#mu5keteers

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Chapter 4 - The Phantom Revenge Strikes Back!

And the 4th chapter of my OCs, the Mu5keteers. You can see more about them in my blog by following this link. Anyway, big shout out to my boy @theoneandonlyspudbud for being so awesome!

ENJOY!!

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*******Scene 1: school daze (I just got this pun!)********

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The ancient Bell of Atlantica Academia's famous clock tower clanged loudly in a melodious tune, signaling the end of classes for the day. Soon afterward, a throng of students filled the quad, as some made their way toward their extracurricular clubs. Others hurried outside to spend the rest of their afternoon in the city before either returning home, or getting back to their dorms before curfew.

Among them, Lance and Bob walked leisurely through the quad.

"Maaaaan" Lance yawned, stretching his arms "you wanna hit the city? I don't want to hang out here much longer..."

"You're trying to avoid her, aren't you?" Bob smiled slyly

"Ugh! You would, too, if you were me! Every single day, I hear that annoying shrill voice-"

"Yoooohoooo! O Sir Laaaance!!" The annoying shrill voice rang out behind the two, sending shivers down Lance's spine. Lance begrudgingly turned toward the voice.

"Hi, Zilvana..." Lance sighed as he addressed the smiling Fencing club captain. Her coiling long blonde hair gleamed in the afternoon sun as a single streak of pink hair playfully curled in front of her face.

"Oh I am ever so glad to have ran into you" Zilvana tried to speak casually, failing to hide her shortness of breath "but drat it all, I must be off to attend my club duties!"

"Hmmm, yes..." Replied Lance curtly, seeing a variation of this scene replaying for almost every day since the school year started "...well, I don't want to keep y-"

"I know!" Interrupted Zilvana awkwardly, her face blushing red "how about you accompany me there? We c-can talk...um..and th-then maybe you'd consider sparring for a bit, y'know, up to you whatev."

"For the last time, Zilvana" Lance sighed irritatingly "thanks, but no, thanks! I don't want to join the fencing club. Period!"

"But why not?!" Zilvana asked in frustration, stomping her foot on the ground "is it because of what happened on Orientation Day?! I already apologized to you two about that!! And also..."

Zilvana looked around cautiously at the nearly empty quad before whispering "...I kept 'Bob's' identity a secret, just like I promised!"

"It's got nothing to do with that!" Lance irritatingly replied. "It's just...ugh...how do I put this-"

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY IT ALREADY?!" Zilvana shouted suddenly with her head down, shocking Lance and Bob. They looked toward her as she slowly raised her head, tears streaming down her puffy red cheeks.

"...you just don't like me, do you?" Zilvana blurted as she wiped her tears ineffectively with her hands and sleeves "no matter what I do, you'll always hate me!"

"N-no, that's not it" stuttered Lance, trying to avoid Bob's accusatory glance while reaching out an uncertain hand toward the crying third-year student "...Zilva-"

Suddenly, Lance felt a playful pounce onto his left shoulder as a slender arm wrapped around his left arm, and soft fingers casually grasping his own.

"Aww, you heartbreaker. You made another girl cry! How mean~"

"Yu-Yukio?!" Lance was startled by the sudden entrance of the former Motorcycle Bandit, of the now-defunct Wheely Rad Bandit team/family. She wore Atlantica Academia's uniform with the plaid skirt and long black stockings. The notches on the shoulder decorations of her jacket identifies her as a second-year student.

"Aww, you do remember me!" Yukio smiled, gently caressing the arm of the blushing Lance "I guess our kiss made an impression on you~"

"Ki-KISS?!!" Bob and Zilvana shouted in unison, before looking at each other for a second and glancing away in embarrassment, their cheeks burning red.

"Haha!" Teased Yukio "y'all Jealous?"

Yukio's satisfied smile quickly changed when a bike helmet lightly smacked her over the head. She rubbed the top of her head, letting go of Lance and looking toward her attacker.

"Owie! What the heck, Randy?!" She groaned at her brother, who was wearing a one-piece biking suit, while walking beside a red ten-speed bike.

"Quit teasing the kid, dum-dum" Randy scolded "you just stole a peck on his cheek when he wasn't looking. What are ya, his Grandma?!"

"Wow! I didn't know you two went to school here!" Lance exclaimed, trying to change the subject and avoiding the glares of Bob and Zilvana.

"Hey there, Lance!" Randy beamed an earnest smile, that's missing a few front teeth "well, she is, but I ain't. My street smarts ain't good enough to get me enrolled here. Not like mah smarty-pants sister!"

"Aw it's a darn shame, Randy!" Yukio pouted "I would've liked if we went to the same school together..."

"Now now, sis..." Randy patted Yukio's head affectionately "ain't no use hitching yer wagon to a derailed train like me. You're gonna do great things, kid! Yer the only one who can keep up with Pop when he gets all science-y on ya." Randy then turned toward Lance and the others, bragging while beaming with pride "did y'all know Yuki got'erself a full scholarship, on account of her engineering smarts?!"

Lance opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a shrill bird noise blaring from his SmartBand. His brows knit as his face took on a serious expression. He whipped the SmartBand in front of him, with the HoloOrb facing upward.

"Lance, here" he spoke clearly toward the blinking HoloOrb, which immediately glowed and a rectangular HoloScreen floated in the air at eye-level. "What's going on, Feiroz?"

The former Leader of the Love Maidens furrowed her thick eyebrows "Lancelot! We have a situation at a construction site downtown, near 4th and Bradley Street! Details are sketchy, but it looks like a Challenger Team. The rest of the team are en route, proceed with caution!"

"Understood!" The HoloScreen flickered off, while Lance took off his backpack hastily.

"Lancelot?!" Snorted Bob derisively

"You shouldn't make fun of other people's names, 'BOB'!" Lance said defensively, throwing his backpack toward his dorm mate "can you please take this back to our room with you? Sorry, but I gotta go, guys!"

He then sprinted toward the general direction of downtown, bringing the SmartBand closer to his mouth as he yelled into its microphone.

"ONE FOR ALL..."

Holographic spikes of ice sprawled across his body, covering him whole in an unintentionally comical running ice cocoon, before shattering completely as he emerged fully clothed in his Ice Musketeer outfit.

"...AND ALL FOR VICTORY!"

The Ice Musketeer switched from sprinting to summoning a patch of ice that appear slightly in front of him, allowing him to slide endlessly if he wishes it. He used his cryokinetic Psy-Q ability once more to create a huge ice ramp to clear the school main building in a single leap, accompanied by the thrilled cheers of the students watching in the quad.

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********Scene 2: Demolition ZOOne***********

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"RRRAAAGH"

A primal roar emerged from a hulking figure in the strange black outfit with a slight owl motif. Her fists curled up inside the unusual gauntlets she wore that resemble giant wrecking balls. She punched another steel beam in the almost empty construction zone with her massive fists, completely bending it out of shape and nearly tearing it out of the ground where it was firmly rooted in the foundations.

"GRAHAHAHAHA! Ja almust gutt it, Sally" a thick Scandinavian accent bellowed from behind the muscular woman, which belonged to a big-bellied, half-naked, bearded man.

"What's it to ya, Bull Dozer?" Growled Sally, flipping her neon-purple hair that's jutting out of the modified boxing headgear she wore.

"Isa nice puunch but iv ja vanna do some real damage..." Bull Dozer boasted, a strange mechanism on his back lifted his massive shoulder pads and locked them firmly in place on top of the long bullhorns attached to his hardhat. He turned toward another steel beam and knelt down, aiming the gigantic shovel-like contraption on his head. "...joo call da Bull!"

Bull Dozer's massive mechanical boots hummed softly as their light-up display glowed red, just before he thrusted his massive body with astonishing speed! He kept his head low as his tree trunk-like legs propelled him ever closer toward his helpless target. The impact was undoubtfully devastating, the steel beam completely got torn from its foundation and was sent flying to the far side of the construction zone.

"Gahahahaha! JA! I am de 'Epic', ja?" Rojoiced Bull Dozer triumphantly, patting the dirt from his thick fur loincloth.

"Bah!" Spat sally disgustingly "all you did was send it flying away. What if that was an opponent and they landed safely on their feet?"

She turned back toward the bent steel beam she punched earlier and expertly took an orthodox boxing stance. Her blue eyes grew colder as she stared down the steel beam.

"It's easy to destroy the weak." She unleashed a flurry of jabs at the steel beam, bending it in different directions with each punch.

"But it's so much fun to play with someone strong. Someone who's almost at your level, who thinks they can beat you." Her eyes lit up with chilling bloodlust as she switched up her stance and delivered explosive right-left hook combos, causing the steel beam to bend and twist in uncanny angles.

"And then mercilessly maul them in the ring" her relentless barrage became even more savage, the steel beam is practically putty between her fists! "Destroy every shred of hope, every iota of self-confidence, watch their very essence drip away with every punch that pulverizes their pretty little face..."

Suddenly, Sally stopped her murderous assault and smugly sneered at the steel beam as it stood twisted beyond recognition for a few scant seconds, before collapsing sadly to the ground.

"...and then watch them wither away right before your eyes." Sally flashed a sadistic grin as she looked at her handiwork with a perverse sense of pleasure.

"...I-I uh joost leik rooning into things and watch them fly off rully far..."

"Pathetic" snorted Sally in disappointed disgust.

"Quit yer belly-achin' and get ta smashin'!!" Growled a hairy, hunchbacked man carrying a gigantic wrench that's almost as tall as he is.

"You're sure this will get their attention, Seamus?" Asked Sally.

"Dun ya worry none, Wrecking B-owl. Nuthin' attracts a super-team more'n property damage-"

The rest of Seamus's words were drowned out by the deafening sounds of an erratic locomotive a few feet away from them. They both turned toward the source to find a thin tall girl hopping on one prosthetic peg leg, while the tip of her other peg leg extended and retracted rapidly like a mini jackhammer.

"Umm...Mr. Chang, sir?" Meekly implored the girl with the mostly shaved head, a tuft of blonde hair with red highlights just above her forehead shook violently with the vibrations from her malfunctioning leg "it's happening again..."

"Aw, fer Christ sake, Jackie..." Seamus Chang slid a hidden knob on his gigantic monkey wrench while making his way closer to the frightened girl. The side of his wrench opened up like a Swiss army knife, revealing an assortment of tools. He grasped the Phillips head screwdriver and pulled it out along with a long retractable cable attached to the end of it. Then he grabbed the erratically shaking peg leg under his arm in an attempt to stabilize it while using the screwdriver to navigate its circuitry.

"I tol' ya ta be careful with the controls, lass. These things are very sensitive." Seamus grumbled, finally able to shut off the incessant hammering. He tugged slightly on the screwdriver, and the retractable cable dragged it back into its compartment.

"S-sorry, Mr. Chang..." Jackie answered pensively.

Seamus's features softened as he extended a giant hairy hand, stroking her cheek reassuringly "Ah, it's all right, lass, it's what I'm here for. Are ya ready fer action, Jackrabbit Hammer?"

Jackie smiled enthusiastically at the mention of her superhero name and she replied confidently "You know it, Monkey Wrench!"

With a click of a button on the built-in controls in her gauntlets, the jackhammer tips of her peg legs were replaced with two powerful springs. She took a few practice hops, reaching higher and higher with each leap, before crouching low upon landing with her third hop and shooting up three stories into the air!! She pressed the buttons again at the acme of her ascent, switching back to the jackhammer tips upon her descent toward a pile of stacked cinderblocks. The thunderous impact tore through the blocks faster than a greased up hamster shooting out of a potato gun, while Jackrabbit Hammer maniacally laughed in satisfaction.

"I'm all for destroying private property of those capitalist tower tycoons" Sally sighed "but I don't know if clearing out the area was a good idea. They may have gotten here sooner if we had a few hostages-"

A whizzing whistle ripped through the air, forcing the weirdly-garbed vandals to look upward to the source of the sound. Only to be met with a good-sized ball of fire whose size keeps getting gooder and gooder with each passing second.

"Look out!!" Monkey Wrench shouted as he leapt backward to avoid the fireball, which exploded threateningly in the empty space between the criminals.

"First contact!!" Panted the low-flying Fire Musketeer "I win!!"

"Tristan, you flying butt!" Priya slid from a nearby street light and onto a stack of steel pipes with the aid of the electromagnetic soles on her boots, acting like a miniaturized maglev train. "Throwing stuff doesn't qualify as 'first contact', you dork! I was way ahead of you!"

"Be that as it may-" Tristan rebuttal was interrupted by the sloshing sound of an oily projectile that hit its target with a satisfying SPLAT. Tristan looked down at his clogged up boots, then at Monkey Wrench holding what used to be his namesake and now is a weird-looking greaseball shooting catapult, and finally looking down at the rapidly approaching ground. It all happened within the span of one second, which is why he didn't even have a chance to yell for help.

Fortunately, help was already on its way in the form of leafy vines forming a soft intertwined ball to cushion Tristan's unscheduled landing.

"Phew!" Sighed Tristan in relief, turning toward the Green Musketeer with gratitude "thanks for the save, Blossom!"

"Any time, fearless leader." Smirked Blossom, riding on a throng of sturdy green vines.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lad!" Monkey Wrench pressed another hidden lever on the catapult, returning it to its original wrench form. "Was I supposed ta wait fer ya ta finish yer squabblin'? Too bad the Demolition ZOOne ain't so accommodating ta yer domestic nonsense. How's about you concede yer sanction to us, and we'll let ya be?"

"Blossom, watch out!" Priya shouted to warn the Green Musketeer of the 400 pounds of Scandinavian fury barreling down toward the redhead. Blossom used her Botankinesis to manipulate the vines, vaulting her into the air and over the head of the charging Bull Dozer; who crashed into the cluster of vines as they were tightening around him while Blossom landed gracefully behind him.

Priya was so captivated by Blossom's performance, that she barely noticed the huge fist charging ominously toward her face. Fortunately, the Lightning Musketeer anticipated it with cat-like senses and dodged it with even cat-ier reflexes!

"VANDERLUSS!" A chilling scream echoed through the construction site/warzone as Wrecking B-owl stared at Priya with menacing glee.

"S-Sally?!" Priya flustered "didn't recognize you in that outfit...they say black is slimming, but you're still as massive as ever..."

"YES!" Sally snarled, grabbing a steel beam and lifting it like a gigantic baseball club "spout your boastful quips! Your bravado will make your crushing defeat all the sweeter!"

Wrecking B-owl swung the steel beam in a sweeping wide arc, barely missing the ducking Tristan who was fighting the strangely agile Monkey Wrench.

"Ach! Watch where ya swingin' that thing, ya daft-EEEEEE!!" Screeched Monkey Wrench as he narrowly dodged Sally's second swing.

"I got'em, Mr. Chang!!" A cheerful shriek arose from Jackrabbit Hammer as her peg legs sprouted springs to enable her to swiftly cross the construction site in three long leaps.

Just as she was about to land the third leap, a sheet of ice formed underneath her projected landing spot. The slippery ice robbed the teenage dynamo of her equilibrium, causing her to slip and fall comically on her face.

"I got her!" Proclaimed Lance, approaching the fallen rabbit to deliver the not-really-final-but-still-quite-incapacitating-and-involves-an-ice-prison blow. But before he could even form a single icicle, Jackrabbit sprang to her feet with an impressive somersault launching over Lance's head. She switched her peg legs' configuration to the mini-jackhammers in mid-jump, crushing the icy ground as she landed. With a flick of the built-in controls in her gloves' palms, the motors on her legs came to life with a terrifying roar! She lunged at Lance, delivering a spinning flurry of kicks and somersaults in the direction of the retreating Musketeer.

"Uhhhh, I DON'T GOT HER!" Lance yelled panicking as a high-kick knocked his rapier from his hand and lightly grazed his cheek.

"LANCE!" Cried out Blossom, inadvertently loosening her Botankinetic control over the vines ensnaring Bull Dozer. The energetic Scandinavian took the chance to wiggle his way out of his leafy prison.

"Guahahaha! Worry about yooself, gurl!" Bull Dozer snapped the vines like a stick of slimjim! His mechanical boots glowed red with a menacing hum before he charged toward the distracted Blossom. Suddenly, a heavy figure crashed from the sky between Blossom and the charging Bull!

"Looks like I'm just in time for the rodeo!" The Love Musketeer girded himself for the ensuing impact, as the two giants collided violently "Blossom, go help the kid!"

"Thanks, Lee!" Blossom yelled back, allowing a cluster of sturdy vines to carry her rapidly toward the struggling Ice Musketeer and away from the brawling titans.

Nearby, the battle between Priya and her hulking rival still rages on, the Lightning Musketeer staying on the defensive as she dodges Wrecking B-owl's wild swings.

"You can't Rope-a-dope me, Vanderluss" snarled Sally ecstatically "I can do this all day! On the other hand, you're looking a bit sluggish!"

Sally swung the massive girder in a vicious low arc, sending the gravel and dust bellowing upward. When the dust settled (literally), Sally was surprised to find that Priya was nowhere to be seen!

"Up here!" Sally turned her head to see Priya perching atop the far end of the girder, the soles of her Tesla Boots stuck on the metal surface like magnets.

"I wasn't trying to tire you out" Priya smirked as she used her Fulgurkinesis to gather the static electricity in the air toward the coils on her Tesla Gauntlets, which channeled the electric current throughout its conductive lining. "I was just learning the timing of your swings so I can do ...THIS!"

Priya thrusted her left hand on the girder, sending a massive electric shock toward the unsuspecting Sally. The gigantic brute let out a short yelp as she dropped one end of the girder onto the ground, which was more a reaction of surprise than a response to pain. Priya, still magnetized to the fallen girder, took advantage of Sally's brief opening to build up the charge in her right hand, which ended up becoming almost twice as powerful as the one she unleashed from her left hand just now.

She then used her Psy-Q ability to build up a magnetic charge on the soles of her feet to do something slightly different. Priya always used the magnetic capability of her Tesla Boots like a maglev train, allowing her to simply hover and slide over most metallic objects. Now, she's building up opposite magnetic charges around the girder and herself, her Tesla Boots lighting up like a Christmas tree.

Like a flash of lightning, Priya shot up the length of the metal girder toward the unsuspecting Wrecking B-owl, who was still holding up the girder with both hands. Priya's right fist clenched low as she aimed it at Sally's face to deliver a...

"Railgun Uppercut!!"

Her fist exploded into Sally's unprotected jaw in a fury of sparks! Sally's whole body lit up with electricity as it went stiff, she then immediately fell flat on her back.

"You always did have a glass jaw..." Mumbled Priya as she rubbed her bruised knuckles.

"HA!" Heckled Tristan, as he dodged another wide swing from Monkey Wrench's monkey wrench “I thought you were too embarrassed to do attack names!"

"It was embarrassing when you said it, nerd." Priya materialized a pair of handcuffs from her SmartBand's custom teleportation app, and used them to restrain the unconscious black-clad behemoth. "When I name them, they're awesome!"

"Just keep yappin' yer fool mouth" grunted Seamus "it's anglin' for a good smackin'"

Suddenly, an 8-bit rendition of William Tell's overture blared from Tristan's SmartBand, before a holo-screen floated from the glowing HoloOrb.

"Now's not a good time, Sarah!" Cried Tristan, ducking another close swing before Priya stepped in to divert his attacker's attention.

"Well, make time!" Sarah replied impatiently "you have to get everybody out of there! The area's not safe."

Tristan somersaulted over the charging Monkey Wrench, letting Priya press on her attack, and answered Sarah as he tumbled on the ground "what do you mean it's not safe?"

"I had Theresa run a topographical and spectrographic scan of the area" Sarah leaned slightly off to the side to reveal the smiling former Love Maiden beside her on the neighboring dispatch console "and we found that the construction crew didn't dig deep enough for their foundations! There is an underground air pocket approximately 200 meters below the surface, which does not correspond to any subway or sewer tunnels"

At that moment, Tristan glanced around to account for his teammates and their opponents. The Lightning Musketeer was keeping Monkey Wrench occupied. The Love Musketeer was locking arms with Bull Dozer, neither of them budging an inch. And finally, the Green and the Ice Musketeers were fighting off Jackrabbit Hammer, who launched herself into the air, only to dive feet first into Lance with her mini-jackhammer peg legs chugging away madly.

Lance deftly dodged her attack as she sank into the soft ground that he occupied seconds ago.

"Haha! You're good, little flea!" Chuckled Jackie trying to free her peg legs from the gravely surface, only to be surprised when the ground sucked her in further! "Wa-Whoah!"

"Oh no!" Tristan shouted in panic, both members of the Mu5keteers and Demolition Zoone alike watched in fear as the ground around Jackie crumbled and the sinkhole kept getting wider and deeper.

"JACKIE!" Shouted Monkey Wrench, ignoring his fight with Priya.

"BLOSSOOOOOM!!" Yelled Priya, panicking as she saw Blossom stumble into the sinkhole while trying to rescue her opponent!

"LANCE!" Tristan cried out, running in his gunked-up boots toward his brother who struggled to hold up the weight of the two girls, before the ground crumbled underneath them.

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************Scene 3: Down the Hatch!********

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All members of both teams still above ground (and conscious) rushed toward the edge of the sinkhole-

"STOP!"

Blossom's voice bellowed from below, causing everyone to tense up and slowly look into the abyss anxiously.

"Blossom..." Priya dried her tears, looking toward Blossom while feeling partially relieved. "...you're ok..."

"Not  ...ungh... for long" Lance replied, his back pressed against the wall of the hole, as his feet are firmly planted on one of Blossom's vines portruding horizontally a considerable distance down the dark chasm.

"Lance is right, this hole could collapse at any second" she was nestled gently in an outcropping of vines as she was cradling an unconscious Jackrabbit Hammer in her arms.

"Dammit! My boots are too gunked up to fly down there to you guys!" Yelled back Tristan in frustration.

"M-my girl...how is Jackie?" Seamus trembled as he inched closer to the edge to look at his teammate with a terribly worried expression. "...please tell me she's all right...?"

Blossom gave him the most reassuring smile she can offer given the circumstances as she said "It's Mr. Chang, right? Well, she's still breathing, but I think she's concussed from one of the fallen rocks hitting her in the head. We need to get her medical attention immediately!"

"Well -unghhh- we can't have her shimmy up the wall" Lance winced "I'm doing all I can just to keep this -urrgghh- hole from collapsing on us any further."

Blossom glanced up at the partially frozen, muddy wall, as she fumbled with the controls on Jackie's gauntlets. Blossom pressed the button that she saw Jackie press earlier which retracted the jackhammer tips of the unconscious girl's peg legs and produced the industrial-strength springs she used to hop around.

"Tristan!" Shouted Blossom standing up with the comatose Jackie, getting the girl up on her springy legs and angling her body carefully "I'm going to make her hop up to you guys-"

"WAIT" Tristan shouted back "don't let her hop straight up, she needs to be launched at an..." Tristan paused, his lips moving soundlessly as he did the math in his head "...82 degrees angle- just lean forward a b- no, that's too far- yes, perfec-"

"NO, ya rube!" Seamus interrupted gruffly, trying to hide the tears in his eyes "ya need to account for wind resistance, lean her back a bit more! I'll catch her...please..."

"Ok, Mr. Chang, sir." Blossom smiled sweetly, obliging Seamus's instructions.

"Ungghh, Blossom?" Inquired Lance, straining against the steadily collapsing wall.

"Yes, sweetie?" Replied Blossom casually, readying Jackie's limp body for its flight.

"Your vines, rather -urghh- this wall, can't support the recoil from launching her up in the air. You do know that, right?"

"We don't have any other choice" Blossom answered resolutely "she needs to be looked after right away."

"I think I heard some of these -unghh- fallen rocks hit water down there. If we fall, actually when we fall..."

"Yes, I heard them, too."

Lance looked at Blossom with determination "...do you trust me?"

"Always."

Blossom smiled as she made the springs on Jackie's legs coil tightly, before they unfurled upward, launching Jackie's unconscious body at the agreed upon angle into the arms of the relieved Seamus. As predicted, the recoil from the jump tore the vines viciously from its roots on the wall, bringing a good chunk of half frozen earth tumbling down.

In the mess of tangled leaves, clay, and ice, the two Musketeers were free-falling down toward the abyss. Lance dove quickly like a bird of prey toward the fallen Blossom. He embraced her tightly as they fell into the nearly-bottomless pit!

"LANCE!!"

"BLOSSOOOoOM!!"

The cries of the panicked Musketeers aboveground barely reached their two fallen comrades as the hole started expanding and collapsing in on itself.

"Hold your horses!" Leopold yelled anxiously, firmly restraining his two friends from getting closer to the dangerous abyss "you'll fall in, too!"

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*************Scene 4: The Hole***************

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"Ok, Blossom" Lance was closing his eyes in deep concentration, letting his Cryokinesis reach the mystery body of water far below- hopefully faster than their bodies would physically reach it "Get ready..."

Lance somersaulted in mid-air with Blossom in tow, making himself stand upright while princess-carrying the Green Musketeer. Suddenly, a spiral of ice sprang from the dark depth of the pit, connecting perfectly with Lance's feet.

"...hold on tight!" Blossom obliged, grasping her arms around his neck closely. Lance's eyes glowed a faint blue as they widened in gleeful terror. The downward spiral they were sliding on gradually slowed down their insanely fast descent. After several dozen spirals, they were finally at a leisurely speed where they gently skidded to a peaceful stop, barely causing the water at their feet to ripple upon their intrusion.

Nonetheless, the tension and strain from this harrowing ordeal brought Lance to his knees as he groaned with exhaustion and relief. Blossom, who landed gracefully on her feet, knelt down beside Lance while tenderly caressing his cheek.

"You did it, champ!" Blossom said affectionately.

"Y-yeah..." Lance mumbled, his cheeks blushing, as he gently patted her hand away. He stood up and looked up at the far dim light up above. "...we're a long way down..."

A distant creaking sound emanated from the ceiling, just before a handful of dirt floated down to the waters below.

"It's not safe to stand here" Blossom commented, using the Lantern App on her SmartBand to look around.

Lance wiped some of the fallen dirt off his hat, only to halt his hand while touching the blue feather adorning it. He took off his hat to have a closer look.

"Blossom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"There's an air current here, see?" He pointed the feather gently wafting to a faint breeze "there must be another exit somewhere..."

"KZZzzshhhtt..you guys-kzzhhtt-ear me?"

The garbled voice emanating from the glowing HoloOrbs on their SmartBands startled the two Musketeers. Blossom hurriedly answered back "Tristan? Is that you?!"

"BLO-Kzzsshhhtt-ooomm!! Ar-krsssshhhh-ou Okay?!"

Blossom sighed upon hearing Priya's panicked voice "Calm down, Pri! We're all right."

"But this hole does not look safe" added Lance grimly "it could collapse at any minute. We can't risk climbing out the way we came. We have to find another way out..."

"Where wo-krrssshhtt-ind another-rsshhkkzz-ay out?!"

"Leopold, there's a faint breeze in this tunnel coming from the opposite direction of the hole" Blossom replied "we're bound to find another way out if we follow it."

"NO! It-skkshhhh-dangerous! W-whoaa-ksshhhhhSZZZzz!"

"Tristan? You ok, bro?" Lance asked worriedly. He was alerted to the noise up from the ceiling as Blossom dragged him out of the way of more falling debris.

In a few seconds, the shaft they occupied earlier was completely blocked up with mud and rocks, as the two Musketeers caught their breath in a nearby tunnel.

"Well..." Blossom cleared her throat as she stood up straight and looked toward the far end of the tunnel with the aid of her SmartBand's lantern App. "I guess we better mosey on, yeah?"

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**********Scene 5: The Underworld**********

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The two colourful figures roamed uncertainly through the drab and damp structures underground. The cavernous and drafty path they were walking through is not really a tunnel so much as a geometrical nightmare of collapsed buildings and concrete structures.

Lance managed to stammer an inquisitive "wh-what are those buildings?"

Blossom did not break her stride as she replied "there were many floods during the Apocalypse, many of which were strong enough to destroy numerous coastal cities lining the Atlantic."

Blossom then touched the HoloOrb on her SmartBand which caused the Lantern App's light to condense into a spotlight. The focused beam of light swiveled between the different monuments and mangled street signs, all of them belonging to various countries that bordered the Atlantic Ocean.

"The debris from across the world..." Blossom continued solemnly “...the tides pulled all of those broken pieces into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When the Arachnae landed on Earth over a thousand years ago, they decided to build Atlantica city on top of the wreckage."

"That doesn't sound very safe..." Chimed in Lance, while looking around in the dark.

"It wasn't..." smiled Blossom "...sinkholes like the one we fell through were quite common in the early days of building the city. But eventually, they were able to stabilize the foundation to a reliable degree."

"Wow" said Lance "you sure know a lot about this stuff..."

Blossom sighed and replied "...it's kinda hard to ignore history..." She turned her spotlight toward a fallen skyscraper that may have once been a grand hotel. The light shone brightly on the mostly rusted sign with the Stylized 'E' in the logo of the 'Everglades Towers' emblazoned on it "...especially when your name keeps popping up whenever there's mentions of corruption, greed, and total disregard for basic human decency..."

"Blossom..." Lance reached out a hesitant hand towards his teammate's shoulder, only to freeze midway as his eyes see a peculiar movement "...we're not alone here..."

The ominous words hung heavily in the air between them as they both became keenly aware of a distorted space just hovering in front of the stylized 'E' on the rusted sign in front of them.

"Oh no..." Lance muttered fearfully, slowly unleashing his rapier "...not this guy again"

An impossibly white hand burst from the distorted space. The rest of the pale body followed through the distortion and floated eerily in front of them.

"So..." Blossom stood defiant and upright, taking a measure of the apparition "...that's the Phantom Musketeer?"

To say that the Phantom was glowing would be inaccurate, its body simply did not allow for a single shadow to lay its dark tendrils upon its pale form. Even in the dark depths of the underworld, the white ghostly figure was clearly visible.

Blossom took out her wooden rapier from its sheath and said "... I thought it'd be taller."

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*****Scene 6: The Menacing Phantom******

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Lights from the Musketeers' HoloOrbs danced wildly in the dank underground, accompanied by the distorted clangs of metal-and-wood-on-warped-dark-matter. Blossom and Lance tried to surround the Phantom, flanking it from both sides, but it was more than capable of warding them off - even overpowering them a little. The Green Musketeer took advantage of a slim opening to deliver a deadly thrust, but it was anticipated by the ghostly figure as it evaded it deftly before bringing its blackened blade down on the leafy rapier. Blossom rapier's blade broke off cleanly in the attack and she stumbled to the ground due to her unspent momentum.

"BLOSSOM!!" Lance screamed in a panic, a thick wall of ice erected itself between Blossom and their attacker.

"Lance, no!" Blossom shouted after her young friend, a twinge of anger and frustration laced her words. From beyond the wall, she can hear the distorted sounds of swords clashing and the desperate grunts from Lance.

She reached for a grenade pellet from one of the pouches of her belt, which was a bigger version of the pellets that she normally shoots from her sword's firing mechanism hidden in the hilt. She threw the grenade onto the ground, shattering it upon impact, prompting a rapidly growing cluster of huge vines! Each one was as thick as a tree trunk.

"Dammit, boy..." Blossom muttered to herself, her angry eyes smouldered with a faint green glow, as she directed the leafy tendrils with her hands to demolish the icy wall! Lance stared in awe as the vines continued their undaunting charge by slamming the Phantom and carrying it along several feet into the air, before smashing into the ruins of a toppled skyscraper.

"Whoah..." Lance exclaimed before being jerked to his feet as Blossom grabbed him roughly by the collar "B-Blossom...?!!"

"What the hell was that?!" Blossom's brow knit angrily as she spat out those words "that was stupid and reckless!"

"I-I just..." Lance stumbled on his words trying to avoid Blossom's enraged stare "...I was just keeping a p-promise..."

"A PROMISE?!" Blossom suddenly released Lance's collar from her grip, causing him to stumble and fall on his butt "what kind of promise makes you risk your life like that...and for what?! You think it's your job to rescue me or something?"

"B-Blossom" Lance stuttered nervously, slowly getting up and patting the dirt from his outfit "that's not what-"

"I don't need to be rescued!" Blossom interrupted forcefully "I know what you're doing! You're trying to be like him, but you can't! Stop trying to copy Armand, you'll never be like him-"

Blossom stopped herself in mid-sentence, her angered expression quickly changed to one of guilt and regret.

"Oh no...Lance...I didn't mean... I-I'm sorry" Blossom covered her face, backing away slowly, before turning around and running down one of the tunnels at full speed.

"Blossom! Wait!" Lance hastily ran after her.

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***********Scene 7: Big shoes to fill***********

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A pair of green boots stamped through ankle-deep waters covering the darkened tunnels through the underground ruins. Followed closely by a similar pair of blue boots of someone much shorter.

"Blossom" Lance panted behind the Green Musketeer, who was sprinting a few feet in front of him "w-wait up...huff..."

Blossom ignored him as she ran ahead, which prompted Lance to call out to her apologetically "look, I'm sorry! I don't know what I did that upset you...huff puff...so much...but I'm sorry!"

Blossom reached the end of the tunnel that opened up toward a wide open cavern where pipes and various tunnels protruded from all over the concrete and steel makeshift walls, spilling their liquid content in the center where a huge pool of water-like substance sort of rested at the bottom.

Noticing the precipitous drop, Blossom turned around toward the rushing Lance. As he got closer, Lance noticed Blossom's watery red eyes that looked toward him with great sorrow and shame.

"Lance, I-" her words were drowned out by a creaking sound from below her feet, as the ground groaned under her weight and finally gave out with an awful shrieking noise, dragging Blossom downward and out of Lance's sight.

"BLOSSOM!" Lance's panicked shout almost rivaled the cacophonous sounds of the fallen debris, as he sped toward the edge to look for his teammate.

"Stay back!" Blossom called out, hanging on to a protruding pipe with one hand, while her other arm dangled limply by her side.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Lance climbed carefully down the side of the cliff toward Blossom.

"I-I think it got dislocated when I fell. I can't pull myself up..." Blossom winced in pain "I told you to stay back! You'll fall, too"

"No, I won't" Lance's boots froze to the side of the cliff "I told you, I made a promise-"

Blossom's eyes widened in rage as she interrupted him "What kind of promise forces you to risk your life like an idiot?!"

In her outburst, the damp pipe in her hand started to slip away and she lost her grip on it. Lance shot his hand toward hers and grasped her arm firmly.

"The promise I made..." Lance strained as he held on to Blossom's arm “...is the same one you made! I made this promise to you, to Tristan, to Priya and Leopold!! I MADE A PROMISE TO ANYONE IN DANGER!"

"L-Lance...?"

"One for All..." Lance grunted, every muscle in his body tensed and coiled desperately "...AND ALL FOR VICTORRRRRYYY!!"

Lance used every ounce of his strength to pull Blossom to safety, the ice on his boots becoming thicker and spike-ier. With the Green Musketeer sitting safely in the half-collapsed tunnel, Lance slowly melted the ice anchoring him the Cliffside before pulling himself up as well. They both sat in the relative horizontal safety of the tunnel as they panted from relief and exertion.

Eventually, Lance broke the silence, looking at Blossom wistfully "I know I'll never be Armand...he's...he's someone I look up to and respect a whole lot... His are big shoes to fill..."

"...Lance..."

"But I don't want to wear his shoes! I am my own Mu5keteer! I will proudly walk in his footsteps, but at my own pace..."

"Heh..." Blossom managed to smile bitterly "you think you could squeeze in a few more walking metaphors in there?"

"Ha...I guess I've been thinking about it a lot...metaphors help me put painful things in perspective..."

"Hey, speaking of pain..." Blossom grabbed her limp arm with her functioning one, and with one sharp motion she shoved her arm back in its socket. Her shrill scream of pain lasted all of two seconds, but it packed so much agony in it.

"Oh Lord!" Lance exclaimed in shock, drawing closer toward the wincing Blossom "are you ok?!"

"M'fine..." Whimpered Blossom sheepishly, while ineffectually rubbing her recently un-dislocated shoulder.

"Kzzssshht~an you hear me~shhzzztt"

Lance and Blossom perked up upon hearing the familiar, yet static-laden, voice of Tristan coming through their SmartBands. They quickly raised the HoloOrb closer in order to hear the garbled words more clearly.

"Tristan!" Lance exclaimed "we must be close to the surface."

Blossom craned her head to look up at the ceiling of the cavern where they almost fell earlier. The ceiling was a tangled mess of girders and concrete that - just barely - allowed a dim light to trickle in from above.

"I have an idea." Smiled Blossom as she fiddled with the capsule-shooter at the hilt of her broken rapier, selecting a specific capsule containing one of her patented mutated Edan plant strains. She then aimed the firing mechanism downward toward the pool of liquid and fired of a capsule.

"I hope that's mostly water down there..."

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**************Scene 8: Rosethorn*************

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Lance and Blossom watched as a single, thick vine rose steadily from the waters below, thanks to Blossom's Psy-Q ability of Botankinesis. The Green Musketeer concentrated on the mutated plant below, her eyes glowing a faint emerald hue.

"Ok, get on" Blossom said as the top of the vine made its way closer to their perch on the cliff's side. It then curled up, accommodating a mostly flat surface for the two Musketeers to stand on safely.

"Now, just like what we did with the Big Bandit a few months ago" Blossom turned her head toward Lance and smiled gently "I need you to slightly freeze the water in the vine, and use your powers to stabilize it for me."

Blossom then lifted her hands dramatically, in an effort to gather concentration for her powers "I'll focus on directing it upward."

"Aye aye, cap'n!" Lance cheerfully answered as he lifted his head up toward the dim light, his eyes glowing a soft blue. Alas, his happy-go-lucky demeanor evaporated once he spotted an uncomfortably familiar ripple in the space just above them.

"Uhh...Blossom..." Lance whispered nervously, a primal fear response urging him to flee just as pure determination roots him steadfastly on the leafy green platform.

"I see it" Blossom pulled out her broken rapier from its sheath and stopped the plant from rising any further "whatever happens, I need you to keep this platform stabilized. I will deal with the Phantom."

"But, you don't -"

"Listen, before we fell in, you asked me if I trusted you." Blossom interrupted resolutely, taking her eyes off of the slowly emerging Phantom Musketeer and smiled at Lance reassuringly "now I'm asking you: do you trust me?"

Lance smiled confidently back at her and answered "always."

His smile wavered a bit as his gaze floated down toward what's left of Blossom's wooden rapier. Upon noticing his concern, Blossom chuckled bravely "haha, don't worry about it. As long as I have water..."

Blossom abruptly bent down on one knee, and in one swift movement, she stabbed the engorged vine at her feet with her broken blade. At the same time, the Phantom Musketeer floated down menacingly, his dark blade shimmer and distort the space around it madly.

"...I am never unarmed!" With another swift movement, Blossom pulled out her newly regrown blade from its wet, makeshift sheath as she blocks the Phantom's strike!

"Whoah!" Lance looked dumbfounded at the miraculously repaired blade, its edge looked even sharper than before.

"Heh, you liked that?" Blossom smirked as she expertly parried the Phantom's furious attacks "well, you're gonna love this!"

With that, Blossom's eyes flared with green fire as the rosebud decoration on the hilt of her rapier bloomed majestically. It caused the leaf-like crossguard to expand outward, the sword's handle elongated far beyond the grip size for a one-handed weapon, and the blade itself thickened and grew even longer.

Lance looked in awe as he witnessed, right before his eyes, how Blossom's wooden rapier transformed into a fearsome Zweihander, its dark mahogany blade shimmered in the dim light.

"Say hello to Rosethorn, the Everlasting Blade..." Blossom balanced the long blade in her hands and lifted it skyward "...there's nothing that she can't cut!!"

With a dramatic flourish, Blossom brought down the gigantic sword down on the Phantom Musketeer, who lifted his blade in an attempt to impede it. However, unlike their previous encounter, Rosethorn was not in the mood for any nonsense from the shifty distorted mess standing between her and the juicy, might-be-flesh of her target. Rosethorn seemed to grow bigger and stronger as Blossom's eyes glowed a brighter shade of green.

With a sound like glass breaking running through a distorted synthesizer, the ebony blade of the Phantom Musketeer cracked for a split second, before shattering in all directions like confetti! Rosethorn merrily completed her devastating arc to slash across the Phantom's chest. Instead of blood spurting from its wound, inky black tendrils sprang out eerily, accompanied by an unearthly silent screech that almost shattered the two Musketeers' eardrums.

Lance and Blossom were conflicted whether to plug up their ears to stop the noise, or to cup their hands over them to listen to it better. It was like the absence of sound made it even more deafening.

The Phantom convulsed violently, as shadows crept along its body, making his features more defined. Blossom's eyes widened in shock, staring intently while the shadows roughly sketch an anguished expression on the blank canvas of a face in front of them. The long nose, high cheekbones, and pointed chin were all too familiar to the two Musketeers; but it was Blossom who tried to reach closer with her trembling hand in disbelief.

Suddenly, a low rumbling like a distant locomotive could be hear from above. Lance looked up - while Blossom was still entranced by the Phantom's appearance - only to find the tip of two miniaturized Jackhammers pierce through the ceiling. Debris fell gently beside them as a ray of warm sunlight gently wafted through, illuminating the whole cavern below.

Blossom and Lance winced, their eyes adjusting to the harsh light, and was surprised to see the Phantom vanishing before their very eyes! They looked around incredulously, and then at each other. Blossom finally spoke, tears welling up in her eyes as her knees fell to the ground "that...that was Armand's face...wasn't it...?"

Lance hurried over and kneeled down besides her, holding her shoulders gently "I...I don't know what we saw...but we'll figure it out..."

Lance then hugged her closely, hearing her softly sob on his shoulder, before continuing "...it's what we do, after all..."

"Hahaha! There they are!" The cheerful cackle from above prompted the two Musketeer to look up toward a smiling Jackrabbit Hammer with a bandaged head while she was being lowered in a harness. "My heroes!"

"BLOSSOOOM!!" Shouted Priya, trying to dry her tears ineffectively "you're all right! Thank goodness!"

"I'm so happy you're safe" Tristan smiled wearily "not that I had any doubts, mind you..."

Leopold put a reassuring hand on both Priya's and Tristan's shoulders and just smiled silently, while watching the two prodigal Musketeers are hoisted out of the darkness of the ruins and into the light of a new dawn.

***************************************************

*********************Epilogue*******************

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"Yes? Sorry, there's no training for today."

Zilvana called out upon hearing the soft sound of the gym door slowly opening.

"Oh, sorry...I'll come back tomo-"

"Oh, L-Lance!" Zilvana whirled toward the familiar voice "I-I didn't know it was you! Please, do come in."

Lance sheepishly entered the gymnasium and closed the door gently behind him. Zilvana looked on with great concern as she inquired worriedly "Goodness gracious! You're all bandaged up!"

Lance absentmindedly scratched at the bandages on his arms, before stopping to stroke the little tuft of hair that managed to peek out from the bandages. He nervously managed to squeak out a reply "Y-yeah, it was one crazy weekend...but listen, that's not why I'm here..."

"Then why are you here?" Zilvana asked sternly, memories of their last encounter still left hanging in the air between them.

"Zilvana...there's something I need to explain to you..." Lance said pensively "...after I became the Ice Musketeer, I began to feel that all eyes are on me... I felt like I'm always being compared to...him..."

"Lance..." Zilvana softly mumbled "...you know that's not true..."

“Of course, I do!” Lance snapped, only to apologetically add “…sorry…I do know that…but the feeling just made me defensive…I wanted to distance myself from Armand any way I can…”

Lance then looked toward Zilvana with a remorseful expression “…which included being in the fencing club…but I was wrong to use my hang up to be so rude to you…”

“Lance, you were not rude to refuse my invitation…” Zilvana replied regretfully “…I shouldn’t have pushed after you have said no…I was just…I was so impressed by how skilled you were! I felt it was a waste NOT to be in the club…”

"To be honest, I was a flattered..." Lance interjected "...I didn't have a fencing club in middle school, so I never experienced someone wanting me to join one so badly."

"Hey, now...I wasn't THAT desperate!"

"The point is..." Lance smiled "...I have to give it a chance...but...I don't think I'm ready to dive deep into the club..."

Lance looked at the excited Zilvana before continuing "...do you think we can start with a few sparring matches here and there?"

"EeEeeeeeeeee!" Zilvana squealed with glee while jumping up and down "that's all I ever wanted! Here!" She then threw some of the fencing gear lying on the ground toward Lance.

"What? Now?!"

"Oh, like you've got anything better to do!" She hurriedly put on the fencing vest, helmet and gloves "c'mon! First to ten points win! En garde!"

Lance sighed concedingly as he donned the borrowed gear carefully. He then adopted an orthodox stance while replying with a smile through the mesh of the face guard.

"En Garde."

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*******The End of Chapter 4*****

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[ocs-res]

“What’s wrong with being a little avant-garde?”

[hallucinateit-blog]

Stick figure tee ‘19 Thunderbolt beanie ‘19[SOLD OUT] @mu5keteers AVAILABLE @ Hallucinateit.com @slip97 skate-shop #hallucinate #positivevibes #spreadtheword #somewhereincalifornia (at Slip Skate Shop) https://www.instagram.com/p/B50chqmnavv/?igshid=1bfvqowef2s40

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Chapter 2: Moving out & in & out & in & out again

Hey everybody. Here's the second chapter of The story I started here about a Musketeers-inspired superhero team. As always, shout out to my boy @theoneandonlyspudbud. Good looking out, bud!

I'm gonna keep it under the cut, because it's loooooooong! ENJOY!

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******scene 1: check for (bed)bugs******

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*KABOOOOOOOM*

The violent cacophonous explosion ripped through the quiet Sunday morning in Downtown Atlantica city, as debris from the empty Brunch Eatery flew out onto the relatively empty street. A confident foot stepped over the rubble from inside the exploded eatery, its owner obscured by the resultant smoke and dust clouds.

"People of Atlantica City, you are not safe." A booming voice belonging to the red-and-yellow clad perpetrator emanated from a hovering speaker drone. A screeching feedback noise halted his speech for a second while he adjusted the volume controls on the microphone placed inside his full-face helmet shaped like an ant's head.

"You are never safe" continued the strangely garbed man, as more strangely garbed and brightly coloured individuals appeared from behind the veil of smoke and dust. All of them wearing bug-themed masks "not as long as those ridiculous Mu5keteers continue their inept reign as your sanctioned Hero team"

The ruckus started to gather a modest crowd of vaguely disinterested early morning joggers. But their presence was enough to excite the red-wearing masked vandal "I say out with the old, and in with the new!

We!

Are!

... BugOUT!!!"

He then proceeded to strike an uncomfortably back-breaking pose as he shouted his nom de plume "Fire Ant!!!"

The tall BugOUT member in Blue behind Fire Ant removed two crystalline scythes from their holsters on his back as he nervously mumbled "ummm...I-Icy Mantis!"

The short & plumb one in yellow jumped forward as she excitedly shouted "SPARK BEETLE!!" And then she bumped her taser-gloved fists together enthusiastically causing her namesake to fly out in an extremely flashy manner! (Sparks, that is, not beetles!)

"Ugh Leafy Ladybug or whatever" dismissively scoffed the green-hued one as she absentmindedly scrolled through the holographic screen of her SmartBand.

"This is stupid, I'm not saying this!" Refrained the huge man in the pink outfit as he looked visibly embarrassed, even though the full-face helmet.

"Ey, whassamatter, Billy?" Inquired Fire Ant with genuine concern while pressing the side of his own helmet to make his visor slide open. "We agreed on these personas weeks ago!”

"Why do I gotta be the most embarrassing name? It's easy for you, Carlos! 'Fire Ant' is at least mildly cooler-sounding than 'pink romance butterfly'..."

"Ok, first of all, it's 'Sweet Romance Dragonfly', we've been over this already" replied Carlos indignantly "Second of all, I tailored each of our roles and identities to match up against each Mu5keteer separately. Your size make you the perfect rival to their fat pink bastard!"

"Then why do I have to dress in pink and use that silly name?! I could just as easily be something cool...like...uh...Black Tarantula!!"

"No! It's a theme match up, we gotta show them how we're superior...just-Just trust me, OK!" Replied Carlos in frustration “We’ll be Atlantica City's newest Hero Team before Brunch-"

"Well, maybe not Brunch in this neighborhood, 'cus this place is toast! Haha, you get it?"

"YOU!!" Carlos whirled to face the source of the terrible pun, knowing exactly the kind of person who would utter such nonsense unapologetically.

"CARLOS! I knew it was you!" Tristan smiled ecstatically as he stood in front of BugOUT's quintet in his red and white Fire Musketeer outfit.

"RRRAAAAAGHHHH!" Carlos let out this bloodcurdling roar as he used his Psy-Q ability of pyrokinesis to ignite a blue fireball in the palm of his hand. He thrusted it vehemently toward Tristan.

"So, how you've been?" Calmly inquired Tristan as he used his own pyrokinetic Psy-Q ability to deftly direct the blue fireball away from his face.

Carlos closely followed behind the fireball with a vicious right hook, which was similarly dodged by Tristan as he swiftly stepped aside from the charging Fire Ant. Carlos reached for the holster strapped to his back, producing an iron Nunchaku with red cloth handles.

"It's time to see who's the hottest fire hero of all time!"  Carlos then expertly swung the Nunchaku in a fearsome manner, but it barely even registered as a threat in Tristan's eyes.

Instead, the Musketeer simply smiled as he withdrew his rapier from its scabbard "so how's your mother doing?" Asked Tristan casually while parrying and dodging Carlos's furious barrage of nunchaku strikes!

"SHE'S GOOD" screamed Carlos in frustration, the special cloth on his nunchakus burning brightly with an eerie blue flame! "She's gonna be proud that her son became Atlantica City's newest Sanctioned Hero!!"

The fight seemed even more impressive with the blue flames spinning wildly, but it was clear that they were working against Carlos. Tristan was able to easily take control of the flames and change the trajectory of the Nunchaku's spinning arcs ever so slightly, causing them to barely miss their targets.

As if he suddenly remembered they were there, Carlos looked back at his teammates and shouted "GET HIM! If we take him out, they'll be leaderless and directionless"

The remaining members of BugOUT charged toward Tristan with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Wow, you're either overestimating my leadership skill..." smiled Tristan as he nonchalantly glanced at his rushing opponents, who carelessly splashed through the flooded storefront.”...or you're just underestimating my team."

Suddenly, a pillar of ice sprang from the water beneath the BugOUTs, hoisting them on a plateau of slippery ice.

The ice was enough to stop some of the BugOUTs, but Spark Beetle used her momentum to charge gleefully with an electrically-charged fist towards Tristan! Her gloved fist, however, was halted abruptly by a yellow gauntlet sporting strange coils and doodads. The gauntlet, belonging to Priya the Lightning Musketeer, drained all the electrical power from Spark Beetle's Taser-Gloves then dissipating it harmlessly into the air.

"Would it kill you to wait for the rest of your team, O fearless leader?!" Asked Priya as she used the momentum of Spark Beetle's failed attack to flip her down onto the ground then pinning her shoulder with one hand, while restraining the other hand behind her back.

"I set you up for a perfect entrance, and you repay me with your sass and ingratitude. Does your insolence know no bounds, Vanderluss?!" Tristan shook his head half-mockingly.

"Hey, can we get this over with already?" Grumbled Lance, the Ice Musketeer, wearily as he stepped off a little patch of ice which quickly evaporated as soon as his feet touched the ground.

"It looks like it's already over, Mr. Grumpy pants!" Teased Blossom, the Green Musketeer, as she gently stepped off a large cluster of sturdy vines. She joyfully patted and squished Lance's hat as she asked the sleepy youngster "what's the matter, cutie? Not getting enough sleep?" She withdrew her hand quickly to avoid the razor-sharp Leaf Shurikens hastily thrown by the hands of Leafy Ladybug. Blossom's eyes faintly glowed green and she motioned with her hand as she used her Psy-Q ability of Botankinesis to command the vines to shield her from the next barrage of shurikens.

"Merrgh! Why don't you ask Casanova over there?" Lance shot Tristan an angry side glance that the Fire Musketeer pretended not to notice as he continues to dodge Fire Ant's attacks.

Blossom turned her attention back toward Tristan after she entombed Leafy Ladybug in a cluster of vines.

"Why would-" Blossom stopped mid-sentence as her eyes widened in sudden realization. Priya who also experienced the same epiphany shouted “OH HELL NO! TRISTAN!!"

"Whaaaat?!"

Blossom hugged Lance's head closely to her bosom, jerking him away from the uncertain swipe of Icy Mantis's crystal scythes. Blossom ignored Lance's indignant cries as she scolded Tristan "Don't tell me you bring your...your...overnight guests every night with poor little Lance in the very next room?!"

"H-hey now, it's not every night..." Tristan paused as he recalled last week "umm...huh...it was every day...nice-WHOAH! Almost got me there, Carlos! You're getting there."

"JUST DIE ALREADY"

At that moment, Leopold, the Love Musketeer, landed with a mighty thud just a few feet beside the rest of his teammates. He looked around at the bizarre scene in front of him before asking "uhhh...so what did I miss?"

"You're mine, you pink bastard!" Sweet Romance Dragonfly's wings fluttered furiously as he flew toward Leopold; he planned to take out all his attire-related frustrations on the Love Musketeer. Without missing a beat, Leopold grabbed the helmet of the pink-garbed BugOUT member in an iron grip, almost crushing it with his gloved hands, before smashing Dragonfly face-first into the concrete.

Blossom whirled to face Leopold, still hugging a visibly irate Lance, who was somehow able to freeze Icy Mantis's feet to the ground, "Poor Lance can't get any sleep because Tristan can't stop hooking up with girls every single night!!"

"H-hey, they weren't all girls! There was Greg from Thursday night..." Tristan blurted out as he deftly parried Carlos's Nunchaku strike, before twisting the blade around the chain and flinging the flaming weapon aside, disarming Fire Ant in the process.

"Oh, yeah. He made pancakes the next day." Lance's muffled voice barely escaped the tight embrace of Blossom's arms. "He was all right, I guess."

"See?" Tristan smiled nervously "he had pancakes-"

Lance squeezed himself out of Blossom's arms as he interrupted Tristan "and then there was Monique, who made all those short jokes at my expense. That was fun."

"Ummm..."

"And don't forget Inspector Jessica the day before. Never gonna forget that she pulled a neutralizer to my face my first day in Atlantica City. Well, I don't have to, because she thought it would be funny to remind me of that first thing in the morning! You know how FUN it was to have someone point a Neutralizer to your face while you're on the toilet?!"

"L-Lance buddy..." Tristan stammered nervously.

"OH! But how can I forget Radha and her stupid 4 AM alarm. WHY DO YOU NEED AN ALARM SO EARLY, RADHA?!"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt your tirade..." Carlos finally spoke out. He was getting frustrated at how effortlessly they dispatched his team. But he was more frustrated at the fact that they did it while barely paying attention to them!

Lance completely ignored Fire Ant as he continued "I know what you're all thinking! It would be so easy for me to just get some ear plugs, isn't it? Well, you know what?! Maybe I don't WANT to get ear plugs! Maybe I feel they'd inconvenience me-" Lance's right hand balled up into a fist, as ice kept building up around it in copiously thick layers.

"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" Fire Ant's hands lit up with gigantic blue flames that bathed the entire street in its alluring azure light! He then lunged towards the Mu5keteers while delivering another blood-curdling scream.

Suddenly, Lance rushed past Tristan to throw a wild Haymaker punch with his ice-covered fist squarely in Fire Ant's face. The devastating impact sent Carlos flying in the opposite directions with a shattered helmet and traces of ice trailing behind him.

Lance's icy fist slowly melted away revealing a terribly tattered gauntlet barely covering a cold blue hand. Lance grabbed his frigid right hand, trying to warm it up as he continued "-as much as I have inconvenienced you..."

There was a heavy hush enveloping the tense scene, even the remaining conscious members of BugOUT dared not break the silence.

"....Lance...I..." Tristan finally spoke.

"There's only a week or so left before I move in to the dorms at the Academia Atlantica" Lance interjected softly "but I don't think I'll be able to stay at your place even a single night more."

Lance slowly walked past his teammates and he conjured a patch of ice beneath his feet using his Psy-Q ability of Cryokinesis. He sped off further away and out of sight of the rest of the Mu5keteers.

Priya squeezed Tristan's shoulder encouragingly. She mustered her most sympathetic tone to utter "heeeyyyy, big guy...don't let it get you down, now...."

Tristan stood in silence. His eyes stared at the horizon towards the direction Lance went.

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************Scene 2: moving out**********

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Lance zipped up his duffel bag while whistling cheerfully. Just as he was leaving his room, he met the glassy gaze of Tristan; who opened his mouth slightly as if wanting to say something before closing it shut again.

"Oh, hi Tristan!" Lance greeted his brother with a smile "you don't mind if I keep the rest of my stuff here for now, do you? I'll be moving to the dorms soon, so why bother moving it now, y'know?"

Tristan looked a bit befuddled as he mouthed and gestured in agreement. Lance was just about to cross the hallway before Tristan finally said "uh...Lance...so...where... Will you be staying?"

"Oh, here and there mostly. For now, Priya said I could crash at her place for a couple of nights. See how that goes from there."

"Ah" replied Tristan, looking away absentmindedly "that's...uh...that's good, then."

Lance reached out and gave Tristan a hug. Tristan was a bit startled at first, but then he wrapped his arms around Lance returning his hug.

"Thanks for putting up with me all these weeks, Tristan."

Tristan felt as if his guts were caught in a vice! He looked at Lance with saddened eyes.

"Lance..."

"Haha! Now that Lance the square is away, the real party can start! Amiright, bro?!" Chuckled Lance as he gave his brother a playful punch to the shoulder.

Lance then grabbed his duffel bag and strapped it on his shoulder "I'll go get settled in at Priya's and then we can all meet up tomorrow for lunch."

He then left through the apartment door, giving one last look back to Tristan while waving goodbye "see ya later, Tristan!"

The door gently closed behind Lance, leaving Tristan alone in the silence of his thoughts.

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************Scene 3: moving in************

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"This ain't exactly the Ritz" chuckled Priya as she fiddled with her keychain that contained an inexplicably huge number of keys! She stood just outside of her apartment's door while talking to Lance.

"But, hey! At least there's only one pesky house guest to deal with." She gave a look back to Lance with the biggest and stupidest smile sprawled across her face.

"...hilarious. And don't mind me too much. You'd barely notice me at all."

She finally found her apartment keys in the unholy mass of iron and brass. After unlocking the door she held the doorknob and gave a serious look over to Lance "I gotta warn you: I wasn't expecting company, so it miiiiii~iiiiight be a wee bit messy."

"Pri, I went to a very lax all-boys boarding school. Messes never really bothered me anyway"

"Haha! Love your attitude, little man" Priya swung the door wide open then dramatically gestured for Lance to enter "Step into my parlour, said the beauty to the beast"

Lance cautiously stepped into the darkened apartment as his hand reached on the wall for a light switch. That's when he felt something wet and springy squish beneath his feet. The slimy sensation sent shivers up his spine. He almost hoped to stay blissfully unaware of the true nature of the squished object beneath his feet. Unfortunately, Priya had no room to indulge his childish musings, as she flicked the light switch near the door to illuminate the harsh reality Lance will have to face.

The living room, if you could still call it that, was in complete and utter disarray! Clothes were strewn about with abandon. Discarded fast food containers sheltering half-eaten and half-rotten meals of ages past were scattered about on almost every surface. In fact, there was an open Pizza box right under Lance's feet at that very moment. The disgusted youth slowly lifted his feet up and noticed traces of moldy cheese getting stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"You can sleep on the couch there" Priya casually pointed to a spot in the centre of the living room that seems to be the epicentre of all the clutter in the apartment. The couch was barely visible underneath all the garbage.

"Y-you LIVE like this?! The Hell, Pri?"

"Hey, now" answered Priya defensively "you just caught me between cleaning days, is all."

"And I guess those happen once a year, I suppose."

"Oh, shut up!" Priya kicked most of the trash from atop the couch onto the ground "there you go, your majesty!"

Lance took a deep sigh and then proceeded to wade through the pile of scattered trash to finally sit on the couch. It was surprisingly comfy.

"If you're up to it, I'll get us some snacks..." Priya went to the kitchen and briskly wiped one of the bowls that was soaking in the sink for God knows how long. "...and then we can fire up some vidya games! Tristan and I used to do this all the time back in high school! That guy did not like to lose in Smash Bros., I can tell you-"

Priya stopped talking after she took a peek from the kitchen door to have a look at Lance, only to notice that he was sleeping soundly. She smiled softly, and went into her room. Her bedroom was a stark contrast to the living room and kitchen, as it was immaculately clean and tidy! Trendy storage systems delineated where everything goes with neat labels in beautifully legible handwriting. Priya gingerly stepped toward a chic double dresser and opened a drawer labeled "Blankets & Linens - Guests" to find rows of neatly folded blankets with varying colours and patterns. She carefully considered her options, finally settling on a light blue blanket with a domino pattern on its edges. She was pleased with her selection, thinking it would be very suitable for her house guest.

Priya quietly draped the blanket on top of the sleeping Lance. "Good night, little man. Poor guy must've been pooped."

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************Scene 4: Brunch************

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Lance picked at his food with his fork unenthusiastically. His listless expression concerned Blossom deeply. They were both sitting in a booth at the recently re-opened Brunch Eatery. Priya was also there, as she was furiously stuffing her face with waffles and washing them down with the bottomless Mimosas. After a long stretch of awkward silence, Blossom attempted to coax Lance into opening up with some small talk.

"It's amazing that just a few days ago, those BugOUT idiots blew up this restaurant..."

"Mm-Hmm" mumbled Lance passively as he dragged his fork across the unappetizing mess that used to be an elegant Belgian waffle.

Priya continued the conversation to make up for Lance's lack of interest "But I still can't believe they got off Scott-free!"

"I wouldn't call it 'Scott-free' per se" a soft-spoken voice brightly interjected. Both Lance and Blossom looked up to meet the smiling face of Jericho Landon, attorney at Law. He was carrying a tray of the healthiest items available the Brunch Eatery's buffet table.

From behind Jericho, a tall and athletic figure stepped closer carrying a tray packed with very carb-heavy menu items. Lance, Priya, and Blossom quickly recognized him as the ringleader of the same team they were just gossiping about.

"Carlos!" Shouted Blossom in surprise "what are you doing here?!"

"They have some of the best pancakes in the whole city! They're good for Carbo-loading."

"Yeah!" Priya stood up gleefully to high-five Carlos.

"N-no, I mean...you'd think blowing up the restaurant would be the easiest way to get a life-time ban..."

"Oh!" Carlos smiled as he draped his arm over Jericho's shoulder "My boy Jericho here got it all sorted out. He's the best dang Lawyer in the city! He's almost as good as these pancakes."

Carlos then looked at Jericho and playfully winked "and twice as sweet!"

"Oh, you." Smiled Jericho warmly "speaking of sweet, can you grab me a mimosa while I go find us a booth?"

"Sure, babe!" Carlos lightly kissed Jericho on the lips before rushing to get that drink.

Priya stood up carrying her empty glass "hold up, Carlos! I'm refilling mine, too."

As Carlos and Priya walked off toward the bar, Blossom looked absentmindedly to their direction. She was understandably startled when she felt Lance's cold, tiny hands grasping hers. Her face was blushing red! She did not know lance to be so direct. She knew he had an innocent, childish crush on her when they first met. But that was years ago, she told herself. He grew out of it, she reminded herself. She looked at his eyes, they looked determined, yet desperate. She knew that there's no easy way to do this: she'd have to reject him straight away to preserve the friendship, she decided!

She was just about to let Lance know of her decision when he blurted out "Please get me out of that horrid apartment!" His voice was cracked as if he was about to sob.

"Wha-?" Blossom was somewhat relieved, but no less confused by the situation.

Lance whispered as he stole hurried glances at Priya who was waiting in line for the bar "I can't live at Priya's anymore!" That place is a pig sty!"

"Seriously?!" Blossom was vexed, if a bit puzzled. She feared that Priya had gone back to her bad habits. She recalled all that time she spent with Priya coming up with a reasonable system to clean up her apartment regularly. And how they spent a whole afternoon buying the perfect dresser for her new linen collection.

"No, that's not fair. A pig sty is much, MUCH cleaner!" Mumbled Lance "but you gotta help me out! I don't want to hurt her feelings, and I can't go back to Tristan after I made that whole scene!"

He looked at Blossom with his big, sparkly eyes that look like they are a hair-trigger away from bursting into tears "Please, Blossom..."

Blossom took a deep breath and smiled softly. Sometimes, she told herself, I forget how young he is. She took Lance's hands in both of her hands and reassured him "leave it to me! I know how to be subtle..."

Priya finally made her way back from the bar and was about to sit down back in the booth. But before she could do so, Blossom dramatically wrapped her arms around Lance affectionately and addressed Priya angrily "It's not fair that you get li'l Lancey all to yourself! I wanna play with him, too!"

"Haha what?" Laughed Priya nervously, unsure if Blossom was joking or not.

"He's staying with me from now on, no questions!" Blossom suddenly stood up dragging the bewildered Lance in tow "we're getting his stuff from your apartment. BYEEE~EEE!!!"

Blossom slapped down a handful of bills on the table to cover her share - and then some! She continued to drag Lance all the way to the exit of the restaurant.

Lance finally shook off his surprise and blurted out "THAT's being subtle?!"

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Giggled Blossom "C'mon, roomie, let's get your stuff!"

**********************************************

******Scene 5: Moving in (again) *********

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Blossom opened the door to her spacious condo suite as she gestured warmly for Lance to enter ahead of her. The boy was astonished to see the luxurious and clean dwelling, which made Priya's place seem even more of a squalor in comparison. Though sparsely furnished, the few furniture neatly arranged in the suite's modern living room were very sleek and elegant. Nothing too gaudy or frivolous, it was simply functional and to the point.

However, it was impossible not to notice the huge planters strewn here and there. Lance noticed that all the planters housed lush green vines that were drooping lazily onto the floor. They were easily identified by their five pointed leaves as the Alien-borne Edan plants, which were Blossom's area of expertise.

"Wow!  That's a lot of plants." Lance said as he adjusted the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder.

Blossom seemed flustered as she replied "Y-yeah, sorry about the mess. I was running out of room to put them in the lab back there, so I had leave them out here for a bit."

"Haha, you forget where I've been crashing the last few days?" Chuckled Lance "this is nothing. It's actually quite pleasant! They have such a nice smell as well-"

Lance stopped mid-sentence as he realized why the smell was so familiar. The light, smoky fragrance from the Edan plants is something he always smelled on Blossom! His cheeks burned red with sudden realization: he'll be sleeping under the same roof as Blossom! He could not believe it! If he told himself five years ago that this would happen, his five-years-ago self would have died from giddiness -subsequently creating a temporal paradox, so it's a good thing that Time Travel does not exist yet.

"Lance?" Blossom reached out a hand touching Lance's shoulder.

Lance nearly jumped from her touch. He was just about to come up with an excuse to leave as quickly as possible, if it wasn't for Blossom ushering him toward the guest room.

"C'mon, sweetie, you must be exhausted"

Lance reluctantly stumbled into the dimly lit guest room, which was strange since the fancy chandelier was turned off, so the windowless room should have been completely dark. He turned his head toward the source of the light in the corner of the room. His eyes widened in shock and he felt goosebumps all over his skin.

In the corner of the room there were several lit candles underneath a literal wall of pictures varying in size, shape, and material; from glossy photo paper, to black and white newsprint. Some were as small as passport photos, while others were poster-sized and took up a good chunk of the wall. Despite these differences, they all had one thing in common: they were all pictures of Armand Hammer, Blossom's deceased boyfriend and the original Ice Musketeer. His shoulder length golden locks shone in the candle lights from several of the colour pictures comprising the eerie shrine.

Blossom cheerfully turned on the light switch of the chandelier, revealing even more pictures of Armand on the other walls, as well as on the table and nightstand. The weird shrine wasn't only confined to the corner, the whole room was a shrine!

"Make yourself comfortable!" Blossom smiled as she was about to leave the room.

She can't be serious, Lance thought to himself, is this some kind of sick joke?!

"Ummm-" Lance started to speak before deciding to remain silent. Even though it's already been five years since that day, it's possible that Blossom is not completely over the death of her beloved Armand. This must be her way of dealing with her loss, thought Lance to himself, who am I to judge how she copes?

Blossom turned around to lance and looked puzzled "something the matter, Lance?"

Lance nervously avoided eye contact as he mumbled "o-oh n-nothing"

Blossom walked slowly toward Lance and stared at him quite menacingly "you'd tell me if there's anything wrong, right? You wouldn't try to hide it from me, would you?"

Lance backed away slowly while sweating nervously. He managed to stammer out "N-nah! Me? Pshhht! Of c-course not."

Blossom looked sternly toward him for a few seconds, then her features softened up to her usual pleasant self "OK! Just wanted to make sure!"

Lance finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was not sure if Blossom was really that oblivious, or was she just sadistically enjoying watching his reaction.

Suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of two distinct distress signals emanating simultaneously from both his and Blossom's SmartBands. They both brandished their SmartBands with the blinking HoloOrb facing upward.

"Lance here."

"Blossom here. Go ahead, Sarah."

The HoloOrb stopped blinking after processing the vocal pattern authentication protocols. Recognizing them to be the correct recipients, the orb glowed brightly while emitting a beam of light that manifested a small holographic screen at a comfortable eye-level of its users.

The screen showed a lab coat-clad young woman seated in front of the monitoring station at Mu5keteer Command Centre. Sarah adjusted her brightly-coloured floral hijab as she said "Attention all Mu5keteers: we have a hostage situation in the confectionery district. An unknown challenger team have taken control of La vie en Rose Chocolate factory and has taken around 50 employees hostage. They demanded that the Mu5keteers come to challenge them."

"Wait" Lance interjected "they want to challenge us? Why not just demand that we concede the title to them like every other challenger team we faced?"

"That's a good question, Lance." Replied Sarah sarcastically "maybe you could ask them yourself while you're saving the hostages!"

The screen went black and flickered off as Sarah turned off the signal.

"Well, you heard the boss." Blossom said earnestly "time to suit up!"

She held her SmartBand out in front of her, and Lance followed suit. They both took a deep breath and recited clearly toward the SmartBand's microphone "One for All...”

Holographic vines spread from the HoloOrb on Blossom's SmartBand, they quickly covered her hand and continued up her arms. The vines sprouted beautiful white flowers that rapidly burst in an explosion of petals; and as they disappear into the aether, Blossom's green Musketeer outfit is revealed underneath them! This pattern of "vines > blooming flowers > exploding petals > costume reveal" continued on every part of her body until she stood clad in her Green Mu5keteer outfit.

Similarly, Lance's HoloOrb on his SmartBand generated a sheet of spikey icicles covering his entire body, encasing him in ice.  Cracks started to form on the holographic ice cocoon, they quickly sprawled across the entire edifice until the whole thing exploded in a hail of holographic ice revealing Lance in his Ice Mu5keteer outfit!

"...AND ALL FOR VICTORY!!" Both Blossom and Lance recited the rest of the Mu5keteer battle cry with their trademarked enthusiasm!

"Huh..."

"What is it, Lance?" Blossom glanced toward him curiously.

"My duffle bag..." Lance looked around and kept patting his shoulders and back trying to fruitlessly find the missing bag.

"Ha!" Blossom laughed sweetly "it must have teleported to your locker in HQ during the outfit transformation."

Blossom walked briskly toward the spacious 14th floor balcony as she dragged Lance by his hand "C'mon, we can get it later! We have to get to the chocolate factory!"

**********************************************

******Scene 6: In the Name of Love...****

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"I-it's not too tight, is it?" A flustered, soft voice that belies the massive, hulking build of its owner asked meekly.

She was dressed in an elaborate fuchsia-coloured costume with lots of frills and flowy pieces of fabric, which surprisingly worked wonders to highlight her impressive biceps. The outfit had an overwhelmingly prolific heart motif that was accentuated by a giant pink heart centred in her Tiara with faint cursive writing that say [Philia].

"O-oh not at all!" The middle-aged factory foreman blushed and stammered slightly at his captive's concerned words "It's actually quite soft..."

"I am glad to hear it" a melodic voice softly wafted through the air, accompanied by its equally angelic originator. She wore what appears to be an overly ornate rose-coloured nun's habits. Her sheer skirt and frills were floating softly just a few inches off the ground. Her outfit was similarly adorned with a heart motif, albeit with some crosses thrown in for good measure. A faint cursive writing on her heart-and-cross brooch reads [Agape].

"Ludus there chose the rope herself. It's 100% organic bamboo fibers. She really wanted to make sure no one was uncomfortable" the angelic figure named Agape gestured toward a young brunette with pink highlights and pigtails. The girl blushed brightly enough to match the salmon colour of her sleeveless outfit. She fiddled with the hem of her short skort as she blurted out defensively "I-I didn't do it because I was concerned or anything! I just thought the bamboo fibre would be stronger, that's all!"

"HA! You are simply too adorable, Ludus" chuckled a tall, dark, and beautiful woman with a head full of curly dark brown hair. Her luscious lips curled upward in a seductive smile, which were glistening the same shade of wild magenta as her low-cut outfit.

She walked confidently toward one of the young male hostages who was tied up to folding chair. "If you're staking claims already, I better make my move, too. I call dips on this hottie..." She then lifted her fishnet-stocking clad leg and rested her high-heels in the small visible area of the seat that lie between the hostage's thighs.

Eros then bent down closer to his face and asked in a breathy voice "You look like a man who does not...dislike...being tied up. Isn't that right..." She traced her hand from the man's trembling neck, down to his shoulder, finally stopping to fidget with the plastic ID badge clipped on his front shirt pocket. "...John?"

John swallowed and cleared his throat nervously as he stammered "w-well ...ahem... Uh...."

"Eros, please do not tease the hostages."

A stern, yet caring, voice called out from the back of the cafeteria room where all 50 hostages of the La Vie en Rose Chocolate factory were corralled. All 50 pairs of eyes, along with the 4 extra pairs of their captors, turned toward the direction of the voice to meet the serious gaze of their leader's dark green eyes which were adorned with thick, dark eyebrows that match the long dark hair that flowed past her waist. She carried herself proudly and walked with a warrior's gait. Her flowing pink cape, pink epaulets, and pink saber resting at her waist as it dangles close to her flowing pink skirt: they all contributed to giving her an air of military might and leadership. A heart-shaped medal pinned to her left breast sports a faint cursive writing identifying her as [Pragma]

“Heh, sorry, boss." Smiled Eros as she played with her hair "I just couldn't help myself...."

She put her foot back on the ground and walked away slowly while caressing John's blushing cheeks. "...But can you blame me?"

Pragma smiled softly, she then scanned the room to make sure she got everyone's attention before speaking in an authoritative, yet gentle, voice "My name is Pragma, I represent Longstanding Love, and we are the Love Maidens. We apologize for troubling you. Once the matter is settled, you may return to your peaceful lives."

She then grabbed her sheathed saber and held it out in front of her dramatically "I swear by my blade that once we're your sanctioned Hero Team, your lives will be threatened never more!"

In a bizarre - yet probable and extensively documented - behaviour, the hostages' eyes glinted with sympathy and admiration for their captors.

Suddenly, a yellow figure crashed through the cafeteria's skylight and expertly performed a few somersaults before landing gracefully on the ground below!

"HA!!! Eat it, nerd!" Priya exclaimed loudly as she looked up toward Tristan who flew in through the shattered skylight.

"Tch! You got lucky. All those skyscrapers were in my way..." Tristan pouted as he landed gracefully next to Priya.

Lance and Blossom made their respective entrances through opposite entrances of the cafeteria, as they planned beforehand to surround the captors.

"All right, ladies" Tristan addressed the Love Maidens while ignoring Priya's exceedingly smug smile "We're here to accept your challenge. Just let these people go, they got nothing to do with this."

"Indeed" replied Pragma "but they shall remain here as witnesses to the collapse of the false-wait a minute..."

Pragma stared at the Mu5keteers angrily before growling "where is he?!"

"Uhhh...where is who?" Lance nervously asked

"It's 'where is whom', little brother." Tristan smiled as he patted on Lance's blue hat.

"It's really not." Blossom chimed in, feeling a slight case of second-hand embarrassment.

"WHO ELSE WOULD I BE TALKING ABOUT?!" Pragma shouted "The false idol of love-"

At that exact moment, the Love Mu5keteer finally caught up the rest of his teammates as he landed with a thud through the shattered skylight.

"-HIM!" Pragma pointed her sword toward the tardy Musketeer "Leopold Wong, the Love Musketeer! We are the Love Maidens, the true embodiments of love, sworn to protect this city! You are a false symbol of love, and must be crushed beneath our boot heel!!"

"Wow. First of all, rude." Leopold adjusted his hat trying his best to conceal his irritation. "Second, what makes me a false idol?"

"What kind of idol of love would stumble around like a hippopotamus?!" Pragma shouted in reply.

"And you're about as handsome as one, too" added Eros with a sarcastic smile

"You're probably some kind of pervert!" Ludus yelled in a huff

"Y-yeah" nervously agreed Philia

"God loves all his creatures" softly smiled Agape "take solace in the belief that at least one person loves you."

"Okay, that's enough of that" Priya barley contained her rage as her eyed faintly glowed yellow and electricity crackled from her Tesla Gauntlets.

She was about to pounce and wreak havoc upon the Love Maidens, if it weren't for a giant pink gloved hand that gently held her back by her shoulder.

"It's ok, Priya"

"It's not, Lee!!" Priya shouted at Leopold who walked calmly toward the Love Maidens. "How can you let them-"

Priya stopped mid-sentence as she felt another gloved hand holding her back by her other shoulder. She looked back toward its owner to see Tristan's concerned face look at the back of his old pal.

"I could ask you the same" said Priya, directing her ire toward Tristan "he's our friend! How can you let them just say those horrible things to him?!"

"You think Lee was ever bothered by anyone talking smack about him?" Tristan calmly answered "he's the sweetest, most loving human being I ever met, and he can tolerate an extraordinary amount of hate and bitterness..."

At that moment, Leopold stood in front of the Love Maidens who nervously adopted a defensive stance instinctively due to his intimidating size. Tristan continued "...But those girls are going to wish they stuck to badmouthing him rather than question his dedication to the concept of love."

"I had high hopes for you" Leopold calmly addressed the Love Maidens "seeing fellow warriors of love warmed my heart, and gave me hope for the future. However..."

Leopold slowly lifted his head, his usually half-closed eyes are wide open in anger as they glowed faintly with a pink hue "...I cannot abide by such shallowness tainting the essence of love!"

The maidens felt a low rumble around Lee that urged them to instinctively jump back. Their instincts proved to have been correct, as the ground crumpled violently in a 3-meter radius around the Love Musketeer. His bulky gravity boots glowed red instead of its idle blue aura.

"Don't you know what love is?!" Leopold cried out as he squatted low.

With blinding speed that belies his girth, Leopold kicked off the ground and charged toward the biggest target among the Love Maidens: the powerhouse Philia!

The raven-haired Maiden fumbled a bit with the transforming gauntlets in her hands, but she was finally able to switch from the standby gauntlet mode to the defensive bucklers just in time to barely block Leopold's charging open-palm strike! The thunderous impact sent Philia flying in the opposite direction as Leopold shifted his attention to the other Maidens who have already brandished their weapons.

"Love is patient, love is kind." Leopold recited diligently as he unsheathed his rapier to parry the slashes of Pragma's saber and the bludgeoning strikes of Ludus' Bo staff. "It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

While being occupied by Pragma and Ludus, Eros took the chance to position herself behind Leopold and out of his effective range. She then removed her heart-adorned whip from its back-strapped holster and unfurled it noiselessly. After expertly winding-up the whip, she aimed precisely at Leopold's sword hand in an attempt to disarm him. To her surprise, Leopold whirled around and grabbed the whip with his free hand while still continuing his speech undeterred "It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

As he said those words, he wrapped the whip around his forearm to get a good enough grip to pull Eros toward him.  Ludus futile attempts at resistance were for naught, as her svelte form went hurtling in the air before Leopold aimed her toward Ludus and Pragma. The impact of the three Maidens sent them tumbling to the ground, but behind them a rose-coloured figure flew into the air.  

"You dare quote scriptures to me?!" Although Agape's angelic demeanor barely changed, a noticeable twinge of rage can be felt as she spat out those words.

Her magnificent dress glowed pink with the light of various anti-grav discs sewn into the fabric; which allowed her to stay afloat like a deadly jellyfish! Agape waved her hands close to two giant silver crosses strapped besides her hips. The proximity sensors triggered the mechanisms in the crosses to spring out what appears to be a gun handle from the short end of each cross. The other end split menacingly and an eerie pink light glowed from within. She grabbed her cross-shaped ray guns and began firing pink plasma bursts at Leopold.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." Leopold weaved through the barrage of pink death unperturbed, the plasma bursts seemingly veer slightly away from him. He quickly slid beneath one of the Cafeteria's tables and lifted his legs up to touch its underside.

With a mighty heave - and a little help from his gravity boots - Leopold flung the table upwards toward the surprised Agape. The table struck her entire body and lifted her all the way to collide with the ceiling, producing a mighty thud! All the while, Leopold dutifully continuing his lecture while on his back "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

A shadow rapidly increasing in size draped Leopold's body, who reacted just in time to avoid Philia's crushing double-fisted hammer blow. Ludus and Pragma regrouped and joined Philia in a desperate attack on the titan.

"Love never fails." Leopold parried Pragma's saber and grabbed Ludus' staff with his free hand.

"But where there are prophecies, they will cease..." He whirled with the staff in hand, dragging Ludus alongside him before flinging her toward the ground - barely missing her teammates.

"...where there are tongues, they will be stilled..." Leopold then stabbed his rapier into the ground as he locked both hands with those of the charging Philia. Though not as bulky, she was slightly taller than Leopold and sported more well defined muscles. Alas, this was no contest of strength, but one of technique and experience! As Leopold displayed his years of fighting experience to use Philia's momentum against her in an expert Judo throw that left her face down on the ground.  Using the spinning momentum of the grabbling move, Leopold whirled around and grabbed his sword from the ground just in time to block Pragma's vengeful saber!

"...where there is knowledge, it will pass away." Leopold finally completed reciting his favourite quote as he locked swords with the last remaining Love Maiden standing.

"H-how?" Pragma stuttered in frustration, tears welling up in her proud eyes. "How are you so strong?!"

Leopold simply smiled "as a fellow warrior of love, you already know the answer..." He then expertly twisted his blade and flung her sword upward, disarming Pragma in the process. As he grabbed the fallen saber, he pointed the tip of his rapier toward Pragma's neck while resuming

"...it's because Love conquers all."

Pragma's eyes softened and her tense hands went limp as she fell to her knees with downcast eyes. She was able to meekly admit with a quivering voice "I...I c-concede..."

Leopold sighed deeply as his shoulders drooped with exhaustion "Oh thank God! I'm about to collapse!"

"THAT WAS AMAZING!!"

Leopold nearly stumbled due to the sudden weight on his shoulders as Lance pounced ecstatically while embracing him from behind. The other Mu5keteers were right behind Lance as they all rushed joyfully lauding Lee's fantastic feat!

Blossom brandished her SmartBand that was transmitting with the supervising officer of the police barricade outside throughout the entire debacle. She brought the HoloOrb closer to her lips and declared "Captors have been subdued, and the hostages are secure."

"Roger that" answered a gruff voice "we'll take it from here."

Within seconds, the wrecked cafeteria quickly filled up with S.W.A.T.-geared police officers. They moved quickly and efficiently to detain the defeated Love Maidens, as well as releasing the hostages from their bondage.

The Mu5keteers quietly made their way outside, with both Tristan and Priya supporting the exhausted Leopold out proudly. One by one, they transformed back to their street clothes. All except for Lance, who futilely kept pressing the manual recall button on his SmartBand's holographic screen in order to transform back, but to no avail.

"Yeah, sorry, Lance." Leopold scratched the back of his head "We had to shut your teleport module off temporarily"

"Huh? Why is that?!"

"Well, you had your duffel bag on you when you transformed, right?" Leopold replied.

"Y-yeah...?"

"You know how the transformation works, don't you?" Leopold explained, going into 'Professor Lee' mode "Your clothes are teleported and switched with the Mu5keteer outfit that's kept in your locker back in HQ. As you know, the matter teleportation device that was developed by Tristan and me is still technically a prototype. It was not designed to teleport an entire duffel bag worth of matter along with your clothes. It didn't catch on fire or anything, but I had to take your module offline and run diagnostics just to be safe. 99% sure that it's nothing, but I can't risk the quark accelerator overheating, it was already overclocked as it is! But then again, the buffer algorithm was slipshod to begin with. Your hotshot programmer brother thought it was fine, but I always told him that theta compilers were not reliable-"

Leopold paused a second as he noticed Lance's confusion. He sighed realizing he was babbling again and simply explained "Anyway, we had to shut down your locker. You'll need to come with me to HQ and get your stuff back."

Leopold looked outside and noticed that it was getting dark. His eyes lit up and he quickly turned to Lance asking "Oh, here's an idea! Why don't you spend the night at HQ with me and the wife? I'm sure Sarah would love to have you over! You can go back to Blossom's place in the morning-"

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA" Lance excitedly interrupted Lee, as memories of the guest room/dead-boyfriend-shrine awaiting him at Blossom's gave him chills.

"O-oh, all right, then!" Leopold smiled nervously at Lance's enthusiasm "next stop: Mu5keteer HQ!"

**********************************************

**********Scene 7: HQ sweet HQ********

**********************************************

Leopold lead Lance through the ornate revolving doors of the historic Arcadia Tower Building, one of Atlantica City most famous landmarks. The Building is very prominent in the city's skyline and has been around for many years. Its massive lobby, adorned with numerous plaques and statues commemorating the tower's rich history. Lance kept staring around in awe as he followed Leopold who confidently made his way to the elevators.

Instead of pressing the buttons of the main four elevators, Leopold walked a little beside them as he came across a smaller elevator door. Instead of a standard call buttons, there was a sophisticated biometric scanner and a SmartBand authenticator module.

Leopold brandished his SmartBand closer to the authenticator, which glowed yellow for a second before turning green. He turned his head up toward a blinking red light and spoke clearly "Wong, Leopold; plus one."

"VOICE RECOGNITION: MATCH" a robotic voice emanated from the speaker atop the elevator door, as a red light scanned Leopold's face. "FACIAL RECOGNITION: MATCH. RETINA SCAN: MATCH."

The light turned off, and a yellow light glowed from the screen of the biometric scanner; indicating for Leopold to place his palm on it.

"What's with the voice?!" Lance asked curiously.

"It's great, isn't it?" Leopold answered excitedly as he placed his palm on the screen as indicated "Sarah and I were going for that retro science-liar feel. So we found a soundboard program online for Zankarr. You know, that evil robot king from that old Japanese Sentai show Wild deRanger?"

"FINGER PRINTS: MATCH." The red light atop the elevator turned a bright green as a cheerful tune played from the speakers indicating that the elevator doors are opening "WELCOME HOME, FLESHY BOSS-MAN." The recording's voice changed slightly as it added "plus one."

"Sorry, I hadn't gotten around to adding your biometric data into the database yet." Leopold apologized as he pushed on one of two buttons on the elevators, the one marked with the Mu5keteer's logo. "We can do it tomorrow morning so that you can come and go whenever you please."

"Are you sure about that?" Lance asked quizzically "you and Sarah live here, I don't want to intrude. Besides, I'm only here for a day or two, tops!"

"HA! Why would we mind?" Chuckled Leopold "the entire top floor is our team's HQ. Ideally, we should all be living here together. We certainly have the room. But it wasn't convenient for everybody, so they all stayed at their own places and only Sarah and I moved in."

The high speed elevator gradually reduced its ascending velocity as it neared the secluded 76th floor, inaccessible to the public and only authorized individuals are allowed entrance. An electronic chime sounded off as the elevator completely stopped and the same robotic voice from earlier declared "YOU HAVE NOW REACHED THE 76TH FLOOR, HOME OF THE MU5KETEERS!"

The doors opened revealing a spacious loft, its ceiling was at least three stories high! Gigantic screens took up most of the space on the walls, each screen showing multiple major intersections and famous landmarks in Atlantica city. A colour-coded ticker tape running across all the screens displayed a transcribed version of the city's police band; the ticker tape had a predominantly green background, indicating low-level incidents already handled by the police force and hence not requiring the Mu5keteer's intervention. At the end of the long foyer, a complex console with three large holo-screens was situated in the middle of two spiral staircases that go up to the second and third floors of the loft. The gigantic swivel chair in front of the main console whirled toward Lance and Leopold, revealing Sarah with a half-eaten doughnut hanging from her mouth.

"LFffPoffLD!" Her muffled voice barely coherent through her stuffed mouth.

Sarah coughed as she almost choked on her doughnut. She swallowed hard and called out "And Lance! Finally gracing us with your presence, your highness?"

  "Hi, Sarah" Lance smiled nervously.

"Ah, lay off the guy, honey" Leopold wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulder "he's our new roomie!"

Sarah jumped out of her seat "Seriously?! Aw, that's awesome! Let's get you to your room, but first..."

She took long strides to leap into Leopold's arm, kissing him passionately "...missed you, pookie-poo"

"Missed you more, sweetums!"

Lance nervously averted his gaze away from the happy couple, embarrassed by this gratuitous display of affection inches away from him.

"Oops! Sorry, Lance." Sarah looked toward Lance sympathetically.

"O-oh don't mind me..." Stammered Lance awkwardly.

Sarah looked back to Leopold "we better tone it down a bit, now that we have a roommate."

"But not too much, right?" Smiled Leopold as he gently kissed Sarah's neck.

Sarah's cheeks burned bright red as she giggled "Oh, Leopold! You're so bad!"

Lance turned his head away in awkward embarrassment, when he noticed that the second floor doors on the right-hand side have a symbol on them for each Mu5keteer's emblem.

"Uh, H-hey, I guess, that's my room up there, huh?" He pointed toward the second door from the staircase that had the diamond shaped emblem of the Ice Musketeer. "I'll uh just go and get some sleep. Seeyouguyslatergoodnight!"

With that hasty goodbye, Lance made his way up the staircase, three steps at a time, until he reached the unlocked room. The door slammed behind him as he quickly entered the room.

"Oh, jeez." Sighed Sarah "do you think we overdid it?"

Leopold shrugged in response before kissing her again.

**********************************************

****Scene 8: Breakfast at Leopold's (and Sarah's)******

**********************************************

"Mphhfffzzzat eggs?"

A dishevelled Sarah wearily mumbled as she lay half-awake on the bed next to the sleeping Leopold.

"Hmmm?" Leopold grunted in response without opening his eyes.

"Whut time izzit?" She reached her hand to grab an alarm clock shaped like a fluffy bunny that was on top of the nightstand next to her side of the bed.

"IT'S 9:13!!!" Sarah shouted in shock as she violently shook Leopold in an attempt to rouse him quicker "Wake up, Lee!! The alarm didn't go off!"

She left Lee slowly waking up as she leapt from her side of the bed in her yellow bunny-themed pyjamas. Her messy brown hair getting in front of her face as she hastily brushes her teeth while getting her clothes ready.

"Whuzz rong, bae?" Leopold sleepily asked as he stood at the open door of their bathroom while leisurely scratching his belly. "Whutz the hurry?"

"Lee, I told you" she hastily replied as she quickly got dressed "I'm expecting new volunteers starting to work the dispatch shifts today."

Leopold began washing his face as he recalled "oh, yeah! The summer kids are going to school soon, I forgot."

"Yeah, I wanted to wake up early to get everything sorted before they come in today at 10AM" Sarah was clumsily adjusting her Hijab as she made her way out of their quarters on the second floor and onto the main foyer.

"Oh, Good morning Sarah!" She looked puzzlingly toward the voice on the other second floor across the way from her. Lance was standing in the middle of the spacious kitchen area while wearing an extremely loose frilly pink apron; obviously belonging to Leopold. Sarah looked at the pan and spatula in Lance's hand and she finally realized the source of that mysterious egg smell that awakened her.

"Uh good morning, Lance" she walked across the bridge connecting the two second floors. "What's uh what's going on, big guy?"

"I thought you guys were going to sleep in, so I was planning on making you breakfast in bed." Lance looked away embarrassedly "y'know, as thanks for letting me crash here."

He quickly turned over the French toasts on the pan, he was satisfied to see it turned a nice golden brown. "It's nothin' special, just French toast and omelettes." Lance dusted the French toasts with powdered sugar as he put the final touches to the placement of the two breakfast trays.

"Oooh! Finch Toast!" Leopold licked his lips expectantly.

Sarah whirled around to her husband and she muttered "I-I just can't..."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Lance asked in confusion.

"I'M SORRY, SWEETIE!!" tears welled up in Sarah's eyes as she hugged the surprised Lance closely "I-I didn't want to do it but they convinced me ...FORCED me, actually..."

"What are you talking about?" Lance tried to squirm loose from Sarah's embrace, but with little luck.

"We planned on making you so sick of our lovey-dovey lifestyle that you'd have to move back with Tristan" Leopold answered flatly as he munched on his breakfast "boy, this is really good. Did you put rosemary in the omelette-"

"Wait wait wait wait..." Lance interrupted "what do you mean 'you planned' it? Who else was on it? And why?"

Sarah finally let go of Lance and fiddled with her hands slightly ashamed yet relieved to be confessing this little scheme "Tristan was feeling really down because of what happened after the BugOUT fight. We all tried cheering him up, and he'd smile and laugh and all that, but you can tell he's just keeping it inside. So we...uh...we thought it would cheer him up if we made you decide on your own that you wanted to go back to living with Tristan again. And they decided that the best way to do that is to make you hate living with any of us..."

"No offence, Sarah, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard" Lance shook his in disbelief

"That's what I told Lee!"

"To be fair" Leopold interjected while licking the powdered sugar from his fingers "we were very drunk at the time"

"I wasn't!" Sarah retorted defensively.

"Which only means you're double guilty." Leopold smiled before taking a huge gulp of orange juice.

"It all makes sense now!" Lance grabbed his head in slow realization "is that why Priya's place was trashed?!"

"Hehehe, you never went to her room, did you?" Smirked Leopold "I bet it was spotless. The day you left, she practically drowned her apartment in cleaning products trying to get it back to her usual standards."

"Uh-huh" Lance mumbled unconvincingly, it was hard to picture Priya's living room without all that garbage "but what was up with your plan?! Why did you think that I would want to leave because of you guys being extra ...um... Affectionate?"

"I don't know, man" Leopold threw up his arms in frustration "we had to improvise! Beside, wasn't that kind of the reason you left Tristan's apartment in the first place?! We get it: you're a love-hater."

"I'm not a love-hater!" Lance yelled out in shock "don't tell me that's what you guys think of me?! Aw jeez..."

Lance's eyes widened as he recalled "Does Blossom think I hate love, too?! Arggggghh! Is that why she decided to build that Armand shrine? To scare me off because I'm a 'love -hater', huh?"

"Uhhh, no..." Leopold and Sarah looked down nervously, then Lee continued "she's been building that shrine since he passed away..."

"We...uhh..." Sarah stammered "just could not confront her about it..."

"You know how she can get..." Leopold added cautiously.

All three stood in awkward silence as each recalled their own experiences dealing with that Blossom. However, they were startled by a muzak tune followed by the grating robotic voice punctuated by another more human voice "ELEVATOR ENTRY AUTHORIZED. AUTHORIZED USER...Tristan Dumas...PLUS.... FIVE...STANDBY, FLESHY ONES!"

"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed as she rushed downstairs toward the Command Centre "they're here already!"

She removed her SmartBand from its charging station and quickly strapped it on her wrist. The holographic screen lit up in front of her outstretched hand as Sarah pulled up the file on the new volunteers.

"I can't believe they actually got off with just community service" Sarah mumbled to herself as Lance joined her in the foyer, while Leopold stayed in the kitchen cleaning up "thank God for our revolving door criminal justice system."

"Huh?" Lance crossed his arms perplexed "your volunteers are criminals?!"

"I know what you're thinking. I thought it was weird, too." Replied Sarah with her eyes still on the digital dossier "but they actually requested to volunteer here at Command Central."

The muzak tune chimed again, followed by the robotic voice "YOU HAVE NOW REACHED THE 76TH FLOOR, HOME OF THE MU5KETEERS!"

The elevator doors sled open revealing Tristan in a smart casual suit, behind him were five young women who looked oddly familiar to Lance.

"Wait a minnit" Lance suddenly recognized the women being escorted by his brother "You're those Love Maidens lunatics! How in the hell did you get off so quickly-"

"I'll give you one guess, little bro" smiled Tristan

"Uggghh" Lance smacked his palm on his face in frustration "damn that smooth Landon!"

"Uh-hey...I'm sorry about yesterday..." The giant yet oddly timid short-haired girl mumbled meekly "I-I hope we can be friends now"

"Of course, we can!" Interjected Sarah excitedly "first of all, I'd like to welcome you ladies to the Command Centre. My name is Sarah Hessler, I'm the Mu5keteer's Coordinator and Dispatch. I will be supervising you all during your appointed community service period."

Sarah then turned to the tall girl who spoke earlier "you must be Minowa Runningbear, alias Philia - which stands for the kind of love between friends, right?"

"Y-yes" Minowa blushed slightly” m-my friends call me 'Minnie', so I g-guess you can, too..."

"Thank you, Minnie." Sarah smiled warmly and then turned her attention toward the other maidens.

"Agatha Deveraux, alias Eros" a pair of luscious lips curled into a sultry smirk as if in acknowledgment "I...uh...I guess it's kinda self-explanatory what type of love you represent"

"Mmm-hmmm" Agatha curled her dark brown hair in her fingers playfully "but I would have loved to hear you say it"

"Ahem" Sarah blushed nervously but quickly regained her composure "moving on! Tomiko Watanabe, alias Ludus - which stands for playful love"

"PRESENT!" Tomiko raised her hand excitedly.

"I'm not taking attendance; you don't have to call out like that"

"Could've fooled me" Tristan smirked while elbowing Lance.

"Any-way!" Sarah shot a piercing glance toward Tristan who nervously tried to evade it by looking away nonchalantly. She continued her totally-not-taking-attendance "and then we have Theresa Santiago, alias Agape. Which just so happens to be my favourite kind of love: Divine Love."

"Ah! Why thank you, darling!" Theresa smile practically lit up the entire foyer, almost rivaling the mid-morning sunlight coming in from the window!

"And finally we have Faisal Basheer...?" Sarah looked closely at the picture of the final member of the Love Maidens on her digital dossier. The picture was from an old I.D.  With a bunch of Farsi writings on it, it showed a young teenage boy with predominantly thick eyebrows.

"Actually" the last of the maidens quietly interjected. Her long black hair and thick eyebrows were very recognizable as belonging to Pragma, the leader of the Love Maidens. "...I prefer going by 'Feiroz', there were still some paperwork I still needed to have changed. A lot of them were from the old country, so it was difficult to go through them all with me living in Atlantica city..."

"O-oh!" Sarah blushed in embarrassment and felt guilty about her outdated data "I'm sorry, I should have double-checked the dossier I got from the courthouse! I'll make sure to update your information accordingly!"

"Thank you" replied Feiroz earnestly "I think I speak on behalf of all my compatriots when I say we are glad to be here. We're looking forward to helping the Mu5keteers keeping this city safe."

"Yeah, not to be an icy, wet blanket" Lance interrupted” but why are you helping us? You could be doing anything besides working directly under the team that whooped your asses-"

Both Tristan and Sarah kicked the rude boy in both shins "ow-OW!! N-no offence."

"Haha, none taken." Pragma smiled softly "let's just say that we are repaying a debt for a lesson well learned."

"Oh! I didn't think I'd see you guys again!" Leopold called out from the second floor kitchen.

As he made his way down the stairs, all of the maidens looked visibly perturbed. Agatha tried to play it cool, but her hands were fiddling with the zipper of her jacket. Tomiko looked away from Leopold while grabbing her arms timidly. Minnie looked down nervously as she squeezed the hem of her skirt. Theresa's face barely changed its expression, but her hands were nervously stroking her own hair relentlessly. Feiroz stood up straight as if standing at attention, her thick eyebrows knit in a fearsome scowl, which would have been more intimidating if not for her blushing red cheeks!

"Uh, you guys all right?" Leopold asked with concern as he stood in front of them.

"L-LEOPOLD!" Abruptly shouted Feiroz.

"Y-yes?" A shocked and confused Leopold answered.

"W-we're honoured to be working alongside you! And we would like to apologize-"

Leopold's outstretched hand stopped Feiroz's words as he calmly said "don't worry about it."

He lowered his hand as he continued "the honour's all mine. You'll find that the Command Centre is our lifeline. We depend on the information we get from this room so that we can protect this city. With it, we can stay one step ahead of danger and act safely and decisively! I want you to know that our lives are in your hands."

Leopold held out his hand, offering to shake Feiroz's hand "I'm counting on you, Feiroz."

Feiroz looked at Leopold's hand as she hesitantly brought her shaking hand closer to his. She was startled a bit when he reached his hand closer to clasp her hand firmly yet warmly.

As they both eventually let go, Feiroz brought her hand close to her heart while keeping her head down. Her cheeks burned bright red as she managed to stammer out a "...th-thank you..."

The other maidens tried to hide the jealous glances they were shooting at Feiroz, failing miserably in the process. Sarah, sensing a weird tension in the air, decided to get the orientation back on track "Ok, Ladies! Please follow me to get your sweet, sweet biometrics recorded in our system to get your level Beta access."

Sarah then led the Maidens to the third floor mainframe room, leaving the three men in the foyer. Tristan turned toward Lance before grimly asking "Lance, you got a minute?"

Lance faced Tristan with concern, as Tristan continued "we need to talk."

**********************************************

**********Scene 9: Clear the Air**********

**********************************************

The door to the rooftop patio of the Arcadia building flung wide open as Tristan and Lance stepped out into the morning sun. The Patio's relaxing green potted shrubbery and comfortable lounge chairs were a stark contrast to the grim faces of the Dumas brothers. Tristan took a seat on one of the lounge chairs and gestured for Lance to follow suit.

After a brief moment, Tristan let out a heavy sigh "Lance, we need to address the elephant in the room...we haven't spoken about it since you left the apartment, and I think we've been intentionally avoiding it..."

He looked up at Lance while fidgeting absentmindedly "...you are aware of my proclivity to share my nocturnal life with a multitude of nightly companions have caused you much alarm, has it not.”

"Hehe..." Giggled Lance "your vocabulary gets more eloquent the more nervous you get. Just like dad!"

"It does?" Blushed Tristan "w-well whatever, the point is you must be wondering about my... uh... extremely active social life"

"Not really-"

"You see" Tristan interrupted "when I was in high school, I found that I loved being in...relationships...with as many people as possible. Some of them at the same time! That pissed a lot of people off, as you can imagine."

Tristan got up from the lounge chair and paced the rooftop "I'm being flippant, but time has dulled the pain. The cravings I felt for something new, the pain of being tied down while still loving the one I'm trying to leave, the euphoria I felt when my inhibitions are released, and the ache I felt after my betrayals..."

Tristan clenched his fists tightly "...my life was a torment of whirling emotions. I always wondered what's wrong with me! I kept promising to change but I also keep going back to my old destructive self. I lost so many friends over this, and I lost trust in myself."

Tristan softly caressed the rooftop's garden hanging tree branches slightly above his head as he continued "it wasn't until University that I had an epiphany. There was nothing wrong with my...urges. My sin was that I was not honest with the people I was with. So I made a vow to always be truthful and upfront about everything with them before they get to know me."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Lance interjected cautiously.

"I-I have not been upfront with you" stammered Tristan in response "you were subjected to my lifestyle without talking to you about it first. I sh-should've-"

"Should've what?" Lance stood up from his seat "asked my permission? You think how you live your life was something you needed to clear with me first?"

"Y-yes? No?" Tristan looked toward Lance in confusion "I don't know! You were upset and I thought it was because-"

Lance interrupted Tristan's frantic ramblings with a tight embrace. Tristan's tense shoulders relaxed a bit as he wrapped his arms around Lance to reciprocate the hug.

"Tristan" Lance spoke with his head still nestled in his brother's chest "You don't have to ask me to accept you. You're my brother, I will always accept and love you. No matter what."

Tristan fought back the tears from his eyes. Fought and failed, that is, as his eyes misted slightly. "Lance..."

"I was so happy that I got to spend all this time with you" Lance choked slightly while letting his tears flow freely "but I realized that you have your own life here. It was clear I was in the way, and I felt I was cramping your style."

Lance then looked up toward Tristan, his big brown eyes glistening with tears "I'm sorry I yelled at you! I f-felt that I'd just get in your way and eventually you wouldn't even want me around-"

Tristan pulled Lance even closer and tightened his embrace "Never! You're my brother." Tears streamed from Tristan's eyes as he continued "I'm the one who's sorry! I should have been more perceptive. You've always been such a sweet, sensitive child. I should've made an effort to make my apartment less of a swingin' bachelor pad, and more of a home."

Lance gently broke off their embrace and said as he wiped his tears "No! You shouldn't deny who you are. I just...I just want you to know that I want you to be happy. I don't have to be comfortable with it so that I can accept you. Besides..."Lance smiled at Tristan as he continued "...I tried sleeping with ear plugs last night, just for a lark. Guess what? Not that inconvenient at all and I had the best night sleep of my life! I guess all that outburst was for nothing..."

Tristan chuckled as he grabbed Lance and patted his hair playfully "HA! My little drama queen! Well, at least you got to spend some time with the rest of the gang, they were complaining that I keep you all to myself!"

"R-really?!"

"Probably! They most definitely should, anyway..." Tristan gave another chuckle as he patted Lance "...so, do you like living at HQ?"

"It's all right" Lance answered as they were making their way back downstairs "but I'll be going back to spend the night at your apartment today"

"Wha-?! REALLY?!!" Gasped Tristan in excitement before regaining his composure "ahem, yeah, like whatev thass cool, fam..."

Lance smiled back at Tristan's flustered antics "I'm not moving back in with you, bro."

"B-but, I thought..."

"I'm going back to pack my things" Lance interrupted "did you forget? It's moving day tomorrow! School is starting soon and I gotta get settled at the dorms before then!"

Tristan pulled out his SmartBand and started typing out a text before decisively hitting the sending button "There! I just cleared my schedule! We're going to give you the send-off slash packing up party of the century!!"

Tristan put his arms around Lance's shoulders affectionately as they walked into the main foyer, while ignoring the incessant text alerts from his SmartBand.

**********************************************

*************End of Chapter 2*************

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Mu5keteer Lore #2

This is what I wrote about the powers that everyone in the Mu5keteer story has. I put most of it under the cut for your viewing pleasure :)

Psy-Q Abilities

It is unknown how psychic abilities have become so widespread on Earth. Was it the Alien's arrival? Was it the alien plants? Or was it something that happened during the post-apocalyptic, pre-arrival years?

No one knows for certain. But these are the facts:

Every single human possesses some sort of psycho kinetic ability. Those who do not demonstrate such an ability have merely not discovered it yet; they are classified as "undiscovered". Which brings up the next fact...

There is no test that can determine what kind of PSY-Q ability a person may have. Brain scans are inconclusive, and so are any other medical test. The abilities are not hereditary, either. The only way to find out is to test it out on various objects. Which can be difficult because...

PSY-Q abilities can be very broad or very specific. One person may have the ability to control all liquids, another may only control water, and a third may only be able to control salt water at precisely 23 degrees Celsius! This is why many people have Undiscovered PSY-Q, they may never get the chance to find the thing they are able to control. For example, a person living in icy Greenland may never know that they can control coconuts, because the chances of interacting with actual coconuts are very slim! Another reason that contributes to the number of Undiscovered PSY-Q...

Like muscles or skills, PSY-Q abilities must be regularly used in order to make them stronger. Neglecting them for a long period of time can cause those skills to deteriorate. Again, like muscles or skills, different people have different potentials. But everybody starts out similarly at the bottom. People who know what their PSY-Q ability is but do not actively hone it are said to have Underused PSY-Q. A vast majority of the population falls in this category.

PSY-Q stands for "Psychic Quotient", which is the standardized method of quantifying and qualifying these psychic abilities. It has three broad criteria:

(A)  PSY-Q ability: the type of psychokinetic ability and its constraints.

(B)  PSY-Q level: the level of which the person is able to use their PSY-Q ability.

(C)  PSY-Q potential: very impractical measurement and it varies from person to person; it even varies from different stages of one person's development. But every person who uses their abilities regularly can "feel" if they are close to reaching their potential or if they have more to give.

Visual representation of Psy-Q abilities

Psy-Q abilities are psychokinetic, as such the power itself is invisible and only its effect as apparent. For example, someone with hydrokinesis would be controlling water with their mind and there won't be any power-waves or something emanating from their brain; the only visible aspect is that the water moves.

There is however a curious side-effect of using Psy-Q abilities: the user's eyes glow with a colour that closely resembles the object of their control. Hydro- and Cryokinetics' eyes glow blue, botankinetics' eyes glow green, pyrokinetics' glow red, and so forth. As with most things relating to Psy-Q, this phenomenon remain unexplained by science.

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

To celebrate Pride Month, here's some of my LGBTQ+ original characters.

From left to right:

Gay Pride Flag: Carlos Luis Garcia Cervera AKA Fire Ant AKA Rival

First Appearance in Chapter 2

Bisexual Pride Flag: Tristan Dumas AKA The Fire Musketeer, leader of the Mu5keteers

First Appearance in Chapter 1

Asexual Pride Flag: Theresa Santiago AKA Agape from the Love Maidens

First Appearance in Chapter 2

[ocs-res]

MU5KETEERS Members Profile

MU5KETEERS is a boy group formed and managed by Juno Entertainment. The group consists of 5 members: Siwoo, Sam, Jasper, Zero, and Sula. The group debuted with the EP Together as One.

MU5KETEERS is known for producing and writing their own songs, as well as choreographing their own performances. The group is considered to be one of the most influential groups and have been labeled as the “Nation’s Most Beloved Idol” by various media outlets.

Fandom Name: Candy Bars

Fandom Color(s): Emerald Green

Members:

Siwoo

Stage Name: Siwoo (시우)

Given Name: Jin Si Woo (진시우)

Position: Leader, Main Vocalist

DOB: September 4

Zodiac: Virgo

Height: 180 cm (5’ 11”)

Weight: 68 kg (150 lbs)

Blood Type: O

MTBI: ISFJ-T

Nationality: Korean

Fun Facts:

He was born and raised in Jeonju, South Korea.

He has a younger brother and a younger sister.

In his spare time, he enjoys traveling domestically and improv.

He writes and choreographs the group’s songs with Zero and Sam respectively.

He is the oldest member of the group.

The other members consider him to be the “dad” of the group.

He has acted in several Korean dramas and movies.

He was chosen as one of the idols with the most acting potential along with, fellow company mate, Fuji from Celestial Q.

Sam

Stage Name: Sam (샘)

Given Name: Phaibun Saeueng (ชิตพล แซ่อึ้ง)

Position: Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist

DOB: March 19

Zodiac: Pisces

Height: 178 cm (5’ 10”)

Weight: 64 kg (141 lbs)

Blood Type: A

MBTI: ENFP-T

Nationality: Thai

Fun Facts:

He was born and raised in Lopburi, Thailand.

He has two older sisters.

In his spare time, he enjoys writing letters.

According to his members, he tends to speak in a higher pitch tone in front of the camera.

He is the shortest member of the group.

The other members chose him as the most caring member of the group and consider him to be the “mom” of the group.

He choreographs the group’s performances with Siwoo.

He is scared of dogs regardless of size because he was bitten by one as a child.

Jasper

Stage Name: Jasper (재스퍼)

Given Name: Choi Jae Hyun (최재현)

Position: Visual, Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist

DOB: June 27

Zodiac: Cancer

Height: 185 cm (6′ 1″)

Weight: 74 kg (163 lbs)

Blood Type: O

MBTI: ESTJ-A

Nationality: Korean

Fun Facts:

He was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea.

He is an only child.

In his spare time, he enjoys studying and learning new things.

He used to be a law student but later dropped out to pursue his dreams as an idol.

He lived in Canada and Australia for a couple of years.

Other celebrities have chosen him as the #1 male idol they would like to get close to.

The other members chose him as the visual and the member with the best memory.

He dislikes olives but will eat them if they’re on pizza.

Zero

Stage Name: Zero (제로)

Given Name: Ma Yao Long (马尧龙)

Position: Lead Dancer, Main Vocalist, Sub Rapper

DOB: June 8

Zodiac: Gemini

Height: 180 cm (5’ 11”)

Weight: 72 kg (159 lbs)

Blood Type: AB

MBTI: INFJ-T

Nationality: Chinese

Fun Facts:

He was born and raised in Beijing, China.

He is an only child.

In his spare time, he enjoys going on walks.

He practiced martial arts since he was a child, and his specialty is tumbling.

The other members chose him as the most athletic member.

He writes and produces the group’s songs with Sula and Siwoo respectively.

He has the highest spice tolerance of the group.

He dislikes cilantro because it tastes like soap to him.

Sula

Stage Name: Sula (수라)

Given Name: Na Sul A (나술아)

Position: Maknae, Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist

DOB: January 7

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 188 cm (6’ 2″)

Weight: 78 kg (172 lbs)

Blood Type: B

MBTI: ISFP-A

Nationality: Korean

Fun Facts:

He was born and raised in Inje, South Korea.

He is an only child.

In his spare time, he enjoys painting and crafting.

He was an MC on Music House with Fuji from Celestial Q.

He produces the group’s songs along with Zero.

The other members chose him as the vitamin and mood maker of the group.

Despite being the youngest of the group, Sula is the tallest member.

Even though he considers himself an introvert, he has the most idol friends according to the other members.

[ocs-res]

“We’re artists, babe. Enjoy it.”

[ocs-res]

“Let me show you what dreams are made out of.”

[ocs-res]

“It doesn't hurt to make a couple more friends.”

[ocs-res]

“We get to see the world that most never get to experience.”

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Mu5keteer Lore #1

So I thought the best way to build up the setting and lore of the story I'm making is by writing out little tidbits here and there about what I imagine that world to be like.

Each little tidbit focuses on a certain aspect that I wanted to express and explore more. Sometimes, I just write stuff down so that I don't forget it later.

This Tidbit is about the laws that govern the various superhero teams in the world I'm creating, I put it under a cut so that you don't have to scroll endlessly :)

The Sentai Laws

The Sentai Laws are a set of royal decrees from the Arachnae Queen Luxanna III that govern how heroes function in the City of Atlantica.

 Although they are bizarre and quite eccentric, they have been proven to curb the wave of violence and crime that have plagued the Earth Capital in the last few decades. Mostly due to the rise of people discovering their PSY-Q abilities.

The Sentai Laws state that:

 Vigilantism and "superheroing" are strictly forbidden and punished under planetary law. Breaking this law is tantamount to treason. This rule's only exception is the Sanctioned Hero Team mandate.

The Sanctioned Hero Team Mandate states that: Only one(1) hero team, consisting of up to five(5) members is exempt from the First Sentai Law and is hereby known as the Sanctioned Hero Team (referred to hereafter as Hero Team). The Hero Team will have full support of law enforcement agencies and will be treated as knights of Her Grand Majesty. They are allowed to operate however they see fit until they voluntarily retire or are disposed as outlined in the Challenger Clause.

The Challenger Clause states that citizens are allowed to form opposing Hero Teams consisting of up to five(5) members (referred to hereafter as Challenger Team). The Challenger Teams are given free reign to prove the ineffectiveness of the Hero Team by any means they see fit, however the Challenger Team is not Exempt from the First Sentai Law. Any Challenger Team caught breaking the aforementioned law will be tried for treason under Planetary Law.

 According to District of Atlantica v. Wrecking Troop, it is considered that any property damage and/or endangering of civilian lives incurred by the Challenger Team is partly the responsibility of the Sanctioned Hero Team. [Note: Challenger Teams thereafter used this precedent to get off with very light sentences for any crimes committed while challenging the Hero Team. This led to many thinly veiled criminal gangs masquerading as Challenger Teams.]

{The first three laws and the amendment are well known to the public, the last two are often forgotten even by most law scholars}

In a State of emergency, The Arachnae Monarch can deputize all challenger teams to temporary Sanctioned Teams. All newly Sanctioned Teams are therefore required to provide aid where necessary until the crises is over.

Should a Hero Team hold their status for a lengthy period of time, they are allowed to expand beyond the five(5) member limits to include an additional member. The only stipulation is that the new member must be a rival that the team has encountered at least three(3) times. [This last Law was the most baffling to lawmakers; but not so to Court biographers who noted the Queen's love for Earth's ancient Sentai shows.]

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Chapter 3 - Atlantica Academia

Here’s the third chapter of my OCs, the Mu5keteers. See more posts about them in my blog here. As always, thanks to @theoneandonlyspudbud​ for the continued support :)

Chapter 3: My Atlantica Academia

***********************************************

***********Scene 1: Moving Day************

***********************************************

Lance and Tristan waded through a throng of nervous yet eager teenagers and doting parents as they made their way through the halls of Atlantica Academia's co-ed dormitory. Lance carried his duffel bag while looking at his dorm assignment paperwork, making sure they are heading to the correct room. Tristan followed behind him dragging the rest of Lance's luggage consisting of a sturdy roll-on suitcase and a very stuffed backpack. He kept gleefully glancing around as he's filled with a euphoric wave of nostalgia.

"Wow!" Exclaimed Tristan "ye olde stomping grounds! Everything looks so much smaller than I remember..."

"Here we are!" Lance yelled out "oh, sorry to interrupt your reminiscing, grampa. I could've sworn I felt a flashback coming."

"Shut up, smart-ass!" Tristan snickered as he ruffled Lance's hair who was trying to unlock the door to his new room "It's for the best, anyway. There was an 80 to 85% chance that the hypothetical flashback you so rudely interrupted would not have been suitable for all audiences, ifyouknowwhatImean."

"HA! Gross." Lance opened the dorm room and set his duffel bag by the door. He skipped gleefully toward the window and opened the blinds, allowing the golden morning sunlight to gently waft into the small room. He then opened up the window and took a deep breath of crisp autumn air as he surveyed the quad right outside.

"Oh sweet! You guys get bunk beds?" Tristan followed him inside as he admires the room's modern decor "my old dorm had two twin beds instead, and they made the room so much smaller. But look at this! So much room for activities!"

Tristan parked the rolling luggage next to Lance's duffel bag while addressing Lance seriously "now listen, Lance. As your big brother, I have the responsibility to ask you something extremely important."

Lance grew anxious at the sudden tone shift as he stammered in reply "o-oh...is that s-so?"

"Mmm-hmmm" nodded Tristan "it's about your preferences: top or bottom?"

"W-what?" Lance blushed at this sudden and inappropriate question.

"I personally prefer top" Tristan continued frankly "but, hey, to each their own."

"I-I am not having this conversation with you!" Lance covered his face with his hand in utter embarrassment.

"Listen, bro!" Tristan shook Lance by the shoulders as he passionately pressed on "whether you choose top or bottom, it's important to be decisive and assert your dominance! That's how we Dumas men do it! You can't let others make the choice FOR you! So CHOOSE, damn you!!"

"I-I-I DON'T KNOW" Lance shouted almost tearing up "uhhhh B-BOTTOM!"

"Oh!" Tristan smiled "bottom bunk, huh? I admit, it's not my style, but you can make a little fort, I guess. That's kinda cool."

"W-wait" a hesitant Lance inquired in confusion "y-you were talking about bunk beds this whole time?"

"Why, of course!" Tristan looked at Lance with an overtly serious expression "what else would I be talking about?"

Lance narrowed his eye suspiciously "you're...you're messing with me, aren't you?"

"Why...pfft...why would you say tha-ahhahahahaha! I-I can't!" Tristan's serious facade quickly broke into a giggling fit "ahahahaa your face! Oh my God, bro!"

"You..y-you're a turd waffle!" Lance's cheeks were blushing brightly as his brows knit furiously.

"Aheeheehee...wait wait wait..." Tristan smirked while trying to stifle his laughter "so my little bro fancies himself a bottom..."

"SH-SHUT UP!" Lance's entire face flushed red in a flash of anger and sheer embarrassment "I PANICKED AND I-I JUSt BLURted it OUT!"

"It's ok, bro. Nothing to be ashamed of-"

"Out out out out out!" Lance shoved the giggling Tristan out of his room while hiding his embarrassed face.

"Hahaha ok ok! I'm going, I'm going!" Tristan wiped the tears from his eyes as he stood on the doorway "but, seriously, there's one thing I need to tell you!"

"Yeah?!" Lance angrily crossed his arms while answering curtly "what is it?"

Lance was startled as Tristan hugged him tightly. Lance's crossed arms unfolded slowly and wrapped around Tristan in a warm embrace.

"I love you, little man." Tristan said softly "and don't you forget it!"

"Right back at ya, slightly bigger man." smiled Lance as they both patted each other's back three times in unison before letting go.

"Ok, I'll leave you to settle in!" Tristan vigorously petted Lance's head, much to the dismay of the short teenager "get to sleep early and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"That's a disgustingly short list"

"Ha! True." Tristan chuckled as he playfully blew Lance a kiss "ciao!

Lance closed the door behind Tristan and then turned around to inspect his new living space for the next four years. He was used to the dorm life, as he spent his middle school years in the dorms of St. Luca School for Boys. But comparing St. Luca to the esteemed Atlantica Academia is like comparing a cup of sewer water to a glass of pristine spring water from the French Alps! He was nervous just thinking about it. Luckily, he has the weekend to acclimate to campus life before classes start on Monday.

Suddenly, Lance's train of thought was derailed as he heard a soft jiggling of the door handle along with the distinct chimes of a key chain, no doubt attached to the key currently turning in the lock.

"Oh! It's open." This must be my dorm mate, Lance thought as he went to open the door "come on in."

The door opened while dragging a pale hand still grasping on the door handle from the other side. Its owner fumbled slightly with his luggage before letting go of the door handle.

"Uh..h-hi..I'm uh B-Bob. Bob... uuh... Manson!" Lance's new roommate stammered. He was about the same height as Lance with a very slender build. His messy black hair almost covering the top of the thick frames of his glasses.

"Oh my God, you're soaked!" Lance yelled out in shock at the sight of Bob's clothes. His dark navy blue blazer was soaking wet, as were his white t-shirt and jeans "it's not even raining, what happened?!"

Bob dragged his luggage inside as he answered embarrassingly "I...uh...tripped and fell into the fountain..."

Bob shivered as a cool breeze blew in from the open window "...n-not the best start to the school year ah ah aaah AATTCHHOOOooo!!" Bob tried his best to cover up his mouth with his soaked jacket, wiping his face at the same time. Lance quickly ran to close the window.

"You've gotta get out of those clothes!" Lance ran back toward the door "Get changed and I'll go grab you something warm to drink!"

Lance stepped outside and closed the door behind him. He ran a few steps before stopping in his tracks "dang! I forgot to ask him what he wanted to drink! I'm so stupid..."

Lance hurriedly made his way back and opened the door to their dorm room before asking "sorry, Bob, I forgot to ask what-"

Lance stopped mid-sentence noticing that Bob had his back to the door and was in the middle of taking off his wet T-shirt. Again, Lance was used to people changing around him from his dormitory school days. That was not the reason he was shocked. What alarmed him were actually two points of interest.

The first being six spindly appendages that jut out from Bob's spine and hug his ribs closely. They almost look like short spider-legs covered in a fuzzy black hair.

The second was a piece of beige fabric just below Bob's shoulder blades connecting with plastic clasps along with two shoulder straps of the same colour. Lance was a bit puzzled as to what their purpose might be.

Before Lance could form a hypothesis, Bob turned around quickly toward the door! His expression was a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and a bit of fear. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the light, unhampered by his thick glasses which currently lay on the desk closer to the window. Lance didn't recognize it at first, but it became quite clear that Bob was wearing a lacey biege brassiere. Lance's initial puzzlement turned into a feeling of contentment as the mystery was resolved, which then just as quickly transformed into a shocked embarrassment as Lance realized he might have been staring a bit too long at Bob's chest.

Lance started backing away slowly while stammering "O-oh! Sorry sorry I..I-I didn't mean to sta-"

Before Lance could finish his stuttering apology, Bob lunged at the doorway with tears welling up in his eyes atop puffy red cheeks. With one swift motion, Bob grabbed Lance by the collar, whirled inside the dorm room with Lance in tow, and finally pinned him against the door from the inside, closing it in the process.

Lance panted as he slowly regained his bearings. His right hand was pinned painfully behind his back, while his cheek was pressed against the door roughly.

"W-wow..." Lance gasped "that...that was cool"

"Sh-shut up" Bob blurted out "I mean it! You can't tell anyone!"

"Ow ow ow!" Cried out Lance in pain "leggo my arm-"

Lance stopped mid-sentence as he felt two small soft lumps brush up against his pinned arm. His cheeks blushed brightly as he guessed at what they might actually be.

"Can you please put on a shirt?!" Lance yelled out nervously.

As if noticing for the first time, Bob released his grip on Lance to cover his chest with both arms. His cheeks glowed redder as he blurted out "Y-you perv! You better not turn around while I get changed!"

***************************************************

********Scene 2: (Re)Introductions************

***************************************************

Lance was fidgeting anxiously as he sat on the dorm's bare hardwood floor. He noted that Bob sat in front of him on the floor, completely unfazed by it. In fact, he looked very comfortable in his baggy grey T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"Well, it's pointless to try and hide anything now" Bob gave a deep sigh "but you'll have to PROMISE to keep it a secret. Understand?!"

"Jeez, ok! I promise!" Lance shifted uncomfortably as his butt was getting numb "why are we sitting on the floor?! There are perfectly good chairs over there!" He pointed to the two desks and their respective chairs.

"This is important!" Bob yelled impatiently "It's a tradition of my people to sit on the floor together to symbolize being on equal standing when making an oath!"

"Your people?" Lance asked incredulously.

"Wh- did you not see what's on my back?!" Bob twisted his body halfway to the side and pulled up the back of his T-shirt revealing the six spider-like appendages protruding from his spine.

"I'm an Arachnae! A juvenile Arachnae, to be exact."

"Ooh!" Lance exclaimed as he finally made the connection "I never met a maggot before, let alone an Arachnae! I only saw Queen Luxana once, and it was from really far away."

Bob pulled his shirt back down and turned to face Lance again. "Err...I would appreciate it if you don't use the M-word. It's an offensive and ageist term used by the adult Arachnae to diminish and belittle us juvenile Arachnae"

"O-oh sorry" Lance looked down in embarrassment "I-I didn't know..."

Bob smiled softly "It's ok, now you know..."

"So, wait" Lance looked up with a curious expression on his face "as I recall, the Arachnae alphabet doesn't have a 'B' sound..."

"Yeeee~eeah, so?"

"So" Lance replied "Bob is...not your real name, is it? It's not, like, short for Roberta or something?"

Bob sighed as he took off his glasses and ran his fingers through his thick black hair, revealing a hidden streak of bright blue hair carefully hidden underneath.

"Like I said, it's pointless to hide anything now" Bob corrected his posture to sit up straight. He looked very regal as he solemnly spoke "I am Her Royal Highness Princess Revexana, First of my name, daughter of Her Majesty Queen Luxana III and the Royal Consort Knight-General Niklas Richter."

Lance sat dumbfounded at this sudden revelation. He has never expected to be face to face with a royalty when he woke up this morning.

"W-wait!" Lance finally broke through his shocked silence "You're a princess?! W-what are you doing here?!"

"Tchh!" Scoffed Revexana "it was so suffocating at the castle! Mom promised me that she would stop the home schooling and I will finally get to attend a regular high school! Make some regular school friends! Have a nice, romantic school life!! Y'know, the whole shebang! But then just a few months before the school year she pulled out my application because..." She then gestured air quotes with her hands mockingly "it's 'too dangerous' and that I'd be 'targeted' by 'anarchist terrorists' and whatnot!"

"You're talking about Dullahan?" Lance interrupted, referring to the anti-monarchist and anti-Arachnae terrorist organization "if they found out you're attending school and outside the watchful eyes of the Royal Guards, they'd definitely attack you..."

"WHATEVER! Ugh, you sound just like her" she looked a bit discouraged by Lance's reaction, but continued anyway "why do you think I put on this disguise?! I hacked the registrar and used a fake identity to sign up as a student here-"

"Uh-huh" Interrupted Lance " that doesn't explain why you chose to disguise yourself as a boy."

"E-excuse me?" Revexana flustered in reply

"You heard me. You could have just as easily disguised yourself as a girl." Lance pondered "it would've probably been much easier, actually..."

"Uhhh well...you see..."

"And it's a co-ed school, anyway, so it's not like you're trying to disguise yourself to get into an all-boys school or something..."

"W-well.."

"It just doesn't make any logical sense..."

"I-I KNOW THAT!!" Shouted Revexana in frustration, before regaining her composure and continuing meekly "...I-I know...ok? I just... It just felt...right. You know?"

"I'd...I'd be lying if I said I did" sighed Lance as he realized he might have overstepped his bounds "But I won't ask you about it again, your highness."

"Just...you can just call me Revexana...or Rebecca...or Becky...unless we're in public, of course!! Then you have to call me 'Bob'... or 'Bobby'...just don't blow my cover, dude!"

"Wait...'Rebecca'? 'Becky'?!"

"Yeah! That's what dad and mum call me when we're alone." Rebecca answered excitedly and her tone grew warmer as she recalled "Mom told me that dad really wanted to name me after his Grandma who passed away when he was young. But as a princess, I had to have an Arachnian name..."

"So 'Revexana' ..." Lance asked as he's piecing it together

"Yes!" Becky answered enthusiastically "Mom basically spelled out the name 'Rebecca' using the closest sounding counterpart letters in the Arachnian alphabet. She also added 'ana' at the end to make it sound like a traditional Arachnae girl name. The royal court and many Arachnae Elders did not like the nonsensical name she has chosen, but she went ahead with it despite their bellyaching!"

"Huh!" Lance smiled "that was pretty cool of her..."

"Yeah..." Becky smiled warmly for a moment before her expression quickly shifted to anger and frustration as she continued "...she must've used up all her cool points, cuz she's a real stick in the mud now!"

Lance opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the booming sound of the P.A. System.

"All right, you freshmen dormies and dormettes! I hope you got comfy in your newly assigned rooms, 'cuz we gonna ask you to bring your fine selves down to the main auditorium for Orientation Day opener!! This is your AV club captain, DJ Caleb, signing off!"

"Well, doesn't he sounds enthusiastic-"

"C'MON, LANCE" interrupted Rebecca as she bolted for the door, dragging Lance along with her "I don't want to miss anything!"

"You should probably change, then."

Becky looked down at her cozy - yet woefully unprofessional - outfit. She lifted her head up toward Lance with her cheeks burning red with embarrassment as she shoved him out of the room in a hurry.

"G-get out then!" Becky shouted as she slammed the door shut, remembering to lock it this time "I need to change!"

*************************************************

*********Scene 3: Present arms!*************

*************************************************

Lance and Bob strolled through the quad on their way back from the Orientation Day assembly in the Main Auditorium. The expansive field was full of other first year students swarming around a plethora of outdoor kiosks and stands manned by all the different clubs in Atlantica Academia.

"Bob...are you...are you seriously joining all these clubs?!" Lance asked Bob curiously, inspecting the bespectacled boy fumbling with numerous flyers, swag bags, and other freebies being distributed wantonly to entice the naïve freshmen into signing up.

"YES!" Bob answered with an enthusiastic shout "this is everything I dreamed school life would be! The camradarie! The variety! I want to...nay... I MUST try them all!!"

Before Lance can respond, Bob bumped violently into one of the senior kids from a nearby stand. The impact caused him to fall flat on his butt, sending his cornocupia of free stuff flying all around him.

"Hey! Watch it, nerd!" Spat the intimidating tall girl that Bob bumped into. Her long golden hair was styled into big helix curls with a streak of impossibly pink hair stemming from the roots all the way to the tips. Her stern piercing eyes narrowed a bit as she glared at Bob, they suddenly widened as she shot her arm to grab Bob's hand while forcing him onto his feet.

"YOU! I ... I know you, don't I?!" She stared closely at Bob's face, making Bob very nervous in the process.

"I...I just have one of those faces, y'know?" Bob mumbled meekly "sorry I bumped into yo-"

The blonde student interrupted him by aggressively yanking the glasses from Bob's face "I knew it! It's you-!!"

"Hey!" Bob shouted while squirming from her grasp "give'em back!"

Bob jumped to reach for his glasses and was able to snatch it back. The blonde schoolgirl looked furious as she approached Bob menacingly, only to be stopped by Lance stepping between them.

"Hey!" Lance spoke confidently "he said he was sorry, so back off!"

"Hey, Zilvana" one of the girls manning the nearby booth addressed the angry blonde "what's going on? Do you know this pipsqueak?!"

"You're damn right I do , 'Riana!" Zilvana replied furiously as she grabbed Bob's collar "it's her! That snooty little half-breed bitch who thinks she's too good for us!"

"I'm-I'm not who you think I am!" Bob struggled with Zilvana's iron grip "you got me confused with somebody else!"

"How dumb do you think we are?!" Snarled Zilvana, as her friends from the booth crowded around them. No one really paid attention to this little kerfuffle, as the whole quad was a litany of noises, spectacles, and just an endless sea of students.

"Wait, Zilvana! She must have ran away and she's trying to keep it a secret by wearing this stupid disguise. I don't see any of her royal lapdogs around!" whispered the short-haired brunette who was referred to as 'Riana "this could be a great chance for us!  Think of all the things we can have her do for us just so we don't rat her out."

Zilvana's lips sprawled into a nasty smile as she glared at the frightened Bob "I like that! She's gonna be my little bitch"

Lance decided that he has had enough. He couldn't bear seeing Bob's distressed face anymore, especially after how cheerful he was just a few seconds ago. However stupid and reckless it was on Bob's part, Lance wanted to protect Bob's ridiculous cover story. He acted on it by grabbing Zilvana's wrist and looking squarely at her face which was filled with an expression of shocked disgust.

"He is no one's bitch. I think you've got the wrong person."

"H-how dare you touch me, you plebe?!" Zilvana slapped Lance's hand away and quickly brought her own hand closer to her body, in an attempt to warm it up from the strange cold aura emanating from Lance.

"I dare a lot more than that" Lance calmly continued as he glanced at the name of the booth and coming up with a plan just then "you're from the fencing club, am I right?"

"HA!" Scoffed 'Riana as she flipped her hair arrogantly "you are looking at the World High School Fencing Champions, undefeated three years running! Led by the unbeatable Iron Contessa, the Lady Zilvana! Daughter of Ruxom IV, the Count of the Briton Territories-"

"Uh-huh" Lance interrupted, completely unimpressed "then, Lady Zilvana, I challenge you to a sparring match."

The members of the fencing club stared at Lance dumbfounded, before bursting into uproarious laughter!

Zilvana barely caught her breath as she spoke haltingly between fits of giggling and panting "that was a good one, kid. Why don't you run along now?"

"What?" Lance replied curtly "afraid you'll lose?"

"L-Lance, just stop" Bob nervously grabbed Lance by the arm "you don't have to do this..."

"You should listen to her and sod off, boy!" Zilvana scoffed derisively.

"No, you should listen to him and stop confusing him with someone else." replied Lance with deliberate emphasis "how about this for an incentive: I beat you, you leave us alone. You beat me, you get me at your disposal as well. You'll get two people to boss around instead of just one."

"LANCE!" Hissed Bob with mix of anger and panic.

"Hmmph!" Zilvana growled "you overestimate your worth, peasant! But I guess it never hurts to have more bootlickers..."

She then whirled dramatically to point toward a building far in the distance "I accept your challenge, whelp! Meet me in the North Building's Gymnasium at high noon. If you're late, you automatically forfeit and your ass will be mine!"

"Cool!" Lance smiled innocently before turning to the perturbed Bob clutching tightly at his arm "we have time for a quick early lunch!"

He then jaunted toward the food stands, dragging Bob along, who at this point was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

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***********Scene 4: En Garde!***************

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The clock in the North Building's Gymnasium was at five minutes to noon when a confident Lance strolled in through the huge double doors, followed closely by an uneasy Bob who kept looking around nervously. The massive gym had an incredible number of pennants hanging from the ceiling of the various competitions that Atlantica Academia's teams have won since its founding more than 400 years ago. The most prominent of them were the ones celebrating the nearly-consecutive championships won by the fencing team since its own inception merely a few years ago.

"Aha! You've decided not to run, I see!" Derided Zilvana, who was wearing her monogrammed fencing gear, while holding the fencing helmet in her left hand and resting her fencing foil on her shoulder with her right.

"I didn't need to run" Lance replied as he inspected the gear given to him by one of the members of the fencing club "I made sure to have enough time to get here after lunch"

"Tchh!" Scoffed Zilvana "I should commend you for your bravery, regardless of how foolish it is! You should concede now if you don't want me to trounce you so soundly."

"Nah, I'm good" Lance finished putting on the fencing gear, as well as the helmet, and he tested the fencing foil's weight a bit as he continued "so first to ten points wins?"

Zilvana was not amused by Lance's flippant attitude. She addressed the silent Bob with a bit of disgust "I see the princess can't even train her lapdog to have some respect for his betters."

"This is the third time now" Lance interjected coldly "I won't tolerate you referring to him that way. He is Bob Manson, a freshman, and he wants to enjoy his high school life in peace. He might be too polite to tell you off, but I have no patience for bullies like you!"

Lance closed his helmet's visor vehemently and took an experienced stance before yelling authoritatively "EN GARDE!"

Zilvana growled with rage as she put on her helmet and adopted a similar stance "I'm gonna enjoy breaking you down, you filth!"

She quickly went on the offensive, lunging ferociously at Lance who was able to deflect her strike with the slightest movement possible! Zilvana quickly dismissed his proficient parrying as beginner's luck and simply pressed on her relentless attacks, using her size and fury to intimidate her short opponent. However, Lance calmly used the size difference to his advantage, enabling him to counter her deep lunges with a pinpoint, compact strike!

"One point for me" Lance coldly remarked as he returned to his spot.

"Lucky shot!" Spat Zilvana.

"Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night." Lance replied sarcastically while re-taking his stance.

During the course of the next few minutes, Zilvana continued her offensive barrage unabated. But it proved to be futile, as Lance continued to expertly parry and counter her wild attacks with a cool and calm accuracy.

Those movement, thought Zilvana to herself as Lance was up nine points to nothing, they seem so familiar. She could've sworn she has seen them before, and it was driving her mad trying to recall from where! She used that anger to fuel a last-ditch devastating thrust with all her might, and that was when she finally remembered. She watched all those tapes from the first championship that the fencing club participated in, the one where the fledgling team defied all odds and won the international cup on their first try! Lance's tactics mirrored those of that erstwhile fencing club's co-captain/co-founder, the cool prince of fencing known for his exceptional defence and deadly counters! Their movements were impossibly identical, that Zilvana could practically see the ghost of that icy fencer overlaid perfectly over Lance's precise counter. This boy, Zilvana thought as she is struck for the tenth and last time, why does he fence just like him?

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******Scene 5: Legacy of Ice & Steel*******

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"And that's game." Lance took off his helmet while breathing deeply. He ran his fingers through his curly hair, worried that he'd get a dorky-looking helmet hair.

"Y-you..."Zilvana, still shocked at her own speculation more so than her loss, took her helmet off quickly and looked perplexedly at Lance as she continued "...why do you fight like him? Where did you learn how to fence like Armand Hammer?!!"

"Why, indeed..." Lance answered as he took off the rest of his borrowed fencing gear "Tristan always wanted to teach me to fence in his style. But I always felt it was too aggressive and risky for me. That's why I asked Armand to give me pointers, because his defensive style suited me a lot more, I felt."

Lance looked up wistfully at the huge commemorative photo of the founding members posing with their first championship trophy. They were all first year students who only had their passion and dedication to rely on as they rose to face against the world of competitive fencing! Lance gazed at the young faces of Tristan, Blossom, Priya, Leopold, and Armand as they all crowded closely around the gigantic trophy. They were the founding members of the fencing club who soon afterward formed the Challenger Team known as the Mu5keteers.

"T-Tristan..? A-Armand?" Zilvana stammered "you've been trained by the founding members?! H-how? Why?! Just who are you!"

"You know, you didn't even bother to ask for my name. That's just bad manners..." Lance calmly walked past her toward the exit near Bob "but then again, I didn't offer to introduce myself either, so I'm partly to blame..."

As he stood beside the quivering Bob, he turned to the baffled Zilvana and proclaimed "I am Lance Dumas. Tristan was my brother, and Armand was his closest friend. Everything I know about fencing, I learned it from them."

Lance looked up toward the commemorative photo again, focusing on Armand's smiling face. The few memories he had of Armand were bittersweet because of their relative shortness. He always wished he would have had the chance to speak with him one last time, just to let him know how much he appreciated all the things he taught him.

As if in response to his wish, the picture of Armand's smiling face flickered mysteriously! The strange phenomenon shocked Lance and filled him with an uneasy feeling of dread. The distortion got even more violent before a strange white-gloved hand burst forth from Armand's face, causing even more distortion to the space in front of the photo!

"GET DOWN!" Lance lunged at Zilvana, shoving her out the way of a mysterious white blur that charged out of the photo and smashed onto the gymnasium floor.

The commemorative photo was unharmed, but there were eerie aftershock of warped space where the white figure emerged. The mysterious figure stood in the middle of the gym, slowly turning its head toward Lance.

************************************************

******Scene 6: Phantom Musketeer *****

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"W-what is this..." Lance's eyes widened in                        shocked terror as he inspected the figure's outfit.

It looked exactly like a Mu5keteer's outfit but was completely stripped of colour! The patterns, the trims, the collar, and even the hat; they were all the same! The only differences were in the pieces left blank. Such as the white circle in the middle of its chest, which would have had each Mu5keteer's unique symbol emblazoned on it, now lay bare and its emptiness stare back at Lance forebodingly. This dreaded emptiness, however, is nothing compared to the ghostly blank, white face staring back at the frightened students. An outline of a face can be clearly seen from the sides, but any features simply disappear at certain angles, which puzzled Lance at first until he realized what was disturbing him about this figure: It did not lay a single shadow. Not on itself. Not on the ground. Just nothing.

The figure slowly moved its head toward Bob who was paralayzed with fear just a few feet away from Lance and Zilvana. Then it grabbed the white handle of his rapier, while holding the white sheath with his other hand. The figure slowly unsheathed the blade as the space surrounding it distorted madly with an eerie sound. The blade itself was hard to look at, as it kepts flickering in and out of existence and distorting wildly! The glow of its black sheen was hauntingly alluring. The figure's eyeless gaze never removed itself from Bob, as it slowly made its way toward him.

"Dammit!" Lance sprung to action as he looked back toward Zilvana "get out of here! Hit the fire alarm on your way out!"

"What is that thing?!" Zilvana called back in horror.

"I don't know" Lance cried back as he's running toward Bob "but he's disrespecting the uniform."

Lance skidded to a halt, defiantly standing between Bob and the ghostly figure. He brought his right hand to grasp a non-existant blade on his left side in anticipation. He hurriedly shouted his eternal creed:

"ONE FOR ALL! AND ALL FOR VICTORY!"

The transformation phrase- when uttered all at once- triggered the Emergency Suit Up Protocols, which do away with the dramatic holographic transformation sequence and prioritizes the transportation of weapons and gear first. In this case, Lance's rapier quickly materialized in his waiting hand just in time for him to brandish it against the Phantom-like figure's strike. Instead of the familiar clang of steel-on-steel, the mysterious black sword would create an unsettling, warped sound each time it struck against Lance's rapier. Lance felt overwhelmed as he noticed that the Phantom seemed to be an exceptionally skilled fencer! He wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer; at leasst he took solace in the fact that the members of the fencing club ran away to safety, triggering the fire alarm on their way out as instructed. But he noticed that there's still another student in the gymnasium with him and the monster.

"Bob!"

Lance shouted as he struggled against the strikes of his terrifying opponent "quit staring and get outta here!"

"B-but, Lance..." Tears streamed down Bob's face "...you're hurt..."

Lance was barely avoiding and parrying his opponent's strikes. Although they did not hit their intended, fatal target, what they did hit ended up accumalating a considerable number of nicks, scratches and shallow cuts. Enough to render Lance's stance wobbly and unsteady.

Lance briefly felt light headed and dizzy before seemingly regaining his balance to see a familar face smiling back at him in the midst of a white haze.

"What's wrong, champ?" A calm voice with an air of playfulness called out to Lance.

Lance recognized the person in front of him right away, but- for some reason- did not think for a second that it was strange that he was talking to him at this moment. Instead, Lance simply replied back as if in a trance.

"Armand...he's too good...his sword skills...I can't match him...everything you taught me...I failed you..."

"Hahahaha!" Armand chuckled heartily before continuing "he might be better at fencing than you, but you know, swordsmanship is not the only way we Mu5keteers fight, right?"

As if a gush of wind hit him smack in the face and awakening him, Lance suddenly found himself standing in front of the phantom figure as he readied for another attack. Lance gritted his teeth in determination.

"Dammit, Bob..." Lance exhaled deeply as he flashed a toothy smirk while the room grew exceedingly colder "don't worry about me...don't you know who... I am?"

The Phantom Musketeer's distorted ebony blade drew dangerously closer to Lance's neck, before gradually slowing down as Ice crept across the ghostly figure; eventually stopping the blade to a freezing halt less than an inch away from its target. The blade, as well as its weilder, were completely encased in crystalline ice, immobilizing the fearsome phantom.

"I'm...the gosh darned....Ice Musketeer..." Lance panted heavily as his breath congealed in a white fog in the middle of the partly frozen gymnasium. "...my sword is...not my only...weapon~"

Lance's rapier fell the the floor with a loud clang as his knees quickly followed with an equally loud thud.

"LANCE!!" Bob ran toward the fallen Lance trying to hold him up.

"I-I'm fine..." Replied Lance meekly as he pushed the recall button on his SmartBand, causing his musketeer outfit to vanish and be replaced with his regular clothes.

Bob lifted Lance and supported him as they shuffled toward the big double doors. He struggled to get the door open, and as soon as he took a peek outside, he immediately slammed it shut.

"What's wrong?" Lance inquired worriedly.

"They're outside!" hissed Bob in reply.

"Who?"

"Bruno and Montblanc!" Bob replied as he hurried away from the door, trying to find an alternate exit "they're from dad's Royal Guards! They disguised themselves as police officers on crowd control, but they must be looking for me!!"

"The Emergency Suit Up Protocols..." Lance explained as he forced himself to stand on his own "...it makes transforming faster, but it also sends an A-1 Distress Beacon and a 360-degrees panoramic snapshot of my surroundings to all law enforcement agencies. Which also includes the Royal Guards..."

"Oh no!" Bob exclaimed "they must've recognized my face, even through my brilliant disguise!"

"What disguise?" Smirked Lance "combing your hair back and wearing glasses? Yeah. I wonder how they figured out that mild-mannered Bob Manson to be the Princess once he removes his glasses-"

"Shut up shut up shut up" Bob shouted back in a panicked embarrassment as he peeked through the other exits,  only to see more Royal Guardsmen blending in with the police in the crowd outside "no good, either. I can see Sue-Ellen and Ramzi from this side. Help me find a way out!"

"Ok, just chill" Lance walked toward a small door next to the changing rooms "I know a way out of here..."

"Through the Janitor's closet?"

Lance opened the door revealing various cleaning supplies and the janitor's cart in the corner of the room. On the opposite side, a set of dials and knobs covered the entire wall. Lance pushed the cart aside, revealing a maintenance hatch underneath it.

"This leads to the access tunnels under the whole school." Said Lance as he turned the hatch's giant valve "Makes it easier for the janitorial and maintenance staff to get around."

Lance finally got it open and he looked into the dark tunnel below. He then pulled up the holographic screen on his SmartBand, and selected the lantern App from the home screen. The holographic screen flickered off and the HoloOrb it originated from shone brightly enough to illuminate the darkness of the tunnel to some degree.

"C'mon" Lance stood up and  looked toward Bob "this way!"

Lance went down the ladder first, followed closely by Bob, who closed the lid of the hatch behind him.

************************************************

*************Scene 7: On the Run**********

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"What was that thing?"

Bob's question echoed in the silent darkness as they carefully made their way through the winding tunnel. Lance shrugged in reply.

"I dunno." Lance sighed "never seen or heard of anything like it before. What I don't understand is why was he wearing a Mu5keteer's outfit."

"Speaking of outfits!" Bob interrupted with a slightly angry tone "you didn't tell me you were a friggin' superhero!!"

"Well...you never asked."

"Oh, shut up!" Bob replied indignantly, feeling betrayed "that is such a cop out answer! What am I supposed to ask? Hi, person I never met before! My name is Bob. Do you have a secret identity you would like to divulge?!"

"It's not really secret..." Answered Lance sheepishly "I have a biography page on the team's social media account."

"Are you serious?!" Bob's surprised yelp echoed in the long empty tunnel.

"Yeah, I think we have like 24 followers."

"That can't be reahahahhahahahaha!" Bob suddenly burst into laughter as he browsed the Mu5keteer's social media account to confirm Lance's claims "Oh my Lord! It's friggin' true!! Ahahahhaaahaa!"

"Psshhht, whatever" Lance shuffled onward in embarrassment "it's practically abandoned"

"Au contraire, my friend! It looks like your star is rising. You are up to 32 followers now! Aaaaand 33 now." Smiled Bob as he clicked the [follow] button

"Well, Bob" Lance replied half-mockingly "when you're fighting evil by daylight, and also fighting evil by moonlight, you don't have a lot of time to work on your online presence-"

"Check this bad bitch out!" Bob ignored Lance as he shoved the holo-screen in front of his face, which showed the page for Princess Revexana's official social media channel "I have just over a million followers! And that's not counting the ones who follow me just to fill my PM inbox with hate mail!"

"Whoah..." Lance looked over to Bob with great concern "...are you...are you ok, man?"

"Eee~eh..." Bob shrugged his shoulders vaguely, while scrolling through his inbox and deleting a ton of messages in the process.

After a few seconds of silence, Lance turned to Bob and casually said "by the way, I have absolutely no idea where we are right now."

"W-WHAT?!!" Bob jerked his head away from the holo-screen and eyed Lance with an expression of rage and panic. "What do you mean you have no ide- you were so confident back in the gym!!"

"Well, I know in theory that these tunnels connect anywhere on campus" Lance swiveled his SmartBand's lantern light in a wide arc to illuminate as much as possible "but knowing and finding my way are two different things."

"We've been walking for a really long time!" Bob yelled out in frustration "I don't think we're on campus anymore!"

"Shhh" Lance stopped abruptly as he held a hand out in Bob's way "I hear voices up ahead..."

Bob looked ahead and saw a dim light emenating from a bend in the tunnel. They both moved toward it cautiously, as the voices grew louder. As they reached the bend, Bob and Lance craned their heads slowly to take a peek inside.

The bend in the tunnel led to a wider area where a bunch of pipes and levers connected and branched out. The area was illuminated by a number of strategically placed emergency electric lanterns, while five figures worked hastily in the dim light. They did not look like custodians or maintenace staff; in fact, they looked very sketchy in their military-esque tactical gear with pouches draping the numerous belts and harnesses on their baggy black outfits.

Four of the men wore what appears to be black ski mask, with dark-tinted goggles covering the eyeholes completely. The fifth person had a similar outfit as the other mysterious figures, except for a strange collar with a small square, red gem embedded in it. Bob's eyes widened in terror as he noticed the peculiar feature of the fifth person...

"He doesn't have a head!"

Four pairs of goggles and one empty head stared toward the direrction Bob's accidentally loud musings. The headless one pointed at the two students and somehow barked an order to the others "we've been compromised! SHOOT THEM!!"

The other four quickly took cover behind culverts and pipes and took out scary-looking submachine guns aiming them squarely at Lance and Bob.

"GET BACK!" Lance pushed Bob back as he erected an ice wall that was able to stop the hail of bullets just in the nick of time! The two teens braced themselves, as the wall kept getting battered by their attackers' unrelenting firearm assault.

"W-who are those freaks?!" Bob asked, shaking like a leaf.

As if in response to his question, their attackers began reciting a menacing chant:

"Rise, Dullahan!"

"Anarchist Dullahan!!"

"Cut off the head..."

"...AND THE BODY SHALL RISE!!!"

"Does that answer your question?" sighed Lance as he tried to peek over the ice wall, only to quickly withdraw from the incoming rain of deadly bullets.

"What do we do oh God we're gonna die!" Bob cried out in panic

Lance patted Bob's shoulder in an attempt to calm him "hey hey! No need for that. Those idiots picked the worst place to setup...whatever it is they were doing!"

Bob trembled slightly, still feeling tremendows fear with each thundering bullet that strikes the ice wall protecting them. However, Lance's confidence got his curiousity as he inquired "whu-what do you mean?!"

Lance pointed at the pipes around them and smiled "where there's pipes, there's liquid..."

He then closed his eyes in concentration, as the air around him grew colder. Lance reached out with his cryokinetic Psy-Q ability, sensing the liquid sloshing around inside the long pipes. He focused intently, despite the cacophony of bullets, on tracing the path of liquids through all the pipes in the next room. He made a mental note earlier on the location where each Dullahan member stood, so he concentrated his cyrokinesis on the pipes closest to each one.

"...and where there's liquid, there's ice!" Lance opened his eyes slowly as they glowed a faint blue, unleashing his ability with pinpoint accuracy on the pipes he sought earlier, causing the water inside them to freeze rapidly. The blocked up pipes gave a violent gugrling noise before bursting suddenly on the unsuspecting terrorists drenching them in the cold water, which just as quickly froze ontop of them and encasing them in ice.

Lance melted down the ice wall as he briskly walked through his icy captives, who were knocked unconcious in the frigid blast.

"There's only four of them" Bob noted as he followed behind Lance while shivering in the cold room "where's the fifth guy?"

"You see how these guys have the ski masks and goggles?" Lance pointed at the face of the closest Dullahan member "those are their fresh recruits. Full-fledged members get a face-concealing gadget that makes their head look invisible..."

"Oooh!" Exclaimed Bob "so that's what that was..."

"Yeah" Lance continued "they call it an 'Ichabod' device, it's usually on a neck collar that has a holo-orb disguised as a gemsone."

Lance pulled up the Holo-screen from his SmartBand and pressed the Mu5keteer icon on his App folder. The screen requested for his thumbprint, which Lance obliged. Then a thin red beam emitted from the Holo-Orb scanned Lance's face throroughly before beeping agreeably. With the authentication protocols completed, Lance accessed the Mu5keteer's App which controls the gear transportation/transformation module back in Central Command. Lance clicked on a tab at the top of the screen labelled [Inventory], which contained some items that are kept in each Musketeer's locker at Central Command that can be transported at will. Lance scrolled through the list and settled on the handcuff cache, selecting to teleport four of them.

"We gotta move quick after this-" Lance pressed the big green button which immediately teleported the handcuffs from Lance's locker. But instead of materializing in his hands, the cuffs appeared a few inches above his head before falling "oh cra-ow ow ow OW!!"

"Wh-why is that?" Bob made a heroic effort to stifle his laughter.

"The royal guards know that you're with me, which is why I turned on Ghost Mode on my SmartBand" Lance glared at Bob while picking up the handcuffs "Tristan developed them to be able to go completely untrackable and hack-proof, but teleporting matter uses a certain dark matter energy whatzit that is impossible to conceal from those who know what to look for."

"You're saying that they can track localized warp fields? That sound like something Freddy would know about" Bob smiled as he was helping Lance handcuff the subdued Dullahan members "he was the smart one. He actually joined the RGs to pay for his schooling, but he said that he really enjoyed being a royal guardsmen so much that he's reconsidering his dream of becoming an astrophysicist..."

"Ok, you gotta explain something for me...." Lance said as he inspected the cuffed terrorists, making sure they're secure. And also checking the makeshift ice pipes that he created to temporarily replace the pipes he bursted earlier.

"Yeah? What?" Bob followed Lance gingerly as they hastily left the scene of the fight as quickly as they stumbled upon it.

"You know all those Royal Guadsmen by name" Lance inquired as he made his way to a far away ladder that seems to be the way out "were you guys close?"

Bob followed Lance to the ladder as he replied "well, when I was growing up in the castle, there weren't that many kids my age to play with. The few who were my age didn't want anything to do with me. They'd call me snooty, or a half-breed, or just call me a weirdo..."

"That's...I'm sorry..." Lance looked toward Bob with sympathetic eyes.

Upon noticing his sad gaze, Bob quickly continued cheerfully "it was all right, though! It's not like I was all alone!" Bob smiled gently as he recalls "one or two of them would be assigned to protect me daily. It didn't feel like just a job with them, you know? We would talk, and play, and just...it felt like they were part of my family..."

As they started climbing the ladder, Bob continued remorsefully "I kinda feel like I betrayed them...y'know, wanting to go to regular school...they must think that I don't want to be around them anymore..."

"I don't believe they'd even think that..." Lance interjected as he opened the hatch at the top of the ladder "...they watched over you your whole life. I think they'd want you to be happy, no matter what you choose to do with your life..."

The afternoon sun filled the darkened tunnel with its warm light as Lance stood on the street outside, streching his arms contently. He turned around and offered his hand to Bob as he resumed "...don't you think so, too?"

Bob watched the sun glisten on Lance's smiling face, which made the cuts and bruises the young musketeer suffered througout the day more noticable. Bob smiled wistfully as he grabbed onto Lance's hand to support himself out of the manhole and onto the quiet street.

************************************************

********Scene 8: Momentary Asylum******

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"Where are we, even?"

Bob asked as he strolled bewildered through the row of fancy townhouses on either side of the cobblestoned road.

"We're in Rosewood" Lance answered while pointing at the towering main school building of Atlantica Academia off in the distance behind them "it's a few blocks away from school, see? This is where all the big-shot yuppies live."

"Ah! So it is-" Bob's eyes followed direction Lance pointed out, but then they suddenly widened in shock as he shouted "OH FUDGE! Quick, hide!!"

Bob grabbed Lance's hand and ducked into the doorway of one of the townhouses. He cautiously stuck his head out, only to reel it back in just as quick. Lance got curious and also stuck his head out to look down the street at where Bob was looking.

"What are you doing?!" Bob whispered as he pulled Lance back inside the doorway "she'll see you!"

Bob shoved Lance to look on the street again, carefully this time. "See that tall woman in the suit?" Bob pointed at a black woman with short hair who looked around methodically as she calmly walked through the crowded street "That's Stacey! If she's here, then the rest can't be far behind-AH SHIPWRECK!"

Bob looked at the opposite end of Stacey and recognized another Suit-clad Royal Guardsman walking toward their location. "We're trapped now!" Bob whisper-yelled in panic.

"Calm down, we'll figure something out, just don't panic-"

"Oh, is that you, Mr. Dumas?"

Lance and Bob whirled their head to see a smiling bespectacled man with long blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail. He wore a very elegant light blue 3-piece suit with a fashionable leather trenchcoat and he carried a matching leather briefcase.

"M-mr. Landon?!" Lance yelled out in surprise "what are you doing here?!"

The tall man simply smiled and pointed toward the mailbox just above Lance's head, sporting gilded engravings that read [Jericho Landon, Esq.]

"Is everything all right? I saw the news bulletin about what happened at the Atlantica Academia earlier today. Your teammates were on the scene soon afterward and they were worried sick-" Jericho halted mid-sentence as he noticed the anxious expression on Bob's face "oh, its..."

Jericho cautiously looked around, noticing the Guardsmen in suits and sunglasses trying to blend in with the crowds.

"Hmm, I see..." Jericho mused as he opened the door to his townhouse and gesturing for the two to get in "I guess we should talk inside."

The two teenagers rushed into the open door, while Jericho closed it behind him as he went inside as well. Jericho put down his bag next to the door, then he took off his trenchcoat to hang it on the ornate coat rack next to the staircase.

"Wow" Lance whispered as he looked around at the elegant decorations and statues of the Victorian-inspired house.

"Lance, you should get those wounds disinfected" Jericho took off his suit jacket and folded it over a nearby lounger "the first-aid kit is in the medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom, third door on your left down that hall."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Landon!" Lance winced as he touched the shallow cuts on his face. He hardly even noticed them until now; but as the adrenaline went down, so did his pain tolerance.

"Call me Jericho, please." The tall man smiled as he pointed to a small room with a beautiful mahagony desk and three sleek leather swivel chairs; behind them was a massive bookshelf with detailed carvings along its surface. "Meet us in the den when you're finished."

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*************Scene 9: Real Talk************

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Bob curiously looked at the bookcase in Jericho's den, perusing the spines of the literal wall of books with great interest. Predictably, most of them were the standard law books; but a section of the bookcase was populated by novels, some biographies, and other books. Bob's eyes were drawn to a familiar name on the spine of a thin hardcover book.

"That's the yearbook from the year I graduated Atlantica Academia." Jericho smiled as he carried a fancy tray holding three empty glasses and a pitcher of Ice-cold Pomegranate Juice.

"Ah!" Bob yelped in an embarrassed panic "S-sorry! I should have ask first-"

"Nonesense! What's the use of having a bookcase if your guests can't browse your books?" He set the tray down on the desk and stood next to Bob, pulling the yearbook out from its place and handing it to him. "By all means, it would be my honour, Princess Revexana."

Bob's hair bristled and he felt a shiver down his spine as he stammered "w-what?! I-I'm not...h-how?!"

"We met before." Jericho looked puzzled and a bit concerened at Bob's expression "in the spring charity fundraiser party? I seen you before in other events, as well. I hardly recognized you without those fancy gowns you used to wear-"

Jericho stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Bob's pale face, which prompted him to quickly reassure the anxious youth "h-hey, don't worry! I'm not trying to rat you out or anything! I noticed you and Lance were running from those Royal Guardsmen from earlier, right?"

Bob quietly nodded.

"I'm not going to ask you why, your highness. But you don't have to worry about-"

"It's Bob!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't call me 'princess' or 'your highness'." Replied Bob passionately "I'm enrolled in Atlantica Academia as Bob Manson!"

"Ah. Of course, you have to maintain the ruse-"

"IT'S NOT A RUSE!"

Jericho was slightly taken aback by Bob's outburst. He noticed the youth's cheeks were bright red and there were tears swelling in his eyes as he lifted his head and apologetically added "I-it's not...I-I mean...it started out as a disguise...but it just felt... so... natural..."

Jericho looked at Bob sympethatically as he handed him a handkerchief from his vest's breast pocket. Bob wiped his tears and continued "I don't think you'd understand. I'm sorry I yelled..."

"Don't be." Jericho calmly replied as he flipped through the yearbook in his hand before settling on a page and showing it to Bob "and I do understand. A lot more than you mighht think..."

"What's this?" Bob took the book from Jericho's hand and stared at its pages curiously.

"My graduation photo" Jericho pointed his finger at the second photo from the bottom of the first page "that's me, fifteen years ago."

Bob did a double take and stared intently at the photo of the graduating student that Jericho pointed out. Fifteen years is a long time, a person can change a lot in that time - so it's natural that Jericho doesn't resemble his yearbook picture anymore. But, still, there were some glaring differences.

Most of those differences can be summed up in that the smiling student in the yearbook was clearly female. Bob read the caption next to the image identifying the blonde lass "your name is 'Beatrice Landon'?!"

"Was" answered Jericho firmly, slightly offended "it was the name I was burdened with all those years I was trapped in a body I could never call my own."

Jericho pulled down a thick binder with gilded letters on its spine identifying it as the [Landon Family Album Vol. 3]. He laid it open on the desk and beckoned Bob to take a look. There were so many pictures showing Beatrice in many different poses and settings, some of which were real and others were simply backdrops.

"I was in the photography club in high school, I loved taking pictures and having pictures of me taken." Jericho mused as he flipped through the countless images of Beatrice in so many outfits from every angle imaginable "It's like I was trying to find in those pictures the answer I was looking for. Alas, I could not. All I could see were my empty smiles, as I try to hide how miserable I felt. I was a prisoner who did not see the walls, but still felt them suffocating me..."

Jericho smiled bitterly and looked at Bob "I understand how you might feel. The misery of hiding who you are.."

"N-no!" Bob blurted out as he interrupted Jericho "It's not like that for me. I-I never felt...trapped in my body...I just...I don't know...maybe I'm not..."

"Hey, now" Jericho patted Bob's shoulder sympathetically "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made an assumption like that based solely on my own experience. You are your own person. Your journey will be your own, and only you can discover your true self."

Bob smiled softly in reply as he quietly hugged Jericho. They were startled when Lance barged in to the study with a panicked look on his face.

"Guys! We have a problem!"

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***Scene 10: Royal Pains in the Rear****

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"See? They're going door-to-door" Lance pointed to the Royal Guards who were systematically going into the neighbouring houses "it's only a matter of time before they make their way here. I didn't even know it was legal for them to do that..."

"Indeed. The Royal Guards have near total legal impunity. I can only stall them for a little while..."Jericho went to the bookcase and pulled a book from the top shelf, which produced an audible click. As he returned the book in its place, a section of the bookcase swung inwardly revealing a long, dimly-lit hallway.

"They'll be watching the back door" Jericho smiled smugly "so you better take this super-awesome secret tunnel and leave quickly."

"That's SO COOL!!" Bob and Lance squealed in unison.

Jericho's satisfied chuckle was interrupted by a firm, yet polite, knocking on his front door followed by a gruff voice calling out "Royal Guards. Please open up in the name of the Queen."

Jericho mouthed the word 'go' as he gently closed the swinging bookcase door behind the fleeing teenagers.

The hallway, though disued, was surprisingly well-maintained. It was a bit dusty, but was well-lit and clean, and it seemed to slope downward slightly. At the end of the long hallway, Lance and Bob came across a steel ladder leading to a hatch on the low ceiling.

Lance quickly climbed the ladder and opened the hatch quietly to take a look outside.

"Ok...coast is clear." Lance looked down toward Bob as he continued "it looks like we're at a nearby park, but I don't see anyone around."

Lance went through the open hatch and then he beckoned Bob to follow suit.

"Hey, I know that statue!" Lance exclaimed as he pointed to a statue in the middle of a walkway intersection which depicted Sydney Everglades; an infamously controversial aristocrat who lived during the chaotic Post-Apocalypse/Pre-Arrival period in human history. Lance recognized the statue, and thus the park, from the protests he saw on the 'net to demolish the statue due to the Aristocrat's history of profiteering from the suffering of the populace after the collapse.

"We're in Everglades park! It's right by the school, see?" Lance then pointed to the Atlantica Academia's towering clocktower as it appeared much closer in the distance than when they were in Rosewood.

"It's starting to get dark" noticed Bob as they jogged briskly through the empty park "we should get back to the dorms right now!"

Before Lance can comment, a crackle of energy tore through the silence of the park, accompanying the neon-yellow plasma projectile that struck Lance sqaurely between his shoulder blades. The impact sent Lance hurtling to the ground at the feet of the park's namesake statue, while menacing sparks of energy criss-cross his entire body and causing him to convulse painfully.

"LANCE!!!" Bob yelled out as he tried to help Lance up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, boy!" A smug voice rang out from the direction the blast originated from, which prompted Bob to jerk his head toward its owner with a mix of fear and anger. For one thing, it belonged to an imposing figure aiming a recently-fired neutralizer, which was flanked by about a dozen or so muzzles of ready-to-fire weaponry of a much deadlier caliber.

The other thing that unsettled Bob was that it was impossible for any voice , smug or otherwise, to have ever been heard. Considering that it originated from a man with no head! In fact, the headless man was accompanied by a few more hedless companions amidst a larger ratio of black-masked and begoggled henchmen.

"You little punks ruined our plans to poison the water resevoir feeding into the gaudy mansions of those blood-sucking, boot-licking, dirty bug-loving bourgoise Rosewood stooges!" The headless leader of the Dullahan squad stepped closer toward the two teenagers. Bob vaguely recognized him to be the Dullahan officer who fled from their encounter in the tunnels earlier.

"I didn't know which one of you little turds was the Psy-Q freak with the ice! But I bet I guessed right, since I'm not frozen right now. Ha! I sure did get lucky!" gloated the Dullahan officer mockingly. He then aimed the neutralizer at the cowering Bob as he continued sadistically "well, it couldn't hurt to be sure."

Bob shut his eyes as he heard the terrifying hiss of a neutralizer round discharging, but he was surprised that he did not feel the shock of the impact. He slowly opened his eyes and was startled when he realized what blocked the painful projectile.

"L-Lance?!" Bob stammered as he looked at Lance's straining face, who placed himself between Bob and their assailant. Lance winced in a Herculean effort to stay upright due to the neutralizer charge, which played havoc with his nervous system.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Would ya look at that?!" Maniacally laughed the Dullahan officer as he unloaded a few more shots at Lance's back "a real bonafide hero!! I always wanted to kill one of those! Wahahhahahahahaa!"

Lance grimaced with each round striking his back, the energy crackled across his body in a menacing neon-yellow light. He propped up his twitching body against the pedestal of the park's statue. Lance made sure his arching body defended Bob, who quietly wept while looking up at Lance's pained face.

Finally, the impotent clicks of the neutralizer, signalling that it ran out of energy, prompted the officer to withdraw in bored disgust.

"Ugh. This is getting old." He turned around while re-holstering the neutralizer and marched toward his waiting squad. He waved his hand dismissively as he ordered "they've seen too much. Kill them."

A dozen guns cocked in terrifying unison as the Dullahan squad aimed at the helpless teens.

"I-I'm soo-soorryy" Lance's words slurred as he fought to stay concious "I-I ccooou-oouldn't saav-vve yyooou..."

"Lance!" Bob embraced Lance tightly, putting his body in front of the firing squad instead of Lance.

Mere seconds before the bullets were fired from the terrifying execution squad, a metallic triangle swooped in their path right in front of Bob and Lance. The edges of the strange object glowed with a fierce blue light before that glow expanded into a huge triangular sonic energy shield! The weird blue sheild negated the kinetic energy that propelled the bullets toward their hapless targets, rendering them inert as they fell harmlessly to the ground.

The Dullahan squad stopped firing to stare at the weird shield with confusion.

"If you're going to shield someone, I suggest you use an actual shield."

The gruff, yet gentle, voice broke through the silence as its originator calmly floated down from above. He wore a tailored black suit with a black tie, the soles of his black, unassuming loafers glowed a gentle blue as its gravity dampners manipulated his gentle descent. His outfit was instantly recognizable as that of the Royal Guards. Upon his landing, the metallic triangle flew toward the customized black SmartBand on his left hand, while still maintaining the sonic shield. The man held up the shield steadily to stave off a second barrage of gunfire that tried and failed to pierce the blue light of the barrier!

The mysterious man gazed intently toward the two teenagers. His long silver hair was tied in a loose braided ponytail, whose length and fullness contrasted with the bareness on the top of his bald head. His wrinkled and scarred face was an even greater contrast to the gentleness emenating from his one eye, while a black eyepatch with gilded trims covered the other one. His thick grey mustache gently curled upward as he smiled in relief.

"D-dad?!" Bob was pleasantly surprised by this timely intervention, if not a bit wary of the consequences of being found.

"I'm glad you're safe, sugarplum." The Knight-General Niklas Richter wiped a tear from his good eye as he continued "but we'll have a serious talk later, young lady."

He then shifted his attention back to his assailants as he bellowed in a commanding voice "You are all under arrest for wanton acts of terrorism, attempted murder, assault & Battery, unlawful use and possesion of firearms...and for pissing me off!"

"He's only one man!" Panicked the Dullahan officer "flank him and take him down"

"Flank me?!" spat the veteran Knight angrily as he whipped out what looked like a black nightstick from his shoulder holster. He gripped its handle tightly which resulted a blue aura of sonic waves to radiate out from the end of the nightstick and quickly reform into the shape of a glowing blue blade. Niklas lifted his sonic broadsword skyward as he continued "...you idiots don't know when you've already been outflanked."

His roaring voice shook the Dullahan agents to their core, they were startled when they noticed the swarm of black suits descending softly with the aid of  glowing loafers. The Royal Guards all carried sonic weapons similar to their leader's, which resulted in a glowing blue congregation of axes, maces, spears, and swords of varying sizes and shapes descending menacingly toward the frightened terrorists.

The soles of the Knight-General's anti-grav loafers glowed a bright blue as it lifted him slightly off the ground while propelling him at blinding speed toward the panicked Dullahan squad. Their bullets were ineffective against his inertia-dampening sonic barrier, as they dropped harmlessly to the ground upon impact with his shield. Within a heartbeat, the Lion of Atlantica was upon his prey, his sonic broadsword cleaving their assault rifles effortlessly. The Royal Guardsmen followed a precise attack pattern to similarly disarm their opponents with great ease. By adjusting his grip on the handle, the sonic blade's density was reduced to its non-lethal setting, as Niklas continued slashing away at the Dullahan agents. The sonic blade would pass through their bodies, but would not cause any external wounds. However, the sonic reverberation of the blade going through them is akin to having their insides jostled violently! Very few were left standing from such a strike as they fell to the ground shaking painfully.

The Knight-General stepped calmly to the formerly-smug leader of the Dullahan squad, who was writhing in pain among his subordinates. His face kept phasing in and out like a glitched television set as the Ichabod cloaking device on his neck got damaged in the assault. He looked up toward Niklas and stuttered in agony "I-itt h-hhurr-rrttssss..."

Niklas's bushy brows knit in rage before he delivered a wrathful kick to the Dullahan officer's ribs. He was about to kick him again, if it weren't for the Royal Guards firmly, yet politely, holding him back.

"Where do you get the nerve?!" Niklas roared furiously "all you got was a love tap compared to the pain you put that brave lad through! You make me sick. Why, I oughta have him come over and take a few licks at you while we turn a blind eye-"

Niklas turned his head around to look back toward the two teenagers, but was surprised to find them no longer there. He sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration before ordering his men to have the fallen Dullahan squad arrested.

************************************************

********Scene 11: An Understanding******

************************************************

"Oh, he's fine!"

Bob lied nervously as he dragged a limping, half-conscious Lance past the concerned stares of a couple of students in the hall of the main dormitory.

The blonde freshman shared a look with her brunette friend before looking back to Bob, still dragging Lance "You..you sure? You want us to call the infirmary-"

"NO!! N-no, we good. He just drank a lot of apple cider, the big goof!" Bob laughed awkwardly "I dared him to drink a whole thing of apple cider and he did it! The absolute madman!! Hahaha! Sorrygottago!!"

Bob fumbled with his keys, trying to open the door to their dorm room as quickly as possible. He shoved Lance awkwardly inside and closed the door behind them before turning on the light.

"You guys get bunk beds?! That's so awesome! You got so much room for activities."

Bob whirled to face the source of the voice, banging Lance's head on the door frame in the process.

"Hey hey, take it easy on the lad" Knight-General Niklas hastily stepped closer showing great concern on his stern face "he had a long day..."

"D-dad?!" Bob stuttered in a panic as he passively handed the groaning Lance over to Niklas "how did you get in here? What are you even doing here?!"

"I let myself in..." Niklas raised his right hand and his index finger split open revealing a mechanical apparatus from inside his bionic hand that took the shape of a master key "...and I'm here because of you, young lady."

Lance writhed and stretched a bit as he regained his balance. Niklas smiled and gave him a strong pat on the back.

"Ah! You're awake, boy! Glad to see you among the living! GAHaHaHahaha!!"

The Knight-General's mirthful expression regained its dour seriousness as he looked toward Bob "ok, Becky. You had your fun. Now pack up your bags and we can be with your mum by dinnertime-"

"No! I won't go!" Bob yelled defiantly.

"Lass..." Niklas hissed reproachfully, about to go on a stern lecture, before being interrupted by a techno-dance tune blaring from his black SmartBand. He flicked his wrist free from his sleeve and looked at the scrolling Caller I.D. text on the surface of the blinking HoloOrb.

"Yes, yer majesty?"

The HoloOrb glowed upon recognizing Niklas's voice, prompting a rectangular HoloScreen to materialize afloat just a few inches above the HoloOrb.

"Did you find her?" A cold, jagged voice emanated from the SmartBand as the features of the angular face on the HoloScreen knit into a worried frown.

Niklas simply pointed behind the angry hologram toward the nervous princess and the bewildered Lance, allowing the latter to get a good look at Queen Luxana III. Her regal white and purple outfit and white head covering accentuated the air of nobility around her. Her platinum crown, set by diamonds and beautiful amethyst gems, shimmered in the light. The Queen's smoky eyes glared at Bob with equal parts rage and worry.

"REVEXANA ASHTUR VINZORR!! You have some serious explaining to do, young lady!"

Bob winced at the bellowing sound of the Queen's holographic image as she answered quietly "M-mother, please, could you keep your voice down? Everybody is going to find out who I am!"

"Good! Then you can end this silly adventure of yours and come home!"

"And then what?!" Bob exploded, forgetting his own plea for quiet "just wallow all alone in the castle away from anyone, like a recluse?! You promised me things will be different."

Queen Luxana replied bitterly with saddened eyes "I know, Becky...but things have changed. Those Dullahan thugs...they've been more threatening lately..."

"It's true, sugarlumps" concurred Niklas grimly "they've been more organized lately, and they have struck against many strategic locations. Sabotaging infrastructure, causing mayhem, and whatnot."

"They've become very bold" Luxana pleaded "we can't take a chance on this, we need to keep you safe at all cost!"

"Umm....not to be interrupt, your Majesty..."

The eyes of the royal trio shot toward Lance, who was fumbling in a pose between a bow and a curtsey, unsure of which is appropriate in this occasion. He cleared his throat hesitantly, but proceeded anyway.

"...wouldn't getting her out from the castle be the safest for her...er...I mean him? His identity as Bob Manson is unassuming and no one would look twice at him-"

"Gee, thanks" Bob groaned indignantly "now tell me how you really feel."

"Would you...would you just shut up when I'm trying to help you?!"

"Lad, I can tell yer heart is in the right place" Niklas shrugged "but those Dullahan goons were on you two in no time-"

"Actually, sir" Lance interjected "they had no idea that Bob was the Princess at all! They were targeting us because we foiled their plans to poison the water reservoir feeding into Rosewood."

"Oh" Niklas' eyebrows raised in great curiosity as he opened a second holoscreen to browse through the alerts from that afternoon "yer right. I see that four Dullahan initiates were handcuffed down there next to pipes made out of ice. Was that your doing, Lad? Yer Psy-Q ability, I presume?"

"Yes on both counts, sir." Answered Lance humbly, before being startled by an audible gasp from Queen Luxana.

"It's you! How did I not recognize you earlier?!" Queen Luxana cheerfully exclaimed as her cheeks grew redder "I'm a big fan, Mr. Dumas!"

"Oh OH!" Niklas joined in excitedly "is he one of those Mu-five-keteers you keep talking about, shmooples?"

"It's pronounced 'Musketeers', darling! And yes! He's the new Ice Musketeer, y'know, the cute one!"

"M-Mooommm!" Yelled Bob in embarrassment as Lance looked down bashfully.

"Oh, sorry, sweetie!" The Queen gleefully replied "but he's a real bonafide superhero!! How exciting!"

"Exactly!" Bob shouted fiercely "how will I know how exciting life can be if I'm stuck in the castle?"

The room became silent as all eyes stared sympathetically at Bob who had his head down in dismay. The silence was broken by the Queen's quivering voice.

"O-oh, sweetie..."

"You know why I was so excited for school, mother?" Bob slowly lifted his head, tears welling up in his eyes "all those stories you told me of your high school days. How you met Father, and all those adventures you had...I wanted to experience something like that, too..."

The Knight-General did not try to hold back the tears as they flowed from his good eye and trickled down his wrinkled face, wetting his whiskers in the process. He tightly embraced Bob while softly running battle-scarred fingers through the child's hair.

The Queen wiped away her own tears before remarking "...you know...attending school with a secret identity...is pretty exciting!!"

"Y-you mean..." Bob beamed with a warm smile toward the Queen's holographic winking face.

"We'll come up with a cover story. Make people think yer in the castle." Niklas wiped the tears from his eye as his strategic mind churned out a plan of action "First: we need you to come home on the weekends and on some events during the evenings. That will make it look like you're at the castle, but under a strict study routine..."

"Sounds fair" Bob nodded in acceptance.

"Second: we have to put a lid on anyone who knows your identity here. " Niklas faced Lance menacingly, while the teenager retreated instinctively. Lance was startled when Niklas grabbed his shoulder affectionately "I was very impressed with how you protected my baby girl at the park today...so I am sorry to have to ask you for your aid in the future..."

Lance's tense features softened up and he smiled as he replied "with all due respect, sire, I would have done so without you asking me..."

He then looked at Bob and smiled "...Bob is my dorm mate...I think of him as my friend...and I hope he does so, too..."

Bob looked to be very moved by Lance's words, but before he could open his mouth to reply, an uproarious laugh shook the small dorm room.

"GAHAHaHAHAHA! Well said, lad" Niklas then gave a hard slap on Lance's back causing him to almost trip. "But I can't let some outsider into RG business."

"But, sir! I'm already involved! You can't-"

"Cool your jets, Lad! My Queen, would you do the honours?" Niklas removed his sonic broadsword's handle from its holster and squeezed it gently while holding up his SmartBand up in front of him. The warm blue glow of the sword bathed the room in its eerie calmness. The Queen's holographic face looked toward Lance solemnly before speaking in a regal and authoritative voice.

"Lance N'gobu Dumas, first year student of Atlantica Academia and Ice Musketeer of the famed Mu5keteers. Would you kindly kneel in front of your Queen?"

Lance complied unhesitantly, but no less confused. Niklas beckoned Bob to come closer and he placed the handle of the broadsword in his slender hand. Niklas then helped Bob to hoist the glowing broadsword upward and gently bring its flat side down upon Lance's right shoulder, and then his left, while the Queen continued

"Under the gaze of Queen Luxana III, the Royal Consort Knight-General Sir Niklas Amadeus Richter, and Princess Revexana. I hereby bestow upon you Knighthood of...uh... the Sacred Trust! Your title and position will remain a secret kept only by those in attendance today!"

"Huh?"

"Yer being deputized, Lad!" Niklas chortled heartily while pulling Lance up to his feet "Welcome to knighthood, son."

"Really!" Lance's eyes lit up with childlike enthusiasm, as he recalled all the heroic tales of knights that his dad read to him and Tristan as kids "will people call me 'Sir Lance'?! Do I get a horse?!!"

"N-now hold on..." Niklas interrupted cautiously, trying his best not to shatter Lance's innocence as he explained "it's a secret knighthood. You can't tell anyone! No one will ever know that you have any connection to the Palace or the Royal Guards."

"Oh" sighed Lance dejectedly "ok, I guess..."

Niklas smiled as he gave Lance's back another hard slap as he guffawed "now don't look so down! You get to be in a secret club! With my little girl-"

The grizzled knight stopped as he looked kindly toward Bob before continuing "I mean, my little boy...? Haha...s-sorry...didn't mean to laugh, just nervous...I just remembered when Lulu told me she was pregnant...she asked me..."

The holographic face of the queen softened into a nostalgic smile "I asked 'are you hoping for a boy or a girl?' And then you said..."

"'Both!' Haha! I guess I always knew..." beamed Niklas, his eyes misting with joyful tears "...Bob Manson, huh? You chose a fine name, Bobby!"

Tears welled up in Bob's eyes as he lunged to embrace his father "thanks, dad. Sniff I love you..."

"I love you, too... son" Niklas returned Bob's embrace with a tight hug of his own before slowly releasing his grip and looking over toward Lance. "Please look after my boy, squire!"

"Just for the record" lance interjected politely, watching Niklas opening the window and the mesh screen behind it "I would still help him even if I wasn't knighted..."

"I know, lad" said Niklas while stepping off the window, the soles of his loafers glowed a light blue as they gently held him aloft in the night air "duty would only take you so far..."

Just as the Knight-General floated upward and out of view, the dorm's door burst open revealing four anxious young faces stampeding into the small room!

"Lance!!" Tristan shouted happily as he looked at Lance with exhausted eyes "thank God you're ok!!"

Blossom lunged toward the flustered teenager, hugging him tightly while sobbing excitedly "we were so worried, you dummy!! Don't EVER do that again!"

"D-do what?" Blurted Lance defensively with a blushing face "not get attacked by a ghostly abomination and then run into a band of anarchist terrorists?! I don't think I get any say in those matters-OW!!"

Priya gave Lance a light bonk on the head, Lance looked up to her puffy eyes which indicated that she has been crying recently "you idiot! You could have called us afterward!!"

Tristan patted Lance's head affectionately "we're a team, little man. One for all, and all for victory; but we can't be victorious, if we're not in it together..."

"You're right..." Lance conceded apologetically "I'm sorry, everyone...Bob and I had a hell of a day...by the way, that's Bob"

Four pairs of eyes gazed on the nervous teenager who was awkwardly standing in the corner of the room. Bob waved and smiled rigidly while blurting a half-squeaked greeting.

"Hi, Bob" greeted Tristan in response "sorry you got saddled with this troublemaker. He's usually more responsible than that."

"That's all right, sir" Bob smiled meekly " I think we'll get along just fine..."

"Sir?" Tristan smiled mirthfully "I like this kid already."

"So..." Blossom played with Lance's hair as she asked excitedly "are you going to keep us guessing?! Tell us about your day!!"

The joyous sounds of reconciliation and excitement as Lance retold the day's ups and downs, while keeping the Royal parts out of this version, can be heard from outside the open window. In the light of the full moon, the towering figure of the Knight-General looked down toward the crowded dorm room while smiling wistfully.

"Did we do the right thing, Lulu?"

The holographic face replied earnestly "I don't know, but I certainly hope so..."

"...the world's not as easy-going as it used to be..."

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Queen Luxana smiled softly "I seem to recall another reckless princess who couldn't wait to get into danger. She turned out fine, don't you think?"

"Heh. Only because she had a neurotic goofball running along with her, worrying twice as much as she's supposed to be, and saving her butt more times than he can count."

"Ha! I believe I saved yours even more"

"That you did, Sweet Lu" he then kissed the holographic face, causing it to flicker momentarily” 'Love you"

"Oh, you!" Giggled the Queen "now get your sweet tush back home, it's been a long day..."

"Yes, yer Majesty. See you then" Niklas turned off the holographic screen just as he was touching down gently next to an armoured limousine parked outside a coffee shop and barked at its occupants "ok, you ass-cracks you better have not eaten all the fuggin' bear claws again, I swear to God..."

*********************************************

****************THE END******************

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

[OC] Chapter 1 - A Free Lance

I've been writing out this story in my head and in various scraps of paper for a while now. It started out as a nonsensical dream I had once, and it spiraled from there. I wanna give a shoutout to @theoneandonlyspudbud for always encouraging me and giving me the motivation to get through this. YOU ROCK! :)

It's a bit long, so I'll keep it under this cut. Enjoy! (Hopefully!)

**************************************************** **********Scene 1 - Tired on Arrival************ **************************************************** "Now arriving....the 7:15AM...Submarine Train from....New Boston Bay"

The PA system echoed in the nearly empty Submarine-Train station as a massive, track-bound Train composed of submersible cars enters the Drain Chamber. It stopped there for nearly a minute, as the ocean water is drained from the chamber. The train then slowly entered the open-air platform, the morning sun glistened off the cobalt blue finish of the enormous vehicle. As the train gently rocked to a final stop, the doors hissed open. The passengers looked a little worn out from the 20-hour train ride, as they stumble awkwardly to the dulcet tones of the PA system's automated welcome message.

"Welcome to Atlantica City, the Capital of the World! Please make sure to take all your belongings with you when you leave the train. Thank you for choosing Trans-Atlantica! Taking you Underwater, and Under-Budget!"

The last person to leave the train before the doors closed dragged a rolling luggage, while wearing a puffy winter coat and a scarf despite the warm weather. Regardless, he seemed to be completely unfazed by it, and instead more affected by fatigue - if the bags under his eyes are any indication.

"I got here earlier than expected..." Muttered the short teenager to himself, as he wearily scanned the platform for a familiar face

 "...I guess I better find some place to wait..."

Before the young traveller could finish his thought, a gust of wind suddenly brushed behind him - accompanied by the clattering sound of metal and rubber speeding across the paved platform. He looked behind him only to find his luggage gone, the reason became clear as he looked toward the direction of the passing wind as it carried back a shrill, heckling laughter.

"Ha hA!" Reveled the Bicycled Bandit of the Wheely Rad Bandits. "Welcome to Atlantica City, Sucka!! Courtesy of the Bicycled Bandit of the Wheely Rad Bandits! Follow us on..."

As the Bicycled Bandit rattled off a list of the gang's social media channels, the young victim closed his eyes and sighed as he stretched out his arm toward the Bicycled Bandit, his palms open and held straight - as if pressed against an invisible box. With a fierce expression of concentration, the youth opened his eyes while clenching his hand into a tight fist. His mocha brown eyes glowed with a faint blue light! The Bandit, still listing more social media channels, was abruptly interrupted by the sudden drop in temperature; which was eerily concentrated onto the puddle his bike was carelessly splashing through. Within a second, both the water and the tire froze, causing the Bandit and the stolen luggage to fly off of the presumably stolen bike.

The Bicycled Bandit has resigned himself to his fate of being crushed upon the pavement in his most brutal wipe out to date. His only consolation was that his bike's on-board camera would capture the moment for his Band's YouToot channel. His sudden stop was softer than he has anticipated, but still quite jarring. He realized that he's being carried by the scuff of his biking suit, as his feet dangle helplessly off the ground.

"Good thing you were wearing a helmet this time, Randy." Playfully scolded the tall, bespectacled man in the overcoat, as he gently put the luggage on the ground while keeping Randy AKA the Bicycled Bandit aloft "What would've happened to you if I wasn't here to catch you?"

"How dare you!" Randy furiously fidgeted as he tried to wiggle out of the man's grasp "who do you think-"

His eyes widened with rage and twinge of fear as he recognized his saviour-cum-jailer "Y-YOU!!"

"TRISTAN!" Exclaimed the short teenager, his face beaming with a huge smile " There you are!"

"Lance!" Smiled the tall man in the overcoat who answers to Tristan "I'd hug you, but my hands are full with this luggage thief..."

"...Unless Randy wouldn't mind a group hug...?" Wondered Tristan expectantly

"YES I MOST CERTAINLY MIND" answered Randy bluntly.

"Eh, worth a shot..." Shrugged Tristan

"FREEZE...uh...I MEAN STOP, NOT THE OTHER THING!" Shouted the balding police officer as he's aiming a standard-issue neutralizer squarely at Lance's face.

"Oh, shut up, Arnold!" Shouted the Brunette policewoman as she glanced at her partner in disgust at his sad attempt at humour Arnold sank his head between his shoulders in embarrassment as he blurted "Sorry, Jessica..."

Jessica sternly shifted her gaze toward Lance and Tristan as she continued "You in the scarf! You are under arrest for Assault and Battery, unsanctioned use of your Psychic Quotient abilities, and wanton acts of vigilantism violating the Sentai Laws"

"Whoa, now, officer" calmly interjected Tristan "this is just a misunderstanding. My brother just arrived not five minutes ago when Randy here stole his luggage. He was merely getting his stuff back- that's not an act of vigilantism. We both know that does not violate the Sentai Laws."

"Oh, look what we have here" Snarkily exclaimed Arnold "we got us a bona-fide Law-expert!" "Arnold, I swear to God..."

"...sorry, Jess..."

"Sir" Jessica addressed Tristan "I'm going to need you to drop the criminal in your hand and step back, please! Otherwise, I have no choice but to arrest you for aiding and abetting, as well as resisting arrest."

"...you guys seriously don't know who I am?" Asked Tristan in mild surprise with a hint of disappointment

The officers’ blank stares met with Tristan's expectant gaze, and he knew then that they truly do not recognize him.

With a wounded ego, he sighed and calmly said "One for all..." That's when the flames started to burn his overcoat

The flames spread from Tristan's shoulder and quickly spread across his chest and up toward his face, to the shock and horror of everyone - that is except for the Dumas brothers. However, they quickly noticed that the flames are not real, but some type of hologram - that is except for Randy who was screaming bloody murder throughout the entire ordeal! What was more interesting about the holographic flames is that they were revealing a bright red and white outfit underneath the regular clothes that were "burned up". As the flames spread through Tristan's entire body, revealing his crimson outfit in its full glory, Tristan continued reciting his team's creed "-AND ALL FOR VICTORY!"  

"Y-you..You're..." Stammered Jessica

"Tristan Dumas. Fire Musketeer of the official Sanctioned Hero Team known as the Mu5keteers, at your service" sighed Tristan as he bowed sarcastically "Randy, calm down, they're not real flames!"

"AAAAAAAHH!!"

"What a drama queen" Tristan smirked as he rolled his eyes, his regular clothes re-materializing in another blaze of holographic flames "speaking of Queens, do you think Queen Luxana would appreciate it if the leader and a prospective member of her Sanctioned Hero Team were wrongfully arrested? Tsk! wouldn’t look good on your performance evaluation, Jessie!"

"P-prospective...?" Stammered Jessica

"Uh-huh! You're looking at our newest Ice Musketeer" he beamed with pride as he tightly hugged Lance, despite the protestations of the Bicycled Bandit "Isn't he the cutest little thing?!"

"Ugh!" Grunted Lance "cut it out, man! God! You're so embarrassing!"

"Uhhh..." Jessica looked on in confusion only for Tristan to hand over his spandex-clad load to her.

"Here, would you mind arresting the only person here who actually committed a felony?" Smirked Tristan "and I'd be more than happy to provide you with a statement, say, over dinner?"

"Wha-?" Blurted Jessica in surprise as she and Arnold stumbled to properly hold Randy "WAIT! Did you just ask me out?!"

"My card" winked Tristan as he materialized a laminated business card in a flash of holographic flames

"Ok, that's enough of that!" Shouted Lance in frustrated embarrassment "Let's go, Casanova" He continued as he dragged Tristan by his coat's arm.

"Call me!" Tristan called out to Jessica playfully "Ciao!"

**************************************************** *******Scene 2 - Dead men tell tall tales****** **************************************************** The morning sunlight glistened across the ocean water, as the waves crashed against the massive stones supporting the King Ruxom Bridge which connects the Atlantica Submarine-Train Station with the city proper. The morning traffic is just starting to trickle at this early hour, which allowed Tristan so much room on the road to speed away on his flashy two-seater red convertible. Tristan put one hand on the wheel while his other arm rested on car's door. He seemed so energetic and enthusiastic, especially compared to the tired, dour expression of his brother on the passenger seat.

"Oh, you're going to love it here, little man!" Excitedly yelled Tristan to be heard over the terrifying sound of his Red Coupe's engine "Let's get you settled at my place, and then later we can hit the town! There are so many things I wanted to show you for so long! We'll have to cram as much as possible before the school year starts! Wow! I can't believe you're in high school already! You're going to love Atlantica High-"

"Uh...Tristan?"

"O-oh, sorry" blushed Tristan" I'm rambling...I'm just so excited you're here!"

"It's not that" Lance reassured "well, not entirely, anyway." Lance looked wistfully at the emerald ocean waves "could we...make a stop first? I need to...see him..."

"...of course" replied Tristan solemnly "I'm sure he'd be glad you came"

Minutes later, Lance was making his way atop a small hill littered with small granite slabs with well-crafted plaques sporting impeccable engravings. Tristan waited by the car near the bottom of the hill. Off to the distance, a huge metal gate marks the entrance with a remarkably atmospheric sign that simply reads "Pleasant Hill Cemetery".

The young Dumas sibling stopped at one grave in particular amidst the rows of identical markers. It reads "Here lies Armand Hammer. A Son, A hero, and a Friend to us all." The date etched upon it indicates that he died rather young.   "...H-hey, Armand" blurted Lance "h-how have you been? Agh! What a stupid thing to say..."

Lance rubbed his eyes as he continued "I finally made it here. I'll be living in the city...Tristan wants me to join the team...I-I don't know how to feel...I mean it's not like I'll ever be able to replace you...I hope nobody thinks that I...I mean you taught me a lot about Cryokinesis, there's no way I'd have gotten anywhere without your help...which is why it's so hard...seeing you... I guess... what I want to say is that...that I am...so sorry..." Tears glistened in Lance's eyes as he continued "if I weren't there...you....y-you..."

He looked up as a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Lance" reassured Tristan.

As if a great dam had burst, the tears streamed profusely from Lance's face as he buried his head in his brother's chest. "Don't blame yourself, Lance" softly spoke Tristan as he tightly embraced his brother "Armand was a great guy, even if his name was a joke his dad thought up of on the way home from the hospital...anyway! The point is: Armand died as he lived, selflessly and heroically. I'm sure he'd be proud knowing the Ice Musketeer title is in your capable hands."   Lance looked up at his brother, meekly smiling as tears are still streaming down his face. He hastily wiped them off with his sleeve as he started. "Sniff, thanks. I-"

Before Lance could finish his thought, an 8-bit rendition of William Tell's Overture noisily blared from Tristan's wrist

"Oh" exclaimed Tristan "that's the emergency beacon from Dispatch"

With a flick of his wrist, Tristan freed his SmartBand wrist communicator from the sleeve of his overcoat. A little black crystal orb blinking intermittently with the spirited ring tone. "Tristan, here. What's going on, Sarah?"

The orb stopped blinking and simply glowed brightly. Then suddenly, a flash of light emitted from the orb, only to hang in the air as a rectangle of light.

Upon the holo-screen appeared the face of Sarah as it usually appears framed in one of her trademark brightly-coloured Hijabs. She wore a green sweater underneath a white lab coat with a prominently displayed ID Badge; which identifies her as "Sarah Hessler", and describes her occupation as "Dispatch" in printed letters. A makeshift addition in permanent marker also identifies her occupation as "Chief Fun Officer".

"Tristan, where are you right no-" inquired Sarah before stopping mid-sentence as she noticed Lance at the corner of the screen "oh, Lance! You made it!"

"Hi, Sarah" smiled Lance

"Gosh, look at you all grown up! Haven't seen you in years!"

"Heh, yeah. I have grown taller-"

"-You look so adorable!"

"I'M NOT ADORA-"

"Don't fight it, bro. You're a cutie-pie 4 life." Teased Tristan

"Listen, Tristan" interjected Sarah, ignoring Lance's cries of outrage "we have a situation at the Marina police station. You're close to that area, yeah?"

"We just came from there, I can get there in five minutes."

"Sarah, what's going on?" Asked Lance as he and Tristan hurriedly made their way back to the car.

"You know what Barney's like! They're outside the police precinct where he's kept and they're demanding his immediate release! I can tell that this situation could get real ugly, real fast."

Tristan was now back on the highway, weaving through traffic at ludicrous speed like a madman.

"Who is this Barney?!" Asked Lance in confused frustration of someone who feels purposely kept out of the loop.

"Oh, sorry, Lance" replied Sarah "You met his son earlier today. They're in a Challenger Team known as-" **************************************************** ***********Scene 3 - Open with a joke********* **************************************************** "-THE REALLY BAD BANDITS, and we demand that you sum bitches get mah son outta here quick-like!" Bellowed Bernard "Barney" Henshaw, the leader and patriarch of the Wheely Rad Bandits team/family. He was standing on top of the engine of his Big Rig truck while holding a megaphone as he addressed the occupants of the Marina Police Station.

"Pa!" Whispered the jumpsuit-clad motorcyclist member of their band "we're called the 'Wheely Rad Bandits', not the 'Really Bad Bandits'!"

"...really? 'Wheely Rad'?" Puzzled Barney "are you sure, Yukio? That don't sound right..."

"I say we leave the boy in jail" interjected Ezekiel "Zeke" Jenkins as he relaxed in the reclining seat of his tractor " nuthin' make ya feel more alive than shankin' yer cell mate with a rusty spoon!"

"Grampa!" Shouted Yukio in shocked surprise "Randy would never do a thing like that!"

"Prison changes a man, sugar-plum" sighed Grampa Jenkins wistfully "y'all better forget about sweet ol' Randy, and be ready for shankin' Randall, the rusty spoon stabber..."

"AIN'T NOBODY GETTIN' SHANKED, POPS!" Yelled Brenda Henshaw at her dad in frustration as she shifted her weight on the seat of her giant bulldozer.

"I coulda sworn we was the 'Really Bad' Bandits" mumbled Barney as he's scrolling through their team's social media posts on his smartband while adjusting his reading glasses "when did we change it?!"

"It was always like that, Pa!!" Answered Yukio angrily "we had it trademarked and bought the domain name!"

"Bad idea, I always said" sighed Grampa Zeke as he leaned back further on his Tractor's reclining seat while adjusting his tattered straw hat. "I reckon we would be mighty viral through more organic means. Y'see, Internet fame is jus' like farming. Ya can't get good crops from the store-bought crap, ya need the real shi-"

"Pops! Not in front of Yuki!!" Shouted Brenda

"So....are we just going to let them shout at each other in front of our doorstep all day?" Inquired police Chief O'Hara with great concern as he stole peeks at the Bandits from between the slits of his drawn blinds

"They have the right to peacefully assemble, and -surprisingly, I might add - they have no standing warrants for their arrest" replied Inspector Jessica as she peruses the Bandits' files on the holo-screen of her SmartBand. "As long as nobody escalates the situation, we should not have any problems"

"Hey!" Shouted Priya Vanderluss, the Lightening Musketeer as she shot upright from her seat on the only sofa in the Chief's office "are you referring to us?!"

"Yeah, Priya, you should totally lose your temper" calmly snarked Leopold "Lee" Huang, the Love Musketeer, as he pours his fifth spoonful of sugar into his coffee "that would definitely convince her that we don't escalate situations."

"Don't you sass me, lover-boy!" Growled Priya as she shot Leopold a lethal look "I don't want to be the one to tell Sarah that I electrocuted her husband with ten-thousand volts of electricity for being a sarcastic little turd." Priya then cracked her knuckles menacingly, which resulted in sparks crackling through her Tesla Gauntlets.

"GUYS!! Cut it out!" Yelled out Blossom Everglades, the Green Musketeer, as she entered the room with a small brown paper bag and a paper cup full of coffee "Leopold, drink your coffee. I don't even need to check your blood sugar level to know that they're low right now!"

Lee looked away embarrassingly as he sipped from his coffee cup "Sorry, Pri..." He mumbled.

"No...I'm sorry, sweetie." Sighed Priya "You know how I get when I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I know" replied Blossom as she handed Priya the brown paper bag "They didn't have any donuts, so I got you a chocolate croissant"

"Oh thankyouthankyou" Priya excitedly tore into the paper bag and scarfed down a huge bite of the croissant. A content smile sprawled across her face as she purred "mmmmm lomv ya, babe"

"Love you, too, girl. Please don't talk with your mouth full" she turned to face Inspector Jessica "Inspector Browning, we are here only as a precaution. We specifically entered from the back entrance so that we won't draw any attention from the Bandits to our presence here."

Jessica rubbed her eyes in exasperation "Look, I appreciate you guys making the effort to keep this situation as peaceful as possible. But what we got here is a powder keg and all it needs is one spark to blow it all to Hell."

Blossom smiled in acknowledgment "like I said, we are here as a precaution. We will follow your lead in this situation."

Jessica returned her smile with a weary chuckle "heh...as long as nobody does anything stupid, we should be just fi-"

"ALL RIGHT YOU DUMB HICKS!! YOU HAD YOUR FUN! NOW GET OUTTA HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET ARRESTED!!"

The three members of the Mu5keteers were startled by the sudden booming voice that came from the direction of the Priecent's front entrance. On the other hand, Jessica and the police chief were both pale as ghosts, as they quickly recognized the voice.

"Who was that?" quizzically wondered Blossom.

"Nononononononono" Jessica and the chief quickly clambered toward the window. They both yanked hard on the rope for the blinds, causing it to fly upward and hit the window's top frame with an audible smack!

"DAMMIT, ARNOLD!!" **************************************************** *********Scene 4 - That Damn Arnold********* **************************************************** Officer Arnold stood outside the steps of the Marina Police Station in full riot gear. He brought the megaphone closer to his lips once more. "I WON'T SAY IT AGAIN!" He reached for a canister of tear gas from his belt with his free hand, threateningly dangling it by hooking his index finger through the safety pin and letting it sway back and forth.

"BOY! I don't know what your problem is…" bellowed Barney "…but y'all best get a better grip on that there grenade"

"Psshhh! As if I'd take advice from you dumb yokels! You think these pins are easy to come off like in the movies?" Derided Arnold, while carelessly twirling the tear gas grenade from the aforementioned safety pin with great speed.

"Nah, I know that" replied Barney while scribbling complex mathematical formulas on the holographic screen of his SmartBand "but the centripetal force y'all are applyin' to that there canister is gonna fling it upwards at a 92 degrees angle in three, two, one..."

Just then, the tear gas canister flew off of the safety pin in Arnold's hand towards the cloudy afternoon sky. It hung in the air for a second, before descending menacingly towards its reckless sender.

"...uh-oh..."

A mere few feet before the horrific impact, a small capsule-like object shot through the air and struck the tear gas canister in mid-air! Rather than exploding violently with the painful gas, a cluster of huge vines shot out from the canister while still in mid-air. The vines suddenly curled up around the canister, covering it completely in their leafy tendrils.

"I got it!" Shouted Blossom from the now-open entrance to the precinct directly behind Officer Arnold. Her hands were curled into a fist aimed at the now-grounded ball of vines as her eyes glowed faintly with an emerald hue. She turned to her rushing teammates behind her as she continued "we need to get it away from here fast! The gas is decomposing my vines quicker than usual!"

"Say no more, green sleeves!" confidently strode Leopold past her and held the vine-ball with both hands. He lifted his right foot backward a considerable distance off the ground. His bulky gravity boots changed their faint blue glint to a harsh red glow! And like a demonic pendulum, the glowing red foot swung with uncanny force to strike the ball of vines with a devastating kick, which sent it flying over the ocean and splashing down harmlessly at the horizon.

"Tch! I could've kicked it farther" muttered Priya as she stared at the horizon in mild annoyance.

"Not everything is a competition, Priya." Sighed Leopold.

"That does it!" shouted Barney "If you won't give me my son peaceful-like, I'mma take him by force!"

He then turned toward the rest of the Henshaw family "get in! We're doing the Big Bandit!"

Grampa Zeke and Big Brenda begrudgingly shuffled off of their respective vehicles as they headed toward the open doors of Barney's Big Rig. Yukio, on the other hand, was simply euphoric!

"OH! EMM! GEE!! Are you serious, Pa?!" Joyfully called out Yukio as she sprinted energetically toward the Big Rig's passenger seat "I didn't know it was ready yet!"

"Just finished it last night, sweetie-pie" Beamed Barney with pride "I wanted to surprise y'all. But then this unpleasantness happened..."

"Mr. Henshaw!" Shouted Inspector Jessica as she made her way toward the entrance "I will advise you against taking hostile action at this time. Please, get out of your vehicle so that we can talk-"

"Nuh-uh, little missy!" Angrily interrupted Barney "I ain't letting y'all push me and my kin ‘round no more! And another thing..."

As if to punctuate his statement, Barney flipped a switch cover and pressed a hidden red button on his Truck's dashboard. Immediately, the windshield turned into an advanced digitized screen that tracked information on other vehicles in the vicinity. The Big Rig's trailer opened up like a clamshell revealing long mechanical coils, which began grabbing nearby vehicles in a maelstrom of metal carnage!! Each vehicle that is picked up is deconstructed at lightning fast speed by the arms and rebuilt into strange shapes. It wasn't long before the shapes started to look familiar: two huge humanoid arms that pair up nicely with the two equally huge humanoid legs beside them, and they all match up suspiciously well with the large humanoid torso with the eerily well-defined abdominal muscles! The mechanical tendrils assembled these disparate pieces into a cohesive whole while placing the Truck's cabin in place of the head. And what a sight to behold! Within seconds, a 20-foot mechanical monstrosity stood menacingly looming over the police precinct as the shocked occupants of its front entrance stare in awe and fear!

"...it's Doctor Henshaw! Ph.D.! The greatest robotics mind this side of the Mississippi!"

At that moment, Tristan's red convertible skidded to a screeching halt between the Big Bandit and the front entrance of the police station.

"Aww, nertz!" Grumbled Tristan as he stared up at the Big Bandit ignoring them completely as it walked toward the precinct with smashing intentions "we're too late."

"TRISTAN!!! LANCE!!!!" The three Mu5keteers cautiously ran toward the Dumas brothers, dodging the debris from the Big Bandit's rampage through the police station. Blossom then addressed them both "oooh, I wish we could've greeted you in better circumstances, Lance. What do we do, Tristan?"

"Why don't you get into your giant robot and beat him up?" Plainly asked Lance.

There was a moment of utter silence as four pairs of eyes stared dumbfounded at Lance, before it was completely shattered by Priya's shrill voice

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'OUR GIANT ROBOT'??!!"

"Who has giant robots just lying around?!" Aggressively chimed in Blossom

"If we had a giant robot do you think I wouldn't spend every second of my life inside of it?!?!" shouted Leopold as he got weirdly hostile about it, as if his entire belief system is being called into question.

"Guys!" Smiled Tristan before he acrobatically flipped from his seat, over the windshield, landing perfectly on his feet atop the hood of his convertible " We don't need no stinkin' giant robot."

He met their gaze as they looked up at him. With their attention upon him, he continued confidently "we have each other! And more importantly, today..."

He reached into his coat pocket, revealing a SmartBand much like his own, only it is slightly smaller, and it sports a cool blue trimming instead of his red.

Tristan knelt down on one knee, he hands the SmartBand to his brother in the passenger seat as he proudly declares "...we have the Ice Musketeer by our side again!"

Lance's eyes lit up with exhilaration. He's been looking forward to this day his entire life! His hands trembled as they reached out to grab the SmartBand. But they stirred no more the moment he slipped it on his left hand. He felt the weight of it, its snugness, the way it softly pulses with his heartbeat. He knew then that this is what he's been waiting for all his life!

"Ok, Team" Tristan assumed his leadership pose that he has honed for many years hence "the enemy is big and intimidating, but that only means that it's a bigger target."

He jumped down from the hood of his car as he surveyed the damage that the Big Bandit is doing to the Police Station.

"Priya and I will flank it. Keep it preoccupied long enough for Leopold to smash it head-on. You think you can do that, Lee?"

"I'mma show them that love hurts ♥!" smiled Leopold as he cracked his knuckles eagerly.

Tristan turned toward Blossom and Lance "I need you two for ground control: get civilians and the injured to safety, and try to contain that tin can! If you can immobilize it, I'mma give you guys a cookie!"

"Oooh!!" Excitedly cooed Blossom "Macadamia Oat Crunch!!"

Smiled Tristan as he nodded, as if in acknowledgment of their verbal contract "you got your game plan, everybody!" He then addressed Lance "why don't you do the honours, rookie?"

 Lance jumped from the passenger seat excitedly, landing awkwardly on the ground. He quickly regained his balance letting out a triumphant cry:

"ONE FOR ALL-" The other Mu5keteers smiled as they witnessed Lance's clothes transform into his custom-made uniform that they have toiled on for months! Alongside him, his brother Tristan was also in the middle of transforming into his outfit. Tristan and Lance stood amongst the rest of their friends, finally wearing matching clothes! As all five Mu5keteers were finally standing in their finest regalia, they let out another triumphant cry in perfect unison

"-AND ALL FOR VICTORY!"

*************************************************** *****Scene 5: Battle at the Big Mecha******** ***************************************************

With that, the Mu5keteers dispersed to their assigned tasks with great speed! Tristan, the Fire Musketeer, took to the sky with the aid of his jet boots. His Psy-Q ability of Pyrokinesis allowing him to steer and throttle as necessary. He looked down at Priya as he smirked "Race ya, Vander-lost!"

"Oh, you're going down, Dum-ass" Priya smirked back as her Tesla boots gathered static electricity from the atmosphere, with the help of her Psy-Q ability of Fulgurkinesis, she created powerful electromagnets on the soles of her feet. She used it to glide effortlessly across the pavement like a Maglev train, using the underground metallic pipes and wires as her tracks!

"I swear!" Leopold shook his head in frustration "every day with those two-ARRRGH!"

Leopold then Squatted down, his gravity boots turned from blue to a very bright red. It got brighter and brighter until it was a light pink glow illuminating a considerable distance around Leopold. Then suddenly, like a gigantic spring uncoiling, Leopold thrusted his massive girth sky high like a ballistic missile!

"That just leaves ground control!" Smiled Blossom sweetly at Lance "C'mon, we don't want them to hog all the fun!"

She pointed the tip of her blade toward the ground and pressed the hidden trigger in the handle to shoot out one of her patented, custom Edan plant strains. This one, being the Quick-Sprouting vine strain, is the one she considers her favourite mutli-purpose tool. In this case its purpose was clear: the vines gently curled to make a foothold for Blossom as it stretches forward at great speed thanks to her Psy-Q ability of Botankinesis.

"All aboard!" Blossom playfully grabbed Lance by the waist and pulled him close to her as they both sped toward the scene of the carnage atop a cluster of vines stretching high into the air.

"B-Blossom" blurted Lance as his cheeks turned red. It took all of his willpower to tear himself away from her as he yelled out "I'm not a little kid!! I-I can make my own way there!"

He stepped off the vines and conjured a patch of ice with his Psy-Q ability of Cryokinesis. The patch disappears behind Lance as quickly as it appears in front of him , allowing him to effortlessly slide toward their target.

"O-oh..." Stuttered Blossom as she looked at Lance's back as it quickly speeds off in front of her vines

"...sorry, Lance..."

She said it so quietly that Lance almost certainly was not able to hear. To be fair, at that moment Lance would not have been able to hear anything except for the sound of his own heart beating faster and faster.

He shook his head and through gritted teeth whispered "Focus! Get your head in the game." He reminded himself as he looked toward his objective.

At that time, the Big Bandit was beset by Tristan, who shot down fireballs from above, and Priya, who was climbing at the Robot's shoulder while delivering elctrically-charged thrusts of her full-metal stilleto daggers.

Alas, it seems those attacks have no effect on the metal behemoth, as it tries to swat away the attacking musketeers to no avail.

"Sarah scanned ground zero" remarked Blossom, finally catching up with Lance "It's been cleared of civilians already, no injuries so far."

"Good." Replied Lance "Let's keep it that way."

Lance surveyed the area around the Big Bandit "There is not enough moisture in the air for me to freeze that big hunk of junk!" He looked down at a broken water pipe jutting out of the ground. "This might help, but the water pressure is too low. I need to get at least a truckful of water all the way over there in order to freeze it completely!"

"I got you covered" Blossom said gingerly, as she turned the knob on the hilt of her sword with her thumb before finally pressing the trigger firmly. A capsule shot out of her sword's firing mechanism, hitting the water puddle created from the broken water pipe.

Suddenly, a single engorged vine as thick as a tree trunk spurt outward and sloshed its way toward the Big Bandits.

"That's one of the mutated strains I've been tinkering with" remarked Blossom proudly "It grows faster and bigger the more water you give it. The vine is simply full of water, waiting to burst at my command!"

"That sounds disgusting" replied Lance curtly "do you think you can...?"

"Way ahead of you, short stuff!" Interrupted Blossom as she used her Psy-Q ability to propel the huge waterlogged vine toward the giant rampaging robot.

"Thanks!"Lance joyfully called out to Blossom as he slid on top of the engorged vine on a patch of ice. The vines were expanding rapidly as they tightened their grip on ther Big Bandit's legs. Their leafy, soft texture quickly changed to hard crystal-like ice as Lance speed his way on top of them.

"Y'all think I don't see ya down there?" Barney's voiced boomed from the Big Bandit's external speakers. A gigantic mechanical arm, that used to be a police cruiser, was raised menacingly in the air. Its aim was the speeding figure of Lance on top of the water-heavy vines.

"Keep your filthy mecha-hands off of my brother!" Cried Tristan as he flew into the path of the oncoming metal fist. He pointed the tip of his custom Fire Rapier toward the rushing mass of iron. With expert hands, Tristan fiddled with the oxygen levels of his ignition mechanism. Then with a press of the trigger on the handle, the lighter fluid ignited the tiny flame; which when exposed to the high concentration of the compressed oxygen resulted in-

"BACKDRAFT BLAST!"

Tristan's shout was almost inaudible in the deafening sound of the exploding inferno that occured as a result! The force of the blast knocked back the Big Bandit's arm so far that it almost flew out of its socket.

"I don't know what's more embarrasing" Yelled Priya from her percarious perch between the Big Bandit's shoulder blades "that you yelled out the name of your attack or that you gave it a name in the first place!! Haha!"

"Hey, now" smiled Tristan while dodging the Big Bandit's attacks "don't knock it until you've tried it!"

"Besides..." Tristan shifted his gaze to the speeding blue figure as it quickly made its way upward "...he seems to like it!"

"DUDE! You're so awesome!" Giddily shouted Lance as he jumped off the now completely icy vines imprisoning the Big Bandit in its frigid grip!

 "That's what I should be saying." Tristan flew down to grab his brother and float with him safely away from the frozen mechanical giant "Good job, little man!"

"Now he can't move..." pointed out Lance, trying to hide his excitement "...what now? Our weapons don't even scratch it..."

"Don't worry, Lance!" Smiled Tristan as he raised his voice to be heard over the menacing whistling noise "as Leopold would say: all we need now...is a little Love!"

Lance swivelled his head up toward the sound, only to see a glowing pink object hurtling at a terrifying speed.

"Leopold!" Excitedly shouted Lance.

The Love Musketeer dove feet first into the head of the Big Bandit. His Gravity Boots flared violently with a pink hue as Leopold's density multiplied a thousand-fold! The resulting impact crushed the giant's head like a soda can as Leopold's immense girth thrusted itself deeply into the robotic behemoth. This catastrophic and violent descent concluded in an explosive shockwave as Leopold made a smash landing. Firey debris from the exploded Big Bandit rained down ontop of the Love Musketeer.

"OH MY GOD!" Exclaimed Lance in horror "Leopold!!"

"Yeah?" Leopold peeked his head amidst the rubble, not a scratch on his entire body

"H-how?!" Stuttered Lance in confusion.

"Because, li'l buddy, lo-" Replied Leopold confidently, but was suddenly interrupted by Tristan "yeah, yeah we know 'Love conquers all hurr durr'"

"Pssshhh" scoffed Leopold playfully "whatevah, hater!"

"Good job, Lee" complimented Blossom cheerfully "I'll handle the Henshaws."

She pointed the tip of her blade at the half-destroyed Big Rig cabin housing the bewildered Henshaw family. With a flick from her thumb, Blossom cycled through her hilt's ammo selection until she settled on one in particular. She firmly squeezed the trigger with her index finger, firing a small capsule from the hidden muzzle in her sword's hilt. The capsule burst into a cluster of vines that quickly curled around the cabin in tight squuze, thanks to the Green Musketeer's Botankinesis. The vines quickly dried up as it entangled the cabin, becoming hard as a rock.

"We did it, team!" Smiled Tristan warmly "good job, ever-"

Before Tristan could finish his accolades, the sound of a slow clap echoed amidst the ruins of the Marina Police Station. Instinctively, the Mu5keteers turned toward the sound of the clearly sarcastic clapping to find a tall man in a tailored three-piece suit, his long blond hair neatly tied in a loose ponytail, while his designer glasses nicely frames his handsome features. He stopped clapping to dramatically gesture his arms widely toward the carnage around him. He spoke softly with a sardonic tone "Oh great heroes of this fair city. You've done it again. The day is saved, Huzzah."

"Landon" growled Tristan "Why are you here?"

"It just so happen that I was with my client." Replied Landon "and please, call me Jericho. We've known each other long enough"

"Hmph" grumbled Priya "I can't wait to hear how you'll spin this in your client's favour and throw it back against us in court."

"Wait" asked Lance as he's begining to make sense of this situation "you're a Lawyer?"

"Oh where are my manners"Jericho cheerfully addressed Lance while extending his hand for a shake "Jericho P. Landon, ESQ. Attorney at Law. You must be Lance Dumas, the new Ice Musketeer. A pleasure."

"Uh...likewise" Lance grasped Jericho's hand in a firm handshake and he noticed that they were softer than what he had anticipated. "Wait, how did you know about me?! I just came to Atlantica this morning."

"Oh, my client just would not stop talking about you!" Smirked Jericho with a twinge of sarcasm "excessive use of Psychic Quotient Abilities, unsanctioned vigilantism, and destruction of private property. You've left quite an impression on poor young Randall"

"Randall?" Chimed in Blossom quizzically "oh, no. Don't tell me-"

"It's his fault that we're in this mess to begin with!" The voice came from behined a pile of rubble, as Inspector Jessica emerged. She was dragging officer Arnold behined her.

"Ah, Inspector Browning" smiled Jericho dryly "Randall Henshaw bears no responsibilty of the action of his own family members."

"But-"

"Need I remind you that this whole incident was instigated because of the incompetent action of the person squirming behined you?"

Arnold slunk even further behined Jessica in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his shame.

"That was a reckless action unbecoming of a police officer" continued Jericho "I promise you that if the Henshaws are brought on trial for this, I will not hesitate to rip your pricenct to shreds in the courtroom."

Jericho then turned toward Lance as he added "that goes for you, too! Don't think you'll get away with what you've done. I'll also see you in court."

"Why?" Interjected Lance calmly

This response took everyone by surprise, they stood in silence for a second before Jericho managed to stammer "have you not been paying attention? The trial of Randall Henshaw-"

"I am dropping any charges against Randall" interrupted Lance firmly.

"W-what?! How- why?!" Stuttered Jericho in confusion.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Lance furrowed his brow as he smirked confidently "It's my right, isn't it?! I was able to reclaim what's mine and no one was harmed. Besides..."

Lance glanced toward a handcuffed Randall being escorted into view by two police officers "...I did not become a hero to put people in Jail. I became a hero to save lives as best as I can!"

"Well!" Scoffed Jericho derisively "that won't stop my client from pressing charges against you and the police force for-"

"Actually, Mister Landon" interrupted Randall "I'd much rather just drop the whole thing, if'n you don't mind"

"Ugh,whatever" spat Jericho as he turned away in disgust "do what you like, I got better things to do today."

Jericho got into his luxury sedan that was safely parked far away from the disaster radius. As he drove away from the ruined police station, the the rest of the Mu5keteers cheerfully converged upon Lance.

"That was really smooth, short stuff!" Teased Blossom as she placed her arm on Lance's shoulder, pulling him in close for a half-hug. The startled Lance blushed slightly as he struggled to catch his hat which was knocked loose by Blossom's sudden embrace. 

Priya looped her arm around Blossom's free arm and chuckled contently.

"I'm proud of you, little man." Smiled Tristan as he ruffled Lance's exposed hair.

"'From the mouth of babes', eh?" Giggled Leopold as he bent down to pinch Lance's cheek, much to the outrage of the Ice Musketeer.

"Listen, man" Randal nervously stepped closer to the Mu5keteers group hug. He has already been released from his handcuffs and the police officers were working on releasing the rest of his family from Blossom's granite-like cage. "I think what you did back there...what you did was pretty cool...um...I just wanna let you know...I'm sorry I jacked your bag, man..."

"Aw, it's all right" Lance squeezed himself out of his teammates' clutches to approach Randall "I'm sorry I froze your bike. I hope it's not damaged too badly..."

"Aww no way man." Perked up Randy "Lola's tough girl! It'll take more'n that to keep her down!"

Randy fidgeted nervously as he rooted around a brown paper bag containing his belongings. He took out his smartband and an old beat-up camera hover drone from the bag as he asked "hey, y'mind if I got a selfie with you for my blog?!"

"Oooooh! Me too!" Yukio rushed in to embrace her brother tightly, she looked up to the HoverDrone smiling in anticipation.

"Sounds like a lovely idea, sweetie" Brenda added as she approached her childern, Grandpa Zeke and Barney following closely behined her. "But first-"

Brenda raised her hand in a swift arc, striking Randy on the back of his head with an echoing smack!

"What did I tell you about your stupid 'prank' show?!" Brenda yelled at Randy

"Ouch! Sorry, Ma!" Replied Randy sheepishly.

Yukio grabbed Lance's arm and pulled him closer. She turned her head toward her brother and excitedly yelled "C'mon, already! Let's take that selfie!"

Randy adjusted the angle on the HoverDrone camera as he readies it to take the picture.

"Ok, everybody get in closer" istructed Randy "now say 'Collateral damage!'"

As the Henshaws and the Mu5keteers smiled up at the camera, Yukio turned toward Lance who she was still grabbing his arm tightly and whispered "Thank you for dropping the charges against my brother, mister musketeer."

She then kissed him lightly on his left cheek just as the camera went off. Lance's cheeks grew even redder than before. 

"OOOOoooooooH! Well well mister ladies man" playfully teased Priya, as Blossom and Leopold giggled quietly.

"Sniff, my little bro" Tristan was genuinely tearing up "he's blossomed into a handsome young man."   Lance gently pushed Yukio away and drew his hat closer to his eyes, failing to cover up his embarrased expression.

"W-whatever! I'm super jet lagged and I just fought a giant robot! I think I need some rest now." Lance shuffled of angrily toward Tristan's convertible and he stumbled onto the passenger seat.

"Well, I better take him home" Tristan bowed his head slightly "he gets cranky when he's sleepy-"

"I'M HONK NOT HONK CRANKY HONK!!"

"Aw, jeez, he's doing the horn thing again."

"Don't worry, Tristan" Blossom said cheerfully "you take him home. He had a big first day."

"Yeah, we'll take care of the cleanup" Priya added "as always!"

"Yeah, we'll see you guys tomorrow" Leopold patted Tristan's shoulder.

"Thanks, guys" smiled Tristan as he waved goodbye "you're the best!"

Tristan hurried toward the car, his Mu5keteer outfit disappearing in a flash of holographic flames as he got closer. He entered his car only to find Lance passed out in the passenger seat still wearing his Ice Musketeer outfit.

Tristan smiled warmly as he stared at his sleeping brother for a moment before turrning the car's ignition. He softly whispered "I'm glad to have you with us, Lance."

The car drove softly on the sunset-lit bridge toward Alantica city.

END OF CHAPTER ONE