Chapter 49: Jailhouse Rock

Chapter 49: Jailhouse Rock

For a moment, neither side moved. Dr. Zlo's group stood still in the hope that the Quli in power armor didn't react. Then, an alien stepped through the line of ray guns.

"State your business," they declared in an imperious voice.

"Transporting prisoners," a Quli answered.

The imperious alien stepped forward and grabbed Dr. Zlo by the chin. They turned his face every which way, "So these are the attackers who used our own technology against us."

Dr. Zlo knocked the hand away.

The Quli smiled. "Fiesty. Nevertheless, we will break you."

The alien waved to the surrounding guards. "Take them to the holding cells. And you," they pointed at the mind-controlled aliens. "Thank you for escorting the prisoners. I am now retasking you with holding the line below us."

Dr. Zlo glanced at Mabel, who nodded. "Do you honestly think you can hold me?" He started.

The Quli turned with a questioning look. "What makes you think you can escape?

"Oh boy, here we go," Sweet Dream sighed. "You just activated his gloating switch. Now he'll be all day with it."

"I cannot be gloating if I tell the truth! I am Dr. Zlo, villainous mastermind and genius inventor! I have delved past the mysteries none would dare tread and have emerged the greatest of all! No cage would be able to hold my mighty intellect!"

"And no cage can hold me either! For I am Riptide, greatest surfer the world has ever known!" Riptide looked at Sweet Dream.

"What?"

"Do it."

"What? No. I don't need to announce my presence."

"C'mon, I know you want to."

"I will not."

"Just a small intro?"

"No."

"I won't stop until you say something."

Sweet Dream glared at him.

"Do it," Riptide said.

"Fine." Exasperated, Sweet Dream turned to the alien and spoke in a tired voice, "and I am Sweet Dream, lover of all things candy and your worst nightmare."

Riptide gave Sweet Dreama thumbs up.

"Meet the Warden," the jailer chirped. "He will go over your orientation during your stay with us."

Sweet Dream stared up at the massive face. "Zlo, if I get stuck in the matrix because of your insane plan, I will find a way to escape and murder you."

"Fret not! My genius has already predicted this outcome," Dr. Zlo raised the hacking tool to his face and powered it on. The phone-sized object whistled as it started up. A small blue circle spun, the universal sign that the device needed to load.

"Dude, you might want to hurry," Riptide saw one of the racks shift and spin down to the floor. The doors opened with a clunk, and five empty pods whirred forward.

"It's loading," Dr. Zlo said. "Keep it busy for a few seconds."

"A simple plan he said, all the candy in the world he said," Sweet Dream sarcastically complained.

"No need to be sour," Dr. Zlo punned.

"I'm not sour; I'm bitter. And you better get us out of this, or you'll learn the true meaning of dark chocolate." Sweet Dream shifted into her hulking form.

Riptide pulled out his board, "dude, I think I've done more fighting today than all of last week combined."

"Less talking, more distracting," Sweet Dream replied. Taking her own advice, she shot off a spray of chocolate at some exposed wiring.

The phone screen lit up with a bright blue light. "Got it," Dr. Zlo said. Instructions appeared on the screen.

Hacking Tool Instructions:

Highlight item to be hacked in square

Tap screen

Protect the tool as it hacks

Dr. Zlo aimed the phone at the holographic head and tapped the screen. Immediately, the lights in the jail flashed red.

"Act of aggression detected, executing termination procedure."

The Warden's deep voice boomed as pods near the top hissed open and pulled out wire covered humanoids exactly like the jailer.

"Hacking finished in a minute!" Dr. Zlo yelled over the voice. "Hold them off until then!"

Reaching into his inventory, Dr. Zlo pulled out two ray guns, tossing one to Cass and Mabel. "Just in case your weapons don't work."

Cass grabbed the gun gratefully, letting off a potshot as he fumbled with the trigger. It struck one of the lights above. Mabel grabbed the weapon like it was a used napkin and stored it in her purse. She then aimed her bag at an incoming jailer and squeezed the pearl lining. A sonic cone burst out of the purse, shaking the jailer off course with the whining sound.

Riptide flew through the weaving jailers, firing off lasers to keep the swarm from encircling him. Sweet Dream provided support, gunking up motors and servos with blasts of chocolate. A jailer dove down and attempted to shove the woman into one of the pods, but missed Sweet Dream's real body and emerged covered in chocolate.

"Sh*t," she cursed. "That took a lot out of me. Zlo, how much longer!"

"Thirty seconds," Dr. Zlo said. He tapped his feet, rocket shoes activating and lifting him away from two oncoming jailers.