Frink worked furiously, stringing one wire after another from his transmitting device to the TV set in the Prufrocks' home, babbling to himself all the while: "…the red wire to the Audio In port, with the sound and the distortion and the gloyven…the black wire to the Cable port…"

Around him stood Arthur, D.W., Fern, Francine, George, Sal, Alan, and Sue, all with a keen interest in his activities. "In a matter of minutes the connection will be established, and this humble appliance will pick up everything Prunella hears and sees," he explained to them.

"Everything?" said George, intrigued. "Even when she goes to the bathroom?"

"That's right," said Frink flatly. "Now stop snickering, all of you."

"We're not snickering," said Arthur.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Francine chimed in. "Stick one of those chips into Paula Abdul's brain, then make a new reality show where you just watch what she sees."

"The problem is, the picture would be blurry most of the time," said Fern.

Frink pushed a button on his transmitter, and a loud bang ensued, accompanied by sparks and smoke from the back of the TV. All the kids jumped back, but the scientist only smirked. "Stupid vacuum tubes only get in the way," he grumbled. "And, we're done. Let's switch it on and watch what happens."

The moment he activated the power to the television, the screen lit up with a wobbly, black-and-white image of the back of an airplane seat. The picture waved back and forth as Prunella alternated between glancing impatiently about the cabin, and peering intently at a Sudoku puzzle she was working out.

"Look at me!" cried Sal, bounding forward to press her face against the screen. "I'm Prunella!"

"That's enough, Sal," said George.

"What?" said his little sister. "Do you want a turn?"

"Please ensure that your seat belts are securely fastened, that all tray tables are in their upright and locked position, and that all personal electronic devices are turned off," droned the recorded voice of the flight attendant.

Prunella turned to her sister, who was in the aisle seat. "Do you think the chip in my brain counts as a personal electronic device?" she inquired.

"No doubt about it," Rubella replied.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" wondered the little rat girl. "I don't know how to turn it off. What if we crash because of me?"

"I'll turn it off for you," said Rubella, and she deftly waved her hand in front of her sister's face.

Prunella stared at her incredulously. "Uh, I think it's still on, sis."

"That's the fifth time you've said that," was Rubella's response.

Minutes passed, and the image on the screen turned into one of the Katzenellenbogan Airport and its runways growing smaller as the distance between them and the plane increased. "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick," moaned Fern.

"C'mon, it's only a takeoff," Sue chided her. "Haven't you ever flown before?"

"Once," Fern replied. "I filled up three motion sickness bags."

"You're such a wuss," said Sue. "Flying in a plane is the most natural thing in the world."

"That's easy for you to say," the poodle girl retorted. "You basically grew up on an airplane."

"After we clear up this New York business," said Alan, "the first thing we should do is bring back the real Sue Ellen from whatever universe she's in."

"If you can do that, I'll be forever grateful," said Sue with a touch of bitterness. "I'd like nothing more than to go back to the world I came from, a world where humans and Yordilians live together in harmony."

"But I don't want to live in harmony," said D.W. "I want to live in Elwood City."

"I'm curious about something," said Arthur, addressing the cat girl. "In your dimension there's another me, and another Francine, and so on, right? What's it like for them? Are they happy under the Yordilians, or not?"

"The other you threw ice cream in my face and called me a traitor," Sue answered. "The other Francine isn't too happy either."

"Is there a resistance?" Fern asked her. "I mean, an anti-Yordilian uprising?"

Sue nodded. "It's small, but highly organized."

"If I were in your dimension, I'd join the resistance in a heartbeat," said Fern.

"Thank you, Fern," said Sue ominously. "I'll remember what you just said when I get back."

As Fern pondered what her careless words might imply for her counterpart, an enraptured Muffy suddenly burst into the house. "Fern! Fern!" she exclaimed with joy. "Mr. Gelt took my offer! He's paying two hundred thousand for the dress!"

Fern's heart exploded with relief. "That's great, Muffy!"

The braided girl could barely restrain herself from leaping. "Mavis gets her surgery, and we get to keep the rest for ourselves," she exulted. "It's a win-win-lose situation!"

"I'm happy for you," said Fern with a wide-eyed smile. "Though frankly, I'll miss seeing you in the space dress."

Muffy pointed her gaze at the scientist in their midst. "What's Dr. Frankenstein doing here?" she inquired. "And what are you all watching?"

"It's the world through the eyes of Prunella," Frink informed her. "Prunellavision, if you will."

"Hmph," said Muffy. "Why would anybody be interested in that?"

The sky grew dark as Prunella, Rubella, and the jetliner they were in passed high over Crown City. Far below, Mel Cooper waited in a public library reading room, still in the suit and tie he commonly wore when practicing law. As he idly examined the front page of the Wall Street Journal, a stranger approached him—a stranger who walked with the aid of a cane, and sported a top hat and beard. "Mr. Cooper," the old man whispered gruffly.

"Mr. Gelt," Cooper answered back, no trace of fear in his tone.

"And this?" said Gelt, motioning at the figure in the wheelchair who sat at the duck man's side.

"My daughter, Vanessa," replied Cooper.

"If you say so," said Gelt as he seated himself. Van, clad in the optical fiber dress and the same dark wig he had borrowed from Fern, smiled pleasantly at Gelt but didn't speak.

"I decided to have someone model the dress, so you'd be sure you're getting the genuine article," Cooper explained. "It just happens to fit Vanessa, so I brought her along."

"She's a…a handsome girl," Gelt remarked.

"Muffy suggested we meet in a library, so you wouldn't raise your voice," said Cooper. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Indeed," said Gelt softly. "I have in my possession a certified check for two hundred thousand, which will be in your hands once the dress is in mine."

The duck man nodded, and turned to his "daughter". "Vanessa, it's time to change back into your old dress," he stated. "You remember where the unisex bathroom is, don't you?"

To be continued