The Benefit of the Doubt

By the time the moon rose, Fidget was making his rounds around the streets of London, hoping to spot any mice that matched the descriptions of the Heroes of Millennia while also hoping to spot Mokuba and his friends. As a bat, he was nocturnal and would often be out at night. That made it all the more fun for him; lurking in shadows and causing mischief. The only downside of it would be that most mice-folk would be sleeping in their homes. Well, that didn't mean the bat couldn't stop to have fun once in a while.

Fidget looked up at the moon. Its crescent shape almost resembled his wicked grin. If only he didn't have a broken wing. He could fly around in the moonlight like all of the other bats. There had been times when he had the idea of asking the Dark Masters if there was a way to make him whole again – meaning being able to fly again and having his right leg restored. But the more he thought about it, the more he decided against it. Despite their power, surely his boss's employers wouldn't waste their efforts on something so petty.

Another downside of not being able to fly was not being able to escape capture. He could still leap around very well, but the police wouldn't be able to capture him if he was in the air. In addition, it would be easy to scour the city from the air.

So far, this wasn't working out for the peg-legged bat. How would he know where to find his boss's targets anyway? They could be anywhere. But he couldn't go back to the lair empty-handed. Surely Ratigan wouldn't be very forgiving if Fidget just decided to quit and go home. Well, he still had a few hours until dawn.

There was also the matter of Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon. Where were they staying? Surely they would know that it wouldn't be safe for children to sleep out in the streets, meaning that they had to be taking refuge somewhere.

Then something clicked in the bat's mind. He remembered that when he and Ratigan captured Leon, Basil came and rescued the redhead and his friends. He wondered if it was possible that the children were staying with the detective and he was offering his protection. The only way to find out was to go to Baker Street.

Once he arrived, he crept close to the walls of Basil's residence. Being a bat, he had very strong hearing. He also had practice in spying by peeking through windows. At least he could still climb and hang upside-down. He peeked through the front window, hoping to spot someone inside. So far, he could only see the detective working at his chemistry table. He also listened for any voices, but could only hear the detective humming to himself while he was working. Fidget could only assume that the children weren't here after all, so he decided to leave before Basil would notice.

Dawn was drawing near, meaning that Fidget's time was up. He returned to the underground passages of London and made his trek back to the abandoned wine cellar. When he got there, he saw most of Ratigan's henchmice holding a few rodents captive. Some were mice and others were a few young rats.

Ratigan looked at the captives. None of them matched any of the heroes' descriptions by much. But he decided to make the most of the situation. Even if these weren't his intended targets, he could still do away with them. He ordered them to be locked away in another keg that served as a prison for his captives.

The rat finally noticed his peg-legged lackey. "Fidget, I was beginning to worry," he said, feigning concern. "I trust you had an enjoyable night?"

The bat smiled nervously. How was he going to tell his boss he failed? He chuckled and said, "Oh, sure, Boss."

"Did you find the children like I asked?"

Fidget gulped. "Well, I looked around for them like you said," he began. "I went back to the place where I first saw them, but they weren't there. So I looked around some more. Then I went to Basil's, wondering if they were with him."

Just hearing Basil's name made the rat's blood boil, but he forced himself to stay calm. "Were they?" He was wondering the same thing as his lackey; wondering if Basil was offering the children his protection.

"No, they weren't there," Fidget answered.

Ratigan inhaled sharply. Then he showed a calm, pleasant smile. "Well, I guess I can't be mad at you for trying," he said. "This is a big city, so it can be hard finding a few certain children."

At first, Fidget was expecting Ratigan to have an outburst for his failure, but the peg-legged bat was relieved that his boss wasn't too upset. And he did have a point. London was a big city – for the humans, anyway. Even bigger for a rodent and a bat.

"Still," Ratigan was saying, "those children have to be taking refuge somewhere." He inhaled from his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke. "What to do?" he asked himself. He couldn't risk having his henchmice go out in public and break in to every residence they came across in broad daylight. That would attract too much unwanted attention. He'd go out himself, but daylight doesn't suit him.

He called a few male mice over. They had been sleeping through the night while everyone else was out lurking about. "Gentlemen, the night crew has been relieved of duty," he announced. "It's time for you to make your morning rounds."

"Yes, sir," they said obediently. Their job was to scout around and look for potential victims or places that kept anything their boss would consider valuable like jewels or artifacts or weapons.

"I'm sure you heard about my recent orders," continued Ratigan. "If you see any mice who resemble the Heroes of Millennia, capture them and bring them back here. Fail and there will be devastating consequences. Now, go."

"Yes, Professor," they said, saluting. They grabbed their weapons and headed out.

Ratigan turned his attention to the protesting cries of his prisoners. He snickered as he heard them begging to be released and crying for mercy. They weren't the ones he was looking for, but he could still deal with them. And what better way to do so than by giving them to the Dark Masters? His employers were always welcome in accepting new test subjects. As such, this wouldn't be a total loss for Ratigan. He would still turn in his prisoners and receive a handsome reward for his work.