Lucky Dime Time
Based on "Luck of the Beagles" by Lupineleigh with Official Permission.
The Beagles had been trying to break into the Money Bin when Mr. McDuck came back to it unexpectedly. Mr. McDuck was coming there to return the Lucky Dime to the Bin.
Mr. McDuck had wanted to do business with a foreign prince who insisted on taking a photo of Mr. McDuck with his Lucky Dime and him and the first rupee he ever earned.
As soon as Mr. McDuck saw the Beagles trying to break into the Bin, he forgot about everything else and attacked them. Launchpad, who had flown him to the Bin joined in on the "fun". So did Gizmoduck. In the fight, the Dime fell out of Mr. Mc Duck's pocket.
"Me Lucky Dime! Old Number One!" Screamed Mr. McDuck.
And Mr. McDuck tried to grab the Lucky Dime, but Big Time beat him to it. Bicep Beagle grabbed Mr. McDuck and nearly squeezed the breath out of Mr. McD. Gizmoduck grabbed Bicep and pulled him off Mr. McDuck. Launchpad was fighting the other Beagles, who were still trying to break into the Bin.
Then sirens announced the arrival of Duckburg's Finest.
"Let's Scram!" Big Time ordered his brothers.
The Beagles stopped fighting and fled. Since both Launchpad and Giz thought they were fleeing minus loot, they let them go. (1)
By the time Mr. McDuck had recovered enough breath to talk and scream that the Beagles had his Number One Dime, the Beagles were long gone.
Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby came out of the Mansion. Duckworth kept them in the Mansion until the Beagles were gone. As soon as it was safe, they ran to their great-uncle.
"Are you OK, Unca Scrooge? The Beagles didn't hurt you did they?" Huey asked.
"No, it's much worse than that. I had me Lucky Dime in my pocket, but dropped it in the fight. Those blasted Beagles swiped it!" Mr. McDuck replied.
"Sorry boss, but I thought they were running off empty handed." Gizmoduck said. "To chase them, I'd have to leave my post at the Money Bin."
"What do we do now, Mr. McD?" Launchpad asked.
"Why chase them and get back my Lucky Dime of course! Expect me to sit around and do nothing? " Mr. McDuck replied. "The Beagles might lose it."
"It would be just like them to shove it into a pocket that has a hole in it!" Huey said.
" Or for Burger Beagle to buy candy with it." Dewey said.
"You can't even buy a gumball with a dime!" Louie said.
"So he could buy candy for a dollar and use the dime to pay the sales tax!" Dewey replied.
Or throw it away if they think it doesn't work. And it won't work for anybody but me because I earned it!" Mr. McDuck muttered.
Launchpad made a quick phone call to me on his cellphone. Then, he readied his plane for the chase.
Soon, I arrived there.
"What's SHE doing here?" Mr. McDuck demanded, upon seeing me sitting in the co-pilot's seat.
"Somebody has to check the 'net. There's a reward out for the Beagles. People will be calling the cops with info on them. " I began "Launchpad can't check the 'net while he's flying."
"Launchpad can barely chew gun while flying!" Mr. McDuck insinuated.
I somehow resisted the temptation to pull his top hat so far over his ears that it would cover his tail.
I , however, muttered "You should grow like an onion with your head in the ground " under my breath.
Soon, we were chasing after the Beagles, looking for them from the air.
Meanwhile, the Beagles had climbed onto a freight train, and broke down into it's door. Then they sat down on some crates inside the train car. They rode the train until it got to the next stop, a stop where a lot of trains converged.
Before the Beagle Boys could decide which train would take, they froze in amazement. They saw a duck that they thought was Mr. McDuck.
"He CAN'T have gotten here before us! I ain't possible!" Big Time said.
"He has planes and copters and a private pilot to fly him where ever he wants to go." Burger put in.
"He couldn't of known where to go! WE didn't know exactly where we were going, how could HE know?" Big Time asked.
"What difference does it make how he knew! Let's just grab the next train before he catches us!" Bicep screamed.
So the Beagles jumped onboard a train as it stopped at the station without worrying about where it was going.
Elsewhere, we were looking for the Beagles in Launchpad's plane.
"The station master at Charling Station just saw them! " I said. "He says they jumped aboard a train.
So Launchpad flew us to the train station. We questioned the station master. He was a thin, short-ish duck in a top hat and a suit similar to Mr. McDuck's.
"I saw the Beagles, breaking into a freight car to steal a ride on a train out of was heading south bound on this stop." Station Master reported.
We were just thanking the Station Master when he got a call on his cell phone. He answered it and told us.
"My brother who in charge of the next station says he just saw the Beagles boarding a train going BACK into Duckburg! Right back here! He says the Beagles took one look at him and jumped aboard like they didn't care where the train was heading, as long as it was away from him. It just pulled into that track." Station Master said.
Station Master pointed towards the next track. We saw the Beagles getting off the train!
"Oh no! We're right back where we started! Right back in Duckburg! We were in such a hurry to get out of there, we got on the wrong train!" Big Time moaned.
"Maybe it was a lucky break? Scroogie must be gone from here by now, searching for us. He ain't going to think of looking back here." Burger hoped.
"Oh he ain't, ain't he? There he is, and he's coming after us!" yelled Big Time.
The other two startled. They spotted the station master we were talking to and the Beagles mistook him for Mr. McDuck. The station master was in front of us so they didn't see the rest of us...not that the Beagles cared, once they thought they saw Mr. McDuck.
Since we had already seen the Beagles, we ran to catch the Beagles. But to do so, we had to walk up a flight of stairs, cross the tracks on a catwalk and climb down a flight of stairs to the right track.
By THAT time, the Beagles had disappeared into the crowd. Then they literally jumped into a lake and swum some distance away.
However, another duck who looked a lot like the station master down to the top hat was waiting at the other track.
"Brother! What are you doing here?" Station Master asked.
"I managed to jump aboard the caboose of the train the Beagles got on! I wanted to see why they came back here ! " Brother said. "But they just ran off again!"
"Why do the Beagles keep running?" Mr. McDuck asked.
"Mr. McDee...the two of them are dressed in blue suits, with blue-black top hats, they're your size and shape. I think the Beagles mistook each of them for YOU." Launchpad suggested.
"The guilty flee where no man pursues." I muttered.
The Beagles had lost us by swimming away, so we split up, Me and Launchpad went in one direction, Mr. McDee and the boys in the other.
Then Launchpad ran into Fenton, Donald and Gladstone. Literally. They were coming around the corner just as Launchpad was about to turn the same corner in the opposite direction...minor collusion.
Donald and Gladstone had been arguing (over Daisy) as per usual. Fenton, recognizing them, had appointed himself diplomat and had been attempting to make peace between them.
"Fenton! Donald! Gladstone! Boy, am I glad to see you three!" Launchpad said. " Listen, the Beagles got their paws on the Lucky Dime. How's about helping me get it back?"
"Sure, if you help us! Duckburg's Haberdashery is having a special give away!" Donald said." If four men come together, they get four hats for the price of two! We have enough money between the three of us of two hats, but we need a fourth man. Come in with us a minute, and we'll help."
"What kind of hats are you getting?" Launchpad asked.
"Probably top hats like Uncle Scrooge's. They're "in" here in Duckburg because he wears them. Especially what with that "Mad Men" show making hats fashionable again." Donald replied.
"Perfect! Some men in top hats who look a little like Mr. McD ALREADY have the Beagles going!" Launchpad said. "You three resemble Mr. McD a LOT more than they do and can really panic them!"
With Gladstone's famous luck, they all got free black party top hats, So Donald got a new sailor's cap, Launchpad got a new aviator's cap. Fenton who didn't wear hats got a hat for Gandra (it was the type of men's hat that women wear) and Gladstone got a "lucky" hat.
They left the store, carrying their new hats and wearing the black party top hats, with the ad for the store facing the wrong way.
"Why are YOU wearing a top hat? You're too big to be mistaken for Mr. McDuck." Fenton asked Launchpad.
"Not if I'm flying my copter, I'm not. How can the Beagles tell how tall I am if I'm in my copter chasing them?" Launchpad asked. "Why don't you guys split up and frighten the Beagles? I'll go back to my copter."
Soon, no matter where the Beagles looked, they saw "Mr. McDucks". Not only had Donald, Fenton and Gladstone separated and were harassing the Beagles, but Launchpad had radioed Mr. McDuck had told him about this.
Mr. McDuck had (reluctantly) paid the two train master brothers to help out. The three of them separated and were accidentally on purpose kept running into the Beagles.
"What's going on here! No matter where we go, Scrooge McDuck is right behide us or ahead of us! To the right of us or the left of us." Big Time asked.
The Beagles were starting to doubt their sanity.
"Let's get out of here!" Bouncer fled.
The Beagles turned and nearly ran into a yet another Scrooge McDuck.
They ran and soon saw "Mr. McDuck" (Launchpad in the party top hat) chasing after them in a copter. I was sitting in the back, on my cell phone, keeping everybody on the same page. Making sure all the "Mr. McDucks", including the Real one, knew where the Beagles were and which way they were heading.
Bouncer looked around nervously but Big Time remained defiant.
"Not so fast, McDuck! I've got your Dime, and if you ever want to see it again, you'd better let us go!" Big Time declared.
"Give me back me Lucky Dime and I won't call the cops on you!" Scrooge replied.
"I ain't giving it up. I'll just put in storage where you can't reach it! " Big Time replied "Open wide, Burger- you eat everything else, you can swallow this Dime."
Burger reluctantly open his mouth.
"Well Scroogie? Can we go or what?" asked Big Time.
Scrooge thought this over for a second before answering. "Run, then! I'll catch up with you again, soon enough!"
"Don't ya follow us, Scroogie. Burger here got a real big mouth. I can shove your Dime down it anytime you come too close!" Big Time chuckled as he retrieved the Dime and ran.
But Launchpad in his copter came swooping down. Launchpad reached out and swiped the Dime. Launchpad came down so fast, all Big Time could see was a duck in a TOP HAT flying a copter heading straight towards him. Big Time turned around and saw Mr. McDuck chasing him.
"What? TWO of them?" asked a confused Big Time.
Big Time tried to run, but Launchpad in his copter came after him. Launchpad purposely kept his head down so his chin didn't show, just to drive the Beagles crazy. Poor Big Time didn't know if he was coming or going, especially when Fenton, Gladstone, Donald, and the two train master brothers came into view.
"Everywhere I look, I see Scroogies!" screamed Big Time. (2)
The rest of the Beagles made themselves scarce. But Mr. McDuck – the real Mr. McDuck - grabbed Big Time. Big Time was going to fight until Launchpad swooshed by with his copter which knocked Big Time down a minute.
But this caused the top hat to fall off Launchpad's head. Launchpad put it right back on, but it was too late. Big Time had seen Launchpad's red hair and realized he'd been snookered.
Big Time was too busy laughing to fight as Mr. McDuck grabbed Big Time.
"Mr McDee! There's no need to fight him! I swiped your Dime away from him! I got it right here!" Launchpad.
Launchpad handed the Dime to Mr. McDuck who took his precious(2) Lucky Dime back.
Fenton, Gladstone, Donald and the two train master brothers came out of hiding.
"So that 's it! Look alikes! At least I'm not cracking up!" Big Time laughed.
"No you're just going..." Scrooge said "To prison!"
The End.
(1) The Beagles have tried having some members of their family run away, try to get Giz and/or other security follow them so other members can sneak back and rob while the place is unguarded. That's worked with lesser places, but not the Money Bin.
(2) Five minute pause for Gollum and Master Ring jokes.
Remember that Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs drives Steve Brodie to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge by making him think that everywhere he looked, he saw Bugs? That's where you swiped this idea from, didn't you Lupineleigh?
By the way, Steve Brodie jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge (or didn't and said he did) for MONEY and publicity. A newspaper publisher had offered a large sum of money to anybody who could do so and live to tell about it. And the poor snook was desperate. (Isn't "Brodie" an Irish name? And "No Irish Need Apply" was going on.) Or at least, that's the version of the story that I heard. Look up "Steve Brodie" online for various versions of the story.