The Favorite Fives: Who Framed Linka Test?
One afternoon in Quiet Country, a girl was inside a hospital visiting a friend of hers. She was checking to see how her friend was doing. After some checking, the doctor allowed the girl to bring her friend out of the hospital. Whom came out of the building were Linka Test and Steven Cooper. After the incident with being kidnapped from the triplets from a week ago, Steven had to be in the hospital since strange things were happening to him. He was not able to walk properly due to the lack of energy he had while being missing last week. Linka had to bring Steven back to the neighborhood by wheelchair. "Are you feeling any better, Steven?"
Steven tried to stretch out his legs, but they were still asleep. "A little bit. That week was a disaster. I appreciate you guys visiting me. Even Bianca has checked in daily with me every day at the hospital,"
Linka smiled to bring up his spirits. "It's the least we can do for you. You're our friend. I even took the liberty of tutoring your little sister when she needs help with her work,"
The two kids traveled to the center area of the neighborhood. They passed by several houses on their path. It wouldn't be long before Linka brought Steven to the treehouse. Linka pulled on a rope, causing a bell to ring. This caused a claw to appear outside the treehouse. It carried Steven and Linka to put them inside. The claw went inside a hole, which closed it. The two kids were greeted by Jennifer Fitzgerald, Luke Foster, and Crank Watterson.
"How is your condition?" Luke wondered about Steven's status.
"Could be better. My legs are still fast asleep. Other than that, the hospital has been treating me the best they can,"
"That trouble with those triplets took a toll on you, huh?" Crank asked.
"No kidding. The number of times I tried escaping ended with me having bruises. That big thug was a brute,"
"Tell me about it," Linka agreed, rubbing her arm.
"The important thing is that you're safe now. It will be a while before you are fully restored, but at least you got us." Jennifer stated as she ruffled Steven's brown hair.
"Anything happened while I was gone?"
"School was a bit hectic. We experienced a fire drill, and let me tell you, the loud noise that alarm caused was pain to the ears," Crank complained.
"A kid even got caught on fire and ran out of the school. Don't know his status but he could still be out there running. So much for stop, drop, and roll," Jennifer shook her head as she cleaned her red glasses.
"We did at least get to see Who Blamed Robert Raccoon. It was an entertaining movie. I think Linka's sisters might have seen that on the big screen back in the late 80's." Luke explained.
"You won't believe how much those two obsess over that movie during movie nights at their school," Linka rolled her eyes at that thought. "Anyway, do you think you will feel better by a few days, Steven?"
"I guess so," Steven tried to stand up, but he didn't have the energy to do so. "Maybe some TV should lighten the mood. I hope there has been a new episode of Neighborhood Tykes while I was away."
Steven turned on the TV with the remote, going to the channel of their favorite show. But before it can be shown, it changed to breaking news, showing the Quiet Country Ohio News channel. The news broadcaster is called Doug Downer. He had blonde hair, green eyes, tan skin, and a slim body. "Breaking news! A recent amount of destruction has occurred at the Quiet Country Youth Center. Items identified by police are soon to be shown. They seemed to be linked to the scene of the crime. The following items listed are a green bow, a dress, and a stuffed animal that looks like a hamster. If anyone knows the suspect, contact us at once."
The kids were left with their own reactions. Steven was up first. "That is violent, not going to lie."
After scratching his red hair, Crank complained. "Hope that culprit gets what's coming to them!"
"Those actions can't be overlooked!" Luke was upset.
"This is unbelievable," Jennifer crossed her arms.
Linka became confused. "Guys, why are some of my belongings on that place?"
The other kids were also puzzled at the sight of Linka's items on the crime scene. Another thing to notice would be that Linka, let alone the five of them, have never been to the Youth Center before. The day has been strange so far, but nothing can compare of what happens next. As the five children were deciding on what to do next, they felt the area moving like it was an earthquake. Luckily, nothing was broken, though the Favorite Fives landed on the ground with their faces thanks to what happened earlier. Upon recovering, they found out that there was a police car outside with two cops arguing.
"Barry, I told you to not speed up!" the tall one complained. He had blond hair, sunglasses, tan skin, and blue eyes.
"Well Jay, if you didn't steal my coupon for an extra-large pizza, I wouldn't have done this in a hurry!" the muscular one snapped. This one had brown hair, green eyes, sunglasses, and white skin. He spotted the five kids, including Linka. "Ah-ha! You're the one responsible for that destruction of the youth center!"
The five kids retaliated by giving dirty looks to the cops. Steven, who is mostly hurt due to the wheelchair falling on him on the fall, pointed at the cops. "I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just barge in and surprise us!"
"Glad you brought that up. We are the two top cops of Quiet Country, Ohio." Jay announced.
"And we are here to detain the girl responsible for causing the destruction of the youth center: Linka Test!" Barry walked up to the brown hair girl with his nightstick. The girl became nervous. With the help of the others, Steven was carried back to his wheelchair and rolled to the cops. "You're not going to take her away from us! She is innocent!"
The others stepped by Linka to protect her. "Leave her alone!"
Jay and Barry were unamused. They unleashed their pepper spray at the kids. The unfortunate young souls shouted in pain, trying to rub the hazard from their sights. Steven regained his vision just in time to see the cops drive Linka to the police station.
"Damn, they got away! Leave it to me, I'll chase them down!" But as the boy ushered to follow the authorities, he suddenly fell on his face on the ground. Stupid body not working well. The boy grumbled.
His three friends helped him get up on his wheelchair. It was a matter of time before the boy began pushing his wheels to follow the car's destination. His allies had to help him avoid any hurdles that would cause him harm like speeding cars, open manholes, cracks, and smoke. But no matter how fast they went, they couldn't catch up. The four had to halt themselves.
"Even if we get there, they can't just release Linka at the drop of a hat. Proof is what we need to show her innocence. We might need to split up to cover more ground," Steven strategized. "Jennifer, help me get to the station."
Jennifer nodded in response. She cleaned her black hair for a second before going behind Steven's wheelchair to grab it.
"Luke, head to the youth center to see if we have any leads," The leader ordered.
The boy genius adjusted his hat as a way of understanding before heading to his targeted destination.
"Crank, find any possible suspects that have a beef against Linka," Steven cleaned his glasses.
The red-haired kid gave a salute prior to dashing to several people on the area.
"Come on, Steve. We got to catch the fuzz," Jennifer prepared her friend's wheelchair before dashing to their destination. Unknown to them, a figure was nearby, watching their move. It laughed before leaping to an unknown area.
Luke was currently investigating the youth center. There was smoke in a few areas that had debris. The boy wanted to figure out how did his friend's belongings ended up on that location. During his investigation, he had seen a couple of kids walking by, commenting on what happened earlier.
"Linka really did a number on that place, huh?" one murmured.
"And people say she is a nice kid," another shook his head.
Luke got annoyed by that, knowing Linka wouldn't do something destructive like this. He failed to notice a figure stand in front of him. "You better not interfere with matters you can't handle,"
Luke jumped back in surprise. The unidentified person looked mysterious to the boy. Even the voice seemed unfamiliar. "Uh, can I help you?"
"Not really. These are parts you best not interfere with," the figure stated. "You cannot find answers for what you seek."
"Look, I am not looking for any conflict. I am just trying to find some evidence to prove the innocence of my friend."
The figure shook its head. "There is no chance that is possible. I suggest you carry on with your day. Do not interfere with the matters of the one that is locked up."
Luke was frustrated with these responses. He kept looking around for any evidence Linka did not cause destruction to the youth center. The boy ended up discovering a fractured but whole item. It was a broken part of a gadget. Luke couldn't put his finger on it, but the part seemed to have triggered familiarity. Further inspection would have to be made for this item. Luke asked the figure for help, but it was gone when the boy looked around. The child also found a small hair on the ground, so he picked it up just in case.
Back with Crank, he was checking around any people that has beef with Linka or the others. It wasn't possible to interrogate the villains they encountered before, because they are either dead or gone for who knows where. So, the athletic boy had to check the school for possible suspects. There were not much people to question since a majority of them liked the Favorite Fives. Upon entering the art room, there was a curious sight to be addressed. The art room in Joseph Elementary is known to be a creative place for people to express their emotions. Crank knew that whoever had beef with Linka had to be here to blow off their anger on paintings. There should be some hints around here.
A gust of wind blew for a brief moment inside the art room. Crank took a glance to see any signs of a person that snuck inside, but he had no luck. He did get his hints upon encountering some paintings. Some have bold words including "TURN BACK" and "STAY AWAY". One painting even included a kid being hit in the face by a baseball. Crank got disgusted by this. He was under the impression that someone was trying to throw him off. But before he can find anymore pointers, the lights went out. The boy was having a hard time seeing where he was going. He screamed when he fell out the window. After that, he noticed a small hairclip on the ground and picked it up. It had some green in it as well as it came in a strange shape.
Someone had watched the whole thing unfold. However, Crank didn't see them. The same figure from before commented. "How pathetic. The boy couldn't bother leaving when he got the first chance. He should know better."
After arriving to the police station, Steven and Jennifer went to find the two cops that arrested her. But after the two kids tried to convince them that Linka wasn't the culprit, they didn't budge.
"Come on! She is our friend! We've been with her several times and she wouldn't pull this kind of thing!" Jennifer complained.
Jay interrupted. "Sorry, kid. No can do. She's been booked. You should have seen how the other people here glared daggers at her."
"Not to mention that the damage she had caused really traumatized those involved with the Youth Center. Feels like they lost it." Barry also added.
Steven was not going to give up easily. He had some hope. "Can we at least speak with her?"
The two cops replied by shrugging their shoulders. They pointed towards the cell block where Linka was being held. The scared girl was pacing back and forth until her pals arrived. She was both happy and terrified about this when she arrived at the bars of her prison cell.
"Linka? Are you hurt?" Steven asked in concern.
"Pretty much emotionally. Not really on physically. But I am feeling better now you are here," Linka sighed in relief.
"Did they pin more stuff on you to make people believe you did that destruction?" Jennifer wondered.
"Not really, but some people that passed by me started to hiss at me and threw empty soda cans at my head."
Steven and Jennifer grimaced at that thought. Even though angry mobs did way worse compared to the ones that falsely called out Linka, they didn't want things to reach to that level.
"Listen, Linka. We will be doing our best to help prove your innocence. We will get you out of jail, and that's a promise we will stick with!" The two cops peered over, coming to bring them out of the station.
"Alright. Visiting time is over," Jay announced. "If you are planning to bring proof to have us believe your friend didn't demolish that youth center, it better be legitimate."
"Exit is over there," Barry pointed the way out of the station.
Steven nodded at Linka before Jennifer started to move his wheelchair. He knew that things will not be easy to get the girl out of the slammer. Since Crank and Luke are already looking for any clues, the two other kids ended up going to the treehouse to see what can be done. But by the time they arrived there, they saw that graffiti was on it.
Steven facepalmed. "We're going to be seeing this a lot, are we?"
Once Jennifer and the boy got inside, they went to list some possible suspects that could have any beef against Linka, but soon they got crossed out due to being already dealt with.
"There's got to be some enemies of ours that have a grudge against us. Maybe some of those people from that city that tried to have us arrested for saving our neighborhood?" Steven wondered.
"Doubt it. They would be too focused on fixing their place. Could have banned us from being there, too." Jennifer pointed out. "Should we bring some cake to Linka to cheer her up? I think there is a way to free her, if you catch my drift." She pulled out a small cake.
"Nah. That kind of thing happens in cartoons. Nothing you see that kind of stuff is possible to happen in real life," the leader of the Favorite Fives rolled his eyes. "How about Cortex? Is he a possible suspect for Linka's crime?"
"Pretty sure he wouldn't survive considering what happened to him." Jennifer cleaned her glasses.
"I was going to assume some strange creatures framed Linka, but this is nuts." Steven mumbled in frustration. He suddenly noticed something on the floor. Upon picking it up, the boy inspected the item. It was a receipt. When he read the number of items that were purchased, he widened his eyes. Whoever blamed Linka for the incident had to be here earlier. Unfortunately, the top of the receipt was missing, so the name of the customer is not able to be identified.
"It won't be easy to find the culprit. That store has thousands of customers every day. Finding the exact one will be a chore," Jennifer stated.
Suddenly, a brick hit Steven on the head. "Ow."
"Steven!" Jennifer headed to the boy and checked his condition. "Are you okay?"
Steven felt dizzy. "Don't worry about it, Jenny. That brick didn't hit me too hard. I wonder where it came from, though."
The two inspected it and found a cd attached to it. They inserted it in the DVD player. Although there wasn't anything to be seen in it, there was some audio.
A mysterious voice echoed, "You best you stop looking. That big thing Linka Test did, you can be considered an accomplice for that destruction should you keep trying to pin the blame on another." The figure pulled out a gun, aimed it at the screen, and pulled the trigger. The screen turned to statis before being turned off. The two kids glanced at each other.
"Whoever that was, they really are trying to throw us out of the trail." Jennifer muttered.
"We should go and talk to the others. They could have found some stuff to help with our problem."
Upon saying that, two other kids came to the treehouse, panting. It was Luke and Crank. They were exhausted from running around. Their friends helped them get up and provided water bottles to them.
"What happened?" Jennifer wondered.
"You would not believe what we had been through today," Crank commented.
"Upon searching for clues, there was an unknown person that spoke to me about this incident. It was brief, but I can tell there were signs trying to prevent me from continuing my search." Luke explained.
"Wait, you said signs? I encountered paintings in the art that was trying to turn me back where I came from," Crank added.
Jennifer and Steven felt their heads pop up hearing that. They even exclaimed they just received a similar message. It all comes down to this, as all four of them were able to get a main suspect that ruined Linka's good name. The only problem is, they still don't know who exactly the mystery person was. The only thing they can really do now is to head to school.
Later at jail, Linka was pacing back and forth. She had been here for a while. The girl hoped for innocence to be proven. The food here she had wasn't that good, the other kid prisoners were brutal to her, and she kept being pushed around by some of the guards. I hope Steven and the others are doing ok. I don't want them to get harmed out there.
"Seems you are trying to keep your hopes up in a unrealistic matter," a voice replied.
Linka gasped in surprise since that voice came out of nowhere. "Who are you?"
The figure appeared in front of Linka's cell. "That does not concern you the slightest. What matters is that you are friends are soon to be dealing with something that is unable to be handled,"
Linka got confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Proving your innocence is something impossible to do. The allies of yours will not succeed with that. If I am being realistic, they would be locked up in the slammer like you are."
This had the bow-wearing girl offended. "Look, don't say that about my friends. I know they can accomplish many things. We went on several adventures together."
The figure counterattacked. "That can be true. But you know heroes can't win all the time. And soon, all of you will meet a serious fate."
Linka felt her blood boiling in anger. "You're getting on my nerves. Just stop bugging us!"
The figure simply stood before vanishing. Linka was both surprised and confused at this action. All she can do is now to hope Steven and the others to avoid any perils that will damage them.
Back with the four children, they were in the school building. There was no surprise that other kids would start talking about what Linka did. Some say she is now a manipulator; others claim she went goth and emo.
Annoyed at these claims, Steven shook his head. "Like that's ever going to happen,"
Upon the gang heading to the courtyard, they noticed something strange and wild. There was a huge chalk drawing of Linka having the devil's horns and pitchfork. Few children were laughing hysterically because of it. Not to mention some even had darts being used to hit the drawing of Linka. Steven and the others were not amused.
"Real mature, people," Jennifer added sarcastically.
"We got to get this thing out of the ground," Steven muttered. As he was being moved to it, he felt some thunder nearby. Raindrops dropped fast, getting rid of the chalkboard picture of Linka as a devil. Some lighting even struck at kids who made that drawing. Before the four children went back inside the school, they saw a figure in a hood, flashing some certain fingers to the drawing.
"Hey, that's the same figure I had seen earlier at the youth center!" Luke exclaimed.
Jennifer squinted to see what Luke was talking about. The figure noticed the kids seen it all. The figure ran in the forest.
"Guys, we got to chase after that person! Maybe the one who framed Linka is there!" Steven cried.
After Jennifer grabbed his wheelchair, all four of them dashed after the mystery person. It was difficult enough to see their target due to the rain getting heavier, as well as the lighting strikes all occurring. The kids were also getting hit by obstacles like tree branches, rocks, and leaves. No matter the trouble, they weren't going to be stopped because Linka is depending on them to get her released. After some bruises and cuts, the kids caught up with the mystery figure. But as they grabbed their target, they failed to notice that all of them were in a steep hill. Everyone screamed as they began to roll down the hill.
Back with Linka, she was shivering in her cell due to the cold storm happening outside. It was not helping that some raindrops kept hitting her during this process. She ended up sensing something strange. Suddenly, it got closer. Even the two head cops Jay and Barry heard something. When they got to Linka's cell, the wall burst open. In came five other people: Steven, Jennifer, Crank, Luke, and the mystery figure.
"Whoa. How strange," Barry commented.
"Not as strange as that time when you stole my wife's video game console," Jay added.
The mystery figure groaned in pain since Steven's wheelchair was on top of them. Soon, the Favorite Fives wrapped the figure with some rope.
"Finally. We can put an end to this shenanigan." Steven exclaimed.
"The jig is up!" Jennifer cried. "We shall find out who this real culprit is!"
After pulling off the hood, everyone was shocked. It was Clover Henderson, Linka's rival.
"You!" Linka pointed with anger.
Steven was also cross. "I should have figured it out it was you,"
Clover was met with angry stares of the Favorite Fives. "Damn you!" She hissed as she was pissed.
Jay and Barry sprayed tear gas at Clover to render her unconscious. Unfortunately, the tear gas also affected the five kids. Soon, all the children got knocked out by it.
"Ouch. There could have been an easier way to deal with this," Barry facepalmed.
"I'll say," Jay replied. "You should have done a better job stopping the criminal rather than getting those kids harmed."
All Barry did was glare at his partner for that comment. After several minutes had passed, the kids woke up in some chairs. They were at the lobby of the police station.
"Where is Clover?" Steven wondered.
"I want to give that blonde beagle a piece of my mind!" Crank expressed his frustration.
Jay and Barry came to the kids with a tied-up Clover Henderson. Jay responded with satisfaction. "Not to worry, citizens. Your enemy here has been detained."
"We certainly could use more clarity on how she framed your friend,"
Jennifer stood up. "Sure. We can tell you all that is needed," She glared at Linka's rival. "This kid really has it out for us. But her target was Linka. Clover has been jealous of our friend for a long time."
Steven came out with his statement. "When I was in the treehouse with Jennifer, I noticed a receipt with a quantity of items. They seemed to be matching the description of what you used to blow up that youth center, Henderson."
"There is a strange object I have discovered near the youth center," Luke also gave his input. "A gadget seems to be unknown in this condition, but when I got it repaired, it resembled a broken flare gun. Clover must have used this to attract the attention of the police."
"A few other clues I got for my own would be this hairclip and a strand of human hair," Crank presented his evidence. "Clover might have been aware someone knew Linka got framed, so she went to the art room to try keeping them off our trail."
Clover blew a raspberry at the children before she got tasered by Barry. Jay chuckled a bit after seeing that.
"I planned to get Linka in huge trouble. I always get annoyed how she is portrayed as the goody two shoes gal. I knew that in order for her to have her reputation ruined, there would have to be something destroyed that would make the town get mad at Linka for it. Sure, those bombs and dynamite I bought were heavy, but they were worth it to see Linka wrongfully accused for what I did."
The Favorite Fives stared at the mean blonde girl with fury.
"I don't care if I harmed people. I really wanted to see Linka get emotionally hurt," Clover sneered. "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling sons of b-"
Clover yet again got tasered, this time by the two cops. "Whoa. This girl has serious issues." Jay spoke out of silence.
"You're one to talk. You never shut up when we go see those movies about superheroes." Barry replied.
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Negative. I don't see you keeping your clam shut when you buy tacos that I am not hungry for!"
The five kids were annoyed that the two cops were arguing. Even Linka herself shook her head in disapproval. "It's like watching my older brothers fight as adults,"
Before the two cops were about to brawl it out with each other, Steven whistled for their attention. "I hate to interrupt your feud, but can we please finish our conflict right now?"
"Oh, yes. Sorry," Jay straightened his tie.
Soon, all five of the kids walked out of the police station. Linka was smiling in glee as she was set free thanks to her friends. "I cannot express enough words to show how grateful I am for you guys proving me innocent."
"Nothing to it," Crank winked.
"It's the least we can do for you," Luke added.
"We care about you, girl." Jennifer approved.
"We can't just let our friend rot in the slammer. We know she is a sweet gal to people around here and wouldn't dare harm anyone." Steven held out his arms for a hug.
Linka gathered them all for a group hug. This sweet moment was interrupted briefly when a loud groaning was heard. It was Clover, who was put in a prison cell that used to be Linka's.
"Well, on the bright side, we won't see her for a while," Crank said. "The amount of time she will serve in the slammer prove that. Even her community service isn't short!"
"I agree. This can be a good chance for the youth center to be rebuilt. Let's all go home," Luke announced before everyone began their trek to their houses. "I got to help my 6 year-old sister Georgia complete her book report."
"Yeah. We should take off. Dad needs me to help him lift a new couch in his truck." Crank gave his input.
"I should get going to bed. I got to assist my folks on selling cakes for our bakery tomorrow." Jennifer nodded.
Linka grabbed Steven's wheelchair and started to move as well. "This has been a hectic day. Once again, thank you guys for proving me innocent."
All of the five children crossed through the plain field of Quiet Country, Ohio. There aren't enough words to describe the beautiful sunset that is in front of them.
"That's honestly a good way to end the day," Steven said before the others agreed.
When everyone reached their neighborhood Quiet Country, everyone split in some directions to head to their respective houses, apart from Steven and Linka. The girl needed to get the boy back home. The breeze felt great. Some wind hit the grass. Even some owls begun to arrive to hoot early for the night.
"It's a beautiful afternoon, isn't it, Steven?"
"It sure is, Linka. It sure is." The boy smiled as he and his friend examined the environment surrounding them.
"You happen to be feeling better now?" Linka wondered.
Steven prepared to get off his wheelchair. After pulling himself together, he tried to land both feet on the ground. He managed to do so a few seconds later, only for his legs to fall asleep again, causing him to fall on the ground. Linka gasped before she quickly pulled Steven and put him back in the wheelchair. She got concerned that he got briefly injured.
"We should probably rest now. Perhaps tomorrow morning I'll be cured." Steven dusted himself before Linka applied a band-aid for his bruise.
"That's a good possibility. I hope you will get better." Linka added before she and Steven went inside his home.