Hideout Hotel II

The pay phone started ringing.

The Drak Pack looked around at each other. They all knew who it was. Drak frowned and dropped down to the deserted street below. He didn't step into the phone booth. Instead, he reached in and pulled the phone to his ear. Howler twitched his ears forward to listen to what Drak was saying.

'Hello? Drak speaking. Who?' Then he pulled the phone away from his ear and then hung it up, with the remark, 'Short, but not sweet.' He quickly scaled the building again.

'Who was it, Drak?' Frankie asked.

'Who else? Dr. Dred, setting up another dumb meeting – at Hideout Hotel.'

:[

Drak counted the floors as he walked up the side of the building. '…eleven…twelve…thirteen.' He stepped up onto a painter's platform that had been left hanging for some reason, though he did wonder how a painter could have fled without taking this with him. 'Well, this is it. Wouldn't you know he'd pick the thirteenth floor?'

Dr. Dred hopped out the nearest window. 'Of course, Lack. It's my lucky number.'

It wasn't like Drak didn't know he did it on purpose. 'That's Drak, Dr. Bread!'

'That's Dred!' And he bit just as well as Drak himself did. 'A name you'll remember well once my guests arrive.'

Drak raised his eyebrows doubtfully. 'Who would be a guest at your crummy hotel?'

'Surely you jest!' Dred huffed. 'Only the world's safe-crackers, bank robbers, pickpockets, you name it. Super swindlers, charming charlatans. And once we join forces, we'll go on a crime spree unequated in history.'

That's what all this was for. 'We'll stop you, Dred. This time you've gone too far!'

'Speaking of going too far…try this!' Dr. Dred yanked on a rope.

The painter's plank suddenly dropped underneath Drak's feet. It wasn't like Drak couldn't fly, but it still took him by surprise. He quickly turned himself into mist as he went down. He noticed, as he did descend, that Toad and Vampira were playing a game of ping-pong. And Toad was absolutely horrible at it.

'That's not fair, Vampira!' Toad protested.

He kind of had a point. She had shapeshifted out six more arms and served with all of them. 'I served you right. You'll just have to move faster, Toad, darling.' She looked up. 'And I suggest you start now.'

The painter's plank nearly hit Toad.

The green mutant barely jumped out of the way.

'Your backhand matches your brain, Toad,' Drak quipped. 'Weak!'

Drak transformed into a bat and flew off to find Frankie and Howler.

:[

The Drak pack reconvened in a basketball court on the hotel grounds.

'So, that's his plan, is it?' Frankie asked, after Drak had explained.

'We'll stop him in his tracks!' Howler declared.

'Uh…won't we?' Frankie asked.

'Well, we certainly will,' Drak said. 'But first we have to take care of those OGRE uglies.'

:[

Frankie had the first job.

He found Mummy-Man in the dining room. He was setting the table. It looked real nice too. If it wasn't for the most elite criminals in America, Frankie would feel worse about what he was about to do. Dr. Dred walked over to the table to have a look at Mummy-Man's soon-to-be-undone handiwork.

'A table set for the Kings of Crime!' Dr. Dred declared proudly. 'Good job, Mummy-Man!'

Mummy-Man gushed under the praise and grumbled out what Frankie assumed was a thank you. Dr. Dred then turned and went off. Mummy-Man then turned back to the table. He seemed to consider the table again, scratching his head as he did so. Frankie chose this moment to go over to him.

Frankie grabbed the end of the tablecloth. 'Hey, Mummy! Want to see a trick?'

Mummy-Man stopped and mumbled out something that sounded vaguely like, 'Trick?'

Frankie assumed that's what it was. 'You want to bet I can pull this cloth off of the table without spilling anything?'

The big dummy nodded.

'Watch! Ala-kazam!' And so Frankie tried a trick he'd never done before. The results were predictable.

Everything on the table crashed to the ground.

Frankie looked down as Mummy-Man looked on in horror. He played up a "whoopsie" angle. 'Hm. Well…let me try that again.'

Frankie promptly dropped the tablecloth as Mummy-Man started chasing him. Frankie ran straight to the pool and climbed up onto the diving board. They'd gotten enough samples of Mummy-Man's bandages – given his penchant for tying them up with those things – to know exactly what they were made out of.

Mummy-Man lost him though.

'Hey, Rag-rag, up here!' Frankie called down. Mummy-Man looked up, and then charged up the ladder. Frankie patiently waited until he climbed up onto the diving board too. 'Wanna play a rad game?'

Mummy-Man charged.

Drak yanked Frankie out of the way.

Mummy-Man went flying over the edge of the diving board.

Drak held Frankie in the air. 'Nice move, Frankie.'

'Is that a swan-dive, Drak?' Frankie pointed down to where Mummy-Man was flailing through the air.

'Looks more like a fuzzy flannel-flamingo flop to me,' Drak remarked.

Mummy-Man hit the water.

:[

Howler laughed when he saw Mummy-Man, constricted in his wet bandages, lying between Drak and Frankie. He wouldn't be able to move properly for hours.

'He-ey!' Howler laughed. 'Who's your tailor! What happened to him?'

'His suit shrank,' Drak quipped. 'He's tied tight.'

'Heh, he should've read the label.' Howler sniggered at his own joke.

'Well, that really puts the wraps on numero uno,' Drak said.

Howler's ears twitched. 'Hold it! I think we've just located our next ugly!' He led the way to the beach. 'And there he is!'

Fly-Man was sunbathing on the beach.

'I'll take care of him myself!' Howler declared, bounding out to the beach.

As he came down to a prowl and prepared himself to pounce, Howler heard Fly-Man talking to himself.

'Ah, yes! The surf, the sun, and the sand! What could be more pleasant?'

Howler pounced, trapping the blue mutant under his beach umbrella. 'How about a tent?'

Landing, Howler looked over his shoulder.

'What's this?' Fly-Man tried to escape, but he was trapped good. 'Who turned out the lights? What is this?!'

:[

Drak and Frankie had moved to the shore.

Howler ran over to them. 'I put that creepy Fly into shape for a while!'

'The old umbrella fly trap, huh?' Drak chuckled. 'That's two down and one to go. And we've just found her.' He pointed to where Vampira was sunbathing on an inflatable beach mattress. 'I'm gonna make sure she goes.' Pulling his cape around himself, Drak transformed. 'My seagull disguise will do it.'

Drak flew up high into the air.

Then he dove at the beach mattress, throwing all his strength behind it.

He made sure the sharp tip of his beak caught the mattress and then he tore before letting go.

The air was let out of the beach mattress and Vampira was sent careening off in the distance.

Vampira cried out in alarm. 'What's happening?! Help! Help, Dr. Dred! Help!' Her voice faded as she got further and further away.

Drak returned to the form, brimming with self-satisfaction. 'All right, you guys! How's that for using your head?' He transformed back, but forgot he wasn't on land.

Drak dropped into the shallow water.

'You seem to have lost yours, Drak,' Howler remarked with a grin.

'No,' Drak said. 'Just demonstrating the gravity of gravity.'

:[

Dr. Dred stepped out to greet the crooks. Toad was at his heels, dressed as a bellhop.

'They're here!' There was just one problem. Dr. Dred looked around. 'Oh, where are those OGRE loafers? I'll cut their salary for this!'

Toad looked up. 'But, Dr. Dred, you don't pay us any salary. Remember?'

'Who asked you, you bulbous bellhop!' Dr. Dred swung the fly swat at him. 'Without them, you'll have to handle the luggage yourself.' He prodded him with the fly swat next. 'Now get hopping.'

'Yes, master.' Toad hopped over to get the luggage. 'Good Toad! Good Toad!'

He never saw the Drak Pack peering through the bushes.

:[

'Yikes!' Frankie whispered. 'We're too late. The crooks have already arrived.'

Drak shushed him as the crooks walked past. 'Quiet!'

'Welcome crook—I mean, gentlemen!' Dr. Dred gushed. 'Welcome to the Hideout Hotel. Happy to see you. Just register your fingerprints.'

'Yeow!' Howler whispered. 'I don't believe it! There must be hundreds of hood coming in!'

'It's like a Crook's Convention,' Frankie remarked. 'How are we gonna stop them?'

'Convention?' Drak clicked. 'That's it! Good thinking, Frankie.'

'Oh, don't mention it.' Frankie frowned. 'What'd I say?'

'Never mind. Just follow me.'

They snuck into the hotel under all the luggage Toad was forced to carry by himself.