Dr. Dray of the International Science Organization left his job at the Amegapolis facility a bit earlier than normal, though it was after dark. As the driver took the car onto a road leading out of the city, the scientist read his favorite romance novel with the aid of his greatest invention to date: contact lenses that allow the wearer to read in total darkness.
“Turn on the radio.” he finally said to the driver, “Sarah Palin’s supposed to be on Howard Stern.”
The driver pressed a few buttons and turned a knob. “Huh.” he said, “I can’t seem to find any stations.”
“Well, it must be broken.”
Just then, a strange, electronic sound filled the air.
“What’s that sound?” the doctor asked.
“It sounds like an old, damaged Moog synthesizer trying to sound like a flute.” the driver replied.
Suddenly, a giant glowing foot stomped onto the road before them.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” the driver shrieked, “We must’ve driven into a Monty Python bit!”
* * * * *
Somewhere in the suburbs of Amegapolis, another ISO scientist pulled into his driveway. With the headlights on and the engine still running, he got out of his car and walked toward his garage – even though he could build a functioning nuclear warhead from a handkerchief, two dust bunnies, and a penlight, he never could figure out how to use his garage door opener.
Just then, a strange, electronic sound filled the air.
A glowing giant that looked like a cross between a Las Vegas showgirl, Lady Gaga, and a circus clown stepped over a neighbor’s trees. Then it stomped through the middle of the scientist’s house. Its yellow eyes flickered a bit before laser beams fired from them, torching the scientist and the garage.
“Honey, I think I heard something!” a woman in a house a couple of blocks away whispered to her sleeping husband.
“Go back to sleep.” he muttered, “They’re filming a Godzilla movie a few streets away, remember?”
* * * * *
The God Phoenix was an inspiration as it streaked across the clear blue morning sky.
“Listen up, Gang!” Ken practically crowed, “We’ve just been summoned to ISO Headquarters in Ameris!”
“All right!” Jinpei cried as he leapt up and stood as if he was posing for a statue, “We’ll show them how cool the Science Ninja Team is in our dashing Bird Styles!”
“Sorry, hot shot, we’ll be going in our street clothes.” Ken replied, dashing Jinpei’s mood.
“How come?”
“A ninja can’t steal close to its prey if it’s not in the shadows, Jinpei.”
“Ken, I think we made a mistake by flying in low and not using a regular air route.” Joe said.
“Why?”
“The streets have filled up with panicked citizens with guns. They’re shooting at us now.”
Later, after the God Phoenix had been hidden away, the team caught a cab and were riding across town to ISO headquarters. Jun and Jinpei sat in the front while the others filled the back.
“Jinpei, have you been guzzling energy drinks by the gallon?” Jun sounded slightly annoyed.
“What,” he replied, “you got something against me getting caught up in the excitement of the big city?”
“You’re bouncing so much that you’re going to punch a hole in the ceiling!” she said.
“But check out that huge amusement park! They must have the world’s biggest collection of Ferris wheels! And. . . WHOA!” Jinpei’s jaw dropped as the cab drove past the main entrance.
Straddling the front gate was what had to be the world’s largest cigar store Indian.
“That must be a new place.” Ken said as he looked out the back window, “I don’t remember seeing it the last time we were out this way.”
“We have GOT to go there, Sis!” Jinpei cried.
“We’re not here to have fun.” Jun cooly replied.
“I know.” the kid groaned, “Did you have a surgery where they took out your sense of fun?”
A few minutes later, the five ninjas strode into the lobby of the ISO headquarters. Jinpei, however, was promptly blocked by a guard. “Sorry. No kids allowed.”
“But I’m supposed to –“ Jinpei sputtered. But the guard would have none of that and started shooing the Swallow out.
“It’s alright.” a familiar voice called from a short distance away, “They’re with me.”
The world went into slow motion as Jinpei and the guard turned to see who had spoken.
Paparazzi flashbulbs fired. Lackeys darted in and out of a surrounding entourage.
“Sir,” they heard one lackey say, “the cappuccino machine we installed in your office five minutes ago is now so very five minutes ago. Shall we install a new one?”
“The diplomatic group from the island of Fiero del Fiero made another burnt offering to you in one of the parking garages. What do you suggest we do?” another one chimed in.
The group suddenly parted to reveal Dr. Kozaburou Nambu.
“I’m sorry, sir!” the guard said, “I wasn’t informed –“
Jinpei snapped his fingers under the guard’s nose as he strutted past. “T.S., homeboy!”
* * * * *
The team sat on a couch in one of the largest offices they’d ever seen. In front of them was a desk, and Dr. Nambu stood behind it,
“I want you to have some great food and take in some of the sights during your visit.” he said.
This was all Jinpei needed to launch into another hyperactive spell.
“However,” Dr. Nambu added, “we don’t have time for that right now.”
Jinpei dropped back into his seat, his energy burst dissipated.
The doctor took a breath. “As you know, our scientists have been killed one after another lately.”
He handed Ken a small pile of papers. “They all died near here.” he said, “And all the evidence points to one suspect.”
“Galactor!” Ken cried. The other four ninjas gave him a look that shouted, “Ya think?!”
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, the Boston Pops instinctively began playing “Ameris the Beautiful”.
Dr. Nambu made a sweeping gesture to the view outside. “The evil hand of Galactor has even reached Ameris!” he cried. His fist then slammed down on the desk as he added, “Your mission is to find these Galactor murderers!”
* * * * *
Ken drove through the streets of Amegapolis in a red convertible. But he wasn’t a pretty face in a pretty car. No, he was following a scientist, ensuring Galactor couldn’t claim another victim.
The scientist’s car went through a security gate set in a plain-looking concrete wall that surrounded an unmarked facility.
Ken parked his car a couple of yards short of the gate. He got out and, while humming a tune from an action movie, leapt over the wall.
Inside a plain-looking, warehouse-styled building, the scientist and a man wearing a uniform from ISO Headquarters stood at a table, poring over a set of blueprints.
“If this doesn’t contain those ‘Jersey Shore’ punks . . .” the scientist said to the uniformed man.
Suddenly, three men wearing what looked like a black version of Bird Style crashed through a window set high in the wall. They all struck a dramatic pose as soon as they landed on the ledge in front of the window.
“Who are you?” the uniformed man demanded as he quickly rolled up the blueprints.
“We are Galactor’s ninjas, the Blackbirds!” the middle intruder answered, “Now give us those blueprints!”
The Blackbirds swooped down and snatched the blueprints, knocking down the scientist in the process. As they retreated, the scientist pulled out a gun and lost count of how many times he pulled the trigger. The gun, however, only fired once.
This man might have known how to make a kidney dialysis machine from two soda cans, a drinking straw, and a piece of chewing gum, but shooting a gun . . .
Ken, in Bird Style, charged into the room just as the Blackbirds went back through the window. He followed.
Within minutes he was at a construction site where six Blackbirds – instead of three – waited for him.
One Galactor ninja hopped onto a forklift, intending to run the Eagle down. Unfortunately, somebody accidentally put an experimental rocket fuel in the tank, so the construction equipment sped out of control until it hit a row of portable toilets at Mach 2.
After a few more minutes of attacking and dodging, the remaining Blackbirds had Ken against a couple of steel barrels.
“We’re Galactor’s Blackbirds.” the middle one said with a sneer, “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m a hardworking agent of justice,” Ken said, “I’m –“
“Gatchaman.” the Blackbirds groaned in unison.
“Uh, yeah. . .”
“Dude,” the Blackbird on Ken’s far left said, “you have GOT to come up with better lines!”
“I didn’t think it was so bad –“
“The only way it could’ve been worse,” the Blackbird at Ken’s far right said, “would be for you to play some over-the-top, cheesy music when you spoke!”
Without further ado, the Blackbirds attacked. The battle went higher and higher up the side of the building’s skeleton.
Just when it looked like they had the upper hand, four Blackbirds fell as one tangled mess into the spinning blades of a large fan. Ken didn’t look as they became Blackbird borscht.
The remaining Blackbird made a dash for a purple convertible just outside the construction site. Ken rushed to his own car, and the chase resumed.
The Eagle managed to avoid a few collisions with a couple of delivery trucks before he had to quit the chase; the one round the scientist managed to fire off pierced Ken’s right front tire, causing a slow leak.
Cursing his luck, Ken hopped out of the car and started running in the direction the Blackbird was headed.
As he ran, Ken had to admit he was growing more and more fond of the people of Ameris – even though several drivers had to swerve to avoid hitting him, they all seemed to show their support of him by raising their hands and flashing him a sort of “#1" sign.
In a very short time the Eagle was standing at the main gate of the amusement park.
* * * * *
“Hey, boys and girls!” a voice squawked over the park’s PA system, “Come to the South Stage and see the Freaky Flutist and the Creepy Cavorting Clowns!”
Jinpei was already there, in his street clothes, as close to the stage as he could get without actually merging with it. He lazily licked a lollipop as he let the music, the lights, and the nighttime atmosphere of the park seep into his soul.
But that quickly changed as something grabbed his ear and pulled him back a few steps.
“Are you skipping out on your job?” an annoyed Ken said into Jinpei’s ear.
“Oh, hi, Big Bro!” Jinpei said with a nervous laugh, “What’ve you been up to?”
“Oh, nothing much.” Ken replied with a fake casualness, “I got ambushed by a few Galactor ninjas, fought a bunch more, chased one and lost him here, and found a teammate totally slacking off –“
“Oh no, you’ve got it wrong!” Jinpei protested, “You need to check the flute player out. He ought to be on ‘Ameris Has Got Talent’!”
“We need to get back on task.” Ken replied gravely, “Unless you’d rather wait until another scientist gets fried?”
“Well,” Jinpei said, “those guys really shouldn’t snort the chemicals they work with!”
He was promptly slapped upside the head.
* * * * *
Jinpei rode on the back of Jun’s motorbike as they followed a scientist’s chauffeured car along a winding road just outside Amegapolis.
“I feel really bad.” he said to Jun, “Should I apologize to Big Bro?”
Jun smiled a little – clearly he was sorry for goofing off earlier. Jinpei was finally becoming a mature member of the team. . .
“Don’t worry about it, Jinpei, and just hold on.”
“If it weren’t for me, Aniki would be here with his arms around you. He could be trying to cop a feel right now!”
. . . or not.
“Shut up, Jinpei.” Jun’s voice was frigid.
The air was suddenly filled with a strange sort of electronic flute music. The car and the motorbike rounded a curve and found a glowing giant standing in the middle of the road. The car’s driver slammed on the brakes just in time.
“That thing’s about the same size as the amusement park statue!” Jun cried after she stopped her bike and looked up to the giant’s face.
The giant lifted its foot ready to squash the car like an ant.
The driver backed the car away in the nick of time. Jun positioned the bike between the car and the giant.
“Get out of here you guys!” Jinpei shouted, “We’ll handle it from here! Hurry!”
“Do it.” the scientist ordered.
“Are we really going to abandon those kids –“
“Have either of THEM contributed ANYTHING to the fight against Galactor?”
The car turned and sped away.
The giant’s eyes flickered before firing a laser beam at the motorbike.
Jun got out of the way and sped away in the direction they were originally headed. The giant gave chase.
The giant fired again and missed. But the blast was close enough to make her lose control of the bike. Jun and Jinpei crashed through a guardrail and tumbled down a hill.
They had fallen away from the bike as a third blast hit the bike, causing it to burst into flames.
The flaming mass of motorbike tumbled past the unconscious Jinpei and Jun.
By the time Jun stirred and sat up, the giant was gone and the sun was high in the sky.
“Jinpei, are you all right?” she asked as she gently shook her brother. He let out a small groan and sat up.
“Ken, I need everyone to meet at the amusement park right away!” Jun said into her communicator.
“Uh, Sis?”
“What, Jinpei?”
“How are we supposed to get there now that your bike’s a chunk of charcoal?”
It was obvious by the look on her face that she hadn’t thought of that. But then something occurred to her.
“Why don’t we use Science Ninja Technique: Clever Plot Device?”
* * * * *
The entire team had gathered at the foot of the statue.
“I don’t see how this statue could be the giant that attacked you.” Ken said.
“You sure you didn’t hallucinate the whole thing?” Ryu asked Jun.
“Right.” Joe replied, “It’s typical for them to get stoned and then imagine the EXACT SAME THING at the EXACT SAME TIME!”
“Now that I think about it,” Ken said, “there are several suspicious things about this place. And I lost that Blackbird near here. . . . Let’s come back tonight and thoroughly investigate.”
* * * * *
“It’s great to see so many people participating in tonight’s ‘Go As Galactor, Get In Free’ promotion!” the voice on the park’s PA system squawked.
Joe cursed under his breath as a sea of goons, Devil Stars, and Katses of all sizes and shapes filled his view.
“Okay, Commander,” Joe said to Ken, “where should we start looking for the bad guys?”
Ken let out a sigh. “Stay casual, guys. We’ll wait until the park closes and the people go home before we get down to business.”
Jenpei saw the flutist on stage and darted off in that direction.
“Come back!” Jun called, only to be ignored.
“Funny how he’s drawn to that music.” Ken said off-handedly.
“I just remembered!” jun cried, snapping her fingers, “I heard flute music like that before we were attacked!”
“That can’t be a coincidence.” Joe said.
“We’ll find out later after the park’s closed.” Ken replied, “I’m personally checking out that flute player.”
Jun caught up with Jinpei and hurried him away.
* * * * *
The amusement park was unsettlingly quiet after all the patrons – especially those in homemade Galactor garb – had gone home.
The flutist skulked his way to a castle on a hill overlooking the entire park. Ken, in Bird Style, carefully followed.
On the other side of the park, Jun and Jinpei, also in Bird Style, made their way among silent midway rides.
Once again Jinpei acted as if he’d had a meth/cocaine/energy drink smoothie.
They came upon a ride that looked like a pink octopus with a car at the end of each tentacle. Jinpei couldn’t resist – he let out a whoop and jumped onto a car.
The octopus came to life, tossing the car with Jinpei at Jun. He jumped clear, and she dodged just before the car hit the pavement an shattered.
The tentacles thrashed about as they tried to whip Jun. She stayed clear.
Jinpei spotted an access porthole in the octopus’ head. He peered inside and spotted two Blackbirds at a control panel on the opposite wall. The Swallow threw his bolas at one and leapt in to attack the other.
“Yeah, I’m bad!” Jinpei crowed while he strutted around the crumpled Blackbirds. Then he remembered Jun and shut down the ride.
“Thanks, Jinpei!” the Swan called to her brother as he climbed out through the porthole. “I’d say this is definitely a Galactor base.”
“Me too. . . do you think Big Bro’s doing okay?”
Meanwhile, at the castle, Ken crept into a dimly lit throne room. He was a few steps in when a door crashed down behind him, sealing off his way out.
Laughter echoed off the walls. “I’ve been expecting you, Gatchaman!” a voice cried.
Ken noticed a piece of paper at his feet – an itinerary. Sure enough, the last three items were “trap Gatchaman in throne room”, “fight”, and “defeat Gatchaman”.
Ken looked back up and found the flutist standing in front of the throne while six Blackbirds flanked him.
“I must admit,” the flutist said, “you were clever to realize this was a Galactor base. It’s a pity, though, that the ISO never noticed us building it within spitting distance of their headquarters! We even advertized, and they were still clueless!” He let out a sigh.
Then, with a flourish, the flutist costume disintegrated to reveal Berg Katse himself. The Galactor leader pulled out a flute. “And now,” he said, “a swan song for those about to die by the neon giant!” He began playing.
Ken could just see a viewscreen just over Katse’s shoulder, on the back of the throne. The screen came to life, showing the statue at the front of the park as it flickered until it was transformed into the glowing giant. The monstrosity began to walk.
Maybe it was the combination of the music and the flickering light from the screen. Perhaps Ken had been hiding an intense, unhealthy fascination with flutes. Or maybe this is why he was almost called “The Magpie” instead of “The Eagle” – Ken just stood there, transfixed.
Finally, a thought occurred to the Mag – I mean, the Eagle. “You used that thing to kill those scientists!”
Katse stopped playing to address his nemesis. “Why, yes, Gatchaman! And the giant is on his way to eliminate Dr. Nambu. Isn’t that wonderful?” He resumed playing.
“Joe, Ryu,” Ken called into his communicator, “Nambu’s in danger!”
The Condor and the Owl, in another area of the park, rushed off to protect the doctor.
“You’re wasting your time!” one of the Blackbirds proclaimed, “Your pathetic teammates won’t get there before it’s too late!” With that, the Blackbirds attacked.
In the amount of time it took for Ken to think, “Dr. Nambu, please be safe!”, the Blackbirds were defeated.
At ISO headquarters, Dr. Nambu sat at his desk, pouring through some papers. Just then, he noticed a bright, white light coming through the window behind him.
“Sorry,” he instinctively said, “no pictures.” Then he realized something was wrong.
He rose from his chair and slowly turned to see the yellow, expressionless eyes of the giant.
The doctor was frozen in terror – he’d heard of stalking clowns, but . . .
Joe’s knuckles were white under his gloves as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. He and Ryu were a little more than a block away when they saw the giant peering into one of the windows of ISO Headquarters.
“There’s no time to waste!” Joe proclaimed, “We’ll just have to smash the car into that thing!”
If Dr. Nambu’s eyes had gotten any wider, the eyeballs would have surely popped out of their sockets. His mouth was open, but no sound would come.
The giant smashed out the window. Its yellow eyes began to flicker – Dr. Nambu was about to become a pile of ash.
Just then there was the sound of screeching tires. Two ninjas leapt away from a red convertible just before it crashed into the giant’s foot and exploded.
The giant stepped back from the building and looked down. It saw the Condor open a case used to carry a high-powered rifle.
“I’M GONNA KILL THAT LITTLE SHIT!” Joe screamed. Inside the case was Jinpei’s slingshot and a handful of ball bearings, not a rifle.
“Aw hell.” Ryu muttered when he saw what set Joe off. But then, “Hang on, Joe, I think I’ve got an idea. . .”
A couple of moments later, Joe stood on Ryu’s shoulders. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He muttered as he aimed the slingshot and let a ball bearing fly.
The giant’s left eye shattered. But the right one still fired.
The two ninjas dove out of the way.
The giant brought up its foot, ready to stomp Joe and Ryu like cockroaches.
At the castle, more Blackbirds crawled out of the woodwork to fight the Eagle.
Some were armed with machine guns, but they were no better than the garden-variety Galactor goon – they sprayed the entire throne room with bullets and hit nothing.
A couple of punches and a toss of the boomerang was all Ken needed to eliminate most of the Blackbirds. But, just as Ken reached up to catch his boomerang, one of the remaining Blackbirds managed to kick him and knock him off his feet.
That Blackbird and another moved in for another attack. But, without warning, they dropped to the ground, thanks to a flying yo-yo and a set of bolas. Jun and Jinpei were close behind.
Ken hopped back up and sent his boomerang flying again. This time it knocked the flute from Katse’s hands.
The screen on the throne’s back went blank as soon as the music stopped.
“Hey,” Ken said as he noticed this, “I bet there’s a connection between the music and the giant!”
Katse was too busy scrambling for the flute to reply.
The Eagle lunged for the Galactor leader, kicking the flute toward Jinpei in the process.
“Pick it up and play something!” Ken commanded.
“I don’t know how!” The Swallow cried.
“That doesn’t matter – just do it!”
“Maybe I should take some lessons first. . .”
Ken and Katse continued to struggle.
Jun stood by Jinpei, not sure what to do. She had also realized the connection between the flute and the glowing giant, so she could have snatched the flute from her little brother and started playing. Or she could have gone to Ken’s aid. . . . though his struggle with Katse was looking more and more like a kind of slow dance she didn’t want to be associated with. . . .
Ken brought his knee up and caught Katse in the stomach. He didn’t injure his foe, but he did manage to knock a panel lose from the lower half of the throne, revealing the mecha’s control mechanism.
Jinpei finally caught on. He raised the flute to his lips and began producing the most obnoxious, slobber-filled, screeching sounds known to mankind.
The giant grabbed its head and started writhing as though it was in agony.
“I hope you have a ring, Gatchaman!” Katse breathed to the Eagle.
“Huh?”
“The way you’ve started to rub against me. . . well, I hope you’re planning to propose!”
“WHA – ?!” This knocked Ken off balance enough that Katse was able to toss him into Jinpei.
The throne exploded.
The giant exploded.
“This is a temporary setback!” Katse declared, “Soon Galactor will rule the world!” He turned and ran to a nearby hidden exit.
Ken pulled himself off Jinpei. The castle shook and dust began to fall around the ninjas. Ken took a step toward Katse’s exit.
“Ken, we’ve got to get out of here!” Jun cried.
“But I’ve got to stop Katse!”
“We’ve got to go now!”
“But –“
“NOW, Ken!”
“But –“
“NOW!!!” Jun bellowed as she grabbed Ken by the clasp of his cape and started dragging him in the direction she wanted.
A few minutes later, the three ninjas dove for cover outside the castle. The stone facade fell away from the central tower, revealing Katse’s escape rocket. It blasted off for safer territory.
The castle exploded, showering the amusement park with pebbles and other kinds of debris.
“Joe, what’s going on?” Ken said into his communicator as soon as it was safe.
“Nambu’s okay.” the Condor reported back.
* * * * *
A couple of days later, the team was in a cab, riding back the way they came when they first arrived in Ameapolis.
“What’s in the box, Sis?” Jinpei asked, pointing to a ribbon-wrapped package in Jun’s lap.
“Cosmetics.” she replied, “I’m a young lady, after all, so I should be wearing makeup.”
“I hope there’s a really thick mask in there,” he said to her, “because that’s the only thing that’ll help your looks!”
The cab drove past the closed amusement park. In front of the shut gate was a sign announcing that the new owners plan to have the place up and running again within a year. Also on the sign was an artist’s rendering of the new, improved park, complete with a 100-foot-tall statue of a pioneer in a coonskin cap.
Story Notes:
Yes, I know that the country is called "Amerisama" on the DVD for this episode. But, since it's called "Ameris" everywhere else, I'm using "Ameris" here.