Chapter 5: Before We Leave New York
The last seven days have been exhausting to say the least. Also extremely busy considering the endless throngs of people that always seemed to occupy the events' space. Not that Martin did not enjoy showing the new generations the wonders of the North and South Poles. Nothing felt more fulfilling to Martin then introducing kids to the glory of the animal kingdom. Plus, he definitely had a lot of fun shape shifting into different animals for them. So far, his polar bear form was the most popular among the kiddies. The children dancing along to the big, blue, and groovy polar bear with Jimmy jamming out some cool tunes as the DJ. (When he was not attending the food stands he worked at with his cousin.)
Alas, a tiny part of him felt restless. Or to be more precise, unaccomplished. Considering he had yet to discover what has been bothering his brother since they got dragged into promoting Operation Frozen. It has been three entire weeks since he caught on that Chris was hiding something. Something, as in emotions or concerns that Chris had been trying to keep boxed up in some dark corner of his head space. Instead of going to his big brother for help in untangling whatever mental mess he got himself into this time. Would it really kill his best friend and little brother to be less like a clamped clam and more open for once?
However, Martin was not about to make up excuses for himself. Sure, he had been busy as everyone else has for the last few weeks. Still, there was enough spare time during their breaks to figure out what was eating Chris. Which he had failed to do since they arrived in the Big Apple. Hhhhhhmmm, why do they even call it the Big Apple? This city does not have a whole lot representing the fruit. Like maybe if they planted a couple of apple orchards-DOGGONE IT MARTIN KRATT! FOCUS! Martin reined back in his thoughts to return to the task at hand.
The blonde tapped his notebook with a sky-blue marker. The open page showed random doodles that looked like a colorful and chaotic mess to any other onlooker. In truth, doodling had always proven to keep the more hyper side of him occupied. Giving his mind a chance to focus on whatever was important at the time. Today's mission being how-to-get-stubborn-little-brothers-to-admit-their-troubles. Something he hoped to accomplish without it snowballing into one messy affair.
Things would be way easier if Chris learned how to properly communicate his emotions. Too bad we can't change the past without endangering the timeline or potentially triggering some end-of-the-world catastrophe... The elder Kratt sighed sadly as he sketched a picture of Grabsy styling Donita's hair while the villainess screeched in hysterics. The young man snickered evilly as he drew Dabio in a dumb-looking gorilla costume blurting the speech bubble, "You look so pretty Donita!" Oooh boy, he wondered if it would be worth the risk of pulling such a fabulous prank on that crazy, scary woman.
Back to the problem at hand, he still needed to find a way to help out his bro. They only had today and tomorrow in NYC before moving onto Charlotte, North Carolina. Meaning he had two options: act now or wait until they were in the next state. Martin, not being the kind to push back on matters close to the heart. Decided that he had to unearth Chris' issue before they had to leave.
A plan began formulating in his brain. First, he would plan out a fun activity that did not eat too much of their already dwindling time. Second, he would make sure to bring no one but Chris along. Pretending that he wanted to have some "fun" he missed out on the first time he got dragged to New York. Then he would patiently wait until Chris had let down his guard enough to spring the big question. If the conversation started turning south, well, hugs actually had their uses unlike some would believe.
It was not much of a plan, but it had to do for now. He had let his baby brother stew away for far too long in whatever rut he got stuck in. It was time for big brother to pull him out of the dark recesses of his head. Even if it meant enduring the silent treatment or death glares for a couple of days. "Hhhhhmm, now what can we do besides visiting the zoo? He might catch onto me if I bring him to one of our usual hotspots whenever we visit civilization..." The zoologist mulled over as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He glanced out of the window of their hotel room. Watching a flock of Canadian geese pass by as they soared towards greener pastures- "Eureka! That's it!" Martin cried out triumphantly as he sprung out of his chair. He zoomed to the bedroom he shared with Chris and dashed back out again with his duffel bag. He rummaged through it to pull out his laptop; buried underneath his favorite flippers, four bottles of eucalyptus oil, a few chocolate bars, and a photo album dedicated to his favorite sea creatures. Taking out his mini laptop and a chocolate bar to go he returned to the desk he was using.
He opened up the device and began furiously typing away in the search bar. Options instantaneously popped up before him. He clicked on the third option to reveal a well-informed article on the topic he was searching for. He speed read the webpage as he chomped away on the creamy goodness of his sweet snack. After soaking up the information he required, he went back to his bag to dig out a map of NYC. He went back to his desk to chart out the course he had in mind. For a while no noise was heard except for the soft swishing of his blue marker as he worked away.
Finally, he held up his improved map feeling satisfied with the results. Just in time for Chris to return with a bagful of dinner from Shake Shack. "Hiya Chris! How was traffic?" Martin smirked as he sauntered up to him with a knowing look. His sassier sibling gave him a deadpan stare as he grumbled, "Oh, it could have been better. Speaking of which, what's with the map?" He gestured to the pamphlet held in his elder brother's grasp. The blonde wildlife expert opened his redesigned map with a flourish.
"I have a plan for an awesome mini creature adventure we can do tomorrow! I have marked down the ten tallest towers in the city. The creature challenge is to locate the most towers marked on my map before the other does. All of it to be accomplished Peregrine Falcon Style! So, what do ya think bro? Want to embark on a Falcon Tower Hunt?!" The zoologist turned excitedly to his biologist sibling.
Chris' eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "Hhhhmmm..." The swimming brother felt glee as he recognized the brunette's expression. Meaning he was seriously considering it and would most likely agree to his plan. Come on, cut to the chase little bro. You know ya want to do it! Martin cheered victoriously to himself. As anticipated, Chris shot him a cocky grin as he held out his free hand, "Bring it on bro. You are going DOWN."
Martin shot back his own confident grin as he shook hands in agreement, "Now, now, now, don't count your falcon eggs before they hatch buddy!" He responded in kind. SPLAT! The two Kratts turned around to find that an unfortunate duck had smashed into the window. "Oh no!" They both exclaimed, Martin rushed to the window while Chris set down their dinner bag to go grab an animal med kit. The blonde Kratt carefully opened the window to let a dazed duck wobble in.
He gently picked up the bird which he identified as a female ring-necked duck. Proven by the blue beak with a white ring next to the black tip of its beak. Along with the bird's gray face and white outlined eyes highlighted amidst its brown body. The poor thing had been frazzled by the shock of her harsh crashlanding. Some of her feathers were ruffled and her eyes kept blinking rapidly. "Aaaawww, sorry ducky, I know windows aren't a bird's best friend..." Martin sympathized.
Chris came back with a padded cardboard box and a med kit. His brother carefully placed the duck inside the box. Chris passed the kit to Martin before scanning their patient with his creature pod. He let out a sigh of relief, "She got lucky bro. So far nothing serious that can't be fixed with some rest." The taller Kratt exhaled in relief as he set the med kit down. "That's a huge relief! Remember the last time a bird happened to smack into our window the last time we were visiting home?" He asked with a hint of sadness.
Chris frowned in remembrance, "You mean that male Baltimore Oriole that you named Tangerine Glory?" Martin's eyes started to tear up a bit as he moaned, "I'll never forget that little guy! He ended up losing his sight in his right eye despite us rushing him to a wildlife center! He didn't live too long after that..." A soulful tear slid down Martin's left cheek. His younger brother came over to wrap the grieving one with a warm hug. "Hey bro, at least we did what we could. And the wildlife center we took him to made sure he had a good life despite all that..." The brunette consoled him.
The swimming Kratt reached out to gently stroke the ring-necked duck. The diving duck had curled up to rest inside the cushioned box. "I'll name you Miss Lucky. Because you are one of the few lucky birds that had not suffered too harshly from a stupid window." He told her glumly. "Its probably too late to release her right now. We should do it first thing in the morning and locate her flock." Chris pointed out.
Martin continued stroking their feathery friend, who nuzzled him a bit in her sleep. He smiled a little as he announced, "Well, looks like we have a mini creature rescue for tomorrow as well!"
The next day...
Around 8'o clock, two abnormally large peregrine falcons in ocean blue and forest green were seen soaring above the city. (If anyone paid enough attention from their screens that is.) The bigger and bluer falcon lead the way while the smaller and greener one held a carrier in its razor-sharp talons. "Ok, so we just have to track down Miss Lucky's flock. Then we can embark on our Falcon Tower Hunt! Hopefully were have some luck in Central Park itself." Martin said as he surged ahead with his wide, powerful wings.
Soon the falcon faring brothers spotted their destination and began their descent. Slowly alighting upon the ground as autumn leaves swirled around them, being pulled along by the crispy cool air. They had landed nearby the lake where there were half a dozen flocks floating on the water or milling about the lakeshores. "See any ring-necked ducks bro?" Chris asked as he checked on Lucky who was fidgeting from being confined in a carrier. Martin scanned the area with his falcon superior sight until he spotted something promising at the opposite end of the lake. "Aha! I think we have our suspects! Come along Watson, the game is afoot! Or a-talon!" Martin exclaimed in an embellished British accent before taking to the air once more.
Chris rolled his eyes at his brothers' antics as he followed after him. "Whatever you say Krattlock Holmes!" He joked along. On the opposite side of the lake, a fond father was watching his darling daughter hang out happily with some ducks. The father wore glasses, a red scarf, a navy-blue jacket, and a pair of black snow pants. His skin a nice copper tone with hazel eyes and black hair neatly groomed except for a few spikes that stuck out on the back. His daughter wore a lavender jacket with Twilight Sparkle wings attached to the back for the sake of childhood magic. The hoodie had pony ears and a horn sewed to it, she wore darker violet snow pants, and matching boots showcasing her favorite pony's cutie mark. Her hair and eye color, however, were more attributed to her mother. (Who happened to be visiting a sick relative at present.) The hair being a goldish brown and eyes grey with a few specks of silver.
The little girl was crouched a few feet away from a flock of black and white ducks. Waddling as fast as they could into a jostling crowd. The source of excitement evident from the bird-friendly feed the child was gleefully tossing to them. Some of the bolder members even marched right up to the small human child to gobble up the treats from right out of her hand. The sweetheart squealed in delight from this, causing her nearby parent to smile warmly...A smile that collapsed within seconds when he caught sight of two cool colored missiles streaking towards his baby girl and her new ducky friends.
"Fatimaaaa!" He roared as he dove for his only child, grabbed her tight, and rolled to the ground. Her new feathered friends were of course freaked out by the sudden actions of the adult human. All at once they fled to the skies, effectively forcing the colored missiles to halt before the hovering wall of beaks and wings. The Kratt brothers watched as the waterfowl retreated from them. "Aaaaawww, nuts! We scared them off..." Martin moaned as he flapped his wings to remain airborne. Chris turned to his brother saying, "Well, at least it's not Miss Lucky's flock. Those ducks were actually buffleheads, we must have mistaken their white and black coloration for that of the male ring-necked ducks."
His fellow-partner-in-crime replied, "Yeah, but I should have double checked at least. The male buffleheads always have glossy green and purple colors on their crown, forehead, throat, and neck. I should have spotted that easily with my peregrine falcon powers!"
"No worries, bro, we all make mistakes. Although it was nice to see a flock of buchephala albeola. They must have arrived here earlier in October along with ruddy ducks, greater scaups, lesser scaups, and redhead ducks."
"Oooohhh, I would love to see a redhead duck! Two other creatures I would like to see that come to New York during autumn are-"
"Ahem!"
An icy chill shot through the boys' spines as they heard the tell-tale tone of an unhappy parent. They glanced up to see the lion-like glare of a father who did not appreciate the near heart attack they unintentionally gave him earlier. "Uuuuhhh, hi!" Martin greeted nervously as he waved a wing. "Pardon me young man, but would you mind telling me what on earth you two are doing terrorizing the park in-highly dangerous bird suits?" The older man growled as he held onto his daughter protectively. Martin gulped as guilt began screaming bloody murder at his carelessness. He should have been more careful in checking instead of rushing their mini creature rescue! As for Chris, he was already compiling at least ten appropriate responses to their predicament.
Luckily, before the father could whip out his phone to report the supposed troublemakers to the police...
"Daddy look! They have a girl ring-necked duck!" Fatima pointed out cheerfully to Miss Lucky in her carrier, the poor bird having no idea what the quack the humans were doing. Martin's levels of shame and uneasiness dropped to near zero as he swiped Miss Lucky's carrier from a confused Chris. Landing near Fatima, he complimented her, "Ooooohh! Good eye! Miss Lucky here is indeed a female ring-necked duck! Most people think that the cinnamon collars around their necks are what easily make them identifiable. BUT the rings are hardly noticeable at all! It's actually their uniquely colored beaks with white rings that helps set them apart from their ducky cousins!" He gently placed the carrier down before Fatima so she can kneel down to the lost animal's level.
The zoologist held the carrier door open slightly so Miss Lucky could waddle up to meet her new admirer. Fatima rummaged through her bag of bird feed before offering some to the duck. The light brown creature bent her neck to nibble away at the food. Fatima giggled as her new feathery friend's beak tickled her hand. "Miss Lucky is so pretty! You sure were lucky to find her!" The giddy girl exclaimed. "My daughter has been trying to find ring-necked ducks ever since we came to New York last week. We found a lot of birds but except for Miss Lucky here, we haven't seen any of the ring-necked ducks." Her father explained as his wariness towards the boys lowered a little.
Chris landed on the ground next to his brother. Turning to the older man he apologized, "Sorry for almost divebombing you there. We're not here to hurt anyone. Miss Lucky here just happened to crash into our window last evening and we decided that will reunite her with her flock." The father shot the younger Kratt a bemused expression, "That sure is going the extra mile for a creature you could easily pass off to a local wildlife center." Okay, so this guy obviously has no idea who we are or how we operate. Oh well, despite being famous, you cannot expect everyone to automatically know you and love you. The brunette reminded himself as he replied, "Yeah, it might be a little much. But Miss Lucky had already been though quite a shock yesterday. So, we decided to give her a helping hand or wing."
The biologist then reached up to his chest to deactivate his suit. In a flash of lime green light, he morphed back into his good old human form. Holding up his hands to display the gloves he explained, "Our supposed bird suits are actually Creature Power vests, they come with the gloves I'm wearing. They enable us to take on the form of any animal we touch as long as were wearing the vests with the appropriate Power Discs inside." He reached up to his vest again to withdraw his peregrine falcon disc. He held it up for the father to see.
The wildlife expert continued, "Earlier you saw me and my bro in our peregrine falcon forms. We had the discs in our vests before touching a peregrine falcon to activate our powers. The technology we use is designed by a good friend of ours, Aviva Corcovado." To Chris' benefit a flash of recognition appeared in the father's eyes. "Corcovado? I might be familiar with the name; does she happen to be the daughter of Miguel Corcovado?" When Chris nodded in affirmation he said, "I can hardly believe it! Before he retired, Mr. Corcovado was one of the best semiconductor engineers that our company had on the workforce. I remember him bragging to a colleague about the revolutionary biomechanical technology his daughter was developing for wildlife research. But I never would have dreamed she would have pulled off something so scientifically fantastical! It's like power suits from out of science fiction!"
The climbing brother smiled from the praise his genius co-worker deserved. He would be sure to inform her later on how she fulfilled her dad's confident prophecy. Handing his disc to Fatima's parent he offered, "Here, you can take a look. However, I can't spill any secrets on how it's made, or Aviva would have my head on a platter!" He semi-joked. The man cautiously held the delicate piece of technological artwork in his hands. Not daring to trace even a finger over the circuits that peeped through the see-through material. After analyzing the gleaming marvel to his heart's content, he placed it back into Chris' possession. "I definitely see a bit of her father's brilliance here. I dare say she is surpassing much of what her father's former company has."
Chris slid the disc back into his vest before extending his hand again to introduce himself properly. "Good morning, I'm Chris Kratt. A biologist who travels worldwide in pursuit of creature knowledge." This time the other man gave a genuine smile before appreciating the handshake. "Good morning to you too! I am Dr. Chandrar. A semiconductor engineer for CyraTech Inc. And the lovely young lady with me is my daughter Fatima-" He turned to introduce his daughter only to find the spot where she and Martin was vacant. The carrier containing the waterfowl the brothers found also empty.
The two men were momentarily bamboozled by the sudden disappearance when suddenly the call of a horse caught their attention. They spun around to find the blue suited blonde now in wild pony form with Fatima having the time of her life riding him. Miss Lucky secured in her lap and surprisingly unperturbed by the antics of the kiddies. "MARTIN WILLIAM KRATT-WHAT IN THE NAME OF CREATURE ADVENTURING ARE YOU DOING?" Chris demanded as he threw his hands up in exasperation. Martin reared up his mighty blue legs as he broke into a trot yelling, "That's Sir Diamond Hoof to you! Now excuse me, milady Twilight Sparkle and I are going to relocate some lost dragons back to their natural habitats!" Fatima squealed in delight as Martin pranced about the clearing like a four-legged knight from medieval times.
Poor Chris Kratt could feel a migraine come on as he wiped his hands over his face. "And that, my friend, is my brother Martin Kratt. He's a top zoologist, an amazing artist, an incredible swimmer, a brave creature adventurer, and unfortunately a total idiot." He groaned. Dr. Chandrar held back laughter as he placed a hand on Chris' shoulder. "Now, now young man. You know it's not nice to call your older brother that!" The elder tried to be serious as he bit his tongue in amusement. The younger biologist gave him a deadpan stare scoffing, "Even if that's true?" Poor Dr. Chandrar trembled as a few hearty laughs escaped him.
Chris retrieved a falcon feather from his pocket to reactivate his powers. Back in falcon form he yelled over to Martin, "Hey bro! I hate to break up your play date, but we still got to return Miss Lucky back to her flock!" The blue stallion halted in his tracks as he remembered. "Oops, sorry bro!" Martin sheepishly smiled as he trotted back to his peeved sibling. He knelt down to let a disappointed Fatima slide off his back. He deactivated in a flash of bright light and held out his hands for Miss Lucky with human arms. "Sorry Fatima, we gotta go. But it was great hanging out together!"
The girl morosely returned her new feathered friend to Martin's arms. The zoologist gently placed the duck back into the carrier. As he was about to switch power discs he felt a tug on his pant leg. He glanced down to see Fatima shuffle her feet as she politely asked, "Uum, Mr. Kratt? Can I ask you something?" The kind wilflife expert knelt down to her level as he said, "Sure Fatima! And you can just call me Martin! So, what's up?" The child held her hands behind her back as she asked, "Martin, can me and my dad help you find Miss Lucky's family?"
"What?" Chris exclaimed. Dr. Chandrar immediately rushed over to his daughter, "Fatima, sweetheart! We don't have time for this. And I'm sure the Kratts can handle it on their own." That was apparently the wrong thing to say because immediately his daughter took on the greatly feared "puppy eyes". "Please daddy! I wanna help!" She pleaded. Her father found himself at an impasse. On one hand he still was a little wary considering the near heart attack he suffered from almost being divebombed by oversized falcons. On the other hand, his work often took more time away from his daughter than he would have liked. Making it even harder for him to say "no" to her whenever they could be together.
However, the decision ended up being taken out of his hands when a certain someone opened his mouth claiming, "Of course we wouldn't mind if she came with us! We will be careful, and we could teach her all kinds of cool things about the birds that come here during the fall!" Martin oh-so-graciously-offered-without-Chris'-consent. "Huh?! Eeeh-er, what now?!" Chris stuttered. Fatima cheered in delight as she hugged her increasingly pressured parent by his left leg. "Daddy, Martin said yes! Can we go? Please, please, please?" The father scrutinized the young men before him. (The younger one currently berating the elder for something.) Then he made the mistake of looking into his daughter big, gleaming eyes... With an ever-suffering sigh of any parent who knew they had lost the battle. He held up his hands proclaiming, "Alright sweetheart, as long as we're careful and we have permission, we can help Miss Lucky!"
Fatima cheered, Chris groaned, and Martin switched back to Wild Pony form in a flash of cyan light. "Bro, seriously?!" The brunette cried out in outrage as his doofus of a brother knelt down to let Fatima climb onto his back. The blue armored blonde grinned, "It would be much more faster if they relied on the Pony Express than the taxis of New York City! I'll carry Lucky, Fatima, and Dr. Chadrar while you keep an eye out for any flocks of ring necked ducks!" The green coated Kratt wanted to protest so badly, but it was unfortunately too late to turn back now. "Well we're going to look absolutely ridiculous..." The biologist grumbled as he helped a hesitant father onto his ponynized brother. Chadrar's daughter was entrusted with holding Miss Lucky's kennel, then the group of five were off on their creature mission.
Anyone enjoying a perfect autumn morning in Central Park was treated to a scrumptious sight that made perfect fodder for bolstering the follower count on social media accounts. Or if they were one of the few who somehow lacked the desire to be admired and stalked by countless strangers, the bizarre sighting would at least be a fun little detail to share with friends or family that actually cared about them over cups of pumpkin spice latte. Spectators were witnesses to a metallic stallion that sported a shiny coat of ocean blue. The steed was being ridden by a man and his daughter who happened to be holding a carrier tightly to her chest. Those who paid attention to the riders for more than four minutes would notice an abnormally large Peregrine Falcon of forest green swoop down to the stallion every five minutes before ascending back to the skies. On that morning about 34 clips were created on the falcon's flight alone. #GIANTGREENBIRD?!?!
As for our heroes, poor Chris was feeling apprehensive about all the attention they drew to themselves. If they had stuck to the original plan without causing any dive bombing accidents-they wouldn't be facing everyone's scrutiny right now! He could practically hear the posts being swiftly made as people whipped out their phones to make content about them. He could now only hope that they would find Miss Lucky's flock before they became more of a social media circus than they ALREADY were... Sadly, they searched all of Central Park to find not even one ring necked duck besides their friend in the carrier.
"How is it that we've seen almost every migratory bird BUT ring necked ducks?!" Martin exclaimed. "You tell me, that was our problem before it became yours too!" Dr. Chadrar agreed with a tired sigh. "I don't think Lucky is happy in her carrier..." Fatima piped up as she watched the poor duck constantly shift around in get more comfortable. Chris lightly landed before his ground bound companions, "If I remember correctly from the map. Bryant Park should not be too far from here and it has a lake. We should probably check it out!"
Martin let out a whinny as he reared a little. "Then what are we waiting for?! Lead the way cowboy, actually-cowbird!" The blue stallion cried out in a wannabe Western accent. Chris just rolled his eyes at his brother's antics as he took to the skies once more. The equine Kratt quickened to a smooth canter as he followed closely behind the cruising raptor Kratt.
Chris scanned the earth below him as he carefully followed the pathway imprinted in his mind. Once in a while taking a glance back to check if his goofball of a sibling got distracted or not. (Luckily he wasn't yet.) As he pushed forward his razor sharp eyes caught sight of something alarming. A little boy in a Minecraft styled shirt knelt on the ground crying. A woman in a light green coat that had to be his mother nearby. Judging from the bruises on the boy and a torn dog collar in his hand. A crime of some sorts has been committed against the youth.
Knowing he could not just fly by despite their own mini creature mission. The green clad creature adventurer slightly shifted his course to lead his brother to the scene of distress. Martin easily followed where his brother lead him. When he saw the crying boy. the distressed mother, and the dog collar ripped apart. He knew he had to step in.
"Doc, Fatima, I'll need you to wait on this park bench with Lucky for a few minutes. Someone needs our help." The blue clad Kratt informed them. Seeing the situation, his new friends complied as they let Martin meet up with the mother and son. "Who took your dog and where did they go?" The mother looked up and was startled by the grave tone delivered by a metallic stallion of ocean blue. The boy however, did not hesitate to point southeast with a heartbroken sob, "They took Rocky that way!"
"Hang tight, will get Rocky back." The zoologist assured the child before taking off with a gallop to make Widow-Maker proud. Chris watched from above as Martin dashed across the landscape in pursuit of the dognappers. Down below Martin kept an eye on Chris, trusting his best friend and wildlife partner would guide him to their target. The blonde vaulted over obstacles and swiftly evaded wide-eyed passerbys as he trailed behind his airborne brother.
Finally, his own eyes spotted the culprits not too far away. Jeering obnoxiously while one of them manhandled a squirming brown Labrador pup. Gritting his teeth, he added fire to his speed, prepared for a running jump, and took a flying leap! "So Gerald, we totally taught that pipsqueak who runs the world!! Ha, ha, ha!" One of the young punks crackled. Gerald smirked as he squeezed the poor puppy in his clutches. "I know right, what a shrimp! I hope Dolly appreciates this pathetic pupster because I went through-" He never finished his sentence because a loud whinny echoed as a gleaming blue stallion landed right before them!
The two bullies let out a screech of terror as the metallic bulk of horseflesh reared at them! The shock caused Gerald to release Rocky, who immediately scampered off as soon as he broke free! "HEY!! Get back here you dirty mutt!" The dognapper growled as he reached out for the poor puppy. He didn't get very far before he felt a pair of very sharp claws grip the back of his shirt. "Woah, woah, WOAH!!!" He cried out as he felt himself lift off the ground.
His fellow crony looked up before screaming in absolute terror at the gigantic falcon holding his buddy captive. The mighty steed that scared the punks earlier stepped between them and a still scared but now confused puppy. "Alright boys, I don't know who told you it was alright to kidnap animals or hurt those smaller than yourselves. But I'm telling you now, quit it! Not just because it's wrong, but there are consequences..." Martin Kratt glowered as he took a threatening step forward.
The teenagers were starting to shudder in fear as Martin continued sternly, "You may think you can get away with it anytime. But I promise you both that there will ALWAYS be consequences to your actions. No matter what. It doesn't matter whether they may come the minute you act stupidly or even decades after you did something stupid. THEY WILL HAPPEN and I doubt you boys will like it when they DO..." The elder Kratt warned the brats ominously. At that point both teens were so pale their skin matched the color of pure mozzarella.
Raising a hoof towards both of the punks Martin growled, "So if you boys care about each other and you SHOULD. I highly advise you to think before you act stupid or cruel AGAIN. Understand?" He snorted like a top stallion ready for a brawl. Both bullies gave shaky but clear nods. Martin stepped back and Chris dropped Gerald. As soon as the ex-dognappers realized they were freed-they sprinted away faster than two reindeer being pursued by wolves. "AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!" Their screams echoed as they high-tailed it out of there.
"Nice one bro, I see you're practicing for your parenting lectures." Chris smirked as he landed beside Martin. The older blonde deactivated to the utter befuddlement of Rocky the pup. The chocolate brown Labrador having quite an eventful day. Martin knelt down to let Rocky sniffed him. Once he realized he was with much safer company, the puppy jumped Martin for cuddles and wet kisses. The zoologist laughed heartily as he took on the puppy attack. "Glad to see you alright Rocky." He smiled benevolently as he ruffled the sweet dog's coat.
About eight minutes later, the brothers made it back to their friends. Dr. Chadrar was talking with the boy's mother. While Fatima and Rocky's owner were entertaining Miss Lucky with My Little Pony figures. The boy's bruises from earlier now covered in duck peppered band-aids that could only have belonged to the Kratts' duck loving friend. "Hey gang! Look who came back!" Martin cheerily announced as he released a now enthusiastic puppy dog.
"Rocky!!!" The boy cried out with joy as he reunited with his beloved pet. The loyal canine snuggled up to his best friend as he let out a happy yap! "See! I told you our new friends would get him back!" Fatima grinned as she ran over to the brothers to give them each a high five. The mother walked over to the creature rescuers with a grateful smile, "I want to thank you both for retrieving Rocky! I had only left him and Caleb for a few minutes to use the bathroom. The next thing I knew-my boy had been hurt and our dog stolen!! I am very indebted to both of you!"
The taller brother grinned as he gave a thumbs up, "No problem! We were happy to help! And as for those bullies you won't have to worry about them for a while~" This caused the shorter brother to snicker as he recalled the punks' horrified expressions. Dr. Chadrar adjusted his glasses before saying, "Well, now that's resolved. I think me, my daughter, and our new friends should continue on our creature mission. Stay safe Ms. Hudson, Caleb, and Rocky!" The semiconductor engineer shook hands with his fellow parent.
"Actually dad, can Caleb, Rocky, and Ms. Hudson join us too?" Fatima spoke up. "Eeeeeeeeehhhhhhh?!?!" Chris Kratt exclaimed in disbelief.