Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-May, 1998-

It was a gorgeous spring day on a Tuesday afternoon in Charterville. Birds were singing, kids were running around on the sidewalks and through the parks, while other citizens walked around, chatting and laughing among themselves. People were generally happy, as for the past several weeks, their Californian town had been tranquil, due to the fact that Nukus and the other Crustaceans had finally been sealed away in the second dimension, at least according to the Beetleborgs.

In the residential district of Charterville, Jo McCormick rode her bicycle down a side street, pointing her left arm upwards as she made a right turn onto the next street. Several yards ahead of her, Jo could see several familiar figures riding their bikes further away from her.

“Hey!” Jo shouted, as she began to pedal faster and rang the bell on her bike. “Wait for me, you guys! I'm coming!”

The other cyclists slowed down their pace, allowing Jo to gradually catch up with them. Within a few seconds, Jo eventually caught up with her brother Drew, along with their friends Roland Williams, Josh Baldwin and Heather Albright.

“Hey, Jo,” Drew said. “How was school?”

“Pretty good,” Jo responded. “But I'm glad it's over.”

“Me too,” Roland added. “I can't wait 'til we get to the comic store.”

“It's almost here,” Josh said. “The new issue of Beetleborgs. It comes out tomorrow!”

“Not to be a buzzkill,” Heather said, as she and the others all made a turn onto one of the main streets, “but you know that your character's not gonna be in this issue, right? It takes a bit of time for a story to go from being an idea to making it onto the comic rack.”

“True. But who said I was fixated on that? Either way, I'm just happy there's a new issue to look forward to.”

“And if that issue's as good as I hope it'll be,” Roland chimed in, “things are only gonna go uphill from here once Rodium Cobalt makes his debut.”

After riding past several blocks of storefronts, the five kids veered onto the sidewalk, where they parked their bikes in the rack in front of Zoom Comics and locked them up. A delivery truck was currently parked outside the store. The kids then made their way into the store, where several other people were already inside.

“Hey, kids!” Nano called from the far end of the counter. “You all have a good day?”

“Sure did,” Roland responded, as he unfastened the bicycle helmet from his head.

“Great, my relief is here,” Abbie said with a smile, stepping away from behind the cash register, as Heather went behind the front counter and up to where Abbie had been standing. Just then, a delivery man came in through the front door, carrying a sealed cardboard box that had the Beetleborgs logo stamped onto its side.

“This is the last one,” the delivery man said, as he brought the box over to the end of the counter, where he set it down among a stack of identical-looking boxes.

“Thank you,” Abbie said, as the delivery man presented a clipboard to her. She proceeded to sign the paper that was held onto it.

“All right,” the delivery man said with a smile, as he accepted the clipboard from Abbie. “Everything seems to be in order. You folks enjoy the rest of your day!”

“Thank you!” Abbie called, as the delivery man walked back towards the front door.

“Cool,” Roland said, as he and his friends stepped up to the stack of boxes and admired them. “The new issue is here!”

“Sure is,” Nano noted. “I really hope one-thousand copies are enough for now. That's all the distributor could send to us.”

“Can we take a peak?” Josh asked, setting a hand onto one of the boxes.

“Absolutely not!” Nano replied, shaking her head firmly, as Josh quickly retracted his hand. “Sorry, but the release date is tomorrow, even for family and friends. So paws off!”

“I don't want you kids opening any of those boxes,” Abbie said. “But I would like you to move them into the back room for now. We'll put them out first thing tomorrow morning.”

Drew let out a sigh. “Okay. Come on, let's get these boxes put away.”

Drew, Roland, Jo and Josh each proceeded to pick up a box, which they carried into the back room of the store. Before long, every last box containing the new issue had been brought into the storeroom, so the kids went back to working in the front room of the store, tidying up the various racks and shelves, to make sure that all the comic books and magazines were in order. As they went along, the kids made sure to leave ample spaces between titles, so that there would be room for the new issue of Beetleborgs when the next day rolled around.

Drew noticed that one of the previous Beetleborgs comics had a considerable tear in its front cover. He picked it up off the rack, groaning to himself. “Great. This copy's ruined. We can't sell this.”

“It happens,” Roland said, watching as Drew fiddled with the flap of torn paper.

“Ow!” Drew said, pulling a hand away from the from the comic, as he set it down on the rack with his other hand.

“Drew, what is it?” Jo asked, looking over at her brother. "Paper cut?"

Drew shook his head. “No. But my hands feel kinda strange.”

“Mine too,” Roland said, also holding onto a Beetleborgs comic.

“Same here,” Josh noted, as he thumbed through a row of comics.

“Hold on,” Drew said, as he glanced down at his hands, palms facing upwards. Roland and Josh did the same. “My hands are still tingly.”

“Ours are, too,” Roland said, who along with Josh, was also looking down at his palms.

“What'd you guys do?” Jo questioned, as she slid a Beetleborgs comic over by one slot. “Ow!”

“You too?” Josh exclaimed.

“Was it something we touched?” Roland asked.

“Excuse me,” a boy said, reaching an arm between Drew and Roland and grabbing a Beetleborgs comic off of the rack. "Thank you." The boy, who was already carrying a second issue of Beetleborgs, walked over towards Heather at the register.

“What's going on?” Drew asked. “Did these comics get contaminated or something?”

Roland stared directly at the Beetleborgs comic that was sitting on the shelf in front of him. Picking it up, he could feel the tingling in his hands growing stronger. Roland positioned the comic under his nose and sniffed it. “Smells fine. But it still feels weird to touch.”

“It's starting to go away,” Jo noted, examining her hands, now that she was no longer touching a comic book.

“Not for me,” Roland stated.

“But that kid who was just here seemed to be fine,” Josh said, watching as the boy from earlier walked out of the store, still holding onto the comics he had just bought in his hand.

“I'm gonna show this to Heather,” Roland said, carrying the comic over to the register where Heather was waiting.

“What's going on with you four?” Heather asked. “No offence, but you're acting a little... peculiar.”

“Something weird is happening with these comics,” Roland replied, setting the issue he had been holding onto the counter.

“Come on, this issue wasn't that strange.”

“It's not the story that's the problem,” Drew said. “Physically touching these comics is making our hands feel all weird and tingly.”

Heather sneered at her friends. “Is this like an allergy or something?”

“I don't think so,” Jo replied. “Touch it. But be careful. It's not painful, but it feels really strange.”

Heather picked up the comic book and examined it in her hands. She flipped through the pages, but was unable to make heads or tails out of any strange feeling.

“This comic seems fine to me,” Heather commented. “I've sold five Beetleborgs comics since I got here, and neither me nor any customers have had a problem. You're not messing with me, are you?”

“This isn't a joke,” Josh replied. “Please, Heather. You're the only person we can talk to about... you know what.”

“Of course!” Jo snapped, looking around to make sure that nobody else was paying attention to them. “This feeling, whatever it is, probably has something to do with the fact that we're Beetleborgs. Let me try something.”

Jo went over to one of the comic racks and began to pick out an assortment of titles. She then brought the comics back to the front counter and spread them all out.

“Let's see,” Drew said, picking up a Spider-Man comic. “This one feels fine.”

“So does this one,” Roland added, holding an issue of X-Men in his hand.

“Avengers, too,” Josh noted.

“Let's try DC,” Jo said, placing a hand onto an issue of Batman.

“Same thing,” Drew said, now touching an issue of Wonder Woman.

“This one's fine, too,” Josh stated, having moved his hand onto a Betty and Veronica comic.

“And this,” Roland noted, picking up an Uncle Scrooge comic.

“But Beetleborgs still feels funky to me,” Drew said, having placed his hand onto another issue.

“What are you kids doing with all of those comics?” Abbie asked, as she walked over towards the front counter.

“We were just looking for our favorites,” Roland said.

“Well please put them back. You know that we need to keep the counter clear for paying customers.”

“All right,” Drew said, gathering up the comics that had been splayed out on the counter. As he picked up the Beetleborgs comic, he couldn't help but wince.

“Drew, are you all right?” Abbie asked.

“My hands just feel... kinda irritated for some reason,” Drew replied, as he went back over to the rack Jo had gotten the comics from and placed them back in their appropriate positions.

“Your hands look okay to me,” Abbie stated, trying to get a good glimpse at Drew's hands. “You know, I have some hand cream you can use if you'd like.”

“That's okay, it's no big deal,” Drew answered, walking back to the counter, as the tingling feeling in his hands slowly faded away.

“Why is this happening?” Jo asked. “And why is it happening now?”

“We don't even know what this is,” Josh commented.

“We've gotta tell Flabber about this,” Drew said. “The sooner, the better. I should probably go.”

“It's that bad, huh?” Heather asked. “I believe you guys, even if you can't prove it. I mean, why else would you be corroborating like this?”

“What if Flabber can't sense any of this?” Jo asked.

“I don't know,” Drew replied. “But if anyone can figure out an answer, it's him.”

Drew then walked over to the end of the counter where Abbie was looking at the torn Beetleborgs comic that Drew had discovered earlier.

“I really wish customers would be more careful with the merchandise,” Abbie muttered. “What kind of punk would have the nerve to rip this cover and put it back, hoping no one would notice?”

“Excuse me, Abbie?” Drew asked.

“What is it?” she replied.

“Is it all right if I leave now? I'm feeling a little weary.”

“Oh yeah, sure. You can take off if you'd like.”

“Thanks,” Drew said, heading back to where his friends were. “I'm gonna get going.”

“Flabber's got plenty of Beetleborgs comics at Hillhurst,” Roland said. “But I don't know if all Beetleborgs comics are a problem, or just the ones at this store right now. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if he has any comics that aren't Beetleborgs.”

Drew grabbed an issue of Beetleborgs off of the nearest rack. To him, it felt silly buying a copy of this particular issue a second time, but his first copy was all the way at home, and he didn't want to take any chances. Drew tolerated the strange sensation that was emanating from the Beetleborgs comic in his hand, as he grabbed two different comic books with his other hand, then set all three down on the counter in front of Heather. “I guess I'm buying these.”

“We'll chip in,” Josh said, reaching into his pocket. “This is about all of us.”

“Thanks,” Drew said, as Heather rang up his purchase on the register.

Chapter Text

After purchasing the three comic books, Drew slipped them into his knapsack. “See ya,” he said, giving a brief wave to his friends as he walked towards the entrance to Zoom Comics.

“You've got this, Drew,” Heather called out.

“I really hope Flabber's able to help,” Roland said. “This whole situation's got me worried.”

Jo, Josh and Heather all nodded in agreement.

Drew then stepped outside. He put on his bicycle helmet, then proceeded to unlock his bicycle from the rack and hopped onto it. Once he began pedaling, Drew made his way down several streets of downtown Charterville, before eventually making his way to the outskirts of town.

It wasn't long before Drew turned onto the sideroad that led him up to Hillhurst Mansion. Upon reaching the old, derelict house, Drew got off of his bike, parked it out front, then scurried up the steps to the front door, taking off his helmet in the process.

As soon as Drew opened the door, he watched as Wolfgang ran across the foyer, wearing a white football Jersey and matching helmet.

“Wolfie, go long!” Mums exclaimed, as he tossed a football across the foyer to the werewolf, who caught it in mid-run, trying to reach the goalpost that had been situated at the base of the stairs.

“Got it,” Frankenbeans said, grabbing the football out of Wolfie's claw, which immediately prompted Wolfie to start barking at him.

“Go, Frankie!” Count Fangula called, as Frankie made his way over towards the parlor. “Go!”

“No!” Little Ghoul cried, as she grabbed Frankie's leg, but failed to stop the bigger monster, as he tossed the football between the goalpost that was in the parlor.

“Safe!” called Flabber from across the foyer, as he blew a whistle. He was currently dressed up as a referee in a black and white striped shirt and sports cap.

The Pipettes cheered from within the pipes of the organ, shaking pom-poms that matched their dresses. “Frankie! Frankie! He's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!”

“Uh, Flabber,” Drew said. “You don't need to say safe. This isn't baseball.”

“Oh, hey Drew,” Flabber said. “Sorry, but I just got caught up in all the excitement!”

“That wasn't fair!” Mums huffed. “Frankie's huge!”

“Not fair?” Fangula asked. “Our team only has two players to your three!”

“If you can convince Ghoulem to join your team, go right ahead.”

“You should've passed to me, Mums,” muttered Little Ghoul. “I'm small enough that's it harder for Frankie to reach me.”

“I'd like to see you deal with Shaquille O'Neal over there,” Mums quipped, pointing a thumb in Frankie's direction.

“Mums, this isn't basketball either,” Drew said.

“Drew, where are the others?” Flabber asked, displaying a confused look on his face.

“Flabber, we've got a bit of a situation. And I really don't want to wait for this game to end.”

Flabber blew into his whistle. “Sorry, fellas. But we'll have to continue the game later. So take five!”

Flabber twirled his hands around. Magical sparkles flew out of them and collided with the goalposts, causing them to vanish, along with the football. The referee uniform he was wearing also changed back to his normal attire, as did the outfits the monsters were wearing. “And if you don't mind, could you give Drew and myself a bit of space?”

“Oh, all right,” Fangula sighed, as he and the other monsters made their way over to the rotating bookshelf, flipped it open and passed through as it closed itself behind them.

“Drew, take a seat,” Flabber said, gesturing for Drew to sit down on the couch, which the boy did. “So, why are you here?”

“Flabber, this is gonna sound strange, but please listen,” Drew began.

“I'm all ears,” Flabber said, as numerous blue ears suddenly appeared all around his body. “You hear that, Drew?”

“Hear what?"

“Sounds like people, and they're right outside.”

Drew shushed Flabber. “I hear them,” he said, speaking in a soft voice. Surely enough, Drew could hear the voices of two boys coming from the front porch.

“He's here now?” one of the voices asked.

The other boy laughed. “He's gonna flip out when we tell him.”

Drew could feel a gut-wrenching feel from within his heart. “Oh no. Not them! Flabber, make sure they don't see you. Yet.”

“Okay,” Flabber said. His extra ears vanished just before he bounced up and hid himself behind the couch. As he did that, Drew got up and made his way into the foyer, just as the front door swung open.

Standing in the doorway were Trip and Van, both of whom were sporting wicked grins on their faces.

“Well, well,” Trip began, “if isn't the alpha nerd.”

Drew sighed. “What are you two doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Van asked, as he turned to face his brother, then looked back at Drew. “If anything, what are you doing here?”

“Look, my friends and I like to come here sometimes to hang out. What's it to you?”

“Well, guess what, Drool?” Trip said, trying to evoke a response from Drew.

“I don't want to guess what. You two never cared about this house in the first place! Why don't you just leave?”

Van chuckled. “You're telling us to leave? Good luck with that.”

“Just stop,” Drew said. “You're acting like you own the place.”

Trip and Van both laughed. “Newsflash,” Trip said, adjusting his glasses. “As of today, we do own the place.”

Drew rolled his eyes. “What are you talking about? This place was never even on the market. Nobody owns it.”

“Au contraire,” Van retorted. “The land this house is sitting on has been unowned for years. There was no deed to it, and according to the state land registry, this place was legally deemed to have been abandoned.”

Trip continued. “So, we told our dad, who'd been looking for a place to build some new condos, to look into purchasing the land around here. And thanks to all the rumors about this place being haunted, our dad was able to get the Hillhurst estate dirt cheap!”

“You can't be serious,” Drew said.

“Our dad closed the sale earlier today,” Van said. “And if things go well, our dad's gonna buy the orchard as well, and probably build more developments around here.”

“What's all the commotion up here?” Fangula asked as he emerged from the rotating bookcase in the parlor. “Oh swell, it's those two again.”

“Look, it's the freak brigade,” Trip said, as the rest of the monsters followed Fangula's lead into the foyer.

“Would you snobs just get out of our house and leave us in peace?” Mums asked.

“It's our house now,” Van said. “So get used to it and get out.”

“Give us a break,” Little Ghoul griped.

“Out!” Trip shouted, pointing towards the front door.

“We're going...,” Mums began, “to eat you!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Flabber cried, as he charged into the foyer, where he abruptly screeched to a halt between Trip and Van and the others. “Everybody, time out!” he called, spreading out his arms.

“The blue guy, too?” Trip asked. “What dos the Smurf want?”

Flabber turned to face Trip and Van. “Your father didn't really purchase this place, did he? Can you prove it?”

“If that's what you want,” Van responded, as her opened up the front door and stepped out onto the porch. “Dudley!” he called out. “Bring us the documents!”

“Documents?” Fangula asked.

A pair of footsteps could be heard making their way up onto the front porch. Trip and Van's refined chauffeur, Dudley, soon stepped into the house, and looked around at the various monsters. He was carrying several sheets of paper in his hand. “Here they are, Master Van," he said. "Who are all these riffraff?”

“Just some deadbeats who don't understand how property ownership works,” Trip answered. “They don't seem to grasp that this house belongs to us, and not them.”

“I see,” Dudley said. “And as for the rest of you, this house is now the property of one Earl Kingsley II. This documentation is all in order. It includes ownership of the property and an application for a building permit. If you have any inquiries, please contact the land registry office. Or, you can call Mr. Kingsley's broker if you'd like to set up an appointment. I believe his number should be on one of those forms.”

“Read it and weep,” Trip said.

Dudley presented the papers to Drew, who slowly paged his way through them. Each sheet was filled with paragraphs of text and numerous signatures.

“What does it all mean?” Flabber asked.

Drew sighed. “I don't understand all this legalese, but it looks to be legit. And that means that Trip and Van's father, Earl Kingsley II, is the owner of this house.”

“Yeah, so that means beat it,” Van said, as Drew handed the documents back to Dudley.

“Where will we go?” asked Little Ghoul.

“I can't leave Hillhurst!” Flabber cried. “I just can't!”

“You want stay here?” Van questioned. “Fine then. Just give us ten million dollars right now, and we'll have everything signed over to you. That's how much our dad intends to make off this whole project.”

“Ten million smackers?” Flabber shrieked. “We don't have that kind of moolah!”

"Not even me!" Fangula noted. "And I'm a count!"

“I don't get it, you two,” Drew said. “Why do you want us out of here right now? Is there a construction crew with a wrecking ball that's outside right now?”

“Not yet,” Trip answered. “The condo design needs to be approved before they build it. And they'll want to put in a paved road connecting from the main road to here, plus adequate running water and electricity. It'll be months before there's a shovel in the ground.”

“But until then, our dad said that we could hang out here,” Van said. “He doesn't care. It'll be our clubhouse.”

“A clubhouse?” Flabber asked.

“Yeah. And we're gonna bring in new furniture, a big screen TV, PlayStation, N64, stereo, mini fridge, pool table-”

“And a hot tub,” Trip chimed in. “We're gonna invite Heather and her other friends over.”

“You know, this might not be so bad,” Mums said. “All these amenities sound like fun.”

Trip snorted. “They're not for you to use, Einstein.”

“Yeah!” Van hollered. “Now get out of here. Right now!”

“Make us!” Fangula said, folding his upper lip to reveal his elongated teeth.

“You... uh... peculiar folks have been asked to leave multiple times already,” Dudley said. “It may have have been a different story yesterday, but right now, all of you are trespassing on private property. So please leave this place immediately, or we will notify the proper authorities!”

“You mean the police?” Little Ghoul asked.

“That's right,” Trip exclaimed, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

“Flabber, do something!” Drew exclaimed.

“Like what?” Flabber asked.

“I dunno,” Mums said. “Turn them into cockroaches or something!”

“But they haven't done anything wrong! Annoying and mean? Yes. But wrong?”

Trip held one hand above his phone, pointing his index finger down at the keypad. “I'm calling the police...” he said teasingly.

Drew nodded his head, the act of which triggered his brain power. He aimed his fingers at Trip's phone, causing it to go flying out of the boy's hand and over towards Frankie, who caught it.

“Hey!” Trip exclaimed, as everyone else laughed, including Van and Dudley.

“Ooh, phone,” Frankie said, admiring the device that he had grabbed.

“Give me that back, you big oaf!” Trip griped, as he ran over towards the imposing monster, who dangled the boy's phone out of his reach.

“Flabber, we can't keep going on with this... circus.” Drew muttered, as Trip continued to try and reach for his phone from Frankie's hand. “We need a long-term solution.”

“Well, I've got one trick up my sleeve that should buy us some time,” Flabber said.

“Use it already!”

“Enough of this!” Van shouted, pulling a cell phone out of his own pocket, as did Dudley.

Flabber nodded, before reaching his right hand up into the left sleeve of his jacket. He then pulled his hand back out and a tossed a cloud of sparkles over at where Van and Dudley were standing, which passed through them. The cloud then drifted over to where Trip was still struggling to get his phone back, and collided with the boy before vanishing.

Suddenly, Van, Dudley and Trip all let out a loud yawn. They then crouched down onto the floor, closed their eyes and fell sound asleep, all in the blink of an eye.

Chapter Text

Drew stared down at Van and Dudley, both of whom were all curled up on the foyer floor, eyes closed and snoring lightly. He then turned his attention over to Trip, who was slumbering just like the other two were.

“Good going, Flabber,” Drew said. “At least now we can focus.”

“Phone?” Frankie asked, as he lowered Trip's cell phone back down into the sleeping boy's lap.

“What do we do now?” Little Ghoul asked. “Should we just keep them asleep forever?”

Flabber shook his head. “Unfortunately not. We can't have Trip Van Winkle sleeping here indefinitely.”

“I know what we can have,” Mums said. “A three-course meal!”

“No!” Drew blurted. “Guys, you can't eat them. Come on.”

“But they want to kick us out of our own house!” Fangula whined.

“It's not your house anymore. And come to think of it, if there's no record of any previous deed, it never officially belonged to any of you.”

“Flabber, is there not a deed to this place?” Little Ghoul asked.

“Not that I'm aware of,” Flabber replied. “It's possible that Old Man Hillhurst never even had a deed back when he lived here.”

Drew sighed. “And if what those three said about Earl Kingsley II easily buying the land from the registry office is true, it means that the government had no record of this house having a legal owner. And even if there had been a deed, Old Man Hillhurst has been dead for a long time with no known heirs. The state would've been within their right to claim this place.”

“We don't care about any of this legal mumbo jumbo!” Mums huffed. “We like our rent-free accommodations here just fine, and we're not leaving.”

“I'm gonna send these three away for now,” Flabber said.

“You know, I heard that the South Pole is lovely this time of year!” Fangula exclaimed.

Flabber waved his hands around, then unleashed bolts of magic at Trip, Van and Dudley, causing them to suddenly disappear. “I sent them into their limo outside, still asleep. I know it's not a permanent solution, but I'll try to think of something.”

“Thanks, Flabber.”

“Now, where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?”

“We'll just leave you two alone for now,” Fangula said, as he and the other monsters went over to the rotating bookcase, opened it up and entered the passage before it closed behind them.

“Man, to think I was having problems before Trip and Van showed up,” Drew said, as he and Flabber made their way back into the parlor. “I knew they'd bring trouble with them the day they came back to town. And now I don't even know what's worse; those two, or our first problem.”

“What is your first problem, anyway?” Flabber asked, as he and Drew both sat down on the couch.

Drew laid his backpack onto the coffee table and unzipped the middle pouch, then pulled out the three comic books he had gotten earlier. “It's really odd,” he said, feeling as the tingling sensation from earlier returned to his hands, as his set all three comics out onto the table.

Flabber glanced at the comic books that Drew had taken out. “Last month's issue of Beetleborgs? Fantastic Four? Batman? Drew, what's this all about?”

“The other comics are fine. But when I touch a Beetleborgs comic, my hands start to feel all weird and tingly. Same goes for Jo, Roland and Josh. Every Beetleborgs comic in the store that we touched today had this strange affect on us. But not on anyone else. Not even Heather.”

“So, what's your issue with this issue?” Flabber asked, as he reached down and placed his hand on the cover of the Beetleborgs comic. “Well, it seems to be... Whoa!”

Flabber immediately pulled his hand back in shock.

“You actually felt it?”

Flabber nodded. “Uh-huh!” He then placed one hand each on the other two comics that Drew had brought. “But these comics feel normal. Could there be something at the store that may have contaminated the Beetleborgs comics in some way?”

“I don't know,” Drew replied. “And what could that even be, anyway?”

“Let's check some of my issues,” Flabber said, as he swirled a hand around, conjuring up a file cabinet next to the couch. Flabber stood up, opened a drawer and began to leaf through the row of comics that lined it. “Whoa!” he exclaimed, as he thumbed through the various titles. “All of these issues definitely feel like the one you brought.”

“I'll take your word for it,” Drew said, as Flabber closed the drawer and the entire filing cabinet magically vanished. “But what is it, and how come only us Beetleborgs and you able to sense it?”

“Well, it's obvious that the problem is connected specifically to the Beetleborgs comics. And seeing as how you kids are the Beetleborgs, and that you got your powers from the comics, there's obviously some kind of disturbance or anomaly out there that's causing it. And because I'm the one who gave you your powers, that must be why I can feel it too.”

“Yeah, but what is it?”

“I have no idea. But I'm going to do my best to find out.”

Flabber picked up the Beetleborgs comic that was sitting on the table. As he held it in his hand, the phasm could also feel the same strange sensation that the kids had been experiencing. Flabber closed his eyes and raised his other hand up into the air with his his fingers all spread out.

“Flabber?” Drew asked.

Flabber shushed Drew. “Not now. I'm trying to focus.”

Drew watched as Flabber's hand transformed itself into a small radar dish, which proceeded to emit a strange beeping noise. He wanted to ask Flabber just what exactly he was doing, but opted to keep quiet as Flabber had urged him to do so.

“Hmmmm,” Flabber muttered, raising his eyebrow. “Most unusual.”

Flabber kept up the charade for a few more seconds, before his hand reverted itself back to normal. He shook his head wildly, then let out a loud wail.

“Flabber, what is it?”

“I just sensed something. And from what I can phasm... I mean, phantom... I mean, fathom, it's not good! Not good at all!”

Flabber's entire body turned completely white, before it melted down into a puddle that quickly flowed off of the the couch and down to the floor.

“Flabber, would you stop messing around and tell me what's going on?” Drew asked.

Flabber's body proceeded to shoot back up out of the puddle, now back to its usual colors.

“Well, I did what I could to sense where this sensation was coming from,” Flabber began. “My first suspicion was that being tied to the comics, the feeling was coming from the second dimension.”

“And?”

“Except it wasn't! What we've been sensing isn't coming from the second dimension at all! It's actually coming from a point that's between the second dimension and the third.”

“So, not from the comics?”

Flabber shook his head. “No. It's not a proper dimension. More like a kind of subspace. And if I were to hazard a guess, what we've been sensing has been something on the other end that's been trying pass through the dimensional barrier and enter our dimension.”

“But what? Or who? You don't suppose it's... Nukus?”

“I dunno. But why would it have a connection to the Beetleborgs comics? And what could Nukus possibly be doing in subspace, if the Dimensionizer's vortex pulled him in to the second dimension?"

There was a brief pause, before Drew suddenly experienced a feeling of dread flowing through his equilibrium. “Oh no! Oh, god, no!”

“Drew, what is it?”

“Flabber, don't you remember? The vortex didn't send Nukus and the others back into the second dimension. Art tampered with the Dimensionizer so that it would pull in all of the Crustaceans from this world. It didn't transfer them onto any paper that we were aware of.”

“You're right! Art even said that he wasn't sure where Dimensionizer would send them, be it the second dimension, or some other inter-dimensional realm either.”

“But that was weeks ago,” Drew stated. “How is it that Nukus stayed in there for so long, instead of trying to come back sooner?”

Flabber scratched his cheek. “I want to say that this might be the handiwork of Nukus' sword. But I don't think it really works that way. Its purpose is to summon others into the third dimension from the second. If Nukus were to use it from within the second dimension, he'd had nowhere to send his target to."

“Wait! We're forgetting about the Dimensionizer itself! Don't you remember? It never got destroyed! It also got pulled into the Vortex, along with the Crustaceans!”

“And right into Nukus' hands, no less. And while it might not have been designed to send things from the second dimension into the third, it's entirely possible that Nukus has found a way to alter the Dimensionizer's technology for it to do just that.”

“Then what is it that we've been sensing?” Drew asked. “If Nukus has a way out of subspace, why hasn't he come back already?”

“My best guess is that getting out is not that simple. Nukus is clearly doing something on the other side in an attempt to break through the dimensional barrier.”

“But why can we feel it? Art Fortunes didn't create Nukus and the Dimensionizer. Les did.”

“But Art did modify the Dimensionizer with my assistance,” Flabber said. “If this whole thing is connected to the Dimensionizer, that might explain why we've been able to sense it via the comics.”

“We have to stop it. If Nukus and the other Crustaceans get back into the third dimension with the Dimensionizer, it could be another disaster! I know we're not one-hundred percent certain that this is Nukus, but who else could it be?”

“You got any ideas, Drew?”

“You said they're trying to pierce the dimensional barrier from the other side, right? Is there any way you might be able to stop it?”

Flabber shook his head. “Sensing the rift that's forming is one thing. Sealing it off is a whole other matter entirely. I can't even tell where they might end up if they do make it through to our side.”

“There's got to be a better way to deal with this. It doesn't matter how prepared we are, Nukus with the Dimensionizer is a serious threat. Jo, Roland and I still have nightmares from the time we were trapped. We can't let Nukus come back into this dimension.”

“I'm unable to stop anything that's going on in subspace from where I am now,” Flabber said. “But I'll try to think of something.”

“What should we do?”

“You should head back to Zoom Comics and explain everything to the others. I can tell that whatever it is that's going on, we're gonna need all the support we can get.”

“I'm on it,” Drew said as he stood up and made his way back into the foyer. Flabber followed him out onto the front porch, where they spotted Trip and Van's limousine parked out front. “Great, as if we didn't have enough nuisances to deal with.”

Drew walked over to the side of the limo, where Trip and Van were in the back seat, while Dudley was up front. All three of them were still under Flabber's sleeping spell.

“What are we gonna do about them?” Flabber asked.

“This whole ordeal with the condo is coming, whether we like it or not. I'm not sure if there's anything we can do in a legal sense. But for now, can you please get them out of here before they wake up?”

“Okay,” Flabber said. “Here goes.”

Stay on the path,
Make sure you don't roam,
Fancy shmancy limousine,
Drive yourself home!

As Flabber held out his hands, bolts of magical energy shot out of his fingertips and into the limousine. Suddenly, the car's engine began to rev up, despite the fact that Dudley had not woken up. The limousine's tires began to scrrech and soon the vehicle drove off on its own, heading down the dirt road that would take it back onto the main road.

Chapter Text

After exchanging goodbyes with Flabber, Drew got onto his bike and cycled all the way back to Zoom Comics. Once he arrived, Drew waited until the front of the store was relatively quiet, then signalled for his friends to gather around by the cash register.

“So, what'd you find out?” Roland asked.

“We've got trouble,” Drew muttered. “Double trouble.”

“Double trouble?” Josh asked, displaying a confused look on his face.

“On top of what we've been sensing, there's another unrelated problem going on at Hillhurst.”

“First, tell us what you found out about the strange force that's been coming from the comics,” Jo said.

Drew let out a sigh. “Flabber believes that it's Nukus. That's he's trying to get back from where the vortex sent him, and he's likely using either his sword or the Dimensionizer to do so.”

“No,” gasped Roland. “He can't come back! This can't be happening! We were finally starting to live in peace again.”

“Flabber's trying to come up with a solution as we speak. If we're lucky, there might be a way to stop everything before it gets started.”

“What's the other problem?” Heather asked.

Drew took in a deep breath, then exhaled. “Trip and Van's father purchased the Hillhurst estate. He legally owns it now.”

“You can't be serious,” Josh said, his mouth hanging open.

“I wish I was lying. But they were there! They had documentation and everything.”

“Excuse me,” Abbie said, walking up to where the kids were. “What's this about someone buying the old Hillhurst house?”

“Trip and Van's dad,” Drew exclaimed. “They want to use Hillhurst as a clubhouse until their dad's ready to tear it down and put up a condo.”

“Jeez,” Heather muttered. “Who'd want to live in a condo out there?”

“Probably people from Urbania City, looking to get away from all the hustle and bustle,” Abbie answered.

“Mom, you used to be in real estate,” Roland said. “Is there any way to keep Hillhurst from being torn down?”

“Not that I can think of. I can look and see who might be the legal owner of it now if you don't believe that Earl Kingsley II should rightfully own it. Course, if you ask me, I don't see what the big deal is about that old house. But I'll look into it later. Right now I've got work to do.”

“What are we gonna do?” Jo asked. “Even if we can stop Nukus, we'd still have to deal with Trip and Van!”

“We'll go to Hillhurst right after dinner and see if Flabber's come up with anything,” Drew said.

Heather groaned. “I told Rebecca I'd hang out with her after work. But... this whole thing does sound pretty serious. I'll cancel my plans and go back to Hillhurst with you guys.”

“Thanks,” Josh said. “But I really hope there's a solution to all this. And soon. Otherwise, there might not be a Hillhurst for us to go back to.”

After finishing up at Zoom Comics, the kids went home and ate dinner, then made their way over to Hillhurst early in the evening. After parking their bikes out front, the kids made their way into the house and stepped into the foyer, where Flabber had been waiting.

“Great,” Flabber said. “You're back!”

“Did Trip and Van ever come back?” Drew asked.

Flabber shook his head. “Nope. But I fear that it won't be long before they return. I got them out of here once, but we're gonna need a more permanent solution for the future.”

“What about the whole dimensional rift thing?” Heather asked.

“Now that I have a plan for!”

“What is it?” Drew exclaimed.

Flabber rolled his eyes, then lowered his head down. “Well, it's a plan. But it's extremely risky!”

“Tell us!” Josh cried. “A risky plan's better than no plan at all!”

“As long as I can sense where the rift is coming from, I can open a dimensional portal leading to it. And in theory, you Beetleborgs could enter the portal and find Nukus, or whatever it is that's causing the rift. From there, you could deal with the problem from its source, then come back to here through the portal.”

“No offence, Flabber, but doing that sounds like it could be really dangerous,” Jo said.

“Well, I warned you that it would be risky. None of us even know what we'd be getting into. There's no telling what sort of surprises there could be on the other side.”

“This is a risk we have to take,” Drew said.

“Wait a minute,” Heather blurted. “If Flabber opens a portal leading to... whatever this is, what is there to stop the threat from coming back through the portal on its own?”

“Easy,” Roland answered. “We'll just keep the portal closed until we're ready to go back.”

Flabber shook his head and his held up his hand. “Uh-uh. Negative. No way. No how.”

“What do you mean?” Jo asked.

“The portal needs to stay open the entire time. If you stop the rift, I won't be won't able to detect where in subspace it was coming from. I'll have no way of opening a portal that you can use to return. You'll be stuck.”

“Could you come with us, maybe?” Roland asked.

Flabber shook his head again. “I can't. Even with a portal open, subspace is too far off from Hillhurst. My powers would fail.”

“If you're opening a portal to whatever's causing the rift, won't they notice it?” Heather questioned.

“I can have the portal lead to somewhere not too far from the source of the rift. Better to have the portal take you there than right in front of the source. Hopefully, it doesn't get discovered.”

“I guess we should going, then,” Jo said. “But, what if we get stuck in there?”

“I don't know,” Flabber replied. “But I'll do everything I can to see to it that you make it back.”

“When should we do this?” Roland.

“I'm ready whenever the rest of you guys are,” Drew said, as Jo, Roland and Josh all nodded.

“We're ready,” Josh said.

“Wait!” Heather called. “If all four of you go through there to look for the source of the rift, what'll we do if something bad tries to come out through the portal?

“My power might not be enough to hold it back,” Flabber said.

“Flabber's right,” Drew noted. “We need a Beetleborg to stay behind and guard the portal.”

Josh held up his hand. “I'll stay.”

“Josh, are you sure about this?” Roland asked.

“You three are far more experienced than me. If any one of us ought to stay here and hold the fort, I feel like it should be me. This might be for the best.

Drew nodded. “Understood. Let's Borg!.”

Drew, Jo, Roland and Josh all stood up, and proceeded to hold one hand out in front of themselves, palms upturned. “Data Bonder!” they all called, as the aforementioned devices appeared in each of their hands. “Input card!” they continued, as they each used their other hand to insert a Data Card into their Bonder.

“Beetle Blast!” the four kids cried, raising their Bonders. At that moment, energy began to flow out of each of the Bonders and surged through its holder's body. Within an instant, Drew, Jo, Roland and Josh had Borged into the Chromium Gold, Platinum Purple, Titanium Silver and Rhodium Cobalt Beetleborgs.

“All right, Flabber,” Drew said. “Let's nip this in the bud. Open the portal.”

Flabber nodded, as he walked over to the far wall of the room, stared at it and held out his hands. “Okay. Here goes.”

It's time for a journey,
To an uncharted zone,
Lead us to subspace,
World of the unknown

Magical sparkles flew out of Flabber's hands, which began to swirl around him, forming a portal that was up in front of the wall. Large enough for three people to walk through, the portal appeared to be made of solid energy, and was a blend of black and purple in color.

“Well, this is it,” Roland said, speaking with a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“Remember, if any of you want to turn back, that's fine,” Flabber said. “Fear is a perfectly normal response in this type of situation.”

Drew, Jo and Roland turned back to look at Flabber, Josh and Heather. Seeing a Beetleborg standing among them filled them with some confidence that Hillhurst would be protected. But as for the what lay beyond the portal, there was no telling what could be waiting for them on the other side.

“Good luck, you guys,” Heather called.

“We believe in you,” Josh said, as Drew, Jo and Roland faced the portal.

“On three,” Drew said. “One, two... three!”

Right as Drew said three, he took a step into the portal, alongside Jo and Roland. As they passed through the portal, the world around them became distorted, until they emerged in a most unusual place. The sky was an intense shade of red, while the ground appeared to be entirely rugged and rocky, with no traces of any sort of plant-life.

“I guess this is subspace,” Roland said, as he, Drew and Jo turned around to look at the portal.

“Remember,” Jo said. “This portal might be our only way home. “We cannot lose track of it at any cost.”

“How do we find where the rift is coming from?”

Drew held out his arm and moved his body around. “If we were able to sense the rift coming from the comics, we should be able to do it in here, too.”

“I get it,” Roland said. “My suit's sensors are pointing me to where you're pointing, Drew.”

“Mine too,” Jo added.

“Good,” Drew said. “If we head in that direction, it should lead us to the source.”

Drew, Jo and Roland proceeded to walk through the unexplored realm, trying to keep a mental note in their minds as to where the portal was located for when they would be ready to head back. The trio spent the next several minutes walking past many large boulders, hills, and dips in the ground, as the signal that their sensors were picking up grew stronger and stronger.

Soon the Beetleborgs had approached a depression in the ground that lay before them. As they neared the depression, the three of them could hear voices emanating from it.

“Who's that?” Jo asked, speaking in a whisper.

“It's too hard to tell from here,” Roland replied. “We'd better get in closer.”

Drew, Jo and Roland made their way over to a large boulder that sat at the edge of the depression. Standing behind it, Roland poked his head out through the side and nearly experienced the fright of his life upon seeing what he saw.

“Oh my god,” Roland gasped, pulling his head back.

“Did they see you?” Jo asked.

Roland panted. “No. But it's the Crustaceans! And the Magnavors!”

“What?”

“No way,” Drew said, as he and Jo both peered around the side of the boulder.

Surely enough, standing in the center of the depression was Nukus himself, surrounded not only by Vilor and Horribelle, but by Vexor, Jara, Noxic and Typhus as well.

“I don't believe this,” Jo said, as she pulled her head back. “How is this possible?”

“And why?” Roland asked. “It's because of Nukus' meddling that the Magnavors got sent back to the comics. How did they end up here, and why are they associating with Nukus?”

“Nukus' sword is different, too,” Drew noted, sliding his body back behind the boulder. “It's like he's fused it with the Dimensionizer. Like some kind of bayonet.”

“He's probably trying to combine the powers of his sword and the Dimensionizer,” Jo exclaimed.

“And with those, he must be trying to force open a path that will lead him and all the others back to the third dimension,” Roland noted.

“What are they even up to?” Jo asked. “They're talking, but I can't make out anything they're saying.”

“If Josh were here, he could get up close to them undetected and find out what's going on,” Roland noted.

Drew sighed. “But he's not. We have to think of something else. The sooner, the better.”

Chapter Text

Peering their heads out from behind the large boulder, Drew, Jo and Roland watched as Nukus held up his fused creation, constructed from his sword and the Dimensionizer. Aiming it in front of himself, Nukus pulled the trigger on the Dimensionizer, which caused the blade of his sword to suddenly emit a black glow.

“What is he doing?” Drew asked in a soft voice, as bolts of dark energy surged out of Nukus' sword and flowed through the air around him.

“It's like he's trying to cut through the dimensional barrier or something,” Jo muttered.

“No!” Roland gasped. “We can't let him succeed and get back into our world. We just can't!”

Nukus then lowered the Dimensionizer, and the energy that had been flowing out of it quickly dispersed.

“Now what?” Jo asked.

“I don't think it worked,” Drew replied. “But Nukus is definitely on the right track here. We have to stop him, before he succeeds.”

“But how?” Roland asked. “There's too many of them. If we try to take them all on, they'll kill us.”

Meanwhile, back at Hillhurst, Flabber, Josh and Heather were watching a feed of the Beetleborgs on a TV that Flabber had set up on the coffee table in the parlor.

“I knew it!” Flabber huffed. “I just knew it!”

“The Crustaceans and the Magnavors?” Josh asked. “Working together?”

“Flabber, what are we going to do if they get they out of there?” Heather asked. “The Crustaceans were bad enough, but the Magnavors as well?”

“I don't know,” Flabber replied. “The Beetleborgs need to get the Dimensionizer away from those villains and high-tail it out of there through my portal. Otherwise, we'll all be in serious trouble!”

“How are we supposed to get the Dimensionizer from Nukus?” Jo asked.

“I can't use my speed,” Roland said. “Nukus' grip on that thing is far too strong.”

“And my brain power wouldn't be enough to pry it out Nukus' grasp either,” Drew commented.

“All I've got is brute force,” Jo said, followed by a brief pause. “Wait, that's it! Brute force!”

“What do you mean? Roland asked.

“We break the Dimensionizer! We break it and we get out of here before the villains can catch us!”

“That sounds incredibly dangerous,” Drew noted.

Roland stared at Drew. “You got a better idea? Look, they haven't noticed us yet. And what if Nukus gets the Dimensionizer to actually work?”

“You're right. I don't like the risk, but it's the best chance we've got.”

Jo glanced out from behind the boulder, Data Laser drawn in her hand, she readied the barrel of her gun ever so slightly so that it was pointing directly at the Dimensionizer. Jo then pulled the trigger, prompting a purple beam to blast out of her Data Laser, which flew into the depression and collided with the Dimensionizer, causing it to short out in Nukus' hand.

“Good job,” Drew said, as the various Magnavors and Crustaceans shouted and shook in confusion. “Now let's get the hell out of here!”

Just as the Beetleborgs turned around to face the direction they had ventured in from, all of the Crustaceans and Magnavores suddenly teleported in front of them.

“The Beetleborgs,” Vexor said. “Long time, no see.”

“Why do they look so... uh... different?” Noxic asked.

“You drain-brain!” Typhus exclaimed. “They're wearing those new Metallix suits the Crustaceans told us about!”

“Let's destroy them!” Horribelle hissed, clanging her arms together. “For trapping us here!”

“And for destroying our way out,” Nukus noted, holding up the Dimensionizer, which was now spitting out a sizzling mess of sparks and smoke,

“If it's a fight you want...” Drew said, as his Metallix Lancer appeared in his hands, while Jo and Roland summoned their Baton and Grappler respectively.

“Wait!” Vexor exclaimed, as both sides began to exchange blows at one another. “If those Beetleborgs came in here, it probably wasn't by accident! They must know a way out of here!”

“Flabber,” Heather said, as she watched the action unfold through the TV that was in the parlor, alongside Josh and Flabber. “You've gotta do something! Warp them out of there!”

“It's one thing to follow them along on a screen,” Flabber said. “But I don't have the power to pull them in from subspace!”

“I need to go after them,” Josh said. “Those three need all the help they can get!”

“No. We need you here, Josh.”

“But, but!”

At that moment, the monsters all came marching into the parlor.

“What's going on in here?” Mums asked. “Is that a portal you've opened up?

“Hey, look!” Little Ghoul called. “Flabber's set up the TV!”

“Are those the Beetleborgs?” Fangula asked, looking at the screen. “Why would anyone want to watch a show about them?”

“Change the channel, Flabber!” Mums announced. “We wanna watch Seinfeld!”

“This isn't TV!” Heather exclaimed. “This is real life!”

“What's this?” Frankie asked, now standing in front of the open portal.

“Get away from there!” Flabber snapped, as he got up, dashed over to Frankie and stood between him and the portal. “That thing's dangerous!”

“How dangerous?” Little Ghoul asked.

At that moment, a Scab suddenly emerged from the portal, snarling at the group. Wolfie yelped in shock.

“Get back!” Josh shouted, prompting Flabber and Frankie to get out of his way. The Rhodium Cobalt Borg aimed his Metallix Halberd at the Scab and unleashed a bolt of blue energy at it, knocking it back through the portal.

“And stay out!” Fangula called, only for three Scabs to simultaneously come out through the portal.

“Oh no!” Heather squealed, as Josh proceeded to blast all three of them back with his Halberd. “There's more of them!”

Josh presented his Halberd to the monsters. “Somebody take this. I've still got my lasers, but right now I need help.”

As Fangula accepted Josh's Halberd, a group containing more Scabs arrived in the parlor.

“I'll handle them!” Flabber called, as he spun around momentarily, and was now dressed up like a hockey goaltender, complete with a masked helmet, body pads and a stick. However, the Scabs surrounded Flabber.

“Leave him alone!” Josh yelled, as he aimed his hands at the Scabs surrounding Flabber and unleashed his Data Lasers at them.

Flabber spun around again. “This looks like a job for.... Super-Flab!” he called, once he stopped spinning, and now sported the appearance of a muscular, caped superhero with a large “F” on his chest. “Do your worst, Scabs!”

A Scab proceeded to punch Flabber in the stomach, and the phasm went flying across the room, crashing into a wall.

“Your getup is just an act, Flabber!” Heather exclaimed. “We need real help!”

“What's taking you guys so long?” Josh asked, blasting more Scabs as they entered the portal. “Use the Halberd! I can't keep blasting all these Scabs!”

“Doesn't work,” Franke said, flailing Josh's weapon around in his hand.

Meanwhile, back in subspace, the Crustaceans and Magnavors surrounded the three Beetleborgs.

“Give it up, Beetleborgs,” Vexor said. “You cannot defeat all of us.”

“We've got you outnumbered, Beetlebrats!” Noxic exclaimed. “Seven to three!”

“More like eight to three,” Nukus noted. “Shadow Borg.”

Before Drew, Jo or Roland could react, Shadow Borg suddenly appeared in a flash of electricity.

“No,” Drew gasped. “Not him, too!”

“How may I be of service, master?” Shadow Borg asked. “Shall I eliminate the Beetleborgs?”

“No,” Vexor responded. “We need to extract some vital information from them. Once we have that, they're fair game.”

“We can't let you escape from here,” Roland said.

“We have ways of making you talk,” Vilor hissed.

“Vell, vhat are ve vaiting for?” Jara asked. “Let's make Beetleborgs tell us vay out of here already!”

At that moment, several Scabs came running up to where everyone was gathered.

“Vexor!” one of the Scabs called. “Come quick!”

Nukus growled. “Insolent underling! Can't you see that we're busy!”

“But we've located a portal to the third dimension!” another Scab announced.

“What?! Why didn't you say so?”

“It's guarded, though,” the first Scab said.

“Who cares?” Jara asked. “Ve'll take vhat ve can get!”

“Which way is it?” Typhus asked, prompting one of the Scabs to point in the direction that the Beetleborgs had initially come from.

“Forget the Beetleborgs,” Vexor said. “This portal sounds like our ticket out of this place!”

Drew, Jo and Roland watched in horror as all of the Magnavors and Crustaceans teleported away in their energetic forms, heading in the direction of the portal.

“We've gotta stop them!” Jo exclaimed.

“Roland, you've got to speed ahead and try to slow them down!” Drew quipped.

“But, what about you two?” Roland asked.

“Don't worry about us. But we can't let those villains escape from here at any cost. Josh can't hold them all back by himself.”

Roland nodded. “Back Blast!” he called, causing his armor to vanish, as he returned to his civilian form. Roland was quick to snap his fingers, and he immediately charged away at a blindingly fast speed.

As Roland sped through subspace, he noticed the Crustaceans and Magnavors flying around above him in their energy forms haphazardly, no doubt still trying to locate the portal. Roland continued on towards the portal, and within just a few seconds, found that a large crowd of Scabs were surrounding it.

“I'm too late!” Roland thought, as he stormed towards the Scabs, just as a pair of blue laser beams came flying out of the portal, pushing some Scabs back through it. Roland charged directly into the crowd of Scabs, knocking many of them aside like bowling pins, and he sped through the portal and came to a screeching halt in the parlor at Hillhurst.

“Roland!” Heather exclaimed. “What's happening!”

“Villains are coming,” Roland gasped, holding out his hand, palm forward. “But Drew and Jo are still in there! No time to explain! Data Bonder!”

Having summoned his Data Bonder, Roland held it up and transformed back into the Titanium Silver Beetleborg.

“Roland, help!” Heather exclaimed, as Josh blasted a Scab that was making its way over to the corner where the monsters were standing.

“What are they doing with Josh's Halberd?” Roland asked, as he blasted another Scab with his Metallix Grappler.

“We're trying to blast the Scabs with it!” Mums replied, as Wolfie flailed the weapon around. “But we can't get it to work.”

“Of course you can't get it to work!” Flabber exclaimed. “Only a Beetleborg can use one of those weapons.”

“That's a pretty stupid rule,” Fangula noted.

“It's not a rule. It's a fact.”

“I see it!” Jo cried, as she and Drew ran towards the portal, where dozens of Scabs were still gathered around it.

“We've gotta do something about those Scabs, though,” Drew said. “I'm glad Roland was able to skip ahead, but we've still gotta do our part.”

Still in mid-run, Drew and Jo aimed their Metallix Lancer and Baton towards the crowd of Scabs.

“Now!” Jo called, as she and Drew unleashed their electrical blasts of energy at the crowd of Scabs in the distance.

“NO!” Drew screamed, as the Magnavors and Crustaceans landed in front of the portal. “They must've followed us here!”

Back at Hillhurst, Nukus proceeded to step out of the portal, prompting Flabber to shriek in horror.

“Well, well, well,” Nukus began, as Vexor emerged alongside him. “I'm finally back.”

“NO!” Roland blared, as he blasted the two villains with a bolt of silver energy from his Grappler.

“They're too strong!” Josh cried, blasting Nukus and Vexor with his lasers, but it still wasn't enough to faze either of them.

“Take this!” Heather shouted, as she unleashed a bolt of blue energy from the Halberd that she was holding. Combined with the attacks that were coming from Roland and Josh, Nukus and Vexor found themselves being thrust back through the portal, where they crashed into their subordinates and a mess of Scabs.

With the attacks from Hillhurst still coming through the portal, Drew and Jo aimed their attacks at the villains as well. The influx of energies from the two sources created an explosion of electricity, with the Crustaceans and Magnavors directly at ground zero. However, the explosion collided with the nearby portal, causing it to suddenly disintegrate.

Chapter Text

Back at Hillhurst, Roland, Josh, Heather, Flabber and the monsters all watched in awe as the portal in the parlor suddenly vanished.

“What's going on?” Little Ghoul asked.

“Oh no!” Roland gasped, as he ran up to the wall where the portal had been situated. “Flabber, where's the portal? Why'd it disappear?”

“I don't know!” Flabber responded. “Something must've caused it to destabilize.”

“Roland, what happened in there?” Heather asked.

“The Crustaceans...” Roland began, “and the Magnavors. They're all working together. And now Drew and Jo are trapped in there with them!”

“Them not on TV,” Frankie said, pointing to the television, which was now displaying static on its screen in place of subspace footage.

“What happened to the TV?” Little Ghoul asked.

“Flabber, you've got open another portal for them right away!” Josh exclaimed.

“But what about the villains?” Fangula asked. “If Flabber opens another portal to help Drew and Jo, the villains can get out, too!”

“Flabber has to,” Heather said.

Flabber proceeded to blow a whistle with his fingers. “Everybody calm down! Look, I understand the danger here, but we've got to help the others! But first I've got to sense the rift again. Otherwise I can't control where the portal will lead.”

Flabber closed his eyes, then held his hands in front of himself. “Uh-oh.”

“What do you mean, uh-oh?” Josh asked. “Just open another portal.”

Flabber opened his eyes and shook his head. “I can't detect the rift. And without it, I have no way of detecting where it was, along with anyone who may be somewhere in subspace. So I can't locate Drew and Jo! A second portal could lead to anywhere in the vastness of subspace.”

“Back Blast!” Roland shouted, reverting back to a civilian, prompting Josh to follow his head. Roland then picked up the issue of Beetleborgs that was sitting on the coffee table and held it.

“What are you doing?” Heather asked, as Roland lowered his head and passed the comic to Josh.

“That strange feeling is... gone,” Josh said. “Flabber's right.”

“Shit!” Roland exclaimed. “The portal got destroyed, Flabber can't conjure up another one, and Jo damaged the Dimensionizer! There's no way for Drew and Jo to get out of subspace!”

Tears began to flow out of Roland's eyes, as he sat down on the couch and began to pat them dry. Josh and Heather joined him.

“I'm so sorry,” Flabber sobbed, as he pulled out a hanky and blew his nose. “I warned you that going in there would dangerous. But I never imagined it would be that dangerous!”

“It's not your fault, Flabber,” Heather said, patting Flabber on his shoulder, as everyone in the room, including the monsters, continued to shed tears. “At least Nukus and Vexor didn't get out.”

Meanwhile, back in subspace, Drew and Jo watched as Scabs went flying everywhere as a result of the explosion.

“Drew, what happened?” Jo asked, as she and her brother ran over to where the explosion had taken place.

Drew looked around frantically as he and Jo approached the area where the portal had been. “Uh, where's the portal?”

“I think it disappeared in the explosion.”

“Great. Now what do we-”

Suddenly, the Crustaceans and Magnavors teleported all around Drew and Jo, surrounding them in a circle.

“Beetleborgs,” Vexor said. “Explain what you are doing here this instant!”

“Get out of here, Vexor!” Jo said said, wielding her Metallix Baton.

“Look what you did to my Dimensionizer!” Nukus blared, holding up his smoking gun and sword hybrid.

Drew then thrust his Lancer at Nukus, prompting the Dimensionizer to go flying out of his hand. Drew caught it in middair.

“They must be weakened from the explosion!” Jo exclaimed.

“Should we clobber 'em?” Noxic asked.

“No,” Vexor said. “If we attack them, we might destroy the Dimensionizer beyond repair.”

“You mean, it might still be possible to fix it?” Horribelle asked.

“Time out!” Drew exclaimed. “You may have us outnumbered, but we can tell that you bad guys were hurt in the explosion. Now, we all want to get out of here, but fighting each other to the death isn't the answer. So I'm asking you all for a ceasefire.”

Nukus sighed, then looked around at the other Crustaceans and Magnavors. “Very well. There will be a ceasefire.”

“So tell us,” Jo began, “why are the Magnavors here, and why are they working with you after what went on with Borgslayer?”

Nukus huffed. “After getting pulled in through the vortex, Horribelle, Vilor and I wound up in this strange realm known as subspace, along with the Dimensionizer and the remains of Shadow Borg. Since the Dimensionizer was designed to pull objects from the third dimension into the second, it was useless here. I spent weeks trying to modify it to get out, but I only succeeded in opening a path to the second dimension, where we discovered the Magnavors and their Scabs.”

“I was furious at Nukus for what he did with Borgslayer,” Vexor continued. “However, he offered me an alliance, saying that if we joined forces, we might be able to escape to the third dimension. I was highly wary, but knew that another opportunity like this might never come along, so we let bygones be bygoes and started to work together. I modified the the Dimensionizer as best I could and advised Nukus to combine it with his sword to try and better breach the dimensional barrier.”

“We were really close to succeeding,” Typhus said. “But then you Bozoborgs showed up and ruined everything!”

“Yeah,” Horribelle muttered. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Cuz we could feel you messing around with the dimensional barrier,” Drew replied. “Every Beetleborgs comic that we touched was reacting to it. Also, being that we're Beetleborgs ourselves, and because Art contributed to the inner workings of the Dimensionizer, we were somehow able to feel it, which led Flabber to open a portal to this place.”

“Only now, I don't see how we can get out,” Jo said, looking at the damaged Dimensionizer in her brother's hands.

Vexor looked down at the Dimensionizer. “I believe that I can still fix it, and get it so that it can open a portal leading to the third dimension.”

“Are you serious?” Jo asked, who was having a difficult time believing Vexor's claim.

Vexor held out a hand. “Give me the Dimensionizer and I'll fix it.”

Drew and Jo stared at Vexor. “We don't trust you,” Drew said.

“This isn't a trick. If you let me fix the Dimensionizer, we can all go back to the third Dimension. But withhold it from me, and we could all be stuck here indefinitely.”

“I still don't trust him,” Jo said. “But he's got a point.”

“So, what'll it be?” Nukus asked.

“Vexor, I'll let you fix the Dimensionizer. Under three conditions.”

“Fine,” grumbled Vexor. “What are they?”

“One, I hold onto the Dimensionizer the entire time,” Jo stated. “Two, we all go back to the third dimension together. And three, we part ways peacefully when we get back, and I keep the Dimensionizer.”

“I don't like the idea of letting them keep the Dimensionizer,” Horribelle said.

“Me neither,” Jara said. “But vhat choice do ve have?”

“Very well,” Vexor said. “Now, hold out the Dimensionizer, so that I may proceed to restore it.”

Jo clenched the grip of the Dimensionizer firmly with both hands, then held it out in front of her.

Drew squeezed the shaft of the Lancer that he was holding, allowing golden energy to course through it. “If you cause Jo to experience even the slightest discomfort, you'll answer to me.”

“Don't get so worked up, Beetleborg,” Vexor said. “We want to get out of here just as much as you do. And we are willing to honor your little ceasefire.”

Vexor held his hands over the Dimensionizer and began to exert some strange, mist-like energy onto the damaged gizmo.

“Is it working?” Jo asked.

“This may take some time,” Vexor replied .”Be patient.”

Meanwhile, at Hillhurst, Flabber was pacing back and forth in front of where the portal had been, while the kids and monsters had all gathered around him.

“Heather,” Roland began, “how did you manage to use Josh's Halberd?”

“Yeah,” Fangula noted. “All of us monsters tried to shoot energy from it, but we couldn't get it to work.”

Heather took in a deep breath, then exhaled, “I don't know what I did. Something came over me, and I just grabbed it from Wolfgang after he was having no luck with it.”

“But Flabber, you said that only a Beetleborg could use a weapon like the Metallix Halberd,” Little Ghoul stated.

“I know,” Flabber said. “But Heather's not a genuine Beetleborg, just an honorary one. You all know that.”

Heather proceeded to reach into her pocket and removed her Beetleborg badge, which she was now using as a keyring. “You think there's anything special about this?”

A magnifying glass appeared in Flabber's hand. He held it up to the badge and proceeded to study it. After looking at the badge for a few seconds, Flabber shook his head and the magnifying glass vanished.

“Heather,” Flabber began, “your Beetle Badge, while it may have been drawn by Art and brought to life by yours truly, is just an ordinary trinket. It's got no special powers or abilities of any sort.”

“But how'd she get my Halberd to work?” Josh asked.

“I'm not sure. Art recognized Heather as an honorary Beetleborg, and her badge is proof of that. However, it may only be symbolic. But at least we know now that Heather is capable of something extraordinary.”

“That's great and all,” Little Ghoul said, “but what are we gonna do about Drew and Jo?”

“Plus, there's still the whole matter regarding the Princes of Charterville, and the future of this house,” Mums added.

“I don't know!” Flabber exclaimed. “We shouldn't write off Trip and Van's antics here, but right now Drew and Jo are far more important.”

“But what can we possibly do?” Josh asked. “You said that you have no way of opening a portal that could lead to them.”

“The odds of me creating a subspace portal that leads to Drew and Jo would be... Flabstronomical.”

“Maybe Art could help,” Roland said.

“I'm not sure how. There needs to be something on the other side that Drew and Jo can use to get out, or at the very least signal us. How are they supposed to do that?”

“That's if the villains haven't already gotten to them first,” Josh said, lowering his head.

“Maybe, I can help,” Heather said.

“How?” Roland asked.

Heather walked up to Flabber and looked him straight in the face. “Flabber, you need to make me a proper Beetleborg.”

Flabber shook his head. “Wait, what?”

“If Drew and Jo really are trapped, that only leaves Roland and Josh. Maybe we can't help the others. Maybe we can't stop Trip and Van. But right now we're out two Beetleborgs. And if I was able to use the Metallix Halberd, maybe I'm ready for this.”

Roland and Josh both appeared to be speechless.

“Heather, look,” Flabber began. “I'd like to help you in any way I can. But I can't go giving out super powers all willy-nilly. It's why Super-Flab was more of a Super-Flub. I can't give you powers because I don't have anything to work with.”

“What if we asked Art to come up with something?” Josh asked. “Like he did for me and my powers?”

“There has to be a reason,” Flabber said. “A threat. And as much as I don't like it, I don't think missing allies or some capitalist endeavor is going to cut it.”

Heather turned away from Flabber. “Great. Now what are we supposed to do?”

“Right now, I just want to go home,” Josh said. “This day just keeps getting worse and worse.”

Roland and Heather both nodded in agreement.

“Wait!” Heather exclaimed. “What about Drew and Jo's parents?”

“You're right,” Roland said. “Our parents were hysterical after we went missing when Nukus trapped us. If we have no way of getting Drew and Jo back...”

“What do we tell them?” Josh asked.

“We have to tell them. Tell them the truth.”

Chapter Text

With so many Magnavors and Crustaceans standing around him, Drew couldn't help but worry that they might defy Vexor and Nukus and suddenly go after him and Jo. While they may have been in a weakened state, Drew was concerned about the possibility of him and Jo being assaulted by so many enemies all at once.

Drew looked over at Shadow Borg. Unlike the other villains, Shadow Borg gazed intently at him with a soulless stare. There appeared to be zero emotion coming out of the dark android. It was like he was studying Drew and Jo.

“What's the deal with Shadow Borg?” Drew asked. “How is he here?”

Nukus turned his head to look over at Vexor, who was still using his power to restore the Dimensionizer, then turned to face Drew. “As long as we're waiting around, I'll tell you. You see, after us Crustaceans got pulled in through the vortex, Shadow Borg followed, although his body had been shattered into countless pieces. We lacked the power to rebuild him, but Vilor, Horribelle and I gathered up all the pieces, in the event that we ever got out of here.”

“It was Vexor who rebuilt Shadow Borg, once we discovered the Magnavors,” Horribelle continued. “He created the original Shadow Borg, after all.”

“But without an Energy Axis, Vexor was unable to give Shadow Borg a free-thinking brain,” Noxic said. “This version of Shadow Borg needs a host to be fully operational. He can't think for himself. He lacks a proper brain.”

“Sounds like your type of monster, Noxic,” Jara said.

“But, once we get out of here, Vexor and Nukus will find a way to improve Shadow Borg,” Typhus said.

“Aww, shuddap!” Noxic blurted. “You wanna just tell the Beetleborgs all our secrets?”

After a few more minutes had passed, Vexor removed his hands away from Jo. “There,” he said. ”It should be done.”

Jo looked down and studied the Dimensionizer that she was holding.

“Are you sure that it's gonna work?” Vilor asked. “Is it really gonna get us back to the third dimension?”

“In theory, it should,” Vexor replied. “We came very close the previous time, but alas, the Beetleborgs had to show up and ruin our plan. Like they always do.”

“Give me the Dimensionizer,” Nukus said, as he approached Jo.

“No way!” Jo snapped, backing away from Nukus.

“Hey!” Drew shouted, “I thought we agreed to a ceasefire!”

“I wasn't going to hurt her,” Nukus said. “But I'm the one who brought the Dimensionizer into existence in the first place. The cartoonist may have drawn it, and it may have been modified by Vexor, but it belongs to me.”

“That wasn't part of our deal!” Jo exclaimed.

“Nukus, please,” Vexor said. “It's more important that we get out of this place than it is to argue over who should possess the Dimensionizer.”

Nukus sneered. “If the Beetleborg won't give the Dimensionizer to me, how will we even get out of here?”

“I'll use it, thank you very much,” Jo said, stroking the machine with her other hand. “How does it work?”

Vexor let out a soft growl. “By reversing its polarity, the Dimensionizer should be properly calibrated now to open a portal to the third dimension. All you need to do is pull the trigger.”

“Wait,” Drew said. “I've got a bad feeling about this. Jo, if you open a portal, we'll be letting all these monsters back into the real world.”

“I know, Drew,” Jo said. “But nobody's come back for us. And Flabber warned us that it might not be possible for us to come back without any way of locating us. This might be our only hope.”

“But...”

“Don't be difficult, Beetleborg,” Nukus said. “Vexor upheld his end of the bargain and fixed the Dimensionizer. Now we're going back. Platinum Purple, use the Dimensionizer already!”

“I'm sorry, Drew,” Jo said, as she held the Dimensionizer outward and pulled the trigger.

A beam of black energy shot out of the Dimensionizer, which began to form a swirling, circular formation about ten feet in front of where Jo was standing. This was it. Jo has created a vortex.

“It... it works?” Typhus asked, as everyone gazed into the seemingly endless vortex.

“I... hope so,” Vexor said. “It hasn't been tested.”

“I'll go,” Jo said.

“But you have the Dimensionizer!” Horribelle blurted.

“Yeah, so if you lose me, you lose the Dimensionizer as well.”

“Just go through already,” Vexor said. “All of us. Together.”

Drew took Jo's hand and proceeded to step through the vortex together, while the Crustaceans and Magnavors followed them. Just as they took another step, Drew and Jo found themselves being greeted by the setting sun, as they stepped out of the vortex and into the local park back in Charterville.

“We... we made it,” Drew said, as he and Jo gazed around at the various trees and hills that lined the park.

“Out out my way!” Typhus announced, as he charged out of the portal, shoving Drew and Jo out of his path.

“I don't believe it!” Noxic exclaimed. “We're really back!”

“It vorked!” Jara cried, as the others all piled out behind here. “Ve have returned to third dimension!”

“We're free!” Vilor roared.

At that moment, the vortex closed, seemingly on its own.

“All right,” Nukus said, turning to face Jo. “We're out. Now give me the Dimensionizer.”

“Why?” Drew asked. “So you can trap us again and wreak more havoc?”

Nukus snarled. “Give it to me!”

“You best do as he says,” Vilor said, as Jo and Drew backed away from Nukus.

“Enough of this!” Nukus blared, as he snapped his fingers, and the Dimensionizer went flying out of Jo's hand and into his.

“NO!” Drew screamed, as he pointed his Metallix Lancer at the Dimensionizer and shot a bolt of energy at it.

All of a sudden, the Dimensionizer exploded in Nukus' hand. Smoke, sparks and shrapnel went flying everywhere, as did Nukus' sword, which ultimately survived the blast.

“What did you do that for?” Vexor cried, as the other villains all started to growl.

“Ceasefire or not, we can't let the Dimensionizer fall into Nukus' hands again,” Drew replied.

“For that, you will perish!” Nukus huffed. “Weakened or not, we can still deal with two Beetleborgs. Everyone, attack!”

“But... but... we're still weak from that explosion earlier!” Noxic pleaded, as Drew and Jo aimed their Lancer and Baton at the group of villains.

“Master, the wire-headed one is correct,” Shadow Borg said. “My body has sustained considerable damage, and I am dangerously low on energy.”

The hilt of Nukus's sword went flying into his hand, coming from the direction it had been blown off in. “But, this is our chance! These two are alone! They don't have Flabber and their allies to help them!”

“Nukus,” Horribelle said. “We're all tired. Please.”

“We made it back to the third dimension,” Typhus said. “Isn't that enough of a win for you?”

“We've gotten everything that we wanted out of this,” Shadow Borg said. “I advise that we leave.”

Nukus groaned. “Very well. We will spare you this time, Beetleborgs. But the next time we meet, we will show you no mercy.”

Drew and Jo watched as all of the villains turned into balls of either energy or fire, and proceeded to fly off into the sky.

“Well, we made it back to Charterville,” Drew said, watching as the energized villains bolted through the air, while a feeling of dread flowed through his veins like blood.

“Yeah, but we paid a steep price to get back here,” Jo said. “A very steep price. I hope it was worth it.”

Elsewhere, in the residential part of Charterville, Roland, Josh and Heather pulled into the driveway of the McCormick household on their bikes.

“Are you sure we're doing the right thing?” Heather asked, as she hopped off of her bike and set it down on its kickstand.

“I'm not entirely sure what the right thing even is at this point,” Josh said, pulling off his helmet. “This isn't going to bring Drew and Jo back.”

“Look, I don't like this any better than you do,” Roland said, as he walked up the pathway to the front door of the house. “But their family and everyone at school is gonna be worried sick about them. It's the right thing to do.”

Roland proceeded to ring the doorbell. The bark of a dog came from inside the house, as footsteps approached the door and opened it up. Standing before them was Drew and Jo's mother, Andrea.

“Oh, hey kids,” Andrea said, as Louie, the family's Golden Retriever, came running up to her side.

“Hi, Mrs. McCormick,” Heather said, sounding rather uneasy as she spoke.

Andrea looked out through the front door. “Where are Drew and Jo? I assumed they were with you.”

Roland shook his head.

“Can we come in?” Josh asked.

Andrea placed a hand to her forehead. “Okay.”

The kids followed Andrea and Louie into the living room, where Mr. McCormick was was sitting down on the couch, watching a newscast on TV.

“Henry, turn that off,” Andrea said. “Drew and Jo's friends are here.”

“Really?” Henry asked, as he shut off the TV.

“Take a seat,” Andrea said, motioning her hands towards the second, empty couch, while she sat down on the other one next to her husband.

“What's this all about?” Henry asked.

Roland, Josh and Heather all winced.

“Come on, you can tell us,” Andrea said, as Louie came around to the kids. Josh proceeded to slowly pet the dog.

“Are our kids okay?” Henry questioned, as he placed his hand over Andrea's.

“Do you know where they are?”

Roland shook his head.

“But they were with you, right?” Henry exclaimed.

“Look, I don't know how else to tell you this,” Roland began. “But there's something that you two need to know.”

“And that is?” Andrea asked.

“You're not going to believe this, but one day I went with Drew and Jo to the old Hi-”

At that moment, a phone that was on the end table began to ring.

“Excuse me,” Henry said, as he held up a hand and reached over to the ringing phone, which he picked up. “Hello?”

“Dad?” Drew asked over the other line.

“Drew, where are you?”

A feeling of relief washed over Roland, Josh and Heather as they heard Henry mention Drew's name.

“Wait,” Josh said in a whisper. “How the hell did they get back?”

“I dunno,” Heather replied with a very soft voice.

“I'm at the park with Jo,” Drew said. “I'm calling on a pay phone.”

“Drew, your friends are here,” Henry said. “I don't think they knew where you were.”

“We're sorry. We got separated and didn't know where they went. We're gonna come home right now.”

“All right. See you.”

“Well, at least we know where they are,” Andrea said, as Henry hung up the phone.

“Now Roland, what was that important thing you were about to tell us?” Henry asked.

“Uh...” Roland began, “it's just that... you know Trip and Van's dad, Earl Kingsley II? He just bought the old Hillhurst mansion. He's gonna tear it down and put up a condo.”

“Really?” Andrea asked. “Not that that decrepit old place is worth saving, but what do we need a condo development out there for? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Would you kids like something to drink?”

A few minutes later, Drew and Jo returned home, where they were greeted with open arms by their parents and friends. Shortly afterwards, the kids went up to Drew's bedroom, where they exchanged anecdotes about what happened after getting separated.

“This is terrible,” Josh cried. “The Crustaceans and Magnavors are back?”

“At least you guys made it back,” Heather said. “And so soon, too.”

Roland held out his hand, clamping his index finger close to his thumb. “We came this close to revealing our secret to your parents.”

“We didn't know what else do to,” Josh said.

“We shouldn't have gone to subspace in the first place,” Drew said. “Not only did we almost get trapped, but now the Crustaceans and Magnavors are back in this dimension. We screwed up. Big time.”

“I know things are grim, but it wasn't a total bust,” Roland said. “If we had done nothing, Nukus and the others would have made it back into this world with the Dimensionizer. They could have trapped us again, and we'd have never seen it coming. At least you guys managed to destroy it.”

“They got away,” Jo said. “I wanted to fight them, but I was scared. There were eight of them and two of us.”

“It's okay, Jo. The important thing is that you're safe. And whatever happens, we're here for you.”

Roland and Josh each placed an assuring hand upon one of Jo's shoulders.

Chapter Text

Not long afterwards, Roland, Josh and Heather returned to their homes. However, along with Drew and Jo, they all struggled to finish their homework. Worse still, after each of them went to bed, they all tossed and turned in their beds for hours before they finally settled down and fell asleep. Everything that had transpired in the past several hours had left all five of them feeling uneasy and perturbed. It didn't feel like there was much that they could do about their newfound problems, if anything.

The following morning, a van turned off the main road and drove up the dirt road that led to the front yard of Hillhurst, where it parked itself not too far from Trip and Van's limousine. Printed on the sides and back door of the van was a sign that read Pickfield Locksmith, followed by a phone number, a picture of a key, as well as some miscellaneous information.

A middle-aged workman stepped out of the van, dressed in blue coveralls and a Pickfield Locksmith cap. He proceeded to walk towards the front steps of the house.

“Over here!” Trip called, waving his arm from the backseat window of the limousine. The locksmith went over to the limousine and stopped in front of the front seat, where Dudley was sitting. “Not him!” Trip cried. “Me!”

“Oh, sorry,” said the locksmith, advancing to the backseat where Trip and Van were. “Are you the people who called me to come out here?”

“Is there a problem?” Van asked.

“Not exactly. It's just... you don't live here, do you?”

“We're kinda in the process of moving in,” Trip said.

“You're moving in to this place?” the locksmith asked.

“So it's a fixer-upper. Big hairy deal.”

“Where are your parents?”

“What do you want from us?” Trip asked. “We've offered to pay you double your usual rate to come out here right now and change the locks, so why are you being so difficult?

“I'm sorry,” the locksmith exclaimed. “It's just that I need to make sure that you're serious about this.”

“Here's half your pay now,” Trip said, as he handed a small wad of bills to the locksmith. “You'll get the other half when you finish the job.”

“And for the record, we do own this house,” Van said. “We have the documentation if you really want it.”

“That's quite all right,” the locksmith said, pocketing the cash. “I'll get to work. I just gotta get my tools,”

While the locksmith went back to his truck and opened up the back door, Trip and Van got out of the limousine and began to walk around the house.

“I can't wait to see the looks on those dorks' faces when they're unable to get into this place,” Trip said.

“I thought we were gonna call the police on them,” Van said. “And that was yesterday!”

“I don't know what happened. The next thing I knew, we'd gone home. But I don't remember us actually leaving.”

“Well, if there are any more intruders, we'll have them arrested for trespassing.”

The two brothers made their way around to the side of the house, where there was ample space before them.

“Hey, you think we ought to put in a tennis court here?” Trip asked.

“I dunno,” Van replied. “We're not gonna be here that long. Maybe we could set up a pool instead.”

“That's more work than a tennis court!”

“Not if it's one of those free-standing pools that isn't dug into the ground!”

At that moment, Trip and Van heard someone screaming from the front of the house, and went to check it out. Running down from the porch was the locksmith, who was quick to spot Trip and Van, whom he dashed up to. He looked like he was about to flip out.

“What's going on?” Van asked.

“M-m-m-monsters!” the locksmith cried. “Inside the house!”

Trip rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on!”

“Well, I'm not changing any locks on this house until you get those... those... creeps out of there!”

“Hey, what about the money we paid you?” Van asked, as the locksmith headed back towards his van.

“I'm charging you for the call! Goodbye!”

The locksmith went back into his van and quickly drove away from the house.

“Great, Van said. “Now what?”

“I'll tell you what,” Trip said. “I'm gonna call the police. Have them deal with these crazy freeloaders already!”

Trip proceeded to pull his cell phone out from his pocket.

“Excuse me,” said a masculine voice that sounded eerily familiar to Trip and Van. They couldn't quite put their finger on who it was, but saw that it came from a man with bushy hair and sunglasses who was standing by the side of the house.

“Who are you?” Van asked.

“Me?” the man asked. He was surrounded by another man and a woman. “The name's Knox.”

“I'm Tara,” the woman said in a strong, indeterminable accent. “Pleased to meet you, dahlings.”

“And I'm Travis,” the other man said in a boastful voice.

“Who are you three, and what are you doing here?” Trip asked.

“Vhat do you kids know about zis... Hillhurst?” Tara asked.

“We own this place now,” Van said.

“Oh really?” Travis asked. “Well, we're looking for the Beetleborgs!”

Trip gave the trio a confused look. “So why'd you come out here of all places? There haven't been any sightings of the Beetleborgs in weeks!”

“Really?” Knox asked.

“Duh,” Van replied. “The Beetleborgs finally defeated Nukus and the Crustaceans last month. Charterville's been peaceful ever since.”

“Look, this house is private property,” Trip began, “so we'd appreciate it if you'd leave.”

“We should really get Dudley to put up a sign or something,” Van said.

“Ve'll leave,” Tara said. “But vun kvestion. Have you ever seen some other kids go in and out of zis house?”

Trip and Van's faces both lit up. “What's it to you?” Trip asked.

“Are they trespassers?” Knox questioned.

Trip and Van both nodded. “If they weren't already, they sure are now,” Trip answered.

“And you don't like them, do you?” Travis asked.

“You have no idea,” Van replied. “Now leave.”

“We're going!” Knox blurted. “We're going!”

Knox, Tara and Travis proceeded to walk away from the house, while Trip and Van walked back around to the front.

“Now,” Trip began, “let's put an end to those stupid deadbeats that scared off the locksmith.”

Inside the house, Flabber and the monsters were peering out front through one of the shuttered windows.

“Flabber do something!” Mums exclaimed. “Those snobs are about to call the fuzz on us!”

Trip proceeded to dial 911 on his phone.

“Hello,” came Flabber's voice on the other line. “Is your refrigerator running?”

“Is this even 911?” Trip asked.

“Well ya better catch it!” Flabber laughed, as he hung up, only to be replaced by a dial tone.

“What kind of stupid joke was that?” Van asked.

Suddenly, the front door of Hillhurst opened up, and a refrigerator came bouncing out of the house, seemingly all on its own. The huge kitchen appliance jumped down from the porch and began to chase Trip and Van around the yard.

“Dudley!” Trip screamed. “Start the car! Now!”

Dudley wasted no time in starting the limousine's ignition, as Trip and Van opened the back door and dove into the backseat, while Van slammed the door behind himself.

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Trip cried, as Dudley floored the gas pedal, swerved the limousine around the bouncing refrigerator and drove off down the dirt road.

“What was that?” Van gasped, as he and Trip stared back at Hillhurst through the rear windshield.

“My guess is that it would be appear to be a fridge,” Dudley stated.

“At least it's no longer following us,” Trip stated. “But still, that was weird.”

“Should we try calling the police now?” Van asked.

“Not now, what with all this weird stuff that's going on.” Trip said. “We'll do it after school.”

Van looked at his watch. “Speaking of which, we need to be at school soon. Take us there, Dudley.”

“Of course, Master Van.”

Not too far away from Hillhurst, nestled in the town's residential neighborhood, was Charterville Junior High School. As there were only mere minutes left before the first bell was scheduled to ring, students were beginning to congregate near the front steps and enter the building.

Over in the parking lot, Drew, Roland, Josh and Heather all pulled in on their bikes, which they proceeded to locked up in a bicycle rack.

“Why are we having such awful luck?” Drew asked, as the group made their way over to the nearest door.

“Drew, I know things look bad, but we've dealt with all of these villains before,” Roland said.

“Not all at once!”

“Hey, I was able to use Josh's Halberd,” Heather stated. “I know it's not much, but it's something.”

“Don't take this the wrong way, Heather,” Drew began, “but the battlefield is not a safe place for you. You've got no armor and no superpowers.”

Drew proceeded to reach for the handle to the door they had arrived at, when Flabber's head suddenly appeared in the window of the door.

“Whoa!” Heather exclaimed. “Don't scare us like that!”

“Flabber, what gives?” Josh asked. “You know better than to disrupt us at school!

“This is important!” Flabber cried. “Trip and Van were at Hillhurst just a moment ago! They nearly called the police! I scared them off, but they're gonna try again soon, I bet!”

“Flabber, what did you do?” Roland asked, sounding rather concerned.

“Relax, nobody got hurt. But we've got to think of something before the police really do show up at Hillhurst.”

Roland rolled his eyes. “I don't know if there's much we can do about all this, Flabber. My mom spoke to some people. Earl Kingsley II really did purchase Hillhurst.”

Flabber sighed.

“We'll talk later,” Drew said. “But we've gotta get to class right now.”

“Excuse me,” a girl said, standing behind the group. “But do you go to this school, or do you just like to block doorways?”

“Sorry,” Josh said, as he and the others moved aside.

The girl walked past the others, then proceeded to pull the door open. The others followed her into the school, and made their way down the hall, just as the first bell started to ring.

“I'll see you guys at lunch,” Josh said, as he waved at the others and entered a classroom.

“Me too,” Heather called, as she turned down another hallway, while Drew and Roland made their way into another classroom, where they took their seats.

Soon nearly every seat in the class had been filled up, as the teacher who had been sitting at the front of the room stood up from her desk and looked at her students. “Has anyone seen Trip and Van today?” she asked.

Drew and Roland looked at each other, then at the two nearby desks where Trip and Van usually sat. Both of them were empty.

“I guess they're absent, then,” the teacher said, as she jotted something down on her attendance list.

“I bet they ditched school so that they could get the new issue of Beetleborgs!” one boy announced.

“That's right”, one girl said, “it comes out today!”

Drew turned to face Roland. “I almost forgot because of all this craziness that's been going on. No joke.”

“I didn't,” Roland said. “Mom and Nano wouldn't stop talking about it at breakfast. But, had it not been for them, I might not have remembered myself.”

“Why would anyone ditch school just to pick up a comic book?”

“Their dad gets the issues in advance, straight from the distributor. It doesn't add up.”

“They're probably taking action against Hillhurst right now. I hope there's a more permanent solution to all this.”

“I hope so too, Drew. I hope so, too.”

Chapter Text

One block away from Charterville Junior High School, Trip and Van's limousine was in the midst of speeding down the street.

“Come on, Dudley!” Trip whined. “We're gonna be late!”

Dudley glanced back at the two boys in the back seat. “It's not safe to surpass the speed limit, Master Trip. If I were to get caught, I could have my license suspended.”

“We can pay your legal fees,” Van said. “Come on!”

“I told you time would be tight if we stopped at Hillhurst before school,” Dudley said, as he pulled over in front of the school, just as the bell began to ring.

“Whatever,” Trip said, as he and Van proceeded to jump out of the car. “Just make sure you're back here at three o'clock sharp.”

Van slammed the door behind him, and the two brothers proceeded to dash towards the front door of the school as Dudley drove off. Before Trip and Van had reached the building, three familiar figures stepped out through the front door.

“He-e-e-y!” Knox said, as he stood on the front steps with the others, blocking Trip and Van from entering the school.

“What are you doing here?” Trip asked. “Get out of our way, we're late for school!”

“Ve vant you for somezing,” Tara said, twirling a lock of her brown hair with her finger. “You said you do not like kids who go in and out of Hillhurst, yes?”

Van attempted to shove his way past the three people. “Can we talk about this later?”

“You don't like those kids?” Travis asked. “You own Hillhurst? Then you two boys are perfect!”

“Perfect for what?” Trip asked, as he tried to squeeze his way between Tara and Travis.

“You're coming with us, fellas!” Knox exclaimed, as he and the others placed their hands upon Trip and Van's shoulders, and together all five figures turned into balls of energy, which suddenly teleported away from in front of the school.

A moment later, the group of five suddenly materialized in a rural area just beyond the outskirts of Charterville. Upon reappearing, Trip and Van backed away from the three adult figures.

“What happened?” Trip asked.

Van gazed around at his surroundings. “Where are we? How'd we get here?”

“What did you creeps just do?”

Tara, Knox and Travis all laughed.

“You belong to us now!” Tara chuckled.

“Who are you people?” Trip asked.

Tara, Knox and Travis all crossed their arms in front of themselves, and a wave of fiery energy washed over each of them, revealing them to be Jara, Noxic and Typhus respectively.

Van lowered his jaw in amazement. “No way.”

“It can't be...” Trip gasped.

“That's right,” Typhus began. “It's us! We're the Magnavors and we are back and badder than ever! Our disguises had you totally fooled!”

“This can't be happening!” Van cried.

“What does it look like?” Noxic asked. “Of course it's happening!”

“W-w-w-we're not scared of you!” Trip blurted. “The Beetleborgs will stop you!”

“Oh, ze Beetleborgs vill stop us,” Jara said, speaking in a provocative voice. “Oh, cry me a river!”

Vexor suddenly teleported in front of Trip and Van, freaking them out even more than they already were. “Are these two boys really the new owners of Hillhurst?”

“V-v-v-vexor?” Van asked. “What do you want?”

“We'll ask the questions here. But you are the owners of Hillhurst, are you not?”

Both Trip and Van appeared to be absolutely terrified, although the Magnavors had zero regard for their feelings.

“Our Dad owns it,” Trip answered. “Why do you care?”

“Who are you two, anyway? Tell me!”

“I'm Van Kingsley,” Van replied in a nervous voice..

“And I'm Earl Kingsley III,” Trip said. “But just call me Trip... if you don't mind.”

“I do mind,” Vexor snapped. “And I'll call you boys whatever I want.”

“Look, our dad is Earl Kingsley II,” Van began. “Is this about money? Do you want money? We can get you money!”

“SILENCE!” Vexor roared. “I have something else in mind for you two. Shadow Borg!”

Just as soon as his name was called, Shadow Borg appeared in front of everyone from within a ball of electricity.

“Shadow Borg?” Trip muttered, as he and Van hugged each other. “Please, don't hurt us!”

Shadow Borg turned to face Vexor. “What can I do for you, Master?”

“These two boys think that the Beetleborgs are going to take us down. But it's them who are going to help us take down the Beetleborgs.”

“So you've selected yours hosts?” Shadow Borg asked.

“What do you mean, hosts?” Trip asked.

“In a recent altercation that we had with two of the Beetleborgs, I managed to scan and analyze the schematics of Chromium Gold and Platinum Purple. Much like I was derived from the design of the Blue Stinger Beetleborg, so too shall you be. But you will be different.”

“What are you talking about?” Van asked.

Shadow Borg held out his hands, palms facing up. Suddenly, a microchip manifested in each of them.

“It is time,” Vexor said, as both of the microchips floated out of Shadow Borg's hands and into the air in front of the Magnavor leader. “Arise, my new Borgs! Assume the bodies of these two boys!”

Vexor proceeded to channel a strange, white energy from his hands that engulfed the two microchips.

“What's going on?” Van asked, as one of the microchips flew directly into him, while the other one collided with Trip.

Suddenly, each of the boys absorbed their microchip and stood completely still. Vexor laughed as orange electricity coursed through Trip's body, while dark purple energy did the same to Van. After a few seconds, the two boys were now wearing strange new sets of armor.

“All right!” Noxic cried. “It worked!”

“You did it, boss!” Typhus exclaimed.

The Magnavors admired the two new Borgs who were standing before them. Trip was wearing a Borg suit made up of black and orange armor, the helmet of which had what best resembled an ornamental cobra hood on its sides. Likewise, Van had been encompassed by dark purple and black armor, which had long, pointed horns on the top of its helmet.

“Pleased to meet you, Master,” Trip said, speaking in a deeper, somewhat modulated voice.

“How may we serve you?” Van asked, his voice also altered in the same fashion as his brother's.

“Behold!” Vexor exclaimed. “You two Borgs are my latest creation!”

“Do you have names for new Borgs?” Jara asked.

“Indeed I do,” Vexor said. “I hereby proclaim these two to be Cobraborg and Viperborg! They are now under my spell. And my first order of business is to find a place where us and the Crustaceans can reside, since the crypt is gone.”

“Like where?” Typhus asked.

“Ooh, I know!” Noxic exclaimed. “Hillhurst! These kids own that place! Even if Flabber's more than we can deal with, what's he gonna do if the rightful owners of his property order him to leave?”

“Forget Hillhurst,” Vexor said. “No need to get Flabber involved in all of this. At least, not yet. We'll deal with them later.”

“Can't Crustaceans find new hideout for us?” Jara asked. “Zey're taking forever! Or do ve have to do everyzing around here?”

“Wait a minute,” Typhus said. “You two are the Kingsley kids, right?”

“Correct,” Cobraborg replied. “We are Earl III and Van.”

“And you live in a huge mansion, correct?”

“That is correct,” Viperborg said.

“So, why don't we take over the mansion?” Tyhpus asked, looking at Vexor.

“Typhus, that might actually be the single smartest idea you ever had,” Vexor said. “I'm going to contact Nukus and have him meet us at Kingsley Manor. Cobraborg! Viperborg! You will direct us to Kingsley Manor!”

After Vexor spoke to Nukus, everyone who had gathered transformed into a ball of energy and shot off into the sky. They soon came down towards a large mansion, which was surrounded by a sprawling, freshly-mowed lawn that was adorned with trees, hedges, fountains and a wrought iron fence that spanned the perimeter of the property.

The various villains shot down towards the house and passed through a window pane on the first floor, where they materialized back into their bodies in the front hall, a spacious chamber containing a large central staircase, mounted paintings, plants and sculptures.

“Who's in charge here?” Vexor asked, turning to face Cobraborg and Viperborg.

“Zat vould be you, boss,” Jara answered.

“Before right now,” Vexor quipped.

“That would be our mother,” Viperborg answered. “At least when our father is not around.”

“Deal with her.”

Cobraborg and Viperborg proceeded to walk down a corridor, while the others followed his lead. They stopped in front of the doorway to a large room, where a middle-age woman who sported wavy, dirty blonde hair and was wearing fancy designer clothes was gabbing away on her cell phone whist seated on a leather sofa.

“Mom,” Viperborg called in a serious voice, while he and the others waited by the entrance to the room. “Mom! Come here!”

“Excuse me for a second, Claire,” the woman said, as she covered the mouthpiece of her phone while turning to face the doorway. “Van, I'm on the phone!” she shouted, as she put the phone back up to her face. “Sorry, that was one of my boys. He must not have not seen that I'm busy.”

“Mom, we're asking you to come,” Trip announced.

Mrs. Kingsley sighed. “I'll call you back, Claire,” she said, “they must want more money.” Mrs. Kingsley pressed a button on her phone and set it down on the table in front of her. She stood up and walked towards the entrance to the room. “Boys,” she huffed, “I was on the phone!”

No one responded as Mrs. Kingsley walked towards the entrance to the room. Mrs. Kingsley reached into the crossbody bag that was dangling over her shoulder and pulled out a wallet, which she proceeded to remove some dollar bills from.

“Boys, I'll give you some money, but I've only got three-hundred on me. Wait, hasn't school start-”

Before Mrs. Kingsley could continue, she froze in her tracks upon seeing the Magnavors that were standing outside the entrance to the room.

“Greetings, Mrs. Kingley,” Vexor said.

“Whoa!” Mrs. Kingsley gasped. “You're that crazy monster who used to be on the news! I don't know how you got in here, but just take this and leave!” She proceeded to offer the money that she was currently holding to Vexor.

“I don't want your money. What I want is your home.”

“Help!” Mrs. Kingsley screamed. “Security! Get in here! Now!”

Mrs. Kingsley darted back towards where she had been seated and reached for the phone she had left on the table. “I'm calling the cops!”

Vexor raised a hand at Mrs. Kingsley, which telepathically pulled her back towards him. “I don't think so, Mrs. Kingsley.”

“SECURITY!” Mrs. Kingsley blared, as she returned to Vexor's side.

“Security won't help you now,” Nukus said, having appeared next to the Magnavors along with Vilor and Horribelle. “We've already rounded up your staff and locked them away in the basement.”

“You can't do this! Where are my boys? Where are Trip and Van?”

“Trip and Van have been... taken care of,” Cobraborg answered.

“So these are the new Borgs,” Nukus said, admiring both Cobraborg and Viperborg. “Very impressive, Vexor. You've outdone yourself.”

“You won't get away with this!” Mrs. Kingsley cried.

“Aww, shuddap!” Noxic cried.

“Yes, Mrs. Kingsley,” Vexor said. “Shut up. We own this house now. You're our prisoner now. And when your husband gets home from work, he can join you.”

“With these new Beetleborgs on our side, we'll be unstoppable,” Vilor exclaimed. “Even the real Beetleborgs will tremble against all of us.”

Typhus glared at Vilor. “Not to be a spoilsport, but last time I checked, cobras and vipers were snakes, not beetles.”

“Right you are,” Nukus said. “In that case, our new Borgs shall henceforth not be known as Beetleborgs, but as... Brutalborgs.”

Chapter Text

In the living room at Kingsley Manor, the Magnavors and Crustaceans were sitting across from one another. The three Brutalborgs opted to remain standing, even though there were still plenty of seats available.

“Is this new home to your liking?” Viperborg asked.

“It will do,” Nukus answered, nodding his head. “I've already placed a scrambling spell on the building, so that Flabber won't be able to spy on us with his power, should he think to even look for us here.”

“What's your next order of business?” Cobraborg asked.

“That's easy,” Vexor said. “You two were created to assist in taking down the Beetleborgs. And that's just what you're going to do. The Beetleborgs are strong, yes. But you are each armed with some exceptionally powerful weapons, the Cobra Carbine and Viper Sniper. Use them wisely and the Beetleborgs will be no match for you.”

“Understood,” Viperborg said, nodding alongside Cobraborg.

“How should we go about in destroying the Beelteborgs?” Shadow Borg asked.

“I know of a way to dispose of at least one Beetleborg,” Nukus replied. “School.”

“School?” Noxic asked. “You gonna give him so much homework that he flunks out?”

“No, you moron. The Brutalborgs are going to overwhelm her.”

“Platinum Purple Borg?” Jara asked. “Vhat about her?”

Nukus faced the Brutalborgs. “Shadow Borg. Cobraborg. Viperborg. Pay close attention.”

Everyone watched as Nukus unleashed his eye beams in the middle of the group, conjuring up a holographic picture of Jo. “This is Jo McCormick, the civilian identity of the Platinum Purple Borg.”

“Who?” Cobraborg asked.

“You don't remember?” Typhus asked. “We've seen you with her before.”

“I have no memory of this person,” Viperborg noted.

“Interesting,” Vexor said. “These two have no memory of her. Their memories must be selective in some way.”

“That's not important,” Nukus said. “Now, Jo may be small, but her strength is incredible. However, she is younger than the other Beetleborgs. As such, she does not attend the same school as them. If you go after her at the elementary school, she will be all by her lonesome self. She'll have no backup.”

“Should we go after her now?” Viperborg asked.

“Not just yet. “We will wait until she is not in class. During her morning recess break.”

Later that morning, the students of Charterville Elementary were in the yard of their school. Many were running around, some were in the playground, some were sitting and chatting among themselves, while others were playing all sort of different games with one another.

Outside the edge of the yard, on the other side of the fence at the end of the block, Shadow Borg, Cobraborg and Viperborg all materialized.

“This is the place,” Cobraborg said, looking through the chain link fence at all the kids who were playing around on the other side.

“Make sure nobody notices you, Shadow Borg,” Viperborg said. “When we give you the signal, come to us and we'll destroy her.”

“Of course,” Shadow Borg said.

“Back Blast!” Cobraborg and Viperborg shouted in unison. Energy surged through their suits, which consequently vanished, leaving behind Trip and Van.

The two brothers looked at each other, then proceeded to run down the sidewalk towards the gate in the middle of the fence. Trip and Van entered the gate and began to look around at all the students in the yard, trying to pinpoint Jo.

“Do you see her?” Van asked.

“If I see her, you 'll be the first to know,” Trip replied. “Come on.”

Over in the field at the far end of the yard, Jo and several other kids her age were running around, chasing a soccer ball that one girl was continuously kicking towards a net.

“Pass it to me!” Jo announced, as two boys tried to intercept the girl who had been kicking the ball.

The other girl kicked the ball in Jo's direction. Jo stopped the ball with her foot, then aimed to face the net. After winding up her foot, Jo kicked the ball towards the net, only for another girl to jump in front of the ball's path and caught it in her hands, stopping it from going into the net.

“You were close, Jo,” the girl who had passed her the ball said.

“Run for it!” shrieked another girl, prompting Jo and the other kids who were nearby to turn and look towards the school.

Running in Jo's direction were Shadow Borg, Cobraborg and Viperborg, two of which were strange Borgs whom Jo had never seen before. The three of them were blasting lasers towards Jo, while other students in the yard began to scream in terror, trying not to be in the path of any of the beams.

As the end of the field was blocked by the fence, Jo proceeded to run to the bleachers that were over to one side, while several of her schoolmates followed her lead. Jo and the others made their way behind the bleachers, all while trying to avoid getting blasted.

“Who are those guys?” one of the boys asked.

“That one's definitely Shadow Borg,” Jo answered. “But I've never seen the other two.”

Cobraborg and Viperborg aimed the laser cannons that were affixed to their arms at the bleachers. Beams of orange and purple energy shot out from them, and sliced through several levels of seating, prompting them to all collapse in front of Jo and the others.

“Why are they after us?” one girl asked frantically. Jo wasn't entirely sure what was going on, yet knew the truth and wanted to tell her friend, but she couldn't.

Jo and the other kids dashed back towards the school, dodging the lasers that the pursuing Brutalborgs were firing at them. Kids in every direction were running and screaming all over the place. Upon reaching the wall of the building, Jo slowed down while the others ran around the corner, then veered behind a dumpster.

Able to hear the Brutalborgs approaching her, Jo cracked her knuckles and experienced the satisfying sensation of raw power flowing through her muscles. She immediately shoved against the heavy dumpster without breaking a sweat. Due to being on wheels, the dumpster rapidly careened its way across the pavement and collided into the Brutalborgs.

With the Brutalborgs momentarily distracted, Jo held her hand against her thigh. “Data Bonder,” she said quietly, as the aforementioned device appeared in her grasp. It was one thing for Jo to summon her Bonder, but it was another to actually Borg with so many other kids nearby. Right now, Jo was starting to wish she could have had Roland or Josh's power, instead of her strength. Nevertheless, Jo slipped her Data Card into her Bonder and pressed a button on it.

In the parlor at Hillhurst, Flabber and the monsters were sitting at the round table, which currently had a floorplan of the house on it. Flabber was dressed up like a general in the army, complete with a plethora of badges on his jacket.

“Monsters, a-ten-hut!” Flabber called, aiming a pointer at the blueprint. “Does everyone know what to do if Trip and Van return?”

“Can the answer be to make a blood smoothie?” Fangula asked. Flabber shook his head.

“I know!” Mums called. “Two blood smoothies!”

“No...” Flabber moaned. “You've gotta head to your post and be ready to scare 'em with everything you got! Wolfie, your spot will be up at the top of the stairs-”

Without any warning, a flashing purple hologram in the shape of the Beetleborgs insignia appeared in the middle of the table and began to emit the sound of a ringing alarm, which startled everyone at the table.

“What's that?” Little Ghoul cried. “It scared me half-to-life!”

“It's Jo's distress signal!” Flabber gasped, as he reached his hand forward and touched the symbol, which caused it to stop flashing and ceased its alarm. “Jo! Come in, Jo!”

“What's wrong?” Frankie asked.

“Jo's not answering! She's not responding to me on her Data Bonder! I need to check in on her!”

Suddenly, Flabber's head vanished into thin air, while the rest of his body remained where it was. A few seconds later, Flabber's head reappeared, wearing a frazzled expression.

“Flabber, is everything all right?” Fangula asked.

“Jo and everyone at her school is running for their life! Shadow Borg, along with two new Borgs, are attacking them! I don't know who they are, but they are bad news! There must be too many people around for her to speak on her Bonder or Borg! She needs reinforcements!”

Meanwhile, at Charterville Junior High School, Drew was sitting at his desk, reading a text book, along with all of the other students, including Roland.

“Drew!” Flabber exclaimed, as his face popped up between two pages of math problems.

“Flab-ber...” Drew groaned softly, so as to not draw attention from the other students. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a whisper.

“Sorry, but this is an emergency! Shadow Borg and two other evil Borgs are attacking Jo's school! She needs help right now! Tell Roland, I'm gonna alert Josh.”

Unable to think of a response, Drew nodded, then turned to face Roland, who was in the seat next to him. He reached over and tapped his friend's shoulder.

“What?” Roland asked in a whisper.

“Flabber,” Drew replied quietly, nodding slowly. “Come on.”

Drew got up from his desk and walked over to the front of the room, where a man with short, graying hair was sitting at his desk. “Yes, Drew?”

“Mr. Davidson, may I go to the washroom, please?” Drew asked.

“Go ahead,” Mr. Davidson said.

As Drew walked out of the room, Roland made his way up to Mr. Davidson. “Excuse me,” Roland began, “but I need to go to the washroom as well.”

Mr. Davidson rolled his eyes. “You'll have to wait until Drew gets back.”

“Please!” Roland gasped, wincing as fiercely as he could. “It's an emergency! It just came out of nowhere!”

“Fine,” Mr. Davidson said reluctantly, and Roland darted out of the room.

Back outside Charterville Elementary, the Brutalborgs were still chasing after Jo, while most other people were running around, trying to get out of their way.

Jo bolted away from a flurry of lasers and scurried into the playground, where she charged headfirst into a large, plastic tube. Still holding onto her Data Bonder, Jo held it above her head while crouching within the tube.

“Beetle Blast!” Jo called, absorbing the power of her Bonder to transform into the Platinum Purple Beetleborg. Hopefully, nobody witnessed what she had just done.

Jo then bounded her way out of the tube and began to fire her Data Laser at the Brutalborgs. She hit Viperborg, but Cobraborg and Shadow Borg shot back in her direction.

“What's the matter?” Cobraborg asked. “Can't deal with three Brutalborgs?”

“Brutalborgs?” Jo gasped. “Who are you?”

“You know who I am,” Shadow Borg replied. “Now meet Cobraborg and Viperborg.”

Cobraborg and Viperborg both shot their lasers at Jo, knocking her down onto her rear.

“Stop!” Jo cried, as she jumped up and shot another laser at Shadow Borg, while Cobraborg and Viperborg just stood next to him and laughed.

“It's the Platinum Purple Beetleborg!” one man announced, as people began to cheer.

“Enough of this,” Cobraborg said, teleporting away, only to be followed by the other Brutalborgs.

“Giving up, huh?” Jo asked.

“STOP!” a girl cried, not too far from where Jo was.

The Brutalborgs emerged from the group of people who had gathered nearby. A girl emerged from the small crowd, followed by Cobraborg and Viperborg, who were aiming their Cobra Carbine and Viper Sniper directly at her backside.

“Please help me!” the girl screamed, as Shadow Borg approached Jo.

“Danielle!” shouted another girl.

“Surrender, Beetleborg,” Shadow Borg said. “Or else...”

“Don't hurt her!” Jo gasped.

Viperborg poked Danielle with the tip of his Viper Sniper, which resembled the tail of a rattlesnake. “Do it, or we blow this kid to Kingdom Come with our Viper Sniper and Cobra Carbine!”

Jo sighed. “I surrender. Just don't hurt her."

“Power down and surrender your Bonder,” Shadow Borg said.

“Do it,” Cobraborg snapped.

“Release her,” Jo said. “Release Danielle and I'll do it.”

Cobraborg and Viperborg lowered their arms, as Danielle ran off and hid behind the crowd.

“Now, give me your Bonder,” Shadow Borg said.

“Do it!” Viperborg hissed. “Or people are gonna get hurt."

The Brutalborgs approached Jo, whist Shadow Borg extended his hand towards her. “Give it to me.”

Cobraborg held his Cobra Carbine towards the crowd, prompting everyone within it to run off, screaming in terror. “There's a lot of potential victims out there if you don't cooperate.”

“Give it up,” Viperborg said. “You can't defeat all of us.”

“Over there!” one girl announced, pointing to an entrance to the yard. “It's the Beetleborgs!”

Everyone looked over to where the girl had been pointing, and surely enough, the other three Beetleborgs had arrived, and were standing next to their Sector Cycles.

“This ends now!” Drew cried, as he, Roland and Josh fired their Data Lasers at the Brutalborgs.

“What's going on?” Cobraborg cried, as the laser flurry knocked him and the other Brutalborgs into a stupor.

Jo then aimed her Data Laser at the Brutalborgs and joined in on the attack.

“There's too many of them!” Viperborg cried. “They got the drop on us! Retreat! Retreat!”

“We'll get you for this!” Cobraborg shouted.

As the three Brutalborgs teleported away, everyone who had witnessed the event began to erupt in a chorus of cheers as they ran towards the Beetleborgs.

“They did it!” one boy exclaimed, as Jo also made her way to where the other Borgs had gathered.

“Thank you for saving us, Beetleborgs,” Danielle said.

“They're really here!” cried one boy.

“Let's hear it for the Beetleborgs!” shouted another girl.

“Beetleborgs!” chanted the crowd. “Beetleborgs! Hip-hip, hooray!”

Chapter Text

As the crowd continued to cheer, Jo scurried over to where the other Beetleborgs had gathered. “Thank you,” Jo said, as she stopped in front of the three male Beetleborgs who were at the edge of the yard

“What's going on here?” Roland asked. “Who were those two Borgs that were with Shadow Borg?”

Jo shook her head. “I don't know where they came from, but Shadow Borg said their names were Cobraborg and Viperborg. And together, they're the Brutalborgs.”

“Thanks for saving us!” Danielle called, as she and a large crowd of other students and teachers approached the Beetleborgs.

“Can we have your autographs?” one boy asked.

“How come Shadow Borg came back?” another girl asked.

“Did any other villains come back?” another boy asked, speaking with a hint of concern in his voice.

Drew was quick to pull Jo aside, then cupped his hand around the side of her helmet. “Jo, we have to leave right now. We're ditching class to be here. We'll talk later.”

Jo nodded. “Okay.”

“Attention students and faculty,” a male voice boomed over the school's PA system. “This is Principal Morgan. In light of the recent altercation that has occurred, and for everyone's safety, school has been cancelled for the rest of the day. Please gather your belongings and leave. If you need to be picked up, please go to the gym to await further instructions.”

Many of the kids in the crowd began to cheer over the prospect of getting the rest of the day off.

“Hey, let's go to comic shop!” one girl cried. “The new Beetleborgs is out today!”

More kids cheered.

“We'll see you later,” Josh said, as he, Drew and Roland got onto their Sector Cycles and began to speed down the street, heading in the direction of Charterville Junior High.

Once the Beetleborgs got near the campus, the three boys drove into a back alley behind a convenience store, where they Back Blasted back to their normal selves, while their Sector Cycles returned to normal bicycles. From there, they continued to their school, where students were piling out of the building as they rode into the parking lot.

“What's going on here?” Roland asked.

“Guys!” Heather announced, as she made her way out of the crowd and over to where Drew, Roland and Josh had stopped. “We heard about what happened at the elementary school. Is everyone there okay?”

“They are, thanks to us,” Drew answered.

“Flabber just filled me in what happened. Our school's been cancelled for the day as well. And so has the high school. Oh, and Flabber told me about the Brutalborgs.”

“What do we do now?” Roland asked.

“I say we should try and find the Brutalborgs and the rest of their pals,” Josh replied.

“But where are they?” Heather asked. “Flabber did a quick search and couldn't locate them.”

“You think maybe the went back to their crypt?” Roland asked.

Drew shook his head. “Roland, the crypt imploded when the Dimensionizer pulled in all the Crustaceans. Remember?”

“I know. But, you think maybe it came back, somehow?”

“You never know,” Heather said.

“Hey, as long as we're at an impasse, we should head to Zoom Comics,” Roland announced. “I bet my Mom and Nano have their hands full with the new issue.”

“Sounds goods to me,” Josh said.

After Drew, Roland and Josh gathered their belongings, they, along with Heather, rode their bicycles out of the parking lot and proceeded to make their way through the streets of Charterville. Eventually, they turned onto the block where Zoom Comics was located, and could see a long line of people standing on the sidewalk, waiting to get inside the comic book store.

“Man, the bike rack's already full!” Drew exclaimed, as he and his friends pulled up next to the lineup in front of the store. Indeed, the bicycle rack that was outside Zoom Comics had a bike parked in every slot.

“There's another one a few doors down,” Roland said. “Come on.”

“There you guys are,” Jo said, as she pulled up at the other bike rack at the same time as the others. “This line is huge. Glad we don't have to wait in it.”

The kids proceeded to walk back over to Zoom Comics, where people were crowding around the entrance, trying to get in. Abbie was standing inside the doorway.

“Please, everyone, don't push!” Abbie called. “We've got lots of comics, but only so much space in the store! If people keep coming in, we'd be violating the fire code!”

“Hey, it's you guys!” called one boy. “From the meteor shower!”

“Oh, hey Colin,” Heather said, turning to face a boy near the front of the line. “Hey, Vincent.”

“Can you believe we got out super early today?” Vincent asked.

“We came as quickly as we could, but we still have to wait in line, though.” Colin said. “Guess every kid in town had the same idea once school let out.”

“You're lucky, Ronald,” Vincent said. “Your family owns the shop.”

“I still gotta work,” Roland answered. “And the name's Roland.”

“Kids, would you please come in here, already?” Abbie asked. “Ever since all the schools let out, we've been swamped!”

“Excuse us,” Heather said, as she and the others made their way through the front door and entered the shop. A large crowd of people had gathered in the store, where Nano was serving someone at the register.

“Kids!” Nano called from across the crowd. “Thank goodness you're here! This place had become an absolute zoo! Heather, if you could help me with things behind the counter, that would be great.”

“All right, Nano,” Heather said, as she worked her way through the crowd towards the counter.

Abbie turned to face the others. “As for you four, do you think you could try and keep this crowd in order and make sure sure everyone waits their turn?”

For the next little while, Heather assisted Nano with handing out copies of the new issue of Beetleborgs, as Drew, Roland, Jo and Josh kept everyone in order within the front end of the store, while Abbie remained at the entrance.

Drew watched as the latest customer paid for her comic book, while Jo helped clear a path to the door for her. “Man, I haven't even had a chance to see the new issue yet. Not even a good glimpse of the cover!”

“If you really want to see it, they post the cover in advance online, you know,” Josh said.

“Yeah, but I like to be surprised by seeing it when it gets released.”

“Don't worry,” Roland said. “Even if we sell out, Nano's set aside a free copy for each of us.”

Just then, two figures made their through the crowd, saying absolutely nothing as they passed by Drew, Roland and Josh.

“Was that... Trip and Van?” Josh asked, staring at the two passing figures.

“It certainly looked like them,” Roland answered. “But what are they up to?”

“Something feels wrong about all this,” Drew said.

“I agree,” Josh said, as Roland nodded. I'm gonna check this out.”

Josh made his way towards the back end of the store, just as the two figures entered the back corridor that led to the washroom. As everyone turned their attention back to the front counter, Josh slipped behind a spinner rack that was filled with comics. Josh then dusted his hands, allowing his body to become invisible.

Now completely transparent, Josh darted into the back corridor, where the two figures, who definitely were Trip and Van, were standing at the far end, failing to notice his presence. Josh watched as the two boys each held out their hand, palms facing upwards.

“Brutal Bonder!” Trip and Van called.

Josh watched in awe as a black bonder appeared in each of the boys' extended hands.

“Brutal Blast!” they continued, as energy coursed through their bodies, causing them to both transform into Cobraborg and Viperborg.

“No way,” Josh gasped under his breath. “How?”

As Cobraborg and Viperborg made their way back through the hallway, Josh backed up against the wall, allowing the two Brutalborgs to pass him.

Staring over at the back corridor, Drew and Roland watched in horror as Cobraborg and Viperborg suddenly emerged from it.

“Get them!” Cobraborg cried, aiming his Cobra Carbine towards Drew and Roland, as the crowd of people in the store began to scream in terror as they charged towards the front door.

“Look out!” Roland cried, as the Brutalborgs shot a blast from their lasers in his and Drew's direction. The lasers missed their mark, instead shooting holes through the front window of the store.

“Enough!” Josh shouted, emerging from the back corridor as the Rhodium Cobalt Borg. He proceeded to aim his hands at the Brutalborgs and unleashed a wave of warbled energy at both of them.

“What is that?” Viperborg hissed, as he and Cobraborg proceeded to cover their helmets with their hands.

“It's like some kind of electromagnetic pulse!” Cobraborg exclaimed. “I can barely function with it.”

Josh lowered his hands, ending the attack, just as the store nearly finished emptying out. Drew, Roland and Jo ran past Josh and the Brutalborgs and into the back corridor, where they went ahead and Borged into their armor.

Drew turned to face Josh. “Nice going, I think you weakened them.”

“That took a lot out of me, though,” Josh said.

“You're through, Brutalborgs!” Jo said, as she, Drew and Roland aimed their Data Lasers at the two villains.

“No, don't!” Josh exclaimed. “Don't shoot them!”

“Why not?” Roland asked.

“Because... they're Trip and Van.”

“You can't be serious,” Drew said, the revelation coming as a shock to him and the others.

“Not anymore,” Viperborg said, aiming his Viper Sniper at the four Beetleborgs.

“Dodge it!” Roland exclaimed, as he leaped out of the way of a rapid-fire barrage of Cobraborg's laser blasts.

“What are we gonna do?” Jo asked, dodging an assault from Viperborg. “It's not right to hurt them, even if they aren't exactly on our side.”

“Freeze rays!” Drew shouted, as he inserted a Data Card into his Data Laser.

Wasting no time, the other Beetleborgs readied their Data Lasers, and together, the four of them blasted beams of freezing energy at the Brutalborgs, encasing their bodies in blocks of ice.

Unable to move from his current position, Cobraborg was trying to wriggle himself free from his icy confinement. “I can't move!”

“Me neither!” Viperborg yelled. “Let's get out of here!”

“We'll get you next time, Beetleborgs!” Cobraborg blurted, as he and Viperborg suddenly teleported away.

“They're gone,” Roland said. “But so are all the customers.”

“It's hard to believe that those two are really Trip and Van,” Drew said.

“It's really them,” Josh said. “I saw them transform in front of me when I was invisible.”

“What about the store?” Jo said, prompting the others to look around the room. In addition to two blocks of ice that were slowly melting, there were holes and scorch marks in the walls and floors that had been caused by laser blasts.

“If Mom or Nano haven't seen the damage yet, maybe we can get Flabber to fix everything before they come back,” Roland said.

“Back Blast!” all four Beetleborgs shouted, as they regressed back into their civilian forms.

“I'm gonna contact Flabber,” Drew said. “You guys head outside and see if everyone else is okay.”

Jo, Roland and Josh made their way out through the front of store, where Heather, Nano and Abbie were standing on the street behind a parked car.

“Kids!” Nano called, as she, Abbie and Heather came up the exterior of Zoom Comics. “Kids, are you okay? What happened in there?”

“The Brutalborgs showed up,” Roland replied. “Fortunately, the Beetleborgs arrived in time to stop them.”

“I don't understand who these new Brutalborgs are,” Abbie said, “but just they scared off a ton of customers!”

Nano rolled her eyes. “And they probably trashed the store as well. If they hadn't been packing heat, I'd have given 'em the old one-two!”

“Look at this place,” Abbie said, as she entered the door to Zoom Comics. “Everything looks... absolutely perfect!”

Surely enough, the interior of the store appeared to be spotless. It was as though a fight had not broken out there at all.

“It looks better than it did when we first opened this morning,” Nano said. “And I could've sworn one of those lasers cut a hole through that front window.”

“Nope, no damage here,” Drew said, as he approached the group, giving a wink to his friends.

“I'm gonna check for damage, if there actually is any,” Abbie said. “Nano, you mind watching the counter?”

“So long as our customers actually return,” Nano replied.

Heather then signaled for the others to come over the corner of the store where the couch was, and together they sat down. “What happened in here?” she asked, speaking in a low voice as to not attract the adults in the room.

“Cobraborg and Viperborg are Trip and Van,” Josh said. “But they're not themselves. “They seem to be under some sort of spell.”

“You're kidding,” Heather said, as the others shook their heads.

“First they come after me at school, and now they came after us here at the store,” Jo said. “They're targeting us on purpose. It's like they want us dead.”

“It's not them who want us dead,” Drew said. ”It's Nukus and Vexor. We've gotta take action here. But the question is... how?”

Chapter Text

Roland looked over at Nano and Abbie, both of whom were standing behind the front counter and each holding a copy of the new issue of Beetleborgs.

“We could've sold so many more of these comics if those nasty Beetleborgs, or whatever they were, hadn't shown up,” Nano said.

“Forget the comics,” Abbie said. “This whole ordeal was dangerous. We would've been in a lot of trouble had the actual Beetleborgs not shown up. Everyone in this store could've been seriously injured. We were lucky the Beetleborgs were around to stop them.”

Drew looked around at the rest of his friends, then began to speak in a low voice so that Nano and Abbie wouldn't be able to hear him. “We've gotta do something about the Brutalborgs. And Trip and Van. Whatever's going on here.”

“What should we do?” Jo asked.

“I say we should go see Flabber,” Roland said. “Maybe he'll have an idea as to where we can go from here.”

The others all nodded in agreement, prompting Heather to stand up.

“Abbie,” Heather called. “Nano. Is it okay if we take off for a bit?”

Abbie shrugged. “It's all right with me. You kids weren't supposed to be here until later, anyway.”

“You sure you don't want to stick around for lunch?” Nano asked. "I was gonna make hamburgers with my patented homemade secret sauce!”

“Thanks, but maybe some other time,” Josh said, as the kids all grabbed their bags and made their way out of the comic shop.

“We'll be back later,” Heather said, slinging the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. “We need a break after all this commotion.”

Meanwhile, over at Kingsley Manor, the Magnavors and Crustaceans had all gathered in the living room, where the three Brutalborgs were standing in the middle.

“What's going on here?” Nukus asked, as he began to walk around the Brutalborgs in a circle. “I sent you three to destroy the Platinum Purple Borg at school, where she would have no backup. And you failed.”

“We tried,” Shadowborg said. “It was hard to get a good shot at her with so may people around who were all running and screaming.”

“We almost had her,” Viperborg stated. “But somehow, the other Beetleborgs showed up and turned the tables on us.”

“Clearly, they were alerted to her situation somehow,” Cobraborg said.

“And what do we have to show for it?” Vexor asked. “The three of you were attacked, with Shadowborg taking the brunt of the damage.”

“And so we sent the two of you to go after the Beetleborgs at the emporium of comic books, and you still failed,” Nukus said.

“We don't know what happened in there,” Cobraborg whined. “We entered the store in our civilian forms, so as to not draw any unwanted attention. “We failed to notice that Rhodiun Cobalt Borg, but somehow he found us, and that ruined everything!”

“You should've sent us to these places!” Typhus blurted. “We would've destroyed the Beetleborgs!”

“Oh, please,” Horribelle said. “You Magnavors are so inept.”

“Watch who you're calling inept, sister!” Noxic snapped, pointing a finger at Horribelle.

“Ve Magnavors could destroy Beetleborgs vith vun hand tied behind back!” Jara cried.

“Care to back up that claim?” Vilor asked.

“Break it up!” Nukus blurted, holding out his hands. “Save your energy for the Beetleborgs. Not each other!”

“Our biggest obstacle so far seems to have been bad luck,” Vexor said. “However, in addition to taking significant damage, Shadow Borg has been under-performing.”

“What do you mean?” Shadow Borg asked.

“You were reassembled haphazardly. And when Nukus first brought you to life, he used a human host, did he not? Well, I managed to make you operational after the vortex tore you apart, but I could not provide a host for you. I believe that an upgrade for you is in order.”

“What about us?” Viperborg asked.

“You two have also sustained damage. For now, you will be undergoing maintenance, along with Shadow Borg.”

Over at Hillhurst, the kids had all seated themselves with Flabber in the parlor.

“So let me get this straight,” Flabber began. “There's these two new bad Borgs out there, called Cobraborg and Viperborg?”

The kids all nodded.

“And Corbraborg and Viperborg... are Trip? And Van?”

Drew let out a sigh. “Unfortunately.”

“Trip and Van? But they're such... chickens!”

At that moment, a real hen suddenly materialized in Flabbers arms and began clucking.

“Flabber, this isn't funny!” Josh exclaimed.

“You're right,” Flabber said, as the hen transformed into a rubber chicken, which Flabber proceeded to squeeze, causing it to honk. “Is it funny now?”

“FLABBER!” Roland cried. “We don't even know how or why Trip and Van became the Brutalborgs!

Flabber tossed the rubber chicken away, causing it to let out a loud squawk as it hit the wall. “Okay! I'll try to check in on Trip and Van. Maybe I can get some insight as to what's going on here.”

“Where are you gonna look?” Jo asked.

“I'll start with Kingsley Manor,” Flabber replied. “Hold on.”

Flabber closed his eyes, then placed a hand upon his forehead. The kids all watched as Flabber squinted his eyes and clenched his cheeks back and forth.

“Flabber?” Heather asked. “Are you okay?”

Flabber did not respond.

“Um, Earth to Flabber?” Drew said.

Flabber opened his eyes as he let out a gasp. “Wow! Something is definitely up at Kingsley Manor! I can't look inside the place at all!”

“You mean...” Jo began.

“It's protected by the same magic that used to protect the crypt!”

“But, why?” Heather asked.

“The crypt is gone,” Josh said. “All these villains that came out of subspace... they had to go somewhere, didn't they?”

“But why Trip and Van?” Roland asked. “And why their house?”

“Trip and Van's dad is like the richest guy in town, is he not?” Flabber asked. “You take control of that household, you're getting a lot with it.”

“We should really investigate what's going on here,” Heather said. “We don't even know what's happened to the rest of the Kingsley family or any of their house staff.”

“Whatever's going on, we should head over to Kingsley Manor and try to find out what's going on,” Drew said. “Even if we can't solve the problem, any leads that we might be able to get would be a start.”

“Is this really such a great idea? I don't want you guys getting in another fight.”

“We just need some answers. And the only way to get them is to go to the source. Come on. We'll see you later, Flabber."

“Be careful,” Flabber said, as the kids got up and made their way out of the house through the front door.

The kids got onto their bikes and proceeded to make their way back onto the main road. After cycling through the streets of Charterville for a short time, they eventually made their way towards a large estate that was surrounded by a wrought iron fence.

“There it is,” Drew said, as the kids stopped across the street from the estate. “Kingsley Manor.”

“Wow,” Roland said. “This isn't my first time seeing the place, but I'm always impressed by how big it is. Especially compared to my house.”

“We can admire the scenery later,” Jo said. “Right now, we need to go over there and find out what's going on.”

“How?” Josh asked. “We're not even friends with Trip and Van. We can't just walk on in like we live there.”

“Not to mention all the Crustaceans and Magnavors that are likely lurking inside,” Drew said.

“I'll try,” Heather said. “Trip and Van have a thing for me. Plus I've actually been inside this place before. Maybe I can at least learn something.”

“Go for it,” Roland said. “Even if they'll only appeal to you.”

“I'll tag along as backup,” Josh said.

Heather and Josh left their bikes with the others, then made their way across the street. From there, they walked along the side of the fence, until they had reached the front gate. Upon reaching the front gate, Josh noticed that there was an intercom, as well as a mounted surveillance camera.

“I'm here for you in case they try anything,” Josh said, as he backed away, He then proceeded to dust his hands and turn invisible, as Heather pushed the intercom button, which produced a short buzz. For several seconds, there was nothing but silence.

“Yeah, who's there?” Noxic's voice announced through the intercom, which took both Heather and Josh by surprise.

“Oh, I'm Heather," the young girl replied.

“Heather?” Noxic asked.

“Heather Albright. Trip and Van know me from school.”

“Trip and Van? They ain't here!”

“Well, where are they?”

“They... uh... went to... uh... Vermont! Yeah, that's it. They went to Vermont to go to their cousin's funeral!”

“Since when? They were at Zoom Comics no more than an hour ago! The store was attacked and I wanted to make sure that they were okay.”

“Uh... that's impossible! Trip and Van went to Vermont! You must've been imagining things. Now, if you don't have any further business here, why don't you take off?”

Heather sighed. “Fine.”

Heather turned away from the gate. As she walked away back down the sidewalk, Josh allowed himself to become visible again.

“That lousy louse, Noxic!” Josh huffed. “What does he think you are? Stupid?”

“He's a terrible liar,” Heather said, as the two of them crossed the street and joined back up with Drew, Jo and Roland.

“Well that was pretty pointless!” Josh exclaimed, as he and Heather told the others about Noxic.

“Well, at least this fully confirms our theory,” Roland said. “There's villains in that house and they're definitely up to something.”

“So what do we do now?” Jo asked.

“We can't just barge in there with a preemptive strike,” Drew replied. “There's probably innocent people trapped inside that place. Especially if Noxic was the one who answered the intercom.”

“You're saying we should sneak in?” Heather asked.

“It's worth a shot,” Josh said.

“You'd better be careful. Breaking into a place like this isn't going to be easy. If you guys set off an alarm, all the villains that are in there will find you. And even if you do manage to sneak inside, what are you going to do once you're in there?”

“Getting a clear shot on Nukus or Vexor would be nice,” Drew replied. “But I think it's equally important that we try to rescue anyone who might be trapped in there. Even Trip and Van.”

“Maybe we should come back later,” Jo said. “Like at night, when Trip, Van and hopefully everyone else would likely be asleep. If we can get around the alarms, and nobody else is awake, we might actually be able to pull this whole thing off.”

“Tonight?” Roland asked. “We haven't even had lunch yet because of all this mayhem that's been going on.”

“Let's head back to Zoom Comics,” Heather said. “Maybe Nano will still be willing to cook us some burgers if we get back in time.”

“What about the villains?” Drew asked, as everyone got onto their bikes. “What if they try something again before tonight?

“It's not the villains I'm worried about,” Josh said, as he and the others began to cycle down the road. “It's Trip and Van. It's one thing to fight evil monsters that came to life from drawings. It's another to hurt real people, even if those people are... them.”

“I think I'll stop by the second hand store after work,” Heather said. “I might be able to pick up a few things there that we can use when we return to Kingsley Manor.”

“Sounds good,” Roland said. “We'll figure out the best course of action later.”

Chapter Text

For the remainder of the day, things stayed relatively quiet. There had been no further sightings of the Magnavors, Crustaceans or the Brutalbrogs anywhere throughout Charterville. Nevertheless, the events that had unfolded within the past day had left everyone on edge, especially the Beetleborgs and Heather.

The kids hung out at Zoom Comics for the afternoon. Fortunately, business had improved since the Brutalborg attack that had transpired in the morning, albeit not as much as Abbie and Nano had been anticipating. Still, it was nice to have customers coming into the store after such a huge scare.

Many hours later, long after everyone had gone home for dinner, the Beetleborgs were flying across the night sky over Charterville, utilizing the wings of their Mega Spectra suits. Flying in the center of the group was Heather, who had one Beetleborg supporting her each by a different limb.

“I see Kingsley Manor at eleven o'clock,” Jo said, who was at the head of the group that was now roughly one-thousand feet over the town.

“You doing okay, Heather?” Drew asked.

“It's awfully cold up here,” Heather replied, as the windchill blasted against her face and hair.

“We're almost there, Roland said. “Let's head on down!”

The Beetleborgs began to descend down towards Kingsley Manor. Before long, they slowed down and came in for a landing on the roof.

“All right, this is it,” Josh said said, looking around at the many slopes and windows that lined the roof. “How do we get inside?”

“It can't be through forced entry,” Heather replied. “You'll set off an alarm.”

“We might be able to find a way in, but not you two,” Roland said, looking at Heather and Josh.

“You'll have to slip inside and disarm the system.”

Drew nodded. “Okay. How do we get into this place?”

“I got it!” Jo exclaimed, pointing over to the grating of a ventilation duct. “We can enter through here.”

Drew, Jo and Roland all turned to look at one another, then nodded. “Back Blast!” they called, causing them to regress back into their civilian forms.

Jo went ahead and cracked her knuckles, triggering her super strength. She proceeded to rip off the grating, exposing a vent that led down into the house.

“Get your masks on,” Heather said, as she slipped a black ski mask over her head, as did the rest of her friends.

“Bug out!” Drew, Jo and Roland all announced, before they immediately shrunk down and transformed into beetles.

“From what I recall, the control panel for the alarm system is on the first floor, in the front hall.”

“Okay,” Drew squeaked in a high-pitched voice. “We'll keep in touch.”

Drew, Jo and Roland proceeded to crawl into the ventilation duct, and utilized the adhesiveness of their insect appendages to cling to the metal wall of the shaft as they made their way downward.. After crawling for a short while, they came across a several paths that branched away horizontally.

“That must be the second floor,” Roland said. “We want the first.”

The beetles continued downward further, until they reached another crossroad in the ventilation system.

“This has to be the first floor,” Drew said. “But where's the front hall from here?”

“I think it's this way,” Jo said, as she proceeded to skitter down one of the branching tunnels.

After passing around a series consisting of corners, twists and turns, Drew, Jo and Roland had finally arrived at another grating. Peering through the bars, the beetles could see that they had indeed made it to the front hall, and were looking into it from the perspective of the floor.

“How're we gonna get through the grate?” Roland asked. “The bars are too close together for us to squeeze through.”

“I can get us through here,” Jo said. “Give me some space, please!”

Drew and Roland backed away from Jo, who remained by the grating.

“I hope you know what you're doing,” Drew said.

“Further than that!” Jo cried, prompting the two boys to continue crawling away.

“Bug back!” Jo called, as she transformed back into her human form, only for her body to now be strongly compressed within the confines of the duct.

“Jo, what are you doing?” Roland ask. “You can hardly move in here like that!”

Saying nothing, Jo cracked her knuckles, then went ahead and smacked the grating that was next to her, knocking it out of its place and onto the floor outside the vent.

“Bug out!” Jo called, as Drew and Roland made their way back to her as she shifted back into a beetle.

“Nice one,” Roland said, as the three of them crawled out through the hole and into the front hall of the mansion.

“I think the coast is clear,” Drew said.

“Bug back!” the kids called, as they all shot back up into their human forms.

“Hope we're good,” Roland said, as he looked around, hoping that they had not attracted any unwanted attention.

“That must be the control panel,” Jo called, pointing to an alarm panel that had been affixed to a wall by one side of the stairs.

The three kids walked up to the alarm panel, which boasted a light that was glowing red, along with an LCD screen that read SYSTEM ARMED.

“Okay, how do we shut this thing off?” Roland asked. “We don't know the code, and entering the wrong one could set off the alarm.”

“Like this,” Drew said, holding out his arm. “Data Bonder!”

Drew and Jo watched as Drew's Data Bonder appeared in his hand. He then held it up in front of the alarm panel.

“What are you doing?” Jo asked.

Drew then pressed several buttons on his Bonder. “I'm hacking the system.” He waited as his Data Bonder beeped several times. Suddenly, the red light on the alarm panel changed to green, and the LCD screen now read DISARMED – READY TO ARM.

“All right,” Roland said, as Drew pressed another button on his Data Bonder.

“Josh!” Drew called. “Come in. I've disabled the alarm. Meet us at the front door.”

“Roger,” Josh said, speaking into his Data Bonder from the roof, as it suddenly vanished in a flash of electricity. “Come on, Heather.”

Josh and Heather walked to the front side of the roof, above the entrance to the mansion. Still in his Mega Spectra form, Josh held onto Heather with both arms.

“Going down,” Josh called as he stepped off of the roof and lowered both himself and Heather to the front steps of Kingsley Manor. As they landed, the door opened up from the inside, revealing Drew, Jo and Roland standing behind it.

“Sheesh!” Heather cried. “I know it had to be you three, but you scared me!”

“All right, where do we go from here?” Josh asked, as he and Heather entered the house.

“I scanned the house while we were waiting for you,” Drew said. “There was a strange energy reading coming from down that hallway over there.”

“Think we should check it out?” Heather asked.

“Might as well,” Roland replied.

The kids proceeded to walk down the hallway, hoping that no unwanted figures would suddenly show up and spot them. To their right, the group noticed a small, open room that was being used as a study. However, the room was lined with a series of red lasers aimed at varying angles, at the center of which stood Shadow Borg.

“Oh my god!” Jo gasped, yet the motionless Shadow Borg did not respond to the presence of any of the kids.

“Relax,” Drew said. “He isn't moving. I think he's been shut off for the night.”

“Look,” Roland said, pointing to a small, strange machine that Shadow Borg had been connected to through the use of several cords. “I think that machine next to Shadow Borg is being used to charge him.”

“Hey, if Shadow Borg's been turned off, this might be our chance to shut him down. Permanently.”

“We'd have to get him out of here, first,” Josh said.

“What's with all those lasers?” Jo asked. “I thought Drew shut off the security system.”

“Look at them closely,” Heather said. “They're not being projected through anything. They're just... there. Must be the work of Vexor or Nukus.”

“”If these aren't part of the house's security system, how do we shut them off?” Roland asked.

“We don't,” Heather replied. “If only there was a way to get Shadow Borg out of here. We could put him offline for good.”

“We'd have to guide him through the lasers somehow,” Drew said. “And I don't think I can maneuver him safely.”

“Back Blast!,” Josh said, returning to his civilian form. “I've got an idea. Watch.”

Josh dusted his hands and became invisible. He then proceeded to enter the study, allowing his transparent body to pass through the laser beams without disrupting any of them.

“Careful, Josh,” Jo said, as Josh stopped in front of Shadow Borg. Josh proceeded to unplug one of the cords that had been connected to Shadow Borg, then slowly lowered it, making sure not to let it touch any of the lasers.

Soon Josh had disconnected every last cord that was connecting Shadow Borg to the machine. Still invisible, he proceeded to grab Shadow Borg by his arm, but found that he was quite heavy.

“He's too heavy,” Josh said.

“Josh, stop,” Heather said. “You'll never get him out of there!”

“I can move him,” Drew said, as he nodded and aimed his fingers at Shadowborg. “Help me guide him out of here.”

“Lift him up,” Josh said, as Drew used his power to levitate Shadow Borg. “Slowly. Get his right arm over that laser. Good.”

“Careful,” Josh said, as Drew gradually pulled Shadow Borg closer to the entrance of the room. “A little to the left.”

Drew shifted Shadow Borg to one side, causing the automaton to hit a laser beam, which set off a loud siren.

“Josh!” Drew cried, trying to make his voice heard over the wailing of the siren. “You said a little to the left!”

“I meant your left, not my left!”

“We better get out of here!” Roland exclaimed, as Josh became visible again and darted to the front of the room.

“Forget about Shadow Borg!” Heather shrieked, as Drew stopped pulling the still motionless Borg closer to where he was standing.

Just as the kids all turned to face the hallway, the Magnavors and Crustaceans, along with Cobraborg and Viperborg, all teleported in front of them.

“What is going on here?” Nukus shouted, as the siren inexplicably stopped.

“Data Bonders!” Drew, Jo, Roland and Josh all called, as their Bonders appeared in the hands. “Input card! Beetle Blast!”

Before the villains could so much as react, the four kids had transformed into their Beetleborg armor.

“Magnavors!” Vexor called. “Crustceans! Brutalborgs! All of you! Attack!”

The various villains all held their hands forward and unleashed a myriad of energy blasts at the Beetleborgs, while Heather darted off down the hallway.

“Hey, is that not girl who vas used for Shadow Borg host? Jara asked.

“It was,” Nukus replied, as the Beetleborgs and villains exchanged blows. “But she's helpless. She's the least of our concern. Focus on the Beetleborgs!”

“There's too many of them!” Roland cried, as he tried to fight off Typhus with his Metallix Grappler, only to get shot by Viperborg's Viper Sniper.

“Let's make it too many plus one!” Noxic called. “Shadow Borg, awaken!”

“No, you fool!” Vexor called. “Not yet!”

Drew looked back and watched as Shadow Borg's eyes lit up, and the robot rose to his feet. Shadow Borg proceeded to run out of the room, then down the hallway towards the front hall, where Heather had gone to.

“No, stop!” Roland exclaimed, as he charged after Shadow Borg, who had chased Heather into the living room.

“Help!” Heather cried, as Shadow Borg approached her.

“Come to me, Heather,” Shadow Borg said. “You make me complete.”

“Leave her alone!” Roland shouted, as he blasted a bolt of electricity from his Grappler at Shadow Borg.

“We've got to get Heather out of here and to safety,” Drew exclaimed, as he, Jo and Josh ran into the living room, with the rest of the villains hot on their tail.

“Right,” Jo said, as she charged towards a large window at the front of the room and crashed through it, landing in a bed of flowers outside. “Come on!”

“Come back here and fight, cowards!” Nukus blared, as the other Beetleborgs and Heather followed Jo's lead through the window.

“Data Bonder!” Drew called, as his Bonder appeared in his hand, and he pushed a button on it. “Flabber, come in! We need you to get all of us out of here!”

“You're not going anywhere, Heather,” Shadow Borg stated, as he stepped closer towards Heather.

“Come on, Flabber!” Jo exclaimed, as the villains began shooting in their direction.

“We're not in the house anymore,” Josh cried, dodging a blast from Vilor. “But are we still too close for Flabber to reach us?”

Before anyone could answer, the Beetleborgs and Heather found themselves being whisked away by a mysterious force.

Chapter Text

Overcome with a feeling of wooziness, Drew looked around and saw that he was no longer standing in the bushes outside of Kingsley Manor. Although he had been there literally only two seconds ago, right now he found himself standing in the parlor at Hillhurst, surrounded by the other Beetleborgs, Heather and Flabber.

“We're back?” Heather asked, as she plopped herself down onto a cushioned chair.

“Back Blast!” the four Beetleborgs all shouted, as they all nearly collapsed onto several other seats.

“Kids!” Flabber gasped, as his mouth hung open in astonishment. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Josh answered, taking a moment to breathe in. “But we really got in over our heads back there.”

“We got caught,” Jo said, panting. “And there were so many Crustaceans and Magnavores and Brutalborgs! Too many!”

“Josh and I were trying to take out Shadow Borg while he was powered off,” Drew said. “But Josh... I mean I-”

“We screwed up and accidentally set off the alarm,” Josh chimed in.

“It's okay,” Flabber said. “What matters now is that you're here, and not back there.”

“Thank you for helping us, Flabber,” Jo said, as she stood up and gave the phasm a hug.

“It was nothing,” Flabber said, hugging Jo back.

“Yeah,” Heather said. “Nothing.”

“Heather, what's wrong?” Roland asked. “I know we had a rough time, but you sound upset.”

“You think?” Heather asked, crossing her arms. “Well let me ask you something. What good am I to anyone? Sure, I'm an honorary Beetleborg, but I'm not a real one!”

“Heather...” Flabber began.

“I don't need your sympathy,” Heather announced, standing up. “Look, I care for you guys. In fact, I love every one of you. But I can't keep this up! Even if I'm able to use your weapons, I don't have any real way of defending myself. I could've been killed back there!”

“Heather, you're not useless to us,” Josh said.

“Well, I certainly felt useless. Face it. I really shouldn't have tagged along. That was just stupid. I'm going home.”

As Heather walked towards the front door, the other kids all stood up.

“Wait up!” Drew cried, as he and the others followed Heather. “It's late, so let's all bike home together. We can talk about this in the morning.”

Heather groaned as she reached for the doorknob. “Just leave me alone.”

Heather turned the doorknob and proceeded to open the door. She nearly froze when who should be standing on the other side was none other than Shadow Borg.

“I knew I would find you here,” Shadow Borg said, pointing directly at Heather, who already was slowly backing away from the android.

“Yikes!” Flabber shrieked, as he ran towards the stairs and a brick wall appeared in front of him, the top of which was lined with barbed wire.

“Get away from her, Shadow Borg,” Drew snarled, as Shadow Borg began to follow Heather.

“Heather is coming with me.”

“I don't think so,” Josh said.

At that moment, Josh, Drew, Jo and Roland all held out their hands. “Data Bonder!” they eached called. “Input card! Beetle Blast!”

Just as the four kids transformed into the Beetleborgs, Shadow Borg's body suddenly broke up into thousands of tiny, floating pieces.

“What's going on?” Jo asked, as the fragments of Shadow Borg began to swirl around in the air.

“I dunno,” Drew replied. “But whatever it is, I don't like it.”

“And I don't want to find out what it's up to,” Josh said, as he aimed his hands at the swirling mass.

Josh shot his lasers at directly at the mess of fragments, but found that the beams flew directly through it and continued to fly out the the front door.

“It didn't work!” Jo gasped.

At that moment, the fragments flew directly to where Heather was standing and proceeded to circle around her body with the force of a tornado.

“Help me!” Heather screamed.

“Leave her alone!” Flabber exclaimed, as he shot streams of magic from his hands at the fragments, only for the magic to ricochet off of them. Before anyone else could react, Shadow Borg had completely reformed himself over Heather's body.

Shadow Borg laughed. “Yes. I am complete now.”

“You get away from Heather right now!” Roland blared.

“We have to stop him,” Drew said, as he removed the Data Laser from his holster and aimed it at Shadow Borg. “But... Heather.”

“I don't know what you hope to accomplish,” Shadow Borg said. “Nukus used Heather to create me. Now I have her back. Shoot me if you want, but if you destroy me, you destroy Heather.”

Shadow Borg turned around to face the door. “I will return, but I won't be alone.”

“Oh no you don't!” Flabber blurted, as he unleashed more magic from his hands at Shadow Borg, conjuring up a chain of energy that wrapped itself around the evil Borg's body, as the front door slammed itself shut.

Shadow Borg squirmed and twisted himself in an attempt to break free from Flabber's confinement, but was proving to be unsuccessful. “You can't hold me here forever, Flabber!”

“Flabber, do something!” Roland cried.

Flabber winced. “Like what? Shadow Borg has fused himself with Heather. If I, or any of us cause any harm to Shadow Borg, we'd also harm Heather.”

“You can't separate them?” Drew asked.

Flabber shook his head. “I don't have that magnitude of power. Shadow Borg and Heather are one.”

“That's right,” Shadow Borg said. “This isn't like the last time. Heather is mine.”

“Attention Beetleborgs!” came Vexor's voice, which seemed to be amplified and coming from outside the house. “We know you have Shadow Borg. You have three minutes to release him, or else my Brutalborgs will come inside and remove him from THEIR house!”

“It's the Magnavors!” Fangula exclaimed, as he and the other monsters stepped into the foyer from the parlor.

“They really are a sight for sore eyes!” cried Little Ghoul. “And they've got those Brutalborgs with them as well!”

“What are we gonna do?” Jo asked, as Shadow Borg continued to try and break out of his confinement.

“Just give them the Shadow Borg suit!” Mums exclaimed.

“We... can't.” Flabber sighed, as Wolfie mumbled something while pointing at Shadow Borg.

“Please, Wolfie!” Fangula exclaimed. “Where are we even gonna find a can opener that size?”

“Two minutes,” Vexor announced.

“Please, Flabber,” Josh said. “Right now you're the only one who can help.”

A light bulb suddenly appeared and lit up over Flabber's head. “I've got one idea that might work. But if it fails, it could destroy Shadow Borg, and Heather along with it.”

Everyone stared at Shadow Borg, who had now torn apart one strand of the energy that had been binding him.

“You can't defeat me,” Shadow Borg said. “And if you did, I'd be bringing Heather down with me.”

“Do it,” Drew said. “I'd rather let Heather pass on to heaven than have her endure a living hell.”

Jo, Roland and Josh all nodded, followed by the monsters.

“Okay,” Flabber said, flailing his hands around. “Here goes nothing. I hope.”

Cast out the darkness,
Banish the blight,
Sayonara, Shadowborg!
Fill Heather with light! Light! Light!

Everyone watched as sparkles shot out of Flabber's hands and flew towards Shadow Borg, just as he broke through the final rope. Flabber's magic encircled Shadow Borg, then seeped its way into the dark armor.

“No!” Shadow Borg yelled. “You can't do this to me...”

At that moment, Shadow Borg broke up into thousands of tiny pieces, revealing Heather who had been obscured underneath him.

“Flabber, what's going on?” Jo asked, as the fragments of Shadow Borg floated in front of Heather, along with his still intact Sonic Laser.

“I don't know!” Flabber cried.

Suddenly, having broken free from her keychain, Heather's Beetle Badge came flying out of her pocket and into the cloud of swarming fragments. Everyone watched as the Beetle Badge quickly absorbed every last fragment, and inexplicably transformed into a Data Bonder. The Bonder surged with pink electricity, which flowed through Heather's body, transforming her.

Everyone stared at Heather. Standing before them was not Shadow Borg; instead, they were staring at a new Beetleborg. Her armor was pink and metallic, and while she still slightly resembled Shadow Borg, the longhorn beetle antenna was now longer, sporting several silvery tufts. Lastly, Shadow Borg's Sonic Laser flew into Heather's hand, but the moment she grasped it, it transformed, growing into a large, metallic boomerang.

“Heather?” Roland asked.

“Flabber,” Drew began nervously, “what did you do?”

“I was just trying to get rid of the darkness that was in Shadow Borg!” Flabber cried. “I never expected all... this to happen. I don't know what I did!”

“Guys,” the new Borg said, speaking in Heather's proper voice. “It's me. I'm okay.”

“You're better than okay!” Jo blurted. “You're a brand new Beetleborg!”

The entire room erupted in a chorus of cheers, as Roland accepted Heather's boomerang from her.

“Awesome!” Roland said, examing the new weapon. “Somehow Shadow Borg's Sonic Laser turned into this Metallix Boomerang.”

“And look at your hands,” Josh said, pointing to a lens that was in the center of his palm, then over to an identical feature in Heather's hand. “You've got twin Data Lasers in your hands, just like me!”

“Flabber...” Heather began, “I don't-”

“Thirty seconds, Beetleborgs!” Vexor called.

Saying nothing, Drew marched over to the door and opened it up.

“Drew!” Roland cried. “What are you doing?”

Drew did not respond, as he instead walked out onto the porch. Standing in the yard in front of the house were Vexor, Jara, Noxic, Typhus, Cobraborg and Viperborg.

“Shadow Borg is gone,” Drew called.

“I don't believe him,” Typhus huffed. “Call off your bluff, Beetlebum!”

“Shadow Borg was in there,” Cobraborg said. “We detected his presence.”

“But that presence has vanished,” Viperborg added.

“Did Shadow Borg just up and disappear or somethin'?” Noxic asked, as Jo, Roland and Josh stepped out onto the porch next to Drew.

“Leave!” Roland cried, reaching for his Data Laser. “Now!”

“You creeps looking for Shadow Borg?” Heather asked, stepping out onto the porch.

“What?” Vexor asked. “Who are you? What happened to Shadow Borg?”

Heather stared down at Vexor. “I'm what happened to Shadow Borg.”

Jara pointed towards Heather. “She is not Shadow Borg! Is someone else!”

“She can't be Shadow Borg!” Typhus cried.

“Yo, Pinky!” Noxic shouted. “What'd you do to Shadow Borg, huh?”

“If this... atrocity is somehow Shadow Borg, I'll be taking her back and fixing her for good.” Vexor said. “Bring her to me!”

“Sure thig, Vexor!” Typhus announced, as he, Jara and Noxic approached the stairs.

“Take this!” Heather cried, as she held her arm back, then swung it forward, tossing her Metallix Boomerang towards the Magnavor trio. It went flying into Noxic, then bounded its way over to Typhus, before deflecting over to Jara, then finally ricocheting back into Heather's hand. Upon being hit in the head, each Maganvor proceeded to fall over, rubbing their head where the boomerang had hit them.

“No way,” Roland gasped.

“We'll stop her!” Viperborg cried out, as he aimed his Viper Sniper at Heather.

“Hold your fire!” Vexor blared. “I want Shadow Borg, or whatever this is, back in one piece!” He let out a growl. “Do I have to do everything around here?”

Vexor held out his hands and exerted a strange black glow at Heather, which began to pull her in towards the Magnavor leader.

“Let me go!” Heather yelled, finding herself unable to move her body as she flew closer to Vexor.

“Now!” Drew cried, as he fired his Data Laser at Vexor, along with Roland and Jo.

“No!” Vexor screamed, as the intensity of the three lasers began to burn their way through his body, immobilizing him.

“Destroy them!” Cobraborg shouted, as he and Viperborg proceeded to shoot rapid fire lasers at Drew, Jo and Roland.

“Sorry guys,” Josh cried, as he aimed his hands at the two Brutalborgs, blasting the two of them with lasers that knocked them onto their backsides. He then proceeded to shoot his lasers at Vexor.

“NO!” Vexor blared, as he lost his hold on Heather, dropping the Borg to the ground. “I will not go back to the comic world again! I will not!”

“He's too strong!” Drew exclaimed, as the lasers continued. “It's like he's trying to resist the force of our attack! And it's working!”

Heather then aimed her hands at Vexor and proceeded to blast two pink lasers at the villain. Combined with the rest of the Beetleborgs, there were now seven laser beams that were blasting their way into Vexor.

“NO!” Vexor roared. “This can't be... happening!”

As Vexor continued to scream, fractures began to appear all over his body, with colorful light seeping through every last one of them. Suddenly, Vexor's entire body exploded in a spectacle of light, as tiny pieces of his charred corpse went flying every which way.

Chapter Text

Everyone watched as a cloud of smoke, which was now all that remained of Vexor, slowly dissipated into the air in front of Hillhurst.

“Boss?” Tyhpus asked, as he calmly stepped towards where Vexor had been standing.

“Is boss... dead?” Jara asked.

Noxic stared up at the Beetleborgs, all of whom were standing on the porch, pointing their data lasers towards the Magnavors. “Come on! Let's amscray!”

“You'll pay for this, Beetledorks!” Typhus cried, as he, Jara and Noxic all crossed their arms, then proceeded to teleport away.

“Come on,” Cobraborg said, as he and Viperborg got up to their feet. “Let's go.”

“But, what about Vexor?” Viperborg asked. “He's gone. The Beetleborgs destroyed him. They need to be punished.”

“We can't defeat them all,” Cobraborg said. “We'll get back at them.”

“Wait!” Heather called. “Flabber can help you!”

“We don't want your help!” Viperborg announced, as he and Cobraborg both teleported away.

At that moment, Flabber came walking out through the front door. “That... was... flabsolutely incredible!”

“But Trip and Van got away,” Heather said.

“Hey, we just destroyed Vexor, did we not?” Roland asked.

“Plus, you just became an actual Beetleborg!” Jo shrieked.

“And Shadow Borg is gone, too,” Drew added.

Josh nodded. “I think we can call this a win.”

Heather slowly nodded herself. “I know. We may have won the battle, but what about the war? I mean, what's Nukus gonna do about all this? And then there's the whole matter with Trip and Van, as well as the rest of their family.”

“I dunno,” Flabber replied. “However, we will try to fix it. But for now, let's all go back inside for the time being, shall we?”

Flabber led the Beetleborgs into the house, where everyone began to crowd around Heather.

“Wow!” cried Fangula. “A fifth Beetleborg!”

“Oh yeah!” exclaimed Mum. “I'd say we've got an entire smorgasborg!”

“So Flabber, where exactly did you get the power to turn Shadow Borg into... this?” Little Ghoul asked.

“Hold on!” Jo exclaimed. “I know Heather seems to be in control, but can we even be sure that Shadow Borg is truly gone?”

“You feel fine, right?” Drew asked, facing Heather.

“Time out!” Flabber shouted, as a whistle appeared in his mouth. He quickly blew into it, and produced the sound of an air horn, which silenced everyone in the room.

“I feel fine,” Heather said. “Honest. When Shadow Borg was in control, I wasn't.”

“We're not doubting you, Heather,” Flabber said. “But we need to check, just to be on the safe side.”

A metal detector appeared in Flabber's hands. He proceeded to aim the metal detector up towards Heather, which beeped repeatedly as he moved it around in front of her.

“You find anything, Flabber?” Roland asked.

“No Shadow Borg here,” Flabber answered, as the metal detector vanished.

“Awesome,” Jo said. “He's gone, but his armor's on our side now.”

“However, I did find out which alloys are in that suit. It's mostly gold, some copper, a bit of silver, and zinc. A bit of a mishmash, actually.”

“I bet it's pink gold,” Heather said, studying her own arm. “It's gold that's been mixed with copper and silver. But not zinc.”

“Zinc and pink gold?” Roland asked.

“Eureka!” Flabber cried. “I've got it! You can be the Pink Zinc Beetleborg!”

Everyone cheered in unison.

“Pink Zinc!” Frankie shouted. “Pink Zinc! Pink Zinc!”

“Back Blast!” Heather cried, as her armor instantly retracted itself from her body and disappeared. She then looked over at Flabber. “Thank you.”

“Back Blast!” the other Borgs called, and they too reverted back into their civilian forms.

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Flabber said. “But don't just give thanks to me. Give thanks to everyone here.”

“But why?” Little Ghoul asked. “We didn't do anything.”

“I couldn't have created a new Beetleborg on my own. I needed the love and kindness of everyone in this room to do what I did. Your fellow Beetleborgs, as well as the monsters, as much as they might not want to admit it.”

Mums sighed. “Enough with the mushy stuff!”

“Of course, love alone wouldn't have been enough. Normally, I'd have needed something such as a drawing from Art Fortunes to do what I did. But, since Shadow Borg was nice enough to give us his body, I was able to work with that! I think that all of that, combined with the significance of Heather's Beetle Badge, made this all possible.”

“Speaking of Art, he'll flip out when he hears about this,” Drew said.

“How did you come up Heather's Boomerang, Flabber?” Josh asked.

“I didn't...” Flabber replied, sounding confused. “It just sorta... happened, along with the rest of the Pink Zinc armor. My guess is that since I'm tied to the rest of you Metallix Borgs, my magic caused Heather to somehow become one as well.”

“And let's not forget that with the fall of Vexor, and Shadow Borg becoming Pink Zinc, that our numbers have gone up by one, while the bad guys have fallen by two!” Roland exclaimed.

“What should we do now?” Heather asked. “If we all had the power to destroy Vexor, do you think we could do the same to Nukus?”

“It's hard to say,” Drew replied. “Vexor was strong, sure. But I'd argue that Nukus is even stronger. Even more resilient.”

Jo smiled. “Either way, with you on our team, I'm starting to like our odds more and more.”

Heather sighed. “I'm thankful for these powers. Don't get me wrong. But at the same time, it's making me feel like I, like all of us Beetleborgs, are nothing without them.”

“Heather,” Josh said. “Don't look at it that way.”

“Says you. The moment you lost your White Blaster Borg powers, you parted ways with the team for quite some time.”

“Heather, there's more to being a Beetleborg than just having superpowers,” Roland said. “But we're up against some pretty tough enemies. We wouldn't stand a chance against them if we were ordinary people. You know that.”

Heather rolled her eyes, the proceeded to look at her watch. “I guess. Anyway, it's gotten really late. I think the five of us ought to be heading home. Besides, if my parents find out that I'm still out at this hour, they'll ground me for a year!”

Drew yawned. “You're absolutely right. Besides, I'm starting to feel sleepy myself.”

“All right,” Flabber said. “Good night, kids! “We'll figure out where to go from here tomorrow!”

“Okay, but don't knock yourself out over helping Trip and Van,” Mums said.

“Yeah,” noted Fangula. “As long as they're running around as the Brutalborgs, they'll be too busy to try and kick us out of Hillhurst!”

Heather rolled her eyes. “There's gotta be a better way to deal with all this.”

As the kids made their way out through the front door, they exchanged goodbyes with the monsters, then got onto their bikes and proceeded to cycle away from the house.

The following morning at Charterville Junior High, Heather was in a hallway, rummaging through the contents of her locker, when Drew, Roland and Josh all approached her.

“Hey, Heather,” Drew called, although Heather did not turn her attention towards him or the others.

“Heather, you okay?” Roland asked.

“I'm fine,” Heather replied, flipping through a notebook of hers. “We were up late last night, so I didn't exactly get a good night's sleep, and now class is about to start!”

“We get it,” Josh said. “But after school, we're going to go back to Hillhurst. Maybe we can work together with Flabber to come up with a plan to deal with Nukus and the Brutalborgs.”

“Yeah,” Roland added. “And maybe he can better analyze your suit. See if we can possibly learn something new about it, given that it wasn't originally produced by either him or Art.”

Heather backed out from her locker, slammed the door, then held up her hands as she turned to face Drew, Roland and Josh. “Guys, please! I'm really busy today! First, I've gotta go to the comic shop after school and work. And secondly, I'm going to Amanda's birthday party after that! I don't have time for any of this Hillhurst nonsense today.”

“Look, I get it,” Drew said. “It's just that-”

“It's not that I don't want to help,” Heather said, interrupting Drew. “But I was kinda just thrust into this whole situation, and... well... I have a life! Now look, I did find-”

“Hey, Heather!” called another girl from down the hallway, drawing the attention of Heather and the boys. They turned to look at where the voice had come from, and saw several girls approaching them, all dressed up in basketball uniforms.

Heather smiled as the girls stopped in front of her, “Oh, hey!”

“Heather, you're coming to my party tonight, right?” Amanda asked.

“Of course I am. What made you think that I wouldn't?”

Rebecca sighed. “Heather, we were supposed to hang out after dinner on Tuesday. But then you called me up at the last minute and told me that you suddenly had other plans.”

Heather sighed. “Look, I'm sorry about that. But I'm coming to your party tonight, Amanda. I promise.”

Drew rolled his eyes.

“What's wrong with him?” Laura asked, looking at Drew.

“Nothing's wrong,” Drew sighed.

“Doesn't Heather work with you seventh graders at the comic shop sometimes?” Brooke asked, twirling a basketball upon her index finger.

“Yeah, my parents own that place,” Roland said.

“That's right,” Nicole said. “I remember you telling us about that... Nolan, is it?”

“It's Roland.”

“Anyway, you three are pretty close to Heather,” Amanda said. “Even if you are only seventh graders. You know what, how'd you three like to come to my party tonight?”

“Really?” Josh asked.

“Yeah, really. Be at my house by seven.”

“Wait,” Drew said. “What about Jo?”

“She's your younger sister, right?” Rebecca asked.

“Tell her she can come too,” Amanda said.

“Seriously?” Nicole asked. “She's like ten years old.”

“Look, they were pretty cool at the meteor shower. Let's give them a chance to prove themselves.”

At that moment, the schoolbell rang.

“Come on, Heather,” Laura said. “We've got to get to homeroom.”

“You girls go on ahead,” Heather said, as her female friends walked off in one direction.

“A party?” Roland asked. “We don't have time for that.”

“I kinda want to go,” Josh said. “It might be fun.”

“What about Nukus?” Drew asked.

“Well I'm going,” Heather said. “Amanda's my friend. I really don't want to let her down.”

Another bell began to ring. Not nearly as loud as the first bell, this one sounded as though it was coming from inside of Heather's locker. Heather hastily unlocked the door and opened it up, then looked inside. Sitting on the bottom of the locker was a Ghouls' Life magazine, and on the cover sat Flabber's head in place of normal teenage girl's.

“Flabber, what is it?” Drew asked, as he and the others peered into the locker.

“I've got some news,” Flabber replied. “Some bad news. Some really bad news!”

“What's that?” Roland asked.

“Well, it's like this. Just a moment ago, I was going to tell Art about everything that had happened yesterday. So, I attempted to locate him, but... I couldn't find the guy!”

“What does that mean?” Heather asked.

“I can't reach him! And if I can't reach him, it must mean that he's somewhere where my powers are unable to locate him!”

“You mean, like... Nukus' territory,” Josh said, as Flabber nodded worriedly.

“This is bad,” Drew said. “Very bad. We've got to do something.”

“But the bell...” Heather griped. “We've got to get to class, or we'll get detention and things will only get worse.”

Roland sighed. “Heather's right. “Flabber, we'll help you as soon as we possibly can. But right now we have to go to class.”

Heather shut the door to her locker, and the kids ran off down the hallway. Nevertheless, Flabber's head remained on the magazine within the locker.

“Poor kids,” Flabber said. “Wait, what am I saying? Poor Art! I've gotta do something. I've just gotta!”

Chapter Text

While the kids were all tied up at school, Flabber continued to have no success in discovering the whereabouts of Art Fortunes. Alas, Flabber's greatest suspicion was that Nukus' forces had taken hold of Art, and were keeping him somewhere where the phasm was unable to check in on him.

Surely enough, while Flabber had no way to verify his theory for himself, Art Fortunes was indeed being held captive over at Kingsley Manor. In the vast dining room, at one end of the long, mahogany dinner table, Nukus and all of his remaining forces were standing around none other than Art himself. Art was sitting at the head of the table, with dozens of differently colored pencils and a sketchbook spread out in front of him.

“Nukus, you are mad,” Art said. “Why have you even brought me here?”

“It's quite simple, really,” Nukus replied. “The Beetleborgs are stronger than I could have anticipated. I thought that by allying myself with the Magnavors and going as far as to create two new Borgs that I would triumph over them. But sadly, that hasn't been the case. If anything, while the Brutalborgs have firepower, they aren't very resilient. None of us are. Not even the mighty Vexor.”

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

Nukus chuckled. “You're going to make it so that the Beetleborgs are unable to defeat me.”

“Why do you expect me to help you?” Art asked. “If anything, this whole arrangement is really more along the lines of what my brother might get into.”

“That other cartoonist and I are through! Besides, you're the one who managed to launch a successful comic book series. If anything, you're far more talented and capable than your has-been brother.”

“I'm not drawing anything for you!”

“Do you really see a way out of here?” Nukus asked. “You're surrounded. There's no way for you to escape.”

“You won't get away with this!” Art exclaimed. “The Beetleborgs will stop you!”

“The Beetleborgs ain't here!” Noxic cried. “Now shaddup and do exactly what Nukus tells you!”

“Yeah,” Vilor added. “Or you'll be sorry.”

Art grumbled heavily. “All right, Nukus. What sort of monster do you want me-”

“Uh, uh, uh!” Nukus snapped. “I don't want another monster. Not after the way the Beetleborgs destroyed Vexor. You see, I need to become stronger. Much stronger. So much stronger, that the Beetleborgs will never be able to defeat me.”

Art sighed. “And how, pray tell, do you expect me to go about doing that?”

“It's simple, really. “You're going to draw me a crown. But not just any crown. One that grants its wearer limitless strength and power, so that when I wear it, no force in the world will be able to fell me.”

“I dunno about that. See, I normally wouldn't come up with something like that. Not unless I gave it a weak point or-”

“NO!” Nukus roared, in a voice so loud, it caused the chandelier above the table to sway around heavily, before he grabbed Art by the collar of his shirt. “I don't have time for any... stupid... cliches! No weak points! No catches! No tricks! No strings! No excuses! This is not some dumb comic book! This is real life! And you are going to draw me the perfect crown! Is that understood?”

“Nukus, I really don't know if I can even-”

Nukus snarled, as he glared at Art and fired beams of energy from his eyes at the cartoonist.

“Hey!” Art cried, feeling around his body.

“Vhat did you do to him?” Jara asked.

“Careful, cartoonist,” Nukus said. “We wouldn't want you to get cold feet, now, would we?”

“What is going on here?” Art asked, as he untied his right shoe and slipped it off, followed by the sock that had been beneath it. To Art's horror, he saw that the toes on this foot had somehow turned to stone, then immediately proceeded to touch them. “Nukus, what have you done?”

“I'm through with playing games,” Nukus replied, as Art proceeded to remove the shoe and sock from his other foot, only to find that the toes on it had also turned to stone. “You're going to draw me that crown right now. Or else!”

Nukus snapped his fingers, and Art watched as the stone portion of his feet expanded up from his toes and closer to the base of his legs, overtaking the flesh that had been there.

“All right!” screamed Art, discovering that he could no longer wriggle his toes. “I'll draw your lousy crown! Just remove the curse that you put on me, please!”

Nukus shook his head. “I'd prefer it if you finished the crown first. And I suggest that you try and finish it while you're still able to move your hands, if you catch my drift.”

Saying nothing, Art nodded as he proceeded to grab a pencil and slid the sketchbook in front of himself.

Some time later, most of Art's body, including his clothes, albeit with the exception of his neck upwards and right arm, had turned entirely to stone. Art proceeded to pick up a half-finished sketch with his right hand and crumpled it up, before tossing it onto the carpeted dining room floor, where several other crumpled pieces of paper currently sat.

“You really shouldn't have done that,” Nukus said. “I mean, look at you. Is this really how you want to go? What was wrong with that crown you were just drawing?”

“It's just not my style, Nukus,” Art said. “I don't see how I could ever dream up a tool of such power. If you were to bring it to life, it might not work the way you had hoped. This really sounds more like something Les would've come up with, like the Dimensionizer.”

“Your brother doesn't have the creative juices in his veins to perfect something of this caliber. Now draw me a working one, and don't screw it up! Remember, the clock is ticking, and my plan is... sticking.”

“I don't work that well under pressure. And turning me to stone isn't exactly boosting my confidence!”

Before anyone could respond, loud footsteps could be heard from the hallway, and were growing louder as they neared the entrance to the dining room.

“What's that noise?” Horribelle asked, as Wolfgang came running into the dining room on all fours, followed by Frankenbeans.

“It's those Hillhurst half-wits!” Typhus blurted, as Frankie scurried up to where Art was sitting, while Wolfie pounced upon Nukus, knocking the Crustacean leader to the floor.

“Come on!” Frankie cried, as he picked up Art's mostly stone body, which was frozen in a sitting position, and slung the man over his shoulder.

“What's going on?” Art asked.

“Don't just stand there, you idiots!” Nukus yelled, as Wolfie ran off after Frankie. “Get them!”

“Yeah!” Horribelle said, as she and the others began to chase after Wolfie, while he and Frankie ran down the hallway towards the front of the house. “It's just the two of them! Their Beetleborg friends aren't here to help them!”

The villains fired blasts consisting of energies and laser beams as the two monsters neared the front door. Wolfie yelped as he and Frankie veered out of the path of the attack.

“Easy!” Vilor hissed. “Don't hit the cartoonist!”

“Be careful!” Art cried, as Frankie ran into the living room, where he and Wolfie had entered the house through the window that the Beetleborgs had crashed through the previous night. However, Frankie opted to crash through the window that was next to it, and raced across the front lawn of the estate with Wolfie by his side.

“Monsters must not get avay!” Jara shouted, as Frankie ran through a hole in the fence that he had produced earlier by pulling several bars apart.

“We go to school!” Frankie gasped, as he and Wolfie ran down the sidewalk. “Closer than Hillhurst!”

“Ruh-huh!” Wolfie barked, nodding in response.

“Hold it!” Horribelle snapped, as she, Vilor, Cobraborg and Viperborg all teleported in front of Frankie, prompting him to stop running forward.

“Uh-oh!” Frankie cried, as he began to run across the street, only for Jara, Noxic and Typhus to appear on the opposite sidewalk.

“Give us the cartoonist!” Tyhpus hissed, as he and the others walked towards Frankie and Wolfie.

Jara laughed. “Vhat can Frankie and verevolf even do to us?”

Suddenly, a sedan that had been driving down the road slammed its brakes to a halt before it could hit anyone, and the driver honked his horn.

“Get lost!” Tyhpus yelled, as he opened his upper mouth and shot a beam of energy from it at the car, shattering its windshield.

The driver hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, flung open the door and bailed out of the car. “Look, man, I'm really sorry!” he whimpered. “Take the car, you can have it! Just leave me alone!”

“You better run, you wimp!” Noxic yelled towards the man, who was already in the midst of running away. Meanwhile, Vilor, Horribelle and the Brutalborgs were all walking towards Frankie and Wolfie.

“Now what?” Art asked, as Frankie hoisted him into the air, only to bring him down and knock Jara, Noxic and Typhus on their heads with Art's stone body, causing them to stumble backwards and trip on the curb, where they fell onto the sidewalk.

“Ouch!” Noxic cried. “That really smarts coming from someone so stupid!”

Frankie then jumped onto the roof of the car, still holding onto Art. “Drive, Wolfie!” Frankie exclaimed. “Drive!”

Wolfie immediately jumped into the car via the broken windshield and nestled himself in the driver's seat. The key still in the ignition, Wolfie floored the accelerator and began to drive off, with Frankie hanging onto the top of the broken windshield with one hand, and holding Art in the other.

“Stop them!” Horribelle cried, as Cobraborg and Viperborg blasted the car as it drove off down the street.

As the car sped down the street, Wolfie did the best he could to weave his way around other vehicles, receiving numerous angry honks from other drivers along the way.

“Red light!” Frankie cried, as Wolfie approached an intersection. Ignoring Frankie, Wolfie drove through the intersection, where another car nearly crashed into him.

“Is he crazy?” Art asked, his head now the only organic part of his body that remained.

“Woflie colorblind.”

Soon the car had driven onto the front lawn of Charterville Junior High, where Wolfie slammed the brakes and leaped out through the windshield, while Frankie jumped with Art still in his grasp.

“Help me!” Art screamed, just as Nukus' curse had transformed his entire head into stone.

“End of the line!” Cobraborg yelled, as Wolfie and Frankie raced towards the front steps of the school.

“Oh no you don't!” Horribelle snapped, as she and Vilor shot the front doors of the school with a blast of strange energy, which surrounded the entrance.

“That force field will stop you from getting to the Beetleborgs, and the Beetleborgs from getting to you,” Vilor said.

“Give us Art,” Viperborg said, pointing his Viper Sniper towards the monsters. “Or we do we have to get nasty?"

“Uh-uh!” Frankie whined, as he and Wolfie both shook their heads.

“What's going on out there?” Brandon asked, looking out from the window of his second story classroom.

“It's the Crustaceans!” Teddy cried, prompting more kids to get out of their seats and look down at the action that was unfolding in front of the school.

“We're under attack!” Brooke screamed, as Heather observed the situation that was going on.

Heather looked over at the rest of her classmates and her teacher, all of whom were fixated on what was going on outside. With no one paying attention to her, Heather clenched her firsts and smacked her knuckles together.

Immediately, Heather teleported out of the classroom, only to appear behind a tree on the front lawn. She poked her head around the side of the tree, where she could see the villains standing before Frankie and Wolfie.

“Data Bonder!” Heather called, as her new bonder appeared in her hand. “Input card!” she continued. “Beetle Blast!”

Power surged its way through Heather's body, transforming her into the Pink Zinc Beetleborg. She then emerged from behind the tree.

“Hold it right there, you jerks!” Heather snapped, drawing the attention of the Crustaceans and Brutalborgs. “The Pink Zinc Beetleborg is here!”

“What the?” Horribelle cried. “Where'd she come from?”

“Take this!” Heather called, as she hurled her Metallix Boomerang towards the monsters. It smacked Vilor on the head, and Horribelle immediately followed, but Viperborg leaped out of the boomerang's way as it flew back towards Heather.

“You'll have to do better than that!” Cobraborg said, as he and Viperborg aimed their cannons at Heather.

“Guys, stop it!” Heather cried, as she jumped away from their laser blasts. She proceeded to shoot a blast of pink electricity from her boomerang in their direction, but they dodged it. The Brutalborgs fired their lasers at Heather again, knocking her down onto the ground.

“All right, we got her,” Viperborg said, as he and the others approached Heather.

“Time to finish her off,” Cobraborg said, aiming his Cobra Carbine at the lone Beetleborg.

All of a sudden, a stream of laser beams went flying into the backs of Horribelle and Vilor. As the Brutalborgs jumped out of the way, Heather looked past everyone, and saw that the Chromium Gold, Titanium Silver and Rhodium Cobalt Beetleborgs were all standing at the entrance to the school, blasting the Crustaceans with their Data Lasers.

“Yes!” Heather exclaimed, as she held her hands forward, and blasted Horribelle and Vilor with her Data Lasers.

"That attack must've weakened the force field!" Horribelle blurted.

Suddenly, a purple laser hit the Crustaceans. Coming from the direction of the street, Heather turned her head and saw that it was coming from Jo on her Sector Cycle.

“Let's get out of here!” Horribelle cried, as she and Vilor teleported away.

“Damn you, Beetleborgs!” Cobraborg hissed. “Come on, Viper. We'd better leave.”

“This isn't over!” Viperborg said. “Nukus isn't through with you yet!”

At that moment, Cobraborg and Viperborg both teleported away.

Chapter Text

Still in their Beetleborg armor, Drew, Roland and Josh ran up towards the area on the lawn of the school where Heather was, along with Wolfie, Frankie and Art. Jo made her way up to them, too.

“We did it!” Heather exclaimed.

“Flabber figured out what was happening and told me to come here immediately,” Jo said.

“Heather, how'd you get out here so fast?” Roland asked.

“I didn't get to tell you guys earlier!” Heather replied. “I can teleport! It's my civilian power. But only over short distances.”

“That's awesome,” Josh said.

Drew turned to face the monsters. “Frankie, Wolfie. What are you guys doing here? What did you do to make the Custaceans so upset?”

Frankie raised the statue of Art over his head. “Help Art. Help Art!”

“Wait, is that statue of Art Fortunes... actually him?” Jo asked.

“Really him,” Frankie replied, as Wolfie nodded.

“Nukus did this?” Roland asked, while Wolfie nodded a second time.

Drew snarled. “He won't get away with this!”

“We rescue Art from... rich people house,” Frankie said.

“Just the two of you?” Josh asked, as the monsters both nodded. “Wow, you guys are incredible! Seriously!”

“But right now, Art needs to get to Hillhurst, so Flabber can turn him back to normal,” Roland said, as the doors to the school swung open, and a crowd of students and faculty poured out onto the front steps.

“We go now,” Frankie said, as he ran off carrying the statue of Art, with Wolfie by his side.

“Beetleborgs!” the crowd chanted. “Beetleborgs! Beetleborgs!”

“Is there a fifth Beetleborg now?” one girl asked.

“Already?” a boy asked. “We just got Rhodium Cobalt!”

“Who are you, anyway?” Amanda asked, as she and her friends approached Heather.

“Me?” Heather asked nervously. “I'm the Pink Zinc Beetleborg!”

“Awesome!” another girl shouted, as the crowd cheered.

“Can we have your autograph?” Brooke asked, eliciting a wave of “yeah”s from the crowd.

“I dunnno...” Drew replied, eyeing the sea of people that was standing before him.

“At least give Amanda an autograph,” Rebecca said. “Today's her birthday!”

“Attention students and faculty!” Principal Pierce's voice boomed through the speakers of the PA system. “In light of the recent attack on our school, as well as yesterday's attack at the elementary school, this school will be closed until further notice.”

A chorus of confused voices emanated from the crowd.

“I ask that you please gather your belongings and leave the school immediately. If you are unable to leave now, please report to the gymnasium. We will contact your families as soon quickly as we can.”

“This is awful,” Heather said.

“I bet my school's closing too,” Jo said.

After Jo left on her Sector Cycle, the other Beetleborgs ran off to somewhere secluded and Back Blasted out of their armor. Once they were ready to leave, the four kids drove away from the school on their bicycles, heading in the direction of Hillhurst.

“Hey, guys!” Jo called, as she turned around a street corner on her bike and caught up with the others. “Yeah, my school closed as well.”

“I hate how our problems with Nukus are starting to ruin things for everybody,” Drew said. “These villains need to be stopped. For good.”

“I hope Flabber was able to help Art,” Roland said. “Maybe he's got an idea.”

A few minutes later, the kids all arrived at Hillhurst, where a restored Art was in the parlor, along with Flabber and the monsters.

“There you are!” Art cried.

“Mr. Fortunes, are you all right?” Drew asked.

“Of course I'm all right! Thanks to Frankenbeans and Wolfgang here. And Flabber.”

“Thanks for saving him, you two,” Roland said. “You guys are heroes.”

The five kids all applauded at Frankie and Wolfie, both of whom bowed.

“You kids also deserve some praise,” Art said. “For defeating Shadow Borg and Vexor.”

The kids all nodded.

“What did Nukus want from you, Mr. Fortunes?” Jo asked.

“It was awful! Nukus wanted me to come up with some kind of crown that would give him limitless power. Something that would've made him... unstoppable! He sent the Crustaceans to abduct me from my office, then brought me to some fancy house where he forced me to come up with that silly crown, at the risk of slowly turning my body to stone. I'd have been a goner if it hadn't been for Frankie, Wolfie and Flabber.”

“I'm sorry we couldn't help you more,” Heather said. “We were at school.”

“When I figured that Art had to be at Trip and Van's place, I told the monsters,” Flabber said. “I didn't expect them to go over there and help, but they really surprised me!”

“We'd have only slowed things down,” Mums added. “What if my cloth had gotten caught and unravelled on something?”

“Well, I wasn't prepared to tango with Nukus and the others,” Fangula said, raising his hands. “Give me a break!”

“It's okay,” Flabber said. “What matters now is that Art is here at Hillhurst, where I can keep him safe.”

“Yeah,” Mums added. “He's no longer a work of art.”

Art rolled his eyes. “Very funny. But to change the subject... Heather! Flabber told me about what happened! You're really a Beetleborg now?”

“Sure am,” Heather said, nodding. “Check this out!” She then held out her hand. “Data Bonder! Insert card! Beetle Blast!”

Heather raised her Bonder upwards, transforming herself into the Pink Zinc Beetleborg.

“This is unbelievable!” Art gasped, poring over Heather's armor. There's a slight resemblance to Shadow Borg, yes. But at the same time, this armor is really something that you can call your own.”

“You... like it?” Heather asked.

“Like it?” Art cried. “Listen. I may not have had any real involvement with the design of this thing, but at the same time, it looks like something I could have come up with on my own. You're as good as any other Beetleborg in my eyes. I'd give you my blessing, but seeing as how the badge I created for you became your Data Bonder, I think that I already did.”

“Thank you.”

“Art, are you going to be okay here?” Josh asked.

Art let out a sigh. “I'm not sure. I can't stay here very long, cuz I need to get to back to work on the new issues. I can't let everyone at my company down. But if I leave Hillhurst, I'd go back to being vulnerable to Nukus and his crew.”

“We've gotta do something about Nukus,” Drew said. “Once and for all.”

“Are you going to go after him?” Little Ghoul asked.

“We might as well,” Roland replied. “As long as we don't have school, maybe we ought to go back to Kingsley Manor and deal with him.”

“Before he can cause any more trouble,” Heather added.

“But... can we really do this?” Jo asked, looking around at everyone.

“I know you can do it!” Flabber cried. “Nukus may be tough, but as long as you Beetleborgs work together, I feel like you can accomplish anything!”

“You really think so?” Heather asked.

“Of course we do!” Art replied. “Isn't that right, fellas?”

The monsters all cheered and waved their hands in unison.

“All right then,” Drew said. “No more running away. Let's head on over to Kingsley Manor and take care of Nukus.”

Shortly thereafter, the Beetleborgs all drove over to Kingsley Manor on their Sector Cycles. As they drove by the gate, they spotted the large gap between the bars in the fence that Frankie had produced earlier. After parking nearby, the kids entered the estate through the gap in the fence and made their way up towards the front of the house, where there were two broken windows.

“Be careful,” Drew said, as he drew his Data Laser before hopping through one of the windows that led into the living room.

“Want me to scout the area?” Josh asked.

Drew shook his head. “No. If we run into Nukus or any of the others, we fight them.”

“If you're so eager to get their attention, why don't we just go back and ring the doorbell?”

“We should scan the area with our suits' sensors,” Roland said, as he tapped the side of his helmet three times.

“You getting anything?” Jo asked, as Roland looked around in every direction.

“I am,” Roland said, as he stopped moving his head. “There's nobody else on this floor or anywhere upstairs. But there's definitely several figures hanging out in the basement.”

“Come on, let's go,” Josh said, as he charged towards the hallway.

“I think the entrance to the basement is down this way,” Heather said, running after Josh. “Follow me!”

Heather led her friends down the hallway a small ways, then turned around a corner into another corridor. After running down the corridor for a moment, she stopped in front of a door. Heather opened the door, revealing a staircase that led downwards. The group walked down the stairs and into a nicely furnished basement, where there was carpeted flooring, several couches, a big screen TV, a pool table, exercise machines and more.

“Jeez, this place has everything,” Drew said.

“I know there's a bowling alley down here somewhere,” Heather said.

“I don't care about all that,” Jo said, as she tapped her helmet, and began to look around for a moment. “This way, guys!”

Jo led the group across the main room of the basement and over to a door, where she came to a stop and shushed her friends.

“They're in here?” Josh asked, speaking in a soft voice.

Jo nodded.

“I can't hear anybody,” Roland said, as Jo reached for the doorknob and struggled with it.

“Jo, what's wrong?” Heather asked.

“I can't move the doorknob,” Jo replied, attempting to twist and turn it. “It won't budge. It's like... something magical is keeping it in place. Maybe if I try my super strength-”

“Magic,” Drew said, interrupting Jo. “This is door has been enchanted. That's why we can't hear anything from behind it. Stand back!”

Drew pointed his Data Laser at the door, while his friends all backed away. Drew pulled the trigger on his gun, and fired a golden laser at the door, cutting a large outline in it that ran from the floor to the top, then circled back down to the bottom. Drew then grabbed the doorknob and ripped the cutout from the rest of the door, which he tossed aside.

Several figures approached the door from the other side. The first one that the kids recognized was Dudley. Another was an unshaven middle-aged man in a business suit whom the kids had recognized from TV, Earl Kingsley II.

“It's the Beetleborgs,” Mrs. Kingsley said.

“There's five of them now?” Dudley asked. “Who's this pink one?”

“I'm Pink Zinc,” Heather replied.

“Did you get rid of Nukus and Vexor and all the others?” Earl asked.

“They're gone now,” Roland said. “Vexor and Shadow Borg have been destroyed, but the rest of them are still out there somewhere.”

“I suppose this is an improvement. At least my wife, staff and I are no longer stuck in this pantry.”

“My phone!” Mrs. Kingsley cried, stepping out of the room and looking around on a nearby end table. “What have they done with my phone? I need my phone! Where'd they put it?”

“Excuse me,” Dudley said. “But do any of you Beetleborgs know where Masters Trip and Van are?”

“They're our children,” Earl said. “Right, Victoria?”

“It's not in here, is it?” Mrs. Kingsley asked, sticking a hand into the seat cushion of a couch.

“We don't really know where your kids are,” Roland said. “Sorry about that.”

“Come on,” Earl said, turning to face his staff. “Let's go upstairs and try to call the boys. If those villains are gone, would you Beetleborgs kindly see yourself out? Thank you.”

“You're welcome...” Drew muttered stubbornly. He took a good moment to stare directly at Earl. This was the man who wanted to tear down Hillhurst and build a condominium in its place. Yet despite all of this, the Beetleborgs had just saved him and much of his household. And he didn't sound even the least bit grateful.

“We should probably leave,” Heather said, turning to face Drew.

Afterwards, the kids had returned to Hillhurst, where they were now back in their civilian forms in the parlor with Flabber and Art.

“And that's what happened,” Josh said. “We helped Earl Kingsley II, and for what? Now he can get back to work on developing that stupid condo he wants to build here.”

“You kids did the right thing,” Art said. “Not everybody knows how to do that. Even if they're rich and successful.”

“I know,” Drew griped. “It's just... it's not fair!”

Drew made a fist and pounded it down onto the cushion of the couch he was sitting on.

“Any luck locating Nukus and his buddies, Flabber?” Roland asked.

Flabber shrugged. “I've got some good news, but mostly bad news. The good news is that whatever protection that was placed upon Kingsley Manor is gone now, so I'm able to sense it. The bad news... is that I can't find Nukus and the others anywhere.”

“Great...” moaned Jo. “It feels like we just went back to square one.”

“We'll get him,” Drew said. “Sooner or later. Nukus and his clowns are going down.”

Chapter Text

Not much later, the kids had left Hillhurst and cycled over to the cemetery, just to make sure that Nukus hadn't somehow returned to his crypt. Alas, the casket that had served as the entrance to the crypt was still missing, and the kids were all unsuccessful in finding another entrance.

Out of any real leads, the kids made their way over to Zoom Comics. Business was not nearly as great as it had been yesterday prior to the Brutalborgs' appearance, but many customers were still coming in to purchase the new issue of Beetleborgs.

However, due to everything that had been going on, between the fate of Hillhurst, the schools closing down, Trip and Van's well-being, and Nukus' thirst for power, none of the kids were in a very good mood throughout the day. Nano even prepared her famous quesadillas for lunch in an attempt to cheer up the kids, and while the flavor was still there, the taste wasn't enough to lift their spirits.

Later that afternoon, the kids all went home and freshened up for Amanda's birthday party. They then met up again and proceeded to bike their way over towards Amanda's house.

“Why am I even going to this party?” Jo asked. “I barely even know Amanda and her friends.”

“Try to stay positive,” Heather said. “Today's Amanda's birthday, and it's been pretty rough for her so far.”

“Yeah, I wouldn't want all this crap to happen on my birthday,” Josh said.

“Still, I don't think she'll care for the presents we got her,” Roland said. “I mean, seriously. Gift certificates for Zoom Comics?”

Drew nodded. “Yeah, I don't think I've ever even seen Amanda come to the store. She's not into that stuff.”

“Maybe we should've just gotten her gift certificates for a clothing store or something?” Josh asked. “I don't really know what she's into.”

Soon the kids arrived at Amanda's house, where a few other bicycles had been parked inside the open garage. They went around to the front door and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, the door opened up and Amanda answered, wearing a smile. “Hey, Heather. Josh. Jo, right? Drew?” She then turned to face Roland. “And you are... Riley? Ryan?”

“Roland,” the boy replied sternly.

“Right. Anyway, come on in to the living room and find yourself a seat.”

The kids walked into the foyer and then turned into the living room, where a bunch of other girls and boys had taken up every seat and arm rest on the couches, as well as two other chairs. A few boys were sitting on the floor. The guests all exchanged greetings with one another, and the five kids all opted to sit on the carpeted floor, due to the lack of seats.

“Hey Jo,” Nicole called. “We were just talking about the Backstreet Boys. Who do you think is the hottest member?”

Jo shrugged. “I don't really know.”

“She's only a fifth grader,” Rebecca said. “She probably hasn't even blossomed yet.”

“Hey, why don't we watch a movie?” Sebastian asked.

“Let's do that after dinner,” Amanda said. “Pizza will be here shortly.”

Drew looked around at the other kids. Most of them were smiling, but none of them seemed to be particularly happy. If Drew were to hazard a guess, it was that they were all perturbed about everything that had been going on lately. Drew then opted to tap Roland on his shoulder.

“What is it?” Roland asked softly.

“Why are we even here?” Drew asked. “Courtesy aside, we should really be dealing with you-know-what.”

“We don't even know where to look,” Roland said. “I do agree with you, but we've got no leads. Let's just enjoy the party.”

“I just want the pizza to get here,” Jo said. “I'm hungry.”

“Hey, what are you guys talking about?” Colin asked.

“Uh, just the new issue of Beetleborgs.”

“Cool,” Laura said. “I haven't read it yet, so don't spoil it!”

“At least it's only a comic,” Amanda said. “In real life, all that destruction that they try to prevent has consequences. And it's scary.”

“At least it's stopped for now,” Brooke said.

Soon afterwards, the pizza had arrived, and everyone helped themselves to the freshly-baked pies. Just after Drew had polished off his third slice of pepperoni, a strange, energetic sound could be heard from somewhere off in the distance.

“What was that?” Brandon asked, dropping a half-eaten slice of pizza onto the paper plate he was holding.

The kids all turned their attention to the front window. Up in the sky in the distance, a Magnavor Jet Fighter could be seen racing across the town, shooting its lasers haphazardly.

“A Magnavor Jet Fighter?” Nicole cried. “Seriously?”

“We should probably get out of here,” Teddy said, as he and several other kids headed towards the front door. “There's no telling where that jet will shoot.”

“Guys!” Amanda cried, as the other kids made their way out the door. “Come on!”

“Sorry, Amanda,” Heather exclaimed. “We'll make it up to you another time.”

“This sucks,” Drew said, as the kids got onto their bicycles, then began to pedal down the driveway and onto the street, where they soon split away from the rest of Amanda's friends.

“This feels like a trap,” Jo said, as she looked up and saw the jet blasting more lasers around.

“What's it doing now?” Roland asked, watching as the Jet Fighter ceased firing its lasers, and was now circling around in the air in the distance.

“I dunno, but it's kinda near the cemetery,” Josh said.

“But, we scoped out the cemetery earlier,” Drew exclaimed. “And we couldn't find heads or tails of anything.”

“Whatever this is, we'd better be prepared,” Roland said. “We better Borg before we go any further.”

The five kids all pulled over into a nearby park, then got off their bikes and looked around to make sure no one else was there.

“Data Bonders!” they all called, as their bonders appeared in the hands. “Input card! Beetle Blast!”

Raising their Bonders upwards, the kids all transformed into their Beetleborg suits.

“Data Bonders!” they called again. “Input card! Sector Cycle!”

The Beetleborgs held up their bonders again, causing their bicycles to change into Sector Cycles.

“All right!” Drew shouted, hopping onto his Sector Cycle. “Let's roll!”

The Beetleborgs cruised out of the park and continued to head towards the circling Jet Fighter, which remained within close vicinity to the cemetery.

“Should we call in the B.V.s ?” Jo asked.

“I dunno,” Drew replied. “Let's just see what we're up against first.”

Soon the kids had reached the woods close to where the cemetery was. From what they could tell, the Jet Fighter had been circling near the cemetery, but not quite directly above it.

“All right, be careful,” Drew said, as he pulled over and got off his Sector Cycle, while the others followed his lead as he walked past numerous trees.

“What's even going on here?” Heather asked, cautiously gazing around at her surroundings.

As soon as the Beetleborgs had reached a clearing between the trees, Jara, Noxic, Typhus, Vilor and Horribelle all suddenly teleported in front of them.

“Destroy them!” Horribelle cried, as she and the other villains began to blast the Beetleborgs with a barrage of lasers and energy beams. The attacks hit the Beetleborgs, causing them all to stumble back several feet.

“Is that the best you can do?” Josh asked, as he held out his hands towards the villains and blasted both Horribelle and Vilor with his lasers.

“Eat this!” Typhus shouted, as he shot lightning from his hand at Josh, knocking him onto his feet.

“No, you open your two mouths and eat this!” Roland shouted, blasting Typhus with his Data Laser.

“This isn't fair!” Noxic whined, as Drew dodged his electric attack and shot him with his Data Laser. “There's five of them now!”

“Reality check, stupid!” Vilor snapped. “There's five of us, too! Ow!”

At that point, Vilor stumbled backwards upon being hit by Jo's Data Laser.

“Yowch!” Noxic cried, as he took a shot from Heather's laser. “That Pink Zinc's pretty tough!”

“Pink Zinc?” Typhus asked. “More like Pink Stink!”

“Brutalborgs!” Jara cried. “Vhere are Brutalborgs? Zey should be helping us!”

“Get out of our way, you five!” Cobraborg shouted from behind the Crustaceans and Magnavors.

The Crustaceans and Magnavors, all somewhat strained out from their brief scuffle, stepped aside to reveal Cobraborg and Viperborg.

“All right,” Viperborg said, as he and Cobraborg stared at the Beetleborgs. “This is it. This is our time.”

“Guys, please!” Drew said. “We know who you are. You don't have to fight us!”

“They're just standing there,” Jo said.

“If you two won't fight the Beetleborgs, we will!” Horribelle hissed.

“Stay out of this,” Cobraborg roared, as he shot a laser towards Horribelle.

“Blast them, you idiots,” Vilor said. “Not us.”

There was a brief pause. Nobody on either side moved.

“We can help you,” Josh said. “If you come with us, we can get you back to normal.”

At that moment, Nukus suddenly appeared in front of the Brutalborgs. In one hand, Nukus appeared to be holding a wide, golden crown that was studded with numerous gemstones. Using his other hand, Nukus unleashed a wave of energy, which knocked the five Beetleborgs onto their rears.

“Check it out, Beetleborgs,” Nukus said, raising his crown into the air. “When I don this crown, my power will excel, and will continue to grow. I will be untouchable. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. And no other force in the world will be able to defeat me. I will become the singular lord and master of the third dimension.”

“How?” Roland asked, as he began to stand up. “I thought Art didn't finish his crown.'

“He didn't. But this guy did.”

Nukus waved his hand, and Les Fortunes suddenly teleported next to hom. His feet appeared to be shackled together.

“Hello, Beetleborgs,” Les said, evoking a hint of fear in his voice as he spoke. He was wearing a very nervous grin on his face.

“Les Fortunes?” the five Beetleborgs all gasped in unison.

“When did you break him out of prison?” Drew asked. “When did this even happen?”

“Oh, that's the fun part,” Nukus answered. “We teleported the cartoonist out of prison earlier today. But we also left behind a hard-light hologram in his cell, so that no guard would discover that he was gone. That way, his disappearance wouldn't lead to some news report for you Beetleborgs to find out about.”

“Les, why would you ever come back to work for Nukus?” Jo asked. “After he drove you into leaving him before?”

“I didn't want to come back!” Les cried, pointing to the shackles that were attached to his ankles. “Look!”

“But you're back now, cartoonist,” Nukus said. “And as my personal sketcher, you are to draw me whatever I want, whenever I want. You are my slave. And you are not running off again!”

“Look, crown or no crown, the Beetleborgs will stop you!” Drew snapped.

“Oh, I don't think so,” Nukus said. “Look what else I had the cartoonist come up with for me.”

“Nukus, don't!” Les squealed. “You've already got that crown! There's nothing they can do!”

“Silence!” Nukus roared, as a small, familiar-looking firearm appeared in his hand, while a sketchbook appeared in the hand that was already holding the crown.

“That's the... Dimensionizer!” Roland screamed, as Nukus aimed the Dimensionizer at him and pulled the trigger.

Before Roland could react, his body began to shrink down as it went flying through the air and he ended up on the front page of the sketchbook that Nukus was holding. In quick succession, Nukus proceeded to blast Drew, Jo, Josh and Heather, causing all four of them to follow Roland's lead onto the paper, trapping them all in the second dimension.

Drew looked out from the paper that he and his allies were all trapped on, and could see Nukus' oversized face smiling down at them.

“OH NO!” Drew cried, banging on the invisible barrier that was keeping him confined within the second dimension.

“NO!” Jo gasped, as she could feel her heart racing. “NOT AGAIN!”

Nukus laughed as Josh and Heather failed to penetrate the barrier with their lasers. “Guess you were all too slow and exhausted to get out of the way, huh? How ironic, you Beetleborgs will meet your end in the same realm where I originated.”

“Nukus, please!” Les cried. “Isn't killing them a bit extreme? I mean, trapping them forever seems like it would be harsher-”

“No!” Nukus huffed. “I am not making that same stupid mistake again! I'm going to do to the Beetleborgs what I should've done the first time around!”

Nukus tossed the sketchbook to the ground, with the top page facing towards the sky. He then held his hand over the sketchbook and shot a stream of fire at the pages, producing a circle of flames around the Beetleborgs.

“NO!” Heather screamed, while the stream of fire that was circling around the Beetleborgs grew closer together.

“There's no way out!” Roland exclaimed. “WE'RE TRAPPED!”

“WE'RE GONNA DIE!” Josh blared, as the space around the group rapidly began to shrink within the fire.

Nukus continued to laugh as the papers within the sketchbook burned to black before his eyes. Drew, Jo, Roland, Josh and Heather all locked their hands together, as the ring of fire quickly consumed the world around them.

Chapter Text

As the fire exhausted itself and dissipated into a small puff of smoke, Nukus looked down at the charred remains of the sketchbook. Every last sheet of which was nothing more than a few charred scraps of paper. There was no trace of the Beetleborgs to be found.

“At last,” Nukus said, as he stomped the sketchbook with one foot, scattering the remains of the blackened paper. “They're gone. I win!”

“Yeah!” Noxic exclaimed, as the other Magnavors and Crustaceans cheered. “You did it! The Beetleborgs are toast!”

“Now nobody stands in our way,” Horribelle said. “This dimension is ours for the taking!”

“Did you really have to burn them like that?” Les asked wearily. “I know that they're the Beetleborgs and that they've always been our sworn enemies and all that, but at the end of the day... they were only human! I think that burning the paper was kinda overdoing it!"

“Good,” Nukus said. “But tell me, cartoonist. Why are you so upset? You've always wanted to help me destroy the Beetleborgs, have you not?”

“Not like this! Besides, I've provided you with that crown and that Dimensionizer! Can't I at least go free?”

“Go free? You've finally proven your worth to me, and now you're begging for me to let you go free? NEVER! You're going to be my slave from now on. And you're gonna draw whatever I ask for, for the rest of your mortal life. Understood?”

Les sighed. “Yes.”

“You are wise to not object, cartoonist,” Nukus said, as he proceeded to set the wide crown around the top of his frill, nestling it behind his two larger horns.

“Is it working?” Vilor asked, as the gemstones that adorned the crown began to glow.

“I think so,” Nukus replied eagerly, as energy surged down from the crown and through his body, which slowly began to increase in size.

“Nukus, you're changing!” Horribelle exclaimed, as Nukus' horns began to grow larger, while a spiked tail began to sprout out from his backside. His body was starting to become less human-like, and more like an actual dinosaur.

Nukus opened his snout-like mouth and unleashed a ferocious roar. “I can feel the power!”

“What did you do with that crown, cartoonist?” Vilor asked. “Why's it transforming him?

“Look, I didn't come up with that crown, Art did!” Les exclaimed. “I only tried to complete it using my own talent! But only Art can comprehend how it was supposed to work, and I'm not a mind-reader!”

“I don't care!” Nukus roared, his body now well over ten feet tall, with a build and legs that were becoming more tyrannosaurus-like. “Soon I'll become so powerful, that even Flabber will cower in fear before me. This world belongs to me now!”

Suddenly, the Beetleborgs inexplicably appeared in the spot where the remains of the sketchbook lay, now back in the third dimension. They looked up at the big red dinosaur abomination that stood before them. Nukus towered over everybody else, and sported a lower half that resembled a tyrannosaurus rex, while his head was more in line with a triceratops.

“What happened?” Drew asked.

“We're really back?” Jo asked. “How?”

“What gives?” Tyhpus asked. “How'd they get back here?”'

Nukus growled. “Something's wrong! But it doesn't matter! I will destroy them!”

Nukus opened his mouth and exerted a blast of energy into the air, which caused the Magnavor Jet Fighter that was cruising above to suddenly combust in an explosion of flames and shrapnel. He then aimed a second blast towards the Beetleborgs, who immediately jumped out of the way, as the energy pulse made a sizable crater in the ground, disintegrating several trees that had been in its path.

“I missed!” Nukus roared. “But I still have... this!”

“Nukus held up the Dimensionizer, which was now tiny compared to his hand. His fingers far too large for the trigger, the weapon shattered in his hand. Nukus immediately stomped his foot on the ground in frustration, which caused a tremor so intense that Vilor, Horribelle, Jara, Noxic and Typhus all fell over.

“Watch it!” Noxic cried.

“Take it easy, big guy,” Jara, said. “Ve vill destroy Beetleborgs for you!”

“Not this time you won't!” Drew exclaimed, wielding his Metallix Lancer. “We're going to finish you all off. Once and for all!”

Drew held back his Lancer and launched it directly at Noxic. Likewise, Jo tossed her Baton at Jara, Roland threw his Grappler at Tyhpus, Josh hurled his Halberd at Vilor, whist Heather shot her Boomerang at Horribelle. All five weapons lodged their way into their target's skulls and began to expel electrical energy through their bodies, paralyzing them in their tracks.

A moment later, Jara, Noxic and Typhus began to shrink in size and flew away, as they made their return back to the two-dimensional world of the comics. As for Vilor and Horribelle, the bodies of the two Crustaceans both suddenly exploded in an eruption of blue and pink light.

Now standing at a hunched-over length of roughly twenty feet, Nukus let out a loud roar.” NO!” This... isn't... fair!”

Nukus roared again and unleashed a tremendous wave of energy at the Beetleborgs. Unable to avoid the blast, the wave knocked over every tree in its path and caused the Beetleborgs' suits to inadvertently disengage.

“What happened?” Jo cried.

“Look out!” Heather exclaimed, as Nukus opened his mouth again, but could only let out a loud cough.

“What gives?” Nukus snarled.

“You must've exhausted your power,” Les said. “You blew it all at once!”

Nukus growled. “Brutalborgs! Destroy the Beetleborgs! NOW!”

Cobraborg and Viperborg stepped up towards the five Beetleborgs. But they did not aim their cannons at them.

“Don't just stand there, you idiots! Shoot them! Never mind that they aren't in their armor. Shoot them!”

“What can we do?” Jo asked. “Nukus is too powerful!”

“Fine, I'll destroy them myself!” Nukus huffed, as he swung his tail around and came close to slamming the kids, who jumped out of the tail's path.

“The crown!” Les cried. “You need to get that crown off his head! Your lasers and weapons won't do a thing to him so long as he wears that crown!”

“Wait, what?” Roland asked.

“”He's right,” Heather said. “We have to do something about it.”

"Hurry!" Les cried. "Before he gets too big for you to do anything!"

Looking up at Nukus, Heather clenched her fists and smacked her knuckles together, causing her to teleport up onto Nukus' head, in front of the base of the crown.

“Careful,” Josh said, as Heather attempted to lift up the crown, but was unable to budge it due to its immense weight, a result of having increased in size along with Nukus.

Nukus attempted to reach for the crown with his hands, but his tyrannosaurus arms were far too small to do so. He began to shake his head around, hoping to knock Heather off. Heather shrieked as she teleported back down to where her friends were.

“It's too heavy!” Heather gasped.

“Maybe I can get it off,” Jo said, as Nukus stomped towards the kids. “But I'll need a distraction.”

“I'm on it!” Roland said, as he snapped his fingers and began to run circles around Nukus' legs.

“Hold still!” Nukus roared, as he attempted to stomp Roland with his feet, but found that the boy was moving far too fast for him.

Roland came to a stop. “I'm over here, big guy!”

Nukus roared again and went after Roland, but Roland immediately sped out of the way.

“I'm not fast, try to catch me,” Josh said, as he dusted his hands and turned invisible.

Nukus attempted to stomp the spot where he believed that Josh was, but failed to hit the invisible boy.

“Drew,” Jo said, watching as Nukus tried to go after Roland and Josh. “Give me a boost.”

“Got it,” Drew said, as he and Jo ran off to one side. He then nodded and used his brain power to levitate Jo up into the air and onto Nukus's head.

Due to his large size, Nukus failed to notice Jo's presence as she landed upon his head, and continued to aimlessly chase after Roland and Josh, who would continuously slow down or become visible for a moment, only to either speed up or vanish once Nukus went after them. Likewise, Heather began to taunt Nukus, then teleported around the area before he could touch her.

While Nukus was distracted, Jo cracked her knuckles and began to lift the crown up and off of Nukus head, then began to slide it over his frill.

“Get down from there!” Nukus snapped, as he attempted to shake Jo off of his head. Jo immediately grabbed onto one of Nukus' horns with one hand, while still holding onto the crown with her other hand.

“Hang in there, Jo!” Drew cried, as he used his brain power on the crown, helping Jo lift it up and over Nukus' frill. Once it was floating in midair, Drew released his hold on the crown, causing it to topple over and briefly roll away from Nukus before falling over, shrinking down in the process.

“No!” Nukus cried, he chased after the crown and bent over, but was struggling to pick up the comparably tiny piece of headwear with his disproportionately small arms.

“Data Bonders!” the five kids all shouted, summoning their bonders. Input card! Beetle Blast!”

Turning to face the emerging Beetleborgs, Nukus opened his mouth and let out a booming roar. However, he failed to produce even the slightest trace of energy as he loomed down at the five heroes. “My power! Brutalborgs! Blast them now!”

The Brutalborgs aimed their cannons towards the Beetleborgs, but did not make any effort to shoot them.

“Shoot them!” Nukus wheezed, leaping away from the Beetleborgs' Data Lasers. “Now!”

As Nukus stepped away from another stream of lasers, he tripped and fell over, crashing into the Brutalborgs with his snout and knocking them back several yards.

“Ow!” Cobraborg cried, turning to face Viperborg. “Van, are you okay?”

“Where are we, Trip?” Viperborg asked. “What's going on?”

“Why are you dressed like some weird Beetleborg?”

“You're one to talk!”

“Is that dinosaur... Nukus?” Trip asked nervously, as Nukus stood up.

“Mega Spectra Power!” the Beetleborgs shouted, transforming into their powered-up forms.

“NO!” Nukus blared, as he turned to face the enhanced Beetleborgs. “I'll crush you with my raw strength!”

“I don't think so!” Roland exclaimed, as he and the rest of the Beetleborgs aimed their Data Lasers at Nukus.

“Then I'll crush you two instead!” Nukus cried, turning to face the two Brutalborgs.

“How does this thing work?” Van asked nervously, aiming his Viper Sniper at Nukus.

“I don't know!” Trip cried, failing to shoot anything out of his Cobra Carbine.

“He's gonna kill us!”

“That's enough, Nukus!” Heather called, earning the Crustacean leader's attention.

“Let's let him have it!” Drew shouted. “All right, team! FULL POWER!”

The Beetleborgs fired their Data Lasers at the reptilian monster that stood before them. The seven beams all radiated with a blindingly-bright glow, as they penetrated Nukus' thick hide and drilled their way into his body.

“NO!” Nukus roared, trying his best to stumble away from the assault, but failing to do so. “What's... happening... to me?

As the lasers continued, Nukus began to glow in a rainbow of colors, starting from where the lasers were making contact with him, and quickly spreading throughout the rest of his oversized body.

“You cannot defeat me!” Nukus roared. “I am to be strongest being there ever was! I was supposed to win!”

“What's happening?” Les asked, as fractures began to form all over Nukus' body.

“This is it,” Jo said. “Nukus, you're finished!”

“Goodbye, Nukus!” Josh shouted, as the tyrant's body completely blew up in a blast of blood, organs, flesh and shattered bones.

“And don't come back,” Roland added.

The Beetleborgs brought their assault to an end as their lasers stopped and they lowered their hands. All that remained of Nukus now was nothing but a large, bloody puddle of gore.

Chapter Text

Drew studied the remnants of Nukus' body that were sprawled out in front of him, taking a moment to absorb everything that had just transpired. “Nukus is dead. We did it. We actually did it!”

Jo, Roland, Josh and Heather all cheered triumphantly, as Trip and Van approached the the Beetleborgs, still stuck in their Brutalborg armor.

“He's gone,” Trip said. “He's actually gone.”

The kids looked past Trip and Van, and saw Les just standing by himself. Once Les made eye contact with the kids, he immediately held up his hands. “I surrender! Please, don't hurt me!”

Roland gestured for Les to come forward. “Come here. Now.”

“W-w-what is it?” Les asked, looking and sounding exceptionally sheepish as he approached the Beetleborgs.

“What happened with the Dimensionizer?” Jo asked. “How'd we end up back here?”

Les chuckled. “That was intentional.”

Josh shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

Les smiled. “Look, Nukus busted me out of jail and forced me to work for him. First to finish that crown my brother came up with, then to draw a new Dimensionizer to trap you Beetleborgs.”

“I don't get it,” Jo said. “After the fire burned everything around us, we wound up in subspace. And a moment later, we somehow ended up back here.”

Les nodded. “That was my doing. I made it so that any living thing that got hit by the Dimensionizer would only stay in the second dimension for a short time before returning to the third. I never got to test it before you Beetleborgs, and neither did Nukus.”

“But... why?” Heather asked.

“Because you Beetleborgs were the only ones capable of stopping Nukus. I knew that if I let him get away with trapping you, I'd be facing a lifetime of enslavement. All because of that crown.”

“That reminds me,” Josh said, as he shot his Data Lasers at the crown, followed by the rest of the Beetleborgs. The crown glowed brightly before it flew off, no doubt returning to the paper it had initially been drawn on.

“You know, you're still going back to jail.” Drew said, turning back to face Les.

Les nodded. “I know. And believe me, it's infinitely better than being stuck serving Nukus while the world turns into some sort of hellscape.”

“Well... I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but thank you for sparing us, Mr. Fortunes,” Roland said. “In a convoluted way, you actually helped saved the world.”

Les rolled his eyes. “Would've preferred being able to conquer it, but I'll take this ending over letting Nukus win any day.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Josh said. “We'll try and see to it that they put you in a corner cell when you get back to jail.”

“What about us?” Van asked. “Does anyone know how we ended up like this?”

“It's... kind of a long story,” Jo replied. “Do you really not remember anything?”

“Last thing I remember, we got abducted by the Magnavors, and Vexor and Shadow Borg did something strange.”

“My memory's all fuzzy, too,” Trip said, placing a hand upon his helmet. I felt like I was in some strange dream, but I can't remember anything that happened up until Nukus, if that's who that huge dinosaur even was, knocked us aside.”

“Vexor must've done something to turn you two evil,” Les said. “But going against you two must've broken the curse.”

“But even before then, you two were reluctant to attack us,” Roland noted.

“I don't know what that was,” Van said. “I guess in a way, we didn't want to hurt you, because you Beetleborgs didn't want to hurt us.”

“But when we tried to shoot Nukus a moment ago, our lasers didn't work.”

“Your suits must've been connected to Nukus and Vexor somehow,” Les said. “It's just a hunch, but when Nukus rejected the two of you, the curse that was laid upon earlier you broke. But it came with the side effect of weakening your suits.”

“I'll say,” Trip said. “And what's the deal with the pink Beetleborg? Who even are you?”

“I'm Pink Zinc,” Heather said. “I'm a repurposed Shadow Borg.”

“WHAT?” Trip and Van both cried.

“With a heart,” Drew said. “The suit now belongs to a human with a good heart.”

“Who?” Van asked. “Which human?”

“You don't remember?” Josh asked.

Trip and Van shook their heads.

“Out of respect for helping me, my lips are sealed,” Les said. “Well, that and I don't really remember any of your names.”

“Whatever,” Trip said, feeling around for a spot on his neck. “How do we get these stupids suits off, anyway?”

“Just say Back Blast,” Van said. “Like in the comics, right?”

“Back Blast!” Trip cried. But nothing happened.

“Why isn't Back Blast working?” Van asked. “Back Blast!”

“Maybe saying Back Blast doesn't work for those suits,” Jo said.

“You just said Back Blast and you didn't turn back!” Trip snapped.

“You can't just say Back Blast,” Drew said. “You also have to want to Back Blast when you say it.”

“Of course we want to Back Blast!” Van cried. “How dumb do you think we are?”

Drew, Jo, Roland, Josh and Heather all turned to look back and forth at one another. They said nothing.

“Well saying Back Blast isn't exactly working for us,” Trip said. “Isn't there another way to get these suits off?”

“Yeah,” Van added. “One that's safe?”

Roland let out a deep breath. “I think we know someone who might be able to help.”

At that moment, police sirens could be heard wailing in the background. As the sirens grew louder, flashing red and blue lights lit up the woods against the twilit sky.

“The police?” Les cried.

“Well, Nukus did blast away away much of these woods,” Roland said, eyeing the many fallen trees that had been blown out of the ground.

“Plus those explosions,” Heather added, as several police cars pulled up to where everyone was standing. “I guess it drew enough attention that somebody called the cops.”

“What in god's name happened here?” an officer asked, as he stepped out of one of the squad cars.

“It's like somebody blew up an elephant or something,” another officer said.

“It wasn't an elephant,” Drew said. “It was Nukus. We destroyed him, along with the rest of the Crustaceans and Magnavors.”

“Really?” the first officer asked. “”You mean it?”

“Wait,” another officer cried, pointing at Les. “Isn't that man Les Fortunes? What's he doing out of jail?”

“Yes, it's me!” Les cried. “Take me back! Please!”

“You broke out again?” one officer asked, as Les held out his arms and allowed him to strap a set of handcuffs to his wrists.

“It's complicated,” Les said, as another officer directed him into the back seat of a car and shut the door.

“Wait,” said one of the officers, pointing at Trip and Van. “It's them! They're those two evil Borgs who were at those recent school attacks!”

“It's okay!” Jo cried, as Trip and Van held up their hands. “They're with us. We have everything under control.”

The officers all raised their eyebrows in unison.

“Oo-kay,” one of the officer said. “You know how to handle these bad guys better than we can.”

“One question,” another officer said. “What's the deal with the new pink Beetleborg?”

“Call me Pink Zinc,” Heather replied. “And give a message to the mayor and this town.”

“What's that?” the officer asked.

“That the villains are all truly gone now,” Drew said. “This time, we don't see how they can truly come back.”

“Of course,” the officer said, as he and the others returned to their cars and drove off in the direction they came from.

“Where does that leave us?” Trip asked.

“Come with us,” Drew said, as he and the others proceeded to walk to their parked Sector Cycles. “We're going to get those suits off of you.”

With Van on Roland's Sector Cycle, and Trip on Drew's, the Beetleborgs all drove off, making their way back onto the main road, heading in the general direction of Hillhurst. After a short ride, they were soon nearing the property.

“Wait a minute,” Trip said. “Are you taking us to Hillhurst?”

“Yes...” Heather replied nervously.

“That's preposterous!” Van called. “What's the deal with that house? Those monsters, a bunch of losers, and now you Beetleborgs all have some fascination with Hillhurst.”

Josh snarled. “Look, do you want help, or would you rather we just leave you in those suits?”

“Fine,” Trip sighed. “What have we got to lose?”

The Beetleborgs soon pulled up outside of Hillhurst and got off their Sector Cycles, along with Trip and Van.

“We'd better take it easy,” Jo said, as everyone walked up the front steps of the house. “The residents can be a little... peculiar.”

“Hold it,” Drew said. “Flabber will flip out if he sees the Brutalborgs. I'll go in first to ease him down. Wait here.” Drew then opened the front door, stepped inside and closed it behind himself. “Flabber! Please come here!”

“Drew!” Flabber called as he, the monsters and Art came running into the foyer. “What happened?”

“We won,” Drew said. “We defeated Nukus!”

“You're... kidding, right?” Art asked.

Drew shook his head. “Nope. They're all gone, except for the Brutalborgs. They're no longer under any evil influence and are back to being Trip and Van.”

“Doesn't sound like much of an improvement if you ask me.” Mums said.

Flabber's jaw was drooping widely, as his head spun around on his shoulders.

“Flabber, you okay?” Little Ghoul asked, as Flabber's head turned into a steam whistle and blew itself, before turning back to normal.

“FLABBA DABBA DOO!” Flabber shouted. “That is unbelievable! But, you don't sound too happy about it.”

“Trip and Van are stuck in their Brutalborg armor,” Drew said. “Can you get them out if it?”

Flabber placed a hand upon his cheek and squinted. “Perhaps. I'll certainly try. Where are they?”

“Guys, you can come in,” Drew called, as the front door opened up and the rest of the Beetleborgs entered, along with Trip and Van.

“He's gonna help us?” Trip asked, as Flabber studied both his and Van's suits.

“What even is he?” Van asked. “Is he some kind of alien?”

“Well, I'm not exactly from this world,” Flabber replied. “But I've got some good news. I can get these suits off you. And it shouldn't be hard. Just stand right there.”

Trip and Van looked at one another, as Flabber took a few steps back and held out his hands. “What's he going to do?”

“This'll work,” Flabber said. “I think”.

The fighting is over,
We've won at last,
As for these Borgs, make them Back Blast!

A bright light pulsed out of Flabber's hands. Once it faded, Trip and Van's armor disappeared, leaving them in their human forms. However, Flabber's spell had inadvertently regressed the Beetleborgs' armors as well.

Before Trip and Van could admire their normal bodies again, they were taken aghast by the sight of the five kids standing where the Beetleborgs had been.

“What the?” Trip cried.

“They're the Beetleborgs?” Van shrieked. “Them?”

“FLAB-BER,” Heather huffed, frowning at the phasm, along with the other Beetleborgs.

“I'm sorry!” Flabber bawled. "I didn't mean to do all of you! I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry-”

“This is messed up,” Trip said nervously, as Flabber went on. “This whole experience has been a crazy dream, and I'm about to wake up!”

“Wake me up, too!” Van said.

“I made a boo-boo!” Flabber whined. “A BIG boo-boo!”

“Flabber!” Art cried. “Wipe their memories or something! Quick!”

Flabber's body turned completely white and he froze, only to fall apart like shattered glass into countless tiny pieces.

“I can't believe it's them,” Trip said. “Of all people, they're the Beetleborgs!”

“We're gonna tell everyone who they are,” Van said. “We'll be famous!”

“No!” Josh cried.

“Guys, don't!” Drew exclaimed.

“You don't understand!” Art blurted.

“And you know what?" Trip called. "Forget the clubhouse. We've had enough of this stupid place. It's getting torn down tomorrow!”

“That's enough!” Fangula snapped, as he walked towards Trip and Van, holding up his cape. “Monsters, we feast tonight!”

“Let's get out here,” Trip said, as he and Van stepped out onto the porch. “I'm calling Dad about all this right now. Van, call Dudley to pick us up.”

As Trip and Van pulled out their cell phones, Heather suddenly teleported in front of them.

“Get out of our way, Heather!” Van shouted. “I can't believe you were in on this, too.”

“Guys...” Heather began, as Trip and Van flipped open their phones. “Please don't.”

Trip and Van looked up at their phones and stared at Heather.

“Look, I know all of you don't get along, but is that any reason to expose us? The Beetleborgs just saved you from Nukus. That's no reason to turn on them. And what would you gain from doing so? You guys already live in a nice house and get everything you could possibly want. The Beetleborgs work hard to protect Charterville and they never even get so much as a dime. It's bad enough that your father is taking away Hillhurst from not only us, but the monsters who live here. Can't we at least keep our dignity?”

Trip and Van both lowered their heads, then stepped over to the side of the porch. Everyone else watched as they whispered something between themselves, only for Trip to dial a number on his phone, as did Van.

“Oh no...” Drew said, shaking his head.

“Dudley, we're at Hillhurst,” Van said into his phone. “Just come for us. We'll explain everything on the ride home.”

“Hi Dad,” Trip said, talking into his phone in a dead serious tone. “We're fine. Listen. We don't want you to build your condo at Hillhurst. No, don't. I don't care! Look, it was a stupid idea anyway. This place is in the middle of nowhere! Do it somewhere else. We'll talk when we get home. Goodbye.”

“Is this for real?” Jo asked, as Trip and Van put their phones away.

Trip let out a deep breath. “I don't know what came over me. I stood up to our dad just now. I've never done that before.”

“You're trying to convince your dad to cancel the project?” Roland asked.

Van nodded. “We'll do what we can. This place is clearly important to the Beetleborgs. And these monsters, we suppose.”

“And we do admire the Beetleborgs,” Trip said. “Even if the Beetleborgs are... you guys.”

“But since you guys are the Beetleborgs, I guess that means you're actually... pretty cool.”

“What do you say, guys?” Josh asked, looking around at everyone. “Truce?”

“Truce,” Trip said, extending his hand outwards, alongside Van. The kids took turns shaking each other's hands.

“Shake hand?” Frankie asked, as he pulled off one of his hands and extended it towards Trip and Van.

“We'll... uh... get acquainted with you monsters another time,” Van said, as their limousine suddenly appeared in the distance.

“Yeah, we've had enough excitement for one day,” Trip said, stepping down from the porch as the limousine pulled up in front of the house. He then turned back to face the house. “Of course, I assume you will explain everything to us at some point?”

“We get it,” Drew said, as Trip and Van got into the back seat of the limo, which began to drive off.

“That's a relief,” Roland said. “Not only did we destroy Nukus, but Hillhurst may have a future after all, and Trip and Van... are our friends now?”

“That wasn't us,” Josh said. “That was Heather. She did that.”

“And she did that without using any powers,” Art said. “She was the real hero today.”

Jo, Drew, Roland and Josh all gathered around Heather and proceeded to hug her.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Drew woke up and wearily looked over at the clock on his nightstand. The digital display read that it was currently seven thirty-two.

“Aw crap,” Drew said, as he rolled out of bed. “I'm gonna be late!”

Drew ran from his room to the bathroom and took a quick shower, the put on fresh clothes and ran down to the kitchen, where Jo and his parents were sitting at the table.

“Mom, what are we having for breakfast?”

“Drew, relax,” Andrea said. “You'll never guess what happened last night!”

Drew smacked his forehead. “Wait, the school's closed because of that attack yesterday!”

“I wouldn't be sure about that,” Henry said.

“I gotta eat something fast!” Drew gasped, as he grabbed an apple from a bowl in the center of the table. “Jo, is your school open?”

“Drew, you don't have to rush,” Andrea said, as Jo shook her head.

“Wha?” Drew cried as he bit into the apple. “I ganb hear ga!” he continued, his mouth full of chewed up fruit. “I'm eating!”

“Andrew McCormick!” Andrea snapped. “Sit down, swallow your food, be quiet and see what's on TV.”

Heeding his mother's advice, Drew took a seat and swallowed what was in his mouth, as he looked at the TV that was playing on the kitchen counter. On the screen, reporter Bunny Bodel was standing in front of Charterville Town Hall.

“According to the police that were on the scene last night, the Beetleborgs claim to have truly defeated all of their enemies last night,” Bunny said, speaking into a microphone. “Although there were no witnesses, the Beetleborgs themselves claimed to have done just that.”

“Isn't that amazing?” Henry asked.

Drew and Jo both nodded.

“And with the new Pink Zinc Beetleborg,” Bunny continued, “I think it's safe to say that Charterville will be safer than ever.”

The camera then panned to Mayor Lawson, who was standing on a podium atop the steps to the town hall, in front of a small crowd of people.

“In light of the recent development, the school board has resumed its regular schedule," Mayor Lawson said. "However, due to the fact that the Beetleborgs have defeated all of their supervillains, I hereby proclaim that today will be Beetleborg Day here in Charterville. And to celebrate, government offices and schools will be closed today! Children and school staff, enjoy the long weekend!”

Drew looked over at Jo, and the two siblings smiled at each other.

After finishing breakfast, Drew and Jo headed over to Hillhurst, meeting up with Roland, Josh and Heather on their bikes along the way. They discussed the news report the rest of the way, then headed inside once they arrived at the house.

“Good morning kids,” Art called from the parlor.

The kids entered the parlor, where Art and Flabber were both sitting at the coffee table.

“Good morning,” the kids all said.

“Excuse me, Mr. Fortunes,” Roland said. “But the town now believes that we defeated Nukus and the others. Do you think there's a chance that any of the villains might come back somehow?”

“I doubt it,” Art replied. “This isn't like what happened with the Dimensionizer, where they were pulled into another dimension that they found their way out of. “No, I believe that the Crustaceans and Vexor were truly destroyed by you.”

“What about Jara, Noxic and Typhus?” Jo asked. “They didn't blow up or anything, they were sent back to the comics.”

“Where they'll stay. Unless someone else were to release them from the comics somehow.”

Flabber shook his head and formed an X with his arms. “Don't look at me!”

“That just leaves Trip and Van,” Josh said. “Or rather, Cobraborg and Viperborg. I know that Flabber de-Borged them last night, but is there a chance they could still call for their bonders and turn back into Brutalborgs?”

Art shook his head. “I don't think so. You see, when Nukus broke the curse that was on Trip and Van, they lost the ability to use any of their powers. That's why they couldn't use their weapons and were stuck in their armor. So it stands to reason that their Brutal Bonders are gone, along with the rest of their powers. I don't think you'll have to worry about the Brutalborgs anymore. But you may still want to worry about Trip and Van.”

“What do you mean?” Heather asked.

“They know your secret. I know they said they wouldn't tell, but... can you really trust them?”

“Well, I don't think they have anything they can use to prove to others that we're the Beetleborgs. But their dad is rich, and no doubt has a lot of connections. Who am I kidding? Even if they can't prove it, the're never going to let us live this down. They saw us, and there's nothing we can do about it.”

“It's a lot to swallow,” Jo said. “No only can they try to expose our identities to the world, but what about Hillhurst? They still own this house. And their dad's gonna want to do something with it. Condo or no condo.”

“I suppose we'll just have to wait and see,” Flabber said.

“And what about Les?” Jo asked.

“Well, he's back in prison,” Art replied. “Almost as fast as he got out. I know that he wasn't on Nukus' side anymore, but I don't know if he's really changed all that much. Hopefully, he at least learned something from this experience.”

“That's hard to say,” Drew said.

Art stood up. “Well, I'd better get back to Urbania City. I'm really gonna be busy now, if I'm going to be introducing Rhodium Cobalt and Pink Zinc into the comics. Boy, I'm so far into Rhodium Cobalt's origin, just wait til next month! And after that, I'm gonna need to devote the very next issue to Pink Zinc!”

Josh smiled, as he tapped Heather on her shoulder.

“Thank you, Mr. Fortunes,” Heather said, as the monsters all gathered around the parlor.

“No,” Art said, looking around at the kids, Flabber and the monsters. “Thank you. Thank you all.”

Soon afterwards, the kids had left Hillhurst and biked over to Zoom Comics. As long as they had the day off of school, they figured that they could be of some use at the store to Abbie and Nano.

Drew was standing behind the counter, with the rest of his team gathered nearby. He was looking down at an issue of Beetleborgs that he was holding in his hand.

“Drew, what is it?” Roland asked.

“It's weird,” Drew replied.

“What's weird?”

Drew sighed. “I'm glad that Nukus and everybody are all gone. It means that we might not have to become Beetleborgs again. At least, for the forseeable future.”

“But that's good,” Josh said. “There's no more villains terrorizing the town.”

“I know. I wouldn't dare wish for them to come back. But at the same time, as dangerous and serious as it was, it was usually fun being a Beetleborg.”

“I had my doubts too, at first,” Heather said. “But I felt really accomplished inside when we defeated Nukus.”

“It's not so bad,” Jo said. “Now you have time to do the things you want. You don't have to sacrifice your social life at the drop of a hat.”

“But I'd just gotten used to this whole thing, too. It felt like it was over before it even started.”

The front door to Zoom Comics suddenly opened up, and Trip and Van entered the shop. They noticed the kids at the counter and proceeded to walk towards it.

“Oh boy,” Jo said softly. “Wonder what they want.”

“Uh, hey guys,” Trip said.

Roland sighed. “I'll bite. How many people have you told?”

“Told? Told people what?”

“Our secret?” Drew answered.

“No one,” Trip responded. “We promised that we wouldn't tell. And we're sticking to that.”

“We came to tell you about Hillhurst,” Van said.

“What's happening with it?” Heather asked.

“Our dad agreed that as cheap as the land may have been, that Hillhurst is a lousy spot for a condominium,” Trip replied. “So, he's looking to buy another lot a bit closer to the center of town.”

“Seriously?” Josh asked. “What about the house itself? Your dad still owns it, right?”

“Here's the thing,” Van began. “Dad really has no use for the property at this point. But we told him that the house is important and deserves to be left alone. So we're going to keep the house itself, but Dad's donating most of the land he bought around it back to the state.”

“He's gonna get a nice tax rebate, I bet,” Trip added. “In exchange for that, he'll still cover property tax for the house as a write-off. That way, as long as the house is under legal ownership and being paid for, nobody can tear it down.”

“And what about your clubhouse?” Jo asked.

“We don't care about that anymore,” Van replied, shaking his head. “You Beetleborgs and your monster friends can have it. The place is too run-down anyway.”

“You mean, the monsters can... stay there?” Drew asked.

“Yeah,” Trip replied. “Those monsters are too strange for us. Don't know what you guys see in them.”

“Wow,” Roland said. “Thank you.”

Van shook his head. “Oh, don't think that we're doing this for you. We're only doing this for the Beetleborgs, you know.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.”

"But thank you guys," Trip said. "For helping us last night."

"And... we're sorry about the way we acted," Van added.

At that moment, several of Heather's other friends, including Amanda, entered the comic store.

“Hey Heather,” Amanda said, leading her friends up to the front counter. “Hey... Roland.”

Roland smirked. “You got it.”

Amanda nodded. “You know, as long as I got all those gift certificates for this place, I figured that I might as well get some use out of them.”

“We sell magazines here,” Drew said.

“I know,” Amanda said, eyeing the issue of Beetleborgs that Drew had been looking at earlier. “That comic looks pretty cool.”

“Amanda, I didn't know you were into the comics,” Rebecca said.

“If this is what inspired the real Beetleborgs, it's gotta be good. After all, it's because of the Beetleborgs that we got the day off school.”

“Is that the new issue?” Brooke asked, pointing to Drew's comic.

Roland shook his head. “No. I think we sold out of that not too long ago.”

“Are you looking for the new issue?” Nano asked, walking up to the counter. “Just wait a moment.”

Nano went behind the counter, bent down and opened up a cabinet.

“Nano, what is it?” Josh asked.

“A-ha!” Nano shouted, as she stood up, holding up a copy of the newest issue. “This is the last copy in the whole store!”

“I'll take it,” Amanda said. “And if I like it, maybe I'll come back and start buying some of the older issues as well.”

“Maybe I'll get one as well,” Brooke said. “Are you guys sure that it's the last copy here?”

“For now it is,” Nano replied. “But we'll get a brand new shipment in next week, I assure you.”

“Oh,” Amanda said. “I almost forgot. But, since my party was interrupted yesterday, my parents are letting me throw a makeup party tonight. You're all welcome to attend.”

“I'd be down for that,” Josh said, nodding along with his friends.

“Great. But unfortunately, we kinda blew our food budget on everything for yesterday's party. If you wouldn't mind, could you possibly bring something to eat? It'll be a potluck.”

“Hold on a second,” Trip said, walking up to face Amanda. “Could Van and I come?”

“Trip and Van?” Laura asked. “You two seriously want to come?”

Heather shrugged. “It might be okay.”

“We can provide the food,” Van said. “Pizza, chips, cake, you name it.”

Amanda took in and let out a deep breath. “All right, you guys win. You can come.”

“YEAH!” Trip and Van both cried, shaking their fists in excitement.

“All right,” Amanda said. “We'll see you all tonight.”

Afterwards, once the other kids from school had left the store, Drew and Heather had sat down on the couch that was in the corner.

“It's weird” Drew said. “I mean, Trip and Van don't sound like they want to be obnoxious towards us anymore. If anything, they almost come off as nice. But I don't think that they're really ready to be friends with us.”

“I don't know if we really won their friendship,” Heather said. “But I believe that we did win their respect. How do you feel now, anyway?”

“About what?”

“Everything that's happened these past few days,” Heather replied. “I mean we defeated all our enemies. I became a new Borg. You and the others are starting to become friends with more eighth-graders. Trip and Van seem to be turning over a new leaf. And Hillhurst is going to be safe from now on.”

“You want to know how I feel?” Drew asked, as a huge smile appeared on his face. “I feel happy, Heather. I feel very happy.”

The End