A round of cheers interrupted the suspenseful moment. All attention was drawn to the stage at the front of the huge room.
"Phew!", said Bugs Pond (our hero!) to Dundee. "That was close! I wonder what event saved the day?"
Up on stage, a newcomer had arrived. He was wearing a bright red and yellow outfit, with a red cape. Bugs wasn't sure, but it looked like the newcomer was a ... a mouse? "Oh, man ... not ANOTHER little animal to share my scenes with!", moaned Bugs. "I'm gonna' punch my agent for letting this bit about multiple animal co-stars slip through contract negotiations."
"Mai Tai's for everybody!", shouted the mouse. More cheers, as the thirsty crowd quickly approached the bar to get their free Mai Tai. The newcomer glanced over at the twin hamsters, Erroll (aka: PEST Control) and Meryl, wondering who they were. "Hey, that chick's kinda' cute", thought the mouse.
Iggy, the Iguana, ran up on stage to greet his old friend. [Editor's note: Iggy, being well known in the reptilian world, had also made quite a name for himself as an ambassador of goodwill during that rat uprising in the UK. Iggy and the rat leader, Ben, had become good friends, thus enabling Iggy to gain fame in the rodent world.]
"Iggy!", shouted the newcomer. "How good to see you!"
"Hey, Mai Tee, what up dude?", responded Iggy. "What are you doing in these parts?"
"Just slummin'", grinned Mai Tee mouse. Iggy nodded his head in acknowledgement, as he, too, didn't normally frequent establishments in the depths of the sewer.
Iggy quickly explained the tense situation to his friend Mai Tee. Mai Tee surveyed the scene (Editor's note: Mai Tee's an engineer, too? What a coincidence! He should have something in common with Rear Admiral, who was also an engineer. Oh, wait ... RA is a railroad engineer. Never mind! This is so confusing ...).
Mai Tee quickly arrived at a game plan. He, like Bugs, had attended super-hero school, and had achieved the highest score possible in the course on quick game plan preparation.
He headed over towards Bugs Pond (our hero!) and Dundee, who were now surrounded by a mob of reptiles (currently sipping from their free Mai Tai's, high fiving, and slapping each other on the back). Apparently, free drinks have a tendency to reduce tension in large groups.
"Here I come to save the day!", yelled Mai Tee mouse as he approached Bugs and Dundee.
Muffy, still leaning on Gator King's strong arm, watched from afar. "Looks like Bugs gets more of the good scenes than Gator King", she thought. "Maybe I made a mistake by switching loyalties." After a pause to reflect, she thought, "But, I'll give up lead actress roll for a shot at becoming Queen of the Reptiles, anyday!"
With that thought in mind, she returned her focus to Gator King, and began stroking the scales at the base of his neck. Or, where his neck would be if he had one. Her mind wandered, as she daydreamed of his reptilian tounge [sic] ... |
