Eighteen hours later, Francine was sitting on Manny Spamboni's bed. Gilda Flip was sitting on his desk while he worked on his newest gadget. She kicked her legs, gently wiggling the desk.
"Listen up you two, I have a genius plan," Francine announced after a moment of silence.
"Are you sure it's a genius plan? Because we've gone over this and not all plans are genius," Manny asked.
"I think all your plans are genius, Francine," Gilda offered. She didn't sound as if she particularly meant it, she had been saying things like this for years and they had become a habit.
"Thank you Gilda," this, was also a habit, "But this is a truly brilliant plan."
"What is it?"
"The three of us are going to eliminate the Electric Company once and for all," Francine smiled, "We will arrange for them to meet with an unfortunate ends."
"What?!" Manny and Gilda cried.
"You want to kill them?" Gilda added.
Francine tilted her chin up and said hotly, "That way, they will forever be out of my hair permanently. Danny and Annie, too, they are just traitors."
"But we aren't even pulling pranks any more! How are they in your hair?" the little assistant continued,
"And we took their powers! They aren't even able to do anything! And- and Danny and Annie? They're our friends!"
"Danny and Annie don't care about the Prankster way any more, ever since they started dating they don't even come to meetings!"
"But it's Danny Rebus and Annie Scrambler!" Gilda said, as if their names would bring clarity to Francine's twisted mind.
"You're either with us or with them Gilda! Which is it?"
Gilda looked from Manny to Francine, they both awaited her answer.
"I... I'm... I'm with you, of course," she managed after a moment.
"Good, now here's what we're going to do..."
Gilda Flip had never run faster in her life. As soon as the meeting was over she ran out of Francine's apartment, across the street (nearly getting hit by a bus), and through the park. It was getting dark and by that account- dangerous. But she ran. Down streets until she found the little cafe Annie Scrambler worked at. Annie wasn't there. One of the other employees working the counter made Gilda her usual and the girl found a corner booth. She let herself get lost in her own reprieve for hours.
Lisa felt funny. She had been sick that morning, which a week ago she had attributed to working hard and staying up too late and not eating right. She thought she was getting sick. But a week later, with no other symptoms, she had begun to suspect something completely different. She had gotten off work early, stopped by a drug store, and- losing her nerve- stopped into a bookstore whose name she'd never heard of.
She hid in the bathroom, following the directions on the box. She shook the device. She shook it again.
She let out a strangled sob. No, not now.