"Okay, nobody move!" an all-too-familiar voice sputtered after the water from the manhole died down. "All right Black Cats, grab sky or the judge gets it." The now soaked pirate began to wave his gun wildly. "You heard me! I said don't move!"
"Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed from behind Zoro and Sanji.
"Yep, it's me!" said Luffy, with that big goofy grin on his face. "You didn't think that I was gonna let my whole crew get wasted, did ya?"
"Put that gun down, you rubber freak!" yelled Kuro.
"That's it, Kuro," said Luffy, now pointing the gun at the judge. "Give me another reason to pump you full of lead. Thought you could get away with it, huh?"
What nobody noticed was that Django, still holding a ring at McKenzie's throat in one hand, was taking another ring out of his pocket with his free hand. He was aiming for a net full of bricks hanging right above Luffy . . .
"I may act scatterbrained at times, but I'm not that stupid," Luffy continued. "We pirates demand justice. Why, just the meaning of the word probably hits you on the head like a ton of bricks!"
All of the sudden, Django threw his second ring at the net of bricks. The ring easily sliced through the net, and before anyone could react, the entire contents were spilled out of the net and right onto poor Luffy.
Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji ran up and dug Luffy out of the brick pile.
"Luffy, say something, you idiot!" yelled Sanji.
"Look, stars!" exclaimed a half-dazed Luffy. "Ready when you are, Reginald!"
"Tie the crew together," ordered Kuro. "Put them up on that hook. Use that escape-proof pirate rope."
A few goons ran up and tied the four boys back to back. Django didn't move because he was still cornering McKenzie.
"You were great Luffy," said Zoro as the four pirates were latched onto a giant hook.
"Was I really?" asked Luffy, who was now out of shock.
"Well, I was about to do that before you shot out of the floor," said Usopp, trying to mask his impending fear. "'Cause I'm Captain Usopp!"
McKenzie watched as one of the goons began to start up the Dip machine.
"It's over Miss Valiant," said Kuro. He then turned to walk away, but just as he was about to, he slipped right onto the marbles and landed with a loud THUD.
All the goons, including Django, started to laugh at their boss' misfortune. McKenzie saw an opportunity. She quietly began to sneak up on Django.
But what she didn't count on was Kuro. "Look out! You fool!" he yelled at his right-hand man as he struggled to stand up.
Django snapped back to attention. "Not so fast . . . " he hissed as he pushed the ring dangerously close to McKenzie. She could actually feel the ring's pressure right on the spot that could prove fatal.
"One of these days, you idiots are going to laugh yourselves to death," grumbled Kuro as he finally stood up.
When McKenzie heard this statement, that bright lightbulb suddenly went off in her head again. She slowly glanced behind her. She was standing right next to a music machine. McKenzie smiled. She now had a plan. But it would mean having to do something she hadn't done in a long time. Could she do it?
"Shall I dispose of her right now Boss?" asked Django.
Kuro glanced at him. "Let her watch her pirate friends get Dipped," he said simply. "Then slit her throat."
"With pleasure," grinned Django.
McKenzie braced herself. It was now or never. "Everything's funny with you, huh?" she calmly asked Django.
"You got a problem with that?" Django responded.
"No," said McKenzie. "I just want you guys to know something about the guy you're gonna Dip!" Then, relying only on her reflexes, McKenzie slammed her fist down on the music machine next to her. It automatically came to life, and a song began blasting through the factory.
"Huh?" asked Django, just standing there, wondering what the heck had just happened.
It was then McKenzie Valiant did one of the most unexpected things ever. And while she did it, she was actually happy that she had worked with the Ringling Brothers all those years ago.
"Now Luffy is his name
and plundering's his game.
Come on you dope
Untie his rope
And watch him go insane."
She then began to dance wildly around the factory. All everyone could do was stare.
Sanji and Usopp were speechless.
"She's lost her mind," said Zoro, watching McKenzie.
The only one not surprised was Luffy. He smiled. "I don't think so."
Then McKenzie began another verse.
"Though singing is my line
It's tough to make a rhyme
If I get stuck . . .
I. . .I. . .I'm out of luck . . .
uh . . . "
"I"m running out of time!" Usopp called out.
"Thanks," said McKenzie.
She then took three weights out of one of the crates and began to juggle with them. Then she threw all three of them into the air and let them drop onto her head. Throughout the factory, chuckles could be heard. McKenzie staggered backward right into some more crates. When she reappeared, she was hopping on a pogo stick. However, she accidentally jumped too high and bumped her head right onto one of the lights.
By this time, all of the Black Cats were laughing so hard that they could barely breathe. Suddenly, one goon actually keeled over from laughing too hard, and everyone could see his ghost leaving his body. Another goon also keeled over and began to watch his own spirit fly away. He tried to catch it, but to no avail.
All over, the Black Cat goons were keeling over from laughing so hard. Spirits started flying all over the room and up through the ceiling. The four pirates tied together on the hook were finally beginning to see what the detective was trying to do.
"Keep it up, McKenzie!" Luffy called out. "You're killin' 'em! You're slayin' 'em! You're knockin' 'em dead!"
Amidst the chaos, a lever was thrown and a vase began to move across a conveyor belt right to over McKenzie's head. But McKenzie had turned her attention back to Django.
"I'm tired of taking falls
I'm bouncing off the walls
Without that gun
I'd have some fun
I'd kick you in the . . . "
Just then, the vase fell off the conveyor belt and right onto poor McKenzie's head.
". . .Nose!" Luffy finished the verse.
"'Nose'?" asked Django. He turned toward Luffy "You fool! That doesn't rhyme with 'walls'!"
"No, but this does."
Django turned back to McKenzie just in time for the detective to kick the right-hand man right between his legs. To McKenzie's surprise, Django went sailing through the air from the impact . . . right into the giant machine's vat of Dip.
"Yikes!" yelled Luffy as a bit of the Dip splashed out of the machine. He swung back, causing the Dip to miss him and his three comrades. "That was close!"
By this time, nearly all of the Black Cat goons had laughed themselves to death. Only two remained. One died instantly, while the other fell off the cannon of the Dip machine and right onto a brush covered in the green stuff. As his body disintegrated, his spirit floated out, and somehow made it so the machine was coming right at the four bound pirates!
All four pirates began to panic as the stream of Dip inched closer. "Aah!" yelled Luffy. "McKenzie, hurry! It's coming back! Oh no! This is it . . . "
McKenzie sprinted over to the machine, climbed up into the seat, and reversed the cannon's direction just in time.
"This isn't it!" exclaimed Luffy, while Usopp nearly passed out from relief.
However, as McKenzie began to climb down from the machine, something suddenly struck her from the side. The poor detective was sent flying across the factory. It took her a second to realize what had happened. But as she was sitting up, a nearby giant magnet suddenly magnetized a metal barrel. Before McKenzie could react, the barrel made contact with the magnet, slamming against McKenzie's back while the magnet stuck tight around her waist.
"Don't move."
McKenzie's eyes widened. Right in front of her, and approaching fast, was a steamroller, being driven by none other than Kuro. The detective tried to pry the magnet off, but the magnetic hold was just too strong. She quickly glanced around her. There had to be something around that could help her! That's when she saw it. A crate full of 4kids portable holes. She quickly inched across the floor and knocked over the crate. Reaching out as far as she could, she grabbed one of the holes and placed it over the magnet. This gave McKenzie an escape route, and before she knew it, she was standing about ten feet away from the magnet and the barrel, out of harm's way.
Or so she thought.
McKenzie then looked over at the steamroller, but to her shock, Kuro was not there anymore.
"What . . . ?" McKenzie began, but before she could finish, something streaked across her chest. The detective looked down. There were four long slash marks across her blouse, and McKenzie thought she could see cuts on her chest. But then, someone kicked her in the back. Hard. Before the detective could recover, searing pain suddenly flew through her left shoulder. McKenzie immediately grasped it, and when she withdrew her hand, her face went pale. Her hand was slick with blood.
"Aah! Oh no!" Luffy suddenly yelled.
McKenzie turned to the pirates. The Dip machine was heading right for them again! However, as the detective tried to make her way to shut it down, she staggered on her feet a little.
"Come on, McKenzie!" called Luffy. "Quit playing around!"
McKenzie finally regained her composure. She ran as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her, and once again shut off the machine just in time.
"All right!" said Usopp. "Of course, I wasn't worried! Were you?"
"Hey, look!" exclaimed Zoro.
McKenzie turned around. There, in the middle of the factory, slightly slouching, was Kuro. But there was something different about him. He was now wearing a different coat. It was too big for him, and he didn't even have his arms in the sleeves. They hung limply along the sides of the coat. But the patterns stitched on the shoulder pads made McKenzie's eyes widen the most. There, stitched on each shoulder, was the unmistakable picture of a cat's skull, with thigh bones in the shape of an X behind it.
"Holy smokes!" yelled McKenzie, clasping her wounded shoulder again. "He's a pirate!"
"Surprised?" asked Kuro as he adjusted his glasses.
McKenzie winced against the pain in her shoulder and smiled. "Not really. That crazy freeway plan could only be cooked up by a pirate."
"Not just a pirate . . . " sneered Kuro. Then he held his hands up for McKenzie to see. On each hand was a glove with swords on each of the fingertips, just like the one found back in the alley. They were already stained with blood. McKenzie's blood. But what Kuro said next would haunt detective McKenzie Valiant for the rest of her life.
"Remember me, McKenzie? When I killed your sister, I looked just . . . like . . . THIS!"