�I was hiking through the area and happened to notice this cabin. Normally I would�ve just kept going, but it just happened to be the same cabin that I saw on a flyer.�
Jads immediately appeared and the door. �You read one of our flyers?� she asked energetically.
The man nodded. �What exactly is it that you do here?�
�We�re part of a small organization known as Team Rocket47. Basically, we made it our ultimate goal to oppose anything that Team Rocket is involved in.�
Shrieker was still rather uneasy, but was feeling a bit more calm that before. Perhaps this man wasn�t so bad after all. However, she couldn�t shake the feeling that something was wrong, no matter how hard she tried.
�Opposing Team Rocket, huh? Sounds interesting. But how exactly do you do that?� the man asked.
�Well, we technically haven�t done anything yet. We�re trying to get more members before we actually do any missions that involve Team Rocket.�
The man nodded again, then held out his hand. �Well, you just earned yourself one more member. My name�s Joe.�
Jads reached her hand out and smiled, then was somewhat startled by the strength of his grip. She stepped back, then gestured for him to come inside.
Joe walked in, then Jads closed the door behind him. He pulled off a backpack, then looked around. �Anywhere in particular that I should put this?�
�Well, you can put it with the rest of the packs, but I suggest you unpack the things you need first. We mostly only use our packs for missions.�
Joe nodded, then hesitated. �I hope you have space for me. If you don�t, I�ll just sleep on the couch.�
Jads giggled, then said, �Don�t worry, we�ve got enough rooms. We always have extra beds. Once we start getting more members, we�ll just expand the Underground Headquarters to add extra rooms.�
�Underground what?� Joe asked, a bit surprised.
�Headquarters,� Jads replied. �You didn�t think this small cabin was our headquarters, did you?�
Joe coughed, then shook his head. �No, I didn�t. I just assumed that it would be located somewhere else.�
Jads smiled. �It is somewhere else.� She winked, then motioned for Joe and Shrieker to follow.
Jads led the way to the entrance of the HQ. When she got there, she pressed a few buttons on the panel next to the door in sequence, then placed her hand on the scanner. Shrieker did the same, then Jads turned to Joe.
�Once you place your palm on that scanner, you�ll officially be a member of TR47.�
So that�s why the door didn�t open when I put my hand on it, Shrieker thought. Jads entered the code that allows a new member to have their palm scanned and stored.
Joe hesitated, considering if he really wanted to do it or not. After a few moments, he held his hand up and slowly pressed it against the panel. It beeped, then a few moments later beeped again.
Jads smiled. �That second beep means only one thing. You�re part of the Team now.�
Jads pressed a few more buttons, then the door swung open. The trio stepped into the HQ, then the door closed behind them. Joe looked around with an expression of pure fascination. The amount of technology was astounding.
Jads looked at Joe and giggled, then said, �Welcome to the Underground Headquarters, Joe.�
I hope this wasn�t a mistake, Shrieker thought . . .
Blade snapped awake and nearly fell out of his chair when the computer emitted a loud beep. He pulled himself upright, then looked at the monitor. A few moments later he turned to the glass tank, then smiled. The Mewtwo was awake.
Blade stood up and walked over to the tank, then looked at the Mewtwo as she inspected him carefully. After a few moments of eye contact, the Mewtwo inspected her surroundings. She touched the glass around her curiously, realizing that she was surrounded by the clear panel on all sides.
�Release me from this prison,� the Mewtwo said quietly, using psychic powers since she was still suspended in fluid.
Blade didn�t even hesitate. He knew that one wrong move could be his last when he was dealing with a Mewtwo. He walked over to the computer and pressed a few keys, then the tank began draining quickly.
The Mewtwo looked around in surprise as the fluid level dropped, eventually leaving the tank empty. She was now sitting at the base of the tank, still trapped by the glass plate. Blade pressed a few more keys on the computer, then the glass panel lifted.
The Mewtwo reached out, then realized that the glass was no longer there. She stood up cautiously, then stepped down off the platform that had been her place of confinement. Blade approached her confidently, then smiled.
�Welcome to the Headquarters of Team Rocket.�
�Team Rocket?� the Mewtwo asked quietly. �What is Team Rocket?�
Blade smiled, having already planned what he would say. �Team Rocket is the only group of friends that you�ll ever need. I suggest you stay here with us, because the world can be a cruel place. My name is Blade.�
The Mewtwo gave him a puzzled look, then paused to think. After a few seconds, she replied, �I have no name.�
�Well, perhaps you should have one. Do you want to come up with one, or shall I do it for you?�
The Mewtwo hesitated and pondered for a moment. �You may choose.�
Blade smiled, feeling quite confident in himself now. He was earning the Mewtwo�s trust as planned. �Well, how about Melissa? My wife�s name.�
The Mewtwo smiled, then nodded. �Agreed. But why your wife?�
Blade frowned as forgotten memories flooded back into his mind. �Because she died many years ago. She was innocently murdered while asleep.�
Blade knew that he was only telling her part of the truth. In reality, his wife had been killed by Team Rocket when she had attempted to foil a plan of theirs, not knowing that her own husband was a part of it.
The Mewtwo nodded slowly. �I understand.�
�So, Melissa it is.�
Melissa nodded, then smiled. �So, what am I doing here, anyway?�
Blade hesitated, because although he had expected her to ask such a question, he was hoping she wouldn�t.
�Well, first you�ll have you train, and learn how to harness the psychic energies you possess.�
�And how do you propose I do that?� Melissa asked.
�Follow me and I�ll show you,� Blade said. He smiled slightly as he left the lab, followed by Melissa. This is going better than I thought. This Mewtwo will be under my control soon enough, at this rate.
Melissa paused, then looked around with a puzzled look. Blade kept walking a few more feet, then realized that Melissa was no longer walking. He turned around and approached her again.
�What the matter?�
�I heard a voice inside of my head,� Melissa said. �It was almost as if somebody was warning me of something.�
Blade blanched slightly, stepped back. This is definitely not good. If that Mewtwo learns the truth from one of the Pokemon that have been here already, I�m dead. �That�s impossible. There�s nobody here that was talking to you, and there aren�t any psychic Pokemon around that would be able to contact you anyway.�
Melissa closer her eyes, and Blade could tell that she was concentrating on something. Or rather, she was listening. Watching the expression on Melissa�s face, Blade could tell that whatever she was hearing was a bad thing. Not bad for Melissa, but bad for himself.
Blade turned and began walking quickly, glancing over his shoulder at Melissa as he picked up the pace. She was beginning to glow a bit, which was making Blade quite nervous. As Blade glanced over his shoulder again, Melissa opened her eyes, and Blade could see that they were glowing brightly.
�Where do you think you�re going?� Melissa said loudly, holding her hands out in front of herself.
Blade began running down the long corridor, not daring to look over his shoulder again, lest he lose his balance and trip. Melissa began concentrating her psychic powers, and suddenly Blade froze up and stopped completely. He couldn�t move a muscle, trapped by Melissa�s powers.
Melissa lifted off the ground with ease, then floated down the long corridor until she was behind Blade. She hovered around him, then stared him in the eyes. His face was frozen in the panicked expression that he had while running down the corridor. Melissa knew that he could still see her, however.
�Trying to cover up the truth, Blade?� Melissa asked. Blade didn�t respond. �What�s the matter? Cat got your tongue?�
Melissa released her psychic grasp on Blade just enough to allow him to move his head and speak.
�I don�t know what you�re talking about,� Blade replied defiantly.
�Yes you do,� Melissa sneered. �I know that you know what I�m talking about, because I learned the entire truth from an anonymous psychic Pokemon. A psychic Pokemon which you said couldn�t possibly contact me here.�
Blade took a deep breath, then hissed. �Fine. You want the truth from me? I�ll give you the entire truth. I cloned you from a Mew�s DNA solely for the intent of using you as a weapon for Team Rocket�s benefit. Two more have been cloned before you, both of which went on the warpath and escaped. But this time the experiment was supposed to go differently. I was so close to having control of you that I could almost taste the victory.�
Melissa appeared to be unaffected by what Blade had said. She was neither happier to hear it, nor was she any angrier. She hissed loudly, then said, �And to think, I was believing all that garbage you were feeding me. Nothing but lies.�
Melissa released Blade from the psychic grasp entirely, causing Blade to fall to the ground. She then turned around and began flying down the corridor.
�Now what? You�re just going to leave like the other two did?� Blade demanded. Melissa stopped and turned around, glaring at him. �Of course I am.�
�Where do you think you�ll go? If you leave this place and are seen, you�ll have every Pokemon trainer in the world trying to capture you.�
Melissa glared at Blade again, then flew over to where he was standing. �Get this straight. I�ll never be someone�s property. Especially not the likes of you.�
Melissa began flying down the corridor again, only at a much faster pace than before. Blade then pulled out a tranquilizer gun and raised it up. Melissa stopped dead in her tracks and hissed loudly, then turned around.
�Fool!� she yelled.
In the blink of an eye, Melissa had a ball of energy in her hand and was throwing it down the corridor, straight for Blade. Blade had no time to react, and was hit directly in the chest with the glowing ball. He skidded across the floor and stopped, lying on the ground.
Melissa remained in a battle stance, ready to do anything necessary should Blade attempt anything else. Blade coughed and stood up slowly, then wiped a trickle of blood away from the corner of his mouth.
�Is that the best you can do? Well, good riddance. I never should�ve started the experiment that created you.�
Melissa screamed loudly, her voice echoing through the entire Team Rocket Headquarters, then surged forward with a sudden burst of speed. Blade saw nothing more than a flash of light heading straight for him.
Melissa charged up her psychic powers as much as she could as she balled her hand into a fist, holding it out in front of herself. Her fist glowed brightly as she continued to charge her powers and rush forward.
The last thing that Blade felt was Melissa�s fist driving straight through his chest before everything disappeared into blackness . . .
The eight members were having little luck recruiting anybody new, and we quickly becoming discouraged about the whole concept of recruiting. They typically got at least a few people to listen to them, but this time people didn�t even care to do that much.
Everybody met up under a large, shady tree, and quite a few complaints were exchanged. Before they left to resume recruiting, however, a large explosion cracked through the air. Everybody instinctively snapped their heads in the direction that the sound had come from, unsure of what had happened.
A plume of black smoke began to steadily rise high into the air, announcing the presence of a large fire. Curious, everybody gathered their packs and headed to where the smoke was coming from. As they got closer to the area, the sound of sirens reached their ears.
As they rounded a street corner, they could see a familiar large building, a large portion of which was in flames. Firefighters and paramedics were rushing about, helping injured people and futilely attempting to put out the fire.
Despite the severity of the situation, the members of TR47 couldn�t help but smile. The Team Rocket Headquarters was going up in flames. Team Rocket would be crippled for a long time due to the loss of their HQ, and the members of TR47 knew it.
The eight members stood at the end of the street observing the scene, too hypnotized and thrilled by what was happening. But that feeling didn�t stay with them for very long. Crystal, Joey, and Shrieker began to detect a strong source of psychic energy nearby.
Glancing around, they decided that they should find out where this source was being generated, as well as what the source was. Without saying a word, the three of them all flew into the air, then began following their own powers. The source was being generated inside of the burning building.
Shrieker, Joey, and Crystal hesitated, because they didn�t know how well they would be able to control a psychic barrier around themselves. They were already using their powers to retain their human characteristics and fly.
They wouldn�t have to go inside the burning HQ, however. At that moment, a figure appeared as it flew out of the billowing smoke. It was surrounded by a glowing purple bubble. They all knew that it was being psychically generated. They also already knew that the figure inside was a Mewtwo.
Crystal had already contacted Melissa. She was the one who had told her everything about Blade and Team Rocket. However, Crystal hadn�t located exactly where Melissa was. Fortunately enough, Melissa had found them instead. She flew straight toward the trio and stopped in midair, then the purple bubble faded and disappeared.
Looking around at the scene below them, the four quickly realized that they would easily be spotted, should some person divert their gaze away from the roaring inferno and see them. They quickly joined up with the rest of the TR47 members, landing on the ground gently.
�Um, is there something we don�t know?� Ai asked, looking at Melissa and the three TR47 members standing next to her.
Crystal shook her head. �There isn�t really much to know. Team Rocket went at it again with their cloning experiments. Melissa is their latest creation.�
Jads sighed, then said, �When is Team Rocket going to stop with the experiments?�
Melissa stepped forward and said, �I don�t think we�ll have to worry much about that.�
�Well, as long as Blade is alive, they can do it again,� Jads replied.
�Trust me. Blade is dead.�
�And how can you be so sure?� Ira asked.
Melissa gave Ira a warning glance, then said, �I�m the one that killed him . . .�
<Months pass.>
For the second time in a week, the members of TR47 found themselves in a meeting in the living room. However, Joe wasn�t there. He had missed quite a few of the previous meetings, and had been showing up at the cabin less and less.
Shrieker cleared her throat and stood up to silence the other members, who were discussing about Joe. Her attempt was ineffective, however. She transformed into her full-size Mewtwo form, then loudly yelled, �EVERYBODY SHUT UP SO THAT I CAN SPEAK!!!�
Silence immediately ensued and Shrieker calmed down. �Much better. Now, the reason I�m even saying anything about Joe, and not avoiding it like I usually do is because Crystal and I have been holding back something for a long time.�
The other members seemed a bit startled and nervous about what Shrieker had just said, with the exception of Crystal. She looked perfectly calm. She nodded, then Shrieker continued.
�I don�t want to scare anybody with what I�m about to say, nor do I want to make anyone paranoid.�
Shrieker then proceeded to relate what had happened to herself and Crystal with the mirror. The other members listened intently, and Shrieker could sense a rising level of uneasiness in the room as she continued.
When Shrieker was finished, Crystal stood up, still in her human form. She had taken a liking to it, though she wasn�t absolutely sure why. She stepped up next to Shrieker, facing the six other members.
�I can personally verify everything that Shrieker said. It really did happen. It wasn�t until Joe began to participate less and less that we began to grow nervous about it.�
�How can you be so sure about Joe?�
�Well, we have reason to believe that Joe isn�t just leaving to go off and do his own thing. Shrieker, Joey, Melissa, and I have all felt the same thing. We believe that Joe is secretly joining forces with Team Rocket.�
Ira immediately jumped up. �What? Why would Joe want to do something like that?�
�It�s rather simple, actually. Giovanni has something to offer that we don�t: power.�
�So, what you�re saying is that Joe is joining up with Team Rocket because he�s power hungry?� Ira asked.
�Exactly,� Shrieker replied.
Ira pondered for a moment as he sat down. Then he mumbled, �It all makes sense. If we didn�t do things Joe�s way, he would get angry. As we began using his ideas less and less, he began showing up at the cabin less and less.�
Colli sighed. �So, what you�re saying is that we�re down a member?�
�I�m afraid so,� Ira replied.
Colli quietly cursed under her breath. Man, why did he have to leave? He was hot. Colli happened to blush a bit as she was thinking, unnoticed by the other members. They were too busy continuing the discussion about Joe.
Ira then stood up. �All in favor of banning Joe from Team Rocket47?� Everybody raised their hands. �All right, then. I guess Jads and I will head down to the Headquarters right now and remove Joe from the computer. Heaven knows what could happen if he still had access to the computer and decided to steal a bunch of our supplies . . .�
Giovanni was sitting in his office, browsing through paperwork. The loss of the Headquarters was a huge loss. Hundreds of members had been killed in the fire. Blade, however, was nowhere to be seen. He was assumed to be dead, since they had found a small remainder of his lab keys in the rubble.
The Headquarters of Team Rocket had been temporarily relocated to Celadon City until the Headquarters could be rebuilt.
Giovanni sighed, then glanced up when there was a knock at his door. �Enter,� he said loudly.
Two of Giovanni�s guards and a large man stepped into his office, then shut the door.
�This man wishes to speak with you, sir. He demanded to speak with you and nobody else.�
Giovanni nodded, looking at the large man. �You may leave.�
The guards bowed, then left. Giovanni couldn�t help but gape at the man standing in front of his desk. The size of his body and muscles made him look like he could tear someone�s arms off at any moment without warning.
�What is it that you wish to speak with me about?� Giovanni asked.
�I know of a renegade group of people who call themselves Team Rocket47. They�re a small band of people who have made a personal vow to oppose Team Rocket at all costs. I know for a fact that two of the members are former members of Team Rocket.�
Giovanni sounded genuinely interested. �Well, Team Rocket makes it a point to wipe out and exterminate any opposition by any means necessary. How do you fit into all this?�
�I was formerly a member, so I know the location of their base. There�s only a few members, so one swift blow would be all that is necessary to wipe them out entirely. I could do it myself, if desired.�
�How exactly would you do that?� Giovanni asked.
�Like this,� Joe said while standing up. �But I suggest you move first.�
Giovanni nodded and backed up, then without warning, Joe slammed his fist down onto the desk, splitting it in two and sending fragments of wood flying through the air.
Giovanni was wide-eyed in shock at what Joe had just done. However, he was also amused. �You�ll be perfect. Consider yourself a hired assassin . . .�