Get ready for more death by cuteness…think you can handle it?
Chapter 7: Ace the Kung Fu Baby.
While the penguins were relaxing in the HQ, after the zoo closed, Rico was watching his egg. He gasped when it moved, ever so slightly.
"What the…?" he grunted. Private heard him.
"What's up, Rico?"
"Egg, move."
"That's impossible," Kowalski said. "Eggs can't move on their own."
Suddenly, Rico's egg cracked. They four penguins crowed round, as it hatched, and a fluffy chick sat on the floor. He had brown eyes, which had a look of dare-devilness in them. Rico lifted his son into his flippers.
"Aww," he cooed, snuggling him.
"What are you going to name him?" Private asked, excitedly.
"Rusty!" Rico exclaimed.
"What kind of a name is that?" Kowalski asked.
"Rusty's," Rico replied. "Is Rusty's name."
Now they had Ace, Cam, Cleo, and Rusty. All that was left was Private's egg. Knowing the others' eggs have hatched made the boy even more impatient. He paced up and down the HQ with his egg on his feet, muttering constantly to himself.
"Will it be a boy, or a girl? Will it have blue eyes, or brown? Will it be tall, or short? Will hatch tomorrow, or next week? Ah!" He picked up his egg, checking it all over for cracks, then, seeing none, placed it back on his feet. He kept doing this over and over, until Skipper finally told him it was time for lights out. Private reluctantly put the egg in the newly made chick crib, making sure it was warm, patted the four chicks' heads, and climbed into bed.
"I hope it hatches soon," he whispered, as he drifted off.
The next morning, the penguins woke to the sound of…fighting? It came from the crib. They rushed up to it, hoping none of the chicks were hurt. There they found Ace, karate kicking his stuffed banana. (don't know why banana) It was already pretty beaten up, and stuffing was strewn every where. Skipper grinned proudly.
"That's my boy," he chuckled, patting his head. No-one noticed Cam squeezing through the bars, until Rico saw her crawling to the lab door, which was open, and scooped her up. She giggled happily.
"An escape artist AND a kung fu baby," Kowalski remarked. "How are you going to control them?"
"With the proper training, they'll be great little soldiers," Skipper replied, holding Ace in his flippers and Cam on his feet. Cam started crawling away again, so he picked her up too.
While the penguins were training, the four babies, plus Private's egg, sat in the baby pen. Ace soon grew bored of kicking his banana, and started wriggling the bars, trying to get out. Cam decided to show him how to escape, only failing. Ace found nothing else of interest, and went back to the banana. Cam climbed out of the pen and crawled around the floe. She spotted the pool, and started crying, remembering her little adventure yesterday. Private heard her crying, and went over to see what the matter was.
"Private!" Skipper barked. "You can't take a break in the middle of training!"
"I'm not," Private replied, picking up Cam. "Cam's crying. I think she's scared of the water."
"What? No recruit of MINE will be aqua-phobic. I'll train it out of her."
Suddenly, a crash sounded from the other side of the floe. Skipper, Kowalski and Private looked in that direction in surprise. Ace had somehow knocked the pen over, and the babies were lying on the concrete. Ace and Cleo looked at each other, smiling. Rusty laughed and clapped his flippers.
"Where's my egg?" Private exclaimed. He searched the habitat franticly. He soon found it on Rico's feet, safe and sound. Private sighed with relief.
"I don't want another Eggy incident," he said, picking up his egg. He snuggled it to his cheek, murmuring to it.
"How on earth," Kowalski exclaimed, "did that chick," he pointed to Ace, sitting and playing with Cleo, "knock over THAT!" he pointed to the cage pen. "It must weigh at least five kilograms. Way too heavy for him."
"Aw, stop complaining, Kowalski," Skipper argued. "He's obviously a really clever kid."
"So how come your chicks get awesome talents?"
"I dunno. Maybe Cleo hasn't discovered hers yet!"
"Will you just STOP? The chicks are getting upset!" Private shouted. Everyone stared at him silently. "Thank you."
"Private gets overprotective when it comes to baby birds," Skipper whispered to Kowalski.
"My guess it's paternal instinct. He's got more of it than the rest of us," Kowalski whispered back.
"Figures."
Ace and Cleo played with each other all day, while the visitors awed at them. Rusty pulled funny faces, and Cam amused both humans and penguins, trying to escape the pen, over and over. Every time she was caught by any of the older birds, she'd make this adorable sound and giggle. The humans seemed better behaved today, so Skipper didn't bother to ask Private to tell Julian to hit it, much to his annoyance. He glared at the penguins' habitat.
"Maurice," he sighed. "Those silly penguins haven't asked me to dance for the people. WHY DO THEY NOT APPRECIATE MY BOOTY?"
"Maybe because the humans aren't upsetting the chicks anymore?" Maurice suggested.
"It has nothing to do with all the Peteies, Maurice!" Julian argued. "Those flightless birds have taken my glory."
"Uh, what glory?"
"The glory that I have all around me. Can you not see it glowing in its glorious radiance?" He gestured to himself.
"I can," Mort tweeted. Maurice stared at him. "I must have very good eyesight."
"Mort," Julian said.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to do a job for me?"
"I like jobs!"
"If you do this, I will let you touch the fee-et!"
"Really?"
"No, but you must do this anyway."
"Ok!"
"Go into the silly penguins' habitat, and go get all the Peteies. I must have their cuteness as my own." He handed Mort a sack.
"Yes, King Julian!"
Mort took the sack, and bounded out of the habitat, and snuck into the penguins' HQ, via the Private's First Prize door. He climbed up the fish-bowl entrance, and peeked over the edge. The babies were sitting in their pen, conveniently near the door. He snuck out, when no-one was looking, and grabbed Cleo. He rushed back inside, and put her in the sack. Then he went back up and got Cam. He did the same, once more, this time getting Rusty. When he brought down Ace, Cam was missing, obviously having escaped. Mort put down Ace to find her, and he crawled around, sneaking behind Mort.
Ace jumped up, as high as he could, and kicked Mort in the back of the head. Mort yelped, and turned around to see what hit him. He saw nothing. Getting back down to look for Cam, Ace snuck behind again, and kicked him in the back of the head. This time Mort yelled out loudly, and fell unconscious.
The four penguins jumped into the HQ, having seen that the chicks were missing, and found Ace karate chopping Mort's tail. Cam crawled out from behind the TV, giggling. Skipper smiled proudly at his talented chicks.
"I guess he have to watch out for Ringtail," he said that evening, as the eight of them relaxed after the zoo's busiest day of the month. "He's a danger to the recruits."
"Ah, he'll get over it," Kowalski said. "He's only being Julian."
"Of course, we ARE stealing his glory," Private reasoned. "Well, the chicks are, anyway."
"Doesn't matter," Skipper sighed. "He's a ring-tailed lemur. They're all full of themselves."
"I suppose," Private agreed, cradling his egg.
Hehe, this is such a fun story to write, and read, I hope. Please review!
