Chapter 3: Gerry Strikes Again

Gerry went to Hollywood and put a bomb inside of PowerPaws' and Cyrus' house. He closed the door behind him and set the detonator on the doorstep. He said, "Once they open the door, then boom! They will blow up. They'll never see it coming! HA-HA-HA!" Then he ran away, but as he did so, he looked at the newspaper to see who he would strike next. He continued, with an evil smile on his face, "Next up is the house of Alex II and Fifi. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find a very special present I've got for them..."

But the bomb at PowerPaws' and Cyrus' house was a time-release one. Gerry did not know that he set the time on the bomb to go off...next year! Boy, the couple will be mighty lucky, if only they didn't notice it.

Meanwhile, one of the TTC officers came back to tell Charles the news. He said, "We got word from the LAPD--they said that a Magic Handheld Mirror was stolen from the Fairy Tale Museum somewhere in Hollywood."

"So, that's how the Bomb Bandit knew where we are," said Charles. "And how he can see us. We need a way to counteract."

Then, it was too late. At about the same time, Fifi went to the house to pick up her kids. When she opened the door, the bomb exploded and the house immediately went up in flames . Luckily, Fifi wasn't killed, but she was hurt very badly. Then, Alex II came by in his car and he saw the house on fire. And Fifi was trapped inside of it!

"Hold on, love," shouted Alex II, as he got out of his car and ran towards the house. "I'll get you out!" He jumped into the flames, picked Fifi up, and carried her out of the burning house. He laid her next to the ground and waited for the ambulance to come and take Fifi to the hospital. Then, he looked up and saw Gerry hiding in the bushes. He yelled angrily, "GERRY O'RINGTAIL! YOU'RE BEHIND THIS! That's it--YOU ARE DEAD MEAT, PAL!"

"Oh, man, I'm busted," muttered Gerry. He ran off, jumped into his car, and drove away. Alex II got into his car and followed the trail of the crafty bomber. He got out his walkie-talkie and said, "TTC, I found the suspect. His name is Gerry O'Ringtail, A.K.A. the Bomb Bandit. I'm chasing him right now--he blew up my house and Fifi is hurt. I'm going after him for hurting my love. Over and out!"

He chased Gerry all over through Washington DC. But somewhere at the point where the Potomac river ended, he was gone. Gerry had mysteriously disappeared. What was left of him was a note he left behind. Alex II picked it up and read it.

Dear Time Toon Idiots,

Guess who's back? That's right--it's me, Chris Roberts. I have sent the Bomb Bandit after you as a coverup for my next evil plan. He'll be keeping you busy for hours on end, so good luck trying to avoid him--it'll be worth your while. And as for my whereabouts, I have kept it a heavily guarded secret. If you knew where I am, you would've defeated me by now, but until then I'll keep you guys in the dark for a long, long, long, LONG time...until you're dead, of course. Smell ya later!

Chris Roberts

Alex II went to the Time Toon Cops Headquarters and told the teams about the note. Sonic said, "So, it was Chris who was sending the Bomb Bandit after us all along."

"Yes," answered Alex II. "It said so in the note that Gerry left behind."

"But where is he now?" asked Chip.

"He doesn't reveal the location of his newest hideout. It's gonna take us a long time trying to figure that out."

A familiar British male voice said, "Oh, you don't need to do that kind of thinking any more."

They turned around and there he was again--Rufus Dudley, the legendary cop of the International League of Futuristic Heroes and the father of PowerPaws' and Xochitl. PowerPaws said, "Daddy? What are you doing here?"

"I came here," replied Rufus. "To help you in your mission. When I heard of the calamity that befell my daughter and son-in-law, I made a decision to make myself helpful in the situation you've just encountered. You say you want to know the location of Chris Roberts' secret hideout--it won't be a secret any longer, because of my latest invention!"

"Latest invention? What?"

The cops were startled by a strange voice coming out of nowhere. All they were staring at was a large moving lump from under a white sheet. Vanessa asked, "What was that, Mr. Dudley?"

Rufus looked at the lump and laughed heartily. He said, "Oh, this? Well, you'll be in for the biggest surprise of your life. Now, as I was saying...here is my latest invention!"

As he said that, he pulled the sheet away to reveal was was under it. It was a female raccoon...and she looked just like Bert! She dressed like him, too, except that she had a yellow hair bow on her head, and under that familiar red-and-yellow sweater with a big yellow "B" in the front was a knee-length yellow skirt. Rufus continued proudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Bertha. Using the fur sample that I collected from Bert himself--" Here he whispered to Bert, "For that, Mr. President, I'm sorry." He continued, "Using the genetic material that I collected from Bert, I created this very special young raccoon clone. She is super-fast, super-strong, and super-smart...like you, Xochitl."

"Oh, really?" said Xochitl. "Are there any talents that she can exhibit?"

"Only the best! Her I.Q., as I put it, is twice as high as Albert Einstein's and Sigmund Freud's put together. She has an excellent variety of physical maneuvers that enable her to avoid such potential dangers as a bombing incident--she's 100% invincible, and I can tell you that. And the best part is that the only favorite superpower Bertha can demonstrate is her psychic powers. Now, let me show you how it's done--I want each of you to hide one hand or paw behind your backs, and I'll ask her to tell you the number of fingers she can find behind you."

The Time Toon Cops did so. Rufus turned to Bertha and said, "Bertha, dear, can you tell me how many fingers you can find in this room, without looking behind every team member's backs?"

Bertha looked at the TTC and peered closely at them. Finally, she said, "There are 464 fingers behind every back of these teams."

The cops were amazed. Bert Jr. said, "Wow! So, she is smart."

"My point exactly," replied Rufus with a wink.

"If she is very smart, as you claim," said Fawn Deer. "Then could she tell us where--"

Bertha interrupted, "No, no, let me guess for a sec. Now, let's see...if I were Chris Roberts, where would I be hiding at this time? Hmmm..." They looked on as she thought for a long time. Just then, to their surprise and shock, she began to shake and quiver. In an instant, Chris' voice took over hers. She muttered (in his voice) something in the Dark language, before she went back to normal. PowerPaws asked, "What...was...that?"

"I don't know," groaned Bertha, rubbing her head. "For a moment there, I thought I was being possessed by a ghost or something. But what I do know is that somebody is out there plotting his revenge."

"Who?"

"Chris Roberts."

Everybody was stunned. Alex II asked, "Where is he now?"

Bertha closed her eyes for a moment, before answering, "He's inside the Dark Temple, on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. The temple worships Rayian Fox and his evil clan--I haven't the slightest idea of who Rayian is, but he sounds like one bad dude."

"That's what we needed to know," said Alex II. He turned to the cops and said, "Okay, team--for our new mission, we're going to South Africa to put a stop to Chris Roberts' evil plan."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Bertha. "What Chris was praying for at the temple--besides bringing Belladonna, Rayian Fox, and Rayian Fox Jr. back to the mortal world--was to bring utter destruction to a forest way up north. And that, my friends, is the Evergreen Forest."

Bentley was shocked. The Evergreen Forest was the setting for the new Agent R movie--if the forest was destroyed, the movie would be ruined and the entire world would be put in danger. He said, "Then, he's not going to get away with this, is he?"

Bertha continued, "His only reason to bring down the old home of the Raccoons gang is to weaken President Raccoon's power over the empire. If the president should lose control because of his sorrow for his old hometown, it would enable Chris and his allies to take over the world. But we'll do all we can to stop him, even if it takes a million volunteers."

"Volunteers, huh?" said Ralph. "Maybe we can ask Dr. Hamsterviel and his pals to join us."

"What about Cyril Sneer?" asked Bert. "He isn't a miser any more, right?"

"Ask whoever you want," said Bertha, as she jumped down from the platform she was sitting on. "The outcome of the mission depends on any person you choose to help us defeat Chris."

Xochitl added, "Yeah, and don't forget the Bomb Bandit. He nearly killed me and my husband."

"So, are you with me or no?"

All the team members eagerly raised their hands. Alex II shouted, "All right, TTC LET'S DO THIS!"

Meanwhile, Gerry was looking at the magic mirror, watching the TTC leave the building. He said, "What? They found out the secret hiding place of my master?! Oh, man, he's gonna kill me if he finds out!" He walked away meekly, but then he added, with an evil smile on his face, "...but not unless I can kill them--and that strange new girl as well! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

What was the Bomb Bandit's new plan this time? Nobody knows for sure, except that it involves a nasty incident in Toronto.