Happy Fourth of July, MC!!!
Chapter Eleven
Ever since Superman returned, Super Grover—who assured the city of Metropolis that he would always be there to protect it from danger (something he had yet to do, due to spending more attention reciting his monologues)—couldn’t help but to feel like he was being neglected by the citizens. There were several times when he tried to help someone in need, like when there was a robbery at a bank, where a crazed robber was firing a barrage of bullets at not only the police, but Grover as well, forcing him to hide someplace safe while Superman arrived and stopped the robber. There was also an incident involving a runaway car that Super Grover believed he could’ve easily taken care of; but he was once again beaten to the punch by Superman, who stopped the car and taken the woman for medical attention.
The defeated Super Grover decided to fly across the skies instead of saving people for the night; it really depressed him that no one needed his help any longer, since Metropolis’s old hero was back in the game, so to speak. With a sense of hearing that was almost as acute as Superman’s, Grover heard a girl crying for help—apparently, her cat’s stuck up a tree. He realized that if he couldn’t save anyone from bigger problems that he might as well help them with smaller ones. But as Grover flew back down towards the city, something that moved faster than a 747 blew right past him, making his cape fly right over his head and blinding him.
“Hey! I can’t see!” Grover exclaimed, as he was now flying blindly through the Metropolis skyline, barely able to avoid flying into a few buildings. “How am I supposed to save a cat from a tree, if I can’t even see the tree?!” Super Grover didn’t know it, but he was soon flying right over Sesame Street; he was so close to the street that he ended up crashing through the roof of the
Foster’s mansion and also through several of its floors, before he ended up crashing through the front door and landing onto the porch. Bloo, Wilt, Coco, and Eduardo arrived in time to see Grover lying there, looking dazed and weak; they had just gotten back from a long search for Mac and Frankie, who everyone on the street had been looking days for. “Have…no…fear…Sup…per Grover…is here.”
“Man, Grover, you don’t look so hot.” Bloo said. “Maybe you ought to go home and get some rest.” Grover shook off the cobwebs in his head and regained what little consciousness he had to address the four imaginary friends.
“I can’t just give up!” He exclaimed. “Somewhere in this city, someone needs help from a hero other than Superman.”
“Superman’s the only hero we have in the city.” Wilt told Grover. “Whom else could we depend on for help?”
“Well, I don’t know, perhaps…ME!!!” Grover yelled. “I can help anyone far better than that so-called ‘Man of Steel’ can! Why, I don’t think there’s anything that can stop me, like kryptonite can stop him! I’m unbeatable…well, that is, unless you count tall buildings that I
can’t leap over in a single bound…or my lack of direction.”
“If you want to help someone so bad, Grover, then you can always help us.” Wilt said.
“Really? That’s great!” Grover exclaimed. “I’ll do anything! What do you four need help with? Come on! Tell me! Tell me!”
“Coco. Coco. Coco. Coco. Coco.” said Coco, putting Grover at a complete loss.
“Either you want me to get your something to drink or you’re saying what you are.” Grover remarked.
“She says that Mac and Frankie have both been missing for days and no one has a clue where they went.” Wilt translated. “We would turn to Bert and Ernie and ask them if they could use their resources at the
Daily Planet to help us out, but they’re still a bit shaken up from the plane incident that they were covering earlier.”
“What about Bob?” Grover said, and he looked down for a moment, wondering if he heard that question asked before.
“Perry White has him doing a story on a recent burglary at the Metropolis Museum.” Wilt said. “Bob said he’ll try to get it taken care of as fast as he can, so he can get back to helping us find Mac and Frankie. Until then, we’re just helpless.” And that’s when Eduardo began to weep loudly, with tears coming out of his eyes and showering over Coco and Bloo.
“Poor senor Mac and senorita Frankie!!!” Eduardo screamed. “They’re loss and we have no idea where they have gone!!”
“Take it easy, Eduardo.” Wilt said. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”
“I’m tellin’ ya that those Mystery Inc. creeps kidnapped them!” Bloo uttered. “They’ve been gone for the same number of days Mac and Frankie have.”
“Wait a minute.” Grover said. “You saying that the four meddling kids and their dog are the ones that kidnapped Mac and Frankie?”
“It’s obvious that they did!” Bloo exclaimed.
“Bloo, I’m sorry, but that is just ridiculous!” Wilt retorted. “Why would Mac’s own cousin kidnap him?”
“Like I’ve been saying, he owes her money!” Bloo replied, and while Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco were shooting dirty looks at Bloo, Grover slightly turned his head to the right, seeming to be hearing someone from afar with his magnificent hearing.
“Hark! My cute little ears hear voices miles away from here!” Grover exclaimed. “I hear our friends from Mystery Inc. talking to a couple of detectives from the ACME Detective Agency.”
“The ACME Detective Agency?!” Wilt yelled, in surprise.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said.” Grover stated.
“But that’s all the way out in California, and we’re like a billion miles away from there!” Bloo indicated.
“Hey, we superheroes have very good hearing, okay?” Grover said.
“What’re they saying?” Eduardo asked, and Grover listened closely to the voices.
“They’re discussing something about Carmen Sandiego, Kryptonian crystals, and both her and the crystals being way up in the North Pole, which is where they’re heading to right now.”
“Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!” Bloo yelled, hopping up and down. “Ya see? I told ya! The North Pole’s always the place they go to ‘do away’ someone that owes you a lot of money.”
“Bloo, stop being silly.” Wilt said. “Carmen Sandiego may be the one that kidnapped Mac and Frankie, in order to get all that information about the new planet.”
“New planet?” Grover said, obviously confused again. “What new planet?”
“Days ago, we discovered that there’s a new planet forming in our solar system that’s Kryptonian.” Wilt said. “We thought that was we’re Superman could’ve gone, until it was said he actually went out of our solar system, thinking that his old home of Krypton still existed, but it unfortunately wasn’t.”
“So why is a slick thief like Carmen Sandiego so interested in this new planet?” Grover queried. “You think she’d be more into stealing the Queen of England’s jewels.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” Bloo asked. “I mean, come on! It’s a new planet for cryin’ out loud! It isn’t everyday you see one of those!”
“You got me there.” Grover said, just as a determined look appeared on Wilt’s face.
“I have a feeling that if we find Carmen Sandiego, we’ll find Mac and Frankie, too.” Wilt said. “Come on, everybody! We’re heading up north!”
“But it will take many Dias getting to there!” Eduardo exclaimed.
“And how are we supposed to get there anyway?” Bloo asked. “It’s not like any of us can drive a bus there.”
“You won’t have to go by bus, my dears.” A voice said, and they turned to see Madame Foster standing in the doorway, holding up a small controller. She pressed a button on the controller, and the next thing they knew, her late 1970’s Pontiac Firebird sports car pulled up in front of the mansion.
“Now that’s what I call a ride.” Grover said, as Madame Foster approached them.
“I heard it all, and I’ve just got one thing to say about Carmen Sandiego,” Madame Foster said, “I’ve been wanting to kick that woman’s butt, ever since she had stolen the statue of Christopher Reeve that I won from the bingo hall, only three years ago! I’m been lookin’ for payback ever since!”
“So you’ll drive us to the North Pole?” Bloo asked.
“You better believe I will!” Madame Foster said.
“YES!!!” Bloo cheered. “I’m gonna finally get to see Santa!” Bloo stepped cheering once he noticed how everyone was giving him dirty looks again. “What?!”
-----------------
It had only taken an hour for Big Bird, the Mystery Inc. gang, and two of ACME’s best detectives (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck) to head up to the Arctic region of the world, where they found Superman’s secret citadel, the Fortress of Solitude. Neither of them had ever seen such a stunning sight before, and even though they were all bundled up in warm clothing, it was the Fortress itself that kept their minds off the cold atmosphere.
After passing through a massive canyon and carefully crossing the frozen moat that surrounded the Fortress, the group entered to find that the interior of the place looked far more intriguing than the exterior. But instead of marveling over the scene, they focused on their primary reason for being there: finding and capturing Carmen Sandiego. However, in each and every part of the Fortress they looked, Carmen was nowhere to be found.
“She’s not here.” Velma said.
“That’s impossible!” Daffy exclaimed. “Our computers are always one hundred percent accurate. If they say she’s here, then she’s here!”
“Our computers don’t have any record this place, Daffy.” Bugs said. “To them, it’s just an empty space on the top of the world.”
“But to me, it’s more than that, detectives.” A voice echoed throughout the Fortress’s interior, and as the group looked around to see where it had come from, they were taken by surprise when a large group of VILE agents appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.
“Aw, man!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Something told me this was gonna be a trap!” That’s when Carmen Sandiego herself appeared at the scene, with Lefty and the Sleazes accompanying her. A gagged, tied up, and blindfolded Mac and Frankie were also at the scene, being guarded by three VILE agents.
“Welcome to what will currently be
my sanctuary, detectives.” Carmen said, while a VILE agent approached Velma and just stood in front of her with an outstretched hand. Velma knew exactly what the agent wanted, and she had no choice but to give it up. She reached beneath her coat and pulled out the third and last Kryptonian crystal, handing it over to the agent, right before he handed it over to Carmen.
“You got what you want,” Velma said, “Now let my cousin and Foster go!” Carmen smiled at Velma, and she turned to the agents guarding Mac and Frankie, gesturing for them to release the two. After they were untied and had their blindfolds and gags removed, Mac and Frankie turned to each other, and Frankie hugged Mac warmly.
“Oh, Mac!” She exclaimed. “I’m sorry about what I said, pal. I never meant to blame you for costing me my job like that.”
“I only wanted to keep something like this from happening, Frankie.” Mac said. “I didn’t mean to cost you your job.”
“I realize that now.” She told Mac. “And I promise that I won’t ever accuse you of anything again.” Mac and Frankie smiled at each other, just before a VILE agent pushed them towards Big Bird, Bugs, Daffy, and the Mystery Inc. gang. Velma was the second one to kneel down and hug her cousin.
“Are you alright, Mac?” Velma asked.
“I’m fine, V.” Mac replied, and Velma looked angrily towards Frankie, who just sheepishly smiled at her. Meanwhile, Carmen was staring down at the three Kryptonian crystals that were in her gloved hands; they sparkled in her eyes, just like they had with everyone else, as she moved towards a crystal bank, where there were several slots for many different Kryptonian crystals. There were slots for memory crystals (which were empty at the moment), and then there were slots for the type of crystals that Carmen had in her possession.
“Finally…the time has come to rule the cosmos.” Carmen uttered, right before she inserted two of the crystals into the slots. Both the crystals and the rest of the crystal bank glowed brightly, at the same time an image of the face of Superman’s biological father, Jor-El, appeared within many of the giant crystals in the Fortress. He was just as handsome as his son was; yet he looked very sad at that moment.
“
My son,” His deep voice echoed throughout the Fortress, as well as the rest of the Arctic section of the world, “
I did not wish for you to take this crystal and the other two with you on your journey to Earth, because they contain a power…a technology similar to the one I had used for the Phantom Zone. I sent them with you as a warning of a planet born within the Phantom Zone that has found a way to exist within the cosmos, often disappearing and reappearing in every known galaxy. If you happen to encounter this type of world in the galaxy that you’re in, you must find a way to destroy it and rid it of the infectious chaos that will spend over every part of the cosmos. And if you do find a way, use the third crystal to generate a wormhole that will take you away from Earth and into this ‘Phantom Planet’. But be careful, my son, for this planet imitates the one closest to it, and often these imitations will be exact or they might be entirely alien. Only you can stop this planet, my son…only you.”
As the image of Jor-El disappeared from the giant crystals, Carmen smiled wickedly, very much anxious to discover the “Phantom Planet” that Jor-El warned her about. Mac, Frankie, Big Bird, Bugs, Daffy, and the Mystery Inc. gang looked to each other nervously; they suddenly realized that the new planet was not to be discovered by mere mortals and that it was crucial to alert Superman of its presence in their galaxy. It was even more crucial to stop Carmen from inserting the third crystal, which she was doing that very moment.
“NO!!!!!” Velma cried, as she and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang tore away from the VILE agents holding them and ran towards Carmen. Sid and Sam, who were the ones standing the closest to Carmen, turned and attempted to hold them back. Just after Carmen inserted the third crystal into the crystal bank, there was a large beam of light that came out of the sky, shining right between two giant crystals and over Carmen, the Sleazes, and the Mystery Inc. gang. They all looked up at the light, wondering where it had come from, and they looked to the people standing out of the light, noticing how they all seemed to be frozen in place.
“This is it! This is the portal!” Carmen yelled, and she started laughing maniacally, as the group began to feel as if their bodies were being sucked up a giant vacuum. The Sleazes and Mystery Inc. watched Carmen in shock, as her body began to vaporize, realizing a metal skeleton beneath the skin and coat. Beyond the metal rib cage was a small cockpit, where Scrappy-Doo (former member of Mystery Inc. and now their worst adversary) had been operating the Carmen robot for years. He laughed as maniacally as his robot did, as it crumbled to pieces around him, leaving him floating in the air with the stunned Sleazes and the surprised Mystery Inc.
It wasn’t long before the eight of them were suck right out of the Fortress of Solitude and into the skies above, along with the wormhole that had come down to the Earth’s atmosphere. Back in the Fortress, the remaining people (including Big Bird, Bugs, and Daffy) noticed how there was no one by the crystal bank anymore, and they all looked around in confusion.
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN
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