If you wouldn't Mind, Would You Edit and Critique This?

Part 1: Back in Action

It was so unexpected. Almost a year after the fall of Fuse, planet Fusion remained in space over our world. Even with the DDT disbanded, I was staying at DexLabs. I had nowhere else to go. My home and the homes of several others were destroyed in the war. The war had brought hard times. And I could sense that they'd only get worse. My new room in the newly built DexTower was nice but I mised living in the serenity of my home in Pokey Oaks. On a night like all those after the war, I was gazing up at the desolate planet. There was a knock on my door. I walked in from the balcony and opened the door. "Mark, what are you doing here?" I asked.

Mark wrapped his scarf further around his neck. "Lizzie, we're in trouble. Dexter's called a meeted to discuss a Level Five Issue and a Top Priority Mission."

"Why, what happened?"

"FusionFall Happened." Mark said, walking away.

My eyes widened and I ran out of my room, dragging Mark behind me by the wrist. We got into the elevator and took it down to the basement level. Dexter was waiting there for us. He got in and pressed the button under his secret pannel. The elevator doors closed and the elevator began to move to the side and around in a circle. When it stopped, we walked out and into the secret, underground to the DexTower, the DDT Bunker. We walked across the bridge and into the main control room where the computer was. Dexter took off his glove and pressed his hand against a scanner and walked in once the door opened. "Computer, connect me with the rest of the DDT's founding members", he said. A digital face appeared on the screen and nodded.

"Yes, Dexter. Now connecting you with Ben Tennyson, Numbuh One, Eddy, and Blossum."

Each of the forementioned titans appeared on the screen. "Hello, Dexter, this is Numbuh One speaking. You contacted us earlier today about a recent development that poses a problem. What might that be exactly?"

Dexter pressed a button on his watch and it projected an image of Planet Fusion. "As you know, Planet Fusion remains in space over our world. It is apparent that the planet's destruction should have been a result of that of Fuse's. It seems that there was a hiccup. We're not sure what's wrong but the tension of having that horrible place in plain sight overhead is unbearable."

"We understand that, Dexter", Eddy said. "But I don't think there's anything we can do about it. It's not like we can destroy a whole planet. What are your thoughts on it guys?"

Numbuh One seemed deep in thought. He wasn't even paying attention. "I'm actually with Dexter on this one", Ben said. "It's too risky to just let it sit there. For all we know, Fuse was never even destroyed and he's preparing an army for us. I vote we send someone over there to check it out and see if anything suspicious is going on." Blossum and Eddy nodded. But Dexter and Numbuh One were so deep in thought, it seemed like they were paralyzed. "Hey, you two awake? Earth to Dex and Numbuh One." Numbuh One snapped out of it first. "What's up with you two?" Ben asked, scrolling through his watch.

"Nothing. I was just thinking of possible explanations."

Suddenly there was a lound crash. Numbuh One turned around. "Numbuh One, what was that?" Asked Dexter, turning off his watch. An explosion behind Numbuh One cut the Tree House's power and his screen went dead. "Lizzie, get your hoverboard and get over there!" I nodded and turned around.

"I'll meet you guys there", Blossum said. She turned off her screen and I ran to the center of the bridge. I slid down the ladder and grabbed a hoverboard from one of the kids.

The hanger door opened and I flew off to the Sector V Tree House. On my way there, I saw a strange guy in a black cape jumping rooftops. But he jumped down into an alley and I lost him. I trailed him down to the alley but he was long gone. There was an explosion at the Tree-House and I returned to my primary objective. The Tree-House was being attacked strange, green creatures. They didn't look like any kind of Fusion Spawn I'd ever seen. I jumped down into the Tree-House to see if there was annyone inside that needed help.

Once inside, I grabbed my rifle and hid in a doorway. There were footsteps coming from behind me and they were getting closer. I turned around and fired the rifle. Standing there was Goop with a hole through him. "Ben, is that you?"

"More or less", Goop said. The hole closed up and he turned around.

"Sorry about that."

There was small tapping noised coming from around the corner. Goop jumped out and turned into a wave, slamming down on the creatures closing in. Under Goop's acidic body, they began to melt. Then he reformed himself and turned into regular Ben. "Well that was easy."

"Wow...I must say, I am both impressed and grossed out by that", I said.

Ben and I ran further into the Tree-House to try and find Numbuh One. He was in the central room on the top floor, fighting those things off. "Stay back youFusion Freaks!"

"They're not Fusion Spawns! These came from somewhere else!" I said, shooting away at these creatures.

Ben smacked the watch and transformed into XLR8. "Bet you $5 I can finish this up in less than five seconds." I smiled and kept shooting but when I blinked my eyes they were all gone. "Sorry it took so long. I have to round them all up and drop them in the river." Suddenly the whole tree shook.

"That doesn't sound very good", I said.

"That sounds a lot worse than 'Not very good'." Numbuh One said, holding up his gun.

The tree kept shaking until we were face to face with a huge beast like the ones we just got rid of. I pressed a button on my watch and the hoverboard flew in through the window. Hopping on, I flew above the creature and aimed my watch at it's mouth. "Open up big boy. Say Ah." Pressing the nano button on the watch, I shot into his mouth and everything got quiet. The beast started to wobble around. Then my old Cannonbolt Nano shot through it and the creature dropped. But it was a hollow victory. A red light on the thing's forehead lit up and began to blink. "Always a self-destruct on these things. Man, that's just lazy", I said.

XLR8 changed into Humongosaur and grabbed me. Then he jumped out through the wall and started growing. It exploded behind us and the force shot us down like a cannonball. We hit the ground and Humongosaur let me go then changed back into Ben. "Well that was fun", he said.

"Wait, Ben, where's Numbuh One?" I asked, looking around.

I looked up and the whole treehouse was on fire. The anti-gravity suddenly gave out and it began to fall from the sky. Ben popped open the watch and said "Now's as good a time as any." He smacked the watch and transformed into Alien X. But after that he completely stopped moving.

"Uh, Ben? Hello? Can you wake up please cause we're about to end up flat as a pancake!"

"Seconded! Anti-Gravity Motion Carried!" Alien X drew a circle then pressed it and the Tree-House stopped falling just in time. But when I looked up, the treehouse exploded.

"No!"

The rest of that day was grim for us. We'd lost Numbuh One and we hadn't any leads on this new threat. When I got back to the DexTower, I filled the guys in. Dexter took it the hardest. He started blaming himself and he retreated into his work. For the remainder of that week, everything was quiet. But we hadn't a clue as to how much that was going to change...or how soon.

Chapter 2: Strange Behavior


It'd been three days since the catastrophe on the treehouse. We searched high and low but amongst the many survivors we found, none were Numbuh One. I was beginning to feel guilty but not as much as Ben. He was taking it pretty hard. He blamed himself for the whole thing. He claimed that if he had grabbed Numbuh One the outcome would have been different. After a few more days had passed, Dexter called everyone up again. I was in the room with him when the conversation occured. Numbuh Five had taken Numbuh One's place. "Dex, the past few days have been rough on us all. But the end result is always the same no matter how we look at it. Numbuh One had to have gotten out and gone somewhere. We scanned that rubble hundreds of times and he wasn't in it. No problem. Numbuh Five says we just wait it out and see where this takes things. If Numbuh One doesn't show up, we'll search high and low for him." Numbuh Five said, reassuring Dexter that there wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"What about those strange creatures that attacked the treehouse, Numbuh Five?" Ben asked.

Numbuh Five shook her head and pressed a button. The KND screen showed the debris of the treehouse. "You're welcome to come and try to dig one out of here in one piece", she said. The screen went back to her. "What were those things anyway?" I began to think. I'd been on Planet Fusion before and I'd never seen a fusion spawn quite like that. I wasn't sure it was a spawn. It was more like a machine. The large one had a self destruct and the smaller ones made a strange, metallic sound when they moved.

Dexter pulled up an image of the creatures. "I'm not sure what they are. They clearly aren't anything to do with Fuse. These were a completely different evil", he said. The image shrunk back into his watch and it got quiet. "What is everyone thinking?" Ben and Blossum both had the same looks on their faces. "We all knew this was coming." Everyone seemed to agree by nodding their heads. The screens all went black and I followed Dexter to the bridge.

"Dexter, what's going to happen?" I asked, keeping up with him.

"The DDT was intended to be a secret organization. But every secret must someday see the light. The charade is over Eliza. The DDT has to go public."

"What, Dexter, are you insane? We can't go public with this! Everything we've worked for will be..."

"Destroyed, no, it will be...reforged."

I stopped as Dexter continued to cross the bridge. "Dexter, I've followed you through this whole thing but...I'm not going to back you here. I can't back a movement that I don't believe in." I said, hoping to break some sense into his think skull. Dexter didn't stop. He entered the elevator and held it open. I got in and stood on the other side of it. We were silent all the way to the lobby floor. Both elevator doors opened, one to his lab, the other outside.

"You have a choice, Eliza. You can come with us and save the world you love...or you can leave and struggle to make a difference at all...your choice. Which door will you take?"

I sat there in silence, pondering the possible outcomes. I finally shook my head then walked outside. Dexter closed the elevator door behind me as I walked away. It was the last time I'd ever see Dexter the same way. From then on, he'd be something I know I wouldn't have ever imagined. He'd be my enemy.

A few days later he called for a press conference. Behind him were Ben, Blossum, and Numbuh Five. To his side were Eddy and Mark. I was watching from my room in the hotel downtown. When all of the crowd had settled down, Dexter began his announcement. "For the longest time, now, I have decieved you. But after much thought and consideration by myself and my parterns and much discussion of the inccidents of days past, we have come to you to make this announcement. From Day One of the Invasion, labeled by the Government as Fusion Fall, there has been a secret organization assigned the task of stopping Fuse at every opportunity. In fact, it was this very team that was able to defeat Fuse on his home planet. This team was initially my idea and kept secret from the public and the government. Now it's time to come clean. You may have heard of it before and thought this to be a simple myth but the truth is...The DDT that most of you have heard about is quite real."

A low rumble filled the room. The people in the crowd were chattering and looking around. Everyone was thrown off gaurd. A reported in the audience held up her recorder. "Dexter, if you wouldn't mind, I see Ben Tennyson, Numbuh Five of the Notorious KND, Blossum of the Powerpuff Girls, and Eddy from the Cul-De-Sac Defense team back during the Fusion War. Who is this young man beside you?"

"Uhm, my name is Marcus Dixon. I am not a member of the DDT. I am only Dexter's assistant", Marc said. I was really disappointed in him for staying by Dexter's side.

"Please, everyone, all questions well be answered during tomorrow's tour of the DDT Facility. That is all for now, thank you." Dexter said, turning to leave. The others followed him and I turned off the TV.

I sat on the bed, wondering what'd gone wrong. When Fuse attacked, everything changed. Life was so simple before. Something in my mind was telling me to do something. I looked to my hoverboard and mask. They were in the corner. It was almost as if they were looking at me. But I knew I had to do.

The day of Dexter's DDT Facility tour, I slipped into my V-Girl costume and flew to DexTower to catch the tour. I gained access to the Facility and found Dexter giving the tour. The reporters saw me and swarmed me. They asked me question after question but I weaseled out and caught up with Dexter. "Dexter, what are you doing?" I asked, trying to get past this new wall he'd built around himself.

Dexter almost completely ignored me. Then an alarm went off. His watch showed him an alert. Those creatures were attacking Townsville Hall. I jumped onto my hoverboard and looked at Dexter. Then I shook my head and got ready to leave. But Dexter had other plans. "I'm sorry V-Girl, but I can't let you do that. After the announcement the government had us sign a legally binding document. We're the only agency authorized to handle situations involving Fuse. That includes situations with the suspicion of Fuse's involvement."

"So now you're telling me what I can and can't do?"

"You can go after them but only if you sign on with the DDT...that means no more mask."

"Sorry Dexter, but the point of freedom is so you can do what you want..." I said, taking off.

"You always do what you want, V-Girl!" Dex called out, twarning me. "But I'll do what I must."

Ben smacked his watch and turned into Jet-Ray. Then he and Blossum proceeded to try and blow me out of the sky. "So is this what you guys are reduced to?!" I asked over the roaring winds blowing past me. "You're really going to shoot me out of the sky for doing what I think...what I KNOW is right!" Blossum nearly hit my hoverboard with her heat vision but I spun out of the way and turned into an alley. They both followed me but I hit a 90 degree turn going up and then proceeded to Townsville Hall. Those creatures were running the place into the ground.

Ben flew past me and changed from from Jet-Ray to Echo-Echo on the fly. He multipied over and over and when he was done, every carbon copy gave a sonic screech that nearly threw me off of my board. Ben wiped out the creatures and I landed. Then the creatures began to spark up. They reassembled but together. They were combining. "Yup, this happens alot too. My days are never simple", I said. I pressed a button on my watch and aimed at the creatures head. My Cannonbolt Nano shot directly at its head and destroyed the mechanism that would've caused it to explode. "Now, Ben!" I yelled. Ben pulled himself together then changed from Echo-Echo to Way-Big and stepped on the huge cretin. "Geez, Ben, thought you might've wanted to keep this one in tact."

Ben changed into Chromastone and tried to blast me. Blossum shot at me with her laser vision and nearly hit me. "We're sorry Eliza. But until you agree to join the DDT or stop doing this altogether, you're a criminal and must be treated like one." Ben said, coming closer.

"If that's all you want to say then fine. You win...I'm done with this." I said, flying away.

My world was beginning to turn upside down. But it was worse. My entire world was beginning to crumble. I was really giving up the one thing that I had left in my life. I couldn't believe it but this may have very well been the end of V-Girl. Dexter had one. They all got what they wanted. Later that night I threw away the costume and the mask. Then I stowed away the hoverboard. "You happy, world? You got what you wanted. V-Girl is gone...and she's not coming back." I said, walking away.

Chapter 3: Hopelessness Brings the Return of the Titan

Over the next week, I watched them via live news feeds. The DDT was everywhere but they were struggling. After about a week, things began to look hopeless. Things finally reached their boiling point the day they fought off more of the creatures that’d appeared near the graveyard. I was watching but having a tough time staying awake. The DDT was winning at first but something went wrong.

It seemed as though it came from nowhere. Blossom and Ben were both shot out of the air. Dexter was in a high-tech suit that he was fighting him but the creatures overwhelmed him and started to tear the armor apart. I couldn’t stand to watch any more. I turned off the television and curled up in my bed. But I wasn’t there for long. I heard a voice come from near the window. “So you’re just giving up?”

“What?” I said, looking toward the window. There was a dark character sitting there. “Who are you? Why are you here? Wait, I’ve seen you somewhere before”, I said.

“Yes, yes you have. I was jumping rooftops on patrol when you passed me on your hover-board.”

“How’d you know who I was?”

“You weren’t wearing your mask.”

I had just realized that and held my head in my hand. This guy was dark in a way. He was tall and had on a long cloak. He had spiky, grey hair and a mask like mine. He was disguising his voice to keep me from realizing who he was. “So who are you?” I asked, trying to learn more.

“For obvious reasons, I’m not going to tell you my name. But know that many people call me Dusk.”

“Well, Dusk, you probably saw this coming but what, exactly, are you doing in my room?”

Dusk stood up and walked out of the shadows, showing his tattered cloak. “You’ve given up because of a simple little complication. Is that any way to go on? I don’t think it is. You’ve lost sight, my friend. You think being a hero only means protecting people from Fuse? You’re wrong. It means protecting all people from any threat that may emerge.”

I thought about what he said. I’d put so many people in harm’s way. It was my job and my job alone to protect them. And I knew that there was only one way to do it. After a while, I’d finished thinking and I was ready to do what I knew I had to. But when I turned to thank Dusk, he was gone. I immediately got to work, making a new V-Girl costume and when I was done I decided to take it out for a spin.

But I needed something to start me off. And the newest broadcasts of the affairs of the DDT were a good place to start. They were fighting at the old nuclear plant and they were losing. I arrived just in time. The creatures were about to deliver one last strike to Dexter. After having retreated from the last challenge, Dexter was in a tight spot.

I entered with a load, sonic boom. Faster than I could blink, I scooped Dexter up and put him down out of harm’s way. Then I turned around and flew at the behemoth. Kicking the back of the board down, I went straight up and once high enough, I jumped off. When I landed on the creature’s back, I got my rifles ready and back flipped off from the head. While I was falling upside-down, I shot at the self-destruct device on the creature’s head and destroyed it. I flipped over and landed on my feet then started programming my Nano-launcher.

The creature roared and attacked me. “Yeah, yeah, put a sock in it”, I said. The creature gave me a clear shot at its mouth and I took it. I aimed then shot my Eduardo nano into the creature and it stopped. It grew quiet. Then a thunderous noise could be heard from within the creature. It began to fall apart shortly after that and finally blew to pieces. But a strange goop flew all over the plant. I called back the nano and grabbed my hover-board. “Messy job huh, Dexter?” I said, hopping on my board. A beam passed my shoulder, just missing my head.

“That’s you’re first and only warning shot, V!” Dexter called to me, holding up his rifle.

“If you shoot at me, Dexter, you’re no better than the very thing you’re trying to protect the world against”, I said.

“How would doing putting away a criminal make me like Fuse?”

“I wasn’t talking about Fuse. You probably applied ‘logic’ to this already but the quest of a superhero isn’t to rid the world of evil, Dexter. It’s to protect those in harm’s way because no matter how hard you try…Evil will always exist. It will until the end of days.”

I saw Dexter’s hand trembling. Then he stopped and a blank look swept over his face. Looking behind him, he saw Ben, Blossom, and Numbuh Five laying there, defeated. I could hear Eddy speaking over Dexter’s com-link. “Dexter? Come in, Dexter. This is Double D speaking. We have a problem. Your scans, they came in. Dexter, this is big. You have to get back to the DexTower now.” I flew away after that.

In my room back in the hotel, I sat there and watched TV. The room suddenly filled with an eerie presence. It became very cold. “Get up, V.”

“Dusk, what are you doing here?”

“Put on your costume. I’ve stumbled onto something you’ll want to see.”

Within the next few minutes, I was following him over the rooftops of Townsville. I didn’t know where in Townsville he was leading me but Dusk seemed like the kind of person who only appears if it’s absolutely necessary. “So what’s going on?” I asked, trying to keep up.

“If you can recall, Dexter was contacted during your last mission. I did some snooping. Dexter has some valuable information. It involves the reason that Planet Fusion is still in our spacial boundaries.”

“Then why aren’t we going to DexTower?” I asked?

“We’re not going to DexTower because that place is built like a fortress. And while I was snooping, I found some information that’s just as disturbing.”

“So where are we going?”

“We’re going to have a little chat with a monkey.”

I was more confused than I thought was even possible. But I followed him anyway. “Just curious but what is that supposed to mean anyway?” I asked. No answer. “Hello? Hey, don’t you give me the silent treatment! Get back here!”

Episode 4: Revelations


Dusk and I came to Townsville Park, the location of Mojo Jojo’s volcano lair. “What are we doing here?” I asked, following Dusk to the volcano. We saw Mojo through the window. He was pacing but seemed to be talking to someone. I could even hear him little.

“This situation is most troublesome. The Fusion Matter left behind is proving to be unstable. And by unstable I do not mean that it is unbalanced and therefore going to fall. But I mean it in the scientific sense, meaning that it is not held together the way it should be. And as a result of this instability, my new creations are far too vulnerable.”

“Point one for the prime ape dictionary”, I muttered.

“Who goes there? And by there I do not mean ‘their’ which is the form of the word which is to be taken in a possessive context or ‘they’re’ meaning that someone is performing and action. I mean ‘There’ which refers to one’s location. So with that being said, Who Goes There?!” Mojo said, turning to the window.

Dusk and I dropped away and started to run. “So it was him behind those creatures. I always knew Mojo was evil but this is just…”

“Inhuman, I agree. Mojo has always been sadistic but this is too much even for him. He’s combining Fusion Matter with his machines and using them to do his dirty work.”

“But I think there’s more to it. There’s not clear pattern to the attacks as far as the untrained eye can see. But if you were paying attention during the Fusion War, these things are attacking all these places in the exact order they did during the week of the Fusion Reign.”

The two of us hid in an alley and waited it out. Then something hit me. I recognized Dusk from somewhere. “You know, you look really familiar.”

“Plenty of people know me. I come and go as the wind does. Being a hero is my calling…it is my only purpose.”

“Uh-huh, so let me guess…Robin?”

“No.”

“Oh, I know, Beast-Boy!”

“No.”

After a few minutes of pestering Dusk, he left. I decided something had to be done. I flew down to DexTower but the guards stopped me. “Nobody is allowed access with DDT clearance.” One of the guards said, pushing me back. I grabbed his arm and threw him through the glass door.

“I am NOT in the mood right now.”

Dexter, Ben, and Numbuh Five all walked out of the elevator and greeted me. “V-Girl, I see you’re here for business. Come inside. You don’t need the mask here.”

“Nice try Dexter, but I’m smarter than that.” I said, pointing up to the cameras around the room.

Dexter was losing is patience with me. But I had lost my patience with him before the war even ended. I wasn’t about to let a new one start under such ridiculous circumstances. We’d seen one war that tore apart the world as we knew it. A new war would only make things worse. “You won’t listen to reason, V-Girl. What other choice do I have?”

Ben smacked his watch and turned into Heat-Blast. “I’d say this was going to hurt me more that it was going to hurt you but we both know that this is going to hurt you way more.” He said. He began to get closer. Hands blazing, he shot at my head but missed on purpose. This time he was going to actually try and hit me.

“The funny thing about getting an upgrade is that when you’re done, you’re always full of surprises!” I said, hitting a button on my watch. A shield device sprung from my watch but Ben kept up the heat and the shield wasn’t holding up very well.

Then a black figure crept along the floor like a shadow and rose up, absorbing the fire. Ben cranked it up but it just sucked it all in. The shadow pulsated then loosened up some sort of black beam that knocked Ben back and caused him to change back to normal. The shadow became three dimensional then gained some color. It was Dusk. “Dexter, this fight is a waste of energy. Shouldn’t you be focusing all your resources where you really need it? Fuse isn’t going to halt his operations for the likes of you.”

“What’s he talkin about, Dex?” Numbuh Five asked?

“Come with me.” Dexter said, leading us all to the elevator.

Once we got to the DDT hanger, I saw a group of reporters. They swarmed us as soon as we stepped onto the bridge. Ben turned into Four-Arms and pushed them all back as we walked into the main control center. “What is this Dexter?” I asked? “I know you’re not telling us something.”

“I am now. Computer, pull up all fines regarding The Great Collision.” Images of Planet Fusion, Fuse, Fusions, Fusions Spawns, everything, came up on the screen. “Fuse’s original plan backfired with the formation of the DDT. He planned to send his forces down here and overwhelm the planet. After Fuse’s so called ‘destruction’ the planet remained. After I sent a probe to scan the planet, we came up with these results.”

Numbers and codes ran all through the screen and stopped in a sequence. “What is this?” I asked?

“Ever wonder why all those planets were stuck to planet Fusion?” Dusk said.

“It’s because Fuse is a part of the planet. He IS the planet. Any planets that resist him…” Dexter began.

“Fuse rams Planet Fusion into them.”

“What, but is that even possible?!” I yelled, trying to understand.

The diagram on the computer showed the sequence in full. Fuse rammed Planet Fusion in countless planets over the years and they’d merge. But it came at a heavy cost to the planet under siege. All inhabitants would die upon impact. It’s why Planet Fusion was such a barren place. I didn’t know what to feel about it all.

“Fuse has called off his forces for a reason. He plans to hit ever existent bird with one humongous stone”, Dexter said.

“This is why Dexter’s gone to such drastic measures. But you never go without a plan do you Dexter?” Dusk said.

Dexter laughed under his breath. “No, my friend, I don’t. You will see my plan soon enough. In the mean time, this all seems to be a lot to take on in so little time. Eliza, please, trusts me. This will work. I have a plan. Just join back with the DDT. I’m begging you. All that we’ve done…trying to put you away…it’s all for your own good…unless you join us, there’s no point in doing anything.”

I walked out to the bridge and pushed my way through all of the reporters. They crowded me and hit the elevator button. They swarmed me again and pressed and pressed for questions. The noise was giving me a headache. There were just too many voices. I got into the elevator and took it to the top floor to sit on the roof.

After sitting up there for an hour or so, the door behind me opened. Mark sat beside me and looked at the skyline. “Hey, Eliza, you okay?”

“Okay, what do you mean? I just found out that the world is going to end soon. I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Do you know how to destroy a planet that’s five times as big as our own?”

Mark put his arm around me while I cried. “Come on, Liz, you’re the toughest person I know. We need you for this. Believe it or not, Dexter has a plan. Besides, it’s not going to happen until the end of the year. So we have eleven months.” I collected myself but not because of his words. I felt something bad happening somewhere. A voice came from behind.

“Well isn’t that sweet. And my sweet I do not mean in the matter of taste in which it is not one of the many essential elements of flavor being sour, bitter, or any of the other elements of taste. But I mean in the sense of kindness towards someone you care for. Any senses, Spy on ME will you.”

A large robot rose up in front of us and inside was Mojo Jojo. “Mojo”, I thought. “Mojo, what are you doing combining your machines with Fusion Matter?!”

“I do not see how that is any of your business little girl. For, you see, it is MY business and MY business alone. And for spying on me and thereby intruding on my business I see it fit that some form of punishment is carried out. So as a rightful punishment I see it fit to TAKE YOU LIFE.” Mojo said, laughing maniacally.

“Why is it ALWAYS robots? Why not nice little demon kitties every once in a while?”

Episode 5: Confusion


Mojo attacked us. He tried to push us over the side of the building by swinging his massive robot’s arm but I jumped over it. I saw Mark duck at the last second. Mojo aimed the robot’s arm cannon at Mark and prepared to fire. But just as the gun finished charging up, there was a noise. It was like tapping on glass. I looked and saw Buttercup floating next to Mojo’s robot, smiling. “What’s up, Mojo? Long time, no punch”, she said. Mojo slowly looked over his shoulder and sighed.

The door slid open and Ben walked out. “Gotta hand it to you, Liz, you’re giving me a run for my money. But you’re making this harder than it has to be. But thanks for bringing Mojo to us. You sure made our jobs easier.” Ben smacked the watch and became Humongosaur. He walked past me and broke into Mojo’s robot, pulling him out.

“What do you think you are doing? I demand you release me at this very instant! Do you hear me?! Release me at once!” Mojo hollered.

“Sure, I’ll let you got.” Ben said, throwing Mojo at me. I jumped out of the way but tripped and fell over the ledge. I caught myself and got back up but Ben was standing there, waiting for me. “End of the line, Liz.”

I heard a loud whirring sound. And when I turned around, I saw Mojo’s cannon had been set to recharge. Mark got in there and pushed me out of the way. But the cannon fired before he could move. The cannon shot some kind of beam made of concentrated Fusion Matter. It hit both Mark and Ben. The beam had some kind of effect on the two of them. It caused Ben to change back from Humongosaur. But Mark reacted differently.

The beam cut off and Mark began to mutate somehow. His body started to change. He became brown and scaly. He looked like a cross between Humongosaur his human self. When it was over, the omnitrix lit up with a yellow light. It cycled through every alien until it stopped on Heat-Blast. Then it made him transform without him even pressing down.

Dusk’s shadow crept up from the side of the building. He rose from his shadow and took a look at them. “What happened?” He asked, trying to catch up. I was paralyzed. The shock had taken me over.

Buttercup landed next to Ben and Mark. “They were hit with one of the monkey’s fusion weapons. Speakin of which, where is he?” Buttercup looked around and saw Mojo trying to sneak away. She ran up next to him and slammed him against the wall. “Alright, monkey boy what’d you do to Ben and Mark?”

“Release me and I shall tell you.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re going to spill it now.”

“What do you care? You aren’t a member of the DDT.”

“That’s cause I don’t like being told what to do! They’re still my friends so spill it!”

“Calm down, Buttercup. You won’t get anywhere with him”, Dusk said.

The door to the roof opened and Dexter walked out. He stopped next to Ben and Mark, seeing that they had been injured. “What happened?” He asked, calmly.

“Mojo hit them with some kind of beam. Ben turned into Heat-Blast but the omnitrix symbol isn’t on his chest so I think he’s stuck that way. And Mark absorbed some of Humongosaur’s DNA, the way I see it”, I said.

Dexter looked down. It was quiet for a moment. Then Dexter lifted his head. Blossom walked out and looked at me. She was holding my board and watch. “You have a choice, Liz”, Dexter began. “You take the board and you join the DDT. If not, you call it quits.” I sat there and glared at him.

“You can’t be expecting her to join you after all of this, Dexter. It’s not right”, Dusk said.

“You did kind of put her through more than she had time for. I can’t believe I’m saying this but, maybe a compromise. You know, one where she doesn’t have to give away her identity to the public.”

“I’m not doing it Dexter.”

“Why are you so stubborn about this? It’s not like you have anything to hide. You left everything behind when the war started.”

“It’s not that I have anything to hide. Villains have something to hide. Heroes have something to protect”, I said.

Dusk’s shadow reached up and grabbed my things from Blossom then pulled them back to me. “Let’s go, now!” Dusk said, turning and jumping of the edge. Butter turned but looked back at her sister. Blossom balled her hand into a fist and flew after us but Buttercup grabbed her by the leg.

“I can’t let you do that Blossom.”

“Let go of me, Buttercup. This won’t end well if you don’t.”

“It won’t end well if I do.”

I saw Ben and Mark still lying there. Dusk’s shadow came back up and pulled them in then vanished. I jumped over the edge and got onto my hover-board. Above me, I saw Blossom toss Buttercup at the side of a building. Buttercup sprung from the building and slugged Blossom then turned and followed us. “You okay, Buttercup?!” I called out.

“I’m right behind you!”

Buttercup grabbed the end of my hover-board and flew faster to give me a boost. We sped through the city at high speed but we stopped when we heard Dusk’s voice. “Up here”, he said from a far off rooftop. We landed and he snapped his fingers. His shadow appeared beneath us all and swallowed us. It spat us out in some kind of underground bunker.

“What is this place?” Buttercup asked?

“I don’t know but, man, talk about high tech. This place is right up there with DexTower.”

“That’s because it’s Dexter’s old lab. We’re using this place as a cover. Now excuse me while I got drop off our ‘guests’ in a containment field.”

For the course of the next few days, we all hung around in Dexter’s old lab. It was a good idea on Dusk’s behalf. No one would suspect the old, abandoned, yet incredible high-tech lab. I watched more of the DDT’s endeavors on television. They’d actually sunk low enough to add Mojo to the roster. But it was probably a good move. Our plan was to make sure they got all the brains they could get. That would most definitely help find a way to stop Fuse. Between Mojo and Dexter, the DDT was already half there. And with me out of the picture, they also got someone new to head Dexter’s robot troops. His name was Zak. He was a bit of a hero during the war but after that he just dropped off the radar for a bit.

I was getting impatient. Dusk was busy studying Mark. He tried to check out Ben but he refused to let Dusk get anywhere near him. So I figured it was my turn. I walked to Ben’s holding facility alone when Buttercup was asleep and Dusk was out. “Ben, you okay in there?”

“What do you care, traitor?”

“How am I the traitor? Dexter promised that as long as there was DDT, we would never go public. He lied. He’s the traitor. He betrayed me.”

Ben stayed quiet. He touched his hand to his chest. The omnitrix symbol still wasn’t there. He tried to change back but he couldn’t. “It was you who abandoned the DDT. You could’ve just gone and saved the world from other issues like Mojo, Evil Aliens, or something. But you decided to make thing difficult and try to fight Fuse all by yourself. So now you have two partners. That’s not going to be enough.” Ben kept trying to change back but it still wouldn’t work.

“You’ve been at it for days, Ben. It’s not going to work.”

“Only reason I’m still trying is so I can break out of here and bring you in.”

“Listen to yourself Ben. Dexter is going about this the wrong way. You know it someone beneath that molten body of yours. But you know what; I’ve washed my hands of this. See you around, Ben”, I said.

I started to walk away but Dusk caught up with me by coming up through the ground. “We’ve got a problem.”

It turns out that someone stole Mojo’s idea. They’d used fusion matter and decided to mix it with their own creations to make some kind of twisted creatures. But there was something familiar about them. When Dusk, Buttercup, and I arrived, we were greeted by Zak from the DDT. “Nice to meet you at long last, V-Girl”, he said. One of Dexter’s live feed cameras floated around us. “That’s right, smile for the camera. After all, the whole world is watching.”

“Dexter made plans for us. I’ll take care of him. You two go take care of those creatures”, I said.

Dusk and Buttercup left for the battlefield and started destroying every creature they saw. I turned back to Zak and stepped onto my hover-board. “So you’re the famous V-Girl. Hard to believe you were the one who got the last shot on Fuse back during the war.”

“We’re still at war. The war never ended and it won’t end until that planet is out of the sky. But if Dexter wants a new war to keep his brain pumping, then I’ll give him one. And don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you”, I said.

I flew up above everything then flew directly at Zak. He jumped up into the air and flew at me like a bullet train. When we collided, he knocked me off of my board. But I pressed a button on my watch and got loose of his grip. Then I aimed and shot my Cannonbolt nano at him and threw him to the ground. “This girl is really making me angry.”

“What’s wrong, Zak? Am I too much for you? I don’t even have any powers.”

Zak started to get angry. The ground around him began to shake and some of the rocks started to float. “You brought this one on yourself.”

“Bring it on.”

Episode 6: Arrival of the Black Knight


Zak and I went at it. He threw the first punch but I dodged it. I punched him in the gut but he didn’t seem to be affected by it all too much. I jumped up onto my board and flew up high. Zak took off after. “That’s it”, I thought. “Follow the birdie.” Zak caught up to me and grabbed the board. I hit the button on my watch and summoned up my Eduardo nano. “You might want to cover your ears”, I said. The nano roared and the blast threw Zack down to the ground.

“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily”, Zak said. He took off after me like a missile. When he started getting closer, I started thinking of a plan. That’s when it hit me. I turned the board around and charged at him. Just when we were about to collide, I jumped. The board went under him and I went over him.

Turning myself in the air, I aimed my watch and shot my Cannonbolt nano at Zak, hitting him hard. “Getting tired?” I asked, smiling.

“You wish”, Zack said.

Zak looked over at a boulder and put one hand on it. “I don’t like with this is going”, I said to myself. Zak grabbed the boulder and lifted it from the ground. It was about twenty times as big as he was. I felt my jaw get ready to drop to the ground.

“So what were you saying about getting tired?”

I looked up at the massive rock he had on his back. Then I stepped off of my board. I reset my watch and pressed the nano button. “Bring it on, tough guy”, I taunted. Zak threw the boulder at me. But just then, my Megas nano appeared and we both disappeared. Seconds later, we reappeared behind Zak. “Sorry, Zak, I would have loved to meet you on different terms. But this is war. Dexter wanted one; he’s going to get it.” I said, calling back my nano. I picked up my board and held my watch to the signal receiver. The board folded and reshaped into a shield.

“That’s the best you can do?”

I slipped the shield onto my arm and hit the boulder with it. Then the boulder began to crumble and broke apart. “War is full of surprises.”

The two of us ran at one another at full force. When he threw a punch, I’d block it with my shield. When I threw one, he’d dodge it. We kept at it for what seemed like forever. But I finally got one clean hit in on his head. He collected himself and tackled me. He was about to beat me into the ground but I blocked him with the shield. “The trouble with you is, you don’t know when to give up”, he said.

Still struggling to keep it together while he tried to break through my shield, I said “The trouble with you is that you’ve already given up.” I kicked him off of me and jumped to my feet. Zak wasn’t done yet. He got up and started to approach me. I looked to my watch and started to back up. Buttercup was close by. I threw the shield at Zak then shot the Eduardo nano. “Buttercup, slingshot”, I yelled. Buttercup turned around and clapped, creating a sonic wave. The force catapulted the shield forward. Then the Eduardo nano roared and the added power made the shield deadly fast. The shield hit Zak and knocked him over.

“Is he out?”

“Like a light. Let’s go see what we can do about those creatures.”

“The creatures are taken care of. We’re over there fighting Dexter and Mojo. I’m not sure where Blossom and Eddy are. Not to mention that Dex has tons of other members now. Going public definitely helped their numbers.”

A red laser hit the ground next to us. Dusk rose up from the ground where the laser hit. “They’re quite persistent.”

“What’s going on?”

Two large robots emerged from behind the cliff. Mojo was in one and the other was being operated by Dexter. They were ever bigger than the one Mojo attacked us with. “Hello, V-Girl. It has been some time.” Dexter said calmly.

“What do you want now, Dexter? Are you going to try and give us another chance?”

“No, no I’m not. Your chances expired a long time ago.”

Mojo and Dexter attacked us. Both robots started shooting everything they had. Dusk hid in his shadow where he was safe and Buttercup hid behind me while I held up my shield. “They aren’t going to just shoot at us forever. And I don’t think they’ll be running out of ammo any time soon!” Buttercup yelled over the noise.

“I had one idea but we’ll only have one shot!” I pressed the nano button on my watch and the Megas nano appeared. “Hang on tight!” We disappeared Buttercup flew me up above Mojo’s robot. She dropped be and reappeared, drawing fire. Then I slammed into the pilot’s quarters and grabbed Mojo. He smiled and waved at me but I threw him out and Buttercup caught him before he hit the ground.

Before I jumped out, I saw all the buttons. One button jumped out at me. It was large and red. “This is interesting.” I pressed the button and there was a loud beeping. A blank look swept over my face. “I hate robots.” I jumped down and Buttercup caught me. Dexter was the only one left and when I hit the ground, he pointed his gun at me.

“Come quietly. I have been authorized to use deadly force.”

“Authorized, what do you mean authorized?! You’re the bloody leader!”

“Be that as it may, I can’t let you go any further in this pointless endeavor.”

Buttercup knocked on Dexter’s robot then waved and the next thing Dexter knew, my Cannonbolt nano was in his pilot seat causing havoc. Dexter’s robot begins to shoot and do everything but ultimately self destructs and the nano returned to me. I knew Dexter wasn’t finished. I was right. Dexter was in a flame retardant armor. Around his arm was a blade. Dexter attacked me with it and started swinging wildly.

Dexter kept hitting my shield but he was getting closer. I saw Dusk coming back. His shadow pulled Dexter’s feet in and kept him in one place. The shadow encased all but Dexter’s head. “This is a foolish decision on your behalf, Dexter. None of us wins by fighting.”

Dexter looked at Dusk and pressed a button. His blade began to glow brightly and it penetrated Dusk’s shadow. “I’ve studied you, Dusk. Your shadow can be broken by a light based weapon.” Dexter attack Dusk with the blade but I got in the way and blocked it.

“I hope you’re happy, Dexter. You’ve become to lowest of the low”, I said.

“I’m trying to save my planet.”

“And I’m not?!”

Suddenly we both felt a strange presence. It made us both dizzy. It was difficult to even stand up straight. Dexter put away the blade and caught his balance. “You are all wasting your time.” We looked up. This being was tall and wore black armor. It perfectly complimented his blood, red cloak. “You cannot defeat Lord Fuse. You should all give up. There is no hope for your planet.”

Dexter pulled out a laser and shot at the mysterious being. But his cloak absorbed it. He ran up to us and hit Dexter in the gut. He looked at me but I was too stunned to do anything. He proceeded to knock Dexter down. “What are you?”

“I’m Fuse’s next generation of Fusion. I no longer need to be in the form of your world’s pathetic life forms. Give the message to all of your leaders. Your world has no more than three months before the ultimate annihilation.” Then he disappeared.

I helped Dexter to his feet. “Dexter, let’s stop this. We can’t keep fighting ourselves and hope to defeat the one enemy we have in common.” Dexter tore himself from my grip. He gave me a cold stare and I backed away.

“She’s got a point, Dex”, Buttercup said.

“As much as I hate to say it, you’re right. I got too caught up with making sure the government continued funding the DDT.”

“Dexter are you telling me that the government would only fund your project if you captured us or we joined you?”

“They told the DDT that if anyone interfered, capture them or no more DDT.”

I meditated for a bit. And I finally came to a decision. I turned and got on my board. Then I started to fly away. “Where are you going?” Buttercup called out.

“The right thing.”

“And what might that be?”

“I’m going to make sure they fund the DDT for as long as we need them to.”