Catching a Train {open}

[Quackerjack]

Quackerjack trudged sullenly through the city. So this was Duckburg, eh? Big deal.

He'd chosen to visit this particular city to get away from that Dimwing Duck bozo. But Duckburg was so...ordinary.

There's nothing as boring, thought Quacky, as real life.

"Got a problem, junior?" asked a falsetto voice at his elbow. Why, it was Mr. Banana Brain.

"Yeah. This place is dull, dull, dull," pouted Quackerjack.

"And you're dumb, dumb, dumb if you can't find a way to liven it up. Use your head, Fred, for something besides a hatrack."

"What do you suggest?" Mr. Banana Brain always had such good ideas. Better even than Quackerjack's. But he could be insulting at times.

"See that train track?" The floppy arm pointed, albeit, with a little help from Quackerjack. "It's just like a silent movie. You can play "Perils of Pauline." And you're the villainous villain."

"Yes, oh, yes! That'll be perfect!" The duck looked around slyly. "Now all I need is someone to tie to the tracks..."

[Dreamchild]

Alice attended a field trip to Duckburg in her history class. The field trip's purpose was to educate St. Blair's students about the history of Calisota, from the most important historical figures (Cornelius Coot, and others) to Duckburg's importance, and how St. Canard and Epcot City grew in time. Unfortunately, Alice was at times her own worst enemy: because of her curiosity, she eventually got separated from her group. Alice didn't know how she got separated exactly, but it was likely because she was distracted by something that interested her.

Alice, in her St. Blair uniform and with her brown satchel, walked along the railroad track. She tried to listen to the open minds of her fellow students, but Alice couldn't establish a connection with anyone. She was very lost.

She walked briskly, her face expressing more annoyance than fear. "I suppose it's too much for them to tell me when we're moving!" Alice said sharply to herself, not knowing of the nearby presence of a dangerous sociopath. Her right hand gripped a strap of her satchel while her left hand rocked as she walked quickly near the train track.

[Quackerjack]

It wasn't long before Quackerjack spotted a little blonde girl wandering along. "Well, well, well, let the fun begin!"

He bounded over with a somersault and landed right smack in front of the child. "Hello, there, little girl. On your way to grandma's house?"

Outwardly cheerful, Quacky was seething with suppressed excitment inside. But he had to keep himself under control. Mustn't tip your hand too soon; that would spoil everything.

"I'm lost. Maybe you can help me. Do you know the way to San Jose?"

That's right, keep her off guard with polite conversation. His hands slid behind his back, readying the can of Wacky String.

[Dreamchild]

Alice was in the middle of a less-than-gentle criticism regarding the group of students she was with. She was so grumpy that she never expected what happened: a mixture of fanciful colors somersaulted in the air and landed in front of her. Alice, startled, made an instantaneous stop and had to quickly regain her balance. "Oh!"

As she calmed herself, Alice looked into the face of the humorously-attired duck as he spoke. Immediately noticeable--more than the mask--was the large overbite. The duck, whose distinctive voice was much clearer than Duck Avenger's, was outfitted in a truly flamboyant costume, as though he was a medieval court jester lost in this modern age. Alice forced a chuckle in a nervous tone, embarrassed with herself. Her meek smile also expressed this.

"I'm sorry, sir, but--"

The duck made a comment about grandma's house. Alice's smile faded at this comment. If only he knew the truth.

Thankfully, she didn't have to think about grandmother for long; the duck continued and admitted that he was lost. Alice smiled again, this time more polite and sincere--an innocent girl entirely oblivious to the duck's motive. At the time, she assumed the duck was a joker, or a comic of some sort, which would explain the costume.

"I'm afraid I'm lost as well, sir. But maybe I can help you." She looked down to her satchel, opened it, and reached inside for her map of Calisota. "Now, let me see. San Jose..." Her full attention was in her satchel. At that moment, Alice was entirely off-guard. "I don't think it's too far away at all."

[Quackerjack]

The vict--er, girl was oh, so polite and helpful, even going so far as to pull out a map of the city. "Not too far, you say? I think it's somewhere over the rainbow."

With that, Quackerjack yanked out an aerosol can, spraying the girl with a barrage of his own special Wacky String, which instantly wrapped around her slender arms, pinning them to her sides as maniacal laughter filled the air.

"I am Dangerous Dan," sneered Quackerjack, "And you, me proud beauty...wait, I need a mustache to twirl."

Reaching into one of his voluminous pockets, the Clown Prince of Crime produced a pair of plastic eyeglasses with a nose and mustache attached. "That's better. I am Dangerous Dan, and you..."

"Villainous villains don't wear glasses," said the puppet on his other hand.

"Pipe down, Mr. Banana Brain. You're just my bumbling sidekick. I am Dangerous Dan, and you, me proud beauty, are in me power! Nyaa-ha-haaa!"

Without further ado, Quacky seized the girl and flung her onto the train tracks, securing her there with more of the plastic string.

[Dreamchild]

Alice gasped and dropped her map as she felt a sudden, confining string coiled around her like a serpent, string from the stranger in the goofy costume. The string was frighteningly tight, and Alice couldn't break herself free. She grunted as she tried to break free from the string, or even squirm loose, but they were too tight for the girl. Dreamchild's mental powers may be tremendously strong, but she still only had the strength of a twelve-year-old girl.

Her wide blue eyes looked up to the evil jester and she shook her head in shock. "What are you doing?! Untie me!"

The reaction wasn't what she wanted. The jester introduced himself as 'Dangerous Dan,' and put on a comical toy-mask. Then the jester raised his voice to speak as his puppet, a creepy banana. Alice knew then and there that this duck was stark raving mad!

Alice shrieked when the sociopath grabbed her and flung her onto the train track. She grunted loudly and painfully as she struck against the metal, and she even became dazed for a second. Alice was very rarely a victim. Dreamchild was antagonized by villains constantly, but not Alice. As Dreamchild, she was so often a heroine that protected Epcot City. She had protected--sometimes even clearly saved--the lives of people of all ages. But she was not in her Dreamchild guise, and she was now the victim of this cruel practical joker. Being a victim was a feeling she hated with a passion.

Alice's eyes narrowed, her black eyebrows were just as expressive, and she spoke through a tone of voice rarely heard from the girl. "Why are you doing this?! This isn't a game!"

Alice truly wanted to use her psychic powers to free herself, and to fight 'Dangerous Dan.' But she couldn't. If she revealed her powers to the villain, then he would know her true identity, which she couldn't afford. She also didn't have her costume with her; she couldn't pack it into her satchel because said satchel was checked before the field trip. For now, Alice had to remain Alice. If Alice's life becomes truly in grave danger, and if the final moment is critical, then she would have to use her powers. But, maybe someone could intervene and help her?

She screamed as loudly as she could. "Help me! Someone, please help me!"

[Quackerjack]

"Why am I doing this?" repeated the demented duck, somewhat redundantly. "I want the deed to your farm, Little Nell. Fork it over, or else!"

The distant scream of a train whistle suddenly split the air. "Hark," crowed Quackerjack with palpable over-acting, "Methinks I hear the two-twenty. You'd better make up your mind fast, because no one can save you."

Not a game? That's what she thinks. This was turning out to be a terrific game!

[Cold Shadow]

"That's debatable." Came an unexpected answer to the mad duck's last comment. Though it wasn't from Alice or the jester's banana-thing. The ninja avian, Cold Shadow, appeared a short distance from the two, his arms folded over his chest, the tassels of his red blindfold billowing out around him dramatically. Normally, the stealthy striker wouldn't have made his presence known through speech at all; he would have merely taken his staff and delivered a blow to the back of Quackerjack's noggin. But the train was coming, and Alice was his priority.

Dashing over to Alice in the blink of an eye he removed his staff from its sheath on his back, delivering two swift strikes on either side of the girl. He was aiming for the strange, sticky string confining the blonde schoolgirl. This maneuver didn't go quite as well as expected, and at times he wished he had a sword, as some ninjas carried. Though lethal force wasn't his style, and a sword with a razor-sharp edge only had one real purpose in combat. Not his cup of tea.

His whacks had damaged the string somewhat, but not enough to fully severe the binding goop. A good portion of the Wacky String had adhered to his staff, but he could always attend to that later. Crouching down he placed his hands beneath Alice, bracing himself on the tracks and pushing outward as she ripped from place on the tracks, rolling out of danger - the danger presented by the train, anyway. The sticky menace covering her was obviously going to be tedious to remove entirely, as for the moment she remained in her gooey cocoon.

<<There are certain benefits to having an alter-ego who can also fight. I'm just saying.>> He projected his thought into the girl's mind before hopping off of the train tracks and focusing his attention on Quackerjack.

"There are no deeds, here. Though if you want to buy the farm, I'll be happy to oblige you." Cold Shadow threatened. He gave his wooden staff (which still had Wacky String on it) a few twirls before taking a combative stance, a determined expression taking his brows and bill.

[Quackerjack]

"Huh?" was all Quackerjack could say to the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. Whirling around to face the black-clad stranger, he quipped, "Oh, lookie. Someone has come to join the party."

"Better watch out. That's not a back-scratcher he's carrying," added Mr. Banana Brain helpfully.

"Point well taken, Mr. B." Quacky tensed to meet the coming attack, but, lo and behold, the ninja dashed past him, intent on rescuing the girl first.

As the train barrelled closer, it looked like Quackerjack would get two victims for the price of one. But, no, the duck managed to pull blondie free in time, though she was still encased in some of the Wacky String.

Though if you want to buy the farm, I'll be happy to oblige you.

"You've got some pretty classy dialogue, Mr. Nin-Jerk," taunted the clownish duck. "Let's see if I can top it."

He began to dance around as he chanted,

"Engine, engine, number 9,
Goin' down the Duckburg line,
If the train goes off the track..."

Here, Quacky reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a black sphere with the words "Time Bomb" stencilled on it.

"You can thank...Quackerjack!"

His voice took on a maniacal tone as the jester flung the bomb about fifty feet away where it lodged smack dab onto the track.

"I think you have a train to catch."

[Dreamchild]

Logically speaking, the sound of an oncoming train shouldn't have come as such a surprise, or even a shock. After all, Alice was on a track, and trains run on such tracks. Nevertheless, terror filled Alice's heart when she heard the shrill whistle of a train fast approaching. She looked at the direction the whistle came from, and saw the train approaching. Color drained out of her face, leaving it pale, her eyes were ready to fill with tears, and she bit her lip so hard, she could have scratched her bottom lip and bled. It was no use; she would be forced to use her powers to save herself. Unfortunately, this would have this serious drawback of Dangerous Dan or whoever he is learning of how special the girl truly is, but if it meant saving her life--

Thankfully, she didn't have to reveal Dreamchild's powers! She liked the ninja whom she called Cold Shadow before, but after today, her respect for him would increase tenfold. Even though the train was still racing fast, she smiled up at the ninja duck as he (with effort) cut some of the string that confined her.

"Oh, sir, thank you! I was so scar--o'ohhhh!" Alice's gratitude was replaced with a surprised yelp when Cold Shadow shoved her off the track, and she rolled safely out of harm's way. She was still very helpless, still immobilized by the infuriatingly adhesive string. More infuriating than the sticky substance, though, was the fact that she didn't have her costume, and she couldn't become Dreamchild.

Alice gave a look to Cold Shadow that was simultaneously sad and angry. <<I wish I could fight back!>> she mentally replied. <<I wish-->> She stopped when Cold Shadow threatened the jester. She wanted the ninja to concentrate, so she stopped speaking to him through her mental powers.

If I could just free myself, Alice thought as she squirmed and strained under the string. She tried to break herself free, but she wasn't successful. Using her powers wouldn't have necessarily break off the string, and she couldn't use her powers while under her Alice Liddell guise anyway.

The train passed by where she was stuck to just a moment ago, and Alice was happy that she wasn't killed by the locomotive. But her troubles were far from over; on top of still being trapped by the gooey string, the jester had another trick up his sleeve. The jester said the name Quackerjack (was that his name?), and he threw an obvious bomb fifty feet away. Alice watched the bomb in horror, fearing for the lives of many innocent people on board that train.

I abhor this--this... Quackerjack! Alice mentally shouted. She struggled in the string, applying even more muscle than before, trying to break free from the adhesive confines of Quackerjack's invention.

Then she looked at Quackerjack again. Maybe she could safely use one of her mental powers, and Quackerjack wouldn't suspect her. But even if he did, this was a dire situation, and many lives depended on the outcome of this conflict. Alice stared intensely at Quackerjack and prepared to use one of her mental powers: an ability to confuse the jester by lightly tapping into his mind and subjecting him to a short, temporary illusion. The point of this ability was to confuse the target, making them go blank for a moment.

[Quackerjack]

Oh, this was shaping up to be a red-letter day! The bomb on the tracks was about to blow, and it would derail the train for sure. And maybe take that ninja with it. Plus, Quacky still had a little girl tied up who stood a good chance of being blown to bits. Or smashed by the wreckage of the train. Or both.

Maybe there was some kind of award for villains who killed little girls in two different ways at once.

While Quackerjack paused in his victory dance to think about this, he seemed to hear something...something...what was it? was somebody calling him?

For a moment, the clown prince of crime turned to look behind him, but there was nobody there. Turning to the puppet on his arm, he queried, "Did you say something?"

[Cold Shadow]

Not particularly interested in what Quackerjack had to say, Cold Shadow readied himself to lunge forward and strike the jester with his staff as he spoke. However, just as he was about to dash forward, the criminal clown removed a bomb from his pocket and tossed it - not at him, but at the train tracks. Quackerjack was quite the dirty player, just as he had read. Cold Shadow inwardly cursed at himself for not acting faster. Under better circumstances the absurd duck would have been unconscious and bound by now.

Canceling out of his attack on the jester, he instead sprinted toward the train tracks, to where the bomb had fallen. Without hesitation he thrust his staff down, wedging it between the train tracks and the lodged bomb. Using his staff much like a crowbar, he gave a swift, firm push. The bomb dislodged, launching several feet straight up into the air. Cold Shadow then drew his staff back over his shoulder, like a baseball bat, while raising one leg. When the bomb came within striking distance, he gave it an impressive wallop. With a loud 'clank,' the bomb went whizzing through the air, exploding far enough away as to spare the train, and the train tracks. The train itself blazed by moments later.

"Let's play a different game. Are you familiar with tag?" Cold Shadow said in a harsh tone as he turned back toward the direction of Quackerjack. In a burst of blinding speed, easily being missed if one so much as blinked, the ninja dashed for Quackerjack, sweeping his staff through the air with the intention of striking the back of the jester's cranium. "You're it!"

[Quackerjack]

Quackerjack was acrobatic and pretty fast on his feet. Whether or not he was a match for a card-carrying ninja was debatable. But in this case, that momentary distraction had thrown off his game.

Quacky spotted the advancing blur out of the corner of his eye and dodged a fraction of a second too late. The staff caught him a glancing blow to the head, a blow that sent the jester facedown into the ground.

Pushing up with his hands, Quackerjack executed a remarkable backflip, landing on his feet to face his black-clad foe. "No fair!" he screeched, spitting gravel. "You hit me when I wasn't looking!"

He was up, but clearly woozy. Time for the secret weapon.

From somewhere in his voluminous pantaloons, Quacky pulled out--a rubber chicken! Aiming it in the general direction of the ninja (it was hard to see him through all those stars), the mad duck shouted, "Stay back! I have a chicken, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

A simple squeeze of the chicken's neck, and out shot a stream of fiery doom! "How do you like your heroes? Rare, medium or well done?"

[Cold Shadow]

This particular villain was getting on the ninja's nerves already. But he was well aware that Quackerjack was not to be underestimated, despite his silly antics. When the lunatic pulled out a rubber chicken, every muscle in his body seemed to clench, readying for a swift movement. He was not disappointed in his preparedness, for the seemingly innocent sight gag turned out to be a deadly weapon in guise.

Cold Shadow could spin his staff at such speeds to dissipate or even deflect many forms of incoming projectiles and hazards; but fire was not one of them. Fire did not mesh well with his clearly wooden staff, so instead he quickly rolled to one side in a duck-and-roll. Thankfully the shot was fired carelessly and without proper aim, as it was relatively easily to avoid the stream of fire.

The waterfowl ninja made a diagonal swipe with his trust weapon to try and dislodge the weapon from the madman's grasp. If he broke a couple of bones in his hand, he certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but his main intent was to get that rubber chicken out of the picture.

[Quackerjack]

Quackerjack laughed maniacally, clearly enjoying himself. "Ready, aim...fire!" he punned, spraying more flames in the general vicinity of his enemy, confident that not even ninjas were fire-proof.

He could see more clearly now; Quacky had a really good view of that stick that came crashing down on his hand. "Yeeowitch!" he screamed, dropping the flame-thrower involuntarily. "That was my favorite hand!"

"You think you're so smart!" he managed to shout while hugging his injured hand under the opposite arm. "Well, I've got plenty more toys where those came from!"

So saying, he reached into a hidden pocket, drawing out a handful of something. "Surprise!" came the maniacal shout. "Happy New Year!" The duck flung his handful into the air, and it came down in a shower of innocent-looking confetti. As it fell, however, the shiny stuff clung to Cold Shadow in ever-increasing globs that threatened to smother him entirely.

"Actually, this is more of a going-away party," chortled Quackerjack. He was confident his Killer Confetti (patent pending) would take care of his foe, but just in case...

Yanking a pogo stick from within those remarkable pants, the lunatic duck hopped aboard. "C'mon, Mr. B. Playtime is over."

[Cold Shadow]

"You can celebrate New Year's in prison. A number of them, in fact." The ninja retorted after the confetti popper had gone off. As the maniacal duck mounted his pogo stick, Cold Shadow brought his staff back and unleashed a mighty swing; though, with his initial bound, the wooden weapon merely swished through the vacant air where Quackerjack had been standing a millisecond before, the antagonist having sprung over his strike in the nick of time.

The confetti continued to fall like colorful snow, and he soon became all too aware that it was quite adhesive. It was clinging wherever it fell on his clothes and person, though he wouldn't be undone by one of the jester's silly gimmicks. He trudged forward in pursuit of the fleeing Quackerjack, his extraordinary speed declining into somewhat fast speed... then to the running speed of an average Joe... then the speed of an elderly man who somehow thought that he still had the ability to run, when he clearly did not. The black-clad ninja was now a sparkling, glittering rainbow-clad ninja.

He shook his head and spit, several flakes of confetti being blown from his beak. "Pain in the--" He began, but cut his own sentence short. After all, there was a child present. As he continued to try and run after the clown prince of crime he vigorously brushed at the colorful annoyance which was impeding his mobility. For an outside observer to have seen the dark ninja now comically covered in tin-foil pretties, they may have gotten a laugh. But Cold Shadow was anything but amused. At this rate Quackerjack would escape for sure.

[Quackerjack]

"T.T.F.N." squealed the rapidly-disappearing villain, turning his head to wave his farewells.

"Why are you stopping?" asked Mr. Banana Brain, as his big buddy slowed to a halt, still gazing over his shoulder.

"Look how helpless he is! My Killer Confetti is a success! And it's so sparkly--"

"Don't break your arm pattin' yourself on the back, Jack. I say we head for the hills."

"Aw, don't be a scaredy-cat," Quacky scolded the puppet. "What fun is crime without a little gloating?"

With that, Quackerjack returned to the parti-colored Ninja (hey, we told you he was crazy), and began to dance around the slow-moving figure, chanting, "Nyah, nyah, can't catch meee-eee!"

[Dreamchild]

Alice knew that her minor manipulation of Quackerjack's mind was successful, because he complained of confusion out loud. This was her chance. Cold Shadow was of course dependable enough to take care of the bomb. Now she had to assist him to the best of her ability. She looked about and found a shard of glass within reach. But when one's arms are tied in adhesive string, even grabbing something 'within reach' was a herculean task. Thank goodness for the wonders and marvels of telekinesis! Alice was thankful to have it.

Confident that she wasn't being watched by the jester, she used her mind to bring the broken glass closer to her, by her side that was away from Quackerjack. She carefully yet hurriedly used the shard to cut through the confining string, thread by thread, until she was free. She sighed in relief and quickly got up on her feet. She fought back the irrational urge to wipe the dust and dirt from her clothes.

Alice looked to Quackerjack just in time to see him gloat over the poor ninja, who was covered by adhesive confetti. He saved her life, now it was time for her to return the favor. She was livid, with her fists clenched and her face contorted. She had quite enough from the clown, and was ready to attack. Not uttering a sound, she used telekinesis to lift up a chunk of rock from beside a train track, timed herself, and then launched it for the back of Quackerjack's head. If this would blow Alice's cover, then so be it. Besides, who would believe a raving loon?

[Quackerjack]

Quackerjack stopped his bouncing around for a second, just long enough to stick both thumbs into his ears, wave his fingers at the struggling ninja, and give him the world's biggest raspberry.

"Ppplplplpbbbbttt!"

The untranslatable sound was the last thing Quacky heard before the lights went out.

A big rock smacked him on the back of the head, seemingly flying all on its own, laying the jester out at Cold Shadow's feet. Quackerjack never saw it comig, and certainly didn't see a certain proper little schoolgirl who just might've been responsible.

If Mr. Banana Brain saw anything, he wasn't talking.

Anyone who cared to bend close to the fallen duck just might've heard the little clocks whirling round his unconscious head, making an appropriate 'coo-coo, coo-coo' sound.

[Dreamchild]

Alice didn't smile when she successfully knocked Quackerjack unconscious. As satisfying as it was, she still regretted using blunt force to subdue an enemy, especially in her civilian guise. Then again, Quackerjack did endanger her life, Cold Shadow's, and the lives of everyone on board that train earlier, so quickly thinking of this brought more justification to her act.

"I never was fond of clowns," Alice said coolly. She sighed and turned to look at the adhesive string that she just freed herself from. "One moment, Cold Shadow," she said aloud for him to hear. "I'll help you just as soon as I tie him." She didn't want to touch the string with her hands, so she used her mine to levitate it. It slithered in the air like a snake and found its way to Quackerjack. It divided into equal parts and constricted him, one portion of the strings at his ankles, and the other at his arms. "I suppose karma is real." She didn't tie Quackerjack as tightly as she could, for fear of cutting off his circulation.

"There! Now for you." She turned to Cold Shadow and fought back a smile. "You look pretty with all those sparkles, but let's get the confetti off of you!" She stepped closer to the ninja and examined the confetti and sparkles up close. She had a curious look on her face. "Should I remove them one by one, or all at once?"

[Cold Shadow]

<<Nice shot.>> Cold Shadow projected his thoughts into Dreamchild's mind, all the while wriggling about in an effort to dislodge the obnoxious confetti which adorned his disco ball-esque ninja gi. He could have made a cutting remark about how long it had taken her to take action, but he was too inwardly satisfied having seen Quackerjack take a rock to the back of the skull to harbor any form of malice.

After a few moments he had scraped off enough of the confetti to move freely again. Quite a bit of it still clung to him - all over the place, in fact. But the residual leftover was merely superficial, and he wasn't so vain about his image that he would waste any more time cleaning up his costume until after he returned home. <<No, no. That's quite all right. I've had enough weirdness in my day without adding psychic-confetti-removal to the list.>> He responded. Even though she was speaking aloud, the ninja continued to converse mentally. He didn't want to take any risks in Quackerjack overhearing anything he shouldn't, no matter how out-of-it he seemed.

<<Daylight... wide open area... not exactly Cold Shadow's style. But when I received the tip that he had been spotted here I couldn't waste even a moment.>> He explained to the young girl telepathically, even though she hadn't inquired. Of course, it could have just been his wandering mind accidentally relaying his own thoughts, as he had done in the past, though it didn't matter either way.

Even though Dreamchild had bound him with his own bizarre silly string, Cold Shadow wanted to take the safe route and make sure he was secured by a substance in which he actually knew what it was. For all he knew that silly string could completely dissolve somewhere down the road, and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Kneeling over the zonked-out clown scoundrel, Cold Shadow removed a length of cord from an inner pocket on his ninja costume. He would bind Quackerjack (nice and snug, no less; unlike the more thoughtful Alice) and hand-deliver him to the DPD. He would have have preferred to bring him to the ECPD, for the prospect of interrogating him as Maui Mallard was an entertaining notion, but there was no way he was going to take the risk in hauling such a dangerous criminal all the way to another city.

[Dreamchild]

Alice failed at fighting back a smile. She even covered her mouth and giggled when she stared at the 'pretty' ninja long enough. But she quickly stopped and took on a more serious (mental) tone, when Cold Shadow explained himself. <<And I'm most certainly glad you did show up,>> she thought. <<Thank you for saving my life, Cold Shadow.>> She smiled warmly as she thought this.

She watched Cold Shadow tie up Quackerjack more thoroughly than her. <<I'm supposed to be on a field trip now. I would help you, but I don't know how I could without being seen. I don't have my costume with me.>> She felt ashamed thinking that.

[Cold Shadow]

He chose to ignore her outburst of giggling. He could only imagine how silly he looked to her, though he wouldn't know the full extent of the silliness until he was safely back at home, where he could remove his blindfold. <<Thanks to you, as well. Maybe you knocked some sense into him with that blow... or what little sense he had left out.>>

Holstering his (glittery) wooden staff on his back, he scooped up the clown with an audible grunt, supporting his weight as he prepared to escort him to the eager hands of the Duckburg Police Department. "He could afford to lay off the banana cream pies." He said aloud under his breath. <<In any event, we were able to subdue a dangerous criminal and prevent him from harming anyone. All in a day's work for vigilante heroes, right? Take care, Alice. I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon.>>

After bidding his farewell, Cold Shadow quickly made his way to an area which wasn't quite so open. Being out in the open, during the day, was not something he enjoyed, as he had mentioned to Alice moments earlier. Nevermind the fact that a confetti-covered ninja carrying an unconscious jester was liable to attract some understandable attention.

"Look on the bright side, Quackerjack." He said with a huff as he carried his newest captive. "Maybe you and Mr. Banana Brain can be bunkmates."

[Dreamchild]

Alice, charmed by Cold Shadow's thankfulness, smiled as she listened to him (not vocally). She knew that the ninja could take care of everything from there, as long as the criminally insane Quackerjack was out cold. Alice waved to Cold Shadow as he departed with villain in two.

<<Good-bye, Mr. Shadow!>>

Alice, alone, approached her bag, picked it up, and ran off. Maybe she could find her class in time, before she gets in any more trouble...