The Warden of Shower Town

The Warden whistled to himself as he leaned back in his oversized office chair. Over the last ten years he had become the commander of this crazy town, ensuring order and balancing the scales of justice. Outside the streets were clean and shiny, even more so than usual. There wasn't a case he couldn't crack or a soul he couldn't redeem. The Warden chuckled to himself, savoring the long year of accomplishments. "Whoosh", the sound of a new shipment of inmates arriving in through the security door brought him to his senses. The Warden eyed his shoes to make certain they were spit shined and bolted down the stairs to the main cell block. He strode swiftly down the corridor, glancing left and right methodically to ascertain the condition of his inmates. The neat, orderly cells were arrayed one after the other. In each hovered a shiny gleaming bubble. You see, Chuck Mystery is the warden of Bubble Prison, a facility dedicated to bubbles so tough and stubborn that they refuse to pop. It was the biggest and most high security jail in all of Shower Town. The Warden whistled his characteristic whistle, unlocking the final security door. A sudden pulse ran down his spine as he saw the newest addition levitate through the door. It was the biggest, meanest bubble he had ever encountered. Inside its airy interior a human skeleton drifted, decaying and aimless. The rest of the crew cowered ten feet behind the bubble. "What's your name Mister?" the warden inquired. "They call me Brick" the bubble replied. "Do you know why you're in my castle?" the warden glared rhetorically. "Because I killed a man" Brick replied. "Listen here Mr. Bubble, don't get smart with me. I will pop you. Maybe it will be today, or tomorrow, or when you least expect it, because that's what bubbles are meant to do. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. So wise up and everything will be good, you 'hear?" Brick bobbed up and down for a moment before making a sound. "Warden ... I don't care how big your prison is. I ain't never going to pop. And guess what, you see this dead man inside me ... YOUR NEXT". One of the bubbles in the crowd behind the two popped out of terror. "Get this filth to his cell" he told one of the guards and charged out. That night the warden couldn't stop replaying the confrontation between him and the new recruit in his mind over and over. He had to pop this new one. That was now his sole mission. He clenched his fist, jettisoning the eyes of his stress toy across the room. Grumbling and muttering to himself the warden punched the button on his desk, sending the room elevator down to the observation deck. There, monitors populated the walls. It was almost like being inside the mind of a housefly, but spookier. He darted his glance from one screen to the next, checking for any disturbance. In one cell, a gruff bubble was lifting weights. In another a bubble idly absorbed a piece of pink chewing gun and blew even more bubbles. At about half past twelve the warden began to slowly drift away into sleep. THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. The red riot alarms shot their lion roar through the air. On one of the screens, he could see an entire block's doors slam open and a hundred bubbles rampage down the corridor. He shot his glance to the armory. There, his duckie guards grabbed their batons and charged out toward the horde. The warden lunged for the intercom like it was the last cookie in a cookie jar, "Cell blocks A-F are compromised. Guards, be brave and maintain the law of Bubble Prison!" A phalanx of duckie guards charged the horde and began smashing their batons against the renegade bubbles. The Warden slammed the button. It returned him to his office where he grabbed his overcoat from the coat rack. Now he was ready for anything.

- Ten Minutes Earlier -

Cell A-571

Brick bobs up and down in his cell. The light above is dim and flickers on and off, making him feel like a disco ball floating alone and lost through outer space. Inside the skeleton is as still as a rock. Then ... it's fingers and toes flinched. The skeleton reached up to its head and tore the mask off. Long, golden blonde hair fell out of the costume. Sarah Sudds presses the button on her belt buckle, temporarily turning her into a vanishing mist so she can slip out of her shell. "You ready already?" Brick asked. The tall, long haired beauty checked her watch, and the hall for guards then nodded her head, "Let's do this".