𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗼 Shorts

♔ RtD x OC - 9

In less than five minutes, the villains had Minnie, Billy and James strung up with Roger and Walter. Billy gave them a run for their money, but with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide (plus the fact that they threatened to shoot him with a machine gun), he gave up pretty quickly.

"Nice work, guys. Brilliant rescue," Roger deadpanned.

Minnie scowled. "Shut up and start thinking! We're thirty seconds away from being fish food!"

James craned his neck to look down at the piranhas and gulped. "How did Baby-Face Finlayson say this trap works?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Roger said.

Walter was kind enough to fill them all in. "These dominoes topple, the last one drops on the see-saw, that flings Winston up in the air, he grabs the sack, that pulls the rope that lifts the hatch that lights the candle that burns the rope that drops us in the tank of piranha fish!"

James nodded wisely. "Yes. I thought that's what would happen."

Baby-Face, upon redelivering his speech, pushed the first domino.

I watched, helpless, as the dominoes click clacked down, starting to form the shape of Baby-Face's ugly mug.

"Come on," Roger encouraged. "We should be able to think of something! There's five of us now."

"Six!" James corrected.

Minnie head-butted him. "Shut up, Calamity! There's five! Me, Walter, Roger, Billy and you. Five!"

"And Alex. Six," James repeated.

Roger stared at James. "Alex? Who's Alex?"

"Alexander, my pet lemming. He came along too."

Billy glanced about. "What lemming? I can't see any lemming up here!"

But I could see a lemming down here. He dodged a waiter and raced over to my hiding place.

"Alexander!" I exclaimed. "We've got to help them-"

"I've got a plan. Stay here," Alexander instructed. He scampered away and I watched him disappear through the throngs of feet.

James' face was wrought with distress. "Oh woe is me! I truly am the unluckiest boy in the universe! About to be eaten by fish, and now I lose my best friend!"

Roger (quick-witted as he was) was the first to catch on. "Wait a minute! If Alexander lemming isn't up here, he must be - yes!"

I followed Roger's gaze to where Winston the cat sat on the see-saw. "Excuse me, Winston? Would you mind awfully coming here for a moment?" The clever lemming pulled the bewildered cat off of the see-saw just in time for the see-saw to be activated.

"Yes! He did it!" Roger cried. "Without Winston the whole trap's defunct! We're saved! We just need to get down so I can-"

I extracted myself from the safety of the pillar and darted off toward the scaffolded platform next to the fish tank, with the intention of reversing the rigging mechanism in the confusion - but then Baby-Face turned to see why the villains were gasping and stomped his foot as he saw his ruined plan. "Why, you rotten spoilsports! You don't get out of it that easily! I'll just climb up there and cut the rope myself!"

He climbed the stairs to the started toward the rope, but I was already there at the top, facing him boldly with my feet planted firmly on the wood.

"Oh, flipping will you?" I asked with a grin.

I heard Roger cry a startled: "What?" and Walter say: "But-" from behind me, but I didn't dare take my eyes off of the glinting metal of the scissors in Baby-Face's Chubb fist.

Baby-Face scowled and motioned with the knife for me to move aside. "Curses! Move, brat!"

I lifted my chin. "Make me!"

"You don't know what you're doing!" Roger yelled desperately. "Get out of here!"

"Shut up!" I called back, without turning. "I'm concentrating!"

I heard muttering from behind me as Baby-Face slowly approached my front. "Roger, why are you red?" Minnie asked teasingly.

"Listen to your boyfriend!" Baby-Face sneered. "Move out of my way!"

I hardened my expression, setting my jaw. "No."

"Well then..." Baby-Face narrowed his eyes and smiled smugly. "Chee-arge!"

Baby-Face rushed the last few metres, the knife pointed straight at my stomach. As he approached I snapped my arm out and caught his outstretched arm, pulling him toward me. I moved at the last moment and his momentum and my hand pulling him past me caused him to lurch out over the tank - by then it was too late.

By some stroke of bad luck he grabbed Walter's foot and dangled there above the water, whimpering, the knife lying out of his reach at the bottom of the tank of piranha fish.

Relief and elation swept through me as I regained my breath. Adrenaline was pushing me to a new high, and I couldn't help but grin like a maniac.

Minnie leaned forwards and stuck her tongue out at the terrified mafia boss below her. "Take that, you dummy-sucking demon!"

Walter was less pleased about the situation. "Let go of me, you little rat!" He cried, shaking his foot.

"Never mind that," Baby-Face squeaked. "Wilkes, what are you doing? Stop!"

Down below, Mr Wilkes held a pocket knife to the rope. He paused and looked up at the faces peering down at him, and smiled almost sweetly. "Just carrying out your orders, Sir."

And then he slit the rope.

"NO!" I screamed, reaching for the rope as it whizzed past me. I gasped as the rope burnt my palms and I involuntarily let go.

Gone, gone, gone-

Surprised yelps met my ears and I turned back to the tank.

A smile spread over my face. Billy Whizz - the incredible boy - was flapping his feet, keeping them hovering. I knew they were too far down to pull up, so I raced down the stairs and found Alexander, giving him a few quick instructions.

Minnie blinked. "Where was the splash?"

James looked up, then down. "Why are we floating?"

"Guys," Billy groaned. "I can't keep this up much longer... I'm flapping my feet so fast they keep us hovering, but my legs are straining! About... To... Drop..."

"Alexander!" I called. "Quickly!"

Like an avenging angel-lemming, Alexander came into view, driving a huge forklift. He wedged it underneath the tank and lifted his side; the imbalance tipped the tank towards the villains, who squealed and started to run. Piranha-infested water sloshed from the tank and flowed away from us, towards the fleeing villains, chasing them out of the door with a wave of flesh-eating fish at their heels.

Once Billy lowered the five of then to the ground, Baby-Face took one look at their thunderous faces and fled, running over the piranha-scattered floor.

"Ouch - ow! You lousy kids haven't heard the last of Baby-Face!" He cried over his shoulder. "Ow, my bum!"

Alexander and I set about freeing the others from their chairs.