Scrooge: Can't Keep Me From A Free Movie
By Werespirit
Scrooge McDuck, Gyro, Helper, Beagle Boys, Donald, and Money Bin © to Carl Barks and Disney
Sonton Lawson and Steel (Steel the world that is) and all things from that world © by Werespirit
© 2011, 5771, 1432, 1390, 1933, 4709
Scrooge was waiting and standing in line for a movie until he heard a person up front call out that there was no more room left. Curse all these tall people, can't see a blasted thing from here! He wanted to see if the person up front was someone he had hired for this theater. Not that it mattered, he didn't feel like announcing to a crowd who he really was. Well no one was going to stop Scrooge McDuck from seeing a free movie.
Dodging the crowd he headed for a side alley, on the right side of the theater. Scrooge smirk when he saw the window. Few knew that this screen window was not yet repaired. Pushing on it, he crawled into the storage room, were all the movie reels were kept and old movies not kept, but sent to one of the many storage places Scrooge had. After making sure the screen was back in one place, once again. He pulled out some keys, not your everyday kind of keys, but specially made keys. One would go into the knob and a smaller key would go into secret panel that was five inches above the knob. If a person uses these keys, they have to turn them at the same time. To make matters worst one had to use a completely different set of keys coming in. Scrooge wasn't planning on retracing his steps, unless he absolutely had too.
After peeking out the door, he quickly lock it. Then headed towards his next target, an air vent. He was about to turn a corner when he heard voices. Quickly he pick a door and went in, tripping over something in the process. Landing on something soft. What did I land on, a bunch of pillows. It didn't feel like one, or smell like one. Before he could find the light switch, the voices were now so close that he half expected them to open the door.
"Did you see all those monster wasp eggs. All leathery and a strange smell coming from them," The kid went on in gory detail on how they hatch and ate their victims. For some reason, Scrooge half imagine that he had trip on some eggs. Pushing this thought aside, he turn on the light to find a snarling face looking at him. Scrooge gave a chuckle, it was only a deflated werewolf. All around him were from one movie or and other, Scrooge would of like to stay and look at the stuff, but he had to hurry. Making sure no one was around, he hurried towards the air vents.
Most of the air vents he checked out were closed and screwed shut except for this one, he had no problem getting it open. The cleaning crew had probably just finish cleaning this one. Luckily they hadn't come back to close it yet, still this could have been a problem, if he hadn't had an other air vent to choose from. It was a little higher off the ground, but one could get in with a rope or jump down from it.
Inside and up, he went. It was a little steep going, but if one can walk up a mountain, a little vent should be a breeze, right? He almost didn't quite get to the top, the angle was almost straight up, but he made it. Collecting both his thoughts and breath, he brought up a map in his mind and decided the best way to go.
"Left," a mutter came from under his breath. Then he continued his journey.
Well he made it. The movie was just starting. More then once during the film he caught himself mentally calculating how much he was making, instead of enjoying himself. That was of course nothing compare to what happen in the middle of the film.
The film all of a sudden black out, when twenty seconds went by, Scrooge knew there was a problem. It was time to get to the bottom of this before he had a crowd of angry people. Scrooge starting ticking off the stages. One) the people would start wondering, "what happen?" Two) they would get restless if the movie didn't come back on. Three) every one would get angry, and the last stage would be that they wouldn't come to this theater again or at least for quite awhile. He couldn't allow it to get to that stage at all.
Scrooge crawled through the air vent as fast as he could towards the exit. If I' m right, I' m going to come to a dead end. If I go back out the same way. But what choice did he have, the air vent he came in was closer to the door for the movie that was showing, more so then the other air vent. Sliding down the air vent, he smashed the grate feet first, and pop out with a thud and clatter of metal, it made such a rack that three employees came running.
"Hey what are you doing in there! The boss isn't going to like it," the employee said the last sentence more to himself then to the short duck.
"I' am the boss, now get that grate back on!" Doing a quick dusting he spirited down the hall before the employee could say an other word. That was the problem with having some else hire employees for him in other places besides the money bin, they never knew who the real boss was. Of course it was good for a few open mouths or faints. Then there were the times he had to show ID or even gotten the police called on him, that always was a hassle.
He push these thoughts aside, now wasn't the time to think of such things. Let' em call who they wanted. He'll deal with it later. Slowing his pace to a regular walk, he stop and look up at the sign on the door, it read: G-1. With one flowing movement the door was thrown open. The old duck started up the stairs, taken two steps at a time. Once he reached the top, he threw open the door. Then he open his bill, but close it just as quickly, for before him, was an empty room.
On closer inspection of the room, the movie reel was also gone. Who would steal a movie? One of the employees? It was possible, but it also was possible that an outsider thief took it as well. Scrooge examine the room, but didn't find out anything except that the movie projector was still warm and the seat was also still warm.
Back down the stairs he went, this time more slowly. Once Scrooge reach bottom, he located the nearest employee.
"You get up there and show some short cartoons to the audience as long as you can, tell I get back," He pushed the employee to the door, then run towards the main office, only stopping long enough to get an other employee to think up some excuse for why the film wasn't showing and why they are now showing short cartoons.
Without a knock, he opened the door to the main office. "Were's the list of employees," he demanded and pulled out his ID card, he let it fall onto the desk right in front of the manager. One quick look at the ID card and the manager was pulling out the list.
"May I ask…"
"You may tell me which employee was running the movie in G-1," the manager look down at his list and point to the name Sonton Lawson.
"Address," the employee's finger went below the name, reading the address out loud. Scrooge was out the door before the employee can ask if there was anything else he could do.
The place wasn't far, if he could only just hurry a little faster he could be back with the movie reel in less time it takes to say the person's name. Scrooge was planning on grabbing the reel, firing the person, and getting it back to it's proper place.
When he got there, the first thing he heard was a moan, the moan sounded like it was all around him, for awhile he just couldn't place it, until a voice above him spoke.
"You're here for the reel?" the voice whispered this, there was a hint of saddest in that voice.
"I am here to claim what is rightfully mind!"
"Yours? It's in the house just go in," The binturong lazily wave Scrooge in from the tree he was laying in.
Scrooge open the door. Immediately he saw a strange device. It was square, with wires and tubes all over the machine, a few blue lights, something that might be a round pad attach to it, and four wheels on it, the easier to roll it. Across from it was the reel, laying at an odd angle. Scrooge pick up the reel, but quickly drop it, it felt icy cold to the touch, but it seem to be ok, apart from being drop. He give it one more glance before he went back outside.
"What's that device and why did you need the reel?" Sonton didn't speak until he got down, straighten his cloths, made sure he's hat was straight, and took in a large breath of air.
"It's a device that opens portals to other worlds that may or may not have different rules then your own world or universe or galaxy, in other words it a dimension machine. Your movie reel is a mirror image, base on my world. All worlds have this image in one form or an other, be it a movie, a book, a comic, or a toy," Sonton nervously adjusted his green bowl hat with a W=P on it. "I come through one of those dimensions, but I just can't go back. Blew my part out, but take it. I'll figure an other way out of here."
Scrooge would of dismiss the story as some mad lunatic rambling, if he hadn't not only saw the machine, but felt the icy cold touch of that reel. Of course, there was knowing how Gyro and his inventions sometimes came out. Scrooge stood there in deep thought, not know that Sonton was waiting for him to leave, so he could get back to work. Sonton figured that the people of this world must do deep thinking, for why else would one stand outside in the open thinking, instead of doing ones thinking inside. Sonton started to move towards the house when Scrooge came out of his thoughts.
Scrooge blinked his eyes in a manner that imitated some who had just awoke and was now looking at the light. Finding that Sonton moved, he turn towards the binturong.
"I know some one who could help you. He is an inventor like you. I'm sure he'll have what you need," Scrooge pulled out a pad and pen, wrote down Gyro's address, tearing the page out and handed it to Sonton. Scrooge went in to the house to pick up the reel again. This time it was mildly warm, when Scrooge mention it, the binturong just give him a mysterious smile.
After Scrooge left, Sonton notice that he give him no number. Sonton hated to be the type to just go up to people's houses and expect an answer, just because he knock. Grumbling to himself he headed for the nearest phone booth which was a block away.
Once he found the number, dug out a stubborn coin, and dialed the number. He almost didn't answer back. For Gyro was the first inventor he know of to have an official business shop. Finally after the second "hello", he went into detail explaining what he needed, what he invented, and who had sent him, incase Gyro decided to refuse to help.
In no time at all he was at Gyro's house working on it, arguing over it, and just plain enjoying himself.
On Scrooge side, every thing went fine at the movie theater, but he couldn't help but wonder if that dimension traveler would get back. He decided to sleep on it.
"First thing in the morning," He snuggled under the sheets and closed his eyes.
By the time he ate and got over to Gyro's house, he saw they had it out in the front yard. Maybe they were almost done with it.
"No, no. That went there!" Sonton look up in the sky as if saying a prayer. Which secretly he was.
"But I could make it better with this new device I invented." Frown Gyro.
"Just put the old one in there."
"Ok, Mr. Grumpy pants, I thought I could help," Gyro muttered something else under his breath.
Sonton sense Scrooge standing there and greeted him.
"Is it almost ready?" Ask Scrooge.
"Just about, but I still need to grab some mirror images and test it. Might be ready tonight."
"You not going to leave it out in the open," Scrooge worriedly looked around. "Beagle Boys might be lurking around."
"That's were my new invention comes in, it will camouflage the invention into a shrub," Gyro pointed the device (which look like some kind of futuristic pen) at the dimension machine. With a click it changed into…"Or a rock." Helper come out and put a red flag with a danger sign by the rock, then walk off. Gyro with an other click of the device changed the machine back.
"I'll work out the bugs."
"Why don't you finish it up, Gyro. Me and Scrooge need to go shopping."
"Not with my money!" Scrooge huffed.
"Relax, the money is now mine. Besides I need help in finding the Steel stuff. So what other items does it have."
Scrooge run through the list. "Since the movie was a cartoon, we should go to the toy store first," And off they went, hitting one store after an other.
"If this one doesn't have it, then I have run out of places," They stumbled to the door, as Scrooge went inside he notice Sonton was still looking at the sign which read: Mc Duck's Wari Toys. Scrooge open the door.
"Cute, naming your store after a board game. Do you own all the towns stores? I notice your name comes up, a lot."
"You can say I own now, 99 % of Duckberg," Scrooge pushed open the door and the bell tied to a bar give a small jingle as they entered.
"And all the money in town," Sonton gave the stubborn door a push tell he heard a click, he turned see Scrooge given a faint smile at his remark.
"Ok money grabber, were do we start," the place was small but the shelves were double the size of one of them.
"We start by asking," Scrooge headed towards the clerk of the store. After a brief conversation, the clerk practically skipped to their next destination, a high shelf. The dog got down severalitems and put them onto the wooden table.
"These the ones?" ask Scrooge.
Sonton look over the toys and nodded. Sonton grab two of each until he had six all together, that he felt resembled his home world the most.
Once Sonton paid for the items, both headed back to check on how Gyro was during.
"All done. You ready to test drive it?" Gyro changed the device from a tree stump to it's old machine-self. Helper hop down, carrying a small picnic basket that had a few bird seeds left.
The binturong nodded. Taking out a stuff toy griffin with a mask and cape and put it on the circular device that one steps on. With a few pushes of the buttons and putting in the next location stop, he then hit a green button. A flash of purple light encircled the stuff toy, then with a small pop it disappeared. The binturong smiled. Seeing that his small audience was waiting for him to speak, he spoke the words all inventers would like to say: "It's a success."
With a quick thank you, Sonton pulled out a grey aardvark statue with onyx eyes. Inserted it on a slot, putting in the location and said his last words. "I've have one more world to see, then I'm heading home," With a push of a button the whole device was filled with a bright purple light, instead of the small pop, an ear piercing explosion sounded, temporary blinding them in more then one way.
The second way it blinded them was that nobody saw the Beagle Boys come out with an invention that had a yellow arm and hand.
"So what do you think it is 176-671?" Ask 176-167, stuffing his mouth with an other prune.
"It must be a digger, come on let's test this back at headquarters," 176-176 muttered that it look like a fancy scratchier to him. Later on they will find out that 176-176 was right.
"It looks like the material is going to be hard for me to find," Gyro had got done telling Scrooge that he could make on of those dimension machines.
"I'm going to be hard to get. I'll be taken a swim in my money bin," Scrooge wondered as he walk out, if Donald was done polishing the coins yet. If not he'll give him a few more coins to polish. Gyro in the mean time wondered who would want to steal a scratchier.
Not too long afterwards one could hear a scream of rage on the wind coming from the Money Bin.
