- Gone With The Water.
"You guys are spoiling us, you know that?" Hillary said in a half-joking, half-casual tone to Ronald and Wally, who were carrying the hyena and Rhubella through the Looniversity's corridors. Ronald, of course, was carrying Hillary on his back, piggy ride-style, while Wally was transporting Ruby bridal-style.
"I'm already spoiled, so… don't hear her, baby." Ruby said to her canine boyfriend while leaning her head on his shoulder, making both of them to blush a little and smile. Buster and Babs, who were walking the other direction, exchanged greetings with the other couples.
"How nice… Buster, why do you never carry me that way?" Babs asked the blue rabbit in a fake angry tone.
"Well, I might do it if I start working out, or you lose ten pounds." Buster joked, making Babs to give a playful yet hard yanking to his right ear.
"Buster, you should already know about never joking with a girl's weight. That's a very delicate topic for us." Mary, alongside The J.A.M. and Gosalyn, joined the rabbits.
"Yes. Just look at Oprah." Gosalyn joked.
"That's not exactly the mental image I like having so early in the morning, Gos." The J.A.M. commented while rolling his eyes. The rest of the group chuckled, and then spotted Shirley, who was staring at a window.
"Hey, Shirley, what's up?" Mary greeted her, but the blonde didn't answer, still looking at the window without changing her emotionless expression.
"Shirley?" Gosalyn poked the loon's arm, still getting no response.
"Houston, we lost contact." Babs mimicked an astronaut-like voice, but got a worried expression a moment later. Sure, Shirley's mind was always on another world of her own, but even when deep meditating, she still reacted to everything around her, and Babs knew that her current expression wasn't even close to be the one she had when doing her meditation, or using her powers on any way.
"This is weird. She isn't reacting at all." The J.A.M. said while gently shaking the blond avian. He and the loon weren't close, since she was deep into New Age stuff, and he was a very religious toon (something that somehow granted him with some strong protection against magic in general), but, over the last year, they had become a lot tolerant to each other, respecting their differences; actually, Shirley became glad for finding someone immune to her powers, and even more when some of the closest jaguar's friends, including Mary, got that same protection too after they joined the ranks of the Waiting Ones, since that confirmed the existence of some pretty high powers beyond Shirley's abilities' reach, and one of the reasons the avian got deep in metaphysic stuff on first place was to discover the existence of said powers, though deep down, Shirley still feared them.
SPLASH!
"Like, iceberg ahead, or some junk!" Shirley, soaked, finally reacted, getting a surprised expression and shaking her wings. Everyone else turned to see Buster and his infamous water gun.
"That's your answer to every problem, Buster?" Babs folded her arms and glared at him.
"Only when I want to get a girl's attention, Babsy, and if it works with you, why not with her?" Buster shrugged and put the gun back into his body pocket. Then he walked next to Shirley and placed a paw on her shoulder, changing to a more serious expression. "Sorry about that, Shirley, but you were freaking us out. Do you feel okay?"
"Like… yes, Buster, and thanks for waking me up, or some junk." Shirley shook her head and then used her powers to dry herself. "But I hate using my powers for this; my sweater always gets static electricity, or some junk."
"Anyway, what happened to you, Shirley? Are you sick, or something?" Mary asked her in a friendly yet worried tone.
"Like, no, Mary, it's just that… well, it's hard to explain, especially to muggles like you guys." Shirley placed a hand/wing on her forehead, and sighed. "Look, had you ever been in a situation when your senses get overwhelmed, or some junk?"
"Actually, yes, Shirley, I had." Everybody turned to see The J.A.M., who was rubbing his chin like if remembering something. "When I still lived in Mexico, and some 'friends' of mine convinced me to go to a disco for the first time, well… it was pretty hard for me; the noise, the crowd, and the lights, all at once and in a sudden, it was just too much for my senses. My nose got confused with all the new scents in a closed space, especially cigarette smoke; my eyes couldn't adjust to the constantly changing lights, and the sounds almost deafened me as well, and as a result I got a terrible migraine. I had to sit down apart from everyone else for about half an hour until I got used to the place."
"Well, something like that is happening to me." Shirley then explained, feeling pretty glad that the jaguar could find a close enough experience so the others could understand her problem more easily. "Even when I'm not using my powers in, like, an active way, like levitating, summoning psychic electricity, or scanning an aura or mind, I always have my psychic senses on, so I can detect evil vibes, or, at times, even some strong feelings or thoughts… not that I'm reading a mind without permission," the avian pointed quickly, remembering that the overusing of her powers in a negative way was the main reason of her past problems with the jaguar, "it's just that some things are pretty strong for me to ignore, even if making the effort to block them. It's like trying to sleep during a heavy metal concert."
"So, you're feeling some pretty strong vibes, or maybe a person with a very powerful thought on his or her head." Buster guessed, getting now a better idea about the way Shirley's abilities work.
"Yes, but these vibes are so strong, and so evil, that they are like, flooding my brain so hard I can't even find the source." Shirley sighed. "I had been feeling them since yesterday, but maybe that evil source arrived at the city before that, and just now I started sensing it. We all know my powers aren't flawless, so I can't precise anything about this force, except that it's a very dangerous one, and that worries me."
Everyone around Shirley got silent. All of them, even Mary and The J.A.M., who didn't were magical believers, knew that Shirley's powers were real, and she could do some pretty amazing stuff and sense things that were a mystery for everyone else. The J.A.M. compared her abilities with his night vision; in the darkness, many things could be around, but only someone like him could see them.
"Shirley, are you entirely sure about this?" Mary asked, half-concerned, half-angry. There was the chance that Shirley had confused an unknown power with an evil one, as she had done once, creating some harsh feelings among the girls that took some time to heal.
"No, I'm sure about this one." Shirley shook her head, guessing Mary's suspicion. "An unknown power is that, unknown, so I can't tell anything about its nature. A pure good, or a pure evil, however, I can sense them like Fifi's fumes on a flower shop, or some junk."
"If you want, I can contact my friend Morgana and talk to her about this, Shirley." Gosalyn proposed. "Two sorceresses are better than one, right?"
"I'm not exactly a sorceress, Gos, but that's not a bad idea." Shirley smiled at the younger avian. "But let's keep this among us, please; I don't want to spread panic until knowing for sure what's going on."
"Of course; we can scream like sissies and run like headless chickens then." Buster joked, making everyone to get a much needed yet slight smile.
"Thanks, guys." Shirley sighed in relief. "Better discuss this at lunch, okay? I don't want us to get late to next class, even if it's for a good reason."
"Yeah. Who would like missing next Elmer Fudd's lecture, even if a dooming force is ready to strike from the shadows?" Babs said in a sarcastic way. A moment later, all of them were heading to their respective classrooms, still a little shaken because of the news of a mysterious and upcoming danger menacing them.
The moment Gogo Dodo's announced it was time for next class, a couple of crystal like-eyed red birds flew over the Looniversity, and then made circles over it. A few moments later, the school's water pipes started creaking, and a few drops of water leaked through them.
"Hurry up, Plucky!" Hamton hurried his pal, who had stopped next to the closest water fountain. "We are already late."
"Relax, Hammy." Plucky replied in a trying-to-be-cool tone. "I'm just getting a little drink. Besides, we have Elmer's class now. Just wait for a couple of minutes, and we'll be able to get into the classroom right under his nose; he'll be too busy with his lecture, and everyone else will be sleeping, so we'll have no problems." Plucky then moved his beak next to the fountain to get a sip, but nothing came.
"What's wrong with this thing?"
SPLASH!
A short yet powerful water blast hit Plucky and sent him across the corridor. Hamton ran next to him and helped the duck stand up.
"Just when you thought it was safe to return to the water." Plucky groaned, and, instead of forgetting about the whole thing and go to the classroom, like any other less stubborn toon would do, walked angrily towards the fountain.
"Listen, you overrated sink, I want to take a sip, and you'll better cooperate, or else!" Plucky yelled at the fountain, and then kicked it.
"OW! OW! OW!"
Plucky started jumping on one foot while grabbing the other one in pain. Hamton sighed, and placed a hand on the duck's shoulder.
"Calm down, Plucky. Unless that fountain was originally a prop from a Thirties' cartoon, I don't think it will respond to your orders." The pig said in a calming tone, making Plucky to cool down a little and then, without saying a word, they turned their back to the fountain and started heading to the classroom. But, before they had advanced more than ten steps…
RUUUUMMMMMBBBLLLLEEEE…..
"Your stomach?" Plucky worriedly looked at Hamton, who gulped and shook his head. Then, slowly, both toons turned back, and saw the fountain vibrating, so hard, that it broke part of the floor, revealing some thick water pipes that were vibrating as well.
"RUN!" Plucky yelled, and, before he or the pig could escape in a panic dash…
SPLLAAAAAAAASSSSHHH!
RRRUUUUMMMMMBBBBBLLLLEEE!
Everybody at the school heard the powerful noise, and a few moments later, the whole place was getting flooded! The water ran through the corridors, reaching all the classrooms, and breaking down the doors because of the pressure.
"Oh, great! Plucky flushed stuff in the toilets again!" Babs said to herself after jumping over her seat, in a failed attempt to escape from the water.
"Someone open a window!" Elmer Fudd yelled from the top of his desk. Furrball, who had jumped over Calamity's shoulders to avoid getting wet (not a very smart move, surely, since the coyote was just slightly taller than the cat), nodded, and then jumped to the next window to try opening it. "Try" being the key word, since the window was stuck. Buster tried to do the same on a different window, but the result was pretty much the same; unknown to him, all the school's windows were on the same situation, and so the exit doors, therefore the water's level was quickly getting higher.
"Let's break them!" Max, who was a few feet behind Buster, sitting on the shoulders of his bodyguard, Marcus, suggested, and, for once, everyone agreed with the bratty millionaire. However, just when The J.A.M. was about to hit the glass with his right paw, a powerful water current formed in front of the windows, pushing him and all the other toons out from the classroom. The same thing happened all around the school, so now everyone was at the corridors, trying to reach the lockers to climb on top and be safe for the moment.
"TAZ HATES WATER! TAZ HATES WATER!" The Tasmanian devil's catchphrase was heard by Bugs and Daffy, who were now safe on top of a line of lockers, and handled to grab him when he passed next to them, saving the marsupial.
"Great. Nothing like the pthsmell of a wet Tapthsmanian devil in the morning." Daffy rolled his eyes, ignoring Taz's glare at him.
"Not now, Daff. We have a big problem here." Bugs replied while offering his paw to a random student he could grab from his safe spot. "Can ya swim around, and try savin' some of da kids?"
"I'm a duck, not a pthsalmon." Daffy gave a good look to the water around them. "The water pthshouldn't be able to move this fast. It's like, an indoor rapid or pthsomething." Bugs realized Daffy was right; even if the pipes exploded, the water shouldn't be moving that fast and nothing could explain why all the exits were blocked.
"Sneezer!" Sweetie, flying over the flooded corridors, looked for the little gray mouse. They were together when the flood started, and the current separated them. The canary was more or less dry enough to fly, but, even if Sneezer could swim, he wasn't good enough to do it in raging waters.
"Swee… glub! Sweetie!" The canary, scared yet relieved by hearing her boyfriend's voice, turned back and found him, trying to get his head over the water. The avian dived, mimicking the fishing technique of his stepfather (a bald eagle), and grabbed the mouse's paw with her talons. Unfortunately, the current was still just too strong, and it yanked down the bird girl, so now the two of them were in danger. Sweetie and Sneezer, losing their breath, embraced tightly, fearing the end.
GASP!
GASP!
The little toons got an extremely needed breath at that moment. They realized they were now on top of a rodent girl's head, and moving at a good speed towards the next lockers line.
"Are you two okay?" Rhubella asked her passengers right after dropping them on top of one locker. The little toons coughed and then looked at her, smiling.
"Thanks a lot, Miss Ruby." Sneezer replied while holding Sweetie's wing on his paws. "Didn't know you could swim this well!"
"What can I say? I have some river rat's genes." Ruby explained, happy that they were both fine, and then, after taking a deep breath, returned to her aquatic search of toons in problems.
"Help!" Rhubella accelerated when hearing a male voice a few feet ahead, and gasped when realizing who needed to be rescued.
"Help me! Glub! I can't swim!" Arnold yelled in fear while clumsily trying to keep his head over the water's surface. Ruby swam next to him, and passed an arm through his neck while trying to calm him down; Arnold was way heavier than her, and, even if she could tranquilize him, he was still just too much for the rat to rescue by her own, especially while fighting the current at the same time.
"Hang on, Ruby! I'm coming!" Buster, thanks to a large surfing board he took out from his body pocket, approached Ruby and Arnold, using the currents to his advantage. A few moments later, the rat and the panting dog were safe on the board.
"Thanks, Buster!" Rhubella sighed in relief while she and the rabbit checked Arnold. "I just saved Sweetie and Sneezer. You know about the others?"
"Almost all of them are safe on top of a locker. Concord is flying around to give a hand, and the best swimmers, like The J.A.M., Shirley, Plucky, and Ronald, and I think Minerva and Runt are helping too. Mary, Babs and Gogo are on a raft to help as well… actually, Gogo is the raft." Buster explained, and then noticed something. "Hey, where's Wally?"
"Right behind you, wearing goggles and a snorkel," Rhubella pointed, and Buster turned to see a thin human wearing a white hat, red goggles, black snorkel, and a stripped red and white scuba diving suit, waving hello to him.
"That recurrent gag is getting on my nerves." Buster slapped his forehead. "I mean your boyfriend! It's kind of weird to see you without him covering your back."
"We split some time ago, after helping Calamity and Furrball." Rhubella told him. "He said he had an idea to get rid of the water. Hope he hurries up!" The rat said right before a huge wave almost made them to fall from the board.
Meanwhile, Ronald, with Fowlmouth riding his back, approached the lockers where Hillary was taking care of some other toons. Even if the hyena could swim, she wasn't nearly as good as the hybrid, so decided to stay and keep an eye on the rescued students.
"Thanks, pal! I always wanted a dadgum indoors pool, but this is dadgum ridiculous!" The little chicken said while Hillary helped him to climb on top of the locker.
"Are you fine, Muscle Boy?" Hillary asked her boyfriend. "I might be crazy, but I swear the currents are getting stronger by the moment!"
"Yes, you're crazy, but we already knew that!" Ronald replied, raising his voice to be heard over the raging water noise; Hillary chuckled at the hybrid attempts of making her laugh even in the worst moments. "But I think you are right! The currents are getting stronger; I might not be able to swim against it for too long!"
SPLAAAASSH!
Suddenly, a powerful wave separated the couple, and the hybrid was pulled away by the current. Ronald handled to get a good grip on the next lockers' line, but needed all his strength to stay on place.
"Hang on, Ronnie! I'm going to help you!" Hillary yelled, trying to hide her fear, but somehow failing.
"Stay there, Hill! I'm fine, and I'm not going anywhere!" Ronald yelled back, not wanting the hyena to risk herself, especially since he was strong enough to stay on that place for a while. Unfortunately, the water seemed to have its own plans.
A gigantic wave appeared at the corridor at that moment, and, weirdly enough, even if everyone got covered by it, the most of the impact seemed to be focused right where Ronald was holding himself. Hillary tried her best to get a look at him, but, when the wave disappeared…
"Ronald? RONALD!" Hillary yelled, this time not even making an effort to hide her fear. The hybrid was gone, as well as a couple of lockers' doors, and the remaining lockers had claws' marks, obviously made by Ronald while trying to resist the push.
Wally finally reached the place he was looking for. As assistant janitor, he knew the Looniversity much better than most toons, and guessed where was the right point for what he was about to do.
"Here goes nothing." Wally took a deep breath, and made an aquatic spin-change. The water covered him, and, after a couple of seconds, he emerged from the water surface, and flied a few feet over it, thanks to the green jet boots he know was using, alongside the green gloves, mask, short cape, and chest plate/vest with a yellow D on it.
"Activating Dyno-Drill!" Wally, on his Dyno-Wolf's identity, pressed his nose, and then his front paws and his muzzle turned into drills that immediately started working. "Wolf Wonder… AWAY!"
SPLAAASH!
WHIIIRRRRR….
Dyno-Wolf dived back into the water and drilled his way through the floor, the underground levels, and then the solid rock under the Looniversity at high speed. After a couple of minutes, he made an angled turn, and directed back to the surface, emerging a few dozen miles away, right next to the city's dam, ready to drop all the flood's water. Wally spin-changed back to normal, and sat next to the tunnel, that immediately turned into a geyser because of the water jumping out of it. Wally decided to stay there, just in case not everyone at the school was on a safe place and got sucked with the water as well.
Back at the Loo, Wally's plan was actually working. The water, even if, strangely, still tried to form huge unnatural waves, was quickly being sucked by Wally's tunnel. After a few minutes, the water was low and quiet enough for everyone to jump down the lockers.
"Well, done, Lobillo!" Ruby happily exclaimed, using Wally's pet name, and then turned to look at Buster. "Remind me to congratulate Wally the right way when he comes back, please."
"You mean something like that?" Buster pointed behind the rat, who turned to see a pretty happy Arnold kissing the floor.
"Dry land! Oh, how much I adore you!" Arnold said between kisses, not caring about how many toons were now looking at him. Buster and Rhubella shook their heads, and, whistling innocently, walked away to search for their friends. Almost everyone was now at the main door.
"The doors are, I say, the doors are still locked, I mean, locked, boy!" Foghorn Leghorn directed to the staff and students while he and Marc Anthony struggled to open the door.
"I'm on dat, doc." Bugs said while placing a paw on Taz' shoulder, and then whispered something on his ear. "I'll give ya a hamboiger if ya take down da door, boy."
"YEARGAZZAFRAZZLE!" Taz happily replied, and then, moving aside from Bugs, turned into his trademark tornado form, breaking down the door.
"That guy ipths great when you can't find the pthspare key." Sylvester whispered to Penelope, who just shrugged, and then everyone left the building.
"Everyone, stop!" All the toons turned to see a very worried Hillary behind them.
"Ron got caught by a current, and I hadn't found him yet!"
Everyone gasped, and Rita, Runt, and Minerva (who loved Ronald as a brother) got shocked expressions. The cat was the first to react, running towards Hillary and grabbing her by the shoulders.
"You looked everywhere? Near the tunnel too?" Rita worriedly asked. Hillary nodded, showing an equally concerned expression. Ronald's classmates and family, and the rest of the staff moved next to the females.
"Let's calm down, okay?" Ruby said while placing her paws on Rita's shoulders. "Maybe he went through that improvised drain Wally made, and, in that case, he'll appear wherever Wally finished the tunnel. And I'm sure Wally is smart enough to check the tunnel on his way back to get sure nobody is caught in there."
"Ya' might be right, kid, but I'm runnin' no risks." Bugs said while walking next to the tunnel, and then made a spin change into a scuba diver. "I'm goin' in!" Bugs directed to Rita and Runt, who just nodded and took each other's paw.
"We're going too!" Minerva and Hillary said at the same time, and then spin-changed like Bugs did. Despite the situation, some of the males around couldn't help but whistle at the sight of the gorgeous mink on a tight outfit; she ignored them, and, a moment later, the three toons were at the tunnel. Everyone was near the edge, hoping for them to appear with Ronald. Everybody was totally quiet for about a minute, when…
"I DON'T SEE THEM! I DON'T SEE THEM!"
"LOUD!" Everybody glared at Loud Kiddington, who immediately covered his mouth and got an ashamed look.
"Sorry. Old habits die hard." The kid whispered back, and became silent, as everyone else.
After almost ten minutes, the rescue group emerged, with… Wally, wearing a scuba diving suit as well.
"Wally?" Runt got a puzzled expression, and after helping the wolf out from the tunnel, placed his paws on the young canine's shoulders. "Wally, please, where is my boy?"
Wally got a sad expression at Runt's worried look, and sighed. Bugs had a concerned expression as well, and Minerva and Hillary were at the verge of tears.
"I waited until the water stopped pouring from the tunnel before coming back through it, to check it there was anyone trapped in there, but… nobody was. I didn't see Ronald."
Runt froze at Wally's words and expression, and a moment later, he and Rita were embracing and sobbing. Wally obviously was feeling guilty, but Ruby, with a sad yet calmed expression, approached him and explained him Ronald was caught by the current way before he made the tunnel, hoping that, at least, the wolf wouldn't blame himself for whatever happened to the hybrid.
Bugs took control of the situation. He asked Sylvia to call the police, and Pete and Wile to start checking the place and find the cause of the whole mess, while the students were asked to stay and wait for the ambulances to give them a good check up, and the rest of the staff went to inspect the classrooms, searching for damage, lost items, and (Bugs hoped it wasn't the case) missed students.
"He has to be alright… Ronald isn't that weak. He must be fine!" Hillary said in a cracked voice, trying to convince herself, and then kneeled and started punching the ground in a rage.
"Ronnie, please, you have to be fine! You have to! Your family needs you! And Minerva! And our friends! I need you, you hear me, you big fool? I NEED YOU!" Hillary's ranting was cut by Minerva and Mary, each one placing a hand/paw on the hyena's shoulders, making her to stop and then, for the first time ever, the hyena allowed herself to cry in public, using both Mary and Minerva's chests to hide her face. Minerva herself was sobbing a lot, and Mary had to wash away some of her tears as well, even if the human girl was getting teary eyes too.
"I love you, Ronnie… please, come back to me." Hillary muffled voice, even if quiet, was easily heard by everyone around her.
A few feet away, Shirley, alongside the toons that broke her out of her trance that morning (minus Mary, of course) watched the scene with sad eyes.
"I just hope Ronald is okay." Babs sighed while looking down. "Not just for him, but for his family, and for Minerva and Hillary. I never even imagined that tomboy hyena could cry… and she is almost making me do it too." Buster nodded and placed a paw over her shoulder; the blue rabbit hated the idea of losing any of his friends, and knew that, if Babs was in Ronald's place, he would be as devastated as Hillary.
"How this happened?" The J.A.M. said in a sad yet thoughtful tone. "The whole flood was totally unnatural. I know Acme Acres makes the impossible possible, but this mess is weird, even here!"
"I sensed dark vibes from the water." Shirley said, making everyone to look at her.
"It has no sense, and maybe it was because of the mess my powers are right now, but I'm almost sure that the water had, like, an evil vibe, or some junk… but water can't be evil! It just exists, like a rock or the air; it has no conscience… and yet, I felt one here! Call me crazy, BUT I DID!" Shirley almost exploded at the last part, hating the idea of doubting of her own abilities. Gosalyn narrowed her eyes, and placed a wing on Shirley's shoulder, calming her down; then, the red haired avian adopted the most serious look everyone had seen on her, and talked in a serene yet angry voice.
"If your powers are right, Shirley, we are in trouble, and I'm not calling you crazy… I'm calling Darkwing. "
Gosalyn knew that things could get even worse.
The concept of sentient, evil water wasn't strange to her.