"Otis?" Olympia ran through the park to pull her partner off the woman he was throttling. "OTIS!"
Otis' face was completely expressionless, his eyes wide and fierce. Olympia strained to pry his fingers off the woman's neck.
"OTIS! OTIS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? OTIS!"
Finally, Otis noticed her. He stared at her, fury still blazing in his eyes. Then he recognized her and started to return to his normal self.
"I... Oh... Olympia?"
He let go of the woman. She felt backward to the ground, gasping and sputtering.
"I... I..." Otis stuttered, coming out of his daze. He almost whispered, "When I was with the flock, I had to protect the babies..."
Olympia was completely lost. Then she saw the woman's costume.
"The Raccoon?" she exclaimed. "From Shmumber Super Stories, Episode 13, 'The Raccoon's Rotten Rampage'?" She looked at Otis. "Another Shmumberverse villain? And she came after you?"
The villainess crab-crawled away from the two agents. "You people are nuts, do you hear me? NUTS!" She clambered to her feet and fled, looking back at them one last time. "FREAKING NUTS!" Then she ran off.
Olympia helped her dazed partner over to a bench.
"What happened? Are you okay? She attacked you, right? And you fought her off? And she triggered your, uh... your duck instincts?"
Otis looked at her, embarrassed.
"Do you need a glass of water or anything?"
Otis shook his head. Then it hit him. "Shmumber Super Stories?"
"It was a Shmumberman cartoon spin-off for younger readers. to help them learn how to read and stuff. The Raccoon went around stealing people's trash. They made her to teach kids double letters..."
Otis nodded, pretending to understand.
"Are you okay?"
"Getting there..." Otis forced a smile. "I wonder if... she..." He couldn't bring himself to use the word 'raccoon'. "I wonder if she knows that's why she was created. It must've been quite a shock to her. Imagine finding out you're a character on an educational children's show..."
"I..." Olympia thought a second. "Uh... Never mind..."
Otis looked around. "Didn't Olive come with you?"
"No. She had to stay at headquarters. She said there was something she had to take care of with Oona and Oscar." Olympia thought a second. "Funny she didn't mention it before..."
"Maybe it's about the Evil O..."
"Yeah, maybe Olive and the Evil O... Evil... O..." Olympia started with a sudden realization. "Oh my gosh... Why didn't I think of it before?" She sighed hard and shook her head. "Because I was too in awe of Olive, that's why I didn't think of it before..." She turned to Otis. "Can I borrow your notepad and pencil?"
Otis handed them over. Flipping to a fresh page, Olympia wrote...
OLIVE
Then she wrote it backwards.
EVILO
Then she wrote...
EVIL O
And she wrote it backwards.
O LIVE
They looked at each other.
Olympia gasped. "And she's back at headquarters! With Oona!"
They leapt from the bench and started running for the jump tubes as fast as they could.
#
Back at headquarters, Oona was studying the Interdimensional Monitoring Screens.
"If we don't find the Evil Mirror Universe Odd Squad Agent, things'll be bad. Really bad. Really, totally, horribly bad. I mean, total multi-dimensional apocalypse bad..."
"Yes..." Mirror Universe Olive smiled as she raised the sledge-hammer Oona kept in the lab to destroy old gadgets and took aim at the back of Oona's head. "It would, wouldn't it?"
"Several different universes will collapse into one another! It'd be like a bunch of houses made of playing cards were all on a table and you shook the table..."
Olive's eyes glistened. "That would be the ultimate oddness..."
Oona blinked. "Yeah. I guess it would at that. Y'think that's what they're planning?"
"Oh, I'm certain of it!" Evil Olive chuckled under her breath, resting the sledge-hammer on her shoulder.
"But according to this readout, the mirror double is somewhere nearby. That's good. It should be easy to find them then..."
"It is," Evil Olive cackled, lifting the sledge-hammer. "IT SURE IS!"
Olive swung the sledge-hammer... And Oscar leapt out of nowhere, grabbing the handle just in time and yanking it back. Evil Olive kept her grip on it, though, so it turned into a tug of war.
"OSCAR!" Evil Olive hissed.
"He's back?" Oona turned around. "Hey, boss! Did you..." She saw Olive and Oscar wrestling over the sledge-hammer. "Huh?"
"I knew you weren't the real Olive!" Oscar shouted at the snarling doppleganger. "I noticed your badge numbers are flipped. Your badge says 36 and Olive's number is 63!"
Oona blinked. "So she's the mirror agent!" She slapped her forehead. "Oy gevalt! Holy plot twist, Shmumberman!"
"I suppose you think you're an excellent detective!" Evil Olive sneered. "Well, you may have unmasked me but it won't do you any good! You and I both know I can easily outfight both of you!"
"We don't have to outfight you," Oona said, rushing across the lab to press a button. "All we hafta do is outsmart you!"
The sliding door on the far side of the lab opened, revealing the magic mirror sitting on the other side. "BOSS!"
Oscar saw, nodded, and swung the handle that way. Olive tripped, lost her grip on the handle, and started stumbling backwards. She slipped on the slick lab floor and fell through the mirror.
"NOOOOO!"
She vanished back into the mirror dimension.
"Good thing I never put that thing away!" Oona exclaimed. Then she blushed slightly. "I mean, I've been meaning to but here's a lot of paperwork I gotta fill out first. Then it has to be covered in bubble wrap... The mirror, not the paperwork... and we're out of bubble wrap right now. But we're supposed to be getting a new shipment next Wednesday... And then it'll hafta be put in a crate... The mirror, not the new shipment... and I gotta look up the address for the Museum and figure out the postage and I've been SUPER busy..."
"Boy, I'd imagine so!" Oscar smiled. "It's really crazy this time of year, what with the spider-cat migrations and the blob eggs hatching..."
Oona nodded. "Not to mention all the villains trying to get caught up on their schedules..."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about them! Then there are the dragons flying South for the winter..."
"NO! NO!" Evil Olive rose to her feet, pounding on the mirror from the other side. "I'll... I'll be back!"
Soothing music came out of nowhere. Evil Olive slumped.
"And... And you can't keep me prisoner here!" The music continued, a calming lullaby. Olive yawned. "I escaped before... I'll... escape... again..."
She toppled over, sound asleep and snoring. A bearded man in a garish costume appeared inside the mirror to pick her up.
"Zenk you, Mirror Universe Odd Svaud!"
"Thanks, Mirror Universe Noisemaker!" Oscar waved.
"Ja! Ve vill take it from here! Ve haff already destroyed ze machine she used to cross over into your vorld. Und now ve vill take her again to Ohlm so he can try to reform her..."
Oona nudged Oscar. "Doesn't he mean Todd? He's the one with the villain rehab..."
"That's on our world," Oscar told her. Then to Noisemaker, "Good luck!"
"Zenk you." He grimaced at Olive. "I just vish she vould not snore so loudly. I hate loud noise! I vant quiet!" He stared at them sadly. "It is who I am!"
They looked at each other, then back at him, strained smiles plastered on their faces. "Yeah, okay! Bye!"
He carried Evil Olive off.
They closed the door, leaving the magic mirror in the darkness.
Oscar grabbed his lapels. Oona did likewise. "Yeah, it always gets a little freaky when the Mirror Universe turns up. But everything turned out okay!"
"Well, more or less okay." Oona straightened her hair. Oscar did likewise. "So, what'd the Big O have to say?"
Oscar adjusted his glasses. "Actually, for the most part, it was just me explaining what'd happened. And she said a villain came after the space station!"
"The SPACE STATION?"
"Yeah, but she fought him off."
"It was Vortrax, wasn't it?"
Oscar looked at her. "How'd you know?"
"It's who I'd send if I was an evil villain," She blushed again. "WHICH I'M NOT! I swear I'm not! Look!" She held out her lab coat lapel with her badge pinned on the side. "Not reversed! I'm not a villain, honest!"
"Yeah," Oscar nodded. "I know. I trust you."
"I mean, my guidance counsellor said it was an option but Odd Squad seemed like it'd have more of an opportunity for career growth..."
"Really?" Oscar pondered. "Wow. My guidance counsellor was trying to steer me into being a wedding planner..."
"OONA!"
Olympia and Otis sprinted into the room.
"We just now realized! Olive is the Mirror Double! We have to..." They looked around. "What happened?"
Oscar smiled. "Yeah,. Funny story... Anyway, The Big O sent us a plan of action! Here's what we do. First, we wait for them to cut to another scene. Then..."
#
Back in the Shmumberverse, the villain who had dubbed himself Killslaughter was headed straight for Shmumbermaid's transparent pirate ship.
Osmerelda looked around at the other agents and heroes. "So... Anyone want to DO something?"
Before anyone else could react, a beautiful, raven-haired masked woman clad all in white leapt out of the shadows.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Doctor Darkendire, "It's my deadly yet desirable arch-nemesis, the White Lady!"
The woman smirked, her white lip gloss ghostly in the weird light of the transluscent ship. "So good to see you again, you solemn stick in the mud!" She fluffed her hair. "Oh, if only you would come over to the evil side! We could have such fun!"
"Never, you voluptuous yet vile villainous vixen!" he spat back.
Orla stared at them. "Why do they speak in such a bizarre and stilted manner?"
Osmerelda shrugged. "I think it's Shmumber-Verse sexy talk."
Orla nodded. "Oh." She then placed her hands protectively over Oswald's ears.
"Hey!"
The hero and villain, meanwhile, continued apace.
"What are you doing here, you phantasmagoric thief?" Doctor Darkendire demanded. "Are you in league with the armored being who attacks us?"
"Far from it!" She shifted her cape to her other shoulder. "I spotted your ship and decided to investigate. So I snuck onboard and concealed myself to learn what was happening."
Omar overheard and turned to glare at her. "You concealed yourself."
The White Lady nodded. "Yes."
"On an invisible pirate ship."
"I didn't say it was easy."
"Never MIND that!" Oswald pointed up at the plummeting Killslaughter, who had almost reached them. "Have you forgotten THAT GUY UP THERE HEADED RIGHT FOR US?"
"I haven't," The White Lady struck a pose. "And despite my dear Darkendire's dreary, doleful Doubting Thomas attitude, I have come to save you! Like so!"
She gestured down at the deck of the ship.
The Bullet gasped. "The White Lady is using her incredible power to transform herself and anything she touches into a phantom! She's made the ship incorporeal!"
Orla turned to Osmerelda. "Is that also 'sexy talk'?"
Osmerelda shook her head. "I think that's more explaining things for the audience in case they were having trouble understanding what was going on. They did that a lot in the older Shmumber comics..."
Killslaughter hurtled down into the ship... and straight through it, passing through it as if it were mist.
"What?" The armored villain still plummeted down, confused. "How in the...?"
The White Lady gathered her cape around herself. "And now that I have done my good deed for the day, I leave you!" She hurled herself over the ship's railing, spreading her cape to glide away. "But we'll meet again! And next time, on less friendly terms!"
Oswald looked around in confusion. "Isn't anyone going after her? She's a villain, after all..."
Shmumbra considered. "I see no reason. She's committed no crime..."
Then in the distance, shouting, "Help! Police! The White Lady has just stolen the Hertzbringer Emerald!"
Shmumbra re-considered. "My mistake. I'll see if I can catch her..." She transformed to winged form and flew off.
#
And in an alley far below, Little O was tucking a quilt around the enormous turquoise skinned brute who lay propped against a pile of pillows.
"There," she said, smiling at him. "Comfy?"
"Behemoth comfy," he smiled back. "Behemoth warm. Behemoth happy in his heart."
"I'm glad!" Little O smoothed the monster's unkempt hair. "I always felt like you got a raw deal in the comics!"
"Yeah!" Otto joined them. "You want to nap, go ahead and take your nap! We won't bother you!"
"Do you need any more pillows?" asked Olive, producing another throw pillow and placing it behind the monster's head.
"All of you so nice..." Behemoth looked at the three agents. "Behemoth regret earlier impulse to kill..."
"It's all right," Otto told him. "Heck, I get the same way when someone interrupts my afternoon nap!"
"Or your morning nap..." sighed Olive. "Or your late morning-early afternoon nap... Or your post-lunch nap..."
They all heard a whistling sound from above and looked up.
"Oh great. Sorry, Behemoth. Looks like your nap's gonna get interrupted again!"
Otto pointed to the dark, armored form of Killslaugher still hurtling out of control down from the heavens. He clipped the side of a building, raining chunks of masonry down on passerby and continued down towards them.
"What on Shmumber-Earth is THAT?" exclaimed Olive.
"It's coming this way!" Little O shouted. "Everybody scatter!"
"BEHEMOTH NEVER SCATTER!" The Blue Behemoth threw off the pillows and quilt. "BEHEMOTH SMASH!"
He swung a fist larger than the kids' heads at the plummeting Killslaughter, knocking him back into the sky the way he came. He disappeared into the horizon.
"Well, that was something." The agents looked into the sky. "Hey! Isn't that Shmumbermaid's magic transparent pirate ship?"
"It is! And the Mobile Unit is on board!"
Little O's badge phone rang.
"Hello?" She listened, then told the others, "The Mobile Unit's spotted us! They'll be landing to pick us up in a second!"
"That's great!" Otto exclaimed. Then he remembered the Behemoth. "Hey, you wanna come with us?"
Little O patted his hand. "We can find a place for you at Odd Squad if you want..."
"No," The Blue Behemoth looked at them sadly. "Behemoth appreciates your kindness. But Behemoth cannot join you."
He handed back the quilt and the pillows, ignoring the agents' attempts to let him keep them.
"Behemoth is not like you. For Behemoth is fated to always walk... ALONE..."
He lumbered away, accompanied by somber piano music.
The agents watched him go.
"This part always gets me," Little O said, wiping away a tear. "But at least we made him happy for a few seconds..."
The magic ship descended nearby and they went to meet it.
#
TO BE CONTINUED...
