Chapter 31: One's Own Mind is a Powerful Weapon Indeed
When the girls arrived backstage, things were in a state of absolute pandemonium.
Dakota was struggling to keep one of the guards pinned against the wall while Peter hastily got to work on tying him up, Basil had just finished tackling the bat to the floor, Dawson was reuniting Olivia with her father, and Jiminy opened up his umbrella to act as a shield as he protected the queen from four advancing thugs.
Mindy shot her friend a mischievous look, "You know what to do."
Scarlett smirked as she cracked her neck from side-to-side and snuck up behind one of lackeys.
She tapped him on the shoulder… As soon as he whipped his head around she sucker punched him with a fierce shout. Having temporarily stunned him, she grabbed ahold of his shoulders, and kneed him in the groin. This caused him to double over in pain, but Scarlett was far from through with him. She landed a flawless roundhouse kick to his stomach which resulted in him toppling to the ground in a breathless heap.
"That's for kidnapping me against my will in a strange new place!" She spat.
Scarlett growled as a second guard snatched her waist from behind. She threw her arms up, and squatted as low as she could manage. Then, she positioned her leg behind his thigh, and effortlessly swept of his feet out from under him. This resulted in her falling on top of him as the both of them crashed onto the floor. The poor mouse's eyes bulged from his eye sockets as he desperately wheezed for oxygen.
Her eyes burned with previously pent-up anger, "That is for stuffing me in a bottle for three days!"
She waited a good minute before removing herself from him, and turned to face the two remaining guards. Simultaneously, they charged towards her with their bayonets pointed out. All at once, they started shooting at the mettlesome girl. Scarlett avoided each and every bullet as she performed various backhand springs and cartwheels. Eventually, they backed her into a corner.
Her lips formed into a deviously cunning smile, "And this-"
She then leapt into the air, barrel-rolled over the guards, and landed in a cat-like stance on the other side of them. Her eyes showed no mercy as she smashed their heads together, knocking them out cold.
"-is for taking Mindy."
Dakota was the first to break the silence, "Good to have you back Bloom and Gloom!"
"It feels good to be back." Scarlett panted.
Mindy bounced up, "That was incredible!"
Dawson, Jiminy, and even the queen got to work on restraining the fallen enemies. Once the baddies were taken care of, Scarlett unexpectedly drew her friends into an embrace. Delighted by her desire for affection, the two returned the gesture whole-heartedly. Realizing what she was doing, she broke away from them, and cleared her throat.
"Thanks, for not giving up on me."
"What makes you think we would ever give up on you?" Dakota questioned.
When she couldn't provide an answer, Mindy piped up. "We'd never leave you behind Scarlett…you should know that by now."
Right when her eyes started to water, she glanced away, and headed over to Olivia and her father. Dakota trailed behind her with a sniffle as he tried to wipe his tears onto his sleeve. Mindy was about to follow the both of them, when two figures unexpectedly threw their arms around her.
She realized with a start that it was none other than Jiminy Cricket and Peter Pan.
Immediately, she secured her arms around them, and rested her chin on their shoulders. They hadn't needed to speak a single word to get their message across. When they released her, Peter swooped upwards as he blinked rapidly and Jiminy patted her on the back with a smile before attending to Dr. Dawson.
Mindy took a breath and approached the detective, "Hey…I'm glad that you're not ya know, squished underneath a giant mousetrap... and an axe…and an arrow…and a bullet…and an anvil."
"As am I." Basil replied with a chuckle, "In a way, I have you to thank for that."
Mindy tilted her head, "How come?"
"Your advice from earlier combined with the doctor's persistent motivation allowed me to efficiently (and logically) remove us from that potentially gruesome scene." Basil's eyes shone with concern, "But enough about that, are you alright? Did Ratigan harm you in any way?"
"It was nothing I couldn't handle." She puffed out her chest, "Don't worry, I know how to deal with wannabe Disney Villains like him."
The moment was short-lived as a voice from the other side of the curtain boomed: "THIS IS MY KINGDOM! AHAHAHAHAHA…erm…that is of course with your highness's permission."
"Speak of the devil." Mindy gestured to the machine, "Well? He's waiting for a response."
"It would appear so." Basil's mouth twisted into an impish smirk, "Would you care to assist me on this one?"
She returned the look, "Gladly."
They jogged over to the podium.
The detective spoke into the speaker as she synched the robotic queen's mouth with his words, "Most assuredly…" the contraption narrowed its eyes, "You insidious fiend!"
The Professor's face fell, "What?"
"You're not my royal consort!"
Ratigan covered the queen's mouth with a tight smile, "Hehe… what a sense of humor."
Mindy maneuvered the robot to break out of his hold, as Basil continued to roast him, "You're but a cheap fraud and imposter!"
The villain flashed a harsh glare towards the wings as he hissed, "Flaversham!"
But the princess and the detective had no intention of stopping, "A corrupt and vicious, demented, low-life, scoundrel! There's no evil scheme you wouldn't concoct!"
Mindy didn't hold back as she raised the head, and made it bite Ratigan on the nose. She stifled a laugh as he attempted to push the robot's head back down, only for it to punch him in the stomach.
Her eyes narrowed when he shoved the animatronic behind him to hide it from the spectators, Oh no you don't mister.
She rolled the queen forward, "No depravity you wouldn't commit!"
The rodent once again tried to conceal it within his violet robe, when Mindy tossed him into the air via extending the robot's legs, before plopping him back onto the stage, "You professor, are none other than a foul stenchus rodentus!"
She went to town with the controls, causing the queen's movements to become so jerky and spastic to the point where she was practically falling apart as she spoke. Mindy watched as the professor's breathing quickened and his entire face glowed crimson.
"Commonly known as a-"
"-DON'T SAY IT!" Ratigan grasped the robot by the neck with half-crazed bloodshot eyes.
Basil and Mindy emerged from behind the curtain and chorused, "SEWER RAT!"
"GAHHHH!" The rodent screeched in anguish.
The detective pointed at him with outrage, "Arrest that fiend!"
As the pair charged towards the villain, a riot broke out among the spectators. All of the mice were rebelling against the phony guards, and some even managed to run past them and make it to the stage. Dawson, Scarlett, Dakota, Peter, and Jiminy burst out from the wings, and followed their friends' lead.
Them, along with a few other standbys threw themselves at the rat and attempted to tackle him to the ground.
Mindy anchored herself onto his right leg while Basil leapt onto his back, and put him in a chokehold. She clung on for dear life as Ratigan thrashed around violently. Unfortunately, due to his inhuman strength, he was able to break free from his attackers. He then shimmied out of his extravagant robes and tossed his golden crown to the side before stooping down, and snatching the princess in a vice-like grip.
He removed his pistol from his pocket, and pressed it against her temple, "STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR THE GIRL DIES!"
When she saw the scattered looks of panic forming on everyone's faces, Mindy made eye-contact with Peter, Dakota, and Jiminy, "Guys, calm down…trust me, I have everything under control."
"You are in no position to be saying such things."
"Oh believe me, I am." She winked at the three friends she had singled out, before discreetly casting her eyes downwards.
It took every ounce of restraint within her to not laugh as the three of them exchanged knowing glances. Just then, Scarlett sprang forwards with the intention to slap the gun out of Ratigan's hand.
BANG!
Mindy didn't even flinch when the trigger was pulled and her friend released an ear-splitting screech…
Horrified shrieks erupted from the spectators, but trails of blood weren't oozing down the sides of her head and the girl hadn't collapsed from the impact. When he realized that the bullet hadn't pierced her skull, the professor's complexion went stark white. The audience's expressions ranged from gaping mouths to a select few triumphant smiles.
Mindy hadn't moved an inch the entire time…then, she released a giggle to ease the tension, "I'm sorry, is something supposed to happen?"
"It's-it's not possible…" Ratigan stammered, "Wha-how-how did you…"
She manipulated the bullet to float out of the barrel of the gun, and hover right next to her head. When she caught the astonished look on his face, she smirked as she dangled the Amulet of Illusions before his eyes (which was still glowing its familiar midnight hue).
"It's called telekinesis, Fatigan." Mindy cooed as though she were explaining this to a little kid, "You know…magic? Something you obviously know nothing about?"
Ratigan released an unholy sound of frustration as he scooped her into his arms, hopped across the heads of various bystanders, grabbed onto a rope hanging from the rafters, and swung onto a nearby balcony overlooking the Throne Room.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She demanded.
His nostrils flared as he spoke through clenched teeth, "I thought that I made it painstakingly clear that you were my failsafe…and I don't intend to leave empty-handed!"
Before she could protest, he sprinted down the corridor.
And just like that Mindy was being kidnapped again…only this time, something primal took over. I am NOT about to let this happen again.
Ratigan's face dropped when she had the audacity to whirl around and snarl at him. Before he even had the chance to speak, she darted her head forward and bit him on the arm…hard. The professor reeled back with an agonized cry, dropping Mindy in the process as he held his bleeding wrist.
She didn't stop to watch, and instead took off in the opposite direction while gagging in disgust. Where did that come from?!
She hadn't even made it three feet before he caught up to her, slung her onto his back, and barreled through a stain glass window.
Mindy screamed and held her arms over her head as the shards rained down on them. She took in a breath when they landed unharmed onto the palace grounds. Once she realized that Ratigan was charging towards the parked dirigible, she resumed squirming in his arms.
She let out a grunt as she successfully kicked him in the shins.
He merely groaned in exasperation before mindlessly tossing her into the basket.
She scrambled to her feet as Fidget the bat started peddling, and the machine soared into the thundering clouds above. When the professor turned to take hold of the controls, she leaped on top of him, and tried to aggressively string her arms around his neck.
Unfortunately, he had been expecting it.
Mindy squealed when he grabbed her wrist and drew her in close to his seething countenance, "My patience is wearing thin, and I am getting rather tired of your antics!"
"That makes two of us!" She threw back.
The veins in Ratigan's neck practically bulged as he released a tense chuckle, "Ohoho! You're almost as insufferable as that pipsqueak who calls himself a detective!"
"Stop it Fatigan! You're making me blush!"
He was about to go berserk with rage when he caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. Ratigan turned around, and his eyes immediately widened in panic. Puzzled, Mindy looked up and a smile danced across her lips.
Basil of Baker Street had constructed his own dirigible out of a matchbox, some colorful balloons, and the English flag. Joining him inside was Dr. Dawson, Scarlett Bloom, Dakota Davenport, and Peter Pan.
"Took you long enough to join the party!" Mindy called out.
"What? You thought we'd let you have all this fun to yourselves?!" Scarlett shouted back, "Not a chance!"
"Plus, we brought balloons~" Dakota sang, "That makes it a real party!"
She opened her mouth to respond when the professor whirled the dirigible around. They zoomed off at supersonic speed, leaving the heroes in the dust.
"Let her go chaps!" Basil commanded.
"Aye, aye!" Dakota and Dawson chorused as they released the air of an untied balloon in the back.
The pressure allowed the vessel to accelerate in speed, and they were able to significantly gain upon the criminals. Mindy cupped her mouth as the dirigible zig-zagged past multiple chimneys, and spun around a monument of Napoleon Bonaparte. She stuck her head out of the basket as she dry-heaved into the atmosphere. The contents of her stomach came spilling out into the river as Ratigan zipped them underneath the London Bridge.
"And…there go my intestines."
Mindy dipped back into the dirigible as they started to lose momentum.
The professor turned around as his mouth formed into a hardened scowl.
Fidget panted in exhaustion as he hopped into the basket, and gestured towards the princess, "We have to lighten the load!"
Ratigan brought his fingers together, "Ohhh! You want to lighten the load!"
The bat cackled maniacally before the villain grabbed him by the ears, and threw him out of the dirigible, "Excellent idea!"
Mindy watched in silent horror as he plummeted towards the water while screaming, "No not me! I can't fly! I can't flyyyy!"
Without hesitation, the rodent hopped into the peddler's seat, and cranked his legs into overdrive right as the opposite machine advanced on top of them.
"Steady!" Basil swung his arms as he prepared himself to jump.
He then took the leap of faith and grabbed onto the tail of the dirigible. The professor turned with a look of surprise, and ducked as the detective's legs nearly decapitated him.
Wait…if he's there…then who's watching the-
Mindy wasn't able to finish her thought, as she whirled around with a terrified shriek. Confused, Ratigan whipped his head forwards and released a blood-curdling scream as the three of them crashed into the glowing face of Big Ben…
"LET ME GO!"
Jiminy's heart throbbed in his throat as he helped Dr. Dawson restrain an uncharacteristically distraught Peter Pan. The tears were streaming down his reddened cheeks, and even a trickle of snot was dripping from his nose. His eyes were scrunched shut as his breathing grew desperate and rapid.
"I'm sorry there's nothing we ca-"
"-That's not true! I-I can fly in and save her!" He promptly cut the doctor off.
"I can't allow you to do such a thing due to your injury, you could get severely hurt!"
"We can't just stand here and do nothing!"
"We can't automatically assume the worst possible scenario either." Jiminy tried his best to smile in reassurance, but it was clear that he was just as worried as everyone else was, "Everything is gonna work out you'll see."
"Really?!" Peter lashed out, "Because it sounds like you're just trying to convince yourself!"
The cricket was taken aback by his words, but refused to give up. "If…If…something happened to her, don't you think we would have known by now? If she were dead, then this world wouldn't be able to sustain itself anymore-heck, we wouldn't be able to sustain ourselves anymore!"
Peter's eyes widened…then, he squatted to the ground and buried his face into his knees in shame, "I'm just…so scared…I'm not supposed to be scared I-I'm Peter Pan, I've never been scared in my entire life!"
Jiminy crouched beside him, and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "It's okay…I'm scared too. But we need to have faith that our girl will make it through…do you think that we can do that for her sake?"
Peter lifted his head…
Scarlett and Dakota were huddled together, sobbing into each other's arms as they anxiously watched the clockface for any sign of movement or indication that there were any survivors. Scarlett had a trembling hand up to her mouth and was weeping so hard that she could barely breathe. Dakota rubbed her shoulders and held her tight while he made strained whimpering noises.
Peter's eyes lingered on the two of them for a moment…then, he turned towards Jiminy and nodded in agreement.
A heavy, continuous ticking noise reverberating off the walls of her skull caused Mindy to steadily come out of unconsciousness. Her vision was hazy at first…then her eyes widened in horror when she came to the realization that she was being lifted over humongous brass gears.
She opened her mouth to scream, but a gloved hand clamped over her mouth, "Shh, shh, we wouldn't want to wake our dear detective now would we?"
Mindy spotted Basil laying down on the far side of the gear that they were on… she watched as he rubbed his neck, and stumbled to his feet. His jaw dropped once he registered that they had ended up inside of the Big Ben clock tower, and looked in awe at the ticking mechanisms surrounding them.
She continued to wriggle in the professor's grasp as he stalked towards the unsuspecting detective. He raised his fist dramatically over his head with a gleefully maniacal smile.
Mindy inhaled when she managed to free her mouth, "Basil! Behind you!"
He whirled around with a terror-filled expression as Ratigan slapped him across the face, and caused him to topple off of the gear. Mindy chomped down on the rodent's hand as hard as she could, and was rewarded with a scream.
Basil hopped onto a beam over their heads, snatched his opera cape, and stuck it into a whizzing device. Ratigan's hands flew to his throat as he dropped his captive carelessly onto the floor. A screech of fright peeled from her mouth, as he abruptly kicked her off of the landing.
Mindy withdrew the amulet from her blouse, and pressed the golden gem to release a shower of pixie dust. To her dismay, she couldn't think of a single happy thought at that moment, and continued to plunge into the depths of the clock tower faster than the speed of light.
Eventually, she landed on a massive spinning gear that was preparing itself to grind against another one.
Mindy snapped her eyes shut and tried to think of a wonderful thought, but the pressure to do so when her time was limited made it impossible. She braced herself for the end when someone grabbed her hand and yanked her out of harm's way. The great mouse detective drew her into his chest as they ascended into the rafters of the clock tower. Before she could question how he was able to fly, she noticed that he was clinging to a metal pulley which was shooting upwards like a bullet firing from a pistol.
Basil beamed down at her and she couldn't help but return the gesture.
When they reached the top, Basil helped her down, and they sprinted across the railing while she squeezed the living daylights out of his hand. He grabbed her by the waist to prevent her from toppling off of the tower once they made it outside.
They both stared into the abysmal city below with panic-stricken eyes…
"Up there!"
Mindy pointed to his dirigible as Peter, Jiminy, Scarlett, Dakota, and Dawson steered it towards them. Unfortunately, due to the intermittent gusts of wind, along with the pounding rain, they couldn't get it close enough for the both of them to hop on safely.
Basil took hold of her shoulders, "You have to fly, it's the only way!"
"No it's not!" She insisted, "Grab my hand, and I'll hoist us both up!"
"Listen to me, you aren't strong enough."
"Well screw you too!" Mindy burst, "Fine, forget it! I'll go first and use my mind to lift you!"
"You only just discovered how to do that! There isn't a guarantee that it'll be able to support me!"
"I'll take my chances!"
"Are you hearing yourself?!"
"Are you hearing yourself?!"
"No pressure or anything, but our little buddy is catching up to you!" Dakota pointed behind them as strangled beastly noises echoed from within the tower, "So make a decision quickly!"
"This isn't rocket science dude!" Mindy gestured to the dirigible, "We're not going to-"
Her sentence was cut short as Ratigan burst out of the clock tower…his monstrous appearance caused her eyes to widen in silent terror.
The professor's once neatly-pressed suit had been reduced to shreds, and exposed his revoltingly hairy chest. The only indication that he had even donned an opera cape was the pitiful strip of red fabric flapping over his tail as he charged towards them on all fours. His beady eyes were filled with nothing but blind unbridled bloodlust.
Before Mindy could comprehend what was happening, Basil shoved her out of the way as he and the rodent plummeted off of the landing.
She faltered a bit, but she regained her balance and peered over the edge of the clock tower.
Her glasses were so water-logged to the point where she couldn't make out what was happening, but she did see the retreating figure of Ratigan tackling Basil onto one of the hands of the clock face. She gasped as the tinier silhouette belly-flopped onto the hour hand in an exhausted heap.
Wasting no time at all, she sprinkled some pixie dust onto herself, and dove off of the tower.
Dakota tugged at his hair, "MINDY?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
She ignored him as the droplets pelted her at full-force. Her clothes cinched around her waist, and her hair blasted around her in glistening watery locks. It weighed her down, and made it a bit difficult to breathe, but she pressed onward regardless. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on nothing but the barely conscious figure in front of her.
Mindy hovered beside his face, "Basil?! Basil?! Can you hear me?!"
The detective's eyes fluttered open, and he careened backwards upon being inches away from her. He pressed his back to the arrow of the minute hand as he stared at her in astonishment.
"What are you doing here?! You need to go, now!" Basil shouted above the rolling thunder.
"I hate to break it to you, but that's not how this is gonna work pal! Now take my hand!"
He hesitated before he gave a soft smile and extended his hand to join with hers. Right as their fingers were about to brush together, an animalistic snarl pierced through their heart-to-heart moment.
Ratigan popped out of nowhere, lifted the detective by the torso, and restrained him into a chokehold. Basil's arms flailed around desperately as his lungs wheezed for air. Mindy jumped onto the rodent's back, threw her arms around his neck, and squeezed with all of her might.
She was able to distract him enough for the detective to wiggle out of his hold. As Basil scrambled up the hour hand, Ratigan thrashed around like an enraged bull. Mindy held on to him with every fiber of her being, but was sent flipping through the air fifty-feet away from the action. She flinched as lightning boomed in the darkened stormy sky. She shook her head to come back to her senses and clumsily swooped back to her original position.
Ratigan speedily blocked the detective's path, "There's no escape this time Basil!"
Mindy flew backwards and stretched her hands out to Basil's as he ran in the opposite direction. She cried out as the professor grabbed her by the ankle, and roughly slammed her to the ground. She landed back-first as a throbbing pain exploded throughout her entire body.
She winced as the tears instinctively sprung to her eyes.
"Forgive me for this princess." Ratigan's mouth twisted into a psychotic smile as he released a low chuckle, "But I can't have you interfering with my plans anymore…"
"It's…it's alright Mindy!" Basil panted, "This is between me and him."
Her brows furrowed, "No!"
She watched as knife-like claws shot out of the creature's satin gloves.
Before he could process what he was seeing, Basil was sliced across the chest, and sent wheeling into the hour hand with an agonized grunt. He yelped when he was struck again, and stumbled to his feet only to be slashed in the face, torso, and back. By this point, his clothes were in tatters, and he was clutching his side as he hopelessly tried to limp away from his attacker.
Ratigan sprang forwards and smacked him so hard that the detective was tossed into the air. He scrambled to grab the edge of the hour hand, and could do nothing but cling to it for dear life as the rat stalked towards him.
Dakota turned to everybody in the dirigible, "Get this thing as close as you can to that ledge!"
Everyone strained the ropes as far as they could manage despite the swirling wind and pouring rain surrounding them.
Basil's eyes widened in horror as the monster breathed heavily, then lifted his arm with a murderous scowl. He winced, but the finishing blow never came. Puzzled, he opened his eyes to find Mindy had thrown herself in front of him. Her necklace's midnight glow shone brighter than any star as she held a single hand up above her head. Ratigan's arm trembled as he fought against her hold. With a growl, he attempted to strike her with his opposite hand when she stopped it with her opposite hand.
Mindy resisted the urge to falter. She pushed with every single muscle that made up her petite form, but there was no pain this time…only tenseness. A prominent, unrelenting tenseness building behind her determined eyes and spreading to the length of her forehead.
What she hadn't been expecting was Ratigan head-butting her, sending both she and Basil hurdling off of the clock face. Scarlett and Dr. Dawson stretched their arms out to catch them. Dr. Dawson missed completely, but Scarlett managed to snag one of her arms around Mindy's armpit. Despite her efforts to maintain her grip, the girl slipped and vanished amongst the sea of clouds.
An ecstatic grin slithered across Ratigan's face as he leapt for joy, "I'VE WON! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"On the contrary!"
His face fell at the voice, and glanced down in confusion.
Basil had cleverly grabbed onto the basket of Ratigan's broken dirigible that had smashed into the clock face. When Mindy had fallen, she'd snatched the detective's opposite hand and now held the professor's prized dinner bell.
"The game's not over yet!" She exclaimed before ringing it in triumph.
Bewildered, Ratigan checked his vest pocket right as the minute hand moved up to the number twelve and the clock struck ten. An Earth-shattering chime rang out across London, and caused the entire structure to tremor from the sound.
The professor cried out in anguish as he lost his balance, and plummeted off of Big Ben.
Mindy screamed when Ratigan gripped her ankle, forcing she and Basil to join him into the misty depths bellow. Her stomach was doing flips as she withdrew The Amulet of Illusions, "Hop onto my back!"
"What?!"
"YOU WANNA LIVE OR NOT?!"
Basil did what he was told, and cinched his arms around her as Mindy pressed the golden jewel in the corner and sprinkled the both of them in pixie dust.
"I don't want to rush you, but we're still-"
"-FALLING I KNOW, GIVE ME A MINUTE!"
Mindy shut her eyes, took in a deep breath, and pictured singing at the Rat Trap in vivid detail. She remembered her whizzing, jittering emotions, how boisterous and carefree her voice was, and the sparkle in Dakota's eyes as they tap danced across the tables-
-Huh?
She didn't have time to dwell on this as she skyrocketed into the air.
Mindy wheezed as Basil squeezed the living daylights out of her neck and hollered directly into her ear, "WAHOOO THIS IS-THIS IS STUPENDOUS! HAHAHA, OH WHAT A THRILL!"
"Can't…can't brEaThe!"
"Oh!" She coughed as he loosened his grip, "Terribly sorry, are you alright?"
"Never felt better!" Mindy responded before clearing her throat, "Now, hold on tight!"
Her face broke into an overjoyed smile as their friends cheered from the impromptu dirigible. She gave herself permission to rise higher, and tried to focus on nothing but making a clean landing on the matchbox. Unfortunately, she teetered a bit the moment her feet brushed against the landing. Basil waved his arms with a startled cry. He started to fall when someone darted their hand out and pulled him back to safety.
"Not on my watch!" the detective's head spun but when his vision cleared, he met the cat-like amber eyes of Scarlett Bloom. She was kneeling in front of him with a concerned expression on her face, "I think I might've given him whiplash. You okay, pops?"
"P-pops?" Basil's cheeks flushed when everyone chuckled, "I mean erm, yes I'm alri-agh!"
"Woah!" Mindy was quick to catch him when he attempted to stand, "Take it easy, Fatigan got you pretty good there."
"He would've done much worse had it not been for you." Basil replied as he clutched his aching stomach, "I owe you all my thanks. What you did back there was the perfect combination of reckless courage and using your intellect."
She glowed with pride, "Aw, come on you're just saying that."
"It's elementary my dear." Basil tapped her lightly on the temple, "And to be quite fair, I suppose that fiend was right about one thing…one's own mind is a powerful weapon indeed."
Mindy couldn't help but laugh in response, "So it would seem."
