Chapter 1 - Book One - "Number 9"

It was a cold, stormy night and I was sitting at my desk gazing at my old phone, waiting for it to ring. I bet your wandering who I am. Well my name is detective Lowe. Marv Lowe. I work here at Chaotix Detective Agency tackling some of the worst crimes and cases known to mankind, but that’s my job. I live for my work but was never really sure if I was cut out for it but I proved myself wrong. I usually work alone but I can always count on my best friend, Charlie Sonner to help out with those difficult cases. Charlie and I have been best friends ever since we were seven years old. It was different back then, playing with race cars and paper aeroplanes but now were the two best detectives to ever take on the world! On our last case, Charlie and I stopped a lethal band of crooks that tried to hijack three cargo trucks filled with illegal drugs and alcohol. They nearly slipped away but we got them just in time. Speaking of cases, I haven’t had a descent one for at least two months now and I needed the money to do up my apartment. It was getting into a real state and was desperately in need of repairs. One of the windows was cracked and the thin glass let in all of the noises from the busy street. The once bright yellow walls were now turning to a musty brown colour and the floor was coated in dust. There were dirty clothes lying everywhere and the whole room smelt of old sweat socks. It didn’t help that the man living above me always let his bath overflow and the ceiling now had huge, wet stains on it. The family living below me were always cooking food from different countries and the smell had seemed to stick to my apartment, as there is always the faintest smell of vegetable samosas or sweet and sour chilli wafting around my room. I either needed money or a whole new apartment.

Suddenly, as if someone had heard my plead, the phone rang. I quickly jumped up and answered it, I shivered at the though of a whole new mission to take on at last!
“Chaotix Detective Agency, this is Detective. Lowe speaking, how may I help you?”
“Detective. Lowe, this is Grant Sandy of Pattington Bank, I’m calling to report a murder!” A man stuttered on the other end of the phone.
“Tell me what happened.” I replied shortly.
“Well, I was in my office, packing all of my paper work away when suddenly I heard a scream and a gunshot. I ran into the main room to see a woman lying dead in a pool of blood and a figure dressed in black run out of the door with a box in his hands!” Grant whispered faintly.
“Why was there a woman in our bank at this time of night?” I asked as I quickly glanced at my watch to see that it was nearly 11 O’clock!
“That’s just the point, I have no idea why she was in or how she even got in!” Grant shouted which was quite a surprise due to how quiet his voice was before.
“I’ll be right there.” I said gruffly as I slammed the phone down. I smiled to myself at the thought of taking on this case.

I figured that a murder mystery would need more than one detective to deal with it so I thought about asking Charlie to help me. Charlie wasn’t too rich, even though he was a detective so he didn’t have a phone. That meant that I was going to have to go his apartment. Luckily, it wasn’t that far so I could get there with a quick five-minute drive. I took a lift down to the ground floor and walked into the “kitchen”. It wasn’t really a kitchen but all the people living in the apartment though it was. It was in fact the Chaotix secret room where all the detectives would come and file their paperwork and receive new cases or tell about their old cases that they had solved. I walked over to the desk to put my room card in the wooden box. I slotted it in and was just about to walk out of the door when I suddenly heard a voice.
“So, going on another case and not telling us?” The deep voice asked. I turned to see the Chaotix manager, Vector Tooth sitting at the desk with his feet up. Vector was very tall with thick locks of black hair and huge, bulky muscles. He wore an old, brown suit that could pass as a builder’s suit and shiny black shoes with a white stripe going down the middle. He also wore a huge gold chain around his neck and headphones which seemed to never move from his head. He had dusty white gloves with black cuffs that had a gold stripe going across them. His deep, orange eyes seemed to shine in the dim light coming from the turning light above his head. He beckoned for me to come over with his finger and turned his gaze towards me.
“I was going to ask Charlie for help.” I replied.
“Marv, that’s what you say all the time!” Vector laughed as he pointed his finger at two figures in the corner, filing papers. They both came over quickly.
“Yes boss.” They chorused. These were Vector’s most loyal assistants, Espio Cham and Charmy Bee. Espio was quite tall but not as tall as Vector. He had spiky purple hair and huge purple shoes with spiked cuffs around them and also white gloves with the same spiked cuffs as his shoes. He had long jeans that flared out at the bottom and a chain on them and a black t-shirt with rips on the front. He also had shining gold eyes. Charmy was very short and had big orange and white shoes with black socks that sagged over the top of them. He had denim shorts and an orange waistcoat that was skintight. Like his colleagues, he also wore white gloves but his had black rings round the top. Strangely, he wore a huge black helmet on his head with pink rims that just showed the edge of his smooth, black hair. He had the same gold eyes that matched Espio’s exactly.
“Get Marv’s paper work to take with him for his new case, and some for Charlie too!” Vector ordered.
“Yes boss!” Espio and Charmy chanted as they walked back to the box that they were piling up with papers and started rummaging around in it.
“So, what’s the big case this time?” Vector asked me suspiciously.
“It’s a murder at Pattington Bank. The manager, Grant Sandy wants me to go and look for clues.” I replied as Espio and Charmy walked back with two pieces of paper in their hands. They handed them to me and nodded as they walked back to do their filing.
“Well, good luck Marv.” Vector grinned as he put his headphones back onto his ears and started bobbing his head up and down to the music.

I walked out the back of the room and into the detective car park. It was very cold outside and the blistering wind blew at my face like a snowy chill. The ice-cold rain poured onto me in heavy showers. I didn’t mind the wind and rain that much as I quickly walked to my car. Like my apartment, my car was very old and tatty. It had creaky old doors and the front one nearly fell off once! The colour looked like a decayed yellow when the car was actually supposed to be pure white and one of the headlights were broken. I opened it up and stepped inside. The seats were all dusty and had old newspapers all over the floor and on the back seats. I started the engine and turned out of the car park. I drove down Wilson Way and made a left turn into Crocodile Street which is the road where Charlie lived. I pulled up to a huge block of flats and stopped my car whilst I opened my window a tiny bit and stuck my hand out to see how much rain there was but the horrible storm was no more than a drizzle now. Slowly, I got out and walked to the entrance of the flat.

I walked up the first flight of stairs to a huge white door and knocked three times. I heard a few crashes and cursing coming from the room before Charlie opened up the door. It wasn’t a surprise to see that his apartment was in a state because Charlie wasn’t the neat type of person. It was filled with old rubbish bags and take away boxes lying everywhere and the whole apartment stank! I didn’t mind though, Charlie was still my partner and best friend. Charlie was a tiny bit taller than me with blazing blue eyes and shiny blonde hair, much unlike my dull brown eyes and messy brown hair. He had blue checked pyjamas on with his name on the front and bare feet.
“You alright Marv? What’re you doing here?” Charlie asked through a wide yawn. He had obviously fallen asleep whilst watching a movie because he looked like he had just woken up and I could hear the faint sounds of the TV blaring in the front room.
“Charlie, we’ve got a new case.” I grinned and told him all about the murder at Pattington Bank.
“No way! I’ll be right out!” Charlie gasped through wide eyes. He ushered me to come in and wait whilst he went into his room to get dressed. I sat down on the sofa in front of the TV and picked up a DVD box that was lying on the floor.
“Race Cars From Space” I read and chuckled to myself. Trust Charlie to be watching these old movies from our childhood
“I’m ready!” Charlie shouted as he came out of his room with a white trench coat on, the same as mine and a white hat.
“Good.” I replied as I passed him his paperwork and we walked out of the door.

The rain had completely stopped once we had gotten out so we slowly walked over to my car. I got in the driver’s seat and Charlie got into the front seat next to mine and we drove off to Pattington Bank. It was just off East Way, which was about a 20 minute drive from here.
“So, who do you think this criminal is?” Charlie asked me suspiciously. I turned towards the side window and stared into the dark night. I was in deep thought about something when Charlie interrupted me again.” Hello! Earth to Marv! Anyone there?” Charlie shouted at me whilst waving his hand in front of my face.
“Huh? Oh sorry, I must have drifted off.” I replied glumly.
“Hey Marv, what’s wrong?” Charlie asked me with slight sorrow in his voice.
“Oh, nothing.” I replied quickly. I put my eyes back on the road and neither of us said a word all the way to Pattington Bank.

We got out and met Grant by the entrance. He was a typical middle-aged man with gold eyes and black hair with purple streaks. He had a necklace around his neck with a skull on it and a skull tattoo on his left arm. He was wearing a grey suit with a red tie and shiny black shoes. “Detective. Lowe, thank you so much for coming!” Grant smiled enthusiastically as he shook my hand. He then turned towards Charlie. “Ah, and I see you brought a friend to help! Good idea!” Grant grinned whilst shaking Charlie’s hand as well.
“Call me Detective Sonner.” Charlie replied as he shook Grant’s hand.
“Detective Sonner it is then! Please come in both of you.” Grant said as he walked in. We followed him down a hall and he unlocked the door to the main room. In the middle of the room, was the dead woman and the back door was open. “That’s where the criminal escaped.” Grant said as he pointed to the back door that creaked in the wind. Charlie and I started looking for clues all around the room. We searched high and low but failed to find anything. We checked all over the floor, the woman’s bag and pockets, all of the boxes on the shelves and on top of tables and chairs but we couldn’t find anything. This was definitely a sneaky criminal, much to my dismay. My mind drifted back to the thoughts I had earlier.
“Could it really be him? Could he back again?” I whispered to myself under my breath.
“Huh?” Charlie responded. I hadn’t even noticed he was there.
“Oh, nothing.” I replied as I managed a smile. Charlie just shrugged and started searching the floor again for clues. I walked over to the creaky door and ran my hand down it. Suddenly, I felt something more than the rough, wooden pane so I looked at where my hand was. Yes, it was our first clue I realised as I pulled a piece of blue cloth from a piece of wood that stuck out of the frame.
“I’ve found something!” I shouted with joy as I ran over to Charlie.
“Great work pal! Now we need to take this back to the testing lab to get it examined.” Charlie suggested as he took the blue cloth from my hand.
“Thanks for your patience and time.” I nodded to Grant as Charlie and I both walked out of the door.
“No, thank you!” Grant shouted back to us as we walked back through the hall and opened the huge door to the bank. “And good luck!” He added just before we closed the huge, wooden door shut.

We drove back to my apartment and ran into the Chaotix secret room. Vector nearly jumped out of his skin as we flew into the room.
“Whoa! Good hunting boys?” Vector asked us a little shocked.
“Sure was! Look what we found!” Charlie grinned holding up the blue cloth right in front of Vector’s face. He shoved it away with his hands and got up. He put his hands on our shoulders to congratulate us.
“Espio, Charmy, go and get the lab assistants to come and get this cloth.” Vector called as Espio and Charmy ran off through some swinging doors. It was only a few seconds before two men came out of the doors with a pair of tweezers and a plastic bag in their hands. The one holding the tweezers was very short and he had a musty yellow shirt on with a red bandana around his neck and the same musty yellow coloured shorts. He had rough brown shoes that looked like they were about to fall off his feet and messy dark blonde hair. His light blue eyes looked pale and dull that matched his expression. His name was Edward Platypus and he took the cloth out of Charlie’s hand with the tweezers whilst the other man held the plastic bag open. This man was quite tall with sleek brown hair that was slightly messy at the top and he had blazing green eyes. He had a white t-shirt on with a black stripe going down the middle and baggy green trousers. He had white and black trainers and a huge green watch on his wrist. This was Ben Tennyson. Edward dropped the cloth into Ben’s bag and they both ran back through the doors to start testing it.
“Well done you too, you deserve a good night’s rest!” Vector said as he pushed us out of the door and gave me my room card back. “Rest well, tomorrow is a big day!” He grinned as he closed the doors.

I waved goodbye to Charlie and went back up to my apartment. I was just about to unlock the door when suddenly, I heard a noise. I turned round but I couldn’t see anyone. I shrugged my shoulders and continued to unlock the door but I heard it again. It was coming from around the corner. I tiptoed over to it and leant against the edge of the wall. I took out my gun and held it close to my chest and then jumped round the corner with the gun pointing out.
“Freeze!” I yelled as I saw someone jump. I gasped as the figure stared at me. It was all dressed in black and had a wooden box in it’s hands. The only opening to it’s actual body, was the eye holes on the mask but all I could see were black circles rimmed with blue. The figure stared at me and then started to laugh.
“You!” I shouted as I ran towards it but it suddenly ran off. I chased it all around the top of the building until it came to a broken window. It waved at me and then jumped out. I gasped and ran over to the window and looked out but no one was there. There wasn’t even a body on the ground. It was just empty. I slumped down to the ground to catch my breath and soothe my thoughts. I looked up with anger burning in my eyes.
“Blain Nine.” I spat through gritted teeth. It was just who I had thought, Blain Nine, my arch rival. He had been on the loose for ages but I always managed to miss him at the last minute before he escaped. He was the slyest, sneakiest criminal I had ever met and now he was back! I mopped my brow and shakily stood up and walked back to my room. I needed to sleep to get the image of his masked face out of my head. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew I had to try and get some rest if I wanted any chance of good detective work tomorrow so I went into my room and lay my head down on my pillow. To my relief, within a few minutes my eyelids were sagging and I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing. Glancing at my watch, I realised that it was only 6:30 in the morning. I groaned and rolled out of bed, just before the phone stopped ringing.
“Hello?” I asked, so tired that I forgot to say my name or Chaotix Detective Agency.
“Marv, is that you?” A voice asked in a kind of joking way.
“Charlie! What are you doing phoning me this early?” I shouted at him.
“Well, excuse me!” Charlie said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m being serious now Marv, Grant just phoned me and said that another person got murdered in Pattington Bank and he found a bottle of Parasite Energy lying next to the dead body.”
“Parasite Energy?” I mimicked. “Where have I heard that before?”
“It’s a top secret fluid that can mutate people remember? Vector showed us when we were apprentices training to be detectives.” Charlie explained. I remembered now. I could remember Charlie and my mentors. Mine was called Blooregard Q. Kazoo and Charlie’s was Wallabee Beetles. Blooregard was a short man with blue hair and always wore blue clothes. He also had burning blue eyes. Instead of a gun, he had a paddleball which he was useless at but kept it anyway. Wallabee Beetles was also short with blonde hair that covered his emerald green eyes and he always wore orange hoodies and jeans. Neither of them were that smart but they were the greatest mentors we could ask for. They taught us everything we know today but they taught us most about Parasite Energy. It was a horrible virus created by The Meterex, which were a group of mutated humans that wanted the whole world to be mutated. Thus they created Parasite Energy which would mutate the whole world but they failed. They were now behind bars for all eternity but what did Blain want with Parasite Energy?
“Listen Charlie, I think I know who is behind all this.” I breathed slowly.
“Oh?” Charlie asked. “Do tell.” I told him the story about how I encountered Blain and how he had just disappeared out of the window last night. “Blain Nine!” Charlie gasped.
“Looks like it.” I sighed.
“Come on, we better go to the testing lab to get the results for the blue cloth, just to be on the safe side.” Charlie suggested.
“Good thinking, meet you there in ten minutes.” I replied.
“Twenty!” Charlie argued. I guessed that Charlie had just woken up, he had never been up this early before!
“Done!” I replied sharply. “Oh, and Charlie, I thought you didn’t have a phone.” I puzzled.
“I just got one this morning!” Charlie said proudly.
“Right, see you in twenty minutes.” I smiled as I put the phone down.

I was down in the waiting room in less than five minutes. It doesn’t take long for me to get ready in the mornings but it’s a different story for Charlie. Luckily the test results weren’t through yet so I had time to wait for Charlie anyway. I was sitting in the Chaotix secret room when Charlie burst through the doors. I could tell he had rushed. His hat was on backwards and his shoes were undone.
“Bout time!” I said as I saw that he had nearly taken forty minutes.
“Sorry.” Charlie replied as he gave a sheepish grin.
“No worries, the results aren’t through yet.” I explained as I moved over so Charlie could sit down.

Within five minutes, Edward poked his head out of the testing lab.
“It’s done.” He glumly spoke as he turned round and walked back, not even waiting for us to follow. Charlie and I exchanged glances and Charlie raised one of his eyebrows. Slowly, we both got up and walked into the testing lab. It was a very dark room with green lights and test tubes everywhere. There were at least five computers where Edward and Ben were tapping away with samples from other cases. I caught Ben’s eye and he gave me a thumbs up as if he were saying good luck to me. Right at the end was a man in a white lab coat. We walked over to him and he turned around. He had short brown hair that was neatly brushed and sparkling green eyes. You could just see his red hoody from under his lab coat and white trousers that matched his black and white trainers. This was Ralph Petrie and he was head lab tester.
“You’re here then?” Ralph asked in a rather grumpy voice. We both nodded. “S’pose you want this ‘ere piece of cloth thingy then?” He asked us.
“Actually, we want to know who it belongs to.” I replied, getting rather impatient.
“Oh, right!” Ralph replied as he led us over to a computer. He turned the screen on and a picture came up. It was a picture of a sad man that didn’t look too pleased but there was no mistake about him. It was Blain Nine. I could tell by his messy black hair and dead looking grey eyes that were blood shod. He looked some-what different than when I had encountered him last night.
“Your right!” Charlie gasped. I nodded glumly.
“So, that’s it then?” Ralph asked as he quickly turned the screen off.
“Yes, thank you.” I replied gruffly as Charlie and I both walked out of the door.

“Wow, awesome work buddy!” Charlie grinned as he patted me on the back.
“But Charlie, there was something different about the Blain Nine I saw yesterday, he wasn’t quite the same. He was almost…” I trailed off slowly.
“He was almost what?” Charlie asked in the most understanding voice I could ever expect from anyone. “Changed.” I stuttered.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked in a concerned voice.
“I don’t really know.” I replied with sorrow in my voice. I shook myself. “Never mind. If were gonna catch him then we best tell Vector the news.” I replied half-heartedly. Charlie nodded and we both walked back into the Chaotix Secret room. Vector was in his usual seat with his feet up and his headphones on.
“Hey Vector pal!” Charlie screamed nearly knocking the poor man dead.
“Ah, Charlie! Your voice sounded like there were ten million people shouting at once and I could here it through my headphones too!” Vector shouted whilst cleaning out his ears.
“Sorry.” Charlie replied as his face fell.
“Uh, never mind. What is it you boys want?” Vector asked kindly.
“We found out who the criminal is!” Charlie burst out.
“Really! Spill it then!” Vector grinned as he leaned forward and buried his chin in his cupped hands.
“It’s Blain Nine.” I mumbled. Vector stumbled off his chair and this time it wasn’t because of Charlie’s screaming.
“What?” Vector spat. “I thought he was long gone!”
“Me too.” I sighed as I hung my head down.
“We also found this in Pattington Bank.” Charlie added as he passed Vector the bottle of Parasite Energy. Vector’s eyes widened.
“No!” He gasped. “Not again!”
“Huh?” Charlie puzzled. Vector closed his eyes and buried his hands in his head. He took a deep breath.
“Alright, a long time ago, whilst you two were still apprentices, we caught Blain Nine trying to steal some Parasite Energy but we stopped him just in time. I think he wanted to mutate himself so he could become stronger and I fear he has done it to himself this time round.” Vector explained.
“So the thing in the wooden box was bottles of Parasite Energy?” I asked.
“I’m afraid it was.” Vector sighed.
“But why did Grant have it then?” Charlie questioned.
“I gave it to Grant a few weeks ago to look after since no one would suspect him but it looks like Blain found out somehow!” Vector replied through gritted teeth.
“Then why were there people dead in the bank so late at night?” Charlie asked a little confused.
“I guess Blain is using innocent people as bate. We have to get him!” Vector shouted as he stood up and clenched his fists. Suddenly, my eyes widened.
“I know why the Blain I saw last night seemed so different!” I breathed. Vector and Charlie both looked at me. “He was mutated.” I slowly explained. Charlie and Vector’s eyes widened too.
“Oh Marv, what are we going to do?” Charlie asked through sad eyes.
“I don’t know Charlie.” I replied. “I just don’t know.”

Charlie and I ran out of the Chaotix secret room with sheets of paper in our hands. Vector had explained of a secret hideout that Detective’s would use when they wanted to search or spy on criminals. It had a satellite dish where we could make a search and tag Blain so we couldn’t lose him again. We quickly jumped into my car and drove off. The place we were searching for was called The Metropolis Skyscraper and it was miles out of town. It would take at least four hours to get there but we still had to make quick time. Blain was on the loose and we had to stop him. The Metropolis Skyscraper was so far away so normal people wouldn’t be able to find it. It had to stay hidden but the only way to do that was to keep it well out of site because of it’s size.
“I wander where Blain is now.” Charlie pondered as we drove quickly along the road, eating up the miles.
“I’m not sure but I hope it isn’t as far as the Metropolis Skyscraper!” I joked. Charlie laughed and we continued to drive down the road.

We had made good progress as we finally pulled up at the Metropolis Skyscraper. We were half an hour ahead of our schedule but we didn’t have time to lose either. We quickly ran into the main entrance and climbed up the old metal stairs. We finally got to the top of the Metropolis Skyscraper and opened the metal door. It was cold outside and a breeze blew at my hair, blowing it over my eyes. I brushed it away and turned to Charlie.
“I think the computer room is on the other side of the mesh.” I told Charlie as I pointed to a wire fence on the far end of the balcony. We walked over to it but just before we got there, a figure jumped down from the sky. Charlie and I both gasped as we jumped back.
“Blain Nine!” I shouted as I withdrew my gun from my coat whilst Charlie did the same.
“Not so fast little boys, I’m much stronger now!” Blain grinned.
“Oh yeah? Prove it!” Charlie answered with slanted eyes.
“You asked for it punks!” Blain spat as he threw his black outfit off. Charlie and I almost screamed at the sight in front of us. Blain was wearing a full armoured blue jumpsuit with purple knee and shoulder pads and he had a blue helmet on that helped him breath. He had a huge tank on his back that was filled with Parasite Energy and two guns coming out of it that were running on Parasite Energy. There was also a snorkel coming from Blain’s nose and going into the Parasite Energy that he kept breathing in. He limped as he walked and it made him look like a zombie.” Say your prayers!” Blain grinned as he pointed his Parasite Energy blasters at us and shot light green beams of mutated energy through the air. Charlie and I both dodged them and rolled to the side. We took out our guns and started shooting at Blain. He flew back as the bullets penetrated him but he just kept getting up. “Nice try.” He grinned as he jumped into the air and continued firing Parasite Energy at us. We kept dodging but one nearly hit Charlie in the shoulder.
“We can’t keep this up for much longer!” Charlie breathed as we hid behind a metal block.
“I know.” I replied as I closed my eyes. “There has to be some other way to penetrate his thick armour!”
“But what?” Charlie asked. Suddenly, my eyes widened.
“Eureka, that’s it!” I smiled.
“Huh?” Charlie pondered.
“Can you hold him off by yourself for just five minutes?” I pleaded.
“Well, I dunno, it seems a little…” Charlie broke off as Blain blasted Parasite Energy right through the metal block. “Alright, I’ll do it!” Charlie replied as he dusted himself down.
“Thanks pal, you’re a real friend!” I smiled. Charlie winked and put his thumb up and then ran towards Blain shooting endless ammo at him. I ran the other way, back down the stairs
“I hope he’s gonna be alright.” I worried to myself as I kept on running. I knew that there was another way into the computer room but it would take a while. Still, I had to get there and as fast as I could! Charlie could be shot any second now! Maybe he is already! I shook myself. No way Charlie would get shot, he’s the best detective I know! I kept on running, through endless doors and different obstacles that got in my way. I just kicked them aside or jumped over them but I was lost. I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes widened. I had gone in a circle. “NO!” I screamed as I pounded my fist on the wall. “Charlie’s out there dying and I’m in here running in circles! Some detective I am!” I whispered as a tear rolled down my face. I whipped it away and slanted my eyes. “No, I can’t give up!” I yelled as I ran through another door. I kept on going for what seemed like forever. I was almost dead it seemed as I ran through a huge door. I was so exhausted that I fell to the ground and closed my eyes. “I can’t go on.” I breathed slowly but as I opened my eyes, I realised that I was in the computer room! “Yes, I’ve done it!” I sang as I jumped up and down. After my little victory dance, I ran over to the master computer and hacked into it. I typed a lot of pass codes and then clicked on the destroy option. I typed in a code and then a beeping noise started.
“Explosion in two minutes.” The computer said. I quickly ran as fast as I could up the stairs and flew out into the balcony right at the top where Blain and Charlie were fighting.
“Charlie, we’ve got to get out, now!” I screamed but Charlie didn’t answer. Suddenly, I saw him lying on the ground covered in cuts and bruises. His left arm was glowing green and was inflating. “CHARLIE!” I shouted as I ran over to him.
“Marv! Your back!” Charlie coughed as he tried to sit up.
“What happened?” I asked urgently.
“Blain shot my arm and after that I passed out.” Charlie spluttered.
“Where’s Blain now?” I asked quickly but I didn’t need an answer as a powerful boot kicked me right across the balcony.
“Right here.” The gravely voice of Blain spat. I quickly got up and grabbed Charlie’s non-mutated arm.
“It’s now or never.” I told myself as I stood at the edge of the balcony.
“What are you doing?” Blain gasped. I smiled at him and then jumped off the balcony with Charlie right behind me. “What? NOOOOOO!” Blain screamed as the whole Metropolis Skyscraper blew up with him on it. I smiled to myself but I needed a new plan now and we were falling fast. I saw my car down below and I steered Charlie and myself towards it through the air. I pulled out my keys and pushed the “open roof” button. The car roof opened up quickly and just before we hit the sandy floor, we landed in it. We both sat in the car, paralysed for a minute or two before we turned to each other and grinned.
“Mission accomplished.” Charlie said to me as he patted me on the back.

Back in the Chaotix secret room, Vector was running up and down clapping his hands whilst Charmy and Espio giggled behind his back. Ralph, Edward and Ben stood in the corner with their arms folded and for the first time, I saw Ralph and Edward smile. Even Blooregard and Wallabee were here to congratulate our success and Grant couldn’t stop thanking us. Vector stopped running around and walked towards us.
“Well done boys, you truly are the best detectives to ever live!” He grinned. Charlie and I both smiled. It had been a week now since we had killed Blain Nine and a lot had changed. All of the Parasite Energy had been destroyed and there was no more left in the whole world now. Ralph, Edward and Ben had created a cure for Parasite Energy called Mitochondria and Charlie’s arm was healing nicely now. As for me, I finally got my new apartment that I had always dreamed of. It was beautiful even if it was my old one. I had no idea that Vector was a decorator as well and he had done it up nicely. The walls were now pure white and the floor was shiny wood with beautiful Victorian tiles by my fireplace. All of the clutter had been cleaned up and my thin, cracked window had been replaced with a shiny new double glazed one. Vector had also done Charlie’s apartment up and it was now blazing with life and it didn’t smell anymore! The takeaway boxes were all gone and the messy rooms were clean now. We were now all enjoying our detective party! There were mountains of food piled high and banners and streamers everywhere!
“Well boys, looks like it’s time to turn in.” Vector yawned as he turned the music off and everyone walked out of the door. Charlie and I got to the front door and walked out into the cold night.
“Great job pal.” I smiled.
“Yeah, we make a great team!” Charlie grinned as he walked down the stone steps.
“See you tomorrow then?” I asked.
“I’ll be there, bright and early!” Charlie laughed as he walked off. I smiled and then went back up the stairs to my room. As I walked in, I sat down on my chair at my desk staring at my phone, waiting for another call. I poured myself a whisky and put my feet up on the desk. I knew that someone else out there needed my help. I took a sip of my whiskey, leaned back and grinned. Life is good.

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