Alternative Care

Chapter 2

The remarkable 40 story WOOHP Headquarters in downtown L.A. featured a 'W'-shaped top and helipad. Within it, the ceiling of Jerry's top floor office parted and the girls dropped down onto a red Victorian couch, winded. Alex looked at the older man with a considering look.

Years ago, after their first trip, the girls had asked Jerry how such travel was possible. He explained the tunnels were extensively hidden throughout L.A., primarily in spots visited by the trio. The bulk of the travel, however, was done through a form of teleportation, similar to The Center's use of the Portal.

"Hey Jerry! Ever think of using Portals like the Center?" she asked and thought of Martin. "I'm sure they'd share," she added hopefully and approached his prodigious high-tech desk.

"Hello Alex. Girls," he replied. "Portals... No, I believe WOOHP Tunnels are a tradition that must remain," he decreed, and raised an index finger with a solemn expression, eyes closed. 

Sam smirked and made eye contact with Jerry. "It's been a while since our last mission. What's going on?" she asked as she fixed her mussed red hair.

He hesitated a moment and gestured to three simple white cups on tea plates and the teapot nearby.  "Tea, everyone?" he asked with a sigh.  The girls nodded, he poured, then they each retrieved a cup and plate to return to the couch. 

"High tech thefts, unfortunately," Jerry said. Two impressive college buildings appeared on the wall-sized monitor behind him. "The New York University Tech Showcase was hit recently, and a mini cloaking device was stolen. Then at the Michigan Institute of Technology Expo, a speed enhancing gadget was taken. The next and only other expo coming up is here," he said.

He pressed a button on his keyboard, and the two structures were replaced by an image of a long, curved, white-roofed building fronted by floor-to-ceiling windows. "The San Fransokyo Institute of Technology."

"Uh, don't you mean San Francisco?" Clover asked, perplexed, and gestured with an open palm. Alex and Sam nodded mutely. "Last time we were there was to save the city from that astronaut lady messing with gravity," she added.

"No, I'm afraid this is an alternate San Francisco that was developed with significant Japanese influence. Thus the name San Fransokyo. It is, in fact, in a parallel dimension. A portal opened up a week ago over our San Francisco and has been kept secret from most of the world's population," he replied, then finished off his cup of tea. He pressed a button to show a barely-visible shimmer of energy high above Coit Tower.

The girls stared at him, then the screen, and back to him with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Parallel dimension?! C'mon Jerry. And this guy discovered it? And you want us to go in there?!" Sam replied frantically.  Her green eyes bore into Jerry's intensely.

"Yes, agents from WOOHP and The Center have traveled back and forth just fine.  In fact, some are living there now. There's no evidence of the window closing."

"Yet!" Alex said, "this is nuts. I mean, we've time traveled-- twice. Seen talking animals, met aliens, and well, you know-- But this?" The brunette set her tea on the nearby end table, mind working over worst-case scenarios. 

Compelled by Alex's emotional outburst, Clover's mouth tightened into a thin line.  "Um... Jerry," Clover studied the man carefully, thinking over her words. "What if that thing closes while we're on the other side?"

Jerry nodded in sympathy. "I understand your concerns, but you three are simply the best, and we need you. We believe the culprit came from San Fransokyo to steal tech in our dimension, and is now returning to his own to complete his scheme," he said. The girls looked at him in consideration.  Clover huffed a bit and learned back into the couch, lost in thought.

He pressed a button on his console and a metal drawer silently slid out from a nearby wall, which revealed three pink heart-shaped backpacks. "No new gadgets," Jerry said with eyebrows raised. "Dean's packed an assortment of your favorites though," he added. Dean referred to an elite agent who was also head of the gadget department at WOOHP.

"Wow, that might be a first," Sam said, and thought momentarily of Dean, who she'd been dating for some time now. Alex shrugged, Clover considered, then nodded, and the three grabbed the Jet pack Backpacks and peeked inside to check out the contents.

"I've packed enough cash in case your credit is declined there. Your cover will be-- well, college students," Jerry informed them. "So no need to change yet," he said, referring to the X-Powders' miraculous ability to instantly change the girls, in a shimmer of energy, from their current outfits to their spy uniforms or any disguise needed.

The girls zipped up their backpacks and looked at their boss with interest. "You're to catch this thief," he said to them simply. "If this theft isn't prevented, I fear the tech from the three expos will be used for a nefarious purpose."

He leaned back slightly in his comfortable office chair to glance at the monitor. The slim, tall man's face fell a bit and he looked back at the girls somberly.

"But please be careful. I researched a bit of the history of this expo, and a year ago someone stole a robotics presentation by setting the building on fire. It ended in tragedy for one student," he said. Sadly, he pressed a button to show a handsome young Japanese American man who wore a black cap.

"That's terrible," Clover said, shocked. Sam and Alex consented quietly, also taken aback.

Despite the intense danger they'd faced over the years, the girls almost never encountered casualties on their missions; a fact that had kept them quite innocent in that regard.

"We'll be careful," Sam said.  She blinked and put a hand to her forehead and felt a familiar sense of stress settle upon her from years of missions. "And we'll try to prevent anything like that from happening this time," she added intently. She looked to Alex and Clover for support, and they eyed Jerry with determination.

"Very well, good luck spies. There's more than enough money for a hotel stay overnight if you need it," Jerry said. "Also, communication via X-Powders works across dimensions." He smiled oddly.

"Talk about serious long distance,"Clover said in surprise, and shook her head. Sam and Alex glanced from her to Jerry and nodded in agreement.

Jerry pressed a button that caused a wall to slide back and reveal a metallic grey high tech jet. They ran to the plane's extendable gangplank, boarded, and started the engine. The gangplank retracted, and the exterior wall of the high-rise parted in front of the plane.  In a moment, they blasted off with a whoosh of the relatively quiet sound of the spy plane's engines.  Jerry used his console to close up the both the outer and inner walls out of the small hanger and looked back to his computer monitor intently.  An employee entered and retrieved the used tea set, then left after a 'thank you' from his boss.

"You can do it girls. We're counting on you.  Again..." Jerry said hopefully as he prepared to focus on whatever he could do to support them.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please vote and comment if you enjoyed.