Chapter 13: The Final Shot
"All right, we need to score two points . . . ," said Michael. "Here's how I see it," said Bill. He turned to Furrball. "Blue cat?" asked Bill. "Yes," said Furrball. "You kick it in to the cat girl down in the post," said Bill. "Oui?" asked Penelope. "You dish it back out to Bugs," said Bill. "Gaht eet," said Penelope. "You swing it to Mike over here. You go to the hole and dominate," said Bill. "Bill, we're on defense," said Michael. "Oh yeah," said Bugs in agreement. "Whoa, ho, ho, I don't play defense," said Bill. "Typical," said Michael. "All right. You're gonna have to listen to Mike on this guys. Listen up," said Bill. "Somebody steal the ball, get it to me, and I'll score before the time runs out," said Michael. "Don't lose that confidence. OK! Paws and wings in here! All right!" said Bill. They head back on the court and the crowd cheered.
"This is why I was born. I thrive on pressure," said Bill. "Excuse me. Uh sorry," said Furrball, tugging at Bill's shorts. "Yo, yo Easy on the trousers, Furrball, easy man," said Bill. "Pardon me. Um, Mr Murray, something's really been bugging me," said Furrball. "Yeah?" asked Bill. "Just how did you get here anyway?" asked Furrball. Pound stopped to look at Bill Murray. "Producer's a friend of mine. Just had a teamster come and drop me off, you know," said Bill. Pound rolled his eyes while listening, he growled and shook his head in annoyance. "Uh-huh. Well that's how it goes," said Furrball. "You see this uh, kind of chunky fellow over here?" asked Bill. He saw Pound making a face and chuckling rudely at Penelope. He saw Pound and nodded his head. "Uh-huh," said Furrball. Bill whispered something into Furrball's ear, which gave him the idea. "Ooh. Ooh, that's good. Oh yes," said Furrball. "All right. Let's do it. You're the cat," said Bill. They got ready for the last game before the final seconds of the game.
(Insert "The Final Shot" from Space Jam)
It's the Monstars ball and Marvin held out the ball to Bupkus. "Now, let's all play fair. Here," said Marvin. Bupkus took the ball and elbowed Marvin and got ready to play. "Yo, spaceman, don't choke now. Come on. Come on, come on," said Bill. As Bupkus gets ready, Furrball put on a football helmet that had the Acme Looniversity colors: blue and white. "It's gut-check time!" said Furrball. He jerked his legs back and forth like a bullet. Bupkus threw the ball to Pound and Furrball launched at him. As Pound caught the ball, and Furrball rammed him in the stomach hard, causing the orange Monstar to drop the ball. "How's this for no talent!" jeered Furrball.
Bang and Blanko watched the ball dribble to Bill. "This must be mine," said Bill, taking the ball. As he dribbled the ball, Pound pushed Furrball out of his stomach, holding in pain. "Whoo-hoo! This belongs to me. I'm going left! I'm going left!" said Bill. He passed the ball to Michael and Pound went after Bill. "Whoa! Don't ever trust an earthling!" said Bill. Michael dribbled the ball, trying to get past Nawt. He saw the time and there were eight seconds left. "Mike!" said Penelope. Michael threw the ball to Penelope, she dribbled it. Then, she was surrounded by Bang and Blanko. "Get the black cat! Get the girl!" said Bang. "Come on! Come on!" said Furrball, jumping. Lola passed the ball. "I'm open! I'm ope . . . !" said Furrball. Bupkus hit Furrball with his hand and reached for the ball. "That's mine!" said Bupkus. Bugs grabbed the ball with his ears. "Not today!" said Bugs. "Hey!" said Bupkus.
Bugs threw the ball to Bill and he caught it. Blanko approached him. "Bring it on, dude," said Blanko. Bill then tripped the blue Monstar. "Whoopsie-daisy. Whoo-hoo," said Bill. He passed the bill to Michael and he headed for the hoop. Both Bang and Pound charged after Michael. "You're mine!" said Pound. The two Monsters growled as Pound tried to seize Michael. Fortunately, the orange Monster slipped and fell to the floor. Michael stepped on Pound's head, which caused him to groan in pain. He climbed up to Pound's butt and then he jumps up and flew to the hoop as the crowd roared. "Mike, I'm open!" said Bill. A shocked Pound saw Michael in the air. "Never mind," said Bill.
Time seemed to slow down as Michael flew to the hoop, ready to deliver the final shot. Bang and Bupkus roared and they jumped up, grabbing Michael to stop him. Michael begin to stretch his arm like a rubber band, reaching for the hoop and letting out a yell as he prepared to slam dunk. Bang and Bupkus looked on in shock, knowing they were too late. Michael slam dunked the ball into the hoop and the horn blew. The crowd cheered wildly. Mr. Swackhammer yelled in rage. The Tune Squad beat the Monstars by one point. The toons cheered for their big victory of the game. Bugs and Lola hugged each other. Bill laughs joyfully and ran to Michael. Michael let go of the hoop and landed on his feet. "The Tunes win!" yelled Hubie. Ash and his friends jumped out of their seats cheering. "Yeah!" said Ash. "They did it!" yelled May. "Pikachu!" said Pikachu. "Alright!" said Max.
The toons ran up to each to other and they give each high fives and hugs. Yosemite Sam fired his guns in celebration. Pepé hugged and kissed Granny. Suddenly, Penelope yanked Pepé by the tail, pulling him toward her. Penelope then kissed Pepé on the lips. The kiss left a red kiss mark on Pepé's lips. Pepé's eyes turned into red hearts and his heart pounded with love. "Ooh la la!" cried Pepé. He then fell to the ground on his back, with a huge grin plastered on his face. Penelope realized what she did and blushed red and giggled in embarrassment. Fifi La Fume and Julie Bruin kissed Furrball on the cheeks at the same time. Fifi left a pink kiss mark, while Julie left a red kiss mark. Furrball's eyes turned into pink hearts as both girls' kisses filled him with love. "Ya-hoo!" said Furrball. Suddenly, he melted into a puddle of goo. Fifi and Julie giggled at Furrball's reaction. Furrball is actually getting praise?! I think the world is going to end!, thought Sweetie. Kitty witty did good and I can't hug him due to being in this stupid cast, thought Elmyra. The Perfecto Prep students didn't do hugs and high fives except with each other. Sylvester grabbed a cooler of milk and dumped it on both Furrball and Penelope, similar to the gatorade showers they do in other sporting events.
Michael and Bill talked in private as the toons celebrated their victory. "That was a nice pass, man," said Michael. "That was a great stretch for the basket, too," said Bill. Daffy opened up a wine bottle. "You know, you really got some skills. You might be able to play in the NBA," said Michael. "Thanks, Mike. I'll probably quote you on that. But I'm gonna take this opportunity to retire from the game of basketball," said Bill. Michael put a hand on Bill's shoulder. "No. Come on," said Michael. "No! No! I'm gonna retire right now, and that's all there is to it. I'm gonna go on top, undefeated and untied. That's the way it"s gonna be. You go on ahead and celebrate with your teammates," said Bill. "No, come on and help us. Celebrate with us," said Michael. "I'd like to, but I have to ice down my knees right away, okay? They're starting to go," said Bill. "All right. Good-bye man," said Michael. "All right. See ya," said Bill. He started to walk away. "Are you sure?" asked Michael. "Yes! Definitely sure. Definitely," said Bill. And he left the court.
To say that Mr. Swackhammer was furious at the Monstars for losing the game would be an understatement. "Losers!" said Mr. Swackhammer. "Sorry," said the Monstars. "Choke artists!" said Mr. Swackhammer. "Sorry again," said the Monstars. "Wait until I get you back on Moron Mountain," said Mr. Swackhammer. Michael walked over to Monstars just as Mr. Swackhammer stomped on Bupkus' foot in anger. "OWW!" howled Bupkus in pain. He turned to the toons. "All right. The party's over. Get in the spaceship," said Mr. Swackhammer. "But we, like had a deal!" objected Shirley. "Why do you take it from this guy?" asked Michael. "Because he's bigger," said Bupkus. "He's bigger," said Pound. "Than we used . . . to be," said Bang. They finally realized that they were the ones that were bigger now. "Wait a minute," said the Monstars.
The Monsters turned to Mr. Swackhammer, glaring angrily at him. Their boss felt something was not right. "What are you doing?" asked Mr. Swackhammer nervously. "This is gonna be good," sneered Brain. The Monstars reached for Mr. Swackhammer, grabbing him and dragging him through the court. "Come here!" said Bupkus. "Hey! Wait! What are you dong? Wait! Let go!" cried Mr. Swackhammer. But the Monstars ignored him as Michael looked on with interest. The Monstars laughed as they put Swackhammer in a rocket. Bugs and Wile E. Coyote smiled. Fifi La Fume giggled. The rocket took off and headed for the ceiling as the Monstars waved good-bye to their new ex-boss. The rocket blasted through the ceiling of the arena and it headed for space. Mr. Swackhammer screamed as the rocket crashed onto the moon.
(End Music)
Back in the arena, the crowd and the toons cheered. Michael smiled at the Monstars. "Had it in you all the time, didn't you?" asked Micheal proudly. The Monstars smiled warmly and blushed. Pound smiled while shrugging. Bang pointed his chin while blushing and smiling. Bupkus smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. Blanko placed his hand on his face to hide his blush. Nawt smiled giving a thumbs up sign. "Aww," said the Monstars. "One thing though," said Michael. He turned to Bugs. "Pass me the ball, Bugs," said Michael. Bugs passed the basketball to Michael and he turned his attention back to the Monstars. "You gotta give my friends their talent back," said Michael. "What?" asked the Monstars in shock. "Do we have to?" asked Pound sadly. "Yeah, it's part of the deal, touch the ball," said Michael, nodding. "Awww," said the Monstars in disappointment. They sadly looked at each other. They don't know what to say but they knew they can't keep the talent forever, so they decided to return the talent. "Oh, okay," sighed Bupkus sadly. He placed his hand on the ball while Bang and Blanko placed their hands on the ball. "Uh, fair is fair," said Blanko. Pound placed his hand on the ball touching Michael's fingers while Nawt looked for a empty spot. "There you go. Touch it," said Michael. Nawt placed his hand on the ball. As the Monstars touched the ball, they begin shake and twitch. The talents began to leave their bodies and it went inside the ball. Then, they started to shrink down back to their small size. Their jerseys, shorts and shoes were still the same size from their Monstars forms. The Monstars were no more. They were now small Nerdlucks again. They popped out from their jerseys.
"That was so much fun," said Bupkus. "I feel so insignificant," said Bang sadly. "My clothes don't fit," said Pound, frowning. "What a trip," said Nawt. "I'm up for another one," chuckled Blanko. "Can we ask you a favor, Mr. Bunny? We don't want to go back to Moron Mountain," said Pound. "We hate it up there," said Bang. "It stinks," said Nawt, showing a thumbs down. "Um, I was thinking, could we stay here with you?" asked Blanko. "Please?" asked the Nerdlucks sweetly, showing friendly smiles. "Oh, brother," said Daffy, rolling their eyes. "Eh, I don't know if you guys are looney enough," said Bugs. "Looney enough?" asked Bang. Suddenly, the Nerdlucks put on the Looney Tunes costumes and canes. Four of them wore straw hats. Pound wore fake bunny ears and a fake snout with a buck tooth, pretending to be Bugs. Blanko wore a fake duck bill to imitate Daffy. Bupkus wore a fake pig snout, pretending to be Porky. Bang wore a fake mustache like Yosemite Sam's. Nawt wore a hunter hat like Elmer Fudd. They started acting like them, being funny and humming the Looney Tunes theme song. Michael and the toons looked on. Then Nawt shot them and their eyeballs bounced on the floor. "Well, maybe after a couple of lessons at Acme Looniversity, they'll get the hang of it," said Buster.
Just then, Stan ran in with Michael's basketball bag. "Michael! Michael! Do you know what time it is?" asked Stan. Porky looked at four wrist watches. "Er, 7:15, er, 7:15, er quarter past seven," said Porky. "Exactly. You've got a baseball game in 5 minutes," said Michael. "Okay. Take this," said Michael, handing Stan the ball with the talents. Stan looked at the ball. "Is it safe?" asked Stan. "Yeah. Put it in my bag," said Michael. Stan took the ball and put it in the bag. Michael turned to the toons. "I really enjoyed playing with you guys. You guys got a lot of, uh . . . ," said Michael. "Huh?" asked the Toons. "A a lot of, uh . . . ," said Michael. "Yes?" asked the Toons. "Well, whatever it is, you got a lot of it," said Michael. The toons felt happya bout what Michael said. Just then, Fifi remembered something. "Meechael, befahre you go, could you sign my bahll, s'il vous plaÎt?" asked Fifi, taking out a basketball that she owned out of her cleavage. "Okay," said Michael. He got out a marker and wrote his signature on it. "Merci. I'll treasure eet fahr ahlways," said Fifi. Fifi then kissed her basketball. "All right, gotta go. Bugs?" asked Michael. "Eh, Mike?" asked Bugs. "Stay out of trouble," said Michael. And he walked away.
Bugs then turned to Lola. "You know I will," said Bugs. Lola giggled. "We had so much fun in this game. We should do this more often when our freedom isn't at stake," said Buster. Some of the toons let out awkward laughs. "Well, I guess this means everything goes back to normal now, what with us being enemies and such," said Plucky. "Well we have to keep up appearances, but maybe every so often, we could have a temporary cease-fire," said Bimbette. "Hmph. We'd be getting soft if we do that," said Roderick. The Perfecto Prep students then started to leave. "I guess they're back to their snobbish ways," said Hamton. "That's Perfecto Prep for you," said Gogo. "Come here!" said Bugs to Lola. He grabbed Lola and kissed her on the lips. "Wait a go, Bugs!" said Buster. "Oh yeah!" said Babs. Lola whooped joyfully and she pulled down the scene showing the Baron's field.
At the field, Michael's baseball game was on and the crowd was chanting, "We want Michael!" "The delay is killing us. Where is Michael?" asked the Barons' Manager. In another part of the stand, where Michael's family was, Juanita is worried about her husband, but the kids know where he is. "Where is Michael?" said Juanita. "Oh. He's not back from his other game," said Jeffery. "What other game?" asked Juanita. "Shh!" said Jasmine. "Uh-uh. What other game," said Juanita. Before Jeff could answer, the Nerdlucks' spaceship appeared from the sky and headed for the field. Everyone stopped chanting and they gasped as the ship prepared to land. Michael's family get up and watch. The ship started landing on the field.
(Insert "I Believe I Can Fly" from Space Jam)
Once it did, the ship's door opened and the ramp came down. Stan walked out with a bullhorn and everyone looked at him. "Ladies and gentlemen!" said Stan, speaking through the bullhorn. The teams come to see what was going on. "Michael Jordan!" said Stan. Michael came out of the ship wearing his baseball uniform. He walked onto the field, waving at the people. The crowd cheered loudly and Michael's family clapped and cheer for him. Jeff gave him the thumbs up. Michael smiled, happy to be home.
(End Music)
Well, the Tune Squad had won the game, Mr. Swackhammer has been given the boot and Michael Jordon has returned to the real world. Next chapter will be the epilogue and will adapt the last scenes from Space Jam and feature some new scenes involving the toons as well . . .