It was finished.

It was a masterpiece of engineering.

It was perfection.

The Brain gazed in wonder at the rejuvenated Big Suit. He walked around the entire vessel, and then stood back to survey it, marveling at the form of the awesome battle warrior his creation had become. It even had a mechanical head now, well, actually, five heads, one at the end of every extremity, in addition to the one above the shoulders. His two benefactors had assumed the old one had been destroyed, and of course the mouse couldn't dispute that unless he talked. Thanks to a suggestion from Hunk, the five heads also carried The Brain's fearsome, scowling likeness (the big man had remarked in an aside to Pidge that the sight of Mr. Noggin's mug would scare the enemy without having to fire a shot, and his friend had laughingly agreed). The Brain, blissfully unaware of this exchange, had privately reveled in the fact that, even though his actual person would now be under wraps, his noble brow would still be visible to his adoring public.

All of the 'Large Noggins', as Pidge referred to them, (much to the Brain's displeasure) also had the capability of detaching and forming into independent, pod- like ships, although the extremities themselves couldn't separate due to lack of proper materials and time. The paint on the cyborg's suit had been changed from a loud brown and gold plaid to a more subtle shade of gray, with pinstripes. The ecru shirt, maroon tie, and a hanky embroidered with the Royal Crest of Arus added a stylish panache to the contraption.

Hunk and Pidge had installed several advanced weaponry systems that the megalomaniac mouse was terribly anxious to get his paws on, plus a communications and tracking system that was second to none. The mouse smiled in appreciation of the effort that had been put forth by his companions. It was a joy working with individuals that understood all aspects of mechanical and electrical engineering.

The Brain had to admit that these two humans had been especially resourceful and clever in giving his creation such limitless possibilities. Too bad they wouldn't go for serving a benevolent despot, otherwise he could have offered them both respectably paid positions with good benefits in his upcoming world empire.

The Brain's brow furrowed as he considered the idea. Come to think of it, they might actually be open to such an offer, with all the Doom raids and RoBeasts stomping on people, he doubted they even qualified for affordable life or medical insurance, and quite obviously, they were all short of cash because they always wore the same clothes day after day on their show. It was a tempting proposition to be sure, even if the young one was a bit of an overbearing grandstander. The Brain sighed, unexpectedly missing his zany cohort at this pivotal moment. ~Hm...wonder where Pinky is and if he's pondering the same things I am?~

He finally decided after seconds of reflection that it was premature to ponder staff decisions until he got to test-drive the Suit, after all, there were bound to be glitches that would need his full attention, and everything needed to be fully operational for The Plan to succeed.

~My child, I shall name you Braintron,~ The mouse genius thought, elatedly. ~I will achieve global domination at long last, with your help and power. You are designed and destined become a mighty Champion for all ages!~

The Brain continued to stare at their handiwork, so wrapped up in his vision come to life that he didn't even flinch when the alarms began to sound. Klaxons blared and running footsteps could be heard in the outer corridors. Someone shouted right outside the door. None of it fazed the enthralled rodent a bit.

"Let's go, Pidge- something's going down!" Hunk boomed. "We'll test this gizmo later." Not waiting for permission, the Big Man reached out a beefy hand and scooped the bemused mouse off the worktable.

"Sorry, Noggie old boy, but duty is calling, and we have to answer," his captor said quickly, as he slid Brain into his vest's inner pocket.

~No! This can't be happening!~ The Brain cried silently. ~So close to my objective, and then...~ He looked at his tiny watch, resignedly. ~Of course, I should have known, we are getting to the part of the story in which our customary bout with unmitigated failure begins to loom on the horizon ...I wonder just what Pinky Banderas has done this time to foul up The Plan. The vastness of deep space has nothing on the gap between that boy's ears!~

The Brain grunted and groaned as he slammed into the hard body of the Yellow Lion pilot, who was now running full tilt to answer the emergency summons.

~Ow! This fellow is a lot fitter than he looks. He must get a lot of iron and fiber in his diet-oof! The Princess was a much more comfortable ride,~ the rodent thought grumpily. However, he soon stopped sulking as he realized that they were probably headed for the castle's Control Center. Maybe this little emergency wouldn't be such a waste of his time after all, if he could get a good look at the inner sanctum of the Voltron Force.

Five minutes later In Castle Control...

Keith and Allura already were standing behind Coran at the Ops panel when the rest of the team entered the main computer room.

Hunk took one look at the Princess and knew something truly terrible must have happened. Her features were pale and set, and her eyes were glistening with wetness that she was refusing to let run over onto her cheeks. Keith looked stern and foreboding with his thick black brows pulled down over blazing eyes. Coran was quickly punching information into the computer and frowning worriedly.

"Is it Lotor again?" The Yellow Lion pilot blurted out.

"No, but close...The Blue Cat was here and it accosted the Princess," Keith stated grimly.

"Uh-oh....that means another Doom plot is underway." Hunk rasped, while crossing his muscular forearms firmly across his bulging pectorals.

He gave a start as he felt one bulge start to move violently and sheepishly pulled out a glaring Mr. Noggin. "Sorry Noggie, I forgot you were there!"

~Imbecile, you almost crushed me! What were you thinking? Oh wait, that's right- you weren't!~ The Brain snarled silently.

"Sheesh, I said I was sorry, Noggin, now get over it!" Hunk addressed the glowering mouse. He set The Brain on one brawny shoulder.

~I wish the Princess had never introduced me to them by that name! How I detest the very sound of it! Why couldn't Pinky have introduced me as 'the Iconoclast' like he was supposed to?~ The bigheaded rodent fumed as he sat. Hearing that moniker was almost enough to make him rethink his vow of silence. Almost.

~I must be strong, it will take more than a ridiculous nickname to get me to jeopardize The Plan!~ The Brain thought resolutely. Instead of following his yen to set these clueless people straight, he turned his attention to his Hostess. She seemed quite agitated, if one could judge by her wildly gesturing arms, high- pitched tone, and heaving bosom.

"They've kidnapped Antonio. He tried to defend me against that horrible cat and it grabbed him took off in a space coffin ship. We tracked it; it has gone all the way back to Planet Doom." Allura choked out. "We have to do something to save him!"

~What? Pinky has gone to this Planet Doom without me?~ The Brain's eyes widened in horrified comprehension of the situation. ~Not willingly though. Wait, if I remember correctly, that's where the Voltron' s sworn enemies, the fish eared guy and the son of a fish eared guy live, along with some sort of witch! The witch's fiendish feline familiar has taken my friend into the heart of pure evil! I must do something, but what?~

"That wicked piece of work probably thought our guest was one of Princess' pets, and took him in for interrogation" Lance offered, grimly. "Either that, or he was tired of space rations."

"Oh no, don't say that Lance," the Princess closed her eyes in anguish. "This is all my fault. If I had just kept the door shut..." She relayed exactly what had happened to the others.

"Don't blame yourself, Your Highness, you had no way of knowing that it was Blue Cat, it was our perpetually second-rate security systems that failed you and Antonio." Coran spoke up, turning in his chair to look at his Princess. "It sounds like Antonio freely made the decision to defend you, a noble choice indeed from a stranger who only met us by fate."

~If you only knew, my dear man.~ The Brain thought ruefully. ~He did it for love- the poor, misguided, infatuated fool! This is what following your heart gets you, Pinky.~

"I hope Lotor doesn't get hold of him." Pidge remarked quietly.

"If he does, I am sure we'll be hearing from the creep right away," Keith replied briskly. "He'll use Antonio as a bargaining chip to get to the Princess, you can count on it."

~Brilliant deduction, Captain, how many episodes did it take you to figure that one out?~ The Brain thought sarcastically. Of course, he had to admit his own plight was rather predictable as well. The Plan for Global Domination was in danger of failing-again.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go get the little guy!" Hunk exclaimed.

"We can't just go flying off half-cocked to Doom, Hunk. That's what they want us to do."

"Why not, Skipper?" The massive shoulders rippled in frustration as the big guy stared at the Captain." All their RoBeasts are incapacitated after our last run in, what better time to go off on the rest of the place?"

His leader thought a moment. "You know, you have a point, there. Okay, let's go for it!"

"Huh?" The rest of the team stared at Keith in astonishment. So did The Brain.

"Hey, don't look so shocked, you all know I can be impetuous every now and then." The Black Lion pilot said defensively.

~You can? Well, I'll be a hamster's uncle!~ The Brain thought wryly. ~The guy has some gumption after all. He's improvising.~

Allura blinked her big blue eyes at Keith before reaching over and patting the Captain's arm. A bright flush instantly stained his cheeks.

"Yeah, I've noticed that lately, Captain Vengeance." Lance murmured.

Keith shot his friend a look. Then he glanced back at the Princess, who was still gazing at him with admiration and something else glimmering in her limpid eyes. His flush grew deeper and he looked away.

"You all right Chief? You're looking a mite warm there. Maybe we can adjust the thermostat or something," Lance said, with a sly half smile.

"I'm fine," Keith responded brusquely.

Allura smiled demurely at the two men, before becoming serious once again. This was certainly no time for flirting.

The Brain rolled his eyes. For battle-hardened warriors, Captain Keith and the Princess were impossibly and annoyingly coy. Watching them made his fillings hurt; good thing the Smirky Guy was there to keep things tart.

"We'll need a special plan," Coran interjected suddenly. "The Doom castle is heavily fortified."

"Right. Let's brainstorm and see what we can come up with, team. Then it's off to Doom." Keith cried.

"All right!" The rest responded as one.

~Rah.~ The Brain said silently, his thoughts in a jumble. Pinky getting kidnapped was not part of The Plan. He deduced it was time to follow the Captain's lead, disengage all the fail-safes and... gulp, improvise.

Meanwhile on Planet Doom,

A terrified Pinky found himself being carried by the Blue Cat into a creepy, cave like room that smelled strongly of sulphur. It appeared to be a laboratory, and as his eyes adjusted to the ultra red lights, he could see the outline of a wizened figure, a long staff clutched in its clawed hand, hunched over a console holding a crystal ball, and numerous beakers containing solutions of some sort. A harsh muttering filled the air as whatever the entity was trying to do obviously failed.

"A curse on that Voltron Force and their enigmatic weapons! Those RoBeasts are still too pooped out to fight!"

The figure turned abruptly, and Pinky gasped in alarm. It was Hagar, the old witch; those glowing yellow eyes and her extensive facial wart problem were a dead giveaway!

The gangly mouse shuddered in revulsion as Witch Hagar floated nearer to him. She was even more hideous looking in person, although he had to admit she appeared slimmer and younger than on the telly. It must be true what they said about the camera putting on years and weight on a body. Of course, it didn't apply to everything, case in point the Brain's oversized cranium, and Princess Allura's stunning figure. Those were truthful depictions.

~Egad, I wonder how I look like on T.V., I guess I'll have to watch myself watching T.V. and find out. Zort! Hm... now wouldn't that be an odd sight, really just like holding a mirror, in front of a mirror, in front of a mirror, in front of-...~

"What have we here, my pet?" The witch's wicked cackle unmercifully brought Pinky's wandering thoughts back to stark reality. "A mouse from Castle Arus? Ah, well done, my pet. Let's see what he knows."

Pinky gulped as the clawed fingers reached and detached him from the cat's mouth. This wasn't fun at all.

~The Voltron Force will save me,~ he thought doggedly, before fainting dead away.

To be continued....