(AUTHOR'S NOTE: First of all, thanks a lot to my reviewers. Second, I want to recognize The J.A.M.'s contribution to this chapter and the previous one, especially some details about Mary)
ANIMAL SHOWDOWN.
"You'll never catch me, Dorkpaw!" Plucky exclaimed in a raspy voice. He was wearing a yellow jacket, a black and yellow cape, red fedora and turtle neck, and a black mask. In front of him, Wally was on his DarkPaw Wolf outfit, in a fighting stance.
"We'll see that, NegaPluck!" Wally replied, and then he and Plucky started kung-fu fighting. The whole Advanced Spin Changing's class was looking at them in amazement, and some of them were even cheering. Bugs was also pleased with the scene, as well as his invited lecturer, Darkwing Duck. The mallard had already finished with his lecture in the Superheroes class, but the rabbit invited him to see the other classes as well.
Actually, this demonstration was Plucky's idea. After Buster told him about the talking he had with Wally that weekend, the duck was a little more calm about the wolf. He wouldn't trust him anything important, because of his relation with the Perfectos (Buster decided to keep the rest of Wally's story, involving his secret girfriend, still secret; that was way too personal), but he got convinced that the wolf wasn't bad at all, and stopped the spying while convincing Skippy to cease it as well. After all, the duck had been tricked and seduced by the Perfectos and their girls previously, so could relate to the wolf's situation. Now, four days after that meeting, Plucky told Bugs about Wally admiring DW, and his impersonation of the Masked Mallard, so Bugs decided it would be nice to have Darkwing taking a look at him while he was on town, and Plucky agreed to help, while showing a little of his talent to Bugs and the invited lecturer as well.
Wally finished the fight with a swift kick to Plucky's stomach, sending the duck across the room, and knocking him out. Wally then jumped next to him, and extended his cape in victory.
"Once again, the citizens of Acme Acres can go home and continue their peaceful lives, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Champion of Right, Defender of Truth, The Baddest of Good, and, generally speaking, a good fellow... DARKPAAAAW WOOOOLF!" Wally howled at the last part. The students and the teachers clapped at him; Plucky then stood up and received some applause as well. Wally and Plucky vowed in front of their audience, and spin-changed back to normal.
"Guys, that was really impressive. It really reminded me a few of my fights against Negaduck." Darkwing approached the pair, and they shook paws/wings. Wally was extremely happy about meeting one of his favorite heroes, and really thankful with Plucky for helping him with the demonstration. The Masked Mallard then gave Wally an autographed picture (he always carried a bunch, even if rarely used them), and then he and the class posed for a group one; the duck was now a little more respected in his home town, but, curiously, had more fans on other cities than on his own, and really enjoyed meeting them.
"Well, Dark, what do you t'ink aboutda students?" Bugs asked Darkwing once the class was over and the students left.
"They are a nice group, Bugs. That wolf has a great potential... and a good taste for chosing his role models, if I can say." Darkwing said in a smooth tone. Bugs rolled his eyes, thinking about what was wrong with ducks and their egos.
"Anyway, I hope you enjoy your time here with us. Have plans for tonight? Da staff is going to have dinner together." Bugs told the duck while they both exited the room. Darkwing shrugged.
"Oh, well, I'll be glad to go, but can't stay for a long time. I have relatives here in Acme Acres, and I want to visit them later." DW informed Bugs. He was about to stay in the city for a couple of weeks to give more lectures and cover for Daffy, who usually took turns with Bugs to teach the Superheroes class, since the black duck had so much work with his new show; he barely could handle giving the Wild Takes class alone, making a pain preparing for the other ones he gave at the Loo. Daffy and Bugs were the bussiest teachers there, giving 3 different classes each one, plus Bugs working as the Principal.
While Darkwing and Bugs were walking through the corridor, they saw Wally getting another autograph, this one from a muscular duck, almost as tall as Arnold, dressed in a pilot's outfit. As Wally waved him good-bye and thanked for the autograph while walking away, Darkwing and Bugs moved next to him.
"Hey, LP, it seems my fan is yours as well." Darkwing commented. Launchpad McQuack, his best friend and loyal sidekick, smiled, looking at the same direction Wally had left, and then directed to the rabbit and the shorter duck.
"Yes, DW. All the guys at the Sidekicking class were very enthusiast as well. Thanks again for inviting me to lecture them, Mr Bunny." Launchpad said. Porky was the official teacher, but, as Daffy's sidekick in the Duck Dodgers series, he was as busy as the duck.
"Call me Bugs, buddy. We all use foist names around here. Now guys, if you excuse me, I must have a second chat with Perfecto Prep's principal. It seems some of his students want to practice huntin' with ours." Bugs told them. Darkwing and Launchpad nodded.
"Sure… by the way, while I'm in town, I would like to talk with you later about a girl we know that wants to study here. She wants to be a hero, like me, and maybe a little extra preparation wouldn't hurt, plus giving her the chance to finish her education." Darkwing said to Bugs. The rabbit nodded while starting walking away.
"Sure, Dark. Talk about it at dinner. We are acceptin' some late students next month, so maybe we can receive her at dat time as well." Bugs said, and finally left. Darkwing and Launchpad walked the other direction to have some rest at the teachers' lounge.
That week was particularly important for the boxing team, since they would have their first competition of the year, against Tasmanian High. The girls had training sessions almost daily, and the boys, as promised, helped them. Buster and Calamity, of course, would never lay a fist on Babs and Fifi, but helped them with the shadow-boxing and their working out's routines. Wally and Mary worked really hard as well, and so Ronald and Hillary; about them, it was obvious they now were more used to each other, maybe very used. They started spending a lot more time together, and, even if Hillary still called him by names, it was now in a good natured way, and, normally, just used the nicknames she invented for the guy. The girls even thought they were falling for each other, something the pair always denied, but it was clear for anyone with half a brain.
Lola had a special session with the girls the day previous to the competition; she was a little nervous about having Hillary competing so soon, because, unlike the other girls, who had been having some training during the summer break, the hyena was still new on the team. However, since she had been practicing boxing and wrestling during her whole childhood, Lola considered she was prepared enough. On the last training session, Lola and Arnold took turns so each girl could have a sparring match with them, confirming they were all ready.
The next evening, almost the whole Loo was at the Acme Arena. The matches were arranged on weight's order; Babs would be the first one, followed by Fifi (even if she and Babs had a similar size, Fifi's tail added some extra weight), then Mary, and Hillary at the end. On the bleachers, the teachers sat behind the girls' classmates, who were right behind the team's bench; even Max and Marcus were there, since Monty had bet a lot of money on the Acme Loo's team, and Marcus wanted to see all the girls being beaten, especially Babs and Fifi. Plucky took a fast look at the Arena, and spotted someone the other side of it..
"Hey, Hamton, look." Plucky elbowed the pig, and pointed to the direction Roderick and Drake were sitting. The Perfectos were right behind the bench assigned to the Tasmanian High's team. Shirley saw them too, and immediately got bad vibes. What surprised the loon the most, however, was the fact Rhubella and Margot were at the Arena too, but sitting almost ten lines behind their boyfriends; then she remembered Hillary had already told the girls about Margot and Drake's problem, so the loon deduced the Perfecto girls weren't really on the mood to sit alongside the boys.
"Ladiephts and gentletoonphts, welcome to Acme Arena!" Sylvester directed to the audience, standing at the middle of the ring. "Tonight we have a great program, with the local team, The Acme Aces, facing the powerful team of Taphtsmanian High, The Tapthsmanian Hitterphts."
One moment later, both teams emerged from the dressing rooms, with the trainers leading them. Babs was wearing a white boxing robe, Fifi a green one, Mary a blue, and Hillary a red; all of them had "Acme" written on the back, with every girl fighter's name under it. They were all using white tops, black boxing shorts, red gloves, and everyone but Hillary (who never used that accessory) were using blue bows. The fighters from the other team were all using red tops, white shorts, and blue gloves.
Sylvester then started telling the rules; since the fighters were toons, and from different species, there were special dispositions concerning the matches. They could jump, or even fly (those who could) to avoid an attack, as long as they were just using their species proper skills, and within their natural limits. The use of any kind of toon weaponry was forbidden, as well as spin-changes, hitting with the tail (only the fists were allowed), stench attacks (in the case of Fifi), and almost all toon tricks. The rest of the rules were the same of any regular boxing match; no bites, or kicking, or blows under the belt, and so.
Babs "Barbarian" Bunny entered the ring to face a wallaby girl. Their match was a very fast one, with lots of jumping from both sides. The wallaby lost a few points for trying to bounce on top of Babs; luckily, the rabbit could avoid it. Even if Babs received a few good hits, she returned the punishment with great accuracy. After three rounds, the rabbit was declared winner by unanimous decision.
The opponent of Fifi "Knockout" LaFume was a monitor lizard. The reptile insulted the mammal all the time, hoping she would get distracted, making the fighting easier for her. Unfortunately for the lizard, Fifi didn't fall for the trick, and, used to train fighting faster opponents, knocked her out in two rounds.
Mary "Panterita" (Panther-Maid, in Spanish) Melody entered the ring to face a menacing wild hog. The moment the bell rang, the pigette dashed against Mary, trying to hit her at full speed to finish the fight with a single and powerful move. Mary avoided the attack doing the "Moonwalker", moving away from the hog's path, and repeated it to avoid a series of similar attacks, but, on the process, got caught against one corner. The hog smiled, and approached the human, confident about her coming victory; apparently, she liked to use this trick on her fights, cornering the opponent and hitting her mercilessly until the other girl was knocked out, or ended too injured to continue. However, Mary made the same movement Wally used on their first sparring match, using the ropes to impulse herself, and jumped over the pig's head. When the hog turned back, Mary could trap her against the corner, and gave the wild pig a great beating. The pigette was saved by the bell, but was very injured, so, on the next round, Mary sent her to the canvas three times in less than two minutes, and the human won by technical knockout.
At the bleachers, the Perfectos were furious, since they had a lot of money on this fight, and the Acme girls were doing a fast job on their opponents. Roderick then whispered something to Drake, and, after a few moments, the duck was smiling. Shirley noticed this, since their vibes became even worse. The loon knew they were planning something, but she couldn't know what since she was against using her telepathy to read other people's minds without their consent, and only did it in life or death situations (the few times she had broke that rule, she immediately had regretted it); plus, even if trying, the villains were just too far for their reach, and there was too many people to concentrate properly. Shirley then had an idea, and moved next to Gogo Dodo.
"Like, Gogo, can you discover what are Roddy and Drake saying, or some junk? I think they are planning something." Shirley told him. Gogo smiled, and changed his appereance; unlike most toons, he could make the change without spinning, making him able to do it without getting too much attention when he wanted to. Once he ended, the dodo was wearing a trench coat and a fedora.
"I accept the mission, boss. Go-Go-Gadget-Antenna!" Gogo said in a goofy Don Adams-like voice, and, a second later, a little dish antenna emerged from his hat. He directed it towards the Perfectos, and took out a little microphone that Shirley and he could use to get the conversation.
"Roderick, old friend, this is one of your trickiest stunts ever."
"I know, Danforth. That silly hyena has no idea she will be facing the most dangerous Tasmanian devil that had ever entered a ring. This guy is a killer!"
"Good. That will show the stupid scavenger about purging me! I still have that horrible taste."
"And not only we'll recover today losses, but also, if this fellow does his job well, the Looniversity might lose a valuable player for the Acme Bowl."
Shirley and Gogo gasped. Hillary's opponent wasn't a girl, but a male on disguise, and a very dangerous one! Shirley got a good look at the T-devil entering the ring. "She" had fake eyelashes and a red ribbon on "her" head, plus having a long ponytail as well as some make-up, so looked a lot like a very ungraceful girl. Shirley then used her telepathy to warn Hillary, who was now entering the ring.
"Hillary, Shirley here. This match is a trap. You are fighting a male in disguise. I'm going to tell Lola so she can stop the fight."
Hillary got a little surprised for the news, and for having Shirley speaking inside her head. She took a good look at the devil; "she" glared at the hyena, and showed "her" huge teeth to her for intimidation. Hillary glared back, and, since Shirley was still on her mind, replied back the message.
"Thanks for telling me, Shirley, but, please, as a friend, I'm asking you to not telling anyone. I don't fear fighting a guy, and you know that."
"Fine…if you wish. But, if I see you in danger, I'll stop the fight by any mean necessary, even if I have to fry the both of you with my lightning, or some junk."
Hillary "Steel Girl" Hyena directed her eyes to the bleachers, and nodded to Shirley, who nodded back in reply. Then, the hyena did the same to her parents (who were sitting next to the teachers) and Ronald, smiling to all of them.
"Like, I hope she'll be fine." Shirley said to Gogo, in a concerned tone.
"If not, then I'll be Fine." Gogo replied, and changed into a female form, with a big curly black hairdo and huge teeth, wearing a red dress.
"Hellooo, Mr Sheffield!" Gogo said in a nasal voice. Shirley sighed, and rolled her eyes. A moment later, the bell rang.
The devil lost no time, and charged against the hyena. Hillary resisted a well placed jab, and gave the devil a straight punch on reply. The fighters had a good punching exchange for a few seconds, and then moved apart, studying the opponent's movements. The devil gave the hyena a wicked smile.
"Growwlfrazzagrrlptt! You going down!" The devil said, and, a moment later, started spinning. It wasn't the usual devils' tornado, who can pass through a mountain, but a slightly slower one that wouldn't cut anyone by touching it, but seemed really powerful. Since this was considered a normal way to move among Tasmanian devils, was allowed in the match.
Hillary threw a punch against the tornado, and was yanked by it. The tornado made the hyena spin around it for a few seconds, and then, in a sudden movement, threw her against the ropes at full speed. The hyena bounced on the ropes, and returned to the ring's center, where she received a powerful punch coming from the tornado; the impact made her fly and bounce again on the ropes, returning her against the tornado, who gave her the same treatment. The scene continued for almost a minute, with Hillary being hit by the tornado every time she returned from the ropes. The referee, a blonde human girl, had to leave the ring to avoid being hit by the bouncing hyena. Her teammates and Lola watched the scene in horror, as well as the hyena parents, teachers, and classmates; Ronald seemed to be ready to jump into the ring at any moment, but was held back by both Dizzy and Wally. Shirley almost used her lightning to stop the fight, but all the time she could feel Hillary screaming on her mind, asking her to not doing it, so the loon fought the impulse.
Hillary's bouncing only stopped when she hit a corner of the ring instead of the ropes. The hyena fell to the canvas, and the referee started counting, while the devil smiled and moved to a neutral corner. Hillary handled to stand up at the count of seven, even if she was still groggy. The referee asked her if she could continue, and the hyena nodded. The devil waited until she was near the center of the ring, and turned back into a tornado, making circles around her. Hillary, this time, decided to keep her guard up instead of fighting back. The devil noticed this, and started throwing punches at high speed while keeping his spinning; now, the hyena was receiving attacks coming from almost every possible direction, and couldn't block them all. Luckily for Hillary, the bell rang at that moment, saving her. The devil stopped, and smirked at her before moving to his corner.
Lola entered the ring to take Hillary to their corner, while Babs placed her seat on it. The hyena was totally covered in bruises, and those were only the visible ones. While the rabbits were attending the hyena, Mary and Fifi were arguing with the judges, since the tornado wasn't used just for movement, but to attack, breaking the rules; however, as the judges proved by showing the girls a video, in slow-motion, of the first round, the hitting was done with the fists rotating at high speed, so the attack was considered as a series of dashing punches, totally legal. The only exception was the initial yanking, but it was a side and unavoidable effect of the tornado, so the devil wasn't made responsible of it.
"Hillary, are you okay? I'm going to stop the fight." Lola informed the girl while checking her. Hillary shook her head.
"No…please, let me continue. I now have an idea about how this devil fights, and handle "her"…honest." Hillary said in a pained voice. Lola looked at her eyes; the girl was really eager to continue, and that was final. Lola sighed.
"One more round. If you can't show me you can move to the third one, I'll stop this." Lola informed the hyena. Hillary nodded, and directed her eyes towards the devil. The bell rang, and she moved at the center of the ring, while Lola and Babs exited it.
Hillary returned to her defensive position. The devil smirked, and made his tornado movement; as previously, the marsupial moved in circles around the carnivore, throwing punches against her. However, Hillary resisted well, and summoned all her strength to her fists; then, in a swift movement, hit the canvas with both gloves. The impact sent a shockwave through the ring, surprising the devil and making him to lose balance, so he had to stop spinning to recover it.
"HILL SMASH!" Hillary growled, and, taking advantage of her chance, used the same technique, hitting the devil's jaw with both gloves at a time, as if she were holding a mallet. The devil moved a few steps back, stunned, and Hillary repeated the attack several times until the devil fell to the canvas. The whole audience (but the Perfectos, of course) cheered loudly, while she moved to a neutral corner, shaking her fists to relax them after the hitting.
The devil stood up at the count of six, and scowled at the hyena. The devil attacked again in his tornado's form, but, since Hillary wasn't at ring center, couldn't repeat the circling attack. Instead, he dashed against the hyena; Hillary smiled, and, a second before the devil could hit her, she moved out of his way. The tornado met the ropes, twisting them because of the speed, and the devil got stuck within them. Hillary then gave the devil a little push, and he started spinning on his place while the ropes recovered their regular form; every time he made a complete spin, the devil's face met Hillary's fist, who could hit him this way several times before he fell down from the ropes. At that moment, the bell rang, finishing the round.
The devil had to crawl back to his corner, but, once there, and after his trainer helped him sit down, glared at the hyena in front of him, more furious than ever. He decided to stop the fancy tricks, and finish her old school's style on the next round. They now were tied with one round each, so he needed to attack hard.
The last round started with both fighters severely bruised, but ready to hit each other with all their remaining strength. The animals exchanged lots of furious blows, and they blocked and dodged as much as they received. After a couple of minutes, Hillary seemed to be the most damaged of the pair. The devil smirked.
"Fragdllpffrtgrwwl! Time to finish!" He said while preparing his fist for a final blow.
"The same I was thinking." Hillary smiled, and then, in a sudden, started spinning, but, unlike her spin-changes, kept doing it, perfectly mimicking the devil's tornado. Before the surprised devil could do anything, Hillary hit him at several places of his anatomy, mainly on his jaw and belly. The devil got stunned, and both his arms fell while he got a groggy-like expression. Hillary stopped spinning, and, fighting the nausea caused by doing it for a longer time she commonly used, summoned her last strengths, and gave the devil a right uppercut. The marsupial flew back a couple of feet, and hit the canvas, perfectly knocked. The referee and almost anyone at the arena started counting.
"…8…9…10!" The referee ended, and the bell rang. The audience cheered and clapped loudly, while Lola and the other girls entered the ring to hug Hillary and help her stay on her feet.
"Told you I could." The hyena said to Lola, smiling weakly. Lola smiled back, and, a moment later, Ronald and a few other classmates entered the ring as well. The girls moved back just in time so Ron could give Hillary a good hearty hug. Even if she was very tired, Hillary handled to return the embrace.
"Are you okay, Pretty Puncher?" Ronald asked, concerned. Hillary nodded, giving him a wide smile. Everyone gave them an odd look.
"PRETTY PUNCHER?" They chorused. Hillary and Ronald blushed.
"Yes, he calls me that way at times. Anybody has a problem?" Hillary said in a fake angry tone.
"Hill, after watching that fight, I doubt even Hulk Hogan would like having problems with you!" Buster joked. Everybody chuckled, while Hillary used Ronald's shoulder for support. At the bleachers, her parents slowly approached the group, and gave Hillary a nice smile; even if they were a little shocked at first when saw Ronald hugging their daughter, they noticed how happy she looked while doing it, so decided to give the guy a chance.
At that moment, Roderick entered the ring, extremely pissed.
"That was cheating! Spinning isn't a natural movement of hyenas! You must be disqualified!" Roderick snapped; this fight cost him more than just a couple of bucks. Shirley moved in front of him, crossing her wings/arms.
"Well, it's natural for our hyena. And, if the devil was, like, allowed to do it, she can as well. As much, this only labeled the fight for both of them." Shirley commented. Then, she moved closer to the rat, and whispered.
"And if you want to talk about cheating, or some junk, Gogo and I have a taped conversation of you and Drake chatting about cross-dressing devils." Roderick gulped. The whispering was low enough so the referee and the judges couldn't hear it, but many of Hillary's classmates could, and glared at the rat.
"Well…maybe I exaggerated a little. I should leave now…congratulations for your victories…you guys are going to punch me, right?" Roderick asked in fear. Shirley shook her head.
"Nah. We had seen enough punching for a night, or some junk." Roderick sighed in relief. Shirley then raised an eyebrow, and looked over Roddy's shoulder.
"Kicking, however…" Shirley calmly said. One second later, Roderick was flying out from the ring, across the arena, and through the exit door.
At the ring, everybody looked at Babs, whose right foot was still in the air. The rabbit smiled at them.
"Do you think is too late to change our team to a kickboxing's one?" Babs joked. The toons laughed and left the ring, with Ronald carrying Hillary sitting on his shoulders.