Over the fence

by

Mastermindhunter

It was seven o clock in the morning in the zoovenier shop. The sun was just coming up. Marlene watched the four penguins carefully, as they waited for the experiment to be completed. They had been considering this invention for quite some time, but she didn't know that they were actually going to put the experiment into action. The idea seemed kind of out there, even for Skipper. They had said it was something that could change them into humans, real live humans! They were going to leave zoo grounds, and walk around New York as real live people. She didn't feel right about it. It was a major leap in their technological development.

Skipper had explained to Marlene why he was doing it. He said he was interested in doing it for the reason that he could do something that was stimulating. Adventure had always grabbed his attention. He wasn't going to pass this up. He might even give Alice a piece of his mind, not that he would tell her it was him, but he always wanted to talk like a human. Private was of course very optimistic with the experience. He knew he was willing to try something new. If he managed to find something that humans did, that he liked it could have been pretty neat. Kowalski was of course interested in anything that served a scientific purpose. Probably going to write down notes the whole time. Rico wasn't so sure about it. Humans were pretty subtle, which was something he definitly knew he would have trouble with.

"Tell me again. Why are you guys doing this in the zoovenier shop again?"

"Beacause humans don't fit in our HQ. We need somewhere bigger." Private explained.

Marlene looked at the rather large piece of equipment. It was pretty big, but a human could carry it under his arm easliy. She took Skipper by the shoulders, and looked at him in the eye. "Skipper? Are you sure you know what your doing? The human world is huge, and if I'm not mistaken, very dangerous! Especially New York." He slowly took her paws off his shoulders.

"Trust me, Marlene. We've been out there plenty of times. I'm pretty sure that if this invention does anything, it'll help increase our safety. Being a human is safer than being a penguin, when your out there in the real world. Now, we'll be gone for a full week. And if anything happens, we'll change back in a flash. I trust I can count on you to be safe for that amount of time?" She looked to the side, and bit her lip, nodding with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm sure I'll be okay. I made it through each day back at my old aquarium. I'm sure I'll survive without four crazy penguins holding my hand." They hugged, and Skipper faced the machine. Kowalski's goggles showed the reflections of the sparks. Marlene asked when the machine would be done, but he wouldn't respond. He was focused fully on the technology infront of the him. Marlene pulled the headphones out of the boom box. He turned back to Marlene, and quietly asked if she didn't do that. He was trying to stay focused. He plugged them back in, and resumed using his blowtorch. She looked at him, like he was acting foolish.

"Just a few more fuses, and . . . I . . . am . . . finished! He stepped back to admire his work. It looked like a large box with a shower head coming out of it. The sides were stainless steel plated. They drew straws to see who would go under the ray first. Private was the one who was the first. Followed by Kowalski, then Skipper and Rico. Private walked underneath the shower like ray, and held his breath, ready for the change. "Are you ready Private?" He nodded his head. He yanked down a large lever, and the ray burst down upon him, looking like electricity. It felt incredibly strange. He felt his body turn very long, and stretched. He felt nauseated as he felt things grow and shrink. Finally Kowalski said he could open his eyes.

"How do I look?" When Kowalski held up a mirror, he was astounded. He was actually quite handsome. His beak was replaced with a nose, teeth, and lips. His onyx black hair was lightly buzzed, and very tough and thick. His eyes were big and expressive. On the sides of his head, there were ears. His body was dressed in a black tuxedo, with a black bowtie. Wings were replaced with hands and long fingers. He wiggled them, as they individually moved. His body was long, and slenderous. He looked down at the others. They were dwarved next to his hieght. It was kind of funny, at how he was now taller than everone else.

Next was Kowalski. He turned it on running underneath it. He looked just like Private, only he had a widows peak in his hair, and he was taller. Next he reached down to turn it on for Skipper. He shot up. The flatness of his head was still showing, but he looked just like the others, with the same widows peak as Kowalski had. Rico was the last to go under. When he came out, his scar was still visible on his face, and his hair at the top was tufted, just like his feathers were, when he was a penguin. He looked at himself with pride, as he smiled at the others.

Skipper looked down at Marlene, and smiled. "What do you think? We're quite handsome eh?" He held onto the lapels of his tuxedo jacket, and smiled that cocky smile of his. Marlene had smiled up to him, and made a little chirping sound. He had suddenly remembered that humans ears were different. They could only hear the voices of other humans. He frowned, and Marlene looked confused. "I almost forgot. Humans can't understand animals. I'm sorry, but whatever you said, I'm sure it was very sweet." He put his hand on Marlene's head, and pet her, like a normal human would. She smiled, and turned back to her habitat. They all thought of what they would do next. "Boys we need to start finding a place to stay. Kowalski, options."

"Well, I guess the first thing we should do is find a hotel, and rent a room." Skipper liked that plan. He looked around the shop, and tried to open the cash register. It wouldn't budge. He turned to Rico for something to open it up with. Rico cleared his throat, and sort of looked at the ground as he spun his foot, which was now clad in a shiny black shoe, in circles. He bit his lip, and shook his head no.

"What's the hold up, Rico?"

"Uhh, Skipper? I sort of told him to empty his hoard of weapons before we preformed the experiment. It was a precaution , in case they would scar his weaker human stomach. In general, he has no weapons." Skipper raised his eyebrow, and looked at the human Rico. He smiled nervously, and shrugged. Skipper smiled, and asked where they were. He pointed over to the island, and grunted. Skipper thought of what to do. He figured Kowalski would know what to do. He asked if he knew where the key could have been. They looked everywhere, until they found it under the water cooler. They grabbed it, and the box opened up, with a cha-ching. Skipper grabbed all the money out of the cash register. He told Private to grab the machine, so they could turn back at any moment they needed to, just in case.

"You've got it Skipper." He grabbed the box, but had only pressed his hands firmly against it. He hadn't thought of wrapping his fingers around it, since he was so used to picking things up the way he always did. With a loud smash, it landed on the floor, broken, and shattered. Eveybody gasped as it hit the floor. They all looked at Private shocked. Privates hands were on his head, his eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Ahh Private what have you done?" Kowalski screeched.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry! I didn't mean to smash the machine. Human hands are so hard to get used to." He cried. Skipper picked up a cog, and looked at Kowalski with a nervous frown.

"Please for the love of fish, tell me you still have those blueprints." He pleaded Kowalski. Kowalski dug through the tools he brought, and found them under a bunch of disgarded oil cans. Skipper smiled, and breathed a breath of relief.

"Alright how long did it take for you to get that machine to work?" He pointed at the broken heap on the floor, which was once a machine. Kowalski flipped through his notebook, adding up all the hours he took for the machine to work.

"Well it took, and this is counting all the breaks, three days."

"Three days?! What if we get into trouble by then?" Skipper hollered. Kowalski shrugged without an answer. Skipper pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right. I'm sure that if we grab all the money out of the register, we'll be able to pay for some equipment." They all nodded in agreement, and he cleaned out the cash register.

"Sorry, Alice . . . " Skipper said. Then he turned his head to the side, and smiled. "Wait . . . no I'm not." He emptied it, promising himself that he would refill it, once he got the chance. They opened the door, and slipped around the side of the wall. It felt a lot less stealthier, since they were larger. They jumped over the fence, and ran away from the zoo. The grass was no longer between thier toes. They now wore black shiny shoes, and they felt like moving towers. Their long legs felt like stilts. It was a whole new world they were now facing. The skin that replaced their beak was soft, and pink. They flexed their hands, and fingers. They had never felt fingers before, and their skin was way more sensitive, and alert, without feathers to cover it. Still the tuxedos did do them some good, warmth wise. The clock over the zoo, said it was nine. They ran far away from the zoo, so they wouldn;t get caught. In no time they found themselves in a crowded area of the city. Tall skyscrapers were everywhere. They were now stranded out in the midde of the big city stuck as humans. What were they to do?

This was inspired by the picture drawn by catrix-reload on deviant art. Here is the link, if you would like to see what they look like as humans. .com/art/The-Penguins-of-Madagascar-127614640. Or if that doesn't work, just go to deviantart,com, and type in penguins of madagascar. It will be the first picture that shows up. It's in back and white, and shows all four of them in a james bond sort of resembance. Trust me. It is very nicey drawn. If you see it differently, then that is your choice. This is just the picture that inspired me.