Episode #5: The Cute Factor
Or, How I Spent My Weekend Kicking Crime Butt
"Front page! It’s on the front page!" The student waved around the copy of The Campus to his friends, who hovered around it like typical college students did when presented with something exciting. "Here it is, ‘Argonauts Stop Evil Clown Twins: City Officials Thank Crime Fighters for Halting Destruction of Moadville’!"
"I just wish my car hadn’t been destroyed in the process," Josh said quietly to himself as he walked past the clustered knot of students. It was a sunny day in Moadville, as per usual, and fluffy white cumulus clouds paraded in happy procession across the sky. The pollen count was low, the happy singing birds count was high, and there was a feeling in the air that just made you want to skip and dance down the street and sing out loud. This being Moadville, a number of people were succumbing to that feeling, making walking down the sidewalk an exercise in dodging happy oblivious passersby as if in some crazy musical where the dancing townspeople weren’t quite synchronized yet.
"Let’s see," Josh muttered to himself, checking his watch. "I have band practice at the campus center, then a chapter meeting of—Stop that!" he finished abruptly, forcing his feet to stop tapping in rhythm. The last thing he needed was to dance away his schedule! That was reserved for Swing Night every Thursday at the gym at 9 o’clock.
He checked his watch again. He was going to be late! He hurried up his pace and shoved open the doors to the Campus Center, rushing headlong up the wide central staircase—and nearly tripping over Charlie. Josh blinked. Yes, indeed, there was Charlie, sitting on the stairway, looking rather morose, chin in hand.
"What’s wrong?" asked Josh.
Charlie gave a choked sigh. "It’s—Kuni-chan! She’s missing!" At that last word, his eyes got very large and misty.
"Have you checked the Dungeon?" Josh asked, lowering his voice.
"I’ve looked everywhere! I even consulted the Good Book for ideas!"
"‘Big Eyes, Small Mouth’?"
"No, the Bible!" He waved the book in question around.
"She’ll turn up, I’m sure. Probably just went for a little flight." Josh checked his watch again. "Look, Charlie, I gotta get to band. Afterwards, let me know if she still hasn’t come back."
"Okay. I’ll go to church. Maybe that’ll make me feel better."
"See ya!" Josh took a few more stairs, then turned and called over his shoulder, "And Charlie, don’t worry too much. She’ll be fine!"
* * *
There weren’t any messages on his machine when he got back to his room some time later. In fact, Josh hadn’t seen much of anyone lately. Well, he had an hour to blow before his next meeting, so he might as well see what was happening down in the Dungeon.
Brian and Charlie’s room in Schwartz Hall was in its usual disarray, with clothing and bedsheets tossed aside, bags of chips leaning against the dresser, and a stack of papers and floppy discs placed on top of a case of Surge. Brian himself looked like he’d been tossed aside by himself to lie listlessly in a chair in front of the TV.
"Pokemon?" Josh asked.
"Well, it ain’t Sailor Moon, that’s for sure," came the response. Brian dug into another bag of Doritos.
Josh paused only long enough to see Team Rocket launch into their usual entrance speech, before opening up the closet door to reveal an escalator humming quietly, leading down into indiscernible darkness.
"Coming?" asked Josh.
"Can’t talk, watching anime…." came the response through a mouthful of chips.
Josh shrugged and stepped onto the escalator. It purred beneath his feet like an oddly-shaped cat as it carried him down into a gathering of shadows. For a moment he thought he saw bats flapping in the distance, then realized that he was thinking of the wrong secret underground cave. Though, when they’d first started using this place as a center for operations, there had been several different options considered on what kind of stock animal to fill it with…
* * *
"But why do you want to call it the Cow Cave?" Josh had asked Jen. "There aren’t any cows here."
"Oh, we can get some cows," she’d replied.
"But why?"
"Because they’re excellent survivors?" Brian had offered.
"Well," Jen hesitated, "that, and because cows are nifty."
"But the Cow Cave just doesn’t sound cool!" Charlie said, having a Flip moment.
* * *
Scratch that. Josh shook his head, coming back to the present. Thinking about the Cow Cave or the Llama Cave or the Weasels-in-Roller-Skates Cave was just giving him a headache. Besides, the bottom of the escalator was slipping into view.
Inside the main part of the dungeon (which was, like Brian and Charlie’s bedroom, in a constant state of disarray), Jen was seated at the main computer, typing away, and her face in a ‘vaguely annoyed’ state. Josh realized he’d have to watch his step to avoid evoking Angry Jen. Flip was also there, in full costume, practicing his martial arts forms.
"What’s up?" he asked Jen. She clicked the mouse a few times, then sighed, sitting back in her chair.
"Charlie’s been down here for a while. He’s been trying to keep his mind off of Kuni-chan by staying in Flip form." She blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "If you ask me, I think he’s in denial. But you’re the psychologist; you tell me."
Josh hesitated, weighing the potential benefits and consequences of opening up a can of worms, then decided to go for it. "So what else is wrong? You look upset."
Jen’s frown deepened; just in case, Josh stepped back. "My computer’s being weird, so I came down here to use this one instead."
"What’s wrong with it?"
"Well, you know how I have Ryo-ohki as my windows start-up and shut-down screens?"
"Yes…"
"Well, she’s just….gone." She waved a hand, not quite sure how to explain it.
"What do you mean, she’s gone?"
"I mean, there’s a big black Ryo-ohki shaped blank spot where she should be!"
"And the rest of it’s fine? She’s just…gone?" Josh raised an eyebrow. "That’s strange…."
"Yeah! Nothing was wrong with the file, I checked. She was just…not there…" She trailed off mysteriously.
The unbroken silence was suddenly broken when Brian stumbled in, also looking annoyed, which was a scary fact in itself. I mean, an annoyed Brian simply didn’t happen on its own. He threw a tape down on a table and flopped into a convenient chair.
"What’s wrong?" Josh dared again.
"They can’t get rid of Pikachu!" he wailed, flailing his arms around in exasperation. "He’s the cute factor! The mascot of the show! It would be like taking Eva Unit 01 out of Neon Genesis Evangelion! It just can’t be done!"
"What, did he finally evolve?" Josh asked.
"Took him long enough," Jen commented.
"No, they just took him out, period. He’s just not there anymore! Nowhere, not once in the show did he appear! The other characters didn’t even mention him once! Man, I’m so angry I’m going to eat some Chinese food." He dug into a plate of stir fry.
"Cute? Not there anymore?!" Jen sat up in sudden realization. "Chinese food?! My god, Mrs. Jones’s pet Fluffy was kidnapped by the Chinese restaurant!"
Brian spat out the stir fry, then sank into his chair, looking sick.
"Wait a minute, Jen…." said Josh, picking himself up off the floor, "didn’t you say Ryo-ohki just disappeared off your computer screen?"
"I think I see where you’re headed with this, Josh," she replied, thoughtfully. "Ryo-ohki, Kuni-chan, Pikachu…..they all have ‘i’s in their names!"
**Insert group face-fault here**
‘"Somebody’s stealing everything with an ‘i’ in its name! My god, Bill Clinton could be next!" She thought about this. "Not that that would be a bad thing…."
"No, I’m afraid we’re looking at something far more sinister," said Josh, pulling the film out of the Pokemon videotape and holding it up to the light. He moved the film through his fingers to show its progression. Slowly, frame by frame, Pikachu was disappearing from the opening credits.
"Oh no! Tenchi’s mother’s disappeared!" said Super Jen, instinctively ready for action. The anvil was swift and sure. Bang!
"Not quite," Josh muttered.
"Oh, I get it! They’re all—"
"Cute factors," said Josh. "And someone’s been stealing them!"
"We’ll have to get right on it," said Brian, "right after lunch."
"Really? I’m surprised," said Jen.
"Yes, I thought you hated cute things, Brian."
"Yeah, watch this." Jen leaned over towards Brian, and said quietly, "Pretty Sammy."
"AAAUUUGGHHH!!!" Brian curled up into a fetal position, convulsing.
"How about you, Flip?" Super Jen asked, stepping over Brian.
"I’m Flip," he growled. "I don’t need cute things!" He continued practicing his forms.
"Classic denial," Josh said, as Super Jen nodded.
* * *
"Cute factors missing?" Pouch asked over the pocket communicator. "I’ll see what I can find! Over and out!"
"Um, Josh, since when do we have pocket communicators?" Jen asked.
"They’re standard superhero issue, Jen," he replied, snapping the top shut. They were sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Moadville with Brian, who was frowning to himself as he stirred his soda. Josh had ordered a java and a muffin, and Jen was picking at her cookie and milk. Around them, young twentysomethings and harried business people were warming up their coffees or munching on bagel sandwiches, tapping away on laptops or chatting into cell phones.
"Besides, it’s not the fact that they’re cute," Brian said, "it’s the principle! You can’t steal a show’s cute factor! It’s like taking away an anime show’s generic ‘character who always carries a rose’ or the ‘character with the distinctive, annoying laugh’."
"Yeah, what are people going to put on their web pages?" Jen remarked.
"You know what I mean," he hissed.
"We get the idea," said Josh. "Let’s just try to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, that’s all."
They all surveyed the room. There was a large woman in a sundress yelling at a clerk, apparently over a wrong amount of change. There was a young grunge chick typing at her laptop, occasionally taking a moment to smooth her green-dyed hair and check her layers of mascara. There was a tall man in a black trench coat, walking out silently, his eyes darting around the café, a large burlap sack slung over one shoulder, from which emitted tiny squeals, mews and various other noises. There was a rushed-looking white-collar executive choking down a bagel and cream cheese and drowning it with a cup of coffee.
Overall, just the typical citizens of Moadville engaged in typical activities.
After an hour of nothing happening, they left a tip on the table and packed up to leave, when Brian suddenly tripped on something. While he lay on the floor with squigglies for eyes, Jen pointed at something near his feet.
"Hey! I think you just tripped on a clue!" She picked it up gingerly; it was a small yellow headband with black spots on it. "P-chan!" she exclaimed in sudden realization.
"P-chan, too?" Josh asked, taking the band as Brian sat up and rubbed at the lump forming on his head.
"Smells like cupcakes," Brian said suddenly. The others looked at him. "What?" he asked, looking innocent. "It does!"
"Jen, we need to find the locations of every single bakery or baked goods factory in Moadville," said Josh. "I’ll call Keibert with the news."
* * *
The city of Moadville. A dark haven for evil, a shadowed place that sought to hide from the vigilant eyes of justice. And there was something else in the air; a tension, a feeling quite familiar to the soldiers of evil. It was fear. In a town where widows and children were afraid to walk the shadowed, overcast streets, where every day husbands considered themselves lucky to make it home to their families at night, fear gripped the populace to its very soul. Terrified, the people huddled in their houses, awaiting the day when the light of justice would pierce into the dark skies above them, when a hero would rise from the shadows to proclaim the time when evil was no more and the streets were once again safe.
He would be that hero.
Flip crouched on the edge of the roof, cape flapping in the breeze. Eyes narrowed, he scanned the streets of Moadville. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as his eyes registered the scene below.
Happy people were singing and dancing in the unbelievably sunny streets.
How he sometimes wished Moadville weren’t so sunny and bright! It was hardly Preacher material, or even Batman. I mean, he thought to himself, would it be too much trouble for it to try to be even a little more grim and gritty?
There! A crime! A man in a black ski mask was yanking a purse from a frightened widow as she ‘eek’-ed in terror. As silently and swiftly as a shadow, Flip leapt to the alleyway and was behind the mugger, a streak of black against the walls of the alley. In a move too quick to register, Flip’s arm came around the man’s neck in a half-nelson, and the other, clenched into a fist, came down on the man’s head with a crack! Before the unconscious criminal had slid completely to the ground, Flip had taken the purse and handed it back to the flustered old woman.
"Hey, thanks, mac!" the widow said in a voice that was just a little too deep. "For a while there, I thought I was gonna be late to the costume party."
With a start, Flip realized that the ‘widow’ was actually a short, rather fat man in drag, with a Brooklyn-cab-driver rasp to his voice.
"Thanks again, bud!" The man walked out into the sun and disappeared around the corner of the building.
Oh god, how he wished Moadville were Gotham! How he wished Kuni-chan were here—
"No!" Flip realized belatedly that he had said that aloud, but he didn’t care. "I’m Flip! I don’t need cuteness or sunshine!" With the silence of the wind, he disappeared from the alley to stalk out more evil and tear it out at its roots.
* * *
"It’s hopeless!" Jen said, frowning as the computer beeped at her. "There are tons of bakeries and baked-goods factories in Moadville!"
"Who manages to eat all this?" Josh asked in wonderment.
"Well, it is a college town," Brian pointed out.
"Hello!" came a voice from another screen. "I got some more data here for y’all," Bill the Commissioner’s silhouette said, just as several papers slid out of the slot beneath the display screen. "It’s info on all the bakeries in town."
"Thanks, Bill." Josh tapped the stack on the edge of a table to even them out. "Although we’re not sure if this will help us much."
"What we need are more clues to narrow down the search," said Jen as she continued to tap away on the computer. "Even so much as a sector of town would help."
"Northeast."
They both looked at Brian.
He took another mouthful of ramen and swallowed. "You said you needed a sector. Try northeast; it would make the most sense. After all, that’s where the burlap sack factory is."
"What do burlap sacks have to do with this?" Jen asked.
Brian shrugged. "What else would you carry a cute factor in?"
Jen and Josh blinked. Bill said nothing. "Well," Jen said finally, "what have we got to lose? Northeast it is."
* * *
"Word on the street," said Keibert when the others, sans Charlie, met up with him later, "is that certain…suspicious transactions have been taking place around the vicinity of Oak and Tailor streets."
"Any details?"
"They involve burlap sacks and small, furry animals disappearing."
"That happens around the Chinese restaurant, too," said Jen. "Your point?"
Keibert’s perpetual smile never left his face. "Some of those small, furry animals turn into spaceships."
"Okay, that’s a little more interesting." Jen leaned in closer.
Any further comment was cut off as a deep-throated shout split the air. "Evil-doers beware! The hand of justice shall root out the shadows of this city!"
"Flip?!" came the exclamation from the other four Argonauts.
Flip stood dramatically on the roof of the building, the sun glaring white behind him, his cape flapping in the generous breeze. "That’s right! I am here to deliver a death warrant to all who dare trample on the righteous and innocent! The day of judgment is at hand for evil-doers!" Lightning flashed dramatically behind him, followed by a rumble of thunder.
"Okay, I think Flip’s finally flipped," Jen commented.
"I think we’d better make a hasty retreat," said Keibert, "before he decides to attack us, as well."
"All right, everyone into Josh’s car!" Brian declared. "We’ll head back to the Dungeon and locate any bakeries on Oak and Tailor Streets." He turned and took a step towards the car, and immediately tripped over something.
"Brian, I think you’ve discovered another clue!"
Brian turned and looked at what he’d tripped over. It was a man in a black jumpsuit and ski mask, a burlap sack slung over one shoulder. The sack was empty, but there was a small bit of fur stuck to the edge. Cute factor fur.
"Hey! You there!" Brian waited then, when the man didn’t respond, leaned over and turned the prone form over. The squigglies for eyes clearly indicated that this man was unconscious.
"Check out the address on the burlap sack!" Jen said.
Brian found the manufacturer’s name and address on the bottom. "‘Burlap Sacks Unlimited, 55 Maple Drive, Moadville USA.’"
"No, the other address!" Jen pointed at additional lettering.
"‘Property of Mr. Eric VonHarver, 206 Oak Street, Moadville USA.’" Brian blinked. "You know, I get the feeling the author was being a little obvious with the clues here."
THUNK!
"I had that coming…" came the voice from beneath the anvil.
"To Oak Street!" Jen said. "You coming, Flip?"
But he had already disappeared from the rooftop.
* * *
Eric VonHarver adjusted the bow tie on his suit. Like most rich evil villains, he liked to be well-dressed even when he was at home and wasn’t expecting anyone. The mansion was spotless from head to toe, just like its owner. He was not a tall man, and according to the Villains’ Handbook, a short villain was by necessity a little on the heavy side. But luckily, he had good tailors, and his white business suit fit perfectly.
Something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His eyes had barely moved to the now-open window before a shadow fell across him. Taking a calming breath, he drew his gun and turned to greet this newcomer. "May I help you?"
The intruder’s hand had already grasped his gun and had crushed it with a loud snapping screech. Eric stood there, mouth open, his brain desperately trying to fit two and two together.
"I think you can," said the tall shadow. It resolved itself into a rather tall man in black, whose long blond hair came down across his eyes. In the distance, lightning flashed.
"You’re an Argonaut?" Even though Eric was ready to change his pants, he managed to look only slightly surprised. "I’d thought there’d be more of you. Oh well." He pulled a previously unseen lever, and a trap door opened up beneath Flip. The lone Argonaut could barely manage a raised eyebrow before he tumbled into the darkness.
Flip waited until the trap door had snapped shut and the trademark maniacal laughter had faded before opening his eyes. He was in a room. And big dewy eyes were looking back at him.
Surrounding him, filling the room to its brim, were cute little animals. Lots of cute little animals. And a few little kids, as well. All of them looking at him with huge watery eyes that filled the room with such saccharine cuteness that he could feel his teeth rotting.
"They’re so…." Flip blinked. "They’re so cuuuuuuuuttte!"he shrieked, grabbing an armful and squeezing them. "Kawaii kawaii!!" Instantly, he was surrounded by misty dream bubbles, and his eyes too became large and watery and sparkly. All thoughts of a gritty, dark Moadville disappeared in the light and sweetness that pervaded the room full of cute factors.
* * *
"Here we are," said Josh. "Everybody out!"
"Looks like a sunny enough place," said Jen, looking at the substantial mansion at the end of the very long driveway. "I didn’t even know there were mansions in Moadville!"
"Now how do we get in?" Josh took in the front of the building, looking for open windows or other possible entrances.
"Hey guys, come on up!" Brian poked his head out of an upper level window.
**insert face-fault here**
Luckily, there was a conveniently-placed tree near the window, which the others could easily climb up. Inside, it appeared to be a lavish office of some sort, complete with mahogany desk and heavy red velvet curtains. There was a brass nameplate on the desk, engraved with ‘Eric VonHarver’, and a desk calendar and pen set. Keibert picked up the calendar and flipped through it.
"Monday: Kidnap cute factors. Tuesday: Kidnap more cute factors. Wednesday: Exploit small businesses for protection money and see about dry cleaning. Thursday: Continue kidnapping cute factors." Keibert put the calendar down. "Man, this guy has a busy schedule!"
Josh wasn’t listening. Something on the desk had caught his eye. It was a double frame, one side containing a brass plaque reading ‘Henchman of theYear 1998’. The other side contained a photograph of a somewhat short, somewhat heavy man and a slightly taller, broader man in a beard and business suit. Words were scrawled across the photo in flowing script: ‘Eric, keep up the good work! The boss and I are proud to have you on our team. D.S.’.
"This is D.S.!" Josh exclaimed, holding out the picture at arms’ length as if unsure whether to believe it or not.
"It’s a clue. Put it in here." Jen held out a bookbag. "We’ll examine it later."
"Where did you get that?" Josh asked.
"I always carry a bookbag," Jen said, shrugging.
The sound of many rushing footsteps sounded just outside the door. "Oh great, looks like they’ve found us!" said Brian. "Well, time to do our thing!" He pulled out a bucket of cold water and splashed it on them. Four thunks! followed.
"Brian, what are you doing?!" Super Jen said, picking herself up after removing the anvil.
"Sorry, wrong transformation!"
The doors burst open to reveal several evil ninjas in black. The one in front smirked. "Looks like you just fell in Spring of Drowned Dead!"
THUNK!
"‘Spring of Drowned Dead’?" Brian asked, his nose wrinkling in confusion. "That’s terrible! Who writes this stuff?" THUNK!
"Let’s go!" yelled Seeker, and aimed his blaster at the group of ninjas. In a flare of bright light, three of them were down, and the others were taken care of by several well-placed punches by Super Jen and Pouch.
"Hey, wait!" Brian yelled, rushing off after them as they took off down the hallway beyond.
Seeker, piloting the Gensokaze, rammed through a set of heavy oak doors into a spacious living room. Brian turned to watch them enter. "What took you guys so long?" he asked. At that moment, a trap door in the floorboards burst open, and Flip, looking a bit frazzled at the edges, climbed up. He got to his feet and immediately stuck a dramatic pose.
"Flip! You’re here!" Super Jen said.
"Yes!" Flip boomed. A small, spiked head stuck itself up from behind Flip’s head, and sat itself on his shoulder. "Hweet!" sang Kuni-chan. "Now," Flip continued, "it is time to end this!"
"So you’re the one behind the cute factors disappearing!" said Super Jen, pointing at a man who up until now had seemed perfectly content just sitting back and watching them all arrive.
"Yes I am!" Eric laughed. "And once I’ve captured all of them, I shall take over the world!"
"Um," Brian began, "how will you do that by capturing cute factors?"
Eric hesitated for only a moment. "By capturing all the cute factors of anime, I shall take over the world!"
"But how?" Brian insisted. "How will capturing cute factors help you take over the world?!"
Eric blinked. There was a long pause. Longer than that. Longer. Longer. Keep going. Okay, that’s good. "Don’t ruin my fun!" was all he managed to stutter.
"Besides, if I pull this one off, and get rid of you pesky superheroes, I’ll be sure to get Henchman of the Year 1999! MwAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
"Well, that’s….at least different," said Super Jen.
"Hey, at least that last part is something other than taking over the world," Seeker pointed out.
"Not that we’re not going to defeat you anyway," said Brian.
"Though I’m left wondering where that smell of cupcakes came from," Super Jen said thoughtfully.
"Oh, that would be the bakery next door," Eric supplied.
"Oh, okay. Now hold still while we defeat you!"
"Not so fast!" shouted Eric. His hand was already on another lever. "While you were busy with your speech, I took the liberty of grabbing onto this conveniently-placed lever. It controls several bombs in the basement linked to go off simultaneously. So don’t try anything. Or else, the cute factors…."
….
….
"The cute factors….?" Super Jen trailed off, urging Eric to finish.
"Sorry, I was waiting for my dramatic close-up." The camera zoomed in on his eyes. "There we go. The cute factors….will die!"
Dum-dum duummmm!
"Sorry, I also have a drum school next door."
The Argonauts just looked at him.
"What?" He blinked, then squinted. He’d been pretty sure there’d been five Argonauts there a moment ago. Belatedly, he decided to look behind him, when a gloved hand came around his neck and lifted him up off the ground.
"You use your evil to steal the cuteness from the world!" growled Flip. "For this, you will pay!" Flip let loose with a flurry of high-speed jabs, throwing the man back several feet. He tumbled to the ground near Brian’s feet. The leader of the Argonauts sighed, put aside his bowl of ramen and got into a battle stance. Taking a deep breath, Brian said, "It’s my turn, huh? Well, you’ll see what I’m made of! Go get ‘em, Gourry!"
"Huh?" But before Eric could puzzle this out, Brian had picked him up and placed the businessman in the space he’d been occupying only a moment before. Eric looked up and ‘ulped’ as the anvil meant for Brian fell on him instead with a resounding metallic THUNK!
"Now that we’ve vanquished this foe, we must release the cute factors! Brian!"
"Eee…" Brian winced, as if he’d just eaten something sour. "Me?"
Flip urged him on. "Yes! I think that lever over there opens up the trap door!"
Gingerly, Brian pulled on the indicated lever. Wincing, he braced himself as wave upon wave of cute little animals and children poured out of the opening in the floor. Ryo-ohki, Pen-pen, P-chan, Emi and Umi, Pikachu, Tama-neko, and many others filled the living room, squealing, laughing, mewling and making various other cute-cute noises.
"AAAUUGGHH!! Get me out of this episode!" Brian screamed. "They’re cute!" He collapsed under the onslaught of big dewy eyes and little furry paws just as a small and strangely cute anvil fell on his head.
"Cute?" Super Jen gave the author a weird look. "How can an anvil be cute?!"
THUNK! Quiet, you! It’s in the script. And no talking to the author!
"Stupid Fourth Wall detector…" Super Jen grumbled.
THUNK! I heard that!
"Well, now that that’s taken care of…" Seeker began.
"Yes, this foe has been vanquished!" Flip boomed. One by one, the cute factors were disappearing, returning to their respective worlds, safe and sound.
"And yet, I still feel as if we’re missing something…" Seeker trailed off, and went to scratch his head in thought, but came up against his helmet.
All of a sudden, an explosion rocked the mansion.
"Of course!" Brian snapped his fingers in realization. "Whenever a villain is defeated in his headquarters, the place has to explode and/or collapse for no good reason!"
"Then let’s get out of here!" Super Jen screamed. "Did all the cute factors get out?"
Kuni-chan flew to Flip’s side and nodded an affirmative. Seeker leveled his blaster at a wall, blowing a large hole in it, open to the outside. "Let’s go!" The Argonauts rushed out in slow motion, highlighted dramatically by the wall of flames blowing outward behind them. They all came to the lawn and fell flat on their stomachs, just as time returned to normal and the final explosion turned the rest of the mansion into a giant fireball.
"You know," said Pouch, lifting his head up slightly, "I still feel like we’re missing something."
A large chunk of flaming debris fell onto Josh’s car, parked at the end of the long driveway.
"Ah, there it is! Another job well done!" Keibert nodded in satisfaction. "Huh, Seeker?"
"Grrr…."
"Just goes to show that love will always triumph over evil!" Brian proclaimed, while the other Argonauts around him collapsed from exhaustion.
Author’s Notes
When doing any anime series, it is imperative to include some form of cuteness. So issues forth this cute-cute episode: all cute, all the time. Brian will argue this. His response to any form of cuteness is normally along the lines of "Kill it!! Kill it!!!"
That’s why Kuni-chan isn’t stuck with the leader of the group.