Part 2

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"You cheated! We won that fair and square," Wonderbun complained.

"It's what I do," Cheater replied, as Joker laughed and cackled.

"It's no use," Dark Fox said. "They've got us trapped now; in whatever evil plan they have for us. Incidentally, I'm having an odd sense of deja-vu."

The two were stuck in glass chambers, bolted to the wall and with all sorts of little mechanical arms attached and poking out, ready and waiting. Joker smiled. "This, you two disgraceful distractions, is our laughter-matic. You two will be driven insane via manic laughter, in a devious revenge plot devised by the both of us."

"The whole laughter thing sounds like only you put the effort in," Wonderbun complained.

"Yeah. Cheater copied me," he said, breaking into laughter.

"Have you no shame?" she asked, looking at his partner.

"No," he said, smiling. "Especially as my contribution is also copied from Tickleroo's evil plot from last week."

Darkfox's eyes widened. "Incidentally, I'm having an odd sense of deja-vu."

"And," Joker said, "with my extra strength laughing gas, after five minutes exposure it doesn't matter what you do. You'll be laughing for the rest of your life!"

"You'll pay for this!" Dark Fox warned.

"Good always defeats evil."

Joker laughed, beginning to turn a valve. "There's a joke if ever I've heard one!" He burst into laughter, as did Cheater as he pressed the on button. Hundreds of little tickling hands, feather dusters, pin wheels and all sorts began their work, the two heroes suddenly writhing with fits of laughter.

"Come now," Cheater said to his partner in crime. "Let's watch the game. I've got a big bet riding on it."

"So do I!" Joker laughed, as the pair of villains left the struggling heroes alone. Darkfox tried to hold it in, so did Wonderbun, but the devious tickling arms were soon doing their worst. High power brushes were rubbing the inside of their ears, strange head-scritcher type devices were slowly moving down from the top of their knees and out, before pulling back in, ever repeating. Probing rods were pushing into the underside of their knees and armpits, burrowing in and moving about. Pinwheels abound, working their bodies, while huge feather brushes began working their paws. Both tried to keep their mouths shut, holding their breath to stop Joker's evil laughing gas getting in, but they were defeated as sharp tickling hands attacked their sides beneath their ribs.

The two heroes began laughing, unable to stop, soon doomed to laugh forever due to the devious trap.

Only for the whole structure to start shaking. All the different tickling devices began knocking into each other, writhing, and then they seized up, stopping and collapsing down to the floor or kicking out. Some of them hit the glass, smashing through and letting the laughing gas float out, leaving WonderBun and Darkfox safe.

They still laughed, but soon recovered, straining as they slowly pulled themselves out of their restraints.

"I thought we were doomed for the laughers yard there," Wonderbun said. "But how did we get out?"

Darkfox smiled. "Well, it's simple. The density of tickling soon began to interfere with the tickling machines themselves. They began tickling each other, then tickled themselves so hard they failed."

"Wasn't that what saved us laugh week… I mean last week?" she asked, freeing one paw and quickly working on the others.

"From Tickleroo? Yes, yes it was," Darkfox said, smiling.

"But Cheetah took this machine from Tickleroo, so why didn't he fix it?" she wondered.

"Because he copied Tickleroo, probably looking over his shoulder, and…"

"-In doing so copied his mistakes! I told him that cheats never prosper!" Wonderbun said, finally breaking free and jumping down, looking forward. "Which is why teachers will always find out if you've been copying someone in a test."

There was a thud as Dark Fox jumped down beside her. "Who are you talking to, Fluff?"

"Any young, wide eyed and impressionable youngsters out there in need of guidance, advice, and help in making the world a better place," she smiled, winking.

"Right then," Darkfox noted, looking up. "Shouldn't we deal with Joker and Cheater?"

"Yes we should," she said, "but first, let's save this game."

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Up in their box, Cheetah and Joker were looking down onto the game, laughing as the ZFD scored try after try on the ZPD. "It's just a shame that those boys in blue aren't rolling around laughing," the hyena said. "Curse Darkfox and Wonderbun for stopping that. But we're, or rather they, are the ones laughing now! HAHAHAHAHAAA!"

Cheater laughed alongside him, all while sneakily changing the final score he'd been betting on. "I must say, they say cheats never prosper, but this game seems totally balanced and with no exploits! In our favour, of course. The ZFD are… -how are you letting them through!?"

"What!?"

They looked on as the ZFD team struggle to stay in place, the ZPD team rushing past them to score. Then doing it again, and again, and again!

Joker looked on and growled. "Dammit, it's Dark Fox and Wonderbun! They've escaped, again, and reversed our machine! Grrrr, I know I say this every time, but next time I'm going to make sure I see them bite it." He paused, thinking. How could they have escaped? His part of the plan was perfect. His… "Cheater," he said, turning to his partner. "This is your fau… -STOP DOCTORING YOUR BETTING SLIP!"

Flashing his paw to his pocket, the big cat stood up and looked innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't you start with me. We've got to stop them, now!"

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"And pull it back now," Darkfox said, as he and Wonderbun pushed the lever back to the middle. "Though I still think it would be funner to keep it like this all through the game."

"Come on, Darkfox," Wonderbun chided. "You know that the ZFD are good, honest, hardworking mammals who had nothing to do with this scheme. They don't deserve to be cheated here, just as the ZPD don't."

"I know," he said, looking up. "And it seems that their scores are now level, so it's a fair game going on."

"Yup!"

"I still want team ZPD to win big time, to annoy those two."

"Yup!"

"THERE YOU ARE! HOW DID YOU ESCAPE!?"

"Yup… -waidamminute…"

Wonderbun and Darkfox turned, facing off against Cheater and Joker. "The game is level now," Wonderbun said. "You've lost!"

"We can still get you," the hyena shouted.

"Really?" Darkfox asked. "You think you can really trust the Cheater!"

"I can trust him to defeat you."

Wonderbun smiled. "Even though his straight copying of Tickleroo's flawed tickle machine is what let us go?"

The hyena blinked, turning to his companion in evil. "I KNEW IT WAS YOU'RE -AND STOP DOCTORING YOUR SLIP!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"GRRR, this is for letting me down," he said, bringing up the flower lapel on his suit, and sending forth a squirt of skunk spray.

"ARGHHH!" Cheater cried, Joker laughing… until Wonderbun flew into his head.

SPOOF…

He got up, only to be hit by an uppercut from Darkfox.

THWOCK!

Who then gave Cheater a roundhouse kick to keep him down.

BIFF!

Joker got up again, aiming his skunk spray flower at Darkfox, only for Wonderbun to jump up and bunny box his face.

DUNUNUNUNUNUNUN….

Causing him to misfire and hit Cheater again.

SQUIRT!

"AH, NOT AGAIN!"

The big cat jumped up and darted away, faster than the two heroes could hope to manage. He peeled them off of Joker though, who jumped up and ran back to the tickle machines, grabbing one of his laughter gas canisters. Cheater circled back to him, the pair rallying together for the final battle.

"We're going to win!" Joker boasted.

"By any means necessary," Cheater added. "In fact, if I remember correctly, I've got a card up my sleeve that will win us this!"

"Oh yeah, try us," she said.

"Well, I know a bog-standard ordinary cheetah who would always want to fight along with you. So, I invited him!"

Darkfox blinked. "Wait, you're ace up a sleeve is getting us a new fighter?"

"Ha, he's a burden who you'll have to defend, my cheat putting you on the back paw for our final fight."

Wonderbun marched out, crossing her paws. "Oh, don't you dare insult Benjamin Clawhauser in this. He's a proud crusader for justice, and…"

She was cut off as the portly cheetah came in, gasping for breath, before slumping down. He held a paw up. "Supercat… At the rescue… Finally…"

Wonderbun blinked. "Ben, you know you're not Supercat."

"Indeed," Darkfox mused, "You didn't get your underwear and pants on the wrong way around for a start."

"Ooops," he said, undoing his belt. "Let me just…"

"NO!"

"OH SWEET CHEESE AND CRACKERS!"

Even Joker and Cheater were a little shocked. "This is working too well!" the big cat complained, closing his eyes and stepping back. The hyena agreed.

"Retreat, this isn't a laughing matter!"

They both stepped back, eyes closed and paws out to defend themselves from the upcoming sight, the two stopping at a safe distance…

Just in reach of the tickling machine, which sprung to life, dragging them in and getting to work.

"WHAT! NOHAHAHAHAHAHA…"

"HELPPP MEEE…HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE…."

Ben thankfully paused his detrousering, looking around in shock. "Wait, we won?"

Wonderbun and Darkfox looked at him and nodded. "The tickle machine may have tickled itself to a stop earlier, but it's laughed itself out now and was ready to go again. Those two just stepped back into it, and…" He gestured over to the laughing pair of villains, writhing and giggling as they were worked over.

"But isn't that how you defeated Tickleroo last week?" Ben asked.

Wonderbun smiled, looking over at the villains, who despite their laughter would be all too aware of what she said. "It was. Of course, Cheater just copied him, mistakes and all."

Darkfox smiled. "Which is why Cheaters never prosper, and how we have the last laugh on The Joker."

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Up in the officials' box, Darkfox and Wonderbun sat down with Chief Bogo of the ZPD. After taking Joker and Cheater into custody, they'd settled down to enjoy the rest of the game. The scores evened out, it was a close match, though by the end, the ZFD were just ahead.

"Are you sure you gave them an equal handicap?" Chief Bogo grumbled.

"Yup," Wonderbun said. "Though I'd love to see your team victorious, and those two completely fail, the ZFD are good mammals. Even if they are our bitter rivals in this friendly sport, they all deserve a fair game, and if they win fairly at the end of the day, then good on them."

"Well," Bogo grumbled. "At least those two evil dooers are gone. I've also heard that a Mister C. A. Roo, better known as Tickleroo, isn't pleased about being copied. Thankfully, he'll be able to get even against his new cellmates." He slowly smiled. "I think that's almost as good."

"Indeed it is," Darkfox said, only to pause. Everyone in the box rushed forwards, spotting one of the ZPD mammals make a hail Mary in the last second. Everyone held their breath, before a riot of noise erupted as he equalised, just as the game ended.

"Well," Wonderbun said, smiling. "It seems the only losers today are evil."

"In more ways than one," Darkfox agreed, as the jumbotron began working on the replay. "Fingers crossed that the other bad guys will get the message."

"-OH I DON'T THINK SO!"

There was a gasp, as everyone turned to the jumbotron. Up on it was an ugly, scraggly, unkempt grey hare, a giant purple hat on his head.

Wonderbun and Darkfox looked at each other and then back at the screen, gasping. "THE MAD HATTER!"

"Oh yes," he announced. Back in his lab, he spoke out into his camera, while behind him in his lab a set of crazy hats filled with evil gadgets lay about. In the middle of it all, was a big model of the Zootopia Natural History Museum. "And places are about to change, as my schemes will break you two. I must say I'm late, late, for a very important date! The heist of the century!"

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CAN DARKFOX AND WONDERBUN EVER CATCH A BREAK?

FAMOUS FOR HIDING THINGS BENEATH THEM, WHAT TERRIBLE PLAN HAS THE MAD HATTER GOT UNDER HIS HEINOUS HEADWEAR THIS TIME?

WILL THE DYNAMIC DUO BE ABLE TO SWAP HIS BOWLER FOR A COLLAR?

OR ARE THEY GOING TO FIND THEMSELVES OUT OF A JOB AND CAP IN PAW?

WHO KNOWS WHAT THEIR NEXT ADVENTURE MIGHT BRING?

THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT IS TO TUNE IN NEXT WEEK.

SAME FOX TIME, SAME BUN CHANNEL.