "If we don't catch that thing, we can't stop it from dropping its Soulo Shells. And if those things go off, the treehouse will probably float up into the sun."

"That's not going to happen," Cherry corrected.

"Of course not! That's why we're here!" Peach cheered, pumping a fist up into the air.

"No, I don't mean just that! The treehouse wouldn't go floating off into the sun," the younger sister argued.

"That's what we're trying to stop," the older sister reasoned.

Whilst Cherry and Peach bickered back and forth, Alice caught something moving in her peripheral vision. She looked over her shoulder, to see what it was. Moving up the hill toward the chain was a Fusion Monster that Alice remembered seeing in the Fusion Monster directory, but she couldn't remember its name. However, given that it was headed for the chains that kept the treehouse tethered down, Alice assumed this was the Soulo that the two sisters were talking about.

"Is that the thing?" Alice broke in, cutting through the sisters' bickering.

The girls looked in the direction Alice was pointing, and spotted the Fusion Monster on its way to the chains.

"Yep," Peach chirped, raising her book up.

"Do you know a containment spell?" Cherry asked her sister.

"Unfortunately, this book doesn't have it," Peach answered, her face morphing from cheerful to serious. "But it's got some offense spells."

"Fine, that'll have to do. Let's get it!" Cherry declared, raising her pistol-type weapon and charging at the Soulo.

Her sister followed after, the book in her hands glowing brightly. The sight was strange to Alice, especially the fact that they casually mentioned spells. Then again, she had two classmates who knew and could even control the Grim Reaper, so perhaps she shouldn't be so surprised by the casual mention of magic. Regardless, something Cherry said had Alice focused entirely on it. A containment spell would probably work a whole lot like her energy dome, right?

Keeping her sight focused on the Soulo, she raised both hands and directed her palms in the monster's direction. A moment later, the Soulo was encased in an energy bubble. The monster hit the side of the bubble, surprised by its sudden appearance. It roared out in fury and knocked into the bubble again, attempting to break it. The bubble held strong, and only forced the Fusion Monster back. Putting her complete and total focus on the bubble, Alice began to shrink its size. The bubble kept getting smaller and smaller, and it started squishing the Soulo. It continued to shrink, despite the monster's efforts to escape its prison, until the monster popped and became Fusion Matter. The energy bubble disappeared, and the liquid matter was sucked up into Alice's communicator.

Alice fell to her knees, drawing in deep breaths. The effort to keep the bubble from breaking and to shrink its size had been taxing on her, not to mention her use of her powers over the course of the day. She probably couldn't make an energy ball or dome even if she really wanted to.

Two shadows descended on her, and a quick glance up revealed them to be the Blossom sisters leaning over her, both looking concerned.

"Are you good?" Cherry asked when the two made eye contact.

Alice nodded. "I just need to catch my breath."

"That was incredible! I didn't know you can do spells, too," Peach gushed, her concern turning into admiration now that she knew Alice would be okay. "Do you go to Toadblatt's? I haven't seen you in any of my classes, but you look a year younger than me, so that's probably it. Though with your skills, I'd totally expect you to be in Gunderstank with me, so I can't believe I haven't seen you in the common area."

"Toadblatt's?" Alice asked in confusion.

"Toadblatt's School of Sorcery," Peach explained, puffing out her chest proudly. "It used to be a summer school, but recently went into full term since Dean Toadblatt left. I'm in Gunderstank House." Peach pumped her fist into the air. "Go Gunderstank!"

Alice blinked in confusion, mildly surprised by the cheer Peach gave at the end. Cherry crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her sister's antics. She was used to the older girl's antics, but it was embarrassing to have her sister acting out in public.

"She's a witch," Cherry explained to the confused girl, pointedly ignoring Peach's offended "Sorceress!" claim. "She can perform magic, but she's still a beginner, so she needs to carry around that spellbook."

"Your containment spell was amazing! Do you think you could teach me?" Peach asked. "None of my classes have discussed the subject, which is a real bummer considering all the good it could do."

"No," Alice answered. When she saw how fast Peach's face fell, she hurriedly explained. "It wasn't a spell. I don't know spells. I'm not a magic person."

"Oh. So you're an E.V.O. then?" Cherry asked, sounding more curious than judgmental.

Alice shook her head, diverting her eyes to her feet. She picked at the end of her bolero shrug's sleeve to ease her nerves. Peach and Cherry shared a look of confusion, concerned that maybe they had pushed too much. Peach reached out and put a hand on Alice's shoulder, giving it a gentle pat in comfort.

"Hey, it's okay. If you don't want to say, you don't need to," she assured the girl, smiling brightly. "You were a big help today, so I just want to say thanks."

"We've been after that Soulo all morning. If you hadn't stopped by, we would probably still be after it," Cherry added in. "You did us a huge favor by taking that thing out."

"It's alright," Alice replied. "I don't mind helping."

She had said it without really thinking, but she found that she meant it. Helping out had just been an instinctual action.

"We could use that attitude finding those missing heroes," Peach stated sagely, nodding her head in the direction of Heroes Square. Her eyes suddenly lit up like a light bulb. "Hey! Why don't we trade contacts? That way we can be in touch and totally help each other out later on."

The younger sister nodded along with the idea, finding nothing wrong with it. Alice wasn't too enthused by the suggestion, but she kept that to herself and traded her communicator with Peach. Peach's communicator was blue, the color for Dexter. Her statement on finding missing heroes made more sense. Cherry's communicator, on the other hand, was yellow, the color for Double D.

"I'm putting my friends' numbers in your list, too," Cherry said. "They're good friends of mine, and I'll give them your number later. If you need any help with anything, you can rely on them." She handed back Alice's communicator. "They would have been here to help, but they're filming for a web show in Prickly Pines right now. I'm supposed to be meeting them over there to help."

"We'd better go," Peach pointed out, shielding her eyes as she looked up at the sun. "Based on the position of the sun, I'm guessing it's getting close to noon. We promised we'd be up there before two."

"We'll stop somewhere and grab food. We could have a nice lunch out in the forest," Cherry suggested, getting a nod of agreement from her sister. "Talk to you later, Alice."

"See ya next time, Alice!" Peach said, walking down the street with her sister at her side. "Keep up the good work!"

Alice waved goodbye at them, dropping her arm when they could no longer see her. Left alone, and no longer detoured by the Soulo Shells, Alice continued to her previous destination: Heroes Square.

Once just a regular, unassuming open spot for families to picnic and hold community events, the place now housed a monument meant to pay respects to fallen or missing heroes. It was built just after Buttercup's disappearance, and for a while, only her hologram (courtesy of DexLabs) was at the monument, which is when it used to be called Hero Square. Now it was Heroes Square because more missing heroes occupied the space: Major Glory, Supercow, Monkey, and Captain Melonhead and his sidekick Splinter.

Alice sat cross-legged at the base of the monument, having been there for hours. She could have probably done something more productive, maybe see if someone else needed help, or check her emails to see if Ben was going to send her somewhere, but she didn't do any of that. She felt compelled to be with the holograms.

Inches from her were offerings of flowers, candles, and cards all scattered and addressed to the five different heroes. A large, white banner that read "MISSING BUT NOT FORGOTTEN! WE WILL FIND YOU!" in blue text was hung up above the offerings. Various names were scribbled all over the banner, and Alice recognized that a few were fellow students of Pokey Oaks Junior High, but she couldn't picture faces to the names.

She'd been to Heroes Square twice, back when it was only known as Hero Square. Once was when it was in the middle of being built. Her mother had brought her along so they could watch the Dexbots and construction workers build the monument. The second time had been when it was finished, and a ceremony for the fallen hero had been held. Once again, her mother brought her. Her mother had brought a bouquet of white lilies, rosemary, and aspen, and Alice had brought a green apple flavored candle. Both visits had made her uneasy.

Now, sitting at its base, Alice could identify what that uneasiness really was: guilt. Unlike Blossom, or Dexter, or Double D, or her mother when she had been alive, she had given up hope. She didn't like it. She didn't like feeling this aching sense of hopelessness. It wasn't fair to everyone who loved these heroes for her to just give up on them. It wasn't fair to the heroes themselves who protected the weak and offered assistance to those in need for her to just abandon all thoughts that they could be alive. She didn't like the awful feeling it produced in the pit of her stomach; she wanted to make things right.

"Wherever you are, I hope you're alright," she prayed, closing her eyes and dropping her head. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for thinking none of you could be found. I'm sorry for losing hope. I'm sorry for giving up. Opening her eyes from her prayer, Alice lifted her head and stared at the holograms. "I hope we find you. All of you," she continued. "The Earth is in trouble, and we need you."

She prayed that they would be found. These heroes were needed, now more than ever, to help the Earth repel the forces of Planet Fusion. In the meantime, she would do whatever she could to help lessen the burden. That would be a good way to honor them.

It was the least she could do.

Chapter Text

"Thanks for your help, Alice. Are you sure you don't want your payment?"

Alice shook her head.

"I'm okay," she replied.

Frankie Foster frowned, but she shrugged in response and just pocketed the taros again.

"Well, thanks again," Frankie said. "Eduardo's been missing his Beanie Baggies and hasn't stopped crying since he lost them. He'll be so happy to have them back."

Alice smiled faintly. Aside from Wilt, she didn't know any of the Imaginary Friends that lived in Foster's Home, but she had briefly met Eduardo when she came to speak with Frankie. The purple Friend had been outside with Frankie, crying about his lost toys. The Imaginary Friend wasn't with them, and Alice had to guess it was because he was coaxed to go back inside where it was safer.

"Say, you live in the Peach Creek Commons area, right?" Frankie asked. Alice nodded, so the caretaker continued, "Would you be willing to do me a favor? Wilt asked for some toothpaste, and since he's over in that weird cardboard fortress, I was hoping you'd swing by and deliver it." She produced the tube of toothpaste from her sweater's pocket, showing Alice the item. "Of course, you don't have to. I can put this up on Help Wanted if you're busy."

Alice shook her head. "It's fine. I can drop it off."

"You're sure?" Frankie asked hopefully.

"I'm free for the day."

The woman flashed a brilliant smile at Alice, a look of relief settling in her eyes.

"Thank you so much," she said in gratitude, handing over the toothpaste. Alice took the item and placed it in her communicator. "You're a lifesaver."

"Miss Frances!" a voice bellowed over the loudspeaker.

Alice jumped in surprise, startled by the sudden call. Frankie frowned at the loudspeaker in irritation, running a hand down her face with an aggravated sigh. Turning back to Alice, her irritated look evaporated into a smile.

"Sorry, but duty calls. Thanks for your help," she said to the pre-teen, already taking a step in the house's direction. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Alice smiled meekly, responding with an equally meek, "I'll try."

As Alice was leaving Foster's property and stepping onto Wilson Way, her communicator let out three beeps. It was notifying her that the job she had performed was ticked off as complete.

Recently, DexLabs rolled out a new app referred to as The Board that had been updated automatically onto every communicator. It was designed and run by Douglas, Dexter's best friend and one of the few humans who worked at the advanced technology company. It operated like a forum does on the internet, and was broken up into three categories: Help Wanted, Conversation Section, and Leaderboard.

Help Wanted was where the volunteers could pick up jobs from various heroes, villains and civilians; even the guides posted on there, though not for anything related to their ultimate goal. The jobs varied in what was required, like if a volunteer needed to retrieve an item or take out a certain number of monsters. The way it worked was that the person would post the job and a volunteer would claim it. Once it was claimed, it disappeared, and details were emailed to the communicator. If the volunteer decided to quit on the job for whatever reason, the job would go right back up to be taken on once more. Conversation Section was where the volunteers could make threads about whatever topic they wanted, so long as it followed the application's rules (Dexbots kept a special eye on this area, ensuring conversations were user friendly). Leaderboard was a scoreboard, keeping track of how many Fusion Monsters a volunteer killed. Because The Board had complete access to all data on the communicators, Leaderboard had immediate access to the number, keeping it 100% accurate.

Alice didn't rely on Conversation Section or Leaderboard; she never even bothered to check what was going on in either of them. Instead, she used the app exclusively for the Help Wanted area. She avoided taking on any job from the villains, and limited herself to the Suburbs. The jobs she picked from varied in difficulty, but none had been too difficult for her.

The two Rangers at the fortress' entrance gave her a nod in greeting, having already memorized her face as a friendly guest. After the Kanker Sisters (minus one sister) tried sneaking into the Cul-de-Sac with a giant hamburger, Eddy demanded higher security from the Rangers to ensure that any enemy of the crown (i.e., the Fusions and the Kankers) wouldn't be allowed in.

"Hello, Alice!" Wilt greeted as soon as she passed by the Plank inspired wooden doors. His giant smile was on his face, and his only good hand waved at her in greeting.

Wilt liked to spend his days at the entrance of the fortress, acting as the personal greeter to everyone who entered the space. Not too far from the Imaginary Friend was Ranger Joey, who was stationed there as extra security in case a Fusion ever did manage to sneak in (and, in his own words, he wanted to create as much distance between him and Eddy as possible).

"Hi, Wilt," Alice greeted, giving him a small smile. She tapped on her communicator, pulling out the toothpaste tube. "Frankie sent this."

"Oh how wonderful!" Wilt declared, taking the toothpaste tube from her. "Thank you so much. Sorry if it was any trouble."

"You asked for toothpaste?" Ranger Joey asked, wandering over since he found their conversation more exciting than just standing on the front lawn flipping his coin.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't any regular toothpaste. This is imaginary toothpaste," Wilt explained. "This will reinforce the walls."

Ranger Joey and Alice, in unison, looked at the toothpaste in confusion.

"The...toothpaste?" the Urban Ranger questioned skeptically, outwardly voicing Alice's thoughts. "Wouldn't duct tape or glue work better?"

"Double D tried all of that," Wilt answered, "but none of them worked. Fusion Matter kept damaging the walls. This toothpaste should do the trick. If it's alright, I'll show you."

Squeezing out a small portion onto his palm, he walked over to the wall closest to him and smoothed the toothpaste over the surface of cardboard boxes. Once finished applying the cream, he stepped back.

"Okay, it should be settled," he said. He swept his long arm in the wall's direction. "Come and feel."

Ranger Joey approached the wall and touched the spot Wilt had been working at, giving it a slight push. He was surprised to find that the boxes stayed intact, and even felt stronger.

"No way," Ranger Joey said, his eyes doubling in size. "It actually works?"

"Of course," Wilt said. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have asked for it to be delivered if I didn't think it'd work."

"But it's toothpaste," Ranger Joey argued, looking between the wall and Wilt in disbelief. "It's supposed to clean teeth, not hold up walls."

"Imaginary toothpaste works different from store bought toothpaste," Wilt answered.

"But it's toothpaste."

Alice watched the exchange continue until she heard her communicator chime, alerting the girl that she had received an email. The name briefly flashed on the communicator's lock screen, and it wasn't a name she recognized. Instead of removing the email, she opened it to see why Jimmy Jones was contacting her.

Subject Line: Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates

Morning! Mr. Tennyson needs you to lock down the local Plumber base that's hidden over in Peach Creek Estates. Fusion activity has been spiking in the area, and Mr. Tennyson wants to keep them out. But the base has a high-frequency sonic security system, so you're going to need special earplugs, which are called Sonic Earplugs. Talk to Numbuh Two about them.

-Jimmy Jones

Alice's breath hitched as she finished the email. She wasn't entirely sure who he was referring to as "Mr. Tennyson," but made a guess that it was Ben, since he was working to lock up Plumber bases. This made it her first job for her guide.

A red blur in front of her spooked her from her thoughts, and she glanced up sharply, finding that the red blur was Wilt's hand moving up and down in front of her face. Her startled eyes met his concerned eye.

"I'm sorry, but are you feeling well?" Wilt asked, stopping his hand when he got her attention. "You seemed to have gone pale."

"Bad news?" Ranger Joey questioned, nodding his head at her communicator.

"I'm okay," Alice answered, pocketing her device. "It was a job from Ben."

"Right, he's your guide," the Urban Ranger said. "I keep forgetting you work for him since you're around the Cul-de-Sac so much. I thought you were one of Double D's."

"I'm sorry if this is prying, but what is he having you do?" the Imaginary Friend asked. "You don't look very enthusiastic."

"Lock down a Plumber base in Peach Creek Estates," Alice answered. "But I have to speak to Numbuh Two first since he knows where some Sonic Earplugs are." At the confused looks on both her audience's faces, she clarified further, "It's a special set of earplugs."

"Peach Creek Estates? You better watch yourself," Ranger Joey warned. "Father's kids, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane, have been lurking around that place since his housing development was turned into an Infected Zone."

"Why would they be a problem?" Wilt asked, tilting his head in confusion. "They seem like nice kids."

"Don't let the delightful part in their name fool you, they're a real pain in the heinie," Ranger Joey warned. "If you can avoid it, don't talk to them. They have a way of messing with your head."

Alice nodded. She had heard of the Delightful Children, but only in passing. They were several grades below her, so it wasn't like she saw them around school. All she knew was that they were enemies of the Kids Next Door and liked to have the most over-the-top cake at their birthdays. What they could be doing in Peach Creek Estates and for what reason she didn't know and she wasn't especially eager to find out.

"I should go," Alice stated. "Jimmy didn't say when I had to do this, but it probably has to be done sooner than later."

"Yeah, probably," Ranger Joey agreed. "See yah around."

"Don't be worried, Alice," Wilt told her, beaming a bright smile. "You'll do great!"

Alice smiled weakly at his confidence, and left the Cul-de-Sac swiftly. She could have flown over to Sector V using the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., but she preferred to walk. S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s were for long distance travel, like if she wanted to go between the Suburbs and Downtown (not that she wanted to). She could have also used a Monkey Skyway Agent, but she definitely didn't want to use that form of transportation. Although Mojo had pledged his assistance with the war, she didn't exactly trust him or his minions. Being dropped from several hundred feet in the air didn't sound like fun, even if she had a way of protecting herself. So, she stuck to walking the distance between the Cul-de-Sac and Sector V's Treehouse. There weren't as many volunteers running around fighting off the monsters as there had been when Alice first started, but luckily there weren't as many Fusions roaming around either. Alice only had to fight off at least six monsters on her trek to the treehouse, which was smaller than normal (usually she'd be stopped by at least ten or eleven monsters in her travels).

The Treehouse wasn't busy when she landed on the hovering island. She hadn't gone the back route, but had gone around toward the front, facing Numbuh One's house. Several Kids Next Door operatives were by the front door, selling their wares. A Monkey Skyway Agent was sitting on the front steps, lazily scrolling through his communicator as he waited for a customer. Blossom was busy speaking with two volunteers, so Alice gave her a brief nod as she passed the Powerpuff. Numbuh Two was typing on his communicator when Alice approached him.

"Numbuh Two?" she called, getting his attention.

Numbuh Two glanced up. "That's me. What can I do for you?"

"I was sent here from Jimmy Jones. He said you'd know about the Sonic Earplugs?"

"I do know about them, but I don't have 'em," Numbuh Two replied, pocketing his communicator. "They were supposed to be in Genius Grove, but I just got word from some other volunteers that the earplugs were stolen by the Tech Wings. You're going to have to go down there and take out a few 'till they drop."

"There's others working on this?" Alice asked.

"Two others," Numbuh Two answered. "Ben usually does this."

Alice nodded in acknowledgement.

"When you get them, come back here. I gotta help you put 'em in and calibrate them to protect against the base's security system," Numbuh Two continued. "You good?"

Things were not going well.

Seven Tech Wings down and not a single sonic earplugs in sight. True, Alice didn't have an idea on what the sonic earplugs actually looked like, but she could guess that they were as small as regular earplugs. Since Fusions could absorb the item into their anatomy, it made it difficult for Alice to determine which creature had the item or not, so she was left to just hit whatever Tech Wing was within vicinity and just hope the item would drop. But the longer she was out in the area, the higher chance they'd start ganging up on her. Alice was just catching her breath after fighting off her eighth Tech Wing when she felt tapping on her shoulder. The girl spun around on her heel, raising her hand up in preparation for a battle. Her "opponent" raised up their hand and waved at the blue haired girl.

"Hey, Alice!" Suzy greeted her fellow classmate cheerfully.

"Suzy?" Alice asked in surprise, retracting her hand.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" the red head questioned, clasping her hands behind her back.

"I'm looking for Sonic Earplugs," Alice answered. "The Tech Wings are supposed to have them, but none have dropped them."

"Oh, you got an email from Jimmy, too?" Suzy asked, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "This is so cool! I just got my pair. Why don't I help you out?"

"You don't have to," Alice protested. "Ben wants the bases locked down."

Suzy shrugged nonchalantly. "The bases were okay before he called us in for it, so I think they can survive a little longer," she reasoned. "Besides, three of us tackling this would make things move a lot faster, don'tcha think?"

Alice was about to protest further, because she didn't want to impose on Suzy, but paused as she thought over Suzy's words. There weren't three of them standing there; just two.

"Three?" she repeated.

A Tech Wing decided it was the perfect moment to interrupt the conversation, swooping down over their heads as a high pitch screech emanated from its mouth. Alice and Suzy ducked, avoiding the monster's claws. Alice raised her hand, prepared to fire a blast at the creature, but a tentacle shot out and wrapped around the monster's neck, jerking it away from the girls. A second tentacle shot through the winged creature's chest, cleaving the Tech Wing in twain. The dissolved Fusion Matter rained down, forming a puddle on the grassy ground.

"Seriously, Suzy?" Nergal Junior complained, stopping next to the puddle and having his communicator vacuum it up. He spotted something on the ground and scooped it up. "You roped me into teaming up, the least you can do is not run o-" Junior's complaint died on his tongue when he spotted who Suzy was speaking with. "A-Alice?"

"Guess what, she's on the same job. She's joining our team!" Suzy chirped, completely ignoring the fact that Alice hadn't accepted her offer.

"But I-" Alice tried to explain, but was interrupted by an unamused Junior.

"Did she actually agree or did you make the decision yourself?" Junior accused Suzy, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I offered our services," Suzy replied flippantly. "It just makes more sense for all three of us to be working together on this job rather than competing."

"But I don't want to slow you two down," Alice protested, finally able to get a word in. "I haven't been able to find any earplugs yet, and Ben wants the base shut down before the Fusions get in."

"It's fine," Junior assured her. "I have the last pair." He fished them out of his pocket and held them out to Alice, who stared up at him in surprise. "We were actually looking for the third pair to give to Numbuh Two. When Mandark left for Tech Square, the Plumbers hid the Sonic Earplugs in his yard since they figured his parents wouldn't go searching for them, but Lala found them. She told me there was only three pairs in the box when she searched it, so that's how many were stolen. That last Tech Wing had the final pair."

Lalavava was Mandark's younger sister. She was about two years younger than Alice, so Alice never had any classes with the girl; she merely saw her around Gallagher Elementary when Alice used to go there. Lalavava was a bully who treated others with zero respect; she didn't even treat fellow bullies - Sperg, Mitch, Terrance - with any respect. Alice didn't exactly trust the younger girl, but Lalavava never showed any interest in science, so would she care about bases focusing on the extraterrestrial?

"See? It's basically destiny that we all met up," Suzy stated proudly, striking a triumphant pose by putting her fists on her hips. "So what do you say, Alice? Want to team up?"

Alice hesitated with her answer. The idea of teaming up with others hadn't ever crossed her mind; she always expected she'd just go it alone like she did for group projects in school. Whenever teachers had then group up, the other students would shun Alice and so she'd be left on her own. Suzy's persistence in recruiting Alice was throwing the alien girl for a loop; Suzy was behaving like she actually wanted to work with her. Then there was Suzy's logic; it would make more sense for the three of them to work on shutting down the base together rather than competing with each other.

Suppressing the nervous butterflies that fluttered inside her stomach, she nodded at the two of them.

"Okay," Alice agreed, taking the earplugs out of Junior's hands.

"Fantastic!" Suzy cheered ecstatically, pumping a fist of victory in the air. "Those Fusions better watch out, 'cause we're coming for them!"

"First we need to go to Numbuh Two," Junior pointed out dryly. "These aren't just regular earplugs."

"Well I know that," the redhead replied. "I was just pointing out that we're a dream team. Have you always been so moody?"

Junior rolled his eyes from behind his glasses, and motioned his head back toward the area behind DeeDee's backyard.

"C'mon, we can hitch a ride with the Skyway Agents," he pointed out, already moving in that direction.

Alice tensed up at the mention of the monkeys, worried about trusting them. It would be a faster way to travel, but... Alice was jostled when Suzy linked their arms together. The redhead smiled brightly at Alice and then at Junior.

"Actually, since we've got this nice weather, why not walk?" Suzy suggested. "Besides, we gotta keep in shape. Can't let Fuse's minions get the better of us."

Junior's brows furrowed, a confused frown settling on his face. He opened his mouth to protest the idea, but Suzy was already making her way out of Genius Grove, tugging Alice along. The blue haired girl was so surprised that she stumbled, catching herself before she could fall face first to the ground.

"C'mon, Junior!" Suzy called over her shoulder. "You don't want to be left behind, do yah?"

Junior frowned, momentarily looked at the Skyway Agents, and then released a heavy sigh and followed after the two girls, putting his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Flying would be faster, but Suzy was too stubborn to be swayed, and Junior didn't want to put up a fight. Said girl still had her arm interlocked with Alice's, leading the girl out of Genius Grove. The two girls were barely two steps into Pokey Oaks South when a pack of Newspaper Ninja appeared out of nowhere just a second after Alice felt something was wrong. Alice startled at their arrival, but Suzy reacted quickly, pulling out a Whizbee and throwing it at the pack of three. It exploded at their feet, halting their movements momentarily.

Without releasing her hold on Alice, Suzy pulled out a Crayon Cannon and started shooting at the pack, focusing primarily on the one in the middle. Alice was surprised by how efficient Suzy was, but also realized that the three Fusions monsters were not moving. They were frozen in place, and based on the guttural sounds they made, it wasn't by choice. Alice couldn't let Suzy do all the fighting, so she raised her unused hand and sent an energy blast at the ninja to the right of the leader. It took three shots, but the creature turned to Fusion Matter, and Alice diverted her attention to the Newspaper Ninja to the left of the front ninja. Suzy had finished dealing with the middle monster and helped fire at the ninja on the left. With the two dealing with the monster, it easily dissolved into matter.

Suzy released a pleased hum as she put her weapon back into her communicator. She tilted her head over her shoulder, winking at the boy that was standing behind the girls.

"You're getting better with that," she complimented.

Alice looked over her own shoulder as well, only just piecing together that the monsters had been frozen in spot just like that day at school. Junior had his glasses off, and was rubbing his eyes with his hand. When he moved his hand away, Alice was able to catch red tinting the edge of his eyes, indicating that the organs were irritated.

"Haven't had to do this much since winter camp," the boy said, lightly complaining to himself as he put on his glasses.

"You had monsters at winter camp?" Suzy inquired, her eyebrows raising.

"Something like that," Junior answered, shrugging his right shoulder evasively.

"Well you did good," the redhead praised. She spun her head around to face Alice, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "You did good, too, Alice. You weren't even using a weapon! Was that your power, like moving the lockers back at the school?"

"Yes," Alice answered. "I've...been practicing."

Suzy's eyes seemed to have gotten even brighter, and Alice took a subconscious step away, forgetting that her arm was still linked with Suzy's. Still, the movement spurred Suzy into action, and she continued their trek to Sector V, Nergal Jr. following at their heels.

"You know I heard about some girl fighting off a boss Fusion in the Cul-de-Sac a while back. Rumor has it that she did this without a weapon," Suzy explained. "That was you, right?"

The inquisitive look Suzy was sending the girl already knew it was Alice; she was just looking for verbal confirmation to her suspicion. Alice worried her bottom lip. Eddy's accusatory look flashed in her mind, and she tensed.

Looking away, Alice admitted, "Yes."

Suzy nodded sagely.

"I figured. When I heard it, I remembered the school, so I figured it'd be you," the redhead responded. "I've never faced off against a boss before. They sound pretty frightening."

"How did you hear?" Alice asked demurely. She didn't think it was the talk of the Cul-de-Sac. None of the Urban Rangers that had been present that day would give her nods when she saw them, but none would broach the subject with her.

"The Urban Rangers and Buttercup Scouts are good friends, so I heard about it through the grapevine. I had an inkling it was you, but wasn't sure till right now," Suzy replied. "So, were you born with it?"

Alice bit down hard on her lip, her eyes shifting away out of fear. There was no denying she was born with these abilities, but she just wasn't willing to say it. What would they think? How would they respond? Was it just safer to stay silent on the matter? Should she lie and say she didn't know? So many questions, so little answers.

"On second thought, you don't have to tell us," Suzy assured her, and her assurance brought Alice's eyes back onto her. "You look like you're still coming to terms with it, and it wouldn't be right of me to force it out of you. Tell me when you're more comfortable. I can't speak for Nergie-" 'Nergie' sent a withering glare in Suzy's direction for the nickname she had bestowed him, but the girl ignored it. "-but whether you're an E.V.O, demon, alien, Imaginary Friend or a science experiment gone right, it won't change my opinion of you."

"We're in agreement," Junior commented, his glare dissolving and his features softening when he turned his attention on Alice. "You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are, but you've already been through a lot, and this probably didn't help. Take whatever time you need to be comfortable with it."

Alice's cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment, and she glanced away. Ever since Eddy's outburst at her, she had been expecting everyone to react the same. Unjustly and unfairly, she had assumed, what with this being an alien invasion, that everyone she'd tell it to would freak out on her. She hadn't taken into account that maybe some weren't like Eddy who were afraid of aliens because of the invasion or like Harangue who had a dead-on hatred of anything extraterrestrial even before the invasion. Granted, she hadn't exactly told either of them that she was an alien, but their guide was Ben, a teenager who could change into any alien, so maybe they wouldn't be so quick to scorn her heritage.

Still, the part of her that was filled with trepidation kept her from spouting off her lineage. Instead, she showed her appreciation for their understanding by thanking them.

Suzy shifted topics following Alice's expression of gratitude, asking the girl what she'd been up to since joining the war effort. Suzy had been up in the Wilds for a week, helping around Camp Kidney. The camp's scoutmaster had locked himself up in his office, and the assistant scoutmaster, Mister Slinkman, needed help keeping the Crazy Metal Boy Scouts from hurting his Bean Scouts. Junior had been helping out primarily in Endsville, but had drifted into the Nuclear Plant and City Point whenever a job popped up. Compared to Alice, they seemed more seasoned, having volunteered at the very start of the war.

Their trip to Sector V was interrupted occasionally by packs of Ball-Peen Meanies and Pesky Ponies. Normally a time hassle when alone, the process of exterminating the monsters went by a lot faster with two others to help out.

"Howdy!" Numbuh Two greeted the trio when they approached him on the floating island. "Did you get the plugs?"

"Of course," Suzy chirped, pulling out her pair. Junior and Alice followed suit.

"Great job. Put them in, and I'll adjust it for you. You're going to use these-"

"-At Father's development site," Junior cut in, completing the sentence as he did what was instructed. "There's a base hidden in there, which isn't where I'd put a base. Putting something that top secret in a residential area is asking for someone to sneak in."

"Yes, but it's hidden. Jimmy Jones is sending the coordinates once we get there," Suzy responded, doing her best not to look in Junior's direction because Numbuh Two was calibrating the earplugs in her ears. "Besides, even if some teenagers stumbled onto it and tried entering it, the alarm system would send them running."

"Which is why you were sent to get these," Numbuh Two contributed to the conversation, moving on from Suzy to help Alice out.

Alice flinched out of habit, not used to non-family members touching her. Numbuh Two worked swiftly, spending maybe a handful of seconds to fine-tune the pair. Once he finished setting up Alice's earplugs, he moved to work on Junior's.

"You'll be able to hear normally until you find the base's access point. When you use the code on the access point, it'll trigger the system's alarm. The earplugs will deafen so none of you lose your eardrums," Numbuh Two explained. "Once the code is accepted, the alarm will turn off and the base will be locked down."

"Do we return the earplugs to you?" Alice questioned.

"Ben wants you to keep 'em. You may be called on to lock down more bases, so it'll be faster and easier for you if you've already got the tools," Numbuh Two answered, stepping away from Junior. "Okay, you're all set to leave."

"Let's get moving, team," Suzy instructed her two teammates, leading the way to one of the many ziplines that went from the floating island to the ground. "We've got a base to lock down!"

"Aren't you going to take the Skyway Agents? It's faster," Numbuh Two pointed out.

"We're getting our fitness in," Suzy replied without turning to look over her shoulder. "It's a beautiful day, and I don't want to waste it."

Numbuh Two lifted up his helmet enough so that he could scratch his head in confusion, watching the trio descend to the ground. Logically, it made more sense to use Mojo's monkey minions. The agents would fly them into the Cul-de-Sac, and then they'd walk to Peach Creek Estates from there.

"Awh well." Numbuh Two shrugged. "They're just shutting down a base. How hard can it be?"

"Are you not aware that stepping foot on this property is considered trespassing?" five voices interrogated as one.

Getting the Peach Creek Estates had been easy for the group of three, only having to handle a few pockets of monsters that thought they could get the drop on the pre-teens. Their biggest roadblock, currently standing between them and the Dexbot that led into the infected zone, was known as the Delightful Children From Down the Lane.

Alice took a step back, creeped out by the behavior they exhibited. She knew that they operated like they were one body, but it was seriously creepy how much of a hive-mind the five shared. Suzy and Junior were noticeably less disturbed by the manners. Suzy kept her smile on her face, looking just as friendly as ever. Junior, although not looking creeped out, crossed his arms and leveled an annoyed look in the Delightful Children's direction. The Delightful Children didn't look frightened of this look, sending back a haughty expression of their own as the five continued blocking them passage to the Dexbot.

"We're here on official guide business," Suzy explained, showing her communicator to them like it was a police badge.

"So?" the Delightful Children challenged. "We've been tasked by Father to make sure no one steals anything from his development site."

"There isn't anything worth stealing in there," Junior pointed out, tilting his head in the Infected zone's direction. "Everything's contaminated."

"Even still-"

"Even still," Junior interrupted, advancing forward so that he was standing directly toe-to-toe with them, "you're going to move out of our way and let us through or I will make you."

Alice stared wide eyed at Junior's back, stunned by the threat he had made. She knew the Delightful Children were not good people, but they didn't pose them an immediate threat. She glanced Suzy's way, to see if the feelings were mutual, but Suzy didn't look worried in the slightest. She kept smiling, looking almost confident that the outcome would be in their favor.

Junior and the Delightful Children held a silent staring contest, each side antagonizing the other to back down. Finally, just before Alice's nerves could completely fry under the pressure, the Delightful Children stepped to the side and walked past Junior. The glasses wearing half-demon followed their movements, just to make sure he wouldn't be attacked by surprise.

"Don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you," the five warned, passing by Junior and Suzy without causing a fuss. They paused next to Alice, and turned to give her their attention. There was a knowing look in their eyes that didn't sit well with Alice. As if to confirm her thoughts, the Delightful Children smirked. "Wouldn't want more alien things to interfere with Father's development, now would we?"

Alice blanched at the implication. They knew. They knew about her identity. The Delightful Children, pleased with themselves, continued past her.

"Have a nice day, freaks," the children said as they left.

"They're one to talk," Junior bristled angrily.

"Leave them," Suzy replied. "They won't be bothering us for a while. Let's lock down the base before they decide to do some snooping and realize they've had some seriously good tech in their backyard."

Junior grunted in agreement and walked up the ramp to the Dexbot who was patiently waiting. Suzy made to follow, but paused when she realized Alice wasn't following. Spinning around, she found the blue haired girl standing several paces away, blue eyes glued to the dirt beneath her feet.

"Alice?" Suzy prompted. "Are you coming?"

Alice didn't respond to the call; she didn't even hear it. Her eyes jumped from the dirt to the Infected Zone sporadically, like they couldn't figure out which one they wanted to settle on. Or maybe they were avoiding looking at the barrier that separated the tarnished Earth with the rest of the environment. Alice had never stepped foot in an Infected Zone, and carefully avoided jobs that would have her go into one. Her stomach twisted and turned any time she looked at one, typically bringing up bad memories of the invasion. Had she known that this particular job would lead her here….

"What's wrong, Alice?"

Alice's breath hitched, and she jumped at the call. She forced herself to meet the faces of her teammates. Suzy had drawn nearer to her, and Junior had stepped away from the Dexbot to stand at the base of the ramp. Both were looking at her in concern. She looked away in shame and embarrassment, wrapping a hand over her chest.

"It's...I..."

Words failed her, so she shut her mouth and tightened her hold on her arm.

"Have you ever been in an Infected Zone?" Junior asked. There was no judgement in his tone, just honest curiosity.

Alice shook her head.

"You're thinking about that day at school, right?" Junior asked.

Alice bit her bottom lip, her eyes shifting to look to the other side. She didn't verbally confirm it, but it was an admission all the same.

"Awh Alice, you don't have to be ashamed of that. I still think about it too," Suzy consoled, approaching and carefully sliding a hand around girl's shoulder so that it was a half-hug. "It was a scary day, but we can't let that fear stop us."

"Besides, you won't be alone," Junior added. "We'll be with you the entire way. You'll be okay."

Alice took in a deep breath, putting a lid on her nerves. They were right. She needed to do this. She nodded at Suzy.

"I-I'm ready," she announced.

Suzy and Junior smiled at her, and the three of them stepped onto the platform. Junior pulled out his communicator and began making the entry request. While he was doing that, Suzy leaned in close to Alice, whispering, "Just stick close, and everything will be okay." Alice nodded, just before she felt herself getting lighter. Looking around, she found that herself and the other two were filling with light. A moment later, their scenery changed.

The inside of the Infected Zone was exactly like Alice imagined, but also different. The grounds were mostly contaminated, and the land looked like it was separating, something that hadn't been happening during Father's development. Surprisingly, things that shouldn't be moving (like wooden planks and concrete slabs) were moving, or suspending in mid-air. Alice stared in a mixture of fascination and trepidation.

"Yeah, it's freaky," Suzy agreed, correctly reading the reaction on Alice's face. "Apparently too much Fusion Matter effects gravity and is making all of this-" she swept her hand to the moveable objects "-possible."

"Don't step on the green stuff," Junior cautioned, stepping off the Dexbot. "It's concentrated Fusion Matter, and it'll burn you."

Junior led the trio further into the zone, coming up to a large wood stump that had a zipline installed into it. Alice stared at it in surprise, since that was not a normal contraption found in a developing site. She'd seen it at the treehouse in Sector V, but she didn't expect to see it in an Infected Zone. Suzy hopped up and grabbed the handle, shooting off from the stump into a half-built house. Junior stepped up next, but stopped when he saw Alice's perplexed look.

"It was put in by Dexter's team," Junior explained, waving a hand at the wire. "It's a fast and mostly safe way to get over Fusion Matter. They added a cannon too, to help get over large open spaces."

Alice's eyes doubled in surprise. A cannon? Was that safe? Junior stepped back from the zipline and nodded his head at it.

"Here, go first," Junior said.

Alice agreed, hopping up to the stump and grabbing the handle waiting for her. With a kick, she went down the short line (Sector V's Treehouse had a longer line, considering how high up it was) and met Suzy on the other side. Junior came down a second later, landing next to the girls.

"Who's got directions?" Junior asked.

"I can do it. I left my map on," Suzy answered, pulling out her communicator. "Map says we're close by."

Suzy led their group of three to the left of the house, going through an undeveloped part of the structure. Suzy was nearing its exit when the hair on the back of Alice's neck stood on end. Suzy took one step onto the dirt, and a Heavy Pincher appeared, bringing its pincher downward. The monster was too close for Alice to strike him with one of her blasts, so she did the next best thing: she threw up an energy shield. It wasn't a dome, like she had learned to do under Blossom's teaching, but just a large wall-like structure that was tall enough to protect Suzy from the Heavy Pincher's attack. The monster released an aggravated cry when it saw its attack repelled. When Alice saw Suzy pull out her Camp Oar, she dropped the shield. With the shield dropped, Suzy immediately went on the offense, swinging her melee weapon. Two tentacles sprouted from Junior's back, and he used them to wrap around the monster's long arm, twisting it. Suzy delivered the final blow to the monster's main body right as Junior was able to snap the monster's arm off, dissolving the monster into Fusion Matter. Releasing a sigh of satisfaction, Suzy wiped away sweat from her brow.

"Thanks for that, Alice," she said to the other girl, sending her a smile.

"But I didn't do anything," Alice protested. "I couldn't help."

"Protecting me from a hit is not nothing," Suzy countered. "Don't put yourself down like that."

"It was one monster, and this was a tight space," Junior continued, retracting his tentacles after giving them a once over. "Your blasts wouldn't haven't been possible without hurting one of us, so you made the right call."

Alice stared in surprise, but nodded. She still felt like she could have done more, but maybe Junior was right. Maybe she would have done more harm than help if she had tried to do more.

"Now let's get back on track!" Suzy declared, pulling off her communicator from her hip.

She didn't put away her Camp Oar as she led the way to the Plumber base, clearly expecting to be intercepted by another monster. Fortunately for them, the three resumed their expedition with no interference from the Fusion Monsters, although they had to carefully maneuver themselves over a batch of Fusion Matter that was imbedded into the ground (and Junior had pointed out the cannon for Alice, just so she'd know what it was). The three circled the access point, staring down at the object that was sticking out of the ground.

"You taking the lead on this one?" Junior asked Suzy, looking from the access point to the girl.

"Sure!" Suzy answered him, holding up her communicator. "Get ready."

Junior stepped back three paces, to put some distance between him and the noise that was going to come. He reached out and touched Alice's elbow, guiding her to follow him. Suzy tapped away at her communicator, and almost instantly the alarm rang out. The sonic earplugs did their job in buffering the majority of the noise, leaving only a low hum to be heard by them. It was only five seconds later that the noise turned off, and the access point locked and disappeared into the ground. Suzy grinned in the direction of her two teammates.

"Mission accomplished."

"We should probably leave. That noise will attract some Fusions," Junior mentioned, roaming his eyes over the area to keep from being surprised again.

Simultaneously, their communicators all chimed, although the sound was different for each communicator. Alice grabbed her communicator and opened up the mail app, finding that Jimmy Jones sent in a new email.

Subject Line: Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates

Great work! However, that's not the only secret base in the area. Mind going over to Goat's Junkyard and locking that base down too? You can reuse the previous code.

-Jimmy Jones

Attached with the message was the coordinates for the next base.

"Numbuh Two wasn't kidding about needing these for another base," Suzy remarked, pocketing her communicator. "Ready for round two?"

"It's close by," Junior commented. "It can be done quickly."

"On the plus side, we won't have to deal with the Delightful Children," Suzy added on, going back the way they came since their exit was nearby. "Since Goat is away, he's having Coop watch over the place, and Coop is a big teddy bear."

They left the Delightful Developments Infected Zone (encountering no Fusions along the way since they hadn't regenerated quickly enough) and were pleased to find that the Delightful Children were nowhere in sight. The trip from Peach Creek Estates to Goat's Junkyard was met with little resistance, save for a pack of Heavy Pinchers that were put down swiftly. Junior's nose crinkled as they neared the junkyard.

"Why would anyone want to be near this dump?" he asked aloud, eyeing the piles of junk with disdain. "It smells disgusting."

"Don't you live at the center of the Earth?" Suzy questioned over her shoulder. She had an eyebrow raised upward. "Isn't it fire and brimstone down there?"

Junior's face tinted pink and he hastily responded, "That's the Underworld. And besides, we moved into a home in Endsville a year and a half ago."

"The Nuclear Plant is next door to Endsville," Suzy pointed out, spinning around so she could speak to him while walking backwards. "That produces a worse smell than this place. Probably poisonous, too."

The pink on Junior's face deepened to a rose red as he realized that he had no counter. He was thankful the conversation was forced to an end because their small party made it to the entrance of the Infected Zone. A Dexbot was their only greeter, offering a generic "Very nice weather we're having" as they stepped up to the platform. Junior was nearly complete with their request when he was interrupted.

"Where do you three think you're going?"

The three in question turned to find a redhead woman - Kiva - exiting the trailer, marching straight toward them.

"Guide job," Suzy replied, showing off her communicator like she had with the Delightful Children.

Kiva blinked at the green communicator, and her shoulders sagged like the tension had been sapped out of her.

"A-are you okay?" Alice asked the woman.

"Yes, just relieved," Kiva responded. "We've been having some trouble with kids sneaking in to steal parts from Megas, only to get cornered by some Fusions."

"But that shouldn't be happening," Suzy remarked, her eyes widening in alarm. "The Dexbot is only supposed to allow volunteers in. Our communicators were given specific designations to prevent this."

Alice blinked, having not known that, though it made sense why Suzy knew this bit of information. Kiva sighed and nodded in agreement to Suzy's reasoning.

"Unfortunately, someone good with robotics came in and busted it. It now allows anyone in with or without a communicator," Kiva replied. "Coop and I have been trying to fix it, but it's a software issue rather than hardware. I've been waiting on DexLabs to send over someone to repair it."

"I didn't think these could be hacked," Junior commented, looking over at the Dexbot. "DexLabs is pretty good with their security."

"Could be a competitor," Suzy pointed out, frowning in concentration. "Mandark is his biggest rival in the tech industry…. although I don't think he'd be able to pull off something like this."

"I really doubt this was his doing," Junior rebutted. "He's a copycat, not a hacker."

"You three don't need to worry about this," Kiva stepped in. "We have a solution on the way, and it'll be fixed. You have a job to complete, remember?"

"Right," Suzy answered, nodding her head in determination. "We'll go lock up the base, and come back to solve the mystery of who did this."

"I appreciate the offer, but really-"

"This isn't just about this Dexbot," Junior cut in, pointing a thumb at the robot. "If someone's able to do this here, what's stopping them from doing it elsewhere?"

"I already notified Dexter the moment it happened. He's been sending out technicians to all the other Dexbots to check that they're in functioning order," Kiva explained calmly, trying to be rational with the kids.

"Is there any video that could be reviewed?" Alice asked.

"I already checked the Dexbot's," Kiva answered. "Apparently it doesn't record video, it just keeps a record of any communicators that it granted access to."

"The junkyard doesn't have any surveillance?" Junior questioned skeptically.

"It's a junkyard," Kiva volleyed back. "The only thing worth stealing is Megas, and that's not possible. It's just parts that can be stolen."

Junior nodded, conceding to her point. It would be rather ridiculous to have video surveillance for a junkyard.

"What are you talking about, Kiva? Goat's got a camera."

Kiva spun around to stare wide-eyed at a heavyset man standing at the junkyard's archway. In one hand was a sub sandwich and in the other a video game.

"What does that mean, Coop?" Kiva questioned, though it sounded more like a demand.

"Goat bought a camera a while back," Coop replied, raising his sub holding hand to point out the camera that was stationed at the corner where the archway met the fence, facing toward the Dexbot.

Kiva looked at the camera incredulously before dropping her gaze back onto Coop, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"When were you going to tell me about that?!" she demanded.

Coop shrugged, unfazed by her annoyance. He took a bite of his sandwich. "I thought Jamie would."

"He did not!"

Coop took another bite out of his sandwich, looking far too casual for the situation. Was he not taking it seriously? Kiva breathed in heavily through her nose, and physically composed herself. The three kids wisely kept silent through the whole ordeal.

"Can you get the video?" she asked Coop in measured tones.

"Sure," Coop replied cheerily, moving towards the trailer.

Kiva massaged the side of her head, releasing a huff of frustration.

"If I had known about this sooner…" she muttered to herself, but the kids heard it anyway. She turned to regard them. "You three should continue with your job. Be careful while you're in there."

"No need to be worried," Suzy responded. "We're an unstoppable team. No monster has been able to take us down."

The corner of Kiva's lips quirked upward briefly, and she nodded at the confidence Suzy exuded.

"Very well," she said, turning so she could return to the trailer. "Stop by when you're done, so you can see who the mystery vandalizer was."

"Deal!" Suzy called after. After giving a wave goodbye to Kiva's back, the girl spun around to regard her teammates. "Ready team?"

"Have been for a while," Junior responded, leading the way to the Dexbot platform.

Even though the Dexbot was broken, the three still showed their communicators so that there would be a recorded log with their personal numbers attached to it. Junior pulled out his communicator, activating his map function so that they could follow it to the base. Alice took a sweeping look around the zone, finding it wildly different looking from the development site. Items that shouldn't float were floating, which was like the other Infected Zone, but the sky was a very dark green. There had been green tints in the sky in the prior zone, but this one was especially dark. It didn't make the place feel very welcoming, especially with how empty it was. There was no soul in the zone except for them and the Fusions; other volunteers were probably sent away by Kiva to ensure their safety.

"C'mon, I'll lead the way," Junior said, stepping forward to lead their group. "Based on where the coordinates lay on the map, I'm pretty sure I passed it last time I was here."

"You never mentioned that," Suzy responded, tilting her head. "Hiding some secrets from us?"

Junior shrugged. "Didn't see an opportunity to bring it up. Watch out for trash flying out at you."

Junior guided the two girls through the first portion of the Infected Zone, taking a path that didn't have them encountering the many, many Scrap Tyrants. On the other side of the junk wall, they only had to encounter two Scrap Scrappers, disposing of them easily. They found the base's access point at the south-center of the Infected Zone, thankfully left unprotected from the monsters in the zone. Either the monsters didn't know what this access point protected, or they were busy doing other things.

"You want to give this a try?" Junior asked Alice, looking her way.

Alice sent a concerned look Suzy's way, but the redhead sent her a thumbs up as a response. She turned her head back to Junior and nodded slowly. He nodded back to her and stepped away from the access point, letting her get closer. Alice took in a deep breath; there was no reason to be worried. She'd seen Suzy do it, and it was pretty easy. Pulling out her communicator, she mimicked everything Suzy had done, and heard the dull sound of the security system's alarm through her Sonic Earplugs. It lasted seconds, and then went away. The base's access point retreated into the ground, safely secured from any that would try to force their way in. A second later, the communicators chimed.

Subject Line: Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates

You did it! The bases are locked and secured. Thanks for the assistance. Mr. Tennyson will be pleased with your good work. I'll be sending more jobs your way soon, so keep your communicator on.

-Jimmy Jones

Alice moved to put her communicator back on her person, but stopped when it chimed again. She looked at the new message.

Subject Line: Thanks a Lot

Hey, just got word from Jimmy about you locking down the bases. Thanks! It would have been a real challenge if Fuse's cronies got 'em. Keep up the good job.

It's Hero Time!

-Ben Tennyson

Alice smiled briefly at the message and put her communicator away when she felt Suzy come to stand next to her.

"Ready to leave this place?" Suzy asked Alice. "Junior's complaining about the smell."

"Just because you don't have sensitive senses doesn't mean you get to mock me for having them," Junior argued back at her, already making his way to the Dexbot at the back of the Infected Zone. "And just to repeat myself from the last place, we don't want to attract more Fusions!"

Suzy shrugged at Alice in a what-can-you-do manner but followed after the half-demon. Alice followed behind, giving Megas' resting spot a lingering gaze as she passed by the giant robot. It was standing in a puddle of Fusion Matter so deep Alice couldn't see the bottom, and everywhere along its metallic body was Fusion Matter stuck to it. Seeing it trapped sent a chill down Alice's spine; it was supposed to be capable of protecting the Earth, and yet this is where it rested, unable to save so many people from the first day of the invasion. She forced herself to keep moving. There wasn't anything she could do for it today.

When the group of three returned on the other side of the Infected Zone, the Dexbot that operated the teleportation pad had a weasel standing on its two hind legs, tinkering with the Dexbot's innards. Alice recognized the creature as Weasel, a highly successful author and DexLabs' most recent employee. The mammal spared them a quick wave of salutations, and then continued with his work uninterrupted. The trio stepped off the platform and wandered over to where Kiva and Coop were huddled by the trailer, looking at a communicator held in Kiva's hand. The two adults looked up when they heard their footsteps approach.

"Hey, hey!" Coop whooped as he greeted them. "Welcome back. How was Megas? Still covered in that goo?"

"Unfortunately. Luckily the Fusions weren't getting close to it," Suzy reported. "Did you find our mystery saboteur?"

"Yes," Kiva replied, a steely look on her face. "I don't recognize them though."

"They're super creepy," Coop added, shuddering as he remembered them. "I mean, how is it possible for five kids to walk as one? That's a trick from a horror film!"

Alice's blood ran cold as she immediately thought of who that could be describing. Nergal Junior's eyes hooded over in anger, and Suzy's lips turned downward in displeasure.

Ranger Joey had been right with his warning.

"The Delightful Children," Suzy said, identifying the kids for the two adults.

"They don't look very delightful to me," Coop said, squinting his eyes and tilting his head at the communicator's surface, as if trying to see if a different angle would make the saboteurs more delightful looking.

"They're not," Junior growled.

"They're enemies of the Kids Next Door," Suzy added in.

"We need to put a stop to them," Junior ordered. "This is despicable, even for them!"

"What do you purpose we do?" the redhead girl questioned calmly.

"Scare the crud out of them. Beat 'em up," her male teammate answered. "Take your pick."

"We're not going to attack them," Suzy countered, her brows furrowing. "It'll solve nothing."

"It'll keep them away from a Dexbot," the halfling demon replied. "They may even learn a lesson."

"You are not going after them," Kiva interjected, crossing her arms and falling into her military training.

"You're going to stop me?" Junior demanded, his voice dipping an octave.

The atmosphere shifted, and everyone felt it. The tension was dark and dense, so palpable a knife could be run through it. Suzy and Coop were shifting their gazes between Kiva and Junior rapidly, surprise visible in their eyes. Kiva widened her stance, preparing for Junior to launch at her. Two tentacles popped out from his back, waving erratically as if ready for a fight. Alice stared at Junior in panic, her breath catching in her throat. She had to stop this before someone got hurt.

Remembering how Aunt Muriel would rein Uncle Eustace in after a particularly long fight with her mother, Alice mimicked the memory and reached out, touching his arm just above Junior's elbow. The action was usually enough to draw her uncle's attention away and calm him down from his worked-up state. Junior's attention moved to her hand and then to her face, and she saw the exact second the aggression left him. The fight in his eyes was doused like water on a flame, and the tentacles retracted into his flesh. Seeing that he wasn't going to bite someone's head off, Alice pulled back her hand, muttering a quick apology because she had technically touched him without his permission.

"This matter is being handled without your involvement," Kiva stated, sensing that the danger had passed. "I didn't put this on Help Wanted, and I'm not going to. Dexter has been notified about the incident, and a copy of the video was sent to him. The Dexbot is being fixed and given a stronger firewall to protect it from further sabotage. Since you mentioned they're an enemy of the Kids Next Door, I'll get into contact with them so that they can deal with the Delightful Children." Perhaps realizing she was being too harsh on the kids (particularly Junior), she continued in a gentler tone, "You don't need to invest more time here. Go and help others who need it."

Junior didn't look very pleased with the answer, but he didn't make a comment. That was the best they were going to get out of him. Suzy, recovering fast from Junior's outburst, smiled brightly at the two adults.

"That's why we volunteered," Suzy stated. "Though we should probably take a break. We've been going non-stop." She looked over at her teammates. "What do you say?"

Alice looked in Junior's direction briefly, and, noticing how his shoulders were sagged, she nodded. They probably did need a break. Junior shrugged noncommittedly, not concerned with what happened next.

Taking that as an affirmative, Suzy continued, "Let's go back to the Cul-de-Sac. I know this stand that sells mouthwatering food and drinks. It'll be my treat!"

Alice and Junior found a picnic table to sit at while Suzy went off to get some smoothies for them. The stand Suzy had gushed about on the way to the Cul-de-Sac was called Mung Daal's Catering Stand, and it was run by a purple cat kid dressed far too warm for the weather. The line wasn't especially long, so Suzy was able to purchase and acquire the smoothies in little time, returning to their table with a tray of three plastic cups, one for each of them. She handed out the smoothies dutifully to her two teammates.

"These are Chillado Smoothies. They're the perfect way to cool down," Suzy explained to them. She dropped down next to Alice. "Don't drink it too fast, though. It gives brain freezes."

"Is this a joke?" Junior questioned, eyeing the drink in his hand.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it back," Suzy replied, holding out her hand to him.

Junior frowned petulantly and brought the drink closer to his person. Suzy smiled, having anticipated his response. She took a sip from her smoothie, watching with interested eyes as Junior and Alice both took hesitant sips from their own cups.

"So, what do you think?" she asked them.

"It's...surprisingly good," Junior answered. "I thought this was going to be terrible based on the name."

"Chowder only makes the best," Suzy stated with an affirmative nod. "What's your take, Alice?"

"It's good," Alice answered, going back in for another sip. She was cautious to not drink too fast, like Suzy warned.

Silence settled over the group of three as they sipped from their smoothies. Alice wasn't sure if there should be any small talk, but she didn't think she was the best person to start said small talk. Junior, on the other hand, decided to take it upon himself to start a conversation.

"Listen, about today," Junior began, meeting their eyes briefly before dropping them to his cup in shame. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry." He then clarified, "For how I acted."

"With the Delightful Children, Kiva or both?" Suzy asked, staring at the boy calmly.

"Both, but mostly my reaction to the Delightful Children," Junior answered. "I was just really annoyed that we weren't going to-"

"Deal with them?" Suzy finished, echoing his words from earlier.

Junior's cheeks pinked, and he tightened his hold on his plastic cup.

"Listen, I know it's not a satisfactory ending, but it's not like this was something we had to do. This is for Dexter to pursue," Suzy explained.

"It still isn't right," Junior answered back.

"No, what they did isn't," Suzy agreed. "But we have to let it go and look to other jobs, other people to help. We can't stay fixated on their bad actions."

The half-demon frowned, obviously displeased, but then he released a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered. Breathing in deeply, he forced his tone to be less negative. "So, where are you two going after this?"

Alice shrugged as an answer. She never planned how her days were going to go, and was prepared to just accept another job in the neighborhood. A giddy smile crossed Suzy's face as she leaned forward.

"Well I was thinking, why don't we stick together and form a group?" Suzy proposed.

"Us?" Alice asked.

"Of course! Today was proof that we'd be amazing. We work well together!" Suzy pointed out. "We could get twice as many jobs, helping twice as many people!"

"Well... that is true," Junior admitted, brows coming together in thought.

"See?" Suzy turned her smile on Alice. "What do you say? Want to form a group?"

Alice hesitated with an answer because she had never been in that position before. She'd figured that this would be a one-time thing. The thought of joining a team left her with a stomach of butterflies.

"S-sure," she answered, ducking her head.

"Awesome!" Suzy cheered. Alice missed the glancing look Junior sent her, but the redhead did not, and with a Cheshire grin she asked, "So what about you, Nergie? Want to join our girl troop?"

"Stop calling me Nergie," Junior groused. "And fine, I'll join."

"Perfect! Then it's settled," Suzy said, jumping up from her seat. "I'll set up our team name for the Leaderboard and attach your com numbers to it."

"We need a group name?" Alice asked in confusion.

"The Leaderboard is set into two charts, singles and groups," Junior explained to her, stirring his smoothie. "Since we're going to be forming a group, we're going to be linked together, so our kills will be counted collectively."

Alice nodded, following along with the explanation. She didn't have much use for the Leaderboard, but she'd keep that to herself. Junior and Suzy clearly relied on the Leaderboard, and Alice didn't want to ruin that for them.

Suzy grinned at held up her cup in the center.

"I'm calling a toast, to our new team!" she declared. "On three. One..."

Junior and Alice shared a look, but brought their own cups so they touched Suzy's.

"Two...Three..."

"To our new team!" the three cheered.

Chapter Text

Even from high up in the clouds, the green mist that clung to Endsville sent a chill down Alice's spine. Like its neighbors Eternal Vistas and Eternal Meadows, Endsville had a spooky atmosphere that was challenged only by the old mining town in Haunted Ridge. She'd been lucky to never have to visit the place, only going through it on a class field trip to the Nuclear Plant, but today was the first time she'd actually set foot in the town.

Junior had sent out an early message, asking for her and Suzy to come meet him in Endsville. His cousin, Billy, needed some help, and Junior had offered up their services. Because it was a long walk, Alice opted to take the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. from the Cul-de-Sac to Endsville. It was safer than taking the Skyway Agents, who she still didn't trust.

"Alright, we're here," the K.N.D. pilot said as he landed the airship in a house's driveway.

Because of how early it was in the day, Alice was the pilot's only customer.

"Thank you," Alice said before hopping out of the flying camper.

She gave the area a quick look around. The home they were parked at was simple looking, and there were a few K.N.D. operatives scattered around the yard holding a game of Who Killed Who? Across the way was another house that looked normal too, except that there was a tree nearly as tall as the house bent over. If not for the fact it existed in Endsville, it would have been ruled a dead tree. It seemed to have some sort of life, though, because its limbs were swaying in the breeze. In the driveway was some Monkey Skyway Agents holding a game of Sumo Slammers. She pulled out her communicator to double check she was in the right area, but spotted Junior across the street. He spotted her at the same time and raised a hand over his head, waving it at her.

"Alice!" Junior called out to her, standing on the sidewalk directly in front of the house with the tree.

Alice waved at the boy and crossed the street (looking both ways out of habit), coming to a stop next to him.

"Good morning," Alice greeted. "Is this Billy's house?"

Junior nodded. "Yeah. He's inside with Irwin. Haven't had a chance to ask him since he's been playing President Evil."

Alice nodded in response. Since they were going to have to wait for Suzy, Alice turned her attention to the strange anomaly of the yard.

"Is the tree okay?" Alice asked, pointing at the hanging tree.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's actually a talking tree," Junior answered. "His name is Elderich Johnson Liar, and he's a thief.

"HEEEEY! GOOD MORNING TEAM SUPER STARS!"

Alice startled at the loud voice, and Junior groaned out of exasperation. Turning as one, they spotted a Monkey Skyway Agent flying through the air, holding onto their third teammate Suzy. The two touched down seconds later, Suzy first, and then the Skyway Agent afterward. Suzy patted down her hair, which had been messed up due to the flight over.

"Thanks for the lift, Griffin," Suzy said cheerily, skipping away.

The monkey grunted, and joined his fellow Monkey Agents in their game of cards. Suzy skipped over to her teammates, waving to them as she approached.

"Morning, Team Super Stars!" Suzy repeated.

"Good morning," Alice greeted the girl.

"That's the last time I let you choose our name," Junior grumbled.

"Oh, stop whining," Suzy said, waving a hand dismissively at him. "You've been doing it six days counting."

"Because of all the things you could call us, you went with that," Junior complained.

"Well Alice likes it, right?" Suzy asked, turning to look at her fellow female teammate.

"I don't mind it," Alice answered.

Junior released a loud sigh of exasperation.

"Heeeey. What's with all the noise out here?"

As a team, the three turned to the new voice. Billy was standing on his stoop, the back of his hands resting at his hips. Standing at his side was something small, green and with red eyes. Alice's eyes widened as she recognized what it was, and Suzy immediately called upon her Camp Oar. The redhead took a step forward, pointing her weapon directly at the Fusion Spawn. Her advancements were halted by Junior reaching out and grabbing her wrist, the one holding her weapon.

"Hold on, hold on," Junior said. "I know what this looks like, but it's not a Spawn."

"Junior, do you need a new pair of glasses?" Suzy asked, an eyebrow raising upward to her hairline.

"Listen, it's Billy's pet," Junior responded.

"His name is Runty!" Billy supplied, not realizing his pet was being threatened. "Isn't he the best?"

"He named it?" Suzy asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Junior responded, sighing in exasperation. "It just appeared one day, and the thing won't stop following him around."

"He even calls me papa!" Billy cooed, lifting the Fusion Spawn up into the air and smothering it in a hug.

Alice studied the boy and the Spawn, mystified. The Spawn, contrary to its nature, wasn't trying to bite Billy. And holding it didn't seem to harm Billy's skin. Looking closer, she saw how the Spawn cozied up closer to the human's leg. The behavior was odd, but even odder was that Alice felt she was missing something. She couldn't finger it, but it was at the back of her mind.

Suzy looked to be holding a debate, whether or not she could trust Billy and Junior's words. After a short debate, Suzy returned the Camp Oar to her communicator, and Junior released his hold on the girl's wrist.

"Well, he is actually pretty cute," Suzy commented. "But let's get down to business. What do you need, Billy?"

"Some garlic," Billy answered.

No one spoke for a solid three seconds, before Junior let out a flat "What?"

"There's vampires! I can't let them have my blood!" Billy complained. Still held in his arms, Runty purred in agreement. "I need garlic to keep them away."

"You want us to get you garlic to stave off Fusions?" Junior questioned.

"Uh-huh!" Billy said, nodding his head excitedly. "And if you get it for me, I'll tell ya where you can find a wishing skull."

"Absolutely not," Junior denied, crossing his arms.

"Why not?!" Billy whined.

"For one thing? I've dealt with that skull, and I don't want anything to do with it," Junior said, laying down the law with his cousin. "For another thing, I'm not getting you garlic. Go ask your mom."

"But I don't want to die from the Bloodsuckers! They'll suck my blood!"

"Billy, they're Fusions! Garlic won't actually work against them!" Junior argued.

"But think of the skull, Junior! You could make any wish."

"Hard pass," Junior responded.

"Awwwww~wwwhhh. But doesn't a wishing skull sound exciting?"

The newcomer's singsong voice brought an immediate end to the conversation. A chill ran down Alice's body as she realized that there was a person next to her, and this person's red claw was wrapped around her shoulders. Shakily, Alice's eyes travelled up the arm and to the face it belonged to. Looking down at her with his nearly ever-present smile was Townsville's number one terror: Him.

The demon of untold power and unknown origin was smiling down at her, his grin unspeakably unsettling. Alice didn't dare move out of his hold. For one thing, her body was frozen on the spot. For another thing, she didn't want to give him any reason to attack her.

"My, my. What's the matter?" Him asked. "You were so lively just seconds ago that I just haaaad to see what was going on."

"Wh-why are you here?" Junior questioned, trying to look brave.

"We~ll, with Mandy away in the desert, I thought I'd come and house sit for her. Make sure that no Fusion Monsters tear up her home." Him was trying to sound like he was doing this simple act of kindness, but none of them was fooled for a moment. Him never did anything out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted something, but none were going to open up that Pandora Box.

"Hmmm. Well you lot are no fun," Him complained. His eyes returned to Alice, a predatory glint in his eyes. "But you-"

His claw moved closer to Alice's face, and the act caused a survival instinct to activate within her. A bubble made of energy formed around Alice, pushing Him off of her. The demon disappeared in a poof of smoke and fire, but appeared a second later, his lobster claw slamming down on her protective bubble. Alice shrieked at the surprise attack, but her bubble held. Him didn't make an attempt to strike the bubble again, and weirdly enough he didn't look upset. His grin was nearly splitting his face in two, the tips practically touching his ears.

"Oh I was right," Him said, his high pitched voice dipping into a lower octave. "You arrrrrre interesting."

Alice forgot to breathe. She did not like the implication behind his words.

"Well, there are things I must do. Mr. Quackers and I have a bubble bath appointment to keep," the demon remarked, his voice once more high-pitched. "Toodaloo~"

Once more, Him disappeared in smoke and fire. The group waited for five seconds, just waiting for if he'd pop back in. When he didn't return, the group found it possible to breathe again. Alice dropped her protective bubble, and Suzy dropped down at her side, laying a hand on the alien's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Y-yes," Alice answered, her voice trembling.

"I knew that guy was supposed to be helping our side, but I didn't think he'd be here," Junior remarked, his brows furrowing in distress. "I thought he'd be hiding out in the Underworld."

"Well, luckily he didn't actually do anything," Suzy commented, helping Alice back onto her feet. "We'll just try to keep our distance with him."

"Soooo. How about that garlic?" Billy asked.

"No!" Junior snapped. "Billy, the Fusions don't follow the same rules! Garlic won't do anything to keep the Bloodsuckers away!"

Billy opened his mouth, to argue further, but Junior cut him off.

"And no, I don't care about the Wishing Skull," the half-demon retorted. "If that's all you called us for, we're going to leave."

"Wait!" a voice from inside the house shouted.

The team of three tensed, just in case it was Him again, but thankfully it wasn't someone so scary. Irwin peaked his head out of the doorway, looking at the three.

"If you're looking for something to do, I could use some help," Irwin said. "My gramps just called, and some Bloodsuckers ran off with his cape. They're in Eternal Meadows Cemetery, and he needs it back."

"That doesn't seem so hard," Suzy replied. She glanced at her teammates. "What do you say?"

"It's doable," Junior answered. He sent an annoyed look Billy's way. "Better than getting garlic."

Billy, recognizing a jab had been made at his expense, stuck his tongue out in retaliation, and Runty mimicked the action.

Alice bit her bottom lip, feeling a shiver go up her body. They had to go to the cemetery? Where her mother was buried? Her mother, who she had yet to visit and lay down flowers? Part of her wanted to say no, but she had to force that voice to the side.

"O-okay," she answered.

Suzy nodded, and shot a thumbs up at Irwin.

"We'll take the job!"

Endsville bled into Eternal Vistas, but the spooky atmosphere never changed. The atmosphere was why Alice always disliked going through it, since she felt like some monster was going to come up out of the ground and snatch her. She hadn't outgrown that fear; reality morphed it. Instead of unknown monsters, it was Fusion Monsters. The Spookas came too close, but were easy to get rid of.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Junior asked.

"Yes," the blue-haired teen answered. "They didn't get me."

"I meant about Him," Junior clarified.

Alice flinched at the demon's name, and she wrapped her arms around her body like that would stave off the chills.

"I...I'm doing better," Alice answered. "He just...scares me."

"He scares everybody," Suzy replied. "So don't feel like you have to put up a brave face."

Alice nodded, but it didn't make her feel better. What did Him want with her? Why would he want something from her? She wasn't interesting, and she wasn't the Powerpuff Girls. Did...Did he know she was an alien? Did that fascinate him in some way? Alice shook her head of the thoughts and forced it into the back of her mind, because the three had made it to the cemetery's gates, and she needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Okay, Irwin's on his way to his Grandpa's retirement home, so once we get the cape, we'll deliver it there," Suzy explained. "Since the cemetery is huge, I'm thinking we should split up to cover more ground. Junior, go to the left. Alice, to the right. I'll go up the middle. That good with you?" She received nods of agreement from her two teammates, which brought a smile to her face. "Great! Call in once you get it. Ready? Break!"

Suzy ran for the cemetery gates, calling out her Camp Oar to her hand. Junior followed, taking a left once he got inside. Alice was the only one left standing outside, staring at the sign. She was hesitant to go inside, considering the last time she'd been there, but her teammates were counting on her.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Alice entered the cemetery and took a right.

Suzy had told Alice to take the right side of the cemetery, and so she had stuck close to the gate and followed its path. However, that ended up bringing her to a clan of Spookas, who were not her targets. She had fought off five of them before turning back the way she came, travelling back to the gate entrance to start over. When she was within eyesight of the entrance, she spotted a Bloodsucker and fired a ball made of energy at it. It didn't have a cape, so Alice went after the next Bloodsucker that was nearby. She went upward, going northeast through the cemetery and fighting the Bloodsuckers she encountered. By the time she had made it to the halfway point in the cemetery, she had fought seven Bloodsuckers, and was encountering a pack of three who had tried ambushing her. She deflected the globs of Fusion Matter they sent at her with her energy shield, and fired off an energy beam at the three, cutting them down in the middle. She held in a sigh that not a single one had the cape. She hoped Suzy and Junior had better luck than her.

"How peculiar you are."

Alice gasped out of surprise, caught off guard by the voice's sudden appearance from behind her. She whirled around and stepped back, putting some space between her and the stranger. Her eyes nearly doubled in size when she took in the stranger's appearance. He was tall, towering over her to the point that he was almost casting a shadow down unto her. He was young with skin so pale it almost looked pink and white hair cut at chin length. She couldn't see his eyes, which were protected by a pair of red-tinted goggles that only unnerved her. His clothing looked like he'd gone back in time and picked them up straight from Victorian England, complete with a black, wide-brimmed fedora. To Alice, he looked like a vampire. That in itself shouldn't have been so concerning since she was sent on this job by the top vampire, Dracula, but there was an air around this stranger that was mysterious, and considering where they were, it sent alarm bells in Alice's mind to get away from him right now. Fear was the only thing keeping her from actually running away.

If the stranger was shocked or offended by Alice's reaction, he didn't show it. In fact, Alice was having a hard time reading his emotions; his face was closed off, making him even more eerie.

"Wh-who are you?" Alice questioned.

"Classified," the stranger answered.

Alice frowned lightly at the answer, although that made her wonder. He wasn't near any gravestones. What was he doing here?

"Are you here to visit someone?" she asked.

"I'm here on classified business."

He walked forward, right towards her. Alice tensed at the movement, frightened that he was going to initiate a fight. She'd never been in a fight with a human before. School bullies had only pulled her hair, but didn't try hitting her, and she never fought back against them. She wasn't used to combat with a being made of flesh and blood. He was only inches from her, but he didn't reach out to hit her or grab her. Instead, the man walked past her without a second glance. She let out a breath she had been holding in from anticipation, and felt a small sense of relief flood her systems. That relief was gone when the hair stood on the back of her neck. She spun around, expecting him to hit her from behind, but the stranger continued to walk away from her, his back toward her. So it wasn't the man's surprise attack she'd sensed. It took her a second later to correctly identify the feeling.

"Wait, sir! Stop!" Alice cried out, her arm flung outward in his direction.

The stranger didn't listen to her and continued forward past a Fusion Matter covered mausoleum. As he was passing by its entrance, the wooden doors burst outward. If the stranger hadn't ducked in time, he would have been hit by the wood splinters. He got back up, but didn't have enough time to defend himself from the Bloodsucker that burst forth through the opening it had made. The Fusion Monster was centimeters from the stranger and would have been able to touch him if it wasn't for the shield that Alice materialized between the stranger and the monster. The monster roared in aggravation, but roared even louder when Alice used the shield to push the monster into the mausoleum wall. She kept the vampire inspired Fusion Monster pinned to the wall, but felt it resisting and pushing back.

"Please back up," she urged the stranger.

"Drop your shield," the stranger ordered, getting to his full height.

"I will, but-"

The stranger dropped into a fighting stance, one she didn't recognize. "Do it."

Alice stared at the stranger like he was crazy, but did as he stated. She couldn't have held it up any longer, anyways, since the monster kept wiggling to get out. With its freedom returned to it once again, the Bloodsucker wasted no time in launching forward, aiming for Alice instead of its original prey. The monster never made it to its mark.

The stranger shot off from beside Alice, moving faster than she believed a human person could go. He caught the monster in the neck, swinging around so that he had his feet on the monster's back, effectively riding the monster. Alice watched in amazement, not believing that someone would dare to do such a thing. The Bloodsucker did not share in Alice's amazement; it was annoyed that someone was stepping on it and tried to reach for the man with its claws. The stranger put the Bloodsucker into a choke hold, tightening his hold whenever the monster tried to make a swipe for him. The vampire Fusion Monster moved around in an attempt to throw the human off, but he held fast to the monster's neck, cutting off more oxygen every time the green creature tried to throw him against a tree or the side of the mausoleum. Eventually, the energy it was exerting and the lack of oxygen it was receiving began to slow the monster down, and when it was at a stage where it wouldn't be a problem, the stranger pulled out a cylinder shape item the size of a baton from his pocket and jabbed it into the back of the monster's head. The baton lit up and electrocuted the Bloodsucker, sending massive amounts of voltage into its body before it burst. Fusion Matter fell into a puddle and the stranger landed on his feet, one knee bent.

Alice moved closer, wary of the stranger still, but also wanting to ensure he was okay. Fusion Monster's skin could burn when exposed to it, and the man had just put the creature into a choke hold. A quick scan at his clothing showed no burn marks on his sleeves.

"A-are you okay?" she asked.

The stranger regarded her as he got back up on his feet, looming over her once more. She didn't feel the need to take a step back, and maybe that was because something about his posture didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

"Yes, I am fine," he said, his tone actually managing to lose its edge. "Thank you for your earlier assistance."

"I didn't do much," Alice admitted, dropping her eyes to her shoes. "You fought the Bloodsucker."

"You protected me from its initial attack," the stranger pointed out, and his statement had Alice looking back up at him. "You even tried to warn me about it." He paused, as if recalling something. He raised an eyebrow upward, staring at her inquisitively. "You were aware it was in that mausoleum, weren't you?"

"I had a feeling it was there," she acknowledged. "I didn't know what type of Fusion Monster it was, but I felt it there."

"Is that normal?"

Alice blinked, coming to the very sudden revelation that yes, yes it was normal for her to sense monsters. She'd been doing it from the very start. Even when one snuck up on her, she'd always known it was there. She'd been so busy that she had never stopped to think about it.

The stranger was staring at her intently, clearly waiting for an answer, but then his face shifted and returned to its neutral look, save for the fact the left corner of his mouth lifted upward. He probably had the answer figured out.

"Clues."

Alice blinked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Where had that come from?

"Sorry?"

"Earlier, you asked me what I was doing. I'm looking for clues. Titan hasn't been spotted recently, and so I'm searching for it. My scanners indicated this is where it had been most recently."

Titan rang some bells for Alice. Like Megas, it was a mech that fought against giant monsters that the military couldn't handle. The last time there had been any word on Titan, it was before the invasion. The disappearance had been a hot topic for the first few days, but when there had been no sign of the mech, it was ruled to be missing or covered in Fusion Matter like Megas.

Another hero missing. The thought made Alice's heart twitch.

"Can I help?" Alice asked.

"No. I have eyes and ears searching for it everywhere. I came to check on this personally," the stranger answered. He paused, possibly thinking over something. "However…" He pulled out a tablet that was surprisingly not produced by DexLabs or Mandark Ind. She didn't recognize the manufacturer, and she didn't feel brave enough to ask. He held the tablet up to her, and showed her an image of two armored beings, one large and purple and one small and gold. "I'm also looking for my colleagues. If you see either of these two, let them know I'm looking for them. They have something to do with Titan."

"Okay," Alice agreed, memorizing the armored beings. She blinked and looked up at him. "But how? I don't know who you are."

The stranger pulled the tablet back and put it in his inside coat pocket, releasing a short chortle as he did so. Alice deflated under the noise, because it sounded almost condescending. She didn't think it was a stupid question, but maybe it was. Maybe she was just supposed to look in the index and find him that way?

"Solomon," he answered her, and her troubled thoughts halted.

"I'm-"

"Alice," Solomon finished. "I know."

Alice's blood ran cold and her breath left her. How did he know? She reviewed their entire conversation and found that she hadn't introduced herself at all. So how did he know? Alice's terror must have been visible on her face, because Solomon released another short chortle and it definitely sounded condescending. He turned and continued further into the cemetery.

"H-how?" Alice asked.

She didn't elaborate what she was asking about, but Solomon knew all the same. As he was departing, he turned his head over his shoulder and sent her a sly smirk.

"My business is in the extraterrestrial."

Solomon disappeared into the foliage without another word, leaving behind a frozen Alice. The alien girl's communicator demanded her attention almost immediately after he left, giving her little time to mull over the encounter. A holographic screen projected from the center of the communicator, and Suzy's head and shoulders appeared on the screen once she answered the call.

"Hey Alice!" Suzy greeted, raising her hand and waving. "Junior's got the cape and is waiting at the entrance. Meet us there."

"Okay," Alice said, nodding.

"Are you okay?" Suzy asked, her cheery tone turning worried. She narrowed her eyes to scrutinize the other girl closely. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Alice answered. Suzy didn't look convinced, so Alice followed it up with something truthful, "I don't like being in the cemetery."

A look of understanding fell on the other girl's face, and she nodded. Her suspicions went away instantly, and a sympathetic smile spread out on her face.

"Okay, see ya at the entrance," Suzy said in parting, ending the call.

Alice pocketed her communicator, and after a quick glance in the direction Solomon went confirming he was no longer in sight, she headed for the entrance. Her encounter with Solomon was strange, but learning she could sense the location of Fusion Monsters was the strangest. Why could she? Was this a trait all aliens had, or just her? She could probably ask Max or Ben, but... She shook her head of the idea. They were busy with more important things than her.

Junior and Suzy were waiting at the cemetery's iron gates when she made it to the entrance. Junior spotted her first and tapped on Suzy's shoulder to get the girl's attention since she was busy typing away on her communicator. Suzy looked up and grinned at Alice, pleased to see she'd made it.

"Welcome back!" she greeted, pocketing her communicator. "We've got a new job after this."

"Where?" Alice asked, taking her place between the two.

"The Collector's Emporium," Suzy answered. "My friend Carl is there, and he needs us to come meet him. He's got a job for us that he wants to tell us in person."

Alice nodded in understanding. The Collector's Emporium was in Pokey Oaks South, which was only a town over. It would take them little time to meet up with him there. The familiar opening notes of Trip McCoy: Galaxy Boy sounded from Suzy's direction, and the girl looked at her communicator quickly.

"I can't believe that's your NanoCom's ringtone," Junior grouched, crossing his arms. "That show's boring."

"One, it is not," Suzy countered. "And two, that's not my ringtone. It's Carl's. I give everyone close to me personal ringtones so I can identify them easily." A Cheshire grin spread across her face. "Don't think I didn't notice your Sassy Cat ringtone."

Junior's face turned an interesting shade of pink as he sputtered out about how "It's Billy's fault! He messed with my Hokeymon ringtone!" Alice stood off to the side, her brows furrowed in confusion at the foreign word.

"NanoCom? What's that?" Alice asked, drawing her the attention of her teammates.

"What do you mean?" Suzy asked, looking at the blue haired girl in surprise. She pulled out her communicator and waved it around. "It's this."

"But...isn't it a communicator?" Alice asked, still confused.

"It was, but it became a NanoCom an update ago when they became capable of housing Nanos," Suzy answered.

Alice was only more confused.

"What's a Nano?"

"Greetings.

"With DexLabs' latest update, the capability to store and care for Nanos is now available. Nanos, the newest breakthrough in scientific discovery, are the creation of DexLabs Inc. and Mandark Ind. They are the miniatures of Earth's heroes, villains, and the in-betweens. Capable of offensive and passive abilities, they are designed to combat Fuse and his army. In order to create a Nano, the user must have a substantial amount of Fusion Matter, an item that is a representation of the Nano's person, and the user's imagination to purify the Fusion Matter. The best way to obtain the item is to face off with the counterpart's Fusion, which had stolen the item to begin with.

"Your NanoCom is only capable of holding three Nanos at a time, but you can have more than three. Nano Stations have been placed up around the world to provide easy access to all your Nanos. You can switch out your Nanos or change their powers at these stations. There is also a Nano Book that has been installed with the update, enabling the owner to look at what Nanos they have, and what powers they possess.

"Using your Nano in battle is the same for your weapon or items, so it should be familiar. Simply wave your hand over the NanoCom and either think or call upon the Nano of your choice.

"For any concerns or troubles with your Nano, please send an email to [email protected]."

Chibi Computress' form blipped out of existence, the recording finished and automatically turning off. Alice stared down at her NanoCom, feeling a little stupid that she hadn't bothered to check for any updates. Had this been on the news and she didn't notice because she wasn't watching it?

Suzy was walking right beside her, a hand lightly touching her arm to guide her as they walked. After stopping at the Home of the Ancients to deliver Dracula's cape, the team was making their way for The Collector's Emporium. Junior was taking lead, keeping Fusion Monsters at bay with the whack of his tentacles. The recording had just finished right as they were crossing the line into Pokey Oaks South.

"Computress mentioned Fusions," Alice began, turning her head to look at Suzy. "What are those?"

"Fusion copies. Think of them as evil counterparts, even to the villains," Suzy explained. "When you beat one up, they sometimes drop an item to make a Nano. Like for me, I had to fight a Fusion Numbuh Five, and I used the item it dropped to make a Nano Numbuh Five."

Alice thought over the answer and nodded in understanding. That was what Chibi Computress said, but having a visual example made it easier to understand.

"Are they powerful?" she asked.

"Not extremely, but they're tougher than the Boss Fusions," Suzy answered.

"Think of them like generals," Junior contributed to the conversation. "They don't roam with other Monsters, but they do command a small number of them."

"I..I can't recall seeing a Fusion," Alice admitted, feeling stupid.

"That's because the majority like to hang out in lairs," Suzy stated. "A few can be found roaming around, but they're rare."

"And they're in the Fusion Book?" Alice asked.

"Some," Junior answered. "As more Fusions are spotted, the book is updated."

Alice nodded in understanding. That made sense, which made her feeling even stupider for asking such an easy question. She dropped her eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry for asking so many questions."

"Awh, don't feel bad Alice," Suzy reassured the girl, squeezing the alien closer to herself. "It's good you're asking questions! That's how we learn."

"But you two are more experienced," Alice pointed out.

"That doesn't mean much. We just got in this earlier than you, but it doesn't change anything. After all," Suzy winked at the blue-haired girl, "we weren't the ones who fended off a Boss Fusion single-handedly."

Alice averted her eyes to the side and blushed under the praise, but it did lift her spirits. They'd been working together for a little over a week, and in that time, Alice had assumed she'd been bringing them down because of her lack of experience, but they didn't hold it against her.

"Okay, we're here," Junior announced, coming to a stop.

Alice wasn't a stranger to comics, although she didn't read them often. She liked reading from novels, but she did have a few issues of Freedom Gal and Pony Puff Princess on her bookshelf. However, she had never actually stepped foot into the comic book shop; her purchases were typically through The Collector's Emporium's online store.

The Collector's Emporium was massive. It wasn't intimidatingly large like the Treehouse or the skyscrapers of Tech Square, but the building did have a sign depicting the silhouette of the Collector himself, Lenny Baxter, looking down on the customers as they approached the building, which was terrifying. Raised above ground level with stairs leading up to the double-door entrance, there was a courtyard on the property, lined with benches for customers to sit and read their newly bought books on, as well as statues of comic books depicting some of the Collector's product that could be found inside.

Although there were Newspaper Ninja wandering the area, none seemed to be getting close to the property. It was like they were purposefully avoiding the place, which would explain why the property looked untouched from Fusion Matter. As the group walked up the steps, Alice noted how their group was getting looks from the customers who were just a little older than them. It made her apprehensive of entering the shop, but Suzy was at the door, holding it open for them.

Stepping inside, Alice was taken aback by how many bookshelves lined the store's walls'; they practically reached the ceiling with how tall they were. They were quartered off into sections based on their genres, like sci-fi, action, romance. Posters, wall-scrolls and cardboard cut-outs of the various franchise like Sumo Slammers, Yipper, Monsters & Mazes and even The Great Funtime Adventures of Bunny Bunny and Friends were on the walls or hanging from the roof. Giant life-sized statues for Dinobonoid, Sassy Cat, The X-Treme Adventures of Brandon and Mallory, and Action Hank were put in their genre specific area.

As they moved through the store, Alice spotted a table with a sign that said "Science Fiction Books of the Month" and, passing by, she spotted books for Space Wars, Star Check, Trip McCoy: Galaxy Boy, and Doctor Time Space and the Continuums. She turned away from the books, wrapping a hand around her midsection. She noticed Junior was eyeing some Spore books as they passed the horror section. Suzy noticed, too.

"We can do some purchases later," Suzy announced, giving the interior a sweeping look. "Right now we're looking for... Carl!"

Junior and Alice jumped at Suzy's suddenly raised voice. A few of the nearby shoppers were startled too, and some even turned to give Suzy an annoyed look, but Junior's glower had them turning back around. Suzy remained oblivious to the looks she had received (or just plain ignored them) and pointed at the counter. There, holding a conversation with Lenny himself, was Carl.

Carl jumped in surprise from the call, and turned around to find who called for him. Lenny, looking relieved to be out of the conversation, moved away from the counter and into his back room.

"Suzy!" Carl greeted back in his loud, nasal voice.

Junior actually shuttered at hearing the nasally voice and slowed down so that he reached their target last. Suzy had all but sprinted to her friend, giving him a hug when she reached him. Alice stood at a respectable distance away.

"Thanks for coming!" Carl said, returning the embrace before letting go.

"Obviously," Suzy responded. "So, what can we help you with?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Carl asked, gasping in surprise. "The lead actor from Space Wars is in town!"

"Hold on, what?" Junior asked in confusion. "Who's in town?"

"Marcus Porknoll! He plays Loukas Oceanroamer! You must know him," Carl insisted.

"I know of him," Junior countered. "Besides, why would he be in town?"

"You don't believe me?!" Carl asked, his voice sounding scandalized at the idea he wasn't believed. "I heard him! I would think I, who has watched Space Wars in every form of media they've ever produced at least thirty times, would know the sound of Marcus Porknoll!"

Junior, looking annoyed with the conversation, opened his mouth, but Suzy stepped between the two and held up her hands in their direction, putting a stop to an impending argument.

"Where did you hear him?" Suzy asked diplomatically.

"Yesterday, I was on my way home and was passing by Candy Cove. I heard his voice coming from that area," Carl replied.

"I doubt he's in-urgh!" Junior rubbed his arm, running his hand over the spot Suzy had just hit.

"You want us to get his autograph?" Suzy guessed.

"Would you?!" Carl asked in excitement. "I'd go myself, but I'm waiting for Lenny to hand out the next issue of Justice Friends. It's reported that Monkey will be-"

"Hold on, you can't seriously think some big-time actor is in this area," Junior cut in, looking at Carl like he had lost his mind.

"I don't think it, I know it," Carl countered.

"Candy Cove isn't far," Suzy pointed out. "We can check it out. We'll report back with the results."

"You're seriously thinking of doing this." Junior sighed in exasperation. "What do you think, Alice?"

"I...I don't mind looking," Alice answered.

Suzy grinned and sent her a thumbs up. "That's two-to-one. We're looking."

Junior sighed and shook his head. "Great."

"This is just one giant goose chase," Junior complained. "Do you really think Porknoll would be out here?"

His question was directed at Suzy, who was leading the group of three through the streets of Candy Cove. The suburban housing district looked bare of any inhabitants, and every once in a while, the group had to dispose of some Barrel Bashers who thought taking on a group of Earth inhabitants was a good idea. So far, there was no sign of Carl's beloved actor, although this was something Junior knew would happen. He just didn't think Suzy, who had a good head on her shoulders, would fall for such a thing.

"Dunno, but that's why we're here," the redhead answered with a shrug, which was not the answer Junior was looking for. She looked away from Junior and focused her attention on Alice, who was walking just a little behind her on the left. "How about you, Alice? Do you think he's out here?"

Alice looked over at Suzy, blinking in confusion. She felt uneasy walking through Candy Cove, and not just because of all the Candy Pirate forts that were set up in house lawns. Since entering Candy Cove, the hair on the back of her neck had stood on end, and she had the distinct feeling that they were being watched. She had been so focused on her worries that she hadn't been listening to the conversation between her two teammates.

"I'm sorry. What happened?" she asked.

"Do you think Marcus Porknoll is in Candy Cove?" Suzy repeated.

Alice frowned in thought at the question, but her attention was pulled away to her surroundings. She looked back over her shoulder, the sense that someone, most probably a Fusion Monster, was watching her coming back tenfold. It wasn't the same feeling like when the Barrel Bashers attacked, and that made it all the more confusing. It was like they were being tracked, but she couldn't tell from where exactly.

"Is everything okay?" Junior asked when they didn't get a response out of her.

Alice forced herself to look away, bringing her attention to her two compatriots. The two of them were staring at her with matching looks of concern.

"I...have this feeling that something is following us," Alice admitted, rubbing at her arm.

She couldn't outright tell them about the fact that she had an internal radar when it came to Fusion Monsters. Without them knowing this and without her having any proof, it felt silly to say out loud. Junior frowned and gave their surroundings a sweeping look, trying to see if he could pick out anything that didn't belong. He couldn't see anything immediately, but he made a guess anyways.

"Could be some Candy Pirates," Junior pointed out, speaking just a bit louder so that if Candy Pirates were eavesdropping, they'd hear and know that the three were on to them. "They took over this area and could be hiding to ambush unsuspecting visitors."

"If so, that's pretty rude of them," Suzy commented, her lips forming a frown. "We're supposed to be on the same side."

Immediately, the incident involving the Delightful Children sprung to Alice's mind, and she looked to Junior to see his reaction. A dark look was on Junior's face, and his lips were curled enough for his teeth to be seen, but he kept silent. It had only been a couple days since the incident, and it was still clearly a touchy subject for the half-demon.

"Maybe," Alice conceded, although thanks to the conversation she'd had with Solomon at the cemetery she knew it wasn't Candy Pirates.

"Hey Suzy, where is this taking us?" Junior asked, noticing that they were heading for the forest that surrounded the neighborhood.

Suzy hummed and looked at her map, zooming in further to see where their destination was.

"Into the Candy Pirates' camp."

Junior and Alice stopped at the answer, looking incredulously at their redhead teammate.

"We're going where?" Junior demanded.

Suzy continued forward, waving her NanoCom in the air. "This is leading us into the Candy Pirates' camp."

Junior spurred to action, running forward and getting in front of Suzy. Because he was standing in her way, the girl stopped, raising an eyebrow at him quizzically.

"You want us to go in there?" Junior demanded.

"I've been there before, and had no problems," Suzy answered breezily.

"So you want us to trust them?" Junior questioned.

"Yep," Suzy chirped, sidestepping Junior and continuing onward. "C'mon you two!"

Junior frowned at Suzy's back. He was still clearly displeased with going into the encampment, and Alice didn't blame him. The villains were supposed to have entered a truce with the heroes in the fight against Fuse, but Alice didn't exactly trust them.

Suzy was at the edge of the neighborhood when she realized the two weren't following her, and so she stopped and turned to address them.

"You guys, trust me. We have a truce," she implored to them. "The Candy Pirates are working closely with Double D to protect the candy that Fuse is hunting, so we've got a working relationship that is beneficial to both parties. So long as both sides have something to gain, this will work out."

"They're pirates. They don't follow the rules," Junior stressed.

"They'll follow these because they love candy. Trust me," Suzy responded. "Now c'mon, we're almost done with Carl's request."

Junior and Alice shared another look with each other, wondering if they could trust Suzy's word. Finally, after a silent moment, Junior released a sigh and walked over to join her. Suzy smiled brightly and spun around, leading the way into the forest. Alice hesitated in following after the two, feeling like a pair of eyes were on her once more. Looking over her shoulder, she sought out who was spying on her, but found nothing - or no one - there. Shaking off the feeling, Alice jogged to catch up to her teammates, falling into line next to Junior.

The trio walked up the hill that separated the pirates' encampment and the Candy Cove residents, reaching the peak of the hill in a matter of seconds. The encampment looked empty, with only a handful of Candy Pirates hanging around underneath the tents that had been built. In the middle, circled by the tents, was a roaring fire, and beside that fire was Captain Stickybeard, barking out an order to one of his underlings. Suzy led her team down the hill to the outer ring of the pirate village, passing by the Monkey Skyway Agent that was stationed at the place.

"Ahoy, Captain!" Suzy greeted the Candy Pirate captain, waving a hand over her head wildly.

The Candy Pirates that were stationed at the camp immediately jumped to action, pulling out their candy-cane swords and pointing them at the intruders. Alice tensed up and Junior fell into a fighting stance, but Suzy observed the pirates with little fear.

"Awh, don't be like that," she said. "We went through this last time. We're on the same side here."

"Aye, she be correct," Stickybeard's voice spoke up, floating over his band of pirates. "Lower yer weapons."

The Candy Pirates did so swiftly, looking to their captain for further orders. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the pirates back to their stations. Without the obstacles in her way, Suzy approached Stickybeard with a grin on her face. Casting a look of suspicion over the captain's underlings, Junior followed after her, Alice sticking to his side.

"Afternoon, Captain," Suzy greeted, lifting up her NanoCom. "You didn't happen to see an actor come this way, did you?"

"Yer bothering me and me crew for that? I thought ye were here to rid me of the Fusion pest," Stickybeard stated.

"What Fusion?" Junior asked, his suspicious look turning into interest.

"Me crew didn' get a good look at it, but they said it looked like one of 'em Powerpuff Girls, but a boy," the captain explained.

Junior and Suzy's eyes widened in interest, but Alice's eyes doubled in fright. Learning about Fusions was scary enough, but one of them was a Rowdyruff? Was it exactly like the real Rowdyruffs? How powerful was it? Could it even be stopped? She was slightly alarmed that Junior and Suzy weren't as worried as her. They actually looked excited by the prospect of facing down such a potentially powerful Fusion.

"A Rowdyruff Fusion? Never heard anyone say they spotted it before. Which way did they see it?" Suzy asked, her eyes sparkling.

Stickybeard indicated to the hill the three had just come from. Suzy saluted the captain, flashing him a bright smile.

"Have no fear, mon capitaine! Put your trust in us, and we'll take care of this baddie for you!" Suzy assured the candy captain.

Captain Stickybeard frowned at the elated girl, probably dubious someone their age could actual take on the Fusion, but he shrugged. He really had no other options available, so why not?

"Knock yerself out."

"I-I don't think this is safe," Alice voiced her concerns.

"It'll be fine," Suzy reassured the girl. "In a group of three, it'll be easy to handle."

"I've soloed mine," Junior contributed to the conversation, his tentacles already out and waving around in preparation. "They're tough, but not unbeatable."

Alice followed behind her teammates, not feeling as confident as them. Although Suzy had reassured her that a Boss Fusion was just a little under Fusions in terms of power, that still didn't put Alice's mind at ease. Not with the way the hair was standing on the back of her neck. That earlier feeling of being followed, of a predator stalking its prey, was back in full force. It had disappeared moments after they entered the Candy Pirates camp, but now that they were back scouring the neighborhood, their pursuer was back to following them. It was stalking them, waiting for its time to strike.

"Alice?"

The hand Suzy put on her shoulder had her jumping since she hadn't noticed the human's approach. Suzy's concerned eyes met Alice's panicked eyes.

"Alice, are you okay?" she asked. "You've been spacing out recently."

Alice looked away for a second, but then looked back up at Suzy and Junior.

"I think the Fusion is close by," Alice elaborated. "I...I can sense it."

"You can sense Fusions?" Junior asked in surprise.

"Yes," Alice answered. "I've...I think I had this since the beginning. Today, in the cemetery I...I ran into someone that made me realize I could detect them."

"So can you feel something?" Suzy asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes. But just a general feeling. I can't pinpoint where it is exactly," Alice answered.

"Could you try?" Junior questioned. "Would it be easier for you if we stood still?"

Alice thought the question over. "Yes, maybe."

"Okay, give it a try," Suzy said, resting her Camp Oar on her shoulder. "We'll keep an eye out for the thing."

Alice nodded in agreement, and closed her eyes. She had never tried seeking out a Fusion or even the Fusion Monsters before, so she wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but she had to try. She tried focusing on where she was feeling the eyes. She could feel some other Fusion Monsters nearby, but none of them felt like the predator. Then, slowly, she could pin-point the feeling. It was a strong monster, and there was no doubt in Alice's mind that it was a Fusion. It was the Rowdyruff Fusion.

Alice's eyes flew open in alarm. "In front of us!" was the only warning she could give before the Fusion made its appearance.

The Fusion rose from up behind a Candy Pirate fort and shot at the three, moving so fast that Alice didn't have time to throw up a force-field. The Fusion, indeed a copy of Boomer (weirdly enough wearing a straw hat), punched Alice in the chin. The force of the hit had Alice knocked off her feet. She flew back a couple feet and landed on the asphalt, shoulder first. She distinctly heard her teammates scream her name, but the Fusion was upon her again. It pulled back its fist and delivered three blows to her face. On its forth attempt, Alice threw up a force-field and threw the Fusion off her. The Fusion stumbled back, and that gave Alice enough time to sit up. She caught a glimpse behind the Fusion, and found that Junior and Suzy were being tied up with several handfuls of Swashbuckler Spawns. Her momentary distraction had given the Fusion the chance to grab her by her neck. With a tight grip around her neck, the Fusion rose into the air, bringing Alice along. The girl panicked and tried to break the Fusion's grip, but it was tight. Maybe it was because Fusions were naturally strong, or maybe because it had inherited Boomer's real strength. Whichever the answer, it was clear Alice couldn't break free through physical strength. Alarmingly, they were moving further and further from the ground, and the air was thinning. She was either going to be choked out, or lose air. Focusing, Alice raised up her hand and sent an energy beam at the Fusion's head. The blast hit the Fusion square between the eyes, and it released its hold on the alien. Alice gulped in a great deal of air, but it came out as a gasp as she came to the realization that she was falling.

Her scream was caught in her throat, incapable of escaping. She moved her eyes from the ever-approaching ground to the Fusion above her. It was getting over the injury, and soon it'd be coming for her. She could throw up a force-field to protect her, but it wouldn't do anything in the long run. Fusion Boomer had the advantage since it could fly, and could just pick up any one of them and drop them like eggs. If only she could fly.

Alice's eyes doubled in size at the thought. Fly? Hadn't she hovered just over two weeks ago? That was sort of like flying, right? The Fusion had fully recovered, and pivoted so that it could catch up to its prey. Closing her eyes, Alice thought back to what Blossom had taught her. "You have to focus and concentrate on your power. Think about what you want to use, and harness that power." Focus. She focused on the idea of not falling. She focused on being light as a feather. She focused on flying like a bird.

Alice's descent began to slow. The rush of the wind in her ears dimmed to nothing. It felt like she was floating. Eyes flying open, Alice glanced behind her and saw that the ground was still below her, and she wasn't rushing down to meet it. A quick look around found that she was indeed hovering in the air. She looked down at her hands, and she was outlined in a bright blue energy. It was mesmerizing, but she couldn't focus on the changes so soon. Throwing her head back up, the Fusion was nearly upon her. She threw up a shield to protect herself from the initial strike, and then shoved the shield at the Fusion. It was caught off guard by her ability to fly, and so it tumbled in the air from the thrust. With the Fusion disoriented, she shot off an energy ball. The hit clipped the Fusion in the shoulder.

Fusion Boomer snarled in rage, upset that it was hit for a second time. It shot off an energy beam of its own, and Alice dodged to the right. She raised her hands and formed a bubble around the monster and began shrieking the bubble. The Fusion struck the bubble, and because of how powerful it was, it took five hits to break out of the bubble. It shot at Alice and managed to land a hit in her stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of her, but she was able to raise a shield to protect her from the next strike. With how close the Fusion was, Alice decided to do something risky. She dropped her shield, and the Fusion thought this the perfect opportunity to strike her, but she positioned her hands on either side of the Fusions head and sent off an energy beam from both hands. The beams hit the Fusion's head, causing the creature to scream out in pain. It writhed in the air, the pain causing some short circuiting in its mind. Through the pain, the Fusion managed to send an energy ball at Alice, forcing her to stop her attack.

Although it was free from the energy beams, it had little energy to keep itself up in the sky, so it fell to the ground. It hit the ground and created a crater where it landed. Alice followed it to the ground and looked around for something to use against the creature. Spotting a medium-sized stone, Alice lifted it from its place on the ground and sent it through the Fusion's body. The final blow brought down the last of the Fusion's health. The body dissolved into Fusion Matter and was sucked in by her communicator. The straw hat Fusion Boomer had worn floated downward, landing on an item that had fallen out of the Fusion's person. Alice touched down next to the hat and moved it. She picked the item up and turned it over in her fingers, confused on why the Fusion would have a baseball.

"Alice!" Junior called.

He and Suzy, unharmed and completed with finishing off the Swashbuckler Spawns, jogged over to her side. Both of them sighed in relief when they saw that Alice wasn't majorly hurt.

"It dropped this," Alice announced, showing the two the baseball.

"Oooh, that must be the item that was used to make the Fusion, and it can be used to make its Nano," Suzy explained. "We can make one at the Cul-de-Sac Nano Station."

"Behind Eddy's throne," Junior added.

Alice paled slightly at the mention of Eddy's name. She hadn't spoken to the boy since their last encounter. She had been doing a good job of avoiding him, but her efforts were now to be thwarted. What would Eddy say to her? He had been upset with her after her battle with the boss monster, but he hadn't yet banned her from his kingdom. Maybe he was no longer disgusted with her?

"This is so exciting! I wonder what a Boomer Nano will be like?" Suzy pondered.

"That'll have to wait. We've already got things to do," Junior stated.

"The Cul-de-Sac is right over there," Suzy countered, pointing at the cardboard fortress that could just barely be seen from their position. "I'll message Sticky on the way over, and then go back to Carl after."

"But the actor…" Alice trailed off in confusion.

"Oh, Carl was just getting him confused with Stickybeard," Suzy answered. "They do sound similar, and that's why-" she held up her NanoCom and waved it around, "I recorded a bit of the captain to get a soundbite for Carl. Once he hears it, he'll realize this is who he heard."

"Suzy….did you know this entire time?" Junior asked the girl, his voice a mix between suspicion and annoyance.

"I had an inkling that Carl was mixing up Sticky with Porknoll, but I wasn't going to say anything until I had some evidence to back me up, which I do now," the girl answered him. "Besides, this worked out for the better. Alice now has a Nano! C'mon, this will be exciting."

Suzy looped arms with Alice and led the way to the Cul-de-Sac, a simmering half-demon following behind. Along the way, Suzy sent a message to Stickybeard that his Fusion problem had been taken care of. Stickybeard was beyond pleased that he had one less problem to contend with (offhandedly mentioning an attempted mutiny in his ranks, but Suzy didn't ask for more details).

The Cul-de-Sac was a popular place in the Suburbs, but the place seemed especially packed when the trio entered. Wilt was busy talking with a volunteer, but he did spot them and give a very brief wave. Ranger Joey was missing from his spot by the Imaginary Friend, which made Alice curious.

Eddy's throne had a mob of volunteers around him in an arch, listening to some sort of lecture from the short member of the Ed Trio. Toward the back of the arch, Alice could see Ranger Joey. The Urban Ranger looked downright aggravated in having to be at this lecture, and Alice didn't risk drawing his ire onto her.

A little ways off from the throne, ignoring the lecture, Double D was busy typing away at his NanoCom. He perked up when he saw the three approaching him, and he stuffed his NanoCom away.

"Salutations! How are you today?" Double D asked.

"Alice here is about to get a Nano," Suzy announced.

Alice flushed because Suzy was making it sound like a big deal, yet the tutorial had made it sound like such a normal addition to the war. Even still, Double D's eyes lit up like this was some big revelation.

"Incredible. Who?"

"Boomer."

Double D paled slightly at the mention of the third Rowdyruff. Boomer was an anomaly. Very recently, back before even the invasion, Boomer hadn't been spotted with his troublemaking brothers on their routine destruction of Townsville. Many speculated that something bad had happened to him, though recent talk on the forums said that he had been spotted hanging around Foster's Home, cleaning up some of the Scribble Spawns that infested the property. It made some wonder if he was still a problem or was trying to do some good; others thought it was just an act. Alice didn't know where she leaned on the matter, but she was feeling apprehensive about getting the new Nano; what if the characteristics it took on were his villainous ones? Could she handle a rebellious Nano who wanted to do harm instead of good?

"The Nano Station is right there," Junior informed Alice, stepping up on the other side of her and using his hand to indicate to the sole station sitting directly behind Eddy's throne.

Alice jumped slightly, since she hadn't been expecting him to speak so close to her, but she recovered herself with a nod. She stepped away from the group and moved toward the station, noting how similar it looked to the kiosks used to hand out the communicators after Fuse's invasion. Chibi Computress appeared on the screen, explaining how the process worked.

It was easier than Alice had anticipated.

First, Alice had to put the item that Fusion Boomer dropped into the slot that was lit up. The screen went blank for a second before showing a silhouette version of what she assumed was the Boomer nano. Second, she had to set her NanoCom in the imprint on the console. She had to line it up perfectly so that Fusion Matter could be transferred out of the NanoCom into the station. The screen that showed the silhouette turned from black to green, but no defining features were to be seen. Third, and the actual last step in the process, was for Alice to think about the Nano, which Alice remembered Chibi Computress discussing from the tutorial. She had to use her imagination to purify it of its wickedness. Maybe….even tweak his personality a little?

Closing her eyes, she imagined what a Nanoized version of a Rowdyruff would be. She put her hand on the scanner, which was how all of this came together. The screen that showed the green silhouette began to expand on the Nano's features: skin, hair, eyes, mouth, ears, freckles, hands, feet, clothes. When it was finished, the station let off a high-pitched DING and a small sliding door opened, revealing the compartment that hid the Nano as it was being formed. The Nano was awake, floating in the empty space within the compartment.

Alice stared at him. He stared back.

Then, cautiously, he floated out of the station, approaching Alice slowly. As he crossed the short distance, he kept flinging his eyes left and right, as if looking for someone to pounce him. When the Nano was within touching distance of the girl, he stopped. He didn't do anything more, just stared at her. Although worried that the Nano may take after its original, Alice recognized that she'd need to initiate conversation with the scientific wonder.

"Hi," she greeted the Nano.

"Hi," the Nano mirrored, sounding like a child and not like a teenager. "I'm Nano Boomer."

"Alice," the girl introduced herself.

The Nano smiled a tiny smile at the mention of her name, and the worry Alice had carried in her chest dissipated at the smile.

Maybe having a Nano wouldn't be so horrible.

"Awwwwwwwwwwh! This is the cutest!" Suzy cooed, startling both owner and Nano.

The Nano, recovering the fastest, zipped around Alice and put himself between her and the other three. He dropped down into a fighting stance, arms up and ready to strike. Alice spun around and caught him in one hand, holding him back from advancing on her teammates. She didn't know what he could do, and she didn't want him testing it out on Suzy and the boys. The Nano struggled for only a moment, not under the same thinking as Alice, but then he got a good look at the three and stilled, looking at them in confusion.

"You're not Fusion Monsters," he pointed out.

"Nope! One-hundred percent human," Suzy replied. She thought of it for a moment and then pointed at Junior with her thumb. "Well, he's fifty percent human."

Junior's eyebrows dropped in annoyance, but he bit his tongue. The Nano continued to eye them suspiciously.

"You're not going to hurt her?" the Nano continued with his interrogation.

"No way. We're friends," Suzy proclaimed.

Alice blinked, surprised at the admission. Alice had always referred to them as her teammates, but Suzy thought they were friends? Suzy wanted to willingly be her friend? The Nano's suspicious look dropped into a relaxed one.

"Oh, okay then. I'm Nano Boomer."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Suzy, and this is Junior, and the one with the sock hat is Double D," Suzy introduced, pointing at the person when she named them.

Alice watched as Suzy engaged her newest Nano in conversation. She blinked, still stunned that Suzy would refer to them as friends. And although Junior and Double D didn't say it, they also didn't refute the claim at all. It was stunning because no one ever wanted to be Alice's friend. She was the weird kid with the blue hair that was picked on relentlessly. Yes, people were nice to her, but she didn't think they were friends. She had assumed that Suzy and Junior saw her as a teammate, but they saw her as a friend?

"Alice?"

Alice startled at her name. Double D raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think you heard us," Double D said. "Suzy and Junior are grabbing some Mung Daal's to celebrate. I was saying we should get a table."

"Celebrate? What are we celebrating?" Alice asked.

"Well, there's the Nano," Double D pointed out. "And I heard you can sense Fusions and fly."

Alice nodded slowly, numbly. It was still a surprise to her that she could do all that.

"I think those are some things to celebrate," Double D claimed. "Now, if you don't mind retelling it, could you explain how exactly you can sense Fusions? That sounds fascinating."

Her mind flashing back to the Professor's eagerness to learn more about her powers, a small smile of affection crossed her lips.

"I'll do the best I can."

Chapter Text

The hinges on the iron gates of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends creaked as Alice pushed one side open. Dawn had only broken half an hour ago, so there was no one up and running around; even the Timber Terrors patrolling outside the property were few in numbers. They became even fewer when some tried to attack Alice and she disposed of them. Although there was no sign of the Scribble Spawns, Alice made sure to keep an eye out for any movement as she crossed the distance from the gate to the door. Her attention was diverted to the construction being done at the top left corner of the property. She could see the Mandroids rolling around the area, and there was an electronic sign in front of the fence that defined the construction limits, but she couldn't make out what the sign said. Putting it to the back of her mind, Alice continued forward, moving up Foster's steps and stopping at the grand-sized doors. She hesitated her finger over the doorbell, wondering briefly if she would be interrupting the Imaginary Friends' sleep. She closed her eyes, breathed out through her nose, and pressed on the doorbell; Frankie had told her to ring the doorbell, so it had to be okay. She stepped back from the door, to give it room for when it'd open and released another stream of breath from her mouth. Alice was just overthinking it.

Maybe a minute later, the door opened inward, and Frankie stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey Alice, thanks for coming," Frankie said with a smile. "Sorry for making you wake up this morning."

Alice shook her head.

"I'm meeting my friends over at the Cul-de-Sac already, so this works out." Alice noticed the dark circles under Frankie's eyes and became worried. "Is this too early for you?"

Frankie brought a hand to her eyes, feeling around the area and then sighing. "Nah, I'm always up at this hour. This is just stress."

"Are things okay?" Alice asked, doing a survey of the house and the property. Aside from a few mild spots of corruption, everything seemed to be okay.

"Not really," Frankie responded, leaning against the door and crossing her arms. "I've been worrying more than usual. Coco ran off just a couple days ago, and Mac went to find her, but I haven't heard anything from those two so I don't know what's happening to them. Bloo's somewhere in Downtown causing who-knows-what kind of havoc. Jackie, who thinks he's the Mystery Inc kids, accepted some sort of detective work so he's run off to Downtown, too. I'm even worried about Cheese who's completely disappeared! The only two I don't have to worry about are Wilt and Eduardo, and that's because the former is at the cardboard fortress and the latter is here." There came a sound of metal hitting metal over where the Mandroids were working, and that caused the older girl to release an aggravated sigh. "And then there's those stupid robots."

"I...was going to ask about them," Alice said meekly, worried that it may cause Frankie to blow a gasket.

"Mandark Inds is building a research facility on the property to research Imaginary Energy," Frankie explained. "He heard about what the toothpaste did for that Cul-de-Sac fortress, so he decided he wanted to see what Imaginary Energy could do. Grandma agreed to let him build a facility even though I told her he's not to be trusted. Have you seen what he's wearing nowadays? Overalls and a cape? He's such a dork!" She was at this point ranting. Alice was too afraid to put in a comment, so she stood by silently and let Frankie vent; the older girl probably needed someone to vent to. "And to make this worst he's got Goo employed with him! I warned that girl not to work with him, but she's just too gullible and went to Tech Square. So, I have to worry about her, too, and what sort of experiments he's putting her through." She released a frustrated sigh and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized.

Frankie released another sigh, but this one was more relaxing, like she was letting out all the negative emotions that had been bottled up inside. She smiled at the girl, looking normal again.

"No, you're fine. Sorry for that outburst. The stress, on top of the work I have to do around here, was just getting to me," Frankie said, her tone reassuring so as not to worry Alice more. "But I bet you're bored hearing about my problems." She fished into her pocket and pulled out five toothpaste tubes filled with imaginary energy. She handed them over to Alice. "A month's supply of toothpaste. I don't know what's causing them to run through their supplies so fast, but this should be more than enough to protect the cardboard fortress."

Alice accepted the items with a nod of gratitude. She placed the five tubes in her NanoCom.

"Miss Francis!" bellowed over the loudspeaker.

Frankie sighed, shooting the loudspeaker a silent glare. "Well, back to work." She opened the door again and gave the girl a final wave goodbye. "Stay safe out there, Alice."

"Stay safe," Alice repeated in parting, waving goodbye to the older girl.

Alice waited until Frankie shut the door. Turning, she left the property through the gate and walked toward Peach Creek Estates. When she reached the corner of the property, Alice looked over her shoulder, checking for anyone outside. When she found the area free of people, she lifted herself up into the air and flew for Peach Creek Commons.

She was still getting used to flying. Because she didn't want to fly in plain sight of others, she'd been going to the Junkyard at night and practicing her skills. She wouldn't consider herself on the same level as the Powerpuffs, but she was able to fly steadily and keep herself in the air no problem; the only thing she needed to work on was controlling the speed.

Because she didn't want any of the Urban Rangers to see her land, she went to her house and landed behind it. As soon as her feet touched the soft, Fusion Matter free grass, her NanoCom released a little chirp. She took out her NanoCom, finding it was a message from Nano Boomer. Pressing on the message, it took her to the Nano feature of the device, where she was able to see into the Nano's world. Although by default they lived in hyperspace, Alice, with Numbuh Two's help, managed to make a small world for her newest Nano so the space wouldn't look so empty. He lived on a tropical island with beach front property. His tiny house was single story and was a one room house containing a kitchenette, a table with a chair, a bed, a closet so he could change clothing (if she purchased any costumes for him), and some gaming consoles that played real-world games (his current favorite was Sumo Slammers Online where he went under the name "Small-Sized Boomer"). Currently, her Nano was standing on the porch, waving his hand over his head. He wanted out.

Softly smiling, Alice closed her eyes and thought about her Nano. A second later, the Nano appeared beside her with a pop. Nano Boomer stretched his arms over his head, letting out a little contented sigh.

"Morning Alice!" he greeted happily.

Alice matched his smile, finding it easier and easier to do so. Her prior concern for what kind of Nano he'd be was unfounded. His earlier shyness completely went away when he recognized he was around safe people, and he revealed his true nature: a ball of energy. He liked to be out of the NanoCom and fly around. He was very helpful, often trying to carry items too large for him simply because he wanted to help out Alice. His helpfulness was especially useful in fights with Fusion Monsters thanks to his power: Batter Up!

"Good morning," she greeted back. "Did you sleep well?"

"Noo!" the Nano whined a little, drooping onto her shoulder. "Omnitrixter keeps beating my score! That guy just won't let anyone else reach the #1 spot."

Alice gave the upset Nano a pat on the head.

"You didn't stay up all night, did you?" she asked.

"...Noooooooooooooooooo."

Alice held back a laugh, although it was hard. The hesitation and then attempt to deny it was too adorable. She wasn't going to call him out on it now, but she would force him to go to bed early to catch up on his sleep. For now, they had a job to complete.

The two made their way to the Cul-de-Sac's entrance, Nano Boomer taking a ride on her shoulder. Rangers Andy and Vicki nodded at her and her Nano in greeting, with Andy hiding a yawn behind his hand. Alice nodded a greeting back at them and slipped through the entrance. Since it was still early, the normally bustling Cul-de-Sac was scarce with fighters (their label had changed from volunteers to fighters since it made more sense). While there weren't many fighters running around the Suburbs, the Cul-de-Sac had become something of a hub for them to gather to. Since it had a guide, transportation, sellers and had sturdy protection from invaders, it made sense.

Wilt wasn't in his typical spot, so he was probably still asleep. She looked for Ranger Joey, but he also wasn't on the stoop he liked to hang at. She ventured further into the Cul-de-Sac. Joey, Jimmy, and Rolf were nowhere to be seen, and Double D didn't seem to be out and about. Unfortunately, Eddy was.

The self-proclaimed King of the Cul-de-Sac was standing behind his throne. He was issuing orders to some Urban Rangers, who were building some statue out of cardboard material. Alice didn't want to go and ask him, but he would know better than most. Taking in a deep breath, Alice approached the throne set and the statue behind it. She opened her mouth to call his attention, but she didn't get the words out.

One portion, looking like it was supposed to be the torso, wasn't placed on correctly. It wobbled forward and then fell over, heading downward for where Eddy, who was directly under it, was standing. The teen yelped in alarm and raised up his arms to protect his face. Inches from his head, the falling piece came to a stop midair. Alice's hand was outstretched, her hand outlined in a blue glow that had become familiar to her. She levitated the piece back to its place on the statue-in-progress. Nano Boomer zipped over to the construction piece and helped set it in the proper place. Satisfied with its placement, the Nano retreated back to Alice's side, hovering next to her face with a prideful look on his face, his little chest puffed outward. Alice released her hold on the chest piece, watching the Urban Rangers work to keep it in place. Moving her eyes downward, she met Eddy's eyes. Seeing the wide eyes of the boy had Alice retracting her hand to her chest, her other hand clamping on the wrist to keep it from moving.

It was easy to use her powers freely when she was with Junior and Suzy. Both of them encouraged her to use her powers. Junior had experience considering his ability to freeze opponents with a stare, and even Suzy acted like it was perfectly natural to have a friend who could levitate things on a whim. But what Eddy had said to her after the High Hydro Hammer incident sat at the back of her mind, and it was a constant reminder that she wasn't normal. Her powers were dangerous, and not everyone would feel safe around her.

"Ex-excuse me," she said softly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact. "Have you seen Double D? I have a delivery for him."

The mention of a delivery shook the ruler from his stupor. He shook his head left and right, and his stance denoted an air of uncomfortableness.

"That's the toothpaste, yeah?" Eddy asked.

His tone wasn't harsh, which is what Alice had been fearing. Alice nodded at the question, not trusting her voice.

"Oh, pass us a tube, would yah?" a Ranger by the statue requested. "Our supply is bone dry like the Nowhere desert."

Alice hesitated at the request. The instructions were to hand the tubes over to Double D, not to an Urban Ranger. Her Nano, sensing her rising tension, moved further in front of her.

"This delivery is for Double D," he stated firmly. "That's who we're giving it to."

"It's fine," Eddy countered, his voice airy. "We were running low due to this." He pointed his thumb at the statue. "Sockhead will just hand them one anyways."

Alice thought it over, and then slowly nodded in agreement. It did make sense. Imaginary toothpaste had become the Cul-de-Sac's go-to adhesive due to its ability to hold - in this particular case - cardboard together and repelled Fusion Monsters. Their supplies probably went low due to the upkeep of the walls, and now with a statue to be made, they'd needed more. She pulled out a toothpaste tube from her NanoCom, handing it over to the Urban Ranger. The Ranger flashed her a grin and turned back to his project.

"You've been running those to us, yeah?" Eddy asked her, looking curious.

Alice nodded. She didn't think she was the sole provider, but she did find herself being asked by Double D or Wilt or Frankie to deliver the imaginary toothpaste quite a bit.

"You're running errands then?" Eddy further questioned her. When she responded with a nod, he continued on. "Coop's got an item that came in. I need someone to take it to him. You up for it?"

Alice didn't immediately respond. She was stunned that he'd even ask. She figured he was still upset about learning she was an alien. He didn't seem upset with her, and he was asking for help. Collecting herself, she nodded at him again.

"Yes, I am," she answered him.

Eddy stared at her for a moment, and Alice wondered if he was weighing his options. However, he eventually relented and looked to the side.

"Hey, Joey, get your butt over here!"

Alice turned to the boy Eddy was calling to, relieved to see that it was Ranger Joey. Said boy was over by one of the merchant stands, helping a fellow Ranger set up. He looked over at the king in annoyance.

"What do you want?" he grouched back. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Get over here and give Coop's item to Alice," Eddy ordered.

Joey looked past the king of the Cul-de-Sac and spotted Alice. She waved at him, her Nano copying her motions. He stepped away from the merchant stand and approached Eddy and Alice. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a game controller, tossing it Alice's way. Her Nano swooped in and grabbed it before she could, staring at it with stars in his eyes.

"So beautiful," he whispered reverently.

"It's top of the line," Joey agreed. "Thanks for this, by the way. Eddy here was going to have me do it, even though I've told him a bazillion times that I don't run those sorts of errands."

"Quit your griping. You got another errand to run," the shortest Ed boy groused. "Take Alice to Sockhead's house. She's got the imaginary toothpaste."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're lucky I like her." He beckoned with his head for Alice to follow him. "C'mon."

Alice plucked the controller from out of Nano Boomer's hands (ignoring his whines) and placed it in her NanoCom. She followed next to Joey, Nano Boomer hovering after her. She noticed the Ranger was heading back towards the entrance doors of the fortress. Living next to the Cul-de-Sac all those years and she hadn't properly learned where all the kids lived.

"Is Rolf in today?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, he's with Double D," Joey answered. "Double D and the other guides had some sort of voice call meeting earlier, and then Rolf was called in."

Alice nodded, relieved that Rolf was in the fortress. Aside from dropping off the imaginary toothpaste to Double D, she was picking up some items from Rolf that needed to be delived to a kid named Adam in Habitat Homes. She'd taken the job from Frankie as solo work because she was in the area and figured she could get the mission out of the way before she met with her friends in Habitat Homes.

Alice subconsciously smiled at the idea of her friends. It was a warm feeling that flowed through her. She had grown up believing herself too different from others that no one wanted to be her friends, but Junior and Suzy and even Double D had regarded her as a friend so easily it made Alice wonder if it was all in her head. The difference she felt between herself and her classmates had been her alien origin, but now that she thought about it, had she been the one exiling herself? Were others trying to reach out to her but she was pushing them away instead of the other way around? She wasn't sure of the answer, and her shyness was still a knee jerk reaction, but she told herself to work on it. She liked the idea of having friends, and didn't want to lose them.

Double D's house was the house to the left of the gate entrance, which was the house Joey liked to hang out at. It explained why Joey was stationed there; aside from being a second back up, the home belonged to a guide. As Joey and her neared the house, they were intercepted by another Urban Ranger.

"Alice!" Jimmy greeted her, running up and throwing his arms around her.

The hug was quick, and he pulled away from her so she could have her space. She smiled at him in greeting. Her Nano zipped forward, flying around the Ranger's head before settling on top of his head. Nano Boomer leaned down so that he could look Jimmy in the eyes.

"Hiya!" Nano Boomer chirped, sticking out a hand. "Got a cookie?"

"Nano Boomer," Alice warned, giving him the disapproving look she'd seen her mother give her uncle when he complained about dinner being late whenever they had a family dinner.

Her warning went unheard. Jimmy fished in his pocket and picked out a cookie. He handed it to the Nano, whose eyes lightened up like the sun. He shoved the cookie into his mouth, letting out a mumbled "Thank you" as he munched on the treat. Alice held back a sigh. Every time they came to the Cul-de-Sac, her Nano always made it a point to seek out Jimmy, who always carried around snacks to give to the Nanos; this made Jimmy his second favorite person.

"How have you been, Alice?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm doing well," Alice answered. "How have things been around the Cul-de-Sac?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Same old, same old. The Kankers were caught working with Fusion Blossom."

"A Fusion?" Alice asked, her voice jumping octaves. "Why?"

"They say they didn't realize it was a Fusion," the boy gossiped.

"Fusions are green," Joey stressed. "How did they not realize it in the first place?"

"They're not very smart," he answered.

Joey stared in silence at the brace-wearing kid for a solid thirty seconds before shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"That's fair," he acknowledged. He turned to look at Alice. "Anyways, we're probably delaying you."

"Oh, are you here on a job?" Jimmy asked the blue haired girl.

"I'm dropping off imaginary toothpaste," Alice answered. "And I need to talk to Rolf. He needs me to take paint remover to Habitat Homes."

"Three jobs before noon?" Joey asked with an eyebrow raised. "Are you trying to make the rest of us look bad?"

"I'm a morning person," Alice answered, averting her eyes to the side. "Mom worked a lot at night... so we spent the majority of the time together in the morning."

Nano Boomer left Jimmy's head and sat himself on Alice's shoulder, resting his head against hers to express his sympathy. Jimmy frowned in sympathy, patting her on the arm.

"Come on, I have to talk to Rolf, too," Jimmy said.

"I'll let Jimmy take you the rest of the way. I have to head back and continue set up. See ya later, Alice," Joey said, turning around and heading back for the end of the cul-de-sac.

Alice waved at the boy, and then followed Jimmy to the doorstep. Confidently, like he's done it a million times before, Jimmy knocked on the door. They waited for a few seconds until it was opened by the kid of the house. Standing behind him was the leader of the Urban Rangers.

"Oh, greetings Jimmy, Alice," Double D said, opening the door further. "Please, come in."

Jimmy led the way inside, saluting his superior officer when he approached. Alice followed behind the boy, and Nano Boomer waved at Double D as he and Alice passed the boy. The house was immaculate, which was to be expected.

"Ranger Jimmy, what is your status?" Rolf asked of his subordinate.

"I have placed the Kankers' listening device in the public toilet at the Park n' Flush as instructed, sir!" Jimmy reported.

Seeing the bewildered look on her face, Double D quickly explained to Alice, "Some fighters sympathetic to the Kankers planted a listening device to spy on us. Sarah discovered it and went to confront the sisters while Jimmy removed the device and put it somewhere else."

Alice frowned at the explanation. She understood, but found the new location to be a rather disgusting place to situate it. Her Nano didn't agree, because he giggled a little and gave out an approving, "Nice!"

"Excellent work, Ranger Jimmy," Rolf complimented his subordinate. "Now, head to Sector V Treehouse. Numbuh Two requires Urban Ranger assistance. Report immediately!"

"Yes sir!" Jimmy said, hustling out of the house.

"Now then, what brings you Alice girl?" Rolf asked, turning his attention on the girl who was still in the house waiting.

"You have a delivery for my team to take," Alice answered. To further clarify, she added, "To Habitat Homes."

"Ah yes! For Lyon boy," Rolf answered. He dug into his pocket, searching it for a few seconds, and then pulled out a gallon aluminum can of paint remover and a set of scrappers. "Here we are."

Alice accepted the items and placed them in her NanoCom, mildly wondering how all of that fit inside of Rolf's pockets. She didn't bother questioning it since it would probably be more confusing than helpful.

The mission, as it was written on Help Wanted, was that Billy painted over some Re:Fuse posters down in Habitat Homes. Because of that, the Fusion Monsters in the area went on a frenzy and started attacking the school and the surrounding homes. Adam had reached out to the Urban Rangers for help, and Rolf had put forth the job for someone to deliver the items to the boy and to help him remove the paint.

"It was Wilt who told us that the posters were made by Imaginary Friends. They were made to demoralize the monsters, and I guess it worked. At least until they were painted over, and then the monsters became even more violent," Double D remarked. She could almost see the gears in his head working as he followed his logical thought. "It is astounding how Imaginary Energy works when in the vicinity of a Fusion Monster."

Alice thought back to Foster's Home, and the Mandark research facility that was being built. Frankie had her reservations about Mandark learning about Imaginary Energy, but maybe Mandark was right. Maybe there was something there to study and follow. Since its completion, the Cul-de-Sac fortress has withstood attacks from the Fusion Monsters and it's even repelled them from attacking. Nanos had their Fusion Matter purified with imagination. Now there were the posters in Habitat Homes which determind the mood of the invading aliens. Maybe it was important to see the effects of imagination on Fusion Monsters and see if they could use it to stop the war.

Alice's NanoCom beeped, breaking her thoughts. She glanced at it and found that it was a message from Junior. He and Suzy were already at Habitat Homes, waiting for her.

"I'm sorry, I -"

"It's alright," Double D reassured her. "It's more important to get those posters back in working order. I don't think Charles Darwin Middle School can take more hits."

Alice nodded her head in agreement, and said her goodbyes to the two. She exited the house, and left the fortress, heading for her home. She could take the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. or the bus slider to Habitat Homes, but she wanted to continue practicing her flying skills. It was still early enough no one would notice. She put Nano Boomer back in the NanoCom with the order to get some sleep. Although the Nano had been upset, he ultimately complied with only a pout. Checking left and right to make sure no one was in the area, Alice launched herself into the air and made for Habitat Homes.

Suzy and Junior were waiting for her at the tennis courts in front of the heavily infected Charles Darwin Middle School when she touched down. The Skyway Monkeys were already set up, too enthralled with their game to notice her flying in. Alice's friends were accompanied by who Alice guessed was Adam and, surprisingly, Billy. The cap wearing boy had Runty sitting on his head, and the boy didn't look very happy.

"Hey Alice," Suzy greeted. She extended a hand at Adam. "This is Adam."

"Uhh, hi," he greeted.

"Hello," she greeted back, before looking to Billy. "Uhm..."

"I brought him," Junior answered the unspoken question. "He caused this mess, so he can help clean it up."

"I didn't cause this though!" Billy argued.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Junior said sarcastically, rolling his eyes for good measure. "It was an elephant."

"It was!" Billy cried. "He said he'd pay me five dollars for every poster that was messed up, so I had it done! I'm a victim."

"No, I'm a victim of your stupidity," Junior retaliated. He rubbed at his forehead in an attempt to stave off a migraine.

"Where did you see this elephant?" Suzy asked.

"Well, I was just minding my own business when he came to my house! He offered me the moneys and even gave me a hall pass so I could go into the school and use his place, but some monsters took it while I was messing up the posters!" Billy explained.

"Wait, was this elephant green?" Adam piped in with his questioning.

"Uh-huhs!" Billy answered with a rapid nod of his head. It was a wonder Runty didn't fly off. "He was green and stood on two legs."

"I've seen him around here," Adam remarked. "It's a Fusion."

"Hmm..." Suzy muttered to herself, a fist at her lips as she went into deep thought. "I didn't know Raj had a Fusion."

"Who?" Junior asked.

"You know hims?" Billy asked, already hoping he could somehow shift the blame.

"Not the Fusion, but I know who it's based on. He's a Bean Scout," Suzy explained.

"Do you just know everybody?" Junior asked sarcastically.

"Almost," Suzy teased back.

"Well...it makes sense a Fusion would do this," Adam commented.

"We'll deal with that after," Suzy said, taking charge. "Right now we need to fix the posters and get things back under control here."

"That means all of us," Junior stressed to his cousin. "You had a hand in this mess, so you're going to have a hand in fixing it too."

Billy crossed his arms and huffed in indignation. Runty, not being able to cross his arms due to lacking those appendages, simply mimicked the huff.

"Alice, you have the things, yeah?" Suzy asked.

Alice nodded, pulling the items from her NanoCom.

"Excellent," the redhead complimented. Taking the can and scrappers from the blue haired alien, she handed out the scrappers to the team. "There's four posters that are effected, and Adam's already identified where they are. What I'm thinking is we'll split up into teams of two. Junior, you have Billy. Alice, you have Adam. I'll be on my own team."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Adam asked. "These monsters have been in a frenzy since the posters were defaced."

Suzy winked at her fellow redhead and called on her Nano. Nano Numbuh Five appeared next to Suzy, doing a little backflip in the air before settling down on the girl's shoulder.

"Nano Numbuh Five's special ability is sneak, so I'll stay under the radar," she explained, earning nods from her two teammates. "Now then, since Adam knows where these posters are, we'll give him the paint remover." She handed the container to the boy, who held it with both hands. "He'll go to each poster, and we'll come through and start peeling them off. When we're finished, come back here. Understood?"

The group, even the reluctant Billy, nodded in agreement. Suzy clapped her hands together and grinned.

"Great! Let's get going then. Lead the way, Adam!"

The first poster was on the house next to the tennis courts. Ramcycles patrolled the area, but thanks to Nano Numbuh Five's sneak power, the group went unnoticed. Adam poured some of the liquid on the poster and Suzy began peeling it off. With the first poster being taken care of, he led the group of now four to the next poster. Alice was reluctant to leave Suzy on her own, but she had to tell herself that the girl would be okay. They, as a group, have separated on missions to fight off monsters before; this was nothing new.

The second poster was towards the south, sitting on a business' wall. Because they were no longer protected under Nano Numbuh Five's ability, the monsters zeroed in on the group of four. The reports on their manners were correct; the Motorillas were aggressive in their attacks, striking at Alice's protective force-field until being put to sleep by Junior's Nano Megas' special ability. With their monsters sleeping, it was easier to turn them into Fusion Matter. They reached the poster and Adam poured the remover on it. Junior and Billy took this poster; or, more accurately, Junior had Billy start taking off the paint while he and Nano Megas stood guard.

The third poster was on a house next to a Burger Frenzy. Motorillas were next to the poster, and Alice had to dispatch of them before Adam could pour the remover. Alice began working on peeling off the paint, pleased to see that it was coming off easily.

"Do you want me to continue on?" Adam asked her, giving their area a look around.

"No, stay with me," she answered him. "It'll be safer if we're-" She cut herself off as her hair on her neck stood at attention.

"Alice!" Adam's warning came in, although it wasn't necessary.

Alice spun, preparing to throw an energy shield up, but the sucker punch from the Motorilla was faster. It sent the girl flying, before she hit the ground and skidded to a stop. She got to her hands, noting that Adam had rushed to her side, asking if she was alright. She didn't answer him, her focus given solely to the Motorilla who had some buddies coming to join it. Having some backup, the three Motorillas charged for the two of them.

Alice's energy bubble came up around the two of them, protecting them from the initial hit. The Motorillas bounced off of the bubble's wall. They righted themselves and roared, pounding and smashing against the bubble in an effort to make it crumble. Alice forced it to stay in place, but she couldn't remain in a defensive position forever.

"Adam, do you have any weapons?" she asked.

"Y-yes," he answered frightfully. "B-but I'm not very good with it!"

Alice nodded to herself. That's all she needed to know. "When I drop the bubble, please run for cover."

Adam hesitated, but nodded quickly. With the knowledge that Adam understood her directions, Alice dropped the bubble just as the Motorillas were striking it, catching them off-balance. Adam ran as soon as the bubble dropped, like he had been instructed to do. Alice sent out an energy projectile in the shape of an arc, hitting all three Motorillas and pushing them backwards. Before they could stabilize themselves, Alice formed energy spheres in her hands and threw them at the three monsters. She didn't let up, but when the Motorillas started swiping at the energy balls she knew she had to change her strategy. Bringing her hands together, she formed a larger energy sphere than the smaller ones she'd been using. Once it was half the size of her body, she threw it at the Motorillas, who had been approaching her in the absence of her striking them. The super-sized sphere hit all three of them, dissolving the trio into Fusion Matter. Alice released a sigh, her muscles loosening up.

"Whoa," Adam whispered in amazement, stepping out from his hiding spot. "That was cool."

"Are you okay?" Alice asked her partner.

"I should ask you that. You took the monsters down," the boy responded. "Jake's usually the one scaring the monsters off, but he's at Camp Kidney visiting his cousin."

"Have you had trouble with them before?" Alice asked, continuing her work on the paint.

"I've mostly been in my house," Adam admitted sheepishly.

Alice didn't make a comment about the admission. She wasn't in any position to judge, since she spent the early days of the war bunkered down in her home. She removed the last of the paint, amazed that the poster underneath it was basically unscathed.

"Okay," Alice said, stepping away from the poster. "Ready, Adam?"

Alice and Adam continued for the fourth and final poster. It wasn't far from the third; it was on the final building on the street. This one was unprotected from the surrounding monsters, but Alice still stood guard with a force-field protecting the two while Adam took the paint off. When they completed their job, the two returned to the tennis courts where Billy, Junior and Suzy were waiting. Junior and Suzy were in the middle of a conversation, while Billy was sitting on the floor, playing with Runty. A tendril from Junior's back was wrapped around Billy's body, keeping the boy from running off.

"Hey you two! Welcome back," Suzy greeted them. "Ready for part two?"

"Part two?" Adam parroted in surprise.

"Yep. Junior and I went looking for the hall pass while we waited."

"It was easy," Junior answered. "The third one had it."

"Since you're not a fighter, we're thinking you and Billy should head home where it's safer," Suzy told the boy.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Adam agreed.

"I was hoping you'd actually head back to Billy's house," Junior put in. "To make sure he doesn't screw something up again."

"Uhh, would that be okay?" Adam asked, looking from Junior to Billy. "I don't really kno-"

Billy hopped to his feet, getting into a Adam's face. The boy released a surprised yelp at the sudden intrusion to his personal space.

"Oooh! We can play Sumo Slammers Online! You gots an account, yeah?" Billy asked, brightening at the idea.

"Well yeah, but-"

"Great!" Billy cheered, wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders. The tendril that had been around the boy's body disappeared. "Let's get going! C'mon Runty!"

Billy's little buddy hopped behind, keeping stride with the two boys.

"Alrighty, let's go get this Fusion!" Suzy declared, heading for the Dexbot that guarded the entrance to the infected zone.

Junior followed, but Alice waited. She wanted to make sure the two weren't going to be attacked. Once she lost sight of them, she joined her friends on the Dexbot pad. The Dexbot accepted their NanoCom IDs and teleported them inside the infected zone. Like with every infected zone, the gravity inside was on the fritz, having lifted large sections of land to be left hovering in the air. A large, Fusion Matter lake existed in the middle of the zone, separating the two land masses. Surprisingly, no monsters were on their side of the zone. This gave the group of three a little breathing room, without having to worry about being attacked.

"Time to check the inside of the school, yeah?" Junior asked his teammates.

"I thought about that, but let me try something," Suzy said. She held out her hand. "The hall pass, please?"

Junior handed the hall pass, which was burned because of its contact with Fusion Matter. Suzy accepted the hall pass and held her NanoCom over it. Pressing the surface of the NanoCom, a blue light ran over the pass for a second. A moment later, the NanoCom released a beep, and Suzy's face brightened.

"I can lead us right to the Fusion," Suzy declared, handing the hall pass back to Junior.

"You can?" Junior questioned, eyeing her skeptically.

"Of course. Because Fusion Raj handed this to Billy, it has its DNA all over it. I scanned it, and I've honed in on it," she answered, holding out her NanoCom so Junior and Alice could inspect it for themselves.

Suzy's NanoCom had the map feature opened, giving a detailed picture of the infected zone. On the map was a red dot that was blinking in and out of existence.

"Since when was this a thing?" Junior asked, pulling back from the NanoCom.

"Since forever," Suzy remarked, looking between her NanoCom and the infected zone. She was clearly attempting to map out the pathing. "Okay, this looks like it's on the upper flooring, so we should probably get up there."

"Since you can fly, you should scout on ahead of us," Junior instructed Alice.

Alice hesitated to comply. While it did make sense for her to go on ahead with her flying abilities, she had something else in mind.

"A-actually, I wanted to try something."

It sounded easier in concept. After getting their agreement, Alice had erected a bubble around Suzy and Junior and levitated them up into the air. She then flew with them, flying above the bubble she had made. She had been thinking of doing this sort of transportation for a while. Holding them like the Skyway Agents did was too difficult for her; she had neither the strength nor the upper body build to do so. So she had turned to her bubbles, which would be easier to carry more than one, and it protected them on the chance they encountered a flying Fusion Monster. While it was easy to start, the process eventually took its toll since Alice had to A.) concentrate on the bubble, B.) levitate said bubble, and C.) fly herself.

They crossed over the large lake of green Fusion Matter that separated the Dexbot from the school, and even snuck over the Cylomanders that were running around on the ground. Suzy pointed her to the roof on a building at the back. She managed to safely deposit her travelling partners on the rooftop with no incident, but the energy drain caught up with Alice. She lost her ability to keep herself airborne, and would have hit the roof hard had Junior not caught her.

"You okay?" he asked, keeping a hold on her so she wouldn't sway.

Alice closed her eyes for a moment, forcing back the weariness and quiseaniess. Her body was warning her she had over extended her power. When she felt the moment pass, she opened her eyes and nodded to the question she hadn't yet answered.

"I'm okay," she assured the two. "I guess I overdid it."

"You did great," Suzy assured the other girl. "You got us here faster, and landed us next to the Fusion portal." Suzy used her hand to beckon at a stack of green tendrils swaying to and fro from an invisible wind. Looking at it closer, Alice could see that the tendrils were protruding from some sort of vine-like ring that even had some green-tinted bulbs growing out of it. "No one has figured out how this works, exactly, but this operates like Dex's warp pads, and it'll bring us into the Fusion lair."

"Considering this is a Fusion, it'll be like Fusion Boomer. It's going to be tough," Junior pointed out. "Are you good to fight it?"

Alice didn't immediately reply. She was definitely not up to full stamina, but she felt like she could still throw out some energy spheres, maybe even an energy blast. She couldn't do much more than that. She didn't mention any of this out loud, but Suzy took one look at her and easily read her thoughts.

"Stick close to Junior," she issued the order, still maintaining her friendly tone. "Rely on Nano Boomer, and do what you can. Don't push yourself."

Alice nodded at the order. The three moved to the Fusion portal and found their vision obscured by the tendrils. A moment later, they found themselves in an underground cavern. Suzy pulled out her NanoCom again, giving it a nod.

"I can still track it," she informed her team. "Pull out your Nanos."

Alice and Junior complied. At the same time Suzy called on Nano Numbuh Five, Junior and Alice called on Nano Megas and Nano Boomer, respectively. The miniaturized Rowdyruff looked around his area in excitement.

"Are we kicking a Fusion Monster's butt?!" the Nano asked. His blue eyes were lit up in excitement at the very idea.

"Yep! Keep up that attitude, kay?" Suzy told the Nano. "I'm sneaking us by the majority, but there may still be some that we'll have to fight, so that's where you come in, got it?"

Nano Boomer pumped his fists in excitement.

"Let's go!" he declared.

Suzy took point, leading the group into the lair. Turned out that lairs were designed to be a maze, with strange mushrooms and plants growing along the rocky walls. Nano Numbuh Five and Nano Boomer floated next to Suzy; Nano Numbuh Five was using her special ability Secret Agent to keep the group masked, and Nano Boomer was waiting for his chance to attack. The Ramcycles were patrolling in the lair, but they were doing so individually. Nano Numbuh Five's Secret Agent was able to get them past the monster, but Alice always felt like they were still being tracked.

They were probably halfway through the maze when they encountered a problem. Nano Numbuh Five's special ability was a passive ability, which meant it was in use for every second she was out of the NanoCom. Keeping three people and three Nanos was taxing, especially because she had used her powers earlier in Habitat Homes. The poor Nano hovered hunched over beside Suzy, releasing tired huffs.

"You did a good job. Get some rest," Suzy consoled the Nano, recalling it into the NanoCom. She glanced over her shoulder to Junior. "How's Nano Megas?"

Junior looked at his NanoCom, and nodded.

"He's still good," Junior answered. "We should be able to put them to sleep all the way up to the Fusion."

"Yeah, but since we're in an enclosed space, I don't want to leave them there sleeping. We'll have to fight them," she explained. She looked at Nano Boomer and winked. "You ready for this, little man?"

Nano Boomer made a hyper noise from behind closed lips, hopping up and down in midair to release some of that excitement. Suzy grinned at his enthusiasm, then looked over at Alice.

"You still good?" she asked.

Alice nodded. "I'm doing better."

"Great. Let's get going team!"

It was almost unfair how easy it was to get through the rest of the lair. Nano Megas used his Garden Gate Slam to put the Ramcycles to sleep and then Nano Boomer went in with his Batter Up. A shot from Suzy's Crayon Cannon or Alice's energy spheres or Junior's tentacles had it dissolved into Fusion Matter. They repeated the process all the way through until Suzy held up a hand to stop her team.

"The Fusion is just around this bend," Suzy announced, putting her NanoCom away. "Are we ready?"

"Ready," Junior and Nano Boomer answered back. Nano Megas nodded his little car head.

Alice hesitated. The hair on her neck was standing at attention. She extended her senses and found that the Fusion Monsters were closer than Suzy's radar was picking up.

"Something's coming," Alice announced.

Junior and Suzy tensed up, having worked with Alice long enough to know that her warnings were always on point. A moment later, a set of three Ramcycles climbed up over the cavern wall and slid down, appearing in front of Junior and Alice. While Nano Megas put them to sleep and Nano Boomer went in for the attack, Fusion Raj used the distraction to come around the bend and sneak up on Suzy. Luckily for the girl, she had seen his appearance in her peripheral and managed to spin around in time to get the first hit on the Fusion with a shot from her Crayon Cannon.

The Fusion-ized elephant roared at the hit. It made for another swipe, but Suzy was able to duck under it and get out of its range. She switched her weapons since she was in closer combat, pulling out her Camp Oar and delivering three strikes - one to the neck, one to each knee cap - before the Fusion had a chance to recover.

Alice threw up her shield, blocking the incoming strikes from two Ramcycles. Although Nano Megas' strike had knocked them out, they were stronger than the other Ramcycles the group had faced in the cavern. A strike at the motorcycled monsters had them waking up and attacking Alice and Junior. Nano Boomer zoomed past the girl and used his special ability to hit one of the Ramcycle's in the head. The injured Ramcycle growled out in frustration, shaking off the hit and ramming Alice's shield again. Alice pushed her shield so that the two Ramcycles were caught between her shield and the cavern wall behind them. With the two Fusion Monsters trapped, she pushed her shield into the wall, crushing the two monsters until they turned into Fusion Matter.

Alice looked over her shoulder, first pinpointing Junior facing off with the third Ramcycle. Nano Megas was nowhere to be found, so he was probably put away. Junior was doing fine on his own, so Alice sought out Suzy. The redhead was in battle with the Fusion, managing to dodge the Fusion's swipes. It was clearly getting angry, and threw gooey balls at the redhead. While Alice didn't recognize who this Fusion Raj was supposed to be based on, it seemed like it didn't have any special abilities like Fusion Boomer had.

"Nano Boomer," Alice called to her Nano, and then pointed to the fight.

Her Nano glanced at the Fusion, grinned, and zoomed forward at the Fusion. Calling on his special ability once more, he gave the Fusion a good whack downward on the skull. The Fusion's hands went to the injured spot, shaking its head in pain. Suzy sent a thumbs up to the Nano. She then switched out her Camp Oar for her Crayon Cannon again and fired at it three more times until the Fusion cried out in pain. It dissolved into Fusion Matter, being picked up by Suzy's NanoCom. An item fell to the ground, bouncing once before landing. Nano Boomer zipped down to it, circling it in curiosity. Suzy bent down and picked up the item, revealing it to be a retainer.

"What is that?" Nano Boomer asked, hovering next to her hand.

"An item to create Nanos," Suzy answered. "Just like you."

Nano Boomer frowned at her skeptically. She looked over at her two teammates, who walked over to be next to her. Alice put Nano Boomer back into the NanoCom since vitals showed he was at 48% stamina. Junior was eyeing the retainer skeptically.

"You're thinking of making it into a Nano?" Junior asked.

"Sure. NanoComs can hold a max of three, and Nano Numbuh Five could use a partner," Suzy answered. "Unless you want him?"

Junior shook his head. "You fought the Fusion, so you can have him."

"Alice?" Suzy asked the girl.

Alice shook her head. "I'm with Junior."

"We'll stop by the station at Billy's house," Suzy explained, putting the retainer in her pocket. "We'll also let Adam know we've handled it."

"We'd better get out of here before those Ramcycles regenerate," Junior said.

"Won't we have to encounter them on our way back to the portal?" Alice asked.

"There's two portals," Suzy explained, taking the turn round the bend and leading her team. "The second one is at the end, where the Fusions are located."

"That's not a good design," Junior pointed out.

"No, but it is useful for us," Suzy countered, approaching the swaying tendrils of the portal, which was tucked up in a little nook.

Taking the portal, they were returned to the school's roof. Almost as soon as they stepped away from the portal, their NanoComs chimed in unison. Junior pulled his NanoCom off his hip, checking the screen.

"It's from Jimmy Jones," Junior told his two female teammates.

"Oooo, a guide mission," Suzy cooed, pulling her own NanoCom out. "We haven't had those in a while."

Alice silently agreed as she looked at her own NanoCom.

Subject Line: Nuclear Haste

Greetings! Kids Next Door operatives stationed with Mr. Tennyson are in need of a radioactive isotope that can only be found in the nuclear power plant. You will need to be quick about collecting it because of the possibility of radiation poisoning. Once you have the isotope in your possession, deliver it to Numbuh Two.

-Jimmy Jones

"He's got to be joking," Junior grumbled.

"If that's what the KND need, it must be for something important," Suzy reasoned.

The redhead brought a hand to her lips as she fell into thought. From the way her eyebrows knitted together, Alice could tell she was pondering on whether they were going to accept the mission or not.

The nuclear power plant was a dangerous place before the Fusion invasion. Now it was extra dangerous thanks to the Fusion Matter that heavily infected the area. Between radiation poisoning and Fusion Matter poisoning, it was deemed unsafe to enter unless absolutely necessary. And Suzy was right; if the KND needed something radioactive, it had to be for something important.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other in apprehension, Alice spoke up. "I-I can do it."

"No way," Junior put in immediately. "They can't expect us to go in with no gear. The radiation-"

"May not affect me," Alice cut in. She gulped and averted her eyes away from them. "I'm...I-I'm an alien, so I may not be as susceptible to poisoning as humans."

"But we're not sure, so it's still dangerous," Junior pointed out, arguing the point vehemently. "We'll-"

"Do it," Suzy finished, lowering her hand. Her normal smile was missing, replaced with a grim thin line.

"What?!" Junior asked, looking at Suzy like he'd been betrayed.

"We'll do this. Or more accurately, Alice will," Suzy answered, looking to her blue-haired friend. "Alice can fly, and if she puts a shield up around her, she should be safe from the toxins. She's the best person for the situation, and if the Kids Next Door are asking for this, then we need to be as helpful as possible." She turned to look Junior in the eye. "That's why we're here."

Nothing was said. After a tense moment, an unhappy Junior released an aggravated sigh.

"I don't like this," he stressed.

"That's fine," Suzy answered, brightening her tone to lighten the mood. "But I have faith that everything will turn out alright."

The walk from Habitat Homes to Endsville was silent and tense. Junior's aggravation had yet to let up, and although Suzy was trying to keep up a cheery mood, it was clear she was struggling. Alice didn't dare say a word in fear that she may further upset the two. She was just as scared to do the mission, but a voice in the back of her head that sounded like her mother's told her she had to. She was the only one in the group who could.

They stopped by Billy's house to make Nano Raj at the Nano Station situated in Billy's front yard, and they also let Adam know that he could return to Habitat Homes. The boy was extremely grateful and practically ran out of the house. Him was thankfully not around to freak out the kids even more, so with even more silence they journeyed up the short hill to the nuclear plant.

"Last chance to turn back," Junior stated just within inches of the DexLabs' warp pad.

Alice gulped, but shook her head.

"I-I can do this," she said, wincing internally at her stuttering. How was she supposed to show confidence if she couldn't keep from stuttering?

Suzy smiled at her in sympathy, giving the girl a hug. "You'll do fine. We're be here waiting, okay?"

Alice nodded, forcing her breathing to be steady. She glanced uncertainly at Junior, but he wasn't looking her way. Pulling herself from the embrace, Alice turned and stepped on the warp pad, showing her NanoCom to the Dexbot. Just as the Dexbot was activating the warp capabilities, Junior jerked his head upward and said, "Good luck." The bright light consumed Alice's vision, dimming down when she was on the other side of the infected zone. She glanced at the barrier separating her from her team, and then turned to look at the Reactor Works' layout. A few Ventilators near the warp pad turned her way, interested by the new addition.

Placing herself in a protective bubble, Alice lifted herself off the ground. The Ventilators rushed up to where she had been, hopping on their hind legs in an attempt to reach her, but she was out of their reach. Without having to worry about being attacked, Alice pulled out her NanoCom and looked at the map. The indicator was saying that the isotope was located to the east of her position. She flew over the land, looking between the area and the map. The map indicated she was close, and a look at the land beneath her showed that there was a container right where the map was indicating the isotope to be located. She lowered herself to the ground, keeping her bubble up. The container was a full head taller than Alice, but she could see the isotope, no bigger than half the length of her arm, sitting inside, hovering in space. The control panel had a slot for NanoComs, which was probably how she was to carry it.

There was two options Alice was faced with. Option one: lower her bubble completely and test her theory that her alien DNA would protect her from the plant's radiation. Option two: find a way to open a small part of her bubble to extend her hand and her NanoCom out. Closing her eyes in concentration, Alice went with option two. She imagined a small opening, just big enough for her hand and NanoCom. Alice opened her eyes, finding that the opening was exactly where she had willed it to be. Pulling out her NanoCom, she fit it through the hole and placed it on the container's control pad. A few pushes of the button, and the isotope was transferred from the container into the NanoCom, dinging when it was done. She pulled the NanoCom back into her bubble, sealing up the hole. With a few quick swipes of her NanoCom, she sent the isotope off to Numbuh Two in an email. With the mission complete, Alice looked around, finding that a second warp pad was near her. She stepped up and teleported out of the infected zone. When the light cleared, found that she was back on the outside, but not from where she had entered. Apparently, there were two Dexbots for this infected zone. She dropped her bubble, taking in a breath of fresh air.

"Alice!" Suzy called, rushing over to the girl.

Junior reached Alice first, doing a quick look to see if she had any signs of poisoning. Suzy came up next to him, also giving the girl a glance over.

"How do you feel, Alice?" Suzy asked in concern.

Alice took a moment to answer. "I don't feel any different."

"You don't feel sick? You can still see clearly?" Suzy asked.

"I'm okay," Alice answered.

Suzy and Junior both sighed in relief. Then, collecting herself, Suzy used her elbow to nudge Junior in the ribs.

"And you were worried about her," she said teasingly, her spirits raised once again.

Junior sputtered, his eyes dipping in annoyance. Alice smiled lightly at the antics, feeling warm inside that they had been worried about her. Alice's NanoCom released a chime, and she checked to see an email from Numbuh Two.

Subject Line: Good job

Thanks for getting this! I've got a special container to put it in before I send it down to Ben. If you ever swing by Sector V, the pizza will be on me!

-Numbuh Two

Her NanoCom, and the other two NanoComs chimed in unison with an email from Jimmy Jones.

Subject Line: Nuclear Haste

Awesome! The isotope was really important to get. Mr. Tennyson and the Kids Next Door are trying to get spacecrafts lifted off from Space Port, and this isotope will help with that. Mr. Tennyson says thanks as well!

-Jimmy Jones

Suzy visibly brightened after reading the email. Whatever concerns or doubts she had about accepting the mission was chased away. Alice felt her own doubts disappearing as well; if they could get some spacecrafts up into space, they may have a better chance on ending the war.

"Good job everybody," Suzy said, pocketing her NanoCom. "Especially you, Alice. I think we all deserve an ice cream break."

"Actually, I have another job to do," Alice broke in. "Eddy needs me to deliver an item to Coop. I can go by myself if-"

"No way," Suzy cut in. "Compared to what you just did, delivering an item sounds easy." She looked over at Junior. "What do you say, Nergie?"

The half-demon sent the girl a glare. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that," Junior grumbled.

Suzy shrugged. "Force of habit. So, want to join us to your favorite place?"

"Sometimes I regret teaming up with you," he mumbled.

A sly smile spread across Suzy's face. "No you don't~" she said in a singsong tone, her eyes briefly flitting over to Alice and then back to Junior.

Alice didn't understand why Junior's face heated up into a bright pink color, but she chalked it up to Junior feeling embarrassed for being teased. Having her fun, Suzy smiled like a Cheshire and clapped her hands together.

"To the junkyard!" she declared theatrically, leading the way back to Endsville.

As the trio neared the junkyard's entrance archway, the clear sounds of an argument filled the normally empty air. The group shared a surprised look with each other, but continued further until they reached the archway. They found Kiva and an unidentified robot having a full-on argument near the Dexbot. Coop and a man in a blue beanie were watching from the sidelines, looking amused by the showing.

"That robot wasn't here last time, was it?" Junior asked his friends.

Alice shook her head, looking just as surprised. The robot didn't look familiar, and wasn't in the normal color schemes for DexLabs or Mandark Inds. Its metal was greyish-brown, making it blend in with the rest of the junkyard. The robot was moving its arms around fluidly, which made Alice believe it to be more advanced than the droids employed with Dexter and Mandark.

Coop turned his eyes away from the argument, spotting the three on the other side. Grinning, he raised a hand over his head and waved at them. Encouraged by the greeting, Suzy led the way into the clearing, keeping a wide berth from the two arguing individuals.

"Hey kids," Coop greeted. "What brings you back this way? Here to help get Megas out?"

"Not today, sorry," Suzy answered. "We do have a delivery for you, though."

"Seriously? Is it the game controller I asked for?" When the group nodded at him, the hefty man pumped his fist into the air. "Awesome! I haven't been able to play any games in so long."

Alice pulled out the game controller and handed it off to Coop, who looked ecstatic to see it.

"Thanks for this, kids," he said. "Now I can finally kick Jamie's butt in Ninja Space Patrol."

"Not with those two making a racket," Jamie, the man in the beanie, pointed out, pointing a thumb at the verbal battle still being held between Kiva and the robot.

"On that note, what is that?" Junior asked. "I don't remember you having another robot in the place."

"That is Coop's latest project," Jamie answered, taking a gulp of his drink through the straw.

The "project" heard the comment and swung around, its metallic eyebrows dripping in annoyance. It raised a digit, pointing it straight at the guy.

"I am not a project," the robot argued. "I am Larry 3000 of Time Squad."

"I found him in pieces and fixed him up," Coop added, pointing a thumb at his chest. "He's as good as new."

"Must you bring this up with every local that happens by?" Larry questioned indignantly.

"It's not every day you find a robot from the future," Coop replied. He paused before adding, "Although I'm two for two, so far."

"You're from the future?" Alice asked, staring at Larry in surprise.

"That would be correct," Larry answered, puffing out his chest piece.

"Though he's not nearly as cool as Megas," Coop piped in.

"Excuse you!?" Larry sputtered. "Are we having this discussion again?"

"I'm just saying, dude," the hefty man responded with a shrug. "You're also from the future, but Megas is easily 10,000 times cooler than you." He was trying to make it sound like what he was saying was absolutely logical.

"I am not having this again!" Larry shouted, throwing his hands up. "We will not discuss this!"

Jamie opened his mouth, perhaps to say something in retaliation, but the future bot raised a digit at the man.

"Shut it, Jamie!" Larry snapped.

"Hold on. What the heck is Time Squad?" Junior questioned.

"Time Squad is a task force designed to ensure history is maintained and the future protected. You see, time is like a rope. It is our job as Time Squad officers to ensure that this rope does not unravel," Larry explained.

"So if you're here, something went wrong?" Suzy guessed.

"Correct," Larry answered. "I detected an anomaly in this time period, and was dispatched to handle it. Unfortunately, things went wrong. My timepod malfunctioned, and I arrived in this backwaters time period in pieces. Furthermore, I've been separated from my partner, Officer Buck Tuddrussel, and have been unable to re-establish communication with him."

"And so he's been here slouching off," Jamie remarked sarcastically.

"I am here to fix the historical inaccuracy," Larry explained, and he threw a glare over his shoulder at Kiva. "And to deal with temporal criminals."

"For the last time! I wasn't trying to go this far back in time. I was going back two years!"

"You're a time traveler?" Suzy gasped, her eyes brightening in excitement.

Kiva sighed tiredly, rubbing at the spot between her eyebrows.

"Can we please focus?" Kiva asked in exasperation. "There are actual more important things going on than me going to the wrong time period."

"While the statement is true, don't think that your actions will be overlooked. Once I complete my assignment and return to my time period, I will return to have you arrested," Larry argued with her.

"Excuse me?" Alice spoke up, getting the attention of everyone present. She was a little proud of herself that she didn't wilt under the attention. Maybe that was because she had something important on her mind. "What are you referring to as a historical inaccuracy?"

"This invasion," Larry answered, waving his arm outward in an arch. "Records indicate an alien invasion wasn't to take place until the year 3012." Kiva tensed at the mention of the year, but it went unnoticed by everyone except Coop and Jamie, who gave Kiva a look. "Somehow, this timetable has been sped up."

"You're saying Fuse isn't supposed to be here?" Junior questioned.

"Among others," Larry said, not even making an attempt to be subtle when he glanced over his shoulder at Kiva. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, challenging him. He turned back to the kids.

"How did this happen?" Suzy asked, looking and sounding curious.

"We clearly have a war on our hands," Junior added snidely.

"Hush your tone, young man," Larry responded sharply. "I am still working on that."

"You mean you don't know?" Junior demanded incredulously. "Wasn't that the point of you being here?"

"What did I just say about your tone? Honestly, you could learn some manners, young man," Larry lectured. "And if I already knew what caused this, I wouldn't still be here, now would I?"

"Don't lie to the kids. You're still here because your time pod is busted," Jamie corrected.

Larry spun around and pointed at Jamie, looking so angry Alice thought she saw steam coming from out of his circuits. For his part, the beanie-wearing man didn't look disturbed.

"Not another word out of you!"

"I'm just saying," Jamie defended himself, raising his arms up in a surrender position.

"Don't worry, dude, we'll get it working before you know it," Coop added in.

Larry released a tired sigh, indicating that this was probably a topic of discussion on numerous occasions.

"Can we help?" Alice spoke up, getting Larry's attention.

"With this? No. I am afraid I will have to rely on Mister Cooplowski's assistance on my time pod," Larry answered, his tone less harsh. "However, I require my communicator. On top of getting in contact with my team, I would be able to figure out where exactly these creatures were supposed to be. Last I recall, this Fuse fellow was supposed to be on the other side of the universe. My communicator is still in my time pod, but some monsters have been hanging around getting their grubby hands on it. If you can retrieve it for me, I'd be grateful."

"Sounds easy enough," Suzy remarked, looking at her team to gauge their reactions. Alice and Junior nodded in agreement, although Junior's was a little more reluctant. "Which way is the time pod?"

"Inside the infected zone," Larry answered.

"I found him near Megas," Coop supplied further.

"Perfect," Suzy chirped with a clap of her hands. "We'll get your communicator no problem."

"Welp. This is a problem," Suzy commented.

The group had ventured through the infected zone, removing whatever threat passed them. They came upon Larry's time pod, and searched it for the communicator. Larry had given them a basic description of what it looked like, but they found nothing matching the description in the time pod.

"A monster probably swiped it," Junior contributed.

"But which one?" Alice asked, looking around her.

The time pod was a rock's throw away from Megas, and Scrap Tyrants and Scrap Scrappers were patrolling close by to the wreckage. It could have been any of them.

"We'll just have to take them all down until we find it," Suzy remarked, bringing out her Camp Oar. "I'll look to the south. Junior, take the east. Alice, go north."

Junior and Alice nodded at the orders. Alice moved northward, encountering a Scrap Scrapper almost immediately. She felled it, but it didn't have the communicator. She repeated this process twelve more times, all of them coming up empty handed. She was starting to have flashbacks to the earbugs, wondering why she had such terrible luck with items dropping from monsters. The thirteenth monster she encountered, however, was the winner. She sent an energy blast through its chest, dropping the monster into a pile of Fusion Matter. Falling to the ground was an item that was the exact description of Larry's communicator. She picked it up and placed it in her NanoCom before informing her teammates she'd found it.

"Great job!" Suzy congratulated her teammate when they regrouped by the S.A.C.T. agent. "I was starting to worry someone else came in here and found it, mistaking it for something else. Larry's going to be so thrilled when he sees it."

"Do you trust him?" Junior asked, looking contemplative.

"What do you mean?" Suzy asked.

"About the future. About Fuse not even supposed to be here," Junior elaborated.

Suzy shrugged. "I don't know why he'd lie about it. If you think it's too fantastical, I'll have to remind you that our world has encountered far more fantastical things than time travel."

"Yeah, I know," Junior said flatly. "It's just...the thought that this wasn't even supposed to happen just doesn't sit well with me."

Suzy looked at him and nodded in agreement.

"I know, but we don't get the luxury of thinking about 'what ifs'. Fuse is here, and we have to deal with that. We'll leave figuring out where things went wrong to Larry," Suzy explained.

Junior nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course," Suzy grinned. "Now come on. Let's get this back to Larry and go to the Cul-de-Sac. I heard the Urban Rangers got a new shipment of ice cream from the Kids Next Door!"

They exited the infected zone, appearing back in the clearing in front of Coop's trailer. Coop, Kiva, and Jamie were missing. Larry was standing next to the warp pad, almost like he was waiting for them.

"All done, Larry!" Suzy told him, stepping off the warp pad.

Alice stepped off and handed the communicator to the robot.

"Oh, wonderful work!"

"Some monsters had it, but Alice here found it for you," Suzy explained.

"Oh? How did you obtain it?"

"We destroyed them," Junior responded.

"...I see," Larry said curtly, somehow looking disturbed despite being a robot.

"So where's the others?" Junior asked. "Did you arrest them?"

"Ha-ha," Larry sarcastically said, turning his communicator on. "You must be a relative of Tuddrussell's. No, Coop and Jamie are inside playing some barbaric game. Kiva Andru departed to some place called Tech Square for reasons unknown to me."

The kids all shared a quick look with each other, but kept quiet about it. If they had to guess, she was probably going to ask Dexter, a leading mind on robotics, about how to shut Larry up. Larry didn't notice their looks, too busy fiddling with his communicator. It was on, but it was showing that there was a time anomaly right next to him, which wasn't possible. Kiva had left shortly after the kids went into the infected zone, Megas was stuck in said infected zone, and the Fusion Monsters were not as close to him as his communicator was indicating.

Seeing that they were being ignored by the future robot, the three kids decided it was a good time to leave.

"Well, we'll be off. Good luck with the time fixing!" Suzy said in departing, heading off.

Larry released a distracted sound, not acknowledging their departure. He was busy trying to fix his communicator, which was indicating that the anomaly was on the move. Deciding that his communicator was simply on the fritz, he gave it a good thwack, and the unknown anomaly disappeared.

"There we are," Larry purred, pleased that the problem had been fixed. "I'll have to give this a thorough diagnostic later before I try to get in contact with Tuddrussell."

Suzy, Junior, and Alice were in the Cul-de-Sac, sitting in the shade of a tree, having ice cream. The Cul-de-Sac was busy with fighters running around, purchasing new armor and weapons. Urban Rangers were moving about, restocking supplies or purchasing food from Mung Daal's Catering Stand. It was strange watching everyone moving around with so much energy, but all Alice wanted to do was take a nap. Granted, their day had been long.

"Soooo, I've been thinking," Suzy said out of the blue, drawing her teammates' attention. "I think we should head into the Wilds."

"The Wilds?" Junior parroted in confusion. "Why?"

"I think we've done all we can for the Suburbs. The number of Fusion Monsters here is dramatically lower than in other areas. Plus, the Wilds has seen an increase in Fusion Monster activity," Suzy explained. "I just think it's a good time for us to move onward."

"I guess that makes sense," Junior mused.

"Alice?" Suzy asked.

Alice didn't answer immediately. Aside from travelling to her aunt and uncle's house, she hadn't spent a lot of time in the Wilds. Like the Darklands, it was regarded as unruly and dangerous. However, Suzy was right. They couldn't stay in the Suburbs forever.

"Okay," Alice agreed. "Let's do it."

"Alrighty! Team Super Stars, let's meet up at the outskirts tomorrow morning," Suzy declared. She hopped up to her feet and pumped her fist in the air. "To the Wilds and beyond!"

Chapter Text

Suzy breathed in deeply through her nose, taking in the fresh, pine smell of the trees that populated Prickly Pines. The thick forest situated at the end of Wilson Way had been spared the brunt of Fuse's influence. While monsters ran around the forest, there were too many hotspots of Fusion Matter. The forest's canopy proved thick enough to have protected the ground from Fuse's invasion. Certain pockets of the forest had a Terrafuser, but the part of the forest Suzy and her compatriots were walking through was safe from the poisonous effect of the Fusion Matter. The redhead girl turned her head over her shoulder, flashing her friends a bright smile.

"I love the pine scent smell," Suzy breathed out in a sigh. "It never fails to put me in a good mood."

"If this puts you in a good mood, then what exactly puts you in a bad mood?" Junior questioned sarcastically.

Suzy hummed, placing a finger to her chin like she was actually giving the question some serious thought. Alice smiled at the action; she knew Suzy was smart enough to see he was messing with her, but the redhead liked to play along.

"When Aunt Katie's Farm was cancelled," Suzy answered with grave seriousness.

"That was four years ago!"

"I still wear the wound on my heart," Suzy continued with mock graveness, placing a hand over her heart just to further the act.

Junior rolled his eyes, but Alice could see the edges of his lips twitching in an attempt to keep them from spreading into a smile.

It was a beautiful day to be walking the dirt path through Prickly Pines. Taking a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. into Mount Blackhead would have been easy, but the day was just too nice to pass up being outdoors. Plus, Suzy wanted to check on Camp Kidney, which was their destination.

"Hey, Suzy, isn't Camp Kidney a summer camp?" Junior asked.

"It is," Suzy answered. "But considering what's been happening, Commander Hoo-Ha opened up Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats for the campers to stay at."

"How do you know this?" Junior asked.

Suzy sent the half-demon a Cheshire grin. "I told you, I know everyone." The look he sent her in return had her giggling. "I'm friends with the majority of the Bean Scouts and Squirrel Scouts, and one of them happens to be Patsy. She's Commander Hoo-Ha's daughter."

"Is it safe for them to be at camp?" Alice asked in worry.

"So far, but I'd still like to check," Suzy responded. She perked up when she spotted the Camp Kidney sign appearing in front of them. "And what good timing! We're here."

Alice would pass by Camp Kidney and its sister location, Acorn Flats, when she and her mother would go to Nowhere to visit her aunt. The camp's entrance was denoted by the large sign that sat to the left of the dirt path that continued on through Prickly Pines and to Acorn Flats. The camp was nestled up against Leaky Lake, which was the separating body of water between the two camps. Unfortunately, even from the park sign, the three friends could see the infected zone barrier set up around the water body.

The camp had blue cabins in a u-shape formation, just as Alice remembered when she'd go by the camp. For the most part, despite being right up against an infected zone, the property had a sparce amount of Fusion Matter littering the ground; no infection could be seen on any of the buildings.

There were some new additions to the camp. A S.A.C.T. tent was erected in the middle of the camp. She couldn't see any S.A.C.T. agents wandering the place, but she did catch some Monkey Skyway Agents playing a game at the tent. They were the only living bodies moving around; for a camp that was supposed to be in operation, Alice couldn't see any campers in sight. It was strange how empty the place was, especially since the place looked to be in one piece. Had they been run out by the Fusion Monsters and it was left abandoned to S.A.C.T. and the Skyway Agents?

"I don't like this," Junior announced, running his eyes over the empty camp.

"Let's go check it out," Suzy stated, passing under the archway.

Junior and Alice followed behind, each one keeping an eye out for a camper. During their search, the doors to the Mess Hall suddenly flung open, and a girl Alice recognized as May Kanker stalked out of it, holding a pot in both hands and what looked to be a book under her arm. She was in her typical clothing, but dirtier; although considering she was a Kanker, it was a little hard to tell if they were dirtier than usual.

"What's she doing here?" Junior whispered to his teammates.

"Dunno," Suzy answered back, her brows coming together as she studied the unkempt blonde. Then, much louder, she called out, "May!"

The Kanker stopped at the call, looking quizzically in Suzy's direction. As the group approached May, her confused look dipped into one of annoyance.

"What do you want?" the girl demanded in an irritated tone. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"With what?" Junior questioned, looking quizzically at the pot.

"It's none of your business!" she snapped, pulling the pot closer to her body.

Her movement caused the book under her arm shifted and fell from her grasp. May released a gasp, but Alice stopped it from hitting the ground. She had her hand out, using her telekinesis to keep the book in the air. She lifted the book upward, and studied it for a moment. Alice didn't know the Kankers very well, but she had always been under the assumption that they weren't the most avid-readers in the world. But the book Alice was staring at was ancient. Runes were stitched into the spine of the book, and its cover was faded and worn. The most surprising thing was that Alice felt something powerful hidden away in the pages.

"May," Alice began, looking up from the book to the girl. "What-"

"It's none of your business, freak!" May practically shrieked. She balanced the pot of water on her hip and swiped the book out of Alice's hands. "Why don't you leave me alone?!"

The girl stormed off past the group, practically pushing them out of her way as she hightailed it for a cabin that had a sign reading "Jumping" hanging over the doorway. She threw open the cheap door and slammed it behind her so loudly that Alice thought she saw the trees sway from the force. The group of three looked at the cabin and then each other in surprise.

"Should we deal with that?" Junior asked.

Suzy thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. "It's May Kanker. Whatever she's cooking will probably blow up in her face."

Junior and Alice nodded in agreement, though the blue haired girl sent a weary look in the cabin's direction. She didn't feel right leaving the mystery book with a Kanker, but there was the reassurance that, of the sisters, it was May. The girl always seemed to have the worst luck of the three; maybe whatever she was planning would just be a dud.

They approached the S.A.C.T. tents, which still had no S.A.C.T. agents anywhere near it. Instead, Skyway Agents were hanging around playing a game, which was their typical M.O. whenever they weren't flying. The game they were playing was a card game based on the trading cards the Justice Friends did a year back. Junior and Alice hung back while Suzy, their social butterfly, approached the agents.

"Excuse me?" Suzy asked, interrupting their game. "We need some help."

"Looking for a ride?" one asked in a gruff voice.

"Nope. I'm actually looking for someone who goes here, or maybe even works here? Can you point me in their direction?" Suzy requested.

The Agent shrugged. "Whatever. The slug is over that way." He pointed in the direction behind Suzy.

The Skyway Agent was pointing at a two-story building, next to the tallest tower in the camp. Suzy smiled brightly at Mojo's troops and turned back to her friends. She jerked her head to the building, and then led the way. When the party of three arrived, Suzy knocked on the door, receiving no answer.

"Hmm," Suzy hummed. "Guess we're going in."

"Should we?" Alice asked in worry.

"I'm for it." Junior threw in his vote.

The boy approached the door and turned the handle, finding it unlocked. With a gentle push, the door opened inward. He nodded to his two teammates and entered the building first. Suzy and Alice filed in after him, Alice closing the door behind her because she had been raised with manners.

"Hear anything?" Suzy asked their half-demon.

He nodded. "This way."

The boy led the girls through the building, bringing them to another door. From behind the door, they could hear a conversation being had. Without consulting his teammates, Junior put his hand on the handle and pushed the door open. It was unlocked as well, and opened without resistance.

"Hey, we're looking-" Junior stopped mid-sentence, taking in a good look at who the occupants in the room were. With a sigh, he covered his eyes with his left hand. "Why are you here?"

In the room, sitting behind the desk was a two-legged banana slug. He was wearing a brown uniform and a little hat on his head, between his eye stocks. The other occupant in the room was the D-list villain, Toiletnator. Both occupants of the room looked to the intruders in surprise. The surprise wore off quickly for the slug and he ran his hand over his eyes. When he removed his hand, Alice caught how tired the slug looked. Suzy must have caught it, too, because she moved around Junior and entered the room. She crossed the space between the door and the desk, and stood directly in front of the tired slug.

"You work here, right?" she asked.

"Are you ignori-"

"Shut it, Toilet," Junior grounded out, coming to stand next to Suzy. "We're not here for you."

Toiletnator deflated at the remark, looking pathetic. Alice did feel a pang of sympathy for the guy, but she didn't dare approach him. D-list villain or not, he was still a villain and Alice wanted to deal with him carefully.

"Yes, I work here," the slug answered. "I'm-"

"Mister Slinkman," Suzy supplied, grinning when she saw the surprise in his eyes. "Lazlo mentions you a lot."

The name seemed to spark some fire in Slinkman, because the slug sat up straighter in the chair.

"You know Lazlo? Have you heard from him?" the slug questioned.

"No, not recently," Suzy answered. "It's why I came up this way. I wanted to check on him and the other Bean Scouts."

"Oh."

Slinkman slumped back into the chair with a heavy-hearted sigh. He dropped his head to the desk, bringing his hands to the back of his scalp. Junior, Suzy, and Alice shared equal looks of concern and confusion before refocusing their gaze on the banana slug.

"Mister Slinkman, is everything okay?" Suzy asked.

"No." Slinkman's response was muffled into the desk.

"Did something happen?" Junior further prompted.

"Some campers are missing," Toiletnator spoke up, getting the kids' attention. "They disappeared two days ago. Plus, my toilet paper supply is-"

"Not a priority right now," Slinkman interrupted, lifting his head from the desk. He swiveled his eye stocks in Toiletnator's direction and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "The campers are more important than paper."

"Who is missing?" Alice asked.

"The Jelly Beans," Slinkman answered, sighing at the end.

Suzy's eyes widened considerably, and a surprised gasp escaped her. Alice and Junior looked at her in concern.

"What happened?" Suzy asked.

"We don't know," Slinkman answered, his eye stocks drooping to fit his mood. "They just suddenly disappeared. Some of our other campers said they spotted a green-skinned woman leading them away into the forest, but the account differs between the campers." He put a hand to his head, giving it a rub to stave off a headache. "Jane Doe called just moments earlier saying that one of her Squirrel Scouts disappeared, too."

"Patsy," Suzy whispered.

Slinkman looked surprised that she knew the camper, but shook his head. It honestly didn't matter. "Yes. Unfortunately, no one can get in contact with her either."

Suzy's lips pursed in thought. She looked to Alice and Junior, and it was a testament to how much they'd worked together that she didn't even have to say the question out loud. With just one look, the two knew what she wanted, and they both nodded back at her in agreement. Smiling in thanks, Suzy turned back to the assistant scoutmaster. She puffed out her chest and placed her fists on her hips.

"Very well," Suzy said with an air of seriousness. "We'll go look for them."

"What?" Slinkman asked in surprise, his eyes doubling in size.

"We'll go look for them," Suzy repeated.

"No way, this is too dangerous," Slinkman argued. "I can't have more kids-"

Suzy held up her green NanoCom. "We're fighters, so we're prepared."

"This green skinned lady is probably a Fusion," Alice spoke up.

"And we've had experience with Fusions," Junior contributed. "If you want to find those missing campers, we're your best option."

Slinkman didn't give an immediate response. He stared at the three preteens, clearly weighing his options. Finally, his shoulders slumped and his eye stocks drooped a little.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But be careful. You have to report to me when you find them."

"Naturally," Suzy said with a bright smile on her face. "I'm going to try getting in touch with Patsy's friends. Gretchen or Nina has to know something about her."

The redhead stepped out of the room, already making the call on her NanoCom. Alice turned from the closed door to look at Slinkman, who was slumped in the chair.

"Sooo, since this matter is being handled, what about my-"

"No, Toiletnator," Junior snapped, leveling a glare. "We're not here for you."

"Awwwh," Toiletnator whined, slumping over.

"Come on, Alice," Junior said, turning and heading for the door. "Let's go see what Suzy has."

Alice nodded, following behind her friend. She stopped at the doorway, turning back to look at the slug sitting behind the desk. She smiled at him, hoping that it would provide some comfort, and then left, exiting out to the outdoors. Suzy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, placing away her NanoCom. She turned her head to her two friends, both of whom were still standing by the front door.

"Nina spoke to Patsy an hour ago. She's followed the Fusion's trail up to Mount Blackhead," Suzy reported to the two.

"So we're heading up that way?" Junior asked.

Suzy nodded. "There's an outpost there. We'll gather some information and see if we can't find her."

"What if she isn't there?" Alice asked.

"It's a gamble," Suzy admitted. "But it's all we have at the moment."

"We'll figure it out when we get there," Junior cut in. "First, let's get there before we start forming all these plans."

It was surprising how dramatically the forest changed after the group left Camp Kidney. While Prickly Pines had looked fine up to Camp Kidney, showing almost no signs of Fuse's influence outside of the roaming monsters, the forest past Camp Kidney looked sickly, with many of the trees having Fusion Matter mingled into their bark. What were once perfectly straight trees were now bending and curving in unnatural ways due to the Fusion Matter's influence. Small groups of tree were spread out farther from each other, leaving a lot of open land. It made it harder for Fusion Monsters to sneak up on the team. Even with the barrier around Leaky Lake, the team could see that the entire lake was covered in Fusion Matter, which was the probable cause for the local flora's infestation. Acorn Flats was in operation like Camp Kidney (there were even some Squirrel Scouts mingling outside, unlike the Bean Scouts who were hiding out in their cabins), and even as they passed by the camp, Alice could see it was spared from Fusion Matter influence as well. A few Slime Serpents were slithering the camp's outskirts, but the Squirrel Scouts were easily fending them off, so the group passed by without stopping.

"Did you go to Acorn Flats?" Junior asked the redhead as they continued on the trail to Mount Blackhead.

"No," Suzy answered. "Why?"

"You know the campers to both places," Junior answered. "Just wondering how."

"As a Buttercup Scout, I've mingled with the Bean Scouts and the Squirrel Scouts," the girl replied.

Junior crossed his arms with a sigh. "Yeah, I should have figured it'd be that."

"Suzy, what will be at Mount Blackhead?" Alice asked.

"You haven't seen it yet?" Suzy asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Alice shook her head in the negative.

"Haven't seen what's out here, either," Junior added.

"Well, shortly after the war started, the KND came out this way and set up a Jungle Outpost, which, full disclosure, you two are going to be blown away when you see it," Suzy remarked, spinning around so that she was walking backwards. "It's as cool as the Cul-de-Sac fortress. It became a safe haven for travelers."

"Is it sturdy?" Junior asked.

"Mhm," Suzy agreed.

"Good, 'cause it's under attack."

Suzy spun around, eyes falling on the Jungle Outpost ahead of them. The outpost on a hill, protected by wooden logs like the Cul-de-Sac was protected by wooden boxes, was under attack by oversized trees. The Ghoulish Growths were banging their wooden fists against the outpost's defense structure, attempting to break it down. KND operatives were standing at the top, firing down shots to keep the enemy out of the outpost. The entire scene caused Alice to have flashbacks to the High Hydrant Hammer, but she shook it off. The three ran up the path to the outpost, preparing to fire at the Growths, but stopped when they noticed an extra body.

Hovering up over the horde of Ghoulish Growths was a green-skinned Bubbles. The Fusion Powerpuff was throwing its arms around, almost like it was directing the Growths on what to do. Based on the way the Ghoulish Growths were attacking the outpost's defenses, Alice guessed it was doing that.

"Looks like we found our Fusion," Junior remarked.

"Let's take it down," Suzy ordered.

Alice raised her hand upward, and fired the first shot at the Fusion Bubbles. It hit the Fusion in the back, right between the shoulder blades. The Fusion spun around with a hiss, spotting the three friends on the ground. Suzy fired off a shot from her Crayon Cannon and Junior shot his tentacles at her, but the Fusion deftly dodged their attacks. Growling in annoyance, the Fusion jettisoned away from the scene, heading to the left of the outpost.

"Follow that Fusion!" Suzy ordered, taking off running after the Fusion.

Junior joined her in running, but Alice's eyes turned to the Ghoulish Growths still attacking the outpost.

"But the outpost-"

"Will be taken care of by the KND!" Suzy answered back, turning her head over her shoulder just long enough for Alice to hear her. "We need to stop the Fusion!"

Although conflicted on leaving the outpost, Alice took to the air, following and passing over her friends. She wasn't as fast as the Fusion, but she made it in time to see the Fusion entering the infected zone. She waited for her teammates before entering the infected zone. The Fusion Portal was easy to spot, being situated on a tiny hill that was only a few feet away from the Dexbot pad. The problem was that the ground between the pad and the portal was covered in Fusion Matter, poisoning the ground (ironically, the patch of land the portal was situated on was spared from Fusion Matter poisoning). Alice flew over the infected ground easily, and Suzy and Junior used the floating pieces of wood to land on the other side. As a group, they entered the Fusion Portal, and reappeared underground.

"You think the Fusions all have the same interior decorator?" Junior asked, giving the area they appeared in a look around.

"I was starting to think the Fusion Portals all go to the same lair, but the Fusions have a time table on when they get to use it," Suzy joked back, waving her hand over her NanoCom. Nano Raj appeared, hovering next to her. "Alright Nano Raj, do your stuff!"

"You got it," the nano-sized elephant said. "Mappy!"

"Mappy?" Junior asked in a deadpan tone of voice.

"Shush," Suzy snapped at the boy, lifting her NanoCom up closer to her face. "I'm tracking Fusion Monsters with Nano Raj's radar power."

"You can see where they are?" Alice asked, leaning forward so she could look.

"And how many, but only within a certain amount of feet," Suzy responded. "Looks like there's two just around this corner. C'mon, let's go pay them a visit."

She led the three around the corner, where they were able to surprise the two monsters - which turned out to be Ghoulish Growths - without taking a hit from the enemy. They continued inward, finding that the Growths were teaming up. At first, they were travelling in pairs, but as the team continued inward, they were finding that the growths were quadrupling up.

"Is it me, or are there more monsters down here than we've encountered?" Junior asked, wiping his brow of the sweat build up.

Alice looked behind them in the direction they'd come from, frowning when she sensed something coming their way. Suzy was studying her NanoCom, frowning in displeasure.

"You're right. I've got some of the ones we beat coming back this way," Suzy announced. She glanced up from her NanoCom, looking grim. "They've regenerated."

Junior cursed, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright, you to go ahead," Junior decided.

Alice and Suzy looked at the boy in surprise.

"We don't have time to discuss this. It'd be stupid to bring all these monsters with us when we find the Bean Scouts. I'll handle them and follow up behind you. I'll meet you at the postal," the boy argued. He spun around when he heard the Ghoulish Growths approaching, spotting them advancing forward. "Get moving!"

"He's right," Suzy agreed, grabbing Alice's wrist. "Let's go."

Alice allowed Suzy to pull her along the path, glancing back briefly to check on Junior's progress. He seemed to have the situation handled, although five Ghoulish Growths was an awful lot to deal with.

The girls' pathway was not met with much resistance; it seemed the majority of the Growths had been concentrated at the start of the lair, and thinned out as the girls progressed. According to Nano Raj's Mappy power, there were only three or so monsters along their way. The girls turned a corner and found two of the Growths standing guard at an alcove with a cage situated between the two. Inside the cage the girls could make out four shapes.

"Suzy, do you think...?" Alice asked in a hushed tone of voice.

Suzy nodded. Quietly, the girls dispatched of the two Growths and approached the vines. Behind the vines were Fusion Bubbles' prisoners. Suzy approached the cell, grabbing onto the bars of the prison.

"Lazlo, Raj, Clam, Patsy!" Suzy called, relief coloring her tone. "Are you four okay?"

"We're fine!" Lazlo declared cheerily, despite the fact that he was captured. "But this little squirrel isn't."

Alice and Suzy looked to the squirrel Lazlo was pointing at, and they found an obviously injured squirrel resting on Patsy's lap. The pink haired mongoose was softly petting the creature's fur, attempting to provide it comfort. Alice couldn't figure out why she recognized the squirrel, but she didn't want to waste time asking about it. That wasn't what was important at the moment. Pulling out her NanoCom, Alice sent off a text message to Junior, to see how he was doing. He replied back quickly, informing her that he'd cleaned up the Growths and was on his way. Pulling her head up from the NanoCom, she looked to the left of her, where she sensed another entity just further downward. Frowning grimly, Alice looked to Suzy, who was searching for the lock.

"Suzy," Alice spoke up, getting her friend's attention. "I'm going to continue forward."

"Huh?" the redhead asked, spinning her head around to look at her friend.

"I'm going to find Fusion Bubbles," Alice clarified. "We have to fight it to leave, and to stop the attack on Mount Blackhead. We can't bring them along to the fight, because they may get hurt. Stay here and break them out. Junior is on his way, and you can send him to help me when he gets here."

Suzy stayed quiet for a moment, probably thinking over the plan, before giving a sharp nod.

"Be safe, okay?" Suzy asked.

Alice nodded, ascending up into the air. She flew through the rest of the lair in the direction she had sensed the powerful entity. The Fusion was in an open clearing, hovering off the ground like Fusion Boomer had back in Candy Cove. Alice ran her hand over her NanoCom, calling forth Nano Boomer.

"I'm going to hit it, and I want you to move in and hit it with your ability, okay?" Alice informed the Nano. "We're going to try and get it off-balanced."

Her Nano saluted. "Got it! Let's do this!"

Alice nodded in agreement with her Nano, and turned her focus to the Fusion. Cupping her hands together, aimed straight at her opponent, Alice fired off an energy beam at the Fusion, which hit it at the base of the neck. The Fusion stumbled from the surprised hit, and so it didn't see Nano Boomer rushing forward. Using his Batter Up! ability, he slapped it in the head with a conjured-up baseball bat. The Fusion reared back, but recovered quickly. It pulled itself together and flung out an arm to grab the Nano. Nano Boomer flew backwards, trying to avoid getting caught. Just when it seemed like Fusion Bubbles would get its hands on him, a small energy shield appeared, separating the two.

The Fusion spun its head around, seeking out Alice. When it spotted the blue-haired girl hovering in the air, the Fusion Powerpuff flung globs of Fusion Matter at the girl. Alice threw up a shield to protect herself from the hits. Growling, the Fusion rocketed forward, straight for the alien. It only took three hits for the Fusion to break through the force shield. The Fusion reached out and wrapped its green hands around Alice's neck. It was a move Alice remembered from her solo fight with Fusion Boomer, but instead of lifting the alien up into the air, Fusion Bubbles slammed Alice to the ground, pushing her in so that there was an Alice-sized crater in the dirt. As Fusion Bubbles pushed Alice into the ground, the Fusion tightened its hold on Alice's neck, cutting off air supply for the blue-haired girl.

Nano Boomer dashed across the clearing to get close to the fight. The outline of his body was glowing a faint blue color, and conjured his bat again, but it was doubled the size it normally was. He pulled back briefly and then he slammed it forward, hitting the Fusion at the base of its neck. It released a scream, and the hit was enough to distract her. It eased up its hold on Alice. Alice was able to get in a breath of air into her lungs, giving her the opportunity to think straight. She raised a hand and placed it at the Fusion's abdomen. She fired off an energy sphere, which had the Fusion falling backward and hitting the rocky wall behind it. Nano Boomer hovered by Alice's side, helping her get up into a sitting position.

Staring at her opponent head on, Alice raised up both of her hands. Two nearby rocks, just a little smaller than Alice's body, lifted from there spot along the cavern walls. She flung her arms forward, and the rocks sailed through the air, hitting the Fusion on either sides of it. Then, with the Fusion sandwiched between the two rocks, Alice began to move her arms inward, bringing them closer to one another. Similarly, the rocks began to move together too, crushing the Fusion. Fusion Bubbles made attempts to get out from the predicament, like hitting the rocks to crush them or to contaminate them, but nothing it did work. Alice was able to bring the two rocks together, crushing Fusion Bubbles into Fusion Matter. The Fusion Matter flew into Alice's NanoCom, and an object fell in the place the Fusion had once been.

Alice released her hold on the rocks, heaving a sigh of relief. Nano Boomer settled down on her shoulder, and she touched his head and smiled gratefully at him. After her momentary respite, she got back up onto her feet. She went over to investigate the dropped item, scooping up a doll, surprised to see that it was the super popular character, Octi. Despite being the formation for the Fusion, it didn't have any Fusion Matter residue on it. Deeming it safe, she placed it away in her NanoCom. She'd make it into a Nano at the earliest opportunity.

The sound of footsteps indicated that several people were coming her way, and since she couldn't sense them, she knew it was her friends. Spinning around to greet them, she watched as they approached her. All of them, except for the squirrel, seemed to be unharmed.

"Great job, Alice," Suzy congratulated the alien.

"Are you hurt?" Junior asked.

"It tried choking me, but I'm healing," Alice responded, bringing her fingers to the spot where Fusion Bubbles had been strangling her. The marks were already disappearing. "It dropped an item."

"A new Nano? Sweet!" Suzy cheered. "There's a station at the outpost. Let's get everyone there."

"With that Fusion down, we should be able to get in," Junior remarked.

"And we can get help for Bullet here," Patsy added in, pointing at the squirrel that was now being held by Lazlo. "She took some beatings when we were down here."

Bullet. That's how Alice recognized the squirrel. It was the only known creature to possess the same abilities as the Powerpuff Girls.

"She'll be okay," Suzy assured the campers. "Bullet's got a regeneration ability, which should be kicking in any time now. We'll still leave her with Numbuh Three to make sure she's being properly watched."

"Before we go, why are you four down here?" Junior asked the campers.

"Ask Lazlo," Raj stated, sounding a tad annoyed with the monkey.

"Well, I saw the green skinned girl near the cabins and wanted to see if she needed some help," Lazlo began telling the story.

"Which I told him was a bad idea!" Raj inputted.

"Clam follow," Clam added in unhelpfully.

"And eventually she led us all the way here and put us in that cage," Lazlo finished.

"And you?" Junior asked the Squirrel Scout.

"When I got word of their disappearance, I started searching. I found some tracks and followed them here. I was able to fight off the Ghoulish Growths that I encountered, but that Fusion was able to stop me and throw me in the cage," Patsy explained. "I was looking for a chance to break us out when you guys came in."

"And it's a good thing we got you all out and safe," Suzy stated, shining a bright smile on the campers. "Now let's get to the outpost."

The Ghoulish Growths were missing, so they had either left shortly after Fusion Bubbles' defeat or were turned to Fusion Matter goo. With the threat gone, the Jungle Outpost's gates were open. Two KND operatives waved their party through, giving the group respectful nods as they passed. Numbuhs Three and Four of Sector V and a brown-haired boy were standing next to the guard's tower, holding some sort of conversation that was cut off by the party's appearance.

"Suzy!" Numbuh Three cried, rushing forward and throwing her arms around Suzy's person.

Suzy returned the embrace with a bright smile. She pulled out of it a moment later.

"Hi, Kuki," Suzy greeted back. "Could we ask a favor?" She used her head to indicate to the injured squirrel held in Clam's arms. "Bullet here needs a checkup."

Numbuh Three gasped when her eyes landed on Bullet. She rushed forward and plucked the fallen squirrel into her arms. She cuddled the forest creature to her person, rocking it slightly like it was a baby.

"Oh, the poor thing. I'll take care of it right away!" Numbuh Three declared, turning and rushing back into the outpost.

"You all should come in, too," Numbuh Four pointed out. "It's safer in the outpost."

Numbuh Four led the party into the outpost, which was larger than Alice had anticipated. She had figured something on the scale of the cardboard fortress, but the Jungle Outpost blew it out of the water. A S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was up on a ramp to their immediate right, almost exactly like it was in the Cul-de-Sac. A group of Monkey Skyway Agents were to the left, participating in a Sumo Slammers game on their communicators. Trees populated the area, and simplistic tree houses were set up in the tree line, not at all fancy like the Kids Next Door were known for. Simple buildings with Kids Next Door operatives were spread out around the outpost, not unlike what could be seen in the Cul-de-Sac. In the very center of the outpost, different looking from all the other trees was a giant, purple tree with glowing green eyes and an oddly formed mouth.

As Numbuh Four was guiding the group to the purple tree, Alice spotted a familiar person running up to greet them. The sight of the tallest Ed boy had Alice staring at him in surprise.

"Greetings, subjects!" Ed declared joyfully. "As King of the Jungle, I tha-"

"Ed, please, we've been over this," the brown-haired boy practically begged. He was covering his face with a hand over his eyes.

"You're not the king of the outpost, mate," Numbuh Four grouched. "You're not even an operative."

Ed whined loudly. "Awwwh, but I wanted to thank my subjects for saving my kingdom."

While Numbuh Four was grumbling under his breath, giving Ed a side eye in annoyance, the brown-haired boy perked up like what Ed had said sparked a memory.

"Oh, right, we should properly thank you," the boy said. "If it wasn't for you, they would have gotten their hands on Coco."

"Coco?" Alice repeated as the name rattled around her head.

"Coco?" a bird shaped creature with the body of an airplane and the neck and feathers of a plant popped up in front of the group.

Alice stumbled back in surprise. Lazlo, who was following right behind her, was in danger of being stepped on, but Junior reached out and stabilized Alice. The creature didn't look perturbed that it had spooked Alice, and hopped around the group, getting in all their faces. The creature took an extra liking to Clam, who was given permission to sit on its back.

"Sorry about her," the boy apologized to Alice. "Coco's been under some stress since we've been here."

Alice looked from Coco to the boy, and the dots in her head finally made a connection.

"Mac?" she addressed the boy.

"Oh, have we met before?" Mac asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "Sorry, I don-"

"No, we haven't," Alice said with an accompanying shake of her head. "I heard about you from Frankie. She's been worried about you two."

The boy's face flushed into a pink color and he scratched at his cheek.

"O-oh, did she? I'll have to call her and let her know we're okay," Mac said. "It's just been so busy with all the monsters trying to get their hands on Coco."

"You mentioned that before. What exactly do you mean by it?" Junior asked.

"Is that why Fusion Bubbles was leading an army?" Suzy further inquired.

"Yeah," Mac answered. "For some time now, monsters have been trying to get into the fortress. The Kids Next Door have been able to push them back, but today was rough. If you guys hadn't stepped in and taken out Fusion Bubbles, they may have succeeded."

"Actually, it was Alice," Suzy stated, raising a hand to indicate the blue-haired girl. "She soloed the Fusion and got rid of it."

"Coco co co cocococo coco," Coco said, raising up one of her feet.

Alice looked at the foot of the Imaginary Friend, then the face of the Imaginary Friend, and then to Mac in confusion.

"She wants to thank you for keeping her safe," Mac supplied.

Alice nodded in understanding and took the foot offered to her, shaking it.

"Why would the monsters be after her?" Patsy asked, a hand resting on her chin as she narrowed her eyes to study the Friend. "No offense, but I don't see it."

"It is because of her ability to lay eggs," a deep voice declared.

Alice and the group swiveled their heads to find the source of the voice, which turned out to be the giant purple tree. The tree was staring at them, his eyes glowing especially bright.

"What is that?" Junior asked, not in surprise by confusion.

"That's the Magic Tree. Numbuh Three says it just sprang up here one day," Mac answered.

"Not one of ours," Numbuh Four confirmed. "Never had one so mouthy."

"I was put here by Gaia, the Spirit of the Earth, to assist the people of Earth in their fight against Fuse," the Magic Tree answered.

"He's super magical. His leaves were able to clear up the water supply next to the outpost when some Fusions contaminated it," Mac further elaborated. "He also seems to know everything."

"Really?" Junior challenged. At Mac's insistent nod, Junior turned to the tree. "Let's test it out then. You mentioned the bird thing can lay eggs, why does that interest Fuse?"

"Because they are imaginary eggs. He wants to use this ability to further his own goals," the Magic Tree answered. Then, his eyes glowed an even brighter green, completely washing out his pupils. "But she is not the only one he is after."

Alice visibly trembled at the statement for reasons she didn't know. Maybe it was the way the tree spoke the line. Maybe it was because of the implication behind it. Looking around, she found that the others, even Numbuh Four, all looked as disturbed as she felt. Raj even had his arms wrapped around himself, as if that would ward off the bad feelings.

"So spooky!" the elephant declared.

"I wonder who he was talking about?" Lazlo wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure, but it sounds like there's a new mystery."

Alice turned, locking eyes with the newest voice that had joined their group. Her eyes nearly doubled in size when she found herself face to face with the Mystery Inc. gang. Although they weren't super heroes like Ben or the Powerpuff Girls, their ability to solve mysteries that even stumped the police had made them legends in their own right.

"But like, Fred, don't we already have a mystery on our hands?" Shaggy asked.

"Raggy's right," their dog, Scooby-Doo, contributed, nodding his head. "Ralready on a rig rystery."

"I guess so," Fred relented, frowning a little at having to drop a new mystery.

"We could always come back to it once we're done with this one," Daphne added in a comforting tone of voice, patting the blond on his shoulder.

"You guys are on a mystery?" Suzy asked, her eyes lighting up the way they did when she was excited. "Can I ask what it is?"

"Sure, we were actually coming over to see if we could ask some questions," Fred answered in an amicable tone. "See, we're actually on a job for Gwen Tennyson."

"She's looking into a book known as the Book of Prophecy," Velma picked up explaining, pushing up her glasses so that they stayed on correctly. "It's said to be an ancient, powerful book that could help turn the tide in our favor."

"Unfortunately, it went missing," Daphne contributed. "Which is why we're looking for it."

"Yeah, I even called an old boss of mine, Miss Grimwood, to see if she had it. But like, no dice," Shaggy added in. "She hasn't seen that thing in a thousand years."

"We asked everyone here, but they haven't seen it either," Velma continued.

"Only clue was that it was possibly somewhere in the Wilds," Fred finished up.

"Not a lot to go on," Junior snarked.

"No ridding," Scooby agreed.

"Hey, Junior. If this thing is supposed to be ancient, do you think Grim would know where it is?" Suzy asked her male teammate. "He's had to have come across it at some point in his undead life, right?"

"I guess. I wouldn't know since I haven't seen him since this whole thing began. Billy says he went down to Orchid Bay for some reason," Junior replied.

"Wait, hold on man, you know the G-G-Grim Reaper?" Shaggy asked, his voice raising an octave. A visible shiver ran through his body.

"Yeah," Junior responded nonchalantly. "The novelty wears off pretty quickly."

"Hmm, so this Grim character may know where it's at?" Fred asked the bespectacled boy, seemingly unperturbed that the child was friends with the Grim Reaper.

"It's worth a shot," Junior answered. "I don't know if he'd have it, but he's gathered a lot of trinkets over the years. He may have collected it."

"Then it sounds like we're heading down to Orchid Bay to-"

"W-wait," Alice broke in, raising her hand as if she was back in school. All eyes fell on her. "I think... I think I've seen the book."

"You have?" the Mystery Inc gang asked.

Alice nodded. She dropped her arm and placed it across her chest, holding onto her other arm. "I don't know if it is the book, but earlier today, when we were in Camp Kidney, a girl named May -"

"NOT MAY KANKER!" Ed shouted loudly, his tone indicating his alarm.

"Shut it, mate!" Numbuh Four hissed, stepping on the big Ed's foot.

"Uhm... May had a book with her, and it looked ancient. There were runes on the spine and when I touched it...there was power in it. I could feel it," Alice finished explaining, flexing her hand to release her anxiety. "It might not be it-"

"Or it could be," Daphne cut in. Seeing how worried Alice looked, Daphne reached out and put a hand on the girl's left shoulder. "Thank you. This is the first lead we've got."

"Rah! Ranks a rot!" Scooby agreed, trotting over and giving her a lick on the cheek. "No Rim Reaper for rus!"

Alice lightly giggled at the feeling, since Courage liked to lick her face whenever he was happy to see her. The action helped relieve her anxiety, and her shoulders sagged in relief. Daphne smiled encouragingly at the girl, before removing her hand and turning back to her team.

"Let's get going," Velma announced. "The sooner we can get the book back to Gwen, the sooner we can use it against Fuse."

"Yeah, and maybe we won't get stuck in another seige," Shaggy agreed.

"Oh, since you guys are heading that way, could you do us a favor?" Suzy asked, stepping forward before the team could leave. She held out her hand to indicate at the Bean Scouts and Squirrel Scout. "These four need to be brought back to their camps. Mind taking them?"

"Not a problem," Fred answered with an easy-going smile. "There's plenty of room in the Mystery Machine."

Suzy smiled in thanks at the Mystery Inc. gang, and then turned to the scouts. Her smile turned into a strict look.

"Now no going off with Fusions again, got it?" Suzy warned the boys. "Mr. Slinkman can't handle this much stress."

"Ohh, we didn't mean to worry him," Lazlo lamented, his whole body wilting at the idea.

"Apologize when you get back to camp, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," the three Bean Scouts agreed, giving her a salute.

Suzy nodded in acknowledgement. She then gave each of them, and Patsy, a hug goodbye. The young scouts followed the Mystery Inc. gang - who waved goodbye to the group - to the Mystery Machine. Suzy watched them leave, only turning back to the group when she heard an engine sound throughout the outpost.

"Okay, now how about that new Nano?"

According to Mac, the Nano Station was behind the Magic Tree and to the left. Alice and her friends made their way to the Nano Station. When she arrived at the kiosk, she placed the Octi doll in the slot first, and then her NanoCom. She then imagined what a Nano Bubbles would be like, and the station began to operate. Nano Boomer, who had never seen the process before, hovered closer to the screen, watching as the green silhouette began to take form.

"It's a girl?" Nano Boomer complained, his voice raising in a whine.

"Weren't you there during the fight?" Junior asked the Nano, raising an eyebrow upward.

"Yeah, but I didn't know we'd be getting a girl Nano," the Nano complained, shrinking behind Alice's shoulder like it would shield him from the new Nano. "Is she going to be living in my house and getting her cooties all over it? I don't want girl cooties!"

Suzy released a merry laugh at the Nano's complaint, which caused the Nano to frown in her direction.

"It's not funny!" he cried, a grumpy look on his face. "Girls do too have cooties! And if their cooties spread, it'll cause lightning to strike and blow you apart!" Suzy laughed even harder and nearly doubled over. Nano Boomer pouted more in frustration at what he took for mockery. He looked to Junior, hoping for some assistance from a fellow boy. "Tell 'er!"

"Leave me out of this," Junior refused flatly.

Nano Boomer whined at Junior's refusal, draping himself over Alice's shoulder in misery. Alice pulled her attention away from the Nano Station and smiled in sympathy down at her Nano.

"It's alright, I'll make her a home of her own," Alice assured him. "But you will be neighbors, is that okay?"

The Nano grumbled a little in complaint. "So long as she doesn't touch my stuff."

Alice smiled at him, and then turned back to the station when she heard it chime. Instead of a Nano coming out of the slot, the screen indicated Nano Bubbles was in the NanoCom already since Nano Boomer was already in use. She pulled the NanoCom and began to get to work.

Alice copied Nano Boomer's house and placed the copy ten feet away from Nano Boomer's. Since she now had two Nanos with identical houses, she placed mailboxes in front of each Nanos' houses with their respective names on it. Nano Bubbles zipped into her new home, looking around it in excitement.

"See?" Alice asked her Nano next to her. "She has her own home."

The blond Nano stared intently at the NanoCom screen, and then whipped his head up to look at Alice.

"But it looks like mine!" he complained.

"Well... We could personalize it some more then," Alice suggested. Her Nano nodded his head at the suggestion, so she lifted her head to look at her teammates. "I'm sorry, this might take some time and-"

"Awh, don't apologize. It's not a problem since we don't have anywhere to go," Suzy assured her. "I can go and check in with Numbuh Three about Bullet. I'll let Bubbles know we found her. Oh, and I'll send word to Double-D about Ed."

"I'll go and check in with Numbuh Four," Junior inputted.

Alice smiled gratefully. The group left the Nano Station, with Suzy to check in with Numbuh Three and Junior to see Numbuh Four. Alice went to the fences lining up the pathway in the outpost and settled down on the fence beam, balancing herself on it before going back to her NanoCom. Nano Boomer sat on her lap, watching the work she was doing on the NanoCom.

She replaced the bed with a Sassy Cat bed frame, and added a Bunny Bunny sheet and comforter set to it. Sitting on the pillow was a Veronica Doll for Nano Bubbles to play with in her downtime, and a poster of Gabbity Abby was placed on the wall next to the bed. She placed a Pony Puff Princess lamp on the kitchen table, and Rainbow Monkey dishware in the cupboards. The T.V. was changed to a Darbie T.V. set, and she placed on Octi decal on the gaming consoles.

Nano Bubbles was thrilled with all the changes, and zipped around her new home with unrestrained glee. Alice smiled at her efforts, and looked down at Nano Boomer, who looked upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked in concern.

"Her house looks cool," he admitted grumpily. He spun around and gripped her dress, looking up at her with his lips twisted down in a frown. "But my house looks so boring now!"

Alice giggled a little and gave him a reassuring pet on his head. "It's okay. We can change that, too."

The little Nano's eyes widened in joy, his eyes lighting up like stars. She changed his bed frame to Tex from Dinobonoid and gave him a Sumo Slammers sheet and comforter set. Waiting for Nano Boomer on his new bed was an Action Hank action figure, and a poster of Mitch and Clem from Puppet Pals hung next to the bed. A lamp featuring a magician, woodsman, and paladin from Monsters & Mazes sat at the kitchen table, and Hokeymon dishware at in the cupboards. The T.V. became a Yipper T.V. set, and the game consoles had a Spore decal on them.

"How is this?" she asked.

"I love it," the Nano whispered reverently. He reached out and rested his two tiny hands on the screen, his eyes glued to it. "Send me back, coach."

Alice smiled at her Nano's answer, and returned him back into the NanoCom. From the screen, she watched as Nano Boomer flew through his updated home. Despite his earlier complaints of cooties, Nano Boomer allowed his fellow Nano into his home to show off all his new, cool items. Apparently, show off was more powerful than the fear of cooties.

The Party Wagon theme, which she had set as her Aunt Muriel's ringtone, began to play from the NanoCom. Alice touched on the talk button, and held the NanoCom up close to her mouth. Although her aunt and uncle did have a communicator, the elderly couple still relied on landlines, so there was no video chat option.

"Hi, Aunt Muriel," Alice greeted her aunt.

"Hello, dear!" Muriel returned. "I hope 'm not calling at a bad time for you, dear."

"You're not," Alice assured the woman. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, of course, dear," Muriel said to her niece. "Your uncle has been working on his truck. Courage has been spending his days up in the attic, doing who knows what."

Alice knew that the only thing up in the attic was the family's computer, which was smarter than many knew. Courage was a special dog, and knew how to operate the computer. But what he was doing on the computer was the real mystery.

"I was calling to see if you wanted to come and visit," Muriel continued. "It's been so long since I've seen you."

Alice frowned, feeling a surge of guilt rush through her. She kept in contact with Muriel as much as possible, but she hadn't made an attempt to see her since after her mother's funeral. Yes, circumstances made it difficult to do so, at first, but now that Alice could fly, visiting was much easier.

"I can come today," Alice proposed. "I've missed you, too."

"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Muriel gushed. "I can get your uncle to come and get you."

"No, that's okay. I'm in Mount Blackhead right now," Alice replied.

"Mount Blackhead? Why are you there?" her aunt asked, a chord of concern heard in her voice.

"I..." Alice hadn't told her aunt about her position in the war. She didn't want to have that sort of conversation over the phone. "I'll tell you when I get there. But I promise, I'll be okay."

"Well," her aunt drawled, debating on whether she was okay with it or not. "If you're sure."

"I am," Alice responded. She then remembered that she wasn't alone. "Uhm... would it be alright if I brought some friends?"

"Friends?" Muriel's voice brightened up considerably. "Of course, dear! I'll make some confectionaries for them. They'll be ready when you get here."

"Thank you, Aunt Muriel," the preteen said, a small smile crossing her lips. "I'll see you soon."

"I love you," Muriel said as her parting words.

"I love you, too."

Alice placed her NanoCom back on her hip, and hopped off the fence. She needed to find her friends and let them know.

"I don't think I've ever been to Nowhere before," Suzy said, making conversation. "I can't wait to see what it's like."

"You've never been here before?" Junior asked skeptically. "And here I was under the assumption you'd been everywhere."

"Well," Suzy drawled. "You know what they say about people who assume."

Junior sent an annoyed glare at Suzy, and the girl grinned in response. A small smile lit up Alice's face, but it wasn't because of the conversation. The group was currently leaving Devil's Bluff and entering Devil's Canyon, although it was actually hard to tell where one ended and one began considering how the environment was still the same. Alice had found each of her friends and explained the call with her aunt, and both didn't hesitate to agree. So, they were on their way to her aunt and uncle's house. The thought of bringing her friends to her family's house filled her with giddiness since she'd never done it before. It was a new experience, and Alice was excited to enjoy it.

They were probably halfway through the land when Alice felt her hair stand at attention. She stopped and whipped her head around left to right, seeking out the enemy. Suzy and Junior stopped immediately, taking one look at her before they also began looking around. Suzy was just about to wave her hand over her NanoCom when a Fusion Matter glob fell from the sky, hitting the redhead on the shoulder. The girl released a cry from the pain, raising a hand to the injury. Alice raised her hand, about to raise an energy dome, but more Fusion Matter globs fell from the sky, some missing and others striking. Alice ignored the pain that came to her whenever the globs of Fusion Matter hit her, turning her focus to Suzy. The redhead was on her knees, holding onto her injured shoulder. Junior was next to her, using his tentacles to bat away the Fusion Matter he could. By the way he was flinching, Alice could tell the hits were landing more than they were missing. The alien girl raised her hands upward and erected an energy dome to cover them, protecting them from further onslaught.

In the reprieve, Alice glanced over at her two teammates to check on their status. Junior was still on his feet, but he was hunched over. His tentacles were swaying through the air, and Alice could catch burn marks littering the appendages. Suzy's injured shoulder was easy to spot, but she was moving to her feet, calling upon her Crayon Cannon.

"Are you okay, Suzy?" Alice asked in concern.

"I'll be okay," Suzy answered. "It stings more than it burns. We need to get out of here and back to Mount Blackhead."

"That's going to be a problem," Junior announced, jerking his head skyward.

Alice looked upward. Scurrying down the walls of the canyon was a legion of Talon Titans. The first wave was spitting Fusion Matter balls in their direction, attempting to break the dome.

"Can you sneak us out of here, Suzy?" Junior asked his teammate, already calling Nano Megas out of the NanoCom.

"Not with this many here, no," Suzy answered, her voice as grim as the look on her face.

"Alright, so we're battling our way out of here," Junior told his teammates. "Are you ready, Alice?"

Alice nodding, calling on Nano Bubbles from her NanoCom. The Powerpuff Nano took one look at the situation and flew forward, putting herself at the edge of the energy dome.

"I'm ready!" Nano Bubbles hollered back, dropping into a stance.

Alice dropped her dome, tensing up when she saw the Talon Titans rush forward with new vigor. Nano Bubbles sucked in air through her mouth, her little chest expanding with the amount of air she was pulling in. Then, when she reached her capacity, she blew out the air directly at the advancing Titans. The released air spiraled into a funnel-shape, and when it reached the first batch of Talon Titans, it swirled them around in the air, pushing them away from the group.

"Hehe," Nano Bubbles giggled, placing her hands on her hips. "No one can run from my Tornado Trap."

"Keep it up, Nano Bubbles," Alice encouraged.

The newest Nano gave Alice a grin, and then turned back around, sending another Tornado Trap on a group of oncoming Talon Titans.

"Alice, behind you!" Junior called out.

Alice spun around, spotting three Talon Titans upon her. They were reared back, ready to strike her with their legs, but they collapsed to the ground unexpectedly. Glancing to her side, she found Nano Megas hovering next to her.

"Thank you," she said to the Nano.

The Nano gave her a thumbs up, and then zipped away, probably returning to Junior. She turned back to the sleeping Titans. Raising her hand, she charged up an energy beam and fired it at the sleeping monsters, cutting them in half with the energy beam. Alice's moment to breathe was interrupted by a glob of Fusion Matter connecting with her right elbow. Alice's good hand immediately latched onto the injury, momentarily closing her eyes as the pain rushed through her. Adrenaline kicked in and helped her power through it. Looking up, she found a herd of Talon Titans rushing her way, sending off globs of Fusion Matter her way.

"Nano Bubbles!" Alice called, raising a shield to protect herself from the globs.

Her Nano hurried to her side, using her Tornado Trap on the oncoming herd. The herd was caught in the tornado Nano Bubbles called upon, but more were still coming, having moved out of the way. Alice was about to have Nano Bubbles do it again, but she paused when she saw the way her Nano was huffing in air. The newest Nano was hunched over, her shoulders raising and falling in time with the large gulps of air that she was taking in. Nano Bubbles was tired, and couldn't keep going on.

"Thank you for your help," Alice told her Nano, running a hand over her NanoCom. "Please, get some rest."

Nano Bubbles returned to the NanoCom, and Nano Boomer took her place. The Nano stretched, giving a quick scan of the area. When it became clear he was brought in to the middle of a battle, a smirk formed across Nano Boomer's face.

"Let's do this," he said.

He raced forward, forming a bat when he got close to a Talon Titan. He raised the bat high up into the air and brought it down on the Talon Titan's head. Alice followed up the hit with energy spheres. When it turned into Fusion Matter, Nano Boomer zipped off to the next Talon Titan. Unfortunately, the monster had seen him coming. The Talon Titan opened its mouth and sent a sonic scream at the oncoming Nano. Nano Boomer was flung backward through the air, being caught but Alice before he could hit the ground. Instead of bouncing back like she had expected, Nano Boomer remained in her arms, whimpering.

"Nano Boomer, are you okay?" she asked the Nano in worry.

"Noooo," he moaned. "I'm soooo tired."

Alice frowned in confusion. She expanded her shield into a dome to protect herself from the onslaught of the Talon Titans. She checked her NanoCom, surprised to find that Nano Boomer's vitals were in the red.

"What happened?" she muttered, staring at the screen.

Pounding on the energy dome, shook Alice from her speculations. Talon Titans surrounded her energy dome; if she dropped her protective barrier, the monsters would easily be upon her. Recognizing she couldn't keep her focus on Nano Boomer, she sent him back into the NanoCom; she could always send a message to Douglas about what happened to her Nano later. She got back to her feet, and drew the dome in closer to her, forming it into a bubble. She lifted herself up into the air, out of the monsters' reach. She surveyed the ground beneath her, looking for Junior and Suzy. To her horror, she couldn't see any sign of them. Talon Titans were roaming the ground, covering every inch to the point that Alice couldn't even see the ground.

Alice dropped her bubble and began firing off energy spheres at the monsters below her. The monsters screeched at the hits, and many jumped in an attempt to reach her; thankfully, none of them could jump very high. Unfortunately for Alice, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. A Talon Titan had climbed up the canyon wall, and when it reached the perfect level, it jumped, landing on Alice and sending her to the ground. She hit the ground face first, and the Talon Titan landed on her back, burning her back from its Fusion Matter makeup. Instead of crushing her into the Earth, the Talon reached down and pinched her with its pincers. Once in its grasp, it raised her up, and began pressing the tips into Alice's body. Alice screamed when she felt the sharp point breaking through the skin.

Because Alice's back was to the monster, she only had to flatten out her palms and send off an energy beam from each palm, directly at the monster. Her hits connected with the monster's face. The Talon Titan screamed in pain, and dropped Alice. The girl fell to the ground, but she scrambled to her knees.

Her body was starting to tire. She hadn't fully recovered her energy from her earlier fight with the Ghoulish Growths and Fusion Bubbles, and the ongoing fight with the Talon Titans was pushing her to her limit. She still had to fight, though, and find her friends.

Right before her eyes, Alice watched as the brown canyon dirt turned into a sickly green color. Alice's hands began to sting, so she wrenched them away from the ground. She was getting to her feet, wondering what had caused the ground to suddenly change color, when a blast of Fusion Matter raised upward from the green covered ground. Alice was caught in the middle of it, completely frozen and unable to move or raise a bubble to protect herself. She screamed in pain as the energy burned her body. Just when she wondered if this would ever stop, it did. The burst disappeared, and the green spot turned brown once more. Alice fell forward, hitting the ground with no way of cushioning the landing.

Any bit of energy she may have had left in reserve completely vanished. She couldn't form a dome to protect herself and her teammates. She couldn't fire off an energy blast. She couldn't fly out of the Fusion Monsters' clutches. She was in too much pain, and she had no power to call upon.

Alice's vision turned dark due to the amount of Talon Titans bearing down on her; there were so many she couldn't see the sunlight. They had waited while the Fusion Matter attack had taken its toll, and now they were springing in to consume her. Tears fell from her eyes as the thought of death brought a chill to her heart. It terrified her, but not even the brief spike of adrenaline could galvanize her body into action.

Just as Alice was losing her grip on consciousness the darkness the Talon Titans had subjected her to was suddenly replaced with a red-orange light. Heat accompanied the light, and it must have been a powerful light, because the Titans released a blood-curdling cry. The foul stench of something burning invaded Alice's senses, and her mind sluggishly connected the red-orange light to fire. The weight fell off of her, and she felt she could breathe a little easier. She tried to open her eyes wider, to see what exactly was going on, but her body refused to cooperate, and pushed her further into unconsciousness.

Just before she completely blacked out, Alice caught the hazy image of a figure stepping through the flames.

Chapter Text

Providence H.Q.'s medical ward was no stranger to the injured. Being the leading force against rampaging E.V.O.s, it wasn't uncommon for Providence agents to wind up in one of the beds, suffering from some injury or other in the line of duty. While the medical ward was currently empty of any agents, three beds were in fact being occupied. Lying unconscious and recovering from the injuries they suffered at the hands of Fuse's minions were three preteens: two girls and a boy.

Keeping a watchful eye over the resting preteens was one of Providence's own E.V.O.. Although White Knight had a great distaste for E.V.O.s, he did keep a few on his metaphorical payroll that weren't found in the Petting Zoo or locked up in The Hole. Providence doctors had already tended to their injuries, applying Imaginary Cream to the burn marks that littered the bodies. Imaginary Cream was, in collaboration with Foster's, Mandark Industries' newest product that hadn't yet hit the market, and it was the only known way to speedily cure burn marks. Because of Providence's status, they were given a crate load, along with other important organizations like the Kids Next Door, the Plumbers, and even Memorial Hospital.

The doctors - to whom she didn't bother recalling their names since she held very little respect for Providence's staff outside of a few - assured her that the kids would make a full recovery. The Imaginary Cream was healing the burn marks and the visitors were hooked up on fluids to provide nutrients to the body. It would be mere hours before they woke up. Even with the reassurance, Amber continued her watch, eyeing each chart that hung over the kids. She wasn't a medical professional by any means, but she had taken the time and effort to study what the machines were supposed to read. Thanks to some detective work from the doctors, they were able to find out the identities on each of the injured kids. Each of their names were on their electronic charts, though Amber paid them little mind. The only one of interest was the blue-haired girl, Alice Spacebyte.

When Amber and her small team of agents carried the three injured kids into the assault vehicle, there were plenty of burn marks on Alice's body. Yet when they pulled into Providence's hangar less than half an hour later, the marks had been greatly reduced. Even after the doctors applied ointment to the girl, her injuries and burns had dramatically reduced to where you couldn't even see them before. This speedy recovery was strange. The boy, Nergal Jr., was healing fast as well, but not nearly so. The final girl, Suzy Sunshine, was healing normally, which tipped off to Amber that she was human and the other two weren't. This new tidbit kept her in the medical ward long after the doctors vacated it. She was in the middle of formulating some sort of theory in her mind when her concentration was broken.

"Never took you to be the mother-hen type."

The woman with dark red hair turned her head to the right, finding the culprit to be none other than Providence's leading nanite expert. There was a mad glint in his eyes that told her he'd found something interesting. The look, which was usually off-putting since Caesar was one experiment away from being a legal mad scientist (which the world had plenty of already), sparked an interest in Amber. He had been in the ward some odd minutes ago collecting blood samples from their three guests on Amber's behalf. If he was returning, then he clearly had some information on them that Amber wanted to hear.

"What did you find?" Amber asked, getting down to business.

He held his datapad out to her, offering it up. She took it without a moment's hesitation, and began reading through his findings. While she did so, he continued because he liked the sound of his own voice.

"To start, you're right about the redhead," Caesar began. "She's a human. Her nanite count is about right, and all of them are dormant, no active ones in the bunch. The other two are a little more interesting. The boy has nanites, but they're heavily reduced. They're also dormant."

Amber's eyes lifted upward, staring over the top of the datapad, giving Caesar a look for him to elaborate. Despite not being a scientist herself, she did make it a point to learn the bare basics in regards to nanites. This new tidbit, however, didn't line up with the reading Doctor Holiday had given her some time ago.

"It's a very fascinating case," Caesar elaborated. "Looking at his molecular structure, his DNA seems to be a mix between human and something else. The nanites weren't able to connect to this something else, resulting in a drop in nanite numbers. I don't have anything in our profiles that match this different DNA, so I've already shot off emails to Carl, Dexter, and Mandark to see if they have anything in their banks." Amber's look turned into an unimpressed glare at Mandark's name. Caesar shrugged. "He may have something. He did come up with the cream."

Amber rolled her eyes, which was the closest thing to her relenting on the subject. She looked back to the datapad, scrolling down further. "And the other girl? Spacebyte?"

"No nanites."

Amber's eyes shot back up to meet Caesar's. Although her face remained passive, the widening of her eyes was the only tell-tale of her surprise. There was a manic gleam in his eyes, and once he saw that his companion was hooked, he reeled her in.

"She's like the boy, except her molecular structure isn't the exact same as his. It's different, but so different that there's not a trace of human DNA in her," he explained. "From what I can gather, the nanites can't attach themselves. Her body is actively rejecting them."

"Any particular reason?" Amber asked, lowering the datapad since she was now invested in his explanation. "Anything you can glean from this?"

"Nothing so far, and I've sent out requests to the three as well from this," Caesar explained. "If I had to make an educational guess, she's not from Earth."

"You're thinking alien?"

"It's my running theory. It would be the only explanation on why I can't find a shred of nanites, activated or not, in her body."

Amber's amber colored eyes returned to the resting form of the blue-haired girl. A nanite-free body was unheard of; the only known individual was White Knight. The information didn't fit with her own theory, but it did pique her interest. She lifted the datapad back up so she could view it. After a few quick taps on the screen, she handed it back to its original owner, spinning around as soon as the object was handed off.

"Where are you going?" Caesar asked with interest, his eyebrow raising upward to his hairline.

"White Knight."

Caesar blinked, gave the sleeping kids a side-eye, and then turned his attention to Amber's back once again.

"He doesn't know?"

"He's about to."

Caesar blinked a second time, before a grin spread across his face.

"This will be fun," he remarked to himself, jogging so he could catch up with the E.V.O.

"So not only have you paraded some kids into my military organization without my approval, you come in here to inform me that you're taking yourself of field duty to train them."

White Knight's glare would have been more imposing if he wasn't staring directly at her from a screen. Sure, he was able to scare some underlings who worked for him, but Amber felt no intimidation from the head of Providence. It wasn't exactly the first time she'd been dressed down by him. However, for as combative as she typically was in the man's presence, Amber stared at his screen with an impassive mask. Her audience beside her was having a harder time containing his gleeful grin, but Amber and White Knight effectively ignored him. On the wall to Amber's left was a live video feed of the medical ward, focusing in on the three kids.

"Incorrect," Amber responded coolly. "I'm only training the Spacebyte girl. The others are of no use to me."

"And why is that?" White Knight questioned. "What is it about her that you feel the need to train her? You've never been interesting in teaching before."

"Unknown. I'm still formulating a theory," Amber answered, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing White Knight with a flat look. "But she seems to be a target for the Fusion Monsters."

White Knight's eyebrows dipped downward, but not in annoyance. He was actually concentrating on her answer.

"Explain."

"I picked up abnormal Fusion activity in Devil's Canyon and deployed a small team. It was there that I rescued the kids from a horde of Talon Titans," Amber reported.

"So what?" White Knight questioned. "You rescued a bunch of amateurs from monsters."

"The typical number for wandering monsters is anywhere between one to four, with the latter only being in the presence of a boss," Amber explained, earning a nod from White Knight to show he was following along. "When I came upon the party, there was an upwards of twenty-five monsters attacking the three kids."

White Knight didn't make a comment, and Amber took a moment to let the information sink in. That was almost six times the normal number of monsters than was typical. The head of Providence leaned backward in his chair, his stance more relaxed.

"I see," White Knight muttered. "I can guess that the majority were on this Spacebyte kid, then? Which is where you've gotten your theory that she was being targeted."

Amber nodded.

"Training isn't your style," White Knight remarked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "So why did you suddenly have a change of heart?"

"I suspect she could be useful in this fight," Amber answered. "Letting her go untrained would be a disservice to our efforts."

"Never took you for a team player," White Knight accused.

"Right now, whatever method to ridding us of Fuse is the preferrable option," Amber challenged back, her eyes narrowing. "Do I need to remind you that you made an agreement to assist the alliance in this war?"

White Knight's eyes narrowed further at the challenge. "I am well aware of my commitments." The head of Providence leaned back in his seat, tenting his fingers as he fell into deep thought. "You mentioned you wanted to train this girl? Not Hutton?"

"Correct."

"For how long?"

"Thirty days," Amber answered.

White Knight eyed her critically, like he was looking for an ulterior motive. Amber's face never cracked, perfectly cool like a poker player. He gave up his search and closed his eyes, releasing a sigh.

"Very well, I'll allow you to train the girl, but those other two better be gone as soon as they're awake," White Knight ordered, his eyes opening to send a glare at the E.V.O. "This is a military organization, not a daycare. There isn't a daycare sign on my building."

Caesar snorted. "I'm sure that'll change once I tell Rex."

White Knight sent a withering look in the scientist's direction, and even Amber sent an annoyed look of her own. The scientist didn't flinch under their stares.

"If you have nothing else to bother me with, then leave. I have other business to attend to," White Knight instructed, leaning back in his chair.

Amber and Caesar retreated from the room, waiting until they were in the hallway and far away from his door before holding a conversation.

"Interesting," Caesar commented. "I didn't take you for hiding secrets."

Amber stopped walking and turned around, sending him a firm glare. Caesar held up his arms in mock surrender. Frowning in annoyance at the scientist, she turned back around, continuing her trek through the hallway, although she moved a little faster to create a divide between the two. She could force him to leave, but that would take more effort than she was willing to expend on him, so she simply ignored his presence as she made her way back to the medical ward.

With a good deal of effort, Alice slowly opened her eyes. Blinding light was her first vision, so her eyelids closed again to protect her retinas. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, adjusting to the light. She lifted herself up, pulling herself into a sitting position on the uncomfortable bed. A quick look around found that she was in an unknown room, although as the child of a doctor, Alice recognized she was in a make-shift hospital. She had a moment to question where and why she was in the room, before her memories snapped back like a rubber band. Eyes widening frantically, Alice slid off the bed, giving the room another look around for her teammates. She found them on two separate beds to the left of her, eyes closed as they rested.

She moved to Suzy's bed first, since it was the closest to hers. She did a quick check of the electronic charts, and was happy to see that her readings were all in the clear. A quick scan of her physical features showed that there was no injury on Suzy's body. Alice reached out and placed her hand on Suzy's body, but never got the chance to wake her up.

"Oh, you're up. Incredible."

Alice gasped, spinning around at the voice. It wasn't any she recognized. The man who had spoken looked familiar, although Alice couldn't pinpoint why. His facial features looked similar to some celebrity or hero, but she couldn't think of who. His khaki vest, green, long sleeved shirt, green pants, and black boots tipped her off that he was some sort of military, although she couldn't think of who. He didn't look like a standard military soldier since he had no markings to indicated him as so.

The man leaned in closer to her, his eyes inspecting her like she was under a magnifying glass. The feeling had her skin crawling, and she took a step backward out of self-consciousness. To Alice's surprise and horror, the man's right shoulder suddenly caught fire. Instead of reacting in the same surprise that Alice was feeling, the man simply pulled away from the girl and patted the fire until it was extinguished without a hint of worry. He sent a raised eyebrow in the direction of his companion, who Alice had only just realized had been in the room with them.

The woman's mere presence was intimidating. She looked military, too, dressed in a red halter top shirt, a black, unzipped lightweight military anorak sleeveless vest overtop it, black cargo pants, and black military boots. Alice could see scars along various parts of her exposed arms and neck that had been burned, perhaps even cauterized. In particular, three puncture wounds on the right side of the woman's neck stood out, adding to the intimidation factor.

"Behave," the woman ordered, sending a glare at the man. "She's not yours to experiment on."

Alice felt a shiver of fright shudder through her. Experiment? Why would this man want to experiment on her?

"What? I can't be a little curious about our guest and her natural regeneration properties?"

"Absolutely not," the woman responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

The man stared at the woman for a silent moment, before a smirk broke on his face. The woman narrowed her eyes at him as a threat, but ultimately turned her attention away from him. Her amber eyes settled on Alice, who backed up into the side of the bed as if frightened that the woman would attack her. The woman's eyes flickered from Alice's person to Suzy's resting body, before returning to the blue-haired girl.

"Wake them up. We need to have a discussion," she ordered.

Alice stared at the woman in surprise, but did what she ordered. While she was waking Suzy up, she noticed that the man went to go and wake up Junior. Both were apparently sleeping lightly, because it was easy to get them up. Junior sat up with a groan, resting a hand on his forehead.

"What happ- What the Tartarus!" Junior's eyes widened as they settled on the man, who was still standing close to the boy's bed. Thinking he was in trouble, he produced three tentacles from his back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, impressive. So that's where your heritage lies."

"What are you talking about!?" Junior demanded.

"Enough."

Four pairs of eyes fell on the woman. The woman returned their look with a terrifying glare, and her arms crossed.

"We have things to discuss, and we don't have time for your childish methods."

"Who the Tartarus are you?" Junior demanded, sliding off his bed once the man retreated to the woman's side.

"My name is Amber Ignis. I am an E.V.O. working with Providence." The children's eyes widened at the mention of the military organization, and they shared a quick look with each other. Amber ignored this and continued. "This is Caesar Salazar, and you should never respond to any of his questions," the red-haired woman explained. Alice blinked, recognizing the last name from Rex Salazar, the E.V.O. who apparently had the ability to heal other E.V.O.s. It explained the resemblance.

"Now that's rather mean," Caesar commented, although the smile on his face didn't show him to be upset.

Amber ignored the man's comment and continued with her explanation. "All of you were brought here after I found you in Devil's Canyon. Had I not intervened, none of you would be here."

Alice shuddered in fright. She brought hands to her head and closed her eyes, fighting off the tears that were threatening to form. She had known, back at the bluff, that she and her teammates were going to die. Still, having survived the ordeal and knowing what could have been kept a cold grasp on her heart.

"All of you need training," Amber remarked. "The Wilds are not like the Suburbs or Downtown. The area is dangerous, especially the further you venture into the Nowhere Desert. Coming here as unskilled and unprepared as you are would have killed you had I not stepped in."

Alice flinched at the reprimand. Amber's voice hadn't raised, but the words themselves were like a slap to the face.

"We didn't mean to," Alice muttered weakly.

"It wasn't like we knew we were going to get jumped," Junior added.

"That's what almost got you killed."

Junior recoiled back, frowning at the truth in the statement. Just because they weren't looking for trouble, didn't mean trouble wasn't looking for them.

"You mentioned we need training. Are you willing to take us in?" Suzy asked.

"No," Amber responded dispassionately. She flicked her eyes from Suzy to Junior. "I have no desire to train a human or a half-demon."

Junior's eyes widened a fraction larger, surprise coloring his face.

"Wait, how-"

"You're not the first demon I've come across," Amber remarked.

Junior was too surprised that a total stranger had guessed his heritage correctly to even fire back a retort. Suzy waved a hand over his eyes to make sure he was still with them.

"As for you," Amber addressed, turning her sights on Alice. "Training an alien is within my capabilities."

Alice went near catatonic when she heard the word "alien." She could feel her warm blood cooling and the color of her skin whitening. How was it that everyone knew about a secret she hadn't even been aware of for years? Had it been leaked out at some point and nobody told her?

Amber crossed her arms, and her eyebrows made a slight dip downward in a show of annoyance.

"You are also not the first alien I've come across," the E.V.O. responded.

"Ah, so my theory was correct," Caesar commented, mostly to himself.

However, Amber heard the remark and turned an annoyed look his way.

"You already knew," she countered. "You never sent off those emails."

"Looking through my personal emails? We're learning new things about you every day."

"H-hold on," Junior piped up, finding his voice once again. Amber and Caesar broke from their side conversation, turning to look at him. "You want to train Alice? Why?"

"While on my way to where you were being bogged down by the Talon Titans, I kept a close check on energy readings in the area. More than once the data spiked," Amber answered. She looked away from the half-demon and focused them on the unresponsive alien. "I'm willing to bet that these readings belong to you."

"M...Maybe," Alice answered hesitantly. She knew her powers were related to energy, but she didn't know how it would even be readable from a machine.

"It's dangerous to allow someone unskilled with their abilities to simply do whatever they want. It leads to your attacks getting out of hand, or failing on you completely," Amber stated. "For this reason, I'm telling you that you need training, and I will train you."

"For how long?" Suzy asked.

"Thirty days," Amber answered. "Here at Providence. I've already spoken to White Knight on the matter, and he has agreed to the terms."

"You can't just go and make a decision for her!" Junior protested.

"You are correct," Amber answered. "I can't. She can decide if she wants training or not." Her eyes darkened. "However, continuing to be untrained will get you killed."

Alice dropped her eyes to her knees, avoiding the woman's look. The cool sense of fear sent a shiver down her spine. Amber wasn't threatening her, despite the harsh look in her eyes. She was informing Alice of what would – what almost – happen: she'd die.

They had been doing so well up to this point that she had never thought about being put into a situation where her powers would fail her. She had been too complacent, believing Blossom's words about how to harness her powers. It was stupid of her. Blossom and her sisters had years of experience with their powers. Alice only had two months. The rookie mistake almost cost her and her friends their lives.

It was a compelling reason, but fear made her hesitate. It wasn't just how nervous she was to be training with total strangers (and at a military facility), but the fear of going back to the fight. Being close to death and narrowly escaping it left her with the haunting reminder that it could happen at any time. One day she'd be alive; the next she'd be dead.

"Alice."

Alice looked up from her knees, focusing on Suzy. Her normal smile was missing, her brow settled downward, painting a serious expression on her face.

"I won't tell you what to do, but I think this is a good idea," she said.

"What?" Junior asked, his voice raising an octave.

"We were outmatched," she explained, moving her look from Alice to Junior. "If it wasn't for Amber, we would be dead. We clearly need more training."

"We've been getting enough practice-"

"Right, practice," Suzy interrupted. "We haven't had training. I think this would be a good time for all of us to get training." Suzy moved her gaze from Junior to Alice. "Alice can train here at Providence, and we'll go find some teachers to give us our own training. I can pull some favors with the Kids Next Door and the Urban Rangers." Suzy looked back to Junior. "Junior, what about your dad? Do you think he could teach you?"

Junior visibly grimaced at the idea, but ultimately nodded. Alice glanced between her two friends, looking back and forth as she tried to come to a decision. The fear of training was still in her, but who could she deny the offer when her friends were willing to do it? It was because of her and her weak control over her powers that ended up with them almost dying. She needed to get better. She needed to train.

Steeling her nerves before she had a chance to change her mind, Alice turned to Amber and nodded.

"I...I would appreciate the training, Ms. Ignis."

"Good choice," Amber replied, her demeanor not changing. "I'll notify Tennyson that contact between you two will cease for the time being. I suggest you do the same with your family; I will confiscate your communicator as soon as I'm back. Caesar, arrange an escort for the other two."

She spun around and exited the room, not staying to hear any complaints the pre-teens may have at her decision. Caesar followed her out, looking at his own communicator, probably to do as Amber instructed. Junior released an aggravated sigh once they were alone, shaking his head. Alice deflated, leaning against the bed to keep her upright. Instantly, Suzy was at her side.

"Are you okay?" she asked the girl, sending her a concerned look.

"Y-yes...I'm just nervous," Alice admitted.

"It'll be okay," Suzy assured her, draping an arm over the girl's shoulder. "It's only for a month, and once we see each other again, we're going to be so well-trained that we'll contend with anything. Maybe even Fuse."

"Cool your jets on that one," Junior remarked swiftly, sending a flat look in Suzy's direction. "Leave him to the big leaguers."

Suzy waved away Junior's statement in her nonchalant way.

"I'm just saying, everything will be alright," Suzy said, smiling encouragingly at Alice. "We'll get stronger, and then there'll be no Fusion Monster that can get in our way."

Alice returned the smile, but it was weak and not confident. Their moment was interrupted by the door sliding open. Standing at the doorway was a man dressed in a Providence outfit, but he wasn't wearing a mask that the typical Providence agents wore while out fighting E.V.O.s. He stepped into the room, but didn't approach the group, keeping a good distance between them. He smiled, making him look infinitely friendlier compared to Amber and Caesar (though, that wasn't very hard to do).

"Greetin'. I'm Captain Calan, and I'm here to transport some kids back to the Suburbs."

"That's us," Suzy announced, although it wasn't needed. There were no other kids in the room. "Just give us another moment."

Calan nodded, and stepped out of the room, letting the door close behind him. Junior sighed, not looking all too enthusiastic to leave.

"They really want us gone. Should have figured since Providence isn't known for their hospitality," Junior said, lightly complaining. He moved his eyes and settled them on Alice. "Stay safe, okay?"

Alice nodded, reminding herself that Providence was on the heroes' side and wouldn't just hurt her for no reason. Amber wanted to train her to better herself, so clearly they weren't all bad. As if she sensed Alice's unease, Suzy pulled the girl into an embrace.

"It's going to be okay. This is just thirty days, and we can do this in our sleep!" she encouraged, pulling back far enough so she could flash a bright smile Alice's way. "You'll see. We're going to see each other real soon."

Alice smiled back, hoping it looked convincing. She didn't want to have her teammates worry about her while they were separated; they were supposed to be using this time to better themselves, too. They must have felt assured that she'd be okay, because they exited the room a moment later, leaving Alice alone in the unfamiliar medical ward.

She took a moment to release a shaky breath, and then hopped up onto the unoccupied bed. Pulling up her NanoCom, she got down to business.

First, she called her aunt to inform her that they wouldn't be showing up, and that she'd have her communicator off for the next thirty days. Muriel didn't initially understand, but after a brief explanation that she would be spending time at Providence, and that she promised she'd explain everything later, Muriel agreed and wished her luck and love.

Next, she sent an explanation to her Nanos that the NanoCom would go offline for the next thirty days, which was met with a lot of protest from the two Nanos. Even when things were explained to them, the Nanos were still upset with the idea. Recognizing that they couldn't actually do anything, however, forced the two Nanos to agree to the situation. They didn't like it, but they agreed.

Amber returned just as Alice finished up speaking with her Nanos. Caesar did not accompany her, which made eased one of Alice's worries. The man hadn't done anything to her, but his very person raised red flag warnings in her mind. Something about him was off, and she didn't understand what it was.

"Ready?" the E.V.O. woman questioned.

Alice nodded, handing over the NanoCom when Amber held out her hand. The woman looked it over and turned it off, ensuring that it wouldn't make a noise while she held onto it.

"Follow me," Amber instructed the girl. "I'll show you to your quarters."

Providence's corridors were in pristine condition, and mostly empty of masked Providence agents as Amber led her new protege through Providence H.Q. The trip wasn't very long, and Alice found herself standing next to Amber in front of a sliding door that looked like every other sliding door in the building. Waving a hand over the control panel next to the doorway, the automatic door slid open, revealing a bland room inside. The room wasn't overly large, but did have a simplistic bed, a table, a lamp, and a closet. There were no windows anywhere in the room, but there was another sliding door that Alice didn't yet know where it went to. Hesitantly, Alice passed Amber and stepped into the room.

"This will be your room for the next thirty days. I will be back later with Providence body suits that you can wear," Amber instructed, standing at the doorway. "Your meals will be held in the mess hall, which I will show you once I return. You will not leave this room unless accompanied by a member of Providence, am I understood?"

Alice gulped and nodded. She figured it'd be the case, but it still made her nervous. With the matter taken care of, Amber exited the room, leaving Alice in her new room. The blue-haired girl let her shoulders drop a fraction, feeling some tension roll off her since she was now left on her own. She moved her way over to the bed and dropped on it, finding that it was far more comfortable than the beds in medical ward had been. She stared up at the blank ceiling, an activity she was sure she'd do in the future since there was no entertainment in the room. Closing her eyes, Alice wondered how her future training would go.

Alice released a high-pitch shriek, raising her hands upward in an X formation to protect her face. The formation successfully blocked Amber's hit, but she left her stomach completely open. A quick kick to the gut had Alice releasing a pained groan. Her hands automatically retracted, wrapping around her gut to protect it from another hit and to relieve some of the pain. Amber didn't relent. She used the heel of her palm to slam into Alice's nose. The hit sent Alice off-balance, and the girl fell to the ground. Her body instinctively curled up into the fetal position, trying to protect the stomach from more agony. Alice whimpered at the pain, and tears started to fall. Amber grimaced in annoyance when she saw the tears and stepped back.

"Get up," Amber ordered. "We're going again."

Alice slowly got back up onto her feet, her biology already working its magic. She wiped at her face, trying to get rid of the tears. Her eyes were still wet, but new tears had yet to fall, which she was grateful for. Amber was especially mean if she saw Alice crying. Ten days in, and she was even surprised her tear ducts still had anything in them. Alice fell into the fighting stance Amber had shown her, and then threw the first punch, beginning a new round of sparring.

The punch was deflected by Amber easily, with the older woman able to push it aside. She went for a counter attack of her own, and Alice successfully avoided the hit by jumping backwards. Amber crossed the distance, invading Alice's personal space. Alice tried to kick the woman, but Amber caught the leg. She brought her elbow up and drove it down on the girl's knee. Alice released a cry at the pain. She almost crumbled from it, but Amber's hold on the leg kept Alice up. Not like it did any good for the girl, anyways, because Amber brought her head back to headbutt Alice. Already having an unstable footing, the hit sent Alice to the ground, the back of her head hitting the floor hard. She closed her eyes at the pain, but forced them open. Amber dropped the girl's leg, staring down at her with a scowl on her lips.

"On your feet," she ordered.

Alice pulled herself up off the ground, her injured leg already beginning to feel better. She was at least able to use it, and could put weight on it without fear of crumpling from the pressure. After replenishing her lungs with air, Alice fell into a fighting stance, and began a new round.

While the two were busy sparring, they were unaware that they had an audience. Spying on the two females from the upper window was Captain Calan, one of Providence's most respected agents. The door to the control room was typically closed to keep any onlookers from waltzing in unless they wanted to be charbroiled alive, but Calan had been able to enter without either noticing. The curiosity on who Amber had taken on as a protege and what she was teaching the young girl outweighed the threat of death; although, since it was Calan and Amber respected him, he would probably just get a warning. Probably.

The man watched as the two sparred, feeling sorry for the girl. Based on her looks, Calan doubted she was a teenager, and yet Amber was running her ragged. The two stayed holed up in Training Room Five for nearly twelve hours all day, every day, finishing their sessions when it was dinner time. Calan couldn't say for sure what Amber was training the girl on, but he did have some idea based on her solo training regimen, and took the wild guess that the girl - Alice - was doing the same thing, which made him pity her. Amber was an intense woman, and her training was no exception.

The Southern gentleman in him wanted to step in and tell Amber to ease on the rough training, but he knew better. Amber would just ignore him, and nothing would change. So, reluctantly, Calan was forced to keep his mouth shut on the matter. Having seen his fill, he stepped away from the window and left the room, making a mental note to remind Rex to thank Six for being such a nice teacher; the boy could have very well gone through Amber's training hell if not for that man.

The mess hall reminded Alice of the cafeteria at Pokey Oaks Junior High. It was packed with Providence agents settling down to have dinner after a relatively long day, with some agents playing poker to unwind. At school, the tables would be packed with students having their lunch - either homemade or purchased from the school - and battling with their Hokeymon cards before campus security or a teacher could catch them. At least back at school, Alice could grab a meal if she forgot one at home and retreat to the outside. Here, at Providence, there was no outside courtyard for Alice to retreat to; at least, as far as she knew. She wasn't allowed to explore Providence's headquarters on her own; Amber or a Providence agent had to escort her. She only knew the way to her room, the medical ward, the training room, and the mess hall.

Amber led the way to the food line, and Alice followed close behind her. She knew where the grab the food, but she didn't like to be far removed from the E.V.O. As she followed, she could feel eyes on the two of them, but did what she could to ignore them. It was a daily occurrence that they would be stared at. At least none of the agents approached them for small talk - a simple look from Amber had the agents all looking the other way. Teacher and student grabbed their meal, and then moved to the table in the back corner, which was empty. It was always empty, because that had been - unspoken - dubbed Amber's table. Their meals were always held in silence, because Amber didn't make small talk and Alice wasn't good at it.

Alice settled on her side of the table, wincing slightly as her muscles ached in soreness. Given how long their training sessions were, it would be a surprise if her body didn't ache. Sparring always seemed to take up most of their time. When the two would first enter the training room every morning, Alice would be required to run for an entire hour. And then she would have to hover in the air, having to beat the time of the previous day. She'd then spend time using her telekinesis to hold up an object, with the object increasing in size each day. Some time was allotted for her energy attacks, but it seemed Amber was only concerned with her physique. For this reason, Alice's healing ability was sent into overdrive to fix her whenever they were finished.

Left to her own thoughts, Alice wondered how her teammates were fairing. Were they going through the same rigorous training she was subjected to? She wished she had her NanoCom to speak to them, even for a little bit. She missed them, her family, and her Nanos. She didn't dare ask for her NanoCom back, though. Amber didn't look like the kind of person who would give it back just because Alice was missing them. She just had to wait for the thirty days (now twenty days remaining) to meet up. And then after that, the team would go back to what they did...fight Fusions...

The very thought sent a shiver down her back and for her stomach to drop. The idea of fighting Fusions frightened her. What if she failed again? What if her powers weren't enough? It was why she had agreed to be trained by Amber, however tired and sore she was from it, but the questions still lingered in the back of her mind. She may have gotten away from the Talon Titans with no physical scars, but the nightmares that followed her was a constant reminder of how she failed when she was needed the most. In her nightmares, sometimes her teammates would die but she survived. Other times, she didn't survive. She never dared mentioned any of this to Amber, because she didn't think Amber would care. Harsh, perhaps, but the woman didn't look very nurturing. It was another reason why she wanted her NanoCom back, even if for a moment; she could call up her aunt and talk to her about it. Maybe it would help, but she didn't dare ask.

"Get some extra sleep tonight," Amber spoke up, cutting through Alice's thoughts. She spooked at the sudden sound, and nearly dropped her fork into the meatloaf. Amber ignored the girl's startlement and continued. "Tomorrow's training will be had in the Petting Zoo."

Alice's eyes widened, surprised at the new destination. Providence's Petting Zoo was one of the few places Amber forbade her to enter without Providence agent escorts. It wasn't necessarily dangerous - Amber assured her that all the absolutely dangerous E.V.O.s were sent to a place called the Hole - but without Rex around to occupy their time, the E.V.O.s would be more unruly than normal and attack her simply to rid themselves of their boredom. For this reason, Amber ruled that she should stay out of it. But now they were going into it.

"Oh...Okay," Alice said, her voice expressing her unease. "Is there a reason?"

"I'll let you know in the morning," Amber responded, standing up from the table with her empty tray in hand. "Finish your meal and turn in early." With the order given, Amber turned on a heel and deposited the tray in its cleaning station.

Alice followed Amber's figure as it exited the mess hall, before turning her attention back to the tray. The idea of going into the Petting Zoo was confusing and scary. The E.V.O.s weren't supposed to be dangerous, but the sudden change of plans had her worried. What exactly did Amber want her to do? Did she want her to fight the E.V.O.s? She couldn't be up against other agents because Amber would have just kept them in the training room. So, it was clear Amber wanted to try something else.

The questions and lingering thoughts of Fusions soured Alice's appetite, so she disposed of her remaining food and headed off for her room, opting to obey Amber's orders. Tomorrow would arrive faster than Alice wanted it, and she figured the least she could do was be well rested for whatever it was Amber wanted to throw at her.

Chapter Text

Alice's fingers skimmed up and down the fabric of the Providence uniform, ghosting over muscles that had been sore the day before. It no longer had a sting to it since it was only a handful of minutes or so away from completely healing, but the repetitive action kept her mind off of the nervousness growing in the pit of her stomach. The skylight up above revealed the dark night sky common for the early morning hours, so it provided little light to brighten up the area. She had to rely on the little light that did exist in Providence's enclosed ecosystem to see her surroundings. What little light existed created an eerie atmosphere, like something was going to jump out and attack her. A chill ran down her spine at the thought.

Considering she was in Providence's Petting Zoo, populated primarily and exclusively by animal and plant E.V.O.s, it probably wasn't off the mark.

Amber strode confidently in front of her, her palm raised upward and a lit flame in it, lighting their path. A few times Alice would spot a tendril slither out from the darkness toward them, but Amber would usually flare up and scare the tendril away with the threat of being burned. Alice followed closely like a shadow, not wanting to be left behind or attacked.

"Miss Ignis?" Alice asked, calling for the woman's attention. Amber didn't turn to look at her, but she did incline her head in the girl's direction. "Why are we here?"

Amber looked away, placing her eyes back on the path. She didn't answer the girl's question, continuing to lead the way in silence. Alice lowered her head in silence, dejected by the woman's dismissal. It wasn't like she had expected Amber to answer the question, but she had been hoping for one. Amber had said she'd tell her, but so far nothing. It didn't put Alice at ease, and then there was the way her hair stood on the nape of her neck. A knot was forming in the pit of her stomach, and with each step it only tightened further.

Amber pulled back the leaves of an inanimate plant and came to a stop. Alice raised her head upward, looking at the red-haired woman in curiosity. Amber jerked her head forward, and so Alice moved around the E.V.O. to stand in front of the woman. A startled gasp escaped when she saw what they were staring at. Congregated together in a pack of five, Stalking Arachnids were pressed up against the side of the zoo. They seemed to be testing out the strength of the walls, but were finding no luck. The monsters hadn't noticed their audience members of two, and so they didn't notice how the youngest took a step back in fright.

"They broke in yesterday," Amber explained, crossing her arms over her chest. "They managed to make it into the Petting Zoo, but were trapped by our E.V.O.s." Amber colored eyes bore into a pair of light blue. "You're here to exterminate them."

Alice's eyes widened, panic filling inside of them.

"B-but I'm not ready," Alice protested. "I've only used my powers for target practice."

Amber's eyebrows dipped downward to the point that they were almost connecting, her eyes narrowing at the disobedience.

"That is because we were building up your endurance," Amber retaliated. "Your powers require you to draw on inner energy. And in your inexperience, you've forgotten the simple law of conservation of energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed. It must change from one form to another." Alice stared at the woman with a confused look. The woman held back a sigh, but the way her lips thinned showed her annoyance. "In other words, your power draws on your inner energy. We've been expanding your energy bank so that you can draw on it more." She raised a hand to gesture at the monsters. "Today, we will be testing what you've learned."

Alice opened her mouth to protest further, to find another excuse on why she couldn't possibly face the monsters, but the dark look that sprang to Amber's eyes had Alice shutting her mouth. Amber was not a woman to be crossed, and Alice didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrathful mood. Alice craned to look over her shoulder, eyeing the wolf-arachnid hybrids that had ceased their attempts to escape and had their muzzles lifted into the air, sniffing it. They had undoubtedly picked up on her and Amber's scent. As one, the five monsters locked in on her position, curling back their lips to bare their sharp teeth. A shiver ran down Alice's spine, and she took a stiff step forward. The wolf-spider hybrids released a snarl and scattered, rushing at her with incredible speed thanks to their eight legs. They were on her before she had a chance to blink.

The first two who reached her reared back on their hind legs, the front pair of legs pulled up and ready to strike her. Amber was probably expecting her to be on the offense and strike them first, but Alice instead raised her hand upward to place up a force-field. Unfortunately for her, the monsters were faster and intercepted. One Stalking Arachnid caught her outstretched arm, clamping down with sharp teeth. Alice released a quick shriek, more out of distress than pain. Another Stalking Arachnid lunged for her, but she managed to drop to the ground, letting the monster sail over her. It collided with a third Stalking Arachnid, rolling the two. Alice glanced at the pair momentarily, but was brought back to the first Stalking Arachnid when it clenched harder on her arm, breaking through the uniform's protective material. She hissed at the pain, and held out her hand to fire at the monster, but she didn't fire off an energy ball or beam at it.

Her mind was playing a trick on her. Instead of staring at a Stalking Arachnid, the monster had been replaced with a Talon Titan. Seeing the large monster froze her blood, and rooted her in place. Her freeze up cost her. The two Stalking Arachnids had recovered from their tumble and pounced upon her, dropping her to the ground. The alien girl shrieked, moving her head when the jaw of a wolf-spider hybrid - the one pressing its weight on her - made an attempt to bite her head off. The Stalking Arachnid made three more attempts until it was blasted by an arch of fire, sending it off of Alice. The arch extended to the other two monsters, pushing them back and leaving burn marks on their body.

"On your feet."

Alice looked to the side, finding her mentor standing with her arms crossed. The woman's lips were pursed as amber colored eyes narrowed in Alice's direction, the clear sign that she was aggravated with Alice's performance. Alice moved into a sitting position, dropping her eyes from the E.V.O. to her lap, feeling some shame that the woman had to step in against the three Stalking Arachnids.

Alice's eyes widened as she suddenly realized that there had been five Stalking Arachnids, but she had only been fighting with three. Where did the other two disappear to? Alice snapped her head upward, looking back over at Amber. From the shadows, one of the wayward Stalking Arachnids lunged at the red-haired woman. Alice opened her mouth to warn the woman, but Amber spun around and held out her hand, sending a flame spiral out at the monster. It wrapped around the wolf-spider hybrid, making the monster lose its momentum and fall to the ground. In moments, it dissolved into Fusion Matter.

Amber's focus was put on the puddle of Fusion Matter, so she missed a plant tendril slithering along the ground. Striking like a viper, the tendril wrapped itself around Amber's ankle and lifted her into the air. Alice gasped in surprise, but Amber didn't look startled. Her right hand turned a bright shade of red and she used that hand to cut herself free from the plant. Whatever E.V.O. the tendril had been attached to released a howl of pain, and the injured organ returned to its host. Amber spun herself so she could land on her feet, but was caught off guard by the fifth Stalking Arachnid. From the shadows, the Stalking Arachnid opened its jaw and clamped down on Amber's mid-section. The woman winced, but it was the only indication that she felt the teeth burrowing into her body. She raised her red hand, preparing to strike the monster down. As she was about to swing her hand, she caught a green patch forming directly under her.

Alice noticed what she was looking at and blanched. It was the same green patch she had experienced in the canyon. Her throat clenched up at the memory of the painful event. Directing her hand downward at the patch, Amber fired off a blast of fire. At the same moment, a beam of energy shot up from the ground, meeting the fire head on. For a moment, the two forces collided and battled with each other. Alice stared in awe, wondering if the fire would be strong enough to overpower the frightful energy. Unfortunately, the energy beam prevailed and dissipated the fire. It continued its upward trajectory, although it looked noticeably weaker. The attack caught Amber, completely engulfing her and the monster holding her in its bright green lighting. Because it was weaker, the light disappeared, revealing the two occupants caught in the blast. The Stalking Arachnid was still in one piece, but it looked noticeably beaten up, and had released its hold on the red-haired E.V.O. The woman was unconscious, and burn marks from the Fusion Matter blast were scattered over her body. The two fell to the ground with a thud, neither getting up.

"M-m-miss Ignis," Alice choked out.

The woman did not stir at the call. The remaining three Fusion Monsters, seeing that one of their preys was down for the count, turned their attention back onto Alice. The girl scrambled up to her feet and ran for the fallen woman, doing her best to ignore the snarling of the monsters. She dropped to her knees beside the woman, and immediately placed a force-field over the two of them. The three wolf-spider hybrids rammed into the barrier, bouncing backward. For the moment, they could not break in, although they were trying. Alice huddled next to the fallen woman, checking on her with shaky hands. Amber had a pulse, and she didn't look terribly beat up. No amount of shaking, however, woke the woman from her unconscious state. Alice was on her own up against three Stalking Arachnids (the one caught in the energy blast was still down).

Alice closed her eyes tightly, feeling the tears rapidly form behind her eyes and roll down her cheeks. She was shaking, tremors moving up and down her body as she listened to the arachnid monsters pounding at her barrier. She could feel it weakening, and that brought on a flood of memories. Her powers were failing her again, but this time there was no Amber to save her. She was going to die; her failure to be strong was going to get her and Amber killed. The blue haired alien released a choking sob, and the negative thought broke her concentration. A Stalking Arachnid's leg was able to stab the barrier, creating a crack in its protection. Sensing a weakness in her barrier, Alice spun her head around, staring with wide, teary eyes as a fault line spread itself out from the hit. The Fusion Monsters also caught wind that her barrier was failing her. They stabbed at it with their front appendages, close to the fault line that was now running top to bottom. Alice felt her heart drop when she saw the barrier shatter.

The three Stalking Arachnids released a howl, presumably to announce their victory, but the howls quickly turned into yowls. Alice blinked, becoming aware of the sound of gunfire coming from behind her. Appearing from amongst the foliage, masked Providence agents took aim and fired at the Stalking Arachnids. The wolf-spider hybrids roared out in pain, rushing forward to engage the agents in close combat. Given that there were ten Providence agents to three Stalking Arachnids, the monsters were turned to Fusion Matter relatively easily. One masked agent approached the fallen Fusion Monster, shooting it twice to make sure it turned into Fusion Matter. Movement out of Alice's peripheral made the girl jump. She spun around, and found that Caesar was kneeling on the other side of Amber, inspecting the red-haired woman. Without acknowledging the blue-haired girl staring at him, the scientist lifted the E.V.O. into his arms, got back on his feet, turned, and walked away.

Alice watched him walk away, many of the masked Providence agents following him. She lowered her eyes to the ground, biting her bottom lip as her tears continued rolling down her cheeks. A hand touching her shoulder startled her. She snapped her head upward, meeting the brown eyes of Captain Calan. While his eyes shone with concern, his face was perfectly controlled.

"C'mon," the man said in his Southern accent. "It's not safe here."

Alice lowered her head, allowing the captain to raise her to her feet. He didn't remove his hold on the girl as he guided her out of the Petting Zoo, probably thinking Alice would collapse if he did. It was a fair assessment; Alice was barely able to place one foot in front of the other. The guilt weighed her down like an anchor to a boat. She was supposed to get better so she could be of use. Instead, her fear and incompetency had once again led to someone almost dying.

Caesar glanced upward as he exited the medical ward, stopping when he almost crashed into Captain Calan. The blond looked surprised to see the scientist, but recovered and gave a nod in greeting. Caesar returned the gesture and continued past the man, only a little surprised when he realized he was being followed. Calan wasn't a bad guy, but he and Caesar weren't exactly buddies. They were barely acquaintances. They just happened to operate under the same roof.

"How is she?" Calan asked.

He didn't have to say the name; the two knew who he was referring to.

"She's fine; the Imaginary Cream has already healed the burns. Nothing she hasn't contended with before," Caesar answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Calan nodded, the wrinkles on his face relaxing at the answer. Calan and a small team of agents had been on standby per Amber's request; the Petting Zoo had gotten out of hand since Rex's disappearance, and she wanted to ensure that there would be safety measures in place if things got out of hand. The moment they had seen the E.V.O. go on the attack, they had rushed in, arriving just in time to provide rescue.

"So, how's the girl doing?" Caesar questioned, noticing the man was missing one blue-haired alien. "She isn't with you."

"She's in her room. She refused medical attention, but from what I saw of her, she didn't have a scratch on her," Calan answered. "If she was injured, I couldn't find it."

"I suspected as such," Caesar remarked. "Her regeneration ability is more sophisticated than anything our own bodies could do, even with the help of nanites."

Calan stared at the back of the scientist's head in confusion, not knowing what he was talking about, but he wasn't going to ask. Getting a straight answer out of Caesar wasn't always a guarantee, and he didn't exactly have all day to figure it out. So, it was just easier to nod and pretend he was following along. Besides, his mind wandered back to the pre-teen that had hidden herself in her room as soon as Calan dropped her off. Calan wanted to help, but didn't know how. Dr. Holiday was the most empathetic individual in the organization, but she was away in Darklands. He'd have to try someone else.

The lights were dimmed to their lowest setting. If someone were to poke their head inside, they'd be able to make out the shape of the owner, sitting on her bed with her knees drawn to her. Her shoulders shook and her light sobbing echoed faintly in the room. She'd been in this knees-drawn-inward position since Captain Calan dropped her off. She'd quickly changed out of the loaned Providence uniform, dropping it carelessly to the ground, and changed into her familiar clothes. She was hoping it would provide her some comfort, but it did nothing to make her feel better. Images of Amber's body lying in the grass and her shield shattering were followed by images of the Talon Titans scurrying along the canyon's ground and the bodies pressing in on her. Her nightmares had followed her into her waking hours, and Alice couldn't find an escape.

She wanted her mother, but she was dead. She wanted her Aunt Muriel but the woman was at her house in Nowhere. She was alone, with no one to provide comfort.

Her isolation was interrupted by a knock coming from her door. Alice ignored the knocking, assuming it was one of Providence's people - maybe even Captain Calan - checking in on her. She didn't want to look at any of them, and waited for the person to grow bored and leave. The knocking came again.

"Alice? It's Ben," the voice on the other side of the door said.

Alice raised her head from her knees, eyes widening in confusion. Ben was here? But why? He was supposed to be stationed in Offworld Plaza.

"Can I come in?"

Alice sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, drying the moisture that had collected. It wouldn't take away the redness in her eyes, but it would have to do. She didn't want to look anymore pathetic than she already did.

"Y-yes," she announced.

The door slid open and the hero stepped inside. He gave the dark room a quick look around, and then settled on the lone occupant. A sympathetic smile came to his lips, and he crossed the room in long steps. The bed dipped as he took a spot at the corner, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"Rex called, said you were feeling down," Ben explained, recognizing the question in her surprised look.

Confusion settled over Alice's face, since she couldn't recall ever seeing the teenager in Providence. True, she only ever interacted with Amber and occasionally Caesar, but she would have remembered seeing him in the corridors. Amber had offhandedly mentioned that the boy was galivanting in the Downtown area with his girlfriend, Circe, so how did he already know about her?

"He mentioned someone named Calan passed it along to him, and he got a hold of me," Ben explained, easily reading her confusion. "Figured you needed someone to talk to." He grinned at her, almost conspiratorially as he joked, "Providence isn't exactly known for their bedside manners."

The joke failed to lift Alice's spirits. Ben coughed into his fist, his face sombering up.

"Right...Sorry. Not in a joking mood." He released a tiny sigh. "I heard about what happened to Amber."

Alice flinched and ducked her head into her knees. Ben flashed her a sympathetic smile.

"It's o-"

Alice shook her head.

"It's my fault," Alice choked out, feeling her eyes water. "I was so scared, and I didn't do anything. I couldn't help Miss Ignis, and I couldn't defeat the monsters. She was hurt because of me." She put her head in her knees. "I'm useless."

"You're not useless," Ben asserted. "You're scared. You shouldn't punish yourself for that."

"I got someone hurt," was Alice's dejected answered.

Ben shook his head.

"No, you didn't. The monsters that attacked Amber are to blame, just like the monsters that attacked you and your friends hurt you. You didn't do that to any of them," Ben argued. "What happened was a sad accident, but that's all it was. You didn't do this on purpose."

"But I wasn't strong." Alice could feel the water leaking out of her eyes and onto her cheek. "I-I didn't work with Mister Tennyson when he offered, so I never got better. I agreed to train with Miss Ignis, but I failed." She closed her eyes, hoping that'd stop the waterworks. "I don't want anyone to get hurt anymore."

"Do you want to go home?"

Alice's eyes snapped open at the question, and she slowly raised her head upward to see the sympathetic smile on the teenager's face.

"You've been through a lot in a short amount of time. It's not something you can just shrug off at a moment's notice. You've been carrying that with you, and then you've added two near-death experiences to it." Alice shivered at the reminder. "Anyone would break under the pressure, and it wasn't fair of us - me and Amber - to push you so hard."

Alice stared at him blankly, not following him. He barely communicated with her; she had more conversations with Jimmy Jones than she did with him, and he was supposed to be her guide.

"When we first learned about your alien connections, I thought it was pretty cool. And then when Fuse came along and you agreed to join, I thought you'd help bolster our ranks. A lot of our heroes, especially the ones with some firepower to them, were missing, and I figured having someone with some powers of their own could help. I forgot that you're new to this. New to your powers and new to fighting." He shook his head, like he was scolding himself for his own blindness. "I expected you to be like me or Gwen or Amber or just about anyone with powers. I didn't really take into account who you are or what you've been through."

Alice lowered her chin to her knees, moving her eyes away from the hero next to her and onto the wall in front of her.

"I'm sorry for that, Alice," Ben apologized, likely taking her action as a sign of displeasure. "It's why I came down here when Rex called. As your guide, I take responsibility for this. So, I'm here to offer you a ride home if you want." Ben reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "We can grab your things and I'll take you to your aunts. You can stay out there; you don't have to fight anymore."

Alice returned her gaze to the teenager slowly. She stared at him, trying to decipher if he was telling the truth. Seeing her questioning stare, Ben continued.

"Remember, you volunteered for this. This isn't your job or your livelihood. If you want to walk away, you can. No questions asked."

Alice felt her heart skip a beat. She could actually leave? Give up being a volunteer, a fighter in the war? She could go home to Aunt Muriel and feel safe, like she desperately wanted. The invitation was so alluring she almost accept the offer immediately, but a voice in her head that sounded like her mother's stopped her from doing so.

Giving up because it's too hard?

Alice bit her bottom lip, because the accusation wasn't wrong. It would be cowardly of her to just up and leave, but her cowardness in a fight would end up killing her or someone else. She must have done something awful to have the universe place her in such a tough spot.

An alarm blared through the room, making the two occupants jump from surprise. Following the alarm was a woman's voice shouting into the intercom: "ALL AGENTS TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. FUSION MONSTERS INBOUND FOR AN IMMINENT ATTACK. ALL AGENTS TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. FUSION MONSTER INBOUND FOR AN IMMINENT ATTACK. ALL AGENTS..." She repeated her warning two more times before disconnecting. The alarm continued as a call to arms, and she could hear feet hitting the floor hard just outside her door as Providence agents rushed by.

Alice curled into herself, her body trembling as she whimpered. More Fusion Monsters? Did the universe really have it out for her; mocking her and her failure? Reminding her of her failures with the Talon Titans and Stalking Arachnids by throwing even more monsters her way?

A sudden weight was put onto her shoulders, and the bed lifted as a body suddenly vacated the spot. Looking up, she caught the color green in her peripheral. Glancing at her shoulder properly, she found that Ben's signature jacket was draped over her shoulders. Holding in a surprised gasp, Alice quickly looked for the teenager, spotting him halfway to the door.

"B-Ben?"

The hero stopped and turned to look at the girl, a reassuring, confident smile on his face.

"Don't worry. Stay here and stay safe, alright? I'll come back, and we can talk about your decision," Ben said, his tone soothing.

With nothing more to add, the Omnitrix bearer exited the room, leaving the sole occupant to her thoughts. The jacket resting on her shoulders was probably supposed to provide her comfort, like a child burrowing under their blankets when thunder boomed. However, the jacket weighed heavy on her with guilt.

Why was she allowed to hide in her room like a little girl afraid of the Boogeyman? She had powers; shouldn't she be on the front-line fighting? Why was she given a pass to sit out a fight; because she was scared? What about humans with no powers, like Ben, unable to use his Omnitrix? Or the Providence agents with just their weapons to rely on? Or Suzy, who faced any threat with total confidence? Weren't they afraid, too? Why were they expected to overcome that fear, but Alice was allowed to let it stop her?

If her mother was alive, what would she think of her daughter hiding? Alice didn't have to think very hard on it; her mother would be disappointed. Her mother always stressed that if someone had the ability, they should use it to help the most amount of people. If her mother was still alive, she'd have immediately joined the war effort, either staying at the hospital to heal the injured or travelled to areas where her skills would be needed.

Alice stopped, her breath hitching at the thought.

If her mother was around, she wouldn't have joined as a fighter, but a healer. Why did she believe that fighting was the only role to be taken? Weren't there other roles to play? A fighter to take the monsters to task. A healer to tend to the wounded. An inventor to create products to trim Fuse's army and provide support for the allies. A defender to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

The realization clicked.

What if Alice had been looking at her role incorrectly? Instead of trying to be a fighter, what if she was a defender? Wouldn't that make more sense? After all, wasn't that why she fought the High Hydro Hammer? To protect Wilt and the injured Urban Rangers? And even her very first encounter with the monsters back at the junior high, hadn't she tapped into her powers to protect Suzy from a monster? Wasn't her natural reflex when attacked was to raise a shield? Didn't she create a bubble subconsciously to protect herself from Him or a shield to protect Solomon from an alien unseen? Wasn't her first instinct to protect? She didn't go looking for fights, she responded to fights.

There was a fight at Providence's door; was she going to hide or respond?

Alice grabbed onto Ben's jacket and curled her fingers into fists. Drawing courage from the outerwear, Alice launched herself from the bed. She nearly stumbled on her way to the door since her legs were reacquainting themselves to movement, but the jelly feeling eventually subsided. She managed to get out of her room, and spotted Ben from her right. He was turning a corner, down a new corridor. Legs working once more, Alice jogged to catch up with her guide.

"Ben?" Alice called out, following him. The alarms blaring drowned out her first call, and so she raised her voice to be heard. "Ben!"

The teenage hero paused, spinning around hurriedly. His eyebrows were raised upward in surprise. He probably wasn't expecting Alice to follow him.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked in concern.

Alice stopped an arm's length away from him. Her fists trembled ever so slightly from their tight grip on the green jacket. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again and focused them on Ben, the boy's eyebrows lifted even higher at the determination burning in them; he'd never seen that look in her eyes before.

"I'm not a fighter. I'm not strong, and I'm not cut out for it," Alice admitted, her fists clenching tighter around the jacket. "But... I'm a defender. I want to protect people." She pulled the jacket off of her shoulders and handed the article of clothing back to its original owner. Ben accepted his item, looking at it briefly and then back at Alice in surprise. She moved around him, heading down the corridor. Ben whirled around to watch her retreating figure. "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt, not if it's in my power to protect them."

Ben watched her leave, looking down at his jacket in disbelief when her figure was no longer in his sight. He placed it on, his look of disbelief morphing into pride.

"Don't count yourself out," he said to the empty corridor, a proud smile on his face.

It became very obvious very quickly that Captain Calan and his team were severely outnumbered. They had managed to push back the Fowl Foes from their front door, but the monsters were reconvening to nearly three times their numbers. If they couldn't mow down the opposition fast, Calan would be forced to call a retreat and move back into the building. Having Six or Rex or Amber to help out would have put Calan at ease, but none of them were around. It was just him and his team against the Fusion Monsters, and he didn't like those odds.

Because of the distance, some of the globs thrown their way missed; Fusion Monsters didn't have the greatest aim, and the eye positioning on the Foes only made it harder for them. But now that the chicken inspired enemy was gaining ground, their aim was improving, and a few projectiles almost hit them.

"Sir! The monsters are almost upon us. What are your orders?" one of the agents to his left asked.

Calan gritted his teeth, mind working on the two options available: stay and defend to the best of their abilities, or retreat and give up their headquarters. Neither option ended on a high note, and it was just a matter of which was less evil.

A shout of alarm pulled him from his decision making. A glob was aimed too close for comfort, and he reflexively fired at it. It hit the glob, but that forced it to turn into even smaller matter that would splatter onto them due to their proximity. Calan, and many close to him, threw his arm up to protect his face from the remnants. He waited for a full ten seconds for the searing pain that came from contact with Fusion Matter, but nothing happened. There was no burning sting, and there were no cries of agony from his unit. Opening his eyes and lowering his arm, he was surprised to find a blue-tinted force-field spread out and covering the unit. The bits of Fusion Matter that had been for them slid harmlessly down the front of the force-field.

Calan stared in amazement, running through a list of anyone on their property who could do such a thing. Was this one of Caesar's creations? It was operational with almost no side effects so it couldn't possibly be claimed by him. Who th-

"Please stay back."

Calan spun around, eyes landing on Amber's protege stepping out of the building's front doors. Head held high, eyebrows dipped in concentration, hair flowing around her, a look of determination in her eyes. This girl was not the same girl who had been crying down in the Petting Zoo. The change was so jarring that Calan couldn't form a proper response. The girl moved in Calan's direction, but squeezed by so that she was closest to the force-field. Then, before their eyes, Alice opened a small portion and exited through, sealing it up behind her.

"I will handle them," Alice promised the agents.

The monsters had stopped their attack, first out of surprise at the force-field and then when they spotted their new opponent. A Fowl Foe from somewhere in the group released a war cry and that had the army rushing off again. Alice advanced toward them calmly, her nerves perfectly under her control. Lifting up her right hand, palm aiming for the Fusions Monsters, she released an energy beam and shot at the chicken inspired monsters. She swept her hand to the right, striking the first set of Foes. She mimicked this process with her left palm, only moving that hand to the left. All turned to matter from the hits, and the others went into a frenzy at seeing their brethren fall. They lobbed globs of Fusion Matter at the girl, which were countered by her own energy balls.

The monsters were furious to have their attacks countered, and rushed even faster, some even flapping their wings in an attempt to fly, just so that they could move even closer to their opponent. A thin blue light outlined Alice's body, and she raised both her hands in the Fowl Foes' direction. A force-field surrounded them, and the abruptness of its appearance had a few Foes crashing into it. She sealed the force-field over them like a dome, and began to lower the dome's height. The monsters, realizing they were trapped, began clawing, pecking, and even sending their globs at the walls of the dome. They screeched and roared in pain and in anger at their predicament. Alice held her concentration, ensuring that the dome walls would hold off the offenders' attacks. It was a slow process, but she was able to lower the top of the dome, squashing the trapped Fusion Monsters inside. When the dome completely flattened, there was no sound from the Foes.

Alice breathed heavily, sweat rolling down the side of her face as testament to the extraneous effort. Holding up a barrier consistently while also striking her opponents and then using a second force-field to keep in the Fowl Foes had stretched Alice thin. The consequence of using too much power and energy was Alice fading. Both the dome and the force-field dropped at the same time that her body gave out on her. The rocky ground moved upward rapidly to meet her. Alice's eyes closed in preparation for when body would meet ground.

"I gotcha," a voice came to her right, grabbing onto her falling body before it could hit the ground.

The person pulled her right arm over their shoulder, using their other arm to wrap around her and hold her up. Opening her eyes - which was a difficult task unto itself - she glanced to her right, surprised to find that Ben was the one who stopped her fall. The teenager gave her a grin, and if his hands weren't full, he might have even given her a thumbs up.

"Way to go," he congratulated.

Alice smiled weakly in reply, but the feeling flew away when a shadow fell upon them. A rather loud screech pierced the air, chilling their bones. Alice and Ben looked upward and found a King-size Fowl directly in front of them. Twice the size of the normal Foes, the bird monster stomped its foot, causing the earth beneath them to shake. Ben kept the two on their feet, and glanced at Alice. The girl was barely conscious, and when she caught him looking at her, she shook her head. She was out of energy and couldn't fight the monster. Her eyes filled with regret, and Ben sent her a reassuring smile.

It'll be okay, he mouthed to her, although he was pretty sure it was a lie.

She couldn't protect the two of them or fend the bird off. He couldn't use his Omnitrix without worrying about one of his aliens being swiped, and the monster was far too large to simply punch with his bare fists. The Providence agents were too far away to come to their aid, and with how cloes the two of them were to the monster, they wouldn't chance firing at it. Their only option was for Ben to try and get them back inside Providence Headquarters and let-

"Down."

Ben acted on the command by dropping the two of them. He cushioned Alice's fall as much as possible, but the sudden movement pushed Alice into unconsciousness. Ben didn't raise his head, but felt the heat fly over him and the roar of the monster boss a second later. Lifting his head up, Ben watched as fire spiraled around the giant bird in a vortex. The monster screeched and hollered, swiping at the flames to snuff them out. The fire stuck to the monster and burned it into a pile of Fusion Matter. The flames disappeared with its enemy gone, and Ben pulled himself up to his knees, pulling up Alice's knocked out body with him. He released a sigh of relief, and turned to the only person who could have created that fire.

"Glad to see you're finally awake," the alien-powered superhero said sincerely. "Have a nice rest?"

Amber Ignis, arms crossed and looking thoroughly unamused, glared down at the teenager with a dark look in her eyes. "Explain yourself, Tennyson."

Alice took in a deep breath, fought off her body's desire to tense up in apprehension, and hit the button to open the mess hall's sliding door. Alice didn't know what time it was exactly, but given how busy the hall was, she guessed it was nearing evening time; the mess hall was always busy in the evening. Unmasked Providence agents turned to look at who had just joined, and Alice forced herself to not shrink under their gaze. She surveyed the room until a hand jetted upward over the unknown faces. The hand ascended further into the air as the occupant pushed himself up out of the seat.

"Over here, Alice!" Ben called, waving his arm to get her attention further.

Alice almost sighed in relief, but she held it in; she didn't want the agents to see how nervous she was. She crossed the room, able to see that Ben was sitting at her and Amber's usual table. Approaching the corner table even more revealed that Amber and Caesar were already sitting there. Seeing the woman awake brought on a mix of relief and nervousness. Amber's gaze didn't look very different when she watched Alice take a seat near Ben, so that was good sign...hopefully.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Ben asked the girl, slipping back down into his chair.

"I'm alright," Alice answered honestly. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't-"

Ben held up his hand and waved off her apology. "You don't need to say anything. You don't have to shoulder all the burden. It was a group effort. The Providence guys held off some of them, you came in and wiped out the rest, and Amber finished off by finishing off the boss."

"And you have overstayed your welcome."

Alice felt her spine straighten at the cold tone in Amber's voice. The woman was giving Ben an annoyed glare, but the teenage hero leaned in closer to Alice. His eyes shown with innocent mischief.

"See what I mean about that bedside manner?" he asked in a stage whisper, and Alice had to fight back the urge to laugh. The look on Amber's face made it clear that she was not in the mood for jokes.

"Oh, come on! You're still mad that I came to talk to Alice?" Ben complained, his smile disappearing.

"I gave you an explicit warning-"

"She was upset. No one here was going to talk to her, so I-"

"Came down here to remove her from my training," Amber completed for him, giving the teenager a dark look.

Ben shrugged, not at all worried about the dangerous look. He was either very brave, very confident, or very stupid.

"I'm not apologizing for that. I came here to see how she was doing, and gave her the opportunity to go to her family's house," Ben stated, defending his position. He then grinned at her. "She didn't a decision, but after what she just did today, I bet she's going to stay."

Amber's eyes slid over to Alice's person, and the girl forced herself to not shrink under the gaze.

"Well?" she demanded. "Are you continuing your training or not?"

Alice bit her bottom lip, flicking her eyes from Amber's intense stare to Ben's encouraging grin and back. Breathing in deeply, she released the air out in a slow breath.

"Ben was right. I did want to quit because I was scared. I'm not like you, or Ben, or the Powerpuff Girls, or my friends. I'm not a fighter; I don't have the mindset for it," Alice stated, pleased to hear how steady her voice sounded. "But I was looking at this wrong. I don't want to be a fighter; I want to be a defender. I want to protect anyone who needs it. If you'll let me, I'd like to resume my training."

Ben's wide grin was filled with pride for the young alien. Caesar looked mildly interested, but there was that gleam in his eyes that Alice actively ignored. Amber's look didn't change as she listened to Alice's heartfelt statement. The silence stretched for a long time, and just as Alice was beginning to sweat, beginning to think she'd said the wrong things, the woman finally answered.

"You're an idiot."

Alice deflated at the insult. She supposed she had it coming, but it hurt all the same. Ben's eyebrows flew up into his hairline in surprise, and then lowered rapidly into a downward dip. He actually looked offended on Alice's behalf. Amber ignored the teenager's change in attitude, focusing solely on the alien.

"The line between a fighter and a defender is blurred. Do you think Ben's motivation for stopping Vilgax is to simply fight? Or that the Powerpuff Girls go looking for fights with their rogue's gallery simply for the fun of it? Heroes fight to protect," Amber lectured.

Alice blinked at the explanation and then flushed in embarrassment, dropping her eyes to the table. Of course heroes fought villains to defend the weak; it was Hero 101. Not even Buttercup, the one many considered the brawler of the trio, picked fights for the sake of being in a brawl; she engaged the bad guys to protect the people who couldn't. Alice felt stupid for saying it, especially with a hero next to her.

"However," Amber continued. Alice's eyes lifted from the table to give Amber her attention. "If that's the mindset you need to excel in your training, then fine. We'll put you in the defender role.

"Th-thank you," Alice stumbled out the gratitude.

Amber didn't acknowledge Alice's words. She continued, "Your training will resume tomorrow morning, but we'll modify some of your lessons to fall in line with your new role."

Alice nodded in agreement, a smile forming on her face. Ben shared a smile with her, just as pleased to hear Amber's concession to modify her training. Caesar's face was also split into a grin, though Alice was rather nervous what his reasons were.

"Since she's staying, I'd like to draw another-"

Amber flicked a small flame at Caesar. The scientist caught it in his hand and smothered it without flinching.

"This modified schedule does not include you," Amber stated to the man, paying him no more mind.

"I think we should celebrate," Ben declared, injecting his good mood into the atmosphere.

"I think you should leave," Amber countered. "Like you were supposed to do hours ago."

"Oh come on, I'm a guest," Ben complained.

"I didn't invite you," Amber said. "Just because Calan has a soft heart-"

"It's just the night," Ben interrupted. "I'll be out of your hair by morning."

Amber stared at him hard, and then bit out, "I better not see you in the morning."

Ben grinned happily at her answer, and it segued into a smirk. "Look who has the soft heart now."

Ben yelped in aggravation as his jacket caught on fire. He shrugged the green jacket off before Alice had a chance to do anything, and beat it on the ground until the flames went out. He ran his eyes and hands over it, inspecting the outerwear intensely. When finished, he turned and sent an annoyed look at Amber, who met his challenge with a glare of her own. Alice's eyes flicked between the two rapidly, worried a fight might break out.

"This is my favorite jacket."

"You have more."

"Yeah, but not on me right now, jacket killer," he countered, slipping the jacket on again.

Amber did actually roll her eyes at his childish nickname. She stood up from the table, laying her hands flat on the table top and giving Alice a stern look.

"Training will begin at its usual time, so do not stay up late 'celebrating' with Tennyson," the woman warned her student.

Receiving a nod in acknowledgement (and ignoring Ben's "Awh, don't you want to stay?"), the E.V.O. turned on her heel and left the mess hall. Caesar followed her out, wanting to return to his lab (and to not have to converse with two kids). Ben shook his head at their retreating figures.

"I hope I'm not like them when I grow up," he remarked. "Being responsible is good and all, but they need to learn to relax every once in a while." He then shrugged, letting the issue leave his mind. "Oh well. They're not our concern right now. I say we still celebrate. You probably haven't had anything to eat yet, so I'll go grab us some food. You good with anything?"

Alice nodded in agreement, and watched as Ben left the table to go and grab them some food. Her body was hungry (since she had gone nearly the whole day without a meal), but it was oozing with too much giddiness that she hardly noticed the food pains. Agreeing to training had filled her with apprehension, but now her body had confidence flowing through it like blood. Instead of being afraid of what was to come, Alice was eagerly awaiting the next day.

It was a good feeling.

Chapter Text

Amber raised her hand, pointing her palm straight at Alice as she released a stream of fire at the blue-haired girl. Alice's eyebrows dipped in concentration and raised her arm up, a wall of energy erecting with the motion. The wall held, protecting Alice from the flames. She dropped the shield when the fire died away, watching as Amber made a run for her. The alien formed an energy ball in each of her palms and threw them to slow the E.V.O. down. Amber's hands burst into flames, consuming them completely. She raised her hands and whacked away the oncoming energy balls, paying no mind to them as the attacks hit the wall behind her. Seeing that her opponent was still oncoming, Alice jettisoned into the air, missing capture by just seconds.

Alice spun around in the air, maintaining eye contact with her opponent. She raised up her palm and fired an energy beam at the woman. A wall of fire sprouted from the ground, absorbing the energy beam. Alice cut off the beam and raised up both hands, forming an energy dome over the raging fire. She couldn't see Amber inside of the dome, and so she began to slowly shrink it, smothering the flames that burned inside. As she was shrinking her dome, something bright red from beneath her caught her attention. She glanced downward, spotting a red circle forming on the tiled ground, not unlike what the Fusion Monsters did with their Fusion energy. Alice flew backward, out of the path as a beam of fire jetted upward just inches from her. With her attention momentarily broken, her dome significantly weakened, allowing Amber the chance to overpower the energy dome and break it into pieces. Moving quickly, Amber ran for the wall, leaping on to its side. From there, she leaped at Alice, bursting through the beam of fire that had obscured Alice's vision. Catching the girl by surprise, Amber gripped Alice by her face and shoved her downward. The blue-haired girl's back hit the tiled flooring, causing the girl to grunt in pain. Amber tightened her grip for a moment, a warning that she could set her face a flamed, but she didn't follow through with the threat. She released her hold on the girl and stood up.

"Training over," the woman stated.

Alice breathed in through her nose, letting air fill her lungs. She pulled herself up into a standing position, interlocking her arms behind her back. She did her best to keep a neutral expression, not unlike the ones Amber always wore, but the briefest look of anticipation entered her eyes.

"Have I graduated?" Alice asked.

"No."

It was a testament to how Alice had accustomed to Amber's demeanor. Instead of flinching or being upset by the answer, Alice waited patiently for Amber to continue with her assessment.

"However, your skills have improved," Amber conceded. "You pass."

The smile Alice had been fighting back broke free. It was officially the end of her training session, and she'd be reunited with her friends. It left her with a bittersweet feeling in her chest; she was excited to see her friends again, but saddened to leave her training.

"Thank you," Alice said sincerely.

Amber waved her hand, like she was swatting away the gratitude.

"This was not an act of generosity. I was doing this to ensure the Earth a better chance of winning," she explained dispassionately. She turned away from the girl, making an exit for the door. Alice followed behind. "Clean up. Your team will be here shortly. Your communicator is waiting for you in your room."

Alice nodded at the woman's retreating back, not saying anything more as she went in the opposite direction of Amber, heading for her own quarters. She was a little upset that their training was officially over. Even if Amber trained her for selfish reasons, Alice was still thankful she had trained her at all. It had only been thirty days, but Alice's reflexes, endurance, defenses, and even her offensive abilities had been greatly improved. She wasn't at Amber's caliber, but the training had boosted her confidence, and she felt ready to return to the fight.

There was a planet to save.

Alice stood at the garage door of Providence's hangar, keeping an eye on the Nowhere desert. Nano Boomer sat on her shoulder, his head resting against her head. She was absent-mindedly petting his hair, calming down the little Nano who had remnants of tears in his eyes. His reunion with Alice had been dramatic, and earned the two a few looks from the agents operating in the hangar. Nano Bubbles was still in the NanoCom, and had expressed her own happiness at seeing Alice again. Once Nano Boomer was calm enough to go back in, Alice would pull her out so that they could have their own reunion.

The eerie silence of the Nowhere desert was disturbed by a high-powered engine from up in the air. Believing it to be a KND S.C.A.M.P.E.R., Alice stepped out of the hangar and looked up into the air, searching for the air craft. To her surprise and confusion, a racecar styled aircraft hovered in the air. It looked KND built, but had no markings to claim it as their technology. As it descended closer to the dirt, Alice was able to pick out two occupants in the airplane. The front seat was occupied by a boy, probably the pilot, Alice didn't recognize. The passenger of the aircraft sat behind the boy, and she was able to identify the girl as her friend Suzy. When the plane was only three feet off the ground - kicking up dust as it hovered over the desert floor; although Alice avoided being hit by the little pebbles kicked up by erecting an energy shield in front of her - Suzy hopped out of her seat, over the side of the plane, and landed on two feet. She waved a hand at the pilot, saying something to him that Alice couldn't make out; the plane's engines washed out any other noise. The sunglass wearing boy gave a nod in acknowledgement and lifted back up into the air, giving the redhead a thumbs up before speeding off.

Suzy ran over to Alice and threw her arms around the girl. Alice accepted the hug without flinching, and even chuckled when she heard Nano Boomer squawk when the impact nearly sent him off her shoulder. The Nano had no intention of sharing his favorite person, but he didn't say a thing to the redhead; he settled for simply glaring at her in the hopes she'd get the memo. She didn't.

"It's been so long!" Suzy cheered as a form of greeting. She pulled back from the embrace, keeping her hands on Alice's upper arms. "How have you been? How did it go?"

Alice smiled, happiness flowing through her system upon seeing one of her friends again.

"I'm doing alright," Alice answered. She looked in the direction the mystery airplane had gone off in. "I thought you and Junior were coming in a S.C.A.M.P.E.R."

Suzy shrugged in reply. "Ace was in Sector V and he owed me a favor." She gave her area a look around, frowning in confusion. "Junior said he was on his way last I spoke to him. I can't imagine the Center of the Earth has any traffic jams."

As if on cue, the earth began to rumble. Alice and Suzy broke their embrace, staring at the ground as it began to crack open. Some masked Providence agents still in the area, startled by the earth shaking, rushed over to the hangar's entrance. All eyes focused in on the crack forming in ground. The crack separated slowly, like it was being pulled apart by invisible hands. Once it had opened to its widest, a circular craft with a drill attached to the top of it and four mechanical spider legs attached rocketed out of the opening. The craft landed just at the edge of the opening in the earth. The agents, expecting the unidentified craft to contain an enemy, held up their rifles and aimed it at the craft.

"Hold on," Suzy called, raising her hand up to stop the agents.

The side of the unidentified craft opened, revealing a ramp that extended out of the vehicle and touched down on the desert ground. Almost as soon as the ramp touched down, black forms roughly the height of a toddler came rushing out. Alice couldn't quite figure out why they looked familiar to her, but she pegged them as demons. The small demons rushed around their area, climbing the walls of Providence and even attempting to climb Alice, Suzy and the Providence agents; the latter was thwarted thanks to Alice raising an energy dome over their group. The demons bounced off against the dome, but Alice couldn't tell if they were doing it to break down her barrier or play with it. Seeing the maniacal grins on their faces as they bounced off her barrier, Alice ruled a little from Column A and a little from Column B. Nano Boomer growled and zipped to the edge of the force-field, sticking out his tongue and making faces at the small demons, which excited the invading group.

"That's enough!" a voice rang out from the craft, stilling the movements of the small demons.

The small demons - along with Alice, Suzy and the agents - looked to the mouth of the craft, where Nergal Junior could be seen. With a fierce glare focused on the small demons, the boy stomped his way down the metal ramp. At the base of the ramp, he raised his arm up sharply and pointed at the craft.

"Inside, now," Junior ordered. The small demons made some noises in a language Alice didn't recognize, but Junior clearly knew it fluently because tendrils spurted out from his back and wiggled around in aggression. "Now!"

The demons made more complaints in their native language, but obediently rushed up the ramp into the craft. Once the last of the small demons entered, Junior pulled out a small remote and pressed the large red button on it. The ramp retracted and the door began to slide close. Just before it was shut, Junior hurled the remote at the small opening. The remote made it inside the craft, and once the door was closed shut, it lifted itself up on its mechanical legs, and hopped into the crack in the ground. The ground pushed back together once the craft cleared it, and there were no markings to prove that it had ever been used as an opening between the surface world and the Center of the Earth. Junior heaved a long sigh, and then spun around, facing his two teammates. The danger had passed, so Alice dropped her force-field and the Providence agents returned to their stations in the hangar, turning their heads over their shoulders to give the half-demon boy a look (presumably, since their masks were still on). He ignored the looks of the agent, choosing instead to focus on his teammates. He approached the two hesitantly. While he was happy to see the two of them after so long, the cheeky grin on Suzy's face unsettled him.

"When school goes back into session, you should join theater," she commented. "You're the textbook definition of dramatic."

Junior glowered at Suzy, his cheeks a bright pink from embarrassment. "This was my dad's idea," he grumbled. "He always likes to show off."

"Well, you could have kept a few of them around, they could have been of some use," Suzy commented.

"No way," Junior argued, giving her a flat look. "They're annoying at home already. I don't need them involved with my life more than that."

"What are they?" Alice asked cautiously, not wanting to upset Junior further if it was a difficult subject.

"Annoying," Junior grumbled.

"That can't be their name," Suzy joked, her grin widening when she saw the look he sent her. "Oh, oh! Let me guess. Nergalings?" Junior blinked at the redhead, taken aback that she had guessed the name correctly. Seeing the look, the girl shrugged. "Mandy and I talk."

Junior's eyebrows came together in worry. Mandy wasn't the most social human being on the planet, and something about her and Suzy in communication with each other raised red warning flags in his mind. He didn't bring it up at the moment since he was happy to see his teammates again, but it was put in the back of his mind to be addressed at a later time.

"Did you two have to wait for me?" Junior asked.

"I just got here," Suzy answered him.

Alice shook her head. "I haven't been waiting long."

Junior nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay, next question. Where are we going next?"

Alice looked to Suzy first to see if she would make a suggestion first, but the redhead was silent. Emboldened, she raised her hand, getting their attention.

"I'd like to go see my aunt and uncle," Alice suggested. She hastily added on, "If that's alright."

"I'm all for it," Suzy remarked, and an excited light shone in her eyes. "And I got just the thing to take us there."

Alice soared through the desert sky, taking the lead since she knew the way to her family's house. Beneath her, her two teammates were riding on some of DexLabs newest creations. While she had been in isolation for thirty days, DexLabs had rolled out a line of hoverboards, jetbikes, gliders and hovercars. Suzy had purchased vehicles for all three of them, reasoning that even if Alice flew everywhere, she may grow tired and want to ride around to conserve her energy. It was for that reason that a Dynomutt Dasher, a hoverbike in the shape of the canine hero Dynomutt, was sitting in her NanoCom. Underneath the flying alien, Suzy was riding in a Diva Dynamite Hovercar, blasting the Hex Girls' hit single "The Witch's Ghost" on the radio loud enough to be heard even by Alice. Following behind, Junior was balancing on a Valhallen Shredder, which was a hoverboard in the shape of Valhallen's famous guitar in the color green. With their newest forms of transportation, the group of three was able to pass through the Nowhere Desert quickly.

From her aerial advantage, Alice easily spotted the Bagge homestead, which stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of Nowhere. The girl reached the farmhouse first, landing at the base of the steps just as Suzy and Junior pulled up. Suzy switched off the radio, which let the three teammates hear the rickety front door swing open and slam against the outer wall. The patriarch of the household stomped outside; the local newspaper rolled up in his right hand like he would use it as a weapon.

"What's that racket?!" Eustace barked, lifting the hand with the newspaper up over his head. He shook it back and forth threateningly. "Yah darn kids and yer rotten - huh, Alice? Is that you?"

Alice raised her hand and waved. "Hi, Uncle Eustace."

The elderly farmer didn't get the chance to greet her back. A feminine, Scottish voice called from inside the house, "Alice? Is Alice here?"

"She is," Eustace called back into the house, his tone only revealing a slight annoyance.

Muriel popped up at the doorway, pushing past her husband and rushing down the steps. She wrapped the blue-haired alien in a hug, lifting the girl's feet off the ground. Courage, responding to Alice's name, rushed out of the house and stood next to the reuniting family, hopping up and down in his excitement.

"Oh, Alice! I'm so happy to see you," the woman gushed. She set the girl back down on her feet, pulling back and leaving her hands on the girl's shoulders. "I've missed you."

Alice smiled at her aunt. "I've missed you, too, Aunt Muriel."

Courage whined, wanting to be acknowledged by the girl. Alice smiled down at the dog, and bent down, being released from her aunt's hold. She stroked the pink dog's head, getting a pleased noise from the loyal canine.

"I missed you, too, Courage," she said, cooing at the canine.

"Come inside," Muriel urged, her smile reaching her ears. "I have a surprise for you." She noticed the two guests still standing next to their vehicles, and offered them a sweet smile. "Your friends are invited as well."

"Thank you, ma'am," Suzy said, picking up the ends of her dress to give a little curtsey.

Muriel led the way into the modest abode. Eustace followed in after the party passed him, giving his niece a pat on the shoulder to welcome her home, a blank look to the redhead girl, and an unkind look as the only boy on the team passed him by (granted, he always had a sour look on his face, but Junior's sixth sense picked up that Eustace was especially unhappy with the boy being around). Muriel led her niece and her three friends to the lone table in the kitchen, ushering them to take a seat.

"Now, you all must be famished from your journey," Muriel stated. "Let me grab something for you."

She gave a wink to the pink haired dog, who nodded back chummily. He hopped over to the cabinet under the sink, busily looking for something in it. The two guests looked to Alice in questioning, but the girl looked just as confuse don what her aunt and the dog were up to.

"Now dearie, close your eyes," Muriel instructed, moving over to the refrigerator's door.

The farmer's wife didn't open the door until she saw that her niece, still confused by her aunt's behavior, did as instructed. From the refrigerator, she pulled out a plate that contained a cake with cream cheese topping, a 'Happy Birthday' written on the top with blue icing. Muriel raised a finger to her lips, silently asking for Alice's two friends to keep quiet. Although the two had been surprised to see the cake, they quickly complied with the woman's silent request. Suzy, her face bright with giddiness, pulled out her NanoCom and raised it up, beginning to film. Courage closed the cabinets door, holding in his furry arms a collection of confetti poppers. He offered one to each of their guests (minus Alice) and cautiously offered one to Eustace. The old farmer mumbled something rather unkind under his breath, but snatched up a popper under his wife's warning glare. All smiles once more, Muriel approached the table and gently, carefully, placed the plate down in front of Alice. The elderly woman held up three fingers, and then counted down.

"Happy birthday, Alice!" the elderly woman led the cheer, the other members in the home (even the grumpy farmer and the pink dog) expressing the same sentiment and pulling the string on the confetti poppers. Alice's eyes flew open, the birthday cake greeting her sights first. Her eyes moved around the room, staring in surprise at her family and friends.

"My birthday?"

"Of course, dear," Muriel said. "Now, today isn't your actual birthday, but we couldn't celebrate it because you were at Providence."

Alice pulled her NanoCom and checked on the date. She hadn't given it much thought when her NanoCom had been returned to her. Her birthday had been six days ago. She had forgotten her own birthday.

"Is everything alright?" Muriel asked in concern, bending down so she could get a better look at her niece. "Do you not like the cake?"

Alice quickly shook her head. "No, no. It's not that." She looked down, an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks. "It's...I... I forgot about my birthday."

"Because of your time at Providence?" Muriel asked for clarification. When she saw her niece give a nod in affirmation, the woman rested a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "It is a shame we couldn't celebrate on your actual day, but that's in the past. You're here now, and that's all that matters."

The words warmed Alice's heart, and the color in her cheeks died down to normal coloring. A warm, grateful smile spread across her face and she nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Aunt Muriel. Thank you." She looked at her family and friends, saying with clear gratefulness in her voice, "Thank you for being here."

"Of course we'd be here for your birthday," Suzy assured the girl.

"We don't have any gifts, though," Junior admitted sheepishly.

"I don't need them. Having you here is enough for me."

Suzy smiled brightly and reached over the table, giving the girl a one-armed hug, mindful of Muriel who was cutting the cake into reasonable pieces. Alice accepted the hug with her smile growing a bit wider. Courage didn't want to be left out, and so he wrapped his own arms around her leg to show his love for her. Alice reached down and ran her fingers through his soft fur.

"Who'd like some cake?" Muriel asked the party guests, holding up two plates with a slice of cake on each.

"'Bout time we get to eat," Eustace grumbled as he joined the group of kids at the table.

Despite his grumpy attitude, he paused long enough beside his niece to give the top of her hair an affectionate stroke before he took his seat beside the birthday girl. Alice smiled at her uncle and took a bite of the cake, tasting that the chocolate cake didn't have a hint of vinegar, which was her aunt's favorite ingredient to add in her cooking.

"Soo... how old are you?" Junior asked, cutting part of his cake with his fork.

Suzy reached out and whacked the boy on his arm before Alice had the chance to answer.

"Junior, you can't just ask a lady how old she is!" Suzy lectured, shaking her head at the boy's question. She then stuck her fork in her cake and asked, "So how old are you, Alice?"

Junior shot the redhead a flabbergasted look. "I just asked that!"

"Yes, but I'm a girl," Suzy retorted with a flippant hand wave, "so it's okay for girls to ask other girls."

Junior narrowed his eyes at the girl, his eyebrows dipping downward as he tried to decipher if Suzy was lying or not. Suzy ignored the boy's concentrated look and stared expectantly at her blue-haired friend.

"I'm thirteen," Alice answered, taking another bite of her cake.

"As I suspected," Suzy said with a sagely nod.

"That makes you the youngest," Junior pointed out, pointing a finger at the redhead girl seated next to him.

Suzy stuck her nose up in the air, pretend arrogance rolling off her person. "It does. Feel free to be jealous of my youthful glow, old man," she joked in a mock haughty tone.

"Are you thirteen, too?" Alice asked her half-demon friend.

"Yeah. Birthday was in January," Junior answered. "Back before all of this-" he waved his hand to the window, indicating the larger world outside, "started."

Suzy leaned closer to Alice, stage whispering conspiratorially, "Can you believe he didn't invite us?"

Junior sputtered at the blatant accusation, his cheeks burning a bright pink.

"Hold on, we barely even talked back in January," Junior protested. "And my mom threw a family party."

"Excuses, excuses."

Suzy laughed behind her hand as Junior's face turned an even brighter pink bordering on red. Alice bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, although Courage from beside her snickered into his paw. Eustace harrumphed.

"Keep it down! I'm tryin' to eat here!" the farmer complained.

His complaint was met with a harsh thwack from his wife's wooden spoon. The old man yelped from the pain to his arm, rubbing at it to alleviate the pain. He sent a glare at his wife, but she fired a hard glare right back at him.

"There'll be none of that," she lectured her husband. "Let them enjoy themselves."

Eustace grumbled under his breath, but didn't voice further complaints. Satisfied that her husband had been put in his place, Muriel took the chair on Alice's other side, bright smiles once more upon her face.

"That's better," Muriel commented lightly. "Now Alice, what were ya doing up in Providence?"

"What'd you want with them G-men?" Eustace added on.

Alice momentarily tensed up, her fingers tightening around the fork in her hand. She had been so excited to see her aunt and uncle again, that she forgot she'd have to give them an explanation about her time at Providence and her joining the war effort. She took in a deep breath and placed her fork on the plate.

"I..I was training."

"With them?" Muriel asked at the same time Eustace groused, "What for?"

Alice's right index finger drew indiscernible patterns on the table top as an outlet to relieve her nervousness. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, grabbing onto whatever courage she could.

"I've joined the war effort." She was mildly pleased to hear how steady her voice was.

Muriel clasped a hand over her mouth, gasping from behind it. Eustace's eyebrows drew downward and his lips dipped into a deeper frown. Courage whimpered lightly, anxiety filling his large eyes as they swerved from the Bagges to Alice and back repeatedly. Alice dropped her eyes to the table, watching her finger trace the top of the table sporadically.

"I signed up over two months ago," Alice continued explaining. She stopped her mindless tracing and flipped her hand over so that she could stare at her palm. "My alien DNA gave me powers, and I joined to use them against Fuse's forces." She curled her fingers into a fist. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

Muriel reached out and laid her hand over her niece's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

"You have nothing to apologize for, dear," Muriel assured her niece. "It is very brave of you."

"You're not..." Alice paused as she searched for the right word. "Upset?"

"Heavens, no," Muriel quickly reassured. "We'll be worried, of course, but we're not upset." She brushed a stray hair from Alice's eyes, smiling gently at the teenager. "There's nothing you could do to make us upset. We love you."

Alice smiled gratefully at her aunt, feeling her shoulders relax as the weight of her decision rolled off her. "Thank you."

"You haven't done anything too dangerous, hmm?" Eustace questioned, sticking a piece of the cake in his mouth.

"No," Alice answered quickly, shooting a quick look at her teammates to not call out the lie. Uncle Eustace would probably not want to hear about their near-death in Devil's Canyon. Her two friends returned the stare with subtle nods of understanding.

"Would you tell us some of the things you've done?" Muriel asked. "We get updates from the Nowhere News, but they don't cover everything."

"Of course," Alice answered with a smile. Then, uncertainly, "But... you're not surprised about the powers...?"

"Not at all," Muriel replied happily.

"Your mother had powers, too," Eustace piped up. He shoved the last of his cake in his mouth, and with his mouth full, said, "She had the power to annoy me."

"Eustace," Muriel admonished.

"It's true!"

Alice turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, revealing to herself and her two friends standing behind her the guest bedroom that had been her room for three weeks in January. The same wood flooring that existed in the hall bled into the guest room, though the room had blueish-grey wallpaper instead of the yellow with flowers pattern found in the hallway. White curtains hung over the only window in the room, currently drawn back so that the sun's light could peek into the room. A queen-sized bed was snug up against the wall, with two nightstands situated on either side. On the nightstands sat basic looking lamps. A dresser sat at the foot of the bed, and on top of the dresser were three picture frames.

Alice stepped into the room and spun around, extending her arm inward like she was showing it off; she sort of was. She had already given a tour of the lower part of the house to the two so that they wouldn't get lost. The house itself wasn't very big, all things considered, but this was Nowhere, and the Bagge farmhouse was resting on a cemetery; anything could happen at Nowhere with absolutely no logic attached to it.

"Here's the guest bedroom," she announced to her friends.

Junior and Suzy stepped through the doorway, giving the sparse room a look around. There wasn't much to inspect, but they still made a show of looking around. Alice moved further into the room, ran her hand over the surface of her NanoCom, calling out Nano Bubbles. The Nano stretched out her arms, releasing a sigh as she heard something pop.

"Hi, Alice!" Nano Bubbles chirped, waving her hand at the teenager. Alice gave her Nano a wave in response.

The Nano noticed their new location and gave it a look around. Her little blue eyes caught onto the picture frames sitting on the dresser. She zipped over and studied the picture frames situated atop the dresser. Alice followed behind, already knowing what each frame had. One frame had a picture of a young Alice with a much younger Courage held in her arms. Another frame contained the picture of the entire family, including her cousin Fred. The final frame held the photo of Alice and her mother on Halloween night (Alice was a princess that year). Nano Bubbles stared at the photos with a look of awe in her eyes.

"Is this you?" Nano Bubbles asked, pointing to the photo of her and Courage.

"Yes," Alice answered. "When I was younger."

"Ooooh, you were so cute!" Nano Bubbles gushed, her voice raising several octaves. "And the puppy!"

Alice giggled a little behind her hand, finding the Nano's bubbly personality contagious. The Nano continued her own tour of the room, zipping around the room at breakneck speed. She inspected every nook and cranny, and even pressed her little face up against the window pane so that she could observe the Nowhere desert outside.

"It's going to be warm tonight, so use just a blanket," Muriel announced as she passed by the open door. "I'll go and grab some pillows."

"Thank you, Aunt Muriel," Alice called after the woman.

"What's the sleeping arrangement?" Junior asked.

"I mean it's pretty obvious," Suzy commented.

"The boy sleeps on the couch."

Three heads turned as one to the doorway. Eustace stood in the hall, staring into the room. His bony fists were planted firmly on his hips as he stared down Junior. Junior returned the stare down with an annoyed look of his own.

"Uncle Eustace..."

"Don't worry, Mister Bagge." Suzy bounced over to Junior and slung an arm around the boy's shoulder. She smiled brightly at the farmer, showing all her pearly whites. "I'll keep an extra eye on him. And if he steps out of line..." She paused, summoning her Camp Oar from her NanoCom, "I'll put him down."

"What the- No!" Junior protested, glaring at the girl.

Suzy ignored her friend's protesting, keeping her sunny smile pointed at the owner of the house. Eustace eyed the redhead for a tense moment before nodding his head in consent.

"I like this one," he told his niece before leaving the kids to the room.

Junior shrugged off Suzy's arm, giving the girl a fierce glare. Suzy met it without a hint of fear, returning her melee weapon without having to glance at the action.

"Calm down," Suzy told him. "I wouldn't hit you so hard. Plus, it got him off your back so I consider it a win-win."

Junior sighed irritably and face-palmed himself. Something suspiciously like "Stupid redheads" was muttered under his breath, but Suzy and Alice couldn't hear it properly. Muriel poked her head in at that moment, a sleeping bag and pillows held in her arms.

"Here you are, dearies. Some extra pillows, and I brought your mother's spare sleeping bag for your friend."

"Thank you, Aunt Muriel."

Alice moved forward and took the items off her aunt's hands. Junior took the sleeping bag and pillow offered her, and Suzy tossed the other one onto the bed she and Alice would be sharing. The redhead fell backward onto the bed, sighing as her back hit the soft mattress. She pulled the NanoCom from off her hip and held it up to her face.

"Time to buy some cute pjs," she announced. "You should grab a pair too, Junior."

Junior rolled his eyes, but dropped himself onto the bed and pulled out his own NanoCom. Alice already had a pair sitting in the dresser drawer. Her mother had them leave spare clothing at the Bagge house just in case things went south in Peach Creek and they had to leave without packing.

A tugging on the bottom of her dress pulled her attention downward. Courage had a paw wrapped on the fabric, muttering in a gibberish that Alice couldn't decipher. Alice bent down to look at the dog better, though the blue blur that zipped pass her and collided with the pink dog.

"Puppy!" Nano Bubbles cheered, nuzzling her face into the dog's fur.

Courage whined in confusion, looking from the Nano currently bear hugging him to Alice, a clear look of "HELP" in his eyes. Alice touched her Nano's back, getting the girl's attention.

"Nano Bubbles, why don't you help Suzy pick out some pjs?"

Nano Bubbles nodded without a hint of hesitation. "Okay!"

Like a speeding bullet, Nano Bubbles released her hold on Courage and zipped over to the bed, dropping down onto the bed with a small thud. Alice looked back to her favorite canine companion, watching him release a sigh of relief.

"Now, is something wrong, Courage?"

Courage shook his head, though he pointed animatedly to the hallway. He whined out even more gibberish, hopping from one leg to the other in apparent urgency. Alice followed his pointing, but found nothing waiting there.

"Do you want to show me something?"

Courage nodded his head rapidly. He bolted out of the room, and Alice followed after him quickly. He guided her up the stairs that led into the attic. Alice followed him up the stairs and into the barren attic room, where the only occupants was a desk, chair, lamp, printer, and the family computer. Courage walked over to the computer and booted it up. Alice approached the dog, standing behind the chair to watch him. She was curious to know what he was doing with the computer. She'd seen him use it before, but what could he possibly be using it for currently?

"Hello, twit. Here to ask even more ridiculous questions?"

The words were typed out on the screen at the same time a British voice spoke them. Alice frowned at the computer's attitude, but Courage rolled his eyes and moved the cursor on the screen. He went to the email function and pulled it open. Alice leaned in closer to see what was in his emails. She blinked and then squinted her eyes as she carefully read them over. The majority of the emails were coming from Double D, although she caught a few from Gwen, Dexter, and Mandark. She scanned some of the subject lines, her eyes widening when she took in their content. She drew back from the screen so she could look at the pink furred beagle.

"You're helping Double D?"

"Mm-hm."

Alice smiled and chuckled a little behind closed lips. She rested her hand on Courage's scalp and gave the dog a little pat on the head.

"You're a very brave dog, Courage," she praised the animal. Courage leaned into the touch, sighing with pleasure at the praise. "Let's go back to the others."

Night fell in Nowhere, and the Bagge farmhouse was as silent as a tomb. All lights were off throughout the house, indicating that the occupants were asleep and that things were at peace. Since this was Nowhere, however, the peace wasn't meant to last.

The loud crack from the sky ripped Junior from a dreamless sleep. It was a sound very similar to the start of the invasion, and it was this comparison that had Junior shimming out of his borrowed sleeping bag. He gave Alice's room a quick sweep, to see if either of his teammates had heard the sound. Both girls were still sleeping, undisturbed by the loud noise, but Courage was sitting straight up, his little body quaking. His superior canine hearing probably picked out the noise better than the girls. Quietly, so as not to wake his sleeping teammates, he moved to the only window in the room and pushed back the curtains. Almost instantly, he was able to pick out something bright falling through the sky. It was too large to be considered a falling star (and something similar to a jetstream seemed to be following the object), and it was falling in the wrong direction to be considered a product of the military's. Junior followed the object's trajectory, watching it get closer and closer to the ground before he couldn't see it anymore.

Frowning, Junior looked over his shoulder. Alice and Suzy were still asleep, but Courage had left his place at Alice's feet to stand at the window next to the boy. The dog was whimpering quietly, probably so he wouldn't wake the girls. Junior looked back out the window, in the direction that the object had gone in. There was no telling where it had landed, but his stomach knotted at the idea of letting it be left alone. If it was something from Fuse, then he wanted it eliminated as soon as possible. His eyes drifted over to his teammates for a third time. He knew he should wake them up, but he wanted to get a jumpstart on investigating the mysterious object. Quietly, he padded his way past the bed, grabbed his shoes, and slipped out of the room. He moved cautiously through the hallway and down the staircase, putting on his shoes once he was at the living room's couch. He was finishing up with putting on his shoes when he heard the stairway creak. He whipped his head around, finding the pink dog hopping down the stairs.

"Are you coming with me?" Junior whispered to the dog.

Whimpering, Courage spared a glance to the top of the stairs. He released a sigh and seemed to mutter something, although it sounded gibberish to Junior. Then, with reluctance painted on his face, the pink beagle nodded his head in agreement. Junior frowned, not eager to be taking an unarmed dog along with him, but he wasn't going to waste time arguing with an animal. If things went south, he could always send Courage back for help.

The two slipped out of the house without a sound. They moved away from the house, heading in the direction Junior had seen the object fall. When the Nowhere Triangle infected zone came into view, Junior took his Valhallen Shredder out of his NanoCom and stepped on it. He glanced down at Courage, raising an eyebrow when the beagle didn't immediately step on it.

"C'mon," Junior urged the pet. "This will be faster."

Courage groaned in distress, but pulled himself up onto the hoverboard. His legs wobbled a little in fright, and he wrapped his arms around Junior's leg to keep himself steady. Seeing that his passenger was with him, Junior moved the hoverboard forward, moving at a moderate speed as he approached the infected zone. The jetstream trail - which at a closer distance made it easy to see that it was actually a smoke trail - led past the Nowhere Triangle Infected Zone, so he had them move to the eastside of the zone.

The light from the full moon helped brighten the landscape, giving Junior the ability to see the roaming Fusion Monsters. Although he did his best to avoid the monsters, three Aubergine Masters did come close enough to notice their passing. With a growl, the three eggplant monsters chased after them for a fight, but the hoverboard was too fast for them to keep up, and they were left in the dust. Junior smirked smugly at seeing the creatures retreat, but he forced himself to survey their flat landscape again. Just because he got lucky with the Aubergines didn't mean he could get cocky. Devil's Canyon was his constant reminder to stay focused.

The rest of the travel was uneventful, with Junior able to avoid encounters with the Desert Clawdads that tried to give chase. The dry desert air gave way to a crisp, sea breeze, which told Junior that he was getting close to the ocean. He was also getting close to the crash site, which was only a rock's throw away from the back of the infected zone. A few Desert Clawdads were in the area, but the monsters didn't seem interested in what was situated in the crash site. Junior stopped at the outskirt of the impact site, surprised to find that it wasn't fusion related.

Sitting at the bottom of the small crater was a red and white spaceship. The nose of the spaceship was dug into the desert soil, making the spaceship tilt forward unevenly. Smoke lingered off of the metal, which meant that it had burned on entry into the atmosphere rather than part of it being on fire. Various holes and scraps were along the spaceship, and the Fusion Matter situated around the openings made it easy to identify who had been the aggressor.

"Wait here."

Courage whimpered back in the affirmative, giving their area a glance around. Junior stepped off his hoverboard and slid down the small crater the spaceship had created on impact. He moved to the spaceship's side, searching for a way inside. He couldn't see any doorway available to him, but there was a hole that looked close to fitting his size. With the use of his tentacles, he pulled the opening wider, making it much easier for him to slip inside without scraping his body against the metal.

There were no lights in the spaceship, so Junior pulled out his NanoCom and turned on its flashlight feature. He swept the bright light through the tiny space, finding wires were hanging from the ceiling and items littered the ground. Some were covered in Fusion Matter, but it looked like the majority was on the outside of the craft. He moved through the spaceship, which was easy to do since the spaceship wasn't very large. He didn't see any living creature as he ventured through the space vehicle, which he didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing. He came upon a sliding door that was opened slightly, probably jarred loose from the crash landing. The door resisted, but Junior was able to push it open with the help of his tendrils.

He entered the new space, his eyes noting that there were three chairs situated in the room, two situated in front of a console and the third elevated above the two. He approached the elevated chair first since it was the closest to him, and found the chair was being occupied by a redhead human. He put his fingers to her neck, and found that she had a pulse. It was slow, but it was there. He scanned her person carefully, seeking out any injuries that could be life threatening. He didn't find any, just a bruises and cuts, so Junior momentarily abandoned the girl and went to check on the two bodies in the front two seats. One was a robot, so Junior went to the other body who was flesh and blood. The being looked younger than him, and looked distinctly alien with his green skin. Junior checked the alien's pulse, finding one as well. Like the girl, Junior couldn't spot any life-threatening injuries on his person.

The half-demon tested the seatbelt function, annoyed to find that they wouldn't retract with the energy off. He searched the enclosed space for something sharp, and was lucky to find a piece of the wall sitting on the floor. It was sharp, and he was able to saw through the leather of the strap. With all the straps removed from the three occupants of the ship, Junior thought over what he'd have to do next. He could carry one of the space people on his glider with the help of his tentacles, but trying to balance himself, Courage, and the three space people on a single hoverboard was out of the realm of reality. He didn't want to have to repeatedly go back and forth between the house and the spaceship and leave Courage alone like a sitting duck with the others. He released a sigh, his mind providing the only viable response to the situation.

Alice jolted awake at the sound of her ringtone. She quickly silenced it so that she wouldn't wake her visitors. She checked her NanoCom, finding that a message had been sent by Junior. Sitting up in her bed, the alien girl surveyed her room and found that the boy was missing. Suzy was awake next to her, looking at her own NanoCom. The bright light coming from the device illuminated the way Suzy's brows came together.

"We gotta go," Suzy whispered to the girl, throwing off the covers.

Alice blinked at her teammate, and then looked down at her own NanoCom where Junior's message was still waiting. She read over it quickly, her eyes doubling in size when she finally took in its contents. She slipped from underneath the blankets, quickly searching for her shoes and slipping them on seconds later. When she saw Suzy had put on her own shoes, Alice opened her room's door and exited into the hallway, hearing Suzy following behind her. Just as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard a door open further down the hall.

"Alice?" Muriel sleepily called for her niece.

"Go back to bed, Aunt Muriel," Alice called back in a staged whisper, hoping to not wake her uncle; he was always extra cranky if his sleep was disturbed. "We have to go check something."

"Be safe, dear," Muriel answered back with a yawn, retreating back into her bedroom.

Alice continued down the stairs, moving quickly but lightly to not wake her family members further. When she stepped out into the warm desert air, she spun around to look at Suzy for instruction.

"Go ahead of me," Suzy instructed, already moving past the house. "I'll be right behind you, but get to Junior as quick as possible."

Alice nodded and lifted herself into the air. She pulled out her NanoCom and opened up Junior's message again, pressing on the coordinates he provided. With her map app open, Alice followed its direction and moved northward. Flying was a lot faster than driving, and Alice was able to reach the crashed spaceship in record time. She spotted Junior pulling a body from out of the wreckage and Courage to help sit a body up against the spaceship. She levitated herself downward, surprised to see her pink pup so far from home. Courage heard her arrival and spun around, hopping from leg to leg in his excitement. She touched down on the dirt ground and caught the excited Courage in her arms.

"Did you come out here to help Junior?" Alice whispered to the dog, feeling him move his head in an upward-downward motion. "You're a brave dog."

Courage hummed in appreciation, and Alice stroked his fur in her appreciation. She looked away from the dog when she heard the sound of an engine coming up on them. Seconds later, Suzy arrived on the scene in her hovercar. She hopped out of the hovercar and left it out of her NanoCom. Both girls put their attention on Junior, who had just finished setting the robot body against the spaceship's outer hull.

"Junior, what happened?" Alice asked.

"I heard this thing enter the atmosphere," Junior answered, turning to look at the girl. "I went to investigate and came upon these three."

"You didn't wake us," Suzy pointed out.

Her half-demon teammate shrugged. "It was a split decision type of deal."

Suzy frowned at the answer but shrugged her shoulders, "Fair enough." She moved her eyesight to the three individuals resting against the spaceship. "Who are they?"

"Don't know. Not an alien expert," Junior answered.

"They don't look like Plumbers," Alice contributed to the discussion, earning nods of agreement from her friends.

"We should discuss this back at your aunt and uncle's house," Junior pointed out. "It's not safe to have this discussion in the open."

"I can take one in the hovercar," Suzy offered. "Will you be able to carry one, Junior?"

"I've got Courage as a travelling partner," Junior answered, jabbing his chin at the pink dog.

"Alice, can you carry two?" Suzy asked her blue-haired friend. "Like you did with us at Charles Darwin?"

Alice nodded her head with no hesitation. The frown that came to Junior's lips had Alice speaking up to reassure her teammates. "I practiced with Miss Ignis. I can do it."

"Okay then," Suzy said, clapping her hands together. "Let's go before those crawdads think we're food. I'll put the bot in my car. You take the boy and girl, Alice."

Alice dipped her head in acknowledgement and raised up a hand at the two-unconscious people. The spherical shape of her force-bubble enclosed the two inside of it, and she raised the bubble up into the air. She levitated herself upward into the air and towed the bubble behind her. She looked below her to see what her friends were doing. Junior was using his tentacles to move the robot to Suzy's hovercar while Courage hopped back onto Junior's hoverboard. When they had the robot secured, Suzy hopped into her vehicle while Junior hopped on his board. With everyone situated, the trio left the crash site and travelled back to the Bagge homestead.

The group of three managed to make it back to the Bagge's without a scratch; Alice was too high in the air and Junior and Suzy were too fast to be hit. Junior helped Suzy grab the robot from out of her car while Courage ran to the door and held it open for the group to enter. Alice shrunk the bubble down so that the two unconscious people inside could fit through the doorway. She levitated them to the couch, and retracted her energy bubble once they were on the furniture. Junior and Suzy brought the robot in and placed it on the couch next to its compatriots. Suzy knelt down by the fellow redhead and began inspecting her person. She did the same for the boy, but ignored the robot.

"They're breathing and they've got a pulse. Their injuries look to be bruises and cuts, but they could have some internal damage," Suzy reported to her two friends. "They're going to need to be looked at by medical professionals."

"Providence has the medical equipment to probably take care of this, but I don't think they'd be willing to help," Junior pointed out.

"Numbuh Three is a trained medic, but I don't think she has the qualifications for this situation," Suzy contributed.

"They need to go to Memorial Hospital," Alice said.

"That's pretty far," Junior pointed out. "The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. will only take us to City Station."

Suzy grinned. "Don't worry about that. I can talk the flyer into taking us to the hospital."

"Alice, dear?" Muriel called softly just before they heard the sound of wood creaking as weight was put upon it. "Are you back?"

"Yes, Aunt Muriel." Alice moved to the bottom of the stairs, spotting her aunt stepping down. "I'm sorry for waking you."

Muriel waved the girl's concern away, her eyes looking over at the backrest of the couch. She couldn't make out the figures properly, but she could spot the three heads over the couch's top.

"Oh my," the farmer's wife gasped, moving down the stairs faster. She stood behind the couch, leaning over so she could view the guests better. "Are they well?"

"We don't know, ma'am," Suzy answered.

"We have to go to Memorial Hospital to get them help," Alice continued. "I'm sorry Aunt Muriel, we can't stay."

"It's alright, dear." Muriel turned so that she was facing her niece. She cupped her niece's cheek, offering the other girl an understanding smile. "You three should change before leaving. I'll keep watch."

The three youngsters nodded; they had been willing to go out into the middle of the Nowhere desert with just their pjs, but going into town was different. Alice and Suzy changed in Alice's room while Junior used the guest bathroom. The three returned to the living room, where Muriel and Courage were still keeping watch. Alice collected the girl and the boy while Junior took the robot, Suzy following behind while Courage held the door open. Muriel and the dog stood on the porch while Suzy and Junior called out their vehicles. Alice looked from her friends and back to her family. She stepped back onto the porch and hugged her aunt with one arm (her other hand was still holding her passengers in a shield).

"Thank you for the celebration, Aunt Muriel. Will you say goodbye to Uncle Eustace for me?"

"Of course, dearie," Muriel told her niece, giving the girl a kiss on the forehead. "Be safe."

Alice smiled at her aunt and nodded. "Of course." She bent down and hugged the pink beagle. "Take care of Aunt Muriel and Uncle Eustace, okay, Courage?"

"Uh-huh," Courage agreed, grinning with all of his teeth on display.

Alice smiled encouragingly at her favorite canine companion and stroked the top of his head softly. She turned to look at her friends. Seeing that they were ready to go, the blue-haired girl stepped off the porch and levitated into the air. She offered Muriel and Courage one final wave goodbye and followed after her friends toward Devil's Canyon.

The morning sky was colored a soft pink as the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. touched down in the courtyard of Memorial Hospital. Junior opened the sliding door, being greeted by a small team of nurses rushing out with gurneys to the airship. Leading them was a pink-haired girl clearly younger than him and his team; most likely a volunteer. Suzy had called the hospital during the flight so that the staff would be prepared, which is why none of them showed any sign of surprise when Junior began unloading the robot from the aircraft. He and the pink haired volunteer laid the robot on a gurney, and the pink haired nurse waved at her companion to rush it inside. Suzy and one of the nurse's was putting the green-skinned boy on another gurney, and Alice was at the entry way with the redhead girl. Junior moved and helped her bring the redhead out of the airship, putting her onto the gurney offered to him. All three occupants of the spaceship rushed into the hospital to be looked over, but the pink-haired volunteer - who Alice recognized as Kyra Xyrespace - hung around to have a conversation with Suzy.

"Coop should be here within an hour or so," Suzy said to the younger girl. "Kiva promised to get him up."

"Thanks," Kyra said to the other girl. "We were going to have Dexter come in, but he informed us that he was too busy." Alice detected a hint of bitterness in the girl's voice, but kept her opinions silent. "We'll send you an update on their status as soon as we check them over."

"That'd be great," Suzy replied with a bright smile. "Ben says he's on his way to look them over, since Junior found them in a spaceship. He may be able to identify them. If not, he has connections."

Kyra nodded.

"Good luck out there," she said to the redhead. She turned to run off, but paused when she saw Alice staring at her. The younger girl smiled and waved at the alien girl, then turned and jogged back toward the hospital.

"You know each other?" Junior asked Alice, coming over to stand next to her.

"Sorta," Alice admitted. "I'd see her at the hospital staff parties. She also came to the funeral."

Understanding flit across his face, though he shifted a bit uncomfortably at the mention of the funeral. "Right, that's why she's familiar."

"Okay! Numbuh 415's agreed to take us to City Station," Suzy announced, throwing her arms around Junior and Alice's shoulders. "Soo, wanna head over there and find a Mr. Smoothy's?"

"You think one is open at this hour?" Junior questioned, his index finger pointed upward. The sky was morphing from pink to orange. "It's still too early."

"I'm sure," Suzy countered. "They changed their hours to 24 hours."

"Well..." Junior trailed off, thinking over the proposal. "We can't exactly go back to sleep..."

"I'm okay with it." Alice put in her vote.

Suzy grinned and released her hold on her friends. She hopped back into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and pumped her fist into the air. "Then let's go, Super Stars!"

Chapter Text

It was such a warm, beautiful day as Alice and her team walked into Orchid Bay's city limits. Almost immediately, her team was swarmed by three Boardwalk Brawlers. Without even looking, Alice raised up a hand and erected an energy shield to her left, blocking the hit from the Boardwalk Brawlers that tried to use their body to ram into her. She morphed the shield to completely enclose the Brawlers, and raised it into the air. She removed the barrier from around the monsters, and Junior shot out three tentacles, striking the Brawlers through the middle. The monsters burst into Fusion Matter, and the matter flowed into her and Junior's NanoComs. Not a single member in the team blinked at the attempted attack, keeping pace as they travelled through Orchid Bay.

It was becoming second nature when it came to fighting Fusion Monsters. The team had been helping around the Downtown district since bringing the space visitors to the hospital (which they still had no word on), deciding their time was better spent helping out in the area than attempting to travel all the way back to the Wilds. The group was currently on the way to meet up with the Grim Reaper himself. They had been sent by Grim to retrieve a stolen item of his. The Arch Welders were easy enough to handle, though Junior had been more than annoyed when he realized the important item Grim wanted was a desk lamp. Suzy swiping the item from his hand was the only thing that saved it from being tossed in the stream.

Suzy was leading the group, as she typically did. Held lazily in her left hand was the desk lamp, which Junior was giving a dirty look to. It wasn't like Junior didn't want to help out his old buddy Grim, but the fact that the bag of bones sent him (and the team) to pick up a stupid lamp raised his blood pressure a few degrees. They were supposed to be helping the war effort against Fuse, not pick up office supplies.

"Stop staring at it," Suzy instructed, keeping her eyes forward.

Junior startled, jerking his head upward to stare at the girl. "How do yo-"

"Assume I have eyes on the back of my head," Suzy countered Junior's protesting, looking over her shoulder to give the boy a Cheshire-like smirk. "A~nd that I know everything."

Junior huffed and crossed his arms, looking away from the redhead and the desk lamp she held in her hand. Suzy giggled, and returned her eyes to the road.

"We could have just emailed it," Junior pointed out sullenly.

"But it's such a nice day! Doesn't the fresh air just make you burst with happiness?" Suzy asked, throwing both arms up over her head.

Junior rolled his eyes from behind his glasses, but he did peek at the water to his right. Because of how peaceful the day was, the waves matched the energy and lapped lazily against the rocks. It was a nice day, and if you pretended the Fusion Monsters didn't exist, it would almost be a normal day. Most of Orchid Bay had been spared from the Fusion Matter infestation, although the trade off was that it was highly concentrated at the Cutts and Bruises Skate Park.

"Alice!" a voice called out cheerfully from ahead of the group.

Seconds later, a body crashed into the alien, arms coming and wrapping themselves around the girl. Alice stumbled back a step from the impact, but stayed upright. Long pink hair entered her field of vision, momentarily stumping the alien girl until the owner pulled back. Gloved hands gripped Alice's upper arms, maintaining contact between the two girls. Alice blinked as she recognized the pink haired girl.

"Peach?" Alice asked, surprised to see the sorceress.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Peach practically squealed. "How have you been? What have you been up to? Where are you going?" Her honey eyes widened when she noticed Suzy and Junior standing nearby. "Oooh. Who are you friends?"

"Are you going to actually let her speak?" a male's voice questioned. "Or are you just asking rhetorical questions?"

Alice glanced to Peach's right, finding a dark skin, blond haired teen about Peach's age standing with an impassive look on his face. The boy was wearing a green vest, but most surprisingly was the hilt of a sword poking up from behind his right shoulder. Peach stuck her tongue out in the teen's direction, which earned her a raised eyebrow in response.

"Alice and I go way back," the girl argued. "I'm catching up."

The teenager's eyebrow raised up to his hairline in a challenging manner. "You can't really play catch up if you don't let her talk."

"No, no, it's okay," Alice interrupted, smiling softly. "I'm not a big talker."

Peach released a victorious "hmph!" that had the boy rolling his eyes.

"I should introduce you to my friends," Alice said, raising up her hand and using it to indicate to her two travelling companions. "This is Suzy and Nergal Junior."

"Junior's fine," the half-demon added.

"We were on our way to deliver an item to Grim," Alice continued, answering an earlier question of Peach's.

"Oh, what a coincidence. Ezra" -Peach waved her hand in the boy's direction- "is on a mission for Grim, too."

"You're seriously going to tell them?" Ezra complained.

"Why not? It's not like it's a secret. Grim would probably be happy you're telling people he's not working for Fuse."

"Wait... what?" Junior questioned, his eyes widening. He was the most familiar with the reaper of the group, so this came as a complete surprise to the boy. "What's going on?"

"So get this." Peach moved away from Alice, and rested her elbow on Ezra's shoulder. Because he stood at least half a head taller, the position looked awkward. Not like it bothered the pink-haired girl. "Ezra gets talked into spying on Grim for Numbuh One, but he gets caught, so now he's helping Grim clear his name."

"What's he having you do?" Junior asked, mildly wondering if it was as stupid as getting a desk lamp.

Ezra didn't look like he was going to join in on the conversation, but he eventually sighed and dropped his arms, resting his fingerless gloved hands on his hips.

"He had me go after Fusion Mandy over at that sand castle infected zone. Apparently, she was trying to manipulate him, and so he was suspected of switching sides after the SPYCAM I installed for Numbuh One caught the two meeting." He brought up his left hand and to his head, rubbing at it subconsciously in a nervous gesture. "Unfortunately, she escaped before I could stop her, and she's teamed up with Fusion Grim, who is up in Crystalline Caverns. Grim wants me to go and get rid of both of them before they cause even more people to suspect him of being a traitor."

Peach closed her eyes and placed a hand on her puffed out chest. "Meanwhile, I came down here to get Grim's Scrying Lens for Gwen Tennyson. She's investigating something called the Book of Prophecy, but she can't read it. I'd help, but learning runish isn't until my sixth year." She opened her eyes and pointed with her thumb over her shoulder in the direction the reaper was in. "Grim's loaning it to her, and I offered to come get it. Since she's located in Pimpleback Mountain, we're travelling together and I'll even help him with the Fusions since there's two of them now."

Alice took in the information given to her. A sense of relief settled in her bones as she heard the Book of Prophecy was in Gwen's possession. She felt a little proud of herself for saying something to the Mystery Inc. gang, even if she hadn't been sure at first. She wondered what the book was about, but it must be something important if the word 'prophecy' followed its title. She just hoped it would be useful.

"What's Grim got you guys doing?" Peach asked, leaning forward, intrigued by what Alice and her friends were up to.

"Delivery mission," Suzy chirped, holding up the lamp.

"He wants us to return this stupid lamp," Junior complained, crossing his arms. "Had us defeat some Arch Welders for it, and all it is, is a stupid lamp."

"Grim's the Grim Reaper," Suzy reasoned. "He has a good reason for wanting this."

Junior looked at Suzy nonplussed. "He was sworn into serving two kids from a bet."

Suzy shrugged. "It has no bearing on this mission."

While the two went about their back and forth, Peach took the time to lean in further to inspect the lamp held in Suzy's hand. The redhead was moving her arm up and down, but Peach followed the movement diligently, a serious frown stitched into her face. Ezra looked at his friend curiously, noticing the serious look she was paying to the office item.

"You recognize this?" he asked.

"I think I do," Peach answered, and her answer got Suzy and Junior to drop their bickering. The pink haired sorceress gripped her chin with her thumb and index finger, thinking hard as her honey eyes narrowed in concentration. "I can't recall it's name, but I know I've seen this somewhere before." After a moment of not coming up with a name, she dropped her hand and shook her head. "Sorry, can't recall. But it's definitely magical. I'd get that to Grim as soon as possible before another monster decides it wants to play keep away."

"We should probably leave," Ezra added. "We need to get to those Fusions before they cause even more problems."

Peach sighed dramatically. "Alright." She reached forward and drew Alice into a hug, patting the girl on the back. "Take care, Alice."

"You, too," Alice responded, returning the brief embrace.

Parting ways with Peach and Ezra, Team Super Stars continued further into Orchid Bay. They arrived just in time to see Grim shooing away a candy pirate. Despite the fact he lacked any muscles or flesh, he was still able to express emotions. Annoyance was radiating off him like heat off the asphalt, and the skeleton was rubbing at the space between his empty eye sockets. He released a sigh, exhaling his annoyance. Suzy continued forward undisturbed, but Alice hung back. Junior spoke of Grim like he was harmless, but he was the Grim Reaper.

"Hey Grim!" Suzy greeted happily, her voice spooking the reaper since he had believed he was alone. "Who was that?"

"Nutin ta worry about," Grim answered, composing himself as he eyed the team. "Did ya get de item?"

Suzy grinned proudly and held up the desk lamp.

"Ah, wond'rful," Grim said. He held out his skeleton hand and accepted the desk lamp. "Dexter will be wantin' dis."

"I don't recall seeing this at Billy's house, so what's it supposed to do?" Junior questioned, looking unimpressed as his eyes landed on the lamp once more.

"Don't mind him, Grim. He's feeling cranky," Suzy remarked, waving offhandedly in Junior's direction.

Junior glowered at Suzy, protesting, "I am not cranky!" It was ignored by the reaper and the redhead, but Alice patted the half-demon's shoulder consolingly.

"Dis ting be de Desk Lamp of Hades," Grim explained, sending a mild look of annoyance at the half-demon. "It is a powerful, ancient lamp."

"What's it supposed to do?" Alice asked, eyeing the lamp inquisitively.

"We can use it ta see if de missing heroes are in de world of de dead." Grim answered, looking back at the kids with empty eye sockets. "De boy Dexter wants it."

The three kids were shocked by the response, though Junior eyed the desk lamp skeptically. The meaning of what the lamp could do and what it would mean to the war effort, however, was not lost on any of them.

"It can really do that?" Alice asked almost in a whisper, working through her surprise.

"Yes," Grim confirmed, inspecting the lamp. His eye sockets narrowed as he stared at the object in his palm. "Unfortunately, de light bulb is missing."

"Missing?" Suzy repeated, leaning forward to see.

"How did we miss that?" Junior whispered to Alice. The girl shook her head in confusion as a reply.

"Mmm, I will have Ezra grab one at de Hani-Baba Temple. He'll be up in de area," Grim answered, pocketing the desk lamp. "Tanks for getting it for me."

"Anytime, Grim," Suzy answered back pleasantly. "What do you plan to do now?"

"Well I did plan to work on my tan today."

"You're bone white."

"Which is why I need ta sun tan," Grim argued back, and if he actually had eyes, he would have rolled them at this point.

"Sun tanning, hmmmm?" Suzy muttered out thoughtfully. She brightened up and grinned at the skeleton. "Thanks for the idea, Grim."

"What idea?" Grim and Junior asked in confusion, though Junior's tone had a touch of apprehension.

"Let's go to the beach!"

"Ta~da!" Suzy cheered, throwing her arms up in the air. "We're here."

Alice and Junior observed the building Suzy was showing off. It was a round, single-story building that had beach front property. Over the striped awning that shielded patrons from the hot sun was the store's sign, reading "BRAVO BEACH BODS" in a deep blue color. Sitting above the word BRAVO was the cutout of Johnny Bravo from the waist up, flexing his arms to show off his muscles.

Suzy dropped her arms and rested her hands on her hips. "I know Mrs. Bravo personally, so we'll get the best deals." She waved her hand at her friends. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

"I have been in here before," Junior grouched, following her inside the building.

"Your pale complexion says otherwise," Suzy teased, not even turning to look at her male friend.

Junior's cheeks flushed a light pink, and his mouth opened and closed in his attempt to come up with a response. The moment was lost, however, when an elder woman with a handkerchief in her hair appeared. The woman immediately pulled Suzy into a bone-crushing hug.

"Little Suzy! It's so wonderful to see you dear," Bunny Bravo greeted the girl, placing the redhead back on her feet.

"I've been doing well, Mrs. Bravo," Suzy returned the greeting, smiling her megawatt smile. "Let me introduce you to Alice" -she used her hand to indicate the alien girl- "and Junior" -her hand moved to gesture at the half-demon boy- "my two friends and partners in crime."

"We are not partner in crimes," Junior argued.

"Tomayto, tomahto," Suzy countered, shrugging her shoulders.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Alice greeted the woman.

"Oh, what a polite dear," Bunny said to the blue-haired girl. "Are you all here to get some swimsuits?"

"Yes. The weather is just too nice to not take advantage of," Suzy answered.

"I whole-heartedly agree. That's why I'm going to close up shop early," Bunny confided in the redhead. "Now then! Young ladies, you'll find some excellent selections to the right of the store; young gentleman, you'll look to the left. Changing rooms are in the back. You can find towels, sandals, flip-flops, inflatables, hats, and sunglasses scattered throughout. Bring up your items to me when you're ready, and I'll give you half off."

"You really don't have to, ma'am," Junior protested lightly.

"Nonsense." Bunny waved her hand, swatting away Junior's protest. "I absolutely insist. Now be off! The more time spent blabbing with me is time lost under the sun."

Suzy grinned and spun around to face her teammates. She put a fist on her hip and raised the other into the air. "You heard her, team. Let's move out!"

Bravo Beach Bods had a total for four changing room stalls, two of which were in use. Junior, wearing his newly purchased black boardshorts, stood in between the two stalls, leaning against the dividing wall. He tapped his black flip-flop against the tiled floor. It had only taken him a few moments to find the boardshorts he liked and would fit, and he purchased it, flip-flops, sunscreen, and a towel. His two teammates, on the other hand, were still trying out their selection, leaving Junior waiting for nearly twenty minutes. He rapped his knuckles against the stall to his right, the one he recalled seeing Suzy enter.

"Are you two ready?" he asked the changing room stalls.

"Almost," Suzy responded from the other side. "Go save us a spot."

Junior rolled his eyes from underneath his glasses, but followed through with the order. It at least gave him something to do instead of just waiting by the changing room doors like some creeper. Suzy was correct about the excellent weather, yet it seemed no one was taking advantage of the day, save for some Plumbers still in their suits were lounging at the shore. They seemed to be the only other vacationers in the vicinity. This was most likely due to the fact that the majority of the beach was in an infected zone, completely enclosing King Sandy's impressive sand castle within. Since there were next to no one, Junior had no trouble finding a spot near the water line, right by the boardwalk. He only had to take out two Squish Scalers and a Turbo Jetskill to clear the area; the majority of the monsters seemed to be congregating closer to the infected zone. He had just settled down on his Spore towel and applied sunscreen to his face, shoulders and arms when he heard the low-tone argument being had by a party of two, both of whom he recognized.

"You look fine, Alice. The colors really suit you."

"C-couldn't I have just gotten the one piece? I feel ex-exposed."

"Awh, there's no need to feel embarrassed. You heard Mrs. Bravo, this is the perfect choice!"

Confused on the argument, Junior twisted around so he could see their approach. Suzy was leading the way, as she normally did in anything. She was dressed in a green bikini top with yellow polka dots, green swim shorts with two yellow lines running up and down the sides, and tan slip-on sandals. Aviator sunglasses hiding her eyes completed the look.

She had a firm hold of Alice's arm, just above the girl's elbow, pulling her along behind her. By the look on Alice's face, she was embarrassed. She was wearing a simple, bright blue bikini top, double-ruffled white swim skirt, and white flip-flops. Her long hair had been pulled into a high ponytail and a white, wide brimmed sun hat sat atop her head, shading her face from the sun's UV rays.

Junior diverted his line of vision to literally anywhere else on the beach. He could already feel his cheeks turning pink and fought to keep it down.

"Junior, settle this for us," Suzy compelled, stopping the two of them at the edge of his towel. "You think Alice looks good in this, right?" Junior spun around to give Suzy a flabbergasted look, but she ignored it and continued. "See, Alice is embarrassed, and Mrs. Bravo and I have already told her this is a good choice for her, but she's still not believing us, so we need a third opinion."

Junior's first and immediate response was to stay out of it. It was embarrassing, especially for a boy to compliment a girl on what she was wearing. However, if Alice went the whole day worrying about her outfit, then she wouldn't be relaxing like intended. So, he swallowed his pride, coughed into his fist, and looked Alice in the eyes - because who could trust someone who wouldn't look them in the eyes?

"They're right. The swim suit looks fine."

Alice's cheeks brightened to a light pink color, and the arm that she had wrapped around her bare stomach slowly dropped to her side. Suzy moved the hand from Alice's arm to around the girl's shoulders. She drew the girl in, flashing her a wide grin that showed all her teeth.

"See? You're fine," Suzy assured the girl. "So let's hit the waves!"

Alice slowly nodded in agreement. Suzy disengaged herself from the blue-haired alien, turning so that she could make a run for the beautiful blue ocean water.

"Didn't you hear me? Scram!"

Suzy stopped mid-step, her ears tuning in to the harsh voice. The redhead sought out the voice, noting from the corner of her eyes that her teammates were doing the same thing. As a unit, they zeroed in on where the commotion was coming from. A green skinned teen in a leather jacket was standing over the lounging Plumbers, attempting to look menacing despite his short stature. The assembled Plumbers didn't look threatened, but were merely confused on why they were being threatened.

Suzy's brows knitted together as she recognized the short stature of Lil' Arturo, a member of the Gangreen Gang. On his own, he wasn't a threat, but the gang didn't travel solo. If he was in the area, the gang was somewhere nearby.

"Hey, why don't you leave them alone?" Suzy challenged, drawing the littlest Gangreen member onto herself.

Arturo narrowed his eyes at the redhead, although only his left eye was visible to the group. He turned his back on the Plumbers (who were still confused on what was happening) and advanced on Suzy. Immediately, Junior and Alice positioned themselves next to the redhead, silently warning the littlest Gangreen that they had her back. Despite being shorter than Alice, Arturo attempted to act menacing to the group of three.

"You got something to say, kid?" the Gangreen member demanded.

"What's your problem?" Suzy asked.

"My problem is that this beach is off limits."

"Says who?" Junior demanded.

"Says the Gangreen Gang. So bug out!" Arturo argued, shooing away the group.

"But...it's public space," Alice pointed out, confused on if Arturo knew this information or not. It was public knowledge, wasn't it?

"Today it's not," Arturo argued, crossing his arms. "So you'd better get lost before I- YEOUCH!"

A girl far taller than Arturo had made her appearance silently, alerting none of the parties until she pulled Arturo off the warm sand by his ear. An unamused frown settled on her face as she stared at the gang member.

"Would you give it a rest, small fry?"

The girl holding Arturo up by his ear was easily Alice's age. She wore a leather jacket not too dissimilar from Arturo's, but clearly designed for a female body than a male. The dark eyeshadow, the running mascara, the green highlight on her right bangs, and the tears in her knee-high socks all contributed to her punk rock aesthetic. But it was the green eyes that had Alice staring. She'd seen this girl somewhere before, and it was pulling at the back of her mind.

"Hold on, is that Belladonna?" Junior asked his friends, looking for clarification.

"Mhm," Suzy agreed with a nod.

"Who?" Alice asked.

"Belladonna of the Gangreen Gang, or Triple G," Suzy explained to her musically naive friend. "She's their newest singer. She's mainly a back-up singer, but she's done a solo or two."

"I didn't take you as a fan of the Gangreen Gang," Junior commented to his friend.

The redhead shrugged in response. "I'm a connoisseur of music."

"Put me down!" Arturo whined, clawing at Belladonna's hand in a vain attempt to be released.

"You learned your lesson, shrimp?"

"Yes!" Arturo expressed vehemently, saying just about anything so he could be released.

Satisfied that Arturo had been put in his place, she released her hold on him and let him fall on his behind. The littlest member of Gangreen Gang rubbed at his mildly pained behind, grumbling unkind phrases under his breath. He hightailed it out of there when Belladonna made to kick him in his rear, running northward. Finished with her harassment of the smallest member of the gang, the girl turned to look at her audience. Green eyes narrowed as they focused in on Alice; particularly her blue hair.

"What are you, a J-Pop fan? One of PuffyAmiYumi's groupies?" the girl questioned.

Alice startled at the question. Her brows furrowed together even more in confusion at where this girl was getting at. The confusion was easily readable, because the singer put a hand on her hip and huffed in annoyance. She raised her other hand and waved it at Alice's hair.

"That's not exactly a natural color," she pointed out.

"It is for me," Alice answered, subconsciously running her fingers through her hair.

Belladonna raised one eyebrow upward, like she was trying to discern if Alice was lying or not. After a moment, conceding that blue must in fact be her real color, the eyebrow lowered.

"That's strange," the girl commented with a sniff. "Bet you were bullied a lot for it, huh?" Alice's quick eye diversion confirmed the answer. "Did you at least punch a few jerks?"

Alice blinked. Then she blinked again. A cold feeling swept through her as she pulled her attention back onto the singer's face, particularly the girl's vividly green eyes. She knew this girl. She's known this girl for years. Alice was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't actually answer the questioned posed to her. The stretching silence and the way Alice continued to do nothing but stare at Belladonna managed to make the singer uncomfortable. Shooting Alice a confused look, Suzy quickly stepped in, getting Belladonna's attention.

"Hey, would you sign something?"

"Uhhh...maybe later," Belladonna replied. "I have to get back. We're setting up for a concert tonight."

"A concert? Here at the beach?" Suzy asked, her eyes brightening with every word.

"Yeah. Our record label is putting it together," Belladonna answered, taking a step away from the group. "You should come check it out if you like good music."

"I don't plan on missing it. What about you two?" Suzy asked her teammates.

"We're already here," Junior answered with a shrug.

Alice remained silent, once again ignoring the question lobbed her way. Junior and Suzy looked over at her in concern and mild confusion. Belladonna glanced Alice's way as well, but quickly looked away when she saw the girl still staring at her.

"Right, great. See you later, then," she said, hurriedly moving away from the group of three.

She was moving north, the same direction Arturo had retreated moments earlier. A quick glance upward found construction being done on a makeshift stage near the boardwalk at the top of the beach. Some tents were being assembled to the right of the makeshift stage, closer to the infected zone. This was the direction Belladonna was rushing for. Some Squish Scalers were circling the area, but the construction crew had some volunteers defending the site.

"Well this is exciting," Suzy remarked. "I haven't been to a concert since the Trendbenders played at the Sunken Mall."

"Doesn't it seem a little irresponsible?" Junior asked.

"I think it's a great way to raise spirits," Suzy countered. "We have to take a break every once in a while."

Junior conceded the point. He looked sideways at Alice, troubled to find that she was still zoned out. Her skin had gone a pale shade of white, which concerned him.

"Alice?" he questioned, touching her arm.

The simple action seemed to spark her back to reality. Wide blue eyes shifted from the open air to her two friends, both of whom were watching her in concern. She blinked, still shaken like she'd seen a ghost. Which, come to think of it, was probably on point.

"Th-that girl... I-I...I know..." Alice was finding a hard way to begin her sentence. She wanted to get it out, but the words were tripping her up.

Her friends waited patiently, recognizing the seriousness in the moment. Alice opened her mouth, preparing to try once again.

"I recognize her. I k-know her," Alice finally managed.

Suzy blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You know Belladonna?"

"I didn't think Triple G would be something you listened to," Junior pointed out in surprise.

"Oh come on, Alice could be hiding a whole rebellious streak under her good girl persona!" Suzy argued comically.

Alice blinked, thrown off by their behavior. They hadn't seen what she'd seen. To them, Belladonna was just the singer of a punk rock band. They didn't see her as the missing Buttercup.

The realization made Alice pause, uncertainty tainting her nerves. If they didn't see it, then did that mean Alice was just seeing things? Sure, the two looked the same, but was that all there was? Sure, the two had the same green eyes, and were the same height and stature, and had similar voices, but did that automatically make the two the same person? If Belladonna really was Buttercup, how come the singer didn't recognize Alice? They weren't best friends, but they were familiar with each other. Shouldn't Belladonna have recognized her like Alice recognized her? On top of that, Belladonna was a bit of a public figure, so wouldn't she have been recognized by others? Could she really believe the two were one in the same? Her gut said yes, but her mind told her, logically, that they weren't, and that she couldn't use her feelings as evidence. So, despite her firmly believing that Belladonna was actually Buttercup, Alice lied.

"I...I recognize her from online. I was just surprised to meet her."

Suzy nodded, humming in agreement. "Same! I can't wait for the show, but even more excited for afterward. I really want to get an autograph!"

"What would she even sign?" Junior questioned his redhead teammate.

"I always carry an autograph book with me," Suzy answered.

"Why?" was the incredulous question lobbed her way.

"Have you met me? I'm always prepared," Suzy replied, her hands resting at her waistline. "But enough about that, I hear those waves calling my name!"

With a little cheer, the redhead made a bee-line for the ocean, rushing into the water until she was shoulder deep. Junior followed after the redhead, more subdued than his hyperactive teammate. Alice, throwing one last uncertain look over in the stage's direction, followed after her teammates to enjoy the cool ocean water.

Alice readjusted her sunhat, watching as Nano Bubbles and Nano Numbuh Five - dressed in swimsuits - joined forces with Suzy and ganged up on Junior. Alice had opted out long before the water fight began, preferring to watch the match from the safety of the shoreline. To her right, resting on Junior's towel was Nano Megas. To her left, the mangled sand sculpture of an unknown design, left abandoned by her Nano Boomer after she switched him out for Nano Bubbles.

Nano Raj and Nano Boomer had been called out almost as soon as the team went to enjoy the waves, wearing their own swimsuits. Because the elephant Nano didn't want to get in the water, he had begun making a sand castle close to their area. Being the competitive little guy he was, Nano Boomer had joined in, but found he didn't have the skill for it. He found that destroying sand castles was far more exciting, and so he'd build up sloppy designs of cars, trees, etc. just to destroy them. He'd punch them, kick them, smash them, even used his Batter Up! power to send sand flying. Nano Megas joined in when the mech Nano saw how fun it looked, and showed off wrestler moves to its fellow Nano that were quickly picked up. Alice figured she should have been worried with his propensity for violence, but Nano Boomer had been extra careful to not hurt her or the two Nanos, so she didn't see a problem with him having some fun.

Nano Bubbles was his opposite, preferring to spend her time in the water. Right after Alice had put sunscreen on the Nano - Alice didn't know if Nanos could get sunburned, but she wasn't taking the chance - Nano Bubbles had made a mad dash for the ocean. Her favorite activity was floating up high above the water and diving in like she was an Olympian diver. She had used her Tornado Trap to stir up a water tornado for her and Nano Numbuh Five to slide down.

"Alice, are you coming back in?" Suzy asked, turning her back on the two Nanos hanging off of Junior's shoulders in their attempt to drag him into the water. Junior was slightly cheating by using his tentacles anchored to the ocean floor to keep him upright.

"In a moment," Alice answered, holding up the sunscreen bottle. "I just need to a new layer."

Suzy nodded in agreement to the statement, turning back to the struggle and lending her hand by jumping onto Junior. All four bodies crashed into the water, Junior releasing a yelp from the surprise attack and Nano Bubbles squealing with delight. Junior poked his head out of the water, spewing out water and coughing any liquid from out of his lungs. The vicious look he gave the redhead as she resurfaced went unnoticed. Her and the Nanos were having a good laugh at the little incident. Alice giggled behind her hand, not wanting to hurt Junior's feelings.'

She began applying sunscreen to her legs, her smile briefly dipping as she focused on the task. She was trying to keep up her spirits, but the uncertainty in her gut was rolling around, making it hard for her to concentrate on relaxing under the sun. She was trying to put the whole 'Belladonna may actually be Buttercup' situation to bed, but she was finding the task difficult. She couldn't shake the feeling that the two were the same, but she had no definitive proof beside it just being 'a feeling.' Maybe she could ask Grim once he got that lamp working...?

A searing headache forced Alice out of her inner thoughts. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, attempting to apply pressure. Just as soon as the headache began, it went away. Alice blinked in surprise, moving her hands away from her.

What...?

"AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHH!"

Alice jolted, swiveling her upper body around to locate the source of the scream. The stage area was under siege from the combined forces of Squish Scalers and Sand Creeps. Laser beams flying through the air indicated the defenders were fighting back, but the shots didn't seem to be connecting, and the humans were being overrun by the enemy. Alice lifted off from her towel and flew toward the pandemonium, ignoring how her sunhat fell off her head. She called Nano Bubbles to her side and the little Nano appeared at her right side, a determined look plastered on her face. Nano Bubbles wasn't the only one following Alice; a quick look to her left found Nano Megas keeping up with her. If there weren't people to save, Alice would have put more thought into it; but there were people to save, so she didn't.

"Nano Bubbles!" Alice commanded, pointing at two Squish Scalers ganging up on a boy who was attempting to keep them at bay with his Scallywag Sword.

Nano Bubbles complied without needing further instructions. She used her Tornado Trap, the force of the wind pushing the Scalers away from the boy. Alice put an energy sphere around them, and clenched her fist, collapsing the sphere and the monsters inside. The Fusion Matter flowed into her NanoCom, but she put her focus on the red jacket wearing boy.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked, staying hovered in the air.

"Yeah, thanks," the boy responded, breathing out in relief. "Those things just popped up outta nowhere and overran us." He spun around to look at the makeshift stage, releasing another sigh of relief. "Well the stage made it. Kaz would have our heads if this broke."

Alice and her Nano Bubbles shared a brief look, frowning at the boy's priorities. Alice gave the area a sweeping look, spotting Junior and Suzy entering the fray. Knowing she had their assistance alleviated some of her concern.

"Man, I've never seen so many agro monsters before," the boy commented, resting his sword's blade lazily on the back of his shoulders. "One minute they were skirting the perimeter and then BAM, they're all suddenly here."

Alice's brow furrowed in concern. It wasn't odd for Fusion Monsters to attack, obviously, but the sudden change in behavior was surprising and concerning.

"Did something happen?" Alice asked.

"Well, one of the musicians brought out this weird device, but it didn't seem to work. It even busted a moment later." The boy shrugged. "After that the monsters hit."

"Alice," Nano Bubbles insisted, tugging on her girl's sleeve.

Alice looked down at her Nano, and then followed the pointing finger. A blonde girl in a purple dress seemed to be wandering around oblivious to the mayhem happening around her. A Superfused Squish Scaler and three of its lackeys were stalking the girl, clearly waiting for a good opportunity to attack. The girl did a little spin, coming face to face with the Scaler boss. She cocked her head to the side, looking at the monster in confusion.

"Watch out!" Alice called, raising her palm.

A wall appeared between the two, protecting the oblivious blonde from the Superfused Squish Scaler's lunge. The boy Alice had saved rushed off towards the four monsters, pulling out a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K..A. and firing at them. Another Tornado Trap from Nano Bubbles slowed the Scalers approach of the boy, but it left the little Nano drooping from exhaustion. Alice returned her to the NanoCom, about to call on Nano Boomer for assistance. She was so focused on keeping the Scalers away from the blonde girl - although their numbers had been trimmed to two with the combined efforts of the boy Alice had rescued, a Plumber who had rushed into the fight, and Suzy, and the blonde was being pulled away from the site by a boy in a sailor hat - that she wasn't paying attention. A sudden tingling in her neck warned her that a monster was right behind her. She turned her head just enough to catch the imposing figure of the Sand Creep's boss - a Sand Creeper - raising its arm over its head, and smash it down on her. Alice raised her other hand, calling a small shield to protect her from its hit, but she had moved too late. The shield didn't have the chance to form, and a fist made of sand crashed through the shield and connected with the alien girl. Alice fell to sand beneath her, feeling her head hit the surface hard. She pulled herself to her knees, but another blow to the back of her head had her back on the ground.

Alice winced at the pain, but forced herself to roll over, avoiding another hit. Forcing her eyesight to focus, Alice raised her hand and shot off an energy blast, managing to knock the Sand Creeper back. It hurt the monster, but it didn't kill it, which only served to infuriate the monster. He released a roar, and two Sand Creeps appeared at the command. Alice didn't shudder at their appearances; she forced herself back up onto her feet, because Amber taught her to always be on her feet. The Sand Creeper, now having two lackeys to back it up, released another growl and raised both its hands above its head, preparing to drive her into the ground like a hammer to a nail. Alice raised an energy dome around the three sand creatures, prepared to collapse it inward, but the triple hit to her head left her mind fuzzy, and her concentration was just weak enough that the boss was able to break out of it. The Sand Creeper rushed at the alien girl, pulling back its arm. Alice raised her palms and fired off energy ball after energy ball, but the hits connected weakly with the monster's enormous body. Realizing she wasn't slowing the monster down, Alice raised her arms into an X formation before her face, preparing to defend herself as much as possible from the hit.

"ALICE!"

Immediately following the cry was a pair of very familiar green laser beams that blasted a hole through the Sand Creep's body. The sandy body collapsed to the ground, melding back into the sandy surface as the Fusion Matter holding it together flew to Alice's NanoCom, the closest NanoCom in the vicinity. Seeing their boss one-shotted caused the two Creeps to pause, which gave Alice the opportunity to fire off an energy beam at the both of them and turning them into Fusion Matter too. With the monsters dealt with, Alice spun around to see if the person who had come to her aid was still there. She came face to face with a very confused looking Belladonna. Her hands were hovering just inches from her eyes, tremors running through her hands periodically. Her unfocused eyes were drilled to the sand beneath her feet. Alice did a sweeping view of the venue, finding that the area had been cleared of the alien pests. With no immediate danger in the vicinity, Alice focused her attention back onto the punk singer.

"Belladonna?" Alice called out cautiously, not wanting to spook the teen rocker.

Belladonna's body jolted at the call, like she was shocked back into reality. She lifted her head slowly, making eye contact with Alice. A flash of recognition flitted across the green eyes.

"Alice..." The punk rocker tested the name out. "I know your name."

"Yes."

"But you..." Dark eyebrows furrowed together. "But you never introduced yourself."

Alice bit her lip and shook her head.

"I know it from somewhere else," Belladonna continued, piecing each connection like a puzzle. "I knew it from before."

The bite was threatening to tear skin, but Alice wasn't paying attention. She was keeping her focus on Belladonna. Belladonna groaned and buried her head in her hands.

"I didn't know who I was almost half a year ago, and but now suddenly I'm seeing things. I'm remembering things. Your name, the thing with my eyes. It's like there's another part of me I'm forgetting, but at the same time I'm starting to remember."

She released a frustrated scream that had Alice stepping back in fright. "What's wrong with me!? Why does it feel like I've lived two lives?!"

"Belladonna?" Alice called, her eyes staring in surprise at Belladonna's feet.

Belladonna lifted her head, eyeing Alice in confusion. When she noticed she was slightly taller than the girl, Belladonna moved her eyesight downward. Her feet were off the ground, hovering two inches above the sand. Belladonna blinked and then threw her head back and released another howl of frustration that, if no one had looked their way before, they were definitely looking now.

"And now this!? First I ran here so fast, all I had to do was blink! Now I'm flying or something?!" the punk rocker screamed. "I can fly, run fast, and shoot lasers! If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was a Power..." Belladonna trailed off, like the wind had been knocked out of her. She slowly floated downward, her feet touching the ground. "...puff."

Belladonna's eyes glazed over, her head still facing the heavens. Alice watched silently, slightly worried by the way she just went still. The blue haired alien made a step toward the punk rocker, but took a step back when she heard a loud, angry cry. Whipping her head in that direction, she watched as a short man with glasses rushed onto the scene, stopping just in front of the stage. He grabbed at his bald head like he was trying to pull out nonexistent hair. A pair of teenage girls followed behind him, and Alice instantly recognized them as the J-Pop duo, PuffyAmiYumi.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" the short man yelled from a pair of powerful lungs. "This place is a disaster!"

"What are you yelling about, Kaz?" Yumi questioned, crossing her arms in aggravation.

"Yeah, the place looks fine," Ami added.

"It is NOT fine!" Kaz shouted, his face steadily growing red. "Where are the speakers? The microphones? The merchandise table? THE FANS?"

"Kaz, buddy, chill." Sunny materialized beside the short man, raising up his hands in a calm-down gesture. Unlike Kaz's loud and riled up tone, Sunny's voice was smooth and cool. "We just got through a Fusion attac-"

"FUSION ATTACK?!" Kaz screamed.

"We missed it?" Yumi questioned with a groan.

"Oh dear. Is anyone hurt?" Ami immediately asked, her eyes widening in concern.

"Never mind that! I thought we had defense hired!" Kaz demanded, jumping a little in his excitement.

"We did, and they were doing a good job," Sunny explained. "But then Philly Phil tried using one of his experiments and..."

"I didn't work, obviously," a dark-skinned teenager contributed, scoffing from beside Sunny. "That fool Philly Phil actually made those stupid monsters come at us."

"Thank you, Tamika." Sunny sighed.

"I want it on record that this was not my intention," a lanky boy, Philly Pil, added.

"Noted."

"We are in the music business NOT THE SCIENCE BUSINESS!" Kaz blew up.

"Professor Williams would say otherwise," Philly Phil argued, earning him a painful elbow into his gut by Tamika.

The answer did not appease the furious record producer. Kaz's face had turned so red Alice was positive she'd see steam coming out of his ears.

"Let's cool down, ya'll," Sunny stepped in, attempting to bring the escalating behavior down. "We've got a little hiccup, but it's all good now. We'll be back on track in no time."

"Yeah, Kaz, chill," Yumi added. "We've still got three hours till the concert starts."

"Plenty of time to bring everything together," Ami added. "The stage is already built, and hooking in all the electronics isn't exactly rocket science."

Kaz released a growl, but eventually let it go with an annoyed huff. "Very well, but we are working double time and there will be no extra pay!"

Sunny rolled his eyes at the man's cheapness, but didn't comment on it. They had just completed one argument, so there wasn't a reason to just start up a new one. He turned his attention onto his two students.

"Phil, you're in charge of connecting the sound system." He pointed a finger at the lanky teen. "No messing around with it."

"You got it, Sunny." Phil saluted his teacher, acknowledging his teacher's instructions.

"Tamika, round up the others. We're still setting up the merch table and the food stalls."

"Whatevs," Tamkia agreed, spinning around and sticking her fingers in her mouth, releasing a high-pitched whistle that gained everyone's attention. "Let's go, people!"

"Dang, Tamika!" the boy in the sailor hat complained, rubbing at his ears. "Who put you in charge?"

"Sunny did," Tamika answered, before leaning in and raising her fist. "And also the fact I can kick yo sorry butt, shrimp. Now get moving!"

The kid in the sailor hat grumbled under his breath, but he hadn't been quiet enough because Tamika shook her first threateningly. The boy took the warning and rushed off to complete his duties. Tamika smirked in satisfaction and hopped off the stage, joining up with the rest of her band mates. Alice looked away from the incident, turning back to focus on Belladonna. The punk rocker was looking at the scene, eyes unfocused once more.

"Belladonna?" Alice asked.

Belladonna came out of her thousand-yard stare and released a sigh.

"You don't have to call me that," she stated, lazily rolling her head Alice's way. "You already know I'm Buttercup, huh?"

Alice kept her eyes trained on the teenager as she answered, "Yes."

"What gave it away?" Buttercup asked.

"...My answer will sound stupid."

Buttercup shrugged. "Have you met my bandmates? They're the epitome of stupid."

Alice's lips quirked up in mirth at the answer. "Well... it was a combination of things. Your eyes, your voice, and also when you suggested I punch some of the people who bullied me." Alice rubbed at her arm self-consciously. "You used to tell me that when Mitch would pull my hair."

Buttercup nodded, a mischievous gleam momentarily occupying her eyes. "Yeah...yeah I remember that. I even got a slap on him one Halloween for it."

Alice nodded, the memory bubbling up to the surface.

"So, where did the powers thing come from?" Buttercup asked, her tone less aggressive than when she had been Belladonna. "I don't recall any of those energy beams."

Alice smiled self-consciously. "It's a long story."

Buttercup sighed. "I don't really have the time right now, but you'll have to tell me later."

"So...you'll still be...?"

"Belladonna? Yeah," Buttercup answered. "For a while, anyways. I don't really have all my memories back right now, and a lot of people are still depending on me to be Belladonna." She put her hands on her hips. "Once I'm done with my commitments, I'll shed that identity and go back to being Buttercup full time."

Alice nodded in understanding. Their private conversation was suddenly interrupted by the lead singer and head of the Gangreen Gang, as he slipped in beside Buttercup and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Belladonna!" Ace greeted with his slimy smirk. "Let's go. We're doing a soundcheck with that geeky kid."

Buttercup donned her Belladonna mask once more and nodded. She shrugged off Ace's grip and spun around, heading for the stage where the Gangreen Gang were assembling. She looked over her shoulder at Alice without breaking her stride.

"See you later tonight," she called back to the blue-haired girl.

Alice smiled and nodded, which was reassurance enough for Buttercup. Ace hadn't followed after Buttercup, and instead spun so that he was face-to-face with Alice. He reached out and gripped both of her shoulders, applying pressure that had her wincing. She shifted her head upward so she could see his face. The dark shades he was never seen without had slid to the tip of his nose, giving her an unobstructed view of the bitter, beaty eyes glaring down at her.

Her mother had always disapproved of the Gangreen Gang, calling them delinquents whenever their misdeeds were reported on the news and likening them to snakes. Alice never believed that more than she did in that exact moment, recognizing him as a rattlesnake. His rattler was shaking, warning her of the danger he was capable of.

"I don't know who you are, exactly, and I don't care. I'm going to make this super clear to you, girlie." His insult was punctuated with his hands tightening on her shoulders. "If you mess with Belladonna and cause me to lose my record deal, I'm going to break your bones."

Alice blinked at the threat, feeling her insides chill.

"You know she's Buttercup," Alice said in a whisper because it felt like her throat was going to close. "You've known."

"And right now she's my band's meal ticket," Ace hissed. "Bridges and Harada over there barely gave us the time of day without her inclusion, so you're going to keep your pretty little mouth shut or else."

Alice's mouth dropped in horror; not from his threat, but from the fact that he's known Belladonna was Buttercup for months and, instead of telling someone, he was using her for his benefit. Buttercup's earlier advice to punch bullies - in this case Ace - in the face was very tempting, but she didn't get a chance to even think about acting upon it. Ace was very suddenly ripped away from Alice, and a furious Junior slipped in between the two. Suzy, a calculated look on her face, slipped next to Alice, her Camp Oar still gripped in her hand. Neither of the two said a word, but the silent implications were clear: Harm her, and you'll be dealing with us.

Recognizing he was outnumbered - but not recognizing the girl he had threatened downed two Fusion Monsters with an energy beam - Ace pushed his shades back into place and shoved his hands in his pockets. He flashed a smarmy smirk at the girl, wanting to put on a macho display.

"Remember what I said, kid."

He spun around on his heel and stomped off to the stage. Junior didn't back down until the lead singer put a good deal of distance between the two parties.

"What was that about?" Suzy asked, her calculating look shifting to confusion.

"Was he threatening you?" Junior questioned, turning around so he could look at her.

"He was," Alice answered.

Suzy's eyes narrowed as she sent a quick glare in Ace's direction. The singer was too busy dealing with his bandmates to see her anger. She looked back to Alice with confusion and concern in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

Alice didn't even hesitate with her answer. "Belladonna is actually Buttercup."

Junior and Suzy were silent for a moment, their eyes mirroring each other as they widened.

"What?" Junior asked in surprise.

"I...I lied earlier. About recognizing her. She didn't recognize me, so I just thought I was imagining it. But then she used some of her powers to save me from the Sand Creeper, and then she sort of remembered," Alice explained, practically vomiting the information. "Sorry about lying."

"Belladonna is actually Buttercup?!" Junior questioned.

Suzy cupped her chin and nodded. "It makes a surprising about of sense." With her other hand, she began ticking off the reasons. "Buttercup goes missing right around the time Belladonna comes around, they're both about the same height, they have the same green eyes, Buttercup is already known to be a good singer, and their names both start with B."

Junior sighed, whether in frustration that he didn't realize the connection sooner, or because Suzy honestly thought names starting with the same letter was a legit good reason for their connection. Alice smiled briefly at her friend's deductions, but a frown steadily formed on her face. Suzy noticed the look and eyed her friend quizzically.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Alice blinked, surprised that she had fallen so deep in her thoughts. She shook her head, smiling at her friends.

"I was just thinking. We still have time before the concert begins, right?"

"Yeah, a couple hours. Oh! Sunny gave us some VIP badges for helping out." The redhead slipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out a lanyard with a badge pass attached at the bottom. Written crosswise in big, bold letters was "VIP." She held it out for Alice, who collected it. "This one is yours. We were coming over to give you it when we spotted Ace."

Alice smiled and placed the lanyard in her NanoCom since she didn't have a pocket on her swim skirt. She kept her NanoCom in her palm, using her finger to skim the surface top.

"What are you doing?" Junior asked after watching her mess with her NanoCom for a moment.

"I'm making a phone call."

At sunset, Bravo Beach was crowded with guests as they assembled in front of the wooden stage, eagerly waiting for the start of the show. With Sunny Bridges and Kaz Harada, two of the world's hottest record producers running the show, and with a line up featuring the Funkaneers, the Gangreen Gang and PuffyAmiYumi, the show was guaranteed to be a knock out, and so the crowd had converged on the spot an hour ago. With the VIP badges, Suzy, Junior, Alice, and a few other VIPs were given a spot in the front. They were good places to be, but Alice and her friends were only lightly pay attention as Sunny Bridges took the stage. His appearance was met with thunderous applause, and the famous superstar grinned at the reception.

"Good evening, party people! How are we feeling tonight?" Sunny Bridges asked the crowd, being answered by a roar in return. "Oo-hoo! That's what I like to hear! Are ya'll ready for a stellar music show?"

The audience roared even louder. Alice clapped politely, but her focus wasn't on Sunny Bridges hyping up the crowd for the concert. Her eyes were attentively glued to the darkening sky, her gaze moving back and forth in a searching manner. Sunny was in the middle of handing over the microphone to his business partner, Kaz, when Alice spotted the tell-tale streaks of blue and pink up in the red sky. She breathed in sharply, and something akin to excitement fluttered around in her stomach. The crowd spotted the streaks of the Powerpuffs a moment later, and they whispered to each other in excitement. The Powerpuffs hadn't been advertised, but were they here to be special guests? It'd be hard to do their famous song without Buttercup, but maybe…?

Blossom and Bubbles flew over the crowd, and it was easier to spot Bubbles carrying the Professor now that they were so close. They did a quick survey over the crowd, and then descended. The crowd underneath them stepped back, leaving a wide enough area for the three to land. To the crowd's surprise, the Townsville heroes and their father landed next to Alice, offering her a smile in greeting.

"Is it true?" Blossom asked, looking hopeful but hesitant. "Is..."

Alice nodded and raised her hand, indicating to the performer's tent. "She's over there."

As a unit, the Utoniums swiveled their heads in the direction of the tent, the sea of beach partiers parting so the family could get a better look. The Westly kids and PuffyAmiYumi were openly gawking at the superheroines. the Gangreen Gang looked uncomfortable with the sudden arrival of their rivals, though Buttercup, donning her Belladonna mask for the performance, stared open-mouthed at her family; a family she didn't know she had for months. She didn't have her full memories back, but snapshots of her life before her fight with Mojo sprung to life in her mind.

For a moment, not a single person said a word. Then, like a speeding bullet, Bubbles had crossed the distance between her and her long lost sibling. The force in which she tackled Buttercup would have fallen a weaker being (and a few souls did fall over from the force), but Buttercup dug her heels into the sand and forced herself to stay upright. Reflexively, like her body already knew what to do before her brain could process and give the order, she wrapped her arms around the blonde heroine. She had only just registered Bubbles was crying into her shoulder when she felt another pair of arms wrap around her in a one-sided hug. Looking to her side, she found Blossom staring at her. The redhead's eyes were watery with the promise of tears.

"I can't believe you're wearing make-up." Blossom teased. "Never took you for the mascara type."

Buttercup blinked, almost surprised that the first thing out of Blossom's mouth was a joke. That puzzle piece of emptiness suddenly filled, and its return brought tears to her eyes. She swiped at her eyes, eliminating the watery evidence before any of her band members or the crowd could see the tears that threatened to spill.

"Hah!" Buttercup huffed, forcing down the tremble of emotion in her voice. "Jealous you can't pull it off?"

Blossom laughed, and the tears finally rolled down her cheeks. She pulled her missing sister in tighter, pressing their heads together.

Alice watched the sisters' reunion from a distance. Her lips were spread out in a small, satisfied smile at the touching moment. A hand setting on her shoulder had her looking to her side. The Professor was still standing with her group, looking down at her with watery eyes and a grateful smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Alice," the Professor said, his voice filled with emotion. "This….I-I dreamed of this for months,... and to finally have it come true…" The Professor wiped his eyes, composing himself so he wouldn't be a blubbering mess. It was only barely working. "I can't... I can't repay this."

Alice shook her head.

"There's nothing to repay. You've done more for me," Alice stated. The Professor opened his mouth to protest the point, but Alice never gave him the chance. "You've been kind to me, even when I was too shy to hold a conversation. You've looked out for me, even without me realizing it. And when the school was invaded, when my aunt and uncle were too far away to come get me, you ran to the school to retrieve me, even though your daughters weren't there and you didn't have to. This" -She waved her hand at where the sisters were still hugging each other- "is the least I can do." She closed her eyes, and smiled wider. "You should go and see her, Professor. I bet, even with memory loss, she missed you as much as you missed her."

The Professor nodded in agreement. He gave Alice another pat on the shoulder, and then ran to his triplets. His composure completely broke when he wrapped up all three into a hug, the tears he had been holding back letting go like a waterfall. Buttercup, who had been trying to keep her emotions in check, lost it when her father appeared. She buried her head into his shoulder and cried.

Contentment washed over Alice as she, along with everyone gathered, watched the broken family mend. An arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into a one-armed hug. A quick glance from the corner of her eyes found Suzy being the owner of the arm. The redhead leaned closer, grinning from ear to ear at her friend with a look of pride in her eyes.

"You are simply amazing, you know that?"

Alice blushed at the compliment and shook her head in denial. She moved her gaze away from her redhead friend and back on the Utoniums.

"This was the right thing to do. That doesn't make it amazing," Alice denied. "Anyone else would have done it."

"Not true," Junior pointed out, appearing at Alice's other side. "I know a few who wouldn't have done this." His eyes wandered away from the happy family to the punk rockers standing off to the side.

Alice looked upward, staring in the direction Junior was. While the members of the gang were slowly edging their way to the performer's tent, Ace was standing his ground. His fists were balled up at his sides, his lips twisted in a snarl, and his precious shades had drifted downward, exposing dark eyes glaring in Alice's direction. Alice, fueled by the rightness of reuniting a broken family, was undaunted by the threat in his eyes. She wasn't going to be shamed by the lowlife who would use a girl's trauma to his advantage.

When it became obvious that Alice wasn't going to back down from his challenging - and that he'd once again garnered the attention and ire of her two friends - Ace stuffed his hands into his pocket, scoffing under his breath. He retreated back into the tent, conceding the victory to Alice. The blue-haired girl relaxed, satisfied that the outcome had ended peacefully.

"AHEM!" The peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by the speakers. Swiveling toward the stage, the audience was greeted to an annoyed Kaz. "While this has been all well and good, we are holding a concert." He placed his free hand behind his back, and then pulled out a stack of papers, waving them in the air. "Remember your contract, people!"

"Kaz!" Yumi and Ami screeched from the sidelines, glaring at their manager.

"What's the big deal!" Yumi further shouted.

"They're having a MOMENT!" Ami added, her eyes filled with tears.

"And I am completely sympathetic" -Even if his tone showed a complete lack of sympathy to it- "but we have paying customers who are expecting a show, and we at Harada-Bridges aim to deliver top quality performances. So if you don't mind..." He shook the papers, punctuating his point.

The J-Pop girls narrowed their eyes, looking ready to storm the stage. Of everybody present, - with the possible exception of Sunny Bridges - the girls had a good understanding of Kaz's personality, so while they weren't surprised by his abrasive manner, they were upset by it. Even his business partner was looking at the man with a frown, likely debating on if he was going to tell the man off in front of a crowd or off stage. Neither party was able to act because Buttercup peeled herself out of the Utonium hug fest.

"He's right," Buttercup declared, her voice strong. She wiped at her eyes to rid herself of the last of her tears, although the mascara was now smudged all over her cheeks. "I came here to give a stellar performance, not cry." Giving a cocky grin, Buttercup thrust her fist up into the air. "Let's rock!"

The crowd roared at the declaration, excited to not only see the musical performances but to see Buttercup do one. Buttercup grinned at the crowd, before making eye contact with Alice. The grin turned softer; her eyes bright with gratitude as she gave the alien a nod. Thanks. Alice practically glowed. She hadn't been looking for thanks, but the gesture made her feel appreciated. She returned the gesture with a nod back. My pleasure.

"I better get back to the tent. My makeup needs to be touched up," Buttercup announced. She tilted her head to look at Bubbles. "Mind lending me a hand?"

Stars entered Bubbles' eyes at the request. She nodded her head enthusiastically, raising clenched hands up in front of her chest.

"I've been waiting forever for you to ask." The pig-tailed girl grabbed onto her sister's hand and pulled her toward the performer's tent. "No time to lose!"

Buttercup followed, her face morphing to panic when she realized her fatal mistake. She spun her head over her shoulder, mouthing for Blossom's help. The leader of the Powerpuff Girls chortled at her sister's dilemma, following after her two sisters to make sure Bubbles didn't go overboard. Sunny watched the superheroines enter the performer's tent, the corner of his lip quirking upward in joy. He ushered Kaz back to the shadows, and took the spotlight.

"This has been one exciting night that none of us will probably forget." The crowd murmured their agreements with the sentiment. "But we're just gettin' started. Give a hand for our first talent of the night, The Funkaneers!"

The crowd cheered as the Westley School kids took the stage. By far they were the youngest performers at the event, but their looks of confidence and excitement banished any thought of them being nervous. With a nod from their teacher, the kids jumped right into their first song, "Oh, Peanut." Suzy peeled away from her friend and ventured deeper into the crowd, dancing along with them. Alice smiled at her outgoing friend, but stayed rooted in place. She wasn't a big party person, and dancing was even lower on her list. She noticed Junior was hanging out with her, guessing he was of the same sentiment. They were more than content to stand on the outskirts and listen to the music.

The Professor made his way through the crowd (which was easy since people willingly moved out of his way) and came to stand at Alice's side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his bloodshot eyes focused exclusively on the girl.

"I know you said I didn't have to thank you, but I just wanted to say... your mother would be so proud of you." He closed his eyes and his smile turned affectionate, almost fatherly. "I'm proud of you, too."

Alice smiled back, feeling her eyes burn lightly with the onset of tears. She wasn't looking for praise...but the thought of her mother being proud of her made her tear up. Her mother had always believed that Buttercup was alive, and Alice wished she could share the news with her; tell her one last time that her mother was right. She blinked away the tears because enough had been shed already, and leaned into the Professor's side, never taking her eyes off the stage performance.

Chapter Text

"MY PICKLES!" the Mayor of Townsville cheered exuberantly, pressing the pickle jar up against his face. "Ooooooh, thank goodness they're safe."

Junior grimaced, troubled with the short man's open display of love for an inanimate food object. Even with everything he'd seen as a resident of Endsville, seeing the weird obsession freaked him out. Alice stood next to the half-demon, her hands locked together behind her back as she smiled unsurely. She was uncomfortable by the Mayor's obsession, but she was doing a better job of hiding it. Suzy was absolutely unfazed by the display of affection, her signature bright smile plastered on her face as she shook hands with the real brains behind Townsville's government: Ms. Bellum.

"Thank you for protecting the Mayor's private pickle garden," the assistant said, pulling back her hand. She stood poised beside the Mayor's plushy chair, her face obscured by a hanging light. "As well as retrieving his pickle jar."

"It was no problem," Suzy replied easily. "The Unisickles were pushovers."

"Not how I would describe facing off against two Nitrosickles," Junior grumbled so only Alice could hear. The blue-haired girl smiled humorously at the boy's comment.

"You all did a wonderful job! Your contribution to this fine city is invaluable!" the Mayor praised, pulling himself away from his prized possession. "Why, if the Powerpuff Girls are ever unavailable for an assignment, I'll be sure to call on you!"

Suzy saluted, the action not being mimicked by her two teammates. "You can always count on the Super Stars for assistance, Mister Mayor."

"Would you like to stay and enjoy a delicious dill pickle?" the Mayor asked, popping off the jar's lid, and tilting the contents in their direction.

Ms. Bellum intercepted before an answer could be given by the teenagers. "There's currently no time for that. You're supposed to be overseeing the 'Keys to the City' challenge in the next two minutes."

"Oh yes! That's quite right," the absent-minded political official remarked. He set his jar down the desk, moving his attention from his assistant to the teens. "What about you youngsters? Want to participate in the challenge? We've got slots open."

Junior blanched at the prospect, shifting his gaze to the redhead. The girl's eyes twinkled, excited by the idea of the challenge. Junior, who didn't want to be in the presence of the Mayor any longer than strictly necessary, opened his mouth to turn down the offer. He was interrupted by the chime from all three of their NanoComs.

Saved by the bell! the boy thought in relief, nearly ripping his device off his belt just to check the message. He scanned the mission quickly, his relief dropping as the message unfolded. "Oh you have got to be kidding me," he griped, letting the hand holding the NanoCom hang loosely at his side.

"Sorry, Mister Mayor," Suzy told the man, putting her NanoCom back into her pocket. "It'll have to be another time. We're needed elsewhere."

"Well, we're setting up these challenges every day, so feel free to drop by when you're free," the Mayor told the group of three. "Take care now."

The team exited the office as soon as they were dismissed, Junior leading the way out into the hallway. He released a sigh of relief. He had heard tells of the Mayor's eccentricity, but he had hoped they were just media exaggerations. Turns out they didn't report it accurately enough. Suzy released a little chuckle, laughing at Junior's dramatics.

"You're acting like this was such a big deal," she teased.

"We retrieved some stupid pickles," Junior complained. "He could have purchased them from Malphs."

"Yeah, but we also eradicated two Nitrosickles and their underlings, keeping the Mayor's prized garden safe and keeping them away from the Great Machine," Suzy pointed out. "I consider it a win-win."

Junior frowned; she did have a point. Grabbing pickles felt like a waste of their time, but thinning out the numbers and keeping them away from the Great Machine was nothing to criticize. So, reluctantly, he had to admit that the mission was necessary, but he did so begrudgingly. He pushed one of the heavy oak doors open, holding it open and allowing the girls to step out first ahead of him. Alice took one step out out of the building when a furball of brown suddenly appeared in view, attaching itself to Alice's arm. Alice released a squeak as the furball rushed up her arm and to her shoulders, moving around in circles. It finally grew tired of using her as a jungle gym and came to a rest on her shoulder. Without it moving, Alice identified the furball as a squirrel. The squirrel rubbed its head against Alice's cheek, releasing high pitch squeaks as if it was holding a conversation. Alice blinked, completely surprised by a random squirrel acting like a domesticated cat, but then it clicked in her mind when she got a better look at the rodent.

"Bullet?" Alice questioned the four-legged creature, getting a squeak in confirmation.

"Awwwh," Suzy cooed, leaning in closer to get a good look at the superhero animal. "You look better, Bullet."

Bullet the Squirrel squeaked happily at the redhead. With absolutely no effort, the squirrel lept from Alice's shoulder to Suzy's shoulder, scurrying up till she rested on Suzy's head. The redhead giggled at the sensation. She reached up and began petting the squirrel, which the animal happily appreciated.

"BULLET!"

Bullet froze, her eyes opening wide almost comically. Team Super Star tensed, even though their names hadn't been called. All three immediately recognized the voice belonging to the heroine Bubbles, and the tone indicated that she was unhappy. Bubbles was the bubbliest member of the team, but her streaks of rage were legendary and to be feared. Cautiously, the team of three turned in Bubbles' direction. The blonde superheroine looked annoyed, but not angry. She hovered over to the team and landed, planting her fists on her hips.

"Where are your manners?" Bubbles questioned the squirrel, lifting a finger and shaking it at the furry creature. She was too busy scolding the squirrel that she momentarily ignored the presence of the three. "You can't just jump on people."

Bullet chittered at the superheroine, which none of the team understood. Bubbles was the only one who spoke animal, and she shook her head at whatever answer was given. She sighed and smiled apologetically at the team.

"Sorry about her manners," the blonde apologized. "She was just really excited to see you all."

"It's fine," Alice answered.

"I never pass up spending time with cute things," Suzy tacked on.

"Still, it's good for her to remember her manners," Bubbles muttered. "But I suppose she was just really happy to see you all, especially since you rescued her. This is her way of saying thanks."

Bullet squeaked in confirmation, rubbing her cheek into Suzy's hair once more.

"She looks better," Junior complimented as Bullet hopped off Suzy's head and landed on his arm. He held his arm up so that the critter could scurry along it to his shoulder.

"Thanks to you three and Numbuh Three," Bubbles responded, her smile softening into gratitude.

"Awwh, we'd do anything for this little cutie," Suzy complimented, scratching the squirrel under her chin.

"Will she be going back to the Wilds?" Alice inquired.

Bubbles nodded. "She's here temporarily. Numbuh One believes one of his missing operatives is in Townsville Park, and needs her help finding him."

Alice blinked at the answer, mentally running down the list of operatives that made up Sector V. She furrowed her brow in curiosity. "Who is it?"

"Numbuh Six," Bubbles answered.

Suzy gasped loudly, pulling her hand from Bullet (who looked sad to lose the contact). "Bradley's missing?"

"Wait, I recall Sector V having five kids," Junior interrupted, taking over Bullet-petting duties. "Who is this Numbuh Six?"

"Honorary member," Suzy answered. "He can't really be a member since he's a skunk, not a kid."

Junior blinked at the answer but didn't comment on it; a skunk being part of a team wasn't that outlandish when there was a superhero squirrel sitting on his shoulder.

"He's been down in the park helping out Numbuh One, but he didn't check in today. Numbuh One went to investigate, but couldn't find him anywhere. Bullet was already down here for another mission, so this was easy to accommodate," Bubbles supplied.

She motioned with her fingers in a 'come here' gesture at Bullet, which the squirrel agreed to. The critter flew off of Junior's shoulder and hovered in front of Bubbles. Bubbles pulled out a single rose stem, handing it over to the squirrel. Bullet saluted, and then shot off into the air, heading south.

"Where's she going?" Junior asked.

"To see Buttercup," Bubbles answered. She turned away from her literal flying squirrel to smile gratefully at the team. "After hearing that she was alive, Bullet came down to see her. I had her come here first so I could let her know about Numbuh One's request, and to have her deliver that rose to Buttercup."

"How has she been?" Suzy asked.

"She's been good! Communication is a little hard because she doesn't have a NanoCom, but she sends me messages when she can get someone to deliver them," Bubbles answered. "I was supposed to send that flower off earlier, but I was busy cleaning up the water around the building."

"Was it contaminated?" Junior asked.

"No, it just had a bad smell. A toilet freshener from Toiletnator cleaned it up," Bubbles answered. "But enough about what's happening with me, what's going on with all of you? Are you on any important missions?"

"Maybe," Suzy answered. "It's a mission from Jimmy Jones."

"He's sending us to Princess," Junior answered, a frown appearing on his face.

"Princess?" Bubbles repeated. "Princess Morbucks?"

"Unless there's a different spoiled brat with the same name, yes," Junior responded.

"She claims to know where some Plumber tech is. Jimmy wants us to go and see if she's telling the truth," Alice explained, her tone doubtful.

Bubbles' lips twisted into a frown, looking just as doubtful as Alice was feeling.

"She could be lying," Bubbles said, expressing her opinion. "But if she does have information on Plumber technology, then it's important you get to it before Fuse can."

"Agreed," Suzy replied. "If she's lying, we'll report back to Jimmy. If she's not, we'll follow through with seeking out the items." She turned and grinned at her teammates. "This will be easy." Alice and Junior nodded in agreement.

Bubbles smiled encouragingly at the team. She had her own reservations about Princess given their long history of fighting each other, but she trusted Alice and her friends. "Good luck."

"AUGH! Finally! I have been waiting forever for you losers to get here. Don't you know I'm, like, super busy!"

Alice fought hard to keep her face perfectly neutral, although it was a tough struggle. Princess Morbucks was an insufferable girl. Alice always avoided her when they grew up, simply because Princess was a bully who lauded her wealthy status over everyone she encountered. Thankfully, Princess was too obsessed with either being a Powerpuff Girl or destroying them to actually pay Alice any attention.

"Where's the Plumber tech, Princess?" Suzy asked, her cheery demeanor not in full force. The redhead's upbeat attitude was dampened by caution.

"The what?" Princess questioned.

"The Plumber tech," Junior supplied, not hiding how annoyed he was. "You sent a message to Jimmy about the location of Plumber tech."

"Oh that," Princess stated disinterested. She shrugged. "I was lying."

Alice couldn't exactly say she was surprised; this was one of the possibilities when it came to Princess. This little fact didn't exactly placate Junior, who released a frustrated sigh at the revelation. Suzy held up her hand to the boy, taking charge of the situation since she had the best social skills.

"Why are we here then, Princess?" Suzy asked evenly.

"To do my bidding, duh!" Princess snapped. She fished into her pocket and pulled out an 8 x 10" photo. On closer inspection, the team could see that it was a headshot of the girl herself. "I want you to deliver this to Ben."

Alice moved confused eyes from the photo to the girl's face, somehow both surprised and unsurprised by Princess' selfish request. Suzy didn't touch the headshot, choosing to stare pointedly at the wealthy Morbucks. Junior stared deadpanned at the spoiled brat.

"You want us to take this headshot of you...to Ben," the half-demon repeated.

"Uhhhhh duh! That's why you're here. Ben's your guide, so you should be able to get this to him," Princess answered, waving the photo as an invitation to take the item.

"Why?" Junior continued.

"Because he's dreamy," Princess answered, her voice sighing dreamily at the end. "Once he sees this, he'll be begging for my cell."

"But...he's dating Julie," Alice pointed out.

Princess closed her eyes, turned her head away and scoffed. "Puh-lease. He'll dump that nobody in a heartbeat and be all over me." With a haughty smirk, Princess put her free hand under her chin. "I'm well-known as the most beautiful girl at Pokey Oaks Junior High."

Alice frowned dubiously at the rather blatant lie. She wasn't big on gossip, but even she would have heard something about this back at school.

"You should stop telling lies, Princess. You've already done enough damage today."

Princess opened her eyes, anger filling them as she whirled around, seeking out the voice criticizing her. Her irritation doubled when she saw the owner was Robin Snyder, best friend to Powerpuff Girls' Bubbles. The brown-haired teen had the back of her fists planted on her hips, giving Princess an exasperated look.

"What do you want, Snyder?" Princess demanded, sneering the girl's name.

"I want you to stop telling lies," Robin answered. "You're stirring up trouble."

"Excuse me!?" Princess' shrill voice jumped several octaves.

"Wow, what a shocker," Junior sarcastically commented.

Princess whirled back around and raised a finger at the half-demon. "You shut your mouth," she hissed.

Junior raised an eyebrow upward in challenge.

"You lied and had a kid steal some items for you, which set off the Unisickles," Robin continued, garnering Princess' attention again. "I was able to stop the kid before he stole more things, but we've got a serious problem on our hands."

"You stole my stuff!" Princess accused.

"These aren't yours," Robin stressed.

"Yes they are! I was going to give them as gifts to my big sister Duchess, but then they were stolen!" Princess protested.

Robin rolled her blue eyes at the protesting, letting the lies fall on deaf ears. She let her eyes roam to the team of three watching the back and forth. Her eyes lingered on Alice, a faint look of concentration in her eyes. She recognized the girl, but she just didn't know from where.

"Hey, you weren't going to run an errand for her, were you?" Robin asked the team, ending the conversation with Princess.

"We were about to reject the mission," Suzy answered, her bright personality returning.

"I was going to tear up her headshot so no one else has to see it," Junior added.

Princess shrieked indignantly, angered by the notion. Her angry outcry was ignored by everyone present.

"Would I be able to ask a favor?" Robin questioned. "Would you be willing to return the items stolen? It should placate the monsters, keeping the Sunken Mall safe."

"You can't just return my stuff!" Princess protested.

"We'd be happy to," Suzy chirped, ignoring Princess' protest.

"It sounds like a better mission than what she was going to have us do," Junior added, a satisfied smirk crossing his face.

"URRRRGGGHHH!" Princess wailed, aggression and frustration equally mixed. The wings of her jetpack extended outward, and the rockets kicked in. She flew up into the air, hovering just a few feet above the individuals so she could look down on them. "I'M GOING TO TELL MY DADDY!"

Robin released a sigh, watching Princess fly off for the Morbucks' summer house in Bravo Beach.

"It's a good thing Bubbles is having me babysit her, or things could have gone a lot worse," Robin commented. She shook the annoyed feeling and smiled brightly at the team. "Anyways, thanks for helping me out. The kid I stopped ran off before I could get him to put it back. His NanoCom was purple, so he's probably aligned with Mojo and didn't want to get into further trouble."

"We're happy to help," Suzy answered.

Robin smiled in a relief at Suzy's words. "Thanks. I know it's not an official mission, but lunch will be on me as payment."

"You don't have to," Alice protested.

Robin shook her head. "It's honestly the least I can do since you're helping me out." She held up designer sunglasses, tiny dog handbag, and a BFF bracelet. "These are what she took."

"This will be easy," Suzy commented. She handed Junior the sunglasses and Alice the bracelet. She took the handbag for herself. "We'll each take one and put them back. We'll meet back here for lunch." She pumped up her fist. "Let's get it done, Super Stars!"

While Team Super Stars was helping settle things down in Townsville Center, Dexter was busy at work in his company building in Tech Square.

The perks of having his laboratory as his company with Computress running security, was that no one could just walk into his lab without Computress alerting him. DeeDee's intrusion into his lab was becoming less frequent due to her remaining at the Genius Grove home. His parents never bothered to enter his lab, and if they needed him for something they would just have Computress relay the message. Mandroids had made the occasional attempts to break in and steal his data, but Computress was more than capable of sending them right back to their master.

That didn't mean that he could go about his days unbothered.

"Dexter, Mister Tennyson is here to see you."

"Sup, Dex."

Dexter held back a sigh and set down his datapad. Despite his security measures, the guides were considered top priority in security protocols. It didn't mean that they could just overlook his security measures (because he didn't need Mojo getting his paws on his tech), but they could get in easier than normal civilians. Coupled with Ben's connections to the Plumbers, he could get in without calling ahead of time. It was still annoying, however, because he was in the middle of running updates on the Nano Project.

"Why are you here to bother me?"

"Ahh, don't be like that. You can't go and hole yourself up without any company." Ben found an open chair and took a seat, kicking his feet up on the table.

Dexter narrowed his eyes at the feet, hoping to set them on fire with his stare alone.

"I can when I am busy," Dexter argued. "And is it really wise to leave Vilgax at a hospital?"

Ben shrugged.

"I've got the Plumber's Helpers keeping an eye on him," Ben answered. "Plus, there's a volunteer there that's threatened to put Vilgax into a coma and I really think she'll do it, so the hospital is in good hands."

Dexter rolled his eyes. The heroes were in an uneasy alliance with Vilgax, the latter swearing he would assist so long as Fuse was a threat, but that didn't mean Dexter was just going to blindly trust the alien. Leaving Vilgax at a hospital filled with the sick and injured was careless. Their only saving grace was that the alien was interested in the space port, which was locked down as an infected zone that Vilgax couldn't break into (yet).

"Is there anything of importan-"

"Hey Dexter, you in here?" Douglas called as the door to the lab opened, unintentionally interrupting Dexter's interrogation. "I need to sho-" He cut himself off, seeing that Dexter had company. "Oh, hey, Ben."

Ben raised his hand and gave a wave, "Hey man."

Dexter pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Uhhh, I can come back," Douglas offered, picking up on the irritation radiating off his employer.

"You're not interrupting," Ben responded.

Dexter shot the hero a dirty look, but didn't deny it. He wanted to be annoyed with Douglas' interruption, but his friend wouldn't bother him if it wasn't important.

"Did you need something, Douglas?" he questioned, forcing his tone to be pleasant.

"Well, I've been monitoring the Leaderboard, and I just...noticed something strange," Douglas responded.

Dexter held back his frown. The Leaderboard was pretty straightforward. The NanoComs collected Fusion Matter and quantified how many monsters the owner defeated. The Leaderboard took this data and updated regularly, making sure it had the most accurate results. There was really nothing else to it.

"What happened to it?" Ben asked, confused on what could be wrong with the ranking board.

"Nothing happened to it," Douglas answered. "But I was checking out the number one spot, and the numbers just seem off. Here, let me show you."

He reached over Dexter and put his communicator in the dashboard's slot, linking up with Dexter's computer. Using his administrator privileges, he pulled up the Leaderboard, showing Dexter the team category. Dexter looked at the page, eyeing the top three spots. His eyes widened when he took in the team that held the number one spot, along with their count.

NO. 1 SUPER STARS 12654

The number was nearly two times what the number two spot had. Dexter turned from the screen to look questioningly at his friend. It was a high number to be certain, but he didn't see where the problem was. Without a word, Douglas moved to the solo category. Dexter's eyes doubled in size when he caught a look at the name.

NO. 1 ALICE SPACEBYTE 7802

Ben looked in surprise before it shifted to pride. Dexter was flabbergasted by the results. He had expected to see high numbers after being in battle with Fuse for this long but he hadn't expected it to be that high. He looked back to Douglas, unspoken questions in his eyes.

"I've checked three times, and the data is correct. There are no hacks, so she wasn't fooling the system or padding her numbers. This" - Douglas gestured at her place at the top of the board - "is all her."

"Incredible," Dexter muttered, his scientific mind already running with theories and ideas. "But how?"

"Aside from just straight up killing monsters" - Douglas offered a helpless shrug. - "I don't know. It doesn't even make sense because her NanoCom went down for thirty days."

Dexter ran his eyes over the name one more time, noticing the Plumber insignia situated by her name. He whirled around to look at her guide, who looked up at him quizzically.

"How is this possible?" Dexter questioned.

Ben shrugged. He didn't know how the other guides interacted with their people, but he didn't keep up daily tabs with his. He didn't have a clue on how Alice was able to sit at the top of The Leaderboard. "She did get some training from Amber, so maybe that's helped."

Dexter's eyebrows flew to his hairline. While Douglas looked between the two guides in confusion, having no clue who this Amber person was, Dexter stared at the Omnitrix wielder in shock.

"She did what?"

"Yeah." Ben shrugged. "Alice and her team got surrounded by a bunch of Fusion Monsters when Amber found them. She decided to train her, which I was really surprised to hear." A proud smile appeared on his face as he recalled the day he had gone to Providence H.Q. to pick up the alien girl. "You should have seen her face off against a whole army of Fowl Foes; it was incredible. A few energy beams here and there, and they were wiped out."

"An army?" Dexter repeated, his eyebrows making an attempt to completely leave his face.

"Yeah. I'd easily say there were over fifty of them," Ben answered. He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind the back of his head. He stared up at the painstakingly white ceiling tiles above him. His demeanor sobered as a troubling memory bubbled to the surface. "With her powers, we could have really used her in Hero Hollow. Too bad she got a handle on them a little late."

Dexter went pale at the mention of the failed battle. It was a secret that had been hidden away by everyone who participated in the fight. If word got out that they had lost the Battle of Hero Hollow, and that Fuse had a stronghold in the Darklands, moral could dip among the fighters. For now, it was easier to ban all travel to the Darklands and keep the whole thing hush-hush. Once the Suburbs, Downtown, and Wilds were contained, they'd readdress the Darklands issue.

"A whole army..." Douglas repeated, his skin growing pale. "But...but data shows..."

"That there's only supposed to be a team of four max," Ben finished, pulling his gaze away from the ceiling. "I know. It was crazy. This happened to her team in Devil's Canyon. Amber said that there were easily thirty of them crawling around before she wiped them out."

Dexter couldn't process the information he was given. It felt like there was a wall that kept it from going further. Data consistently showed that monsters congregated in groups of four maximum, usually consisting of a boss and three regular monsters. But whole armies? He'd only experienced it in the Battle of Hero Hollow, and ruled it had been because they were on Fuse's footsteps. He'd never heard of it occurring outside of the Darklands.

"You know, it's a pretty big coincidence that this has happened to Alice twice," Ben mused out loud. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I never really thought about it until now."

Dexter's brows knitted together. His mind was so busy being bogged down by the high number of kills and the high congregation of monsters that it only just registered that Ben mentioned Alice having powers. Here he had assumed she was a normal human, but she had powers? Since when?

"Ben, what is she?" Dexter asked.

Ben blinked at the question, before frowning. While Ben had no shame being from a family of aliens, he didn't want to go throwing around Alice's status without her permission. "I'm not answering that."

The boy genius frowned, but he wasn't going to be tripped up on this little speed bump. His mind was already moving, and he was in the zone. Nothing was going to stop him from getting the answers he wanted.

"Do you happen to have a DNA sample of hers?"

"Do you realize how creepy that sounds?" Ben questioned.

Dexter bristled. "I need her DNA to run some tests."

"Still pretty creepy."

"Why are you going to do that?" Douglas piped in, some color returning to his cheeks.

"I don't believe this is a coincidence," Dexter stated, pausing dramatically because, although he was a science kid, he did have a streak of theatrics in him. "I believe there is a connection."

Whenever Dexter got in the zone, he generally forgot about how to function properly. After he had kicked out Ben and Douglas, and received Alice's DNA sample from Ben's friend Helen Wheels, Dexter had locked himself in his laboratory so that he could focus on his work. That had been two days ago. In that time, Dexter had completely forgotten how to properly care for himself. He skipped meals, had all-nighters, and didn't step outside of his lab. Computress had been warned to detour anyone who would interrupt him, and to forward all calls to his answering machine. He had needed complete, and total focus.

His isolation tactics paid off. Despite his body threatening to drop dead at any moment, Dexter stared at the papers in his hand with a feeling of accomplishment swelling in his chest. He already knew the results from the screen, but there was something about seeing it printed on paper that made it feel more real. If he saw the numbers printed out on paper, it made the whole thing tangible.

"Dexter!"

Dexter released a quiet sigh, knowing better than to let his mother hear him sighing in front of her; she'd most likely read him the riot act. Absent-mindedly, he placed down the papers on his keyboard and whirled his chair around, making eye contact with his mother. The redhead matriarch marched her way into the laboratory, ignoring all the wonderous science her son experimented with or designed. She was zeroed in on her tired teenager, anger born from worry painted on her face.

"You have missed too many meals, young man," she lectured, planting her hands on her hips when she was in front of him. "And look at those dark circles. You look like a racoon!"

"I was busy," Dexter said, and he winced out how whiny his voice raised to. Even though he was the owner and executive of his company, his mother was still the one in charge.

"Well whatever you're working on will have to wait until tomorrow," his mother responded, her voice firm. "You're going straight up to the house for a nice meal and then bed, mister." Dexter opened his mouth to protest, but his mother held up her gloved hand. "Do I need to call your father down?"

Dexter held in his sigh, but he did drop his head. He really wanted to protest, but his body was failing him. He was tired, and his stomach was distinctly empty, almost making him feel sick. Letting Alice know what he found could wait until morning, when he wasn't about to fall on his feet.

"You're right, mother," Dexter acquiesced.

"That's my little brainiac," his mother gushed, shifting from authoritarian to nurturing.

She reached down and helped her son up, keeping her arm locked around his shoulders when she felt him sway. Dexter allowed her to help him out of the lab, mainly because his vision had momentarily tunneled. They left the lab without a second glance backward...

...which is why they missed the puff of smoke and fire appearing next to the computer's keyboard. A red claw reached out and swiped the papers piled on it, and then disappeared without a sound.

Him reappeared in Mandy's home, draping himself on the house's couch. After making himself comfortable on the furniture, Him raised the papers he'd stolen from DexLabs, reading what Dexter had deemed so important to work on. While he enjoyed tormenting the Powerpuff Girls, he wasn't opposed to messing with a few of the other heroes, especially someone like Dexter, who firmly believed magic wasn't real. Just as the villain finished, two knocks from the front door got his attention. The guest at the door didn't wait to be let in; they threw the door open and stepped inside.

"Alright, Him darling, pop the popcorn and let's watch some The Loved and the Loveless," Eris, the goddess of chaos, declared. The door magically closed behind her as she sashayed into the house. "I am absolutely dying to see tonight's episode."

"The soap opera will have to wait," Him responded, rising into a seated position. "I have something more interesting tonight."

"Ooh?" Eris questioned, her deep blue eyes filling with excitement. "What do you have in mind?"

Him held up the papers in his claw, a wicked grin spreading along his face. "I took these from that dear boy in Tech Square." He extended his claw outward so that she could take the papers. "Why don't you have a look, dear?"

Eris snatched the papers out of his claw, eagerly running her eyes all over it. He could see the exact moment she spotted the juiciest part of the results by the way her eyes doubled in size. The goddess of chaos' eyes raised to meet the king of darkness' stare, chaotic intent swirling in her eyes and being matched by the demon's wicked smirk.

"Are you up for a little chaos, dear?" Him asked.

When it came to Eris, there was really only ever one answer to raising chaos: Yes.

"What a devilish idea," Eris cackled. She side-eyed the documents in her hand, a villainous smirk growing. "I know just the man to bring this to."

It was nearing primetime, and Harangue Nation was due to start any moment. The various hands behind the scene were rushing around to make the last-minute preparations. Their earlier plans for tonight's segment had to be scrapped after Will Harangue - the star of the show - rushed in and told them of the first story he'd be going over. The producer had tried to stop him, to keep him on board with their previous story, but Harangue told the man off, and got his way. The story he had was going to be big; not as big as the Tennyson story, but just as big. The expectation put the crew into panic mode, but also piqued their curiosity. What was just as big as the Tennyson story?

They were about to find out. Harangue took his place at the table, and waited for the countdown from the cameraman behind the camera.

"We're on in three...two...one..."

Unnoticed by everyone in the studio, Eris, standing off to the sidelines, snapped her fingers. It made no audible noise, but its magical effect was felt all across the world. Every television, computer, and NanoCom screens were tuned into Harangue Nation. With Eris' magic, none of the owners could switch channels or turn off the device, forcing them to be unwilling viewers for the chaos Eris and Him were eager to spread.

When the red light came on, Harangue sat up a little straighter. It was go time.

"Harangue Nation, you are all aware of how much I love humanity. So when I am given information like the one I received tonight" - He dropped his hands and grabbed the papers sitting on his desk, raising them up into camera view. He fanned them to draw the viewer's attention to the papers. - "it leaves me absolutely sickened. In my hand is undeniable proof that this invasion was no accident. These papers, official documents from DexLabs Inc., reveal that there is a traitor among us, and that traitor is Pokey Oaks Junior High student Alice Spacebyte." An image of Alice's school ID photo appeared over Harangue's right shoulder. He had to rely on the TV playback to see where it was exactly, and raised his left hand to gesture at the photo. "It should be no surprise that this girl, who has joined forces with that alien menace Tennyson is directly involved with Fuse." Harangue fanned the papers again. "The results of a DNA test conducted by the head of DexLabs himself show a 90% match between the Fusion menaces and this alien girl."

The red light on the first camera went off, with the red light on the second camera immediately turning on. Harangue turned his head to the left, staring straight into its lens like he did every show.

"Alice Spacebyte isn't just a traitor - she's one of them!"

Chapter Text

Dexter's spoon slipped from his fingers and clattered noisily on the table, not that the boy was paying any attention. He was staring gob smacked at the little T.V. mounted in the family's kitchen. It was playing Coast to Coast; a show his mother enjoyed watching in the evening. The host, retired hero Space Ghost, was speaking to some captain of an underwater research base and a bird-themed lawyer who was once a superhero himself. The interview was nothing substantial, however, since the captain's delirious rant about people touching his Happy Cake oven derailed it like a locomotive off its train tracks. It was utter nonsense, but it wasn't the interview that had short-wired Dexter's mind.

Just seconds ago, Harangue had revealed that Alice shared DNA with Fusions.

Coast to Coast had been playing as regular when it very suddenly jumped to channel three and began playing Harangue Nation. Dexter had tried switching it, since he wasn't interested in listening to that man's drivel after the long two days he had. To his bafflement, the remote wasn't working, and he was forced to watch as Harangue held up his documents and revealed his findings.

Dexter's surprise very quickly morphed into wrath; how did Harangue get a hold of his documents? Computress didn't register anyone entering DexLabs unannounced; no one broke in or snuck in. Who dared steal from him? Mandark would be his first suspect, because he always was. The only catch was that this wasn't Mandark's typical MO. Uneasy alliance aside, Mandark was more interested in upstaging Dexter rather than targeting a third party unrelated to their scuffles. Reluctantly, Dexter had to rule him off the list.

Beeping from Dexter's watch pulled the boy genius reluctantly from his suspect list. Douglas was sending him frantic messages. Apparently, this was Harangue's most watched episode. Based on the numbers Douglas was sending him, just about everybody witnessed the event. The forums - specifically the Conversation Section - was flooding with furious volunteers, many of them calling Alice unkind names. Many were attempting to get a hold of her NanoCom's number to send her personal messages, and even more were demanding her home address so they could dish out their own sense of justice that was one hundred percent against the law. Douglas was in the middle of shutting Conversation Section and Help Wanted down to temporarily stanch the flow of outrage. The Dexbots that moderated the forums were busy locking and deleting threads and issuing out bans and suspensions. When the forums would come online later, Douglas would make an announcement that - under no circumstances - were name calling and calls to violence acceptable on the forums.

The whole thing was pretty disturbing, and it pushed him to action. With his adrenaline pumping in his veins and pushing back his exhaustion, Dexter pushed away from the table and jumped out of his chair, rushing for the elevator installed in the house. His mother startled from her stupor when her youngest child rushed by her.

"De-Dexter?" she called after him, her voice shaky from processing the revelation. "Dexter, sweetie, you need to be-"

Dexter entered the elevator shaft alone, the doors shutting close before his mother could finish her statement. His mother would be furious and ground him, but that was the absolute least of his worries.

"Computress!" Dexter barked into his watch as the elevator shot downward. "Disconnect Alice's NanoCom. Do not let a single call, message, or email come through; I don't care who it comes from! She can only have contact with you, understand?"

"Understood, Dexter," Computress parroted.

"I want you to have her come to DexLabs immediately. Don't let her know why she needs to be here; I don't want her to run before we have a chance to explain this, just in case she hasn't seen this. Have her come from the connection in my old lab."

"Understood, Dexter."

Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And check all our security footage for this intruder! I want them found!"

"Affirmative."

If not for the fact that the TV was one of his most precious possessions, Eustace would have thrown a remote through it as soon as that hack Harangue popped up. Harangue's visage was off their TV screen, replaced by the Nowhere Newsman who was regurgitating the latest news of the night. Like everyone else, the Bagge's TV had been magically switched to Channel Three, and they had bared witness to Harangue smearing Alice's name through the mud.

Muriel and Courage had jumped into action when they were returned to Nowhere News. Muriel ran into the kitchen, while Courage rushed up the stairs. Eustace didn't know where the dog was rushing off to and didn't exactly care; he was busy glaring hard at the TV to worry about what the stupid dog was up to. From his favorite chair, he could hear his wife's voice as she tried to call their niece.

"Alice, deary, are you alright? Has something happened? Please call me. Please call as soon as you see this," Muriel's voice was colored with worry, and she was on the verge of tears. "I'm worried, dear."

The hands resting on the arm rests curled into fists as frustration continued to build up in Eustace. That stupid boy had ruined the lives of his family once again. It was because of his faulty buses that his sister-in-law was dead, and his niece was an orphan. It was his insistence for volunteers that had his niece joining a dangerous war instead of being home with them where it was safe. It was his stupid tests that made his niece public enemy number one. Three strikes.

If his chair wasn't so comfortable, if Tech Square wasn't so far away, the boy genius would be answering to his mallet.

The Professor and Blossom stared at the TV in disbelief, matching looks of horror painted across their faces. Blossom was visiting home since Numbuh Two was visiting Numbuh Five in Genius Grove. The Professor had been cooking them a nice, simple dinner when their TV was hijacked. The Professor had rushed into the room at Blossom's call, and the two had watched the ordeal in horror. The older man slumped down onto his couch's cushions upon seeing Stuart Best videoing the crowd forming in front of Dexter's company building, his legs unable to keep him upright.

At City Hall, seated on the steps leading up to the capitol building, Bubbles was watching Stuart Best's live feed from her communicator. The skin between her eyebrows pinched in worry, and her fingers trembled ever so slightly. Bullet was curled around her neck, whimpering at the situation the two of them were watching.

"Oh, Alice," Bubbles whispered in concern.

Lounging on her bed in their rundown apartment, Buttercup - still donning her Belladonna persona - frowned at her communicator as Stuart Best interviewed a protester. Her memories were still hazy, but she could call on snapshots of the alien girl Harangue was fingering as a part of the Fusion army. What he said made her want to rush across town and slug him.

"Ha!" Ace cried from where he was huddled at the TV set. "I knew she was a monster. Should have dealt with her myself."

"We could alwayssss join the crowd," Snake offered.

Buttercup frowned and dropped her communicator on the bed. She stood up and glared at her teammates. "None of you, are going to do anything, got it?"

Ace frowned at the Powerpuff, flaring his nostrils as a challenge. Buttercup released a growl and held up her fist threateningly. Ace immediately surrendered and looked back at the TV set, releasing a huff at being thwarted. Things had been going so well for the band until that girl Alice appeared; if she wound up hurt because this whole incident, well...Ace wasn't shedding any tears.

Numbuh Five peeled her eyes away from DeeDee's TV, sharing a worried glance with her fellow Sector V teammate at Numbuh 10's report. Numbuh 10 and her cohost were denouncing Alice, mentioning that it was no surprise a teenager was involved with Fuse, and posing the question on who else was a traitor. The Kids Next Door Nightly News' anchors could condemn the alien teenager since they didn't know her, but Numbuhs Two and Five knew Alice better, and hearing the rude things didn't sit well with them.

LeeLee and MeeMee were on the couch, each of them with an arm wrapped around their friend DeeDee. The blonde was frantically texting her little brother, shaky fingers sending off messages filled with typos.

"Please answer, Dex," DeeDee whispered desperately. "Please, please, please!"

Double D's complexion was the color of a ghost as he sat perfectly still, eyes glued to his television screen. Alice had already revealed she was an alien, so the surprise had worn off, but this? A connection to the bad guy himself?

Eddy was not nearly as ridged as his smarter compatriot. He was up on his feet, face red as a brick as he ranted and raved about what a traitor Alice was and that he knew it. Double D was too shell-shocked to combat him.

Suzy was kneeled in front of the Bravos' TV, a hand cupped over her mouth as she stared at it in disbelief. Bunny Bravo was seated beside the girl, a comforting arm around her as she whispered comforting words to the girl. Carl was behind them, looking on in surprise at the revelation. Johnny Bravo was in the kitchen, continuing to eat the dinner his mama had made for him (and his friends) without a concern for what was going on.

Junior was in front of his cousin's TV set, his hands clenching the frame protecting the electronic equipment. He had been glued in that position ever since Harangue's image came on screen. Even though they were currently watching Sassy Cat Sasstacular Cartoon Show, the memory of what Harangue had spoken on his show wasn't easy to shake. His fingers curled as a new wave of fury raced through him, and he applied pressure to the furniture, forming crack lines that threatened to splinter if more pressure was applied.

"Heeeeeey," Billy complained, pointing an accusing finger at his cousin. "Move aside! I'm tryings to watch TV!"

Junior seemingly obeyed Billy's complaint, moving away from the entertainment set so his cousin could watch the show. Instead of returning to the couch, Junior moved to the door and threw it open, disappearing into the night without a word to Billy. Billy watched the half-demon disappear, shrugged, and went back to watching his show.

"If this girl is linked to Fuse, then she's part of the time anomaly!" Larry ranted to his temporary roommate. "Oooh, and I even had contact with her and had no clue! I let her get away!"

"The whataly?" Coop and Jamie asked in confusion.

"Time anomaly, you troglodytes!" Larry snapped.

"If she's the time anomaly you were sent here for," Kiva put forward, having kept up with the robot's ranting, "then what are you going to do?"

"That is what I'm still working on," Larry responded begrudgingly.

"You gonna arrest her?" Jamie asked.

"Awh, don't do that man. She's just a kid," Coop complained.

"Would you imbeciles be silent!"

Numbuhs Three and Four, and Mac huddled around Numbuh Four's communicator, listening to WKND. They were troubled by the news, giving each other worried looks. Many other operatives stationed at the camp were listening to the radio station, chattering with each other about how Alice was connected. The Magic Tree listened to the chatter silently. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"What did you hope to gain from this, Him?" he questioned no one.

Diane Farrah's interview was at a low volume, providing background noise for the occupants in Cesar's workshop.

"I'm surprised it took them so long to figure it out," Cesar commented conversationally as he worked on his latest experiment.

"I'm not," Amber responded, muting her communicator as White Knight's image flashed across the screen.

Cesar leaned over, grinning when he saw White Knight's image.

"He's going to be mad if you keep ignoring him," the engineer teased.

Amber pocketed her communicator, a neutral frown on her face. "Not my problem."

"What the heck is going on, Dexter?" Ben demanded the moment his call connected. "You went to Harangue about Alice?"

Ben was beyond unhappy. He felt betrayed. No, he was betrayed. Ben had given Alice's DNA (which had Grandpa Max sending him an email demanding to know how Dexter got her DNA) to the boy as a gesture of trust, not once believing Dexter would post it out publicly. And he didn't even post the results to his public website, which would have still been bad on its own. No, he went running to Harangue, a xenophobic man who gleefully blamed everything on Ben. And now Harangue had just targeted a new subject.

Dexter stared back at the teenage hero in anger. "You believe I would ever-"

"It has your name on the pap-"

"I WAS ROBBED!" Dexter blew up.

"Yeah? And who did it?" Ben challenged.

"...I do not know." Ben's eyebrow raised upward accusingly. Dexter saw the action and pointed a finger at him once again. "I do not have to sit here and take your accusations! I am currently busy."

"With what?"

"Finding out who stole from me," Dexter answered. "And meeting with Alice."

Ben perked at the second answer. Courage had been bombarded his inbox asking Ben to get into contact with the girl. The dog figured that as Alice's guide, Ben had special privileges that could get him in contact with her. Unfortunately, all attempts to contact Alice were met with silence.

"You're in contact with her?" Ben asked.

"I am," Dexter responded. "I've invited her to the laboratory so that I can discuss this with her, so you will understand that I have no time for this conversation."

"Hold on, we're not-"

Dexter ended the call, leaving Ben to stare at his communicator indignantly.

"He hung up," Ben commented to no one, frowning at his device. He tried calling again, but the call went unanswered. The hero glared at his blank screen, annoyance creeping into his voice. "Dang it, Dex. Don't do something stupid."

The girl who the world was talking about was completely oblivious to her sudden celebrity status. She was at the sink, cleaning the dishes that had been used when she made her dinner. Her mother's record player was playing Austin Roberts - her mother's favorite musician - from the other room. The technology was outdated compared to Alice's Bluetooth speaker, but the memories of listening to the records with her mother kept her from putting it away into storage. She had just put the plate in the drying rack when her NanoCom chirped. She dried off her hands and checked her NanoCom.

Greetings Miss Spacebyte,

You are formally invited to an immediate meeting with Dexter at his headquarters, DexLabs. For your convenience, you may use the gateway located in Genius Grove. Speak to the Dexbot behind Dexter's old house, and it shall connect you to DexLab's underground facility. I will be there to greet you and escort you into DexLabs.

-Computress

Alice blinked in surprise at the message. She had fully expected it to be an update to the NanoCom; never did she think she'd be called to DexLabs. The last she and Dexter spoke was at her mother's funeral, and that had only been a few words. She racked her mind for anything her team had done that would garner an audience. Nothing came to mind.

The evening air was still warm, so Alice didn't bother grabbing a coat as she closed the door behind her, using her telekinesis to lock it behind her. She took into the air, flying in the direction of Genius Grove. It was a very short trip, although she didn't see Dexbot from her aerial advantage. When she touched down, a Dexbot suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. Alice approached it, already reaching for her NanoCom to present it to the robot, but its eyes lit up before she had the chance.

"Greetings, Alice Spacebyte," the bot greeted. "Prepare for transport."

Alice blinked, and, when her eyes opened, she found she was in a completely different environment. She was in a large room tiled top-to-bottom, wall-to-wall. Realizing she was on a balcony, she ventured over to the railing and looked down, spotting various work stations and gizmos she couldn't begin to identify. A large replica of the Great Nano Machine was situated close to the balcony. Three Nano Stations situated themselves around the large machine in a triangle formation. A holographic image of Dexter was staring at her from the left of the Great Nano Machine.

"Thank you for your prompt arrival, Miss Spacebyte."

Alice spun around, finding Dexter's personal assistant hovering between two identical looking Dexbots. The AI floated backwards and extended her arm to the Dexbot on the right.

"If you will please follow me, I shall lead you to Dexter."

Alice agreed with the nod of her head, stepping away from the railing and approaching the Dexbot. Just as before, she blinked and found herself in a new environment, although this new place looked similar to the one she had been in. The difference was that she was in a hallway, not a giant room.

"If you will please follow me," the AI assistant prompted the teenager, already leading the way down the corridor.

Alice fell in step behind the assistant, her eyes naturally wandering since she'd never been inside the facility before. The trip down the corridor was short, especially since the first door they came across was the door Computress stopped at. She tapped her tablet, and the door slid open. The robot assistant held her arm out, gesturing for Alice to enter the room before her. Alice stepped in with Computress hovering behind, the sliding door closing with a soft click behind them.

Alice took a sweeping look around the room, unsurprised to see it looked exactly like the corridors. The walls and flooring were tiled, so clean that Alice saw her own reflection. The room had a curved wall at the back, and occupying this wall was a large, curved LED screen. On it were a multitude of news channels, but Alice didn't linger on the screen. Her eyes moved around the room, spotting the owner of the company sitting at the desk situated to the left of the room.

"Dexter, Miss Spacebyte has arrived," Computress announced.

Dexter jumped up from his work station, approaching Alice with a smile that was supposed to be welcoming, but came off as forced. Alice studied the fellow teenager, frowning when she noticed the dark bags under his eyes and the off-color complexion of his skin. It looked like Dexter hadn't slept in a very long time.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Alice," Dexter greeted, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm sorry if this has caused any inconvenience on your part."

"Is everything okay?" Alice asked in concern, drawing her hand back to her side. She tilted her head slightly as she focused intensely on the bags under the inventor's eyes. "You look tired."

Dexter waved her concern away. "It is a small matter. I'm afraid what I have to say is important." He used his hand to gesture at his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Cautiously, Alice sat herself in a chair across from Dexter. She had worked out that it had to be important if she was speaking to the boy genius himself; the boy wouldn't have asked to meet her so suddenly, and so late into the night, especially when the boy was clearly exhausted, if it wasn't of great importance. She just couldn't fathom why it was her he needed to speak with.

"Before we begin," Dexter said as he took his seat, "I have to ask if you've seen the news tonight."

Alice shook her head. She fidgeted slightly, like she was embarrassed. "I...haven't been keeping up with it lately."

Dexter sighed and his shoulders dropped, almost like he was relieved by her answer. This caused her to blink, because it was an almost similar reaction to that day at the funeral. Almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Dexter had composed himself and straightened his spine, leaning forward slightly.

"Right, that's good," the redhead muttered, primarily to himself than for Alice's benefit.

"Was...was there something I missed?" Alice asked in confusion.

Dexter glanced at his assistant, but Computress' facial expression gave nothing away.

"We'll get to that in a moment," Dexter decided, looking back at his guest. "Alice, do you know what the Leaderboard is?"

Alice blinked at the sudden pivot, but she nodded. "Yes, but I don't use it." Remembering that the Leaderboard was a product of DexLabs and that she was speaking to its owner, she hastily added on, "I-I'm not interested in a competition, so I don't look at it."

If Dexter was offended that something of his wasn't being used, he didn't show it. Instead, he picked up a controller and pressed an oval button on it. The curved LED screen switched from the news channels to show the Leaderboard. Alice looked at the screen, gasping when she found who was occupying the number one spot. She had never bothered checking in on the board because she didn't have any interest in its competition, so to say she was surprised to find her name at the very top of the list was more than an understatement.

"As you can see, your number is nearly double what the second spot is," Dexter pointed out. Alice spun around to look back at the redhead, her eyes open wide in worry. Dexter held up his hand, stopping whatever was about to exit her mouth. "I've already had it checked out; those are the actual numbers."

"Bu-but I don't know how," Alice protested.

"That was the million taro question, so I decided to do some tests," Dexter stated. "I got a sample of your DNA" -Alice stared wide-eyed at the boy- "and found it had a 90% match with another sample."

Alice's eyebrows furrowed together at the information, confusion springing forward. Max Tennyson had said that she was probably the only survivor of her race; who did she match with so nearly perfectly that the head of the Plumbers didn't even know? Her eyes flitted over to the LED screen, her brows slowly climbing to her hairline as the cogs in her brain began spinning. Dexter had to run a test on her...after seeing her kill count...which was larger than anyone else's on the list...against their enemy who was... Dread replaced her blood as her throat closed.

"Whose?" Alice croaked.

Dexter released a weary sigh. He could see she had already worked out the answer, but she was still holding onto the tiny hope that she was wrong. Woodenly, he pressed the button on his controller, and the LED screen changed to the data he had collected and analyzed. The one that had been aired for all the world to see. The one with the ugly truth. Alice turned shaky eyes back to the screen and released a gasp at the same moment Dexter answered her question.

"Fusion DNA."

When Alice had been a little girl, she used to read her mother's medical books. While many of the words were too long and too difficult to pronounce, there were a few she had been able to read. One term she had memorized was vertigo, and although she wasn't practicing medicine, she could safely say she was experiencing it.

The room was spinning, and Alice was sure if she wasn't white-knuckling the chair she'd have fallen right out of it. She found that she couldn't catch her breath, despite her labored breathing. Her stomach dropped, twisting and tying itself into knots that only served to discomfort her. Her body trembled as she tried to digest the news, and she raised her hands so that she could stare at them. They were still their normal color, not green like a Fusions. But she wasn't supposed to be a Fusion.

Max Tennyson had told her about her Arthenadite blood, and what reason would he have to lie about that? He was startled when he had made the discovery, so there didn't seem like any time for him to make it up. But would Dexter lie to her? She didn't think so; he prided himself on his science. He was telling the truth when he said that her DNA matched with a Fusion. The thought threatened to empty out her stomach. She needed to get out of there.

She pushed her chair back, rising to her feet in her attempt to escape. Dexter rose from his chair and reached across the desk, attempting to grab her. Alice recoiled from the scientist, bringing her arms in close to her body. She wasn't afraid of him touching her, but what if she hurt him? Fusion skin was toxic, right? Had she been spreading toxins to her friends and family without even knowing? Was she slowly killing them?

"Alice, wait-!" Dexter called, attempting to throw himself over the desk to make another grab for her.

Unfortunately for the boy, the adrenaline that had been keeping him on his feet evaporated with the motion. He collapsed against the table top, his arm stretched in front of him. Against his wishes, his eyes closed, the last image being of Alice slipping out of the office.

The blue-haired alien entered the corridor and gave the area a sweeping look. She recalled the way back to that one Dexbot, but the path was blocked by two approaching Dexbots. Panicking, Alice ran the opposite way, her eyes searching out for the exit. Overhead, sirens and alarms sounded, and Computress' voice echoed in the entire building.

"DexLabs is on a lockdown. All exits shall be sealed. DexLabs is on a lockdown. All exits shall be sealed. DexLabs is..."

Panicking, Alice looked around more feverishly. There were still no doors, but there were windows. She didn't want to damage anything, but she didn't want to stay locked in. Cupping her palms together, Alice fired off an energy ball that blasted through the window, providing a large enough hole for Alice to slip out. She took to the skies, flying up over the building. She paused momentarily when she heard a loud commotion below her. Alice focused her eyes downward, finding a crowd gathered at DexLabs' front steps. She couldn't pick out their words, but she caught her name on one of the signs, and felt her blood drain even faster.

The crowd was there for her. They knew what she was.

Why was she always the last in the know when it came to her life?

By a stroke of luck - or maybe the universe had some pity for her - the crowd didn't notice her hovering in the air, and Alice didn't want to stick around and see what they would do to her if they did. She immediately flew away, not particularly picky about her escape route.

"You look terrible."

Dexter glared at his computer screen at the unhelpful - and, in his opinion, unsympathetic - observation. Despite waking up around noon thanks to his body shutting down, Dexter still looked like death warmed over. Ben matched the glare with a challenging look of his own, his brows dipped downward in a sign of annoyance. The two were holding a video conference with each other, Ben opting to use the video-phones provided by Memorial Hospital instead of his communicator.

"Do you have any news?" Dexter questioned.

He was trying to stay civil, but the headache playing drums with his skull was making that difficult. His sleep had been beneficial, for sure, but it did nothing to minimize his stressors. Alice was still missing with Computress unable to get a hold of her and no Dexbots able to spot her. Furthermore, thanks to Harangue making the rounds on many morning news shows, Alice's reputation continued to nosedive. Ben calling all of ten minutes after Dexter was awaken only added on to his stress. It would have been easy to simply ignore the other guide, but Ben had taken up the search for Alice while Dexter had been in shutdown mode. If Ben had found anything, then Dexter wanted to know. It would at least alleviate one stress.

"Nothing from the Plumbers' Helpers," Ben answered, dashing Dexter's expectations. "I had Cooper try and get in contact with her NanoCom, but he's been unable to get a trace on it."

There was an accusation in the hero's tone that had Dexter's glare intensify. It seemed that Ben was still bitter about the results leak, and Dexter didn't appreciate that it was him who was the target. When was Tennyson going to get it through his head that Dexter was the victim here?

"It was done for her protection," Dexter growled.

"Alice Spacebyte's NanoCom has been turned off by its user," Computress jumped into the conversation, whether out of loyalty for Dexter or simply to make sure the facts were being presented accurately. "I have attempted to turn it on remotely, but she has repeated the process."

"Without it on, we won't be able to find her," Ben added.

"What has her family said?" Dexter asked.

"They haven't heard from her," Ben answered. "I wouldn't try calling them if I were you, either. The old farmer didn't have anything nice to say about you."

Dexter frowned, briefly remembering the day of Gale Spacebyte's funeral; the old man hadn't been as friendly back then, either.

"Alright, how about Miss Ignis?" Dexter questioned.

"You mean Amber?" Ben clarified. "Why her?"

"Miss Ignis trained her for a while, didn't she?"

Ben nodded. "Well yeah."

"So we should give her a call," Dexter admitted. "If your team hasn't been able to find her, there's a possibility she's hiding with Providence."

Ben leaned back in his chair and thought about it. While he didn't think she'd run off to Providence, there was a small chance she had. They'd only know if they tried.

"Alright, bring her into the call," Ben said.

"You know her better than me," Dexter countered a little too quickly. "You should be the one."

Ben raised an eyebrow upward in surprise. Dexter had been the one to suggest it but now he wanted Ben to talk to her? Why? The teenage hero narrowed his eyes, studying the scientist. Aside from his pale skin and dark eyes, the boy seemed twitchy, tapping his finger against the desk top irregularly. He didn't look composed like he typically looked. If Ben had to take a guess, he'd almost say Dexter was...

"Dexter...are you scared of Amber?" Ben questioned, a teasing tone worming its way into his words.

"Wh-what?!" Dexter spluttered. "Do not be ridiculous with these stupid notions!"

"No way! You actually are!" Ben questioned, dissolving into a fit of laughter. "This is too rich!"

Dexter's cheeks turned a rosy red and his eyes narrowed. He did not appreciate being laughed at.

"Now listen here, Tennyson. I am not afraid of Miss Ignis."

Ben smirked at the younger teen and crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? How come you won't call her Amber?"

"I am perfectly capable of calling her by her given name," Dexter remarked heatedly.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Ben goaded. "Call her up."

"I will."

"And you're going to call her by her name?"

"Of course!"

Pride and ego running the show, Dexter called Amber's number, bringing her into their call. Ben watched on eagerly from his end, his smirk opening to show some of his pearly white teeth. Dexter ignored the boy, waiting for the woman to pick up the call. On the fourth ring, just as Dexter was prepared to end it and deem her unavailable, she picked up. A look of annoyance colored her face as she glared into his screen.

"What do you want?" Amber demanded.

Dexter squared his shoulders and raised his chin, acutely aware that Ben was staring at him intently. It was only a name. He shouldn't be so afraid to use the woman's first name. The red-haired E.V.O. brought her eyebrows down in a clear sign that her patience was wearing thin.

"Well?"

"...Miss Ignis," Dexter addressed, ignoring the snickering he heard from Ben's screen. He would exact revenge against the teen later. "Alice went missing."

Amber crossed her arms and snorted. "No doubt from last night's surprise."

Dexter grit his teeth, holding back his growl at the jab. Would everyone just let it go? Ignoring the glare Dexter was sporting, the E.V.O. continued, "You had better not be wasting my time asking me to clean up your mess."

"It is not-!" Dexter cut himself off and took in a deep breath. Deep breaths, Dexter. Deep breaths, a voice sounding oddly like his sister reminded him. "We can't find her, Miss Ignis, and wondered if she was with you."

"She's not," Amber answered without missing a beat. "She has no reason to be here."

"You trained her," Dexter pointed out.

"And that was all. She has no further business here," Amber retorted. "Is there anything else you want to waste my time with?"

"I am trying to find her," Dexter remarked. "You could be a little more useful."

"No, not really," Amber responded. Upon seeing Dexter's open mouth sputtering like a goldfish, the E.V.O. frowned at him. For a genius, he wasn't getting the hint that she didn't want any part of the conversation. "I don't know the girl, so quit playing this little questioning game."

"It is not a ga-"

"-You're a supposed genius,-"

"-Am a genius, how dare-"

"-so talk to the people who actually know her," Amber finished, not letting Dexter's outbursts stop her. "Don't bother me again unless it's important." She severed the call without another word.

Dexter stared wide-eyed at his screen for a moment. Then, when his synapses started firing once again, incoherent noises spewed from his mouth, unable to formulate a sentence out of frustration. Finally, he released a scream and ran his hands back and forth through his hair. He only stopped when he was sure his hair was going to combust.

"That woman is infuriating," Dexter groused.

"Yeah, but she isn't wrong."

Dexter focused furious eyes on Ben, only momentarily forgetting he had been involved in the call. What a big help hewas. Actually, it was surprising Ben had remained so silent through the whole thing. The answer to this was because the teen hero wasn't looking up at the screen. Instead, he had his attention on his communicator, tapping away on it.

"Anything you want to share with the class?" Dexter demanded.

Ben grinned lopsidedly at him. "Well, we've already talked to her family, but Alice wasn't in this alone."

On seeing the look of confusion crossing Dexter's face, Ben held up his communicator so that Dexter could get a look at the two contacts Ben was communicating with. Dexter took one look and released an annoyed sigh; not because of who Ben was talking to, but because he hadn't thought of checking with them. He'd just blame it on the lack of sleep.

The Prickly Pines forest was bathed in the warm glow of the afternoon sunlight, but it did nothing to warm the chill that clung tightly to Alice's body. Sullen, red-rimmed eyes stared despondently at her reflection in the water. Her shoes sat next to her on the water bank as she flexed her toes in the water, the only movement that proved she was not a statue.

When she had escaped from DexLabs, she had unconsciously made the decision to go to her aunt and uncle's house. She had been passing Foster's Home when she realized she couldn't stay with them. She was a monster, an enemy; what if they didn't accept her? Her aunt had said they would be family no matter what, but this had to break that contract, right? The very thought stopped her from continuing forward; the thought of her aunt turning her away unsettling to her already upset stomach. With nowhere to go, she had sought refuge at the waterfall and its mini-lake in the forest. She remembered it from the times her and her mother would go camping, and it was the only secluded place she could think of.

She had been up the majority of the night, sobbing into her arms and uncaring if she attracted the Lazy Metal Boy Scouts that patrolled the forest (although the "lazy" in their name was probably well-earned because she never encountered one throughout the night). Her emotional exhaustion drained her to the point of sleep, but the nightmares that plagued her ensured she received very little rest. Most of her waking time was spent crying her eyes out, but the tear ducts had tried by the first morning light, and the remainder of her time was spent simply staring at a sad reflection that stared back.

Alice had hit her proverbial bedrock, but there was no going up from here.

"Alice!"

Alice moved slowly, her joints protesting against the effort after having been rooted for so long. Despite her mind recognizing that the call was from somebody she knew, she was still caught off guard when a body slammed into hers, two arms wrapping her up in a tight embrace. The momentum had them falling for the water, but a quick materialization of a shield shaped like a crescent caught the two. Alice breathed a tiny sigh of relief, even if dread was beginning to bubble.

Despite her efforts, Suzy had found her. Two tentacles reaching out, one wrapping around each girl, pulling the two girls away from the water edge was the indicator Junior was with her. When the two were back on solid ground, Suzy pulled back so she could stare at her friend, making sure to keep both hands on Alice's shoulders. Moisture was forming at the edges of the girl's eyes, and upon seeing the blossoming tears, Alice dropped her gaze.

"Oh thank goodness we found you. You had us so worried!" Suzy said in relief. "Junior, get a hold of Courage. Tell him we found her."

Despite her lethargy, Alice jerked into alertness at the sudden mention of the pink Beagle. Courage knowing where she was meant that Muriel and Eustace would know where she was hiding, and she absolutely didn't want them to know. This wasn't a game of hide-n-seek; it was just hide.

"N-no," Alice protested. "Don't."

Suzy and Junior looked at her quizzically, clearly thrown off.

"You can't tell him," she further explained. "No one was supposed to find me."

"Oh Alice," Suzy breathed. "Of course we were going to find you."

"Everyone's been worried," Junior tacked on, dropping to his knees so he wasn't talking down to her. "We searched all night for you."

"You shouldn't have," Alice protested, looking at her knees.

"Of course we would!" Suzy replied back. "You're our friend, and we weren't just going to let you go through this alone."

The blue-haired alien shook her head. "But I'm a mo-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Suzy cut in, removing one hand so she could hold up a finger to Alice's face. "You are not a monster, Alice Spacebyte."

Alice snapped her head upward, confusion written in her eyes. "But I'm-"

"Yes, I've seen the news," Suzy cut in once more. "It doesn't change a single thing about you."

Alice's brows came together. "I'm a Fusion."

"You have Fusion DNA," Junior joined in. "But that doesn't make you a Fusion."

"And it certainly doesn't make you a monster," Suzy added. "You're not them, Alice."

"But-"

"I'm a half-demon who lives at the Center of the Earth," Junior cut off Alice before she could come up with an excuse. "Do you think I'm a monster?"

"No," was Alice's immediate response.

"So why are you so quick to call yourself one?" Junior asked.

Alice opened her mouth to argue, but shut it when nothing came to mind. She had never thought of Junior as a monster because he was a good person; him having demon blood was no different than him having genes for black hair. If she was judging him by his actions, then why was she so quick to put herself in the same league as the alien invaders? Had she already forgotten her mother's lessons?

Gale Spacebyte always stressed to her daughter to judge a person (or being) based on their actions and not what they were; actions were the true characteristics of a person. There was good and bad in every group, and it was important to look at a person as an individual and not a member of a group. Him may be the definition of a demon, but Junior was kind. Vilgax was a terrifying alien, but Ben used his aliens for good. Princess was a snotty, villainous brat, but Suzy was one of the kindest, upbeat persons she'd ever met. Bad. Good. It was about the person, not the group they belonged to.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized, and she was surprised when she felt her eyes water up. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Suzy said, pulling her friend into another hug. "You were scared. This was scary, but you're not alone in this."

"You're not alone, dear. You have so many people who love you and will support you. Remember that no matter what happens, you will always be loved, forever and ever."

Alice closed her eyes and let some tears slip, her aunt's words coming to her mind. In her fear and grief, she had forgotten her aunt's reassuring words. She had a family who was worried for her, and good friends who went out of their way to look for her.

Alice pulled herself out of Suzy's embrace and wiped at her eyes. With a smile, she said, "Thank you."

Suzy and Junior smiled back at her, relieved that she was okay again. Suzy jumped to her feet, excitement coursing through her veins.

"Now that we've made it clear we will always be here for you, let's go to your aunt's house," Suzy suggested. "Your aunt said she's made some Scottish Dream Cookies for when we find you and it sounds delicious."

Alice smiled, getting to her feet with some assistance from Junior. Going home was something she really, really wanted to do.

Chapter Text

Muriel spooned a hearty amount of scrambled eggs from out of the skillet and onto her niece's plate, her aged brows furrowing in concern as she looked at teenager. "Are yah positive yah wish to leave? Yah've only been here a couple days."

Alice smiled up at her aunt and nodded in confirmation. Unlike the last time she'd taken up refuge at the Nowhere farmhouse, Alice was feeling ready to resume her duties. She was careful to stay away from any news, but Suzy kept her updated on the happenings of the world, and public opinion was swaying. The news cycle had moved on from reporting on Alice's connections to Fuse, primarily because the likes of Dexter and DexLabs, Ben and the Plumbers, the Powerpuffs, the Urban Rangers and the Kids Next Door put out statements expressing their support of the girl, which stirred up a conversation on Alice's character. Harangue showed she had Fusion DNA, but if she was really on Fuse's side, would big names like Ben and the Powerpuffs ruin their own image by supporting her?

The question didn't stop Harangue from continuing his smear campaign against the thirteen-year-old girl. He kept tying her to events that she hadn't been involved in, smearing her name nightly for the benefit of record viewership. While Douglas had programmed the Dexbots to delete any posts that hinted at Alice's address, Harangue managed to find where she was hiding out and sent interns off to get video of her. The poor interns were greeted by a rolling-pin wielding Muriel who told them in no uncertain terms to leave the property or there would be trouble. Although sweet by nature, Gale wasn't the only Reid sister who could exert violence when it was needed, and going after her niece who was still just a child certainly put Muriel in a violent mood. When the crew didn't immediately scatter, Eustace rushed out with his mallet, swinging it through the air in a clear show of intent that had the interns running back to Downtown. Harangue painted Muriel and Eustace as being under Alice's control, but the two elderly had no problem with this; they had protected their niece, and that was all that mattered to them.

"I want to get back out and help," Alice informed her aunt and uncle. "I can't stay here forever."

Eustace released a displeased harrumph, sticking a slice of bacon into his mouth and chewing. "Sure you can. Let that yahoo handle the mess. He probably started it."

Alice smiled indulgently at her uncle, but didn't raise the issue of Eustace bad mouthing Dexter. The old man had a grudge with the inventor, and literally nothing was going to stop his griping. Selfishly, it made her feel warm that her uncle would care for her so much he'd insult Dexter.

"I really hope I'm not the 'yahoo' in this sentence."

Alice turned slightly, watching Alan step into the kitchen from the outside. He had been sent up to the farmhouse almost immediately after Harangue aired his attempt at getting a shot of the girl. Although Eustace protested having a stranger living with them, Muriel overruled his complaints and welcomed him to the house. Since they didn't have any guest rooms left - Eustace flat out forbade the boy from bunking with Alice since Suzy wouldn't be around to keep an eye on him - Muriel and Alice had set up a nice room in the barn's loft. Telekinesis was a useful power to have when moving furniture.

Eustace ignored the half-alien boy, choosing to occupy his time at the table by reading the morning newspaper. If Alan was offended by being ignored by the old farmer, he didn't show it as he took a seat next to Alice, happily accepting the morning meal laid before him by the woman of the house.

"So I heard you're heading out today?" Alan asked.

"Yes," Alice answered. "I want to get back out in the world and help."

Eustace made a grumbling noise, but he didn't peek out from behind his newspaper. Alice sent him a quick apologetic smile, and then turned that apologetic smile on Alan.

"I'm sorry for having you come up here. Nowhere isn't as exciting as Downtown."

Alan sent her a perplexed look. His tone matched his perplexation. "Not exciting? This place is chalk-full of excitement. I'm pretty sure I read one time of an ancient pharaoh coming back from the dead because his slab was stolen."

Courage whined as a shiver shook his entire body head to toe. He really, really, really didn't want to remember King Ramses II and his stolen slab. Eustace, in his rare moments of agreeing with Courage, had similar sentiments and sent a glare over his newspaper in the half-alien boy's direction.

"Besides," Alan hurriedly added upon seeing how upset the farmer and Beagle had become, "it's nice to get away from the city. Even with an alien invasion going on, Downtown still finds a way to be crowded. I'm a country kid, so this reminds me of home."

"And we adore havin' yah here," Muriel contributed, stopping by to give his cheek a quick squeeze.

Alan smiled at the elderly woman, waiting until her back was turned before he rubbed his stinging cheek. Alice and Courage shared a chuckle at his expense, which earned them an amused look from the half-Pyronite.

"I know I can't stop yah from doing what yah will, but I can't help worrying about yah," Muriel told her niece, taking a seat at the table to enjoy her own meal.

"I'm sorry about that, but I'll be okay. I have Suzy and Junior to help me, and my Nanos are more than willing to lend me a hand when I need it."

Her Nanos had been near inconsolable once she'd turned her NanoCom back on. While their separation was shorter than her training at Providence, it was the unexpected shut out that had them confused. Alice had to swear to the two of them for an hour straight that she wouldn't shut down her device without giving them a proper warning before they let the subject go. When Nano Boomer found out what Harangue said about his girl, he had nearly zipped out of the farmhouse with the intention of taking a baseball bat to Harangue's head. Alice managed to talk him out of it, although she did catch her Nanos playing darts with a photo of Harangue's face as the target. She really didn't know where the photo came from, and even less sure where the darts came from, but she wasn't going to ask. They'd never meet Harangue, so the human was safe from the vengeful wrath of her two Nanos.

"I don't trust that boy," Eustace complained from behind his newspaper.

"Oh, now hush, Eustace," Muriel admonished her husband, lightly swatting his arm. "We love all of Alice's friends, and we enjoy having them over. They're such wonderful darlings."

Eustace grumbled in disagreement, but made no further complaint. Muriel smiled pleasantly at the victory, cutting up her scrambled egg with a peppy hum. Alice's NanoCom chimed, interrupting the breakfast. Eustace peeked over the topic of his newspaper long enough to murmur something unintelligible before returning to his paper. Alice checked her messages, seeing it was from Suzy. Junior and her were leaving Endsville. Alice tapped out a response and then spooned the remainder of her breakfast onto Courage's plate, which the dog dug into excitedly.

"Leaving already?" Muriel asked.

"Yes," Alice answered from the sink, washing up her plate. She placed it on the dish rack and wiped her hands on the towel hanging off it. "Suzy and Junior have already left, so I'm going. I'll call tonight."

"You'll be safe, right dear?" Muriel asked, her tone colored in concern.

Alice smiled at her aunt in sympathy, stepping across the kitchen to rest a kiss on her aunt's forehead. She conveyed as much reassurance as she could, to help alleviate some of her aunt's worries. She couldn't make any promises to her aunt, but she wanted to give the elderly woman a peace of mind.

Alice landed within the limits of what had become known as Mojo's Volcano. A quick scan found that she had beaten her friends to the rendezvous spot. The area was empty of other people, despite being within a stone's throw away from Tech Square. This was by no means an accident, especially because Mojo had a great dislike of "lesser-minded" people stepping foot on his territory. This was his lair, his kingdom, and you were only allowed in if he permitted it. The Mojo Minions scattered around the area kept the unwanted out.

Well, they used to. With their forces spread out across the globe, it was harder to keep Mojo's home secure from the uninvited, and he was being pestered by Spawn Simians, Wild Wings, and Doom Diggers. He also suspected that his gadgets were being stolen, which was the reason for Team Super Star's being there. Mojo wanted to set up whoever it was that was stealing from it, being a Fusion or human. Alice had her reservations about helping Mojo given the fact he was a villain, but she couldn't deny that his technology winding up in the wrong hands did nobody any favors.

Alice turned when she heard the unmistakable sound of Puffy AmiYumi's "Boogie-Woogie No. 5" approaching from Morbucks Towers, the volume increasing as it ventured nearer. Alice didn't even have to see where it was originating from; she already knew it was blasting out of Suzy's stereos. A moment later, Alice's two teammates arrived, coming to a stop by the alien girl.

"Hey Alice," Suzy greeted, hopping out of her hovercar. "Did we keep you?"

"Not at all," Alice greeted in return.

"Have you made contact with Mojo?" Junior asked, putting away his hoverboard.

Alice opened her mouth to answer, but a different voice cut in before she had the chance.

"Finally! You miscreants have kept I, Mojo Jojo, waiting for too long!" Mojo complained, stomping his way over to the three friends. "Wasting my time gives the thieves the opportunity to run off with my technology which makes me, Mojo Jojo, very upset, and if I, Mojo Jojo, am very upset, it shall be a very bad day for you. Do not forget that you have been called to deal with this problem so that it will no longer be a problem."

Junior huffed at the simian's exaggeration. A glance down at the NanoCom showed they were actually two minutes early. He kept any snarky remarks locked up behind tight lips, however. Mojo was just being his usual dramatic self, which would be hilarious if the simian wasn't a genius with any number of death rays on hand and an entire army at his beck and call. As the personable member of the team, Suzy stepped forward to soothe Mojo's ruffled feathers.

"Not to fear, Mojo," Suzy assured the Simian Supreme. "Team Super Stars is on the case, and we're the best. Your thieves will be apprehended."

"Hmph!" Mojo harrumphed skeptically. "You had better be as good as you say, Team Super Stars, because I, Mojo Jojo, do not settle for mediocre because I am not mediocre and so I will not accept mediocrity. Handle the thieves before I must deal with you, which will make me even angrier since I am busy and cannot waste time dealing with you all for not dealing with the thieves." He searched around in his pocket and pulled out his communicator. "My sensors have picked up these thieves who would dare try steal from me! These are who you are to catch and deal with."

Mojo handed over his communicator so Suzy could see. Junior and Alice leaned in to get a view of the perpetrators. Alice recognized the three intruders in the photo since they went to her school, which ruled out Fusions being the cause of Mojo's problem. Caught on Mojo's security cam was Mitch, Sperg, and Terrence, a trio of bullies who Alice actively avoided. She had no personal dealings with Sperg and Terrence, but she had been tormented by Mitch for a good number of years, the boy taking great fun in making fun of her hair. Buttercup and her sisters tried to intervene where they could (like that time Buttercup smacked him for mocking her Halloween costume), but they couldn't be everywhere. It did completely end in the fifth grade when her mother caught him in the act of pulling her hair, threatening to cut it. Alice still didn't know what her mother said to him, but Gale Spacebyte put an absolute end to the behavior; Mitch ignored her presence from then on out.

"You can count on us," Suzy confirmed, saluting the guide. Dropping her arm, she waved at her team to follow behind. "Let's get going team."

Alice and Junior followed behind Suzy, moving past the villain to his platform elevator. Mojo followed them with his eyes, sneering at them until the platform lowered the three to the sublevel of the property. Suzy pulled out her NanoCom and called on Nano Numbuh Five, activating the Nano's Secret Agent to make them invisible to the Spawn Simians that occupied the sublevel. Their mission wasn't to take out the Spawn Simians, so they wanted to avoid drawing attention to themselves before they could apprehend the three bullies.

"Alright," Suzy started. "Separately, the three aren't very smart, and together they're still not very smart. They'll probably get aggressive and try to attack us, or try and run away. We'll need to stop them from either."

"I can handle that," Alice piped up.

Suzy grinned and nodded. "Perfect. With our plan set, let's go and grab us some troublemakers."

"You nimrod! You forgot the spray cans!"

The loud accusation echoed in the sublevel terrain, surprising the three teammates to stillness at its suddenness. The friends looked at each other, the surprise of hearing the voice morphing into disbelief that the person would be so loud with so many enemies flying around.

"Me?! I wasn't the one grabbing the cans!"

"I sure wasn't grabbing 'em!"

"We can't spray paint without the spray cans you morons!"

Suzy's right eye twitched just once, the only evidence of her being annoyed by the obnoxiously loud boys. She smoothed her face over, wiping away any evidence of her less-than-chipper attitude. Junior was much more willing to show his annoyance, releasing a tired sigh and placing a hand on his forehead. "How have they made it this far?" It was purely a rhetorical question, but Suzy shrugged in response anyways.

"Let's go get them," Suzy stated, leading the way to the source of the noise. "Alice, mind going ahead and keeping them in place?"

Alice nodded and floated up into the air. She flew forward, bright blue eyes scanning for the trespassers. She easily spotted them in the middle of a three-way fight; Mitch was knocking Sperg on the head with a fist, Terrence had Mitch in a headlock and giving him a noogie, and Sperg was kicking at Terrence. The boys didn't even notice her arrival, so it made it incredibly easy for her to simply encase them in a force-field bubble. The action of being encased momentarily ended their fighting, looking at the force-field in surprise. Mitch wiggled out of the headlock. He went over and pounded on the bubble's wall, but it didn't give.

"Hey! What gives!" Mitch demanded, pounding it harder.

"Look!" Sperg shouted, pointing up at Alice who was descending back to the ground. "It's the Fusion Girl!"

Alice didn't flinch from the derogatory name Harangue had so graciously bestowed on her; she didn't want the boys to know that the name hurt her. The only evidence that she had been affected was by the twitch of her fingers.

"Let me outta here!" Terrence cried out, banging his fists against the force-field's wall. "I don't wanna get eaten!"

"She can't eat us! She'd just turn us into one of those Fusion freaks!" Sperg shouted at the tall boy.

"That's even worse, dude!" Terrence shot back.

A loud, ear-shattering whistle interrupted the boys' shout-fest. The three bullies immediately covered their ears, releasing cries of pain from the noise. When the whistling ended, they removed their hands and looked to the source. Suzy stood with her hands planted on her hips, a bright smile plastered on her face.

"That's better. Now then, boys," Suzy addressed the three captured bullies. "Mind telling us what you were up to?"

"Hah! Wouldn't you like to know!" Terrence mocked.

"You'd be correct," Suzy continued, an eyebrow raising upward. "That's why I asked."

"Oh. Uhhhhh." Terrence was stumped, scrambling for a comeback.

"It's none of your business," Mitch cut in. "Now get us outta here."

"Nuh-uh-uh," Suzy said, wagging her finger at the three boys. "The only way you're getting out of this is by telling us what we want to know."

"Oh yeah? And what if we just bust outta here ourselves?" Sperg challenged. "I bet Fusion girlie over there can't keep this up forever."

"Then you'll deal with me," Junior warned, his voice dipping into a demonic range.

The half-demon's warning was accompanied by four tentacles spurting out of his back, wiggling around in the air menacingly. The action alone was creepy enough to get the point across, but Sperg paled considerably and backed away. As the only one who was experienced with Junior going full on demon mode, he had firsthand experience to not mess with Junior when he was in such a mood. Terrence and Mitch, while having no prior interactions with the half-demon, were cowards and quickly recognized that they couldn't bully their way out of this one.

"Fine, you wanna know so badly?" Mitch demanded. He fished into his back pocket, producing a flyer and pressing it up against the wall. "Here ya go."

Suzy stepped forward to read the flyer, leaning in so she could get a better look. The flyer was crudely made, but her eyes were drawn to the large lettering that spelled out BULLY ISLAND.

"Bully Island?" Suzy read out loud. "Wasn't that place shut down?"

"Hah! You wish," Mitch laughed.

"Some kid's older brother reopened it and letting people in, but you have to pull off a prank to join," Sperg contributed smugly.

"And our prank is going to be the best!" Terrence added smugly.

"By stealing Mojo's tech?" Alice asked in confusion.

Stealing didn't fit a prank; it was actually a crime. And stealing from a criminal made it an even dumber crime. Though considering who they were currently dealing with...

"Yeah, we stole some tech," Mitch responded, crossing his arms and shrugging unrepentantly. "Gave it to some green skinned kid with a sock hat. But turns out they weren't part of the deal, so we had to change plans and decided to graffiti the monkey's base." His eyes narrowed as he turned to look at Terrence. "Or that was the plan until this idiot forgot the spray cans!"

"For the last time, I wasn't gettin' 'em!" Terrence argued, throwing his hands up in anger.

"You were told to do it you doofus!"

"Oh yeah!?"

Terrence pulled Mitch into a headlock again, giving the boy a noogie while Mitch proceeded to kick at Terrence's legs. Not wanting to be left out of the whole affair, Sperg began to give Terrence a wedgie. Suzy shook her head at their juvenile acts and turned to look at Alice.

"Alice, are you good to hold them a little longer?" Suzy questioned.

Her question garnered a nod of affirmation from the alien. It also stopped the brawl happening inside of the force-field bubbly.

"Hold it! You said you'd let us out!" Mitch argued.

"Yeah! You can't hold us!" Sperg yelled.

"Of course we'll let you out," Suzy assured the boys, turning to smile at them. Although looking friendly, something in the way she smiled put the three bullies on edge. "I just never said we'd let you out right this moment. We're bringing you back to Mojo." The boys' eyes widened, and their mouths dropped. "We'll let him decide your punishment."

"No way!" Mitch screamed.

"You can't do this!" Terrence complained, unceremoniously dropping Mitch.

The teen bum rushed the side of the bubble in an effort to break it but ended up bouncing off it and landing on his behind. The other two boys didn't get the hint after watching their tall comrade fail to break free and proceeded to hit, punch, bang, knock, and kick at the side of the bubbles' wall, hoping for an escape. Alice shook her head at their futile efforts and followed her two teammates back for the surface. It was a surprise that their loud noises hadn't called the attention of the surrounding Simian Spawns, even with Nano Numbuh Five providing them stealth cover, but maybe even the Fusion Monsters didn't want to have anything to do with the obnoxious boys.

"Ohhhhh Mo~jo!" Suzy called, waving her arm wildly. Mojo wasn't where they had last left him, so they made the journey to the volcano, finding the brilliant simian holding a conversation with a bunch of his agents. The simian tensed upon hearing Suzy's call, and begrudgingly turned his attention to her. The redhead grinned and raised a hand to gesture at the captured boys. "We have your thieves."

Mojo's nostrils flared as he raked furious eyes over the three boys who were refusing to keep quiet. They hadn't properly recognized the danger they were in.

"Hmph. I see you have managed to catch my thieves who were daring to steal from I, Mojo Jojo. Now release them to my care so I may exact my revenge upon these scoundrels for daring to steal from I, Mojo Jojo," Mojo ordered, stepping over to the bubble so that he could peer inside. "They shall know the meaning of fear, and that this fear is named Mojo Jojo!"

The simian waved his minions over, and three of them obediently came to their master's side. Alice dropped the force-field bubble as ordered, and the three minions immediately grabbed the boys, keeping them in place.

"Hey! Take your stinkin' paws off me, you stupid, dirty monkey!" Mitch demanded, struggling from his hold.

Mojo scoffed, pushing his chest out more as his shoulders came back. "Take them to my lab so I may exact my revenge upon them for stealing my technology which I shall have my revenge for. I shall begin with having my technology retrieved from wherever they have placed my technology."

"They took it to Fusion Double D," Junior answered, watching as the simian minions carried out their master's order. "Somehow it was able to trick them."

Mojo grimaced at the mention of the Fusion, and he subconsciously flitted his eyes to the blue-haired alien. Alice kept her face smoothly neutral to not give away her emotions upon feeling his eyes on her, although she hid her arms behind her back to hide how tightly she was clutching her wrist.

"Hmph. Then I shall have them go back to this Fusion Double D and retrieve my technology that this Fusion had them steal from me. This is the most appropriate retribution for these thieves stealing my technology to which they had stolen and given to this monster," Mojo stated. "I am grateful for your assistance on this matter. I have no further use for you, so remove yourself from my property at once."

With a dramatic flair, the simian spun on his heel with his cape flapping with the swivel. He didn't bother to see if the team would actually do as he asked; he simply assumed they would leave his property without delay. Of course, there were still some Monkey Minions hanging around who would be more than happy to do their master's bidding. So, to not cause a problem, the team obediently left the property without a fuss. As they crossed Steam Alley's border, their NanoComs chimed off with a new message. Another day, another job from Jimmy Jones.

Subject: Vine Time

Plumber Nathan over at Galaxy Gardens says that the vegetation is growing out of control because of some Fusion Matter infection. Grandpa Tennyson thinks injecting some of Wildvine's DNA into the local plants will reduce the infestation. I'm sending over the DNA and the coordinates on where to inject the DNA. Good luck.

-Jimmy Jones

"That's not far from here," Alice commented, putting her NanoCom away.

"And it doesn't sound very hard," Junior added, looking up from his device. "We could be in and out within minutes."

Suzy grinned, placing her fists on her hips. "Let's get it done, Team Super Stars."

Suzy released a long whistle as she surveyed the infected zone's landscape. "They weren't kidding about the infestation."

The Galaxy Gardens (nicknamed Tyrannical Gardens on the forums) was supposed to be a beautiful botanical garden, and yet it looked more like an unruly jungle with the way the branches were taking over the space. While the branches still looked normal, the team of three could spot patches of Fusion Matter splattered at random along the bark. The earth had also been affected by the Fusion Matter's properties, creating crevasses and lifting the ground to create hills that hadn't existed before the invasion. In short, it looked like nature had run wild.

"They look pretty low," Suzy commented, placing a hand under her chin to study the branches. "Could you still fly through, Alice?"

Alice studied the plants as well, noticing that they covered so much of the infected zone that there was hardly a ceiling. If she was going to be flying, it would be tight.

"No," Alice said. "They're hanging too low."

Suzy nodded in agreement. "Okay, then we're going to be doing this by foot." She glanced over at their half-demon teammate. "We may be relying on your freeze ability for this one."

"I'll be ready," Junior responded, lifting a hand and lightly touching his glasses.

Suzy nodded and pulled her NanoCom out, accessing the map. With Nano Numbuh Five resting up from her use over at Mojo's, Junior and Alice were in charge of keeping an eye out for enemy Fusion Monsters. Luckily for the team, Alice's natural Fusion Monster radar allowed her to sense how close or far away the monsters were, so they wouldn't be ambushed by a surprise attack.

As she stepped off the DexLab Warp Pad, Alice felt herself step on an object that had a different texture than the garden's dirt. Looking down, she found that she had stepped on a green blanket. She scooped it up and inspected the object, surprised to find that it had dirt stains but was untouched from Fusion Matter. And then there was the fact that it was sitting in the gardens all on its own.

"Alice?" Junior called, noticing Alice had stopped walking. "What do you have?"

Alice held the blanket up so her teammates could see it better. The two stared at it quizzically, just as surprised to see it as Alice.

"Well that's awfully random," Suzy noted, walking over and feeling the blanket in her fingers. "I think I've seen this blanket before."

"Yeah, probably," Junior commented. "It's a blanket, a pretty plain one, too. You've probably seen it on the store shelves."

Suzy's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the blanket further. "Yeah, maybe..." she muttered noncommittedly.

Alice suddenly perked as she sensed a trio of Fusion Monsters not too far away from them. Half a second later, they all heard a cry for help in the direction Alice had sensed the monsters. With a single glance at each other, they rushed in the direction of the cry, momentarily abandoning their mission. Alice placed the wayward blanket into her NanoCom without even looking, deciding to deal with it later.

Getting to the source of the cry was an obstacle, given the unruly tree branches growing in the infected zone, and as well as the fact that the terrain had created hills to the point that the team had to use floating leaves to get up and over a gate that was in their way. When they came upon the source of the cry, they found a young cow huddled on the ground, curled into a fetal position with its hooves covering its eyes. Overhead was a trio of Skeeter Spawns harassing it.

Alice flung out her arm and created a force-field dome over the cow, protecting it from the Fusion skeeters. Because they were dumb, the Fusion bugs continued to bang into the dome, realizing they were not hurting the cow and yet not knowing why. With the cow protected, Junior and Suzy jumped into action. Junior skewered two of the Skeeter Spawns on his tentacles while Suzy whacked the third until it turned into Fusion Matter. When the three Skeeter Spawns were defeated, Alice retracted the dome and approached the cow, who was still shuddering.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, kneeling down so she was next to the creature. "Are you hurt?"

The cow uncovered its eyes, looking upward to Alice's voice. Seeing no Fusion Monsters hovering over it, the cow sat up and released a cry of relief.

"Oh thank you!" the cow declared ecstatically. She wrapped her arms around the alien into a bone-crushing embrace that had Alice momentarily gasping for breath. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! I was so scared!"

"I-it's okay," Alice assured the cow, patting her on the back. "How did you get in here?"

"Oh, I've been here for so long," the cow answered, breaking away from Alice. "I got trapped in here, and those scary monsters wouldn't let me out, so I've been hiding."

"Did you try calling for help?" Suzy asked.

"No phone," the cow answered sheepishly. "Oooohhh, I can't wait to see my big brother! I bet he's been worried sick about me since I've been missing. His name's Chicken, by the way." The cow gasped dramatically and clapped her hooves to the side of her face. "Oh! I forgot my manners. I'm Cow."

"Seriously?" Junior asked in a deadpan. "Who named you?"

He released a grunt of pain from Suzy's elbowing, but Cow didn't even notice that the boy was less than impressed with the on-the-nose naming.

"Oh, could you help me get out of here? It's been so long since I've been home, and I'm missing it soooo much," Cow requested.

"We have a mission to complete first, but you can tagalong," Suzy answered. "We'll bring you back home right after."

"Ooh, an adventure? I like adventures!" Cow said enthusiastically, clapping her hooves together. "Let's go!"

Suzy consulted her NanoCom again, finding that they weren't too far off from their destination.

"Stay close to Alice," Suzy advised the Cow. "Alice, mind making a bridge to that land mass over there?"

Alice nodded in agreement, holding out both hands and forming an energy platform, bridging the space between the two hills. Cow stared at the make-shift bridge in amazement, looking from it to Alice several times.

"You made this?" she asked. "Do you have superpowers, too?"

"Yes," Alice answered, making sure the platform stayed intact as Suzy and Junior crossed. "It's your turn."

Cow skipped across the bridge, a playful grin on her face as she found the entire thing so much fun. It almost felt like whiplash to see the girl go from cowering from Fusion attack to playful in the span of a few minutes. While Suzy and Junior went on ahead, Cow waited for Alice, honoring the orders to stay close to Alice. Instead of using her bridge, Alice dissolved the platform and flew over, landing beside the bipedal animal.

"That's so cool! Could you tell me how it happens?" Cow asked. She reached and gripped Alice's bolero shrug. "Does this give you your superpowers?"

"No, I was born with it," Alice answered, subtly moving herself out of Cow's reach. She smiled shyly upon seeing Cow's eyes shine brightly. "Let's keep moving. We're safer in large numbers."

Suzy and Junior, trusting Alice to catch up when she made it over, continued onward to their destination. Jimmy Jones' coordinates led them to one of the large fountains that the botanical gardens were known for having, only now it had tree branches growing out of the fountain along with the water it contained. Suzy pulled out the injector containing Wildvine's DNA, posed to inject it into the side of one of the tree branches. Then, faster than the blink of an eye, a tree branch thwacked the injector out of Suzy's hand. Before the redhead could recover, roots jetted out from under the ground, wrapping themselves around Junior and Suzy. The duo struggled to get out of the hold, but every time they moved, the roots tightened their hold. With Suzy's arms pinned to her side, unable to rely on her Camp Oar to break out, and Junior's tentacles unable to expand due to the root's constraints and the fact that he couldn't freeze something that didn't have eyes, the duo were effectively trapped.

"Junior! Suzy!" Alice called out, raising her hand.

A root shot out and wrapped itself around Alice's arm, dragging her down without hesitation. Alice grunted when she hit the ground, feeling more roots shoot up and encase her body. She wiggled, but the roots held strong and tightened, pressing her deeper into the earth.

"Nano Boomer!" Alice called to her NanoCom.

Her Nano appeared, managing to slip by the roots that were just barely wrapping themselves over her device. Without a single need to ask what he had to do, Nano Boomer called forth his trusty energy bat, using Batter Up! on the root holding down her arm. The attack connected but didn't seem to do any damage. It did draw the ire of the plant life, since a tree branch raced out and thwacked the Nano into the trunk of a nearby tree. Nano Boomer whined but recovered from the hit. Wielding his bat like a sword, he combatted the tree branch that wanted to beat the Nano like it was a game of whack-a-mole. With Nano Boomer busy defending himself against the tree branch, he would be unavailable to get Team Super Stars out of their predicament.

While Junior attempted to overpower the roots pinning him and Suzy tried to wiggle free, Alice focused her attention on the forgotten injector. She levitated the device into the air, moving it closer to the tree branch in the fountain. A tree branch shot out and slammed the injector to the ground, cutting off Alice's concentration. If it wasn't for Plumbers tech being sturdy, the injector would have been crushed thanks to the slam. Believing the injector was dealt with, the tree branch slithered away from the device. Narrowing her eyes in concentration once more, Alice levitated the injector into the air. Once again, a tree branch shot out, this time whacking the injector away from the fountain. The injector bounced off the ground from its momentum, and then rolled downhill until it was stopped at Cow's hooves.

While Team Super Stars had been tangled up with the gardens' roots, Cow had been mildly panicking, muttering, "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no" over and over again. The herd animal hadn't even noticed that the injector was resting at her hooves.

"Cow!" Alice called. "Cow, we need your help."

"No, no, no. I can't!" Cow argued. "I don't have my blankie!"

"Blankie?" Junior demanded.

Alice's eyes widened and she glanced down at her NanoCom.

"Is it green?" she asked.

Cow stopped her panicking to look at Alice, nodding her head rapidly. "Yes, yes! I have a green blankie. Have you seen it?"

"We have it," Alice confirmed.

"What are you going to do with it?" Junior questioned.

"She'll become Supercow," Suzy answered.

Junior and Alice snapped their attention onto Suzy, surprise evident on their faces. Suzy didn't look at either of them, maintaining eye contact with their rescue. Cow stared back at the redhead, and a determined look settled on her face.

"I need my blankie," Cow requested.

"It's in my NanoCom," Alice answered, jerking her chin downward.

Cow rushed over to the blue-haired girl and tapped on the NanoCom. With Alice thinking about the item and Cow pressing on the screen, the blankie materialized in the cow's hooves. She hugged it to her body, releasing a hum of happiness to have it back. In one fluid movement, Cow tied the blanket around her neck, and it was like Alice could see the persona change from Cow to Supercow. Supercow stood taller, shoulders back and chest puffed out. Despite there being no wind, the green blanket fluttered dramatically like it was an actual cape.

"¡Supercow al rescate!" the superhero cried out, flying up into the air.

Two branches shot out, inbounding for the flying heroine. Supercow opened her mouth and chomped on the branches, taking out large chunks. In pain, the branches pulled away, disappearing back into the forest. Without missing a beat, Supercow scooped up the injector and flew for the fountain, dodging the tree branches that shot out to stop her. If a branch did manage to get close to her, she'd just chomp on it or punch it, splintering it into twigs. She dropped down into the fountain's water and jammed the injector into the tree branch. She pushed down on the top, and the Wildvine DNA transferred into the plant. The roots holding onto Team Super Stars released, slithering back to under the ground where they had come from. The branch playing whack-a-mole with Nano Boomer suddenly tensed and remained still, confusing a heavily sweating Nano.

Freed from their constraints, the team watched as the unruly plant life began retreating, becoming more manageable as Wildvine's DNA worked its magic. It wouldn't get rid of all the Fusion Matter that still plagued the infected zone, but the plants were back under control.

Standing on the fountain's side, hooves on her hips, cape flowing behind her, Cow reassured her three compatriots. "Mi trabajo está hecho, ciudadanos."

Suzy patted her dress down, ensuring it didn't get dirty from the roots. With a grin, she replied back, "Gracias por tu ayuda, Supercow."

Supercow grinned wider and pulled her blanket off. Just like that, Supercow reverted back into Cow.

"Oooooh! It's so good to be Supercow again! I've missed you, blankie," Cow said to her blanket, hugging the article close to her body.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize her," Junior said in a sigh. "She literally wears a paper-thin disguise."

"I figured it was her when she mentioned the blanket," Suzy stated. "It was strange that it'd be out here on its own. And she's been missing for a while."

"Dexter's going to be pleased when he finds out she's been found," Junior commented. "And in his own backyard, too."

Alice approached her teammates, her Nano regaining his strength while on her shoulder. "Should we bring her to Dexter?" she questioned.

Suzy thought about it for a moment, watching Cow as she happily celebrated being reunited with her blanket. "No, I'll send him an email. I think there's someone else Cow wants to see."

Cow had been listening in the entire time and perked up in excitement upon hearing Suzy's words. Without having to be flat-out told, she already knew who she wanted to see more than anything else.

"Oooh, big brother will be so happy to see me again!" she cheered.

Cow grabbed Alice's elbow and dragged the teenager towards the warp pad. Alice stumbled along but didn't pull away from the cow's hold. She threw a look over her shoulder to see her teammates following, Suzy already on her NanoCom to shoot out an email to Dexter and probably one to Jimmy Jones, too. She smiled lightly and looked back over to Cow, feeling that smile grow a little more from Cow's enthusiastic chattering about how amazing her big brother was. She hadn't been sure what her first day back would have ensured, but finding another missing hero was definitely a surprise.

A happy surprise.

Chapter Text

The warm sunlight of the early morning shone brightly on Townsville Park. The Park, which was situated to the left of the mall, used to be an escape for the people of Downtown who wanted to get back in touch with nature. It wasn't uncommon to see families having picnics, flying kites, or playing games on the weekends. A playground situated near the entrance of the Townsville Zoo let kids play around and expend their energy before their parents would whisk them home at the end of a fun, fulfilling day. In the summer, movies would be played on a projector screen, and fireworks would be launched for the Fourth of July, bringing in residents from the City and Suburbs.

Looking upon the Park, it was clear it was a shell of its former self. Like Leaky Lake up in the Wilds, the Park was heavily infected by Fusion Matter. Fusion Matter littered the environment in patches. The roads made of concrete dipped and lifted at random, creating an uneven surface to traverse. Some sections of the road were ripped like an invisible hand had come from the sky and pulled it up, leaning it on its side despite the laws of gravity. Trees and buildings were knocked on their sides. Some pieces of earth floated in the air, a strange sight since this sort of phenomena was popular in the infected zones, not outside of it. The worst had to be the giant hole in the middle of the area. It was hard to see because the electric barrier kept passersby from glancing down at the giant, rectangular-shaped hole in the ground. Compared to its surrounding neighbors, Townsville Park had been hit the hardest, but for what reason was unknown to Alice and her compatriots as they entered the area, heading down to the only individuals brave enough to endure the harsh conditions of the land.

An encampment had been made at a street corner across from the infected zone, barriers set up to keep Fusion Monsters from wandering in without warning. A KND operative stood at one of the walls, next to a Monkey Skyway Agent who was napping on his back. Despite the flicker of distrust, the numbered operative sent the three teens (well, two teens and a pre-teen), he allowed them to pass by without a word.

"Alice!" an elderly voice called out. Max Tennyson, still dressed in his Hawaiian shirt instead of a Plumber issued uniform, approached the group of three. An easy grin was on his face as he reached the team. "I'm so glad you and your team could make it."

"We're happy to help," Alice said for her team.

"Believe me, we can use all the help we can here," he said, waving his hand in the infected zone's direction.

"We're asking help from her?" a young voice demanded. A quick look over at the long table set up in the middle of the encampment found it belonged to Numbuh One, leader of Sector V. "We can't rely on a traitor."

Alice flinched, trying not to look upset by the word. From the corner of her eye, she saw Junior bristle and Suzy frown in displeasure. Max turned his head, opening his mouth to speak with the youngster, but someone else beat him to it. A burly man in a kilt reached out and thwacked the operative on the back of his head. It wasn't a hard hit, but it was enough momentum to jostle the boy's sunglasses off kilter. The burly man placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, ignoring the way the boy glared up at him. Alice would have been surprised at the friendliness the adult had with an operative from an anti-adult organization if not for the bigger surprise that the adult had a submachine gun for a leg.

"A'richt thare, laddie," the man said, his voice thick with a Scottish accent. "That's enough blathering 'bout traitors outta ye." Numbuh One's ears turned pink out of embarrassment, and he opened his mouth to retort, but the adult was ignoring him. With his free hand, the Scottish man pointed at Alice with a big old grin on his face. Alice didn't know him very well, but the grin almost looked like it was filled with pride. "Besides, the lass is a terrible traitor if she is one. Fuse forgot ta tell her not ta murder his men!"

Alice flushed a pink color, almost the same color Numbuh One was sporting. While Alice hadn't been focused on the Leaderboard, she had glanced at it when Suzy had pulled it up. Despite her hiatus, she was still at the top of the chart, although the gap was beginning to shorten. It was nice for someone to point out that her record number kills meant she was fighting against Fuse's forces rather than with like Harangue was trying to promote. Numbuh One must have realized this point, too, because his mouth was firmly clamped shut.

A teen a few years older than Alice approached, grinning apologetically to the blue-haired girl. He was wearing a vest over a blue shirt with what looked to be a green globe emblem printed on it. It was familiar looking, but Alice couldn't quite put her finger on where she knew it from.

"I apologize on his behalf," the boy said with a distinct West African accent. "He has been under a lot of stress given our recent discovery."

"Kwame is right," Max put in. "There's been a new development."

Alice's eyes lit up in recognition. Kwame. He was a well-respected environmentalist, and a member of the Planeteers. He and his other teammates were always in PSAs reminding everyone on the ways to stay environmentally conscious. They were always invited to events to promote a better Earth, and had been consultants on more than one project for DexLabs.

"New developments?" Suzy repeated, her eyes brightening in interest. "What's happened?"

"Aye, thare be a monster lurking below," the Scottish man answered, crossing his arms.

Alice's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise at first, and then furrowed together in worry. It wasn't like monsters weren't a thing; there was an entire island of them. It was just disconcerting that one had gone unnoticed.

"A monster below the Park?" Suzy asked for clarification.

"Aye. Fuse wants ta awaken it. Tried ta use a rune ta do so, too," the man answered. "But we took care a that little trinket!"

"We disposed of the rune," Kwame further explained. "So Fuse will not be able to awaken it so easily."

Suzy glanced over at their resident half-demon. "Do you know anything about this?"

"I live in the Center of the Earth," Junior reminded her. "Anything that happens between my home and the surface is not my business." His brows came together as he thought about it more. "Besides, I wouldn't trust my dad to let me know about it."

Suzy nodded, conceding his point. She regarded Max once more and grinned broadly at him, showing off her pearly white teeth. "Sounds pretty serious, which makes this even more exciting." She brought her fists to her hips, lifting her head higher in anticipation. "What do you need us to do, Mr. Tennyson?"

"We may have thwarted Fuse's attempts, but that doesn't mean the danger has passed. Kwame placed a Fusion Meter in the Fissure to get a reading on it, which is where we found the beast's sleeping quarters."

"Ah say we finish it aff!" the Scottish man bellowed.

"We don't know what it is, Scotsman," Max retorted, sounding a smidge exasperated with the man's outburst, implying this was an argument they've had before. "Fighting it could cause it to wake up, unleashing a terror that Fuse wanted."

"Bah!" the Scotsman scoffed, waving his hand flippantly. "Ah can take it!"

Numbuh One rolled his eyes at the man's bravado. Max shook his head, releasing a small sigh that bordered on impatience. Only Kwame looked unperturbed by the man's declaration, keeping his attention on Team Super Stars.

"If you agree, we'll be going into the Fissure to lay down Seismic Emitters to collapse the cavern Fuse is attempting to enter," Kwame explained, picking up where Max had left off. "This will seal the beast completely."

"Once they're placed down, you'll need to activate them at the same time," Max continued. "I'll be able to activate them from here, and that'll put an end to our problem."

"Lay down some Plumber tech and then leave?" Suzy repeated for clarification, grinning brightly. "Not a problem."

Kwame grinned, matching her energy. "That is excellent news. I'll retrieve the emitters."

Kwame went to the motorhome and stepped inside for only a moment, returning with a plain satchel bag that he hung over his shoulder. As he passed, Numbuh One reached out and grabbed the teen's elbow. His sunglasses slid down his nose so that he could look the other in the eye.

"Keep an extra eye on that one, Kwame," Numbuh One spoke up, nodding his head in Alice's direction.

Again, Alice held back her flinch. While she couldn't fault the boy for being suspicious, it didn't quite lessen the sting that came with the reminder of her connection to Fuse. Her saving grace was the Scotsman dropping his hand on the boy's shoulder, making the operative lose his footing for a moment.

"Aye, that's what ye said 'bout th' reaper, 'n' look how well that turned out," the Scotsman ribbed, grinning broadly when he saw the bald kid's face turn a deep shade of pink.

Kwame smiled indulgently at the kid, stepping out of the boy's hold. "Your paranoia is getting the better of you, my friend. I have full confidence in this team and their performance." He turned to look back at the team they had called upon. "We should begin now before the monsters catch onto our plan."

Every infected zone was horrific in its own way. Whether it was the way gravity was manipulated or the large concentration of Fusion Matter like at Leaky Lake or the Jungle Outpost's Training Area. Compared to those places, the Fissure was horrific. It was a giant hole in the ground, like it had been shoveled out by an invisible hand. Its depth was so great that even Alice, who could fly, was a little worried about falling. Every square inch of it looked like it was covered in Fusion Matter; there were only small patches of normal ground untouched by the infection. Because the ground was hazardous, platforms and ziplines had been set up for travel. There wasn't a single monster to be seen - Alice couldn't sense anything, - but that didn't make the infected zone any less dangerous.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" Kwame asked, having read the expressions on the team's face.

"Yeah," Suzy admitted. "I've never seen an infected zone this bad."

"Fuse put a lot of concentration here," Junior commented, crossing his arms as he leaned over the platform. "This must be one bad beast."

"It is," Kwame agreed. "Gaia asked me to ensure the creature never awakens."

Alice's brows came together in concentration. She'd heard that name before. It hit her a moment later, and it must have been the same for Suzy, since the redhead snapped her fingers.

"You mean the spirit of the Earth?" Suzy questioned. "The Magic Tree up in the Outpost mentioned her."

"That is correct," Kwame answered with an accommodating nodded, an impressed smile on his face. "This invasion has severely weakened her, but she has been helping out where she can. When we learned of the sleeping creature, I consulted with her. She didn't tell me what the creature was, but only that it was important to keep the creature asleep."

"Aren't you a conservationist though?" Junior inquired. "Doesn't this go against protecting the Earth?"

"Normally, you would be correct," Kwame agreed. "But I can recognize that this is for the good of humanity. I've committed myself to cleaning up the infection in whatever way possible because this" -he used his hand to indicate the hole in the ground they were standing in - "is merely a glimpse of what is in store if Fuse wins."

"Agreed," Suzy said, with a firm nod. "So let's make sure Fuse can't make any allies on this planet. Where are we planting the tech?"

Kwame pulled out his DexLabs issued communicator, displaying a holographic map of the Fissure. Three red dots appeared on the three ground levels.

"Alright. Kwame, you stay here and relay with Mr. Tennyson," Suzy instructed, falling into her leader role. "Alice, Junior, and I will place the emitters down."

"Actually, I would like to accompany you on this," Kwame broke in. With his free hand, he used his finger to point at the dots. "There is heavy amount of Fusion Matter concentrated in these areas, particularly here." He pointed at the second blip on the map. "I can provide a platform to stand on while you place them down."

"You can make a platform?" Junior questioned, brows coming together in confusion. "How?"

"With this," Kwame answered, showing them the ring on his right hand. "It has power over the earth."

"So why not use that for this then?" Junior further inquired. "Why not just trap the beast using that ring?"

"The area is heavily polluted, making it impossible to use for such a large task," Kwame explained. "Using it on tainted ground will be difficult enough as it is, but it should hold long enough to activate the emitters."

"Then he should go with you, Junior," Alice suggested, studying the map. "You two can be here," - she pointed at the second blip - "at the second one. Suzy can be here at the first one." Alice pointed at the blip directly under them. "I'll take the last one."

"You want the last one?" Junior asked, surprised that Alice was coming up with the game plan.

"Makes sense," Suzy chimed in, catching on. "She can transport us to our spots along the way. Plus, she can protect herself from the infection."

Junior's eyes widened in understanding, and he gave a nod of agreement. Kwame's own eyes widened in bewilderment.

"We will not be taking the ziplines?" he questioned, turning off the hologram and putting his communicator away.

Suzy grinned brilliantly. "My dear Kwame, we are Team Super Stars. We are absolutely full of surprises."

Kwame's bewilderment gave way to a grin, nodding his head in appreciation. "I knew you were the correct team to call on. But before we go further..." He reached into his satchel and pulled out two of the Seismic Emitters, handing them off to Suzy and Alice respectively. It was a slim object, looking similar to a small yard lamp. "You will need this."

"Right. Plant it in the ground, and then call me," Suzy explained, delegating her orders to her teammates. "We'll activate them at the same time. Ready?"

Alice nodded in agreement, tightening her grip on the emitter. With her other hand, she formed a bubble around her teammates and Kwame. Kwame looked surprised for only a moment before an impressive grin grew on his face. Alice levitated the bubble off the platform and lifted herself into the air. With the bubble following her, she descended downward to the first spot directly below the platform. She opened a side of her bubble, making it large enough for Suzy to hop out. She moved on to the second spot, which was on the elevated level. Before she dropped off Kwame and Junior, the Planeteer raised his fist with the ring and generated a platform from the unstained earth. It wasn't a very big platform, but it'd serve its purpose for the short amount of time they'd be spending there. No longer carrying any passengers, she dissolved her bubble and continued for her position, arriving at the third level. She flew over to her spot, tucked up against the wall of the cavern. She formed an energy platform to keep herself from touching the infection. While her body healed faster than the normal human's, the toxin still burned. She placed her emitter in the spot Max wanted. With her task completed, Alice pulled out her NanoCom, calling Suzy's number. The redhead appeared a moment later, with Junior joining in on the call.

"Everyone set?" Suzy asked.

"Good on our end," Junior reported, Kwame just barely visible over the half-demon's shoulder.

Alice nodded.

"Excellent. Everyone, get ready to activate their emitters in three...two...one...now!"

Alice tapped the top of the emitter, watching it glow brightly upon it going online.

"Kwame's just messaged Mr. Tennyson," Junior reported to his teammates, still on the NanoCom. "The emitters are going to go off in a few minutes, so we'd better get out of here."

"I can make it back up to the Dexbot from here," Suzy stated. "There should be one by you too, Alice. Junior you may be closer to the one by me."

"Yeah, Kwame and I are heading your way," Junior informed the redhead. "It shouldn- WHOA!"

"Junior?" Alice questioned in surprise.

She never got a response because the line was cut. She was left staring in surprise at an equally surprised Suzy.

"So much for an easy mission," Suzy commented, putting on her game face. "Go get the boys, Alice. I'm on my way over."

Alice agreed with a sharp nod and ended the call. She lifted herself into the air and backtracked for the second level, her senses already notifying her there was a monster before she came upon the scene. The boys were engaged in combat with a Fusion copy of Providence's secret weapon, Rex. Well, more accurately, Junior was fighting the Fusion while Kwame was providing him untainted spaces to do so. Rushing in to support their master were a pack of Dynamite Rats, heading for Kwame. The Planeteer was likely aware of the advancing monsters, but he kept his focus on helping Junior stay off of infected soil, which was extremely helpful since Fusion Rex kept lifting the boy off the platforms and trying to drop the half-demon onto the infected spots.

Raising her hand, Alice captured the Dynamite Rats in her energy bubble, squashing them with a clenching of her fist. Kwame shot her a quick thumbs up as thanks, but Alice didn't reply back to it. She was busy following the path the rats had taken, looking for where they'd come from so the team wouldn't get taken by surprise again. Following the path the pack had traversed, Alice spotted a Fusion Portal hidden in the corner, two large Terrafusers in the shape of balls camouflaging it. If you weren't looking for it, it was easy to miss. From the portal, five more Dynamite Rats appeared, rushing for Kwame once again. Alice swiped a hand over her NanoCom, bringing forth Nano Bubbles from the NanoCom's subspace. The Nano appeared with a little hop, stretching in anticipation.

"Ready?" Alice asked her Nano.

"Yup!" Nano Bubbles chirped, giving her girl a thumbs up.

Without another word needing to be spoken, Nano Bubbles zipped through the air, appearing in the Dynamite Rat's path. Sucking in breath, she released it out as her Tornado Trap took effect. The rats were sucked up into a mini tornado, spinning round and round with no clear way to get out of it. Not that they were supposed to get out of it. Alice powered up an energy beam in her palm, and fired a straight beam through the tornado, cutting the rats as they passed. When the last monster was turned to Fusion Matter, the tornado dispersed, and her Nano returned to her side.

"Got 'em!" the Nano cheers, pumping up her fists in a little dance.

Alice smiled at her Nano's enthusiasm but frowned when her senses went off again. She looked back over to the Fusion Portal, finding five more Dynamite Rats rushing out.

"Alice!" Suzy's voice called out to her. Alice glanced in Suzy's direction, watching her hop onto a spot that had no infected matter and rush for Kwame. The redhead pulled her Crayon Cannon and took a position beside the Planeteer. "I'll handle the rats. You help Junior!"

"Got it!" Alice called back.

Alice's eyes roamed the battlefield for the Fusion, finding it still engaged in a fight with Junior. The boy was holding off the Fusion's giant sword, but a look at the boy's platform showed it was weakening and starting to crumble.

Alice glanced sideways at her Nano, and without a word the Nano rushed forward and blew out a gust of wind. The wind rushed at the Fusion without the creature noticing. At the last possible second, a giant white sphere appeared around the monster, diverting Tornado Trap's wind flow. The Powerpuff Nano stared wide-eyed, even as the Fusion spun around to glare at her.

"W-what?" she muttered in confusion.

Abandoning its fight with Junior, Fusion Rex flew at the Nano, its right arm morphing into a giant sword. Alice dived down, reaching her Nano first. She reached out and pulled the Nano close to her in one arm, and with her other hand she threw up a force-shield. A second later, the large sword swung downward and connected with the shield. The Fusion growled and pressed harder against the shield, but Alice made sure it held.

"Alice," the Nano croaked, her face looking downcast. "My power didn't work."

"It's alright," Alice assured her Nano. Even if she was confused on why Tornado Trap didn't work, Alice didn't want to worry her Nano. "You did a good job."

Alice sent Nano Bubbles back into the NanoCom, switching her out for Nano Boomer. The Rowdyruff Nano grinned when he saw he was called for a battle, and immediately generated an energy bat in his hands. Zipping around the shield, the Nano swung his bat and Batter Up! connected with Fusion Rex on its face. The Fusion reared back, roaring in pain. Alice dismissed her shield and sent off two energy blasts shaped like crescents. The two blasts sliced through the Fusion's jetpack, turning the appendages into Fusion Matter. The Fusion roared louder in pain and fell toward the ground. Its rapid descent was halted by three tentacles spearing through its chest.

"We still have a battle to finish," Junior growled, reeling in the Fusion.

The Fusion twisted as much as the tentacles allowed and stretched out its hand in Junior's direction. Junior narrowed his eyes as he waited for an energy ball to generate in the Fusion's palm, but it remained empty. Alice, high above the fight, spotted what the Fusion was actually intending to do. Under Junior's feet, the ground had turned a sickly green color, a color Alice memorized and made her eyes double in worry.

"Junior, move!"

Junior didn't hesitate to do as she warned. He retracted his tentacles from the Fusion and leapt away. Seconds later, a green eruption shot into the air, right where he had been standing. The momentum had the half-demon tripping over his feet and rolling over some patches of Fusion Matter. Alice raised out her hand and encased him in an energy sphere, protecting him from the Fusion Matter. The boy sat up and patted his sleeves, feeling the sting waning.

The Fusion got back onto its feet, growling as it turned its focus on Junior. Raising its sword above its head, the Fusion raced across the ground, heading for the half-demon. Four tentacles sprouted from Junior's back, wiggling around in anticipation. Alice lowered the sides of the sphere until it was just a platform, providing Junior with a safe ground to stand on. The Fusion reared back its sword when it was just a few steps from Junior, preparing to strike the teenager down. Without flinching, Junior lowered his glasses and stared at the Fusion, freezing it in its tracks. The Fusion growled, but it didn't move. Junior put his glasses back into place and speared the Fusion in the chest once more. The Fusion cried out and dwindled into a puddle of Fusion Matter that flew into Junior's NanoCom. Left in the Fusion's place was a pair of goggles. Junior lifted the goggles off the ground and studied it for a moment before placing it in his NanoCom.

"Awwh man," Nano Boomer whined as Alice and him lowered themselves from the air. "I wanted to hit it again with my bat."

"You did a good job," Alice complimented the Nano, patting his hair before sending him back into her NanoCom.

"Alice, Junior! Over here!" Suzy chimed in. The called friends looked over in the redhead's direction, noticing the urgency in her face. "We need to get out of here, quick. Max just called to say the emitters are going off any second."

Alice and Junior's eyes widened at the news. In the excitement of a Fusion battle, they'd forgotten about the Seismic Emitters they had planted just moment ago. The two teens rushed over to Suzy and Kwame's side, and Alice encased all four of them in an energy sphere. She lifted the sphere off the ground and maneuvered it to the platform, landing just beside the Dexbot pad. As soon as the sphere touched down on the platform, a loud boom could be heard below them, accompanied by the ground shaking. The force knocked the four off their feet, and Alice's lack of concentration ended the energy sphere. The shaking didn't last very long, and once it ceased, the four picked themselves up.

"Is everyone alright?" Kwame asked, eyeing the team carefully.

"Still alive," Junior chimed in.

"Shaken, but unharmed," Suzy answered, swiping her arms. "Great work getting us out of there, Alice."

Alice didn't react to the compliment. Her attention was trained on the Fissure's floor deep beneath them. Dust clouds from where the ground had been disturbed calmed, lowering back downward and revealing the scene that laid below it. The once smooth, infected terrain was now jagged and uneven. Parts of the earth had descended downward to fill in for the spots made by the Seismic Emitter, while other parts of the earth were pushed upward by the shaking. Kwame came and stood beside her, observing the uneven terrain.

"Well, I doubt anything's getting out of there now," Junior commented, standing on Alice's other side.

"Yes," Kwame agreed. "We can sleep better at night knowing Fuse has lost an ally."

"And on that upbeat note, I say we head out of here," Suzy suggested, already heading for the Dexbot.

The Scotsman glanced up from where he was bent over cleaning his claymore, grinning toothily when he saw Team Super Stars and Kwame returning to the encampment.

"Wellll, welcome back, laddies and lasses," the Scotsman greeted, putting his claymore back on his back. "Mission successful?"

Numbuh One scoffed rather loudly. The boy was seated at the planning table, looking over the map that was projected onto its surface. "Obviously it was," the operative chimed in. "You heard them communicating with Mr. Tennyson about it shortly before the earth shook." He looked upward to give a pointed look at the burly man. "Honestly, you adults can't use your head."

"Ack, watch yer tongue thare, little whelp, 'fore ah slice it out," the Scotsman argued.

Numbuh One rolled his eyes, his sunglasses falling down just enough for the team to see the eye roll. Dismissing the adult, Numbuh One turned to look at the team.

"Well, despite being teenagers, you somehow didn't manage to mess this up," Numbuh One praised, smirking at the team. "Excellent job."

"Glad we meet your approval," Junior snarked.

Suzy lightly nudged the half-demon as she stepped past him. She walked over to Numbuh One and leaned on the operative's shoulder, grinning like a Cheshire.

"My good operative, did you really doubt us? We're Team Super Stars. We don't just do excellent work; we do super work."

Junior groaned loudly and hid his head in his hands, cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. Alice hid her giggle behind her hand. Numbuh One looked just as put off as the half-demon, but he shook it off and smirked a little.

"Yes, well, terrible humor aside, I can't argue with the results," Numbuh One agreed. "You've done a great service today."

"I concur," Max's voice joined in. The leader of the Plumbers stepped out of the RV, a relieved smile on his face. "I was starting to get worried when you didn't return, but I'm relieved to see you're back in one piece. Were there any complications?"

"Well, we had a run in with a Fusion," Kwame admitted.

"Is that right?" Scotsman questioned, his eyes brimming with excitement. "Yah did battle with the nasty devils?"

"Yes," the Planeteer answered. "I've heard about them, but they were more terrifying in person."

"I don't recall there being any reports of a Fusion Portal," Max pointed out, his brows coming together in thought.

"It was definitely there," Junior said.

"It was hidden," Alice answered. "It seemed to be camouflaged."

"That's the first I've heard of a portal being camouflaged," Max commented. "But I guess if one had to be hidden, the best place would be the Fissure. It's taken over with so much Fusion Matter, a portal could easily blend in. But I still worry about it being there."

"It might have been there to wake up the beast," Numbuh One put forth. "The Asphalt Freaks were heading for the infected zone when Ezra stopped them and grabbed the Runic Charm. They may have been delivering it to the Fusion."

"Yes, that might well be the case," Max agreed. "It's a good thing it's been dealt with. Had I known about it earlier, I would have warned you, and possibly sent the Scotsman to assist."

"Ahh, what ah wouldn't 'ave gived ta do battle with the demons," Scotsman cooed, a dreamy faraway look as he imagined battling a Fusion.

"This one was different," Junior retorted, his frown twisting downward as he reflected back on his battle. "It was advanced in a way I hadn't seen before. Nano Megas couldn't put it to sleep."

Alice perked up, looking over at Junior in surprise.

"Oh, is that what you were trying to do?" Kwame commented. "I was curious on that tiny thing you had called out."

"Those would be Nanos," Suzy clarified.

"Yeah, I had him use his sleep power, but the Fusion wouldn't go down," Junior explained.

"Nano Bubbles had a similar issue," Alice contributed. "Nano Boomer had no problems, however."

"Nano malfunctions?" Max questioned, thinking aloud as he listened to the conversation.

"You mentioned that your Nano Megas had a sleep power?" Numbuh One asked. Junior nodded. "And you said your Nano Bubbles didn't work?"

"Yes," Alice answered. "Her snare power didn't work. A large sphere protected the Fusion just before it hit."

"But your other Nano worked?" Numbuh One continued asking, getting a nod of confirmation. "What is his power?"

"Damage."

"Do you know something, Numbuh One?" Kwame asked, looking in surprise at the operative.

"Not definitively, though a few of our scientists are working for the Nano Enhancement Project," the bald operative responded. "I can send word that way and ask-"

"No need," Suzy interrupted. "The Conversation Section has been talking about this recent development. Some powers are able to be repelled by the Fusions, and others aren't."

"Of course, you already knew about this," Junior complained under his breath, rubbing his nose bridge. "Any reason you didn't tell us before?"

"One, you didn't ask," Suzy retorted, holding up one finger as she counted off. "Second, we haven't encountered a Fusion that could do it until today, so there was no point before now. Third, you can still freeze them, so it's not like we're defenseless."

Junior sulked at the end of her counting. "You still could have told us," he further complained, although he knew it'd fall on deaf ears.

"So they've developed a way to combat a Nano's power," Max commented, steering the conversation away from Junior's sulking. "That's unsettling. The Nanos were supposed to be our best weapon against the Fusions, but now that some of their powers can be negated..." He closed his eyes and released a sigh. "I don't like this one bit."

"If it's all over the Board, then the project probably knows about it," Numbuh One replied. "We'll just let them handle it."

"Blimey, no use cryin' o'er it," the Scotsman intoned. "So the Fusions can ignore Nano power. All the more fun when bashing their heads in!"

Max smiled at the enthusiasm and nodded. "Right, Dexter is probably aware of this and is working for a way around it. We'll let him put his energy into that and focus on our efforts here." He turned back to Team Super Stars plus Kwame and grinned at them. "You four were a great help today, and while the Nano thing isn't the best news, the knowledge that Fuse lost a potential ally more than makes up for that. If you're not busy, I'm making lunch. Stay and have a bite."

Numbuh One's face colored green at the mention of lunch, and he looked sick to his stomach. The reaction was rather startling. The Scotsman saw the reaction and chuckled loudly, slapping the boy on his back.

"Buck up, laddie! The meal will put some meat on yer wee bones."

Numbuh One frowned and dipped his eyebrows downward in a glare at the Scottish man. "I don't need meat on my bones. And Tennyson's food is uneatable. Back me up, Kwame."

"Sorry, my friend," Kwame apologized with a laugh. "But Mr. Tennyson's food is not as bad as you make it out to be."

Numbuh One glared at the Planeteer. "Traitor."

"You should broaden your palette, Nigel," Max admonished as he stepped back into the RV. "There's a whole galaxy's worth of flavors you could try."

"No thank you," Numbuh One retorted to the screen door. "I'm perfectly happy consuming normal food."

"Oh c'mon, lighten up. I bet your ex would love it," Suzy teased the boy, nudging him on the arm. "She might have even made you a meal or two."

It was incredible how the color drained from Numbuh One's face. He looked deathly pale, and if not for the fact that he was standing up on two feet, Alice was sure she was looking at a corpse.

"H-h-how...? Wh-wh-what...?"

Suzy shrugged, but the smile on her face looked far from innocent. "Oh, nothing." The boy's mouth dropped to the grass, but the redhead ignored him in favor of looking at her confused teammates. "Anyways, we don't have anything planned after this. I think we've earned a nice meal. What do you say?"

Junior looked between Suzy and Numbuh One (who was very slowly regaining color) before shrugging. He figured whatever Max was serving couldn't be any different from what he had normally at home. "I'm open to it."

Alice glanced back to Numbuh One, remembering the way the boy had turned green. Was Max's food really that bad? Scotsman and Kwame seemed to be alright with it, so maybe it was just him?

"I'm willing to try," Alice agreed, hiding her apprehension. Numbuh One was probably just exaggerating.

"Alright then!" Suzy cheered, clapping her hands together. She walked over to the RV and held open the screen door, stepping in and saying, "Put three down for lunch!"

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day in the city of Townsville. The bright sunshine cast a warm glow over the city, particularly the Sunken Mall. Despite a war going on with Fusion Monsters literally roaming the city, the Sunken Mall still had patrons hopping from shop to shop and enjoying a Chicken Bucket lunch out at the tables near the stage. It was so normal, one would be forgiven for thinking the fight with Fuse was over.

Alice and her friends passed by the mall without a second look, preemptively turning some Heavy Hunters into Fusion Matter before they knew what hit them. Unlike the shoppers spending the good weather shopping, the team had been called for a job. Bubbles had called on them, so they were meeting her at City Hall. The blonde Powerpuff was already dishing out a job to some girls, so the trio waited off to the side so as not to be rude.

The girl in the cat-eared hoodie looked distracted, leaving her companion - a girl dressed in a purple battle dress - to be given the low down by the Powerpuff. Her wandering eyes eventually settled on Team Super Stars. Amber colored eyes widened in recognition, and then narrowed as they zeroed in on Alice. The Arthenadite remained perfectly calm, schooling her face to ensure it didn't reveal anything she was feeling.

Despite support from the Powerpuffs, Ben, and other high-profile personalities, public opinion on Alice was still firmly in the negative. Harangue was the only one who still publicly ran hit pieces against her, although luckily, he didn't dedicate whole episodes to her anymore; he'd gone back to badmouthing Ben. Suzy had banned Alice from checking the Board due to the negativity that still existed, though it wasn't like the girl could see the messages anyway. Suzy had snatched her NanoCom the second Douglas had brought the Board back online after Harangue's bombshell report and went through blocking anyone that had something negative to say to Alice. Whatever she heard about people's opinion of her usually came from her looking over Suzy's shoulder when the redhead was on her NanoCom. The worst of the posts had been purged by the Dexbots early on, leaving only nonmalignant complaints. Most of the time she was used as a scapegoat if a job went awry, often wondering if she was feeding information to the monsters or flat out stating she'd sent a boss monster after the poster. Alice had never been the kind of person who wanted to be popular, but she was finding infamy to be a much harsher deal.

"...Once you've gotten rid of the Asphalt Freaks, come back here for a reward," Bubbles was finishing up. "But please try to be quick! The baby birds can't protect themselves, so it's up to us!"

"Of course," the blonde volunteer agreed, an easy-going smile on her lips. "Ready, Nikki?" When Nikki didn't reply, her companion turned to look at her quizzically. "Nikki?" She followed her companion's line of sight, spotting Alice and the group. The easy-going smile fell right off, faster than falling off a cliff, and a stony expression took over.

By this point, Junior and Suzy felt eyes looking in their direction and looked back, finding Nikki and her blonde companion staring at their blue-haired teammate. While Suzy's smile remained on her face, it had lost its friendliness, a clear warning to stay away. If the girls were dumb enough to ignore the warning, then Junior's sneering firmly warned them to stay away. A worried frown formed on Bubbles' lips as she sensed the rising tension between the two teams.

Whether it was because she had caught the messages or because she could no longer stand being in the same proximity as Alice, the blonde volunteer grabbed her companion's arm and pulled her towards the steps. With their disappearance, the tension quickly dissolved, although the sour look remained on Junior's face. The blue themed Powerpuff stepped up to the group, training concerned baby blue eyes on the Arthenadite.

"You okay, Alice?" Bubbles asked in concern.

Alice nodded, keeping "It's okay" behind tightly sealed lips. The last time she'd said it, Suzy had lectured her for over an hour on why it was not okay on how she was being treated. It was touching that her friends were so upset on her behalf, and she knew she should be just as angry with the volunteers for their treatment of her, but she couldn't muster up the emotion. She didn't blame them in the slightest. If she were in their shoes, she'd act the same way.

"What can we do for you, Bubbles?" Suzy asked.

"I need you three to head over to the Townsville Zoo and find the missing zoo animals," Bubbles addressed.

Junior frowned in exasperation at the job's description. He didn't rank finding missing zoo animals very high on the list, but wisely kept his mouth shut on the matter. Bubbles was a Powerpuff and an animal lover, so it was much safer for him to not voice his dissension.

"It's suspected that a Fusion rounded up the animals and has them locked away somewhere," Bubbles continued. "I need you to help Jackie Khones and Boomer look for them."

Alice jerked in surprise at the last name, and the sentiment was shared with her half-demon teammate.

"Hold on, Boomer?" Junior questioned.

Bubbles nodded. "Yes. He's been looking for them for over a week, but I think he could use some help."

"You want us to help a Rowdyruff?" Junior questioned incredulously.

"I'm asking you to help the animals," Bubbles countered, her tone pleading. "These poor creatures are captured and being held somewhere, with no way of helping themselves. They need to be rescued. They need your help."

Junior frowned and looked down at his shoes. He wasn't keen on helping a Rowdyruff, - and since when did a Rowdyruff hold any interest in rescuing animals? - but when Bubbles put it that way...

"You know you can count on us," Suzy assured the Powerpuff.

Bubbles smiled in relief. "Thank you. I'll send word to Boomer that you're on your way over. He'll explain everything they've found once you get there. And just to help our odds even more..." Bubbles put two fingers to her lips and released a loud whistle, one that had the trio covering their ears. A moment later, an object zipped past the trio so fast that it kicked up its own gust of wind. Hovering over Bubbles' shoulder was her squirrel companion, Bullet. "Sorry to pull you away from Buttercup, but I need you to head to the zoo and help out. Okay?"

Bullet chittered out what was probably confirmation because the squirrel accompanied it with a salute. The rodent then flew over and curled herself on Alice's head, mussing up the girl's hair a bit.

"Thanks for your help," the Powerpuff said with an accompanying grin. "Good luck!"

The team stepped over the broken turnstiles of the Townsville Zoo, not surprised to find the property empty, but finding the emptiness incredibly jarring. While the zoo would have a modest turn out during the weekdays, it was always packed on the weekends. Parents with their little kids would come out and spend the day looking at some of their favorite animals like lions and tigers and bears. Sometimes the families would spill into the impressive aquarium that sat next door, which boasted an impressive attendance count as well. With the animals missing and an invasion going on, the zoo and its add-on aquarium were left desolate. Alice's built in Fusion radar told her Fusion Monsters were in the area, but not within their immediate area.

Boomer and who the team suspected to be Jackie Khones were waiting for them at the information kiosk situated behind the entrance's gates. Jackie Khones turned out to be a miniature Imaginary Friend, a cyclops with a thin green stick-like figure. He resembled an animated broccoli stick with the eyeball for the flower head. Over his lithe body was a brown bomber jacket with a puffy light brown collar, and a brown fedora situated on top of his eye completed his look.

Boomer, contrary to what Alice thought, didn't resemble his Nano counterpart. Instead of a shirt and pants Alice had been expecting, the Rowdyruff was dressed in a blue short sleeve jacket over a black shirt with a blue stripe going horizontally. He wore black shorts with a blue trim at the bottom, and he had on blue tube socks with a white trim and black sneakers.

Jackie appeared to be bored, munching away on a ham sandwich. Boomer, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and was sizing up the team as they approached. From the way his lips were dipped downward, he didn't look very pleased to see them.

Suzy led the way as she naturally did, and Alice was especially thankful for it. She had been just as surprised as Junior to hear that Boomer was looking for the missing zoo animals. Before the invasion happened, Boomer had been seen less and less with his brothers. His MIA status led many to believe that he had died, although that was highly suspect given his superhuman abilities; there were very few who could defeat him, and the majority were villains like him. After the invasion, he had been spotted around Foster's Home, which was a headscratcher. Many believed it was an act, but they couldn't pinpoint the ulterior motive. Boomer wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, which was saying something considering all the Rowdyruffs were dimwitted. She didn't exactly know what to think of the boy, but she put faith in Bubbles; if the blonde thought Boomer was trustworthy enough to search for animals, then maybe he wasn't going to pull some villainous stunt on them.

"Greetings, gentlemen," Suzy greeted with her signature smile. "I'm sure you're aware Bubbles sent us."

Boomer's displeased frown only grew at the greeting. Instead of looking ecstatic for the help, as many others did, he looked downright annoyed.

"Just so we're clear, I'm not happy about this," Boomer pointed out to the three. "We don't need your help."

"How long have you been looking for the animals?" Junior challenged. "Over a week, right? Sounds like you need help."

A dangerous look entered Boomer's eyes. His fingers clenched into tight fists that trembled with growing rage. For a moment it looked like the Rowdyruff was going to attack Junior, causing Alice to tense in preparation. But then, to her surprise, he merely closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. He uncurled his fingers and shifted his facial muscles so that he was wearing a mask of forced indifference.

"Fine, we have been at this for over a week and haven't found the animals," Boomer responded. "We did have a suspect. A monkey named Jake Spidermonkey. We had to rule him out because he was..."

"He was an idiot," Jackie supplied for Boomer when the later found trouble labeling their suspect. "No way that one took 'em."

"Bubbles mentioned that it may have been a Fusion," Suzy joined in the conversation. "Do you know anything about that?"

"We suspect it's a Fusion, and that the animals are underground somewhere," Boomer answered. "But we've been unable to find the portal."

"All we found was a baby fishballoon," Jackie piped in.

The team shared a similar look of confusion. Alice wasn't very well versed on marine life, but she couldn't recall ever hearing about a fishballoon.

"A what?" Suzy asked.

"Fishballoon," Boomer repeated. He raised his eyebrow upward in surprise. "Yah know, the monster? Orange, spikey, two legs, multiple eyes? A larger version tried attacking the city a few years back."

Immediately, Alice put an image to the name. She recalled the news detailing a monster fitting that description, only it was as tall as skyscrapers when it went on a city tear. "But, isn't it supposed to be on Monster Isle?"

Boomer shrugged. "Nope."

"Doesn't live there. Some sort of lake creature," Jackie contributed after he took a large bite out of his sandwich. "Sent it back."

"Anything else you came across?" Suzy asked.

Boomer released a frustrated sigh, but it didn't feel directed at the team. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Nothing. None of the monsters I've beaten have dropped anything useful."

"We've beaten," Jackie corrected, although that was met with an exasperated eyeroll from the blond.

"Anyways, that's it," Boomer finished. "We're stuck."

"Probably why your girlfriend sent them," Jackie piped in with his mouth full.

Alice expected the Rowdyruff to become angry at this, but he rolled his eyes once again. "She's not my girlfriend," he corrected in exasperation, probably because this wasn't the first time he'd corrected the Friend.

'Alright, so we're on the hunt for a Fusion Portal," Suzy announced, falling into her natural role as a leader. "I think we should split ourselves into three teams to cover more ground." She placed her hands on her hips, looking at her two teammates. "Junior, you team up with Jackie. Alice, you're with Boomer. Bullet and I will be a team."

The superpowered squirrel chittered in excitement and hopped off of Alice's shoulder so that she could take up residence on the redhead's shoulder. While Bullet clearly had no problems with the arrangement, the furrow of Boomer's brows indicated he was.

"Hold on, why aren't I and Jackie teamed up?" Boomer questioned.

"You've been here for about a week, so you two should have a strong understanding of the layout," Suzy explained rationally. "You've encountered the monsters here, so you can give us tips about which areas to search and which to avoid."

Boomer looked a little confused by the reasoning, but he quickly hid it. "Uhm, okay."

"So long as I get my sandwich at the end of the day, I don't care who I'm partnered with," Jackie commented, finishing up the last of his sandwich.

"You just had one," Junior pointed out.

"I get two."

"Alrighty, if nobody has further questions, let's break! Bullet and I will head west. Junior and Jackie, head up north. Alice and Boomer, you've got the east side of the zoo. Let's get moving people!" Suzy instructed, getting the group back on track.

Boomer led Alice through the Aves habitat, passing by several empty aviaries that used to hold all manner of birds. This part of the zoo was always the loudest, because the birds enjoyed making noises to each other and at the guests. Now, with all of the birds missing, the emptiness put goosebumps on her skin. Add in that her internal radar was warning her of monsters nearby and it was like a scene from a horror film, except she was living it. Boomer didn't seem as disturbed by the quietness as she was, and he wasn't in any hurry to disrupt it.

Alice was conflicted over partnering with Boomer. While she had concerns, she kept them to herself because Suzy's strategy had made sense. Jackie and Boomer had spent the most time in the zoo, so they probably knew every nook and cranny. Suzy and Junior probably had a firm understanding of the zoo's layout, but Alice's knowledge on it was shaky. Her mother's job didn't permit a lot of time off on the weekends, so there weren't as many opportunities for Alice to go and see the animals unless it was on a field trip or if Aunt Muriel came down for a weekend.

While Suzy or Junior could team up with Boomer, it wasn't the smartest choice. Although Bubbles trusted him, there still remained the fact that he was a superpower. Teaming him up with Suzy who had no powers whatsoever put her in a dangerous position, so she was out of the running. This left Junior and Alice, and while Junior did have some powers, the boys' attitudes were not compatible with each other, and they'd probably spend their time just getting into fights. This was absolutely not productive to finding missing zoo animals, so he was out of the running as well. That left Alice as the only viable choice: she didn't have a confrontational personality and she had enough powers to protect herself from Boomer. From there, Junior was assigned to Jackie since the Imaginary Friend didn't seem to have any superpowers, meanwhile non-superpowered Suzy would be teamed up with super powered Bullet.

So, Alice went along with the arrangement, although she kept a healthy distance between her and Boomer. She wasn't entirely sure she could trust him. He wasn't too smart to pull off a con, so she wasn't worried about being tricked by him. But she didn't know if she could trust him wanting to be helpful and find animals. Finding lost animals just wasn't a thing a Rowdyruff Boy did. Beating things up were in his wheelhouse, however.

The zoo may have been empty on visitors and animals, but it had plenty of Gorillions, Roadblock Rhinos, and Elephantine Freaks to go around, although their part of the zoo was populated exclusively by the Gorillions. Having a Rowdyruff made the fights with Fusion Monsters almost too easy, although Alice wasn't complaining. She was here to help find missing animals, not exterminate legions of monsters (that was just a bonus).

"Where are they coming from?" Boomer complained after the Gorillion he had been kicking turned into Fusion Matter. "They're crazy today."

Alice grimaced, searching for any indication that more Gorillions were in the area. Luckily, it seemed the horde that had befell them were the only ones in the area. Alice's radar indicated that there were none in their immediate vicinity.

"We should conti-"

"Boomer!" a voice suddenly rang out, cutting Alice off midsentence and even making the girl jump in startlement. "Hey Boomer! BOOMER! BOOMER MOJO! BOOOOOOOOOOOMERRRRRRRRR! HEEEEEEEEYYYYY!"

Boomer visibly shuddered and released an annoyed groan. Alice looked around for the owner of the voice, spotting a Monkey Minion rushing for them. As the minion came closer, Alice was surprised to see that it wasn't actually a monkey in the armor; it was a human. The boy was dressed head to toe like a Monkey Minion, complete with a fake tail swinging back and forth with the boy's motions. On his hip, Alice spotted a purple-colored communicator, indicating he was working under Mojo. Considering his getup, it wasn't exactly surprising.

"Go away, George," Boomer demanded, growling out the words.

"Not until you agree to go home," the boy, George, insisted. "Your father misses you."

"Tell the monkey I'm not coming back," Boomer retorted.

"But he's your father!"

"You keep throwing that word around like I'm supposed to care," Boomer remarked, turning his head away from the teen. "I'm not going back and that's final. Tell him to quit wasting my time."

"You can't just turn away from our glorious leader!"

"Pretty sure I can, dude."

"But you're not a good guy. You're a bad guy!" George argued strongly. "Live up to that potential!"

Boomer's eyes flashed and he whirled around on the boy, reaching out and grabbing him by his armor's collar. Boomer yanked the boy so that they stood forehead-to-forehead, fire blazing in angry blue eyes.

"Shut. Your. Stupid. Mouth!" Boomer snarled.

"See! That's the bad guy we love!" George declared emphatically, looking close to tears with joy.

Boomer frowned in disgust and dropped the boy on his butt.

"Leave me alone," Boomer demanded.

Alice stared wide-eyed at the blond boy. If she hadn't been paying close attention to the conversation, she would have missed the slightest tremble in his voice. Was he...growing upset? George didn't look as if he heard it since his eyebrows came together in frustration.

"I will not leave you until you go back home. Your father tasked me with this most important job and I will not leave until I have met our leader's expectations!"

"You have been bugging me three days straight! Ever think about what I want?" Boomer shot back.

George blinked, looking taken back with the question. Then, completely honestly, he replied, "Why would I care?"

Boomer's eyes tripled in size at the honest remark, and Alice could see something akin to hurt inside. His fingers curled into fists, trembling with suppressed emotion; anger or pain, Alice couldn't pinpoint.

"You-!"

"Boomer," Alice called, stopping Boomer mid-word and mid-step. "Let's go."

Boomer and George looked at her, the former staring with wide eyed confusion. Ignoring the wannabe Monkey Minion, Alice kept her gaze focused on the Rowdyruff.

"Bubbles is counting on us to find the missing animals," she reminded him. "George is being mean, so we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's keep searching the zoo."

Boomer's confusion turned to surprise, staring at the blue-haired alien with a slackened jaw. This was probably because he had never heard her speak so much. Or maybe he was surprised that someone was sticking up for him.

"Excuse you! Calling me mean is a compliment!" the boy snapped at Alice. "And who exactly are you to- ... Wait ... I recognize you." George's face lost color, becoming as white as the helmet he wore. Dramatically, the Mojo fanatic raised an accusatory finger pointed straight at her. "You're the Fusion Girl."

Alice grimaced at the proclamation, keeping her gaze on the wannabe Monkey Minion. George produced a rifle from his communicator and raised it up, leveling the long-range weapon at Alice. The girl blinked in startlement at George's swift actions. Before the boy could move his finger to the trigger, Boomer suddenly appeared, placing himself between the weapon and Alice and wrapping his hand around the barrel. Exerting very little effort, Boomer snapped the barrel off. He squeezed his hand, cracking, splintering, and breaking the metal into pieces, letting the fragments fall to his feet like ash.

"Whoops."

George stared in horror at his broken weapon. "My...My beautiful weapon," the boy lamented. "Gifted to me by our glorious leader."

Boomer rolled his eyes at the boy's theatrics. This was probably the most annoying thing about Mojo's people: they all became drama queens like their dear old Simian Supreme. There were actual tears in the boy's eyes, like he was mourning the loss of a friend. How utterly, completely annoying. George shot his head up to look at the blond, disbelief written all over his face. Boomer challenged it with an eyebrow raise.

"Why?! Why would you destroy your father's weapons!" George demanded. "Have you no appreciation for the delicate craftsmanship?!"

"Dude, you pointed it at an unarmed girl."

Boomer conveniently kept silent on the fact that Alice didn't actually need weapons to fight and protect herself. It was on a need-to-know basis and George didn't need to know.

"She's the enemy!"

Boomer shrugged nonchalantly as a response. George bared his teeth and released an annoyed growl. He looked ready to throw down, but must have correctly guessed it'd be futile. He was a simple human, and his weapon was destroyed; there was no possible way he could beat the Rowdyruff and the Fusion Girl barehanded. Instead, he threw down his broken weapon with a frustrated cry and spun around, stomping off.

"Wait until your father hears about this!" George threatened, though it came off as whiny.

Boomer snorted. "Like I care. The creep is probably spying on me from his telescope."

George disappeared without another word, no longer viewable even to Boomer's advanced sight. Tension left Boomer's body as he released a relieved sigh.

"If I knew breaking his toys would get rid of him, I would have done it sooner," Boomer commented aloud, mostly for his own benefit.

"Thank you," Alice spoke up, garnering the boy's attention. His eyebrow quirking upward had her further clarifying, "For stopping him."

His rescue had been completely unnecessary. Amber hadn't spent a month training her simply so she could be offed by a Mojo minion. However, it was rude to tell him all this, especially because he had stepped in for no other reason than because she was being aimed at. The right and proper thing to do was to thank him for his actions.

Boomer's face went a bright shade of red, and for a moment Alice feared it was out of anger. Her fears were quelled - though replaced with confusion - when the boy glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, yeah, whatever," he stammered, which was completely strange for a Rowdyruff. "It's...ya know..." He shrugged lamely. "Whatever."

Alice smiled lightly at the boy's show of embarrassment, probably because he wasn't used to it. Had he ever been thanked before? Considering how destructive him and his siblings were, the answer was probably a resounding no. Boomer coughed into his fist like the single action could get rid of his embarrassment.

"Anyways, you..." His face twitched as he thought over his words. "You uhh... with him so... yeah, favors and stuff," Boomer continued, his mouth unable to produce a sentence that was remotely coherent. Luckily, Alice was able to decipher his intent.

"You looked..." Alice trailed off as she carefully thought out how she wanted to word this to a Rowdyruff. "You looked upset by what he was saying. And it wasn't right of him to say those mean things to you."

Boomer looked away, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "He's following Mojo, so this is right up his alley. Being a jerk and bothering someone sounds like things a villain would do."

"It still wasn't nice," Alice pointed out.

Boomer turned away from the girl, but she got a frown growing on his face.

"We gotta keep moving," he said, changing the subject.

Alice silently agreed, following behind the boy with a frown of her own. She reviewed the conversation once more in her mind, and the way George treated Boomer made her ill. She had her own concerns about the Rowdyruff boy, but...

"Ever think about what I want?"

"Why would I care?"

Alice's brows came together as the words echoed in her head. Rowdyruff or not, it still troubled her how dismissive George was of Boomer's feelings. It felt all too familiar to-

"Hey."

Boomer's voice cut through her thoughts, startling the girl back into the present. She blinked rapidly and glanced over at Boomer, finding that the boy was side eying her in poorly veiled curiosity.

"Yes?" she asked.

"George called you 'Fusion Girl.' What did he mean by that?"

Alice glanced away, her muscles tightening preemptively in the event of a fight-or-flight situation. Considering this was Boomer, it would probably be a fighting situation midflight.

"You don't know?" Alice asked.

"I don't have a communicator," Boomer answered defensively. With a pout, he added in a whiny voice, "I'm not trusted."

Alice's eyebrows went up before burrowing together in confusion. She recalled Bubbles mentioning that she'd let Boomer know. Did they still use phones? Seemed unlikely since there probably weren't any public phones working at the zoo.

"But Bubbles said-"

"I use Jackie's," Boomer cut off.

"Oh."

Boomer turned his head to look at her, raising his right eyebrow up in an expression of impatience.

"Soooo...?"

Alice startled a little, having momentarily forgotten that the conversation started because of her moniker.

"It...It turns out I share DNA with Fuse," Alice admitted. "Harangue refers to me as Fusion Girl, and a lot of people have been using it."

"But you're not actually one?" Boomer questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Alice shook her head swiftly. "I'm not. I don't know the full extent of the relationship, but I'm not a Fusion."

Boomer's face morphed to understanding, and she thought she spotted a flash of hopefulness in his eyes.

"So, even though everyone thinks you're bad 'cause you're born bad, you're trying to do good," Boomer commented, his tone bordering on familiarity. "But everyone still thinks badly of you."

Alice nodded to the summary, a little surprised to hear it coming from the mouth of a Rowdyruff.

"Yes," she answered. After a brief pause, she added, "They treat you the same way, don't they?"

Boomer hesitated, looked around like he was searching for another soul who was in the area, before he nodded slowly to her question.

"Ye-yeah," he admitted, sounding vulnerable with the one word. He shrugged like he was trying to shake off that vulnerability. "But it's whatever. My brothers always picked on me anyways, so telling me I'm stupid and can't cut it doesn't matter to me. And Mojo's such a crybaby annoyance I'm glad to be gone." He looked away from her and made a quick swipe for his nose. "Yeah, I don't need them. If they can't support me, then I don't need them. I don't need any of them. I can do this on my own."

Alice bit her lip at the words. "Boomer-"

"So, if you're connected with Fusions, can you find them?" Boomer asked, diverting the subject before it could get serious.

Alice frowned at the obvious diversion. While it would probably be dangerous, she really wished Boomer had teamed up with Suzy. Suzy would have known what to say. However, Suzy wasn't there, and Alice was and she didn't know how to respond to Boomer's words, so she simply agreed to change the subject.

"I haven't been able to find specific monsters, but I have been able to sense them based on their power levels," Alice answered.

"Can you do that then?"

"I can try," Alice replied, coming to a stop.

Boomer stopped as well and looked at the girl, watching her close her eyes. Alice stretched out her powers to search for the monsters. She felt the sameness of the Gorillions in the area and expanded her searches further. She did sense a stronger power level, but the several Gorillions sensed close to it identified it as a boss. She ignored the boss and its underlings and kept searching. She searched for another minute and almost called it quits when she remembered Fusion Bubbles and Fusion Raj. Both of them had been in lairs, which were below the surface level. If she were a Fusion who had just captured helpless animals, she'd go underground. She directed her searching downward, immediately sensing the Gorillions, and then she found them. Two sources, far more powerful than the wandering bosses, were sticking close together. The sense reminded her of Fusion Boomer, and so she felt confident they were the Fusions behind the missing animals.

"I've found them," Alice reported, opening her eyes.

"Them?" Boomer questioned in surprise. "You sure you're sensing right?"

Alice nodded in confirmation. "They're this way."

Alice led Boomer up the pathway a few yards, coming to a stop in front of the zoo's large bird enclosure. It was hard to miss how empty the space was, including the lack of a Fusion Portal.

"It's empty," Boomer pointed out unhelpfully, although his tone sounded like an accusation. He was probably doubting her.

With confidence, using the two Fusions as a homing beacon, Alice strode into the enclosure and moved through it until she was at the halfway point. It was here that she ran into an obstacle, which startled the girl and had her stumbling back from surprise. Boomer, waiting at the entranceway, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What the...?"

Alice reached out and touched the object in her way, finding that it was a very large sheet of paper. She gripped the paper and then yanked downward. It took two pulls, but eventually the paper gave way, dropping downward and revealing the rest of the enclosure. Situated on the opposite side was the Fusion Portal she had sensed. Boomer stood slack jawed.

"This has been here the entire time?" Boomer complained in disbelief.

Alice could understand his surprise. Fusions weren't as dumb as everyone had once believed. They were fast learners, just as the camouflaging of the Fusion Portal in the Fissure had shown. Still, being able to recreate half of the bird enclosure was quite the surprise, especially because of how well the painting had been. It had looked so life like that it was easy to fool the naked eye.

Wait. Didn't Boomer have x-ray vision like the Powerpuffs? Shouldn't he have noticed there was something behind the facade?

"Haven't you used your x-ray vision to check the cages?" Alice asked, turning around so she could look at the boy.

Boomer's face went a bright tint of pink, going all the way up to the tip of his ears. Without acknowledging her question, Boomer rushed past her and headed for the portal.

"Wait," Alice protested as he passed her, "we need to let the others-"

"No time. I'm getting those animals," he argued.

"But-"

Her arguments were ignored as the portal transported the Rowdyruff to the Fusions' lair. Alice stared at the teleporter in conflict. Her instinct was to stay and wait for her friends, giving themselves the best odds to search for the missing animals and to put an end to the Fusions. However, she didn't want to abandon Boomer to face the Fusions on his own. He was a Rowdyruff and could probably handle the monsters on his own, but she didn't want to take that chance. She hadn't yet heard of the Powerpuffs being able to single-handedly end a Fusion, let alone two Fusions teaming up, and so she didn't want to mistakenly believe he could handle himself only to find that she had been wrong. Spurred by this, Alice quickly shot off a message to her teammates, telling them where the portal was located, and stepped on the teleporter.

Within the span of a blink, she was in an underground cavern. No monsters greeted her as she took a step off the teleporter. Freshly made Fusion Matter - most definitely the result of the monsters losing to Boomer - flew into her NanoCom due to its vacuum ability and because it was the only technology in the area. Knowing that flying was faster than walking, Alice lifted herself into the air and followed the path of the Fusion Matter puddles. The puddles led through the cavern's passageways until it opened up into a large clearing, quite possibly the largest she'd seen in a lair (and considering she had only been in two, that wasn't saying much).

She gasped out in surprise when she found that there were cages stacked on top of each other. Inside these cages were animals from the zoos, although even she could tell that these weren't all the missing animals. In attendance were: lions, zebras, lemurs, toucans, monkeys, cheetahs...Alice paused in her mental inventory and looked back at the cage holding one of the monkeys. Unlike the others, this one was in a power suit; a very familiar power suit that Alice recognized from the hologram at Heroes Square.

"Monkey?" Alice asked in surprise, gliding over to the cage.

The simian was unresponsive, curled up tight in the corner of its prison. She couldn't tell if the superhero was hurt or sleeping, but his presence had her worried. Monkey was supposed to have the same powers and endurance as the Powerpuff Girls. How was it possible for him to be captured? And how long had he been captured? At least a week, since Boomer and Jackie didn't mention the superhero.

Boomer.

Alice looked away from the captured superhero, extending her senses once more. She pinpointed the Fusions, and found that they were moving around more rapidly than before. They were probably engaged in a fight with the Rowdyruff. Glancing back at the simian superhero, Alice grimaced and stepped away. Releasing the animals, though it was her job, would only get the animals hurt so long as the Fusions were still around. She needed to help Boomer, and then come back for the animals.

She shot up higher into the air, nearly touching the ceiling. She flew in the direction of the Fusions, ignoring the lair's labyrinth. It was easy to spot the green of the Fusions against the brown dirt. She recognized one of the Fusions to be a copy of Monkey, but the other eluded her. It was a duck with a Q as a headpiece. Despite the heights of the Fusion monkey and duck - only coming up to the waistline - Boomer was having trouble landing a hit. No matter how fast he lunged, the Fusion animals managed to jump out of the way, even managing to get a strike on the Rowdyruff as they moved. Even from high up in the sky, she could see he was getting frustrated by his inability to catch the Fusions.

She lowered herself to the ground, joining in on the fight right as the Fusion duck made a lunge for the boy's kneecap. Alice raised up a barrier to protect Boomer from the Fusion, watching as the Fusion fowl hit the barrier and bounce back. The brawling boy turned to regard her with a furious look on his face.

"Boomer, we need-"

"Butt out of this," Boomer snapped at her. "I've got this handled."

Alice's eyes raked the boy head to toe, spotting every burn and scratch he had obtained in the battle with the two Fusions.

"You're getting hurt," Alice pointed out. "We need to work togeth-"

"I don't need you!" Boomer shouted.

Because the barrier had only been a wall, Boomer moved around it, engaging in battle once again. Fusion Monkey decided to actually face the boy and so it landed a punch on the blond's face when the Rowdyruff got closer. The hit was strong enough to send Boomer flying in the air, though he was able to right himself before hitting the cavern wall.

"Bo-"

"No! Shut up! You're just like everyone else, thinking I'm stupid!" Boomer shouted at the girl, rocketing off once more. "I got this!"

Alice gasped in surprise by the raw emotion in his voice. Where had that come from? Boomer threw himself at the Fusion duck, hitting the ground when the creature ducked out of the way. An indent was made from where he'd landed, but that didn't stop him from hopping back up and lunging for Fusion Monkey. He threw some punches at the Fusion simian, but Fusion Monkey managed to deflect the erratic hits.

With Boomer focused on Fusion Monkey, he missed the Fusion duck racing up Fusion Monkey's back and jumping over its head, kicking Boomer in the face. The hit momentarily stunned the boy. Fusion Monkey cupped its hands together and raised it upward, prepared to swing it downward on Boomer's head. Alice raised her hand and fired off an energy ball at the Fusion, but Boomer chose that moment to stand up, getting in the way of the attack. The energy ball hit him in his back, sending him forward. Alice's eyes widened in horror.

"Boomer, are you-"

"Save it, Fusion Girl!" Boomer roared at her, using his superspeed to get in her face. He was leaning forward, his hand raised and threatening to hit her. "I don't need your stupid help! I'm going to beat these stupid Fusions. I'm going to save the animals. I'm going to prove I can be a hero. And I'm doing it alone!"

He spun around and shot off for the Fusions once more, throwing punches without actually aiming. Instead of deflecting, Fusion Monkey and the duck dodge, duck, dip, and dived from the strikes. Their unwillingness to fight back infuriated the boy, making him even madder.

Boomer threw a punch that Fusion Monkey ducked. In that position, the Fusion delivered a powerful kick to the boy's solar plex, causing him to stumble back in the pain. Beneath his feet, without him realizing it, a green path began to form. Alice recognized the patch instantly and, although she was still filled with terror at the boy's earlier show of aggression, jumped forward to tackle him. The two of them rolled away from the green patch just as an erruption attack went off. Had Alice acted a second later, Boomer would have been caught in its powerful explosion.

Instead of being grateful for the assistance, Boomer pushed her off of him and glared at her. Alice scooted away as much as she could, staring up at him fearfully.

"Get the hint! Everyone leaves me, so why don't you!" Boomer yelled. "I don't need you! I don't need anyone!"

He shot off for the Fusions again, leaving behind a wide-eyed girl. Although she was still upset but his show of aggression towards her, a new horror took over. The Rowdyruffs were hardly the smartest people out there. They always relied on their brute strength to see them through anything, whether it was leveling city blocks or beating up the Powerpuff Girls. On his own, with his growing anger, Boomer was being outsmarted by two Fusions who were playing him like a fiddle.

It was horrific to watch, but Alice felt her stomach turn as she realized that Boomer was losing it. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that it was affecting how he fought. He was dead set on doing things on his own, that he was willing to push away anyone. The scariest bit was that it was like looking into a mirror. It hadn't been that long ago that she was pushing others away, prepared to live an isolated life. But she had people who loved her and supported her and stopped her from making such a choice. Who did Boomer have?

Determination smoothed over her nerves, allowing Alice to get onto steady feet. Raising her hand, she generated a dome that separated Boomer from his opponents, once more sending the Fusions bouncing back. Boomer spun around, his eyes wide and wild as they settled on her. He looked feral, dangerous, like an undomesticated creature. His mouth turned upward in a snarl, his balled-up fists rising upward in preparation for a fight.

"What do you-"

His demand was caught in his throat when Alice snaked her arms around him, gripping tightly. The action caught him off guard, and his intense eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, remorse and sympathy in her voice. "I know you're alone, and everything seems scary. I know what it's like to have people look at you in distrust, thinking you are going to hurt them. I've been in your shoes. I've been lonely, and the world was scary and large and I had no one to turn to. But then I realized I was wrong, just like you're wrong."

Boomer jolted like he'd been physically shocked. Alice kept her grip on the boy. He could easily break out of it, but it was surprise that kept him from fighting her. And also, maybe, he wanted to hear where the conversation was going.

"You're not alone, Boomer. You've never been. Maybe your brothers aren't there for you, but you have so many others to lean on. Bubbles trusts you and gave you this job because she believes in you. Jackie agreed to team up with you because he wasn't scared of your reputation. And Mojo clearly loves you. Even if he may not agree with your choices, he sends out his people to bring you home."

The tension in Boomer's body slowly evaporated as he listened to Alice's words. She could feel something wet hitting her shoulder, but didn't dare ask him if he was crying. He was a teenage boy, and while Alice hadn't been a social butterfly at the junior high, even she knew from conversations at school that boys didn't like to be called out when they were caught crying. So she remained silent on the matter, keeping her arms wrapped around the boy in silent comfort. In response, the Rowdyruff wrapped his arms around her, his fingers clinging to the back of her shrug.

Alice wondered if he'd ever been held before. She doubted Brick and Butch would be the hugging type, but what about Mojo? Did the simian give the boys hugs like a father did? Did any of them know the comfort a hug could bring? To know that the burdens weighing them down could be shared with someone who cared about you? By the way he clung to her, she didn't think so.

While Alice was bringing Boomer down from his frenzied state, the two Fusions had been putting their all into breaking through Alice's shields. Normally this would be hard to do, but given Alice's concentration was preoccupied with making the Rowdyruff feel better about himself, a few good hits were able to shatter the force field to pieces. Alice jerked to attention, releasing her hold on the boy and watching the two Fusions baring down on them. Sensing his enemies upon him, the blond boy, tears still in his eyes, spun around to face the Fusions. Fusion Monkey targeted the boy since he was closer, stretching out its fist. The fist was a hair's breath away from Boomer's face when a hand mirror appeared out of thin air, slotting itself between the Fusion and Boomer. The Fusion's fist hit the mirror's reflective surface and instead of breaking, the Fusion was propelled backward, taking the Fusion duck with it and sending the two into the cavern's wall. Alice and Boomer stared dumbfounded at the magically hovering mirror that had repelled the Fusion. Not a scratch was on it, and if they hadn't seen it for themselves, they'd never believe the Fusion had struck it. The mirror did a twirl in midair and then disappeared in a plume of smoke that seemed familiar to the Arthenadite, although she couldn't put her finger on it.

It didn't matter, really, with the Fusion duck launching itself at the duo. Once more, before Boomer and Alice could react, a sonic scream shot out and sent the Fusion duck into the wall next to its buddy. Alice and Boomer looked over to the source of the attack, a little surprised to see Monkey hovering in the air with a triumphant look on his face. Hovering over his shoulder was an equally triumphant looking Bullet.

"Bullet!" Alice called out to the squirrel in surprise. "Where's the others?"

Bullet chittered in her squirrel language that Alice didn't know, but some hand motions helped Alice piece together that the others were back with the animals, rescuing them. They must have rescued Monkey first and sent him and Bullet to help with the Fusions. Alice smiled, glancing over at Boomer to see his surprised stare.

"Ready to do this as a team, Boomer?" Alice asked.

Boomer looked away from the superpowered animals, turning his surprised look onto the blue-haired girl. He then looked over to the Fusions, watching them pick themselves up and try to escape. Slowly, a smirk crossed his face.

"Alright, let's do this," Boomer agreed. "We've got zoo animals to save."

Boomer rushed at the fleeing Fusions, Monkey and Bullet joining at his side with matching smirks. Alice hung behind and instead sent out Nano Boomer to use Batter Up on the Fusion duck. While the Fusions may have found the fight easy when it was just Boomer, fighting two superpowered animals, a superhuman, and a Nano proved to be impossible for them to win. Within seconds the two Fusions were reduced to Fusion Matter, which was sucked up by Alice's NanoCom.

Monkey and Bullet high-fived each other for the job well done, the former feeling especially vindicated. Boomer stared in surprise at seeing his Nano counterpart, who was equally surprised. After a moment, stars entered the Nano's eyes.

"You're so cooooool," the Nano complimented.

Boomer blushed under the praise, probably never having heard anyone call him that. Alice smiled at her Nano and rubbed his head before sending him back into her NanoCom.

"Are you doing okay, Boomer?" she asked.

"Huh?" Boomer asked in confusion. Alice indicated to the injuries on his body. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I used to fight the Powerpuff Girls. Their beatings hurt way worse than this."

Alice nodded, trusting the boy's assessment of his injuries. With the Fusions no longer around, they needed to go back and release the animals.

"Hey guys!" Suzy greeted cheerfully. "Great job with the Fusions."

After dealing with the Fusions, the four had gone to check on the progress with the animals. They arrived to find all the animals released from their cages and nowhere in the lair. When the four returned to the surface, they found a good number of the animals roaming. It had taken some time for all the animals to go back to their habitats - some taking longer to corral than others - but eventually all of them were back where they belonged. Suzy had gotten in touch with Alice as they were finishing up, and told her to meet at the hub, which was where two-thirds of Team Super Stars and Jackie were waiting.

"How'd you know it was Fusions?" Boomer asked in confusion.

"Alice told me," Suzy answered simply. "Plus Nano Raj's Mappy showed me two on the map."

"Oh," Boomer said dumbly.

"I've done a count of the animals, but the ones we found in the lair aren't all of them," Junior stated. "Which means they're hidden somewhere else."

"That's fine," Boomer replied. "I can just search them out easy now. The animals will be back in their homes in no time."

Monkey grunted, tapping on his chest when he gained their attention. Bullet chittered excitedly and flew over to Boomer, zipping around him until settling on his head, chest puffed proudly.

"I don't speak animal, but I bet they're here to stay and help," Suzy said, grinning. "You want us to stick around and help?"

"Nah, we should be okay," Boomer replied, reaching up and scratching Bullet's head. "Right, Jackie?"

"Sure, but I'm not sharing my sandwiches," Jackie argued.

"If you don't need us, we'll head out then," Suzy said. "I'll send word to Bubbles about the situation."

"Tell her to send chips," Jackie requested.

"We'll see what we can do," Suzy replied. "See you later."

"Wait a minute, Alice," Boomer requested, stopping the girl from following behind her friends. She looekd at him in curiosity. He flushed a light pink and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to say th-thanks... for what you said in the lair. And...uh...s-sorry about calling you Fuse Girl."

"It's alrig-"

"No, it's not," Boomer interrupted with a firm shake of his head. "I went back to my old ways, and I said it to hurt you. I...That wasn't cool of me, so sorry."

"We all make mistakes. We even made the same one," Alice responded. "I made the mistake of thinking I was alone when my mom died and when Harangue leaked my heritage. You made the mistake of thinking you were alone when you decided to change your ways. Learning from these mistakes is the most important thing."

"I'm not really good at learning. Never went to school," Boomer admitted with a shrug. "But I'll try."

Trying was all Alice could ask of him. So long as he remembered he could turn to Bubbles and Jackie, maybe even Mojo, he'd be fine. Still, it wouldn't hurt the boy to have another positive influence in his life. Alice smiled as she thought of the perfect woman to help Boomer.

"You know, when you're done finding the animals, you should come to Nowhere and meet my aunt," Alice suggested.

"You don't think she'd mind meeting a former villain?" Boomer asked uncertainly.

Alice smiled reassuringly, nodding. "She'd love to meet my friends."

Boomer stared with wide eyes before a smile broke out on his face. It was quite possibly the largest she'd ever seen on a person, and that was saying something considering Suzy was her friend. The boy was very pleased with the response and nodded.

"See ya later, Fusion Girl," Boomer said, his tone teasing.

"Bye, Rowdyruff," Alice replied, waving her hand goodbye.

She turned away from the boy and caught up with her friends, who were waiting for her at the zoo's entrance gate.

"What was that about?" Junior asked, his tone leaning more suspiciously than curiously.

"Seemed like a nice conversation," Suzy put in.

"It was," Alice assured the two. "I was just inviting a friend to Aunt Muriel's."

Junior looked at her in surprise, whipping his head from the girl to the boy. Suzy didn't look surprised, her grin growing wider at the answer.

"I knew partnering you two up was the right choice."

"Hold on, you planned this?" Junior asked, whipping his head to the redhead.

"Of course," Suzy replied, flipping her hair. "I'm always three steps ahead."

Alice giggled into her hand, trying to stifle the noise so she wouldn't offend Junior. The boy should have known by now to never doubt Suzy's judgement.

Alice felt light as a feather as she followed her friends out of the zoo and toward the park, feeling especially good about the job they had done. Eliminating Fusions helped the war cause, since it removed Fuse's generals from the fight. Rescuing lost animals may not make a big deal in the war in general, but it made Bubbles happy and was the job they'd been sent for. Finding a missing hero added more firepower to their side and would help public morale. The most important part, for Alice at least, was helping Boomer when he was at his emotional breaking point. She cared about his feelings, his emotional state. It was scary being alone in the world without a friend to lean on, but she was pleased to have proven him wrong. Who knew what the future could hold with a Rowdyruff on their side?

Plus, she made a new friend.

Chapter Text

Memorial Hospital was exactly as Alice remembered it; she visited the building so often that it became easy to memorize. Even from outside the building, she could pinpoint where each room was just by sight and memory. The biggest change to the hospital's courtyard were all the Kids Next Door operatives and Plumber agents stationed, occupying nearly every available space the courtyard could afford. It was a strange sight to see considering the vast difference between the two organizations (and the fact that the Plumbers were in the ballpark of teen to young adult), but she figured they were all here for Ben Tennyson. Coincidentally, so was her team.

"Hey, thanks for coming," Ben greeted with his signature grin. His green eyes narrowed in on the familiar cup in Suzy's hand. "Is that a Mr. Smoothy's?"

Suzy winked at the teenager and held it out to him. "Special order."

The team had been taking a break over in Bellwood, enjoying an early lunch at Mr. Smoothy's establishment following them stopping a business deal between Princess and Grim (not like their help really mattered since Grim had no plans of selling his Grim Gardens, but Junior did get a kick out of Princess' temper tantrum). Jimmy had sent word that Ben needed to see them over at Memorial Hospital for an assignment. The team acted quickly, but not before Suzy grabbed him an order of Mr. Smoothy's.

The teen hero accepted the drink with his lips quirked up at the side. "Don't tell the other teams, but you guys are my favorite."

"As if there was any competition," Suzy teased, resting her hands on her hips. "So, what do you have for us?"

"We've got problems with the Space Port," Ben answered.

"You mean more than this?" Junior sarcastically asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the infected zone.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Ben replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "Betty's reported that Fusion Spawns have been sneaking in."

"That shouldn't be possible," Suzy commented with her brows furrowed. "The security field is supposed to keep trapped monsters in and outside monsters out."

"They've been tampering with the security field and drained the gates, allowing them to sneak in," a female voice answered from behind the trio.

Alice and her friends whirled around to meet the newcomer, surprise on their faces. The redhead girl, perhaps a year older than the team, if Alice had to guess, raised her hand and gave a brief wave.

"Hi. My name is Atomic Betty, but you can just call me Betty," the redhead greeted, dropping her hand to her side. "You're Team Super Stars, right?"

"That's us," Suzy, the unspoken leader of the team, answered. "Suzy, Nergal Junior, and Alice."

Betty's grin brightened at the reply. "Ben told me about how you three rescued my teammates and I, so I want to thank you for that."

Suzy's smile warmed. "Our pleasure."

"Where are your other teammates?" Junior questioned, noticing that there wasn't a green-skinned boy or a robot by the teenager.

"They're working on other assignments," Betty replied. "Now that we're back on our feet, we're more than happy to lend a hand and bring down this creep."

"She's been a big help around the Plaza," Ben contributed. "That's why I asked her to help out today."

"I was more than happy to assist, especially with the favor you did for my crew and I," Betty added with a giant grin. "Anyways, I scouted out three gates that were being siphoned by the Spawns. They'll need to be recharged quickly to keep the whole thing standing."

"This is where you three come in. Each of you grab a gate and recharge it," Ben continued with the explanation. "Betty's going to be your distraction and draw the attention of the Spawns, which will give you a small window to fix the gates and bring them back online."

"Sounds easy enough," Suzy remarked with a small nod.

"Real easy," Junior piped in, raising an eyebrow. "Couldn't you handle this by yourself? You've got some sort of speed alien, right?"

"I've got XLR8, but I can't really use my aliens right now," Ben replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Aside from the Omnitrix acting up, Fusion Gwen has been stealing pieces of my aliens to make Fusion doubles. It's like she's got a sixth sense for when I'm using the watch, because she always appears. So far, she's swiped pieces for four of my aliens, so I've stopped using it to make sure she doesn't get her hands on more. We don't really need Fusion copies of them running around."

"Oh, okay then."

"Don't worry, we'll get this all taken care of," Suzy reassured their guide. She turned to address Betty. "Where are the gates located?"

"Can I borrow your NanoCom?"

Suzy handed over her NanoCom to the girl, watching with interest as Betty easily navigated the communicator. A holographic map of Offworld Plaza appeared for the group to see. Betty zoomed in until it was focused on the Space Port infected zone. She tapped on the NanoCom's screen three times, and with each tap a pinpoint appeared on the map.

"These are the three weak points," Betty announced.

"Pretty spaced out," Suzy commented, one hand gripping her chin as she mulled it over. "I can see why this would be challenging for a single person."

"One for each of us," Junior commented. "Reminds me of the Fissure."

"Except there's monsters involved," Alice pointed out. She turned a worried look Betty's way. "Will you be okay handling them?"

"I went and trimmed some of the numbers before you came, but I'll be alright," Betty answered with a confident smile. "They're nothing I can't handle."

"We can assume the monsters will attack the gates when they realize what we're doing," Suzy surmised. "We'll stay by the gates and thwart them off until the system is back online."

Junior and Alice nodded in agreement.

"Alice, as our fastest flyer, head over to the point here," Suzy instructed, pointing to the dot on the opposite side of the infected zone. Alice nodded again in agreement. "Junior, take up the point here, by the Dexbot." Junior nodded. "I'll take up the one here and help Betty draw the monsters away."

"Sounds like a plan," Betty remarked, smirking at the team. "Ready to go when you are."

Junior was right on the money. With Betty working as the distraction against the Killowatts, Team Super Stars was able to recharge the security gates' batteries with no difficulties. Betty was, according to Junior and Suzy who had front row seats to her Fusion battling, an incredible fighter. She didn't use any weapons, instead relying on her fists and martial arts prowess to defeat the Killowatts. Normally, contact with a Fusion would have burned the material, but Betty had gone and had her gloves and boots reinforced so that this wouldn't be a problem for the teen. Her effectiveness made it easy for the team to protect the gates until they were recharged.

Before they returned to Ben, the teenager sent a message to them asking for their further assistance. A friend of his, Cooper, had messaged that concentrated Fusion Matter was leaking in the Space Port. He needed the team to go in and collect the mini Terrafusers that were the sources of the leakage. Betty joined them to help Suzy retrieve the miniaturized Terrafuser since the latter couldn't pick it up with her bare hands. With four sets of hands collecting three Terrafusers, it was yet another easy job to put under Team Super Stars' belt.

"Terrafusers taken care of," Suzy announced as the team returned to the hospital's courtyard. "Just as requested."

Ben looked up from his communicator and managed a thin grin. "That's great to hear, but I need to ask another request."

"There's more problems?" Junior asked in surprise.

"Afraid so." The grin dropped into a frown. "Cooper's let me know that the air around the Space Port is infected," Ben answered. "Turns out when the Spawns were sneaking back and forth, the openings they left were just enough for atomized particles of Fusion Matter to sneak out. If this isn't contained, Earth's going to be in big trouble."

"Not on our watch, it isn't," Suzy countered. "What do we need to do?"

"We're going to need something to soak up the air particles," Ben answered. "Unfortunately, no one has one on hand."

"Not even Dexter?" Alice questioned, her eyes wide in surprise. With how on top of everything Dexter was, it was more than a little shocking to hear.

Ben shook his head. "Just checked with him. He doesn't have anything. Already got the same answer from Grandpa Max. No one would be able to make one for a couple hours, and by then it could be too late."

"I'll ask Admiral DeGill if there's anything in our armory," Betty proclaimed, already moving her wrist upward to begin the call.

Betty didn't have the chance to ask her commander if the Galactic Guardians had the needed device. A shadow loomed over them as a towering figure approached the circle.

"I have such a device."

The group whirled as one to find the newest addition to the circle. Alice stared in surprise at the giant octopus-like humanoid that loomed over the group. The surprise then turned to wariness because this humanoid was Vilgax. According to Jimmy Jones' blog, this alien was Ben's worst enemy, which made his presence at the hospital all the more distressing since he, a villain, was within arm's length of sick and injured patients. The only reassurance was that there were no reports of Vilgax undermining the war's effort...at least none that was made known to the public.

"This doesn't concern you, Vilgax," Ben retorted.

"Matters with the Space Port do concern me, Tennyson," Vilgax countered with a sneer. Then, his red eyes shifted and landed on Alice. "Especially if there is an Arthenadite present."

Alice flinched at the mention of her heritage. It wasn't like her alien origin was a secret now, but she felt uncomfortable with someone like Vilgax having that knowledge. There was also the tone he took, like he was disgusted that she was an Arthenadite. Probably like the rest of Earth, her connections with Fuse weren't going to win her any favors with the alien. However, strange that the villain referred to her as an Arthenadite rather than Fusion Girl or something similar.

Betty frowned in confusion at the name. "Arthenadite? They went extinct years ago."

"All but one, Galactic Guardian," Vilgax commented, his eyes remaining on the blue-haired girl. "This girl managed to survive her people's massacre, and has now brought the same fate to your planet."

"Wh-what?" Alice whispered in confusion, taken by surprise.

She knew her planet had been wiped out - Max Tennyson already told her this - but his further claim shocked her. What did he mean by that? Was he blaming her for Fuse's appearance? The very thought made her sick to her stomach.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ben questioned, subtly changing his stance so he could move closer to the alien girl.

Vilgax sneered and shook his head. "I did not come over here to speak to you about a fallen planet. I came here to provide you with my Fusion Condenser."

"What is that?" Betty questioned, eyeing the alien overlord skeptically.

"The very device you need to draw in the condensed Fusion Matter."

"Were you listening in on our conversation?" Ben questioned. "Can't say I'm surprised, but-"

"It would be a waste of my time to listen to your drivel, Tennyson," Vilgax snapped, interrupting the teenager. "I have been monitoring the matters within the Space Port on my own, and the data showed evidence of Fusion Matter concentration. In preparation for such an event, I designed a Fusion Condenser to combat it."

"That's awfully convenient," Junior snarked.

"Your lack of preparation speaks of your low-level intelligence," Vilgax insulted, unperturbed by the furious look Junior shot him.

"Alright, Squidface," Ben said, smirking when Vilgax sent him a murderous look. "You made a vacuum. Why are you giving it to us?"

"Because I have other matters to attend to and you have already committed yourselves to cleaning up the Space Port," Vilgax explained. "Permitting you use of my device works to my benefit. So long as the Space Port is unavailable, I am unable to leave this detestable planet."

"Running away from a fight?" Betty questioned in a challenging tone. "Awfully brave of you, Conqueror of Ten Worlds."

Vilgax growled and leaned forward, getting in Betty's face. The redhead didn't flinch and stood her ground against his intimidation. "Very few have survived an encounter with Fuse. Even its creators were exterminated by the creature. Your planet will eventually fall, and I will be gone when that happens."

"Alright, that's enough." Ben stepped in between the two, forcing them to take a step back. "Unfortunately, you're right." Vilgax smirked at the admission. "We need to get the situation in the Space Port under control, and you have the device to do it. So we'll take the Fusion Condenser."

"A wise choice, Ben Tennyson," the alien rumbled.

From wherever he had hidden it on his person, the alien overlord pulled out the Fusion Condenser, which was the shape of a small pistol. Attached to the butt of the gun was the containment compartment, the shape of a clear cylinder. The tall alien looked like he was about to hand it to Ben, but then paused and dropped the item in Alice's hands, startling the girl. Her blue eyes stared up at Vilgax in wide-eyed confusion. He matched it with a sneer back at her.

"Here. Let the Arthenadite fix the mess her people made," Vilgax proposed. "It is the least she can do."

The alien overlord pushed his way through the group, bumping Alice and Ben a little more than probably necessary. The two kept on their feet and shot looks at the retreating figure; Ben in annoyance, Alice in confusion.

"Where are you going?" Betty questioned.

"I have already told you, I have business to attend to," Vilgax responded, descending down the hill. "One that doesn't concern you."

"That's not suspicious at all," Junior deadpan remarked.

"Yeah," Ben agreed, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Betty, mind following him?"

"You can count on me," Betty agreed, saluting the alien hero before rushing after Vilgax.

Ben released a sigh, momentarily hiding his face behind his hand to collect himself. He dropped the hand and smiled lopsidedly at the team still standing there.

"So, we've got the tool now," Ben began.

"Can we trust him though?" Junior asked, looking at the Fusion Condenser skeptically. "Last I remember, he's not a good guy."

"No, you're right about that. But you can trust his self-interest," Ben answered. "It's like he said, so long as he's here, he's in just as much danger as any of us."

Suzy nodded. "Okay then. We'll bring the Fusion Condenser into the Space Port and-"

"Actually, I'm going to ask Alice do this solo," Ben jumped in, cutting off Suzy. "I don't want to agree with Vilgax, but Alice would be the best suited for the job since she can fly. She can move through the space port and suck up the concentrated Fusion Matter easily compared to all of you going. Plus, we only have the one condenser."

Suzy thought it over for a second, looking over to her teammates for their weigh-in. It made sense, so not even Junior argued against it. Upon seeing her teammates nod in agreement, Suzy nodded confidently at their guide.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Do you mind, Alice?" Ben asked. "I know it probably sounds less like volunteering and more like voluntelling, but-"

"It's alright," Alice agreed. "I don't mind."

He grinned in gratitude at the girl before looking back at the remaining two members of Super Stars. "I have another favor. I need you two to head up to Galaxy Gardens and speak with Plumber Nathan. He's supposed to have an Atmospheric Security Device for me. Mind getting it from him?"

"Do I look like a postal worker?" Junior griped, overlapped by Suzy's enthusiastic, "We're on it."

Alice giggled at the annoyed frown Junior sent Suzy's way, but he went ignored by the girl and Ben, the latter of whom smiled gratefully at the redhead.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll let him know to expect you to make it easier."

"We'll be back with it in a jiffy," Suzy assured him. She turned and gave her a thumbs up at their blue-haired teammate. "Don't have all the fun in there, okay?"

"I'll try not to," Alice said with a smile.

Encased in her protective shield outlining her body on the chance that the polluted air could harm her, Alice finished up pulling in the last of the condensed Fusion Matter. Despite her reservations, the Fusion Condenser did its job. It sucked in the poisoned air particles, cleaning up the contaminating, condensed Fusion Matter without issue. Thanks to the spots forwarded from Cooper by Jimmy Jones, Alice managed to bring the infected zone's air pollution down significantly. The place wasn't perfectly operational, but it was at least cleaner. That was a step in the right direction. Just as she was finishing up, her NanoCom ringed. On the other line was Betty.

"Hi Alice," Betty greeted as soon as the blue-haired alien answered. "Ben mentioned you were in the infected zone. Are you still in the area?"

"Yes, I just finished collecting the condensed Fusion Matter particles," Alice answered.

"Could you lend me a hand?" Betty requested. "There's a Fusion in here that needs to be taken out, and I could use some help taking it down since I haven't fought one before."

"Of course," Alice agreed without hesitation.

"Thanks," Betty said with an appreciative grin. "I'm down by the Dexbot. See you in a bit." She ended the communication line.

Alice put the Fusion Condenser in the NanoCom, then placed her NanoCom away. The Dexbot wasn't very far from Alice was, so it was only a matter of seconds until Alice was touching down in front of the Galactic Guardian. The redhead was grinning when she saw her. Alice noticed that an unfamiliar looking gun was in the girl's hand. Betty noticed Alice's gazing and so she held the weapon up higher for Alice to get a better look.

"This is the Sonic Gun, a present from Vilgax, Mojo, and Mandark." Alice's eyebrows shot up into her hairline because there was no way those three would provide anybody a present freely. Betty's grin filled with mirth as she let off a little giggle. "Each of the boys thought they knew how to track and stop the Fusion, but all of them ended up being tricked by it into fighting each other. With this thing, we'll be able to find where the Fusion is hiding out."

"Do we need to fly around the infected zone?" Alice asked.

"There's high energy readings toward the back of the zone, so we just need to check in that area," Betty replied.

"Okay. I can help you fly over."

"Great. I'll let you know when we get close by."

Alice agreed and encased Alice in a bubble. She lifted the bubble into the air, and the two travelled over the heads of the Clawbreakers. As they came closer to the building that occupied that back half of the infected zone, Alice could feel a powerful energy hidden nearby. She guessed this was the place they wanted to be, and Betty confirmed it a moment later when she held up her gloved hand.

"This should be the area. Can you put me down on the roof?"

Alice descended and landed on the rooftop, dropping the bubble at the same time. Betty surveyed the rooftop, her eyes narrowed as she carefully looked over the entire place. Finally, she settled her sights on the corner of the rooftop. There wasn't anything unnormal, but Alice could sense the powerful energy in that direction.

"This looks like the spot on the map," Betty commented. She raised up the Sonic Gun and aimed it at the open space. "I'm going to use the gun. Cover your ears."

Betty waited to press the trigger until she saw Alice obediently cover her ears. She depressed on the trigger and heard the sonic wails rush out of the barrel of the gun. It hit the seemingly empty space and before their eyes a Fusion Portal was revealed. Betty removed her finger and ended the wailing. A grin spread across her face as the tentacles moved back and forth like a wave.

"Ding-dong," Betty joked, imitating a doorbell as she rested the weapon on her shoulder. "Let's find out who's home."

Alice stared around in surprise as she stepped off the Fusion Portal's pad. Every time she had gone to face a Fusion, they had been holed up in an underground labyrinth. She was expecting a damp, dark earthy cavern, so she was understandably surprised to see that it looked like an underground basement to the building. Instead of mountains made of rock reaching the ceiling, concrete walls covered in Fusion Matter were the fortification for the brightly lit area.

Betty inspected the area without the same look of surprise. She was frowning, her face mixed in concern and annoyance.

"Ugh," Betty muttered. "They've even tunneled down here."

"You've been here?" Alice asked.

"Sorta. The boys were fighting in an area just like this. This place is part of the Plumber's base, but it seems to be empty of any Plumber tech, so that's lucky for us. But I don't like the idea of a Fusion hanging around here."

Alice nodded in agreement. Her head suddenly jerked as she sensed a monster approaching. She hadn't realized the pad was on a platform until the monster walked up, appearing at the edge. The short, green humanoid creature paused when they spotted the two intruders. As it opened its mouth, Alice captured it in a force field and shrunk the size, dissolving the monster into Fusion Matter that flew into Alice's NanoCom as soon as she dropped the field.

"Impressive," Betty said appreciatively. "I didn't even see the Sonorosian."

"Sonorosian?" Alice repeated in confusion.

The name didn't sound familiar, but the creature had her digging deep into the recess of her mind. She had spotted the Plumber insignia on the creature's chest, although it was red instead of green. And since it was a Fusion Monster, the real color wasn't green. It looked like a dead ringer for...

"Oh!" Alice's eyes brightened as it suddenly clicked in her mind. "Echo Echo."

"Ben did mention he had his alien samples stolen, this is probably one of them," Betty said, her face shifting to seriousness. "We should be careful going through here. Their sonic screams could alert its buddies and the Fusion. And that doesn't even include their ability to duplicate."

Alice nodded in agreement. In order to keep as silent as possible, Alice put Betty back into a force bubble and took to the air, hanging close to the ceiling. As soon as Alice turned the corner, she found that the basement wasn't as much of a maze as she first assumed, sensing the Fusion's energy signature just ahead of her. In fact, she could see the Fusion pacing around at the very back of the basement. Fusion Echo Echos roamed beneath the girls, never realizing there were intruders traversing their base.

As Alice passed an open passageway, a powerful energy signature suddenly appeared. Alice looked a little too late; a powerful hit from her right sent her into the wall, bouncing off it and dropping to the tiled floor. Her concentration broke and the bubble carrying Betty burst, though the Galactic Guardian was able to land on her feet, dropping into a fighting stance instantly. Alice got up into a sitting position, her eyes locking in on the creature that had struck her down. Standing tall over the girls - the top of its head practically touching the ceiling tile above - was a large Fusion Echo Echo, very clearly the boss. Alice's eyes jumped from the Fusion boss to where she had last seen the Fusion, watching as the creature rushed into a nearby room.

Alice frowned and got to her feet, focusing on the Fusion Echo Echo boss that opened its mouth and released a sonic scream. Alice threw up a shield, protecting herself and Betty from the attack. The shield held from the attack, but Alice could feel the sonic waves pushing against it, forcing her to dig her heels in to keep herself standing. Betty darted from behind the shield and rushed at the Fusion boss, jumping onto its leg, launching herself off its leg, and kicking the Fusion boss in its mouth. The Fusion boss' head shot upward, the sonic scream hitting the ceiling. The ceiling shook from the impact, some loose pieces falling downward. The Fusion boss cut off its attack and stumbled backward. Betty somersaulted off the monster and landed close to Alice, dropping into a fighting stance once more.

"I've never taken down a boss this size before," Betty admitted to the blue-haired girl still behind the shield. "This is almost in its own class, like a mega class or something."

Alice nodded in agreement. The bosses were always bigger and scarier than their normal grunt soldiers, but the boss Fusion Echo Echo definitely felt different. Its energy reading was almost at a similar to level the Fusion that was just a couple yards away from the girls. Darting her eyes over in that direction, she moved them back to focus on the Fusion boss which was glaring and growling at the girls. Instead of going in for an attack, it seemed to be waiting, which made sense once Alice sensed the other Fusion Echo Echos in the area congregating to their position.

"Betty, I think you should go after the Fusion," Alice suggested.

"Huh?" Betty said in confusion, turning to look over her shoulder. "And leave you with this thing by yourself?"

"I've faced bosses before," Alice replied, keeping an eye on the boss. "If we put all our focus here, then the Fusion will get away. The boss is the distraction."

Betty frowned, nodding seriously when she thought it over.

"Right, don't want to let that happen," Betty agreed. "Okay, I'll go and dispatch it really quick, and come back you up."

Alice agreed to the condition with a quick nod of her head. Without a word, Betty shot off in the direction of the Fusion. The movement spurred the Fusion boss into action, and it brought down its fist, intending to block Betty's path. Thinking quickly, the redhead shot out a grappling hook from her wristwatch that anchored to the ceiling above and swung over the Fusion boss' arm. The Fusion boss opened its mouth to fire off another sonic scream, but Alice fired off the energy balls, distracting the boss from its original target. The Fusion boss growled and turned its attention onto Alice. At that moment three of its smaller soldiers appeared, crowding around its feet.

In the face of three Fusion Echo Echos and its boss, Alice called on Nano Bubbles. The Nano jumped happily as it appeared beside the blue-haired girl.

"Ooo~ That's a big baddie," Nano Bubbles stated as she stared at the opponents. A look of determination crossed her small face. "Time for a Tornado Trap!"

Nano Bubbles opened her mouth and expelled a gust of wind at the four Fusions, catching them in a tornado that swirled them around and around. Nano Bubbles watched gleefully from over Alice's shoulder, bouncing side to side.

"Mighty winds~ Has you bound~" she sang, swaying to her melody. "Spinning you around and 'round~ Blowin' 'round the room~ Trapped inside this doom~"

While they were caught up in her Nano's snare, Alice released a beam of energy on the swirling tornado. She couldn't see what kind of damage the beam was doing to the opponents, although she noticed that some Fusion Matter was swirling around in the tornado as well. A sonic scream sounded from the tornado and dispelled the roaring winds. Standing in lone opposition was the Fusion Echo Echo boss; its underlings were turned into Fusion Matter, which was rushing to her NanoCom now that the Tornado Trap was no longer in effect.

"Awwwh," Nano Bubbles complained, drooping when she saw the large Fusion boss still in one piece. "Should I try again?"

Alice shook her head. "No, but thank you for the help," Alice told her.

She sent the Nano back into the NanoCom, and then brought out Nano Boomer. The miniaturized Nano flexed his arms, showing off muscles that weren't necessarily there. The Nano formed an energy bat in his hand and rushed forward with a battle cry. Alice covered him by sending a volley of energy balls at the boss.

"Eat bat, ugly!" Nano Boomer shouted, raising the bat over his head and swinging it downward on the creature.

The boss flinched on impact but recovered quickly. Fast as lightning, it snatched the Nano out of the air, bringing it close to its face. The Nano squirmed in the monster's clutches in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for the Nano, Fusion Echo Echo boss was strong and kept a firm grip on its prisoner. The boss opened its mouth, panicking the little Nano.

"Aaaahhh! Don't eat me!" Nano Boomer squealed.

Instead of chomping down like the Nano had feared, a sonic scream emitted from the boss. The attack hit full force on the little Nano, his golden hair blowing backward with the scream. Alice was out of its range, so she was spared from the blast. She threw her arm in an arch movement, a crescent-shaped energy bolt shooting at the Fusion Echo Echo boss. The attack hit the Fusion boss in its head, cutting off the sonic scream. The Fusion boss released its hold on Nano Boomer as it turned to Fusion Matter.

"All right!" the Nano cheered, bouncing in the air and pumping his fists in victory.

Alice watched the Fusion Matter carefully. Her brows furrowed as she watched the Fusion Matter split into two forms. The Fusion Matter solidified, becoming two Fusion Echo Echos.

"Unfair! That's cheating!" Nano Boomer whined, stomping his foot in the air.

The Fusion Echo Echos opened their mouths and released a sonic scream straight at Alice. She threw up a force shield, but she was still sent backwards until she hit the wall behind her. Nano Boomer leaped into action upon seeing his girl be attacked, and formed another energy bat in his hand. He rushed forward and whacked the closest Fusion Echo Echo on the head. The attack drew the Fusion's ire, and so it turned its attention off of Alice and directed the sonic scream at Nano Boomer. The Nano went tumbling through the air, yelling as he did so.

With the one Fusion Echo Echo going after her Nano, Alice could feel the pressure lighten. She threw her hands forward, sending her force shield at the two Fusion Echo Echos. Although it met resistance with one sonic scream, the shield was able to push forward and hit the two Fusion Echo Echos. The Fusion Echo Echos stumbled from the impact. Alice quickly expanded the shield so that it enclosed around them in a dome. The Fusion Echo Echos sent off sonic screams at the dome's walls. Alice kept her concentration on the walls, ensuring they remained intact, although the effort was beginning to drain her. She began to shrink the dome, bringing the Fusion Echo Echos closer. As the Fusion Echo Echos cozied up in the shrinking energy dome, one turns its head to the side, its sonic scream waves hitting the other. The hit spooked the Fusion Echo Echo into stopping its assault, and Alice used this open window to drop the dome. She raised a palm up and directed a beam of energy at the two creatures, using it to slice into the two Fusions. Upon being hit, the two Fusions turned into Fusion Matter.

Like before, the Fusion Matter reformed, this time into four smaller versions of Fusion Echo Echo. They were so small Alice was sure they only came up to her knees. Nano Boomer took one look at the little Fusions and began giggling. The giggling turned into gut-busting laughter, having to hold onto his stomach just to keep himself from bursting.

"Th-they look so tiny!" he laughed. "A bunch of shrimps!"

The miniaturized Fusions didn't appreciate the name calling - especially from one who was even tinier than them! - so they turned and rushed for the Nano, leaping up into the air trying to swipe at him. Nano Boomer yelped and flew up higher, getting out of their range. He found the action pretty funny, so he kept hovering down and then shooting up just before they could grab him.

Since her Nano was content to distract the mini-Fusions, Alice sent two crescent-shaped attacks at the little Fusions, cutting them down in pairs. Two hits were all that was needed to turn them into Fusion Matter. The Fusion Matter flew into the alien's NanoCom, successfully bringing an end to the Fusion Echo Echo boss' rein.

"Finally!" Nano Boomer sighed. "That guy was annoying."

Alice smiled at her NanoCom in agreement and returned him to her NanoCom. With her Nano put away, Alice heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against the tiled wall, catching her breath.

"I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed."

Alice startled at the voice, so sure that she had been alone. She straightened up and looked for the voice, finding Atomic Betty making her way back from the back of the underground basement.

"Betty," Alice said as a greeting. "Is-"

"Yep," Betty answered with a nod. "Fusion Ben is no more. Super lucky the Omnitrix can't be copied."

Oh, a Fusion Ben. Suddenly the Fusion doubles of Echo Echo made a lot of sense.

"Like I said, I'm really impressed. I was worried about that Mega Fusion, but you handled it like a pro," Betty complimented.

"Mega Fusion?" Alice asked.

Betty shrugged. "That's what I'm going to call it. It was bigger than any bosses I've encountered, so calling it mega just makes sense."

Alice nodded in agreement. It was certainly bigger than anything she had ever come up against.

"You know, when all of this is over, you should join the Galactic Guardians," Betty proposed. "You'll have to start as a cadet, but with your skills you can easily rise to an official guardian in little time."

Alice smiled lightly at the offer but shook her head. "I don't think the Galactic Guardians would want someone like me."

"You mean we wouldn't want someone dedicated, skilled, and helpful?" Betty rhetorically asked.

Alice's smile quirked upward for a moment, before Harangue's face reared in her head. She shook her head and the smile dropped. "I think the organization would be better off without someone like me."

Betty frowned sympathetically at the other girl. "Listen, I know what Harangue said about you, but you can't let it run your life. You're so much different from Fuse, and you shouldn't let yourself live in his shadow."

Alice smiled, the memory of Junior and Suzy saying nearly the same thing running through her head. Unbidden, Vilgax suddenly appeared in her mind. His cryptic messages to her stirred something cold inside of her. Everyone knew her connection to Fuse, but he implied there was something deeper; something she - surprise, surprise - didn't know. The very thought that someone like Vilgax knew more about her heritage than her greatly bothered her. There was only one way to find out.

"Mission accomplished," Betty announced cheerfully as her and Alice landed in Memorial Hospital's courtyard. "The Space Port is cleaned up, and your Fusion problems are gone."

Ben grinned from ear to ear as the girls approached.

"Great job you two," he congratulated. "Who was it?"

"Your doppelgänger," Betty replied, resting her hands on her hips casually. "Alice took on a Fusion Echo Echo boss while we were down there."

Ben's eyebrows flew up into his hairline. "Whoa, what? One of my aliens?"

"Yup," Betty responded while Alice nodded. "It was large, too. Larger than any bosses we've seen. I'm calling it Mega Fusion Echo Echo."

"You'll have to let Dexter know what you saw," Ben commented. He put a hand behind his head and rubbed at it, looking pensive for a moment. "I really hope the other stolen alien DNAs doesn't have any other of these mega bosses. That would be a disaster."

"Had the Omnitrix been in my possession, there would never be any of these so called 'mega bosses.'"

The snarl belonged to a very annoyed Vilgax, the tall alien approaching in long strides. A sneer was on his face as he stared at the gathered heroes. He thrust his hand out in Alice's face, the sneer momentarily replaced by a demanding look.

"You will relinquish my Fusion Condenser back to me this instant," he ordered.

"Geeze, Squidface, could you ask any nicer?" Ben asked sarcastically, situating his hands on his hips.

"Watch your tongue, Tennyson, or it will be removed for you," Vilgax threatened.

"It's alright," Alice put forth immediately, quelling any comeback Ben was making. "He let me borrow it, anyways."

"Hmph. Very accurate, Arthenadite," Vilgax said condescendingly. "Now hand it over."

Alice nodded in agreement, unperturbed by his demands. She pulled the tool from out of her NanoCom and placed it in the tall alien's hand, careful to not touch his skin. Vilgax raised his palm up to his eyes, inspecting the equipment for any tampering. Satisfied that nothing untoward had been done to his device, he stashed it away on his person. Done with the conversation, he spun around on his heel, considering the matter case closed. Alice hesitated for a moment, and then balled her fingers into fists. It was now or never.

"Wait," Alice called, bringing the alien to a stop. "I cleaned up the Space Port like you wanted, and now I want to make a request of you."

Ben's eyebrows went up into his hairline once again, surprised by Alice's boldness. Betty grinned from beside the girl, impressed by her nerves. Vilgax was not as impressed.

The alien overlord snarled and turned around, stomping his way back over to Alice. He stopped just feet from her, bending forward so he could get in her face. Ben and Betty stood off to the side, their muscles tense in case they needed to jump to action. Alice stood her ground against the alien overlord, showing no hint of fear or apprehension with his confrontation. For a moment, nothing happened. No one moved. Then, Vilgax huffed slowly, pulled himself back, looked down at the Arthenadite with his face twisted up in annoyance.

"Very well," he reluctantly agreed. "You did me a service by cleaning up the Space Port, and assisted in ridding the world of the wretched Fusion Tennyson. What exactly is your request?"

"I don't know about where I came from, or my connection with Fuse, but you do. I want to know what you know," Alice requested.

Vilgax eyed the girl critically before huffing yet again. "Very well. I will only speak of this once."

Alice nodded in agreement, feeling the butterflies inside her stomach wake up. She didn't know why she was more nervous about hearing her connection with Fuse than confronting Vilgax. Besides, Dexter had the evidence that she shared DNA with the Fusions; she didn't think Vilgax could tell her anything worse.

"Fuse was a creation of the Arthenadites thousands of years ago, though in those times him and his kind were known only as Spawnlings," Vilgax explained. "The Spawnlings were weapons of war, designed to attack and consume a planet, as you can clearly see." He paused in his lesson to wave a claw at the Killowhatts wandering below. "A mixture of Polymorph and Arthenadite DNA, they were the strongest weapon in Arthenia's arsenal. They served their purpose well, and whatever planet in the Olyquis galaxy didn't submit to their demands were destroyed by the Spawnlings."

"Hold on," Ben interrupted, ignoring the flash of anger sent his way by the Chimera Sui Generis. Calling up the minute history lesson Grandpa Max had given, he protested, "The Arthenadites were the ones repelling attacks on their planet. They didn't go conquering worlds."

"That was the impression they gave off years later when they burned all records of their early life," Vilgax corrected. "But they were, first and foremost, world conquerors. The Spawnlings ensured they held a stronghold over the Olyquis galaxy, but all was not well. The Spawnlings were multiplying faster than predicted, and were able to adapt in a way that the Arthenadites hadn't accounted for. They were becoming stronger, smarter, and the Arthenadites didn't appreciate their weapon evolving. So, to ensure the Spawnlings wouldn't consume Arthenia, the Spawnlings were destroyed."

"Except one," Alice whispered.

Vilgax heard her and nodded. "Except one. The Spawnling that became Fuse managed to escape in the only surviving Terrafuser, and disappeared. The Arthenadites didn't notice his escape, and so they had assumed the Spawnling was destroyed with the others. For half a millennia, the Spawnling tumbled through space, until it landed on a planet. Immediately, the Spawnling went about his nature and formed an army of Spawnlings to consume the planet, taking it over and wiping out its inhabitants. With a planet under his command, the Spawnling changed his name to Fuse, and made a path back to Arthenia, consuming and attacking any planet that intercepted his path. After centuries of space travel, Fuse finally had his revenge on his creators." He bore red eyes on the blue-haired girl. "Except, a child of Arthenia managed to escape."

"M-me," Alice's voice quivered, feeling like bile was about to catapult itself out of her throat.

Harangue had been wrong in his initial proclamation. She wasn't a traitor. She was the reason Fuse was invading the Earth. Larry had told her and her friends that Fuse wasn't supposed to have invaded the planet, and now she knew why. She was the historical inaccuracy Larry was searching for.

"I do not know how you survived the slaughter of your people," Vilgax continued, a sneer evident on his face, "but had I known you were on this planet when I first came here, I would have cut you down myself."

Alice didn't even flinch at his biting tone, too absorbed in her own thoughts, but Betty and Ben jumped into action. The two moved forward and placed themselves between her and the Chimera Sui Generis. Vilgax looked unimpressed by their actions and shook his head.

"I do not mean to do so now," Vilgax explained impatiently. "It is already too late; Fuse is here. Killing her will make no difference, so she might as well be useful and clean this mess her people put the universe in."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Betty challenged, stepping forward.

Vilgax sneered at the Galactic Guardian. "Why would I waste my time lying about this creature's origins?"

"Because you enjoy it?" Ben supplied sarcastically.

Vilgax snarled in the teenager's direction. "What I have stated today is the truth. And this is all on the matter I will speak about. You have done me a service, and I have done one in turn, so we are finished here." He turned away from the trio and stomped back toward the hospital building, no one stopping him for a second time.

Ben ran his hand through his hair, his face pinched with thoughts Alice couldn't read. Betty looked just as tense, looking away from Vilgax once she was sure he wasn't going to blow the whole hospital to smithereens.

"Are we sure we can trust him?" she questioned the Omnitrix wielder.

"For now, yeah," Ben answered, his tone tight. "I'm still going to let Gramps know what he said, just to do a follow up. The Plumbers didn't have this same information, but maybe we can get into contact with others. Think you can get anything out of your admiral?"

"I'll try," Betty said. "But the Galactic Guardians isn't very old, certainly not as old as Fuse if it's true that he's lived for several centuries. I can see if X-5 has anything in his databanks about this."

"That'd be a big help, thanks."

"Should we ask the G3?"

Ben frowned in distaste at the name, but reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, we'll have to talk to those guys. I'll have Gramps give them a call since he's better at it."

Betty nodded in agreement. The frown on her face indicated she was also reluctant to speak with the G3. She looked over to the still-silent Alice, finding the Arthenadite lost in her thoughts. Betty frowned in concern.

"Alice?"

Alice jolted at the call, coming out of her thoughts. She looked over to the Galactic Guardian, blinking as if she were waking up from a long sleep.

"Are you okay?" Betty continued.

Alice didn't give an immediate response, worrying the two teenagers eyeing her. She looked away, glancing up at the enemy planet high up past the stratosphere. "No," she finally responded. "But I'll be okay." She turned back to Ben and Betty, smiling despondently. "As terrible as the information is, in some ways I'm happy to have learned it."

"It may not even be the true story," Ben argued.

"No... he's telling the truth," Alice responded, thinking back to Larry and his search for the time anomaly. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and released it. "But...I won't focus on that. It's too late to change what my ancestors did or to change that Fuse is here." She opened her eyes and directed them back onto Planet Fusion. Her facial features sharpened as resolve filled her, pushing away the distress she had felt during Vilgax's history lesson. There wasn't any time for that. "None of that matters anymore. All that matters is stopping him, so that's what I need to focus on."

Ben grinned in pride at the girl. "Spoken like a Plumber."

Betty scoffed playfully. "Please. She's clearly Galactic Guardian material."

A smile crossed Alice's face as she listened to the two teenagers playfully argue over which group Alice would fit in with. It helped to lighten her mood. The knowledge that she was the reason for a planetary invasion was definitely distressing news to be given, but she couldn't let it bring her out of the fight. She was done running and hiding at the slightest change in her life. It was time for action, and all she wanted to focus on was putting a stop to Fuse here and now. Earth was not going to be yet another planet to fall victim to the monster. She wasn't going to allow it.

Chapter Text

The lower regions of the Prickly Pines Forest were known to Alice only from what she learned in books or stories. She'd never been there herself, primarily because her mother liked to take them camping closer to home instead of venturing out into the depth of the forest. From what she'd read in her mother's and aunt's bookcase, she knew that the Pimpleback Mountains had the largest reservoir of crystal and had been a big deal for prospectors and geologists up to the start of the invasion. Due to the dangers from the Breaker Bears and the Dynamite Rats that circled the outside of the settlement like vultures and the caverns being turned into an infected zone, it became an inconvenience to remain in the dangerous situation. The settlers abandoned their home away from home and left the place deserted, becoming a recent ghost town.

Its neighbor's history was a little more obscure, since no one could remember what its name used to be. Any record of what the locale was known as was lost to history, and so it had been given the moniker Haunted Ridge due to the mysterious happenings surrounding Jack Pott Mine that had labeled the abandoned mining town haunted. Unlike Pimpleback Mountains that she had read about in geography books, the story of Jack Pott Mine had been told to her as bedtime stories by her uncle. When she had been little, her uncle often told her the story of Jack Pott Mine, including tales of miners dying in their pursuit of gold, crooked thieves who would just cutdown anyone in their robbery, and the various ghost stories that gave the area its reputation. These tales, unsurprisingly, wound up causing the little girl to suffer from nightmares. As soon as her mother realized the cause of her nightmares, Uncle Eustace - much to his chagrin - was forced to stick strictly to fairytales.

Despite the years since she last heard the tale of Jack Pott Mine and the poor souls that haunted it, she couldn't help but bring the memories to the forefront of her mind as she and her team descended down Pimpleback Mountain into the abandoned town below it. She stared at the fog settling over the town as if it was invading from its neighbor and attempting to make the Pimpleback Mountains range part of its haunted heritage. The setting sun certainly didn't help with the spooky atmosphere, and Alice was thankful to be wearing long sleeves so that her friends wouldn't be able to spot the goosebumps forming on her skin. It seemed silly to admit that the tales of Haunted Ridge could frighten her when she had family that lived in Nowhere and when she was in the middle of a war with aliens, but childhood fears were engrained deep in her psyche no matter how illogical it seemed. Still, she could ignore it for the good of the task.

Taking up jobs in the nighttime were very rare for the group, but when their guide informed the team that Gwen needed their assistance down in Pimpleback Mountains, it wasn't really a task they could ignore. A bonfire in the center of the town was the brightest light in the area, and Team Super Stars walked toward it like moths to the flame. As they moved closer, Alice could see several Plumbers sitting around it, warming themselves on the cooling night. One of the Plumbers looked over her shoulder as soon as she heard the team's footsteps getting nearer. She raised an eyebrow upward in befuddlement.

"Pretty late for a bunch of kids to be out in this neck of the woods, don't you think?" the Plumber questioned.

The tone wasn't expressly rude, but it also wasn't inviting. Junior scowled at the word 'kids,' but Suzy had the situation under control. She held up her NanoCom, letting the Plumber see it was green. The showing of the NanoCom was enough for the Plumber.

"We're here to speak with Gwen Tennyson," Suzy informed the Plumber, scanning to look at the faces of the campfire attendees. "Anyone know where she is?"

The Plumber opened her mouth to answer, but an arm shooting upward and the owner of that arm speaking cut her off.

"Ooh! Ooh!" the voice called out. "I know."

Junior blinked in surprise as he fixed on the owner of the voice. "Ray Ray? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Orchid Bay?"

The short boy Junior had referred to as Ray Ray bounded over to the trio with a grin stretching ear-to-ear. He wrapped an arm around Junior's shoulders, and the girls were further surprised to see that Junior didn't attempt to push him away.

"I came out here with Juniper and Lila to investigate a meteor that crashed down close to here," Ray Ray answered the bespectacled teen. "But when June learned that some group going by G3 was already looking into the thing, she decided to head to the volcano up in the foothills while Lila stayed behind to help out."

Junior's eyebrow rose up at this, a skeptical look crossing his face. Apparently the answer hadn't fully satisfied the boy, or else he knew Ray Ray was hiding something.

"And you didn't stay in Haunted Ridge with Lila because...?" Junior trailed off, waiting for Ray Ray to fill in the blank.

Ray Ray's ears turned a bright pink, but his grin remained fixed in place.

"June asked me stay and help Gwen since she's working on some sort of prophecy that's supposed to stop Fuse," Ray Ray replied easily.

"Oh good, she was able to read the book," Suzy commented, jumping into the conversation.

Ray Ray blinked in surprise, looking between all three with wide eyes.

"Wait, did you already know about it?" the boy asked. "Did she already tell you?"

"We know she's in possession of the Book of Prophecy, but the last I heard she needed something to read it," Suzy answered. She turned to look at Alice. "Wasn't that why your friend Peach spoke to Grim?"

Alice nodded, recalling the day when she had run into Peach and her friend Ezra in Orchid Bay. They had obtained some sort of item from the Reaper that was supposed to decipher the book's ancient language for Gwen. Considering how powerful it had felt when Alice had touched it, she wondered what exactly was hidden inside of it. Apparently something powerful if it was going to be capable of turning the fight against Fuse.

"Ben's the one that sent us this way," Junior followed up. "He didn't really specify what she needed help with, though, so that's why we're looking for her."

"And he also sent you to the wrong place."

Walking up behind them was the teenager they were looking for, a pug following beside her. Gwen approached the group with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks for coming all the way out here, but Ben sent you in the wrong direction," Gwen stated. "I need you three to go to the Hani-Baba Temple." She smiled apologetically at the team. "Sorry, but I was hoping he would have conveyed that to you all."

"It's fine," Suzy assured the older teenager. "It's not like the ruins are that far from here."

"He was pretty vague on what you needed us for," Junior piped in. "Mind cluing us in?"

"Of course," Gwen replied. "I overheard you mentioning the Book of Prophecy, so I don't have to mention that. What I will say is that the book mentioned obelisks scattered around the world that create a magical defense system when they're all activated."

"And if they're all activated, it'll turn the tide in our favor?" Junior asked.

"Sorta," Gwen answered. "Mostly, it'll protect our planet from any more invasions, which means Fuse won't be able to launch any other terrafusers down here." She shrugged. "It won't exactly win the war, but it'll help."

"So is there an obelisk in the temple you need activated?" Suzy guessed.

"There is a totem there, but it's already activated," Gwen corrected. "I've tasked several people with activating the totems based on what is listed down in the book. I actually need you all to check on it."

"Is something wrong with it?" Alice asked.

"Hopefully not. But I got a message today that there was signs of a Fusion hanging around the temple, and I don't need them messing with the totem and undoing our work since it's already been activated."

Suzy's grin widened at the details of the mission.

"Have no fear. You called on the right people," she said. "We'll have your Fusion problem resolved before the sun rises."

Gwen smiled, a hint of relief barely visible in it.

"Thanks," she said to the team. "I can reimburse your travel costs for the mix-up."

"No need," Suzy said. "The ruins aren't that far from here, so we'll just drive up there." She grinned at Junior. "It's been a while since we last used the vehicles."

Junior furrowed his brow in confusion at his teammate. "We used them earlier today."

"Yeah, but that was over two hours ago," Suzy pointed out.

Junior's brow furrowed even further, but he kept his mouth shut. There really wasn't any point in correcting Suzy, especially if he wanted to get the mission done and over with so he could crawl in to bed at a reasonable time. Suzy saw his silence as a victory and grinned with all of her teeth showing. Sometimes it was really just too easy.

"Awwh man, that sounds like fun," Ray Ray whined, slumping over. "I haven't beaten a Fusion yet."

"It's not a rite of passage," Gwen lightly scolded the boy. "Besides, I got a call from June. She needs you and Monroe to head out to the Canopy infected zone. Jack called her and said there's a missing magical artifact that's in the area, so she wants you two to grab it and bring it to her."

"Is it really important?" Ray Ray asked in curiosity, looking for confirmation from the pug sitting patiently beside Gwen.

The pug, a serious look settled on its face, nodded its head in confirmation. Ray Ray's curiosity morphed into determination.

"Alright then. We'll be out first thing in the morning," the boy conferred with the pug.

"We should be getting out of here, too," Suzy said to her team. "Let's make sure nothing magical will fall into Fuse's hands."

At Gallagher Elementary, every fourth grader learned about the Hani-Baba Tribe and their temple, the Temple of the Creation Gods. Because its official title was too long for some to say, it was eventually just known as the Hani-Baba Temple. The fourth-grade student body was required to submit an art project related to the temple. With her mother and aunt's help, Alice constructed a small recreation of the ancient temple out of building bricks, earning the fourth grader an "A." Looking upon the ancient temple, Alice couldn't help but think that her grade should have been much lower for her inability to replicate its majestic grandeur.

The temple was situated in the heart of an area that became known as The Ruins, given the various columns and ancient walls that existed throughout the area. Unlike ruined structures that archeologists could only guess at what it might have existed with, the Hani-Baba Temple was in one piece upon being discovered. It had some pieces here or there missing - such as the two large statues of the two deities for which the tribe and temple drew its name - but overall it was in better shape than anything else around it, save for the settlements that had been discovered down south in the neighboring Devil's Bluff.

The temple sat majestically on an island, although now Fusion Matter covered it like drapes. The staircase that led down to connect with the temple's stairs was gone, although this wasn't the fault of the Fusions. An earthquake thirty years ago rocked the area and while it did little damage to the main structure, the stairs suffered heavily, leaving archeologists with no way to get into the temple save a helicopter drop in. Now that it was under the protection of a DexLabs' force-field, the boy genius had fixed this problem. Aside from the Dexbots that could instantly teleport individuals to and fro, DexLabs had set up a zipline to cross the gap between the upper level and the bottom level. The gap was not an issue for someone like Alice, and while she offered to take her friends over the gap by platforming, the two opted to take the zipline. So, while they were getting themselves situated, Alice floated down and waited for her friends at the bottom.

The moon was high up in the air, shining down its silvery light down on the temple. In this moonlight, Alice didn't see a single Fusion Monster. She stretched out her senses and was surprised to find that there were none in the area. While there were cases of Fusions sleeping during the night, a lack of Fusions in the area didn't sit well in Alice's stomach. For one thing, the body of water enclosed around the island made it impossible for a monster to hide. So where did they go?

"You coming, Alice?"

Alice turned, looking at her friends who had already begun ascending up the stairs. She nodded and caught up to them.

Suzy glanced over her shoulder to look at her teammate. "You looked pretty deep in thought. What's on your mind?" she inquired.

"I can't sense any Fusion Monsters in the area," Alice answered.

"None?" Junior asked in surprise.

Alice shook her head in confirmation. Suzy frowned at the answer and tapped on her NanoCom's screen. Nano Raj appeared over her shoulder, giving his area a quick look around. Groaning, he pulled on his ears.

"Ooooh, why are we at a spooky temple at night?" the Nano complained.

"You'll be fine," Suzy assured her Nano, patting him on his head. "Now what can you sense?"

Nano Raj frowned for a moment in concentration. A second later, the Nano sighed in relief.

"No monsters sighted," he reported happily.

Suzy consulted her NanoCom screen and nodded. Nano Raj's Mappy! power didn't reveal any Fusion Monsters in their immediate vicinity.

"So far nothing," Suzy confirmed.

"That doesn't sound right," Junior commented. "Even if the monsters were sleeping, you'd" - he looked at Nano Raj and Alice when he said this - "have sensed it still in the area."

Nano Raj and Alice nodded in agreement.

"Which means someone or many someones are in here with us," Suzy pointed out.

"Great," Junior groaned. "Well, hopefully they're friendly."

"It goes without saying, but keep your guard up," Suzy replied, placing Nano Raj back in the NanoCom.

With the situation settled, Team Super Stars continued up the very steep, very many steps up to the main entrance of the Hani-Baba Temple, relying on the moonlight and the NanoCom's flashlight to steer clear of the infected Fusion Matter tainting the temple's stones. Despite how bright the moonlight shone, it could not penetrate into the temple, so the team relied on the flashlight. The team didn't have to fear booby traps laid by the Hani-Baba's tribe thanks to the original explorers deactivating the defenses upon discovering the ancient temple. All they had to keep an eye out for was Fusion Monsters and the mystery someones, and so far Alice was unable to sense any Fusions in their immediate area. She could sense the major power of the Fusion somewhere below them, so that was the direction she pointed them in.

The team followed the long corridor to the middle of the temple, entering into a large, pentagonal room that had moonlight streaming in from an opening in the roof to better illuminate the space. There was a large circle of dirt in the middle of the room, some specially designed stones outlining it. Above the dirt was the opening that allowed the moonlight in, the same size as the circle below. Upon looking at the dirt, Alice was surprised to see that there wasn't a hint of Fusion Matter to it, despite the strands of matter tainting the decorated stones.

At the back corners were two separate corridors that led further into the temple. Beautiful murals decorated the chambers walls. A statue of the deity Hani was on the left side of the room, tall enough to touch the ceiling. Its companion, a statue of the deity Baba, was on the right side of the room. On the back wall was a large painting depicting a beautiful woman in a flowy dress with her hands extended outward. In each palm was the drawing of a tree, both of them looking vastly different from one another.

The team wandered in the room, studying the paintings that they'd only seen as pictures in textbooks or the antiquity wing of the Townsville Museum. Junior went to inspect the dirt, having noticed that it was also spared from Fusion Matter infection. Suzy observed the paintings on the walls closest to the corridor they had exited, looking over the six figures - a human, dog, and bear to the left, a horse, cat and squirrel to the right - that the history books considered them the leaders of the tribe. Alice walked up to the back wall and studied the tree drawn in the woman's right hand. It looked strangely familiar to Alice, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

They were so engrossed in their investigations that they missed a secret passage from beside the Baba statue open, letting out a girl in pig-tails. The girl didn't look surprised by the appearance of the three; in fact, she looked on in determination as she pulled out a pistol-sized weapon.

"Haltet ihr es!" she ordered in German.

The order surprised the distracted team. The spun around to find the girl wearing the pith's helmet, along with garments that made her look like a stereotypical explorer from the early turn of the century. While one gloved hand was holding a lit wooden torch - her light source -, the other had the pistol aimed at the group. Despite having a weapon pointed their way, the team didn't show any fear or apprehension, which only seemed to annoy the girl.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded in her German accent.

Junior crossed his arms. "Who are you?"

"I asked you first," she retaliated, narrowing her eyes. "Are you friend or foe?"

"How would we know that if we don't even know you?"

"Do not play games," the girl seethed, curling her finger over the trigger. "Have you been sent by Stickybeard to hinder my expedition?"

"Actually, we were sent here by Gwen Tennyson," Suzy answered, a calm voice in comparison to Junior's rising irritation.

"Oh," the girl said in relief, her suspicious look softening. She put her weapon back in its holster. "Zen zat changes zings." She straightened up and placed a gloved hand to her chest. "My name is Henrietta Von Marzipan."

"Nice to meet ya," Suzy greeted cheerfully. "I'm Suzy Sunshine, and these are my friends Nergal Junior and Alice Spacebyte. We're Team Super Stars."

"Super Stars?" Henrietta repeated. "I believe I recognize zat name from somewhere..." She trailed off, thinking about where she might have heard their name. She shook her head after a moment, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, no matter. I am pleased you are not pirates."

"But... aren't they helping us?" Alice asked, her face scrunched up in confusion. Last Suzy had told her, Stickybeard was an ally.

"He is assisting against Fuse, ja," Henrietta conceded. "But he is also after zee Crazy Brain Candy. Double D tasked me with looking for zee candy to keep out of Fuse and Stickybeard's hands. Its ability to scramble zee brain of whomever eats it makes it too dangerous to be possessed by someone with evil intentions." The girl sighed a little, looking like the words physically pained her. "I love candy, but even I must admit when a dangerous candy must be destroyed."

"Hold on, candy is able to scramble minds?" Junior questioned skeptically.

Henrietta smiled self-deprecatingly. "Candy is capable of doing many astonishing zings, especially if it is magical."

Junior heaved out a slow sigh. "Yeah, fair," he acknowledged.

"If you don't mind, we'll join you," Suzy offered. "We've been tasked to deal with a Fusion so it doesn't tamper with a totem that's hiding here."

"Zere is a Fusion?" Henrietta asked, looking alarmed. When she received a nod in confirmation, the German girl released a frustrated cry. "Einfach toll!" She rubbed her temples, her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and nodded determinedly at the redhead. "I will accompany you on zis Fusion hunt. I cannot allow the Fusion to interfere with zee expedition."

"Alright, you heard her, Team Super Stars." Suzy was beaming brightly as she looked at her friends. "Let's go Fusion hunting!"

"If it's alright with you, I shall lead the way," Henrietta put in. "I have had been here before and know its ins-and-outs."

"By all means, take the lead," Suzy said amicably.

Henrietta took the lead, guiding the team down the left corridor. Alice was the last to leave the chamber, sparing one last glance at the painting of the tree. She still couldn't pin down where she'd seen the tree before, but she didn't want to stray too far from her friends, so she turned away from it and caught up to the group, pushing the thought to the back of her mind.

"...we going?" she heard Junior ask as she rejoined the team.

"Zis passage will bring us to zee Hall of Heroes," Henrietta answered.

"I've read about that," Suzy joined in on the conversation. "That's where the tribe dedicated statues to their greatest heroes."

"Correct," Henrietta replied.

Alice stretched out her senses, finding that the Fusion's energy was in the same direction. "The Fusion is this way," she announced.

"Well at least we're going in the right direction," Junior commented, putting his hands behind his head.

Henrietta glanced over her shoulder, looking at Alice in puzzlement.

"How do you know where it is?" the girl asked.

"I can sense where the Fusion Monsters are," Alice answered.

Henrietta stared at Alice for a moment, her face unreadable. In that moment of silence, Alice wondered if she had put two and two together to get four; certainly now she'd be able to remember why Team Super Stars was a familiar name. To Alice's surprise, Henrietta shrugged and returned her attention to the path in front of them.

"Zat is a very useful skill to have," she commented. "And will make finding zee Fusion much easier."

"Are there other monsters down here?" Suzy asked the alien.

Alice stretched her senses out again and nodded her head.

"Figures," Junior commented. "They're here looking for the totem."

"You mentioned a totem before," Henrietta said. "Is zis totem something important?"

"Yep," Suzy chirped. "It's a secret defense weapon against Fuse. When all of them are activated, it will place a shield over the Earth so no more of Fuse's armies can be sent down here."

"Ja, zat is important," Henrietta agreed. "Are you attempting to activate it?"

"It's already been activated," Alice answered her. "We just have to stop the Fusion from deactivating it."

Henrietta grinned, the gesture full of mirth. "Zen we are both in a race against time."

Suzy's grin matched the emotion. "Pretty much."

"Well, we shall handle your mission very quickly. If zis totem is what I think it is, zen we will be approaching it very soon."

"You mean in the Hall of Heroes?" Junior inquired.

"Nein," the girl answered, but she shot the boy a grin. "But on that note..."

The candy hunter guided the team into a larger room. Unlike the first chamber, this room was in pitch black darkness, save for the light source from Henrietta's torch and Suzy's NanoCom flashlight. The veteran explorer stepped into the room and touched the torch on the ground. Almost instantly, the flame shot around the room, brightening up the space enough for the four to see properly. Henrietta smirked to the team and extended her hand into the hall.

"Welcome to zee Hall of Heroes."

The team stared in awe. Even though they had learned about this from books, it was still a wildly different experience to be in the place. Seven limestone statues that were still mostly intact occupied both sides of the hall, evenly spaced out from each other. Three statues were along the left wall, and three were along the right, placed directly across from each other. These six statues depicted men, with one of them looking like the horse seen in the first chamber and another covered completely in hair. The others depicted humans with three of them shirtless and the other one - looking like he was a teenager - was wearing full clothing. Three of the statues had a club in their hands, raised high like they were going to strike. One of the men had a shield, the teenager had no weapons on hand, and the horse was carrying a guitar and wearing a mask over its eyes and a cape. The seventh statue was put at the back of the hall and was the only female statue. Like the teenager, she was not holding any weapons, though her hand was held with the palm upward, like she was supposed to be holding something. Unfortunately, if she were supposed to be holding something, that something was missing.

"Follow close," Henrietta instructed. "And do keep an eye out for anything that may be related to zee brain candy."

"Anything we should be looking for?" Suzy asked.

"Anything still even in here?" Junior piled on.

"I thought artifacts were taken to the museum," Alice added.

"Zis is true," Henrietta said. "But zis temple still has its secrets."

Henrietta led the way into the room with Team Super Stars following. While they walked, the team eyed the walls, floors, pillars and stonework for any hint of information related to the brain candy. Alice paid special attention to the statues of bygone heroes. She glanced down at the plaques beneath them, unable to make out the names since she was not a hieroglyphist. Someone had been able to crack the code, but Alice couldn't remember what each of the names were. All she could recall was that the lone female warrior's name was unknown because her plaque had been destroyed, and any information on her name had yet to be unearthed. As the team passed the female warrior's statues, Alice studied the symbol on her chest. Unlike the male statues, her statue had some color added to it. A strand of hair was colored pink and there was a stylized dragonfly symbol on her chest colored in the same shade.

"Huh," Junior commented from next to Alice. "Ray Ray's sister has that same symbol on her shirt."

"Does it mean anything?" Alice asked the boy.

Junior shrugged. "I never asked. Figured it was just a nameless logo." His eyes narrowed as he noticed something about the statue. "Wait...is that a Rainbow Monkey?"

Alice turned back to the statue, noticing that there was indeed a Rainbow Monkey sitting on the statue's head. It was a blue plushie with a moustache on its face. Seeing the stuffed toy sitting on the ancient statue was jarring since this was an ancient temple, so she waved her hand and telekinetically lifted it from the statue. As soon as it was lifted into the air, a terrified shriek erupted from the floating toy. The shriek startled Alice into dropping her hold, permitting the toy to drop back to the statue, along with something falling from the toy itself. While the object that had been with the toy - what looked to be like rolled up paper - fell to the floor while the toy fell back onto the statue. Quickly, it moved down the statue so that it could hide from the teenagers. The shriek drew Henrietta and Suzy's attention, and they rejoined the two at the statue.

"Did that Rainbow Monkey just shriek?" Suzy asked.

"Yes," Alice answered, still in bewilderment.

She walked over to the rolled-up paper and scooped it up, surprised to feel power rush through her. It reminded her of the Book of Prophecy. She turned the paper over, studying it. The paper looked old and weathered, but aside from the string tied around it, nothing stood out about it. Since there was the mystery of how the Rainbow Monkey was in the temple, Alice put the scroll away in her NanoCom and tuned back in on the conversation.

"...I don't recall any capable of shrieking," Junior pointed out.

Henrietta, not looking surprised, moved around the statue and snatched the cowering toy before it could bolt. The toy released another shriek, but Henrietta kept a firm hold over the plushie and pulled it down from its hiding place. The toy shuddered and curled on itself. Henrietta frowned, studying the toy critically. Suzy loomed over her shoulder, eyebrows going up into her hairline.

"Hold on, this is Kuki's," she commented.

"Numbuh Three has living Rainbow Monkeys?" Junior asked incredulously.

"No. Those live on Rainbow Monkey Island," Suzy answered nonchalantly.

The answer had Junior's eyebrows touching his hairline because he had been joking. Suzy didn't notice the boy's response, instead tapping on her NanoCom's screen for a few seconds. A holographic screen suddenly appeared from it, and Numbuh Three's face was on it.

"Hello~" the girl greeted.

"Hi Kuki," Suzy greeted in return. "Is this yours?"

Suzy directed the call screen down so Numbuh Three could see the still cowering toy. The KND operative gasped dramatically.

"YOU FOUND HIM!" she shrieked loudly, almost loud enough to shake the temple.

While Junior and Alice covered their ears from the loudness, the Rainbow Monkey suddenly stopped and turned to the NanoCom, looking happy at the sound of her voice.

"Well that solves that," Junior mumbled, rubbing his sensitive ears.

Suzy nodded in satisfaction. "I figured this was yours."

"Wait, all I see is Papa Monkey. Have you found itty-bitty Baby Monkey?" Numbuh Three asked worriedly.

"No, he was the first one we found," Suzy answered.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! That mean Fusion Spawn must still have her!" Numbuh Three cried. "Please, please, please, please, please save her!"

"Of course, Kuki," Suzy assured the girl, grinning ear to ear. "We'll grab your toy and bring her back."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Numbuh Three gushed just before the call ended.

"A Fusion Spawn has a toy?" Junior questioned.

"Which means that the Fusion must be Fusion Numbuh Three," Alice said.

"Yep," Suzy agreed. "Our mystery Fusion has been identified." She looked back at the Rainbow Monkey who was now calmly sitting in Henrietta's arms. Thanks to hearing Numbuh Three's voice, the toy had been calmed and recognized the team as friends. "Let's go and beat it."

"What about the Rainbow Monkey?" Alice asked. "It may be dangerous to bring him with us."

"Good point," Suzy agreed. She leaned down so she was eye-level with the toy. "Hey Papa Monkey, can you find your way back to Kuki?"

The toy hesitated, looking reluctant to leave. Sensing the reluctance, and guessing on the reason for the toy's having remained in the temple, Henrietta jumped in to assist.

"We will save your baby and bring her back safely," Henrietta put in. "Promise."

The Rainbow Monkey brightened and nodded in agreement. He willingly hopped out of her arms and ran on all four paws back the way the group had come.

"I'm on a first name basis with the spirit of death and even I find this weird," Junior commented flatly.

"Henrietta, if you want to keep looking around the hall, the team and I are going to head down to face the Fusion," Suzy told the candy explorer.

"Unsinn, I have committed to joining you," she answered. "I have never faced a Fusion before, and would welcome zee challenge."

"Then let's bag us a Fusion Numbuh Three," Suzy said with a grin.

Despite the room looking like a dead-end, Henrietta opened up a secret passage to the right of the female warrior's statue. All she had to do was place her hand on a stone and press it in, opening the secret passage and leading the team down the spiral staircase into the depths of the temple. As they journeyed downward, Alice could sense the energy of the Fusion and the Fusion Monsters getting stronger.

"Zere's no other passage ways between us and zee next chamber," Henrietta said. "So we will have to be ready as soon as we reach zee end of zis for zee enemy."

"We're always ready for a fight," Suzy replied confidently. "How many can you sense, Alice?"

"Two are the closest to us. Three more past them, and then there's the Fusion," Alice answered.

Suzy nodded appreciatively. "Easy. We'll breeze through them and deal with the Fusion."

"Aren't Fusions supposed to be difficult?" Henrietta asked.

"Depends on how good you are at fighting," Junior answered. "We've at least soloed one individually, and there's four of us, plus our Nanos. I'd almost say we're overpowered."

Henrietta smirked. "With zose numbers, I almost feel bad for zee Fusion." She then winked cheekily. "Almost."

"First up are the appetizers, Fusion Numbuh Three's subordinates," Suzy said, bringing Nano Raj out of her NanoCom. With Mappy! activated, Suzy was getting a read on how close the Fusion Monsters were to their position. "We've got two waiting at the bottom. Mind giving us a hand, Alice?"

Alice nodded without saying a word. She moved past Suzy and Henrietta and stepped down some more steps, just enough so she could see where the two monsters were. Before they could figure out she was there, she formed four energy disk-shaped attacks, two in each hand, and threw them at the monsters. The attacks landed neatly, severely damaging the monsters. They turned to confront Alice, but she finished them off with an energy blast. Her NanoCom automatically collected the Fusion Matter, leaving no mess behind.

She turned around to look back at the group. Suzy adjusted her NanoCom to free up her hands so she could clap for Alice, Nano Raj mimicking her.

"Brava," Suzy cheered, grinning widely. "10 out of 10, naturally."

Alice smiled appreciatively, though she side-glanced at Henrietta to gauge her reaction. Surprisingly, Henrietta looked unphased by the display of power.

"Eindrucksvoll," the candy explorer said, nodding her head. Alice didn't know what it translated to, but the tone didn't sound furious or scared, so it couldn't have been bad.

"That's two down," Junior stated.

"And one on its way," Henrietta pointed out, noticing a Timber Hulk walking toward the staircase. She pulled out a pistol and smiled confidently at the team. "Allow me to handle zis one."

She walked down the steps, passing by Alice until she was at the bottom of the stairs. The Timber Hulk spotted her and released a growl. Undeterred by the creature, Henrietta raised and leveled her peppermint-colored shooter at the living tree monster. Without a hint of hesitation, she pulled the trigger, and out of the barrel shot a candy cane. The candy cane struck the creature in the eye, lodging itself in deep. The Timber Hulk roared in pain and grasped at the candy, attempting to rip it out. While distracted, Henrietta shot at the Timber Hulk five more times, each candy cane ripping through the Timber Hulk until it turned into Fusion Matter. Since Alice had the closest NanoCom, the Fusion Matter automatically flew into her device.

"I have to pick up one of those," Suzy complimented, continuing down the staircase.

Henrietta chuckled. "I never leave home without it," she agreed, pulling six candy canes out of a side pouch and reloading her weapon. "Now zen, I believe we have three left, ja?"

"And a Fusion," Alice reminded.

"A Fusion?!" Nano Raj cried in dismay. "Oh great."

Suzy poked at his body, giggling when he released a yelp. "You're not going to be here when we fight it, so don't panic."

"I feel I must very much panic, it is a Fusion!" Nano Raj protested.

Suzy waved dismissively, returning him to the NanoCom.

"Anyways, I say we surprise them," Suzy said. "Junior, Nano Megas' sleep ability is across an area, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Let's have it put the monsters to sleep and get the jump on them."

"Wouldn't zis plan be better for a Fusion?" Henrietta inquired.

"Unfortunately, no," Suzy answered. "Fusions have a special defense against abilities like sleep or stun or snare. Only damage, drain, and leech are known to affect it."

"I see," Henrietta said with an accompanying nod.

Junior called out Nano Megas from his NanoCom, the miniature mecha flexing as soon as it materialized. The mecha spun around, most likely searching for monsters. When it didn't see any monsters, Nano Megas turned its attention onto Junior and waited for an order. Since the Nano needed to use a sleep ability on a mob, Junior entered the chamber, followed behind by the females of the group.

Alice looked around, surprised to find how many columns were spread around the room. There weren't any statues in this chamber, but the walls were covered with colorful murals depicting the twin creation gods, the six leaders, the warriors, and the other members of the tribe. Unlike the previously dark rooms, the room was brightly lit by the torches lining the walls. Since it was no longer needed, Suzy turned off her flashlight app and Henrietta snuffed out her torch.

The Timber Hulks were spotted quickly, the mob of three wandering around aimlessly. Before they could sense the presence of newcomers, Nano Megas rushed into the center of the mob and slammed the ground, using its Garden State Slam to put the tree monsters to sleep. As soon as the monsters slumped over, Suzy pulled out her Crayon Cannon and shot multi-colored crayons at the three. Henrietta joined in with her shooter, firing off candy canes. Between the two weapons, the hulks were turned to Fusion Matter before they could retaliate. Suzy sat her weapon on her shoulder, grinning in satisfaction.

"And just like that, Fusion Numbuh Three is on her own," she said. "Time for the main entree."

The room was large, but not large enough that they didn't find their Fusion prey easily. The Fusion was using its sharp fingers to claw at a stone wall, attempting to break through. It was able to chip off the paint, but the stone itself remained unharmed. The Fusion was so focused in its actions that it didn't sense the group coming up upon it, giving them the element of surprise. Raising up her palm, Alice shot off a stream of energy, hitting the Fusion in the back.

Fusion Numbuh Three cried out from the hit and spun around, dodging away from the energy beam. Growling out in fury, the Fusion slammed its claw on the ground. While there was no immediate effect - like an earthquake - Henrietta glanced down at their feet and noticed it was a green patch.

"Move!" she shouted.

Team Super Stars looked down and saw what had panicked the candy explorer. Immediately, the team dispersed, getting out of the way before it could erupt. In the scramble, the Fusion took the opportunity to throw out four globs of Fusion Matter from its sweatshirt's oversized sleeves. Instead of the globs hitting the team, they landed peacefully on the ground. Instantly, they morphed from a small glob and growing into Rainbow Monkeys that were as tall as Fusion Numbuh Three. Unlike the multi-colored themes of their plush counterparts, the Rainbow Monkey monsters were all the same green gooey color, wearing scowls instead of smiles, and their rainbow antennas were now cloud antennas.

"Huh?" Alice gasped in surprise.

"Well that's new," Suzy commented, cupping her chin as she studied the new minions.

"That's cheating!" Junior complained.

"I don't zink zey care!" Henrietta shouted, firing off her candy canes at their newest opponents.

The monkey monsters howled and dodged the candy. They got on all fours - which looked strange since the arms and legs were roughly the same size as each other - and rushed at their opponents, growling indiscriminately. From their mouths they shot off gooey globs at the team. Alice raised up a shield to protect them, the globs sliding down the barrier upon impact. The monkey creatures grew furious at this and began bombarding the shield with gooey glob after gooey glob. Alice kept her barrier up and then shoved it at the monkeys, pushing them off-kilter. Instantly, Suzy and Henrietta began firing at the monkeys while the creatures were off balance.

"I guess we can't call them Rainbow Monkeys anymore," Suzy commented blithely, firing her Crayon Cannon. "How about we call them the Cloud Monkeys? Because of their antennas."

"You cannot be serious," Junior complained, calling on Nano Rex. The Nano grinned and rushed forward, using his Smackhands ability to smack each Cloud Monkey on the nose. The hit didn't do any damage, but it did stun the foes and had them spinning around like they were a toon on The Glippo Show. "We are busy."

"I like it," Henrietta voiced her opinion, reloading her weapon quickly while the monkeys were stunned. "It is clever."

"Do not encourage her!"

The redhead and the blonde giggled at the boy's exasperation, continuing their stream of firing at the Cloud Monkeys. Since Suzy and Henrietta were handling the monkeys, Alice searched for the Fusion. Fusion Numbuh Three was back to its earlier job of tunneling into the wall. The behavior was odd, especially since Fusions usually enjoyed battling their opponents. However, if it was on the mission to find a totem and it was focusing all of its attention on a spot of the wall while its minions occupied the team, then Alice suspected the Fusion had found the totem and was prioritizing its capture. They had to stop that; it was what Gwen sent them to do. Suzy and Henrietta were firing at the monsters, so that left Junior and Alice free to handle the Fusion.

"Junior!" she called, reaching out for the boy.

Without hesitation the boy took her hand; he didn't even need to ask what she needed. She flew into the air and took Junior with her, flying over the heads of the Cloud Monkeys. The creatures saw their figures on the move, but Henrietta and Suzy kept their attention drawn on them, managing to dissolve two of the Cloud Monkeys.

The Fusion remained oblivious, giving Junior the opening to pierce the monster with four tentacles, sending electric shocks into the monster. Fusion Numbuh Three shrieked from the electrocution. Junior retracted his tentacles, wincing a little from the burns suffered from contact with the Fusion. The Fusion spun around to face who attacked it, and was frozen when Junior pulled his glasses down.

"You're up, Alice," he said to his teammate.

Alice raised her palm - still keeping a firm hold on Junior so he wouldn't drop - and aimed for the suspended Fusion. Before she could fire off, however, a purple flame suddenly engulfed the Fusion, burning it until it turned into Fusion Matter. When the flames dispersed, a puddle of Fusion Matter remained, pooled around a small Rainbow Monkey doll that was wearing a diaper. Miraculously, the toy had no scorch marks, though Fusion Matter still clung to its plush body.

"What the-" Junior cut himself off when he watched the Rainbow Monkey doll levitate into the air.

The doll floated through the room until it landed in the palm of a young woman with long, silver hair.

"How droll," the voice commented dryly, making a show of studying the Baby Monkey. "I had been hoping for something more substantial than a toy."

"Hand that over," Junior ordered once Alice put him back on his feet.

"Oh, does this little toy mean something to you?" the woman mocked.

Alice focused her attention on the Rainbow Monkey doll and levitated it off the intruder's palm, pulling it rapidly through the air until it was safe in Alice's hands. Before the woman could retaliate, she placed the doll in her NanoCom, ensuring its safety.

The woman scrutinized the Arthenadite. "Well isn't that annoying."

"Who are you?" Henrietta demanded, coming to join Alice and Junior with the Cloud Monkeys defeated.

"Charmcaster," Suzy answered for Henrietta, raising her Crayon Cannon onto the intruder.

The name sounded vaguely recognizable to Alice, but only Junior reacted in recognition. His eyes widened for a moment before narrowing, and tentacles sprouted out of his back once more and waved around in a threatening manner.

"Oooh, so you've heard of me," the woman said, her tone dripping in condescension.

"Read about you, actually," Suzy countered. "Especially how many times Ben and his team beat you."

Charmcaster's face twisted in annoyance at the mention of the Tennyson team. "So you've read that infernal blog."

"I like to keep up-to-date," Suzy taunted.

Despite her light tone, Suzy's body was tense in preparation for a fight. She kept her Crayon Cannon trained on the magical woman, and had her finger on the trigger. Henrietta was mimicking the redhead, cotton on that this woman was not an ally. Charmcaster looked unafraid of the team aiming weapons at her.

"Now, now. I didn't come here to deal with maggots," Charmcaster said. "I have something more important to be collecting." Her eyes shifted to the wall that Fusion Numbuh Three had been attempting to tunnel through. "Although something even more important seems to be within reach."

The team tensed at her words, which did not go unnoticed by the woman.

"Oho~ So you know about this," she said smugly. She pressed her palm at the spot where Fusion Numbuh Three had been digging. "Shall we take a peek behind curtain number one?"

Before she could move, Junior lowered his glasses and froze the magical woman. For a moment it looked like it had stuck, but purple lightning encircled the magical woman and she was free of the frozen hold.

"My turn," she declared, raising her palms.

From her palms shot a purple mana beam. Junior, Henrietta, and Suzy jumped out of the way from the attack, but Alice stood her ground and raised her own palms, shooting forth an energy beam. The two beams met one another and began a game of tug o' war, attempting to gain ground.

"Ha!" Charmcaster laughed, her voice raised to be heard over the two beams clashing with one another. "You believe your magic can match mine, Fusion Girl?"

Alice bit her lip, keeping her concentration so that she wouldn't be overpowered. It was already a struggle to maintain the stalemate the two power beams were in. Luckily, her teammates had her back.

"How about something demonic!" Junior challenged.

Charmcaster glanced sideways, spotting too late black-and-green tentacles piercing her arm. Before she could shake them off, an electrical current travelled down the tentacles and to her body, shocking her.

"Argh!" she screamed, her concentration broken.

With her mana beam weakened, Alice's energy beam easily overpowered hers and she was hit by the blast, sending her into the wall. Henrietta popped up from behind a column and shot off peppermint candy canes at the woman, pinning the woman's clothing to the wall.

"That was a little too easy," Junior commented cautiously.

"You can't seriously believe I'd be put down like this?" Charmcaster asked rhetorically.

She snapped her fingers, and a magenta-colored vortex suddenly opened in front of her. From out of the vortex stepped out two large creatures made of stone; runic designs etched into their tough skin in magenta coloring. The two monsters easily towered over the team, casting a shadow on them.

"I had to open my mouth," Junior complained under his breath, sizing up the monsters.

"Sic 'em," Charmcaster ordered her summoned creatures.

While the stone creatures rushed for their targets, Charmcaster easily broke free of her candy cane confines and got back on her feet. Secure that her creatures would give her time, she spun around and aimed at the wall. She never had her chance to fire, because she suddenly felt herself hit from behind and pushed into the wall. She spun around and stared in surprise that one of her stone creatures was at her feet, slowly raising itself up. It was pushed back to the floor by a whack from a miniature baseball bat, and finished off with a blue ball of energy. Charmcaster had just a moment to be annoyed that her minion was down before a miniature baseball bat whacked her in the face. She stumbled, bumping into the wall behind her.

"Hahaha! Rowdyruff rules! Old hag drools!" Nano Boomer cheered as he hopped around in the air.

Charmcaster glared at the Nano, the anger of it hurting her shifting to anger at his insult. "Old hag?"

Nano Boomer paused his celebration and looked at the woman in confusion. "Uhhhhhhh duh? You got white hair."

The magical woman narrowed her eyes. "It's silver."

"Same difference."

"Insolent worm!" Charmcaster snarled, firing off a stream of mana at the Nano.

Nano Boomer panicked and raised his energy bat, hoping it would absorb the mana. Unfortunately, the bat did very little to help him, and he was sent tumbling through the air. He was saved from hitting a stone column by Junior's tentacle reaching out and pulling him downward back to the group, who had just finished beating on the second stone creature.

"I would have been fine," Nano Boomer complained to Junior as soon as he shimmed out of his hold.

Junior rolled his eyes at the Nano's bravado but didn't get into an argument. The fight with Charmcaster was still on, and so he couldn't spend that time setting the record straight - even if the Nano was completely lying. He looked over at his redheaded teammate.

"What's our plan?" Junior asked.

"You and Alice get her from the front," Suzy said, calling out her Nano Numbuh Five. "Henrietta and I will get her from the side."

The team nodded in agreement. While Nano Numbuh Five used Secret Agent to hide Suzy and Henrietta from Charmcaster's vision, Alice and Junior went on the offensive. Alice fired off another energy beam at the magically affluent woman. Charmcaster raised three shields up, one up in front of the other. The beam struck the first shield and broke it, but had trouble on the second and third. Charmcaster smirked at seeing her opponent's attack fail to reach her. She was preparing a counterattack of her own, and so she was blindsided when Nano Boomer and Nano Rex appeared from under her shields, completely bypassing them with no trouble. Nano Boomer used Batter Up! to strike the top of her head while Nano Rex used Smackhands to strike her on the nose.

"Urgh!" Charmcaster shouted, her hand reaching up to clutch her nose.

Seeing her chance, Suzy rushed at the woman with her Camp Oar raised up high over her head, preparing to swing down. Providing cover fire, Henrietta fired off candy canes at the woman. Charmcaster recovered faster than the team had been hoping and stretched out her hand in Suzy's direction. Suzy's forward momentum was immediately halted, leaving the girl hanging midair by her weapon. Charmcaster flung her hand to the side, sending Suzy and the weapon rocketing backward. Alice raised a bubble around the redhead, protecting her when it hit the wall. Their foe glared in annoyance at the development, since she was hoping to take at least one of them out of the fight.

"Let's finish this now!" Charmcaster snarled in aggravation.

She raised herself practically to the ceiling and sent out a mana wave that hit the team as well as the wall behind her. The mana wave was strong enough to break through the stones that Fusion Numbuh Three had been digging through. Seeing the dent she had made, Charmcaster smirked and began telekinetically picking up the stones, flinging them at her opponents who she was quickly growing to hate. Henrietta and Suzy dodged the stones as they ran back over to Alice, who had her shield up protecting her and Junior. Charmcaster made sure to pay extra attention to one stone so that it flew around the shield, reversed itself and nailed Alice in the back of the head, dropping her to the ground. Junior knelt down to check on her, dropping Charmcaster's pest from four to two. Unworried about the two humans rushing to their fallen comrade's side, Charmcaster slipped through the hole that had been created during the battle.

Inside the hidden chamber was the prize she had been fighting for. Ignoring the limestone depictions of the tribe's most well-known leaders, she only had eyes for the iridescently glowing obelisk sitting smackdab in the middle of the octagonal room. Charmcaster landed at the foot of the totem, her smile widening in egomaniac glee at the energy she could sense coming off it in waves.

"So much power," Charmcaster crooned as she approached. "And now it's mine."

As soon as her finger tips touched the totem, a small ball of iridescent light formed at the tip on top and fired a beam straight at Charmcaster's chest. The force of the hit sent her back through the hole, right over the heads of the team, and into a column towards the other side of the room.

"Argh!" she cried when she hit the column, sliding down until she was crumpled at its base.

She shook her head and looked back up, squinting her eyes as she tried to ride out the dizziness the travel and hit had caused her. She made to get on her feet, but was thwarted by a blue dome appearing over her head and shoving her back to the ground. She looked up and glared at the perpetrator.

Alice had her hand stretched out in Charmcaster's direction. The only indication she was still hurt from Charmcaster's attack was the way Alice's hand trembled every so often, like it was trying to stabilize but it had hiccups. Junior, Henrietta, and Suzy stood beside her, the latter two holding their weapons up at her, prepared to fire as soon as Alice dropped her dome. Frowning at the tide turning, Charmcaster sent a burning glare in their direction.

"Do not consider this a win," she warned the team as they approached. "I have grown uninterested in this wretched place any further." She looked past her opponents and glared at the totem sitting behind them, its stature almost mocking her and her failure. "I will only return once I've secured a way to steal what should belong to me."

The portal that had brought the stone creatures into the temple appeared underneath Charmcaster, and the woman slipped through it, closing up once she was gone. With her prisoner no longer around, Alice dropped the dome and slumped to her knees, releasing out a sigh. The pain from her head injury was already starting to fade, but the weariness of battle was settling in. Junior joined her on the ground, laying out on the cool stone. Suzy's only indication that she was worn from the fight was her swiping away sweat from her bangs.

"Good job, everyone," Henrietta congratulated, still on her feet. "We have Baby Monkey, ja?"

Alice raised her hand, still catching her breath. Henrietta nodded in approval and Suzy patted her teammate on the shoulder.

"I'm going to let Gwen know about Charmcaster," Suzy said, holding her NanoCom. "She's had prior dealings with the woman, so she'll know what to do about her."

"Especially with the totem still activated," Junior pointed out, forcing himself to sit up. He looked over at the iridescently glowing totem. "It's kind of a beacon for her."

"And any other Fusion," Alice contributed.

"First step will be to putting the stones back," Henrietta said, examining the hole Charmcaster made. "We will zen need a protection team."

"Ray Ray could probably help with that," Junior mentioned. "I can ask him and Lila to hang around and keep an eye on it."

"I'll stay behind as well," Henrietta volunteered. "I still need to look through zee temple for ancient artifacts."

"Oh," Alice gasped, running her hand over her NanoCom's screen. The scroll she'd found earlier appeared in her hand. "Henrietta, Papa Monkey had this earlier. It feels magical."

Henrietta accepted the scroll and unrolled it. At first her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, before smoothing out. Her eyes moved from left to right as she read the letters on the parchment. Suzy, the only one with enough energy to move around, hung over her shoulder to read along. The redhead blinked and her eyebrows went upward.

"Well, this is interesting," she commented.

"Ja," Henrietta agreed.

"Does it help?" Alice asked.

"Nein," the candy explorer answered, rolling up the scroll. "It is not about zee brain candy, but speaks of something else just as important. It is a prophecy saying zat Fusion Monsters will be turned into weapons."

Junior and Alice stared in surprise. Monsters typically turned into Fusion Matter, and Fusions would drop the items they had stolen. Never have they heard of monsters turning into weapons.

"I'd recommend taking that to Juniper," Junior advised seriously. "She's always been good with magical things, so she'll probably know what to do with it."

"We can take it up to her," Suzy offered. "Her brother was joining her tomorrow, right?" She waited long enough to see Junior nod in confirmation. "We can swing up that way and take care of both matters."

Henrietta thought about it for a moment and then nodded, handing the scroll over to the redhead. Suzy tucked it away in her NanoCom, keeping it safe.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized to the candy explorer. "I really thought it was related to the candy."

"Zere is nothing to apologize for," Henrietta assured her. "Exploration does not always yield results. I will do another sweep through zee temple to see what I have missed, and wait for zis Ray Ray and Lila to come join me."

"You're not coming back to Mount Blackhead?" Alice asked in surprise.

Henrietta shook her head. "Nein, zere is work to be done. I do my best work at night."

"You want us to come with you?" Suzy asked.

Henrietta surveyed the team and then shook her head. "Nein, you are all in need of rest, as well as medical help. Getting zis new information to Juniper is more important. Zis is where our paths must end."

Suzy surveyed her teammates and nodded. As much as she wanted to assist, she couldn't deny that her teammates were getting tired. It was already late into the night, and they had already been going since the sun was up. The hunt for mysteries of the crazy brain candy would have to be left in the hands of Henrietta.

The candy expert journeyed with the team back to the first chamber, where she bade "Auf Wiedersehen" and ventured deeper into the temple's interior. The team exited from the temple and used the last of Alice's energy to get them back across the large crevasse, bringing an end to Team Super Stars' temple expedition.

Chapter Text

Forgotten Falls was quite possibly one of the most beautiful locations on the planet, at least as far as Alice had seen. She hadn't seen every space of the world, but she couldn't deny the majesty as she stared at the water falls which gave the land half of its name. Historians believed that the land was also under the rule of the Hani-Baba Tribe, and there was some evidence to back up the claim. There was rubble that certainly matched the building materials of the temple scattered across the land, and a statue of the warrior woman defying all logic by having water spiral upward around her larger-than-life depiction was positioned in front of the falls, hovering over the river's water. It was breathtaking to look at, and the best way to view the spectacle was from the walkway that hovered close by the statue. Unfortunately for Alice, the team was not in Forgotten Falls for sight-seeing.

"The water doesn't seem to be in any danger," Junior pointed out to Suzy, waving his hand at the waterfalls in front of them. "You sure that Numbuh Vine girl has the right info?"

"Of course," Suzy answered honestly. "She'd never lie to me."

"Okay, but it doesn't look like anything is wrong with the water," Junior insisted, waving his hand at the waterfalls. "Mac already told us nothing's contaminated it."

Junior was correct - the water was a crystal blue color, showing no signs of Fusion Matter contamination. Before leaving the K.N.D. Jungle Outpost, Junior had checked with Mac about the state of the area's water. There had been no reports of the water being contaminated, and Mac was insistent that he and Numbuh Four crushed up the Magic Tree's leaves once a week to keep the water clean on the chance that something did slip in, so there was no possible way the river was being affected. Yet for some reason, Numbuh Vine was positive that something bad was happening to the river, and that it was originating at the falls.

"She didn't say something has happened," Suzy argued. "She said something will happen."

"There's no one here," Junior countered, waving his hand around their empty area. "There isn't even any Fusion Monsters, right Alice?"

Alice startled a little from being pulled into the discussion, but she nodded her head.

"I can't sense any in the immediate area."

"That's because I've been clearing them out."

In sync, the team turned to look behind them at the new voice joining them. It was a girl older than them, stepping off the cobblestone of the floating sky-way and making her way over to the team. The most noticeable thing about the girl was the purple jacket she wore over a pink shirt with a green familiar symbol. Alice immediately recognized that the symbol was of the Earth; the symbol of the Planeteers. The Planeteer - whom Alice was able to identify as Gi - held up her hands to show she didn't want a confrontation.

"Sorry, didn't mean to spook you guys," she said. "My name's Gi. I saw you coming and wanted to catch up with you all. There isn't a lot of foot traffic through here, especially with those Skyway Monkey agents flying around."

"They're missing out on such a beautiful place," Suzy commented, sweeping her arm in the direction of the of the falls.

"Agreed," Gi said with a nod.

"You mentioned you've been clearing it out?" Alice asked, tilting her head slightly.

Gi grinned. "That's right. I've been clearing out the monsters that've been out here and cleaning up what Fusion Matter I can. Some mini-Terrafusers have been trying to make a home here, but I've stopped every one of them. I can't have them contaminating the beautiful water."

"That's actually why we're out here," Suzy stated. "A source said the water's going to be tampered with."

Gi looked startled by the information. "What-"

"That's all we've got," Junior cut in.

"Not necessarily," Suzy countered, raising a finger at the boy. "Numbuh Vine was adamant that it wasn't a Fusion behind this."

Junior rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, that's helpful."

"Have you seen anyone who might look like they want to tamper with the river?" Alice asked, looking at the troubled Planeteer.

Gi frowned in thought, no doubt reviewing every interaction she had with everyone she crossed path with. After a moment of review, she finally shook her head, looking unhappy.

"No, you three are the first people I've come across in the last week," Gi answered. "And I've been checking the river every day to make sure Fusion Matter hasn't spread to it."

"And with Mac and Numbuh Four crushing magic leaves into the water on a weekly basis..." Junior trailed off.

Gi picked it up, "Whoever this culprit is, is going to strike today."

"You already came from there, right?" Suzy asked, gesturing to the islands at the foot of the waterfall. She got a nod in answer. "Okay then, we should keep heading up and go to the origin of the river. That's probably where we'll find our person."

Junior shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. As long as we stick near water, we'll find whoever it is eventually."

"If it's alright with you all, I'd like to join," Gi requested. Her brows came together in determination. "I can't have anyone contaminating the water."

"Of course, we'd be happy to have help from a Planeteer," Suzy said. "Welcome to the team. I'm Suzy, and they are Alice and Junior."

Alice gave a small wave when her name was called, and Junior gave a nod. Gi smiled back at the two, returning their greetings with a wave of her own.

"Nice to meet you all," she said. "Now let's keep Forgotten Falls beautiful."

The team was just hopping off the floating bridge back onto the mainland when they noticed a figure walking toward the riverbank. From a distance they couldn't get a good idea on what the person looked like, although they got the idea that the figure was tall and skinny. The figure didn't notice the team, so Suzy motioned for everyone to hide behind the trees to surprise the figure. Before they'd make a hasty move, the team wanted to check to see if the person was a friendly who was just strolling through the jungle, or if they really were interested in contaminating the river. Moving hastily could scare the figure off, and if they were up to no good, the team didn't want to have to chase them.

As the figure approached, completely unaware that their movements were being watched, it was easier for the team to get a look at the person. Their assessment that this person was tall and skinny was correct. The person - now recognized to be a male - was wearing a strange attire. The top part of his head was covered by a spiked helmet, covering the eyes but leaving his nose and mouth exposed. His full body suit was blue, his cape was red and black almost suspiciously like Grim's cloak, and he had darker blue armor boots. In all it made him look like he had been picked out of the history books, though the color of his skin was an unnatural pale green, so he was ruled out as a human. There was an unidentified object in his gloved hands, though a cursory glance indicated it was machinery in nature.

Junior's eyes widened behind his glasses, his mouth dropping open in surprise. While the girls were trying to study the strange looking man and get a read on his intentions, Junior stepped out from behind his tree and headed in the man's direction. His actions surprised his teammates, who looked at him in startlement. Suzy hissed out his name, but he ignored it. Gi made an attempt to grab him as he was passing her hiding spot, but he sidestepped out of her reach and continued out of the tree. The mystery man didn't see the half-demon approaching, but that was rectified when Junior opened his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing, Pain?" Junior demanded.

The being named Pain startled for a moment, surprised that the jungle he had thought was empty now had an occupant. He directed his attention to the approaching half-demon, quickly hiding the machine behind his back. The action garnered a suspicious eyebrow raise from the teenager.

"It's Lord Pain, Nergalson," the costumed being corrected impatiently. "The Great and Terrible."

Junior rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. He huffed in irritation, tapping his finger against his arm.

"Fine, Lord Pain, whatever," he remarked, another eyeroll accompanying the sarcasm. "Answer my question."

"And your question was...?"

"Why are you here?"

"I am fulfilling the wishes of the Master!" Lord Pain declared exaggeratingly.

Junior released a sigh and put his head in his hand. "Of course," he groaned.

Recognizing that Lord Pain and Junior knew each other, the girls stepped out of their hiding spots and approached the pair, standing beside Junior.

"Who's the Master?" Suzy asked.

"Why Mandy is my master," Lord Pain answered. "She is a most wonderful master."

"Ooooh," Suzy said, her eyes sparking in recognition. "So this is the guy-"

"This is the guy," Junior confirmed, speaking at the same time as Suzy.

Alice and Gi were still left in the dark on who Lord Pain was – and Gi was even more confused on who Mandy was - but there wasn't any time to hash it out. Gi's only concern was whether or not he was going to do something terrible to the river.

"Do you think this is the guy Numbuh Vine was talking about?" Gi whispered to Suzy.

"One way to find out," Suzy whispered back. Louder, addressing Lord Pain, "What did Mandy send you down here to do?"

"I am here acting out her will."

"Yes, but what does she want you to do?" Junior stressed.

"Does it have something to do with the river?" Gi added on.

Lord Pain gasped. "Have you also been sent to do her will?"

Junior, having reached his limit with Mandy's minion, grew two tentacles out of his back and sent them at Lord Pain. The tentacles circled the tall demon and grabbed the item Lord Pain had attempted to hide. The demon attempted to regain his hidden object, but Junior's tentacles were too fast and the item fell into Junior's hands. Gi took it from him, turning it over to study it.

The cylinder-shaped machine wasn't very large, only being the size of Junior's hands. While trying to get a read on the purpose of the machine, the team noticed the symbol of a purple helmet plastered on one side of the cylinder. The symbol looked suspiciously like the helmet Mojo was known to wear, which immediately raised red flags.

"What is this?" Suzy asked, looking away from the object to the demon.

Lord Pain's amiable attitude had completely shifted. His frown turned meaner, and though his eyes were hidden, the slit in his helmet actually shifted downward in anger. From his back, he pulled out a mace and raised it upward in a threatening manner. Only Gi tensed up upon seeing the weapon; her companions stood completely calm.

"Return that object to me or forfeit your life!" Lord Pain threatened.

Alice frowned and raised her hand. The mace flew out of Lord Pain's hand, startling the owner. Alice floated it over to their party, before dropping it to the ground behind the team. If Lord Pain wanted his weapon back, he'd have to go through the four of them.

"Young lady, I will ask you return my weapon AND the object, or you shall face severe consequences for the actions you have taken against me," Lord Pain demanded. "As the lord of Level 9, I-"

"Level 9 was wrecked by Billy," Junior interrupted, crossing his arms. "You're the lord of rubble."

Lord Pain's face flushed red at the reminder. "I have been rebuilding!"

Junior rolled his eyes but didn't further goad the tall demon.

"Sir, we just want some answers," Gi put in, attempting to negotiate with him.

"If you won't cooperate, then I'll ask Mandy," Suzy said, holding up her NanoCom.

Lord Pain's angry red face suddenly dropped to a pale white color. He raised his hands up and shook them frantically.

"No, no!" he protested. "You mustn't! If you speak with the Master, then she will know I have failed her." He dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together, shaking them back and forth in a pleading manner. "Please, please, please do not tell the Master."

"You'll answer our questions?" Gi questioned, raising her eyebrow up inquisitively.

"I will, I will!" he answered emphatically.

"Alright then," Suzy agreed, putting her NanoCom away. She pointed at the machine still in Gi's hands. "Start with what that is."

"My Master called it a Current Diverter," Lord Pain explained, getting off his knees so that he stood over the kids again. He pulled himself together so well no one would have known he had just been a groveling mess a second earlier. "I was instructed to place this device here in the river."

"What for?" Gi asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Where does she want the current to be diverted?"

"Master Mandy did not tell me what it was for. She merely told me to place the device in the water and to await further instructions," Lord Pain replied. "Apparently she is working with some primate called Mojo Jojo."

"That explains the logo," Suzy commented, tapping on the helmet symbol.

"Mandy and Mojo working together?" Junior said, his brows furrowing. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I've heard of Mojo," Gi said, glancing around at the team, "but who is Mandy? Is she worse?"

"Yep," Junior answered.

"And this is why she is an amazing master," Lord Pain chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Junior grumbled.

"So why exactly are these two teaming up? What do they want from the river?" Gi inquired.

"I am unsure, but my Master told me to put in the Current Diverter before the primate sends a ship to the area," Lord Pain answered. "He intends to drop something into the water, but needs this contraption put in place first."

"If it's Mojo Jojo, then there's only one thing he's after," Suzy said.

"Chemical X," Alice supplied, her brows turning upward in concern.

"I am not going to let that happen," Gi stated, dropping her eyebrows. "I've been keeping it clean from Fusion Matter, and I'm not about to let some monkey bent on world domination contaminate it."

"Agreed," Suzy said. "And to start that off..."

She took the object out of Gi's hands and threw it into the air. Just as Lord Pain made a swipe for it, Suzy pulled out her Crayon Cannon and shot it to pieces, letting the shrapnel fall to the jungle ground. Before touching the ground, Suzy tapped her NanoCom and had the pieces sucked up into the electronic device, keeping the jungle floor litter free. Lord Pain released a cry of dismay, both his hands clutching his helmet as he stared at the redhead.

"How could you!" Lord Pain roared in the redhead's face.

Suzy didn't flinch from the roar and placed a hand on her hip, twirling her pistol around her finger before putting it away. Her nonchalance over his outrage only served to make him more infuriated.

"It's something from Mojo's. Whatever he's planning, we can't just let him mess with the river," she reasoned.

"I was given explicit orders-"

"Just tell her you did your job," Gi cut off. "You brought the current diverter to the river. That's what your master instructed, right? So just don't say anything else than that."

"We're already going to be messing with Mojo's plans, so she can't even get mad at you if she ever finds out," Junior pointed out helpfully.

Lord Pain looked stumped for a moment. He pulled away from the redhead and tilted his head sideways, humming in his throat.

"Hmmm, I see your point," he agreed. He nodded his head. "Very well. I shall take my leave."

"Wait," Alice called, stopping the demon.

She levitated the mace back to his side. The demon grinned upon seeing the weapon back by his side.

"Ah yes, thank you," he said, putting his weapon away under his cape.

Without another word he disappeared into the jungle, heading back to Devil's Bluff to report back to Mandy. The team watched him go silently, Alice frowning in worry as his figure retreated.

"Is it safe to let him go back to Mandy?" she questioned. "Especially if she's working for Mojo?"

"Mandy doesn't really work for anyone," Junior corrected. "She's probably working with him on the surface, but doing her own things behind the scenes, which is even scarier."

"How so?" Gi asked.

"Her schemes rarely fail," Junior answered, frowning as he shifted through his mental memory bank.

"The only time would be her temporary run as Soopreme Leaduh of the Kids Next Door," Suzy put in.

Gi still looked mildly confused with the conversation but got the gist that this Mandy character was pretty good at getting what she wanted. What bothered her was that someone like Mandy was teamed up with someone like Mojo, who Gi was well aware of.

"Can she be trusted?" Gi further questioned. Mojo was a bad guy, and if Mandy was willfully working with a villain...

"We can trust her to be against Fuse," Suzy answered, and this answer didn't settle the worries of Gi and Alice.

"And we at least stopped whatever this was supposed to be," Junior added, waving his hand at the river next to them. "If she finds out it was us, we're definitely going to be on her list."

Suzy waved away the teen's warning. "We'll be fine. I'll smooth things over if she comes after us."

"Somehow I find this just as terrifying," Junior murmured.

"Should we have someone tail Mandy to make sure her plans are thwarted?" Gi proposed.

"Alan's in the area," Alice spoke up. "Maybe he can keep an eye on her?"

Suzy thought the suggestions over for a moment before grinning and nodding. "We'll let Ben know what went down and get his opinion on it. Someone may already be watching her, so we don't want to cause any interference if so."

"If anyone is smart, they'd already be watching her," Junior.

"On the subject of that guy, we probably should have asked when that ship of Mojo's would be coming," Gi commented.

"I doubt he'd know," Junior replied with a shrug. "Mandy was just using him as an errand boy, so she probably limited his knowledge to just 'go here and drop this off.'"

"You're probably right..." Gi trailed off, seeing the half-demon's point of view.

"It'll probably be sooner than later," Suzy said. "If Chemical X is involved, Mojo will want to use it as soon as he can, especially before the Powerpuff Girls find out he's got it."

"Should we warn Blossom and Bubbles?" Alice asked, leaving Buttercup out of the question simply because the girl was still recovering her memories.

"Their hands are full," Suzy responded.

"Okay, but they've dealt with Mojo longer. They probably should deal with this. Bubbles isn't that far from his lab," Junior argued.

Suzy waved off the argument. "We can handle this. It's one less thing for the Girls to worry about."

Junior groaned but didn't offer up a further argument. Suzy's mind was made up and getting her to shake it was near-impossible. The transport ship would probably arrive before he would be able to successfully convince her. Sensing the argument was put away and that the team would be staying at the falls, Gi offered up a suggestion for passing the time.

"Since we're going to be waiting for Mojo's ship to come this way, then let's take care of the Great Terrorpins while we're waiting."

In the hour it took for Mojo's ship to arrive at the falls, Team Super Stars and Gi managed to bring down over a hundred Great Terrorspins. The official number was unknown because Gi had lost count after one hundred and twelve, so they opted to just say that they had taken out over a hundred. They even brought a Terrorspin shell to Plumber Carol, who had been wanting it in order to make better armor. She was in desperate need of it because some Scythe Simians had stolen Max's Shag Carpeting CDs and she had to get them back. If the team hadn't been waiting on Mojo's airship, Suzy would have certainly offered their services, but the Plumber went up to Monkey Mountain on her own to complete the job with her newly crafted armor.

The whirl of blades sounded over the treetops, alerting the team who had been on a break from mowing down Fuse's forces of its arrival. At once, the team was on their feet, watching as a helicopter the size of a city bus fly into view, hovering over the famous waterfalls.

"It's showtime," Junior commented.

Suzy placed a hand over her eyes, shading them from the sun. With her eyes covered, she inspected the scene before them.

"My weapon's long range, but even this is a little too far for it. I'd have to get in closer. Junior's probably the same way," Suzy announced, getting a nod of confirmation from the boy. "Anyone have something better?"

"Let me give it a go," Gi said, raising her fist that had the magic ring on it. "Water!"

A spiral of water shot up from the falls and smashed into the side of the helicopter, battering it around. The helicopter wobbled side-to-side midair, but managed to get its barring and righted itself. Gi frowned and sent another stream of water at the copter. The transport ship, recognizing it was under attack, began firing off its laser beams at the water. The shots hit the water, but it didn't do much against it.

"Anyone else have something up their sleeve?" Gi asked, keeping her concentration.

Alice nodded, although Gi was too busy to see the action. With a hand raised, Alice sent an energy beam at the copter's blades, cutting through them and causing them to fall off the flying machine. The copter pitched forward, and in a last-ditch effort to complete its assignment before it could fall into the water, a hatch opened underneath it and a cannister fell. Two black tentacles shot out and grabbed the cannister, stopping its descent to the water below and pulling it away.

While Alice and Gi had been handling the helicopter, Suzy and Junior had hopped onto the floating staircase in order to get closer to the copter. When the cannister had been ejected, Junior had sent off his tentacles to grab it, keeping the water safe from Chemical X contamination. The only matter left to deal with was the falling helicopter now that its blades had been destroyed. Gi had a stream of water under it, to cushion its fall, but gravity was pushing the helicopter down. Seeing the other girl's struggle, Alice raised a hand in the direction of the helicopter, using her telekinesis to first hold it in place, and then raise it upward. The strain of holding a helicopter and its severed blades against gravity caused sweat to pool on her forehead, but she concentrated and moved the copter slowly through the air. She brought the vehicle down gently to the open space at the edge of the forest, kicking up minimal dust when it touched down.

Alice dropped to her knees at the same time as her energy dropped, her power and energy drained from the exertion it had been put through. She didn't use her telekinesis often, and certainly not for something as large as the helicopter. Gi knelt at the younger girl's side and rested a hand on her shoulder, looking at her in a mixture of worry and awe. She offered a shaky thumbs up to nonverbally assure the Planeteer that she was alright. It gave Alice flashbacks to her first fight with a Fusion Monster, and she was selfishly proud of how far she'd come since then. Back then, she had been a mess, vomiting up her breakfast from the usage of her powers. Now, she was merely out of breath and just needed a moment to collect herself. Amber's stamina training was working in spades.

"Holy Toledo! Did you get that, P.K.?"

The exclamation came from the helicopter, making Alice tense in preparation for a fight. To her surprise and relief, it was not a minion that had spoken the words. Instead, a brown-haired girl in glasses was standing beside the helicopter, inspecting the downed craft in surprise. She waved her gloved hand to a red-head boy behind her. On his shoulder was a high-tech video camera pointed at the helicopter, moving over the wreckage slowly.

"Got it," the boy, P.K., replied. "Man, this footage is sick!"

"Alice!" a third voice joined the conversation, and Alice was surprised to find a familiar head of pink hair racing her way. When she drew closer, Cherry knelt down so she could be at eye-level. "Are you okay?"

"Cherry? What are you doing here?" Alice asked instead of addressing the girl's concern.

"A rumor sent us down this way," Cherry answered, running a concern eye over the blue-haired alien. Seeing no injuries and surmising it was nothing but exhaustion plaguing the girl, Cherry continued. "We were getting some establishing shots when the helicopter arrived."

"We caught the whole thing," the brown-haired girl added on, coming to stand behind Cherry. The impressed look on her face shifted to an intense glare when she glanced over her shoulder at the boy with the camera. "That is if P.K. did his job right."

"I just said I did!" P.K. complained, glaring at the girl. Since he was not recording, the video camera hung at his side. "Why do you need to keep badgering it?"

"Because up to now, we never had footage of a girl moving a helicopter out of the air," the brown-haired girl explained. Her eyes twinkled brightly in excitement when she turned her attention back on Alice. The girl leaned forward so she could be in Alice's face, invading the alien's personal space. Alice moved back only a fraction, just enough so she wouldn't go cross-eyed. "How'd you do that, by the way? Magic? E.V.O.? Are you secretly a Powerpu-"

"Okay, Allison, I'm cutting you off there," Cherry said, putting her hand in the girl's face and pushing her back away from her victim. The girl in pigtails flushed pink in embarrassment over her friend's antics. "This is Alice, and I've already told you about her."

"Oooh," Allison said, a spark of recognition going off in her eyes. "So this is the Alice you told us about."

"Wait, that Alice?" P.K. questioned. "The one Haran-GUH!" He yowled in pain and wrapped two arms protectively over his stomach, doubled over as the pain worked its way through his body.

Allison and Cherry glared threateningly at him, having been the culprits for the boy's misery. Alice winced at the gesture of violence, but it was probably for the best - Junior and Suzy had rejoined them by this time, and the glare Junior was shooting the boy dressed in Candy Pirate garbs was threatening an unkind visit to the pits of the Underworld; maybe even Tartarus itself. Allison and Cherry's handling of the situation kept Junior from acting on his own.

"Anyways, I recognize the Planeteer," Cherry said, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Gi. She then jerked her head at Suzy and Junior. "But these are some new faces."

"Hi, I'm Suzy Sunshine," Suzy introduced, her lips spread out in her patented winning smile. She rested a hand on Junior's head, shaking his head slightly from side-to-side. "Mister Grumpy here is Nergal Junior."

"I am not grumpy," Junior complained. If it wasn't for the fact that he was carrying the cannister containing Chemical X, he would have crossed his arms in defiance. Instead, he fixed his redhead teammate with an annoyed frown.

"I'm Cherry Blossom," Cherry introduced. "This is my friend Allison, and the boy there is Prince King Morbucks."

"Prince King?" Suzy questioned in confusion.

"Morbucks?" Junior questioned, just as confused.

"Like Princess Morbucks?" Gi asked.

"She's my cousin," P.K. boasted, smirking and rubbing his finger under his nose.

"She's a brat," Junior countered in a deadpan.

"Hey!" P.K. shouted. "She may be a brat, but she's still my cousin!"

"Whatever."

P.K. frowned but then smirked as he looked at the half-demon haughtily. "Ooooh I get it, you're just jealous of how much cash the Morbucks have."

"I am not jealous of some pompous, greedy-"

"Uhh, I think someone's still in the helicopter," Cherry cut in, ending the fighting.

She was pointing at the downed helicopter, where there was indeed movement inside. The side door opened, and an injured Monkey Minion stumbled out of the cockpit, landing hard on his knees before rising up to his feet. The minion looked upward at the seven pairs of eyes looking back at him. Panicking, the minion frantically hit the harness strap around his chest, trying to activate the jetpack on his back. Either he was too frantic to hit the thing correctly, or the pack had been damaged during the fight, but the jetpack refused to activate.

Nano Megas appeared in a flash beside Junior, flexing its arms. Zipping across the open space, Nano Megas appeared above the minion and performed its Garden State Slam upon the minion's domed helmet, putting the monkey to sleep. Nano Megas hopped around mid-air, celebrating itself for a moment before it returned to Junior's NanoCom.

"We should probably check to see if anyone else is inside," Alice suggested, realizing that should have been the first thing they did.

"Oh, before you do that," Allison said, snapping her fingers at P.K. The boy understood what she wanted without her needing to say a thing and hefted the camera back up onto his shoulder. "Mind telling us what went down here? We're currently getting documentation of things going on in the war for when this is all over with. You know, like a movie version of a yearbook kind of thing."

"Sure, we don't mind," Suzy said.

"While you do that, I'll go and look through the helicopter," Gi said.

"I'll come with," Alice offered.

"Are you able to get on your feet?" the older girl asked in concern.

Alice nodded, smiling reassuringly. She wasn't going to be able to move a helicopter anytime soon, but investigating the wrecked helicopter wasn't going to eat up any of her energy. Gi helped Alice up to her feet anyways, just to assure herself that the girl would be okay. When she saw that Alice wasn't going to collapse again, the two headed over to look over the helicopter while Suzy and Junior - but mostly Suzy - explained what was going on with the Mojo helicopter and the Chemical X. While Gi checked over the Monkey Minion knocked out on the ground to make sure he wasn't going to die on them, Alice went inside to look for any other survivors. It was a single-seater helicopter, and there was no evidence of there being any other Monkey Minion aside from the one being checked over by Gi. Convinced that this was a single-minion operation, Alice joined Gi on the opposite side of the minion.

"He's just knocked out," Gi informed the girl. "His helmet's got a crack on the side and his armor's ripped, but otherwise he doesn't need a hospital."

"I didn't think Mojo would send a minion," Alice said. "I figured he'd have sent a drone."

"If there's one thing you can count on with baddies, it's that they're not dependable," Gi pointed out, chuckling at the end. "Mojo's got some monkey camps in the Foothills. When he's awake, I'll take him up that way."

Alice agreed and then eyed the copter. "What about this?"

Gi looked over her shoulder at the aircraft and frowned in concentration. They were too far away from the Jungle Outpost for Alice to just levitate it over, so they'd have to get it moved in a different manner.

"The Outpost may have a vehicle that can get this. If not, they can at least dismantle it and transfer it back to the post in pieces," Gi explained. "I'll work on getting this recycled."

"Maybe the Plumbers could help with that," Alice suggested.

Gi nodded in agreement. "Any help would be great. I'll get in touch with Mac to see if he has anything that can come out this way."

"Nano Megas' sleep ability won't keep him out for long, so I'll stick nearby and make sure he doesn't move," Alice told the older girl.

Gi nodded and got up from the minion, taking a couple steps away from the roaring falls beside them in order to make the call. Alice kept her eyes on the minion, removing his weapon and using her telekinesis to rip it in two, rendering the thing useless. Not like it would have done much against an alien with powers, a Planeteer with a magic ring, a half-demon with tentacles that could electrify its captured prey, and at least two girls armed with weapons ranging from close combat to long-range firing. Still, it was prudent to be on the safe side. She levitated the broken weapon into the equally broken helicopter so that it would not be missed when the Outpost would send a clean-up crew; she didn't want to pollute, after all.

Cherry suddenly appeared at her side, taking a seat on the grass beside her. She ran an eye over the minion as well, to check for any signs of opposition before side-eying the blue-haired girl.

"Soooo...levitating helicopters out of the sky," Cherry began conversationally. "That's new."

Alice smiled sheepishly. She had come a long way from struggling to maintain and shrink a sphere around a Soulo.

"Yes," Alice agreed. "Although, I don't think I'll be able to repeat that for a while."

Cherry grinned in response. "You know," she started, "I was pretty surprised to learn you were number one on the Leaderboard. No offense, but you were pretty meek when we first met."

Alice nodded along, not offended by the statement. It was a fair assessment, especially back when she first began.

"But after seeing what you did today, I can understand why," Cherry continued. She used her shoulder to nudge Alice. "You're pretty impressive."

Alice smiled bashfully at the compliment. She didn't actually think so, but any argument she might have come up with went out the window by the Monkey Minion stirring. He groaned and put a hand to his forehead, coming around slowly. The moment everything came back to him, the monkey gasped and sat up. Alice placed a force-field the shape of a cube around the prisoner, ensuring he wouldn't run away.

"Hey! Unfair! Let me out!" the monkey complained, banging his paws against the cube's wall. "I must fulfill Mojo Jojo's will!"

"Not today, pal," Cherry remarked.

"Oh, good, he's awake," Gi commented upon returning. She looked away from the minion to Alice. "Numbuh Four's on the way down with something they call a S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. It'll be here in a couple minutes."

"What!" the minion protested. "You can't take my helicopter!"

"Technically, it's not even yours," Suzy corrected, stepping into the conversation. "It's Mojo's, and since he was using it in an underhanded measure, we can take it."

The minion balked at the assessment. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times, but nothing coherent came from it. Considering the record was set straight, Suzy put her attention on Alice.

"Since a cleanup crew is on its way, we're going to head out," she told her teammate. "Allison said there's a wild boy out here, and we're going to tag-along with them."

"You mean the jungle kid?" Gi asked. "I've spotted him a few times, but he's always running off before I can even get a word in."

"Based on Allison's description, I have a theory on who it might be," Suzy continued. "I want to test out my theory."

"But what about him?" Alice asked, pointing at the monkey.

"Give me a minute," Cherry said, getting up to her feet.

She walked over to her friends, and swiped something off of P.K. The boy released a loud complaint, but it went ignored by the pink-haired girl. She silently returned, and motioned for Alice to drop the force-field. Despite Alice's reservations, she obeyed. Before the monkey could make a run for it, Cherry pounced on the captive. She pulled the minion's arms behind his body and wrapped up his wrists with a bandana, ensuring the knot was tied tightly. Cherry put her foot on the minion's back, smirking down at him.

"See? Not a concern."

Gi and Alice stared in shock, amazed by how quickly she had tied the monkey up. Suzy giggled and clapped her hands appreciatively.

"Impressive," Suzy complimented. "Very impressive."

Cherry did a mock bow, removing her foot from the monkey's back.

"He'll be good enough for travel," Cherry remarked. "Where do you plan to take him?"

"Monkey Foothills," Gi answered.

"Hmm, I'd take him back to Mount Blackhead before going there," Cherry advised. "If you walk in with him as your captive, they'll probably turn on you."

Gi thought about the advice for a moment before nodding in agreement. "You're right. I'll follow your advice and bring him to Mount Blackhead. I'll make arrangements from there."

The captive frowned in displeasure; clearly, he had also believed that his companions in the foothills would bring about his freedom in a violent way. Now he was going to be in the hands of the enemy for a lot longer than he had hoped. His fearless leader was going to be so disappointed in him for his failure. Unaware of the minion's turmoil, the girls continued their conversation.

"What about the Chemicl X?" Alice asked her teammate, noting that Junior was still holding the cannister.

"If Gi's okay with it, we'll leave that with her and have it be brought to the outpost," Suzy addressed. "When we get back there, I'll contact Professor Utonium and ask what he wants done with it."

"I'd like to know what Mojo was even planning to do with it," Gi stated, her brow furrowing in annoyance. "We're already fighting hard to keep our waters clean from Fuse's pollution, and now he wants to go and spoil it with Chemical X?"

"Well, you have time till your ride," Cherry pointed out, a smirk sitting on her face. She pointed her thumb at the minion. "Why not use your time to question him on his master's plans?"

The minion cowered as four pairs of eyes landed on him. Then, remembering he was a top member in Mojo's army, he put on a brave face and raised his head in defiance.

"You can try, Homo sapiens," the minion said, practically spitting the word out. "But I'll never betray my master."

"Mhm," Gi said, unimpressed. She glanced back at the girls. "I'll get him to talk."

"Keep me updated, if you can," Suzy requested.

She grinned when she got the nod of confirmation from the Planeteer. With Mojo's plans foiled, Suzy whirled around with an air of excitement.

"Alrighty girls. The search for the lost jungle boy is a-go!"

"Okay team, here's what we know." Allison stood with her hands behind her back like she was a commander handing out orders. Assembled in front of her was her two friends and Team Super Stars, waiting to hear the information the girl had to deliver. "Rumors of the jungle boy implies that he's been wandering around for at least three weeks now. Depending on his survival skills, he's either doing fine and just prefers living off the land, or a raving lunatic ala The Jungles of Madness."

"And you want us to go after him why?" Junior asked Suzy.

"Awh, c'mon. One little jungle boy shouldn't be too hard for the likes of us," Suzy said, her tone lightly teasing. "Besides, I've got a theory on who this person is, and I want to see if I'm right."

Junior sighed but didn't complain any further. Considering the monsters they routinely went up against, a simple boy running around in the wilds really shouldn't be that hard for the team. With the side conversation concluded, Allison resumed her explanation.

"My team and I picked up on his trail a few days ago. He hangs around the falls and the immediate jungle area, so this is the area we need to focus on," Allison continued. She pulled out her communicator and held it up, displaying a holographic map that featured the falls and the jungle. "We've already checked out the jungle, so he's got to be here somewhere by the falls."

"He wouldn't go into the foothills?" Alice asked, wanting to clarify the point.

The foothills weren't very far from where they were; it wouldn't be much effort for him to run off north at the slightest chance he could be discovered. Allison shook her head side to side.

"Not a chance. The tree line dwindles the further north you go, so there aren't many places for him to hide or call a home. He can't really forage for food up that way given how uninhabitable the land is, and the falls provide the freshest sort of water," Allison laid out. "If he's wandering around, he's sticking to the falls and everything southward up to the outpost."

"He's not hanging around there?" Junior asked.

"He was for a bit," P.K. chimed in. "Operatives came across him stealing some of their food and they scared him off. According to them, he hasn't been seen there since."

"We already checked around the temple, so this is the last place," Cherry added.

"Hmmm. Too bad Nanos can't seek out humans," Suzy commented, studying the holographic map still being displayed. "It'd make this go by a lot easier."

"Probably, but it doesn't make for a fun documentary," Allison countered. She closed the map and put her communicator back on her hip. "The plan is to find either him or his camp, though I prefer the latter."

"Wouldn't it be better to find him?" Junior inquired.

"Normally, but if he's been out here for the three weeks like we assume he's been, then he'll have the advantage and run off," Cherry explained. "If we find his camp, we can either confront him there or wait it out till he gets back."

"Either way, the guy has to go back to his home, and ideally we want to be there waiting," P.K. summarized.

"Sounds reasonable," Suzy commented. "We'll search by foot." She looked away from the assembled group and focused her attention on Alice. "Alice, you take to the sky. Given my experience with my own Jungle Boy, there's a chance he may be using the treetops to get around, especially if he wants to avoid going head-to-head with the monsters on a daily business."

Alice nodded in agreement. Allison's eyes lit up at the suggestion, looking in amazement at the blue-haired girl.

"You can fly?" she asked.

Alice nodded again.

"You are officially my favorite person," Allison said. "Sorry P.K."

P.K. jerked in surprise, his eyes wide. "Wait, I was your favorite?"

"Nope. I'm just apologizing to you because you'll be nobody's favorite."

"Ouch, Allie," P.K. griped, glaring at the girl. "You cut deep."

"Okay, let's regroup and focus here," Cherry called to attention, clapping her hands for emphasis. "Daylight is burning, and I don't like filming with infrared."

"Hold it, you don't even film!" P.K. protested.

"Yes, but I have to edit the footage and I hate looking at it," Cherry argued back.

"Regardless of Cherry's questionable tastes," Allison said, ignoring the glare Cherry sent her way, "she is right. We're losing daylight. Jungle boy has a head start, and we need to catch up with him."

"We'd probably have caught him by now if you weren't wasting our time with this side conversation," Junior complained under his breath, wanting to take a jab but not willing to open up another can of worms.

"I'm assuming you want us to stick together?" Suzy asked Allison, helping get the conversation back on track.

"That's right. We don't have to stay in a big group, but we should be withing shouting distance. We don't know what he's capable of, and should have each other's backs." Allison thought about it for a moment and regarded Alice. "Actually, you'd probably be okay to venture further from us. Whatever Jungle Boy is capable, you'd probably shrug it off easily."

Alice's cheeks colored pink at the compliment and she shook her head. "I'll stick with the group."

Allison nodded at the girl. "Okay, then let's set off." She whirled around and pointed at P.K. "Start the tape!"

With professionalism, P.K. hefted the video camera up onto his shoulder and clicked the record button, the red light indicating it was filming. Taking the cue, Alice lifted herself into the air, following behind the group as it split into four. Suzy, Junior, and Cherry all split up, but P.K. trailed behind Allison. Given that he was busy holding a heavy filming equipment, he needed someone to protect him from the monsters that moved in the vicinity. As Allison had instructed, the groups were spread out but still within earshot of one another, and Alice's bird-eye view allowed her to keep an eye on all of them in case they were overrun by a pack of monsters.

Despite being in the air, the Striding Lampreys enjoyed spitting Fusion globs at her from where they were stuck on the ground, taking pot shots as she passed them. She either put up a shield to protect herself or merely diverted out of the path before it could hit. Sometimes she'd deal with the monster herself, hitting it with an energy ball or squishing it in a force field. Other times she'd use Nano Boomer's Batter Up! or Nano Bubbles' Tornado Trap.

When she wasn't being target practice for Fuse's lizard monsters, she was keeping an eye out on the canopy she flew under. She looked for any signs of a human using the tops of the trees as their own personal jungle gym, like bark missing in a strange place or vines hanging in incorrect places; maybe even a treehouse not unlike what the Jungle Outpost had. She didn't find any signs of a human living in the jungle, but did come across a flock of startled birds.

Unused to seeing a flying humanoid, the birds startled easily and rushed off in an effort to escape what they assumed to be a predator. In their hurry, they nearly collided with the very thing they were rushing away from. Alice didn't want to hurt them for panicking, so she didn't throw up a shield to protect herself. Instead, she dodged them. As she was dodging the startled flock, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

A shadowy figure watched her pass by from the safety of the trees, and, with a battle cry, launched itself upon her. The cry had Alice craning her head in its direction, but she only saw a pair of bare feet connect with her backside before she was pushed downward. She attempted to right herself, but the thing on her back quickly grabbed her hair, yanking her head back. Her hands flew to the invader's hands, attempting to get them to release her hair. The invader - whom she assumed was the jungle boy - wouldn't relent, and though Alice didn't want to hurt him, she also couldn't let him hurt her. She created a small force-field sphere between the two bodies, and slowly expanded it outward until it forced the jungle boy to release her. Before he could fall to the ground, Alice had the sphere envelop his body, keeping him safe. She spun around and brought herself and the captured jungle boy to the ground, keeping her concentration as the boy flung himself at the sphere's walls.

"Whoa! That was epic, Alice!" Allison cheered, rushing forward with an energetic smile.

P.K. rushed in behind her, the camera lens trained on the wild boy still attempting to escape his confides. Allison dared to move closer, putting her face to the force-field's side. The jungle boy didn't appreciate being spied on, and so he rushed and hit his shoulder where Allison was looking in. The sphere held its shape, and Allison wasn't scared of the violent action; she was even more excited.

"Incredible!" Allison crowed. "He totally went crazy like in The Jungle of Madness."

P.K. cleared his throat, waving one hand at the video camera when he got the girl's attention. Recognizing the unspoken complaint, Allison quickly changed demeanors and straightened up. She coughed into her fist to clear out her throat, and then faced the camera with an air of professionalism found in all newscasters.

"What you see before you is the fabled jungle boy who has called Forgotten Falls his romping ground," Allison explained to the camera, sweeping a dramatic arm at the still frenzied boy. "With the help of Team Super Stars, we have managed to grab him. But the question now remains: who is he?"

The boy grew tired from his attempts, and winded up standing in the middle of the sphere. Because he had stilled, Alice was able to observe him. An abnormal green tongue stuck out of his mouth as he panted heavily, his shoulders moving up down, up down in time with the panting. He was shirtless, making skin that was already dark even darker from his numerous encounters with the sun. What might have been white pants in another life had been cut jaggedly into a pair of shorts, his only article of clothing. The boy was shoeless, something she already knew from when his bare feet touched her back. His head was mostly bald, save for the few bristles at the top. He had a wild look in his eyes, no doubt from being captured. His hands hung loosely from his sides, which somehow felt weird to Alice.

Alice scrutinized the boy for a moment. He certainly looked familiar, clearly a student at the junior high since he looked roughly the same age as her. He was dirty from living out in the jungle, but he probably wasn't dirty beforehand. She thought about it more, trying to pin a face to a name, but it was a little hard. It was like he was missing something that was stopping her from pinning his identity down; and that's when it suddenly clicked. He was missing something; something tied even to his name.

"Jonny?" she said, looking upon him in surprise.

The boy twitched, flashing crazy eyes at her. Maybe he didn't recognize her, but she certainly did him. Jonny 2x4, the boy whose best friend was a plank of wood.

Allison turned to Alice, looking in surprise that she recognized the face. By this time, their friends had arrived, having seen Alice and Jonny in the air. In amazement, the three looked at the caged boy. Alice saw Suzy's eyes light up in recognition. The redhead put her hands on her hips and smirked, looking like the cat that caught the canary.

"Ahh," she said happily. "I was right."

"Who is this?" Cherry asked, coming to stand beside Allison.

"Alice called him Jonny," Allison answered, looking to the third member of her team. "By the way, you owe me thirty taros. I so called it."

Cherry rolled her eyes but dutifully pulled out her communicator and transferred the amount over to her friend. While Cherry dealt with settling a bet, Junior approached and looked at the caged jungle boy, his eyebrows lifting up into his hairline.

"That's Jonny 2x4?" Junior asked in confusion.

"Who's that?" Allison and Cherry asked in unison.

P.K. dutifully turned the camera in Junior's direction, excepting an answer to further clarify on who the heck Jonny 2x4.

"A boy from the Cul-de-Sac," Junior answered.

"You may recognize him as Captain Melonhead," Suzy provided.

Instantly, the confusion lifted off their faces as they observed the boy. He was no longer breathing heavily and he wasn't trying to escape. Since Alice had said his name, he had taken to studying all the new faces, curious of the six of them as they were in him.

"No way," Allison breathed. "How did he get out here?"

"More like why is he out here?" P.K. asked. "Shouldn't he be at the Cul-de-Sac?"

Alice remembered Double D mentioning Jonny's disappearance back when the Cul-de-Sac was having a cardboard fort be built around it. That would mean he'd been away from the Cul-de-Sac for months. How long had he been out here in the Wilds? Certainly for three weeks, as far as the rumors were concerned, but it was possible he'd been out longer. How did he get back here, and more importantly...

"What happened to Plank?"

Jonny jerked at the name, his eyes going wide at the mention of his best friend. Now that she mentioned the missing piece of wood he was never without, the others noticed the 2x4's missing status.

"Jonny 2x4 without his 2x4?" Junior asked, cocking his head sideways. "I better check to see if the Underworld is covered in ice."

"Isn't the piece of wood his sidekick or something?" Cherry inquired.

"Splinter the Wonderwood," Alice answered.

She could recall in vivid details summer days when Captain Melonhead and his trusty sidekick, Splinter the Wonderwood, would thwart Professor Scam's scams. It was strange seeing Jonny without Plank, and a little sad. What had happened to Jonny when he was all alone?

"What happened to Plank, Jonny?" Suzy asked gently, making sure she was looking at the boy eye-to-eye.

Instead of going into a frenzy like Alice feared, Jonny's shoulders drooped downward, looking upset at the reminder that he was Plank-less. Seeing he wasn't going to go on the attack, Suzy waved at Alice, silently instructing her to remove the sphere. Alice did as Suzy instructed, trusting the other girl's intuition. Jonny was free, but he didn't run to the safety of the jungle. Instead, he dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged. He put his elbows on his knees, head in his hands, and released a long sigh.

"He was captured," Jonny said, speaking perfectly normal.

Allison and her friends were clearly thrown in surprise. They were probably expecting his speech to be broken, considering the mental image they had. Alice guiltily felt the same way; after seeing how feral he had become; she was sure he would speak broken English. It was at least comforting to see that the allure of the wilds hadn't completely changed him.

"Captured by who?" Suzy inquired, sitting down on the ground so that they were still on the same level.

"A Fusion," Jonny answered. "At least that's what I've heard them be called. The crazy thing is, it looked like me! But an evil me."

"Technically, all Fusions are evil," Allison piped in, raising her finger upward as she corrected the boy. "We're kinda in a war with them."

"Yeah, but this was an evil one," Jonny stressed, although Allison still didn't see the difference. "Like a bad version of Captain Melonhead! Instead of a watermelon, it was wearing a gourd!"

"A variant?" Junior asked. "Didn't Utonium's Fusion have something similar?"

"Fusion Plutonium," Suzy agreed, nodding her head. "It has tentacles which I'm pretty sure the real Professor doesn't have."

"Fit in with the mad scientist vibe, though," Cherry countered.

"Guess Fusions don't like watermelons," P.K. quipped, having the camera hanging by his side.

"Ya gotta help me!" Jonny pleaded, flinging himself upon Suzy. "I can't let that fiend have my best friend!"

"Of course we'll help out, Jonny," Suzy assured the boy, patting his elbow. He stared at her, no doubt surprised by how fast and easily she agreed to his pleadings. "The world needs a hero, and every hero needs a sidekick."

Jonny gasped as his eyes welled up. Unabashedly, he began to cry in relief. Suzy didn't miss a beat, and patted him on the back, whispering words of reassurance that they'd get Plank back.

"Aren't Fusions hard to find?" P.K. questioned. "How are we going to go looking for one?"

From over her shoulder, Suzy sent a smirk Alice's way.

"We're getting close," Alice announced, leading the team from the front.

"We're almost to Plank?" Jonny asked, sticking close to Alice's side.

Alice looked over at the boy and nodded in answer. After he calmed down from his outburst, Jonny had bounced back to being his old self. He was eager to find Plank and have his friend back, and the only thing stopping him from running off on his own was that he needed Alice to point the way for him, so he stuck by her like glue.

"You sure it's a smart idea to bring a camera to a Fusion fight?" Junior questioned, eyeing the camera resting on P.K.'s shoulder.

Allison wanted some footage of Alice leading the way with her Fusion sensing abilities, and so P.K. was filming the entire trek so that Cherry could pick out the best take.

"This will be the first Fusion we've encountered," Allison explained. "We sooo need the footage."

"Plus, you've all had your fair share of fighting Fusions, right?" Cherry asked. When Junior agreed with her assessment, she continued, "We have the same odds fighting this Fusion like we did searching for jungle boy there." She gestured at Jonny. "You three took down Fusions before, so having three more pairs of hands should just sway the odds further in our favor."

"Technically two and a half," P.K. corrected, tapping the video camera's side.

"Plus, you'll have the help of Captain Melonhead!" Jonny declared heroically. Despite him sticking to Alice, he had been paying attention to the conversation.

"With what weapon?" Cherry asked rhetorically, running her eyes up and down his body. He was still only in a pair of shorts, and it didn't look like a communicator or weapon was on him.

"I don't need any weapons," Jonny responded confidently.

"How have you been dealing with -"

"PLANK!"

P.K.'s question was loudly interrupted by Jonny spotting his captured friend. Alice panicked when the boy released the loud scream, and only managed to grab his arm before he moved out of her reach.

The Fusion holding the 2x4 turned in their direction, its red eyes narrowing upon seeing the large group. When Jonny had declared the Fusion to be a villain, Alice hadn't believed him, although now she was seeing what he meant. While the Fusion had the same attire as Captain Melonhead, albeit ragged and disarrayed, there were some stark differences. A brown belt with a large buckle wrapped around its stomach. The gloves it wore on its hands were mismatched. On its right hand, the glove covered the fingers and went to the elbow. On the left hand, the glove was fingerless and short. Wrapped around its shoulders was a quilt that made into a cape. Atop its head, covering half of its face was a large gourd, with eyeholes cut into it so that the red of the Fusion's eyes could be visible. The Fusion copy seemed more like a dark, mirror verse of the hero, quite possibly the most surprising variant Fusion that had popped up since Fusion Wilt.

Jonny struggled against Alice's hold. Being within inches of rescuing his friend put him back into that wild state, and so he thrashed around wildly. When that didn't work, he spun around and bit Alice's hand. She released him with a cry, more out of surprise than actual pain.

"What the heck!?" Cherry demanded from the boy, shocked that he would do such a childish thing.

Jonny didn't hear - or was just plain ignoring the others. He crossed the distance between the two sides quickly, and leaped into the air. While in the air, he stuck out his leg, targeting his opponent. He was able to connect the bottom of his foot into the Fusion's gourd protected head, but had no chance to celebrate this feat. As soon as his foot made contact with the Fusion, the Fusion slapped the boy away from him. Jonny went flying and landed on his back, skidding to a stop a few feet back.

"We'll have to edit that out," Allison commented.

The Fusion gurgled something that might have been a laugh, and then lifted its fingers, giving them a snap. Almost immediately, Great Terrorspins appeared and surrounded the team.

"Oh great!" P.K. complained. "We're surrounded!"

"Gee, thanks Sherlock!" Cherry snapped, pulling out her Zip Zapper and firing at the closest Terrorspin near her. "I hadn't noticed!"

"I'm going to help Jonny," Alice told Junior, pushing a Great Terrorspin with her force-field. "Will you be okay helping them?"

"Don't worry about us," Junior answered. "Suzy and I can- Where's Suzy?"

Alice looked around for a moment, trying to spot their redheaded friend. Allison and Cherry were standing back-to-back, firing off their weapons at the Great Terrorspins. P.K. had put the camera down and was using the Peppermintium Claws on his free hand to swipe at the monsters that tried to get close to the three of them. Junior was standing next to her, and Jonny was fending off his own Great Terrorspin, but Suzy was nowhere near the group.

"I'll find her after I help Jonny," Alice told him.

Junior agreed, and proceeded to skewer the Terrorspins' heads with his tentacles. Alice took to the air, flying over the land monsters and heading for Jonny. For a boy with only his bare hands, he was doing surprisingly okay. He was in the middle of wrestling the jaws of one of the Terrorspin's heads, the other head trying to snap at him from the awkward angle. Despite having his hands touching the Fusion skin, Jonny was showing no signs of being burned. It was a thought for another time. The Fusion was sneaking up on Jonny, forming a gooey ball in its hand.

Alice called out Nano Boomer and her Nano rushed at the Fusion, striking it with his energy bat. The Fusion's own attack it was preparing fell out of its hand and to the ground, causing the ground to be infected. The Fusion spun on the Nano with a snarl, and formed another gooey ball, throwing it Alice's way. Alice deflected the attack with her shield, and that was when she noticed a familiar head of red hair.

Suzy was sneaking up behind the Fusion, Nano Numbuh Five trailing behind her and mimicking Suzy's sneaking movement. Seeing the two made Alice realize what had happened. Nano Numbuh Five's Secret Agent permitted her to sneak past the Great Terrorspins undetected, and the Fusion had no idea how close she was to him. She stopped within arm's reach of the Fusion, but she didn't try reaching out for the stolen property. Instead, she sent Nano Numbuh Five. The Nano flew stealthily through the air and put her little hands on the bottom of the wood. Once she was positive she had a good grip, she pulled. Because the Fusion had set its sights on Alice, it had a relaxed grip on Plank, letting the Nano yank it from its hold. It felt the wood piece be pulled from its grasp, and turned to find who had stolen from it. This is when Alice sent the monster's attack back at it, striking it in the head.

Nano Numbuh Five overestimated the Fusion's grip on Plank and wound up using more strength than she needed. The momentum had her somersaulting in the air, losing her grip on the wood piece. Plank's descent was interrupted by Suzy grabbing him. Once she had her fingers wrapped around the wood she immediately bolted the opposite direction, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the Fusion; her Nano followed as fast as she could. The Fusion didn't notice Suzy's escape thanks to Alice, and now its attention was put onto the floating girl.

The Fusion growled and raised a hand, green matter beginning to form on the spot of earth below Alice. The eruption never finished its formation because the Fusion was surprise tackled by Jonny. The boy tackled the Fusion to the ground, pinning down the Fusion's arms with his knees. Moving fast, Jonny began punching the Fusion in the face, throwing one punch after the other. The Fusion was so surprised by the ferocity of the attacks that it didn't try to stop the human from pummeling him. Alice was equally surprised, especially because Jonny wasn't showing any signs that contact with the Fusion's skin was hurting him.

"YOU NO GOOD, ROTTEN, UGLY, HEINOUS FRIEND STEALER!" Jonny screamed as he continued his assault. "PLANK IS MY FRIEND! MY FRIEND! GET YOUR OWN FRIEND!"

To cap off his rage induced episode, Jonny headbutted the Fusion. The gourd that protected the monster's head cracked in half from the hit, and fell apart, briefly revealing the face of Fusion Jonny. Then, the body melted into Fusion Matter and the liquid flew up into Alice's NanoCom since it was the closest technology. Jonny stared at the spot the Fusion had been, blinking in surprise. He looked around, trying to find a trace of where his opponent had spirited away to.

"Hey, where did he go?" Jonny asked in confusion, his anger nowhere to be found on his face.

"And CUT!" Allison yelled.

Jonny and Alice snapped their attention her way, finding her running toward them. She placed her hands on Jonny's shoulders once she reached him. Her eyes were wide in excitement, and the grin she wore threatened to split her face in half.

"That was amazing! You were amazing!" Allison cheered. "The finished project is going to be spectacular!"

"Uh, thanks?" Jonny said in confusion. While he got the idea that she was complimenting him, he wasn't really interested in anything related to a project; whatever that was. "Have you seen Plank? The Fusion didn't drop him."

"I've got him, Jonny," Suzy told him, making her way over. She held up the missing friend. "And don't worry, not a splinter out of place."

"Plank!" Jonny cried, leaping to his feet.

He ran and took Plank from Suzy, hugging the wood close to his chest and doing a little spin. The smile on his face was the sweetest smile, and it made Alice happy to see the two reunited. She didn't understand how someone his age could be so attached to an inanimate object, but she couldn't deny that he felt strongly for his friend. She landed near the boy, looking him over. Frowning, she called out Nano Numbuh Three.

"Rainbow Monkeys!" Nano Numbuh Three delightfully cried for no apparent reason. It was her favorite form a greeting, and Alice didn't have the heart to make her change it. "Who needs love?"

Nano Numbuh Three zipped around the open space, giving her Share the Love hugs to anyone who needed them. Suzy and Alice hadn't been part of the fights, so they were unharmed - and in Alice's case, she healed quickly anyways. Junior and Allison had been lucky and made it out of the fight with the Great Terrorspins without a scratch on them. Cherry and P.K. had only a burn or two that disappeared as soon as Nano Numbuh Three hugged them. She hugged Jonny the longest. Even though he didn't act like he was in pain, there was still the fact that he had been in close - and prolong - contact with a Fusion's skin. Nano Numbuh Three even used Share the Love on Plank at Jonny's request. The piece of wood had some Fusion Matter on his bark, no doubt from where the Fusion held him. Even though Alice didn't think it would work, the spots had disappeared after Nano Numbuh Three hugged him. Maybe the rumors were true; maybe Plank really was alive. Was he influenced by some sort of imaginary energy?

"Awwh, Plank, I'm so happy you're safe," Jonny said, giving Plank another hug. "I missed you so much."

"I really don't get this whole boy and his piece of wood thing, but I have to say what you just did to that Fusion was pretty impressive," P.K. said complimented. "I thought for sure you were going to get us all killed, but you actually managed to save the day."

"Of course he did," Suzy said, grinning at the bald boy.

Alice smiled and nodded. "He is Captain Melonhead."

A glint shined in Jonny's eyes at the mention of his superhero alter ego. It was the same look he had whenever Professor Scam tried to swindle the Cul-de-Sac kids out of their hard-earned quarters.

"After seeing this, I definitely understand why his image is up in Heroes Square," Cherry commented with a smirk. "I'd want a hero like him keeping the streets safe."

"They have an image of me?" Jonny asked in amazement. "In Hero Square?"

"Heroes Square," Cherry corrected.

"A lot has changed since you left the Cul-de-Sac," Alice said. "People have been missing you."

"Dexter's sent people to look for you," Junior added. "With this invasion still going on, the world is in need of heroes."

"After what we captured on tape, I'd say the world could use you especially," P.K. joined in, paying him another compliment.

"What do you say, Jonny? Ready to leave the jungle and return to being a hero dedicated to protecting the innocent?" Suzy prompted.

Jonny glanced down at his buddy Plank for a moment. When he looked back up at Suzy, he smirked. It was the confident smirk Alice had seen on the face of Captain Melonhead, and she knew his response before he struck his pose and declared heroically,

"It's Melon Time!"

Chapter Text

There was nothing but darkness. Everywhere she looked, dense blackness met her vision. Only her hands, feet, body were visible to her, though from what light she could see herself she didn't know. She was able to walk, but she didn't know where she was going. There was no light to follow and the darkness only darkened. Her NanoCom was nowhere to be found, so there was no way to make artificial light to brighten her path. The bit that kept her on guard, that put goosebumps on her flesh, was that she had the distinct feeling of being watched. Somebody or something was out in the darkness, watching her.

"Hello?" she called, and flinched when she heard her voice echo.

The great and mighty Arthenadites...reduced to a mere child.

She gasped at the deep, baritone sound that pierced the silence. It sounded like it was around her and in her head all at once. The voice was unrecognizable to her, but the tone dripped with malice and contempt. There was the added bonus that while she had no clue who this individual was, they certainly knew who she was.

"Hello?" she called out again. "Who are you?"

You made a foolish mistake coming here. So close to my kingdom. But I would like to thank you. You've made my job of eradicating you that much easier.

She tensed at the words, and spun around once more to search for the voice. There was still only darkness, but she felt the space decrease in temperature. The coolness bit her skin and when she exhaled, she saw her breath form into a little cloud. She attempted to create a force-field over her to retain some heat, but the protection never came. She tried a few more times to will it into being, and then tried for form an energy ball in her hand when it didn't work. To her astonishment and terror, she couldn't call on any of her powers. She was utterly defenseless in the dark with a voice that wished nothing but malice upon her.

You escaped me once before. I don't know what trickery you performed to survive our encounter, but I won't let you escape for a second time. You are the sole remaining Arthenadite, and I cannot - will not - allow you to continue existing.

Her pulse began to race and she had a real fear that her heart would jump straight through her ribs and skin. Her blood pounded in her ears so loudly she was shocked she could even hear the voice speak to her. Could the voice hear her blood pounding? Could it sense her fear? Her body trembled, but she couldn't identify if it was from fear or the cold. Could it be from both?

Did you think you could bring me to ruin? You believe someone as powerful and feared as I would be felled by you? Many have tried, and many have failed, and none of them were a little child. You won't even be difficult to eliminate.

She knelt down and cupped her hands over her ears, trying to keep the words out but it did little good. The voice surrounded her in the empty space and invaded her in her mind. There was no escaping it.

Once you're dead, I will finally have fulfilled by revenge against your cursed race. I will finally have eradicated every Arthenadite from the known universe!

A pair of deep, blood red eyes opened in front of her, spooking her by its suddenness. Quickly, something that resembled an arm shot from the shadows and headed for her. Her eyes widened as she watched the impending attack come for her, accompanied by the voice loudly, and hatefully, demanding for her to DIE!

The pointed claws plunged into her chest and she opened her mouth to release...

...a scream filled with absolute terror as Alice flung herself upward into a seated position.

For a moment, her mind was still trapped in the nightmare she had violently awoken from. Her heart still pounded, threatening to escape if another stressor taxed it, and the blood pounding in her ears tuned out the noise of the real world. Her breathing was erratic as her lungs attempted to get as much air into them and as much oxygen to the brain to help it think straight. Her hand gripped at her pajama top, gripping the exact spot where the claws had penetrated her skin.

"Alice?"

A hand brought itself down on Alice's shoulder. She still lingered in the state between sleep and consciousness, so she tensed upon feeling the contact. It took her a moment to recognize the face staring at her as her friend. Suzy was standing over her, looking at her with worry. The redhead was using her NanoCom flashlight to see, and it was from this lighting that Alice could see Junior sitting up on his cot, searching for his glasses.

Seeing her friends and recognizing she was safe, Alice felt she could breathe easier. It was just a nightmare, she told herself. Just a nightmare. She used to get them as a child, especially whenever she spent the night in Nowhere. It was just a nightmare.

The ache in her chest made her have doubts.

"S-sorry," Alice muttered, struggling to find her voice.

"Are you okay? Was it a nightmare?" Suzy asked, taking a seat on Alice's cot.

"Yes," Alice admitted, dropping her eyes in embarrassment. "S-sorry. For waking you."

"Can't say I'm surprised you're apologizing for having a nightmare," Junior chimed in from his cot, having found his glasses. He stared at her with the same worry Suzy stared. "You know you really shouldn't."

"Especially a scary one," Suzy said, looking over Alice critically. "You're cold, Alice, and pale."

Alice looked down at her arms, finding that her skin did look paler than normal. She felt cold, which was strange because the night air was warm. Even with a blanket over her body, she shouldn't feel as cold as ice.

"Is everything alright here, young ones? I heard a scream."

Alice snapped her head upward, and Suzy turned her flashlight over in the direction of the voice. It wasn't necessary, because the man walking their way was carrying a small lantern to provide light. Despite all the technology Mandark's airship provided, the lantern the man held in his palm was simple and provided a softer glow. Suzy turned off her NanoCom's flashlight because she liked the softer glow better.

The man approaching was a samurai - an honest to goodness samurai, to the team's astonishment -known simply as Jack. The man didn't look like he'd even hit his mid-20s yet, but he was actually a man from the ancient past, according to Ben.

"Yes, I'm sorry," Alice admitted, dropping her head again. "I didn't mean to."

The samurai offered a comforting smile.

"You should not apologize for something out of your control, young one," he said to her sagely.

"See, even Jack agrees," Suzy said, smiling at her friend. "Sooo, wanna talk about it? Nightmares usually aren't so scary once you talk about them."

"I..." don't want to bother you was on the tip of her tongue, but she cut herself off when she remembered who she was talking to. It would just lead to a mini argument that would end in her admitting what had bothered her, so she might as well save time and just retell them her nightmare.

Alice told them about what she went through in the nightmare. About how dark it was and that no matter where she looked or which way she walked, the darkness never let up. She told them about her inability to use any of her powers, and how cold the dream had become. And finally, she told them about the voice that spoke to her, and how it had attacked her, leading to her waking herself and all of them up. Jack and her team looked properly concerned at the mention of the voice.

"Did you ever see who you were talking to?" Junior asked.

"No," Alice answered. "But it had red eyes, and the claws looked like they were branches, or something similar to it."

"A Fusion?" Suzy guessed. "I didn't know they could talk."

"I have heard no reports of this feature," Jack concurred, looking perplexed.

Alice hesitated to answer, because a Fusion didn't feel right. They certainly matched the malice requirement, but this voice spoke to her in too personal a manner to be a Fusion. And then there were the things it said.

You've made my job of eradicating you that much easier... You escaped me once before... Once you're dead, I will finally have fulfilled by revenge against your cursed race... DIE!

Only one person wanted to wipe her out. Only one person she had escaped from. Only one person had made it their lifelong mission to exact revenge on the Arthenadites. The realization shot a chill down her spine, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe.

"Fuse," Alice said, her voice low as if afraid saying the name would make the owner magically appear.

"What?" Junior asked, his mouth dropping open slowly.

"No wonder you had a nightmare," Suzy consoled, patting Alice sympathetically on the arm.

"Have you suffered from nightmares like this before?" Jack asked.

Alice shook her head. The answer caused Jack to frown and close his eyes. He fell into his mind, allowing his thought process to work through the information given.

"I do not believe this is a nightmare you have suffered," Jack proposed, keeping his eyes closed.

The three youths snapped their heads in Jack's direction. They gave each other a confused look, silently asking each other if they knew what the samurai was speaking about before looking back up at him.

"Uhhh, sounds like a nightmare to me," Junior stated.

Jack shook his head, opening his eyes. "I do not believe so. As I recall, you have a connection to Fuse."

Alice tensed up at the reminder. She was getting better about letting it slide, but Ben had made a big deal about how cool Jack was and how he was one of the best warriors that the Earth had. If Jack viewed her as a threat, would he cut her down? He had been nothing but kind to her and the team when they arrived on the airship, but what if he decided she was too dangerous?

"She has nothing-"

Jack held up his hand, cutting off Junior's protest. Reluctantly, the boy shut his mouth, willing to hear out the samurai's explanation.

"I was not implying she was working for him. Many have assured me that she is firmly on our side," Jack said. "Besides, connections work two ways. She is connected to Fuse."

"And Fuse is connected to me," Alice finished.

Jack nodded, confirming this was what he was saying. "I believe Fuse was contacting you while you were unconscious."

"What, like telepathy?" Junior asked.

"It's possible," Suzy chimed in, her tone thoughtful. "You can sense when other Fusions are around; who's to say that isn't a form of telepathy?"

"So he...was talking to me?"

"I believe this to be the case, though I cannot say for certain. It is only my best guess."

Alice looked down at her hands, biting her lip. She didn't like the sound of it, but she found herself agreeing with Jack, which made her blood freeze. The thought of Fuse being able to contact her scared her. If he could reach her in her sleep, what more could he do?

"I will consult with Tetrax to see if something like this is possible. He has been doing investigations on the different Fusion Monsters that roam the island, and may possibly shed a light on the situation," Jack said, his voice calm and reasonable. "I know it may be difficult, but I would advise you all to try and get some sleep. Sunrise is still not for several hours, and you will need all the energy you can get."

"You think we'll be able to get some sleep after this?" Junior asked incredulously.

"No, that is why I suggested you try," Jack replied.

"Jack's got a point," Suzy piped in. "Ben needs our help tomorrow, and the Darklands are too dangerous for us to slip up. Even if it's hard, we need to at least try and get some more shut eye."

Junior sighed dramatically and flopped back on the cot, crossing his arms with a huff. "Fine, fine," he agreed. "But if I wake up from nightmares, I'm playing some President Evil."

Suzy rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she got off Alice's cot. "Oh right, because that wouldn't give you more nightmares."

Junior turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow.

"Have you forgotten who my dad is?" Junior asked. "I live in the Center of the Earth. I visit the Underworld on the weekends."

Suzy chuckled. She grabbed her cot and wheeled it so that it was positioned next to Alice's. With her cot in place, she climbed in and laid her head on the pillow.

"Alright, fair point," Suzy conceded. "You win this round."

Jack smiled lightly at the light banter the two held, appreciating the way they attempted to lighten the mood for their scared friend. It was a slight change, but Jack saw how her worried brows softened just a little.

Jack knew having them go back to sleep was a difficult request to make, especially because he knew he'd have difficulty following it himself. The thought of Fuse attacking Alice, a mere child, in a state of vulnerability infuriated the samurai so much he wanted to march into Fuse's stronghold and strike the evil overlord down with his blade. At present, it was impossible, and he had to comfort himself with the knowledge that Fuse would be stopped soon.

"I will be close by if you are in need of assistance," Jack told the three. "Goodnight, children."

"Night, Jack," Alice and Suzy said, speaking over Junior's protesting, "I'm not a child!"

Jack smiled indulgently and the boy's complaints and turned away without another word. The light went with him, leaving only the moonlight to help the kids see in the dark; not that it helped much. With some reluctance, Alice settled back under the blanket and put her head on the pillow. She laid on her back and looked up at the stars, taking in the moment of the silence and the warm air and the beautiful stars. Its peacefulness calmed her nerves, and she found that she could almost fall back asleep.

"Are you going to be okay, Alice?" Suzy asked out of concern, keeping her voice low so only Alice could hear.

Alice turned her head to her friend, barely able to make out the concern look on her face.

"I'll be okay," Alice answered.

It was a weak answer, she knew, but Jack and Suzy were right. Ben needed their help in launching Max's satellite, and she would be of no use to her team if she was dead tired. Suzy seemed to recognize this fact as well but didn't call it out. Instead, she offered the blue-haired girl a reassuring smile.

"We're right here, okay?" she reminded the girl. "We're right here if you need us."

Alice smiled at the sentiment and nodded. With no more words needed to be said, Suzy closed her eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Alice followed suit. She closed her eyes and remembered happy memories of her childhood with her mother to help her fall asleep.

The bright yellow sun woke the team from their slumber. Alice was amazed she'd even been able to get some shut eye at all, though very pleased she didn't have another run in with Fuse. Wanting to get a head start on the day, the team jumped into action. They broke down their little camping experience and returned the borrowed items - the cots, the blankets, the pillows - to the Mandroids who were already wandering around the ship doing repairs or setting up shop. The team then retreated inward to the rooms set up for them to change into their normal clothing and grabbed breakfast in the ship's cafeteria where they encountered S.A.C.T. and Plumber agents in various states of wakefulness. By the time they returned to the deck, the airship was bustling with the other inhabitants starting their day.

The team needed to speak with Tetrax, who they had been sent to meet from Ben. Max was setting up a satellite to get a better idea of what Planet Fusion's surface was like. Unfortunately, it was learned that Fuse was planning to shoot the satellite down, so Ben needed the team to shut down the interceptor. Tetrax had scoped out where it was, and so he knew what way to send the team. The airship wasn't very large, so it took them no time to spot the alien up on the deck conversing with Jack and an adult woman dressed in a black suit.

Suzy led the way toward the adults, completely ignoring the ugly sneers the Skyway Agents sent the team's way. Alice grabbed Junior's arm and pulled him along behind her. She wanted to pull him past the minions before he could start a fight like he had the day before. There was bad blood between Mojo's minions and Team Super Stars, and it began when Boomer Bango was released from the Kids Next Door's custody.

Numbuh One had sent Numbuh $1.50 an Hour to facilitate the return of Boomer Bango to Mojo Jojo. The villainous simian had threatened to pull all his Skyway Agents back to him, and while S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s and vehicles were popular, the Skyway Agents were still useful for quick travel, especially so in very dangerous areas, so Dexter agreed to let Numbuh One handle the arrangement since the outpost was under K.N.D. control. The terms of the agreement were that Boomer Bango would be returned to Mojo and the Skyway Agents would remain in operation. While this was agreed upon, there was one more stipulation Mojo demanded just before he shook hands with the 5th grader: Team Super Stars was to be banned from his country, Simian Nation.

Despite the name, it was actually an unofficial nation led by Mojo Jojo. After the infamous fight with the Powerpuff Girls down in Orchid Bay, Mojo Jojo had gone into self-exile. Rumors had floated around that Bubbles had threatened him into leaving Townsville, but nobody could prove it and nobody really cared to set the record straight. While in his exile, he had raised an army and took over the area, uniting Monkey Foothills, Monkey Mountain, Monkey Cove, and Monkey Shorelines into the single entity of Simian Nation. Even when Mojo made his return to Townsville following Fuse's invasion, he still kept a brigade of his minions in the area, doing scouting missions.

Numbuh $1.50 an Hour attempted to remove the condition since Mojo struck it last minute, but the simian refused. He would only remove it if the team fessed to who had assisted them in thwarting his plans. How had the team known to be in the exact spot where his airships were? Who was the traitor that was working to undermine his fantastical plans? Suzy never spoke a word, doubling down that it had been good luck that led them to stopping Mojo's inane plans. So the conditions were finalized when Numbuhs 44A and 44B flew Boomer Bango out of the Outpost: Boomer Bango was returned, the Skyways Agents were still in operation, and Team Super Stars was banned from ever stepping foot in Mojo's dominion.

Junior had snorted upon hearing the verdict and made a snarky comment about how - between Alice's flying and their hovercars - they didn't need to step foot in his land. Suzy had considered the trade off a good deal and the team a martyr because them being blamed kept Mojo from knowing that they had only known of his scheme because Numbuh Vine had tipped them off and because Mandy had sent off a minion of her own to undermine Mojo's actions. Even if Mojo had an idea that someone had betrayed him, he had no proof and this kept Mandy as his liaison, giving her unfettered access to his future schemes.

Jack was the first to spot the youths and offered them a warm smile as they approached.

"Good morning, children," Jack greeted. "Were you able to get any sleep?"

"A few more hours," Suzy answered honestly. "At least until the sun came up."

Jack's smile turned relieved. "I am pleased to hear this." His eyes wandered over the gathered group, lingering on Alice as he asked, "I can assume there were no other issues?"

Alice shook her head at the answer. No Fuse plagued her on her second round of sleeping, though she felt a little off. Something was settled at the back of her mind, like her senses were registering a Fusion Monster constantly nearby. She simply assumed it was the Terrordactyls that constantly circled under the airship that was triggering her, so she shrugged it off and paid it little mind.

"Did we have a perimeter breach?" Tetrax asked. "The Mandroids did not report any such sightings."

"No Fusion Monsters," Suzy answered, reassuring the Petrosapian. "We had other issues."

"Very well, that is good to hear," Tetrax stated. "We've been lucky that the Terrordactyls have been unable to reach these heights, but it is only a matter of time before Fuse figures out a work around."

"Doesn't this ship have some guns to deal with it?" Junior asked, raising his hand to wave it over the airship.

"It does, though we should still be on the defense when it comes to the monsters. Right now, they have the home advantage," the woman answered. She smiled kindly at the youths. "We didn't get a chance to meet yet. I'm Doctor Holiday."

"You're with Providence, right?" Junior asked.

"That's right," Holiday answered. "We haven't met before, have we?"

"Nah, I just know you from papers you wrote," Junior replied. "Aunt Gladys thought she was going to be an E.V.O. six years back and sent some magazines with your work to my mom. Mom kept them and I looked at a few." He shrugged. "I was curious what an E.V.O. was."

"Soooo, what brings an E.V.O. expert out here?" Suzy asked with curiosity.

"Sorry, but I'm not at liberty to say," Holiday said with a smile. "Confidential matters."

"It was worth a shot," the redhead said with a shrug. "So Tetrax, what do you have for us?"

"You have the Shield Fragmentation Device, correct?" Tetrax asked.

"Grabbed it from Hoss Delgado," Suzy answered. She pulled out a simplistic remote with a few buttons and an LED screen from her NanoCom.

"Good," Tetrax said with a satisfied nod. "You will need it to disable the shield protecting Fuse's Satellite Interceptor. Once you have the shield down, the mainframe must be destroyed."

"Sounds easy enough," Suzy commented. "Where do we go?"

"I believe I can be of assistance."

Alice was very surprised by the newest addition to the conversation. Alice made a guess that this newcomer was mechanical in nature, based on their design and the machinery found under a blue, transparent "skin."

"Salutations," the being greeted, raising up a hand. The light flashed with every word he spoke, making it look like someone was flicking a switch on and off repeatedly. "I overheard you speaking of the Satellite Interceptor. Is this correct in this assessment?"

"Indeed, Octus," Jack agreed. "The young ones were just given their assignment."

"I am aware that Max Tennyson is launching a satellite into space, but needs the interceptor to drop," Octus explained. "I have been keeping an eye on the area's energy levels, and have pinpointed the origin of the interceptor." Octus turned in the team's direction so that he was better addressing them. "If I may, I would like to accompany you on your mission today."

"What about your companions?" Tetrax asked.

"They will be handling the assignment on their own for the day. I will analyze the data once they return," Octus answered. "I believe I will be of greater help joining Team Super Stars in bringing down the interceptor."

"First, how do you know who we are?" Junior asked. "I don't remember introducing ourselves."

"It was not very hard to deduce," Octus answered plainly. "As I mentioned prior, I am aware of Max Tennyson launching a satellite because I have been on the satellite project with him. I have even been in continuous conversations with the Tennysons over how to launch it properly. I identified the interceptor and the danger it possessed as well as the solution to the problem." He took a momentary pause, and then added almost smugly, "Besides, Ben Tennyson informed me of your arrival."

Junior blinked at the lengthy response. "Point taken."

"There is a possibility valuable information can be gleaned from the interceptor considering the lengths Fuse has made to ensuring its protection," Octus said, continuing his pitch. "I would like to download its mainframe before we destroy it."

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Dr. Holiday mentioned to her fellow compatriots. "We already know Fuse sends messages through his Gooby Traps, but who's to say he hasn't hidden information in some of his machines?"

"We ultimately need the interceptor destroyed if we want to launch the satellite into space," Tetrax reminded the gathered group. "However, I don't see an issue with downloading anything that may be useful against Fuse. So long as the interceptor is destroyed, then it doesn't matter."

"Don't worry, it'll be destroyed," Suzy assured the alien. She grinned over at Octus. "Lead the way, robot man."

"It's Octus."

Because the team had arrived at Mandark's air carrier at sunset and didn't step off it, Team Super Stars' first impressions of Forsaken Valley was based solely on a top-down observation. From several miles above the jungle's canopy, the island looked wild and untamable with so many trees populated that it was difficult to see the ground. Once they were off the air carrier, it felt like stepping back in time to the Jurassic period. It was like a glass jar had been placed over the island and preserved it, except for the lack of dinosaurs. Fuse's minions took care of that, taking on the forms of pterodactyls, triceratops and frilled dilophosaurus, all of them deadly and eager to attack on sight. Very little was known about Forsaken Valley and the rest of the island referred to as the Darklands. Archaeologists and geologists and historians visited the island and tried to make heads or tails of it, but outside of basically detailing the area's geography, little was known about the island. No one could understand why time seemed to have skipped over the island and left it in its prehistoric prime.

The monsters were more vicious on the island than the team had encountered before. Terrordactyls that hung in the area attacked as soon as the team descended to the ground. It took great delight in exploiting its aerial advantage, although they didn't know that this advantage was rendered useless against the team. Alice's flying alone put her on even terms with the flying dinos, and Junior's tentacles made it possible to drag the monsters down to ground level. The Fusion Monsters never had a chance when they went toe-to-toe with the team. The Terrordactyls were not the team's target, however. According to Octus, they were after the Fossil Crawlers.

Fuse was super serious about not letting anything escape Earth's atmosphere. Not only was the interceptor protected by a shield that was impregnable save for a specially crafted device, Fuse put the Fossil Crawlers in charge of protecting the machine.

"So the plan is to just take out all the Crawlers in the way?" Junior asked.

"Correct," Octus replied. "The Crawlers were put in charge of protecting the machine and have been patrolling the area to keep wanderers away from the interceptor. Based on my scans, the quantity of Fossil Crawlers has dramatically increased since yesterday."

"You mean there's more of them out here?" Suzy asked.

"Indeed," Octus replied. "I have reviewed the sensors on Mandark Industries airship and have noticed the spike in numbers occurring in the middle of the night."

Alice tensed up at Octus' response. Fossil Crawlers - whose job it was to protect the Satellite Interceptor - just happened to have their numbers increased over night? The same night Alice encountered Fuse in her mental space? Did Fuse glean anything from his visit? She hadn't been thinking about the satellite, but who is to say he didn't pop into her subconscious and find it? What other thoughts did he take a peek at? What else did he know?

E v e r y t h i n g.

Alice gasped, though even she didn't know if it was from the sudden, sadly familiar voice in her mind or the stinging that started up at the back of her head. She threw her hand up to the back of her head, clutching at it in a vain attempt to dispel it.

Go away! she thought to the voice in her head.

The voice laughed at her, but it seemed to be obeying her since it was shrinking. Before it left her mind completely, she caught its last farewell.

E n j o y m y c r e a t i o n s.

The voice went away, taking the stinging. As soon as it was gone, her senses went off, warning her at the last second that a monster was upon them. Thinking fast, Alice threw up a protective dome over herself, her team, and Octus. The dome went up just in time - three Fossil Crawlers appeared and rammed the dome.

"Whoa, good catch, Alice," Junior complimented.

"Are you okay?" Suzy asked the girl, giving her a concerned look. "You look pale."

"My sensors indicate that you are experiencing an accelerated heartrate," Octus contributed to the conversation.

"Can we focus on the monsters first?" Junior cut in. He pointed at the world outside of the dome. "Those things just called in their pals."

The three Fossil Crawlers were accompanied by two more packs of Fossil Crawlers, all nine of them spreading around the dome and bashing into it. It momentarily reminded Alice of that horrible day in Devil's Canyon, but she forced that thought from her mind. Now wasn't the time to be reminiscing about the past; she needed to be the present.

Alice called out Nano Bubbles from her NanoCom and then opened a little circle at the very top of the dome. It was big enough for Nano Bubbles to zip out, which the miniaturized Powerpuff did without needing to be prompted. The Nano hovered over the dome and sent a raspberry at the monsters, drawing their attention to the tiny thing. With a giggle, Nano Bubbles used her Tornado Trap on the monsters, sending a spinning tornado at the monsters. Unfortunately, there were too many for the tornado to snag, so a few were still at the dome trying to bring it down. Nano Megas joined its Nano brethren at the top and used its Garden State Slam to put the rest to sleep.

With the immediate threat no longer swarming them, Alice dropped the dome so that the team could finish up taking care of the Crawlers. A few energy blasts, electric shocks from demonic tentacles and hits from a Camp Oar turned the Fusion Monsters into Fusion Matter.

"Very impressive," Octus complimented when the fighting was over with. "I can see why Ben Tennyson recommended you for the job."

"We're Team Super Stars," Suzy told him. "We do nothing less than a super job."

"I really wish you wouldn't say that," Junior complained. "It makes us sound lame."

"Blasphemy," Suzy retaliated.

"My sensors indicate that the Fossil Crawlers are regrouping and heading this way," Octus informed the team.

Suzy raised her NanoCom and called on Nano Raj. The little elephant Nano twirled around upon appearing in the space beside Suzy. He looked left and right, taking in his surroundings before his pink skinned paled.

"Where are we?!" Nano Raj whined. "There's so many scary monsters nearby!"

Suzy ignored her Nano's complaints and focused on her NanoCom's screen. She hummed as she looked at it, moving her finger methodically as she counted up all the blips that popped up thanks to Nano Raj's Mappy! power.

"Yep, about twelve monsters are in the area," she replied. "Let's deal with them and head out for the interceptor. We can't let these things bog us down."

"Alright, but what if we just didn't fight them?" Junior proposed.

"You mean avoid them?" Suzy asked. "I don't think we can outrun them. Maybe we could use Alice to transfer us."

"No, I mean Nano Numbuh Five," Junior replied. "We'll use her sneaking ability to get past them."

"This is a good option," Octus chimed in. "It would cut down on time."

"Shouldn't we shrink their numbers?" Alice asked.

"My companions are handling this," Octus replied. "We should handle our current directive immediately."

"Plus, we can always come back and thin out the numbers when we're finished," Junior assured the blue-haired girl.

Alice frowned for a moment, feeling uneasy about letting the Fossil Crawlers run around, but she had to concede that they were working on a timetable. The sooner Fuse's interceptor was destroyed, the sooner Max Tennyson could launch his satellite into the atmosphere. She nodded her head in agreement. Suzy switched out Nano Raj for Nano Numbuh Five, who did a little backflip when she appeared.

"What can Nano Numbuh Five do for ya today?" the Nano asked, tipping her hat downward.

Suzy grinned at her Nano. "Time to go invisible."

Nano Numbuh Five mirrored the grin and tipped her hat down further. With a declaration of Secret Agent, Nano Numbuh Five obscured the team from the Fusion Monsters' view. Suzy led the team forward with Nano Numbuh Five sneaking beside her, the little Nano swishing her head back and forth to make sure no monsters could see through her cloaking. Octus followed closely behind since he was the one who knew where the interceptor was, and Junior and Alice followed behind. Alice looked over her shoulder more often than she usually did, keeping her senses spread out and keeping tabs on where the monsters were. Surprisingly, the presence in the back of her mind was missing, bringing some relief to her. One less thing for her to worry about.

The team made their trek through the jungle, breaking out of the tree line and stopping at the juncture where the jungle met the beach. Octus stepped in front of the group, taking the lead momentarily.

"Our objective is over there," Octus indicated, pointing to the left of the team, up the beach.

For someone who wanted to keep the interceptor protected, it was strange how the device was sitting haphazardly in the sand. Perhaps the energy shield was protection enough for it, so Fuse felt confident in letting it sit in plain view of anyone who decided they wished to take a walk up the shoreline.

"Hmm, how odd," Octus said, sounding confused.

"What's the matter?" Suzy asked.

"My sensors indicate Fusion Monster energy readings near the interceptor's energy signal," he replied. "This was not there the night before."

"Let me guess," Junior cut in. "Fuse decided to add in more muscle."

"That indeed seems the case," Octus replied.

"No need to worry. We're monster exterminators extraordinaire," Suzy assured, putting a hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun. She squinted off into the distance. "My guess is they're the Terrordactyls since I see something moving in the air."

"You would be correct. Fuse has indeed placed Terrordactyls around the interceptor to protect it," Octus explained.

"Alright. Then the plan will be this: When we're in range, I'll use the SFD to bring the shield down. Octus, you head in and download whatever it is you think is worth extracting. Alice will accompany you and keep the monsters off you while you're busy downloading. She'll destroy the interceptor once you're finished. Junior and I will handle the flying rats," Suzy laid out.

"You sure there's anything worth downloading?" Junior questioned their robot companion. "Its only job is to mess with satellites, right?"

"Correct, and I am unsure of what is on the interceptor's mainframe. However, Fuse has gone to great lengths to keep the interceptor safe, indicating there is something hidden inside," Octus countered. "Even if there is nothing worth value on the mainframe, it is safer to check rather than let the chance pass by."

Junior shrugged. "Well, I can't argue with that." He glanced at Alice. "You okay with this arrangement?"

Alice looked a little startled by the question.

"Back in the jungle you looked a little out of it," Junior continued when he saw the look on her face.

Alice tensed up at the mention. So, Junior had seen that.

"I'm alright now," Alice answered, making sure she sounded convincing.

The nod she got in return from the half-demon sent a flood of relief through her. She didn't want to hide what had happened, but she also didn't want to have to explain it just yet. There were more important things to handle at the moment, and Max and Ben were counting on the team. Once it was all over and they were back on Mandark's air carrier, then she'd tell them what happened. For now, she needed to focus on their mission.

Suzy kept Nano Numbuh Five out as they continued their approach on the interceptor and its Terrordactyl guards. When they were within a few yards of the monsters, several things happened simultaneously. Suzy sent Nano Numbuh Five back into the NanoCom and pulled out the Shield Fragmentation Device, clicking on it. The shield protecting the machine dropped, startling the Terrordactyls who had just noticed the intruders coming upon them. Junior called out Nano Megas and used its Garden State Slam to put a portion of the monsters to sleep. This provided the distraction for Octus and Alice to sneak by - or more accurately, for Octus to grab the girl by her arm and use superspeed to cross the distance. It took the blink of the eye for Octus to bring the two of them to the interceptor.

"My apologies," Octus said to her, removing the paneling that protected the mainframe. "This was the quickest option."

"I-it's alright," Alice replied, blinking and brushing down her hair. She watched him extend a digit and connect with the mainframe. "How long will this be?"

"Only a few minutes," Octus answered her. "Fuse's protection is very weak. It will not take me long."

Alice nodded in agreement, even though he couldn't see it turned away from her like he was. Instead, she turned her back to him and scanned for the Terrordactyls. Majority of the flying dinos were being taken care of by Suzy and Junior, but a few broke off when they realized their main objective was compromised. Alice tapped on her NanoCom screen and Nano Boomer appeared.

"What's up, Alice?" he asked her, floating down by her side.

"Go help Suzy and Junior," Alice instructed him.

His face twisted with some levels of reluctance, but ultimately agreed once he glanced over and saw what monsters they were facing. An excited gleam entered his eyes, and he saluted the girl with eagerness in the action. Then, without another word, he zipped across the open air and slammed himself into one of the approaching Terrordactyls. He didn't even bother to use his Batter Up! ability; he simply zipped up and sat on the Terrordactyl's head, grabbing its fin in one hand and pumping his other fist into the air. Instead of taking the monster down, he was treating it like a bucking bronco needing to be broken.

"Wooooooo~ hoooooooo~" Nano Boomer cheered.

Alice frowned at the Nano's actions, but she wasn't going to call him back. She trusted he'd stop playing around with the Terrordactyl and actually help her teammates trim their numbers. He was already doing a good enough job, since his antics caused the other Terrordactyls on the defensive.

"I am finished," Octus announced. "You may now destroy the mainframe."

Alice spun around, raising her hand to do the deed. As soon as her eyes set sight on the machine, she felt her muscles seize up. The presence in the back of her mind that she thought had disappeared returned tenfold. It produced stinging pain at the back of her head so powerfully that her vision whited out for a moment. When her vision cleared, she found that her legs had given out on her, and she was kneeling in the warm sand. Octus was kneeled beside her, his robot hand hovering over her back. He was speaking to her, but the words were muffled to her ears. Slowly, her hearing came back to her, catching the last bits of Octus saying, "...your teammates are almost finished and we will return to the air carrier. Dr. Holiday should still be on the carrier and can give you a medical look over."

Alice didn't make a response to Octus' words. She instead squinted through the pain and looked at the interceptor. There was a hole through the machine, clear and deep enough for Alice to see through. It wasn't big, so it wasn't one of her energy blasts. She reasoned it had to be Octus who had put the hole through it. The question of how he had done it - though Alice had the theory it involved his fist - was pushed to the side at the sudden feeling of a large creature coming up fast behind the two. Craning her neck over her shoulder, she watched as the trees and plants rustled until a Raging Fossil Crawler broke out of the jungle in a mad dash.

The boss monster rushed along the sand on its four legs. It reared its head up, forming a gooey ball in between its pincers. Alice raised her hand, preparing to throw up a shield to protect herself and Octus. She never got the chance to use her power, and the Raging Fossil Crawler never got the chance to attack its enemies. A giant hatchet blade appeared from above the boss and severed its long neck from its body. The hatchet reared back into the air, and the suit of purple armor wielding it shook the hatchet to fling the Fusion Matter off of it. A smaller suit in golden armor flew past the larger suit and dropped down onto the other side of Octus, who had by now stood up.

"Is everyone alright here?" the suit asked, its voice feminine.

Alice nodded her head. The pain had receded and the presence in her head had shrunk to the state when she had woken up.

"I'm okay." The golden armored newcomer looked familiar to Alice, though it wasn't coming to her. Had she met the armored girl before? She felt she would have remembered if she did. "Uhm...who are you?"

"I'm Corus, a friend of Octus," Corus replied, placing golden digits against the heart emblem on her chest. "My companion over there is Manus."

The companion in question was hacking at the Fossil Crawlers that had followed behind their boss. The purple suit of armor made Fusion Monster fighting look depressingly easy when he was able to just take them out with a single cleave right through their bodies. Seeing the gold and purple suit of armors together sparked a memory in Alice that had her gasping in surprise.

"Wait...Mr. Solomon mentioned you."

"You've met Solomon?" Corus asked in surprise.

"This is interesting," Octus chimed in. If he had a human body, he might have stared at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Though here and now may not be the best place for this sort of conversation. I believe it would be in Alice's best interest to return to the air carrier so Dr. Holiday can check her over."

"I'm alright. I wasn't hurt," Alice pointed out.

"No," Octus replied. "But I do not believe it is normal for humans to collapse out of nowhere."

Alice frowned lightly because Octus did have her there. Human she may not be, having her vision whited out and collapsing wasn't entirely normal. But she knew where it originated from, and she didn't think Doctor Holiday's tests could fix her. She wasn't ready or willing to let this particular secret slip out.

"ALICE!"

She closed her eyes as something small smacked into the side of her head, little arms wrapping themselves around her. Nano Boomer rubbed his head into hers, moving so fast she was afraid she'd get a burn from it.

"I shouldn't have left you. I'm sorry, Alice! I won't ever leave you again. Oh man, do you need Nano Numbuh Three? She's got that healing ability! I'll go get her!"

Nano Boomer willingly offering to grab Nano Numbuh Three - a Nano he had been appalled to be neighbors with ever since her Rainbow Monkey themed house plopped itself on their shared island - indicated how concerned he was for her.

"There's no need," Alice assured the Nano, petting his hair. "I wasn't hurt."

"What just happened?" Junior asked, joining the group. He spared Manus and Corus a fleeting glance, but his sole attention settled on Alice.

"Are you alright?" Suzy asked with concern. "We saw you drop."

Alice flitted her eyes away, somewhat in shame. Junior had asked if she was okay enough for the task, and she had said she was. Now she was sitting in the sand and Octus had to cover for her.

"I fainted for a moment," Alice answered.

"I believe this conversation should be taken to the air carrier," Octus voiced his opinion. "I suggest having her looked over by Dr. Holiday."

"Right," Suzy replied. "We should let Tetrax know we finished and relay this back to Jimmy."

"Do you require assistance?" Corus asked. "Manus and I can carry you up to the air carrier if needed."

"We are not a taxi service," Manus called from across the beach, voicing his complaint.

Corus turned her head in her companion's direction. Though she had a molded face that couldn't convey emotion, Corus' disapproval could be heard in her tone.

"We will provide assistance if we must, Manus."

Manus grumbled but made no further complaint; he had been overruled. The frown Junior shot to Manus was filled with sympathy, probably because he was usually in the exact same shoes as Manus in various scenarios.

"That's alright," Suzy said. "You're friends of Octus, right? He mentioned you were doing things for Tetrax, so we'll let you finish that up. Besides, we'll be alright.

"I can fly us up," Alice contributed, getting onto her feet. Nano Boomer still attached himself to the side of her head, unwilling to release her. It probably made her look silly, but she didn't have the heart to send him away. "I'm alright now."

Suzy stared intently at Alice, like she was trying to discern the lies from the truths. Alice wasn't lying, and Suzy saw that. She nodded her head.

"We'll be alright," Suzy reiterated.

"Very well. We shall meet you when Manus and I are finished dealing with the monsters," Corus said. "Safe travels, my friends. Call if you are in any trouble."

Alice breathed in deeply through her nose, held it for five seconds, and then exhaled slowly. The sun had set only a couple minutes ago, so the breeze on the air carrier was still humid and warm, making it a wonderful night to sit outside under the stars beginning to twinkle in greeting. It was going to be another nice night to sleep outside, and that was the plan for Team Super Stars. As for Alice, she was taking the moment to be alone.

Her friends were down in the halls mingling with the other inhabitants occupying the air carrier. Lance and Ilana - suit wearers of Manus and Corus respectively - were good people, even if Lance wasn't very talkative and kept giving her an intense look. The intensity let up some degree when Octus brought up Solomon and Alice explained the very brief exchange the two had all the way back in the graveyard. Ilana was a social butterfly and got along well with Suzy, which wasn't at all surprising; Suzy was just a likeable person. When Alice saw her opportunity, she slipped out of the mess hall and went up to the top deck where no one but the Mandroids would bother her, sitting at the edge with her legs hanging over. The Monkey Minions were already inside to sleep or gamble, and volunteers that were not bunking down for the night had taken the last S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to the mainland. It was just Alice, the empty deck, and the stars.

Somewhere up in space, Max Tennyson's satellite was spying on Fuse's planet and getting as many pictures of it as it could. The aged Plumber had launched it as soon as Jimmy relayed that the interceptor was no longer a factor. He had been very grateful to the team and sent a personal message to them. The project had been a long time coming, having been thought up ever since the start of the invasion. Now that it was up above the exosphere, Max promised this was going to be a game changer. Alice really hoped so. She really wanted something good to come out of it, some way to discern how they can thwart their enemy.

The thought of Fuse had her touching the back of her head, where she still felt the presence sitting there. It hadn't done anything since leaving the interceptor; the voice hadn't even bothered making a comment. Doctor Holiday's tests had revealed nothing, which didn't surprise Alice at all, though she was disappointed. She had hoped maybe it was something Doctor Holiday could get rid of, but that was sadly not to be. The very thought of her having to live with this parasite at the back of her head made her shiver despite the warmth of the night air.

"You are all alone tonight?" Jack asked.

Alice looked over her shoulder, watching the samurai approach with the silence of a cat. It was pretty incredible how little sound he made despite wearing wooden geta. In his hand was the paper lantern he had carried with him the night before, providing a soft source of light.

"I needed to space to think," Alice replied. "My... mind is a little busy."

"I can understand," Jack said with sympathy, taking a seat beside the girl. "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation your friends had during dinner." He smiled sheepishly at the girl. "My apologies for that."

"It's okay," Alice replied. "You overheard that?"

"Yes. To my understanding, there was an incident that happened at the beach," Jack recapped. "It involved you, didn't it?"

Alice nodded. Jack stared at her knowingly.

"Did it happen to be related to what happened to you last night?"

Alice's eyes immediately dropped to her knees, and she bit her lip. She mulled over the question, trying to think of an answer that would be acceptable, but she didn't need to think up one. Her hesitancy to answer was not lost on the samurai, who looked at her in sympathy.

"I see," Jack responded. "I had hoped he was only bothering you in your sleep. It is a shame that he has been able to do something so heinous in daylight."

"I thought it was my internal radar warning me about the Terrordactyls," Alice admitted, moving her thumbs around to release her anxiety. "But then...he spoke to me and I knew it was him sitting there."

"Was that all he did?" Jack asked her.

Alice bit her lip once more, fearful of how he would receive her answer. She didn't even know if anyone would accept it well. She hadn't had the chance to talk to her friends about what happened down at the beach, and after Doctor Holiday gave her a clean bill of health, Junior and Suzy had almost suspected it to just be a case of heat exhaustion. She hadn't been ready to correct them on the matter because the truth terrified her.

Alice thought about staying silent on the matter, or even lying, but one look at Jack had her deciding against both. Something about Jack made her want to trust him; made her want to divulge everything in the hopes that he would find the solution. Maybe it was because he was from an ancient era and was therefore older than her by hundreds of years. Surely his wisdom could come in handy for her situation.

"I...think he read my mind," Alice answered, hating how her voice choked on the last word. "Octus mentioned that the number of Fusions doubled from last night, and I think that's when he read that I was sent here to destroy the interceptor." She pulled her legs up from over the edge of the air carrier and brought them to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"This hasn't happened to me before," she continued, "and I'm scared it's because I'm closer to him. I'm scared of what else he can see in my mind. If I know too much about a mission or a plan, then he'll know, and he can thwart it, or do something worse. What if that causes someone to die? What if that causes him to win? What if..." She took in a shaky breath. "What if he finds a way to control me and I hurt someone under his control?" Tears began to form in her eyes, and she had to fight to not let them fall.

Her emotions got the better of her, and in a small voice, she muttered, "I'm so scared. I don't know what to do."

It was a silent plea for help. All at once she felt like a little girl scared of the Boogeyman. She needed help and guidance, but she was afraid of what she'd actually get. Alice wasn't lost on the fact that she'd just admitted that their enemy could read her mind. She was now a liability to Earth's efforts and anyone she cared about. Would Jack actually help her knowing this new information? Would he think she was worth it, or just send her back to the mainland where she wouldn't be a liability?

Cutting through her downward spiral thoughts, Jack reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't gripping or menacing; it was supportive and comforting, like how Professor Utonium would touch her when she was feeling down. Feeling the contact had her swiveling her head to look at him, surprised yet relieved to see a sympathetic smile on the man's face.

"It is understandable you are scared. Fear is natural and shared among every living creature on this planet. It is powerful, just as Fuse has demonstrated. He has produced such a great fear in you in the hopes of stopping you," Jack explained. "You mustn't let that fear consume you."

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough to fight it," Alice admitted, dropping her head into her arms.

"Everyone has the strength to beat it," Jack encouraged, moving the hand onto her back in a comforting manner. "Even in darkness, the tiniest flame can produce light."

To make his point, he moved the lantern closer so that the warm light alighted on the girl. Alice peeked her eyes over her arms to look at the lantern. She stared at it for a moment before pulling her head away from her arms.

"I don't know how I can stop him," she admitted, expressing her vulnerability.

"The only way is to actually defeat him, something that is not yet feasible," Jack answered. "However, we can try something else in the meantime. If he is entering your mind, then we shall make it impossible to do so."

Alice didn't miss the many 'we's used, but she didn't make a comment on it. She focused more on the solution he was proposing.

"How?"

"We shall use meditation to focus your mind into creating a shield," Jack explained, "protecting your mind from Fuse's future attacks."

"That'll work?" Alice asked hopefully.

"I am unsure. I was subjected to mind control, but nothing like what Fuse is attempting to do to you," Jack admitted truthfully. Alice's shoulders slumped at the answer, but Jack continued, offering her a reassuring smile. "But I believe it will be of great assistance to you. You are able to create shields in the physical realm, so we shall harness that ability and protect you in the mental realm."

Alice thought over the answer for a brief moment. Jack wasn't guaranteeing that his method would work, but what choice did Alice have aside from leaving the island? There was work to be done, and she couldn't keep letting the alien warlord mess with her. She straightened up her back and stared Jack in the eyes.

"Okay," Alice said. "Please teach me how to meditate, Mr. Jack."

Jack smiled encouragingly and set the lantern down to rest beside them. He crossed his legs and motioned for Alice to mimic his pose. He then placed his hands on his knees and watched her turn so she was facing him. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees, waiting patiently for the next instruction.

"Now, close your eyes, breathe in, and focus your mind," Jack instructed, closing his eyes only after he saw her blue eyes disappear. He breathed in and listened as she mimicked him. "Clear it of any distractions and thoughts. Then, imagine a castle wall, strong and sturdy placed around your mind. Fortify it, and make it strong to keep the invaders out. Focus only on this structure."

Alice did as she was instructed. She purged all thoughts and focused only on building a wall like it had been ripped straight from a castle in her mind. She imagined it in stone, and she made it as tall as she could imagine. She made sure there wasn't even a single gap to be found in the stonework, and there were no doors or windows. It was impenetrable. She kept her focus on the walls, ensuring their strength and fortifying them more so that they were better reinforced incase the enemy knocked. Focusing on her task made her feel lighter, made her feel confident that she could protect herself against Fuse and his attempts to break in.

Even better, she felt like it was actually working. The presence in her mind had been shrinking the more Alice worked on her walls until she couldn't even feel it anymore. It was like it had been purged from her all together.

Chapter Text

Alice sat cross-legged on the cot inside one of the carrier's sleeping quarters assigned to her and her team, eyes closed and breathing even. She was the only occupant in the room because she had returned to the room shortly after breakfast. Her teammates were still down in the mess hall. She had left them early so that she could practice the meditation skills Jack had imparted on her. Every morning and every night she would clear her mind of everything but the imaginary wall that kept Fuse out of her mind. She hadn't felt his presence since the night Jack taught her, and this gave her the peace of mind and confidence to stay in the Darklands and trim the number of monsters that roamed the jungle ground.

Her peaceful solitude was interrupted by the door swishing open and Junior stomping inside. The boy made a beeline for his cot and collapsed onto it with a loud groan.

"Aarrgghh!" Junior complained. He threw an arm over his eyes, knocking up his glasses. "This is absolutely stupid! If I have to fight one more Triceraclops or Triceraclaws or whatever the Tartarus they want to call themselves..." Junior let the threat hang in the air.

Alice opened her eyes at the intrusion and frowned at the boy's complaint. It wasn't like she wasn't sympathetic, but she had her own opinions on what they were doing in the Darklands.

"But Mr. Jack needs us here," Alice pointed out.

"We've been here for four days!" he snapped. "All we've done since then is go out and kill the mobs in Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass. Stuff that Lance and Ilana has been doing since before we even showed up!" He pushed himself up and leaned on the back of his elbows so he could look at the two girls in the room with him. "We should be out in the rest of the island doing actual work!"

"Have you asked Mr. Jack about going elsewhere?" Alice asked patiently.

Junior's red tinted face paled at the mention of the samurai. Jack had been the one to keep the team in the confines of Forsaken Valley and its neighbor Dinosaur Pass. He stated his reason was that he didn't think the team was prepared for the monsters that existed past the Dinosaur Graveyard, a fact that angered Junior. Suzy and Alice were fine with staying in the local area and trimming the mob numbers, but Junior was itching to go into the rest of the Darklands. He never dared disobey Jack's orders, though. Like everyone else on the air carrier, he was intimidated by Jack. It was nothing that Jack himself consciously did. The samurai was amicable and respectful whenever someone entered a conversation with him, but it was the way he carried himself that produced this intimidation. There was an aura to him that reminded all that Jack was a trained fighter and could easily best any one of them in a battle. So Junior only ever voiced his complaints in the safety of the room assigned to the team.

"Even if I did, he'd probably just say something like 'no, you're still not ready' even though we're still number one on the team list," Junior answered. "Doesn't that count for something?"

Alice kept her mouth shut. It wasn't that she didn't want to do more on the island, but she respected Jack and his wisdom and was content to do what he asked. If he was keeping the team in the jungle area, then it was for a good reason.

She was saved from giving him an actual answer by the sudden chiming of their NanoComs. In unison, the two looked down at their NanoComs to see what had been sent in. Junior's eyes widened behind his glasses, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Now, we're talking," he said happily.

It was a bright and sunny day when Alice and Junior stepped onto the air carrier's deck. Jack and Tetrax were at the edge of the deck like they always were, already accompanied by Suzy. Lance and Ilana were up in Huntor's Crest on a request from Tetrax while Octus was remaining on the air carrier. Doctor Holiday was somewhere to the west of the Dinosaur Pass. Apparently, there was something she wanted to test out. An associate of hers, some man known only as Agent Six, was supposed to be meeting her out in the forest.

"Good, the gang's all here," Suzy declared when Alice and Junior took their place next to her. "I've been talking with Tetrax about what Jimmy sent us."

"I get new Fusions are bad but what's so bad with Fuse copying Kevin?" Junior asked. "Doesn't he just absorb material or something?"

"The Fusion isn't just a copy of Kevin, unfortunately," Jack replied, crossing his arms so that they were hidden in the sleeves of his kimono.

"Fuse made a copy of Kevin's monstrous form," Tetrax clarified, and while his face remained passive, his tone clearly belied how troubled he was over the news. "In this form, Kevin had the abilities of a Tetramand, Pyronite, Petrosapien, Lepidopterran, Kinceceleran, Vulpimancer, Piscciss Volann, Galvanic Mechamorph, Ectonurite, and Galvan."

"I recognize none of those words except Ectonurite, but I get the idea that having a Fusion copy of this monster form isn't good," Junior stated.

"Not at all," Jack agreed.

"And the bigger issue is that not only is this thing a reality, but Fuse is trying to make more than one of them," Suzy continued.

"An army," Tetrax clarified. "If Fuse is capable of making such an army..."

"He will win," Alice surmised, looking troubled by the prospect.

"Finding where Fuse is making this army is a high priority," Tetrax informed the team seriously. "We cannot allow Fuse to gain the upper hand."

"Not a chance," Suzy agreed. "Jimmy's email mentioned a possible base of operations in the Fireswamps, so we'll go down and check it out."

Jack's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of the swamps, but he didn't voice a complaint. Instead, he dipped his head in agreement.

"The Fireswamps are dangerous, but I believe you are ready to venture beyond. However, do not go too deeply just yet," Jack warned.

Junior frowned, looking ready to argue that he and his team were ready to deal with anything the Darklands threw at them, but Suzy successfully intervened before the boy could even open his mouth.

"Of course," Suzy assured him, smiling at him with her signature smile. "We'll be as careful as we always are."

Junior stretched his arms over his head and released a contented sigh. For once, he was leading the group as they passed under the large skeletal remains of a dinosaur that acted as the archway between Dinosaur Pass and the Fireswamps.

"Freedom," he sighed. "Finally."

"You would be at home in a fiery landscape," Suzy teased.

Junior craned his neck over his shoulder so she could see his annoyed look. "First of all, shut up," he said.

Nothing else followed, leading Suzy to chuckle. Alice smiled lightly as she looked around the new area. The environment was completely different from Dinosaur Pass. The jungles of the valley and pass gave way to open fields. The greenery changed to red, and literal flames sprouted out from the ground. The heat in the air increased, and it became apparent to Alice that this was where the warm air came from. There was a lack of Fusion Matter on the ground, which was surprising since Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass had patches of Fusion Matter here and there. There was an encampment of tents protected by some fences to the right of them, and the only occupants of the encampment was a girl and a Dexbot. Upon seeing the team passing by, the girl raised a hand over head and waved wildly.

"Hey!" the girl called, getting the team to stop. "Can you come here real quick?"

"What's the matter?" Suzy asked as the team approached her.

"Are you heading deeper into the swamps?" the girl asked.

"Sure are," Suzy answered.

"Great, can you keep an eye out for some Planeteers? They went to get my Bonkstick back, but I haven't seen them for hours," the girl explained. "I know they're Planeteers, but this area isn't safe to just be wandering around."

"You sent off Planeteers to get a weapon?" Junior asked incredulously.

The girl's eyebrows dipped down in a show of annoyance. The tone she used matched the emotion on her face.

"It's my only weapon. Without it I'm defenseless," she said, raising her hand to gesture at something behind the team. "The monsters here are vicious and without it I can end up like those fellas."

The team looked behind them to see what the girl was gesturing to. Alice's eyes widened in shock when she saw pieces of DexLabs and Mandark Ind.'s battle droids littered along the ground. Some looked like their tops were separated from their bottoms, and others looked like they'd been ripped apart, piece by piece. Its gruesomeness reminded Alice of a war film.

"What happened?" Alice asked, turning to look back at the girl.

"Like I said, the monsters are vicious. They like to get as close to camp as possible. This was a result of a big battle between the two sides; luckily the Planeteers were here to help turn it in our favor, but the damage is still done," the girl explained. "DOC-27's already reported to Dexter and Mandark about replenishing the robots, but that might not be for a while. In the meantime, if another wave of monsters decides to hit, I'm without a weapon, so I really need you to look for the two Planeteers and tell them Peggy Danger needs her Bonkstick back." The girl blinked and then put a hand to her chest. "By the way, the name's Peggy Danger. Should have started with that."

"Nice to meet you, we're Team Super Stars," Suzy introduced.

"Wait, Team Super Stars?" Peggy repeated. "As in number one on the Leaderboard Team Super Stars?"

"Team Super Stars is indeed number one on the Leaderboard," DOC-27 supplied, speaking up for the first time.

"That's us," Suzy proclaimed proudly.

"Whoa," Peggy said, sounding impressed. "Haven't seen you lot out this way before. Did you just get to the Darklands?"

"No," Alice answered. "We've been here for almost a week."

"We've been stuck in Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass thanks to Jack not thinking we're ready to tackle this area," Junior complained, crossing his arms in his frustration.

"Well, that's fair," Peggy said with a shrug. "Like I've said, the Fireswamps are dangerous and it's not safe to just let anybody in. But you guys should be more than prepared for what moves through here."

"Well what we're looking for may be more dangerous than we're accustomed to," Suzy replied, "but we've come up against worst and survived."

"What are you out here for?" Peggy asked, curious on what the team could be searching for.

"A Fusion," Suzy answered vaguely.

"Oh, those creeps," Peggy said in disgust. "I haven't seen any around lately, but I also don't go out of my way looking for them. Supposedly, one of Fuse's generals is out somewhere in this area running experiments. Stay safe."

"We should probably be telling you that," Suzy pointed out. "Do you want us to stay here until the Planeteers bring back your weapon?"

"It's a nice offer, but no," Peggy declined. "You're on the search for a Fusion, which is more important. I'll be alright, and if another set of monsters show up, I'll just take DOC-27 and run off to the S.A.C.T. agents over by the graveyard."

"If you're sure," Suzy said, her voice indicating she was giving Peggy one last chance to take the offer. "We'll be heading out then."

Peggy grinned and waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. You getting rid of a Fusion is a major help to this area." She held up her thumb and added, "Good luck out there."

"Thanks," Suzy said. "Stay safe."

"You too."

The team left the camp and continued further into the heart of the Fireswamps. They passed the debris of the destroyed robots, noticing how many were destroyed and how far they went into the land. The most noticeable thing that put the team on edge was the lack of Fusion Monsters roaming the fiery fields. Alice's senses didn't register any monsters within range, and Nano Raj's Mappy! powers didn't indicate any Fusion Monsters in their immediate area.

"This doesn't feel like the set up to a horror film," Junior commented.

"I think Mountain Zombies of Scab Lagoon had a scene similar to this," Suzy commented. "Aside from the fire fields."

"Please do not speak of horror films," Nano Raj begged, laying himself on Suzy's head. "Especially that one."

"Awh, it's okay little guy," Suzy cooed at her Nano, giving him assuring pats on the head.

Alice's NanoCom suddenly chimed to life, spooking Nano Raj and getting a shriek out of him. Alice smiled apologetically at the Nano while Suzy went about consoling him.

"It's Courage," Alice announced, looking at the screen in surprise.

"Is something going on in Nowhere?" Junior asked.

Alice read over the message and shook his head.

"No, nothing wrong in Nowhere," Alice answered. "But apparently some monsters stole Courage's bone and Alan followed the monster until the ocean, which means the monster is somewhere out here."

"They stole his bone?" Junior asked in a deadpan.

"Awwwh, poor Courage," Suzy said. "Does he know which monster did it?"

"He says it's either a Magma Hulk or Miasma Hulk," Alice answered. "He couldn't tell the difference."

"That definitely puts it in this area," Suzy said. "We'll keep an eye out for it."

"We're seriously getting him a bone? Can't your aunt go and get him a new one?" Junior asked.

"I'd like to help him," Alice spoke up.

"So would I," Suzy added. "Courage is a good boy and we are absolutely helping him." Her tone left no room for arguments.

Junior looked annoyed for a moment to be put on a bone retrieval job - a low level job when compared to stopping a Fusion army - but he sighed and nodded his head.

"Alright," he agreed. "We're already out here anyways, we might as well go get a bone."

Alice smiled, pleased that she would be able to complete the request for Courage. Like Suzy said, Courage was a good boy. Between dealing with the strange anomalies of Nowhere and the monsters that populated the desert, he was a big help in Double D's search for the Crazy Brain Candy. Helping retrieve Courage's stolen bone was a good way of thanking him for his help.

Alice was jolted by the sudden sense of Fusion Monsters rushing their way. The numbers were low, but they were moving fast. Nano Raj picked up on the signatures as well, immediately perking up with his eyes opening wide in panic.

"Fusion Monsters incoming!" he declared.

Alice spun around, sensing the monsters rushing from behind her. From the brush rushed out six Lizard Queens, using their four legs to cover more ground. Alice prepared to fire off a crescent energy blast to throw the Lizard Queens off balance so her team could rush in for a divide-and-conquer technique. She paused in the motion of throwing her arm in an arch motion when she heard a voice give out a command from behind the team.

"Wind!"

A powerful gust of wind hit the six Lizard Queens and pushed them back, throwing them off their feet. They were on their backs, wiggling around in an effort to get back on their feet when a new command was given out.

"Fire!"

A spiral of flames shot and hit the unsuspecting Lizard Queens in a wave of fire. The monsters screeched at the scorching heat until the screeching ceased all together. When the flames died down, there were no Lizard Queens remaining. The Fusion Matter that was pooled lifted into the air and was sucked into Team Super Stars' NanoComs, leaving no trace behind of the Lizard Queens' attempt at a sneak attack.

"You'd think some lizards out in the Fireswamps could handle a little heat," a Brooklyn accent mocked.

"Hah! You believe it was your fire that stopped them?" an Eastern European accent contributed. "Wrong, Yankee. I softened them up for you."

"Whatever you say," the first voice replied.

"Argh! Typical Yank attitude!"

The owners of the arguing voices belonged to teenagers older than the team, one a redhead boy and the other a blonde girl. The emblems on their shirt indicated them as the Planeteers Peggy Danger had sent out to retrieve her stolen weapon. At the moment, the two were busy bickering to notice that Team Super Stars was watching them.

"Are we interrupting a lovers' quarrel?" Junior asked.

He meant for it to only be heard by his teammates, but the two Planeteers heard him and immediately reacted. They turned as one to look at the team, the girl's eyes a little wider in surprise than the boy's eyes.

"Nyet. We are not lovers," the girl - Linka - protested with her cheeks tinted a bright pink hue.

"Aww, you're breaking my heart, babe," the boy - Wheeler - teased.

"Wheeler!" Linka hissed, raising a threatening finger to his face.

"Alright, alright." Wheeler raised his hands in surrender, a smirk on his face.

"Listen, if we are interrupting, we can just go," Junior mentioned. "We're kind of busy."

"Busy with what? You know the Fireswamps are pretty dangerous," Wheeler said.

"Yeah that's what we've been told," Junior griped.

"Actually, we could use some help," Suzy put forward.

Junior shot her a confused look, but it went ignored. Linka looked eager at the opportunity to be of assistance, while Wheeler looked reluctant. When neither Planeteer offered resistance, Suzy continued.

"You see, we're out here looking for a Fusion Portal," Suzy explained. "Have you spotted any?"

"Fusion Portal?" Linka repeated, putting her hand to her chin as she thought about the question.

"Haven't seen any of those in this area," Wheeler answered. He hooked a thumb and pointed over his shoulder. "You'll probably find one up in the Firepits, though. Saw a Fusion hanging in that area, so there's gotta be one for it there."

"What did this Fusion look like?" Suzy inquired.

"Like a girl," Wheeler answered. "Couldn't get a detailed look 'cause she was too far away, but the shape was a girl."

"And you saw this up in the pits? Not here in the swamps?" Suzy asked.

"Wheeler is right," Linka answered. "We have been in the swamps for some time now, and we have not come across these portals you ask about."

"If there's no portal, then where would Fuse put his factory?" Junior asked his teammates.

"A factory? Whatcha looking for exactly?" Wheeler asked.

"We've got information that Fuse is setting up a factory here in the swamps," Junior answered.

"He's planning to copy a single Fusion into a giant army," Suzy continued.

Wheeler whistled. "That's some Fusion."

"Unfortunately," Alice agreed.

"It's why we need to find where the factory is being hidden and destroy it before the Fusion army can be built," Suzy explained.

"We definitely don't want a whole Fusion army on our hands since we got our hands full with monsters already, but if it's a Fusion Portal you're looking for, it's just not here," Wheeler said.

"We would like to help more, but we must return to Peggy and deliver her weapon," Linka said. "She is in need of it."

"It's alright. We'll handle things from here," Suzy said to the Planeteers. "Thanks for sharing your information."

"Our pleasure," Linka said in parting. "Good luck with finding the factory."

"So what now?" Junior asked once the Planeteers were gone. "Do we keep searching?"

"Should we call Tetrax?" Alice suggested. "Let him know what we've learned and go from there?"

Suzy thought over the options for a moment before she came to a decision. With a nod, she pulled her NanoCom back up.

"Yeah, I'm going to call up Tetrax and see what he wants us to do," she informed her teammates. "Keep an eye out for monsters, Nano Raj."

"It's literally what I do," Nano Raj pointed out.

"And you do such a good job of it," Suzy cooed, pinching the cheek of her Nano.

Nano Raj squirmed out of her fingers and rubbed his hands against the pinched cheek. Suzy giggled before turning her attention back to her NanoCom. She held it flat on her palm, allowing the holographic display to shoot up. It took only a second for the call to go through, but it wasn't Tetrax who was looking back at them on the projected screen; it was Octus.

"Greetings, Team Super Stars."

"Octus?" Suzy said in confusion. "I swear I called Tetrax."

"You did. However, since I was in need of calling you, I intercepted the call."

"Why do you need to call us?" Junior asked.

"Is something wrong?" Alice added on.

"Nothing is wrong here at the research station," Octus said, reassuring the team in that manner. "However, I was calling to inform you that you need not search for the facility in the Fireswamps."

"You know about that?" Suzy asked.

"Tetrax informed me about the matter and I looked into it myself. I did a scan of the Fireswamps area and found no trace of a hidden factory under the ground," Octus stated.

"Are you sure?" Suzy asked. "This is where the information sent us."

"I am aware this is what was told to you. However, I have the sense that Kevin gave an incorrect statement," Octus replied. "No doubt a remaining side effect from when he was under Fuse's influence."

Alice frowned in distress at Octus' statement. It was only recently uncovered that Kevin had been under Fuse's influence after he had gone and absorbed some Fusion Matter from a fallen monster. Kevin had the ability to absorb matter and use it as his own, a highly useful skill when he was absorbing metals like iron. Unfortunately, absorbing a living organism proved to be a costly mistake. While under Fuse's influence, Kevin installed a device to the side of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends that absorbed the imaginary energy and transferred it to somewhere in the Darklands. Frankie had called Dexter about the device since she had a bad feeling about it, and after he found the large amount of imaginary energy sent to the Darklands, Dexter sent down one of his employees to install a device that would shore up the energy flow. Kevin had been furious about this and went back to the house to destroy Dexter's device. Frankie called again mentioning he was in the house and because she was close by, Kiva went up and literally beat some sense into Kevin. The transducer Kevin had put on the house could not be taken off without seriously harming the Friends that lived there, but he was able to lock the controls and bring the energy intake to a trickle.

Despite the guilt he felt over the matter, Madame Foster had forgiven him and was willing to let the whole ordeal pass without a single mention of it to the public. Unfortunately, Bloo had heard about the whole ordeal and made a big show about it on the news in order to get his fifteen minutes of fame. Harangue, of course, jumped on the story and omitted how Kevin had been put under Fuse's thumb unwillingly, turning the public against the teenager. It became so bad that Kevin was forced to head into the Wilds and was currently helping Gwen out in Haunted Ridge. Having nearly gone through a similar ordeal with Fuse, Alice was incredibly sympathetic towards the teenager. He hadn't absorbed the Fusion energy with bad intentions, but the fallout was more than even he had bargained for.

"Do we have an idea of where it's at?" Suzy asked.

"I am scanning, but I am unable to pinpoint directly," Octus replied. "I know it's somewhere deeper in the island, but that's all that is known."

"So we're basically done here?" Junior asked, looking none-too-pleased with the prospect of having to return to the earlier areas.

"Ideally, yes," Octus replied.

"We'll be back later, Octus," Suzy said. "We've learned there's another Fusion in the area, so we're going to go and handle that. Letting those things run around is just bad news, ya know?"

Octus was silent for a moment. "Yes, you are correct. I shall inform Jack of your delayed return. Stay safe."

"We always do," Suzy said, saluting the robot before she signed off.

"Seriously, what is Jack's problem? He's motherhening us," Junior complained.

"He's worried," Alice defended.

"Well, he needs to stop," Junior said.

"After this, he probably will," Suzy said. "Everything out here is tougher than on the mainland. If we take out a Fusion, he'll know we can handle anything this island throws at us." She grinned even brighter as she added, "Even Fuse."

"Okay see that talk right there is probably why Jack won't let us out of his sight," Junior said. "But taking down a Fusion will definitely make us look better in his eyes."

"Alright, time to seek out a Fusion," Suzy declared. "Wheeler said it's up in the Firepits so we'll go and seek out a Fusion Portal." She turned to wink at her Nano. "You're still on Fusion Monster duty, got it."

"Of course!"

"Alice, you'll be able to sniff out the Fusion's energy signature, right?" Suzy asked her fellow female.

Alice nodded with a look of determination. She wasn't as eager to prove herself to Jack like Junior was, but she didn't want a Fusion to be free to cause terror. And also, there was still the matter of rescuing a stolen bone.

Alice rolled up her shrug's sleeves, feeling only a slight relief from the extreme heat. The Fireswamps had been warm, but the Firepits were down right scorching. Alice glanced over at Suzy and Junior to see how they were fairing in the heat. Suzy seemed to be sweating like Alice, but Junior looked perfectly content with the weather, even in his sweater and pants. Being a child of the Center of the Earth, it probably made sense that the heat from magma wouldn't prove to be a bother.

The majority of the Firepits was holed up in the DexLabs issued force field, keeping the worst of the infection behind protective walls. That didn't mean that the area wasn't affected by magma; active volcanos populated the border of the pits and the swamps, leaking out magma that turned the ground red. It reminded Alice of Monkey Mountain. Luckily, the team could avoid the red-hot ground by flying over it or riding over it in the hover vehicles. It made travelling faster, and brought some relief to the heat, but not enough to be comfortable. She felt like a cookie baking in the oven; the sooner they fought the Fusion and grabbed the bone, the sooner they could get to the cool air of Mandark's air carrier.

Alice's senses were leading the team to the east side of the land, not too far from where the Dexbot waited patiently for Fusion Fighters to enter the Inferno Fields Infected Zone. Lizard Kings patrolled the area, keeping watch over the Fusion Portal tucked up against the mountain range. Unfortunately for them, Alice and her friends were well-trained in Fusion fighting, and masterfully took of the reptiles. Without its protectors, the Fusion Portal was left unguarded.

Travelling through a Fusion Portal was always a strange feeling, probably because it wasn't something Alice did every day. When the team turned up in the underground, the air was considerably cooler. It wasn't a lot, but it was a nice reprieve from the oppressive heat up on the surface.

A Miasma Hulk spun around and growled at the intruders. It was the last thing it did before getting stabbed in the chest by a black tentacle and then being shocked into a puddle of Fusion Matter.

"Well that one didn't have a bone," Suzy commented, resting the back of her hand on her hip. "How many are down here, Alice?"

"Ten," Alice answered. "Eleven if we're counting the Fusion."

"Do they lead to the Fusion?" Junior questioned.

"Yes," Alice replied.

"Good, then this will be a two-for-one deal," Suzy said. "Let's light 'em up."

Suzy stepped off the pad and led the way down the rocky underground labyrinth. Since the path went a single way, Suzy was able to guide the team easily. Alice warned her friends of when they were coming up on a Miasma Hulk so that they always had the element of surprise. Four Miasma Hulks went down and not a single one had Courage's lost bone. When the path channeled into the large opening, they encountered two Miasma Hulks walking around in a circle. The two attempted to attack the team, but went down by Alice squashing them with her force field. When the puddle was sucked up into the NanoComs, there was a bone left behind on the ground. Alice bent over to scoop up the bone, but paused inches from the material. Her eyes widened as she looked at it.

"What's the matter?" Junior asked in confusion.

Alice encased the bone in a small force field sphere and raised it upward, allowing her friends the ability to see the problem. Ninety percent of the bone was covered in Fusion Matter goo, tainting the white bone green. Junior released a puff of air as he crossed his arms.

"So it's contaminated now? Great. That's a waste of our time," he complained.

"Junior's right about this one," Suzy agreed. "Though not the waste of time part. But it is contaminated. We're going to have to destroy it. There may be a lava pit somewhere in here that we can throw it into."

Alice frowned at the suggestion, giving the bone a concentrated look. Junior and Suzy were right that it was contaminated. There was more green than white, and giving it to Courage would just impair his health. She couldn't do that to the dog, but the thought of destroying it illed her. Courage was so looking forward to this bone; it didn't matter if he had others, this one was his. She couldn't just destroy it and tell him it had to be destroyed. There had to be a way to make it right. She dropped the force field around the bone and then tapped her NanoCom, letting the device suck the bone into her inventory. Her friends looked surprised by the action.

"What are you doing?" Junior asked.

"I won't destroy it," Alice answered.

"It's infected," Junior pointed out, burrowing his brows together in confusion because he knew she had seen that.

"Mandark's company has been working with Imaginary Energy, and he's found that it has some effect on Fusion Matter," Alice replied. "It may be able to decontaminate the bone."

Junior and Suzy shared a look, both of them still surprised by Alice going through with keeping the infected bone. The moment passed and Suzy nodded at Alice.

"Mandark has been making strides with his Imaginary Energy work," Suzy conceded. "It may be the cure."

Alice smiled in slight relief and nodded. Even if her friends didn't agree with her decision, she still would have found a way to reverse the effects, but it was nice to have her friends backing her up. She couldn't let Courage down after he was relying on her to retrieve his stolen bone.

"So now that we have the bone, can we go after the Fusion?" Junior asked. "It's what we came here to do."

"You got it," Suzy said. "Alice, mind levitating us over to the Fusion?"

Alice nodded and placed her friends in a protective sphere. She lifted them and herself above the rocky terrain, bypassing the remaining Miasma Hulks patrolling the lair. She flew in the direction she sensed the Fusion, heading towards the back of the lair. The back of the lair was the typical stomping ground for Fusions, and this one was no different. They came upon the hills that overlooked the Fusion's space. Alice stopped over the hilltop and placed her friends on it next to her, dropping the shield so they could move around. Instead of immediately going down and striking the Fusion, the three of them assessed the situation from above.

"Whoa," Junior said in surprise. "They made a Fusion copy of her?"

"You know her?" Suzy asked.

"Yeah. I mean, not the Fusion itself. But it's a copy of Ray Ray's sister, Juniper," Junior explained. "She's kind of a big deal in the magical community."

"I thought you were part of the demonic community," Suzy pointed out.

Junior shrugged. "They run around in the same circles."

"What's it doing?" Alice asked, drawing their attention onto the Fusion's actions.

Fusion Juniper was standing over a simple chest, closing it and slapping a lock on it. Alice hadn't been able to see what the Fusion had put in it, but Alice figured it had to be important if a Fusion was going to the trouble of locking it up. Suzy's burrowed eyebrows indicated she was thinking along the same wavelength.

"How strong is Juniper?" Suzy asked their male friend.

"Pretty strong," Junior replied. "I don't know how much of that was copied onto the Fusion."

"Okay, so it'll probably keep us on our toes," Suzy hypothesized out loud. "Alice, I want you to snag whatever's inside that chest. I don't want that Fusion able to use it in the fight."

"I got it," Alice agreed.

"Let's go kick some Fusion butt," Suzy said, elbowing Junior in his side.

Before Junior could retaliate, Suzy hopped over the edge and slide down the side of the hill, dispelling any attempt for a surprise attack since Fusion Juniper swung its head in Suzy's direction. With the Fusion's focus on Suzy - and Junior, once he decided to jump over the side of the hill and flung his black tentacles at the Fusion - Alice flew down to the chest the Fusion had just been at. Swiftly, she raised her palm and fired off the lock with a quick energy blast. The noise went unheard by the Fusion, so Alice continued with her break-in.

Alice lifted up the chest lid and looked inside, surprised to find it empty except for two objects that looked like primitive totems. The objects were made of stone and were the same in height, just tall enough to not touch the sides of the walls. The only difference between the two objects was the different writing on each of them, written in a language that was alien to her. She reached in and grabbed the two objects, feeling a hum of power emanating from them. Alice quickly stowed them away in her NanoCom on the chance Fusion Juniper Lee would notice it was being taken.

She stood back up from her crouched position and spun around to see how the fight with the Fusion was going. It was still standing, but it looked like it was being worn down by Suzy and Junior's efforts. Deciding to stay close to the chest, Alice raised her palm and fired off a beam of energy at the Fusion, striking it in the back. The Fusion cried out at the hit, stumbling forward with the momentum. The Fusion spun around on its heel to snarl at Alice, and was rewarded with a whack to the face by Suzy's Camp Oar. The Fusion was stunned by the hit, giving Suzy more opportunity to strike at it with her melee weapon. After five more unguarded hits, Fusion Juniper released one last howl as it succumbed to its injuries and dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter. A lock of pink hair was left behind when the puddle was vacuumed. Suzy swiped the lock and held it up.

"Sweet, a chance for a new Nano," she cheered. "Any takers?"

"You got first and last hit. It's yours," Junior conceded.

Suzy looked over at Alice for her take when the girl joined the team, but Alice shook her head. She already had three Nanos; her friends only had two. Seeing that the Juniper Nano was to be hers, Suzy grinned and put the lock of hair in her NanoCom.

"So, what treasure was in the chest?" Suzy asked her blue-haired friend. "Stolen gold coins?"

"I don't know what they are, but they were written in an alien language," Alice answered.

"Fusion language?" Junior asked.

"I don't think so. The language was different between them," Alice replied.

"Well they're alien," Suzy pointed out. "Let's head back to Tetrax and see what the big guy knows."

"This is the Totem of Vladats and the Totem of Thep Khufan," Tetrax explained as he held the objects in his palms; one in each hand.

"Is that bad or something?" Junior questioned.

"In Fuse's hands, absolutely," he said. "These totems make the fifth found since Juniper found the Totems of Ectonurite, Loboan, and Transylians."

"Does something happen if they're all together?" Alice asked.

"I am unsure of that. I only know that the totems have immense power," Tetrax stated. "Juniper is currently holding onto the other three totems, but I will ask her to send them to Max Tennyson. I will be sending these two as well to further learn what he knows about these totems."

"If Fuse intended to use these totems against us, then it is possible we can do the same in turn," Jack mused. "You did a fine job thwarting the Fusion from having the chance to do so."

The smirk on Junior's face was dripping with smugness, but was wise to keep his thoughts to himself. Telling Jack "I-told-you-so" would be a sure-fire way to keep the team in the Forsaken Valley area.

"So for now we're just waiting for information on what these totems can do?" Suzy asked.

"That is correct. I will keep you updated on the matter," Tetrax answered.

"And what about the Fusion Kevins?" Suzy continued.

"The trail is cold for now," Octus answered. "I am running continuous scans for its location. When it has been discovered, we will plan a strike against it accordingly."

"You don't have any clue of where it's at?" Junior asked, fishing for more information.

"At this moment in time, no. All that is known is that it is somewhere past the Firepits," Octus answered. "I will be keeping a very close eye on the matter."

The team looked at each other and shrugged. It was the best that could be done at the moment, especially if the factory was hidden underground. It wasn't like Fuse was flashing big neon signs directing anyone to it. For now, they'd just have to put the matter to the side and focus on other things.

"Well, if that's all, I've got a new Nano to make," Suzy announced to her team. "Meet you in the mess hall for lunch."

Junior and Alice agreed, although Alice didn't immediately head into the interior of the air carrier with Junior. She broke away and went off to speak with first Mandroid she could find on the air carrier.

"What do you want, human?" the Mandroid, designated M-49, questioned.

Alice didn't bother correcting the Mandroid; she didn't think the robot would even care. Instead, she jumped into her question.

"Mandark has been studying the effects of imaginary energy on Fusion Matter, correct?"

"That is correct."

"Can imaginary energy reverse Fusion Matter infection?"

"That is correct."

"Has Mandark been able to find a way to use imaginary energy against Fusion Matter infection?"

"That is correct."

Alice smiled at the answers. "Thank you. I only have one last question..."

Courage sat in the attic at the family's old computer, tapping away at the keyboard with his paws. Unbeknownst to the owners of the house, the computer was actually sentient; Courage was the only one who knew full well that their electronic device had a mind of its own and regularly interacted with it. No matter how much familiarity the two had with each other, Computer still went out of its way to mock him. Didn't matter that Courage was a trusted ally for one of the guides, or that he'd been instrumental in stopping a planetoid from crashing into the Earth's surface, or that he'd helped thwart a war in the Catacombs between the Chickens from Outer Space and the Mutant Eggplants. As far as Computer was concerned, he was just a twit.

"Hey, Courage~" Alan called, popping his head inside with a big ol' grin on his face.

Courage looked up at the call, tilting his head to one side in an inquisitive manner. It wasn't uncommon for Alan to come check in on him, though never with such a look on his face. It was like Alan was holding himself together before he could burst like a pinata.

"You got a special delivery," Alan continued, lifting up a hand he had been hiding behind his back, "from Alice."

Courage's eyes widened in a comical manner at the sight of the white bone. Computer typed out something insulting about Courage succumbing to his basic state, but the dog wasn't listening. In a fluid motion he was off the chair and running for the bone. He hopped up on his hind legs, arms waving back and forth in an effort to retrieve his precious bone. Alan gave a brief laugh at the dog's excitement and then handed the bone back to its rightful owner. Courage released a gleeful cry at being reunited with his beloved bone and nuzzled against it, rubbing his cheek up and down it.

Alan watched with a pleasant smile as Courage happily gnawed on the bone. He raised his communicator and snapped a picture, firing it off to Alice. Courage would send her an email later, maybe even find a way to call her using the house phone, but Alan wanted her to have the photographic evidence of how happy Courage was to be reunited with his bone thanks to her. Alan'd be lying if he said he didn't feel some guilt for letting the bone be taken in the first place. He had done all he could to stop the thief, but in the end the monster had gotten away. Courage had been depressed by the theft, but he had forced himself to work. It had been a rather pitiful sight, so seeing how happy Courage was to have it back lifted Alan's spirits.

Retrieving a stolen bone wasn't the most glamourous job out there; even Alan could admit that if he had been given such a request, he may have turned it down. Compared to finding missing heroes or uncovering mystical candy, it wasn't important. But it was important to Courage. It made Courage's day to have his favorite item returned to him, safe and sound. Maybe it did nothing to turn the tide in Earth's favor, but it wasn't a waste of time. Not when it brought so much joy to someone.

Chapter Text

"Hey Junior," Suzy called, her voice loud over the sound of the roar of their vehicles' engines. "You're familiar with Hoss Delgado, right? You think his plan is going to work?"

From her place flying over her friends, Alice glanced down to look at Junior. The bespectacled boy frowned at the question posed to him, clearly formulating his response.

The team was being sent to Huntor's Crest at the request of Hoss Delgado. Jimmy Jones was acting as the middleman as typical, but it was Hoss' words. The spectral exterminator believed he knew how to find Fuse's hidden Fusion Army factory. He had the idea of putting the brain of a Skull Basher into the base of a tree called the Dark Tree that was in the neighboring Dark Glade. According to Hoss, this would allow them to read Fuse's mind. Since there had been no leads on where the Fusion Kevin army factory was hiding, Ben was clearly willing to try anything and was giving the okay for the team to follow with the plans. It sounded fantastical, but their world was already filled with the fantastical what with super-powered individuals, Imaginary Friends, giant robots, E.V.O.s and so on.

"I guess," Junior replied with a shrug. "Hoss' profession is with the supernatural, so he may be onto something."

"Even if it doesn't work," Alice put in, "we won't be worse off."

Suzy grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Well put. Let's go and grab a brain," she said. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

Huntor's Crest was, according to Tetrax, named after an alien hunter. Huntor the Hunter took over the land and made it his personal hunting ground, though what he may have been hunting before the invasion nobody knew. The Imakandi made sure all knew it was his territory, and he was only granting temporary access for outsiders to travel through undisturbed due to Fuse's minions messing up his perfecting hunting season.

Huntor was not the concern of the team; that belonged to a demon known as Demongo. According to Jack, he was an untrusty fellow who was the right-hand man to Aku (whomever that was, though Jack had spoken the name with so much contempt that he couldn't have been a good person) and that he took great joy in stealing the souls of warriors. Jack had a theory that Demongo was behind the disappearance of Earth's mightiest heroes, but he couldn't yet prove it. Jack's warning was that the team should stay far away from the demon, which Alice was obliged to do.

Suzy stopped her hovercar a few feet into the territory. Junior came to a stop beside her, and Alice lowered herself so that she could listen to whatever it was Suzy intended to say. The redhead had her NanoCom out, and Nano Raj was hovering obediently at her side. The little pink elephant had his hands cupped over his eyes, using them as makeshift binoculars while he swiveled his head around in his search for Fusions.

"The Skull Bashers are supposed to be close by, but Nano Raj isn't picking anything up," Suzy announced. "Can you check their numbers, Alice?"

Alice took a moment to spread out her senses, venturing further than Nano Raj's Mappy! radar could go. She could sense Fusion Monsters congregating in the area, but the numbers were extremely small; smaller than was typically normal, especially for someplace as remote as the Darklands. Just before she pulled her senses back, she felt another Skull Basher disappear.

"There aren't that many," Alice reported, confirming Nano Raj's results. "Someone is reducing their numbers. I felt it happen just a moment ago."

"Guess we can see if they have a brain on them," Junior proposed.

"Lead the way," Suzy told Alice.

Alice nodded and guided her friends in the direction she had felt the Skull Basher fall. She extended her senses once again, using it to pinpoint the person. Since she had last checked, three more Skull Bashers were dropped, reducing the numbers to only a handful.

Because Huntor's Crest was an open plain, it was easy for the team to spot the figure in the distance. The individual was in the process of removing another Skull Basher off the face of the Earth, and the team was surprised on who it was.

Alice landed just a few feet from the person while her friends parked themselves behind her and stepped out or off their vehicles. Alice called, with a touch of surprise in her voice, "Kwame?"

The Planeteer turned at the call, surprise on his face melting into glee.

"Hello friends," Kwame greeted as he approached. "I did not expect for us to be reunited so soon."

"Same here. I thought you were still down at the Fissure," Suzy said.

"I was," Kwame answered, "but I was given an urgent call from that boy in the Cul-de-Sac."

"Double D? He's not having you look for some hidden candy, is he?" Junior questioned.

"I haven't heard of hidden candy," Kwame answered, looking perplexed by the idea. "He said a companion of his needed help. The Magic Tree fell ill, and they believed I could be of assistance."

"The Magic Tree's ill?" Alice parroted.

"Yes," Kwame said with a grave nod of the head.

Alice was surprised by the news. Her mother wasn't necessarily a gardener, but she'd taken care of the trees in the house's yard and had to handle a diseased tree very rarely. Had the Magic Tree caught Anthracnose or Canker disease? Was it under assault from Beech bark disease? The very thought mystified Alice because the Magic Tree was magical; couldn't it heal itself?

"So why not just use his leaves and cure it?" Junior suggested. "It can cure infection in the water, so why are you out here and not there?"

"Unfortunately, the solution is not as simple as that," Kwame said. "The Magic Tree has an infection, and it is caused by the Dark Tree."

"How?" Alice asked, alarmed by the news.

"Despite the sea separating them, the roots of the Dark Tree and the Magic Tree are long and stretch over vast distances," Kwame explained. "The Dark Tree is consumed by Fusion Matter and is using its roots to spread the infection across the world, and it's starting with the Magic Tree."

"So if it's not reversed, the Magic Tree could be Fusionized?" Suzy guessed.

"That is the likely case, and the one we wish to avoid," Kwame replied. "The Skull Bashers have been helping to spread the infection, which is why I have been here dealing with them."

"We actually need one of them," Suzy said. "Particularly their brain."

"Indeed?" Kwame asked, looking at the girl with some confusion.

"Hoss Delgado's idea," Suzy answered. At the raise of Kwame's eyebrows, Suzy continued, "He thinks we can use the brain of these creatures to read Fuse's mind."

"I see," Kwame said, rubbing his chin in thought. "I suppose it is a possible venture."

"We're actually supposed to take the brain to the Dark Tree," Suzy added.

"It seems our paths converge once more," Kwame said, smiling. "If you do not mind, I would like to join you."

"Aren't you needed here?" Junior asked.

"While I was sent here to deal with the Skull Bashers, that was not the only request made of me," Kwame answered. "I was also asked to speak with Doctor J.C. to help reverse the infection in the Dark Tree."

"Well if you don't mind, we'd like to help with that," Suzy said. "We can't have a thing called the Dark Tree spreading its infections everywhere."

Kwame grinned. "I'd enjoy the company."

Alice looked up at the floating island that hovered above a lake of green Fusion Matter. The island looked like the land surrounding it had suddenly caved and disappeared, leaving only the island in place. It was held up by thick roots bathing in the Fusion Matter lake. The tree that occupied the entire landform was dark as midnight, with obvious signs of Fusion Matter marking up the tree like it had chicken pox. She hadn't seen what the tree looked like before Fuse, but the plant looked ill. Alice looked away from the infected tree and to the only known expert on the Dark Tree, Doctor J.C. The blonde scientist was finishing up shaking Kwame's hands, looking extremely grateful to have some assistance.

"Thanks for coming," the botanist said. "I don't know how much longer this could go on."

"I've been assisting with the Fissure," Kwame said, pulling his hands away. "If it turned out like there, it would be a disaster."

"Agreed." Doctor J.C. nodded. "I've been doing what I could to help slow the tree's infections, but there's just too many Dark Fusionflies to contend with. Every time I think I've got them under control, thirty more pop up. Numbuh 2643 has been helping where he can, bless his heart, but with all the other monsters in the area, he can't just afford to focus on one creature."

"So you need help beating up some monsters? It's kind of our specialty," Suzy said.

Doctor J.C. shook her head. "Even if you did, they just reform and start over again. It's an uphill battle."

"So what's the solution?" Junior asked. "I'm guessing you have one?"

"Yeah, I do," the expert replied.

Doctor J.C. rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a small, white seed. It laid flat in her palm, and she held it out to present it to the team. Obediently, the team leaned forward to get a good look at the seed.

"The solution..." Junior began, sounding perplexed, "is a seed."

"This isn't just a seed," Doctor J.C. corrected with an accompanying glare. "This is the Wisdom Seed."

"Is it magical?" Suzy asked, studying the seed.

"Absolutely. That samurai in Forsaken Valley clued me in on it. Its mystical properties will be able to slow Fuse's infection enough for the Dark Tree to finally begin healing itself. When this happens, the infection across the globe will drop dramatically."

"I like the sound of that," Suzy said. "So, we plant the seed and the tree heals."

"Yeeeeaaah." Doctor J.C. extended the syllable, her face twisting. "I don't think that's the only issue."

"What a surprise," Junior commented sarcastically.

"I can assume it is not good news," Kwame commented.

"It's not," Doctor J.C. agreed. "I think there's a Fusion by the Dark Tree."

"You've seen it?" Kwame questioned, drawing on his experience with Fusion Rex.

"No," Doctor J.C. admitted. "But the way the Dark Fusionflies are acting? They used to just fly around and be an overall menace, but now they're coordinated. They're systematically attacking the Dark Tree's roots in an organized manner that was absent before, and their actions are re-exposing the Dark Tree to Fuse's infection."

"Have you had experience in dealing with smart monsters?" Kwame asked the Team Super Stars, deferring to their experience.

"Nuh-uh," Suzy answered. "This is definitely the work of a Fusion."

"Right, which is the worry. Fusions are stronger and smarter than the grunt monsters. If there's a Fusion based at the Dark Tree, it may remove the Wisdom Seed before it has a chance to work," Doctor J.C explained. "If you do this, you'll have to deal with the thing."

"No need to worry," Suzy said with a comforting smile. "My team and I have experience dealing with Fusions. We'll handle this lickety-split."

Junior grimaced. "Please don't say that."

"What? It's true."

"No, the 'lickety-split' part. That sounds so corny."

"Whatever. I like it," Suzy replied flippantly. "Point is, your Fusion problem will be taken care of."

Doctor J.C. stared for just a moment before releasing a deep sigh. Her shoulders sagged, looking like a heavy burden had just been lifted off of her. Her eyes began to water in a way that made Alice think she was going to begin crying. The way she rubbed at her eyes helped lend credence to the belief.

"Thank you so much," Doctor J.C. replied. "You don't know how happy this makes me. Words really can't express my gratitude."

"No gratitude necessary," Suzy said with her easy-going smile.

"Helping clean the Earth has always been my passion," Kwame added with a sincere smile.

"Still, this means the world to me," Doctor J.C. said. "Now to get to the tree, there's a bridge that'll drop you onto the floating island. You'll have to be careful using it. The planks are rotted and old, and it's so open that the Dark Fusionflies will swarm you the moment you make an appearance on it. I'll try to provide as much cover fire as possible from down here. It should give you enough time to race across the planks."

"Your offer is generous, but we have our own means of travel," Kwame said, sending a knowing look to Alice.

Doctor J.C. raised an eyebrow in confusion, but she relaxed it when she saw the confident looks on Team Super Stars' faces. She placed the seed in Kwame's hand, curling his fingers over the little seed to ensure it wouldn't slip out and be lost. She smiled at the team, pleased and grateful for the assistance she had been sorely lacking.

The Darklands were so dangerous that very few Fusion Fighters made it out that way, and so Doctor J.C. had to rely on Numbuh 2643 to help her fight off Dark Fusionflies, but they could only do so much. Two against a whole army was unrealistic, and she had been left to helplessly watch a tree she loved be consumed by Fuse's disease. Even with the cure in her grasp, she still couldn't go and rectify the curse. It felt like a dream that finally things were going to change for the better.

Against her whims, Doctor J.C. felt the tears brimming again. She managed to choke out a "Good luck," and was grateful that none of them mentioned the tears running down her cheeks. It was embarrassing, but she couldn't help it. She was just so thankful to have the team helping her.

"Okay then, first up on the docket," Suzy instructed, "planting the brain. Then we're going after the Fusion. Then we're planting the seed. Sound good?"

While Suzy was directing the question to the three of them, she was only looking at Junior and Kwame. The three of them were in a sphere, being ferried across the space by Alice. Doctor J.C. wasn't joking when she said the planks were old; some were missing, and because of Fusion Matter, parts of the bridge was twisted sideways. It was incredibly dangerous to cross normally, and Alice was perfectly fine moving the team from one space to the other; she'd already done it for them when they traveled from Huntor's Crest to the Dark Glade.

The Dark Fusionflies hadn't taken lightly to an invader in their air space, and so they charged after Alice. Five of them took on a V formation and advanced upon Alice. It was quite a sight to see, since Fusion Monsters were only supposed to roam in threes, yet five of them were without a boss to guide the way.

They're organized, Alice thought. The doctor was right about how smart they are.

Alice blasted at the encroaching enemy, taking out a few of the fusionized flies, but their formation would be quickly replenished with a fresh batch of Dark Fusionflies. It was like some were waiting in the reserves, prepared to take a fallen brethren's place. The intellectual defense worried Alice about the Fusion that was controlling them. Clearly this Fusion was skilled if it could impart logic into how the grunts should attack.

"Do you require assistance?" Kwame asked Alice, looking up at her with concern.

"I'm alright," Alice replied.

She raised a small shield when the globs of Fusion Matter were spit at her, protecting herself. She pushed the shield forward and hit the leading Dark Fusionfly, pushing it to the back of the group. The group of Dark Fusionflies didn't miss a beat and simply shifted around, placing a new head at the tip of their flight pattern.

"Drop us on the ground and we can help out," Junior said, his tentacles waving around him in preparation.

Alice glanced over at the island they were approaching, frowning when she noticed all the Fusion Matter infecting the soil. There hardly seemed like an open, safe spot to put the team down on so that they wouldn't get burned. She could still provide a platform for them to stand on, but she wanted to have full attention on the monsters.

"I don't think that's safe," Alice cautioned.

"Do not worry, I will handle that," Kwame said, pointing his magic ring at the ground. "Earth!"

What little clean dirt there was burst free of the infected soil and created a platform just above the ground. The platform wasn't very large, but it was just big enough for Alice's passengers to stand on somewhat comfortably. Alice sent the sphere to the platform, opening the sphere so that her passengers could hop out of it safely. When Kwame was the last one to touch down on the platform, Alice dissolved the sphere completely and returned her attention to the Dark Fusionflies. In the small space of time she had not been focusing, six Dark Fusionflies joined in with the attacking unit, pushing the team up from five to eleven. Alice cupped her hands together and fired off an energy beam at the approaching Fusion Monsters, engulfing the leading three fly monsters.

Two of the Dark Fusionflies fell victim to Alice's attack. The third fly had survived, coming out of it with parts of its body burned off. The Dark Fusionflies readjusted the flying V formation so that the nine remaining Dark Fusionflies were in a tight formation. Alice sent off a volley of energy balls at the legion of Dark Fusionflies. Many of the flying monsters avoided the hits, firing off their own volley of Fusion goo globs.

"Suzy, Junior, do you have long-range capabilities?" Kwame asked.

"I've got this," Suzy replied, pulling out her Crayon Cannon.

"My tentacles may not stretch out far enough to reach them," Junior admitted.

"Then in that case, Suzy and I shall provide backup fire for Alice," Kwame said, getting a nod of agreement from Suzy.

"What about me?" Junior asked.

"Catch!" Suzy called.

Junior started as something was thrown his way. He caught the item and bounced it back and forth between his hands until he got a solid hold on it. In his possession was the Skull Basher brain.

"Stick this in the roots," Suzy instructed. "Then look for the Fusion portal. Call us when you find it."

"Wouldn't I be better off helping you here?"

"Normally, this would be correct. But look out there."

Kwame was pointing to the tree line back on the main ground of the infected zone. Junior followed Kwame's pointer finger. His eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on some dark objects moving through the air. It was hard to tell what they were at first, but as the objects came closer, it became more obvious that these were Dark Fusionflies. They were coming to provide support for the batch already attacking Alice.

"They are bringing in reinforcements," Kwame stated.

Suzy called out Nano Raj and used his Mappy! powers. "According to Nano Raj's radar, six are on their way."

"The monsters are repopulating at an alarming rate, just as Doctor J.C. explained," Kwame continued. "They are organized and at this rate they will overwhelm us. I believe the only option is to find the Fusion that is controlling them and stop them from organizing."

"We'll be here all day just trying to get their numbers trimmed," Suzy further added, putting Nano Raj back into her NanoCom. "I'm with Kwame on this one."

"Right, got it," Junior agreed. "Give me a couple seconds."

"You shall have it," Kwame assured.

Still in the air between the Dark Tree and the rest of the Dark Glade, Alice felt the Dark Fusionflies that were fast approaching as reinforcements for the current Dark Fusionflies. She had come to the same conclusion of Kwame, recognizing that the monsters were still oncoming and were systematically wearing her energy down. She wanted to provide enough of a buffer for her teammates to accomplish their tasks before regrouping.

The Dark Fusionflies swarmed around Alice, making an attempt to bite her. She placed herself in a force-field, watching the Dark Fusionflies bounce off the protective walls. Alice formed small spikes on the sphere, puncturing the Dark Fusionflies in their frenzy to break through the structure. The Dark Fusionflies didn't notice they were impaled, continuing to attack the sphere in a bid to overpower it. Alice watched the swarm impale and cut itself on the small spikes, alarmed by how they didn't react. Not even when holes were torn into their body from Kwame sending pebbles or Suzy firing at them from her Crayon Cannon. No matter the injury they received, the monsters never registered the pain or even cry out from it. They were just mindless drones; pawns thrown out into the battlefield to wear down the enemy.

Junior shoved the Skull Basher's brain in an open junction beneath the Dark Tree's roots. He made sure it was jammed in tight between the roots and the soil, ensuring that it couldn't be moved without some effort. The coloring blended in well to the environment, so only someone looking closely for the brain would know it was there. With Hoss' task done, he immediately searched for the Fusion Portal. Given the dark coloring of the environment, it was easy to find the vibrant green color of the Fusion Portal's tentacles. The portal was near the edge of the small island, not too far from where Kwame and Suzy were providing cover fire.

"HEY!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth so it would carry farther. "I FOUND THE PORTAL! IT'S OVER HERE!"

Alice heard the yell faintly. The buzz of the Dark Fusionflies' wings made it difficult to hear it fully, but thankfully her NanoCom beeped with a message from Suzy relaying Junior's yell. Suzy was going to join Junior in the portal and wait for her and Kwame to join them; Kwame was going to hang on the outside and provide cover fire for Alice's retreat. There wasn't a way for Alice to defeat all the Fusion Monsters before she could join the team, so she was going to have to get past the swarm faster than they could grab her.

Alice broke her protective sphere and flung the pieces outward, pushing back the Dark Fusionflies with them. She immediately jetted through the opening, dissolving the sphere as soon as she passed. The Dark Fusionflies were momentarily stunned by being thrown backward through the air, but they quickly reoriented. As a unit with a singular motive, the swarm chased after Alice, spitting Fusion globs at her retreating body. Kwame was covering her retreat with some pebbles being thrown at the approaching Dark Fusionflies, but it wasn't thinning out the numbers very much. That was fine, though, because Alice was able to outfly the monsters tailing her and all but crashed into the tentacles of the portal. All the same, she found herself teleporting from the surface into the Fusion's lair.

Alice didn't know what to expect when she came out the other side, but being inside the tree was not one of them. The dark bark made up the walls, and the team could see the infection running along it. Because of how much infection could be found, the Fusion Matter provided some light for the team, though it only let them see as far as their nose. Further down the dark passage, Alice could make out several green glows, but she couldn't pin what might be producing it. Suzy pulled out her NanoCom and turned on its flashlight app, providing a much brighter light for the team to see.

"You okay, Alice?" Junior asked.

"I'm okay. I just need to catch my breath," Alice admitted.

"Any monsters nearby?" Suzy asked her teammate.

"There's one up ahead," Alice replied. "It's not very far from us."

"How many do you think is in here with us?" Kwame asked.

Alice took a moment to stretch her senses out. "Fourteen, and the Fusion."

"That's a lot, yes?" Kwame asked, consulting with Suzy.

"It's pretty high," Suzy agreed. She then winked at the Planeteer. "Don't worry, though. We've got some secret weapons."

Suzy called out Nano Juniper Lee from the NanoCom. The Nano did a backflip and punched the air in excitement. Alice and Junior brought out their own Nanos, letting Nano Boomer and Nano Rex out of their NanoComs respectively.

"I'm so pumped!" Nano Juniper declared, doing a couple kicks to stretch out her little legs. "Which baddie is getting a kick to the face?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm not letting a girl get the first hit," Nano Boomer protested. "I'm getting it first."

Nano Juniper growled and glared at the miniaturized Rowdyruff.

"Oooohhh. Poor choice of words, amigo," Nano Rex commented.

"What? It's true! I'm the strongest here," Nano Boomer argued his point.

"Okay, back up there un momento," Nano Rex said. "You are not the strongest here."

"Yeah-huh!" Nano Boomer replied. "I can damage."

"And I can steal energy," Nano Juniper threw in.

"And I can stun," Nano Rex added. "And it's quite a lot, just so you know."

"Big whoop," Nano Boomer responded flippantly.

An angry look crossed over Nano Rex and Nano Juniper's faces at their fellow Nano's flippant attitude toward their abilities. Both of them rose their arms up, prepared to start a brawl midair. Nano Boomer noticed how quick the two were to violence, and prepared for the fight by rolling up his sleeves, ready to take them on. The impending fight was stopped by Suzy clapping her hands in a decisive manner that had the Nanos looking at her.

"Okay! We're not running a competition here. You're going to help each other." Three noises of complaints rose from the Nanos, but Suzy cut it off with a raised hand. "No whining. You're a team and you're going to work together."

The Nanos released a whine, but reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement. They shared a wary glance at each other, but kept any negative feelings locked up tight inside. For the time being, they were going to work together like instructed. They'd deal with their personal problems with each other later when they were back in the NanoComs.

Kwame was standing off to the side, looking at the almost altercation in mild surprise. He didn't interact that often with Nanos due to not having one, and the few Fusion Fighters that came and assisted in the Townsville Park didn't let him interact with their Nanos. They were spitfires, reminding the Planeteer of his teammate Wheeler.

"Are all Nanos this spirited?" he asked.

"Some more than others, especially if you add them together," Suzy replied.

"And especially if they're teenagers," Junior threw in sarcastically.

"You good to go, Alice?" Suzy asked her teammate.

Alice nodded her head. "I'm still a little low on energy, though."

"That's alright," Suzy assured her. "We'll have the Nanos cover until you've got your strength back."

Nano Boomer whirled around and looked at Alice in concern.

"You're not well?!" he demanded, jetting over so he could fret around her. "What happened?! Who did it?! Can I smash their face in?"

Alice smiled gratefully at her Nano, giving him a pat on his cheek.

"I'm alright," she reassured her Nano. "I'm just winded, that's all."

Nano Boomer pouted. He gave her his own inspection, checking for any scars or blood. He found nothing because she really was just exhausted. His pout remained on his face, and he crossed his arms in his frustration.

"I still want to punch their face," he complained.

"If it'll make you feel better, we're tracking the Fusion that controlled the monsters that made me tired," Alice offered.

A glint entered Nano Boomer's eyes as his fingers clenched together in a fist.

"It's Fusion hunting season!" he declared, spinning around.

Nano Boomer would have jetted off deeper into the dark heart of the Dark Tree, but Alice grabbed his shirt before he could disappear.

"Stay with the group," she instructed.

"Al~ice!" he whined, attempting to struggle out of Alice's hold.

Alice waited, looking at the Nano patiently. Finally, he gave up and crossed his arms with a huff.

"Fine," he agreed. "I'll stay with the group."

Alice smiled gratefully at his response and released him. He harumphed for a final time before hovering back over to the other Nanos. Since she had the flashlight app open, Suzy led the way. The passage was narrow, only allowing for two bodies side-by-side. Suzy took point with the Nanos floating beside her, their bodies small enough to take the open space. Alice and Junior followed behind, and Kwame took up the rear.

The monsters patrolling the inner workings of the Dark Tree were the Eyebulbs. Even though Alice had warned the group that the monster wasn't too far from them, it still surprised the team when Suzy's light came upon the cyclops monster. The Eyebulb was just as surprised to find intruders in the Fusion's lair. It released a hiss and fired off a glob at the group. They pushed themselves up against the wall to avoid the attack while the Nanos jumped to action.

Nano Rex flew forward and used his Smackhands to smack the monster, stunning the monster. It moved around in a singular, circular motion. Nano Juniper appeared next, casting a magical spell with her Te-Xuan-Zap power. Light emitted from the Eyebulb and transferred to Nano Juniper Lee. The Eyebulb slumped forward from having part of its energy leeched. Nano Boomer flew over the top of his fellow Nano's heads and swung down his bat on the Eyebulb's head. He swung three more times with his Batter Up! power, dealing as much damage to the monster as possible. The creature released a death screech and dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter, which was soaked up equally among the team's NanoComs.

Kwame was thoroughly impressed with the fight the Nanos had put up.

"They're incredible," he complimented.

"Aren't they?" Suzy agreed, smiling proudly at the Nanos.

The Nanos were having their own celebration, on the highs of their latest thrill.

"We were pretty awesome," Nano Rex complimented. "That walking eye didn't know what hit it when you went in and wailed on it, Nano Boomer."

Nano Boomer preened at the compliment and was about to go into a spiel about how awesome he was. He paused before his mouth opened when he saw the look Alice was giving him. She didn't have to say anything, but he could read the words on her expression.

"Uh, ye-yeah, thanks. But uh...it was easy for me to hit it 'cause you had it stunned real good." Nano Boomer stumbled his way through the compliment, but Nano Rex beamed with pride. Sensing that Alice's eyes were still on him, the Nano turned to his other partner and gave her a compliment as well. "And it was pretty weak thanks to you sucking its energy."

Nano Juniper grinned, looking very pleased with the compliment she had been given, and even forgiving him of the blasphemies he had said against her.

"Fuse and his little goonies better watch out, 'cause we're an unstoppable team," Nano Juniper boasted, flexing her arm to show off her muscles. "How many more of these do we get to beat up?"

"Thirteen," Alice answered.

Nano Juniper frowned at the superstitious number but shook it off. "Okay, time to go a-huntin' for some grunts!"

"Yeah!" Nanos Rex and Boomer agreed, punching the air.

Pumped up from their victory, the Nanos led the way through the rest of the Dark Tree's innards. They weren't allowed to venture too far from the light, however, and were reprimanded when they became overzealous. The team allowed the Nanos to handle the Eyebulbs since they were only encountering one at a time, and it was clear that three Nanos could more than handle themselves against a single monster. On the occasions when another Eyebulb would rush up to assist their fellow monster, a member of the team would step in. Suzy would shoot at it or Junior would skewer and electrocute it with the tendrils on his back. Even Kwame assisted by having the wood that surrounded them ensnare the Eyebulb and let the Nanos finish it off, or jamming a stick through the monster till it turned into a puddle.

Halfway through the lair, Nano Boomer and Nano Juniper Lee were recalled to their NanoComs. Since they could be used against a Fusion, Alice and Suzy wanted them to regain their health. Nano Rex was perfectly happy to be the only Nano out, stunning the Eyebulbs and letting the team finish it off. He did fantastic in stunning the monsters, but he eventually grew tired and floated almost limply in the air.

"My biometrics are running low," he moaned.

"Head back in," Junior told the Nano, recalling him into the NanoCom. "We're getting close, right?"

Alice spread her senses out and gave a firm nod. The Eyebulbs were finished with, and all that remained in the lair was the Fusion. According to her internal radar, the Fusion was very close to their position.

"It's close by," she reported to her team. Her eyes widened when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stick up. "It's-" right on us never made it past her lips.

The Fusion made its appearance known by diving down from above them. The Fusion reared back its katana and swung it down, aiming for Suzy. The team broke apart, separating so that the Fusion wouldn't have a chance of hitting all of them. The Fusion was not fooled by their tactic and merely changed direction. As soon as its geta touched the flooring, it swirled and swiped at Suzy with the tip of its sword. The tip connected with Suzy's hand, cutting the back of her palm and forcing her to drop the NanoCom. The NanoCom clattered to the ground, bouncing and sending the light around.

Because the NanoCom fell on its back, the area descended into darkness. The only light that could be seen came from the glow of the Fusion Matter on the wood, and the red glow of the Fusion's eyes. Some of the Fusion Matter light provided an image of their opponent, but it didn't make it easy to see in the dark. Their eyes adjusted to the dark, but that was of little assistance.

Alice sensed the Fusion move, and threw up her shield when she realized it was advancing on her. It's katana met her shield, and in the brief light the shield created, she verified that the Fusion they were facing was a doppelganger of Samurai Jack. Fusion Jack pressed its sword onto her shield, attempting to have it cave in. Alice kept her shield up, and since the Fusion was so focused on what she was doing, it missed four black tendrils winding around the Fusion. With lightning speed, the tendrils clenched around the Fusion's neck, arms, and torso and yanked it away from Alice. Jolts of electricity traveled up the tendrils and into the Fusion, sending the creature into convulsions. The tentacles retreated as bark from the ground began to rise and wrap itself around the Fusion, anchoring the opponent to the floor.

The restraints meant nothing to the Fusion.

In a fearsome show of strength, the Fusion broke free of the wooden confinements, sending splintered wood flying in several directions. Alice raised her arms to protect her face from the shrapnel. She dropped her arms as soon as she sensed the Fusion upon her, but her reflexes were slower than the Fusion's. Fusion Jack used the hilt of its sword to hit the side of her head, and the force sent her into the wall. Her skin burned from where Fusion Matter touched her, and her head ached from the hit. In the darkness, Alice couldn't tell if her vision was spinning, but she did notice that a light was shining, making the surroundings brighter. She couldn't focus on it because the Fusion was on her again, swinging the sword down on her. Through the pounding in her head, she raised her arms above her, whether to protect herself physically or to throw up a force-field around her. Her actions were unnecessary since the Fusion's downward swing was paused midair by wood protruding out of the walls, staying the blade inches from Alice's head.

"Move, Alice!" Kwame insisted.

Alice rolled away from the Fusion, and not a moment too soon. The wood blocking the sword was sliced to pieces, giving way to the Fusion's blade in mere seconds. The blade landed where Alice had been, and based on the Fusion's technique, Alice very much doubted she'd be around. She managed to regroup with her teammates, and it was then that she realized why she had saw lighting. Nano Megas was hovering over Junior's shoulder, shining a light from a NanoCom. Alice couldn't be sure on whose NanoCom it was, but it wasn't what was important. Alice refocused on the Fusion as it turned to regard the team. Alice raised her palms and fired off an energy beam. The Fusion raised the katana and cut the energy beam down the middle. The beam split around the Fusion and hit the walls to the side of the Fusion, creating dents where the beams connected.

"Alright, that's cheating!" Junior protested.

The Fusion didn't care for Junior's protesting. It lowered its katana until the tip was even with the team's. For a moment, it didn't do anything, confusing the four as they stared back at the Fusion. Then, from underneath her, Alice felt a burning sensation. She looked down and saw the ground turning a familiar dark green. The dreaded eruption attack was being prepared. Given the claustrophobic environment, the team couldn't move to the sides to avoid the majority of the blast. They couldn't move forward since that would put them in closer reach to the Fusion, so their only option was to go backward. Thinking on his feet, Junior shot off his tendrils, wrapping one around each member of the group. With two more tendrils, he wrapped one around a hanging branch and the other shot for another branch close by. He used the overhanging branches to move the group from the Fusion Matter eruption, getting out of the way just seconds before it went off. Though the team was spared from the attack, it did not mean they were safe.

Fusion Jack leapt through the eruption and collided with the team, sending the team crashing to the ground. The Fusion singled out Alice and put its hands upon her throat, using the momentum and added wait to have the two land just a bit further from the group, Fusion Jack sitting on top. The Fusion tightened its grip around the girl's neck, choking her along with burning her skin. Alice struggled to breathe. She moved her hands to grip the Fusion's hands, but its grip was strong. She moved her right hand to be in the Fusion's face and generated an energy ball to blast the Fusion with. The Fusion was smart and released its grip on her neck, just so it could raise the sword and stab it straight through her hand, pinning it to the ground and ending her attack. Alice's scream was louder and tears filled her eyes, making it difficult to see. The Fusion was knocked off of Alice by Junior charging and body slamming into the Fusion. The two rolled on the ground for a moment, before Junior came out on top and impaling the Fusion with his tendrils. The Fusion was electrocuted once again, sending the Fusion Monster into convulsions.

Suzy rushed forward and lifted the sword from out of Alice's hand, wincing lightly from touching the Fusion Matter. She tossed the sword as far from the group as possible, not seeing where it landed but hearing it clatter in the distance.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Suzy asked, bending down to check on her teammate.

"I-I-I'll be okay," Alice managed, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. "We gotta help Junior."

"Right," Suzy agreed, and then she instructed, "Don't push yourself."

Suzy lifted herself up and waved Nano Megas over. The Nano floated over to her obediently. The redhead passed her hand over the NanoCom's screen and called out Nano Juniper Lee. The miniaturized Te-Xuan-Ze cheered upon being released, but cut herself off when she noticed the state of the fight. She quickly adopted a game face. She made a spell and used her Te-Xuan-Zap on the Fusion. It was hard to tell if it affected the Fusion, but the group could see that it had worked on the target by the way light moved from the Fusion back to Nano Juniper.

The Fusion fought through the electricity coursing into it and managed to put its hands on Junior. It used its strength to heave Junior off of it, throwing him across the small distance. Kwame ran over to the half-demon to check on the boy, and Suzy began firing off at the unarmed Fusion. However, none of the shots were hitting the Fusion dead-center. Alice was noticing that the shots were off, clipping a shoulder or just barely scraping the side of the stomach. A glance at Suzy showed that it was because the girl was using her left hand instead of her right hand. Since the shots were skewed, the Fusion was able to dodge the oncoming hits. The Fusion decided not to confront the girls unarmed, so it ran past them on the path to retrieve its weapon.

Alice ran her uninjured hand over her NanoCom and drew out Nano Boomer. The Rowdyruff pounded a fist into his palm in excitement, prepared for a fight. Without needing to be prompted, the Nano zipped forward and generated an energy bat. Nano Boomer reared his bat back and swung at Fusion Jack's head. The hit had the Fusion stumbling, and another energy sap from Nano Juniper's Te-Xuan-Zap had it crashing to its knees. Unfortunately, the Fusion managed to get back to its feet and continue for its sword.

"Earth!" Kwame shouted, pointing his ring in the Fusion's direction.

The ground rolled underneath the Fusion, destabilizing its movement so that it was forced to leap and hang onto the walls. The rolling continued, catching the sword and moving it even further down the way and keeping it out of the Fusion's reach. The Fusion growled at the efforts taken to keep it from its sword, and made a dive for the weapon. As it soared through the air, a combined effort was made to attack the Fusion. Nano Juniper used her Te-Xuan-Zap ability, Suzy fired off shots from her Crayon Canon, and Alice managed to fire off three energy balls with her working hand. All the attacks connected with the Fusion since it was not defending itself. The monster's fingers grazed the hilt of its sword just as the weapon was dissolving into Fusion Matter. Fusion Jack dissolved into Fusion Matter with it, succumbing to the injuries it had sustained. When the Fusion Matter divided itself among the three active NanoComs, the group released a collective sigh of relief.

"I do not recall Fusion Rex being so difficult," Kwame commented, making an attempt to lighten the mood.

"This Fusion was no joke," Suzy commented. "No wonder those Dark Fusionflies were so coordinated."

"It's a copy of Jack, hands down one of the best fighters ever," Junior put in from his place on the ground. "It's no wonder why that thing was just as dangerous."

Nano Boomer harrumphed, but anything he was going to say got cut off by Nano Juniper whacking him upside the head.

"What's the big deal!" he whined, glaring at the girl.

Nano Juniper glared at him in return, absolutely unimpressed with his inability to read the room. She didn't say anything, and instead pointed her finger at Alice. The Nano followed the finger, saw Alice cradling her hand to her chest, and immediately went into panic mode.

"Alice, what happened?! Who did this!?" he demanded.

"Seriously?" Nano Juniper deadpanned. "It was clearly that Fusion we just fought."

"Oh, right," Nano Boomer agreed. His eyes narrowed. "Guess I can't kill him again."

"Thank you for your concern," Alice told the boy, patting him warmly on his cheek. "But I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" Nano Boomer questioned, eyeing her skeptically.

Alice smiled gently and sent the boy back into the NanoCom. In his place, she called on Nano Numbuh Three. The Nano greeted the team cheerily, but dropped the mood when she stared aghast at the weary team. She immediately zipped around the enclosed environment, popping candy into everyone's mouth. Nano Numbuh Three's Share the Love worked quickly to heal the injuries the team had experienced, and even replenished some of their stamina. Alice inspected her hand as the skin completely repaired itself, looking like it had never been stabbed through in the first place.

"Everyone better?" Nano Numbuh Three asked.

"We are, thank you," Alice said.

She gave the Nano a pat on her head, the Nano giggling from the affection gesture. Alice sent her back into the NanoCom, Suzy and Junior doing the same for their Nanos.

"Suzy, could you please point your light back where the Fusion was?" Kwame requested. "I thought I saw something in its place."

Suzy swung the light as Kwame requested. Laying where the Fusion had been defeated was a single sandal, stained with Fusion Matter. Kwame walked over to the item and picked it up where the sandal had the least amount of Fusion Matter.

"It's a shoe?" Junior questioned.

"Geta," Suzy and Kwame corrected in unison.

Junior frowned, looking annoyed with the correction.

"Would you like this?" Kwame asked Suzy.

"You don't want a Nano?" Suzy asked.

"As amazing as the Nanos are, I do not require one," Kwame answered. "You all would be better suited for a Nano than I."

"In that case, you're up Junior," Suzy said, looking over at the bespectacled boy.

"Don't you two want the Nano?" Junior asked.

"Alice and I have three each. This one is all yours," Suzy said.

"You sure?" Junior questioned, looking between his two teammates.

Suzy and Alice nodded their consent, and so Junior accepted the geta and put it in his NanoCom.

"Only one last thing to take care of," Suzy mused, turning to look at Kwame.

The Planeteer smiled as he pulled out the Wisdom Seed from his pocket, holding it carefully between his fingers.

"This shall only take a moment."

As soon as the team reconnected with Doctor J.C., the botanist threw herself at the team.

"You are all amazing!"

"Just doing our job," Suzy replied.

"And we're happy to help where we're needed," Kwame added. "Is the Wisdom Seed already working?"

Doctor J.C. released her hold on the team, and stepped back, conspicuously wiping her eyes.

"Yeah-huh," she answered, nodding her head. "It'll be a while until we see any drastic results, but my readings are already showing Fusion Matter infection slowing down by thirty percent. And the Dark Fusionflies are behaving like normal monsters. Whatever you did in there, it's made a difference."

"Yeah I hope so," Junior groused a little sarcastically, but there was a smile on his face. For all his complaining, he was pleased that they got the job done.

"Do you think the infection has stopped reaching Magic Tree?" Alice asked the Planeteer.

"I will give Mac a call to see," Kwame said. "Excuse me."

He stepped away from the group to give Mac a call. It wasn't a very long call, because Kwame returned to the team with a giant grin on his face only five minutes later.

"The Magic Tree is doing much better," Kwame reported. "The infection is no longer a threat to him."

"This is excellent," Doctor J.C. declared, grinning just as widely as Kwame. "With the Wisdom Seed working its magic, the Dark Tree is no longer spreading the infection across the globe. This is a huge blow to Fuse's plans."

That was wonderful news to hear, and made the fierce battle they had endured worth it. The Dark Tree had certainly been important to Fuse, since he had put a Fusion as powerful and as dangerous as Fusion Jack to protect it and ensure it was consumed by Fusion Matter. Without it, he was left without a fast way to spread his infection unseen over vast distances, and he was without a powerful Fusion.

All that was left to be seen is if Hoss' plan was going to work. For the sake of the Earth, Alice really hoped Hoss Delgado was right.

Chapter Text

Ilana hovered over Otto's shoulder, watching with raptured attention as the boy carefully studied the cards in his hand. The boy's eyes slowly moved over each of the cards, taking in the colorful artwork and simple descriptions. His tongue stuck out a little as he concentrated. Finally, having found the path he wanted to take, Otto confidently picked out a card from the line-up and laid it on the black table in front of him.

"Alright, try this one."

Junior eyed the battle card his opponent laid and gave a little bob of his head.

"Not a bad choice," he acknowledged. Then, without even looking at his hand, he laid down a card of his own. "This should be more than enough to beat it."

Otto's eyes bulged as he looked at the card. He immediately went back to his hand, looking for a counter. Ilana's eyes were just as wide, but this was from excitement rather than worry. Suzy and Alice were sitting on Junior's side of the table, although they were not as invested in watching the duel as Ilana was.

"I'm surprised by you, Junior," Suzy said.

Junior shot her a confused look, though his eyes belied apprehension on what Suzy was going to tell him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't take you for a Yipper Card Squadron player," Suzy replied. "You pinned me as a Hokeymon guy."

"I've got a Hokeymon deck," Junior defended. "I've even got a Stu-Pi-Doh! deck. I like collecting trading cards."

"Dork," Suzy teased good-naturedly.

Junior took offense to that, though not because she was calling him a dork. Instead, he was offended by her hypocrisy. "Last I remember, you're a trading card collector, too. You were at last year's Bring Out Your Beasts tournament."

Suzy grinned at the reply. "Touché."

Ilana overheard the conversation and perked up, looking eagerly at the two teammates.

"You mean there's more of these card games out there?" Ilana asked.

"Yeah. It's a very lucrative business," Suzy answered. She began to tick off each trading card game with the help of her fingers. "You've got Yipper Card Squadron, Hokeymon, Stu-Pi-Doh!, Bring Out Your Beasts, Tappy Cards, and Sumo Slammer even has its own collectable trading card game."

There were stars in Ilana's eyes as she listened to all the card games that Earth had to offer. Already she was making plans of searching out these other cards so that she could bring them back to Sherman High for a tournament; it sounded so fun! Suzy looked away from the blonde to look at Alice, who had been content to watch the duel in silence.

"How about you, Alice? Do you play trading cards?"

"I have some Hokeymon cards," Alice admitted. "I just collect the cards I think look nice. I never played with anyone, so I don't have a deck made."

Suzy's smile flashed in sympathy for a moment. She reached out and patted Alice on the shoulder.

"We'll get that fixed. I'll help you make a deck and play some rounds with you," she promised.

"Aha! I think this should help me out!" Otto cried, laying down a card. "How 'bout that?"

"You're getting good at this," Junior complimented, his fingers curling around the top of a card. "But I've done this longer." He laid down the card, sending Otto into another panic.

As Otto was sent back to consult the cards in his hand, Lance entered the cafeteria. He swept the room quickly, pinpointing his target with ease since the cafeteria was mostly empty. He sidled up next to Ilana with a frown on his face, looking his typical grumpy self.

"What are you doing here, Ilana?" Lance inquired.

"I'm watching a duel," Ilana replied.

Lance's face wrinkled, looking offended at the very notion that playing a card game deserved the honor of being called a duel.

"You should be with Octus instead of down here wasting time on a card game," Lance admonished.

Ilana frowned at the tone and put her hands on her hips. She lifted her head up, attempting to gain a few more inches in height against the taller Lance.

"Octus is working with the likes of Max Tennyson and Hoss Delgado and does not need me to hang over his shoulder when there is very little I can do for him," she argued. "Tetrax is still looking into what monsters we need to go after to get yet another piece of the Master Weapon. So while there is lull in the fighting, I find my time to be better spent looking into recreational activities so that when this war is over and everything is peaceful once again, I can help in rebuilding that peace with a little bit of fun thanks to these card games."

Alice blinked in astonishment, caught off guard by Ilana's demeanor. Instead of sounding like a sibling spat, it reminded Alice strongly of a princess dolling out orders to her subject. Even more surprisingly, Lance bowed his head, conceding the debate. Ilana hummed in triumph and looked back to the duel that was still in a stall - Otto was trying to find a card to use and had completely missed the verbal sparring that took place.

Lance's lips were dropped into a frown, but he didn't utter a word against her. He kowtowed to the order, and looked away from her. Rightfully considering the matter closed, Ilana looked back over Otto's shoulder - the boy hadn't lifted his head once and missed the entire affair.

Lance's eyes landed on Team Super Star, who had been watching the whole affair in silent interest.

"Hey, Team Super Star, Jack wants you to meet up topside," Lance relayed.

"Ooh, did he say why?" Suzy asked.

Lance shook his head.

"No, just that he needs you there now," Lance replied.

"But we're in the middle of a duel," Ilana complained, sending a glare at Lance like it was his fault Jack wanted the team.

Lance glared right back, his eyes conveying the old saying don't shoot the messenger.

"It's alright," Junior replied. "You can play my hand. I'll grab the cards after the job."

Ilana's eyes brightened like the sun at the offer. She gripped the tips of her skirt and did a little curtsy which confused the boy she was offering it to.

"I am honored by your trusting in me to carry on in your battle. I will achieve nothing short of victory."

Junior looked at her quizzically, confused by her overly formal behavior. He didn't make a comment on it and merely handed his cards to her. Otto didn't even realize he was battling a whole other person until he finally laid down a card and was surprised by the sight of a blonde girl and not a jet-black haired boy.

Jack was in his usual place on the air carrier's deck. Instead of conversing with Tetrax, he was interacting with two teenagers, Juniper Lee and the Planeteer Ma-Ti. A monkey was seated comfortably on the Planeteer's shoulder, listening contently as Juniper gesticulated her point. The girl happened to glance across the deck and caught sight of the team. She grinned widely, showing all her teeth.

"Hey, Junior!" she called. "Glad to see you man. How's things been in the Darklands?"

"Busy," Junior answered. "Monsters are crawling everywhere."

"That's what I heard," Juniper said, her grin turning just a bit predatory. She punched her fist into her open palm. "I can't wait to turn them into Fusion Matter."

"Aren't you looking into the totems?" Suzy questioned.

"I am, but I'm having them be looked over by a xenoarchaeologist named Kai Green, so I'm free. Besides, when Jack" - she hooked a thumb at the samurai - "asked for my assistance there was no way I was going to refuse," Juniper answered.

"What were we called for?" Junior asked.

"I have requested the five of you to search for the missing warriors," Jack explained.

"You know where they might be?" Ma-Ti asked in surprise.

Jack nodded, his look turning grim for a moment. "The Soul Collector, Demongo, admitted that he had stolen the souls, but that they were in turn stolen by his Fusion double."

"Shocker," Junior muttered sarcastically.

"According to Demongo, Fusion Demongo placed the souls of the missing warriors into its minions," Jack continued on, ignoring Junior's comment - though he did send a quick, pointed look at the boy to make sure he kept his mouth shut. "It is your responsibility to search for these monsters and retrieve their souls."

Juniper grinned knowingly. "Ah-hah, that's why you had me bring the Sacred Vessel."

"Yes," Jack answered with the nod of his head. "Were you able to enchant it?"

"Monroe got it done," Juniper replied.

"That is good. With the enchantment on the Sacred Vessel, the liberated souls will be called to it so that they do not wander the Earth untethered," Jack explained.

"How do we find the souls?" Suzy asked.

"I believe I can help with that," Ma-Ti responded, raising his hand. "If I use my magic ring, I can sense their souls. Since the Fusion Monsters themselves don't have any, it will be easier to find them."

"And we were called because we've already had experience locating missing heroes," Suzy pointed out.

"Correct," Jack said. "I spoke with Dexter, and he has informed me that it was your team who had already found many missing warriors. Given your experience with my Fusion doppelganger, I believe you will be able to handle the monsters that house the warriors."

Junior puffed up his chest, proud that his team was recognized for their fight with Fusion Jack. Before the fight, Jack had been cautious to let the team leave the vicinity of the air carrier. Since the fight with Fusion Jack, the samurai hardly batted an eye when they hopped off for a new adventure. Taking on a masterful fighter and living certainly added some weight to the argument that they could take care of themselves.

"That's one smart strategy, Jack." Suzy grinned approvingly at Jack. "You've thought everything through."

Jack accepted the praise modestly.

"Where do we look for the souls?" Junior asked.

"You shall begin your search in Hero's Hollow," Jack answered. "Plumbers have reported to seeing Fusion Demongo roaming around doling out orders. It is unknown if its lair is somewhere out there, but it is the best place to start."

"And with that handy magic ring of yours, it can tell us if we're getting hot or cold," Suzy added, pointing at the ring on Ma-Ti's hand.

"Has Mr. Octus learned anything more?" Alice asked Jack.

While Ilana had explained that Octus was busy at work with Max and Hoss, Alice figured that Jack would be in the know better than most. She didn't even have to clarify what she was asking; Jack knew instantly and responded accordingly.

"I am afraid not, young one," Jack answered. "There is some sign of activity, but Octus and Hoss Delgado have yet to decipher it." He crossed his arms so that his hands disappeared into the sleeves of his kimono. "For now, the mind of Fuse remains a mystery to us."

"You're trying to read Fuse's mind?" Ma-Ti asked, looking mystified at the very notion.

"That's the plan," Suzy confirmed.

"I didn't even think he had a mind," Juniper quipped, surprise coloring her words.

"He does," Alice answered a little morosely.

"We're hoping to find his underground Fusion army factory," Suzy supplied, explaining why the idea of reading Fuse's mind would even be brought up. "Bringing that down will cripple Fuse."

"I support anything that cripples Fuse's side," Juniper said whole-heartedly. "Plus, it'll be good to have some muscles back on our side."

"In theory, it should also weaken Fusion Demongo's side," Jack quipped.

"But the souls are hidden in monsters," Alice pointed out.

"That is correct," Jack replied. "But I believe Fusion Demongo's decision to place the missing warriors' souls into its minions was done as a way to boost their powers. It would explain why the monsters of Hero's Hollow are dangerous."

"Aside from the obvious?" Juniper joked.

"Aside from the obvious," Jack said, his lips turned upward in a mirth-filled smile.

"So recovering the souls may not hurt Fusion Demongo directly, but it will weaken his army, making it easier to face him," Suzy reasoned, following Jack's line of thought.

Jack nodded approvingly.

"Sounds easy then. Beat up the Fusion Monsters, release the souls, and weaken Fusion Demongo's side," Juniper summarized.

"What about Fusion Demongo itself?" Ma-Ti asked.

"At this time, Fusion Demongo is not our concern," Jack answered. "Our priority is on rescuing the missing warriors."

"Don't worry Jack, we're on it," Suzy assured the samurai, grinning confidently.

"Hey, Team Super Stars, you've been on this island for a long time, right?" Juniper asked, starting a conversation.

Since the team was banned from using the Monkey Skyway Agents, the team was relegated to using their vehicles. Juniper and Ma-Ti were using Alice's Dynomutt Dasher since the girl didn't need to use it herself. Ma-Ti's animal companion, Suchi, was holding tightly to Ma-Ti's neck as the hoverbike zoomed over Huntor's Crest's terrain.

"Almost two weeks," Suzy answered.

"So do you know anything about a big battle that happened out here?" Juniper asked. "I heard our K.N.D. pilot mention something about it."

Alice frowned out of reflex at the mention of a big battle. It was the biggest secret the island held. The team had been made aware of this big battle when Lance made an offhanded comment about it, and then they had gone to Jack to get the full story behind it. Alice didn't like that something so important was hidden from the world, but given the outcome of the battle, she could understand why everyone involved had been adamant about not letting it be public knowledge.

Naturally, it was Suzy who answered Juniper's question.

"You're talking about the Battle of Hero's Hollow. It was a big battle between Fuse's army and Earth's forces early on in the war. Since Fuse was using the Darklands as his base of operations, the thought was to bring the fight to Fuse's front door and send him packing."

"But since we're still fighting Fuse, the battle didn't go in our favor, right?" Ma-Ti spoke up.

"Right," Suzy confirmed. "We lost the battle. It was going okay for our side, but something happened that turned the tides in Fuse's favor. Eventually everyone involved had to retreat back to Forsaken Valley, and Fuse was given free reign over the island."

Juniper sighed resignedly. "I would have loved to be there. I could have helped out."

"But what happened?" Ma-Ti asked. "You said something happened. What was it?"

"Apparently, an Imaginary Friend that wasn't supposed to be there caused the DexLabs air carrier they were on to crash," Suzy answered. "Without the air support, our side was left scrambling, on top of having to deal with a giant air ship coming straight for them. And then like I said, the battle was lost and Fuse had a greater foothold in the Darklands than we were hoping."

"Well he may have won that battle, but that's it, a battle," Juniper said. With a confident smile, she added on, "We're going to win the war."

"That's the plan," Junior commented, only slightly sarcastic.

Juniper turned and stuck her tongue out at Junior, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly. The humor evaporated as soon as the group passed under a giant statue - or was it a living creature? - and crossed the border into Hero's Hollow. Without a word, they all came to a stop at the top of the incline. Alice's breath hitched as she surveyed the remains of the battlefield.

As far as the eye could see, there were damaged battle robots from both DexLabs and Mandark Inds. littering the ground; some were only ripped in half; some were completely torn apart. It reminded Alice strongly of the Firepits, but the carnage was massive and spread out far over the land. On top of the wrecked robots strewn everywhere, the battlefield was filled with destroyed vehicles like DexLabs and Mandark Inds.' tanks, and the K.N.D.'s S.T.A.N.K.s, and S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s. So many robot and vehicle parts covered the ground that it was almost impossible to see the black soil underneath. In Alice's opinion, it was a humbling sight.

"W-wow," Ma-Ti breathed, voicing the thought all of them were sharing.

"This is way worse than what was said," Junior commented. "Way, way worse."

Juniper released a breath, like she was steadying her nerves. "Yeah, it's bad, but nothing we can do to change it. We've got our own job to do out here."

"That's right," Suzy agreed. "We're here to rescue some souls. So how 'bout it, Ma-Ti, can you sense any souls nearby?"

Ma-Ti extended out his ring, using it without any of them seeing it in use.

"I can sense the souls gathered in the area, though a few are weak," Ma-Ti replied. "There are some close by to us, to our left."

Suzy turned over her shoulder, looking up at Alice inquisitively. Without a word, Alice nodded her confirmation that she sensed monsters in the area Ma-Ti had indicated. With a brilliant smile, Suzy nodded her head back in confirmation.

"Alrighty then, we're starting left," Suzy said. "We'll do this clockwise and cover the whole area. We're looking for thirty-three souls, right?"

"That's what Jack said," Juniper agreed.

"You said you can sense souls in that area," Suzy said, gesturing to the thicket of trees at the bottom left of the hill. "Could you sense how many exactly?"

The number Ma-Ti had sensed was eight. It wasn't a terribly large number, but as soon as the team arrived at the area, they realized that it would not be as simple as they assumed. They had assumed that the souls were put into the monster grunts, but this was not the case. Fusion Demongo had chosen to place the souls into the bosses, in this case the Giga Shellworms. Not all the Giga Shellworms were housing a hero's soul, and it was apparent on which of the bosses did. The soul hosts were larger and bulkier than their non-soul hosting counterparts. They were still bosses and had a posse of Shellworm trailing behind.

"So how do we want to play this out? There's five of us, and four of them," Juniper commented from the safe distance the team had taken to survey the enemy.

"I can't fight," Ma-Ti quickly corrected, Suchi making a protest from the boy's shoulder.

"That's okay, you can hold the vessel," Juniper answered, handing over the ancient looking vase to the Planeteer. "We can handle the monsters."

"We'll attack together," Suzy said. "Put them on the defensive before they can go offensive."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Juniper commented. "You ready to do this?"

Her question had been rhetorical; she wasn't waiting for the response of the team. Without a warning, she spung around and rushed forward to the Giga Shellworm and its pack of followers. Alice was surprised by her headlong rush into the fight, but quickly recovered and flew after her. Alice found that no matter how fast she flew, Juniper still outpaced her.

The Te-Xuan-Ze reached the Shellworms before they realized they were in danger, so her appearance startled them. She leaped on top of the head of a Shellworm and then used that momentum to leap upward at the Giga Shellworm. With a battle cry, she pulled back her fist and struck it in the head. The Giga Shellworm recoiled from the hit, but recovered and swiped at the girl. Before the monster's claws could touch Juniper, Alice raised an energy shield that blocked the creature's attack. The Shellworm boss growled at the interference, but Juniper seized her opportunity. Grabbing onto the top of the shield that still held in place midair, Juniper vaulted over the top of it and used the downward angle to land a punch to the boss' face.

The Giga Shellworm shook off the hit and headbutted the teenager while she was falling back to the ground. Juniper fell backward from the hit, and while her defenses were down, the boss monster took the opportunity to backhand the girl with its large hands. Juniper soared through the air for a brief moment before she reoriented herself and controlled her descent back to the ground. She landed a few feet from the gathered Shellworms. Alice landed beside her and had her hand hovering inches from her NanoCom, prepared to call on Nano Numbuh Three to treat Juniper's Fusion Matter burns. Surprisingly, that wasn't a single mark marring Juniper's skin.

The Giga Shellworm and its three minions roared out a challenge to the two girls before they charged. Juniper dropped into a fighting stance and launched herself forward, heading straight for the first Shellworm charging. Alice fired off an energy beam at one of the Shellworms, hitting the creature and causing it to stumble. Four more hits had it turning into Fusion Matter. From behind her, Alice could hear the tell-tale sounds of the Crayon Cannon firing off, indicating Suzy had joined in to provide long-range support. Suzy's attacks zeroed in on a Shellworm, hitting it several times before it dissolved into Fusion Matter. The third Shellworm was dealt with when Nano Jack flew forward, wielding his miniature katana. He swiped at the Shellworm using his Samurai Slash ability, and doing so multiple times defeated the grunt.

That left only the Giga Shellworm, and Juniper had nonverbally called dibs on the monster.

With all the other competition out of the way, Juniper was free to pursue the boss. Using her superhuman speed, Juniper rushed the monster. The boss was ready for her, and began stabbing at her with its webbed claws. Juniper avoided the jabs and grabbed onto the monster's left arm, using it to catapult herself upward. With the momentum, she kicked the Giga Shellworm in the jaw. The monster reared back in pain. Juniper landed on the ground before shooting back upward, performing an uppercut to the monster's jaw, which was still sore from the first hit. The Giga Shellworm roared out in equal parts pain and aggression, and snapped forward, attempting to trap Juniper in between its teeth. Juniper caught the upper and lower parts of the creature's mouth and held them back, pushing outward. Juniper stretched the Giga Shellworm's mouth out so much that Alice could hear the jaw crack. It was all the boss could take, but before it dissolved into Fusion Matter, its body glowed a bright yellow light. The yellow light then shot out of the boss' body and flew past Alice, moving so fast that she could feel the wind rush past her when it whizzed by her.

Succumbing to its injuries, the boss dissolved into Fusion Matter that covered Juniper for a brief moment before the NanoComs collected the liquid. For a girl that had a harmful substance covering her head-to-toe, Juniper looked fine. Not a single case of Fusion Matter Burn could be found anywhere on her. The Te Xuan Ze grinned excitedly, exhilarated by the battle she had just come out of.

"Ha! That's the best Fusion Demongo has?" Juniper taunted. "I didn't even break a sweat. Editing the Orchid Bay School newspaper is more stressful than this."

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, running an eye over Juniper to check for any injuries. "The Fusion Matter didn't hurt?"

"A slight tingle, but no different from being pinched," Juniper answered.

Alice stared in amazement. She had never heard touching Fusion Matter be referred to as tingles.

"It's because she's got superhuman durability," Junior supplied as he, Suzy and Ma-Ti joined the two girls. "It comes with the title."

"Title? What title?" Ma-Ti asked in confusion.

"I'm the Te Xuan Ze, guardian of the magical world," Juniper answered.

"I've never heard of that," Ma-Ti replied, smiling sheepishly.

"It's alright, not many would before this whole thing started," Juniper assured the boy, grinning at him. She put her knuckles on her hips and continued, "So, did the enchantment work?"

Ma-Ti nodded. "The Sacred Vessel currently houses a soul, though I cannot tell exactly whose soul."

"That's alright, so long as we have it," Suzy said. "And that means we've only got thirty-two more to save."

"Hearing the number just makes it sound like so much to do," Junior mildly complained.

"Ah-ah-ah," Suzy lectured, wagging her finger in Junior's direction. "That's not Team Super Stars' attitude."

Junior rolled his eyes, but the tips of his lips were pulling upward in a suppressed smile.

"Psssh. These guys are chumps," Juniper said confidently. "We'll round up all the heroes in no time, and with all that manpower back on our side, we'll wipe the floor with Fuse."

"It's a little hard to believe," Ma-Ti commented. "Fuse has been a problem for us for so long, the thought that it could come to an end soon..."

"It's something I've been looking forward to since the start of this," Juniper said. "But kicking Fuse's butt is going to have to wait. The heroes are our responsibility."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Suzy said, grinning. "Time for another rescue."

Hidden from behind a giant rock that was lightly infected with Fusion Matter, Juniper leaned around their cover to get a good look at the enemy. The Te Xuan Ze frowned as she took in how large the Meteoric Sentry Number One was. It hovered high in the air, and its shadow almost consumed the hidden group.

"That thing is big," Juniper commented.

The Meteoric Sentry Number Ones were already big given their boss status, but this one contained the soul of a hero, so it was even larger, just like the Giga Shellworms the team had already brought down.

The team had swiftly dealt with the seven other Giga Shellworms that patrolled the area before they moved to the Hero's Hollow-Green Maw borderline to deal with the Meteoric Sentry Number Ones, where Ma-Ti said ten souls were trapped. Unlike the Giga Shellworms that traveled in packs, the Meteoric Sentry Number Ones didn't always travel with their grunts, but Alice and Ma-Ti were able to discern the soul-residing bosses from the non-soul-residing bosses, and led the team in the correct direction, encountering lonely Meteoric Sentries that mistakenly crossed their paths.

Now, the team had found their first soul-residing boss, and had taken immediate cover to think over how they were to tackle the severely large boss.

Juniper frowned in contemplation, then retreated back behind the rock to consult her teammates.

"Okay, that thing is huge, and it can float. Alice, you can fly, so you're going to be a big help here," Juniper said. "Can you throw me up to the ugly thing? Once I'm on it, I'll just punch it in its eyes."

"I can levitate you up," Alice answered.

"Excellent!" Juniper cheered. "Ma-Ti, you stay behind the rock obviously. Suzy and Junior, provide us some cover fire.

"This doesn't sound any different than what we did with the Giga Shellworms," Junior pointed out.

"Not true," Juniper countered. "You were able to get in closer to the Giga Shellworms. These things are flying, and since you can't withstand them the way I can, it's safer for you to be on the ground and attacking from a distance."

Junior opened his mouth but nothing came out of it. Whatever he had meant to say paused in his throat, and he was forced to shut his mouth. Even if he wanted to argue, Juniper's logic made sense. Juniper was unaffected by the Fusion Matter, and Alice could fly, making them the best upfront fighters. Even if he had Alice use her shield ability to give him height leverage, that would divide Alice's attention between him and fighting, and he didn't want to be the reason if she got hit by the boss. So, with begrudging reluctance, he nodded his head in agreement. Juniper flashed him her pearly whites and clenched her fist.

"Already team, let's get ready to-"

"Move!" Alice shouted, her voice raised in alarm.

The team didn't hesitate to follow the order. Juniper grabbed Ma-Ti and dived away from the rock. Juniper used his tentacles to give him a kick off from the ground. Alice grabbed Suzy's hand and flew the two of them away from their hiding spot. A couple seconds later, the rock they had been hidden behind burst into rubble thanks to the power the Meteoric Sentry Number One had put behind the attack. Upon seeing that its prey had moved before the attack could be fatal, the soul-residing boss released a guttural sound of disapproval.

"Thanks for the heads up, Alice," Juniper complimented, putting Ma-Ti on his feet. She dropped herself into a fighting stance and shouted, "Launch me!"

Alice encased the magical warrior in a protective energy sphere and sent her flying through the air, straight for the soul-residing boss. The Meteoric Sentry Number One snarled at its impending opponent, and raised its tendril to smack the sphere off its path. Alice moved the sphere out of the monster's reach, avoiding letting it get hit or touched by the monster. As the sphere drew closer, Alice released her concentration on it, letting Juniper freefall closer to the monster. The Te Xuan Ze cheered in excitement, and since she was much smaller than she had been in the sphere, she was able to avoid the tendrils much easier. She even grabbed two tendrils that were coming at her at the same time and tied them into a knot. The Meteoric Sentry Number One released a growl of frustration and attempted to disentangle the tied-up tendrils.

Juniper grabbed onto a tendril that the boss shot at her and spun around it like it was gymnastics before her feet connected on the tendril. She rode down it like a skateboard, cackling with excitement as she slid down the tendril. The boss growled and flicked the appendage, sending Juniper off her makeshift ramp. Juniper didn't panic. The boss' actions hadn't actually mattered since Juniper was near enough to the boss' main body. She landed on the creature and proceeded to punch its face with her bare hands.

With Juniper safely on the boss, Alice sent a barrage of energy beams at the tendrils to keep them from attacking Juniper. She had held back while the Te Xuan Ze had been doing her acrobatics in fear of accidentally hitting her. Now that Juniper was at her destination, Alice did her part to make sure the girl was met with little resistance from the boss monster.

The Meteoric Sentry Number One was in a conundrum. Two of its six tendrils were tied together in a knot, and the other four were being harassed by Alice and Suzy, who had been able to find coverage by Ma-Ti and started firing up at the boss. A girl with incredible strength was not only able to withstand the Fusion burns its skin naturally gave off, but she was also repeatedly hitting it. So much was happening to it, and it was unable to respond back with little more than grunts and growls.

Well, it could to one thing at least. While it couldn't deal with the girl on top of it, the Meteoric Sentry Number One began to spit Fusion Matter globs at the blue-haired girl hovering in the air. Alice had to dodge the globs, giving the boss a little wiggle room to use its tendrils to attack Juniper. It was able to hit Juniper with a tendril, but instead of flying off like the Meteoric Sentry Number One intended, Juniper held on and catapulted off, landing right back on the boss, this time with an accompanying kick. The Meteoric Sentry Number One cried out in frustration for its plan failing, and for the Te Xuan Ze returning to continue her pummeling. Unfortunately for the boss, its situation was about to get worst.

As the boss was being attacked, it felt a powerful hit strike it from behind. It was an energy beam not unlike the one Alice produced, but of a different variety. Unlike Alice, who only used her beams in short bursts to stop the boss' tendrils from attacking Juniper, the beam hitting it from behind was not letting up. The boss released a scream from the pain, and its tendrils waved around frantically in a fruitless attempt to save itself.

"Whoa!" Juniper called out, gripping the Meteoric Sentry Number One's body tightly. "When'd you become a bucking bronco?"

The Meteoric Sentry Number One didn't respond to the rhetorical question as Juniper expected. It continued its frantic floundering, until its body glowed a bright color. Juniper shielded her eyes from the bright light, which is why she missed the energy beam that hadn't let up when the Fusion Monster's body dissolved. The energy beam nailed Juniper and sent her flying backward through the air with a scream of surprise.

"Juniper!" Alice called out in concern.

Instead of catching Juniper with her force field ability, she flew upward and caught Juniper. This proved to be a mistake, because instead of stopping the girl's flight, Juniper merely collided with her and the two were sent plummeting to the ground. They hit with a painful thud, but would live through it. Their friends raced to their side, with Junior sliding to a stop. He reached out and helped Alice into a sitting position.

"Are you girls okay?" Junior asked.

"I'll live," Juniper replied, waving off Ma-Ti's hand. She sat up of her own accord and rubbed at her chest, where the energy blast had hit her. "Geeze, what hit me?"

Suzy, standing with her back to the two girls, leveled her weapon at the visitor. Her tone was serious as she answered "A Rowdyruff."

Alice gasped and jerked her head upward, back to where the Meteoric Sentry Number One had once been. Hovering in its place was the green Rowdyruff Boy, Butch. His green hoodie was wrapped around his waist, the only speck of color to break up his black sleeveless shirt and black shorts.

Butch had stopped using his energy beam once he realized there wasn't a thing to fight. He and his brothers weren't known for being the smartest on the planet, but he at least had enough battle sense to know that not hitting something was just wasting energy. The black-haired boy moved his head around, searching for his opponent.

"Where'd that coward run off to?" Butch demanded.

"He hasn't realized the boss was dealt with," Ma-Ti pointed out, staring in confusion at the Rowdyruff.

"He's an idiot," Junior retorted instantly.

"A super-powered idiot," Suzy corrected.

"Yeah, that's why I'm on edge right now," Junior said. "When I wanted Darkland adventures, I didn't want a Rowdyruff on that list."

Juniper got back on her feet, her brows pinched together like she was concentrating on a thought. "Rowdyruff..." Juniper rolled the name around for a moment, waiting for a spark of recognition. "They're on the same level as a Powerpuff, yeah?"

"Pretty close, yeah," Suzy answered.

"Maybe he's helping?" Ma-Ti raised up a point. "He did take out the boss monster."

"Boomer may be trying to redeem himself, but I really doubt Butch is going to repent for anything he did," Junior countered. "The guy just wants to beat up whatever's in his way. We're so far lucky the idiot hasn't noticed we're down here."

"Something's not right," Alice pointed out. She stood up and searched around their area with a pensive look on her face. "The Rowdyruff Boys don't do things alone. If Butch is here..."

"...Brick should be close by," Suzy finished, cotton on to Alice's thought.

"Correctomundo, losers!"

The guttural reply was the moment of warning before a red blur suddenly appeared in the open space between the group. The ground shook from the red blur's impact, and the shockwave sent the group flying backwards. Alice caught herself midair while Juniper did a flip and landed on her feet. Junior stretched out his tentacles, using one to catch onto a rock to stop his fall, and two tentacles to grab Suzy and Ma-Ti, stopping them from a painful landing. All eyes fell upon the source of the impact.

Brick was kneeling at the crater his fist had created, the result of the earthquake and subsequent shockwave. Despite the dust he had kicked up, his red leather jacket and black shorts were undirtied. The red cap wearing boy stood up and smirked cockily at the team. Butch finally realized that he had company on the ground and landed beside his brother, a similar looking smirk formed on his lips.

"Whatcha losers doing in our territory?" Brick questioned.

"This isn't your territory," Junior challenged.

"Incorrect," Brick replied.

"Everything you see is ours," Butch added. "And you're trespassing."

"Well look at that," Suzy commented. She had a glare on her face as she aimed her weapon at the boys. "You can use big words."

Alice shot a quick glance of surprise at her teammate, not expecting to hear the sarcastic tone in Suzy's mocking. Actually, she was more surprised that Suzy was mocking the Rowdyruff. It wasn't like she hadn't heard Suzy mock anyone before. Junior was usually on the receiving end of that, but it was always done in good fun. Here, it was explicitly used as an insult.

In true Rowdyruff fashion, the meathead hadn't realized he had been made fun of. He puffed out his chest proudly in the thought that she was complimenting him. Brick was just a little smarter than his brother and elbowed him sharply in the side. The green Rowdyruff cringed from the hit and snarled at his brother, who gave him a whack on the head for the snarling.

"She was making fun of you, moron," Brick told his brother.

Butch's face scrunched up as he processed what his brother told him. Alice could see the exact moment it clicked in his mind because he snapped his head in Suzy's direction, baring his teeth like a wild dog.

"You think you're funny, huh?" Butch challenged. "Let's see how funny you are after this!"

Like a bullet out of a gun, Butch shot off at Suzy. Thanks to his superpowered genes, he moved at incredible speeds that normal humans couldn't hope to replicate. It was what made the Rowdyruffs so much more dangerous than the likes of the Gangreen Gang or the Amoeba Boys.

Before the Rowdyruff Boy could land a hit on the redhead, Alice threw up an energy dome around her teammate. It materialized not a moment too soon. A moment later, Butch appeared and threw a punch against the wall of her force field. The dome held against the attack. Seeing the dome protecting Suzy from his attack, Butch's furious look changed to confusion. He threw another punch to test the energy dome's durability. Once again, it remained standing. Butch's furious look returned to his face as he sent off a flurry of punches at the energy dome. It held under the assault, but it was becoming harder for Alice to keep it up.

"Argh!" Butch growled, floating backward away from the energy dome. "What the heck is this?!"

"Move aside, weaksauce," Brick ordered, cracking his knuckles. "I'll handle this."

Instead of doing as his brother instructed, Butch whirled around and glared angrily at his brother.

"Who you calling weaksauce, weaksauce?!" Butch demanded.

Brick growled and headbutted Butch. Since Butch was of a similar power level, the boy didn't tumble backward from the hit. The two remained standing, foreheads pressed together as they glared at each other.

"Is this normal behavior?" Ma-Ti whispered to Junior and Suzy.

"Yeah. There's no brotherly love among these guys," Junior answered.

"This should be easy then," Juniper said, cracking her knuckles and then her neck. "You know what they say. 'A house divided cannot stand' and all that."

"But we shouldn't be fighting against each other," Ma-Ti argued. "We should be teaming up. We're already in a crisis against Fuse."

"They don't care," Junior counterargued, waving his hand at the brothers. "Case in point, they're fighting each other."

The brothers' standoff with each other had turned into a full-on fight between them. They were punching, kicking, biting, laser eye beaming. The boys were so consumed by their fighting that they forgot they had an audience watching.

"So we're leaving them here, yeah?" Junior asked.

"We're going to have to," Suzy responded. "We've got missing souls to rescue."

Juniper stared at the fighting brothers and sighed disappointedly. "Yeah, you're right." She gestured at Ma-Ti. "Lead the way."

Ma-Ti only took two steps when a red laser beam flew right by his head. The beam had thankfully missed him - a few strands of hair being the only victims - but it had been close enough to startle him. He stumbled to the side and was caught but Junior, who kept him on his feet. In unison, the team swiveled around to face the Rowdyruff Boys. They were no longer at each other's throats, but instead staring at the group.

"You weren't thinking of leaving, were ya losers?" Brick demanded.

"Can't say we weren't trying," Junior mumbled.

"Please, we shouldn't be fighting," Ma-Ti said. "We have a common enemy. We should be working together to remove Fuse from our planet."

"You don't think we can kick Fuse's butt?" Butch questioned.

"I didn't say-"

"I bet you haven't even tried," Juniper challenged, drowning out Ma-Ti's protests.

"Juniper!" Ma-Ti exclaimed in surprise. "We should be-"

"Oho? And what do you know, girlie?" Butch demanded.

"I know I'm 'bout to kick your teeth in," Juniper replied, raising up her fist.

"Hah!" Brick threw back his head and let out a loud, long laughter. "Like we'd get beat by a stupid girl."

Juniper raised an unimpressed eyebrow upward. "Uh, hello? The Powerpuff Girls?" she retorted sarcastically.

Butch's confident look morphed into aggression at the mention of their hated enemies. Seeing that she'd struck a nerve, Juniper's lips quirked upward into a smirk.

"I'm going to ground you ta dust," Butch snarled.

"Let's see you try," Juniper challenged.

The gauntlet was thrown down, and the two rushed at each other with battle cries. They met in the middle and began punching at each other. Not wanting to be left out, Brick jumped into the fray and began a fight of two versus one.

"Alice," Suzy called, getting her blue-haired friend's attention. "Sorry to volunteer you for this, but I need you to stay and support Juniper." Alice tensed at the statement, and Suzy flashed her an apologetic smile. She gestured at herself and Ma-Ti. "Ma-Ti and I are only human, so we'd be massively outclassed in a fight with a Rowdyruff, let alone two. We'd only get in the way, so we're going to keep going after the missing souls and rescue them before Fusion Demongo decides to recall them to somewhere safer." She looked over at Junior. "Junior, we're going to need your help on this one."

"But I can stay and help," Junior immediately put in.

"You should go with them," Alice said. Though the thought of going up against two Rowdyruffs terrified her, she understood Suzy's position. "Ma-Ti can't fight, and that'd only leave Suzy."

"You've seen how powerful the bosses have been," Suzy said, taking over the explanation. "The two of us are going to be needed, plus our Nanos."

Junior looked between the two females of his team, looking like he might put in another argument, but then he deflated and nodded in agreement.

"Fine, alright," Junior agreed. "I don't like it."

"I don't either, but it's what we're left with," Suzy responded to the boy. "Stay safe, Alice."

Alice returned the sentiment with a feeble smile. Because the two Rowdyruffs were preoccupied with fighting Juniper, the superpowered bad boys missed the Suzy's team splitting off and heading for the next boss. Alice watched them leave, prepared to throw up a protective shield in case one of the boys noticed their departure. Luckily, the three were able to get away unscathed. No longer having to worry about the group getting away safely, Alice turned her attention back on the fighting going on between the Rowdyruff Boys and the Te Xuan Ze.

Alice spun around at the right moment. Butch punched Juniper and sent the teenager flying through the air. Alice caught the girl in an energy sphere and brought her down to the ground safely.

"Thanks for that," Juniper said to the girl. "Where's the others?"

"They're going to rescue the other heroes," Alice answered.

"Smart," Juniper agreed, rubbing her jaw with the back of her hand. "These fellas pack a heck of a punch. Can you get up-close with them?"

Alice shook her head in the negative. Juniper nodded in understanding.

"That's fine. Just keep your distance from them," Juniper advised.

"Hey! You girlies done blabbering?" Brick demanded from where he and his brother were waiting.

"Yeah yeah, hold your underwear," Juniper shouted back. "I'll be over there to kick your butts in a moment."

"Kick our butts? I was sending you all the way to Green Maw!" Butch argued.

"Details," Juniper replied flippantly. Ignoring the stewing boys, she regarded her teammate. "You ready to do this?"

Alice nodded. It wasn't going to be fun, but they had to deal with the Rowdyruffs. Running away wasn't an option, and calling on a Powerpuff Girl wasn't feasible. It was up to them to deal with the delinquents. Juniper gave the girl a pat on the shoulder before facing off against the Rowdyruff Boys.

"Alright boys, time in!" she shouted, charging at her opponents.

"When were we on a time out?!" Butch demanded.

Alice moved her hand to her NanoCom, calling out Nano Bubbles. The Powerpuff Nano stretched, giving her girl a wave.

"Hiya, Alice. Are we fighting another boss monster?"

"No," Alice answered. "We're fighting Brick and Butch."

Nano Bubbles spun around midair to see the boys in question. Juniper had reached the boys once more and were once again in a brawl.

"Would you be able to use your powers on them?" Alice asked.

"Of course," Nano Bubbles chirped. "Nano Numbuh Three can use her powers on humans, so can I." Nano Bubbles squinted her eyes at the boys. "Well, they may not be human, but you know what I mean."

"I do," Alice said. She then raised her voice. "Juniper! Jump back!"

Juniper did as she was instructed and separated herself from the brawl. Butch and Brick only realized a moment later that they were not fighting the Te Xuan Ze but were fighting each other. Nano Bubbles zipped forward and used her Tornado Trap on the boys, sweeping them up into a tornado. As the boys spun around, Nano Bubbles stuck her tongue out at them.

"That's for being bad boys," the Nano said.

"Way to go mini blue," Juniper complimented, giving the Nano a soft shoulder bump with her fist.

Nano Bubbles giggled from the praise, but the giggling ended abruptly. The tornado she had created suddenly spun in the opposite direction and then dispelled completely. Instead of the tornado Nano Bubbles had created, a red tornado was in its place. The red tornado slowed until it also disappeared, revealing that it had been caused by Brick. The redhead boy's head spun around comically before he shook his head, clearing himself of the dizziness.

"Ha! That's all you got, Powerpuff loser? I should have suspected something lame from a girl!" Brick taunted.

"Okay, I have had it up to here with your misogyny," Juniper snapped, holding her hand over her head to show the two boys of how done she was with them. "I'm going to pull out the big guns."

From her pocket, Juniper produced a gem. Upon seeing the stone, the two boys fell into a fit of laughter that Juniper had brought jewelry to a fight. Growling in growing frustration, Juniper pointed the gem at a collection of rocks not far off from the fighting grounds. The gem glowed a soft color, and the rock glowed that similar color. She raised her hand upward, and the rock moved upward in tandem. She thrust her hand in the direction of the boys, and the rock went flying on her unspoken command. The boys were too busy laughing to realize the danger they were in until too late. The rock smacked into the boys and sent them to the ground, the rock falling on top of them.

"Hah!" Juniper laughed. "Who's laughing about jewelry now?"

The boys were not laughing. They threw off the rock with ease and let it crash into pebbles some distance off. The boys hovered back into the air again, wanting to keep that height supremacy against the girls.

"You want to get serious? You got it, toots. How about we play a game of laser tag?" Brick accompanied the threat with a blast from his eyes.

Juniper dodged the laser beam hit. Brick kept up the attack, following her as she ran and dodged from the attacks. Alice fired off an energy beam of her own at the Rowdyruff Boy leader. Her attack was thwarted by Butch appearing in front of his brother and a green force field appeared around him. Instead of deflecting the attack, the force field absorbed the energy. Butch smirked down at Alice.

"Didn't think ya were the only one who could make force fields, didja?" Butch asked sarcastically. "Mine's better."

Keeping his force field up, Butch shot himself at Alice. She had just a split second to raise her own force field, and both met each other. Alice could feel Butch using his force field to push against hers. She focused on keeping hers stable, but unfortunately Butch's was stronger. He managed to break through Alice's force field. His force field knocked into Alice and sent her to the ground, rolling over her for good measure. Alice attempted to sit up, but Butch was on her. He had gotten rid of his energy field and was now grabbing her neck with one hand. With no effort, he lifted the both of them into the air.

Alice thought she heard her name being called, but she didn't concentrate on the matter. Her air supply was being depleted by the toughest Rowdyruff member. Butch was so concerned with choking her that he didn't care where her hands were, giving her the freedom to run a hand over her NanoCom. She sent Nano Bubbles back into the NanoCom and brought out Nano Boomer. The miniature Rowdyruff stared at his original's brother in surprise and then anger.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Nano Boomer shrieked, generating his energy bat.

Butch was taken by surprise, so Batter Up! was able to get a clean hit on his head. It momentarily loosened his hold on Alice, which she took the opportunity to escape. She also fired off an energy blast at him for good measure, sending him tumbling through the air. He reoriented himself but didn't make an attack back at her. His focus was instead placed on the miniature version of his brother, who was zooming at him with his energy bat held up. Nano Boomer went for another swing, but Butch grabbed the bat and held it up, Nano Boomer dangling with it.

"Hey!" Nano Boomer whined. He tugged on his bat, but the item wouldn't budge. "Let goooo!"

"No. Fricken. Way. They made a Nano out of the idiot?" Butch questioned. He threw his head back and released a howl of laughter. "Oh that's rich. You mean to tell me there's a Fusion of the dummy?"

Nano Boomer frowned, looking rather unimpressed with Butch. "Well duh. How else did I get made?"

"I just can't believe Fuse would waste time making a copy of your loser butt!" Butch laughed, using his free arm to wrap around his stomach. "Oh man, I feel like I'm going to bust a gut!" He spun around and held the bat up high, Nano Boomer going along with it. "Hey, Brick! Check this out!"

Brick paused his fight with Juniper to catch a look at what Butch found so fascinating. Brick's eyes widened when he saw the Nano. He completely abandoned his fight with Juniper and flew up into the air to meet with his brother.

"No way. The dweeb has one of these? That's all we need - another idiot!"

"Stop calling me an idiot, idiot!" Nano Boomer cried back.

"Oooo, wow, great comeback there," Brick mocked. "Not!"

"Leave him alone," Alice demanded.

"Butt outta this, girlie," Brick said, paying the girl little mind.

"Don't talk to Alice like that!" Nano Boomer shouted.

"Whoa, awfully invested in the girl. She your girlfriend or something?" Brick teased. "Not a smart move on your part. Dating a Fusion."

"Of course, the only person who could love the idiot is an alien," Butch taunted.

Nano Boomer's cheeks burned red with anger. He abandoned his bat went charging at Butch, prepared to just use his fists. Butch flicked the Nano between his eyes, and poor Nano Boomer shot through the air like a bullet from a gun. He screamed as he went sailing. Alice recalled him to the NanoCom, cutting off his trip through the air.

"Pfft, still a weakling," Butch muttered. "Least the eggheads got that right."

"Hey, you gotta any more of those little twerps," Brick called to Alice.

Alice kept her mouth shut on the matter, and instead decided to answer them with a hit from her energy beam. Once again, Butch intercepted the beam with his force field, sucking in the energy. Brick appeared from behind his brother and shot his laser eye beams at the girl. Alice doubled over from the hit, so she left an opening for the two Rowdyruffs to punch her. A couple of hits from the two boys and Alice plummeted to the ground. Instead of hitting the ground like she thought she would, her fall was instead stopped by someone catching her.

"You okay, Alice?" Juniper asked in worry.

"I'll live," Alice answered, though her voice was unconvincing.

Juniper put her back on her feet, and Alice forced herself to stand upright. Brick and Butch lowered themselves from the sky, a smirk on each of their faces.

"Had enough yet, sissies?" Butch taunted.

"In your dreams, spikey!" Juniper shouted back.

"You're a loud girl, but us boys are louder!"

The statement was followed up by Brick opening up his mouth and releasing a sonic scream at the two girls. His brother joined in, and the combined stream of their screams had the girls doubling over in pain before dropping to their knees. They covered their ears to block out the noise, but it did little good against the onslaught.

The pressure of the sonic scream suddenly let off. It took the two girls a moment to realize the attack was over. Their hearing came back to them some seconds later, after the ringing in their ears quieted down. When their hearing came back, they heard the two members of the Rowdyruff Boys shouting, and the sound of metal slicing through the air. Alice snapped her head upward and was surprised to see the new entry into the fight.

Alice recognized the man in a green two-piece suit as Dr. Holiday's work companion, Agent Six. She had seen him once in the cafeteria, having lunch with Dr. Holiday. He was using two swords to fight the Rowdyruff Boys, and she was surprised to see that he was actually holding his own against the two boys. When they went to strike him, Agent Six was able to dodge the hits. When Brick fired at him with his laser eye beams, Agent Six deflected them with his blades, sometimes even cutting the beams in half. When Butch tried to use a sonic scream on him, Agent Six would simply get out of the way and toss shuriken blades at the spiky haired boy. All his movements were done precisely and coolly. This was in stark contrast with the Rowdyruff Boys, who were just getting angrier and sloppier.

Butch went in to throw a punch. At the same time, Brick was flying in to do the same on the opposite side. Agent Six didn't move, and waited for the boys to close in on him. Just before Butch could make his punch land, Agent Six grabbed the boy's extended arm and used the boy's momentum to toss him in Brick's direction. The two boys collided and hit the ground, rolling around in a tangled mess of limbs.

"Get off me, man!"

"You get off me! I gotta smash his head in!"

Instead of actually attempting to disentangle themselves, the brothers were more interested in shoving at each other and forcing the other to remove themselves. Their lack of focus let Agent Six get close enough to them so that he could hit the boys with the hilt of his swords. He hit them in a pressure spot at the base of the neck, causing the boys to drop unconscious. Alice released a breath of relief when she didn't see the boys stir.

"That was impressive," Juniper stated, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you know the guy, Alice?"

"He's Agent Six," Alice answered. "He's with Providence."

"Agent Six? What, does Providence number their agents?" Juniper joked.

"No," the deep voice of Six answered, spooky the girls who hadn't expected him to appear beside them. "I was given the title of Six before joining Providence."

"Right," Juniper said, extending the word.

"Thank you for saving us," Alice said.

"Not a problem," Six replied. "I was in the area. I've already had a run in with those boys, so I figured I'd step in and deal with them. They've been nothing but a nuisance in this part of the Darklands." He paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow at the two girls. "Why are you two out this way?"

"We're rescuing the souls of the missing heroes," Alice answered.

Six's eyebrow dropped while the other one raised upward. "Souls?"

"It's a bit of a long story, but it involves Demongo and his Fusion," Juniper summarized.

"Right," Six responded. "I'm guessing you two won't be able to bring these two back to Mandark's air ship."

"'Fraid not. We need to meet back up with our teammates and free more heroes," Juniper answered.

"Alright. I'll bring them back," Six said.

"There's some Monkey Skyways Agents over in Huntor's Crest, want us to help you carry them over there?" Juniper offered.

Alice flinched. It wasn't like she didn't want to help, but at the mention of the Skyway Agents Alice only felt dread pool up in her stomach. If she was spotted bringing the knocked out Rowdyruff Boys to Mojo's minions, there was absolutely no question Mojo would have an absolute meltdown. It didn't matter if she hadn't been the one to beat the boys; Mojo already heavily disliked her team, and this would just be another nail in their coffin.

"I've got my own transportation, I'll bring them along in that," Six answered, alleviating Alice's worries.

"Can the airship hold them?" Alice asked as a new worry popped in her mind.

The airship was the only safe place in the Darklands for the Earth fighters, and if the Rowdyruff Boys tore into the airship, what would their side do?

"I'll contact that Mandark kid to see what his ship has," Six answered. "If he has nothing to contain them, I'll figure out a different solution."

"You can always talk to Tetrax," Juniper suggested. "I heard he used to be a bounty hunter, so he might have something to help you out."

"I'll consult with him, if necessary," Six replied.

Based on his tone, Alice had the distinct suspicion he wasn't going to ask the Petrosapien for his assistance. What reason he had for not relying on Tetrax wasn't known to her, but she wasn't going to push the matter since she and Juniper already had to regroup with their groupmates. Juniper helped Six put the boys on each of his shoulders while Alice called up Suzy.

"Alice!" Suzy greeted when she appeared on the holographic screen. "It's good to hear from you. Are you and Juniper alright?"

"We're okay. Banged up, but Nano Numbuh Three can fix that," Alice answered. "What about you three?"

"We managed to get another soul, but it was a tough battle. Having you two here will be greatly appreciated," Suzy answered.

"Where are you?" Alice asked.

"I'll send you the coordinates. We'll wait here for you two to rejoin," Suzy said.

"Okay," Alice said, looking over to Juniper. The Te Xuan Ze was finished helping the Providence agent and was walking over to join Alice. "We'll see you soon."

It was almost sundown when the team returned to Mandark's airship. When the team met up again, they had successfully rescued the missing souls of the heroes from nine other Meteoric Sentry Number Ones and fourteen from the Giant Eyebulbs. Any injuries the team may have obtained were dealt with by Nano Numbuh Three's Share the Love, but that didn't stop the team from aching and feeling tired. Being back on the airship was a welcomed blessing.

"Welcome back," Jack greeted the team. "I assume you were successful with your mission."

"You'd assume correct," Suzy declared, pointing a thumb at the Sacred Vessel that was held in Ma-Ti's arms. "Thirty-three souls, just as ordered."

"Excellent work," Jack complimented with a wide grin. "I knew I was correct in choosing you all."

"Beating up monsters, thwarting Fuse's plans, rescuing missing heroes," Suzy said, ticking off each of the deeds on her fingers. "It's kind of what we do."

"What happens now?" Alice asked.

"In order for the souls to return to our world, the Sacred Vessel will need to be opened at the highest peak of Monkey Mountain," Jack answered.

"Monkey Mountain? Why there? Why not here?" Junior asked.

"Monkey Mountain is believed to have some magical properties to it," Ma-Ti supplied.

"That is correct," Jack agreed, nodding at the Planeteer. "It was once part of the Hani-Baba Tribe, and was used by them for many ceremonies. Its magical properties will be enough to counteract Demongo's power and restore the warriors to their rightful place in the universe."

"I'll do it," Juniper volunteered. "I'm already familiar with Monkey Mountain and I've climbed up the side of the volcano. I can do this easy."

"You don't mind us skipping out on this part?" Suzy asked. "We're kinda banned from stepping foot in Mojo's territory."

"And I'm supposed to be meeting Wheeler and Linka here," Ma-Ti put in.

"Don't worry about it, I've got this covered," was Juniper's carefree answer. She took the Sacred Vessel out of Ma-Ti's hands and held it in her own. "Like I said, this will be easy. I'll have this taken care of before night falls."

"Thank you, Juniper," Jack said, bowing his head respectfully at her. "I will notify Dexter of your progress. He will be very pleased with what you've all done today."

"What about the Rowdyruff Boys?" Alice asked. "Are they here on the airship?"

Jack's eyes widened at the question. Realization came to him in that moment, and his eyes returned to their normal size. He shook his head, almost like he was chastising himself.

"Agent Six mentioned he had been helped," Jack said. "By his descriptions, I should have known it was your team."

"Uhh, I don't know how much we helped him, but we had a run-in with the boys," Juniper said.

"The two boys are here on the airship in a secure room. They are being held here temporarily until something more permanent can be arranged," Jack answered. "They are too dangerous to be left to their own devices, especially since they have been terrorizing the Hero's Hollow and Green Maw territories. Their power would be a great asset to our side, but the boys only seek destruction and chaos, and therefore cannot be trusted."

"Mojo's not going to be happy when he hears about his kids," Junior pointed out.

"That will be a matter for the other guides to handle," Jack said. "It is not a worry you should burden yourself with. You have done enough for today."

"Almost," Juniper corrected, giving the Sacred Vessel a pat. "I'll head out to Monkey Mountain now. It's been a blast fighting alongside you all. We'll have to do it again sometime."

"You know where to find us," Suzy said, waving goodbye to the Te Xuan Ze.

"You'll actually find me in the Wilds tomorrow," Ma-Ti corrected. "I'll be heading to Rainbow Monkey Island to provide assistance."

"Rainbow Monkey Island, huh? Maybe I'll join you if that's okay," Juniper requested.

"Sure, the more help the better," Ma-Ti said. "I'll send you a message on where we can meet up."

"Sounds great," Juniper said. "Well, I'm off. Better to do this while the sun is still up. See you later."

Waving goodbye to her new friends, Juniper went to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. parked on the airship's deck. After a short moment, the flying vehicle left and carried her and the Sacred Vessel to the mainland.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving. Want to get grab dinner?" Suzy suggested.

Alice and Junior nodded in agreement. "I'm game. Ilana and Otto may still be there, so I'll grab my cards if they are," Junior answered.

"I'll join after I meet up with Wheeler and Linka," Ma-Ti answered. "We'll have dinner with you all."

"We'll save you a seat," Suzy said to the Planeteer. To her team, she said, "Let's go guys. I say we celebrate today's mission."

"You still have energy for a celebration?" Junior asked.

"Of course! We went and saved the world's missing heroes," Suzy said. "That is something to be celebrated."

Alice agreed. Rescuing the heroes was not only a boost in power, but a boost in morale. It felt like they were one step closer to booting Fuse off their planet. That was certainly something worth celebrating.

Chapter Text

Alice pulled her eyes away from Hero's Hollow's terrain to look at her NanoCom, getting the time. Only three minutes had passed since the team arrived at the rendezvous spot, yet the waiting felt like an eternity. Perhaps it was because Alice and her team had no idea who it was that asked for their assistance. The request hadn't been through the Help Wanted board; Jack had met with the team at breakfast and informed them someone was looking for their help, and that they were to meet this mysterious someone at the DexLabs' tank graveyard in Hero's Hollow. The whole mystery put Alice on edge, but she trusted in Jack's judgement.

"So now what?" Junior questioned, eyeing Suzy skeptically. Like Alice, he was on edge by the whole mystery. "We're just supposed to wait for whoever called for us?"

"Don't be so on edge," Suzy chastised lightly. Unlike her teammates, she was completely relaxed and leaning against the side of the fallen tank. "This is where Jack said to meet, and we are a few minutes early. Give them some time to get here."

"Aren't you even a little bit curious who called on us?" Junior questioned. "Normally we get a normal request through the board, or if we're referred then they usually tell us who it is. But Jack just says someone needs our help and won't say anything? Not even your friend Numbuh Vine was this secretive."

"Of course I'm curious who asked for us, but we'll find out soon. Why get agitated by the unknown?" Suzy countered. She grinned her Cheshire grin. "Besides, all this secrecy makes me feel like I'm in a spy film, like Spy Me a River."

"That's an oldie," Junior commented.

"Maybe," a voice said from behind the team, "but it's a good one."

Team Super Stars' whirled around as a unit, finding two individuals at the top of the inactive tank. One was a dark-skinned boy sitting on tank's main gun, smirking down at the team. His blond-haired companion was leaning against the tank's hatch, an unfriendly glare baring down at them. Alice watched in absolute surprise as the two boys leaped from the tank and landed by the team.

"Maurice and Chad," Suzy acknowledged. "I didn't expect you two to be out in the Darklands."

It was a surprise Alice echoed. Of absolutely anybody to cross in the Darklands, Maurice was not someone she would have picked. Granted, she only knew him superficially. He was a laidback teen, usually listening to his mp3 player when going between classes. He was friendly and greeted students in the halls, herself included, but that's as far as their conversations went. They had no classes with each other because he was a year older than her.

"That was intended," Maurice answered. "We're on a secret mission that only a few people are supposed to know about. Unfortunately, we've hit a bump in the road and need some help."

Chad's frown dipped further, looking frustrated with the admittance. "Jack trusts you all, so that's why you're out here."

If Maurice was a surprise, seeing Chad Dickson in the flesh doubled it. Like Maurice, Alice only knew of Chad superficially. As the captain of the school's football team, the Jets, Chad was part of the popular crowd, though that wasn't the only thing that made him well-known in their school. Chad was also a member of the drama club and the lead in all of the school plays, he was a member of two honor societies, a bassist in the band the ScumBucketPunks (Alice didn't listen to their music), and had a part-time job Luigi's. But what made Chad absolutely well-known was his sudden disappearance.

Almost a month after Buttercup went missing, Chad went missing. Unlike the Powerpuff where everyone knew it was from a fight and they simply couldn't find the body, there was little to no information about Chad's disappearance. He went out on a weekend and never came home. His parents pleaded for him to come home or for anyone who knew information to come forward, but in the wake of a Powerpuff Girl's disappearance, it was met with little news coverage. Chad never turned up, and ended up another face on the milk carton asking if anyone had seen him. While his parents had been understandably devastated by the loss of their only child, his friends didn't share the sentiment. His friends, especially the members of his football team, acted like they didn't know anybody by the name Chad. If his name was brought up, they always reacted in anger first before flipping to indifference, insisting nobody by that name went to school. After stuffing a few kids in the lockers or heads in the toilets, the student body caught the drift and never spoke publicly about Chad Dickson.

Alice knew she was staring at Chad. She knew staring for too long was considered rude and creepy, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. For months, Chad had been missing and then suddenly he was asking for assistance, in the Darklands of all places. She wanted to know where he'd been, but kept her mouth tightly shut. She didn't know him before he disappeared, so it would be selfish and rude to ask him now. Plus, he had called on them for an important mission which took precedence over her curiosities.

"Okay, so why are we here?" Junior prompted. "You're not also looking for the souls of missing heroes, are you?"

Maurice laughed good-naturedly. "Nah, you all found every missing hero. We're doing other things."

"Like messing with Fuse," Chad put in.

"I like messing with Fuse," Suzy said with a grin.

"Your position at the top of the Leaderboard proves it," Maurice complimented with a matching grin. His eyes glanced over in Alice's direction and he amended, "Well, top five."

Chad's brows came together and a glare was sent Alice's way. Alice maintained her composure, keeping eye contact with the teenager. She was used to the suspicious glares thrown her way, but she couldn't help but notice something was different about Chad's look. It wasn't suspicion or hatred that he pinned her with; it looked closer to bitterness.

Maurice noticed his companion glaring at Alice and gave him a nudge with his elbow. It got the boy's attention off of Alice, and now his glare trained on Maurice, though its severity had softened. Maurice's eyebrows dipped, and something unspoken passed between them. Chad released a huff and crossed his arms, glancing off to the horizon with his frown transforming into a scowl.

"Anyway," Maurice said, returning his look onto the team. The frown he had given Chad eased back into an easy-going smile. "We've been going into Fuse's Control Centers and disrupting his communication to his soldiers."

"Each center is dedicated to specific areas," Chad chimed in, though he still refused to look at the team. "The Suburbs, the Wilds. You get the picture."

"We managed to take out three of the centers, disrupting communication to the Suburbs and Downtown," Maurice picked up. "The fourth one is out in Precipice, and this is where we ran into our problem."

Chad grumbled, but it was unintelligible, and so Maurice ignored him.

"What kind of problem?" Junior asked.

"Well, the first Control Center was easy. Fuse wasn't expecting anyone to find his underground network sites, let alone take them out. We were able to get in, take out the Fusion, destroy his tech, and get out," Maurice explained. "When we got to the second Control Center, it was still easy, but we could tell they were more on edge."

"So by time you got to Control Center number three, they were ready," Suzy filled in.

"Bingo," Maurice answered.

"Instead of a single Fusion like the first two Control Centers," Chad said, finally turning so that he could address the team, "this one had three. Ugly looking things, though when isn't a Fusion ugly."

"Their outside defenses were weak, so we were able to sneak in no problem. But inside, they were prepared for us. Aside from the three Fusions, they had some bosses protecting the center, and it seemed like they'd multiplied their numbers as well," Maurice said. "We managed to shut down Fuse's communication line, but we barely got out of there alive."

"With three control centers down, Jack didn't think we could go take on another center without some help. I was against it, but worry-wart over here" - Chad jerked his thumb at Maurice - "agreed, so that's why you're here."

"When the time-traveling samurai says you should get help on a mission you almost died from, I don't think it's a problem to follow his advice," Maurice explained himself, the exasperated tone indicating how many times they'd had the argument.

Chad rolled his eyes, but didn't make a retort.

"Anyways, Jack recommended you all," Maurice said. "We asked him to set it up since we can't do it officially."

The comment confused Alice, but she didn't voice it. Instead, her mind was stuck on an earlier piece of information that Chad had divulged to them.

"You said you went up against three Fusions. Can I ask what the Fusions were?" Alice requested, speaking up since the two teenagers arrived.

Chad glared at Alice in annoyance.

"What does that matter? They were beaten," he demanded.

"I know, but could you identify them?" Alice requested, not kowtowing to Chad's annoyance.

The blond's nostrils flared in frustration, but Maurice took over the conversation.

"They were of three girls," Maurice answered. "I think it was those Kanker sisters. Those weird girls from school."

Alice released a small breath of relief, though she did wonder of all Fusions why had Fuse create Fusion copies of the Kankers? They were nasty girls for certain, but that was it. Why put them in charge of a control center? Would the Precipice control center have three Fusions too?

Chad had noticed Alice's expression of relief and narrowed suspicious eyes at her.

"What's the big deal with the Fusions?" he demanded.

Suzy's eyes were bright with recognition, and she flashed a way-to-go-Alice smile at the girl before looking over at Chad.

"Alice was making sure they weren't Fusion Kevins," Suzy answered in the Arthenadite's stead. "Fuse is trying to build an army of them somewhere out in the Darklands. We haven't been able to find the factory yet, so Alice was making sure that Fuse didn't already have three of them out in the wild."

"Mind bringing me up to speed on that?" Maurice asked. "Why would copies of some Kevin guy be bad?"

"Because they're copies of Kevin Levin, Ben's buddy," Junior answered. "You know, the guy that can absorb minerals? Anyways, apparently, he had some monster form a while back that had the powers of several aliens. If Fuse can mass-produce this-"

"He'll have an army of super Fusions," Maurice finished, his brows dipped down in concentration.

"Bingo," Suzy replied with a nod. "But don't worry, Team Super Stars has this covered. As soon as Octus and Hoss Delgado find the factory, we'll make sure Fuse doesn't have a chance to make even a single Fusion Kevin copy."

For once, Chad and Maurice were in sync. Their faces had soured at the mention of Hoss Delgado, and they shared a quick glance with each other that once again expressed an unspoken conversation.

"Well, that sounds bad, but hopefully you find it," Maurice said diplomatically.

"Let's focus on the task right now," Chad said, not diplomatically. "Since you're up to speed, we need to get going."

"Since you know where to go, we'll defer to you," Suzy said. "Lead the way."

Chad took the lead, and Suzy followed in step behind him. Alice followed behind, but kept some distance between her and Chad since she didn't think the blond would appreciate her being too close. Maurice slid to walk beside the girl, while Junior opted to take the rear position.

"Hey, sorry 'bout him," Maurice apologized to Alice. "Don't let him get to you."

"It's alright," Alice downplayed with a brief shrug. "He's not the first person who doesn't want to work with me because of my connection to Fuse."

Instead of agreeing with her, Maurice shot her a confused look. After a moment he shook his head curtly.

"Nah, it's not that," Maurice said, surprising the girl. "Trust me when I saw that Chad knows better than most about being a hero with a bad reputation."

Alice stared at Maurice in confusion since his answer didn't make sense. Before Chad's disappearance, just about everyone at Pokey Oaks Junior High adored him. What bad reputation was he referring to? Maurice didn't elaborate further on this thread.

"His issue with you is your spot on the Leaderboard," Maurice continued. Alice's eyes widened at the answer. Maurice nodded his head solemnly. "It's true. Chad's convinced if he was allowed to join in the competition, he'd hold the number one spot, so he's just projecting his bitterness on you."

"I am not projecting," Chad snapped from the front. He had turned his head so that he could glare at Maurice over his shoulder. "I know my count would be higher than hers."

Maurice rolled his eyes. From the look of exasperation on his face, it seemed Maurice has had to hear the conversation more than once. "Sure, whatever you say man."

Chad narrowed his eyes in annoyance. With a huff, he turned his head away from the conversation and returned his focus to their path. Maurice shook his head with a long-suffering sigh, almost looking disappointed with Chad's response. What Maurice said had Alice confused.

"Uhm...Maurice?" Alice addressed, waiting until the boy was looking at her before continuing. "What did you mean when you said he couldn't join? Doesn't he have a NanoCom?"

"Nah, neither of us do," Maurice answered.

Junior looked perplexed by the answer.

"How do you stay in contact with anyone?" he asked.

"We have a separate communicator for that," Maurice replied. "Only a select few know the number, so we can continue our work in secret." He then picked up a DexLabs issued communicator from his belt and held it up for the duo to see. To their surprise, the communicator was the standard edition that was lacking a color corresponding to a guide. "I've still got this since I still need it, but it doesn't collect Fusion Matter or show its location. If anyone was to look it up, it'll ping at select locations in the Suburbs and Downtown. Basically, it's completely disconnected from the DexLabs' network."

Alice's mouth opened in surprise at the boy's answer. She wasn't very tech-savvy, and only knew that turning off a NanoCom took it off DexLabs' network. She had no clue someone could be off the network while it was still on. Junior was in just as much surprise, but, unlike Alice, he wasn't speechless.

"How did you do that?" Junior asked.

Maurice flashed him a smirk, slipping his communicator back in his pocket.

"That's a secret."

Despite Alice's curiosity on how someone worked around Dexter's technology, she kept her silence. Both Chad and Maurice had stated that their mission was secretive, so she couldn't be surprised that everything related to the boys was also shrouded in secrets. Junior's frown indicated he was equally disappointed in not learning Maurice's secrets, but he also didn't press the matter.

Alice's thoughts moved off of what secrets Maurice and Chad were hiding to the sudden presences following behind the team. She focused on the presences, recognizing them to be a pack of Eyebulbs. They were behind the group, though at a distance. Alice could tell they were following, but they weren't moving fast. They were moving slowly, deliberately. Alice discerned, based on their movement and pacing, that they were stalking the group. It reminded Alice of a lioness stalking her prey just before pouncing.

In one fluid movement, Alice spun around on her heel and fired off an energy beam in their stalkers' direction. The attack was so sudden it surprised both her enemies and allies. The blast hit the middle Eyebulb and pushed it into the two Eyebulbs flanking it. The two lackies managed to break away while the leading Eyebulb took the full brunt of the blast. The two Eyebulbs shot off at the group, moving at their fastest speed since they no longer needed to sneak upon their target. The team recovered from the shock and immediately fired back at the monsters. Both turned to Fusion Matter before they had a chance to reach the group, and the third Eyebulb followed suit shortly after. A quick sense of their area found that there were no other Eyebulbs were scuttling nearby, but that didn't mean they wouldn't become interested in the group.

"There isn't any more in the area," Alice announced, "but we should keep moving before they come back."

"You heard the lady," Suzy said. "Let's keep moving."

"Hold on," Chad protested, holding up his hands into a t-formation. "What the heck was that? How'd you know they were behind us?"

"I didn't see you with a radar Nano," Maurice added, looking just as perplexed as his companion.

"Because Fusions and I share the same DNA, I can sense them," Alice answered.

Maurice's eyebrows jumped up into his hairline. "You mean they can't sneak up on you?"

"Yes," Alice answered.

Maurice whistled. He glanced over at Chad and smirked. "Chalk up another reason Jack was right to suggest this team."

Alice awaited the snippy remark that was sure to come from the blond, but it never came. Instead, he was appraising her with a new look, like he was reevaluating his opinions on her. She couldn't discern which way he was leaning, but she hoped it wasn't leading him to dislike her more.

"Can we keep going now?" Junior questioned. "Control center to take down, remember?"

"Oh, calm down back there," Suzy chastised light-heartedly. "It only took a minute. I think it's important they know Alice's awesome built-in ability."

Alice flushed lightly at the praise.

"He's right though," Maurice said, coming to Junior's defense. "We still need to enter the Precipice, and then enter the Control Center from there."

"And we need to avoid as many monsters as we can," Chad added. "If any of them alert the Control Center that we're coming, they may beef up security even more."

The team agreed with the assessment, and continued onward to the Control Center. Thanks to Alice's built-in radar, they were able to avoid other Eyebulbs patrolling the border of Hero's Hollow and the Precipice, and then avoided the Great Shellworms marching around the front of the Control Center Fusion Portal.

Once the team was underground in the Control Center lair, Alice noticed how different it was from other lairs. It was underground and still had the earthy feel of many other lairs, but this was crafted differently. Mixed with dirt mounds and rocky walls looked to be the ruins of ancient buildings. Fusion Matter naturally spotted the walls and ground, but there were no immediate Fusion Monsters in their field of view. The wall of an ancient building ran parallel with the rocky wall until they turned into what Alice assumed would be an open area; this is where the monsters would be crawling. Wanting to get a sense for how many monsters they were expected to deal with, Alice stretched out her senses.

"There's at least thirty monsters, plus the Fusion," Alice reported to the team in a hushed voice. Just because there were no Fusion Monsters in their immediate vicinity didn't mean she wanted to tip them off.

"Thirty monsters?" Junior whistled, also keeping his voice hushed. "They really want to keep this place safe."

Suzy called out Nano Raj and had him use his Mappy! ability. She stared down at the map on her NanoCom and frowned in thought.

"Most of them are running in pairs," Suzy remarked. "I'm assuming the single marker on the map is the Fusion." She sent Nano Raj back into her NanoCom and asked, "By the way, do we know what the Fusion is?"

"No, not until we go up against it," Chad answered.

"So we're flying blind for now. No matter, there's five of us," Suzy said.

"So what's the plan?" Junior asked.

"Get to the Fusion, defeat it, then destroy the terminal," Chad remarked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Right, simple," Junior said sarcastically.

"With so many monsters, sneaking around will be difficult," Maurice said. "And that's not even adding in taking rookies with us. No offense."

"I...have an idea," Alice ventured. She hesitated, to see the response. When no one shut her down, she continued. "The Fusions are drawn to me, so I'll be bait and draw their attention. Suzy, you can use Nano Numbuh Five's sneak ability on the four of you and go unnoticed by the monsters. While the monsters are distracted by me, you four can sneak attack them."

"That's pretty dangerous," Maurice pointed out.

"But it's a good plan," Chad defended, much to Alice's surprise. "Even if the Fusion Monsters figured it out, our sneak attacks should whittle down their numbers enough to take them head-on."

"Well, if we're all in agreement?" Maurice asked, surveying the team for a dissenter. No one offered a counterpoint, so Maurice nodded his head. "Okay then. Lead the way, Alice."

While Suzy called out Nano Numbuh Five, Alice floated around the corner from their protection. She caught sight of two Jurassic Centurion just around the corner. They had been moving in her direction, no doubt sensing her just as much as she had sensed them. One of the Centurions fired off a glob of Fusion Matter at Alice at the same moment she fired off an energy ball. The two hit each other midair and dissolved into nothingness. Not wanting the monsters to see her teammates coming up behind her, Alice swooped low and between the two monsters. She was narrowly whacked by of the Jurassic Centurion's meaty fist, but luckily for her it had aimed too high.

Alice spun around midair so that she was looking back at the Jurassic Centurions, and not a moment too soon. She was able to duck the Fusion Matter ball spat her way. She raised out her palm and fired off an energy beam at the two monsters. One Jurassic Centurion opened his mouth and fired an energy beam back at her. The second Jurassic Centurion joined in the fight by combining its own energy beam with its partner's. Alice raised a second palm and fired off an energy beam, combatting the combined power of the Centurions' beams. Green energy beam clashed with blue energy beam, and Alice could feel the tug o' war they were engaged in. The battle of the energy beams provided the perfect diversion, and her four teammates snuck up on the Centurions. Blasts from their weapons struck the backs of the monsters, breaking their concentration and allowing Alice's energy beam to connect with them. Under the combined assault, the two Centurions were turned into Fusion Matter goo.

"Alrighty folks. Two down, twenty-eight to go," Suzy said in her never-ending optimism.

"You doing okay?" Maurice asked Alice, running a concerned eye over the girl.

Alice nodded her head. "Yes, though if you all hadn't jumped in and helped when you did, I'd have been the one hit by an energy beam," Alice said.

"You were doing fine," Suzy complimented, patting Alice on the shoulder. "Your plan is working great."

"So far," Chad tacked on. He smirked and conceded, "Though I agree that this plan is working."

"We're doing better than we did in the last center," Maurice said.

Chad's smirk widened and he shrugged. "Can't deny that."

"Well like Suzy said, we've got twenty-eight more to go. We'd better keep moving," Junior said, bringing the conversation back on track. "I'll have Nano Jack and Nano Megas help out."

Alice nodded, and swiped her hand over the face of her NanoCom. Nano Boomer appeared in the air beside Alice, giving a little stretch.

"Wassup?" he asked.

"Want to fight Fusion Monsters?" Alice asked.

Nano Boomer grinned excitedly at the prospect.

"Always."

"The Fusion's up there," Alice whispered, pointing upward.

The team had traversed the entire labyrinth without a hitch. While the monsters had set the alarm that there was an intruder, their warning falsely believed it was Alice alone infiltrating their lair; they realized too late that it was an ambush. All that remained was two Jurassic Centurions that were up on a raised platform with their Fusion leader. The group was at the bottom of some steps leading up to the platform, which based on the structure looked like a remnant from the ancient past.

"Alright, here's the plan," Chad said, resting his Battle Cannon against his shoulder. He used his finger to motion at himself and Team Super Stars. "We're going to go after the monsters while Maurice finds the terminal and destroys it. We need to make sure the monsters don't get near him."

"Messing up Fuse's terminals won't take long," Maurice reassured.

"We'll probably be done with the Fusion by time you finish up," Junior joked.

"Let's hope so," Maurice joked back.

"Alice, take lead," Suzy told the girl. "They'll sense you and will start firing at us, so we'll need your defense."

Alice agreed, and took point up the staircase. She wasn't flying so that the monsters at the top wouldn't be tipped off until the last moment. The team was moving quietly behind her; they hadn't been using Nano Numbuh Five's ability for a while and Suzy wasn't going to bring her out again since she wasn't needed. Nanos Boomer, Samurai Jack, and Juniper Lee hovered behind their persons and remained quiet for the trip as well. All was silent until...

"HIYA JUNIOR!"

The loud greeting came from behind the team, and it echoed in the lair. The team spun around to stare wide-eyed at the red-cap wearing Billy. Billy was smiling at them with his tongue sticking out the side of his lip. Runty was sitting on top of Billy's head, looking as typical as it did.

Alice was shocked to see Billy, and even more surprised to see Billy with them. Her teammates shared a similar reaction, and even Chad and Maurice were staring wide-eyed at the surprising arrival. Chad recovered first and the surprise morphed into fury. He practically leapt at Billy as he fisted Billy's shirt at the collar and raised him into the air. Billy released a squawk and flung his arms.

"Hey puts me down!" Billy cried.

"What are you doing here you-"

Chad's half-question, half-threat was silenced by balls of Fusion Matter raining down on the team. Alice threw up an energy dome to protect them from the Fusion Matter. The last two Jurassic Centurion's were at the top of the staircase, raining the Fusion Matter down on the team. The Fusion was nowhere to be spotted.

"No!" Maurice shouted. "The Fusion's messing with the terminal!"

"Isn't that what we want?" Junior asked.

"We're supposed to be messing with their systems," Chad corrected, dropping Billy to his butt. "Who knows what that Fusion is doing."

"Nothing good," Suzy predicted grimly. "Alice, get us up there."

Alice morphed the dome into a sphere to encompass the entire team and floated it up to the platform, keeping her concentration even as the sphere was attacked by Fusion Matter. From up in the air, it was easy to see that the Fusion - a Fusion Herriman - was standing at what Alice guessed was the terminal Maurice and Chad talked about. She lowered the sphere so that it was situated between the Jurassic Centurions and the Fusion. She removed the wall that faced the Fusion and Maurice and Chad immediately ran at the Fusion. From this opening, the three Nanos flew off the attack the Centurions that still fired on Alice's shield.

While Alice held up the shield and Suzy fired at the enemy through a small hole that Alice had made for her, Junior grabbed Billy and lifted him up to his feet.

"Thanks Junior," Billy said cheerfully, unconcerned about the battle going on.

"You stay next to me and do not get in the way," Junior ordered.

"Oh, puh-lease," Billy said, flapping his hand flippantly. "I won't get in the way."

"Suzy, I need a favor," Junior started.

"He's your cousin," Suzy responded without looking. "You watch him."

"Suzy!" Junior complained.

Alice flung her shield at the Centurions, knocking them off the platform and sending them down the stairs. The Nanos followed the monsters down the staircase to make sure the two were properly down, and when they were positive the two monsters were Fusion Matter puddles, the Nanos flew back up to their persons.

Team Super Stars spun around to confront the Fusion now that its lackeys were dealt with, but they turned around in time to see Maurice and Chad had brought the Fusion down without their help. Maurice was at the terminal, though there was no point in him doing anything. There was a hole going through the machinery that indicated it had been destroyed.

Team Super Stars, their Nanos, and their surprised guests approached the two boys and the busted-up terminal. Chad looked over his shoulder at their approaching footsteps, and his eyes narrowed in on Billy. His face once again filled with rage, he rushed at Billy and lifted him off his feet again.

"Oh come on! Not again!" Billy whined, kicking his feet frantically.

"You stupid, worthless, braindead moron," Chad snarled. "I oughta knock you into the stratosphere! Do you have any idea what you've done!?"

Billy stopped kicking and titled his head upward to look at Runty. Billy was looking at Runty in confusion, while Runty stared at Billy plainly. Billy then looked back at Chad adn titled his head to one side.

"Uhhhhh, what was that first part?"

Chad released a snarl of rage and pulled back one fist. Before he could punch Billy - or actually knock him into the stratosphere like he threatened - Junior approached and grabbed the boy's arm.

"Hold it. He's an idiot, but he's my cousin so I can't have you beating him up," Junior warned.

"Awwwwh, you do cares about me!" Billy cheered.

"Shut up!" Junior snapped. "Somehow I have a feeling you screwed this up for us."

"You'd be right," Maurice confirmed, nodding his head grimly. "Thanks to your cousin, the Fusion managed to delete all the files on the terminal. My guess is it was able to back up the system to somewhere else in the Darklands, meaning Fuse's line to his soldiers here on the island are still intact."

"You hear that?" Chad asked rhetorically. "Because of you our month-long effort has been ruined. We had a real chance of sticking it to Fuse and now you've set us back! Fuse still gets to command his army here, and we're left scrambling to find where everything on file was backed up to!"

Billy stared at Chad and for a moment it looked like the information had settled in his mind.

"Well, I don't know much about scrambling, but if you're making them, I'll take some scramble eggs," Billy said.

Alice was positive she heard a blood vessel snap in Chad's brain; the boy's twitching eye certainly seemed to indicate a fuse being blown. Nano Samurai Jack saw the telltale signs as well and hovered in front of the blond's face, positioning himself to defend Billy if Chad decided to punch the boy. The thought was very tempting, and for a moment everyone held their breath in anticipation for whether or not the teenager would act on his anger.

Then the silence was broken by the opening notes of Truffles Duvall's single "Give Away Your Heart." Suzy immediately silenced her NanoCom from playing the song further and looked at the screen. Her eyes ran over the screen quickly, and everyone watched as they opened wider. When she finished, she pocketed her NanoCom and looked at Chad and Billy, still locked in their positions.

"Alright, we're done here," Suzy decided with the air of leadership. "The Fusion outsmarted us this time, so there's nothing more we can do here." She directed her look over at Junior and Alice. "We're needed elsewhere. That was Octus. Hoss found the Fusion Kevin army development center."

"Hold on. Hoss found it?" Junior asked, looking skeptically at his redheaded teammate.

"That's what Octus says. Hoss will tell us about it when we meet up with him," Suzy informed. "We're supposed to go to the Plumbers' camp here in the Precipice."

"We'll take you to the camp," Maurice offered. "We have to go there anyways." He reached out and placed his hand on Chad's shoulder. "She's right about nothing left for us here, so we'll need to head back to the airship and regroup before we plan our next steps."

Chad glared at Maurice, looking for a moment like he wasn't going to listen to reason. Ultimately, he released an aggravated sigh and dropped Billy on his butt again.

"Yeah, alright," he agreed begrudgingly. He bent down and put his face in Billy's space. "But if I see you anywhere near me again, I'll knock your block off."

"But I don't have a block," Billy replied in confusion.

"He means your head," Junior supplied for his cousin.

"Ooooh. Okie dokie!" Billy cheered.

"You're weird," Chad commented with an annoyed expression.

"You can talk about Billy's weirdness on the way over," Suzy commanded, leading the way to the Fusion Portal in the corner. "Next stop, the Plumber's camp!"

Team Super Stars parted ways with Maurice and Chad once they were outside of the lair. While the two teenagers were going back to the airship, they didn't have plans to use the Monkey Skyways Agents; it was too open, and they had their own ways of transportation. So that left the team to find a new way for Billy to get to the airship. The team couldn't put him on a Skyways Agent because of the monkeys animosity towards the team. That left only one solution: Lance and Ilana. Lance had not been excited by the idea, but Ilana had dragged him along to the camp in the Precipice to pick up Billy. Lance only brightened when Junior gave him permission to lock Billy up. With this agreement made, the two armored aliens took Billy back to the airship. Junior was all too happy to see his idiot cousin be sent off back to the airship, and already formulated exactly what he would say to him once he was done with Hoss' task. Speaking of Hoss Delgado...

"Any word on when Hoss is supposed to meet us?" Junior asked Suzy.

Suzy shook her head, pulling out her NanoCom again. "Nope. Just that he's going to meet us in the Precipice, here at the camp."

Junior sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Knowing that guy, it could be a while before he shows up."

"Or perhaps," a guttural voice said from behind Alice, "he's here now."

The team turned to find that Hoss Delgado, the Spectral Exterminator, was standing behind Alice.

"I'm actually surprised," Junior commented.

"I know. My godlike physique can be quite surprising when seen up front," Hoss said, flexing his arms so that his muscles bulged.

Junior dropped his head into his hand with a frustrated sigh. "No. That is absolutely not what I mean."

"So Hoss, you know where the development center is?" Suzy asked.

"Of course," Hoss answered. He then rummaged in his pocket until he pulled out a small, leatherbound book. "I've got all the details in this little book. One of Fuse's captains was all too happy to leave behind a log of everything they were doing in relation to the Fusion Kevin army development. I even went and grabbed how we're going to stop it before I came over here." He rummaged in his pocket again and produced a spherical object the size of Hoss' palm. "This baby here is our key to bringing the whole thing to its knees."

The teenagers crowded around the hand to get a look at the object. The only noticeable attribute to the thing was that it was orange with a dark black spot in the middle of the perfectly circular object. It didn't look like it was anything mechanical that could bring down a machine, so the team was left in the dark about what was so special about the item in Hoss' gloved hand.

"What is it, Mr. Delgado?" Alice asked.

"Isn't it obvious? It's an Eyebore's eye," Hoss answered.

"Wait a minute, how'd you get the eye- never mind I don't want to know," Junior quickly backtracked on his question, but it was too late.

Sensing an opportunity to speak highly about himself and his exploits, Hoss puffed out his chest.

"It was easy for someone as skilled as yours truly. I had to punch the sucker a few times to soften it up, but eventually I ripped the eye from its socket. I wanted the eye from its head socket, but the creature blocked my attempts, so I simply ripped the eye from its hand socket," Hoss said.

Alice flung a hand to her mouth to prevent herself from puking. She couldn't be sure, but her skin had either gone pale or was turning green. The very thought of someone ripping out an eye, Fusion Monster or not, had Alice's stomach turning. Suzy and Junior were handling the story better (actually, Junior was handling it extremely well, but maybe that had something to do with his upbringing), which only made Alice feel embarrassed. She forced down the bile threatening to vacate her body and focused on the matter at hand.

"Does it do something special?" Junior asked.

"On it's own? Probably not. I killed the thing it was connected to," Hoss answered. He then held up the logbook with his non-mechanical hand. "But according to the logbook, it's supposed to be used against the Terrafuser."

"A Terrafuser?" Suzy repeated.

"You haven't heard?" Hoss asked.

The team shook their head.

"Well according to that diamond man-"

"Tetrax," Suzy corrected.

"-Yeah, him. Anyways, he was able to get a reading on the spot after I showed him this logbook. There's a Terrafuser that has been modified specifically for the army."

"So all we have to do to stop this Terrafuser is to shove an eye in it?" Suzy asked.

"Yep."

Suzy grinned. "This will be easy."

"Real easy," Junior pointed out. "Why do you need us? Couldn't you just do it on your own?"

"Of course I could," Hoss said. "I'm Hoss Delgado! All monsters fear my name."

"Maybe the dumb ones," Junior muttered.

"You need us to join you underground," Suzy guessed.

"We won't be going underground," Hoss answered. At the confused looks, Hoss further explained, "Fuse is planning the facility underground, but he left the Terrafuser above ground to power the facility."

"Probably because he thought that if we ever did find the Fusion army's center, the Terrafuser would be safe, and he could just restart it," Suzy hypothesized.

"Correcto mundo," Hoss agreed. "But he didn't account for Hoss Delgado to be on the case and sniff out his trick."

"The Terrafuser must be guarded though," Alice pointed out. "Is that why we're joining you?"

"Correcto mundo again, little girl," Hoss said. "You will all be running interference while I implant this little baby" - he tossed the eyeball in the air - "into the plant."

"Well if that's all, it still sounds easy," Junior commented.

"Oh it should be with me on your side," Hoss complimented. "Now follow me. We're going to Fuse's Lair."

The response earned wide-eyes from all of Team Super Stars.

"We're going where?!"

"Fuse's Lair," Hoss said ominously. "The darkest, scariest, creepiest alien fortress ever."

"How many alien fortresses have you come across?" Junior asked sarcastically.

"More than you, kiddo," Hoss fired back.

Despite Hoss' questionable claim, Alice couldn't deny that his words rang true. She hadn't seen many alien fortresses, but this one definitely radiated evil intent. The fortress was tall, incredibly so that its silhouette could be seen from the Plumber's camp in the Precipice. The dome radiated green light that must have been energy because it went upward into the air. Everything inside of Alice told her to stay away from the fortress.

"Which way to the Terrafuser?" Suzy asked the man.

"We're actually close to it," Hoss said. He jerked his head to his right. "It's just up that hill, underneath that creepy statue."

The statue was the same one found at the border of Huntor's Crest and Hero's Hollow. It wasn't a very far walk for them since they had crossed into the area through the bridge. However, since the area was heavily infected, Alice decided to enclose the team in an energy sphere and fly them up to the Terrafuser to make the trip easier.

As they were crossing through the sky, a sudden pain pulsed through Alice's head. She froze up and tried to power through it, but a second strike left her shrieking. She lost her concentration and the sphere collapsed, dropping her passengers. Alice fell with them and collided hard with the ground. She clutched at her head as more pain entered her mind, and she couldn't hear anything over the sound of her screams.

Over the sounds of her screams, she heard him.

You stupid child. You think you can enter MY lair and I'd just let you get off scott free?

Alice tried to raise her walls, but she could feel him tearing them down like tissue paper. Unspeakable pain pounded in her head.

So you came to thwart my army? I should be surprised by your arrogance, but it's very Arthenadite of you. Believing you could actually outsmart ME. All you have done is sealed your death, and the death of those worthless Terrans.

Her friends! What happened to them? Did they get hurt in the fall? Alice tried to open her eyes, but a new attack on her mind had her squeezing her eyes very tightly.

Be a good little Arthenadite and die like the rest of your people.

At that moment, she felt searing pain on her body. Something was attacking her, but she couldn't tell from what or where they were. Must have been over her since the pain was coming from her arms.

Fear gripped her heart. She had to get out of this. She had to block him out, and she needed to stop whatever it was that was attacking her. If she didn't do something, she was going to die.

But what could she do? Fuse's attacks on her mind weren't letting up. She had to block him out, but the walls she was attempting to erect kept getting knocked down. What was she supposed to do?

Tears sprung to her eyes and slipped through her closed eyelids. She didn't want to die. She wanted to be home. She wanted to be safe. She wanted her mom.

Mom.

Gale Spacebyte always protected Alice. If Alice was sad, she always comforted her and made her feel better. If Alice got scared, Gale always assured her that she was safe and nothing would come for her. When Alice suffered nightmares from Uncle Eustace's stories about the Jack Pott Mine, her mom had focused Uncle Eustace to read her fairytales with happy endings. When Cousin Fred attempted to cut off her hair, her mom made all of his scissors disappear and forbade him from bringing them to any gatherings. When Mitch bullied her, her mom got a hold of him and put the fear of God into him, ending the bullying indefinitely. Whenever Alice was near her mother, she always felt safe. So long as mom was there, nothing bad could ever happen to her.

Just thinking about her mom made Alice feel better. She was still hurting physically, but mentally the attacks were weaning in potency. Sensing this shift, Alice thought about her mother some more. She thought about all the birthday parties her mother threw her over the years, and all the school activities she made time in her schedule for, and all the camping trips in Prickly Pines where it was just the two of them laying out under the stars. With every memory she made, Fuse's presence in her mind began to dwindle.

She was able to open her eyes and stare face-to-face with a Great Shellslug. Alice moved her hand over her NanoCom and Nano Boomer appeared. The boy was ready to do his excited spin, but when he saw the position Alice was in, his excited mood quickly dropped to panic and then anger.

"GET OFF HER YOU UGLY SLUG!" Nano Boomer shouted, forming an energy bat in his hand.

He swung his energy bat and connected it cleanly against the monster's head. The Great Shellslug flinched from the hit, and that was the opening Alice needed. She broke one arm free from the Great Shellslug's hold and aimed her palm at the monster's underbelly. She fired off an energy beam that shot the Great Shellslug off of her. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and fired off at the Great Shellslug again before it could recover. Nano Boomer assisted her by flying forward and smacked the Great Shellslug over and over again with his energy bat. As soon as the Great Shellslug turned into Fusion Matter, Alice got onto her feet and immediately searched for her teammates.

She could feel Fuse flare up in her mind again, but she shot back with a memory of her mom making dinner for the Utoniums that quieted him back to the recess of her mind. She found Hoss and her teammates further away from her. All of them were up and defending themselves against the Great Shellslugs crowding in on them. The biggest swarm focused on Hoss Delgado. Fuse had read her mind and learned the plans, so he knew Hoss Delgado held the key to stopping his Fusion Kevin army production. Alice raised into the air and flew in Hoss' direction. When she hovered above him, she sent back Nano Boomer into her NanoCom and called out Nano Bubbles.

"Hiya, Alice!" Nano Bubbles chirped.

"Hi, Bubbles," Alice greeted. "Please move the Great Shellslugs away from Mr. Delgado."

"You got it!" Nano Bubbles said with an accompanying salute.

Nano Bubbles spun around midair and blew a powerful gust of wind at the six Great Shellslugs surrounding the man. The Great Shellslugs were swept away by Nano Bubbles' Tornado Trap. Hoss looked surprised by his opponents being taken away from him, but he looked over at Alice when she landed.

"Thanks for the assistance, kid, but I had it under control," Hoss said.

"I know, and you'll still need to fight them," Alice said. "I need the Eyebore's eye."

"What for?" Hoss asked.

"Please," Alice asked, holding out her hand. "Fuse is distracting us with these monsters. I can get to the Terrafuser and stop it."

Hoss studied the girl critically with his only visible eye. After a moment he relented and tossed the monster's eye to her.

"Have at it, kid," he encouraged.

Alice caught the eye and nodded in confirmation to Hoss. At this time, Nano Bubbles' tornado diminished and the monsters began to advance again.

"Get going, kid!" Hoss ordered, switching his mechanical hand into a hand blaster.

"Stay and help Mr. Delgado," Alice ordered her Nano.

"Yes ma'am!" Nano Bubbles replied, giving Alice an accompanying salute.

Leaving Hoss to fire at the Great Shellslugs, Alice took to the skies again and flew for the Terrafuser. The Great Shellslugs couldn't fly, so they fired gooey Fusion Matter balls in an attempt to knock her out of the sky. Alice dodged the incoming attacks and arrived at the modified Terrafuser without fail. Alice hovered over the Terrafuser for a moment, surprised by what she found. It didn't look like any Terrafusers she had seen before. It looked hardened and sharp, like it was wearing armor to protect itself from physical attacks. Luckily, not all of it was encased in the armor, and there were a few soft spots that were the right size for the eye in her hand. Alice lowered herself to the Terrafuser and raised up a dome around her and the Terrafuser to stop the Great Shellslugs from interfering.

Alice raised the Eyebore eye up to the soft-tissue opening. Before she could insert it into the modified Terrafuser, she flinched from pain striking her mind. Fuse was making a last-ditch effort to freeze her. Alice combatted him with the memory of the last time she saw her mother alive.

Her mom was going to do a graveyard shift at Memorial Hospital, so she was having an early dinner with her daughter before going to work. They'd been talking about the new semester and what new plays and activities would be starting up. When dinner was over with, Gale had swept hair out of her daughter's face and dropped a peck on her child's forehead.

"I love you," she had told her daughter.

"I love you, too," Alice had responded, and then her mom walked out the door.

Alice had inadvertently closed her eyes as she fell into the memory and felt tears slip passed her closed eyelids. Her memory had silenced Fuse and pushed him out of her head. With a clear mind, Alice shoved the eye into the modified Terrafuser. The effect was instantaneous. The green on the Terrafuser turned to red before it shriveled up and turned black. Cracks formed along the Terrafuser, and it crumbled to pieces and fell to the ground. Alice stared down at the Terrafuser, to be sure that the thing wouldn't rise again, but when it didn't move or light up again, Alice considered the thing dead.

The Great Shellslugs went into a frenzy when they saw the Terrafuser crumble and fall. Some tried to smash against the dome's walls, some tried to fire at it with their Fusion Matter balls, and some tried to dig downward to get under the dome. Alice pressed the dome outward, knocking the Fusion Monsters back. In their daze, Alice shot up into the air and looked for her teammates again. Junior and Suzy were close together and Hoss was only a few feet away from them; because Alice had taken the eye away from him, some of the Great Shellslugs had lost interest in him.

Alice cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted over the sounds of blasters going off, "Everyone! Get closer together!"

The team heard Alice call and began acting on it. Nano Juniper Lee took the energy away from the monsters, Nano Bubbles swept the monsters away, and Nano Megas put the monsters to sleep. From up high, Alice fired on the Great Shellslugs, sending off energy blasts, energy balls, and crescent-shaped bolts at the monsters. Alice's presence distracted many of the monsters, so the team was able to slip by without a problem.

When Alice saw all three of her groupmates near each other, she encased them in a sphere and raised them into the air. She then flew herself and the sphere for the Plumber's base. The Great Shellslugs gave chase, but Alice was too fast for them. The monsters only managed to make it to the bridge before they gave up and turned back around. With the danger over, Suzy slumped against the wall of the sphere and released a sigh.

"Alice, have I told you yet you're my hero?"

The smile Alice sent back over her shoulder was full of mirth.

"You okay, Alice?" Junior asked. "You were holding your head like..."

Junior didn't dare finish the sentence with Fuse's name, but Alice knew what he meant all the same. Alice shook her head.

"I'm okay," Alice said. "It won't be a bother anymore."

"You're sure?" Suzy asked in concern.

Alice smiled confidently and nodded.

"Mr. Delgado, are you alright going back to the airship?" Alice asked.

"I have nothing left to do out here," Hoss said. "The Tennyson kid only sent me out this way to put an end to Fusion Kevin's army. I'll have to talk to that diamond man-"

"Tetrax!"

"-and ensure that the factory is no more," Hoss finished.

"Oh I'm sure it's not," Suzy said confidently. "Team Super Stars was on the scene, and we get the mission done."

"What about the mission we just had before this?" Junior challenged.

"Not our fault. That was your cousin interfering," Suzy pointed out.

Junior frowned and then sighed. "Yeah, alright, fair."

"Let's not worry about that. We just completed a major job, and we should take some time to celebrate and relax," Suzy suggested.

Alice silently agreed with the suggestion. She was well enough to get them to the airship safely, but she couldn't deny how tired she was feeling. After the day they'd had, the team did earn some rest and relaxation.

"Dexter, I have a message from Mister Tennyson," Computress announced to her creator.

"Max Tennyson or Ben?" Dexter asked.

"Ben Tennyson," Computress answered him.

The young entrepreneur paused in his work, his fingers hovering over the keyboard mid-keystroke. He really didn't need to deal with yet another guide drama. They had just dodged a bullet with Mojo threatening to pull his support over the imprisonment of his two boys. Thankfully, Mandy had been able to smooth things over and get him to see that the Brick and Butch were too much of a liability to allow their freedom; once the fight with Fuse was over, the boys would be released and allowed to do whatever they wanted (the unspoken part was that the Powerpuff Girls would be freed up to stop them). Now with Mojo mollified Ben wanted to start? The two had managed to bury the hatchet after the Harangue debacle - even if Dexter thought it was unfair that he was taking all the heat since Ben was half responsible as well, but that was beside the point - so what did he want to complain about this time?

Keeping these thoughts in his head, he turned away from his computer's monitor to give his assistant his undivided attention. "Proceed," Dexter said with a sigh and the wave of his hand.

"Mister Tennyson reports that Team Super Stars and Hoss Delgado have destroyed Fuse's machine," Computress reported. "Fuse is no longer capable of creating an army of Fusion Kevins."

Dexter fell back against the backrest of his chair, letting the report settle in. The information was good news - very good news. He wasn't even surprised that Team Super Stars was involved. They seemed to have a hand in almost everything. It had been them who thwarted Mojo's super-monkey plans, rescued the missing heroes - especially the great hero, Major Glory - and now put a permanent stop to Fuse's dreams of a Fusion Kevin army. His only surprise was that they hadn't helped Double D recover and destroy the Crazy Brain Candy.

Dexter leaned his chair back and steepled his fingers together as his mind ran over an invisible checklist. This new development was just a long string of good luck for their side. After so long, it actually felt like they were gaining the upper hand.

They needed to capitalize on it before it was too late.

"Computress, I need you to call on another meeting," Dexter informed his assistant after a long stint of silence. "It must be organized as soon as possible."

"Of course, Dexter," his loyal assistant agreed. "Who shall be attending?"

Chapter Text

On a typical day in the Darklands, there would only be one S.C.A.M.P.E.R. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was only used for transportation between the island and the mainland. For any fast travel in the island, a fighter relied on the Skyway Agents. It wasn't uncommon to see the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. be utilized twice or thrice times a day. Watching three S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. arrive and land in sync just as the sun was rising over the horizon clued Alice in that something important was happening.

Mandark stepped out of one of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S., his face pinched together to indicate his disgust with the Darklands. His disgust was interrupted by a frustrated looking Dexter shoulder-bumping the taller entrepreneur on the way out of the flying transportation. Mandark whirled around and used his height to look down on his intellectual rival. Undeterred, Dexter returned the glare right back at him. Alice swear she thought she saw lightning flash between their eyes.

If they were about to get into a physical fight, it was thwarted by Ben and Rex grabbing them and pushing them apart.

"Alright you two, we're here to play nice, remember?" Rex reminded as he pushed Mandark away.

"I am not the whiner who complained the whole trip over!" Dexter accused, pointing a finger at Mandark from over Ben's arm.

"I had a right to complain when I have better methods of travel than some shoddy Kids Next Door 2x4 technology!" Mandark shot back, pointing his own finger at Dexter.

"Then why didn't you use that, huh!?" Dexter demanded.

"Because I refuse to let you get to my airship before me," Mandark retaliated. "When it's your airship, then you can arrive there first." A sudden smug smirk appeared on his face as he stared at Dexter haughtily. "Oh, that's right. You don't have an airship. It's in an infected zone."

Dexter lunged for Mandark with a cry of rage, but he was held back by Ben and Rex. Mandark laughed at the rise he had gotten out of Dexter. Samurai Jack released a small sigh and approached the warring geniuses.

"That will be enough," Jack commanded firmly. He didn't raise his voice, but Mandark and Dexter immediately stopped what they were doing and fell silent. "There is no time to be fighting when we have all gathered for an important discussion. You two are figureheads and should set a better example for everyone in attendance."

Mandark and Dexter dropped their heads like chastised children. They didn't dare argue back with the samurai, although their frowns indicated they did not enjoy being chastised. After a moment of nursing their egos, they recovered themselves.

"Whatever," Mandark said. "Before the meeting starts, I will conduct a walkthrough of my airship."

"I'll escort you," Tetrax offered.

Mandark scoffed.

"I built this thing, I can find my own way around this place," Mandark retaliated.

Although he was rebuffed, Tetrax still followed behind the young entrepreneur. Even if this was Mandark's ship, Tetrax prided himself as its captain and only felt it was right to accompany Mandark on his tour, to ensure everything still ran smoothly.

More passengers were hopping off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s, but Alice was busily thinking about what Jack had said. The team had been roused from their sleep without a clue on why they were woken so early. Alice figured it had to be something big with so many S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s, but Jack's words merely reaffirmed it and piqued her interest.

"Lance?" Alice asked since she was standing next to the taller teenager. Alice waited until the boy was looking at her before she continued. "What do you know what's happening?"

"You mean you don't?" Lance asked in surprised.

"No," Alice answered with a shake of her head.

"We were woken up before the sun and told to get our butts up here quick," Junior explained, having listened in on Alice's conversation. "No one's told us a thing."

"Ah, my apologies," Octus spoke up from the other side of Ilana. "I was caught up in important business and neglected to inform your team that you were invited by Dexter to an important meeting."

"Were you talking to Kimmy again?" Lance questioned.

"No," Octus denied a little too quickly.

Lance and Ilana shared a he's-such-a-bad-liar look but didn't badger him on it further.

"Anyways, we're joining together to discuss how to bring our fight with Fuse to an end," Ilana explained to the team.

Team Super Stars shared a look of surprise with each other before looking back at the Titan team.

"You mean like a final fight?" Suzy asked for clarification.

"Correct," Octus said.

"But why are we here?" Alice asked. She really wanted to ask why am I here? but she felt it sounded too selfish.

Lance stared at the girl in confusion.

"What do you mean? Dexter invited the top ten fighters from the Leaderboard, which all three of you are in," Lance explained. "And your team holds the number one spot by a large margin."

The answer made sense, and left Alice feeling dumb for asking the question. Her self-deprecation was interrupted by the sight of the Professor approaching her. He was all smiles as he approached her and her team, with Blossom joining him.

"It's good to see you again, Alice," the Professor greeted, pulling the girl into a hug. He broke the hug and held her at arm's length so that he could look at her. Immediately he went into dad mode. "How have you been? Have you been eating enough? Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Professor," Blossom lightly admonished. "Give her some time to actually answer you."

"Oh, yes I suppose that is necessary," Professor Utonium agreed, chuckling sheepishly at the end.

"It's fine," Alice said, assuring him. "I'm doing well."

Alice didn't dare tell him about Fuse's multiple attempts on reading her mind. She hadn't said a word of it to her aunt and uncle. If they knew, there was no doubt Uncle Eustace would come up to the Darklands and drag her back to the Nowhere farmhouse, and Alice didn't want to put him into danger. Plus, she didn't feel him being a problem now, so there was no reason to raise the alarm for something that wasn't bothering her currently.

The Professor didn't suspect a thing and smiled in relief. Blossom mimicked that smile before directing a kind one at Alice's teammates.

"So what have you experienced out here?" Blossom asked. "I doubt Jack's been keeping you locked up on the airship."

"He tried, but after we beat his Fusion duplicate, he let us have free reign of the Darklands," Junior answered.

"Considering how tough the battle was, the reward was certainly well earned," Kwame's voice said as he made his approach toward the team.

"Hey, you're here too, Kwame?" Suzy greeted.

"Yes," Kwame answered with a grin. "My team was invited, but they will not be able to arrive at the airship until much later, so I am the representative of the Planeteers."

"I know this is a big meeting to basically end the war, but this feels like one big whos-who coming to participate," Junior commented.

"Yes, it's going to be a big event," Kwame agreed.

"It's supposed to be our last attack on Fuse," Blossom said.

"Ooh, I do hope this won't wind up like the Battle of Hero's Hollow," Double D's voice contributed to the conversation. The sockhead wearing boy joined their growing circle. Unlike Kwame and Blossom, the poor boy looked spooked by his surroundings. "The last time there was a major battle out this way, we lost."

"You need to think positive," Ilana admonished. "Just because Hero's Hollow was lost doesn't mean we'll lose this too."

"I hope not," Double D said a bit pessimistically. "If this doesn't go right..."

"We won't have another shot at it," Lance finished grimly.

"Again, let's think positively," Ilana hopped in again.

"Okay, I think we will positively have a rough time," Lance said.

The teenager crossed his arms and smirked in response to the annoyed glare Ilana sent him. Alice hoped he didn't actually believe that the fight against Fuse would turn out in a loss for their side. It was always a possibility, but Ilana was right; they had to be positive in this scenario.

"Should we be heading in or something?" Junior asked, looking around. "Or are we having the meeting out here?"

"No, there is a conference room set up," Octus answered. "It would not be logical to hold a meeting out in the open."

Double D seemed to pale at the implications, but Suzy gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

"Oh, don't lose your coloring so soon. There haven't been any Fusion Monsters attacks up here," Suzy said. Double D did seem relieved by this response, right up until Suzy tacked on, "Of course if a villain wanted to attack us..."

At the thought, Double D's eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath. Frantic eyes roamed around the open-air space in paranoia.

"You don't possibly think-"

"There is no fear of a villain attack," Ilana cut in, keeping her voice soft and soothing. "No villains were invited."

"Not even Mojo?" Alice asked in surprise.

He was a guide, so shouldn't he have been present? Not that Alice was eager to see the simian again.

"After what he tried to pull, he's pretty much banned from all future meetings," Lance said. "His only worth now is his Skyway Agents."

"And Tetrax already sent them off early this morning, so they won't report back to Mojo Jojo about this meeting," Ilana added.

Double D heaved out a sigh of relief. He had never personally interacted with the simian outside of the one meeting way back when, but Mojo's insistent desire to take over the world was just deranged enough to be terrifying. He sometimes questioned the logic behind Dexter's decision, but he'd always been too busy keeping the Cul-de-Sac and surrounding area safe from invaders that he hadn't taken the time to ask Dexter about it.

Junior put his hands on his hips and looked around. The passengers of the three S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s were still mulling around the deck, shooting the breeze in the early hours of the morning.

"Soooo are we starting this thing soon, or...?" Junior asked, trailing off at the end.

"Attention, everyone," Computress' voice boomed, as if she had heard Junior's question. "We will now be meeting in conference room three. Please direct yourselves to conference room three. The meeting shall begin in five minutes."

"Ask and you shall receive," Suzy teased.

"Yeah, sometimes the universe does that for me," Junior said.

"We'd better start heading in," Professor Utonium suggested.

The Professor led the group down the ramp along with the various other visitors to Mandark's airship. Team Super Stars had reached the bottom of the ramp when a voice called out to them.

"Hello, Team Super Stars."

The hair on the back of Alice's neck stood up as her blood turned ice cold. The voice sounded pleasant, but their was an injection of darkness in the words that had Alice gasping in fright. From her peripheral vision, she caught Junior tensing up and uttering out a tiny curse. Suzy seemed to be the only member of the team unaffected, and she spun around to greet the voice with her patent grin on her face. Alice couldn't believe that when facing her, Suzy could still keep up her unflappable attitude. Still, seeing Suzy's bravery, Alice turned - slowly - toward the voice. While Alice flinched upon looking at cold, grey eyes, Suzy smiled brightly and waved.

"Hey, Mandy. Came to pick up Billy?"

Mandy stood at the top of the ramp, her arms crossed as she stared down at the team. Her loyal servant Lord Pain stood behind her, his face betraying no emotion. The rest of the guests had entered the inside of the airship, with only Blossom remaining at the doorway. Her pink eyes flicked between Mandy and Team Super Stars, clearly debating if her superheroics was needed. Mandy never paid any attention to Blossom, and instead kept her focus on the team.

After a tense moment, Mandy finally deigned an answer. "No. After all the chaos he's started, I'm content to let him sit in prison a little longer."

"So, you're here for the meeting then?" It was supposed to be a statement, but Junior made it sound like a question.

"Yes," Mandy responded. "Since Mojo was not allowed to attend, I am here taking his place."

"Right, well, we should probably be joining that," Junior said, trying to create an opening to leave.

Mandy didn't take the bait. She uncrossed her arms and instead clasped them behind her back, never breaking eye contact with the group. Alice had to stop her muscles from shaking under Mandy's scrutinizing gaze. Seeing the cold eyes firmly reminded Alice of why she'd avoided Mandy at school: the girl was terrifying. To Alice's knowledge, she didn't have any powers, yet there was an aura to her that exuded terror.

Mandy began to descend down the ramp, taking slow, measured steps. Lord Pain followed behind, matching his master's speed so that he was always a step behind her.

"From the monkey's rantings, I learned that it was you three that thwarted Mojo's plans," Mandy said. "I wasn't privy to how exactly you stopped his mutated Chemical X, but I don't need to know that exact detail. I'm sure everyone was quite relieved when you stopped him from creating a legion of Fusion monkeys that would have been hijacked by Fuse." Her eyebrows came together to show her displeasure. "I was not. In thwarting Mojo's plans, you thwarted my plans." Anger began to color her words, and Alice briefly debated if she should raise up a shield to protect her and her teammates. "I was very displeased to learn that you involved yourself in my affairs and sabotaged them."

From behind her, Lord Pain's face briefly morphed into guilt and panic as he recalled his failure to complete his master's orders. Luckily for him, Mandy's attention was trained on the team so she failed to see his emotions betray him. The girl continued to stalk down the ramp, and Alice was worried about what Mandy would do.

"However," Mandy said, her anger evaporating. "Because of your actions, Mojo never suspected I was working against him and allowed me to stay close to his side, giving me further access to his plans and all the ways I could set them up in flames. So, while you crossed me, you did allow me further access to the monkey. Therefore, I consider us even." Mandy sounded like she was being gracious in her assessment. Alice didn't feel like this at all, but kept her mouth shut. "Since I'm feeling generous, I'll give you a fair warning." She leaned forward, a deadly look on her face. "Cross me again, and I'll bury your body where nobody will find it, capeesh?"

Alice and Junior nodded their heads sharply. Suzy was still grinning, and crossed her arms. It almost looked like she was challenging Mandy.