"Escape From the Garden"
In another galaxy, on a world orbiting four suns, the famed scientist Audric found the perfect place to conduct experiments on plant life. His goal was to create a plant that could grow in any terrain and produce food, thus ending starvation forever.
Just as he succeeded, a wave of radiation flared up from one of the suns, washing over the planet's surface. In his hands, the hunger-eliminating plant mutated into Saw Boss, and other plants in the lab changed into the Monster Minds.
The plants' transformations were complete within seconds. Audric and Oon fled, and the Monster Minds took over the laboratory. Gigantic vines erupted from the beneath the floor and nearby terrain to surround the lab, now their new Headquarters. The Monster Minds discovered that their vines could grab and crush objects, grow and stretch across interstellar distances, smother planets, produce vehicle "clones" that could be used as disposable fighters, and act as "highways" for them to ride on -- even through space. They also found out that they themselves could turn into powerful vehicles whenever they left their Headquarters. Under Saw Boss' leadership, they set out to conquer other worlds, draining their minerals and water.
Audric created two halves of a magic Root to stop the Monster Minds, but was interrupted before he can graft them together. He gave one half to Oon and asked him to take it to his son Jayce and serve him as his new master. The two then ran for their lives, taking different paths. The Monster Mind vehicles hounded Oon viciously, slamming into each other in their desperate attempts to capture him. Oon made his way to the enchanted garden where Jayce, Gillian, and Flora were waiting for Audric's arrival. He fell through the Wall of Light surrounding it, this escaping the Monster Minds, who could not pass through the evil-banning barrier. Oon followed Audric's instructions and told them the whole story.
Gillian then gave Jayce the Ring of Light and the Lightning League vehicles to help fight the battles ahead. He also magically summoned the Pride of the Skies II, forcing it to land in his garden. Gillian bargained with Captain Herc Stormsailor for safe passage in exchange for mountains of magically-transformed gold bars.
They loaded their stuff into his ship and tried to take off, but the garden soil was too soft for proper traction. The ship zoomed outside the Wall of Light to the hard ground, where it knocked the Monster Mind vehicles away.
However, the vines curled themselves around the Pride's landind struts, holding it in place. Jayce and Oon ventured out in Armed Force to fight the incoming Monster Minds. Flora and the other Lightning League vehicles soon joined the fight. The ship broke free from the vines when Gillian electrified the hull.
But once again, the vines pulled it back down. Jayce fired at them using Battle Base's telescoping gun turret, but a lucky shot from a Terror Trooper destroyed one of its lasers. Jayce jumped out right before the whole thing exploded. As he fell, the Ring of Light acted for the first time in modern history, saving Jayce by magically encasing him in a sharp card-shaped panel that flew through the entangling vines. After freeing the ship, the Ring deposited Jayce safely on top of it.
The Pride finally escaped into space, just in time for Herc to see his mountains of gold turn back into lead! In a fit of rage, he swore to stay with the Lightning League until he got paid. Thus began the Lightning League's quest to find Audric.
DVD Note: The first Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors DVD released by DIC was titled "Escape from the Garden of Evil." Presumably, this referred to the League's escape from the evil Monster Minds instead of Gillian's good-themed garden. In any case, the title of the episode itself remained unchanged.
Saw Boss: "Go after him! Get that Root! It's the only thing that can stop us!"
Jayce: "GILLIAN, the vines are climbing higher onto our Wall of Light!"
Gillian: "It's powered by the Sun, and they're blocking it! It can't survive much longer!"
Jayce: "Then please, HURRY with the vehicles! We have to be ready when Father finally comes to lead us out of here!"
Gillian: "We might have to leave before that, Jayce."
Jayce: "NO! FLORA, any sign of Father?"
Flora: "Don't you think I'd tell you?! All right, I won't be nasty, but... I wish Jayce wouldn't treat me like I was a NERD!"
Flora: "Oon's coming! I can feel it!"
Jayce: "Then Father must be coming, too! I told you, Gillian!"
Flora: "No... I don't feel Audric coming."
Jayce: "You're WRONG, Flora! Oon would never desert his Master! He HAS to be coming!"
Jayce: "OON! Good old Oon! You're here!"
Oon: "Oh, Master Jayce, it's wonderful to see you again?"
Jayce: "Oh, but where's my father?"
Oon: "I'll tell you the whole story. Meanwhile -- could you put me back together again, please?"
Oon: "My Master Audric tried to create a plant that would end starvation forever! He found the perfect spot for his experiments in another galaxy. But just as he succeeded... radiation changed his discovery into plants with evil brains!"
Audric (memory-voice): "Oon! We have to flee! The Monster Minds are ruthless!"
Audric (memory-voice): "Their leader -- they call him Saw Boss -- has taken over my laboratory!"
Oon: "Each leader and troops covered the planet, using up all its minerals and water!"
Audric (memory-voice): "I worked to create a good plant, that would destroy those evil ones."
Oon: "'Give the Root to Jayce,' he said! 'He's your new Master -- serve him faithfully! He'll know what to do!"
Gillian (gravely): "You must find your father. The Root he carries must be joined with this one!"
Jayce (overwhelmed): "And the future of the universe depends on this -- and on ME!"
Gillian: "In ages past, there was a small band of heroes who guided us to victory in desperate times. They were called -- the Lightning League. Their leader wore this Ring. It is time for the knowledge of the past to save the future! The Lightning League is now reborn! With YOU, Jayce, son of Audric as its leader!"
Jayce: "ME, to wear the Ring of Leadership."
Gillian: "It has more power than you can imagine, but only if your heart and purpose are pure."
Jayce: "Gillian, it-it's glowing. It's as though it's telling me -- that I will be able to lead us! Wherever you are, Father, I WILL find you! NOTHING will stop me!"
Oon: "And I shall serve my new Master faithfully, me and my Magic Lance!"
Jayce: "Thank you, Oon!"
Flora: "If only the Lance really were magic."
Oon: "I heard that!"
Jayce: "Come on, you two! We're all in this together."
Flora: "O-kay... I'm sorry, Oon."
Saw Boss: "Get that Root! Destroy it, and EVERYTHING ELSE!"
Saw Trooper: "With pleasure, Saw Boss."
Gillian: "And now, one more thing, Jayce. This vehicle, Armed Force, I made for your father. Learn to use it well -- it's YOURS, now."
Jayce: "MINE, Armed Force is MINE!"
Oon: "Shoo, shoo! Get away! Who ARE you?"
Flora: "They're my Zoggies, Oon, and they like you!"
Oon: "If they like me so much, Flora, tell them to quit getting in my way!"
Flora: "Get 'em, Jayce, get 'em! We'll WIN, won't we, Jayce?"
Jayce: "Of COURSE we'll win! Show mw how to work the laser on this thing!"
Gillian: "None of the weapon systems are finished yet, Jayce!"
Jayce: "Lasers or no lasers, they're not taking us without a fight!"
Gillian: "Jayce! It is wise never to fight unless it is necessary!"
Gillian: "Nothing evil can penetrate our Wall of Light, but their vines shut out more and more of the Sun, making the wall weaker! Soon it will be GONE!"
Jayce: "Gillian, you can build or repair anything, and you know magic too! We need something get us safely out of here so I can FIND MY FATHER!"
Oon: "So WE can find his father!"
Jayce: "What we need is a space barge. Gillian, can you build one?"
Gillian: "Hmmm... not in the brief time before our Wall of Light is gone."
Herc: "You just HAD to break down on me again, didn't ya? Ah, sorry about plowing up your tomato patch, folks -- but don't expect me to pay for it!"
Gillian: "Of course not!"
Herc: "Good! I know I'm crazy for asking, but... you woudn't happen to have a spare thermal siphon diode, would ya?"
Gillian: "Of course!"
Herc: "Thanks! Well, ah, see ya around!"
Jayce: "Take us with you!"
Herc: "Oh, sure, kid! That's my business -- moving anybody and anything!"
Jayce: "Thanks! Get on board; Gillian, start up the vehicles!"
Herc: "Whoa, first the money! Herc Stormsailor doesn't haul anybody or anything for free!"
Jayce: "Money?! Where would we get money?"
Herc: "Heh, sorry, kid -- no cash, no Herc!"
Gillian: "Would, ah, gold be acceptable?"
Herc (saluting): "HERC STORMSAILOR, Captain of the Pride of the Skies, at your service!"
Jayce: "Gillian built that Battle Base to go with our five defensive vehicles."
Herc: "Oh, that kid is really strange!"
Flora: "I AM NOT! I was created from a plant by Gillian and Audric! I understand plants, and animals, and even people! Sort of..."
(Imagine Fort Knox's gold bars times a hundred)
Gillian (mildly): "Is THIS, enough, Mr. Stormsailor?"
Herc (dazzled): "PLEASE, ah, call me HERC!"
Herc: "Ahhh, my old Control Bridge wasn't so darn complicated!"
Herc: "Your ground here is too soft! We're just digging a hole instead of taking off!"
Jayce: "But the only hard ground is outside the Wall of Light!"
Herc: "Okay, you guys, hang on to your hats, 'cause we're heading for the solid ground!"
Jayce: "C'mon, Oon! Somebody has to hold them off!"
Oon: "Why us?!"
Jayce: "Jayce! By using the Communicator on your wrist, you can control the vehicles with a voice command!"
Jayce: "ALL RIGHT! Armed Force, let's go!"
Armed Force: "Command acknowledged!"
Jayce: "I need some help! Lightning League vehicles, get out here!"
Drill Sergeant, Quick Draw, Spike Trike, & Trail Blazer: "Command acknowledged!"
Oon: "No, wait! My Master is still out there!"
Herc: "Yeah, well, you wanna go get him?!"
Oon: "Yes, I'LL save him! But all the doors are closed!"
Herc: "Hop aboard, kid! Those monkey-vines won't stay away long!"
Saw Boss: "Too late, TOO LATE! I'll find you, son of Audric! I'll destroy that Root, AND YOU! You'll NEVER be safe -- not you, not your father! I'll track you through the universe forever!"
Herc: "Hey! Hey, what's going on?! This is LEAD!"
Gillian: "Ah, sorry, I had a little problem, ah... but don't worry, you'll be paid!"
Jayce: "That's a promise, Herc!"
Herc (understandably ticked): "You're darn right! Because I'm sticking with you from now on until I get my LOOT! You're not shaking me for one second!"
Jayce: "We'll FIND you, Father, wherever you are! Because like that space lightning, we're unstoppable! We're the Lightning League! And together we'll destroy the Monster Minds forever!"
