"Full permission to raid and wreck Eggman's bases!? This is gonna be so sweet!"

Wave watched her boyfriend spin around in his chair with childish excitement, and shook her head. This was not how the leader of the most notorious treasure hunters in the world normally acted. "Jettison, darling, if you've forgotten, we have work to do."

Jet stood up, gripping the desk to let his dizziness subside. "You are absolutely right! We need to get workin' on findin' those bases."

Their own base of operations was a small, but cleverly armored airship that was currently hovering over the sea between Northamer and Eurish.

"I've already located a base just off the southern coast of Eurish." Wave responded. "I'm currently working out how to bypass their security."

"Excellent...And what are you doing, Storm?"

The bruiser of the team paused. "...eating a sandwich...?"

Jet rolled his eyes. "Nice...well, when you're done with that, report to the lower deck and ensure we have enough supplies."

Storm nodded, quickly leaving the room.

Wave sighed, then leaned back against the wall as she remembered the nightmare that had started the morning before...

.................................................

The Renegade sat quiet and idle in the early morning, hovering just out of sight of the Londoonian coast.
The cargo hold held unimaginable treasures they were "storing," but seemed to do nothing to slow the flying ship from escaping the authorities.

Wave stood on the bridge, her fingers wrapped around a hot cup of coffee. She smell lingered in her nose as she took in a deep breath, looking out over Londoon Bay.

The ocean was unusually clear, lacking the thick haze of fog that usually hovered over the waters like a blanket. Seabirds floated on the surface, bobbing along lazily.

It was on days like this that Wave missed her father. He used to tell her about such days on the ocean, fishing and looking out for supposed sea monsters she now knew were fake.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the seabirds suddenly taking flight, and Wave saw an unusual light coming from the coast. "What is...Oh my gosh...!"

She hurried to the controls, activating the ship's systems and pulling them towards the sky.

"Wave, darling..." Jet groaned as he stumbled in. "Don't I get to decide when we take off?"

"No time, Jet. Do you see that ahead?"

Jet looked out the window, his eyes widening. "By the Stars...!"

An explosion had set the coastline ablaze, and also sending debris flying off at them and splashing into the water below as they lifted off.

"A gas break?" Jet pondered.

"A bombing. Eggman, no doubt...Do we go and see if we can assist?"

Jet crossed his arms. "...Yes. Storm and I will see what we can do. You stay on the Renegade in case Blue Boy calls..."
.................................

Wave shook out of her thoughts, she had a job to do. "Let's ensure this doesn't happen again..."

______________________________________

"How's she doing...?"
The pale hedgehog stared through the glass window, seeing his girlfriend and teammate lying still in the hospital bed. She'd always been quiet, but not like this...

"She's alive, that's a good sign, considering what she did to defend the city." The doctor sighed. "...She appears to have gone into a state of animation...healing herself."

"You don't know when she'll wake up?"

"No... She did take quite a hit."

The hedgehog nodded, putting a hand in the window. He remembered the moment she'd seen the bomb, then sensed the two others elsewhere. She'd used her powers to pull them away, flying full speed towards the docks in an effort to dump them into the ocean.

She'd almost made it.

Because of her, only the docks and coastal buildings nearby were damaged, but she'd been caught in the blast...and now she was here, with no idea how long it would be before she came back.

"...Can I go in?" He whispered.

The doctor nodded, and he stepped into the room. It was so quiet, except for the heart monitor. He sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "Mandie...you saved a lot of people, you know...I couldn't be more proud of you..."

He closed his eyes, then opened them again as his phone buzzed. "...Hello?"

Venice? It's Miles Prower.

"Prower...hey. You guys got hit too, I heard."

Yeah...I was calling because we tried to get a hold of your base computer and you guys didn't respond. Did the blasts damage the equipment?

"N-No, the base is fine...It was Amanda that was...damaged."

Oh no...Is she...

"No...She's in a healing state. She took the bombs to the shore so the rest of the city suffered minimal damage, but...They don't know when she'll wake up."

I am so sorry, Venice... If there's anything we can do-

"There is...You get that evil piece of trash out of our world...! Make sure this never happens again by his hands...!" Venice forced himself to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry...lost my grip for a second."

No need to apologize. I...I know how that feels. Keep in touch.

"Yes...of course." Venice closed his communicator then sighed as he looked at Amanda's calm expression. "...You're lucky, I suppose...you don't have to deal with any of this..."