"Monty vs. Inflatable Clown"
by Rain Crow
"Bonza' idea Dale, buying this from that Harrington bloke. I didn't even know they made scaled down inflatable clowns!" Monterrey Jack set the brightly colored, smiling inflatable clown next to the bench in the Ranger's work out room. "This'll give me little pally a great workout!"
Dale smiled as he walked out the door; Zipper had been a little down lately, and the team had been looking for a way to cheer him up and help him improve the unique set of skills that made him a great asset to the team. Which is to say, they found a way that he could work on his annoyance based fighting style on an opponent that didn't eat breakfast with him in the mornings. "Yeah," said Dale as he pulled the door closed behind him, "Just be careful with that thing Monty. It's smarter than it looks!"
The big Australian mouse chuckled at his friend's joke. Dale would make a crack about a piece of air filled, molded plastic possessing intelligence. He gave the dummy a playful swat. It tilted over, nearly touching its orange tinted "hair" to the floor before snapping back up and bonking Monty on the nose!
"Hey!" the mouse cried, startled, "Watch where yer spring'n Bonzo!"
The clown, which had the painted face of a green eyed rat, leered at him. Monty growled, and punched it right between those malevolent eyes. The dummy rebounded off of the floor with a dull plop and came back swinging, or would have if it had had any arms. Monty dodged.
"Oh, so it's a fight ye want, eh?" he asked, bouncing around like a prize fighter. The clown stood its ground, wobbling eagerly. "Well," Monty grinned, "this is one mouse who never backed down from a challenge! Have at ye!"
And the battle was joined...
Chip had just seen Dale out of the front door. His best friend had been babbling about starting a clown franchise. Chip hadn't asked any questions.
He heard a thumping crash. The detective paused, considering. Gadget had gone to the junk yard to look for parts, Dale had just left, and Zipper was staring at him from in front of the television where they had been watching a history of the American Indians; that left-
CRASH!
"Monty!" Chip and Zipper yelled simultaneously and sprinted in the direction from which the sound had originated.
A series of cracks and shouts sounded from inside the gym as the two Rangers halted outside the closed door. It sounded like a full-blown fight was occurring inside. Chip wished he had time to go grab a plunger dart gun or his fencing needle, because it sounded like some serious bad guys had infiltrated their home; but at least Monty was putting up a good fight!
Chip looked at Zipper, who nodded and rolled up his sleeves. They counted together, "One, two, three!"
Bashing the door aside the two Rangers rolled in ready to take on all odds if it meant saving their comrade.
They stared at the sight that lay before them. The gym was wrecked. Broken tables and bent equipment lay scattered about the room. At the center of it all lay Monty, tangled in a mess of jump-ropes and one of Dale's practice foils. Over the defeated mouse, wobbling a victory dance, stood an inflatable clown.
Monty saw his friends, and grinned, embarrassed. "Er, hello boys; 'ave ye met our new sparin' partner?"
Chip was very quiet; his quick anger at the condition of their gym was jammed with the improbability of the scene. His brain went into gridlock.
Zipper flew over to Monty and the clown, examined both, and squeaked, "Didn' know they made 'em this small!"
In later months Dale became rich selling "Bonkin' Bonzo's" to rodent prize fighters across the globe.
fin