"Puppet of Evil"

"Puppet of Evil" is the fifth episode of Season 1 of Radio League. It is a two part episode. It revolves around Friction being framed for a crime he didn't commit.

Part I
Mike calls everyone into the Council Chamber on Radio Island. He says he has a very serious topic to discuss and it has to do with one of the Radio League members. After he says this, all eyes turn to Friction. Mike asks Friction what he has to say about what he did. Friction is very confused at this question. Mike suggests a look at the Radio Tower security footage would jog his memory, and proceeds to play a clip of Friction destroying technology from the Tower.

Friction has absolutely no idea what the footage is, but Mike believes this is a fib. He has Ivan and Jacob restrain Friction. Friction asks for a single chance to prove himself, which Mike hesitantly allows. Friction walks up to the footage and zooms into the Friction in the picture. He points out many differences, such as the one in the picture having a biohazard symbol on his Mission Suit opposed to a radiation sign, and being approximately 4 inches taller than the one in real life. Mike thinks Friction is stalling for time and begins to pull him away when the screen suddenly gets hacked.

A masked figure appears on the screen, saying that Friction was telling the truth. The figure states that his plan wasn't to get Friction destroyed; it was to get the entire League in one area and destroy them all. The figure remotely locks all exits to the room and it begins to fill with water.Then the screen turns to black.

As the water level rises, Mike apologizes to Friction for being so hard on him. Mike then says that the figure didn't know about the secret emergency exit Mike had installed under the table. The team escapes the room and makes it out to the grounds of the Island, where they see it crawling with Half-Androids. All Friction says is that they are more impostors, and they need to take them out. They manage to defeat each one, but it comes down to two and the team doesn't know which one is real Mike asks them what their favorite food is, and both answer "soup." However, one says it slightly more higher-pitched, and Mike identifies the fake. He shoots it down and everyone starts to make a mad dash for the jet.

However, as they reach the jet, they get another transmission from the masked figure asking them where they think they're going and blows up the jet. Mike commands everyone to get to the backup, which the figure does not know of. They successfully escape the island and get back to the Radio Tower. When they are in and sitting down, Nathan demands an explanation.

Friction explains that perhaps they have figured out by now he isn't 100% human. Friction reveals he was one of many Half-Androids created by the masked figure, Dr. Solstice, in an attempt to create a dictatorship for himself and enslave the human race. Friction knew he couldn't go along with Solstice's plan, so he overrode his own programming and escaped. He explains that is why Solstice hates the Radio League so much.

Mike and The President come in. Mike is on crutches, saying he broke his leg in the event of the plane explosion. He says they heard everything from the other room. The President says he is very sorry to hear that about Friction. Friction thanks him and asks how he got in since they had put the Tower on lockdown. The President reveals he is actually not the President at all; he is a Half-Android in disguise. The Half-Android knocks everyone out and takes the unconscious Mike, teleporting them both to locations unknown.

Part II
The rest of the Radio League sits up from the blast, rubbing their heads in pain. A large piece of decor has landed on Nathan; Ivan pulls it off of him and Nathan sits up. Friction realizes Mike has been captured and suggests they try to contact his comlink. Friction radios into the signal, which is static but has a pre-recorded message on it.

The message is from Mike, who has been put in a cell at Dr. Solstice's base. Mike says it's true that he has been captured and he is at a weird base on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Friction can immediately identify this as Solstice's Alpha Base and knows exactly where it is. The team equips their Mission Suits and follows Friction to the location.

Friction leads them to a seemingly uninhabited forest near some oceanside cliffs, causing Ivan to question him. Friction assures them that they are in the right place, and the lair has no above-ground entrances; he knows this because Alpha Base was where he was created. He looks around and spots a large maple with a hollow center. Inside there is a lever, which he turns, causing the ground to open up and reveal a concrete staircase.

The team turns to go in but before they can, Dr. Solstice comes out to greet them, followed by another figure. Dr. Solstice applauds them for their efforts and introduces his new "partner," Dr. Inferno. Solstice explains that without the Radio League in his way, he can institute a Half-Android dictatorship with Inferno. Solstice tells them they may have defeated a single regiment of his Half-Android army, but they stand no chance against an entire fleet. He quickly summons a horde of his army, and he and Inferno quietly retreat back underground.

The team is successfully able to repel the fleet of Half-Androids, just barely, however. They begin their descent into the base, where they begin looking around for ways to contact the US Government. As they do so, Inferno and Solstice appear AGAIN, asking what it will take to get rid of them once and for all. Solstice challenges Friction to a 1v1 bo staff match, as he was Friction's trainer. Friction happily obliges and they engage in combat, while Inferno controls a regiment to take out the league. During the battle, Nathan slips away to rescue Mike.

As Friction and Dr. Solstice battle, Solstice taunts him, saying that Friction will always be the learner and his own skills are supreme. Friction says that Solstice may have trained him in some combat, but he has received even more valuable training from the Radio League. Friction corners Solstice, who tries to sway him, saying that all Friction needs to do is return to his side and all these problems will go away. Friction lightens up for a second, but his hands are tied. As Nathan returns with Mike, he begins to push Solstice toward a chasm.

Dr. Solstice has one last trick up his sleeve; he reveals that the entire base is resting on a major geologic hotspot, and triggers a volcanic eruption that will detonate it in 30 seconds. Friction turns to Mike for guidance, and doing so lets Solstice slip away with Dr. Inferno. Mike quickly mobilizes the rest of the Radio League and they look for some kind of exit together. Nathan finds a chute from which he can smell sea water. Ivan rips off the hatch and the League jumps into the chute and tumbles down it at the last second. Everyone slides out of the vent at the bottom and plummets into the freezing ocean water and the Alpha Base explodes, taking the entire Half-Android army with it.

Friction notices Solstice and Inferno gliding down towards the ocean floor in hydraulic scuba suits, and attempts to swim after them, but it is no use. Solstice and Inferno escape, and, dodging falling debris, the Radio League starts the long swim back to shore.

Trivia
This episode is preceded by "Stoptime Showdown" and followed by "Virus Virality".