Boomer stepped into a chamber with a smile, seeing Misty locked in a cage. "It's good to see you put precisely where you belong, Misty. You trapped, and me on top of the world. Exactly as the world should be."
Misty struggled against her restraints. "Why are you doing this?"
Boomer snorted. "Being with those people has made you even more of an airhead than I thought possible. Well, need a reminder? Betraying us? Leaking our secrets? Generally being a nuisance? If I had my way we'd have left you in a far worse place. But that's how the dice rolls, I guess. Strong from the weak."
Misty shifted forward as best she could. "Unlike you, they won't leave me. My friends are coming, and they will stop you!"
Boomer smiled. "Well, isn't that a relief. I've been looking forward to a chance to put those grubs in their place. Now let's see if your pathetic father can save you." He stepped backwards with a smile, looking at the space above him and waving his hands. Dramatic music started up as flame projectors and smoke machines lit the room up.
Misty rolled her eyes. "Here as well?"
"It's time you learned a lesson/
It's time that you understand!
Don't ever count on anybody else/
In this or any other land!
I once hoped for friendship/
To find a place among my kind.
But those were the childish wishes/
Of someone who was blind!"
"Open up your eyes!
See the world from where I stand!
Me, among the mighty/
You, caged at my command!
"Open up your eyes!
Give up your sweet fantasy lies!
It's time to grow up and get wise/
Come now, little one, open up your eyes!"
The background suddenly became gentler as the music faded back to a quiet lullaby esque sound.
"We all start out the same/
With simple naive trust.
Shielded from the many ways/
That life's not fair or just.
"But then there comes a moment/
A simple truth that you must face.
If you depend on others/
You'll never find your place!
"And once you take that first step/
Upon a path that's all your own?
You see it all so clearly/
The best way to survive is all alone!"
The music intensified again, Boomer seemingly having missed the irony in those words.
"Open up your eyes!
See the world from where I stand!
Me, among the mighty/
You, caged at my command!
"Open up your eyes/
And behold the faded light!
It's time to grow up and get wise/
Come now, little one, open up your eyes!
"Open up your eyes!"
Boomer smiled as he indicated to a screen, showing the country. "All of this will be ours to control. This is what going it alone wins you, kid. We only exist to be used by others, so follow your own path and play the game as long as you can." He paused. "And I can see this is the case here. Admit it, Misty. Your friends failed you."
Misty looked down, refusing to meet Boomer's eyes. "They didn't fail me. I failed them."
It was falling dark when the convoy pulled into Waltham Abbey. The place was covered in abandoned buildings that had just been left behind to rot. Machinery scattered the terrain and left the region in something of a mess.
Charles looked around. "For a villain's lair I'd have expected a bit more going on."
"They're probably elsewhere," Zipp said. She stopped his engine and hopped out of the cab. "Let's go."
"I'll stay with the engines," Hitch said, staying behind. Even though he suspected a trap, it would do them no good at all if they had no transport out of the area.
As the others advanced across the site, the collapsed buildings cast ghostly shapes across the landscape. Collapsed roofs denoted structures that once housed experiments and equipmnt. Old lamps sat above abandoned streets, never to shine again. And the darkest aspect was yet to come. The landscape was covered in discarded military remains.
"It's as if everybody just dropped their tools and left," Pipp said. "I wonder if it's haunted?"
"Not really the time for that now, Pipp," Zipp said. "Focus on what's up ahead, not what could be lurking in buildings."
"OK," Pipp replied, as Sunny scanned the terrain with her flashlight. "Still, worth keeping in mind."
Izzy bounced over to a bell. "I wonder what this does!"
Sunny walked over and calmly pulled her away. "We don't want to alert them, do we?"
"Fair point," Izzy replied.
Suddenly, Zipp called over. "Found something!" The others rushed over to find what looked like a sliding metal door, and a control panel. Zipp looked at the panel closely. "Now, I wonder what the code could be?"
"Try a date?" Pipp suggested, as strange noises started from the other side of the plant. "This place is giving me the creeps."
"You're not the only one," Izzy replied.
Zipp slipped her goggles on and set it to scan the keypad. After a few seconds of simulating numerous different number options it found the right one, and Zipp punched it in. The panel moved back, and revealed some stairs.
"Down we go," Izzy said, and the four of them proceeded into the darkness underneath the abandoned plant.
Alphabittle found himself in a yard, and glanced about. "Hello? What is this?"
The nearby TV suddenly flickered into life, and another pre recorded message started to play. "You have made it to the final test. This room is full of abandoned equipment from both the railway and the region's past. Each item has been primed with gunpowder. If you make one false step it will detonate, blowing the room to pieces. You know the price of failure. Live or die, make your choice."
Alphabittle sighed. "I survived the last room. I think I can make it through this." He pushed on into the room, and stepped around the wrecks as best he could. The dingy lighting made figuring out where to step difficult, and he didn't have a torch on him so couldn't see what was happening on the ground.
He stepped slowly around the wrecks to avoid putting a foot down on a tripwire or the wrong place. Whomever had put him or Misty in this position was going to pay for what they had done.
But that could come later. Right now he had to focus on making it through the maze. That might be easier said than done, though. He steeled his nerves and pushed onwards into the darkness, silence being his only companion.
The others, meanwhile, pushed open the doors to a large chamber, full of rails and whirring machinery. Lights flickered from overhead, and obstacles filled the area with problems.
"Where are we?" Pipp asked. "This is seriously creepy."
"The lair of Opaline," Sunny replied. "That's my best guess, at least. And no doubt we're deep underneath the local area."
"Quite correct, on both counts," a voice said, and suddenly their attention was drawn to a familiar figure standing on a platform. "Miss me?"
"Not hugely," Sunny replied.
"Oh, what a pity," Opaline replied. "You know, you and I have more in common than you care to admit. So much more than the pathetic beings you keep as friends."
Zipp turned. "Where's Misty?"
Opaline pointed upwards. Their eyes looked upwards to see a bound Misty being lowered in on a cable.
"Misty!!" Pipp called.
Izzy looked over. "Let her go," she growled.
"Oh, but of course," Opaline smiled. "LET HER GO!"
The cable suddenly detached from its housing, and Misty plummeted towards the ground, smacking into the terrain in front of them. "Owww."
Pipp looked up. "What did you do?"
"I let her go, as you asked. Now to move onto the important bit."
Sunny looked coldly at her. "You're evil."
"At least I'm honest on that front," Opaline smiled. "Better make that Evil Queen! Diesel 10! Search and destroy!"
A loud engine roared from below, and a diesel appeared. It didn't take them long to identify Boomer at the controls. "Let's deal with them," the diesel engine said coldly.
"Gladly," Boomer replied, and opened the throttle.
Sunny looked to Misty. "We both need to pony up. You take him from the ground, I'll strike from the skies."
Misty nodded, and got up as her abilities flared into being. Sunny's wings thundered into life with a burst of light, and she flew into the air at great speed.
The diesel roared along the track, the grabber snapping at the air as Sunny whizzed around. "Keep still!" the diesel shouted.
"Missed me!" Sunny replied, some of her former snark returning.
The diesel roared around a bend, but Misty fired off an energy blast, redirecting them onto another line. "Take that!"
Diesel 10 growled as he was forced onto another line, skidding round another obstruction before heading directly towards Misty. "You'll get what you deserve," he said, the claw snapping at her.
Misty hopped to one side as the battering ram on wheels thundered by, heading into another set of the plant. Sunny flew down and hovered next to the cab before pulling the cab door open.
Boomer stepped away from the controls and threw a punch. Sunny dodged it and launched one of her own, the energy burst from her powered up form sending him flying. The door broke open behind him and he bounced along the ground. He landed before hitting another button. "Let's see how you like fighting fire with fire."
He roared into the air as Sunny did the same, the two clashing in the sky before Sunny tore one of the wings off the flight machine. Boomer slammed into obstacles in the air before crashing to a stop on the ground.
Misty closed in on him, and Sunny touched down in front of Boomer as well.
Misty was the first to speak. "Looks like justice finally caught up with you, Boomer."
Boomer looked up, and to their surprise put his hands together. "Mercy, please! This is just a bad path I chose! If you let me go I'll turn over a new leaf, I swear! Just give me a chance!"
Sunny scoffed. "This is new. Showing remorse, Boomer? I never thought I'd see this. Any last words before we haul you to the cops?"
Boomer smiled. "Gotcha." He punched a button on his suit, and suddenly two domes rolled shut over the two girls.
"What?" Misty asked, blasting it with her energy.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Opaline said. "Those are impervious to your abilities. Now for the best part."
Suddenly, devices popped out of the ground and fired up, pulling some sort of energy out of Misty. The girl screamed as it was pulled from her body.
Sunny looked up and saw Alphabittle banging on glass overlooking the scene, and back to the others, who were stuck behind some sort of energy shield. She tried to cut her way out, but the glass was too tough for her to shatter into pieces.
Opaline smiled as she witnessed Misty's torment. "Beautifully karmic justice, isn't it?" she said. "You betray me, you suffer at my hands. I've waited a long time for this. FIRE!" She slammed a button down with her hand.
As Misty collapsed on the floor, broken and in pieces, the energy flooded into Opaline, who laughed as she was filled with power. "YES! MAGIC IS MINE ONCE AGAIN!"
"What the?" Zipp asked. "What's going on?"
"Can she use spectra to power herself up?" Pipp asked. "Because if she can, that's not good."
Izzy looked about, and tried to break through the shield again. "Come on! Why can't we get to her?"
"You really think I'd let you disrupt my plans now?" Opaline asked, as two sets of enormous wings flared into being behind her. "This is just the start." She focused her mind downwards.
Inside the bubble, Sunny began to struggle. None of them could hear her, but they knew she was screaming from her facial expressions and writhing in agony.
After a time, she stopped. And then turned to face them, her eyes glowing red where green irises had once been.