"You know, Ira, we're gonna have to do another recruiting mission soon," Jads said quietly so that only Ira and Ai could hear her. "We still need more members, though having Ai and Shrieker and around will be a big help."
Ai blushed and smiled, then turned to Jads while they were walking. "So, you never really explained to me what Team Rocket47 does."
Jads glanced around, then whispered, "Not now. I'll tell you when we're in the forest and away from all these people. We don't want to risk having a member of Team Rocket hearing us."
Ai nodded, saying nothing. Once they had reached the forest, she asked, "So, what is there that I should know?"
"Well," Jads started, "it's fairly simple. We do everything in our power to oppose Team Rocket. So far, Crystal and Joey have done most of the work in that area."
"Well, I know that already, but what else do you do when you're not trying to stop Team Rocket's plans?"
"We do the same thing that any other Pokemon Trainer does. We go out and catch Pokemon, then train them. We've got a huge underground facility which serves that purpose."
"Really?" Ai asked, rather interested. "What exactly is contained in this �underground facility?'"
"All sorts of stuff. Battle simulators, Pokeball storage, blueprints for later projects, and a small laboratory."
"A lab?" Ai asked. "What's that used for?"
"We mostly use it for making bombs, tranquilizers, and such."
"That's cool," Ai replied. "And how do you keep intruders out of this place?"
Ira stepped in and said, "That was my job. I built a state-of-the-art security system to protect it. The only way in is through two doors. One inside of the cabin, which you've seen already, and another at the entrance of the headquarters. The door in the cabin opens to a spiral staircase, and that one always remains locked. Each member possesses a key, so you'll get one soon enough."
"And how about the door to the entrance of the HQ?"
"That's one is a bit more sophisticated. It's a heavy metal door, and it required at least two members of TR47 to open. There is a palm scanner next to the door, and at least two members must do a palm scan to unlock and open the door. Whenever we recruit new members, a scan of their palm is entered into the computer so that they can gain entrance."
"Interesting," Ai responded. She was rather gifted in the way of science and technology, so she knew exactly how everything that Ira was describing worked.
"In addition to the palm scan that protects the entrance to the HQ, there's an automatic defense system inside of the HQ itself. The only way to deactivate it is by doing two palm scans to open the door. If someone gains entrance to the HQ some other way, they'll be met inside by motion detectors. Once the motion detectors are triggered, an alarm will sound as a warning. If they remain inside, the next phase of the automatic defense will kick in, consisting of tranquilizer guns which are aimed by the motion detectors."
"Is that it?" Ai asked. "Tranquilizer darts are easily avoidable, because if you know where they're coming from you can dodge right before they shoot. Also, what if they're wearing some sort of protection, such as body armor or padding?"
Ira paused and thought for a few moments, then cursed under his breath. Ai was right. He turned to her, then said, "Well, you seem to know what you're talking about. What do you propose we should do?"
Ai smiled, then said, "It's rather simple, actually. Use high-powered lasers."
Ira thought for a moment, then said, "Well, what if the lasers miss? There's a lot of delicate equipment in the HQ that could be damaged by an errant laser."
"That's not a problem," Ai replied. "Lasers are quick, so they're near impossible to dodge. Besides, the delicate equipment in the HQ could be shielded by some sort of reflective surface. What are the walls of the HQ made out of?"
"Approximately six inches of reinforced concrete."
"Perfect," Ai said. "Concrete can absorb a laser without taking much damage. Besides, of a laser were to miss and reflect off one of the machines, there would still be a chance of a hit on the ricochet."
Ira nodded, then smiled. "You're gonna make an excellent addition to TR47, Ai . . ."
Blade sighed, then cursed quietly. The lab had been virtually destroyed when the roof had caved in. Included in the destruction was his cloning machine. It had taken him years to design and build that machine, and a few additional years to test the components of the machine.
His machine had been completely destroyed. The falling debris had crushed most of the machine, thus destroying the intricate circuitry. Not only that, but now the two Mews and the Mewtwo had joined forces. It would be that much more difficult for Team Rocket to successfully create a clone without having it escape, assuming that they could build a new cloning machine anytime soon.
Blade turned around, then was surprised to see Giovanni standing there. "Yes, sir?"
"You lied to me, didn't you?"
"What do you mean?" Blade asked.
"You never even attempted to capture the cloned Mew, did you?" Giovanni was looking rather angry, which was understandable.
"Of course we were attempting to capture it," Blade responded. He knew that it was only partially true.
"Maybe so, but meanwhile you were focusing on creating a Mew clone to cover your tracks. But instead of creating a perfect clone the second time, you ended up with a Mewtwo."
Blade began to get nervous. How did Giovanni know so much? Giovanni gave him a disgusted look, then glanced around at the ruins that remained of the laboratory. He then turned to face Blade once again.
"Well, are you going to say anything to defend yourself?"
Blade sighed and let his head droop, then mumbled, "No, sir."
Giovanni nodded his head, then mumbled something incomprehensible. He sighed deeply, then said, "Well, I'm going to give you one last chance to redeem yourself. You still have the blood sample of the original Mew, correct?"
"Yeah," Blade replied, "but there's only enough for one more clone. Besides, we don't even have a working machine to perform the experiment."
Giovanni smiled, then said, "Not true. This wasn't the only cloning machine that was created. The technicians built a second cloning machine in case something happened to the first, however it's never been tested."
Blade immediately perked up at this bit of news. His job was on the line, so he hoped that the second machine would function properly. He nodded to Giovanni, then said, "I'll get working on it as soon as possible."
"Well then, get your butt moving."
Blade nodded, then left the laboratory quickly. Giovanni watched the door lock shut, then looked around at the wreckage in the lab. It would require quite a bit of cleaning up before they would be able to repair the damage.
Giovanni walked to the door and pulled it open, then stepped out of the lab. He glanced over his shoulder at the lab, then let the door swing shut and lock. He successfully cloned two Pokemon, and both of them went on the warpath. If that man doesn't get this last one to cooperate, he can kiss his butt goodbye . . .
Ai put the finishing touches on one of the laser guns in the Headquarters, then examined her work. Satisfied, she jumped down from the stool. She picked up the stool, then walked to the main door, where Ira had been supervising her progress.
"So, everything is all set up?" Ira asked.
"Yup," Ai responded. She pulled a small robot drone out of her pocket, then placed it on the floor. She nodded to Ira, then they pulled open the large door. They stepped outside, then the door swung shut and locked.
Ira pulled out a handheld view screen out of his pocket, then switched it on. The small device was linked to the security camera inside of the headquarters. The security system was armed, so they would now test it.
Ai pulled out a remote control and switched it on, then suddenly the alarm sounded. The camera view on Ira's screen panned to the left quickly, then locked in on the small drone, which was moving across the floor quickly.
Suddenly a tranquilizer dart whizzed through the air, bouncing off the drone harmlessly. Ai pressed a few buttons on the remote control, causing the drone to weave back and forth at random. The security camera continued to lock in on it, despite the rapid movement.
The alarm continued to sound, and a single red light was blinking on the palm scanner. Ira and Ai continued to gaze at the view screen, waiting for the next phase of the security system.
Sure enough, a laser shot through the air moments later, hitting the drone dead-on. The drone exploded, sending small pieces of metal flying through the air. Ira smiled and looked up at Ai, then placed his hand on the scanner. It beeped and a green light blinked steadily, accompanying the red light. Ai stepped over to the scanner and placed her palm on it, then the alarm stopped. The doorlock clicked, and the large door swung open again.
Ira glanced around nervously, hoping that the security system had been deactivated properly. Sure enough, no alarm sounded. Ira glanced at the black spot on the floor where the drone had exploded, then at the shrapnel scattered across the floor.
"So, you want to clean up the mess?" Ira asked, grinning slightly . . .
Shrieker glanced at the time, then sighed. She had only been reading for 30 minutes, but it had seemed like three hours. Annoyed, she stood up and walked into Joey's bedroom.
"What do you people do around here to pass the time?"
Joey shrugged, then replied, "Not much. You can always watch TV."
Shrieker grumbled, then said, "The TV is broken."
"Oh yeah," Joey mumbled, somewhat dejected. "Well, you can always asked Ira and Jads. They were the first two people here."
Shrieker nodded, then shut the door to Joey's bedroom. She then went to the door which led down to the Headquarters and unlocked it. She stepped inside and locked the door again, then walked down the spiral staircase quickly.
Shrieker was met halfway by Ira, Jads, and Ai, who were coming up. She stopped, then turned around and began walking back up with them.
"Is there anything to do around here?" Shrieker asked. "This really sucks!"
Ira and Jads looked at each other, then shrugged. "Well, you can always train in the battle simulators."
"Yeah, but that means I need two people to get in, and half the time nobody else will come with me."
Jads mumbled something about Ira, then said, "Well, if you'll just ask, I'd be more than happy to go with you."
Shrieker smiled, then said, "Thanks, Jads."
"No problem," Jads responded. She then turned to Ira when they got to the top of the stairs. "So, when are we going to go recruiting again?"
Ira shrugged. "Anytime soon. It doesn't really matter."
Jads smiled as she unlocked the door, then they all walked out and locked it again. "Well then, I propose the three of us go tomorrow."
Ira shrugged his shoulders, then replied, "All right, but do you have to be so spontaneous about it?"
"No, I just want to get as many members as possible before Team Rocket discovers us."
"I guess you're right," Ira said.
Shrieker then cut in. "Hey, what about me? I don't just wanna hang around here and be bored stiff all day."
"Well, you're going to have to put up with it for a day. But hey, you've always got Joey and Crystal to do stuff with."
Shrieker thought for a moment, then said, "You're right, Ira."
Ira then looked back at Jads and Ai. "So, how early should we leave? I was thinking around 9:00 . . ."
Blade placed the rest of Crystal's blood sample in the cloning machine, then powered up the computer. He bit his lip as the systems came to life, hoping that the machine would work like it was supposed to. The first machine had run flawlessly on the first attempt, so he hoped that this one would do the same.
Sure enough, the machine powered up without any trouble. Blade looked around at the small room he was in, then sighed. It was a bit more cramped than the lab, but there was still enough space for everything.
Blade watched as the monitor began popping up the various numbers, satisfied that the machine was working perfectly. He stood up and glanced over his shoulder, then smiled and left. He had a fairly good feeling about the experiment this time. He locked the door behind himself, then headed to Giovanni's office.
Blade knocked on the door, then heard Giovanni tell him to come in. Blade opened the door and stepped into Giovanni's office, then closed it again.
"Sir, the machine works perfectly. The cloning process is underway."
"Good," Giovanni replied without looking up. "If this experiment doesn't work properly, you're going to be searching for a new job."
"Understood," Blade said quietly.
"Now leave me alone. I have work to do."
Blade nodded, then left Giovanni's office quickly. That guy is getting to be a real jerk. I might as well find another Team if he's always gonna be this way . . .
Ira, Jads, and Ai found themselves in Veridian City, recruiting yet again. They had already been working for a few hours, and they weren't having any more luck than they had been having the first time. Jads and Ai met up, then sat down on a park bench.
"This is really demoralizing," Jads said. "You'd think more people would be interested."
Ai nodded, then said, "No kidding. Team Rocket is notorious across the entire island, so it seems like people would be more than happy to join TR47."
Jads shrugged her shoulders, then said, "Well, that's their choice. If they want to have Team Rocket harassing them until the end of time, that's their own problem."
Ai nodded again and giggled, then said, "Well, at least TR47 has a few members. But we need to get some more so that we can actually defend ourselves. I've seen what Team Rocket does to rival groups, and it's not pretty."
"Really?" Jads asked. "And what's that?"
"Oh, all sorts of things. Tipping off the police, raids, torturing members, etc. One time on the news I saw that an entire apartment had been burned out. Twenty people were found inside, all dead. I knew without a doubt that Team Rocket had done it, but the police was never able to tag the crime on them."
Jads growled, then said, "The police around here are worthless. If people don't do the investigating for them, half the time it doesn't happen."
"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Ai said.
"No wonder Team Rocket gets away with so much," Jads said. "If the police force would actually do their job, Team Rocket would probably be a lot more reluctant to commit crime."
Jads and Ai jumped slightly as someone cleared their throat behind them. They both turned around, fearing that they had upset a potential member of Team Rocket. Instead of seeing an angry person, they saw a person that was covered in a large brown trench coat, a hood pulled up over their head as well. Their hands were in their pockets, though they appeared to be wearing black gloves.
"Um, can I help you?" Jads asked.
The person nodded, then in a female voice said, "Of course you can. I couldn't help but overhearing your conversation. Especially the fact that the two of you were talking about Team Rocket."
Jads turned slightly pale. Where the heck did she come from? She wasn't there the last time I checked. "Well, what's your point?"
"My point is that I've been running from Team Rocket for three years now," she responded."
"Three years? Why?" Jads asked.
The girl looked around, then quietly said, "Come with me. I'd rather be in a more private spot."
Jads looked at Ai, who shrugged. Well, I guess there's no harm in it. "Okay,"
Jads and Ai stood up, then followed the girl, who led them into the woods, away from the city. They stopped after a few minutes, then the girl looked around quickly to make sure that everything was all clear.
Satisfied that nobody was around, the girl raised her hands to her hood, then pulled it back away from her head. Jads and Ai simultaneously gasped as they saw two Raichu-like ears protruding through dark brown hair, which had streaks of blue as well. Her eyes were a deep green color; much deeper than Jads had ever seen before.
Also noting her dark skin color, Jads said, "You're not from around here, are you?"
The girl shook her head, then said, "No, I'm not. Team Rocket kidnaped me from my family while we were on vacation."
Jads growled loudly, then said, "Why am I not surprised that Team Rocket was behind that?"
The girl gave Jads a surprised look, then said, "They took me to their Headquarters, then performed a series of experiments on me. At some point, I transformed into the girl that you see standing before you."
She then took off her gloves, but instead of exposing hands, she had paws like a Raichu. She removed her trench coat completely, also exposing a Raichu tail. Jads couldn't help but stare, because she had never seen anything like this before.
"I managed to escape from Team Rocket, and they've been trying to recapture me ever since. They've come close a few times, but have never actually succeeded."
"So, if you heard us talking about Team Rocket, why didn't you just go somewhere else?" Ai asked curiously.
"Because you two were different. You were talking about the negative side of Team Rocket quietly, not bragging about it as most members do."
Jads nodded, then looked at the girl again. "So, what's your name?"
"My name is Columbine, but you can call me Colli."
"My name is Jads, and this is Ai."
"Good to meet you," Colli replied. "So, what are you two doing in Veridian City? I've never seen you two before."
"Well, in all honestly, we're recruiting for our organization known as Team Rocket47. It's just a little band of people that we've pulled together."
Colli took half a step back, somewhat afraid, then asked, "What exactly do you do in Team Rocket47?"
"Anything that opposes Team Rocket. I guess you could call us a rogue group."
Colli stepped forward again and smiled, glad that they weren't allies with Team Rocket or something like that. "So the reason that you're in Veridian is because you're trying to recruit more members?"
"You catch on quick," Ai said, smiling.
Colli smiled back, then said, "Well, I'd have to say you two succeeded today."
Jads resisted the urge to hug Colli, remembering how Ai had reacted. "Come on, let's go find Ira. He's another member that's out doing the same thing as me."
Colli nodded and smiled, then asked, "So, are there any hot guys in TR47?"
Jads giggled and said, "Well, there's Ira, but he's already claimed by me. He's the only guy, so we're hoping to actually recruit some male members for once."
Colli giggled, than said, "That's good to know. It wouldn't be much fun if there weren't any guys to flirt with."
Jads giggled again, then said, "Right you are . . ."