Officer X was always, ever since he lost his job, in a terrible mood. If anybody asked, it was all those penguins' fault. They did this. They did this to him. They did it on purpose, those crazy birds. And everybody else would roll their eyes and continue on with their day. What was it to them? Why should they get bothered by one crazy mans ramblings? They all just moved on.
He never did. It was like he couldn't. He was the type of man who would get a goal and finish it to completion. No matter the cost. No matter who got hurt in the process.
He would get his revenge at any price he needed to pay.
This had been his goal for the past twelve months. Twelve months of endless planning, plotting, scheming ways to end those miserable penguins lives. This had been his only purpose in life.
Until it suddenly wasn't.
Officer Owen Bartholomew Xanders lay on the cold cement. His head ached, and he was vaguely aware of a strange stinging sensation in his right shoulder. That concerned him, seeing as he hadn't been working out in any recent memory. He could hear a faint voice, like it was underwater. It sounded concerned. He was unable to make out any of the words the voice was saying, but it sounded urgent.
He needed to move.
That, of course, was near impossible. His legs wouldn't respond to him at all, like he had slept on them funny and they became numb overnight. As he regained his senses, memories from the night before flooded his mind. He was fighting. Who? The penguins, probably. Yes, yes, that sounded right. He had been in an epic battle... On the zoo grounds. Or was it the park? It didn't really matter.
He had made a plan.
He mentally screamed. The details of his plan became clear to him as the haze of his mind lifted. It had been so perfect! So planned out! He had accounted for every possible detail, or so he thought. The birds, they had... shot something at him. From a bow of sorts. It had hit him.
The owner of the voice was shaking him now, he realized. It sounded more urgent than before.
The arrow, or lazer, had struck him in the shoulder. No wonder it stung.
He finally managed to move his hands into a somewhat coherent movement and rubbed his eyes. He managed to pry them both open, only for his retinas to be assaulted by bright, blinding light. He clenched them close again, but the shaking hands that had been grabbing his shoulder uncomfortably let go. He tried again to see who had woken him, he'd probably thank them if they hated the penguins too-
His eyes flicked open at last, and then he wondered if he had spent his entire life blind.
A woman kneeled before him, the sun illuminating her hair from behind, making it seem like a halo glowed around her. Long, soft red locks hung beautifully, framing her face in a pleasant way. Her eyes shone a brilliant emerald green, but looked so tired from stress that he wanted to cry. Two, pearly white earrings hung curiously from behind her ruby hair, and a green cap adorned her head like a crown.
It was zoo keeper Alice, someone he had become very acquainted with. Especially the heel of her boot. But never once in the year he had known her, had he ever thought of her as an angel sent down to earth. Because that's what he saw her as now.
His eyes widened despite the blinding light, as the newly recognized angel spoke to him.
"Y'all alright there?" She asked, looking mildly concerned. His heart fluttered in his chest, a feeling he had never known before. He stumbled and stuttered over words trying to answer. She rolled her eyes, her beautiful emerald orbs, and stood up from her kneeling position. She extended a hand to him, which he hesitantly reached for, and eventually took. Her hands were calloused and strong, hands of a fighter and of someone to respect. He had plenty of prior knowledge of her strength, mostly from all the attempted break-ins he had tried during open hours. She had kicked him to kingdom come each and every time.
She pulled him to his feet, and promptly let go. She glared at him, but he didn't notice. All he could think about was just how he had never noticed just how gorgeous this woman was.
"Okay, now get off of zoo property." She was now snearing, and shoving him to the zoo gates. He let himself be moved, and in the blink of an eye he was standing outside the black gates.
He swore under his breath.
He knew that, without a doubt, he was head over heels in love.
Kowalski squirmed under his leaders wrath. Skipper was giving him his famous glare, and his two other allies stood at either side of the short bird.
"I thought you destroyed that thing, soldier." He said calmly.
"Wuh-wuh-well... I can't- I couldn't-! I... Um." He blabbering came to a stop when Skipper cocked an eyebrow.
"Couldn't...?"
Kowalski cracked under the preasure.
"I couldn't just leave it there! All broken and destroyed! It was a crime, I say! It would've been a crime to let such a beautiful piece of technology suffer!" He cried, falling over and covering his face with his flippers.
"Well congratulations, soldier! Your love thing just saved all our rears!" Skipper said, jolting Kowlaski out of his exaggerated sobbing. He looked up at him from where he was on the floor and cocked his head.
"Wait- what?"
"Did you even see what happened!? That was fantastic!" Private perked up. Rico nodded enthusiastically besides him. "Who'd of thought a little love zap would render Officer X unconscious?" He giggled at the memory.
"Uh huh! Zap zap he dead! " Rico said, mimicking the shooting of the arrow.
"Well, I don't think he's quite dead, but Kowalski, your little invention might have saved us from one of the most well thought out plans ever constructed! The way he had every possible exit blocked, every camera broken, the zoo eveacuated... It was pure genius madness! The only thing that could've caught him off gaurd was even more genius madness! Well done Kowalski!" He hopped down from the TV and slapped Kowalski's back.
"Ow- ha ha! What did I tell you about my inventions?"
"Nevermind that! Say, Skipper? What would you say to a celebratory snowcone run?" Private asked.
"I'd say that's an amazing idea, Private! Let's go get snowcones!" He cheered.
As the penguins were leaving the closed hatch of their base, a thought struck Private.
"Hey, Kowalski?" He called.
"Yes?"
"What's going to happen when Officer X wakes up? It was a love ray after all."
"Well, I suppose he'll wake and fall in love with the first thing he sees. Which would be... Hilarious! Can you imagine? Officer X kissing a wall or something? We'd need to get a picture of that!"