Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 19: Caught

Gauge breathed a sigh of relief as Tommy went back into medical; thank god he pulled Polly back into the holographic field right in the nick of time. From there, he proceeded to punch Polly in the arm repeatedly. "What is wrong with you? You almost got us caught, and you just altered the timeline. Damn it, Polly!" Gauge slapped himself on the forehead while Polly looked confused at him. "What? How?"

"Because you idiot, when you convinced that guy to mate with his boyfriend, didn't you think that fate might've had other plans? What if that child wasn't meant to be born?" Gauge shouted, "Well, I think I helped him, so there's no harm. Right? Their kid could be a philosopher or maybe a law enforcement officer."

"Or he could be a psychotic criminal; you're a hypocrite! You said it was a bad idea to travel back in time because of this exact situation, and now here you go doing the one thing you said not to do." Polly winced, and the gravity of the situation sunk in as Gauge berated him. "I... I didn't think about that," Polly admitted, his expression falling as he realized the potential consequences of his actions. "I was just trying to help the bunny. I didn't mean to cause any harm."

Gauge shook his head in frustration, his anger palpable as he struggled to contain his frustration. "You acted impulsively without considering the ramifications of your actions. And now, who knows what kind of ripple effect you've caused in the timeline." Polly's shoulders slumped, guilt weighing heavily on him as he realized the gravity of his mistake. "I'm sorry, Gauge... I didn't mean to mess things up," He apologized again, his voice filled with guilt.

Gauge sighed, his anger beginning to fade as he saw the genuine remorse in Polly's eyes. "I know you didn't, Polly," He said softly, his tone gentler now. "But we have to tell Mom." Polly nodded in understanding, a solemn expression on his face as he absorbed Gauge's words. "Okay... I think we better get out of this hallway. This gadget might hide our presence but not our volume."

Gauge nodded in response, a sense of resolution settling over him as they returned to their mission. The pair were interrupted by the sudden entrance of two strangers into their bubble. Whoever was coming was running and laughing like children. Gauge and Polly grunted as they were forced out. The device rocketed out of Gauge's hand and shattered into pieces on the floor. Polly scrambled to his feet as he made eye contact with his brother, who quickly moved to examine the multitool; he scooped the device up in his hands. One of the strangers stood up. He shook his head and rubbed his temple; he opened his eyes and scanned Gauge and Polly, another bunny. The bunny blinked, and his eyes widened in fear as he screamed in shock. He wasn't expecting to see strangers. "Who are you?" His much more assertive kitty companion asked as he quickly defended his friend by stepping before him. He was referring to Gauge, not Polly because Gauge was the outcast in this situation. "Don't be afraid, I'm harmless. You recognize this logo, right?" Gauge pointed to the DP logo on his chest. "How were you able to do that?" Kipp asked; his technical mind was always curious, especially when the person could appear and vanish at will.

"It's a holographic generation device; it lets us hide from you. We're Dynamic Patrol Heroes on an exploratory assignment. I swear we're not here to hurt you." Gauge's eyes were truthful, but Bodi was fearful; he didn't like this new situation at all; he didn't like that he'd just bumped into someone invisible. It didn't make sense to him. He backed up behind Kipp, finding refuge. Those medical doors opened again to reveal Tommy and Narr, concerned about the commotion, "Uncle Tommy?" Kipp added in surprise. Tommy moved to protect Kipp and his cousin immediately. Tommy's eyes immediately drifted toward Gauge, who was the most unusual in this situation because he was not an Omeocoon. Besides D1 or Narr, no other Dynamic Patrol agents were on board.

"I knew it, so the Trinity couldn't trust me after all?" Tommy's hands became fists, and Polly reflexively became defensive, "Wait..? Are you Tommy? That can't be right?" Gauge ignored Polly's state. Why are you orange?" Gauge was able to get out before he was violently electrocuted by one of the security drones on patrol, "Gauge, no!" Polly shouted; he moved to kneel and investigate the damage; he wanted to try to take Gauge out of harm's way, but seeing another automaton coming for him made him think it wise to escape as swiftly as possible. Polly liquefied himself into the same vent that Cam had run into. And he was gone. Tommy looked confused; he thought Polly was just a normal part of the population and had gotten stirred up in this. He was wrong.

D1 rolled up behind the droid, "A security sensor tripped; I came as soon as I heard the message." D1 was occupying Russell's office, so of course, she was aware of the situation happening. "Is he dead..?" Bodi asked. Tommy carefully approached and lifted Gauge's arm in the air. The canine groaned in pain before Tommy carelessly dropped his limb back on the ground. "Yeah, he's alive for now. Send out a search party for the other one. I'll join them shortly." He commanded D1; she moved toward a communications panel immediately.

Tommy turned back toward Kipp and Bodi. Kipp held Bodi's hand, which seemed to keep him calm. "Are you two okay? Did they hurt you?" Bodi and Kipp rushed into Tommy's arms; Gel-squirrel grunted as they hugged him tightly. Tommy held Kipp and Bodi close, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive as he scanned the area for further threats. With Gauge incapacitated and Polly gone, Tommy had a new problem. Suppose questions of his mental instability were snuffed for now.

"D1, can you send those security drones with your search party," Tommy continued again, his voice firm but tinged with concern for his family's well-being. He was concerned that those unorthodox machines were scaring Bodi, so it was best to send them away. D1 whirred into action, her circuits processing the request immediately. "Set new search parameters, level five sweep, all decks." She commanded, and the drones reverted their weapons to a carrying state, did an about-face, and moved down the hall in a mechanically synchronized march. D1 followed. "Who is that?" Narr inquired; she quickly approached Gauge with a medical scanner, cracked it open with her beak— and tried to analyze his state of well-being. Tommy glared, "No doubt one of Captain Holloway's operatives. And he's a hero, too. Top bass just for us. I think this guy is here to spy on me. The Captain was quite adamant about wanting to help us. I don't know what kind of powers he has or how he got on the station, but keep him restrained until I can interrogate him myself."

"Aye," Narr confirmed. She enlisted D1 and the droid's assistance in carrying Gauge into medical. At the same time, Tommy turned his attention to child care.