The Iron Vulture:

            "You WHAT?"  Karnage bellowed at the cringing Dumptruck.

            "I er, let her go captain…" Dumptruck started, and then cowered as Karnage whapped him about the head with his captains hat.

            "You…. Not smart like me person!" Karnage bellowed, "How do you know she wasn't fooling you to run away for real, and war-"

            "I got it!"  All eyes turned to Molly as she proudly entered the bridge, holding the box in her hands.  Karnage frowned.

            "Yeesss…" He said, "but I am thinking that I would have been best to get the knickity knack."  Molly laughed,

            "Oh right.  You'll walk up to Baloo and ask for it."

            "And you did?"

            "Well, I asked to see it, so kinda..yeah."

            "Well, open it!" Karnage said, stifling his jealousy-- she was supposed to be a plundering protégé,  which did not involve making her own plans…yet.

            Molly carefully undid the lock, using some tools to actually disassemble the mechanism, and opened it carefully.  The pirates crowding the bridge all gave an "aah" of expectation at the jewel that was revealed.    It was dead black, such a black that it seemed to drink in the light around it, and all could feel the coolness that seemed to suck the heat out of the nearby air.  The padding in the case was coated with frost.

            "I do not understand?"  Karnage said, "It is supposed to be hot, like the last one, not cold and blackity dark like."  Molly blinked and looked at it for several minutes.  She thought.

            "I think it's…sucking in energy." She said, "so if Rachet is right, we can make it release energy."

            "That is very nice…but have you solved the directionality problem?"  Karnage asked, trying to give the impression of just waiting for her to say no so he could step in with his far superior solution.  Molly smiled down at him. 

            "Yep!  Give me and Rachet… a couple of weeks, and the Iron Vulture will be invincible!"

***

            At H4H, Baloo and Kit walked into the office. Becky looked up at them.

            "How did the flight go?"

            "We ah… lost the jewel." Baloo said.  He was…gratified that at least that produced an old fashioned Becky roar.

            "YOU WHAT?  HOW?"

            "Ummmm…."  Kit paused, and looked at Baloo.

            "Well it's like this."

            "That is to say…"

            "How?  HOW Baloo?" Becky had the bear by the lapels and was hoping up and down.  "How could you do this to me?  Kit, why weren't you watching him?  I sent you along to watch him!?"  Her voice kept going up and then got puzzled. "Kit, why are you walking like that?"

            "Well… Molly kicked me."   Becky stopped cold.

            "Molly?"

            "Um, yeah."  Kit said, kicking himself.

            "Where is she?  Molly?  Molly!"  Becky shouted running to the Sea Duck.  "You gave the jewel away to get her, right?"

            "Not exactly…" Kit said, and sighed. Then continued, "We saw her running away from the pirates, so we took her onboard…but she stole the jewel and abandoned the plane." That stopped Becky short.

            "She…stole the Jewel."

            "Yeah."

            "And went back to the pirates?"

            "Well… she jumped out of the plane."

            "WHAT?"

            "But she had a rocket pack!"  Kit said, frantically.

            "Oh, and she went?"

            "Into some clouds…"

            "And then we couldn't see her anymore."

            "But she did have a plan."  Kit said.  "I'm certain of it."

            "I DON'T CARE IF SHE HAD A PLAN! WHY DIDN'T SHE COME BACK HERE!?"

            "Bosslady, we didn't exactly have a chance ta talk about it." Baloo said, trying to interject sweet reason into the conversation.

            "I DON'T' CARE IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE. OH MY POOR BABY!" Becky wailed, then, without missing a beat, "WHEN I GET FINISHED GROUNDING HER, IT'LL BE THE 22ND CENTURY BEFORE SHE COMES OUT OF HER ROOM!!!"   Baloo had to smile at that-- whatever else, the sight of a living breathing, uninjured Molly had banished the worst and unspoken thought they'd all had.

            "Now Beckers, we just need to sit down and think about this-" Abruptly, a large car drove up, and several VERY large individuals got out, and without so much as a by your leave, picked them up and tossed them into the car. 

            "Mr. Khan wants to speak to you."  One said, barely giving Rebecca time to tell Wildcat to hold the fort.  As the car drove off, Wildcat scratched his head.

            "Fort?  What fort?"  And then with a bright expression, went off to find the fort to hold.

***

            Molly was finishing working on her plane-- well it had been a spare, but she had fixed it and it was hers now.  Looking behind her, she sighed-- she always seemed to attract a crowd.

            "Dumptruck!" Molly bellowed,

            "Yes?" That worthy said.

            "Hand me the 7/8ths."  When he did, she renewed her attack on the last bolt. "C'mon you…. There!"  She said in satisfaction, closing the hatch and standing up.

            It wasn't a biplane-- it was better, one of the monoengined jets that had just started coming into service-- Karnage had stolen it, but nobody except for rachet understood it (and rachet was far to busy fixing everything else nobody understood), so it had just sat in the hanger. Not anymore.    Molly positively purred with glee. 

            "Ar, that's very nice… Almost as nice as my home…"  Dumptruck said.

            "Home?" Molly asked, "You had a home before you became a pirate?"

            "Yes, I had a home, back und Sweden." He said, "But I had to get a job, and the farm didn't work."

            "Why not?"

            "It was a really good price-- but when I farmed I found out there was only three inches of topsoil over the rocks. My wife said I had to make money… so her and little Helga could eat."  Molly's mind struggled with the image of Dumptruck, a wife, and what a girl would look like with his genetic coding.  She smiled to repress the shudder as she got an image of Dumptruck with long golden locks. 

            "But now I de pirate." Dumptruck said happily.

            "And how much do you make?"  Molly asked.  Dumptruck screwed up his face in concentration.  Molly sighed. Right, big numbers.

            "That's…nice."  She said, and looked over at the rest of the hanger.  Filthy, as usual.   Well, they'd see about that.  She looked over at some lounging pirates.

            "You, over there!  GET OVER HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"  She bellowed.   They hustled, as Molly glared down at them.

            "Where are the mops kept?"  The pirates looked blankly at her.

            "MOPS!  TO CLEAN!" She bellowed. 

            "But…but why?  Maddog whined.  It's not that bad…"  Molly took one finger, and drew it along the deck plating.  When she stuck it in Maddogs face, the finger was coated with an oozing, stinking, mixture of dirt, slime, oil, and other, less namable things.  She flicked it onto Maddogs nose.

            "Ooooh." The pirate groaned.

            "Now." Molly said, "When Rachet and I build the secret weapon, we're going to be all over the Vulture, and I am NOT going to get any more filthy than I have to. Understand?"  A hyena looking fellow with a bandoleer of dynamite sticks panted and looked worried.

            "But the cap'n always makes us scrub, but nothing ever gets better." He whined.  Molly looked superior.

            "That's because: A. you waited too long, and this gunk is welded to the floor and walls, and B. because I wasn't here."  She paused, "Rachet!"

            "Yes Molly?"  Rachet asked. 

            "Are any of the boilers hot?"

            "Um…yeah, some of them, why?" 

            "Good, take Dumptruck and anyone else you need. I want you to hook the fire hose up to the steam vent."

            "Why?"

            "'Cause we're going to give the Vulture and old fashioned steam cleaning."  Molly said, the light of invention, or perhaps mania, in her eyes.   Turning to the others, she barked out. "Alright!  Get those mops!  You'll follow along behind me!" 

***

            Don Karnage was enjoying a pleasant dream, where Cape Suzzette had surrendered to him, to avoid his righteous wrath. He had just gotten to the part where Shere Khan (who had begged to be his flunky), had just placed the Crown on his head, crowning him Pirate King and eternal Ruler of Usland.   The dream was at least in part helped along by the letter he had received by Pirate Post-- a collection of perpetually over worked homing pigeons.  Once again, he would make his grand entrance to the Pirate's Gathering.  He sighed.

            Suddenly, however, the skies darkened over Cape Suzzette.  A choking white cloud covered everything, and Karnage fought with all his might against the horrifying foe.

            BONK!

            "OW!" Karnage said, from where he'd rolled out of bed.   His eyes bugged out at the sight-- a thick hot mist seemed to obscure everything, and a terrible hissing noise was coming from outside.

            "Oh I will hang them by their pinkies for interrupting my nap!"  Karnage snarled, and threw open the door.  

            "Watch it!"  Someone shouted as a stream of superheated steam came close to removing Don Karnage's nose.  He pulled back and tried to see in the corridor, which was a collection of swirling fogbanks, hot, sticky, and wet.  Suddenly a shape materialized in the mist. It was Molly, in a tank top and a pair of shorts, wielding a steam hose, playing it on the walls, ceiling, and especially the floor. Behind her came a horde of pirates, each one bearing, (and using), a mop, scraper, or sprayer.  Behind them, Karnage saw another horde, this one carrying paint cans and brushes.

            "what what what are you doing?!"  Karnage sputtered.

            "What does it look like?" Molly said.  "Cleaning this dump."  Her hair was bedraggled and lying in soaked locks around her face, her clothes were soaked and stained with oil, and from the gleam in her eyes, she was having the time of her life. "Didn't you ever think to do this?  Once the steam loosens it, it's easy to clean."

            "Yes, I understand-- kaff, kaff." Karnage tried to get the smell out of his nose. "But this…this isn't something a plundering protégé should do!?"

            "Why not?"  Molly asked, cocking her hips and shutting off the hose.  The pirates behind her fell silent.  "this ship is a pigsty."

            "So?"

            "So it shouldn't be! Half the steam hoses are rotted, the other half are hard to use their so brittle-- This ship needs to get cleaned out, and then fixed up."

            "Yes, well that is the captain's duty!"  Karnage said, and Molly swelled dangerously, before a cunning look played briefly across her face.

            "But Captain." She said, giving a sweet look that would have had both Kit and Baloo running for cover and/or counting their fingers.  Karnage crossed his arms as Molly continued.

            "You told me too."  She said.

            "WHAT?"  Karnage said.

            "Remember, you wanted  big kabooms?"

            "Yes…"

            "Well, the crew will have to be rested, and I'll have to do a lot of work, and who wants to work in grime and mess. Think of the impression you would make on Cape Suzzette if they see that you took the trouble to clean the Iron Vulture before conquering the city!" Karnage thought about it for a moment.

            He couldn't fall for that.

            "I like that idea! Carry on!"  Karnage shouted, "now go, go, I have much meanderings to plan."

            He did fall for it.  Molly thought. Karnage paused, and turned back around to Molly.

            "Oh by the path, my little plundering protégétte, I have some good news for you."

            "Yes?"

            "We will be going to  a party this weekend. Make certain you have a good dress, yes/no?  It is the pirates gathering and you must make a good impression when you are outshown by my gloriousness."  Molly looked at him, blankly.

            "A dress would be a good request that I am ordering you to get."  He finished and closed the door.  The pirates looked at Molly.

            "A party… a dress?"  She squeaked.  "He wants me to go with him?"  The squeak went up several octaves in tones of horror.

            "Eeuuuuu…."


 
 

            My dear, I hypnotized her. You are responsible for making her inner child ah, ah…Axe muderer!