Co-written and illustrated by jettmanas.
An alternate turn of events at the Ringmaster's Freaky Circus endows Sam, Clover and Alex with fantastic superpowers. Choosing to keep their new abilities and use them for their WOOHP missions, the girls beco...
Two years pass, and by the time the girls had moved to the University of Malibu, they had become fully at ease with their superhero identities as Spider-Woman, the Wasp and the Invisible Girl. Their adventures had at this point become legendary and many were the challenges and dangers they faced, but the combination of their powers and original spy skills made Sam, Alex and Clover a truly formidable trio.
It was shortly after Britney had enrolled at Mali-U too, that the girls would be tasked with an important rescue mission, the outcome of which would prove highly significant to WOOHP. It all started while the superspies were in the middle of some training at WOOHP headquarters...
******
"Okay, all set Sammy?" asked Alex, as she, Clover and Britney sat on the spectators' bench in the dojo room, keenly watching an unmasked Sam, who was standing ready in the centre of the room with a blindfold tied over her eyes. In front of her was the WOOHP training robot, which resembled a four-armed samurai warrior, standing impassive as it waited for battle to commence.
"Ready whenever you are," said Sam confidently.
Britney looked at the stopwatch in her hand and counted the final seconds to go before the robot would spring into action. "Three... Two... One... GO!"
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The robot immediately leapt forward at Sam, its four metal arms ready to deliver a series of karate blows. But Sam also leapt into the air and used her spider-sense to guide her movements, enabling her to dodge every one of the robot's attacks, before she delivered a super-fast karate kick which knocked the robot's head clean off its body! With a mechanical groan, the robot tipped backwards and crashed to the ground in a jumbled heap.
"And stop!" called Britney as she stopped the clock. "12.5 seconds exactly. Nice going, Sam!"
"Say, that wasn't bad at all," grinned Sam as she removed her blindfold and surveyed her humbled mechanised opponent sprawled at her feet.
"So much for Jerry's training robot being unbeatable," chuckled Alex. "You totally showed that pile of scrap who's boss, Sam."
"Well, having spider-powers is a major advantage," said Sam. "But training like this really helps a lot. I can now use my spider-sense to enable me to fight in the dark if needs be."
"Your spider-sense sure has gotten us out of a lot of tricky situations, Sammy," commented Clover. "I mean, what about that time Helga Von Guggen tried to trick us into buying those memory-erasing bracelets?"
"Cha! Thanks to you, we were able to catch her right from the start," added Alex, recalling the shocked expression on Helga's face when the girls immediately unmasked her in the mall, before carting her off to the containment facility.
"Yeah, the only downside to that episode is that Terrance and Boogie Gus went into hiding afterwards," said Sam, to which the others nodded in agreement. "It would have been great if we were able to catch the last remaining members of LAMOS as well as Helga."
"Our powers have helped us out of a lot of scrapes," said Clover reminiscently. "Like when we had to save our moms from Mandy on that mountain."
"Oh man, we'd have been buried alive in that avalanche if it weren't for your forcefield abilities, Clover," said Alex. "And then we might have ended up being the ones needing rescue!"
"You know, I can't help but a feel a little envious of you three," smiled Britney wistfully. "I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a superpower of my own."
"But you do have a superpower, Britney," said Alex reassuringly, "and that's being awesome all the time!"
Just then, the main doors slid open and Jerry walked in, accompanied by a middle-aged man whom the girls had never seen before.
"Oh my," said Jerry as he surveyed the remains of the supposedly 'undefeatable' training robot. "I suppose it's back to the repair shop for you, old chap."
"Heh, sorry about that, Jerry," said Sam sheepishly, before turning to the other man. "So, who's your friend here? A new WOOHP agent?"
"No, this is Mister Harold Hogan, 'Happy' to his friends," said Jerry, gesturing to the man. "He's the personal chauffeur to Tony Stark."
"Whoa, not the Tony Stark!" exclaimed Clover. "But he's only one of the coolest celebs on the entire planet!"
"Not to mention a total genius," added Britney. "The WOOHP gadget team could certainly do with a guy as brainy as he is!"
"So what's the occasion, Jerr? Is Mister Stark going to be a surprise guest at the next WOOHP picnic?" asked Alex excitedly.
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"I'm afraid this isn't a social occasion, ladies," said Hogan, who was currently failing to live up to his nickname. "You see, my boss and his assistant, Miss Pepper Potts, have both been kidnapped!"
Hogan then explained how during an outdoor award show in Stark's honour at Washington DC, a sleek private plane suddenly flown over and dropped smoke bombs on everyone below. In the resulting confusion, armed mercenaries dropped down from the plane and grabbed Stark and Miss Potts, as well as Doctor Ho Yinsen, another brilliant scientist. By the time the smoke had cleared, the three victims had been lifted into the plane, which shot off into the distance.
"Man, this sounds bad," said Sam seriously. "Any clues as to who could be behind it, Jerry?"
"As a matter of fact, we do," said Jerry. "During the attack, one of the mercenaries was captured, and we've identified him as one of Makeda's soldiers."
"Queen Tassara's evil sister! But isn't she supposed to be in prison?" asked Alex.
"Unfortunately not," sighed Jerry. "Her men broke her out just two days ago in a well-planned jail break and left a disguised decoy in her place. By the time the deception was discovered, her men had already kidnapped Stark and the others."
"But what could Makeda want with a genius like Tony Stark?" mused Clover. "I thought her main goal was to take the throne of Lyrobia."
"Maybe she plans to force Stark to build weapons for her, to enable her to take over her former nation," suggested Britney.
"That would make sense," agreed Sam, before turning to Hogan. "Have there been any more sightings of the plane, Happy?"
"Yeah, according to the authorities, a black jet-plane matching the same description has been spotted flying over New York City," said Hogan. "As best as anyone can tell, it hasn't been seen leaving the city, so it must have landed."
"Ah man, New York is so big, it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Alex glumly.
"Which is where you girls come in," said Jerry. "You'll be taking one of the WOOHP stealth planes to New York right away. Maybe you'll be able to use your powers to track them down."
"Worth a try," said Spider-Woman as she lifted her mask that had been tucked around her neck and placed it back over her upper face. "Okay girls, let's go!"
