Caged Thunder

Caged Thunder is the ninth episode of the second season of Action League Now!, and the 23rd episode overall. It first premiered on the KaBlam! episode, I Just Don't Get It on October 24th, 1997.

Characters Present[]

Hamster
Meltman
Stinky Diver
The Chief
The Flesh
The Mayor
The Mayor's Soldiers
Thundergirl

Plot[]

The episode begins in the backyard of Nextdooria, where Thundergirl is on a top secret mission and holding a camera, preparing to take pictures of the launch site. However, she makes the unfortunate mistake of singing her infamous theme song while doing so. A group of soldiers target her and shoot her directly out of the sky with a missile. When Thundergirl lands (with the camera causing her actual pain when it lands, too), these soldiers are revealed to be working for none other than The Mayor, who figures that with her out of the way, he can proceed with his evil plan.

At Action League Headquarters, The Flesh and Meltman play checkers as Stinky watches. The Chief then comes and orders them to rescue Thundergirl. Meltman refuses because it's taco night, but The Flesh is excited by that thought. The Chief tells them that their mission to rescue Thundergirl is not optional, adding that in order to stay in contact with him, he will give them a high-tech two-way receiver, which he reveals to them. The Flesh, Stinky, and Meltman all find the phone shiny, and The Chief tells them that since the phone is very expensive, they need to take good care of it. The Flesh, Stinky, and Meltman promise to and just as they are about to continue their game of checkers, The Chief yells at them them to move out immediately.

Meanwhile, in the Mayor's mansion, Thundergirl is imprisoned in a hamster's cage, in which she doesn't want to stay, having just witnessed the hamster eat its young. The Mayor then convinces in a fake sweet voice for Thundergirl to join him, so they can rule the world together as king and queen. Thundergirl refuses, but not for any heroic reason, as she needs to get back to Action Headquarters in time for taco night. The Mayor argues that tacos will only give her gas.

Above The Mayor's mansion, The Flesh, Stinky, and Meltman ride a plane floating above and prepare to dive. Meltman then asks The Flesh and Stinky if they're supposed to wear parachutes, and an embarrassed Stinky answers that The Chief couldn't afford them. The phone, which safely floats down on a parachute, follows behind them. The Flesh, Stinky, and Meltman all land on the roof, slide down over it, and rush down through the gutters. The phone then lands safely next to them as Stinky starts to get annoyed by its safe landings. After that, The Flesh answers the phone with The Chief on the other end, who is calling to ask them if his phone is okay. However, The Flesh simply informs The Chief that he's going to have to call him back. As the call ends, he, Stinky, and Meltman get surrounded by The Mayor's soldiers, after which The Flesh asks them if they know where Thundergirl is.

Moments later, The Flesh, Stinky, and Meltman are all imprisoned with Thundergirl, where The Mayor reveals his evil plan to them - to annihilate the nation's capital! Thundergirl tries to convince The Mayor to stop, but Meltman assures her that The Mayor is bluffing and wouldn't dare. The Mayor then takes that dare and presses a button, launching a missile into the sky. Thundergirl blames Meltman for daring The Mayor to proceed with his evil plan. The Narrator then asks the viewers if no one can stop The Mayor's evil plan or if the nation's capital will be destroyed, telling them to stay tuned for part two.

In the second act, as time runs out, the League thinks about a plan to save their nation's capital. Thundergirl wonders what it is, and Meltman stupidly guesses "Sacremento". While this happens, The Flesh runs on the hamster's wheel and enjoys it. As he keeps running, it goes faster and faster until it spins him out of control. With 30 seconds left to impact, The Mayor is sure his evil plan will succeed, but The Flesh rolls the wheel off of its spokes and through the bars, leaving a hole big enough for the rest of the League to escape. He then lands on top of The Mayor, knocking him away from the control panel. As Thundergirl, Stinky, Meltman, and the hamster escape, Stinky announces that the only way to save the capital is to re-route the missile; the only way to do that is to enter new coordinates. The phone rings again, and The Flesh answers with The Chief still on the other end, asking why The Flesh would hang up on him earlier. The Flesh then asks for The Chief's coordinates, who tells him, "30 Degrees Longitude; 82 Degrees Latitude". The Flesh tells this to the rest of the League and thanks The Chief as Stinky enters the coordinates just in time, rerouting the missile away from the capital. Back at Action Headquarters, The Chief wonders out loud about a strange noise he hears. Sure enough, that noise is the missile, which blows the headquarters to pieces. The Flesh suddenly worries that The Chief got cut off when their connection dropped. Action Headquarters is now smoldering and in pieces, but thankfully, The Chief, although charred, has survived. Finally, he jokingly says, "Ouchies" as the episode ends.

Quotes[]

Thundergirl (singing): "Thundergirl, taking some pictures, spying on missiles, with the wind in her hair!"

The Mayor: "Let's dispense with the niceties, Thundergirl! Join me, and together, we'll rule the world as king and queen!"

Thundergirl: "Nah, I gotta get back. It's taco night!"

The Mayor: "Pretty little fool, they'll give you gas!"

Narrator: "Can no one stop this mad man and his missiles? Will our nation's capital become Squashington, D.C.? Stay tuned for the Action-smithereened conclusion of Action League Now!"

Narrator: "A spy mission, failed. A rescue mission, failed. Failure, failure everywhere. As time runs out, the Action League puts their heads together to save our nation's capital."

Thundergirl: "By the way, what is our nation's capital?"

Meltman: "Sacremento?"

Trivia[]

This episode (as well as the Kablam! episode it aired on, I Just Don't Get It) was pulled from syndication after the 9/11 terrorist attacks due to its content matter and terrorist behavior. This episode is intact on local reruns edited to have His Dishonor, The Mayor try to attack Area 51 instead.