Family Matters

Chapter 17: Gaming the (Ventilation) System

At the sound of her frustrated voice, the others paused in their tracks.

"What's wrong, Buttercup?" Blossom asked, sounding exasperated.

With one hand, the green puff pointed at the shadowy item she'd seen, while covering her eyes with the other. "Please don't tell me that's what I think it is."

The metahumans turned to where she indicated, and their hearts sank when they realized just what the thing was.

A security camera.

"Is—Is it on?" Bubbles asked worriedly. "Please tell me it isn't on."

"When the light is blinking like that?" Brick retorted. "Inside! Inside, all of you!"

Quickly, the metahumans hurried into the lobby. The guards were regrouping and would no doubt start looking around for the attackers—they couldn't stay out long.

"How are the cameras alive?" Boomer wondered frantically. "We're in a blackout!"

"It must be because of the layout of the building," Blossom figured.

The Rowdyruff Boys looked at the pink puff in confusion. Even Bubbles and Buttercup were miffed.

"This arcade is actually pretty new, only a little over a month old. When the new owners got the building, they—"

Suddenly, Bubbles clapped her hands together. "Oh, I remember now! I think it used to be a grocery store. The owner was pretty nice."

"Right. Anyways, I heard from Dexter that when the grocery store was still around, its refrigerators and security system ran off of separate energy sources, so in case of a blackout, they would still work. After the new arcade was put in, I guess the owner kept the security system."

"Of course, it was the dorkster who told you," mumbled Buttercup under her breath.

"That camera had red lights on it," Brick recalled. "That means it's on night vision right now."

Butch cursed. "And that means everything we've been doing was recorded. Including Boomer's attack." He nudged his brother. "Well, have fun at the police station bro. Hope they don't jail you."

Upon learning what he did was recorded, all of the color drained from the ruff's face.

"Hey, hey, hey, we're not busted just yet," Brick retorted. "We still have a chance to destroy the footage."

"How?" Boomer nearly wailed out his demand.

"The guards are still searching the arcade," Bubbles observed. "I think they're too busy looking for us to remember about the cameras."

"Good for us, then, but how are we going to get into the security office?" Butch said sarcastically. "Ask nicely?"

Rather than ask the guards, the metahumans' solution came in the form of a metal vent.

The vent was situated in a corner of the room, hidden behind one of the tables. Buttercup was the one who revealed this, amazing her companions, as its grille blended with the light color scheme of the lobby, rendering it near-invisible, even to their eyes.

"This thing will help us get into the security office," she told them. "It's a bit of a tight fit, but it's the quickest way to get to the cameras."

Fortunately, the grille had no screws, making it easy to yank it off. Then the metahumans crawled in one by one, with Buttercup in the lead.

The space in the air vent was rather tight, leaving barely any room to move. Even the metahumans—all of which were petite—had to shimmy in just to fit. The walls brushed their shoulders, and they had to be careful not to bang any of their parts against the metal, or else the guards might hear them.