Basil was reading a newspaper. It was the headline of Ratigan subbing. "Oh, no! Not again!" he groaned as he got out of his chair.
He went to Olivia's room to wake her up. He had a job for her and Fidget. "Olivia, wake up!" Basil said as he shook her awake.
"What? What is it, Mr. Basil?" said Olivia as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"I've got a job for you and Fidget," Basil replied, "Ratigan is subbing for your nice teacher. I wondered why she would've let him take her place today."
"Oh, I may as well wake Fidget up," Olivia said as she scrambled out of bed and Basil followed her to Fidget's room.
Once in Fidget's room, Olivia shouted, "Fidget, wake up!" She shook him, hoping he'd wake up.
"What?" Fidget asked, half-asleep. "What's going on, Basil? Livy?"
"I read the headline about Ratigan being a substitute."
Fidget rubbed his eyes. "Oh, no!" he gasped, "They'd need our help!"
"That's why I assigned you and Olivia to do take the case," Basil pointed out, "So get up and start getting ready!"
The bat jumped out of bed. "Okay! Okay! I'm up! I'm up!"
…
Basil and Olivia ate breakfast while they waited for Fidget to come down and eat.
The bat slowly went down the steps.
"Here, have some tea and waffles to boost your energy," Basil suggested.
Fidget yawned. Basil was right. Fidget DID need plenty of energy. He just needed help gaining it.
Smiling a little, he sat down, ate, and drank his tea. He'd been hungry and thirsty.
At long last, Fidget was ready to go, but there was just one thing. He and Olivia both needed disguises. "Basil, do you have disguises?"
"Oh, yes, I do," Basil replied and lead him to Basil's room. It was a father suit, mother suit, and a baby suit. The father suit had a plaid neck tie, grey tuxedo, and a grey fedora hat. The mother outfit has a lavender dress and lavender fedora hat. The baby suit had a binkie, bonnet, and a bib.
"See any you like?" Basil asked.
"Hmm…" Fidget said deep in thought, "I'll pick the grey suit."
"Sounds like a good choice," Basil said.
"Do you have a stroller?" Olivia asked.
"Oh, yes, Olivia, I do," replied Basil and she and Fidget followed him into a room with unused items. Then the mouse detective pushed the stroller out of the room.
"Let's hope you don't get sick and start sneezing," Basil remarked. "So why don't you move over while I get this cleaned up?"
Fidget and Olivia did just as he asked. Basil blew the dust and dusted it off with a feather duster. Before any dust could get into their eyes and noses, the two covered them.
After his last touch-up on dusting and blowing, Basil announced, "Well, children, it's all yours."
"Thank you, Basil," Olivia said as she climbed into the stroller and Fidget took her outside.
"Have a good day at school!" Basil said, "If anything happens, call us and we'll come and get you."
…
Fidget and Olivia were venturing across the streets all the way to Olivia's school.
"Remember, Fidget, we've got to get to school as soon as we can," Olivia said, "And my school isn't very far away."
"Oh, yep," Fidget remembered, "You only have to be there at eight." He checked his watch. "It's seven thirty."
A pedestrian took notice of a fatherly figure bat and a baby girl mouse. "Aww, it's a father giving his mouse daughter a ride in the stroller," he cooed.
Another also cooed. It was a woman. "She's so cute. Can I please touch her cheeks?"
"Sure, go ahead," Fidget replied.
With pleasure, the lady pinched Olivia's cheeks and Olivia liked it.
"Well, I got to go now," Fidget uttered with an embarrassed chuckle and made his way into an alley.
"Fidget, it worked," Olivia hissed in excitement, "They didn't recognize us. Now, it's your turn."
Fidget frowned. "But I don't wanna be the baby! I don't wanna! This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard, Livy!"
Olivia giggled. "Oh, but you're acting like one right now. Remember the time when you disguised yourself as a baby?"
"Oh, I guess I do," Fidget sighed, guilty over that memory.
"I'll give you a treat afterwards," Olivia promised.
Fidget's eyes lit up. "You will?" he asked. "Gee, thanks."
…
Ratigan was calling out each child's name on a chart assigned by the teacher to see if they were present. He then noticed that Flaversham "brat" wasn't in attendance. "Are we fine with going on without her?" he said with a sneer, "Your teacher was so kind to choose me as your substitute to teach your class today." He snickered, then his tone turned serious, "Now, anyone who is tardy will be marked as unexcused and if there are any disruptions, backtalking, or noises, you'll spend the day in the office, understand?"
The class said nothing. They just glared at him, hiding their outside fears.
Just as he said this, Olivia, now the mother was taking the stroller with "baby" Fidget to rescue her classmates.
Her classmates gasped and cooed in delight. "Aww!"
"Is that a mother and a baby?" Ratigan asked. "Aww, how delightful of you to drop in." Ratigan rubbed Fidget's chin and cheeks. "Coochie choochie coo."
Fidget spat out his binkie and bit his finger.
"Ow! Baby!" Ratigan hissed, "Didn't your mother teach you not to bite the hand that feeds you?"
"Did your parents ever teach you not to TOUCH ME?" Fidget shouted back as he took off his baby bonnet and lunged himself out of the stroller.
Olivia's schoolmates gasped at the sight of the bat.
"It's okay. He's a friend of mine," Olivia assured them as she took off her lavender hat and dress, revealing her traditional outfit: a turquoise blue blouse with a black bowtie, plaid dark blue miniskirt, and a red hairbow.
"Olivia?" her friends gasped.
"Well, I already marked you as unexcused, Miss Flaversham wretch," Ratigan snarled.
"If Livy's real teacher were here right now, she would've marked her as late and excused," Fidget growled back, "If it weren't for my help, she wouldn't be able to stop you!"
"Stop me from what?" Ratigan scoffed under his breath in an almost happy tone. "From teaching a class?"
"My real teacher will fire you for sure!" Olivia retorted.
"She'd be worried about us," one classmate said.
"You tell him, Olivia!" another cheered.
"You show him who's boss!"
"You tell him, Mr. Bat!" one exclaimed, defending Fidget.
Olivia and Fidget heard her schoolmates' praise increase with each shout…and it went on until Ratigan shouted, "SILENCE!"
Everyone quieted down a bit.
"If this continues, then you will all be locked in the office, is that clear?"
"Nope!" Fidget shouted defiantly.
"What did you say, Fidget?" roared Ratigan.
"You heard what I said, moron!" taunted Fidget.
Face flushed with rage, Ratigan dangerously walked over and took the small bat and girl each by the hand. "That does it! You're both in serious trouble!" he fumed.
"Where in the heck are you taking us?" Fidget cried out.
"Somewhere where you wouldn't escape, dear boy," Ratigan said in a hideously smooth-talking voice.
"What's he going to do to them?" one classmate muttered.
"I don't know, but it's not good," another one mused.
"Oh, no, Livy, we've got to do something," Fidget said to Olivia.
Olivia knew just the thing, so both of them bit Ratigan's hands.
"Yow!" Ratigan yelped.
As the two landed, they stomped on his feet. "Ouch! My feet! My feet! My nice little feet!" he shouted as he hopped madly.
"Quick, Fidget, in here!" Olivia said as she and Fidget dashed toward the office to contact her schoolteacher. "Look, Fidget, a phone!"
"And a phonebook!" Fidget exclaimed excitedly as he held onto a phonebook. "What luck! What's your teacher's last name?"
"Mrs. Handly," Olivia replied.
In desperation, Fidget hurriedly thumbed through the pages in the phonebook. "Okay, I found it! What's her first name?"
"Chloe."
"Okay," Fidget said, "2-9-9."
Olivia dialed the number. "2-9-9."
"2-0."
"2-0."
"4-1."
"4-1."
Once the number had been dialed, Olivia and Fidget waited for the teacher to answer.
At the sound of the phone ringing, Olivia's teacher picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked.
"It's me, Flaversham, Olivia Flaversham," Olivia replied.
"And what's the trouble?"
"It's Ratigan, he is trying to find ways to hurt us," Olivia said.
"I had to choose him as a substitute. He doesn't like the word 'no'."
"That's the point and even if you do what he wants you to do, he'll hurt you like he hurt my friend, Fidget here."
"What did he do?"
"He had Fidget kidnap my father and me, then misled Basil and Dawson into a trap. Ratigan wanted to kill Basil all these years. Long story there."
Mrs. Handly was stunned at first, but finally said, "That was very dreadful of him."
"Please, hurry before Ratigan locks us in here!" Fidget shouted frantically through the phone.
"Olivia, is that your friend?" Olivia's teacher inquired.
"Yes, this is the bat, Fidget I was talking about," Olivia answered.
"Don't tell me you're in the office!"
"We had to get a hold of you somewhere and this has to be one of them."
"Okay, I'll get you out of here then and do you know someone else who can rescue you two besides me?"
"Yes, Basil of Baker Street, Dr. Dawson, and my daddy," Olivia told her.
"Basil of Baker Street?" the teacher asked. "Is he one of the greatest and smartest detectives of all time?"
"Yes, and he can throw that rat in jail at any time!" Fidget said with a rush of excitement through the phone.
"Oh, Fidget, you're silly," Olivia giggled as she gently nudged him out of the way.
"I'll be on my way," Olivia's teacher remarked, "Goodbye."
Olivia hung up.
"Livy, we are so out of here!" Fidget said as they rushed out of the room only to have the door shut in their faces by Ratigan.
"That'll hold you for a little while," Ratigan said with a smirk as he turned away. "At least, all day."
Fidget shook the door handle. "Let us out! Let us out!"
"Fidget, it's my fault," Olivia said hopelessly.
"What? No, it's not," Fidget defended. "You did the right thing by calling your teacher and she'll be on her way to get us out of here."
"I never should have woken you up. If you needed to sleep in, I would've let you."
"But you couldn't have done this without my help," Fidget said, hoping it'll talk her out of the problem.
"You're right," Olivia said, starting to feel a little bit better. "And there's one person we haven't called yet."
Reading her thoughts, Fidget picked up the phone to dial Basil's phone number.
Basil rushed over to the phone. "Hello," he said.
"Listen, Basil," Fidget said with a desperate slur of words, "We're trapped in the office because Ratigan locked us in here after we contacted Olivia's teacher."
"Woah! Slow down, Fidget!" Basil warned.
Olivia walked over to Fidget and said, "What Fidget was trying to say was Ratigan locked us in the office when we had just called my teacher."
"I'll be right over! Goodbye!" Basil assured them and hung up. "Dawson! Flaversham! Olivia and Fidget are locked up in the office!"
Fidget also hung up. Basil, Dawson, and Mr. Flaversham would be here at any moment. So for now, Fidget decided to sit down with Olivia and relax.
…
Ratigan, who had returned to the classroom gloated over his revenge against Olivia and Fidget. "So, anyone want to join her and that despised bat?"
Olivia's friends shook their heads.
"Good," Ratigan smirked. "Now, moving on. Turn to page 85 of your arithmetic book."
"Stop right there!" Mrs. Handly shouted behind him.
"Oh, Mrs. Handly. What a pleasant surprise," Ratigan said smugly.
"I made the mistake on choosing you for a substitute!" Mrs. Handly retorted. Then, turned to her classmates. "Now, class," she said changing her tone into a softer one, "These are the mouse detectives, Basil of Baker Street and his trusty assistant, Dr. Dawson and this is Olivia's father, Mr. Flaversham."
"Hello, Mr. Flaversham!" they called. "Hello, Mr. Basil! Hello, Dr. Dawson!"
Mr. Flaversham, Dawson, and Basil waved.
"Mrs. Handly, where's the office at?" Basil asked.
"I'm worried about my brave daughter, Olivia and my daring adopted son, Fidget!" Mr. Flaversham said.
"Here, I'll show you," Mrs. Handly said as she led them to the hallway, but Ratigan stopped them.
"Going somewhere?" Ratigan sneered.
The teacher, the mouse detectives, and Mr. Flaversham crawled underneath him in pursuit of Fidget and Olivia.
"Mrs. Handly," Basil said as they rushed through the hallway, "I must inform you to watch out for Fidget because you know how he can be with young ladies like you. He's a lady's man."
"Don't worry," Mrs. Handly said, "I get that a lot from other men I've dealt with, but not in a bad way."
…
In the office, the prisoners heard a door unlock. It was Mrs. Handly, who unlocked it and behind her were Basil, Dawson, and Mr. Flaversham.
The freed Olivia and Fidget hugged the teacher.
"Thank you," Olivia said.
"Nice hair," Fidget complimented the teacher.
"Thanks," Olivia's teacher replied.
"He likes you," Basil told her.
"Olivia! Fidget!" Mr. Flaversham said as he ran toward the duo and hugged them.
"Daddy!" they cried.
"I thought we'll never get out of here!" Fidget said through tears.
"There, there, there. You're safe. I was so worried about my little girl and boy," he told them.
"I did not send you two out here for nothing," Basil pointed out to Olivia and Fidget and to Fidget, he added, "And Fidget, you must've felt needed." He scratched the little bat's head.
…
Ratigan exited the classroom to find his enemies and avenge himself, but was stopped by Olivia's classmates. They carried food from their lunchboxes and a food fight began to stir.
Upon hearing the commotion, Olivia and Fidget decided to get involved in the food fight, as well. Basil, Dawson, Mrs. Handly, and Mr. Flaversham couldn't help but grin at the sight.
Ratigan was bawling since Fidget was part of it, but mostly, his revenge backfired on him and out the door he went. The sewer rat vanished without a trace.
The classmates, Fidget, and Olivia cheered with glee.
…
After school, Basil was reading the newspaper in his most favorite chair. This time it was about the school being saved. "They were heroes."
"How very thrilling!" Dawson agreed. "Eh, Basil?"
"All in a day's work, Doctor," Basil replied with a wink.
At the Flaversham house, Mr. Flaversham also read the newspaper. "Well, kids, you did well," he said and the rest of the evening was peaceful.
The End