Reboot

Chapter 4

It was fairly early in the morning yet when they arrived at their destination. It reminded Bad Cop of Bricksburg before the rebellion and the Duplo invasion, just with suburban houses instead of a cityscape. The inhabitants were out and about, talking with each other excitedly over some big event that was apparently scheduled to happen later that day. Many of them were tall Systarians, like the General, but there were also many faces he recognized, not the least of which were the superheroes who had left years ago, never to return.

There were two things he noticed about his fellow Alterrans that disturbed him greatly. One- people he'd known to be sworn enemies, or at least intolerant of each other back home, were acting like the best of friends now. Two- they were all covered in glitter. And there didn't seem to be so much as a single sparkle on any Systarian he could see.

Something doesn't seem right about that, Good Cop agreed. ...Can you at least manage a neutral expression? People are starting to stare.

Bad Cop fought down a wince at his other half's observation. "Right," he muttered, and tried to school his expression into less of a scowl. A glance at Rex showed the rogue to look almost as out of his depth as Bad Cop himself felt, though he was hiding it behind a confident smirk. Nobody really seemed to be giving Emmet a second glance though, as he cheerfully greeted people on their way down the street.

You know I would take over for you, but my face...

I know. We'd get caught in a heartbeat.

He stepped up to Rex's side. "You seem the most familiar with these people," he started. Rex glanced up at him. "What do you think happened to ours? This isn't normal behavior for them."

"They've been brainwashed," Rex answered, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. "Music holds a strange power, here. Certain songs especially. If these people randomly start singing, run. You do not want to stick around to find out what the effects are."

"Duly noted." The two paused to watch as Emmet chatted up one of the locals, asking about the 'wedding party' and where they might be.

"They're very good friends of mine," Emmet was saying. "I haven't seen them for a while though, and I'd like to surprise them, and congratulate them on being invited to be guests of honor at the Queen's wedding."

"Oh, you mean the leaders of Apocalypseburg? They're likely at the palace, the Queen was very excited to meet them for herself."

"I'll bet she was," Rex muttered darkly to himself. He stepped closer to the conversing pair. "Do you think they'd let us in?"

The Systarian glanced at him. "Well... if you are old friends, I don't see why not! In fact I'm sure the Queen will be thrilled to see friends reunited!"

"Great! Thanks!" Emmet chirped, and bade them farewell. "To the palace, then?" he asked his companions.

"Absolutely," Rex agreed. "Though I don't trust that we would be let in just like that. I've seen the security around that place, and that General's almost always hanging around." He folded his arms and tapped his foot as he thought. "Though with what's happening today, there's probably going to be a million things going on at once to get it all ready on time, and everyone will be distracted. We might have a chance to sneak in."

"Does your cruiser have cloaking technology?" Bad Cop asked.

Rex nodded. "It does. Almost as good as the Rexcelsior's, even, so we should be able to sneak right up there unnoticed. There's like fifty balconies, we can hop right in on one of those."

"Been harassing Systar for a while, have you?" Bad Cop mused. Rex snorted.

"I've got good reason to. They took everything from me. And even if I haven't been back to Alterra in like ten years, it's still home, and I am so not cool with them constantly attacking it."

They made it back to where they'd hidden the cruiser in the jungle, and this time Emmet squeezed himself into the back to allow Bad Cop some extra leg room. They made it out of Suburbia unnoticed, and Rex set a course for the palace, located at the heart of the system.

"Oh wow," the construction worker gasped as the twisting gold and ivory spires came into view. "That's amazing!"

"It is pretty," Rex admitted. "But don't let it distract you from our task. We're here to find your friends and get them out, remember?" Emmet nodded. "And then once they're safe, we have to put a stop to the wedding."

"Why?" Bad Cop asked.

"Because it'll-" He paused, catching himself. "I think it'll seal whatever spell they're under, make it permanent. And with so many of our people on their side, Alterra won't stand a chance. We'll all be brainwashed and assimilated. There'll be nothing left of who we are."

"Then shouldn't that be our first priority?"

"Our friends haven't been brainwashed yet, but they're on the inside. We could use that to our advantage. Even just getting Lucy in on the plan would be a huge help," Emmet explained.

"I see," Bad Cop murmured. "Makes sense. Very well. I hope this plan of yours works out."