Rite Of Passage Part IV By Dark Helmet darkhelmet47@hotmail.com The room was dark except for one small light in the corner. The old man sat with his hand in front of Shirley's face. "Just let your memories go blank. I was never here. You never saw me in your house. I am just the same old man you have seen around Acme Acres," the old man said in a soft voice to Shirley the Loon. Shirley had entered a hypnotic state. Her eyes had turned to black spirals, her expression was blank and she was staring straight ahead and not blinking. She nodded after everything the man said. "Excellent. In five minutes I want you to wake up. I'll be seeing you soon Shirley." He then stood up and walked out of the room leaving the dazed Shirley alone. "I just remembered something," Shirley's mother said to him. "Couldn't you hypnotizing her be interference?" Mrs. Loon flashed a smug smile at the elderly gentleman after saying what she believed was a good point. "Not at all. I knew before I came into the house that the second Marshall saw me he would leave the house without me doing anything. I didn't force him to leave. It is just like purposely separating them is not interference because it only changes an unfortunate sidebar to Shirley and Marshall's rite of passage and not the central process. I know the consequences for interference. You do too, don't you?" Mrs. Loon's smile disappeared and she nodded in acknowledgement. "Excellent. I'll be going now. She should be down in a few minutes without any recollection of me being here. Next time I shouldn't have to come in here and do for you what you should already do yourself." He then stepped out the door and walked away from the suburban house. Mrs. Loon's face started to turn dark red."Center yourself honey," her adoring husband told her. He then walked over and placed his arm around her. "Look, I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but I was thinking maybe we should listen to him." Mrs. Loon forcefully pushed him away and gave him a frigid glare. "Are you insane?" she shrieked at him. "Hey! When Marshall first got here and started coming to our door disguised as a police officer among the other strange things he did you weren't his biggest fan, either." "That was different. That was when I had no idea what the story with him was. If you could take one second to read you daughter's mind you would know that somewhere in there he is starting to mean something to her and I won't take that away from Shirley!" She then stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Mr. Loon sighed and turned around to see his teenage daughter walking down the stairs with a confused look on her face. "Like what is all the screaming about?" Shirley inquired as she stepped off the stairs and into the kitchen. Her father walked over to her and quickly assured her that it was nothing. Shirley looked at him with a suspicious expression on her face but she didn't ask any more questions before she returned to bed. Back at the Acme Hotel Marshall started to organize a large group of papers spread across his bed. He muttered to himself as he placed them in different piles. Each one reminded him of the time he had spent with the different toons. "That should be good," he said as he placed the last few crumpled pieces of paper into a stack. "I think I owe this to Shirley. After all, she is the first case where the toon might actually care what I think I know." He then placed them all into an enormous envelope and walked out of his room, down the red-carpeted stairs and onto the cold and dirty streets of downtown Acme Acres. "Hold it right there!" a familiar voice called to Marshall as he walked in the direction of Shirley's home. Marshall looked down and spotted a very angry looking green duck standing right in front of him and blocking his path. Marshall's face changed to his usual smirk as he prepared to speak with Plucky. "How did that love potion work out for you?" Marshall asked as he resisted the urge to laugh. Plucky's frown grew larger and his face started to change color. "You know perfectly well how it worked out!" Plucky shouted. "You may think you're funny now, but you just wait. Nobody messes with the star of Tiny Toon Adventures!" "I didn't do anything to Buster or Babs," Marshall interjected. "I'll get you back bub!" Plucky declared. Marshall didn't even pretend to look afraid. "You can't outsmart me again!" As Marshall's eyes glazed over at the sound of Plucky's threats he noticed an open manhole over right next to the sidewalk the two were standing on. The tall tern pointed to the side and Plucky looked over. Marshall extended one arm, shoved the duck into the sewer and continued walking. After dropping Plucky in the sludge Marshall continued his walk that now lead him past Acme Mart Groceries, a gigantic store with two clear sliding doors at the entrance. As he stepped by this store a large ringing sound was emitted and red flashing lights shone on him. "Congratulations!" a tall man in a plaid suit wearing a goofy smile exclaimed as he ran outside. A large entourage of toons all with goofy smiles accompanied him. Many were carrying balloons or throwing confetti and each one was looking directly at him. "Are they giving out free samples of Prozac or something in there? All of you should not be smiling this much," Marshall commented as he looked more closely at one of them," or this wide. What exactly are you very strange people doing and why does it involve standing in front of me?" "You're our one millionth passer by!" the plaid clad man bellowed. "You've won this lifetime supply of salmon – flavored dental floss! We just need for you to come inside and fill out the paperwork to claim your prize. That should only take three or four hours." Marshall raised one eyebrow at this person and tried to walk forward to get away from this mob but there were now hundreds of people on each side. His first impulse was to teleport out of there. The blue light that accompanied his teleportation started, but quickly faded and made a sound like the sputtering of an engine. He tried it again but this time absolutely nothing happened. Marshall quickly thought of another way out, "Sorry! I don't have time for this!" he called from the air. Marshall was now flying a few feet about the crowd. He then darted off continuing in the direction of Shirley's house. "I'm lucky flying isn't a psychic power or I'd be in trouble right now. Up here at least I'm safe." Just as he said this Marshall crashed into the side of a towering oak tree. He was flattened by the impact and he fell straight to the ground in a circular shape. Marshall returned himself to his original shape and then took stock of his surroundings. He could see below him was a great deal of trash. He looked up and saw a dirty, green, metal lid above his head. He had landed in a dumpster. "This has got to be the single worst trip I have ever taken in my life. If one more bad things happens I'll just go home for tonight because this is ridiculous." Just as he said this he heard a sound that resembled a door swinging open. Marshall gazed over the side to see what the sound was and he quickly noticed that the ground below the dumpster had opened up. Just he saw the hole he thought about what a terrible twist this was on an old cartoon cliché. The dumpster then descended and landed in the sewers, creating a large splash and covering Marshall in terrible smelling green liquid. Without saying another word he flew out of there. As he exited he noticed Plucky near the entrance. "Hey Duck! It's been half an hour! Why are you still down here? Are you looking for a turtle you lost as a child or something?" Plucky didn't say anything but did stop walking and started flying as he noticed Marshall was doing it. Later back at the Hotel room Marshall finally thought of a way to get the documents to Shirley without putting his life at risk. To his amazement the documents had not become dirty or damaged in any way despite what Marshall had just gone through. Marshall stopped and marveled at this for a moment before picking up the phone. "Acme Delivery? I need to send a package." As soon as he said this Marshall heard a knock at his hotel room door. He opened it to see Beeper standing before him. Marshall passed over the papers to Beeper's outstretched tongue and the red roadrunner was off like a shot towards Shirley's house. "What is all this stuff? And why does it smell so bad?" Shirley asked herself as she took the papers from Beeper. She then handed over a couple of dollar bills and thought to herself how it must be from Marshall because nobody else would send it postage due. She ran right up to her room and started searching through the contents. Inside she found a list labeled "symptoms" that described what is happening to the people and how many it happened it. There was also a list of theories. "I totally hate to admit it," Shirley said as she kept looking through the papers," but Marshall has done his homework." She then reached the specific cases. There were twelve of them in total. She read over each one carefully hoping to find one that even sounded a little like her, but all she found was that each one of them was very different. One file was different because the writing was much smaller and there was a small mustache that it looked like somebody had drawn in pen over the girl's picture. Shirley finally finished after another fifteen minutes had elapsed. "I wonder why he just didn't bring this stuff by himself," Shirley thought to herself after finishing up. "I would have liked to go over it with him or some junk. "I didn't bring it over myself because things just kept trying to flatten me along the way," Marshall's voice said. A very surprised Shirley took a look around the room to see if he had come in without her knowing but he was not there. "Oh by the way, you're hearing me in your mind." "What are you talking about? Stop hiding! You're totally freaking me out!" Shirley said. "Where could he be?" she thought. "I just told you. You're hearing me in your mind. And before you point it out I know neither of us could telepathically speak before." Shirley stopped and looked around her room for a few more seconds before she finally accepted that he was telling her the truth. "How are you doing this?" she asked him. "I don't have a clue. For the last fifteen minutes I've been jumping from brain to brain with no control. I guess I just lucked out now." "Speak for yourself," Shirley answered. "I do not want anybody tuning into my thoughts." "Well I can't help it. Besides I would guess that we could have a two-way conversation like this then you could be mind hopping any minute now. You know what…" he started to think right before Shirley's mind was filled with what sounded like static from a television and she couldn't hear him. Between spurts of white noise Shirley thought she heard Marshall think goodbye, but she wasn't sure. "I couldn't come up with anything more boring if I tried," said the next voice Shirley heard. She recognized it as Daffy's. "Elmer has gone on for two hours now about the school and teaching. This is cruel and unusual punishment. I wish I knew how to sleep with my eyes open during these stupid meetings like Bugs does." Shirley chuckled a little at hearing another teacher complaining about the boring droning of Professor Fudd just like a student would. Over the next half an hour Shirley uncontrollably entered several different minds. She tapped into was Elmyra, but the only thing she could pick up on was the image of tumbleweed moving across a desert and a hamster running in a wheel. "I totally do not think this is the most interesting mind to look at," Shirley said to herself as she was connected to Elmyra's brain for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only about three minutes. After the connections finally came to a halt the rest of the night passed peacefully for both Marshall and Shirley. However things were a little different the following day at Acme Looniversity. "This morning was a total disaster!" Shirley said as she sat down between Fifi and Buster at the start of lunch. "I haven't been able to hear a single word anybody has said to me all morning. All I keep hearing is what people are thinking." "Ze problem you talked about last night has returned?" A concerned Fifi asked. "Like oui Fifi. I'm getting a major headache from all the clutter from other people's brains in my mind. It seems to have stopped right now, but when I'm in sitting in a classroom it messes with my mind big time." "Try to be around those of us who don't think too much," Buster suggested. "Sitting at the same table as Plucky was a good start." Shirley laughed a little despite how Plucky did not look very amused at this comment. "This is serious. My next class is Daffy's and he already thinks I'm a little strange," Shirley explained. "He isn't the only one," Plucky commented under his breath. "I totally don't think he wants me in his class after that time I accidentally zapped him. If I can't hear a single thing he is saying that will be an excuse for him to kick me out of his class." "Don't worry mon ami," Fifi assured her. "I'll help vous." "Of course you will. After all, why would Shirley want my help? Why would she even talk to me?" Babs thought to herself. Just as she thought this Shirley tuned into Babs' mind. The loon was more than a little surprised to hear Babs think this. Her mouth turned down a little but she didn't say anything. The bell rang in an empty classroom and seconds later the seats were all full with the thirty or so students in Daffy's class. Shirley and Fifi sat next to each other and started to discuss how they were going to make this plan work. "What's your brilliant idea?" Shirley asked the purple skunk. "It iz simple. I'll just pass you notes about what he iz saying," Fifi explained. Shirley thought it seemed simple enough and stared at the front of the classroom as if she was paying attention to what Daffy was saying. Surely enough as soon as Daffy started to say something Shirley's mind immediately tuned into the thoughts of others as if their brainwaves were radio stations. "I see that the Loon showed up today," Daffy thought. "I hoped that after what happened at the dance she could take at least one day off. Who knows who she might fry next?" Shirley frowned when she perceived this thought. Soon after she heard that clearly and distinctly the thoughts of the rest of the room started to pick up. Three minutes later Shirley's head was filled with a mind – boggling mass of voices and sounds. She still stared blankly at the front of the room trying to appear like she was listening. "This should help vous," Fifi said as she passed a piece of paper over to Shirley. Shirley looked down and forced herself to read it despite all of the other sounds and thoughts that were distracting her. Minutes later Fifi handed over another piece of paper but this time Daffy spotted her. "No passing notes in my classroom!" Daffy declared. Shirley couldn't hear him say it but she could tell by the angry look on his face as Daffy approached the back of the room that he saw the note. The professor quickly grabbed all papers off the desks of both of them, said something incoherently while spitting all over the two, and then he walked back up to the front of the room. Daffy verbally explained a cartoon scenario and then looked carefully around the room. "Who can tell me what should happen next… Shirley?" Shirley couldn't hear this but she noticed Daffy and most of the rest of the class staring at her as if waiting for an answer after a few seconds. The loon immediately turned her head and looked at Fifi for an answer. Fifi started to try and make some subtle signals with her hands to tell Shirley the answer. After trying to figure out what the skunk was doing Shirley just threw her arms straight up in the air in frustration. "That's correct!" Daffy said in an astonished tone. Shirley actually managed to hear that part. "The answer is Plucky would score the touchdown and then get tackled by seven three hundred pound players on the other team. Most people wouldn't have given me the answer in the form of a hand signal, though." Minutes after this exchange the thoughts from others slipping into Shirley's head slowed down and then finally stopped completely. "Fifi," Shirley whispered to the seat next to her. "I think the telepathy has finally stopped. I can actually hear talking again." "I can hear talking too," Daffy stated from the front of the room. "I'll see you two after school for interrupting my class for the millionth time!" Both of them sighed but neither one bothered to argue. Three o'clock came and Fifi and Shirley sat in the detention room along with a few other scattered students including Monty and Fowlmouth. The detention period passed like the flow of molasses. After the longest fifteen minutes of their lives Fifi and Shirley could hear a noise next to the window. Both leaned closer and looked outside to see Marshall ducking next to the window. "What are you doing out there?" Shirley asked. "Come on, you didn't think I would let two of my favorite toons sit in detention all afternoon, did you? Give me three seconds and I'll distract Daffy enough to get you two out of here." "I appreciate it but enough with the false flattery," Shirley said. Marshall shrugged and ran inside. "Hey. I'm thinking about transferring to this school and I want to know if the detention facilities are adequate to meet my disciplinary needs," Marshall said in a very sincere voice. "Tell me…" Marshall then stopped and looked at Daffy closely for a second. "No, you can't be. Are you * the * Daffy Duck?" "Of course I am! How could you mistake me for anybody else?" "Well, I've always been a huge fan of your and I was wondering if you could sign this picture for me." Marshall then handed a picture of Daffy over and provided him with a pen. Daffy started to try to sign but nothing was appearing on the page. He kept trying repeatedly as Shirley, Fifi and the rest of the detention room managed to quietly slip out the door. Marshall glanced back at the room and saw it was now empty. "Sorry, guess that pen isn't working. Of course it would help if it wasn't full of invisible ink." Marshall then bolted out of the room while Daffy tried to figure out what just happened. "Well, I have to go ladies, but I must say that angering teachers at your school is just as fun now as when I did it the first time," Marshall said as they all walked out of the school. He then flew off. "I am totally relieved to be out of there," Shirley said as she stepped out the door. "Slow down mon ami. Why are vous in such a hurry?" Fifi asked. "I just want to hurry and get home. My head is in mondo pain from all this telepathy." "Are vous sure? You wouldn't be following him would vous?" "No way!" "If I were vous I would go for him," Fifi stated. "Before you had Hamton you would chase down even totally gross guys. Sorry but I won't go for him." The two then said goodbye and Shirley headed home and went to sleep despite the massive pain in her head. Marshall walked back through the revolving doors of the hotel and he started to walk up the winding stairs before he heard a voice beckoning him to stop. He turned around and saw the female desk clerk calling him back down. As he stepped in front of the small wooden desk Marshall raised his hands out of habit and tried to perform mind control. After a few seconds it was clear nothing was happening. "Mr. Snow, what are you doing?" the clerk asked. "Uh… I was just looking at your face from different angles while using my hands to… more closely examine your bone structure. Yeah, she'll buy that. Have you ever considered being a model?" Marshall asked in a pathetic attempt to cover what he was attempting to do. "Mr. Snow, you have not paid us for today. Checkout time is at noon, but you weren't here. Seeing as how you have been with us so very long I was able to convince the manager not to throw your stuff out the window and give you another chance to pay for a few more nights. So sugar, are you checking out or will you be staying' a few more nights?" the clerk bubbled. "Well, I was planning to stay a little longer. I actually originally only planned to come for a week. Now it feels like I may never leave. Listen, I am kind of in Acme Acres on business and staying much longer than I thought has drained my finances a little. I was wondering if you could just let the money slide for a couple of days while I get things in order." "Sorry Hon, but we used to have somebody here who played favorites with guests he thought were cute. As soon as our manager found out Plucky was fired like that." Seconds later Marshall was booted out the front door with his belongings landing on his head shortly after. "Okay, now I'm having fun!" Marshall shouted sarcastically. Several hours passed before Shirley arose. She glanced over to the clock on her wall. It was 1 AM and her room was filled with an eerie silence. She had been sleeping since a little after four that afternoon. After several failed attempts to fall back asleep she headed to the bottom floor of her home. To her great surprise Shirley saw a light on even though it was the middle of the night. Shirley looked over at the kitchen table to see her mother sitting alone with her crystal ball sitting on top of the plaid tablecloth. "Mom," Shirley asked. "What are you doing awake." "Just thinking," her mother replied. "About what? I thought I was the one that had all of this freaky stuff on her mind to keep her awake at night." "I can't just sit back and relax while you're going through this. How could any mother just watch her daughter in a situation like this?" Shirley felt a little a little reassured after her mother voiced her concern. Shirley then took a good look into the middle – aged loon's eyes and she could easily notice a note of anxiety behind the forced smile she now wore. As she looked ahead Shirley suddenly heard the sound of static entering her mind again. Within seconds she had tuned into a mind. It was her mother's mind. Shirley didn't say anything as she sat back for a second and listened to her thoughts. "I wonder what Shirley will do if she can't pass… oh, I shouldn't think so pessimistically. She should be fine. I hope. Maybe her father has the right idea in keeping the connection down? I don't know what to believe…" Shirley's mother thought. "If she fails though, I don't know how she'll adjust. If she can't get through this she'll lose her powers forever, and that scares me probably as much as it would her if she only knew." The connection between the minds immediately shut down and Shirley's jaw dropped to the floor. "What is it dear?" her mother asked out loud. Shirley didn't saw another word. She stood up and started breathing very quickly. Shirley couldn't force herself to say a word. She was practically hyperventilating now. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth just hung open. Before her mother really knew what was going on Shirley turned and ran as fast as she could out the door. Shirley just dashed down the cold and dark streets as fast as she could with no destination. She was now completely panicked. She continued to breathe very heavily and her arms and legs were trembling. The shock of what she had just heard was more than she could take right now. After ten minutes of aimless and distressed running through otherwise peaceful suburban Acme Acres Shirley found herself in the park where she finally stopped running. She caught her breath and stood still for a second. She could hear a close-by thumping sound like something pounding against the ground. Shirley walked through a row of bushes to the other side of the park where the basketball nets were located. The distraught toon took a look and despite the darkness she could make out a tall figure playing basketball alone. Shirley walked a little closer and tried to make out the figure. "Looney? What are you doing wandering around in the middle of the night?" the person asked. Shirley recognized the voice as Marshall's. The second she realized it was him she darted over and embraced him. "I didn't hear it right! I couldn't have! This can't be happening!" Shirley yelled as she continued to hold Marshall. "What are you talking about?" he asked in a very concerned tone. "My mother… I heard her…" Shirley said in a tremulous voice through the tears that were now coming out. "You have to help me!" "Shirley, I can't exactly do anything to help you if you don't calm down and tell me what's going on. I must say though you have me completely and utterly terrified." Shirley then stepped back from Marshall and tried to collect herself for a second. Right after taking a deep breath Shirley said "I heard my mother say that if he don't get through this then we lose our powers permanently." Marshall's mouth dropped open and he sighed loudly. "You're kidding right? You just want to scare me or something, right? Please tell me that's what it is Looney. It's okay; I can take a joke," the tern said weakly. He took another look at Shirley's face and he knew that she wasn't kidding. For a second there he felt like reacting just like Shirley was doing by crying and running but he stopped himself. He didn't ask how she was sure that was what her mother was thinking about; he could just tell that she was right. "It'll be okay Looney," he assured her. Shirley stared back at him in disbelief. "You don't know that! And what happens if we do lose our powers? If I lose mine what do I have left?" Shirley asked as she took a step back from Marshall. "What are you talking about? It isn't like your powers are the only thing about you. You have lots of great things about you. Me on the other hand…" "You don't get it," she said. "What do I have left on Tiny Toons? Babs is the wacky one and Fifi is supposed to be the romantic one. Babs has her wacky impressions and spin changes and Fifi has her scent. All I'll have is my totally strange voice. The only cartoons I'll be cast in will be ones where they need Plucky to have a date! Besides all that they are a part of who I am! They practically are who I am! I don't know what I would do without them. My powers mean more to me than just all I can do with them." "I'm sorry. I never knew how important they were to you. But you can't really believe that they are most of who you are. If that were true then why do you have so many friends and fans? It isn't just because you look so great. Sorry, that was bad timing. Anyway, to finish that thought, just because the writers don't appreciate you so you think you'll lose any purpose on Tiny Toons doesn't mean a thing," Marshall told her as he stepped closer to her. "Of course that doesn't mean we aren't going to do everything we can to stop this from happening. Of course it would help if we knew what we were up against, but we'll find out. It may not mean anything but I would gladly give up my powers so you could keep yours." Shirley's mouth turned up a little at that last statement. She wiped a couple of the tears from her eyes and attempted to force a smile. Marshall did manage to tack a smile on his face but only to make her feel a little better. "Thank you," Shirley whispered. The two toons looked closely at one another for a few more seconds with each one waiting for the other to do something. Shirley felt her beak drifting a little closer to his. For one final second she thought inside that this was not the guy she wanted to be involved with right now. Up until recently she had hardly even considered him her friend. Still, between the warm glow of the moon and how abnormally sensitive he was being she was finding it harder and harder to still think of him as the sarcastic stalker that had wandered into Acme Acres a month ago. Finally, on this clear night in Acme Acres, she accepted that her feelings for him had changed. She stopped resisting letting her beak drift over to his. The two kissed for a few seconds, and for that moment they both could forget about the terrible problem that they were confronted with. "That should count as our first kiss," Marshall said. "We actually mean this one." "I should have known you would say something to ruin the moment," Shirley said jokingly. She then took a step back from him and picked up Marshall's basketball. "So like what are you doing playing basketball by yourself in the middle of the night?" "I can't sleep." "Do you have too much on your mind or something?" "No. I mean I can't let myself sleep. Because of our little problem here I can't use mind control right now so I can't stay at the Acme Hotel. I fell asleep standing up last night and of course I couldn't help but sleepwalk. As far as I can tell I walked all over the place. I woke up for a second as I was talking through a hospital room, and again as I nearly stepped onto a plane at the airport. Who knows where I might end up next? I don't want to take the risk without a place with locks to stop me form taking a trip. I needed to kill some time until there was something to do and this was all I could come up with so far." Just as Shirley was about to say something both of them heard a loud rustling in the line of dark green bushes behind them but much further down the row. "I think somebody's there. Get down." The two both dropped to the moist ground and sat leaned up against the foliage and listened. They could hear footsteps approaching. As the footsteps passed by them Marshall slowly stood up and took a look at who was walking by. He immediately recognized the person as the sinister looking old man he had seen around Acme Acres. Just as Marshall looked at him the elderly person turned around and stared back. "Kinda late for you to be running around isn't it? You should just haul up your wires and pass to somewhere else. It isn't like you to just stick to the ground is it?" the old man said as he faked senility. "What were you doing at the Acme Dance?" Marshall yelled in a very angry tone. "Dance? Sorry I don't know how." "Don't you dare play dumb with me!" Marshall shouted. Shirley stood up and tried to calm him down a little. "You two should be careful in this park," he instructed. "After all the roots aren't secure in the trees or in others." "You're doing it again! Start making sense already! I want some answers!" Marshall shouted. "Marshall, I think maybe you should lay off a little. We don't even know if this guy knows anything." "Why don't we find out?" Marshall asked. "Just stop!" Shirley ordered him. Marshall immediately took a large step back from him. He then turned to look at Shirley for a second out of surprise for how angry her tone had been. Shirley appeared somewhat surprised with herself also. After taking a second to absorb the surprise both of them turned to the old man. As they faced him Marshall and Shirley could hear the sound of static in their heads. Both of their minds were trying to connect with the old man's thoughts at the same time. They heard one or two scattered sounds before their minds were flooded with an ear shattering ring. They dropped to the ground in pain. "No two amateurs are going to get into my head," the man said as he walked away. Neither one of them could hear this person finally talk normally as the sound still resonated in their heads. "Where have you been?" Shirley's mother asked her as she walked in the door around three. "I was just taking a walk," Shirley lied. Before her mother could ask anything more Shirley headed upstairs and tried to fall asleep again. "I don't even know why I asked," Mrs. Loon said to herself. "I just read her mind for one second and I found out where she was." The following afternoon while Shirley was at school and thankfully telepathy – free for the moment, the old man was at the Loon household speaking with both of Shirley's parents. "Did you happen to find out where Shirley was in the middle if the night?" he asked. "Just in case you didn't check she was at the park seeing Marshall. From what I read in her mind she found out what happens if this doesn't turn out well for her. Now how could she have come across this information?" He then stared coldly at Shirley's mother. "How could you have been so careless with your thoughts? You should have easily been able to tell that she is in the phase where mind reading goes out of control. Imagine what else she could have learned! Part of this rite of passage is that the toon going through it cannot know what is happening or that could change the results. What you did borders on interference and I could fail Shirley right now!" "Look, I'm sure she didn't mean to interfere," Mr. Loon said. "After all, she would never do something so ignorant as interfering and ruining everything for Shirley." "It may not matter if she does now actually," the old man stated. "After what I witnessed and sensed last night Shirley and Marshall both might be on the verge of failing." "What?" exclaimed Shirley's mother. "Both of them are on the threshold of emotional breakdown and they aren't even at the toughest part of this test yet. Being able to handle the difficulties of the rite emotionally as well as physically is part of the test. If they can't handle this how will they handle what is given to them if they pass? My guess would be that the emotional problems wouldn't be so bad if they weren't becoming linked. There is still time to disconnect the two. Mr. Loon, you did an excellent job the other day when you set all those traps for Marshall when he was attempting to see Shirley. Mrs. Loon, your opposition to this is still very discouraging. You still seem to think that Shirley could be happier with Marshall being around. Open up your eyes! His presence in Acme Acres is doing her more harm then good!" Mrs. Loon took a sip of decaffeinated coffee and returned to fighting with him. "I know she is starting to really like him. I don't want to take that away from him. Besides, I know what happens if a connected psychic passes the rite and the extra benefit makes up for the added challenge. I think Shirley is strong enough to handle this." "Mr. Loon, try and talk some sense into your wife. Even if you can't successfully keep them apart since I know neither of you can use mind control there could be one more chance for them to become naturally separated. Soon they could be entering another one of the emotional phases of this. It is one that Marshall is very familiar with from a previous experience. That could do some damage to any friendship, but especially when you consider this." He then handed over an issue of Acme Geographic. It was an article on the Arctic tern. "Read the part about how terns are nomadic by nature. It is affected him before and it could again. Unfortunately by the time any of this kicks in it may be too late so please keep up the effort. I wish I had the time to help with this." He then stood up and walked out of the house. "Greetings Looney and company," Marshall said to a group of toons walking out of Acme Loo that included Babs, Shirley, Fifi, Buster and Hamton. "Hey Marshall," Babs said politely. "I suppose you and Shirley probably want to talk about something again like usual by yourselves." "Sorry, but you're right. It is kind of important, and we would either bore or scare you if you listened in," Marshall explained. "I'm sure Shirley could fill you in later if you really need to know." "Maybe if my name were Fifi she would fill me in," Babs thought to herself. "Like see you all later," Shirley said as she walked off with Marshall. "I thought she was weird before," Babs commented to Fifi. "Now she's a strange loon that keeps secrets from her friends." The two walked closely to each other as they headed for the Acme Acres Park. As they sat down next to each other on a park bench Marshall flashed Shirley an adoring grin and Shirley responded with a smile. After they stopped looking at each other Marshall pulled a soda can out the side pocket on his dark grey cargo pants. "Who needs sleep when you have Bolt Cola? Four times as much caffeine as Acme Cola can easily replace the need to sleep." Marshall then pulled the tab and took a long drink of the pop. "Anyway, it's time to get to something more relevant. After the way he blocked our telepathy last night we can figure out he's psychic, as if there was any doubt before. Actually, considering how long that headache lasted after he activated the emergency broadcast system in our brains he's probably a pretty powerful one. If I'm right about that then he could see us coming if we tried to sneak up on him, but somehow we have to corner him so he has to talk. This brings me to my plan." He then whispered something in Shirley's ear. "Marshall, I don't want to do all that just to make him talk," Shirley protested after hearing his idea. "Besides, don't you think a couple of parts of your plan are totally mean?" Shirley asked as her voice became noticeably more irritated by the end of the sentence. "Well excuse me! I didn't know that we couldn't do anything just a little crazy for something as small as this unknown force that could change our lives for the worse permanently!" Marshall said in a slightly upset tone. He then stopped for a second and considered what he just said to the now visibly upset Shirley. "What the Hell am I saying? Sorry Looney, I didn't mean to talk like that." "Neither did I. I have no idea what made me say that." "Oh well, I guess we'll deal with that later after a few more pressing issues are dealt with. As I was going to say before, I can't be the only one involved. Besides, what is more important? Learning about what is happening to us or protecting a person whose stalking makes mine look almost pleasant?" Shirley sighed loudly and responded with," I still don't like it, but I guess I have to go along with it." "Great. I'll go talk to Calamity Coyote and we'll start setting up." "Now remember Elmyra," Marshall said as he duct taped a small video camera to Elmyra's left ear," just follow the man in the picture around but make sure he doesn't see you. If he gets near the school then pretend he is like one of your pets and use that deadly grip Buster and Babs are so petrified of. Once you've got him just stand on the stairs of the school and we'll do the rest. If you do it right you'll get a shiny new pet." "Okay cutey wutie birdie head," Elmyra answered. Marshall rolled his eyes." I have just one question; can he see me after I start hugging and squeezing him?" "Yeah, that's fine. He just can't know you're following him around, okay?" "Okay. Am I allowed to see him?" "First of all, that's more than one question. Second of all… how can I put this delicately? Of course you can you walking shoe!" "But that isn't fair. How can he win this game if I can look at him but he can't look at me?" "You both win if you can catch him. Somehow I think that he stands a good chance of getting away even if he doesn't know you're there judging by how smart you are, Elmyra." "Thanks biridie man. Why don't I just take you home as a pet instead? You're soooo cute!" Elmyra stated. She reached her arms out and was about to clasp Marshall when he reached his arm out and gave Elmyra a push in the direction she was supposed to be walking in. "Get going or you'll never get your new pet!" As soon as she had walked off he pulled a small television out of his pocket that was hooked up to the camera taped to Elmyra and he started to watch. "It's a good thing we could get Elmyra to go for this plan; with her brain I don't even think that old man could read her mind so she can at least sneak up on him." Marshall sat next to Shirley and stared into the monitor while still in the park. Three hours after the search started Marshall yawned loudly and Shirley was starting to nod off as he watched Elmyra approach somebody and take a closer look. "Hey, the ditz might have finally found him." "You look pretty old," Elmyra said as she looked at the figure. "Eh kid. It's not good to tell your principal he looks old," Bugs said as he turned around. Elmyra walked away from Bugs and resumed the search again leaving the very bored Marshall wondering how he got stuck relying on this particular toon to make his plan work. Two more hours went by at a snail's pace and Marshall was starting to nod off as he continued to watch the small monitor. Finally, just as he was about to slip out of consciousness, He could finally see the target on the screen. "It's about time she found him. Now let's see if the insane girl with the IQ of a cheese log can actually figure out that this is who she is looking for," Marshall said to himself. Elmyra looked very closely at the person from behind and she managed to sneak in front of him for a second to check the face. She then stared at the picture of the old man Marshall had given her and after a few minutes it clicked with Elmyra that this was the person. She started to walk behind him. Several minutes passed and the aged man had walked into a busy intersection. The walk light came on and he sped across at a pace that defied his age. Elmyra stepped out from behind a fire hydrant she had ducked behind to avoid being seen and she too started to walk across the intersection. As she took one step into the street the walk light disappeared and it became a stop sign. Elmyra ignored this and kept walking. Within seconds a car struck her and she became as flat as a pancake. As Elmyra was attempting to return to normal the light cycled back to normal. When she was full again Elmyra stood up and started to walk only to have the light change back to stop and she was once again struck by a car. This cycle repeated for several minutes, but luckily enough the camera miraculously remained undamaged. When Elmyra finally made it across the street the old man walked up to her. "Are you alright? You were just hit by ten cars or so," he said. Elmyra took a look at him, and then she pulled the picture out in plain sight and she compared the two side by side. Another few seconds passed and Elmyra once again realized this was the person she was looking for. The gothic keeper of animals jumped into a mailbox as soon as she realized who it was she was looking at. "And of course he would have to spot her," Marshall said as he watched the events unfold on his monitor. "Hey looney, you might want to wake up. Our plan is falling apart as we speak. Don't miss the fun." "Just what are you doing?" the peculiar male asked as he stuck his head in the mailbox. To see inside the old man forced his eyes to glow with a brilliant blue light using his powers. He took a look at Elmyra's face and the camera caught his eye. With a subtle movement of his arm the camera instantly shut off. "Now then. Why did you jump in this mailbox when you saw me?" "I can't tell you. You're not supposed to see me or I don't get my shiny new pet." Seeing that this was getting him nowhere the man attempted to read Elmyra's mind. "This is odd. I am not picking up any activity in there. Are you sure you're alive?" "Uh… I think I am. I was told by this tall birdie to make you go near the school but not to let you see me… oops!" "Oh, I won't spoil the fun. Come on, let's go to the school," he said in a sinister voice and with a devilish grin now plastered on his face. "No! The battery must have gone dead!" Marshall grumbled in frustration as the picture on his small monitor went dead. He smacked it on the side repeatedly and flicked the power switch on and off several times but the picture did not come back. "I just hope he didn't suspect anything before that idiot jumped in the box." Several minutes passed without the image being restored to the screen. Just as Marshall stood up to leave and give up on the plan for right now, the screen lit up again. He saw Elmyra walking up behind the old man right on the stairs of Acme Looniversity. "Here we go!" Marshall shouted with glee. He started to nudge Shirley's shoulder to wake her up, but that didn't work so he pulled out a large bucket of water and dumped it over her head. "Get up! He's there!" "Like you didn't have to do that!" Shirley said as she stood up and started to drip water all over the ground. "Oh please, the wet look is good on you," Marshall said jokingly. "Besides, I needed something fast. Now come on or he could get away." The two stood up and started running in the direction of Acme Acres. "This would be so much easier if you could fly," Marshall commented as the two continued to rush towards the Looniversity. When they were just before the beginning of school property the two ducked behind some foliage and watched for a second. Neither one of them noticed that as soon as they sat down the old man smirked like Marshall would and pointed at Elmyra. "Hello cute old man," Elmyra said as she walked up behind him and started to hug him. "What are you doing young lady?" He asked. "Wow, he can actually talk like a normal person," Marshall whispered to Shirley. As Elmyra kept her iron grip on the person Marshall began to search around his pockets for something. "Looks like certain animators forgot to draw in my remote control," Marshall said as he came up empty. Seconds later a very large pencil dropped down from the sky and sketched a remote control in Marshall's hand. "I guess it'll do." Marshall pushed the large red button located in the center and the ground right below the old man suddenly opened up and he fell in, taking Elmyra with him. The two sprung out of the bushes and ran inside the school. Once inside they raced down a flight of stairs and into the basement where the old man hand conveniently landed in a chair they had set up with automatic arm restraints. A helmet also lowered on top of his head. "I did what you said so where's my new pet?" Elmyra asked. "Is it that cute looney wooney over there?" "No she's my pet," Marshall whispered jokingly. "Let's see here… your pet is…" Marshall searched his pockets for something he could pass off as a pet. Finally he pulled out a rock he had with him for some unknown reason. "You can have this pet rock." "It's so cute! I'll love it and squeeze it and keep it forever!" Elmyra squealed with joy as she walked out of the school clutching a rock. "You see now how she was able to sneak up on you," Marshall said to the restrained old man. "There isn't a brainwave for you to pick up on." "Very clever kids. Since you're so smart, maybe you can tell me how you're going to stop me from just using my psychic powers to escape for your little trap." "See Shirley, I was right. To answer your question, with the help of self – proclaimed genius Calamity Coyote this chair you're in now was built. It detects psychic activity and as soon as it picks up on something it'll zap you for the longest ten seconds of your life." "Marshall, I totally don't want to go through with this!" Shirley protested. "This is practically torturing somebody. I thought you were more centered than this!" "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and needing to be dramatic desperately calls for a cliché I guess," he said. "It isn't like I'm the only one who's aura went a little out of whack when faced with a bad situation. Remember that party you, Babs and Fifi attended at Perfecto Prep? At the end you went nuts and flooded the place! You also made Plucky look like Einstein so he would leave you alone before a test. Before you ask how I know all this I've been watching some old episodes lately. I think this situation is a little more serious than those." "I have a totally bad feeling about this!" Shirley cried out. "I've got this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach like we shouldn't have done this! We should just stop now!" "You might want to listen to her," the old man advised. "After all, I influence your future more than you know." "It isn't like we're going to hurt him. I just want some answers." Marshall then turned towards the old man and started talking. "First question: what exactly is making our powers screw up?" Just as he opened his mouth to answer the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs filled the room. Shirley rushed up the stairs only to see that it was Plucky. "Plucky! What are you doing here?" Shirley asked as she looked at the green mallard standing halfway down the basement stairs. "I thought I saw you running in here. I'm not sure if you know this, but it's almost eight PM. In other words, you don't have to be at school." "Thanks for the advice. Now can you go please?" Shirley asked him. "I'm not leaving until I have you back!" Plucky declared dramatically. "Come on, Shirl, I'll bet you've just been waiting for your chance to have me back. Here it is!" "Fine, whatever Plucky," Shirley said as she was turned around and watching what Marshall was doing. "Great!" Exclaimed Plucky. He then ran out of the school jumping for joy and Shirley, not realizing what she had just done, walked back into the basement. "Has he said anything yet? I really want to hurry up and leave." Marshall didn't answer. He was now hunched halfway over. Shirley stepped out in front of him and she could she that he was struggling to keep his eyes open and to stand back up. "Marshall, what's going on with you?" "You can't stay awake on caffeine alone," the shackled old man said. "Just watch me," Marshall replied. He then tried to force himself up, but after a few seconds of struggling he fell to the ground and fell asleep. Seconds later, his body stood up. Shirley looked up and saw the blank expression on his face and the glazed over appearance of his eyes. He started to walk out of the basement. As he headed out Shirley stepped in front of him, grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Wake up! You can't leave me here to deal with this!" Shirley hollered at him. He pushed her aside without even looking down and walked up the stairs. "Don't worry about getting out of this little situation," the old man said. "I can escape any time I want. After all, Calamity Coyote built this machine." His hands released diminutive sparks for a seconds and the machine attached to his head suddenly exploded. He stood up, dusted himself off and started to walk out of the room. As he stepped on the stairs he turned around and said one more thing. "Shirley, it isn't your fault you are stuck with an idiot. Don't let him bring you down to his ignorant, loudmouth level." He then walked up the stairs while Shirley sat alone for a while and thought things over. Marshall was now walking around the streets in a deep stupor. He passed through several busy intersections, causing cars to break quickly, skid or turn quickly and crash as he stepped across the road. He walked through somebody's pool and barely kept his head above water as he did so. His walk eventually took him to the docks of Acme Acres where he started to head for a boat but it pulled away just before his foot hit the edge of it and he then fell into the water below. The sudden blast of cold woke him up. He looked forward and saw the boat pulling away and he felt a slight sense of relief that he didn't board it. This relieved sense was quickly replaced by a sense of disappointment after he remembered what has just gone on. "I was so close! How could I have let myself fall asleep like that?" "Those are two very inventive teenagers. Too bad they aren't emotionally mature or they could really be something someday," the old man commented as Mr. Loon opened the door. Before being invited he stepped in the door and sat down in the kitchen. "I think our best hope, although not the hope of your wife, might actually come through. One of the emotional stages is coming in. The needy stage is ending and the next one is beginning. You remember, don't you?" "Of course. The stage that can ruin somebody's relationship with their family or friends," Mr. Loon answered. "Exactly. Only this time there she'll probably have a different target." Shirley's mother walked into the room and saw that he was there. "I know what happened tonight. I was watching Shirley's mind," she said. "If those two had taken a couple of extra steps then you might have just been caught." "As much as I care about what you have to say I must be going now," he said. "I really haven't wanted to see your face since I was your decider so many years ago. Goodnight all." He then got up and left the house. "I can't wait for this whole thing to be over!" Mrs. Loon bellowed. "Why do you hate him so much? He hasn't done anything to you!" Mr. Loon said. "Like he said, years ago he was my decider. Imagine having that man watching you and analyzing you in his cold manner, deciding your future. He barely decided to let me pass. He doesn't care about the kids that go through this all the time. He doesn't care if they pass or fail or about how doing either might affect them! If he decides that he doesn't like Shirley he can decide that she failed the Rite of Passage and she will lose her powers and never reach the level of being a full psychic! The cosmos really dropped the ball when they chose this man as a decider! Of all of the hundreds of people that could have been sent to judge of Shirley is worthy of full powers they would have to send this jerk!" "I was lucky," Mr. Loon said. "You remember Shirley McVaine, Shirley's namesake and hero? Her mother was actually my decider. The whole family is pretty much like her as far as I can tell. She would pop in while I was going through this rite very often and she checked on how I was doing. I made it through all right and it only took about a month. How long did your rite take?" "Four of the longest months of my life. I was just become dependent on my powers for just about everything when it happened. I was actually helping my boyfriend at the time by welding something for him in shop with my finger when they failed for the first time." "Four months? That's insane. I couldn't have done it." "I had a friend back when I was in school who went through two years after I did and he suffered for six months before the same person that will decide Shirley's fate failed him for the same reason that Shirley might fail." "Take this!" Shirley's voice called as she threw a life preserver into the water. Marshall reluctantly grabbed on and let the Loon pull him out of the water. "I probably would have sat there all night thinking about how I screwed up," Marshall said as he was pulled back to land. "What else would I have to do?" "You're right, that was your fault," Shirley said. Marshall was shocked at what he heard her say and Shirley was more shocked with herself for saying it. "I don't know where that came from. I didn't mean that." "Trust me, I'll be beating myself up enough over this. I don't need your help to feel bad over messing up my own plan. Of course had I known the device Calamity built was going to explode I never would have tried it. I thought he was supposed to be some genius inventor." Shirley handed Marshall a towel and he started to dry himself off a little. "Even without the machine I didn't think that plan was going to work. I didn't want to be a part of it either. What were you thinking?" she asked. She then took a step back and turned away from him. "What am I saying? I totally don't mean to be so rude right now!" Marshall stared blankly for a second. All of the sudden his mouth opened a little and his face started to look slightly shocked."Oh no it's happening again," Marshall thought. "It can't be happening again!" He then walked up behind her and made her turn around. "Last night when you looked at my face you saw somebody you liked enough to share a kiss with. What do you see now?" Shirley took a long, hard look at the tern's face. "I just feel cosmically annoyed right now," Shirley said. Marshall's face became even more worried. "Listen, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Maybe we'll be both feel a little less irritable later on." He then took off. The following morning Shirley was on the way to Acme Loo when she stopped at International House of Soy for breakfast. Minutes after she sat down to eat Marshall came walking in and as soon as he noticed her he sat down right next to her in the corner booth she sat in. "Good morning," he said in a quiet voice. "How are you?" "Do you have to sit so close?" Shirley asked in an annoyed tone. "I'm not sitting close! Maybe you're just too edgy!" Both turned away from one another and wondered what they had just said. They both knew this was not what they wanted to say but they could not help but feel a little angry with the other. They turned back towards one another and both tried to force some nice remark to make up for what they just said. "Nice outfit Shirley… it isn't like you wore it yesterday or the day before or the day before that…" "That was a great plan you had yesterday," Shirley said. "Too bad it didn't work at all!" From across the restaurant the old man watched and listened. "They are entering the hate and anger phase now. I wonder if they realize that soon they won't be able to stand the other because of the same thing that is messing up their powers. They aren't connected fully yet, so the timing could not be more perfect. It looks like Shirley might stand a fighting chance to keep her powers after all." "I don't see you coming up with any ideas! I've been doing this for over a year now so I think I have a better idea of what to do than you! You're powers have been failing for what, a couple of months? Mine have been going for well over a year and I don't complain half as much as you do! Why don't you either come up with an idea of your own or shut up already!!!" Shirley threw her soy coffee in his face and stormed out of there. This time the anger and guilt of saying something mean to the other was not followed by the guilt of before. Marshall rushed out of IHOS in the direction of the school. "Hello my dear," Plucky said as he walked by Shirley in the hall. "I'll see you tonight." "Like what is he talking about?" Shirley asked as she walked up to Fifi. "It iz Plucky. Who ever knows what he iz talking about." Fifi looked at her friend and she could instantly notice the annoyed look on the Loon's face. "What iz wrong?" "Marshall was acting like a total jerk this morning!" Shirley said out loud. The entire hall could hear her outburst and they hit the deck afraid that she might release some electricity. "When I saw him I just felt like screaming! This is totally not like me. I am usually so much more centered. I am not even sure why I was so angry, either. I didn't even want his stupid plan to work but I was screaming at him because it didn't." Just before Fifi was about to give a response Babs, with an equally annoyed expression, passed by them. "Good morning Fifi," Babs said. She gave Shirley a brief angry look and kept walking. "Just what I need, another friend who I'm fighting with," Shirley said in a more depressed tone. "This can't all be happening. Why are all these bad things happening all at once?" "I wish I could help vous mon ami," Fifi said sympathetically. "It looks like it's happening again," Marshall said into the receiver of a payphone. "Reed, you remember how the last girl I started to really like while looking for information just suddenly turned on me? We might be about to have a repeat. Just when I thought I was about to ask Shirley out, too. I thought we were becoming close and now she suddenly acts like she hates me, only this time I feel really mad at her. I don't want to go through all of this again, especially not when we've come so close to actually discovering something. I'll talk to you later. By the way, why haven't you come to Acme Acres yet? I thought I told you like three installments ago to get your butt over here!" Marshall then hung up and walked away from the phone. Shirley sat down in her first period class trying her best to ignore the whispers and some audible comments that were flying around the room from the second she walked in. Before the class could begin which would have silenced the remarks the speakers came on in the classroom. "Eh, attention kids. Could Shirley da Loon please report to the Principal's office?" Bugs said over the PA. "Oooooooh! You're in trouble!" The whole class said simultaneously. They then all remembered about Shirley's powers and they hit the deck. Shirley, with her head hanging, left the room and headed for Bugs' office. "Please sit down Shirley," Bugs said as the Loon walked into the room. Shirley sat down and leaned her face up against her palm. "I know there has been something going on wit you lately, so I don't want to get you mad or nottin, but I need to know what you were doing in da school last night." "How do you know I was here?" Shirley asked nervously. Bugs pressed a button and a television rose out of the ground and up next to him. He pressed a button on a small remote and security footage started to play. Shirley saw herself and Marshall standing in the basement but the old man in the chair was cut off from the picture. "Uh… well… I was totally just… I saw the other guy there walk in and I thought I would find out what he was doing or some junk," Shirley lied, assuming Bugs didn't know about Marshall. "I've seen dat kid before. He was snooping around da school before," Bugs stated. "Thanks for you help." Shirley got up and returned to the nightmarish classroom. The morning passed uneventfully. Shirley received more looks and whispers from her classmates that she tried to shrug off but she couldn't. At lunch she headed right for the back corner of the cafeteria and tried to be alone. As she sat down she noticed an envelope sitting on the table. She ripped it opened unenthusiastically and began to read. "Looney, sorry about this morning. I want to make it up to you. Unless you really hate me I would like you to meet me at Chez Acme tonight for dinner at seven and maybe we can get over this. Please just give it a shot before we throw away all we've done so far. Signed, Marshall." "What iz this?" Fifi asked as she walked up behind Shirley and saw the note. "Oh, it iz from Marshall. A love note, perhaps?" "It's an apology," Shirley replied. "He says that the whole thing was totally his fault or some junk and he wants me to meet him for dinner tonight. I don't know what to do. He was such a jerk this morning! Fifi, you're the love expert. What do you think I should do?" "I think you should accept," Fifi answered. "I like a guy who admits that it iz all his fault." Fifi then tried to sit down but Shirley started nodding her head no when the skunk was halfway to the seat. "Please Fifi, I think I want to be alone right now," Shirley said. "I've got this mondo pile of issues to think through." Fifi reluctantly left her friend alone and she headed for a table with her other friends. Shirley closed her eyes and started to meditate in the cafeteria. "Oh what a loon I am… Oh what a loon I am…" "Shirley must be sitting there waiting for me to join her," Plucky thought as he looked across the room. "Well, I can't keep her waiting." Plucky rushed over, sat down beside her and reached his arm around her shoulders. "Hey babe. Did you miss me?" Shirley's eyes opened and she glared over at Plucky. "Like Plucky what are you doing?" Shirley asked in a horrified tone. "Okay, I get it. You want to save this stuff for our date. I'll meet you at Chez Acme at seven thirty tonight and then we can have some real fun." He then walked back over to his original table leaving Shirley very perplexed. Six – thirty came around that night and Shirley had just finished preparing to leave. She was dressed in her Amazing three outfit as she walked down the stairs and prepared to leave. "Nice outfit," her mother commented as she beheld her daughter. "I am assuming then you are going some place special?" "Kind of. I'm just meeting somebody for dinner," Shirley said. "Have fun. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Mrs. Loon asked. Shirley nodded in response and walked out the door. Seconds after Shirley walked out the door Mr. Loon walked into the room. "You know who she's going to see, don't you?" he asked. "Of course I do. Do you think my psychic abilities are broken, too?" "We have to stop her. It's for her own good!" "Right now I don't think that is our business. I won't stop her from seeing him if that's what she wants to do. In the end it would be better for her to see him anyway." "If it turns out right. If not then our daughter will lose something that means a great deal to her." The two continued arguing for several minutes and it quickly degraded into a shouting match. Both of them ran into different rooms and slammed the doors. Shirley walked into the doors of the classy restaurant and was seated by a French receptionist. She gazed around in awe at the expensive carpets, the orchestra playing in the corner, and the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. All around the room she could see the richest of the rich from Acme Acres sitting down and eating. "Ze waiter will be wiz you shortly," the receptionist as he seated the loon. "I thought Fifi had a thick accent," Shirley said to herself after hearing that man talk. Shirley waited for about ten minutes before she saw Marshall walk in the door all dressed up in a dark blue suit and with the three spiked feathers on the top of his head combed down. The receptionist pointed to the table and Marshall quickly walked over. "Pour vous," Marshall said as he handed Shirley a single red rose. "I'm assuming since you're here you don't hate me." "It was a stupid fight," Shirley answered. "Acting like that was totally not like me. I still don't know what came over me." "The thing is, I might… that's one thing I want to talk to you about," Marshall started. Just then a waiter walked over and handed them both menus. Marshall took one look at the prices and his eyes bugged out of his head for a second in shock. "Excuse me but I don't see Mortgage Application anywhere on this menu! I think I would need one to buy a glass of water." The waiter swiped the menus back. "Let me know when you two can actually afford the food," the waiter said as he walked away with his nose high in the air. "I know how I can actually get us some food here," Marshall said in a suspicious voice as he looked around the room. "Of course if my mind control wasn't messed up we wouldn't have this problem." Marshall stood up and walked to the corner of the large dining room where he could see Montana Max. "Monty, how would you like to double your money very quickly?" Marshall asked. Monty didn't even know who Marshall was but the sound of quick cash was music to his ears. "And how do you plan to get me double my money?" Monty asked. "First, give me what you have on you," Marshall told him. Monty handed over a huge wad of bills. "Excellent. Now, come with me." He started to lead Monty along the wall of the restaurant. Just as they passed by a large, dark colored door Marshall turned towards Monty and shoved him right through it. "Double your money by working here!" he yelled to the spoiled brat as he started to run back over to his table. "Hey loser! You can't do this to me! I'm rich!" Monty yelled from inside the kitchen. "Where's your apron?" a deep voice asked. Monty turned around and was about to say something rude in reply when he saw a large figure about three times his height, four times his weight and wearing a chef's hat standing behind him. "Here, take this one. Somebody spilled a bucket of grease on it, but other than that it's workable. And it's more than you deserve!" He threw Monty the apron and reluctantly the rich teenager put it on. The large cook pointed to a table where Monty went over and started to chop some celery. "You're doing it all wrong! You'd better get a cookin' right or I'll have to act as the disciplinary committee!" Marshall sat back down at his table and received a scolding look from Shirley. "Marshall, that was totally mean! You just stole from him or some junk. Even if it was Montana Max it was still wrong." "Relax. I saw him take that money out of the cash register anyway. Now we can have food, this place will get its money back, Monty will be forced to work, and everybody will win." Marshall then turned around and spotted the waiter from before. "Hey garcon! We're ready to order now!" The waiter walked back over and both of them ordered a vegetarian soup and expensive salads. After he left the two faced each other and once again started talking. "As I was trying to say before I think I might have an idea what was went on this morning and why we both tried to rip the other's head off…" he started again before the French waiter in a tuxedo walked up next to their table again. "Telephone pour vous monsieur," he said. Marshall stood up and started walking towards the entrance where the phone was as he muttered something to himself about how Reed always picks the worst possible times to call. Shirley sat back and started to wait for her companion's return when out of nowhere a green duck still wearing casual clothes sat down across from her. "You're right on time. That gives us longer to smooch," Plucky said as he forced himself at her table. Shirley sat speechless as she tried to figure out what Plucky was doing. Plucky forced his body halfway across the table and he started to kiss her while she was still stunned. As Plucky and Shirley's lips collided Marshall walked back over to the table. "Isn't this interesting," Marshall said as he observed the two. "Well, I have to say I'm confused. Tell me, am I just here to watch you reunite with you old boyfriend or were you actually planning to listen to what I had to say? And Plucky is this that getting back at me you promised after the skunk scent prank? I must say I'm very impressed at the disgusting way you've decided to get back at me." Marshall's face was now turning a very deep shade of red and he gave Shirley an angry look that would scare Darth Vader. "Hit the road jack!" Plucky shouted at Marshall. "Shirley's back where she should be, with a real toon." Marshall kicked the table and it broke in half straight down the middle. He then stormed out of Chez Acme and into the cold parking lot where there were still small patches of snow on the ground. He picked up a rock and threw it at a luxury car sitting in the parking lot, causing a huge dent to form in the side. "Why didn't I see that one coming?" he shouted to himself. "After all, the writers are always forcing those two together. It makes sense that they actually might like each other after a while." He then took a running start and kicked a silver garbage can in a fit of rage. "Marshall wait!" Shirley cried as she ran out the door. "Shouldn't Plucky's tongue be down your throat right about now?" Marshall asked in a livid intonation. "Maybe we were on the right track with that big fight this morning!" Shirley stopped for a second and considered saying that it was all just a big misunderstanding, which it was. After thinking for a moment and taking a long, cold look at Marshall she felt a strange anger start to build up in her just like it had this morning. "Fine! Maybe we were on right to yell and scream and fight! Maybe Plucky is better for me than you!" "I don't really think that it's a choice. It isn't like I would ever lower my standards enough to date a psycho like you!" "Like I would have even considered dating you!" Shirley replied. "Please, like you could have done better! I know about your pitiful track record. Plucky and Fowlmouth are not exactly prize catches. I guess I can only attract the crazy ones because my last girlfriend was hot and very nice up until one point where she just acted like you. I never set foot in Toronto again because of her and I definitely won't set foot in Acme Acres again!" He then threw the stack of money he had taken off Monty and he threw it at Shirley. He started to walk off alone into the night when two police officers stepped out in front of us. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us for questioning," one cop said. "You had me arrested Shirley? Now * that * is mature!" he said sarcastically. "Officer, what exactly am I being brought in for?" "Breaking and entering," the second cop replied. "There is a video tape of you on school property after hours last night." Marshall grimaced and walked with the two policemen into an awaiting squad car. As the police vehicle pulled away Shirley immediately figured out she had something to do with him being hauled away because of what she said to Bugs earlier. At this moment though Shirley did not care very much and she stormed off the property of Chez Acme and towards her home. Three hours later Marshall stepped out the front door of the Acme Acres Police Station. "It's a good thing I made up this Arctic Diplomat card a few years ago as a joke or I'd probably be sitting in jail right now," he said to himself as he walked out. "I just thought that that girl was a little off because of what's going on with her powers, but this goes way beyond that. Having me arrested and bringing her ex-boyfriend to Chez Acme so she could make out with him in front of me is definitely not normal." He walked alone for an hour thinking about what he was going to do next. This eventually brought him to the waterfront once again. "I put up with this before," Marshall thought. "I stuck around while Ms. Toronto yelled and screamed at me, and I tried to make it work. It's good that this is mutual despise now… isn't it? Ah, who cares? There isn't anybody who can answer any question I ever ask anyway. This time, I'm not sticking around to get my head bitten off every time I talk. Shirley can face this problem on her own from now on; I'm sick of watching other people to try and learn just what the hell is going on with me. I'm sick of this town, these people, and that psycho loon! I have wasted over a year of my life on this and all I know now is what happens if it doesn't turn out well. This pointless research is getting me nowhere, and I won't do it anymore. I'm going home!" Marshall then looked up into the clear early morning sky and he rose up into the air and started to fly north towards his old home in the arctic. Part V coming soon…