Season 1, Episode 4 - The Microwave XXX - "The Mystery Flavor"

Audrey awoke to somebody gently dabbing at her face.

“Esther?”Audrey’s eyes widened, and she immediately sat up. “Esther!”

Audrey looked around wildly, but the Staties were nowhere in sight. Sighing in relief, she reached out and gingerly touched her own nose; the bleeding had stopped. Esther sat next to her on the grass, a bloodied handkerchief in her hand.

“Esther, thank God you’re alright!” Audrey exclaimed.

Esther smiled appreciatively and spoke softly. “You too, Sis.”

Audrey started sniffling, and then the waterworks came out.

“I was so scared!” she exclaimed. “And my nose! He got my nose! It’s one of my favorite things on my face, along with my eyes and ears and mouth!”

Esther felt a little unsure about it, but she gently wrapped her arms around her sister and held her.

“It’s alright, Sis...”

Audrey blew her nose into the collar of Esther's shirt.

Esther gritted her teeth.

“...it’s alright, Sis...”

After a moment, the two let go and sighed in relief.

“What happened?” Audrey asked. “We were all knocked out. I mean, I never doubted you for a moment, but how’d you do it?”

Esther’s hands were trembling, so Audrey held them. “Um...I lied,” Esther admitted.

“Wow, your older sister’s impressed!” Audrey grinned. “I never took you for a liar.”

“I’m not really,” Esther said, strength slowly returning to her voice. “Um...I just told him the Academy had a big plan to defeat him, but we haven’t really implemented yet. So...I guess I bluffed him.”

She looked at the sunset. “Um...I guess I was able to convince him because I spoke confidently for once. I guess...I guess I can do that when people would get hurt if I don’t.” She looked at her shaking hands. “And, um...I probably have about two months worth of adrenaline running through me right now...”

Next to them, Reed’s eyes opened.

“My sword!” she immediately exclaimed. She sat up, her eyes full of fear, frantically mumbling, over and over, “My sword my sword my sword I need it I need it I need it my sword my sword-”

She sighed in relief, realizing it was still in her hand. She slowly sheathed it and wiped her face, breathing heavily.

When she saw the Adzinokis looking at her, her dour, dry demeanor returned. “So, I guess we won, huh?”

Audrey pumped her fist. “We did it! Los hacimos, we did it!” She put an arm around Esther. “Well, Esther was the one who really did it.”

Esther blushed. “You’re too kind, Sis...”

Reed laid back down on the grass. “Never would’ve guessed that. I thought for sure we won because of the superior firepower we have. They were facing off against these two guns, after all."

She flexed her scrawny arms.

Isaac woke up next. He rubbed his face, groaning. His eyes then darted around, but he relaxed when he saw the sight of everyone else. “Looks like we’re all okay.”

Reed shrugged. “Not you. Take a look at yourself in the mirror sometime. That kick to the face was the equivalent of somebody hitting you with the ugly stick.”

Isaac tapped on his face and recoiled at a sore spot. “You’re one to talk,” he said, frowning. “I get hit with the ugly stick, I get turned ugly. You get hit with the ugly stick, and I wouldn’t even notice the difference.”

Reed crossed her arms. “Ha-ha.”

Their spat was interrupted by the sound of another car sliding into a spot at the parking lot. Out of the black Model Litoral came Mr. Shokahu and Ms. Mogami, followed by two Military Police officers Isaac recognized as Captain Kelb and Sergeant Dimitrij.

Shokahu reached them first. “Are you kids alright?”

The four on the grass all helped each other to their feet as the adults arrived. “He got my nose!” Audrey complained. “Oh, there were so many things I’ve yet to smell!”

“There, there,” Mogami said tenderly, gently taking Audrey from her sister. She placed her hands on Audrey’s nose and applied her healing power. “Feeling better?”

Audrey sniffled, then twiddled her index fingers together. “I think a lollipop might help dull the pain...”

Mogami smiled and pulled one out of her pocket for her.

Dimitrij raised a hand. “Uh...could I also have a lollipop?”

Mogami gave him one with the same amount of tenderness she showed Audrey. Dimitrij couldn’t tell if he wanted to have the lollipop now or frame it on his wall in memory of this moment.

Isaac wanted to ask about the situation in the rest of the district like any sane person would, but Reed spoke first.

“Say, Ms. Mogami, since you’re a big lollipop expert and all, would you rather have a grape-flavored lollipop or risk a mystery flavor?”

Mogami put her finger on her cheek in thought, then winked. “When you choose the grape flavor, it can’t be a mystery, but when you choose the mystery flavor, it can be grape. I’ll let you think on that.”

Reed thought on that.

“...what?”

Isaac disengaged himself from the women – and Dimitrij – and met up with Shokahu and Kelb, who were looking into the distance, the setting sun shining on them.

“What exactly happened here?” Isaac asked.

“I should be asking you that,” Shokahu said plainly. He looked around at the destroyed park. “The State Police do this?”

Isaac looked over at Audrey. He hesitated, since it’s not like he wanted to sell out Audrey like that, but duty did call for him. Fortunately, before he had to make a decision, Shokahu spoke first. “I didn’t think so. A microwave golem did this, correct?”

Isaac swallowed. “How’d you know?”

“Intelligence told us there was a booby-trapped killer microwave on the loose,” Kelb explained. “We tracked it to Audrey Adzinoki’s apartment, but it looks like we were too late to deactivate it.”

“Seems like you kids shut it down in the end anyways,” Shokahu supposed.

Isaac nodded. “We don’t know where the microwave is now, though. We sent it flying off somewhere. But I don’t think anyone got hurt in the process, at least." He took a look at the poor merry-go-round. "I wish I could say that about the park."

“We’ll keep searching for the microwave during our patrols,” Kelb informed Shokahu.

The teacher nodded, observing the fallen trees, the big marks and holes in the ground. “The State Police did this,” he simply said.

Isaac didn’t understand. “But, Mr. Shokahu-”

“Mr. Stockham’s been walking a fine line ever since the Academy got up and running,” Shokahu explained, looking at smoke rising from elsewhere in the district. “The Presidential Administration finally pushed back against his autonomy. He took a gamble, harboring Professor Beskov as a bargaining chip, hoping to get more energy supplies for the winter. In response, the State Police invaded, just like that.”

He looked at Isaac, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Things aren’t going to get any better. You kids need to stay united in times like these. The most important thing you can do is have each other’s backs. Otherwise...”

He looked off into the sky.

Isaac sensed a tragic backstory, but before he could ask about it-

Derek Domino wrapped an arm around Shokahu’s shoulders. “Ah, Frank! Fancy seeing you out here!”

The rest of the group realized Domino had returned from his business. Shokahu tried to escape his grip, but Domino just pulled him tighter.

“For your information, we were scoping out the rest of the district, making sure all the State Police officers were gone,” Shokahu said through gritted teeth. “The last bunch just left. They almost captured the students. Where were you?”

“Where was I?” Domino asked, laughing. “When the boy, the woman, and I touched down here, there seemed to be an awful lot of commotion going on. But, it looks like that misty-eyed blonde women had it under control, so I just worked on getting the nearby civilians to safety. Then I hit up the public restroom, as you do when duty calls like that. At my age, you can't afford to hold it anymore.”

“...right,” Shokahu muttered. Domino finally freed him and Shokahu squirmed away.

Domino spread his arms wide at his next target. “Shunji, it’s been a while!”

He and Ms. Mogami hugged each other. “You’re darn right it’s been a while,” Mogami said playfully. “You owe me around five years worth of birthday presents, plus interest.”

“What am I, your mother?” Domino pointed at Shokahu. “Just marry Frank already and be done with it. Or did Erica steal him from you at another roller derby?”

Domino and Mogami laughed heartily; Shokahu seemed unamused.

“Hey, Sensei,” Reed asked. “You know Mr. Shokahu and Ms. Mogami?”

“Of course,” Domino replied. “I trained them, after all. Look at them, acting like they're adults now. I remember when Frank was just a fresh-faced teenager, full of voice cracks, eating rats in the trenches of the First American War...”

While Domino thought fondly of yesteryear, Reed had another question.

“How come they didn’t get the Domino Sword?”

Domino looked at Shokahu and Mogami. “Because at the time, it was still my sword! I pushed as long and hard as I could with it, but alas, no man can escape time.”

“Oh...” Reed eyed her sword hilt. “Then why did I get the sword?”

“Ah, haven’t we talked about this enough, woman?” Domino smiled. “It’s because you were the right fit for it. Nothing more than that.”

His faced seemed to suggest that there was actually a lot more to it than that, but perhaps that would be a story for another time.

“Wow, we have a full house here!” Audrey exclaimed, her voice sounding clogged courtesy of a Ms. Mogami-provided cloth up her nose. “We got Isaac, Reed, Esther, Mr. Shokahu, Ms. Mogami, old kung fu man, Military Police officer number one and Military Police officer number two!”

“Just so you know, by number one, she was referring to me,” Kelb whispered to Dimitrij.

“...I know, Sir.”

“This is great, there’s like eight of us!” Audrey thought of the possibilities. “Let’s go bowling or something! We have enough for two teams!”

“Sorry kids, but we have work to do,” Shokahu informed them. “I’m positive the State Police officers are all gone, but I’m not certain, so we need to keep patrolling. You guys should get home, too. Stockham’s already declared a district-wide state of emergency and a curfew for tonight.”

Domino saw the Model Litoral and felt a sickness rise in his stomach. “I was about to ask you guys for a lift back to the dojo, but...that’s Shunji’s car, right?”

Ms. Mogami smiled proudly while the Military Police officers looked a little green.

Domino thought it over. “I’ll chance it. I’ll do some patrolling with you guys in exchange for a ride home. Only thing is though, we need to stop by a VHS rental place since I’m out of movies-”

“THE VHS TAPE!” Isaac started breathing heavily. “Does anyone know what time it is?!”

Esther looked at her pocket watch. “It’s 5:52.”

“Eight minutes!” Isaac exclaimed. “Ms. Mogami, could you please drive us to the rental store now? My good name’s at stake!”

“Believe me, boy, it’ll be safer just to take the Electric Kite.” Domino grabbed hold of Reed and Isaac. “You guys remember what to do?”

Reed nodded. “You mean do I remember what to do, since what I don’t remember is Isaac needing to do anything-”

“Reed, let’s go!”

Reed rolled her eyes at Isaac. She then took a deep breath, and swung her sword at the ground. Having used magnetic waves several times already, the power came much easier to her now. The three slowly drifted off the ground, repelled by the ground's magnetic field, into the air. Domino took the sword from Reed and let loose an Electric Kite.

"Pick me up from Dave's Rentals!" Domino called out as they sailed off.

Everyone down on the field watched them go.

“Were those magnetic waves from Reed?” Esther asked.

“Seems like it,” Shokahu answered dryly.

Both of them seemed a little concerned about Reed’s new ability to manipulate a second form of wave.

In contrast, Audrey felt proud. “Ah, look at her go,” she exclaimed as the three disappeared into the sky, heading down the street. “They grow up so fast.”

She compared Shokahu and Mogami. “Speaking of growing up, are you guys really going to get married?”

Her eyes shone.

“Oh, could I be a bridesmaid? I’d love to be a bridesmaid, and you should make Esther one too, oh it would be the best...”