Superkids 4

Superkids 4: Sally's Mystery


	"This one looks pretty", Saladora "Sally" Blitzer remarks.

	"This one is prettier than that one",  Bonnibelle "Bonnie" Arcbright  responds.

	"This one is the prettiest of all", Annireese "Annie" Bridgette insists. The three girls are in the Polymer Kingdom Mall shopping at Clair's Boutique, a clothing store chain that is well-known across HeroWorld and has stores in each of the five kingdoms. Bonnie and Annie consider themselves the Superkid fashionistas. Sally enjoys shopping with them. As the three of them finishing paying for their merchandise, the sound of glass shattering grabs their attention. A group of masked individuals just burst in through a window.

	"Hand over everything in the cash register and no one gets hurt!", one of the masked individuals demands. Sally, Bonnie, and Annie step out from behind a rack of dresses to get a better look at the robbers. One of the robbers notices the three girls.

	"Three of them are in the boutique. Those three girls over there", he whispers to his accomplices. Two of the robbers turn their guns on Sally, Bonnie, and Annie. The three girls bolt from the Boutique, but one of the robbers fires his gun at Sally. A jolt hits Sally. She tries to speed up, but finds her superspeed is gone.

	"That creep's gun is some kind of Power-negating laser", Sally realizes. The three girls emerge into the main part of the mall and split up to lose their pursuers. Sally ducks into a toy store. Bonnie and Annie jump on the escalator. Bonnie gets off on the second floor, while Annie gets off on the third floor. One of the robbers follows Sally into the toy store.

	"Give it up, Superkid", the creep demands, "The effects of our Power Neutralizer won't wear off for 24 hours". The cashier behind counter panics.

	"If you're gonna rob me, just get it over with already", He screams, pushing the register towards the robber.

	"I'm not interested in your money", the robber sneers. He turns a dial on his gun and fires it at the cashier, who goes rigid and falls down upon being zapped. The robber turns his attention, and his gun, back to Sally. As the robber prepares to fire, someone zaps him from behind. The robber shrinks down to the size of a mouse. Sally sees Darlia Annstein standing in the entrance of the toy store, holding a shrink ray.

	"You okay Sally?", Darlia asks.

	"I'm fine", Sally responds, "Nice shrink ray"

	"Thanks", Darlia responds back, "I'd been working on it for a while and finally got it working". Sally gives the moused-sized robber a swift kick and sends him flying across the toy store. She and Darlia leave the toy store in a hurry.

	"How'd you know where I was?", Sally asks Darlia.

	"When I arrived at Clair's boutique to shop for some new clothes, the place was a mess. The clerks told me you, Bonnie, and Annie were chased from the store by a bunch of robbers who didn't actually steal anything", Darlia explains.

	"Yeah. They acted like they were gonna rob the boutique, but when they saw me, Bonnie, and Annie, they chased us instead. I think these "robbers" are targeting Superkids. They have a device that neutralizes our powers", Sally adds. Sally and Darlia hop on the escalator and head to the second floor to find Bonnie.

	Bonnie is in the second-floor food court trying to avoid another one of the "robbers". The robber has his gun aimed at her. Bonnie ducks under a table as he fires. A bolt of energy ricochets off the table and hits a cashier at a nearby ice cream shop, causing him to freeze up and fall face first in a vat of orange sherbet. Bonnie grabs a try off a table and flings it at the "robber", who easily deflects it. Sally and Darlia arrive on the scene just in time for the deflected tray to smack Darlia in the face. Darlia drops her shrink ray, which goes off and hits the same ice cream shop cashier, shrinking him down so he ends up falling the rest of the way into the vat. A second "robber" sneaks up behind Darlia as Sally runs up behind the first "robber" and clocks him in the back of his head.

	"Bonnie, run!", Sally yells. Bonnie takes off running. Sally turns around and notices Darlia is gone. She recovers the shrink ray from under a table and unshrinks the ice cream shop cashier before running off after Bonnie. The "robber" recovers from Sally's punch and notices Bonnie and Sally have left the food court.

	"Darlia's missing", Sally explains to Bonnie after catching up to her. Sally and Bonnie check around the food court, but there's no sign of Darlia. The "robbers" have also vanished.

	"You think they took her?", Bonnie asks, "What about Annie?".

	"We better go find her", Sally responds. The two girls make their way back to the escalator and head for the third floor.

	Up on the third floor, Annie is hiding in the women's restroom. She hears someone calling her name and steps out to find Sally and Bonnie waiting for her.

	"They took Darla hostage", Sally explains to Annie, "they may still be in the building looking for us, but I haven't seen any of them on this floor". Aside from the shrink ray Sally recovered after Darlia's kidnapping, the three girls don't have anything else on hand except the bags of clothes they bought.

	"The guys who broke into the boutique didn't see the clothes we bought. let's change outfits before we go any further. We may be able to get out of the mall without being recognized by any of them that are still lingering around", Annie suggests. The three girls duck into the women's restroom. Sally emerges wearing a red shirt and blue miniskirt. Bonnie emerges wearing a orange t-shirt and yellow shorts. Annie emerges wearing a turquoise shirt and puffy pink skirt. Each girl is also wearing a large hat to conceal their faces and, in Sally's case, her bright red hair. It would be a dead giveaway if they are spotted by any of the "robbers". The three girls ride the escalator back down to the first floor. As they exit the mall, the three girls see the "robbers" loading an unconscious Darlia into the back of a large van. Sally, Bonnie, and Annie rush up to the van. Sally punches the guy at the back of the van, and then climbs into it to rescue Darlia. Bonnie and Annie try to distract the other "robbers", but end up getting captured and thrown in the back of the van. Darlia wakes up as the "robbers" close the van's rear hatch. One of the "robbers" is sitting in the back with them.

	"Where are you taking us?", Sally demands.

	"We've been offered a hefty sum for any Superkids we can capture", the guy responds. While Sally keeps the guy talking, Darlia manages to unlock the rear hatch and open it. All four girls rush the guy and pummel him. During the commotion, Sally gets knocked out of the van as it is leaving the mall parking lot and lands in a bush. The van disappears from sight, taking the other three girls with it.

	Sally returns to Hyper Kingdom. Gideon Turbo, the kingdom's prince, is waiting for her.

	"They were saying on the news that someone broke into the Clair's Boutique at the Polymer Kingdom Mall. Isn't that were you, Bonnie, and Annie went shopping today?", Gideon asks.

	"Yeah. The ones that broken into the store pretended to rob it. When they saw me, Bonnie, and Annie they started chasing us. Darlia showed up and saved me from one of the "robbers" but then she got kidnapped along with Bonnie and Annie", Sally explains, "The guys chasing us also had a device that can negate our superpowers for 24 hours. They seem to be specifically after us Superkids. One of them said they had been offered a hefty sum for the capture on any Superkids they could find"

 	"Sounds like someone has a vendetta against us", Gideon infers.

	"I intend to investigate these kidnappers and rescue our friends", Sally declares, "And I am NOT waiting until my powers return". Sally then shows Gideon the Shrink Ray. "I need to get this back to Darlia, too", She explains. Sally heads out of the castle and Gideon follows her. Riley Burnout, a female biker from Gideon's bike gang, meets up with them.

	"I just got word that the guys who broke into the Polymer Kingdom Mall this morning are heading our way", Riley informs them.

	"Rally the other bikers and form a defensive line. These guys were dealing with can disable our powers, so be careful", Gideon orders. Sally, Gideon, Riley, and the other bikers stand their ground at the entrance to the kingdom. When another bike gang appears, everyone is surprised. Sally notices the bikers are armed with Power Neutralizer guns just like the guys from the mall.

	"Those bikers are working for whoever hired the guys that broke into the mall" Sally realizes.

	"Whoever their employer is, he or she seems to know a lot about us. This kingdom is defended by bikers, so he or she hired bikers to attack it", Gideon adds. Gideon's bikers engage the enemy bikers in combat. One of the enemy bikers dodges Gideon's bikers and drives straight towards Sally, Gideon, and Riley. He pulls out his gun, and aims a blast at Riley. Gideon jumps in the way and takes the hit.

	"That felt weird", Gideon remarks. He realizes his superspeed isn't working now. The biker turns a dial on his gun.
	"Their weapons have different settings. Aside from the Power Neutralizer, i've seem them use their guns as tasers", Sally notes.

	"Sally, take my bike and get out of here. I'll keep these enemy bikers busy so you can escape", Riley shouts as she tosses her keys to Sally. The enemy bikers are slowly overpowering Gideon's bikers. Sally hops on Riley's motorcycle, and zooms off as quickly as she can.

	Sally keeps riding until she reaches a small town north of Hyper Kingdom. Unsure of where she should go next, Sally checks into a motel for the night. Before going to bed, Sally takes out her cellphone and calls Riley.

	"Is Gideon okay?", Sally asks.

	"The enemy bike gang managed to get away with him. They immobilized me, so I couldn't do a thing to stop them", Riley responds.

	"So Gideon's been kidnapped too?", Sally notes, "This is getting way out of hand". Sally decides to get some sleep and decide her next move in the morning. She puts her cellphone away and climbs into bed.

	The next morning Sally is woken up by someone pounding on the door of her room. She opens the door to find Vector Glossian, A Superkid from Techno Kingdom, standing outside.

	"Late last night, mysterious thugs showed up at Techno Kingdom and tried to kidnap Queen Penelope. She managed to escape and, along with King Michael of Hero Kingdom, has gone into hiding", Vector explains, "I contacted the other 3 kingdoms and learned that Gideon, Darlia, and Ezekiel have all been taken hostage".

	Sally is alarmed to head that her boyfriend has been taken hostage. "How did they capture Ezekiel?" She asks.

	"From what I heard, a strange coven of witches showed up in Spellbound Kingdom. They did something to Ezekiel that made him lose his powers, and then kidnapped him" Vector responds.

	Sally takes out her cellphone and calls Nadia Crystal. "If anyone can tell us where Ezekiel and the others are, Nadia can", Sally suggests.

	Over in Spellbound Kingdom, Nadia answers her ringing phone. After receiving Sally's request, Nadia consults her crystal ball for a few minutes, and then returns to her phone.

	"Ezekiel is in Reineback Town, but I can't tell if any of the other kidnapped Superkids are there", The fortunetelling Superkid responds.

	"I'll head over there and check it out", Sally decides.

	"You won't be able to call me again for while. I'm going into hiding until these kidnappers are caught", Nadia explains, and then hangs up her phone.

	Sally turns to Vector. "Let me get dressed and then we'll head over to Reineback Town and see what we can find", she explains. Vector Steps out of Sally's room and closes the door. Sally changes out of her nightgown and into a pink t-shirt, camouflage mini-skirt, and bright orange sneakers. She also ties her hair up in pigtails to make herself less recognizable. Sally and Vector head for the motel's front door and hear a ticking sound coming from the lobby. Upon examining the lobby, they find a box with wires of different colors wedged in-between two vending machines.

	"Bomb!" Sally exclaims. She and Vector bolt out the front door. Moments later, the motel is blown to smithereens. Sally notices the van from the Polymer Kingdom Mall is in the motel's parking lot. As some familiar figures emerge from it, Sally climbs onto the motorcycle she borrowed from Riley. Vector climbs on behind her and they zoom off, leaving the motel far behind.

	Sally and Vector keep riding down the road until they arrive in Reineback town. The two of them hunt around until they hear a bunch of cackling coming from an old abandoned tavern. Sally and Vector sneak into the tavern and quickly spot the coven of witches. They have Ezekiel tied to a post in the center of the room. The roof of the tavern is torn and full of holes. Sally and Vector try to sneak up to Ezekiel, but one of the witches sneaks up on them.

	"I've got you now", the witch sneers. Vector punches the witch in the face, buying Sally enough time to flee the tavern. The witches tie Vector up and toss him next to Ezekiel. A few seconds later, Sally sees smoke rising from the tavern. A helicopter appears and heads for the tavern. Sally figures whoever hired the witches sent the helicopter to pick up the hostages.

	"I've got to do something or Ezekiel and Vector will be taken to who knows where", Sally realizes. She notices what appears to be part of a basement on the other side of a deep crevasse. Recognizing it, she races over to the basement and opens a door that seemingly leads into the ground. She follow a passage which rises up, indicating that she's heading up into the mountains on the outside of town. She comes to another door which leads to a secret lab Darlia told her about. In this lab, there's a machine that can trigger different kinds of weather. Sally boots up the machine, and aims it at the tavern. The helicopter is hovering right above the tavern.

	"This better work". Sally says. She presses a button labelled "thunderstorm". Dark clouds form over the tavern and it starts raining. a bolt of light hits the helicopter, knocking it out of the sky. Sally rushes down the mountain and back to the tavern, her superspeed having finally returned. She sees a single witch fleeing the scene. Sally rushes into the tavern and unties Ezekiel and Vector. There are no witches in sight. Puddles of water are everywhere.

	"The people in that helicopter were here to take us to where ever the other kidnapped Superkids are. When it started raining, The helicopter got struck by lighting. The rain caused the witches to melt. One of them got away, though", Ezekiel explains.

	"I overheard the people in the chopper say something about Grandeur City. That may be where they are holding everyone", Vector adds.

	"I have an uncle who lives in Grandeur City", Sally reveals, "Maybe he can help us". Sally rushes back up to the lab and presses the "sunny" button to end the thunderstorm. Sally and Vector ride on the motorcycle, while Ezekiel retrieves a broomstick from the tavern and rides on it. The three of them leave Reineback Town far behind and head northeast to Grandeur City.

	It's late in the evening when they arrive in Reineback town. Sally leads the way to her uncle's house. The front door is locked, but Sally knows there's a spare key hidden in a beehive in the front yard.

	"Aunt Delilah was a beekeeper. She was fatally stung one day. After the funeral, my uncle got rid of all the bees and beehives except one, which he kept to remember is wife by. There haven't been any bees in it for a while", Sally explains. She retrieves the key from the beehive and unlocks the front door. No one seems to be home. Sally, Vector, and Ezekiel make themselves at home.

	"Any idea where your uncle could be?", Ezekiel asks Sally.

	"He's a private investigator", Sally explains, "With any luck, he's out investigating the kidnappings. If the kidnappers really are holding the hostages around this city somewhere, he'd be on the case". Since she often visits her uncle, Sally has a bedroom at his house. Ezekiel and Vector pull the hideaway bed out of the sleeper sofa in the living room, and sleep on it.

	The next morning, Sally's uncle still hasn't returned. Vector and Ezekiel wake up to find Sally already cooking breakfast. She's wearing a bright yellow shirt with a cat face on it, teal jean shorts, and boots.

	Vector ogles Sally for a few minutes, and the turns to Ezekiel. "Does your girlfriend always wear flirty outfits?", he teases. Ezekiel slaps him. The boys crawl out of the bed and fold it back into the sofa. Vector notices a picture of a woman who looks like a much older version of Sally standing atop the TV stand.

	"Is this your aunt?", He asks Sally.

	"No, that's my mother", Sally explains, "She abandoned me and my father when was 10. I haven't heard from her since".

	After breakfast Sally, Vector, and Ezekiel decide to split up and search the city. Sally notices a crowd out side the Grandeur City  Clair's Boutique. As she approaches the store, Sally quickly figures out why it's drawing such a large crowd. Clair Donahue, the founder of Clair's Boutique, is signing autographs. Being a big fan of Clair, Sally can't resist a chance to get the celebrity's autograph. Clair quickly notices Sally and points her out to everyone.

	"Look everyone! It's one of the Superkids: Saladora Blitzer", Clair brags.

	"Please call me Sally. I hate it when people use my full name", Sally insists. Clair and Sally exchange autographs. Sally realizes that, being a well-known Superkid, she's as famous as Clair. Sally soon finds herself giving out autographs alongside Clair. Its several hours later when Ezekiel and Vector find Sally.

	"What are you doing here?" They both ask.

	"Signing autographs alongside Clair Donahue", Sally responds. She realizes she's lost track of time.

	"How long have I been here?" Sally asks.

	"It's been over four hours since we left your uncle's house", Ezekiel explains, "You were supposed to be looking for clues to where our kidnapped friends and their kidnappers are".

	"I heard the Clair's Boutique in Polymer Kingdom got broken into", Clair chimes in, "Witnesses say the men who broke into it didn't steal anything, but left with hostages".

	"They took my friends hostage", Sally fumes. Clair notices the worried look on Sally's face and offers a clue.

	"I saw several unmarked vans heading to an old warehouse down by the wharf. I can take you there in my car", Clair offers. With no one else approaching them for autographs, Clair leads Sally, Vector, and Ezekiel to where her car is parked. The four of them climb in and head down to the wharf. When they pull up to the warehouse, four muscular thugs surround the car. Vector leaps out of the car and shape-shifts into grizzly bear to attack the thugs. He knocks out two of them, only to have one of the other two zap him with the usual weapon, reverting him to his normal form.

	"I can't shape-shift anymore", he realizes. Clair pulls a shotgun out from under her seat and shoots the thug that zapped Vector, causing said thug to fall backward into the sea. She then fires on the other thug dropping him in an instant. Clair parks the car and every one gets out. Sally holds her sword at the ready. Ezekiel tries a few spells to make sure his powers have returned. Vector insists on holding the shrink ray, so he has a way to defend himself. Sally, Vector, Ezekiel, and Clair make their way into the warehouse. They find all of the kidnapped Superkids, along with Sally's uncle, in cages. Sally quickly slashes the locks off the cages. Gideon hugs Sally.

	"All of us are powerless right now", Gideon explains, "They kept zapping us to keep our powers from returning". Sally turns to her uncle.

	"Uncle Ritchie, we have been wondering what happened to you", Sally explains.

	"I heard about the break-in at the Clair's Boutique in Polymer City, so I went to the one here in Grandeur City to try and find out more. I met Clair Donahue and she said the people who broke into the store in Polymer took hostages. She also told me she saw unmarked vans heading to this warehouse, so I cam here to investigate. The thugs outside got the drop on me and locked me in a cage", Uncle Ritchie reveals.

	"It's about time you showed up, Saladora", A women's voice calls out. Sally sees someone walking across the room towards her. A woman she hasn't seen since she was 10 years old: Charity Blitzer, her mother.

	"Mom?", Sally wonders, "What are you doing here?".

	"It's simple really. I kidnapped your friends to get you to come to me. You never write to me. You never visit me. I figured you were too busy fighting crime with your friends to even think about me", Charity explains, "I figured my brother would eventually show up to investigate the kidnappings, so I had him taken hostage too". She points to Uncle Ritchie as she says this last bit.

	"What kind of mother kidnaps her daughter's friends just to get her daughter's attention?", Clair chimes in.

	"You aren't a part of this discussion", Charity sneers. She pulls out a revolver and shoots Clair. Uncle Ritchie responds by removing his pistol from its holster and pointing it at Charity.

	"Are you really gonna gun down your own sister, Ritchie?", Charity asks.

	"Drop the gun sis. surrender peacefully and I wont have to", Uncle Ritchie demands.

	"Mother, I couldn't contact you or visit you because YOU NEVER TOLD ME OR DAD WHERE YOU WERE LIVING", Sally yells. This causes Charity to think back.

	"I left you and your father because I met another guy. Now looking back, I realize in my haste to leave with him, I may have forgotten to leave contact info", Charity reveals. The sound of blaring sirens is now audible outside the warehouse, and its getting louder.

	"I contacted the authorities", Uncle Ritchie confirms, "they are on their way here".

	"Grab the girl and lets go", a rough-sounding male voice yells. A big beefy man walks up behind Charity.

	"Meet Bernard", Charity announces, "My boyfriend". She then turns around to face Bernard.

	"I've decided to let Sally decide if she wants to come with us", Charity reveals.

	"After all the effort you put into bringing her here, she better come with us", Bernard snarls. Sally notices Bernard is holding a pistol.

	"It's not right to force her to if she doesn't want to", Charity barks. The cops burst into the warehouse. Bernard begins to panic.

	"If you aren't gonna stick with the plan, then I have no further use for you", Bernard declares. He turns his gun on Charity and fires twice. Next he turns to Sally, who is now crying nonstop at the sight of her dead mother. As Bernard prepares to shoot Sally, a gunshot rings out from somewhere else, and Bernard drops to the ground dead. Sally turns and notices her uncle facing the dead man, his pistol held aloft.

	"We have an ambulance here for Miss Donahue. Her gunshot wound isn't fatal. Wish I could say the same for Charity's", a police officer informs Uncle Ritchie. Sally is sitting next to her mother's body, still crying. Both Ezekiel and Vector try to comfort her.

	"I lost my parents during the Dragonian War, so I know what you are going through", Ezekiel assures her.

	"My parents died earlier this year in a hurricane, So I also know", Vector adds. The coroner arrives to take Charity's body away. Sally manages to stand up and stop crying. Ezekiel tucks her right hand over his shoulder, while Vector tucks her left hand over his. Together, the three of them walk out of the warehouse together.

	About a week later, after Charity's funeral, Sally is at her uncle's house. Ezekiel and Vector are there with her. Uncle Ritchie is away, already working on a new case. Sally is still feeling down. Sally's current outfit is a complete mismatch, which is completely unlike her. Ezekiel tries kissing Sally to cheer her up. Vector vanishes and, a second later, Ezekiel sees a kitten jump up on the couch and curl up in Sally's lap.

	"Vector!", Ezekiel shouts. Then, he notices Sally start to cheer up as she strokes the kitten's fur. "On second thought", Ezekiel mutters to himself, and then walks away. If it makes Sally happy, he might as well let Vector win, just this once.