Pinky and the Brain (And Zanna) Chapter 2

Throughout the night, the three worked at the Brain's new plan for world domination. While Pinky helpfully clipped his paw-nails, Zanna commented on the Brain's notes and added praise where due. It was all going smoothly, until Zanna noticed a flaw in the Brain's vaccination "recipe" which the megalomaniac had failed to notice in his flaring excitement.

"The Brain," Zanna added in an efficient, explanatory manner, "I've just noticed that you've decided to put 1% Thioridazine, 0.5% Trimipamine, 0.3% Ramelteon and 0.2% Olanzapine into each vaccine solution. But really the Brain, you'd need much less Thioridazine and a little more Olanzapine to really make sure the vaccine has the proper effect, otherwise the humans' brains will be more active and less susceptible to your control."

The Brain was speechless for a moment, for two reasons. First, this mouse was clearly as intelligent as he was, if not more so, in matters of hypnotic substances. Secondly, she was criticizing his plans and making him feel like he was not doing nearly as well as he should be. If there was anything the Brain hated, it was being told his world dominations was unsatisfactory and that he was responsible for flaws in one of his plans.

In response to Zanna's comments, he shouted in anger, gripping Zanna by the shoulder. "How dare you criticize my formulae and percentage decisions!"

Zanna was not only taken aback, but she was also not sure how easily she would be able to wriggle out of the Brain's vice-like grip. "On the contrary, my good mouse, I did not criticize your formulae and percentage decisions, I was merely pointing out a very er… Little mistake," she finished off politely, realizing that she had actually made the situation worse by lying about how big an error this was.

"Little? Do you realize that if I created bulks of the vaccines with my original percentages of Hypnotic substances, they would have not been nearly hypnotic enough to change the states of minds of human beings everywhere so they would easily bow to my rule? This is a very large mistake! And youYOU…"

"I saved you from wasting thousands of dollars and from making a very humiliating and upsetting mistake," Zanna finished for him, furious. She now tried to wriggle out of the Brain's grasp and he let her go, then he stormed out of the cage to go and sulk in a corner of the Lab.

Zanna, even though she knew she had been perfectly reasonable, felt very guilty at what she had done. She would never want to make an amazingly intelligent lab mouse feel humiliated and stupid and the Brain had seemed very angry, not just cross and irritable as she had seen he was prone to be. She sank down onto her knees and her ears drooped with sadness. Pinky, who had been watching in silence all this time, came over to Zanna and put a paw on her shoulder in an innocently sympathetic fashion.

"Aw, it's OK, Zanna. Brain has these tantrums all the time and he can't stand it when he makes a mistake or realizes someone is smarter than he is."

"But I'm not smarter than he is," Zanna replied quietly, "That's the point. It would have taken me way longer than he did to come up with those percentages and formulae for the constituion of the vaccines." She looked up at him, smiling, "You're lucky to have him as a companion, Pinky, even if he does go off and huff and sulk quite often."

"I agree. I'm very lucky to have Brain. I can't imagine what it would have been like not trying to take over the world every night. NARF!"

Zanna chuckled and stood up, feeling a little better. Maybe she should not feel guilty after all and the Brain would soon forgive her, just as he presumably had forgiven Pinky for unintentionally hurting his feelings over and over again.

Zanna walked over to the Brain's notes and checked them again. Other than the error she had pointed out, there seemed to be nothing wrong with his vaccine component plans. She then rechecked his procedure plan notes, how they would persuade the right people and so on, which she thought satisfactory.

Zanna then attempted to decide herself how they could manage the budget. The Brain had already said that he had enough money left over from previous money-making schemes to buy enough vaccine materials in bulk for approximately a million people, but she still tried to think of ways that they could reduce the cost as much as possible. Of course, they would not have to buy all the vaccines themselves, they would make sure that they did not put a patent on the vaccines so other companies could recreate them and market them themselves. After all, polio vaccines were in constant need and people were desperate to eradicate the disease. The Brain and Zanna were also keen to stop the spread of polio, but were also keen to make sure that the Brain had the chance to become world leader.

She remembered that the Brain had suggested they buy a particular type of plastic for the vaccines and a particular type of metal for the needles. She knew there were cheaper substitutes that were almost as good and had no common unpleasant side effects, so she wrote them down on a piece of paper. Zanna was not sure how the Brain would take her money-saving ideas, now that they had had such a quarrel over her input, but she decided that she would present them more gently than she would have done before.

Just then, a voice asked, "Zanna?" The mouse looked up from her pile of notes. It was the Brain, standing just outside of the cage, appearing much calmer, but still not recovered, as seen by his slight grimace.

"Yes?" she answered nervously, not sure what her acquaintance was thinking.

"Can I speak to you for a moment please? Pinky, I'll see you soon."

"OK Brain!" Pinky called, looking up from his pile of shape puzzles, which he was struggling to complete. Lately, when the Brain had been thinking of world domination plans, he had encouraged Pinky to do something that would help his cognitive skills, such as jigsaw and shape puzzles. Pinky enjoyed them quite a deal now, but still was not much above kindergarten level.

Zanna, worried but equally curious at the same time as to what the Brain wished to speak to her about, jumped over the paper on the floor of the cage, stepped out and followed the Brain into the corner of the Lab, to which he walked with his head drooped, at a quick pace. When he stopped and turned to her, Zanna halted as well and she clasped and unclasped her paws together, waiting for him to speak, her ears pricked with interest.

"I'm sorry... For… For my outburst earlier, Zanna. You must understand it's very difficult for me to take criticism. I'm like this a great deal and I hope you become used to it."

"It's OK," Zanna speedily replied, her emotion starting up again. "I shouldn't have been so rude and hasty. And I understand that you can get so angry, if all your anger at not being leader of the world is gnawing at you like a - a beaver on a piece of wood. I…"

By this point, the Brain had walked forward to Zanna and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Shh," he whispered gently. "Don't put so much blame on yourself. I forgive you. And I…" His ears drooped. "I hope you forgive me, too."

"Yes!" Zanna replied, relieved that all this mess was finally settled. As she looked at the Brain now, who was smiling slightly, she thought she detected something in her heart that fluttered and she felt her head whirl, somehow, but she did not know why. "Oh the Brain, I think I might be able to endure you more now," she told him jokingly.

He chuckled and replied, "Please, call me Brain. Everyone who I can - tolerate - is allowed to call me Brain."

Zanna was, surprisingly, pleased that Brain was back to his predictable, irritable old self again. It was strange, Zanna felt like she knew Brain very well now, yet the two genetically altered lab mice had only first met a few short hours ago. When she noticed Pinky come up to them both with arms open wide for a big, mushy group hug, she realized that she knew Pinky quite well too, despite the fact that she figured Pinky's randomness would remain mystifying for an indefinite period of time.

Brain grumbled as he was squeezed by Pinky, but both Zanna and his "room-mate" knew that he enjoyed it really, though he would not be likely to admit the fact.

The reconciled pack ambled to the cage and slowly and carefully, Zanna presented her new ideas to Brain. Luckily, he had not set his money-making ideas so decidedly in his mind as his vaccine ones, so he was willing to accept Zanna's proposals. He told her,

"I'm glad, in a way, that you don't rush world domination plans like I do. Perhaps it's a good idea to have an intelligent associate who does not want to prevent me from taking over the world, but in fact wants to help."

"I'm glad you think so," Zanna beamed, yawning a little and stretching her arms in a childish manner. "I haven't slept for a while." She chuckled tiredly. "I think I'll have a quick nap. Wake me up when you need me," she asked Brain.

"Er… Goodnight, Zanna," Brain replied hurriedly, a little perplexed at first that Zanna was leaving the cage, until he remembered a split second later that she had her own cage to go to.

Zanna glanced back at him and grinned. "No-one's ever said that to me before." She paused, pondering. "Goodnight Brain." She was just about to walk away when she remembered her other new companion needed a good night wish as well. Waving, she called, "Goodnight Pinky!"

"Nighty night Zanna, sleep all snugly and tight, ZORT!" replied Pinky, looking up with his genuine grin. Zanna glanced at both of them again before she left, smiling back at the insanely smiling taller mouse and the slightly smiling shorter mouse. As she finally wandered off to bed, Zanna rejoiced at the fact that she had two such wonderful new companions, even if one of them reminded her a little of the vapid mice she had had to spend time with in Peabody's Lab. These two mice were both more intelligent than any other mice she had ever met and she was convinced that, even if there were other mice in the world even more intelligent than herself, Pinky and the Brain, they were the best mice in the world in almost every way.