"This carnival for
the Mayor was a great idea," Jodi White said, "It's a great way to raise money
for the library."
"I don't see why
they need to raise money," Placid Green said, "You're the only one who goes
there anymore."
"Let's go to the
funhouse first," Allison Gray added, walking in front of them, "I want to look
at myself from many different mirrors."
"How is that any
different from what you do at home, Ali?" Charlotte Black remarked, "I want to
go through the love boat ride first."
"You don't have a
boyfriend, Charlie, so who are you going in with?" Placid asked sardonically.
"Aaron," she said,
pointing to the handsome young man standing near the ring toss booth. She ran up to him and grabbed his arm,
"Aaron, do you want to take the love boat ride with me?"
"Uh…not really,"
he said uncomfortably, trying to squirm out of his grasp.
"Great, come on!"
she said, dragging him off.
The girls shook
their heads smiling.
"So when's Nina
getting out of jail?" Jodi asked.
Allison shrugged,
"I'm not sure, she's a repeat offender so they might really throw the book at
her this time."
Placid shook her
head sadly, "What was she thinking, setting fire to that orphanage?"
"You know Nina,"
Jodi said, "She's always doing something wild and crazy."
Placid turned
around and her eyes grew wide, "Uh…guys, come on, we'd better get going if we
want to get to that funhouse!"
"Yo, Placid! Wait up!" a shrill high-pitched voice
yelled, "Mom said you had to wait for me!"
Placid sighed, "Oh
great."
Her little sister,
Rae-Ann Green ran up to them, "Were you trying to lose me?"
"Yes, obviously it
didn't work."
"Hey there," Jodi
said, leaning down to Rae-Ann, "How are you?"
"What's up,
girlfriend," Rae-Ann said, doing a series of complicated ghetto handshakes with
her, "Just chillin' and illin' up in here."
"Uh…right," Jodi
said, getting up, "So what ride you do want to go on first?"
"I need to hit
that water ride, G" Rae-Ann said, "I'm about to tear that shit up!"
"Fine, let's go,"
Placid said, pushing her sister along, "Just don't waste my time."
"Look at these
fools, Egor," Mayor Logy said sinisterly, "Cavorting about like monkeys in the
attic on a plate of macaroni and cheese."
"Huh?"
"Shut up," Logy
snapped, "These idiots will soon learn the wrath of Mayor Astro Logy!"
"So what's the
plan, sir?"
"Oh, you'll see,"
he said, rubbing his hands together, "You'll see. Hahahaha!"
"Is something
wrong, Mr. Mayor?"
Logy and Egor
turned around in surprise.
"Uh…what?" he said
to the group of young girls.
"Well you're
rubbing your hands together and laughing hysterically," Placid said, "Are you
okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine," he
said smiling, "It's just a little cold."
"It's August,"
Allison said confused.
"Hehe…go away," he
said, before walking away quickly.
"Yo, that mayor is
wack!" Rae-Ann commented, watching them leave.
"You said it,
Rae-Ann," Allison said.
"Yo, I told you to
start calling me Rae Dog!"
"Shut up, brat, no
one's going to call you that," Placid said, dragging her along, "Now go take
your little ride so we can move on."
"You better back
up off me, bi-atch!"
"Now, you know
what to do," the Mayor said to the dark shadow in the corner.
"I have explicit
instructions Mr. Mayor," the voice said in a low dark tone, "I will not fail
you."
"You'd better
not," he said, "For your sake. You
still don't have full health coverage."
"Yes Master," the
figure said, bowing, "I will prevail."
With that, it was
gone.
"Isn't this
great?" Charlotte asked Aaron, latched on to his arm as she snuggled cozily.
"No," he said,
trying to pry her off of him, "When can I leave? We've been around this ride three times already?"
"Really, only
three?" she asked, innocently, "It seems like we just got on."
Aaron sighed,
looking away.
Suddenly the boat
rocked as the waves in the shallow pool picked up and splashed them, tossing
their small boat to and fro.
"What's going on?"
Charlotte asked, panicked.
The same thing was
happening to all the other boats. Charlotte heard a ripping sound as she looked down and found that the
metal track the boat was on was coming loose.
"Oh no, Aaron,"
she shouted, "The boat's going off track, we have to jump ship!"
She stood up and
dived out, hitting her head on the pool floor. Aaron shook his head and stepped out of the boat, wading out of the
tunnel.
"Don't worry,
Aaron," Charlotte said, resurfacing, "I'm okay, just a minor concussion."
"Ahh!" she heard a
scream coming from outside and rushed out to see what was happening.
She saw Aaron and
others in a state of shock as shiny pieces of metal were being lifted out of
their pockets and purses.
"My keys!" someone
screamed.
"Hey, that has my
shopper's club card on it!"
"Give them back!"
Charlotte looked
down and saw her own keys leaving her pocket, "Hey!" She tried to grab hold of them but whatever was lifting them away
from her was just too strong.
This has got to be
the work of the Nether Nether Land!
She quickly ran
behind the tunnel, blowing her Zodiac whistle and transformed into Officer
Scorpio.
"What's going
on?!" Allison screamed.
"Help!" Rae-Ann
shouted, lifting off the ground feet first. The metal tips of her shoes pulled her towards whatever force was
causing the catastrophe. Placid grabbed
her and held her to the ground as her shoes came off her feet, flying towards
the whirlwind of keys and other metal objects.
"Are you guys
thinking what I'm thinking?" Jodi asked.
Placid nodded, "I
want you to hide in here, Rae-Ann," Placid said, pushing her into a
porta-potty.
"Ew, hell no!" she
shouted as Placid closed the door on her, "And I told you, my name is Rae-"
"Dolly!" Placid
shouted. A white sheep appeared before
the girls.
"What is it
Placid?"
"Take care of my
sister for me," Placid said, pointing to the porta-potty, "Make sure she stays
safe."
"No problem," the
sheep said, standing in front of it, "You girls better get to it."
"Right," Placid
said, blowing her Zodiac whistle as the other two did the same.
"Ha! You silly humans!" Metallica shouted, "Now
that I have your keys, what will you do?!"
"Oh no, she has
our keys!"
"She can get into
our houses!"
"She'll steal my
ten-percent discount at the Stop and Shop!"
"You evil witch!"
"Flattery will get
you nowhere," she said laughing. She
raised her arms and a nearby car lifted into the air, hovering over the
innocent citizens.
"Scorpio sting
burn!"
As the car dropped
on them, it exploded into a million pieces.
"How dare you try
to harm the innocent people of this fair city?!" a voice shouted.
A young dark
moss-haired girl wearing a red police officer's uniform stepped out of the
shadows. "I am Officer Scorpio and I
will not allow you to hurt these people!"
"Is that so?"
Metallica asked smiling, "Try this on for size?"
She raised her
hand and it turned into a giant hammer. Scorpio charged at her and Metallica slammed her with her hammer,
tossing Officer Scorpio aside like a used rag doll.
"I thought you
Zodiac Officers were supposed to be tough to beat?"
"You've just met
the weakest link," a voice yelled, "Now say hello to the rest of the chain!"
Officer Aries and
the other two officers jumped off the Ferris wheel. Aries stepped over Scorpio's bruised body.
"Get up, Scorpio,
you're making us look bad," she said to her while smiling at Metallica.
"Shut up," Scorpio
muttered weakly.
"I am Officer
Aries," Aries stated.
"I am Officer
Aquarius!"
"I am Officer
Virgo!"
"Uh…you've already
met Scorpio, I presume," Aries said, "We are the Zodiac Officers, we will fight
the good fight because good fights are worth fighting for fairly. And cheaters like you give everyone a bad
name. Under the auspice of the First
House of the Zodiac, we will bring closure to your villainous ways and deliver
justice to those whom you have wronged! Now you'd better change your tune, because I don't like heavy metal. I'm more into pop, and I'm about to pop you
one!"
Metallica groaned,
"Who writes this crap for you?"
"We make it up
ourselves, after school," Virgo said proudly.
"But that's none
of your business," Aquarius put in, "We're taking you down Metallica!"
"Someone let me
out of here!" Rae-Ann shouted, pounding on the door, "It stinks in here! Placid if you don't let me out I'm gonna
bust a cap in your ass…okay, I'll tell Mom, but she'll bust a cap in your ass!"
Dolly shook her
head. Such foul language from such a
little girl.
"Man," Rae-Ann
took a step back, "Let me out!" She kicked the door at the lock and it broke,
falling on Dolly. Rae-Ann jumped out,
standing on the door.
"Ow!" Dolly
shouted.
Rae-Ann looked
down, "Oh, my bad! You okay?"
"Fine," Dolly said
as Rae-Ann took the door off of her, "What did you think you-Hey, wait a
minute! You can see me?"
"Uh…yeah," Rae-Ann
said, "Ever since you started hanging out with my sister. Don't ask me what that chicken's doing with
a talking sheep, I just smile and nod."
"But if you can
see me," Dolly said slowly. She pulled
at Rae-Ann's pants.
"Hey, yo, I don't
swing that way with animals, G!" she shouted, pushing Dolly's mouth away.
Dolly revealed a
small birthmark on Rae-Ann's hip.
"That's the sign
of the Capricorn!" Dolly explained.
"Yo, what the dilly-o
kid, speak English," Rae-Ann said confused.
"I should say the
same to you," Dolly shot back, "Rae-Ann, when's your birthday?"
"January 9th."
"Do you know what
this means?"
"I'm having you
arrested for sexual harassment?"
"No!" she shouted,
"Quick, reach into my fur."
"Ew, no means no!"
Rae-Ann protested.
"Just do it!"
She reached in and
pulled out a whistle, "What's this shit?"
"It's your Zodiac
whistle," Dolly explained, "Officer Capricorn?"
"Officer who?"
"It's over
Metallica!" Officer Aries said, "You better sing a new song before we take it
away from you!"
"What?!" Metallica
shouted, "You can't take any of my songs without permission! They're copyrighted! Where are my first amendment rights!" she ripped a streetlight out of the ground
and threw it at the Officers. The
streetlight bent around them, binding them together.
"Ugh, we're
trapped!" Aquarius shouted.
"We could really
use Taurus right about now!" Officer Scorpio added squirming.
"Who's touching my
butt?"
"Now to put an end
to you Zodiac geeks," Metallic brought her hands closer together and as she did
the metal post squeezed the Officers tighter.
"Capricorn
boomerang slice!"
A streak of light
sliced through the air, cutting the streetlight and freeing the Officers.
"What?!" Metallica
shouted.
"Who's that?"
Officer Capricorn
jumped off the roof of the funhouse, "You better check yourself before you
wreck yourself, Metallica!" she shouted, "Let me drop some science on you metal
ass, no one messes with the Zodiac Officers!"
"Rae-Ann?!" Officer
Aries exclaimed.
"You mean
Rae-Dog?" Virgo asked.
"Come on Officer
Aries, move it!" Capricorn yelled.
"Right," Aries
said, still looking at the newest Officer in hot pink, "Aries diamond, crystal,
heart, love, happiness, good stuff, honey, flowers-"
She was cut off by
a dandelion hitting the Metallica in her metal face.
"Ow!" she shouted,
brushing it aside.
"You make me sick
Metallica."
"Three-Piece
Suit!" the girls shouted.
"That's right," he
said, swinging his dapper cane, "What sort of dastardly villain would rob
people of their keys, the very symbols of their most inner wishes and desires,
the keys to their houses…and their hearts."
"Now that's a
stretch," Metallica said, "You'll be the first I get rid of!" His cane lifted out of his hand and struck him in the face. He fell to the floor as the cane came down on him vertically,
ready to impale him.
"Not so fast, you
tin can!" Officer Aries said, raising her magic baton and twirling it around,
"Aries diamond, crystal, heart, love, happiness, good stuff, honey, flowers,
long walks on the beach, redemption or destruction, depending on the intent of
the target, magic!" The good energy hit
Metallica, destroying her and releasing all the keys and other metal objects
from her sinister grasp. Three-Piece Suit's
cane fell to the fell as he stood up, unharmed.
"Good work Zodiac
Officers," Three-Piece Suit said, "And welcome to the group, Officer
Capricorn."
"Thanks
Three-Piece," Capricorn said smiling, "Good looking out, son." They gave each other pounds.
"Keep it real,
Capricorn," Three-Piece Suit advised, "And never forget to keep your keys where
they belong," he pointed to her chest, "In you heart."
"Yeah, I don't
think that's healthy," Officer Aries said, "Okay, bye Suit, nice talking to
ya. Later."
With a wave, he
left.
"What the hell do
you think you're doing?!" Aries shouted.
"Great work,
Officer Capricorn!"
"Good job!"
"You really kicked
butt!"
"Way to go, kid!"
"Thanks you guys,"
Capricorn said, "It was no biggie!"
"You're right
about that because there's no way you can be a Zodiac Officer!"
"But Dolly said I
was!"
"Dolly!"
The white sheep
appeared, "Don't look at me, Officer Aries, Rae-Ann was destined to be a Zodiac
Officer. You can't deny that."
"And I'm pretty
damn good, if I do say so myself," Capricorn said smugly, "Boo yah!"
"Welcome to the
team," Scorpio said, patting Capricorn on the head, "Officer Capricorn. We're glad to have you on board."
"Damn them, damn
them!" Mayor Logy shouted, "Those Officers have done it again!"
"I guess you heard
about Metallica, huh Mr. Mayor?" Egor said sadly.
"What about
Metallica? I was talking about a
streetlight at my carnival, they ruined it!"
"You didn't hear?"
he asked, "They destroyed her!"
"First the
streetlight, now Metallica?!" he shouted, "That's it's! No more Mr. Nice Mayor, I'm going to end
those damn Zodiac Officers once and for all!"
"So Rae-Ann is the
newest officer, huh?" Nina Brown, also known as Officer Taurus said, "Isn't she
a little young. I mean, she's only 8."
"That's what I
said," Placid piped up, "And a lot of other things too!"
"Oh stop whining,
Placid," Charlotte snapped, "You're just jealous!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Jodi rolled her
eyes as the two fought and turned to Nina, "So Nina, you never told us, how did
they let you out of jail?"
She smiled, "My
lawyer found some technicality that dismissed all the evidence in my case, I
got away with the whole thing scot-free!" she announced happily.
"Uh…that's great,
Nina," Allison said dubiously, "Glad to have you back on the streets-er-I mean
out of jail. Hehehe," she inched away
from her slowly.