It was a beautiful Spring day in Central Park of New York. The birds were flying and the sun was shining. There was a nice breeze blowing the light fluffy clouds through the otherwise clear blue sky. Kids were flying kites and pets frolicked and played with their owners. While the park was lively with people and fauna alike, our story takes place high in a tall oak tree in the middle of the park, for it was the home to the Rescue Rangers.
Within the hollowed portion of the tree were various items that resembled furniture when assembled the right way. On some rolls of cloth shaped and arranged to be a love seat, lounged a single chipmunk. He wore a red, Hawaiian shirt decorated with yellow flowers. He had a big, red nose and two spaced buck teeth. His eyes, half open, made it all to clear of one thing. He was BORED. He went through, read, numerated and alphabetized his comic book collection- thrice! He had spent the last few minutes flipping through the channels looking for a story, a case, but so far had no luck. It seemed no one needed the Rescue Ranger, nor would ever need them at that rate.
Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, a young brown mouse was running through desperately on all fours- his paws splashing in the scatted dirty puddles in the alley. His green shirt was dirty and tattered, and his hair was a dirty mess and his green eyes wide with fear and hope. He had outrun and out maneuvered many cats and hawks in the city, though just barely. The fresh nicks in his right ear attested to that fact. He had barely eaten more than a few crumbs for the last few days, only stopping to eat and drink when he felt dizzy from hunger, his only periods of rest were short and far between.
Has he made through the alley, the young mouse's brightened as he reached the end. He was blinded by the sun for a bit. That was when he saw his destination- Central park. It was Just across the street. He stopped a bit to take it all in- he was just a street away. Suddenly his leg almost gave way, but he quickly regained his balance. He hurried to the corner but was stopped in his tracks as street suddenly came alive with cars speeding across his intersection. He staggered again, but this time had to lean on the designated crossing signal and traffic light. He couldn't pass out out. Not now! He was so close! The young mouse looked up and saw the pole had wires running from that pole to the one right across the street. Though he was fading fast, he through himself up the pole climbing it, and scurrying along the wire. Once across and back down on the pavement, he sprinted into the Park and towards the Rangers' tree.
“Hold on, Mom and Dad,” he muttered to himself
As Dale looked around, he saw everyone else was bored as well. He looked at his room- one he shared with his best friend, Chip- another chipmunk. Even though the door was closed, Dale knew Chip, always wearing his Indiana Jones-esque coat and fedora, was buried in his latest mystery book. In the next room over- also locked, Gadget, a beautiful mouse girl in a purple jumpsuit that he enjoyed flirting with, was busy tinkering. But, this was different in that every little thing she created turned out to be nothing but an over complicated trinket. Over in the kitchen, were the last two Rangers, Monterrey Jack- a large Australian mouse who also went by Monty, and Zipper, an adorable little housefly. They were trying a new cheese recipe Monterrey had dreamed up.
While he LOVED cheese- any kind any time, and anywhere- even he was starting to get tired of it. He took out a cheese dish fresh out the oven, and set it down on the table to let it cool off. He cut himself a piece and opened his mouth wide, but suddenly stopped. He put the piece back down on its plate and slid it away.
“Aw, what's the point?” He sighed as he plopped down on a chair made from a wooden thread spool.
Zipper looked on in surprise. He'd NEVER seen the day Monterrey Jack turned down a cheese based food, nor thought he ever would. He flew over to Monty and landed on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I know, Pally, I never thought I'd turn away a bit of cheese, mahself. But yeah- I'm alright,” Monterrey sighed. “Jest bor'd We ain't had a single case in MONTHS!”
“Yeah,” Zipper sighed as slid down Monterrey's massive arm, landing on the table and lied down on his back.
“Man,” Monterrey said, “What I wouldn't give for an honest to goodness case- an adventure!”
At that moment, there was a loud knock at the door. It started out so loud it startled everyone out of their their doing. Dale fell off the love seat and onto the floor, Dale and Gadget peeked their head out of their respective doors, and Monterrey almost threw his new culinary concoction into the air.
“Help! HELP!!” cried a small, weak voice outside cried through the knocking. “Please Help! Please be in … please... help.”
Hearing that, the rangers rush looked at eachother for a split second before rushing to the door. Dale, being the first got to the door first; and Dale, being Dale, couldn't resist a quick taunt before opening the door. He and the other Rangers gasped at what they were greeted with. They were greeted with a young, dirty, tired looking, little brown mouse, dressed in a dirty, torn shirt, and sporting a notable, fresh nick on his left ear.
“Oh, Thank goodness,” the little mouse managed out, completely out of breath. “Mom... Dad... I... Need...”
That was all the poor kid got out before passing out with a sigh, falling limp in Dale's arms.
*
About eight hours later, the small mouse sprang up, breathing hard, in a bed. He looked around and saw a girl mouse with long blonde hair and blue eyes sitting across his room.
“Oh, you're awake,” she smiled; she turned her head towards the door and shouted “Hey, guys! He's awake!”
“Hi, I'm Gadget,” Gadget smiled, walking up to his bed. “What's your name?”
“It- it,” The little mouse stuttered. “It's Abe. Rodentski.”
“Nice to meet you, Abe,” Gadget smiled as she pressed her paw against Abe's forehead. “Golly! You're still burning up!”
Just then the other Rangers came running in, or flying- in Zipper's case. Abe looked up at the older rodents and housefly.
“You- You're the rescue Rangers,” he gasped!
“He-eeeyup,” Dale smiled pulling out the front of his shirt with his thumbs. “Heard of us, huh?”
“Yeah,” Abe said, struggling to get out of bed. “I had to find you... My parents-...” he paused. “MY PARENTS! Mom! Dad!” He started to scream as he scrambled to get out of his bed.
“Calm down!” Gadget shouted, trying to hold Abe down. “Calm down. You're too sick to be going anywhere. What would your parents say if they knew you were running around like this?”
It took a few minutes for him to finally calm down. Poor kid, Gadget said, as she shifted to hugging him. I can't even imagine what he's been through.
“Too right,” Monterrey agreed, helping. Y”ou gave us quat a scare you did!”
“Yeah,” Chip piped in. “What were you doing out there in your condition, anyway!?”
“It's my Mom, and Dad,” Abe said, softly. “... They- we were taken by some man.”
“A man?” The Rangers parroted
“Yeah,” Abe said, nodding his head. “He put us in a cage and took us somewhere. He called it his lab. He had a whole lot of other cages with other rodents in them. And it wasn't just just mice, neither. He had squirrels, hamsters, ch-chipmunks, you name it He took some of us into another cage. He wrote something on a pad he carried with him and then, one by one, he took and injected them with some pink stuff. I don't know what it was, or what it did, but it didn't look pleasant at all. It was AWFUL!! I still can't get their screams out of my head! When we saw them again, they were... different.”
“Different how,” Chip inquired, handing him a cup of water.
“Thank you,” Abe said, guzzling the water. “They came back different- like all the gus came back looking like girls. The girls came back looking... even more like girls, if that makes sense. Even then, they acted.... Off. I can't put my finger on it. But whatever mouse went in to be injected, came back completely different. And those were the lucky ones! More than a few of them.. They- They!...”
The rangers, especially Gadget, felt uneasy hearing his story, but knew there was more.
“Well, one day,” Abe continued. “The man opened our cage, and grabbed me. We knew it was that he wanted to do the same to me. I was so scared. But, before I knew what had happened, Mom and Dad jumped up and bit him, making him drop me. As soon as I his the floor I ran behind a shelf. Oh, he was MAD!! So, he grabbed both of them and stuck them in the cage! He said said he was going to get to them when he finished his research, but left since he was bleeding and it was late. When he was gone and the lights were off I made my way over to The Cage. It was like my dad was the only few males in there. Before I could even try, my parents worked their way to the door and stopped me. They said I wouldn't do a thing except get caught and be put in there with them. But the Rescue Rangers would be able to help. If anyone can, they can, Dad said. Now Go! I hugged my parents for one last time before I ran. I ran and ran until I got to the park. And... You know the rest.”
The rangers were left speechless by the story; it was utterly sickening. Who'd be sick enough to do something like that random innocent animals?
“So,” Abe asked, breaking through the silence. “Will you rescue my parents? And the others? I don't know if he already got them, but I still have hope there's still time. It's... It's all I have left.”
“Hah!” Monterrey laughed. “As if you had ta ask!”
“Rescue Rangers,” Monterrey, Chip and Dale shouted. “AWAY!”
“Hold it guys,” Gadget called out. “We can't go yet!”
“Why not,” asked the boys, and Abe.
“Well for starters, We don't even know where this lab is,” Gadget pointed out. “Second. We can't leave Abe here all alone.”
Abe raised his hand to make a suggestion. “And you're NOT coming with us,” Gadget cut him off. “You're too sick” Abe sheepishly lowered his hand.
“Well, I was able to see where it was,” Abe said. “It was a warehouse at the docks. It had the number 069 on the door.”
“The docks,” Dale gasped, “but that's all the way across the city!”
“You made it here from there in... how long,” Chip asked.
“Three days.”
“THREE DAYS!?!” the Rangers yelled.
“That does it,” Gadget said, authoritatively. “You're staying here! Now, who's going to stay?”
When no one stepped up, Gadget sighed. “Monty, can you pilot the Ranger Wing?”
“Sure thing, Gadget-love.” Monterrey answered. “I used be a pretty good pilot myself!”
“Okay, then,” Gadget said. “I'll stay behind.”
“Well, maybe I should stay behind and help,” Dale said, with a smile
Chip retaliated with simple bonk on his head. “No way- I'M staying behind to help Gadget!”
“Neither of you are,” Gadget said. “Monty will need you two, and Abe needs someone who knows a lot about first aid. That's me. And Abe's really fragile right now. You guys go on ahead.”
“Rescue Rangers,” The boys cried, running out the door. “AWAY!!”
After about thirty minutes, the Ranger Wing landed on a Warehouse at the docks; its ceiling was marked legibly with the numbers 069.
“See,” Monterrey said, triumphantly. “I told ya I could fly this thing- no problem.”
Looking top his sides, he saw Dale, Zipper and Chip comically frozen in fear. Dale was fiercely biting into the seat behind him, Chip was simply trying to push himself back into his seat with his arms fully extended against the dashboard. Zipper was was clinging onto Dale for dear life. All three of their faces showed how scared for their lives they were, yet they managed keep from screaming.
After the three Rangers had gathered their wits, they had managed to lower themselves down a wall and landed on a window seal. Peering in, they saw the stacks of cages Abe talked about. But there was something there, that Abe never even mentioned! It mult-armed metal monstrosity. All of its arms ended with white Acme gloves, but half of them held syringes. Each one was fill with the pink liquid Abe described. Luckily it didn't seem to be moving and there were two cages on the table, and not just one- only one seemed to have any males in it
“Crikey,” Monterrey exclaimed. “What on Earth is THAT thing?! Abe never mentioned THAT ”
“Looks like our scientist didn't like getting bitten,” Chip suggested, “so he made something that wouldn't care if it got bit.”
“Looks like we should have let Gadget and Abe come along after all,” Dale said, only be bonked on the head by Chip
“Don't be silly,” Chip chided him. “You know he's too weak to go anywhere!!”
Just then, they heard a familiar laugh.
“Ah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!!”
“I know that laugh,” Chip said, surprised.
“At Last,” said the voice, all too familiar to the Rangers. “I've done it! They laughed at me. They ALL laughed! But Now I've done it! I've done it! I've finally prefected my female enhancement formula!! Even if it does turns the males into girls. This'll make me RICH in cosmetics! All I have to do is test the final batch, and I'll be RICH! Now, to connect this wire and... YES!!”
Just then, the machine lit up can came to life, as its free hands reached into the latch door cages and grabbed three mice. The rangers looked on as they injected and started to convulse. The source of the voice stepped out from behind the machine to take a look at the mice- a short, round, bald, red-headed white man. As he always did, he wore a white lab coat, black pants and black shoes that looked like they belonged on a clown.
“Yes! YES! It's working,” he laughed turning around. “Ah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!!”
That's when they saw his face. He had a stumpy red mustache and thick round glasses. He was indeed all to familiar to the Rangers
“Nimnul,” Dale exclaimed.
