Chapter 5-Revenge of the Evil Genius

5:15 am, Saturday morning, was not a good time for a would-be Evil Genius to be waking up, especially is that would-be Evil Genius happened to have had his whole life's work-OK, make that a whole four days worth of work-ruined by a tattle-tale lackey and some red-headed chick who thought she was the boss of the whole world. Still, 5: 15 am was when Bloo woke up, and found it impossible to go back to sleep, especially knowing that the tattle-tale lackey in question was sleeping soundly and contentedly under HIS-Bloo's-bed at that very instant! Gritting his teeth, Bloo decided that the best way to take out his current frustrations would be to sneak into the TV Room and play some video games before everyone else woke up, and breakfast was served. Throwing back the covers, he slid out of his bunk bed, started heading for the door, then figured he'd better go make the bed and not risk being reprimanded by that stuffy rules-obsessed rabbit again. Turning back towards the bed, Bloo took nearly a minute to realize that something was missing, not from his bed, but from UNDERNEATH it, namely that very same tattling henchman who'd ratted him out to Frankie. Puzzled, Bloo knelt down to get a better view-of a nearly-empty space, occupied only by a pillow and a blanket. That space should have also contained, at this hour, a sound-asleep, very tall red Imaginary Friend, who insisted upon sleeping underneath a bed because he was so tall that much of his lower legs and feet would hang off the end of a bed in a very uncomfortable way. Bloo didn't dwell on that absence for very long, though, figuring that maybe Wilt had made a trip to the restroom or wanted to get an early start at helping prepare breakfast for some 100+ occupants of the house. Bloo could deal with him later. For now, though, he needed to let off some steam still building up from the day before, and there was nothing better than some good shoot-em-up action on some games for that.

Walking down the darkened hallway towards the TV Room, Bloo couldn't help muttering angrily to himself. "…don't know who she thinks she is, bustin' into MY lab, takin' MY inventions! She must not know who SHE is dealing with here! And that, that always-do-good, scrawny-legs Mr.-Sorry-I'm-Perfect, Is-That-OK…why does EVERYBODY think he's sooooooo wonderful and stuff? I just BET he's got some deep, dark secret he's hidin' that'll make everybody realize he's NOT all that, and all I have to do is find it…What? Now who left the tv on?" Bloo knew, as did everyone else in the house, that the last person watching tv was absolutely NOT supposed to leave the set on when they went to bed, so why was it still on? Boy, if Herriman found out…oh, well, at least whoever did leave the tv on had saved Bloo from having to switch it on himself, and wait until his eyes adjusted to its brightness in the otherwise-dark room. They'd also done him the favor of leaving the volume down nice and low, so he wouldn't wake anyone up at this hour. Approaching the tv and the cabinet beside it where the games and DVD's were kept, Bloo totally failed to notice that he was not alone in the room. As he was perusing through the game titles, trying to decide on which one would best suit his mood, he thought he heard a slight rustling behind him, like that of cloth moving against cloth. The sound was so unexpected that for a few seconds Bloo simply froze, eyes wide, almost not wanting to turn around, even while mentally chastising himself that it was nothing. No one else was in the room with him. Turning around slowly, just so his eyes could confirm what his brain was telling him, Bloo's surprise at hearing a sound in a room in which he'd thought HE was the only occupant paled in comparison to what he actually saw.

For what seemed like an eternity, Bloo could do nothing but stare at the sight before him on the sofa, his brain slowly losing control of his jaw, so that it proceeded to drop open like a trap door. He found it almost impossible to even comprehend the sight; the ramifications were simply too mind-boggling at first for him to grasp. Gradually, though, even as his eyes continued to stare in amazement and near-disbelief, his brain shook itself and decided to take charge of the situation…and come up with a way that Bloo could use this…uh, situation…to his advantage. As the plan took shape, the expression of shock on the blue Friend's face began to give way to one a bit more, shall we say, devious?

So, THAT'S why he wasn't under the bed! Mr. Perfect and Ms. Bossy…THIS explains it all, doesn't it? No WONDER she's always listenin' to HIS side of things…I bet nobody else in the whole house has ANY idea that THIS is goin' on right under their very noses, at least, not YET they don't? Wonder what everybody'll think of these two lovebirds when they DO find out, hmmm? After all, THIS is the sorta thing that can just really mess up somebody's perfect reputation, ain't it? Now, how can I get the word out, so to speak, without THESE two knowin' who let the cat outa the bag?

Racking his brain for a means of exacting the perfect act of revenge, Bloo suddenly remembered that old Madame Foster, with her sentimental self, kept a Polaroid camera, with film, in a drawer just off the downstairs foyer, to take keepsake pictures of Friends and their new adopting families before they departed. Moving quickly and silently out of the TV Room and down the stairs, Bloo practically raced to the chest of drawers in question, hoping his thudding heart wouldn't wake everyone in the house, and REALLY hoping that the camera would actually still be there, AND have film in it. Pulling open the drawer, Bloo felt around inside, and, to his relief, his hand fell upon the form of the camera, right where it was supposed to be. Pulling it out, he held it up in a patch of faint light filtering in through the foyer windows, and squinting, was just able to make out a number in the little box that indicated how many exposures were left. One. There was one exposure left, which meant he had just one chance to get the shot he needed, and then get the heck outa there! No problem, he'd used the Polaroid before, and it would only require one picture, after all, to tell the tale. Tucking the camera under his arm, Bloo ascended the stairs in leaps and bounds, to make it back to the TV Room and get his incriminating evidence before the perpetrators woke up. Soon, all the household would know that certain people's halos were very tarnished indeed!

THIS is just TOO perfect! This is gonna be sooo good!