Muscles returned to his boss empty handed. Mr. Big was not happy.
"Where's the dog?" he asked.
"Daahhhh, I lost her, Mr. Big," Muscles said. "She took off runnin' and den I couldn't find her."
"Of all the dumb, idiotic, stupid, brainless . . . . can't even catch one tiny puppy!"
"Daahhh, but boss, you know and I know dat dog of deres moves at super speed."
"Shut up, you dunderhead! I'm trying to think!"
Mr. Big began pacing around the room. He spent nearly the rest of the day thinking about how to find Skittles. He still couldn't come up with anything by the next morning.
"Daaahhh, I tink I gotted an idea boss!" Muscles shouted, as he was looking through the morning newspaper.
"You've got an idea?!" Mr. Big shouted incredulously. "This I gotta hear!"
"We could put an ad in da newspaper!"
Mr. Big then yanked the newspaper out of Muscle's hands, rolled it up, and hit him repeatedly over the head with it.
"Lunkhead!" he yelled. "Nimrod! Knumbskull! Brainless buffoon! Of all the stupid, lamebrained, idiotic . . . . . where'd you get a dumb idea like that?!"
"Daaahhh, da newspaper," Muscles said. "Look here, see?"
Mr. Big opened the paper, and found the Want Ads. One caught his eye in particular.
Found: small brown and white puppy. Female. Blue collar with brass tag that reads "Skittles." No other information on tag. Contact Granny Sweet at 999 Shady Lane.
"Hmmm . . . ." Mr. Big said, thoughtfully. "That's it. That's it! I know exactly what to do! And I'll take care of this myself. I don't need you to screw this up!"
"Daaahhhh, okay, boss," Muscles said.
Meanwhile, Granny Sweet was looking over her ad in the paper. Precious and Skittles were sitting in front of her on the floor.
"There now," she said, turning to Skittles. "I'm sure your owner will read the ad I put in the paper. We'll have you home in no time at all."
Skittles wagged her tail, barked happily, jumped into Granny's arms, and began licking her face in thanks. Moments later, there was a knock on the door.
"Now who could that be?" Granny asked. "Maybe it's your owner, Skittles."
Skittles began barking, hoping that it was Multi, Coiley, and Fluey. She and Precious followed Granny to the door, as she opened it. On her front porch stood a man wearing a gray suit and hat. He was holding a copy of the newspaper.
"Good morning, madam," the man said, tipping his hat. "Are you Granny Sweet?"
"Yes," Granny answered. "Who are you?"
"My name is Barnes. I saw your ad in the paper, and the description you gave of the dog you found is the exact description of the dog I lost a few days ago."
Precious and Skittles looked at this Mr. Barnes, and both began growling at him. They didn't like him one bit.
"Precious, I'm surprised at you!" Granny scolded.
"Ah, there she is," Mr. Barnes said, and he bent down to pick up the little pup. Skittles growled, and began to back away. She didn't want to take off running, not in front of Granny Sweet. It would just scare the nice old lady, and she didn't want to do that.
"Are you sure this is your dog?" Granny asked. "She doesn't seem to like you."
"Oh, it's just a little game we play," Mr. Barnes said. "Actually, the pup belongs to my children."
"Your children?"
"Yes. She was a gift from their mother, rest her soul. She gave the children the puppy right before she . . . . . passed on."
"Oh, how awful."
"My poor children were heartbroken when their mother left us, and then, our little puppy got loose. They'll be thrilled when I bring her home. Thank you ever so much for finding her."
"Well, I'm just glad I was able to help."
Precious glanced at Granny, and gave her a look that said, "you're not actually buying this, are you?" Then he turned to Mr. Barnes and began growling again. Mr. Barnes then picked up Skittles and attached a leash to her collar. That was the only thing that could slow her down, mostly because Multi had taught her, under any circumstances, no matter what, never to take off with her super speed while on a leash. Mr. Barnes then started to carry Skittles to a car parked on the curb. Precious growled, began barking, and was about to race out after Mr. Barnes, but Granny grabbed his collar and held him back.
"Precious, what's gotten into you?" she asked, as she pulled him back into the house, and shut the door. Precious ran for it, and began pawing at the front door, whining. He knew that wasn't Skittles's owner, and he knew that this man was trouble with a capital T. Granny hadn't seen the front page of the newspaper. If she had, she would have known Mr. Barnes was in reality Mr. Big.
Mr. Big, in the meantime, climbed into his car, and Muscles started driving. Skittles was barking frantically, trying to bite him.
"Daaaahhh, didja get her, boss?" Muscles asked.
"Yeah, I got the little runt," Mr. Big said. "Now all I gotta do is figure out how to use her to lure the Impossibles to me."
Skittles growled, and gave Mr. Big a good, hard chomp in his hand.
"YEEOUCH!" Mr. Big yelled. "All right you little pipsqueak! I've got just the thing for you!"
Mr. Big held Skittles down, and put a muzzle over her snout. Skittles began whimpering and pawing at it, trying to get it off.
"That oughta shut you up," Mr. Big said, with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Impossibles were cruising around in the Impossi-Mobile, still looking for their furry, four-legged friend. They had been all over town, and still couldn't find one single trace of her.
"We've searched this city with a fine tooth comb," Coiley said. "You think we'd have found her by now!"
"Or somebody else would have," Multi said.
"Maybe somebody did," Fluey said. He had been reading the morning paper, hoping someone might have found Skittles and put an ad in it. "Listen to this. Found. Small brown and white puppy. Female. Blue collar with brass tag that reads Skittles. No other information on tag. Contact Granny Sweet at nine-nine-ninte Shady Lane."
"That's only a couple of blocks from here," Multi said. "Let's go!"
Coiley practically put the pedal to the floorboard, and the boys raced for Granny Sweet's house. Once they arrived, they quickly switched from their superhero identities to their rock 'n roller outfits, so they wouldn't alarm the sweet little old lady. Multi immediately knocked on the door, and Granny Sweet answered a few moments later with Precious at her side.
"Yes?" Granny Sweet asked. "What can I do for you boys?"
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am," Multi said. "But we lost our dog, and we read your ad in the paper. The description matches perfectly."
"Yeah, and we've been going crazy trying to find her," Fluey said.
"I think you boys must be mistaken," Granny Sweet said. "Someone else already claimed the puppy."
"What?!" the Impossibles shouted in unison.
"Someone already claimed her?" Coiley asked. "But . . . . but how? We're her owners!"
"And we can prove it," Multi said. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and opened it to a recent photo of him, Coiley, and Fluey, with Skittles.
"Did the other person who claimed to be Skittles's owner have any proof?" Fluey asked.
"Well, no," Granny Sweet said, looking at the picture. "But he had a very convincing story."
"What's his name?" Coiley asked. "Maybe we can track him down."
"I don't know his first name," Granny said. "All he said was his name was Barnes."
"What did he look like?" Fluey asked.
"Well, he was a bit tall," Granny said. "And he wore a gray suit and hat. Though it was a bit odd. Skittles and my dog, Precious, kept growling at him."
"She kept growling at him," Fluey repeated, and he exchanged a glance with his two best friends. They knew Skittles only growled at criminals. Then he took out the newspaper, and looked at the front page.
"He didn't happen to look like this, did he?" he asked, showing the paper to Granny.
"Why, yes!" Granny shouted. "This is Mr. Barnes all right. Why?"
"Well, lady," Fluey said. "You just gave our dog to the international crime kingpin known as Mr. Big."
"Oh gracious!" Granny shouted. "Oh, how horrible! I'm so sorry, boys! I didn't realize . . . . . oh dear!"
"Come on, fellas!" Coiley shouted. "We've got to trail Mr. Big and get Skittles back!"
"But what could that crook want with her, anyway?" Multi asked.
"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count," Fluey said. "We'd better be careful when we find him. If he's got Skittles, then we're definitely going to be walking into a trap!"
"Rally ho!" the Impossibles shouted, and took off.
Precious watched them go, barked, and ran after the car. He jumped into it without the Impossibles noticing. He was going to lay low for now, but he was going to help the Impossibles. After all, they didn't know where to start looking, and Precious knew Mr. Big's and Skittles's scent.
