Chapter 50: Prison Break

Chapter 50: Prison Break

The Warden heard the conversation between the group, realizing what was happening. The jailers all paused, then surged as one towards Dr. Zlo. The villain spiraled left to dodge, scraping the edge of the room as jailers whizzed past. Riptide surfed up to him, "dude! Grab on!"

Shaking his head, Dr. Zlo moved in next to Riptide. "Take this," he said, placing the hacking tool in Riptide's hand. The screen read twenty-two seconds. Nodding, Riptide broke away and twisted through a pack of oncoming jailers.

Dr. Zlo fired his monocle laser at incoming jailers. "You'll never catch the mighty Dr. Zlo!" he taunted.

The chasing jailers split in half, one breaking off to chase Dr. Zlo while the other went after Riptide. For ten seconds, the two wove around in circles. Dr. Zlo escaped using his laser and applications of adhesive gel while Riptide used his superior skills to run rings around the jailers. With ten seconds left on the clock, Riptide raised the hacker to the sky.

"You'll never catch us now, dudes!"

"You fool!" Dr. Zlo yelled. The jailers chasing him broke off to assault Riptide. Cass, Mabel, and Sweet Dream fired into the jailers as much as possible, a few lucky shots taking out a couple. But the majority made their way over to the surfer. Riptide stepped on the gas pedal and rocketed up to the ceiling.

Riptide cut back at the last second, turning around to dive straight at the incoming jailers. The seconds counted down. Five: Riptide fired his laser into the crowd. Four: the villain lay flat on his board. Three: he zipped through a small gap in the jailers, all while avoiding their hands. Two: Riptide felt something grab his surfboard, and he jerked into the air, sailing into the waiting arms of jailers. One: Riptide grabbed the hacker and placed it below his feet just before the jailers grabbed him, surfing by with his leftover momentum. Zero: the hacker completed, and the Warden froze.

Riptide jumped off the tool and landed on the ground. "Did you see that!"

Sweet Dream smacked him on the back of the head. "You idiot, what if you lost the tool?"

"But I didn't. And now we have this whole area. Right, dude?"

Riptide handed the hacking tool to Dr. Zlo. The doctor looked down at the screen, seeing a list of options scrolling down the side. A wicked smile crossed his face. "I believe we're back in business."

Dr. Zlo pressed down on the manual override option listed on the hacker. Above him, the Warden's holographic face shifted from imposing to impassive. The jailers connected to the main computer sagged to the floor, wires loosening their hold on the various trapped humanoids.

"New plan!" Dr. Zlo started. "We release the prisoners here and use them to stage a prison break. While they distract the guards, we sneak into the control room."

"What if the prisoners don't cooperate?" Sweet Dream questioned.

"Then, we use Mabel!" Dr. Zlo twisted to his minion, only then remembering her gag. "Ah, we'll have to find some way to remove that."

He walked over to Mabel's side, inspecting the impressive gag. His scan revealed a small keyhole located in the back of the contraption. "Blast, it's an analog device. We'll need to find a key or someone to break it."

"So no Mabel," Sweet Dream clarified.

"No matter! I'm sure my natural charisma will convince these prisoners to make me the leader. Warden!"

The Warden's impassive face looked down. "Yes?"

"Wait!" Sweet Dream called.

Dr. Zlo frowned, upset that he was interrupted. "What?"

"Ah, Cass. What is it?"

"I made you a martini to celebrate the success of your current plan." The butler held up the silver plate he carried around, and a single drink rested on top.

"A bit of an odd time for a drink, don't you think Cass?"

Cass fidgeted. "Well, see sir, I was thinking. With Mabel unable to use her power, maybe I should stay behind with her."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cass! You are my most trusted minion. Without you, who would keep me safe?"

"But boss, you got all those others now."

Dr. Zlo leaned in, grabbing Cass by the shoulder. "Look," he whispered, "the others are villains as well. There's every chance they'll betray me once the heist is done. I need someone loyal by my side for that reason. You understand?"

Cass nodded, face turning up in a smile. His boss trusted him. There was no way he would let him down now. "I'm with you, boss."

"Excellent. Now, onward!"

Dr. Zlo marched out of the prison towards his next objective. Mabel followed behind, tugging at her gag in the vain hope of removing it somehow.

The group stepped into chaos. The prisoners had wasted no time attacking the guards, but they hadn't been silent in the matter either. However, the large number of prisoners quickly overwhelmed the few on patrol. After taking their weapons and armor, the prisoners charged towards the stairs ahead of them, intent on barreling through the entire mothership.

Sweet Dream pointed, "we should take those stairs on the left. Avoid the battle going on."

"I told them to sneak down," Dr. Zlo grumbled.

"Oh well, not every follower will listen, dude," Riptide replied.

"Hurry up you guys," Sweet Dream urged, dashing over to the stairs. "We need to strike while the guards are distracted."

They took the steps two at a time, eager to reach the control room. With all the guards dealing with the prisoner rebellion, the three easily made their way over the control room. During the journey, Dr. Zlo reminded everyone to remove their secret identities. Riptide and Sweet Dream did so once they stopped in front of the control room door.

"Alright, this is the big one dudes. You ready?"

Sweet Dream nodded. "We should do a breach. Stack up on the sides. Zlo, hack the door open, and whoever has explosives lob them in once it opens."

"I've got grenades," Cass replied.

"Wait for the smoke to die out before we go in," Dr. Zlo warned.

Nodding, the others stacked up on either side of the door while Dr. Zlo pulled out the hacker tool. A quick tap and a few seconds later, the door clicked open.