Adjusting

Adjusting

by

Cynthia Chan

"All set?" Lana asked Keisha one day in Newsworld. "Your first day in a Videoland school!"

"I can't wait!" she replied.

"Yeah, this will be very exciting!"

Lana had enrolled the newest Captain N into a Newsworld public school, at the captain's request, because she wanted to be with people her own age. Lana also instructed the principal that Keisha should go the minute the beeper beeps, because that would signal an emergency needed to be taken care of right away. She assured the principal that it was all right with her, since Keisha could not activate the beeper herself and even if she could, she was not told how.

"Well, we got a new student!" exclaimed a teacher, "Hello, Keisha. I'm Miss Jarowick, and I'm going to be your teacher!"

"Hello, Miss Jarowick," answered Keisha. "I'm glad to be a student here in Newsworld Public School." She was wearing a blue T-shirt and blue jeans with matching sneakers, something that Lana bought for her right after they untied Alex. Then came a little red-haired girl wearing pigtails, accompanied by Dr. Right. The girl had on a pink T-shirt and red coudroy overalls, with black sneakers and white socks. "Hi," she said. She appeared to be six years old.

"This is my niece Lonnie Right," Dr. Right informed Lana and Keisha. "She'll be attending your school, Keisha."

"Hi, Keisha," Lonnie said, a very shy girl.

"Hi, Lonnie," said Keisha, equally shy.

"Well, shall we be going?" asked Miss Jarowick. "We shouldn't keep the others waiting."

"Good idea. Keisha begins at Grade 3, Lonnie at Grade 1."


"That was one tough workout!" Alex yawned, wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans with white sneakers. "I thought we would be holographic toast by now!"

"Yeah, Dr. Right's Danger Room reminds me of the one in 'X-Men'," replied Sandra in a pink sundress and matching pink flats.

"I don't know how anyone could survive that Banjo-Kazooie part," Carrie complained, wearing a red sweater and black jeans with matching socks and sneakers. "Too bad Banjo and Kazooie couldn't be there to help us fight those monsters."

They were just emerging from a holographic chamber in Dr. Right's lab, finished with their training session. Armina and Roberta had left earlier due to previous engagements, and Armand KOed himself while attacking a holographic monster and had to be wheeled out of the room.

"Why did Armand have to take on that monster, anyway?" asked Carrie, "He knew it would be dangerous to approach him alone. Why didn't he wait for us?"

"Because he's not used to teamwork, Carrie," answered Alex, "Remember that he and his sister were the last to join the Defenders? They only had a year's training with us, and years of being out on the street kinda makes even the most cooperative of teammates a little distrusting."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Carrie's heart sank.

"I still don't get why Armina's the leader," Sandra announced, "I mean, what you said is true, Alex, she's only been with us for a year."

"Because Dexter said that Armina showed a lot of potential when he tested her leadership skills," Alex told her. "Besides, none of us can lead like she can. I was the leader before her, and look what happened to us."

"Yeah, like the time you thought that aliens were invading America, when it happened to be a crazy guy from an asylum. Landed us in prison just for that, and lucky for us Dexter could afford to bail us out." commented Sandra.

"Hey!! It was an honest mistake!" Alex shouted.

"Don't worry, we'll get through Mother Brain, like we got through the FBI and everything else," assured Carrie, as the three headed for the Palace.


At Bayouland...

"How are you enjoying your retirement, Arthur?" asked a pretty blonde in a black bathing suit.

"Very much so, Marcia," answered Dr. Wily, cuddling next to her in a swamp wearing blue trunks. She was giving him a mudbath and was doing a very good job on his back. Suddenly, another blonde popped out of nowhere and seized Wily.

"What??" he sputtered, "What are you doing, you little bitch???"

"Giving you what's due!" she shouted as she hurled him through a warp.


Wily hurtled through to Mother Brain's lair and the blonde followed.

"Good job, Latencia!" praised Mother Brain, "and Arthur!! How nice of you to DROP IN!!" Mother Brain laughed evilly. "Time for you to power our time machine!"

"What time machine?? And what do you want with me??" shouted Wily. Angela came to his side, grabbed him and held him in place.

"Why, the time machine that lets Mother Brain and all of us go back to the time after she was trapped and kill Captain N!!"

"But that's impossible!!" he answered, "Captain N's not in Videoland!!"

"Oh, SHE is, I'm sure," answered Angela, "but we're interested in the one that you're talking about, the boy!"

"Why??? Won't that destroy Videoland?"

"Not in the slightest, Arthur," answered Mother Brain. "Videoland is a very stable universe. But going back to 1989 would be impossible because there's my past self to contend with. And don't even think about going to your Earth, Angela!!! We don't know the stability of your universe, so if we go back to Earth 1989 and do something, Earth may cease to exist, taking us with it!!!"

"So the plan is to go back to 1992, take over Videoland and stay there forever?" asked Angela

"Precisely," answered Mother Brain. "Now that's where you come in, Arthur. I want you and Angela's scientists to come up with devices and monsters to sap the energy needed to power this humongous machine!!!"

"Excellent!!" shouted Wily, "I'm not sure about you, Angela, but I'm ready to give it a go!!"

"As am I, Dr. Wily! First off, we build your Robot Masters and find Cut Man and try to get him to our side. If we can't, then we look and gather energy."

"CUT MAN IS THE MOST LOYAL ROBOT THAT I HAVE EVER BUILT!!!!" shouted Wily. "I left everything when I left my house!! He's programmed to be loyal!!!"

"Like, that's going to happen, Wily," said Angela as the two left the bridge. "I'm sure Dr. Right had something to do with his leaving Skull Castle."

"WHAAAAT????" he shouted. Then, "Never mind Cut Man, then. Let's get that energy!!!"

"I'm with you!! Lacy!! Tracy!! Come with us!!" Two identical twin women wearing lab coats followed Angela and Wily to Metroid's laboratories.


"There! Good as new, Cut Man!!" Dr. Right announced.

"Thanks, Doctor!" thanked Cut Man, "you're even better than Wily!! I always had to fix myself with him around!!" He had on a red sweater and blue jeans, now, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Cut Man wore laced white sneakers and stood about 5'8", taller than he had been before. Cut Man was human now.

"Cut Man, perhaps it's time for your new name, you know, the one that we've discussed last night?"

"Oh, yeah, it's Greg Newmann, right?"

"Right!" Then he picked up a sceptre, the one that he uses in naming robots. "Cut Man, I hereby dub thee Greg Newmann!!! The tallest and fastest robot that had the pleasure of being my new friend!!"

"Aw, shucks, Doctor," Greg actually blushed. Later he was seen wearing a sign on his front, showing his new name and introducing himself as this new man.

"I'm never going back to Wily again!!! I'm just glad to be on the good guy side!!" he shouted to the Queen, "I'm sorry for all the troubles I've caused the N Team. Thanks for setting me straight!"

"You're very welcome!! And thanks, for joining our team, Greg."

"My pleasure!!" answered Greg.


At the Communications Centre...

"I don't like the looks of this, Armina," Roberta shivered. "Metroid's so quiet! What's going on?"

"Lots of activity!!" answered Armina, "Look at the viewer!! Mother Brain's got the machine up again!!"

"This calls for teamwork, everyone!" Armand appeared at the door. "We gotta call Captain N from school!!"


"Brett, what is one plus 35?" asked Miss Jarowick.

"Thirty-six," answered Brett, a girl with brown hair, sitting next to Keisha.

"Very good!!" Then an annoucement: "Will Keisha Davenport please report to the Palace of Power? Keisha Davenport to the Palace of Power!!"

"That's me," sighed Keisha as she slunk off her chair and walked to a warp and jumped through.


"We're here!!" Keisha rushed through to the Communications Centre with Lana, Simon, Greg, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, Alex, Carrie, Sandra and Duke.

"Good!! Check this out!!" Armina pointed to a viewer that showed the machine, good as new. Then voices came. It was Wily and Angela.

"WILY!!" shouted Greg. "I thought he retired!!!"

"Retirement's over, Greg." answered Lana.

"I think we should go to Hyrule first!! All that magic, should be enough energy!!" boasted Wily.

"No," said Angela, "Hyrule has few people that know magic. Besides, the California Games has lots of water. And falling water provides lots of energy!!"

"Maybe, but how are we to get that water???" he asked.

"Simple. We kidnap a few sorcerers and use them to get water to fall on this hydro dam. Then the dam will convert the water into energy!!"

"Oh, no!! Not California Games!!" shouted Lana.

"YESS!!" shouted Wily. "Let's start now!! Sorcerers, beware! Wily and Angela are here!!!"

"I got the sorcerers!!" shouted Angela, and sure enough, Zelda and other people were there. "I used my tracker, teleporter and tractor teleporters to get them all in one microsecond!!"

"ZELDA!!" shouted Keisha. "We gotta stop them!! Carrie, you know the waters well, so you make sure they stay in that world. Me and the others will stop Wily and Angela."

"YEs, Captain!" shouted Carrie.

"YESS!!!" shouted Wily. "Phase One is complete!! Now to get the waters!!"

"YESS!!!" shouted Angela, "CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED IN "BREAKING WAVES"!!!