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Chapter 7 - Episode 7: Early Retirement

The Justice Brigade was visiting Jake's grandpa, Roger. They were playing Candyland with him, and Daisy drew a card with a red square on it, so she moved to the nearest red space. While they were playing, Daisy spotted smoke coming from outside the window. Roger asked, "Daisy? Are you OK?" Daisy responded, "Just fine. I need to show Frank something." Daisy grabbed Frank and took him to the window. Daisy ordered, "Suit up and put out that fire. We'll keep Jake's grandpa entertained." Frank grabbed his backpack and exclaimed, "I'll be right back. I'm just heading out for a while. You guys stay here and keep playing with Mr. Harris." Frank then shut the door, got suited, and flew downtown to the fire.

Once he arrived, Aquaboy flew in and safely evacuated everyone. Then he took the water from a nearby fire hydrant. Then, the water surrounded him, and he launched it all at the burning building. Then the water extinguished the fire, and Aquaboy saved the building before it burned down. The town then cheered for Aquaboy. Aquaboy said, "Thank you, everyone, but I need to be somewhere else now." Aquaboy then flew away, and when he got back to Jake's grandfather's house, he took off his superhero costume, put it back in his backpack, and went back inside. Frank announced, "I'm back."

Once Frank returned, Jake's grandfather broke the news to the Justice Brigade. Mr. Harris stated, "Jake, I wanted you over here to spend time together before I retire. I'm going to the old folks' home tomorrow." Jake responded with surprise, "What?" Mr. Harris reassured him, "Don't worry. You can visit me." The next day, the Justice Brigade dropped off Jake's grandfather at Home for Retired Old Folks, and Helga and the receptionist gave them a tour. The Justice Brigade left when it was over, and Jake was disappointed he wouldn't see his grandfather for a while.

When they were gone, Helga figured the coast was clear. Helga called, "And CUT!" Then everyone working at the resort stopped working. Helga continued, "OK, people, that's rap. Now clean this mess up." The workers removed the movie set walls, and Helga tapped Mr. Harris on his shoulder. Mr. Harris turned around and looked at Helga. Helga explained, "OK, look, old man. Here is how things work here. Time is money, and money is vegetables. So, unless you pick vegetables and load them into boxes for me to sell, you'll be punished harshly." Helga snapped her fingers, and her guards grabbed Mr. Harris, put him in uniform, and set him to work.

The next day, Daisy cleaned while Hannah, Jake, and Frank visited Jake's grandfather at the old folks' home. Hannah asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, maybe we should be on patrol." Jake replied, "I can visit my grandfather whenever I want. I miss him already." Frank countered, "But you can't visit him every day. You're a superhero. You have to be on alert all day." Jake responded, "I know that. I want to see my grandfather." The place looked deserted once they got to the old folks' home.

Hannah approached the door and remarked, "Hey, the door's open." Then, the door slid open by itself. Hannah suggested, "Let's go in." Hannah and Jake walked in while Frank stayed outside. Frank said, "Guys, I don't know." Jake grabbed Frank and insisted, "I want to see my grandpa now." Once inside, they saw that the place looked deserted. Jake wondered aloud, "Where is everyone?" Frank replied, "Don't know. There should be employees and old folks." Hannah speculated, "Maybe they're at the pool." Hannah ran for the pool, tripped, and fell right through the wall into the pool. Jake and Frank walked up to the wall that Hannah had torn through and saw it slide to the ceiling. Then they saw Hannah with her head stuck in a bucket, but they managed to pull it out. Hannah commented, "The pool's not even real." Jake pointed ahead and said, "And look." Hannah and Frank looked ahead and saw that the resort was a movie set. They looked behind the fake walls and saw all the older people picking vegetables from a vast garden, boxing them up, and loading them into trucks.

Jake pointed at his grandfather, exclaiming, "Hey, there's my grandpa." Jake put his hands on his mouth and shouted, "GRANDPA!" Mr. Harris looked behind him and saw Jake and his friends. Then Helga looked at the end of the garden and noticed three members of The Justice Brigade spying on them. Hannah urged, "Guys, we'd better get out of here." Jake protested, "What about my grandpa?" Frank said, "We'll get Daisy and come back for him. Now run." The Justice Brigade ran out of the building, and Helga saw them leave. Helga felt they'd be back, so she snapped her fingers and told her guards to put the set back up and make it more convincing this time.

An hour later, the Justice Brigade returned on their superhero vehicles. Then they exited their superhero vehicles and hurried back up the stairs to the door. Helga opened the doors for them and met them in person again. Helga said, "Oh, how wonderful to see you again." Daisy said, "Nice to see you, too. Would you mind if we saw Mr. Harris, whom we dropped off yesterday?" Helga said, "Not at all. Come on in." Helga welcomed The Justice Brigade in, and they saw all the old folks having fun and all the workers working just as they had when they dropped off Jake's grandfather. Daisy said, "This looks fun. For the old folks, that is."

Helga smiled. "Of course. At Home for Retired Old Folks, we take good care of our residents and keep them safe."

Jake replied, "Really? Then let's see my grandpa."

Helga gestured toward a nearby table, where the Justice Brigade saw Jake's grandfather playing Chinese checkers with another older man. Hannah glanced at the pool and saw people swimming, which convinced her it was real.

"All right, guys, I've seen enough," Daisy said. "Your grandfather is fine. Let's go."

The Justice Brigade left, and Helga watched them go. Then she called out, "And cut!" and clapped for the "elderly residents."

"Excellent performance, everyone," she said with a laugh.

At once, the supposed residents removed their disguises, revealing themselves as Helga's guards. She then pressed a button on a remote, and a wall slid open to reveal the real elderly residents hidden behind it.

That night, while Daisy slept, Hannah, Jake, and Frank slipped out in their superhero uniforms, put on their masks, and drove back to Home for Retired Old Folks in their hero vehicles. When they arrived, they ran to the door, but someone had locked it. "We'll use the skylight," Heatgirl said. "There is no skylight," Iceboy replied. "Then we'll make one," Heatgirl said. She flew to the roof with Iceboy and Aquaboy close behind, cut a hole in the ceiling with her heat vision, and they jumped inside. They found Jake's grandfather locked up, and Heatgirl melted the lock. Iceboy grabbed his grandfather and said, "Come on, we're getting out of here." The Justice Brigade flew back through the hole, climbed into their vehicles, and sped away.

The following day, Helga saw that Jake's grandfather was gone, and Daisy saw that all her friends were gone. Daisy then checked their garage and saw their superhero vehicles were gone too. Daisy then wore her superhero uniform, got on her Suncycle, and drove after her team. Helga also climbed onto her motorcycle and rode after them. Helga followed them downtown and saw The Justice Brigade with their superhero vehicles, and Jake's grandfather riding in Iceboy's Ice Car. Iceboy looked behind them and saw Helga chasing them. Helga attempted to shoot lasers at the Justice Brigade. Heatgirl replied, "Two can play that game." Heatgirl shot her Heat Vision at Helga, destroying her lasers. Helga said, "Clever. But I'm still armed." Helga pushed a button on her handlebars and shot a rocket at the Justice Brigade. The Justice Brigade all veered left, and the missile missed. Then it hit the road, and The Justice Brigade and Helga jumped out of the hole.

Helga tried taking them out again, but Sungirl found them and drove behind Helga. Sungirl then shot Helga's rocket launcher with one of her Sun Beams, destroying it. Sungirl then rode next to Helga, waved hello because Helga had broken her rocket launcher, and raced ahead. Iceboy asked, "Now, do you believe us?" Sungirl replied, "No doubt about it." While driving, Helga and the Justice Brigade rode alongside the police, prompting the police to chase them. Heatgirl remarked, "Coppers on our tail. We've got to lead them back to the retirement home." The Justice Brigade drove around a building, Helga chased them, and the cops chased Helga. Then, they rode back to the retirement home. Once they arrived, the Justice Brigade stopped their superhero vehicles, Helga stopped, and the cops all raised their guns at the Justice Brigade, Helga, and Jake's grandfather, while they put their hands up.

One of the cops announced, "OK, you're all under arrest." Heatgirl replied, "Wait, coppers, there's no need to arrest us. Just her." Heatgirl looked at Helga, and Helga looked at The Justice Brigade, who were scowling at her. Helga protested, "I don't know what you mean." Iceboy added, "Oh? Well, why don't the cops go inside and look around?" The police chief sent in two officers, who found the place empty. However, upon closer inspection, they saw the residents picking vegetables, loading them into boxes, and then loading the boxes into trucks. The police then released all the residents and returned them to their families. Then they handcuffed Helga, told The Justice Brigade they could go, and took Helga to jail. Then, the Justice Brigade rode away on their superhero vehicles and visited Jake's grandpa.

They knocked on the door as soon as they arrived at Mr. Harris's house. Then Mr. Harris answered and saw Jake. Then Jake and his grandpa hugged, glad to be back together. Jake remarked, "I saw the papers. The Justice Brigade busted Helga and got you free." Mr. Harris replied, "Yep. And I would still be in that awful place if they didn't show up." Hannah and Frank looked at Daisy and agreed, "Yeah." Daisy admitted, "OK, OK. Maybe I should have believed you." Mr. Harris asked, "On what?" Daisy responded, "Um. They went to see you and spotted the operation, but I didn't believe them when they told me about it. So, I didn't call the cops or The Justice Brigade when I could, but they did. And I'm proud of them for doing it." All five of them then hugged and were happy again.

The End

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