Battle Heroes X Classic: S01E07

The New Girls is the seventh episode of the first season of the TV Nexus version of Battle Heroes X. It aired on January 31st, 2006 on TV Nexus. The episode revolves around two new girls arriving at the heroes' school. While Zack and Cloud hit it off with them, Julius struggles with his feelings for Popple.

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 Directed by

## The Episode

It was an average Friday morning for our heroes. Instead of busting heads, they were attending class at the Academy. Zack and Cloud were texting on their phones before class began. Julius was unpacking his bag, occasionally stealing a glance at Popple, who was reading her book. He looked at her for a few seconds before quickly looking away.

Cloud watched him and sent a message to Zack. "whats the status on julius and popple getting together," Cloud texted, looking at Julius.

"idk i told him to make a move a few weeks ago. lemme ask," Zack texted back.

Zack crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at Julius' head. Julius looked up from setting a book on his desk and glared at Zack.

Zack texted a message to Julius. He opened up his phone and checked.

"did you talk to popple" Zack texted to him.

"zack we're right next to each other. why are you texting me this?" Julius texted.

"remember what i told you that night? about how you should tell popple how you feel? just talk to her"

Julius put his phone down and began to ponder his situation. He and Popple have been good friends for years and part of him thought about them getting together. However, it felt like another part of him was suppressing the former. He looked at Popple again. While reading, she moved a strand of her dark purple hair out of her blue eyes. *She's smart, sweet, and pretty, what's holding me back? What's stopping me from asking her out?*

While he was deep in thought, Popple looked up and saw him gazing at her. She smiled and closed her book, then waved to he friend.

*Just great, Julius. Now she saw you eyeing her like a piece of meat.* "Hey Popple, how's it going?" He asked her.

"Doing pretty good, just really bored. Spent the entire weekend at home finishing the report for Physics. How about you?"

"Me?" Julius nervously picked at his cuticles. "Just as bored as you are. I hate reports. I could do a report on how much I hate them!"

Popple laughed. "Glad we're on the same boat. Hey, do you know what the big announcement is gonna be?"

"What big announcement?"

"The one Mr. Campton said he'd have for us today."

"No idea. Better not be a report, though."

The bell rang, beginning classes for the day, and the heroes' Geometry teacher Mr. Campton entered the classroom.

"Good morning class. As you all remember, I said that on Friday I would have an announcement for you. Well here they are! Come on in, you two!"

Two female students entered the class. One of the girls had her black hair in a ponytail and had on a white shirt labelled "Cool Girl". Her companion had blonde hair to her shoulders and wore a white shirt labelled "Cooler Girl".

"Meet Caren and Holly!"

"Hiya!" Caren, the brunette said.

"It's nice to meet you all! We're going to have a great year together!" Holly, the blonde added.

"Now you two take a seat. Let's begin class..." Mr. Campton turned to the board and began to write on it.

Caren and Holly took the seats behind Zack and Cloud.

"What're your names?" Caren whispered to them.

"I'm Cloud, and he's Zack," Cloud answered.

"Perfect!" Caren said.

"Perfect?" Julius asked.

"Oh, that means nothing. It's just something I say all the time! Perfect! Perfect!"

At lunchtime, Julius, Zack, Cloud and Popple were at their usual table, eating lunch. Caren and Holly walked up to the table with their lunches in hand.

"Hey, Zack and Cloud! Can we sit here?" Caren asked.

Zack shrugged. "Sure."

The two sat down next to Zack and Cloud.

"So where did you guys move from?" Cloud asked.

Holly answered the question. "We're from out of town! Our dad moved here for a new job. So far, things have been sooo boring!"

"Dad spends all day at work and we don't know any kids around here!"

Popple smiled at them. "Well, you know us! What're you guys doing after school?"

"Going home and being sad, that's what," Caren frowned.

"How about you two hang out with us instead!" Cloud suggested. Caren and Holly brightened up.

"Yes! Let's do that!" Holly agreed, getting up. Caren followed suit. "Now, Caren and I must uh...go! This school food is upsetting out stomachs, right, Caren?"

"Yeah!" The two walked away. "See you later, new best friends!"

"Weird, they barely touched their food," Julius noted as they walked off.

Cloud nodded his head. "Yeah. The only time that happens is when its Taco Thursdays. One bite and my stomach's churning for hours."

Popple shuddered. "Great conversation topic for lunch, Cloud."

"Thanks, Popple!" Cloud laughed. Popple rolled her eyes.

As the friends continued to eat their lunch, the school intercom turned on, the principal's voice filling the cafeteria. "Attention, students! The city carnival will open tomorrow at 4:00 PM, so be sure to leave your schedules open. It'll be fun for all!"

*This is perfect, Julius! You and Popple said you were super bored. Now you have a place to ask her out to! No excuses, first chance you get, ask her out!*

After school, the four friends plus Caren and Holly, walked to the boys' house. When they got in, Caren and Holly looked around the house.

"Woah! Your house is so nice! Wait, is that what I think it is?!" Caren pointed to Cloud's GameCube.

"Yup, it's a GameCube," Cloud answered.

Caren picked up the case of a game. "Melee, too? This is my favorite game!"

"It's mine as well!"

"I think I found a worthy opponent. Holly stinks at Melee!"

"I do not!" Holly said, rolling her eyes.

Cloud laughed. "You're in a for a challenge, Caren!" He turned on the GameCube and gave her a controller. Melee was already in system, so they started playing.

Zack turned to Holly. "Thirsty? We got lemonade."

"Yes, please!"

Zack now looked to Julius. "Julius, get Holly some lemonade."

"Wait what?! Why me?"

"Julius, we have guests. Don't be rude."

Julius grumbled and started walking towards the kitchen. "Get me a glass too, while you're at it," Zack added.

"Anyone else want some lemonade?"

"Me three!" Caren said.

"Me four!" Cloud said without looking up from his game.

Julius entered the kitchen and opened a cabinet to get a tray. After that, he opened the fridge and took out a carton of lemonade.

"Want some help?" He heard from behind him. Turning around, Julius saw Popple walk into the kitchen.

"That would be great," He replied. Popple walked next to him and reached into the cabinet, placing four glasses on the tray. She then poured lemonade from the pitcher into the glasses.

"Thanks," Julius said, reaching into the cabinet. "How about you? Care for a drink?"

Popple nodded, accepting his offer.

He took two glasses and poured some for himself and her. As they drank, Julius' mind started racing again. *Alright, Vladmire, it's go time. Ask her if she wants to go out with you to the carnival on Saturday.* After he finished his drink, he began. "Hey, Popple, I was wondering..."

She stopped drinking to look at him. "Yeah?"

*It's do or die now.* "Hey, Popple, I was wondering...If you're able to..."

"Yeah?"

"...To tell me what the answer was to the third question on the geometry worksheet from class," He finished, mentally kicking himself.

Popple looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, it was 9."

"Thanks. For the answer. A-also for helping me with the drinks." Julius stuttered, quickly grabbing the tray and leaving the kitchen to give everyone their drinks. After everyone took theirs, he sat down on the couch, watching Cloud and Caren play Melee. Popple came out of the kitchen and sat next to Julius, prompting him to nervously fidget a little.

"Tell us more about yourselves, you two!" Popple asked.

Holly giggled and twirled her hair. "Well I *love* martial arts."

Zack perked up. "Really?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but you're looking at the Junior Taekwondo Champion of Philadelphia!" She smiled, but the smile turned into a frown. "I miss Philadelphia a lot. I miss my friends from my old school. But I'm really glad I made new friends here," Holly looked at Zack and playfully smiled at him.

"Me too! You guys are really nice. Especially you, Cloud," Caren said as she hit Cloud's Fox hard enough to send him off screen and beat him. "Ha! Looks like I won! Thanks for the win!" She got up and did a little victory dance.

Cloud laughed and got up as well. "You got lucky there! I want a rematch!"

"You're on!" She said, sitting back down and taking her controller.

"Wait, Caren!" Holly exclaimed. "I just remembered! We have to get home and deal with those chores before Dad gets back!"

"Oh yeah! Sorry, Cloud, looks like we'll have to rematch another time."

"How about tomorrow, if you're free?" Zack asked.

Caren followed Holly to the door and thought for a moment before answering. "Sounds good, let's do it!"

"We don't live that far away from here. Zack, Cloud, how about a quick walk?" Holly asked.

Zack and Cloud looked at each other, then at Caren and Holly. "Alright, sure." Caren and Holly turned to the door and the boys high-fived.

Zack and Cloud went to the door and all of them walked out except for Zack. "We won't be long. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" He quipped before leaving.

Julius felt his phone buzz in his pocket and opened it up. He had received a text message from Zack.

"quit being a wimp and ask her out," It read.

He got another text from Cloud moments after. "cmon man tell her how you feel!"

Julius groaned and closed his phone. "Soo...about the carnival tomorrow, what do you think of it?"

"Sounds like fun. I wanted to go last year, but Zack and Cloud weren't interested and you got sick at the last minute."

Julius scratched his head nervously. What had actually happened was that he was so anxious about being alone with Popple that he faked the sickness to get out of going out with her.

"Between you and me though, I think this year Zack and Cloud will really want to go. Did you see how they acted when Caren and Holly were here?"

"Yeah, they were excited when they heard about how they liked the same things."

"Mhm. You know, I think they'd make good couples, don't you?"

"Y-yeah," Julius began to feel sweaty.

Popple got closer to Julius and leaned in. "I bet if they just asked the girl they liked out, they'd say yes." Julius looked down and saw that their hands were touching.

He abruptly got off the couch and rushed upstairs, leaving a confused Popple on the couch. He kept going until he got to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Hitting both sides of his head with his palms, he leaned on the wall and slid to the floor.

"What is *wrong* with me?" Julius groaned in between heavy breaths. *She's a great person, but I feel so stressed when being around her. Why? Why am I like this?* He then heard a knock at the door.

"Julius, it's me." She said. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Popple. I was just *really* not feeling well," Julius managed to lie.

"Oh...alright. Well, I'm gonna go home now. See you tomorrow," Popple said. Julius could hear her footsteps fading away. After what felt like an eternity, Julius heard the doorbell ring. He exited the bathroom and went downstairs to answer it. Popple was standing at the door, about to leave.

"How're you doing?" She asked with a concerned look.

"I'm fine," Julius gloomily responded. "I'll make some tea and take a nap. Hopefully after that, I'll feel better." He opened the door and was met with a volley of energy bolts that entered the house and hit various angles. Julius only had time to cross his arms and try to protect himself from the shots. One hit him in the side of the face and cut it, two hit the backs of his hands, and one more hit him in the leg. The impact of the shots knocked him to the ground. Popple sprang into action by armoring up and morphing into the Yellow Ranger and returning fire out the door. She reached down to Julius' side and began dragging him away from the door. As she dragged him, Julius reached his hand out to the wall, touching a specific panel and pushing on it. Part of the wall opened up, revealing an elevator.

"Quick...get in," Julius strained to say. Popple dragged the two of them inside and the elevator closed and began moving down. When it finally stopped, Popple and Julius were brought into a small, grey room with a computer monitor on the wall and a table with a keyboard and four chairs. Popple helped Julius into a chair. He summoned a heal, but when he tried to squeeze it and heal himself, he howled in pain and dropped it. Looking at his hands, he noticed that they were both slick with blood, swollen, and had a large gash running along the backs of them.

"Grahh...Popple, I...I can't close my hands," Julius said in between sharp inhales.

Popple de-activated her armor, picked up the heal, put it back in his hand, then held his hand with both of hers, looking into his eyes. "We'll do it together. On three, alright?" Julius put his other hand over one of hers and nodded. "One, two, three!" The force of them squeezing it together shattered it and Julius' wounds were slowly healed. He looked up to the ceiling and breathed a sigh of relief. Bringing his eyes back down, he saw that he was still holding Popple's hand. He felt how smooth and warm it was. He looked to her face and gazed in her eyes. For a few seconds, they looked at each other, lost in the moment. Eventually, Julius snapped back to reality.

"O-oh, sorry, I-I..." He mumbled and stammered, quickly releasing Popple's hand and rubbing his no longer injured hands.

Popple was just as flustered. "I...well..."

"...Thanks, again. This is what, the sixth time you've saved me?" Julius bantered and grinned.

"Beats me, I stopped keeping count after nine," She smiled back and looked around the room. "What is this place?"

Julius got up and took the keyboard. The monitor hummed to life. "We're in the panic room. This place was created in case we were ever attacked at home. Comes with hidden cameras and a SPD-tier security system. Your house has one, too." He said as he typed something in. The monitor now displayed cameras around the house and even outside. At the front of the house, a group of ghostbots were gathered around. At the head of them were...

"Chan and Hoji. How did they find us here?" Popple asked.

"No clue, let's reverse the cameras, maybe we can get a clearer picture from there..." Julius typed a command in and the footage began reversing at double the speed. Julius paused just as Caren and Holly were going home with Zack and Cloud.

"They're walking together now..." Julius said before pressing play and letting the footage roll. The four crossed the street with Zack and Cloud between Caren and Holly. Caren pointed to the sun starting to set in the sky. All four looked up to the sky and appeared to be enjoying a nice moment, but Popple noticed something amiss.

She pointed at Caren and Holly. "Look at their hands!"

Julius looked at them and saw that behind their backs, Caren and Holly were withdrawing two taser-like objects from their pockets. Zack and Cloud had no idea what hit them when the girls jabbed them in the backs with the devices. Both shook and fell to the ground, unconscious. Caren then holstered her weapon and moved her hand to her belt and twisted it. In a flash of light, ghostbots surrounded them, armed and ready.

Julius scowled. "Caren and Holly are Bane's goons?! I thought he only had Chan and Hoji."

It appeared that Caren and Holly were talking to the ghostbots, but the camera lacked audio. Caren and Holly now twisted their belts in the opposite direction and their images fizzled out, growing taller, muscular, and mechanical...

"Julius, I think Caren and Holly *are* Chan and Hoji!"

When their transformation was complete, Bane's top henchmen Chan and Hoji stood where Caren and Holly were, now with real weapons. Zack and Cloud lay comatose on the ground behind them. Ghostbots were in the house now, searching the living room.

"You mention something about a SPD-tier security system. Can that help?" Popple recalled.

Julius stroked his chin. "Yes and no. When the security system is activated, everything in range will be hit with an electromagnetic pulse. That's enough to short circuit the ghostbots and shut down Chan and Hoji' armors." The computer monitor now displayed a bar with a percentage inside of it. Currently, it was at 60%.

"The EMP needs time to charge. So until then, we'll have to wait." The computer monitor moved up and the wall behind it split, revealing a secret passageway.

"This'll lead us back to the surface," Julius explained. Julius morphed into his Red Ranger armor minus his helmet and a pocket-sized remote came out of the keyboard. It showed the EMP charge percentage along with a greyed-out activation button. He entered the passageway first and Popple followed closely behind him. Like the panic room, the walls and floor were grey. They walked in silence, the only sound being the hum of the device Julius held. The EMP was at 69%.

"While we're here, Julius, can I ask you something?" Popple began.

"Sure, ask away," Julius answered.

Popple took a deep breath before asking, "Do you like me?"

The question stopped Julius in his tracks. A medley of cuss words travelled through his mind at super-sonic speeds. *Dammit, the question I've been trying to avoid for years,* Julius thought to himself. He turned around to face Popple. "P-popple, we don't have time for this." The EMP charge was at 74%.

"We can talk while we're walking. I need to know, Julius."

He scratched his head and continued to walk. "Of course I like you, Popple, what kind of question is that?"

Popple got in front of him and in his face. "Don't say that like I'm crazy for asking! We've been friends for years, but you've been acting weird lately. When anyone else is around, you act like your normal self. But when we're alone, you act all weird and run away from me, like today. It's like you can't stand being around me, and I don't want to be around where I'm not wanted."

Julius activated his helmet and kept on walking past her, trying his best to avoid the question. The EMP was 88% charged according to the holographic display. *Yeah that's right Julius run away from her run away like you have with all your problems.* He arrived at a ladder and began climbing up. When he reached the top, he pushed up on the ceiling, which gave way and revealed the sky. The sun was starting to set when he climbed out.He looked at the device, then around him. The EMP was 93% charged and the exit point was behind Popple's house, which is across the street from the boys' house. Behind him, Popple had just climbed out and she set the panel camouflaged by dirt and grass back in place, covering the ceiling of the passage. *You gonna push her away for good this time?* He stopped and turned around. She had a resigned look on her face. No, I won't. He pocketed the device and deactivated his helmet, then turned to face her.

With all the courage and willpower he could muster, Julius answered Popple. "I like you Popple, I really like you. Whenever I'm alone with you, it's like torture. Because I'm so afraid of not matching up to you and being imperfect. I've been so afraid of messing up and disappointing you, I intentionally run away from situations where I could. I hate that I act like this, because I...I love you, Popple. I always have."

Silence. Finally, Popple walked up to him, beaming with joy. She moved her hand to his cheek. "Oh, Julius, I've been waiting for you to say those words! I love you too."

Their love for each other professed, Julius and Popple grinned and gazed at each other. She ran her hand through his hair and left it on the back of his head. Julius moved some strands of her hair out of the way of her eyes and put his hand on her hip. At last, they pulled each other in until their lips met in a kiss. As he kissed her, Julius felt years of pent up emotion and tension release. He pulled her in closer and held on, as if afraid of what would happen if he let go. He never wanted this moment to end.

When they finally broke away from each other, the device in Julius' pocket buzzed and he took it out. The EMP was at 100% charge. Julius clicked the activation button and a blue force field of energy spread from the boys' house at an exponential rate. When the EMP reached the ghostbots, it immediately short circuited them and shut them down.

"What the hell?!" Hoji roared, confused.

"Hey that looks like an EM--" Chan failed to finish as the EMP hit him and his brother. The brothers received moderate shocks and they fell to the ground, unable to move.

From his spaceship, Bane watched the EMP hit Chan and Hoji. He slammed his desk, creating a crack in it. "YOU IMBECILES! WHEN YOU GET BACK YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!" He pressed a button on his desk and Chan, Hoji, and all the deactivated and destroyed ghostbots were returned to Bane's shuttle.

Back on Earth, Julius and Popple were sitting on the steps to the house, holding hands and watching the sunset. Zack and Cloud had finally come to and were walking across the street to the house. Cloud was the first to react when he saw Julius and Popple. "Hold on a second. Julius and Popple? Holding hands? Does this mean what I think it does?"

Popple leaned on Julius' shoulder and Julius grinned. "Yeah, it does, man."

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally! Congrats, you two!"

Zack scratched the back of his head and rolling his eyes. "Congratulations, *I guess*, Julius," He admitted. "You two finally got together. Is it Jopple or Pulius? Also, mind explaining how Cloud and I woke up on the sidewalk?

Julius was unfazed by Zack's snarky comments. "We're really gonna enjoy explaining what happened to you two. Quick question, how much do you remember?"

Zack and Cloud thought for a second. "We were out on a walk with Caren and Holly...that's all I got," Zack finally answered.

It was Popple's turn to laugh now. "Yup, we're *really* gonna enjoy explaining. Not now, though, so beat it."

Zack and Cloud went up the steps and entered the house. Julius and Popple looked at each other.

"He did have a point, though," Julius said seriously.

"About what?" Popple asked.

"What's our relationship name gonna be? I think Populius has a ring to it, don't you?" He said jokingly this time.

Popple laughed and playfully shoved him. "In your dreams, Julius,"

The two smiled at each other and looked back up to the sky, enjoying the sunset.