"I don't believe you Gordon! Of all the stupid... foolish..."
The accused was trying to untie a knot, and rolled his eyes. "Alan, you're telling me I did something foolish? You're the one who thought it'd be fun to try and steal..."
"No, I wasn't the one who suggested we go and try to steal Brains' stash of chocolate bars," said Alan, who was working on his own set of knots. He still couldn't believe the two of them had managed to get caught in such a sticky situation, quickly restrained together by something before they could abscond with the chocolate.
They had planned everything out to the tiniest detail and when Brains was in the lounge talking to Scott, Virgil and John about a new prototype they struck.
What the mischievous duo didn't expect was the moment they laid hands on their prize would they be grabbed by two strong arms, thrown away from the jar of chocolate bars and face a blinding fury of ropes and knots. Within moments the two of them were tied together, awaiting any fate coming for them.
Right now, they were instead trying to quickly get out of the knots that ensnared and restrained them before they were...
"And j-just where do you think the t-two of you are going?" said Brains, frowning over the frames of his glasses.
Gordon chuckled. "Well... we were just trying to get out..."
"Of t-trouble for trying to take my cho-chocolate bars?" said the engineer pointedly.
"It wasn't my idea, it was Alan's," protested the aquanaut. "He hasn't had any almond cherry chocolate bars for weeks..."
Alan puffed his cheeks out. "Yeah... well it wasn't my idea either. You were the one craving mocha chocolate chunk bars after one too many espressos," he said, knowing it was one of Gordon's - and Brains' - favorite chocolate.
He then smirked. "Come to think of it, maybe you should cut back on the chocolate Gordo. Too much caffeine and you come up with some really crazy ideas..."
"Yeah, says the guy who thought it'd be a great idea to have John create a real life version of the BurgerTime game after an all night bender of video games, cheeseburger pizza and soda..." retorted Gordon.
The youngest gave a short bark of incredulity at the comment and started to argue, using his shoulder to hit his aquanaut brother. The duo started fighting, making their restraints even tighter.
Brains just shook his head in disbelief and gave a sharp whistle to stop them arguing. "It d-doesn't matter. You both got caught stealing when all y-you had to d-do was ask," scolded the engineer. Seeing the youngest Tracys blush, chagrined, he then smiled. "But n-no harm done. My friend was able to save you in time."
"Save us in time?" said the duo, confused.
Brains showed them the jar the two had grabbed. "Y-yes. These are not just ordinary chocolate bars. They are a high energy chocolate bar I have been working on to give you food options besides the ration bars on rescues," he said. "You eat m-more than one of these at a time you'd be up for h-hours... at least."
"At least?" asked Alan.
"They h-haven't been tested th-thoroughly yet. You could've suffered a stomach ache, an a-allergic reaction or w-worse," he said. Seeing the two ponder what could've been he continued. "N-now do you understand why you n-need to ask me for s-something in my l-lab?"
Gordon and Alan nodded, sheepishly. "Yeah, we do. We're sorry Brains, we won't do it again," said Alan who then gestured to the ropes. "Just, can we get out of this mess? I'm kind of getting tired of resting across Gordon's shoulders."
The aquanaut agreed. "Yes - please Brains? I can't really carry him around all the time."
Brains merely laughed and motioned for MAX to come over. The little robot quickly produced a set of scissors, setting them aside in case they were needed, and worked on untying the knots.
Within a few minutes, and a couple of snips on particularly tight knots, both of the youngest Tracys were freed and stood up.
"I w-would normally p-punish you for entering my lab w-without permission, but given you helped test out my new d-defense system, and apologized, I w-will let you go, t-this time," said Brains, a bit more sternly. "Do so again, I will not be so e-easy on you - maybe even have you test these ration b-bars."
Gordon and Alan, looking at Brains and especially MAX, started backing up. "No, we've learned our lesson - next time ask or put chocolate bars on our grocery list," said Gordon as he and Alan quickly ran back upstairs, thankful that Brains gave them essentially a slap on the wrist.
"'Bye Brains," said Alan as the door closed.
The young engineer watched the duo flee and gave a gentle laugh, patting MAX on the head. "I t-think they won't be stealing my c-chocolate bars anytime s-soon, do you agree?" said Brains, smiling. He was telling the truth, he was inventing a new form of ration bar to give the Tracys variety on rescues.
Brains cleverly omitted that the jar of bars he had really were chocolate bars.
MAX however chirped and nodded, agreeing with the young man. He then pulled out an egg beater and wooden spoon, spinning them around.
"Y-yes you did very well defending my lab as well after c-catching them in the a-act," said Brains, putting a gentle arm around the the robot's neck. "J-Just one t-tiny detail though."
MAX gave an inquistive trill, confused at how his guard duties weren't perfect.
Brains, translating the tone, smiled. "T-trust me it's t-tiny. The next time you s-stop anyone with r-restraints, don't use so many and d-different forms of knots," he said, giving a chuckle. "I wasn't s-sure if Gordon and Alan were just c-caught or fish in a n-net."
The little robot reached into his storage compartment and drew out a package of fishing lures and a frying pan.
Brains laughed. "All r-right, they were fish caught in a net about to be cooked," he said. "Good work my friend."
MAX gave a cheerful trill in thanks, happy to help his best friend - even if it's to simply guard a jar of chocolate.