Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 17:33:03 -0330 From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (01/06) To: FKFIC-L@lists.psu.edu Yes! The cross-over you hoped would never happen has arrived!!! Forever Knight meets Sesame Street! You have been warned.... Much thanks and virtual chocolate to my little sister for helping with the Sesame Street bits, my friend Andrew for helping with the insanity, and my marvelous beta reader Irene. :) Feel free to archive, burn, or make into a neat hat. Disclaimer: FK characters belong to Sony-Tristar and were created by James D. Parriott and Barney Cohen. Sesame Street characters belong to the Children's Television Workshop (although someone told me that technically all of these things belong to Viacom, which owns the world). No copyright infringement is intended. I'm only taking them out to play. Comments, virtual chocolates, and aardvarks to: pleinelune@innocent.com Ainsley, who is crazier than she looks. Count Me Out: Part 1 ***************************************************** He was brought across in Jim Hensen's Muppet workshop Preyed on apple juice for its sugar Now, he wants to be a sock again To repay 4-year-olds for picking up his bad accent To emerge from his world of numbers From his endless, forever FELT!!!! ******************************************************* "Mr.Dressup?" Nick frowned. "Yeah, it's a children's TV show. I loved it when I was growing up." Nat pushed her chair back from her computer in the morgue of the coroner's building to look up at Nick. "I still can't believe he retired. Of course, it just wasn't the same after Casey and Finnigan left." Nick furrowed his brow. "You would have watched it, too, if you'd had a *normal* childhood." She paused. "Oh, never mind." She returned to her work. "Yeah.... well, I'd better be going. Something's going around at the precinct and half the officers are off sick. Reese will have a fit if I'm not in soon." Nick turned to leave. "Okay. See you later." "Bye." ********* Nick walked over to his desk at the precinct. Tracy looked up from her paperwork. "Where have you been? Captain Reese is almost ready to explode." As if to prove her point, the door to the captain's office burst open. His voice resonated through the room. "Knight! Vetter! Get in here." Nick and Tracy exchanged glances and walked over to his small office. Reese shut the door behind them. "Alright," he began, sitting down at his desk, "We've been getting complaints from the local Transylvanian ambassador about death threats. The officials think someone's out to get him, and they want us to take care of it." He sighed. "You two are gonna have to take him into protective custody until this whole thing blows over." "But we're homicide cops!" Nick protested. "And he's getting death threats," Reese said in an exasperated tone, "What could be better?" Nick frowned. Reese glanced at Tracy, who seemed to be examining her shoe. She wasn't about to mess with Reese when he was in *this* mood. She quietly turned around and snuck out. "Look, Knight. We're swamped with cases and short on cops. You're just going to have to live with it. The embassy's at 105 Franklin Avenue." Nick turned to leave. "And Knight...." Nick stopped and looked back over his shoulder, "I know this guy's from Transylvania, but try to keep this in the real world." ********* Tracy Vetter stepped out of Nick's Cadillac and looked up at the huge building in front of her. It could almost be compared to a castle, not really in size but in design. Spires adorned the rooftop, and the yard was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. The building itself was painted to look like granite, with black shutters and doors. "This is the embassy?" Tracy mused. "It looks more like a castle out of an old horror movie." "It's 105 Franklin Avenue alright," Nick replied, pointing to the brass digits on the iron gate. Tracy wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Well, let's just get this over with," she said as she pushed the gate open. It creaked loudly on its rusty hinges. She went along the path and up the stairs to the front door while Nick followed close behind. "Where's the doorbell?" she asked. "I'd say this is it," Nick said as he lifted a large iron knocker in the shape of a gargoyle. He let it fall three times. The sound echoed through the old house in front of them. "I don't think anyone's home," Tracy said quickly. This place was giving her the creeps. Just as she was preparing to run back to the Caddy, the door swung slowly open. Nick stepped inside. "Hello? Ambassador? This is Detective Nick Knight." He heard a reply in a heavy transylvanian accent. "In here." Nick turned to Tracy, who edged over the threshold to join him. Then, they proceeded toward the direction of the voice. They walked down a long dark hall with what looked like very old ancestral portraits hung on either side. There was something strange about them, Nick thought, but he couldn't identify what it was right away. Finally they came to what seemed to be a living room at the end of the hall, filled with antique furniture. As they came around the corner, standing in front of them was a figure who couldn't have been more than three feet tall. And.... he had purple skin. "Two! Two tall blond cops! Ah-ha-ha-ha!" This was going to be a long night. ********* Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 18:06:58 -0330 From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (02/06) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Count Me Out: Part 2 (See Part 1 for disclaimers) Nick and Tracy exchanged a glance as their diminutive host seated them on a dusty old sofa. Now Tracy had some time to size him up. He was maybe slightly over three feet, but not much, with purple skin, black hair, a monocle, and pointed ears.... and what seemed to be two large fangs. She looked over at Nick, who seemed to be uncomfortable about something. She didn't notice the three bats hanging peacefully from the ceiling. "I am Count von Count," he said. "The Transylvanian ambassador, but you may call me The Count. I was formerly the ambassador to Sesame Street, but I was transferred. One! One transfer! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!" As he laughed a sudden flash of light filled the room, and there was a loud crack of thunder. Nick and Tracy looked at each other in surprise. It hadn't been raining when they had come in. Nick cleared his throat. "Uh... so we hear you've been getting threats." "Yes! Two telephone calls, one scary note! Three! Three death threats! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!" "Did you say you have a note?" Nick asked. The Count nodded. "Could we see it?" "Of course!" The Count walked over to a small table and returned holding a small piece of paper. He handed it to Nick. Nick studied the dark red writing. Blood? He inhaled deeply. No, it definitely didn't smell like blood. It had more of a waxy odour... Nick furrowed his brow. Crayon? "Yes," Tracy managed to say. "Well, um... ... uh, do you have any idea who would do something like this?" She sounded relieved to have found something to say. "No. No ideas!!! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!! But," he leaned closer to the police officers, "this happened once before, when I was on Sesame Street. That is why I was moved." "Well, did they have any leads there?" Nick asked. "No leads!!!..." Nick interrupted before he could laugh again. "Okay, well," he glanced at Tracy. "It looks like we're going to have to take you into protective custody until this whole thing blows over," he said, repeating the captain's words. "Protective custody?" The Count said. "I must pack." He walked toward the door, the three bats swooped down from the ceiling and followed him out. Nick and Tracy exchanged surprised looks. "One bat! Two bats! Three bats! Ah-ha-ha-ha!" The lightning flashed briefly again. ********* Nick pulled the Caddy into a space outside the precinct. Tracy cleared her throat beside him. The Count was in the back seat. Nick didn't know what he had packed in his bag, but whatever it was was flapping every couple of minutes. "Nick," Tracy began, "There's somewhere I have to go. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" She smiled thinly. "Sure, Trace," Nick answered. He knew exactly where she was going. She stepped out of the car and shut the door. "Well, Mr. Von Count, it looks like it's just you and me." Nick stepped out of the Caddy and opened the door for his passenger. He slid out of the back seat, taking his old black suitcase with him. "Please," he said, "Call me The Count." Nick managed a smile. "Sure." They made their way into the building. Nick was going to have to think quick. He hadn't known the ambassador was a vampire. I mean, sure, it was Transylvania, but.... He was startled out of his thoughts by a touch on his arm. It was Nat. She was frowning at the Count, who seemed to be amusing himself by counting someone's paper clips. "Four paper clips! Five paper clips! Six paper clips! Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Nick looked up. There was that flash of lightning again. Natalie gave him a confused look. "So, uh, what are you going to do with him?" She said quietly. "I don't know yet," Nick answered. "The situation's a bit more complicated than I thought." "Well, whatever you're doing, you'd better do it soon." She gestured toward the Count, who was drawing strange looks from the rest of the officers. "Uh, yeah." He pulled the note written in crayon out of his pocket and handed it to Natalie. "Could you drop this down to forensics?" Nat nodded. "Thanks," Nick said. "We'd better go see the captain, Count," Nick continued loudly. The Count dropped the paperclips. "Yes. Yes. One police captain! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!" He stepped ahead of Nick and headed toward the captain's office. He had a sort of odd, lop-sided way of walking. Nick was trying to decide whether it was a limp when he realized he was staring. He shook his head and followed the Count to Reese's office. The captain looked up as they stepped inside. He looked surprised for a moment then smiled warmly. "You must be Ambassador Von Count," he said, leaning down to shake the Count's hand. "Pleased to meet you." "Likewise," the Count answered. "It looks like we're gonna have to take you into protective custody for a little while until this whole death threat thing gets resolved." He turned to Nick. "We're going to have to see if there's a safehouse available to take him to." "Uh... we don't need to do that, Captain. He can stay at my place." Reese frowned. "Are you sure?" Nick managed a tight smile. This had to work. "Absolutely." Reese looked sceptical for a moment, then returned his smile. "Okay. You two can head over there now." Nick inwardly smiled with relief. At least this way he could keep an eye on the Count, and it was only until they caught the suspect. "Come on, Count," he called. The Count turned away from the pencils in Reese's desktop organizer, of which there were apparently nine. He picked up his suitcase, which he had deposited near the door, and followed Nick back to the car. ********* Go easy on me, it's my first fanfic! :) Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 18:10:48 -0330 From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (03/06) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Count Me Out: Part 3 (See Part 1 for disclaimers) Tracy sat down on a sofa in the old church. Vachon joined her after getting his dinner from the fridge. "What do you want to know, Trace?" he asked when they were both settled. "Oh, come on, Javier. I don't always want something." Vachon continued to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Her smile gradually faded into a pout. "Okay," she said. "I do want something." Vachon leaned back and took a swig from the bottle. "Shoot." "Have you ever heard of a guy named Count Von Count?" Vachon looked up from his bottle. "There's something strange about him," Tracy continued. "I mean, he could be Dracula himself!.... If Dracula was three feet tall and purple." Vachon remained silent. "Well? Is he..." she hushed her voice, "Is he a vampire?" Vachon blinked. Twice. "Uh... no. I've never heard of the guy, Trace." He returned his gaze to the bottle in his hand. "Are you sure? He had pointed ears, and fangs, and his skin *was* purple..." "Oh, please, Tracy," he interrupted. "You're seeing vampires everywhere. Not every strange guy is some blood-sucking creature of the night." Tracy remained silent while she pondered this. She sighed. "I guess you're right. After all," she continued matter-of-factly, "He probably just has some weird skin condition like Nick." ********* Nick swung open the lift door. "Well, here it is," he said, gesturing to the loft. "I'm sorry there's no guest bedroom. I hope the couch will be all right." "Fine, fine." The Count stepped out of the lift and walked over to the couch. He put his suitcase down next to the coffee table before jumping up on the couch. His feet barely hung over the end. "One! One black couch!!! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!!" Nick sighed. Why had he volunteered for this again? He picked up his remote and shut the windows. Then he walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of dark liquid. He pulled the cork out with his teeth and took a swig. Alright, so he knew why he had had to volunteer, but it still didn't make it any easier. He took a smaller sip from the bottle. Should he offer some to the Count? Nah. He could get it himself. So it wasn't very charitable, but Nick knew he was going to regret this whole thing by evening. The Count was already getting on his nerves. Well, he was just going to have to deal with it. "Count?" The Count looked up from his bag, which seemed to have been consuming his attention. \\What's in that thing anyway?\\ Nick wondered. "I'll get you a pillow and blanket." Nick headed for the stairs. "Um..." the Count began, "Do you mind if I let my friends out of my bag?" Nick creased his brow. "Uh, no... I guess." The Count bent down and opened his suitcase. Out flew the three bats. They flew in a circle around the Count's head and proceeded to perch on the edge of the couch. "Okay...." Nick said under his breath. He turned around and climbed the stairs, returning a few moments later with an armload of blankets and a pillow. The Count seemed to be gesturing to the bats. Nick laid the blankets on the end of the sofa. Thankfully, the Count didn't seem to notice. Nick didn't know how much more of this counting business he could take. He was just about to say something when he heard the buzzer. "I'll get it!" he said, grateful for a reprieve. He walked over to the monitor and turned it on. "Vachon?" he said incredulously. "Since when do you bother to ring doorbells?" Vachon shrugged. "Been talking to Tracy again?" "You could say that..." Nick smiled. That explained that. "Well, come on up." Nick heard a whoosh right behind him. He turned around. "Hey, Nick." "Hi, Vachon. Cutting it a little close aren't we?" Nick looked at his watch. It was 6 am. The sun would be up soon. Vachon shrugged. "Well, what's up?" Nick asked. Vachon turned to look at the Count, who was now definitely instructing the bats on *something*. His voice was closer to a whisper when he spoke next. "It's about your... uh... guest. I've heard of him. He's *old*." "The Count? *Old*?" Nick didn't think he was capable of surviving more than a year on his own. "Yeah, *really* old. But I'm not the person you should be talking to." They looked at each other for several seconds. "Well," Vachon began, "I'd better get going. Just thought you should know." Vachon's words were followed by another whoosh as he disappeared from sight. The Count? Old? *Really* old? Nick didn't think so, but he did think he knew who Vachon had been talking about. Well, it was too late to do anything about that now. "Mi mi mi mi." Nick turned. There seemed to be several small voices coming from the couch. The Count was standing right in front of the bats, who seemed to be looking right at him. The Count raised his hands. The three bats seemed to inhale in unison. The Counts hands fell as he began indicating a rhythm to the bats, who began..... *singing*. "Batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, bat. Bat! Bat!" Nick shook his head. He was too tired for this. He had to be hallucinating. Anyway, at least the bats had stopped singing, if they ever had been in the first place. The Count had taken a seat on the sofa in front of them. Nick cleared his throat. "Well, uh.... I'd better be getting to bed. Do you think you could ask your friends to keep it down a bit?" He couldn't believe he'd said that. Oh well, the Count didn't seem to have noticed. "Yes!" the Count said. "Bedtime!" He hopped under the blankets. "Though I have trouble getting to sleep in new places..." "Count sheep or something," Nick suggested. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." "Alright," the Count answered as Nick made his way upstairs. "One sheep! Two sheep! Three sheep! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!! Four sheep......" ********* Go easy on me, it's my first fanfic! :) Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 18:13:46 -0330 From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (04/06) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Count Me Out: Part 4 (See Part 1 for disclaimers) Nick rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock. It read 2 pm. Nick groaned. How was he going to make it until sunset without strangling his... er... guest? The Count's voice drifted up from below. "162 523 sheep! 162 524 sheep! 162 525 sheep! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!!" ********* "You look like hell," Tracy said over her coffee. Her partner had just arrived at the precinct with their charge, who was now counting thumbtacks. At least Nick had been able to convince him to leave his furry friends at the loft. "Yeah, well I didn't get a whole lot of sleep." Nick collapsed into his chair. He rested for a few seconds. "Listen, Trace. Can you stay with the Count for a while? I've got a couple of things I need to do." "Sure. No problem." She smiled. "Thanks," Nick smiled thinly in return. He made his way out of the precinct, thankfully rid of the Count, who had kept him up most of the night with his stupid counting and his singing bats. "I guess that's one of the risks of the job," Nick said to himself as he hopped into the Caddy. ********* Nick stopped outside the glass window at the Raven and watched his master talk to the people of Toronto. "...In this era is there anything we can truly believe in? Count on? Well, gentle listeners, you tell me." LaCroix looked up from the microphone as he pushed the button to end his broadcast. "Come in, Nicholas." Nick opened the thick wooden door and stepped into the dark studio. "Come to your see your father?" LaCroix asked with a raised eyebrow. "I need your help," Nick answered. "*You* need *my* help do you?" LaCroix replied, obviously amused by the concept. "There's a vampire. His name is Count Von Count. I understand he's very old." LaCroix's face changed when Nick said the Count's name. His smile transformed into dark concern. "Yes, the Count. I knew him a long time ago. He is very old." "Well there's something not quite right about him. He seems obsessed with counting, and he doesn't exactly *look* normal, either." LaCroix smiled as if in a joyless victory. "Yes. I always knew he would be first." "First?" Nick was bewildered. "First what?" "It happens to us all, Nicholas. All the ancients." LaCroix suddenly seemed to realize what he was saying. He frowned for a second, then smiled again. "That was a long time ago," he said with finality. "I'm sorry I can't help you." LaCroix returned to the microphone. "Welcome back, gentle listeners. I see we have a caller...." ********* Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 18:16:18 -0330 Reply-To: pleinelune@innocent.com Sender: Forever Knight TV show stories From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (05/06) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Count Me Out: Part 5 (See Part 1 for disclaimers) Nat turned around and gasped with surprise. "Nick!" she said. "I didn't hear you come in." He grinned. "Sorry, Nat. Have you heard from forensics yet?" "Well, the note was written in crayon, but they couldn't find any fingerprints. They did, however, manager to find one black hair and a polyester fibre." "Polyester?" Nick asked. "That's what *I* said. I mean, who wears polyester these days?" "That's all they found?" Nick frowned. "Yes.... Nick? Are you okay?" Nick sighed. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep yesterday. That... Count kept me up with his stupid counting and singing bats." "What?" "...Nothing. It's just that I'm beginning to understand this guy's point of view. If we don't catch him soon, I just might kill the Count myself." "Nick!" Natalie admonished. "I know, Nat. I know. I'm sorry. He's just so irritating..." "Nick, no more killing. Even if he is a vampire, and even if he is irritating. Annoying people are just something you have to learn to live with. We can't just kill every annoying person who comes along, even if we want to. It's just not the way things are done." "Yeah, well, I'll keep that in mind." Nick walked toward the door. "You'll keep it in mind?!? Nick? Nick!" Nat spun around to follow him, but he was already gone. ********* Nick ran into Tracy almost immediately after he got in the door. "Nick! Nick! I'm so glad you're back!" She had a slightly crazed look in her eyes. "You'll take him won't you?" She grinned. "Yes! You'll take him away! Hee hee hee!!!" Nick was shocked. "Tracy? Tracy! Snap out of it!" He gave her a light slap across her face. She exhaled sharply, then breathed in slowly. She shook her head. "T-thanks N-Nick," she said. "I n-needed that." \\Wow.\\ Nick thought. He had known the Count was irritating, but he hadn't known his effect on mortals would be so extreme. "Come on, Tracy," he said soothingly. "Let's go back to your desk and you can tell me everything." Nick took her arm and led her back to her desk. She sat down with her arms around her knees while he poured her a cup of coffee. "Thanks," she said, slightly more under control. "What happened?" Nick asked. "Well, at first I thought the counting thing was kind of cute. He counted my paperclips, then my pencils. Then it got a little more annoying. He started counting desks, ceiling tiles, coffee cups, donuts. He was driving me insane! He counted everything! Computer disks, T-shirts, the number of times the captain hit the water cooler! I... I couldn't take it anymore!!!" "Tracy! Tracy calm down!" Nick said. "It's okay. I'll handle the Count. Where is he, anyway?" "I think he's in Reese's office counting files." She looked down at her cup. "I need more coffee." Tracy ran off in the direction of the coffee pot while Nick headed for Reese's office. The Count was indeed in there, but he had moved from counting files to counting Post-Its. Captain Reese was sitting at his desk. Nick had never noticed that facial twitch before.... "Knight! Thank God! Where have you been?" "Well, Captain, I..." "Never mind!" Reese interrupted. "Just take him, please! For the sake of my sanity." "Uh... sure. Let's go, Count." The Count turned and followed him out. Nick made sure to move quickly. If the Count had been acting like this the whole time, half the officers in the precinct were probably ready to kill them both. They finally got to the Caddy, but not without some evil glares from staff members. "We'd better get back to the loft before you get into any more trouble." Nick said under his breath. ********* Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 18:21:02 -0330 From: Ainsley Subject: Xover: Count Me Out (06/06) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Count Me Out: Part 6 (See Part 1 for disclaimers) Nick pulled the Caddy up alongside the warehouse which also served as his apartment. "Here we are," said Nick adding "Finally." under his breath. He and the Count stepped out of the car. Nick began to make his way towards the door when, suddenly, a figure stepped from the shadows. "I've got you now, Count!!! Hee hee hee hee!!!" the short silhouette cried as it stepped into the light. Nick took in the yellow-skinned figure with black hair and.... a striped polyester shirt. "Bert!" said the Count. "What are you doing here?" "What does it look like?" answered Bert, pulling a gun from behind his back. "One! One homicidal maniac!!! Ah-ha-ha...." "Stop!" Bert yelled. "No more counting!" The Count stopped, still smiling. Nick suddenly realized that the gun could be a threat, even though the Count was a vampire. After all, not only was the Count a little... different than other vampires, but who could tell how much Bert knew? The Count obviously knew him. The gun could be loaded with garlic or holy water. Nick grimaced. Annoying as the Count was, it was his duty to protect him. He stepped forward. "You counted everything!" Bert continued. "All my paperclips, all my pigeons! Even my oatmeal cookies! There was nothing left for me to count! I like counting, too!" He raised his gun. "There's only one thing to do...." he said with a demented gleam in his eyes. The world slowed down for Nick as the projectile left the gun. He leapt with vampiric speed in front of the Count. The flying object hit his coat with a small and fell to the ground. Nick stooped and picked it up. "A bottle cap? He shot a bottle cap?" he said in amazement. The Count stood safely smiling behind him, his monocle glinting in the dim light. Nick was still considering the implications of all this as a second figure came from the same direction as Bert. "Ernie!" gasped Bert. "Bert, what are you doing?" Ernie asked. "Well, he counted all my stuff," Bert whined. "I want to count my stuff." "But Bert, everyone has to share." "You're right, Ernie." Bert turned to the Count. "I'm sorry, Count. I shouldn't have sent you death threats. We can count together." The Count stepped from behind Nick. "And I'm sorry I counted your things without asking. We can all count! Ah-ha-ha-ha!" "From now on, Bert," Ernie added, "No more oatmeal cookies before bedtime. Khee-khee-khee-khee!" "Yeah," said Bert sheepishly. "Now let's all go home." "Back to Sesame Street!" said the Count. The three joined hands and began to walk off down the street, when the Count turned back towards the staring Nick, who was still standing with the bottle cap in his hand. "Thank you for your help, Detective Knight!" he called. Then he turned back to his friends and they strode away, counting as they went. Nick finally shook himself out of his stupor and went into the loft. "Oh, well," he said to himself, confused, "At least that's over with." ********* LaCroix sat alone at the bar in the Raven. The nightclub was empty, all the patrons gone for the day. He twirled a glass of reddish liquid between his thumb and forefinger. Slowly, he looked up to the rack of wine glasses over his head and reached out to touch one. "One, one wineglass! He he he he...." The End Well, there it is, my first piece of fanfic. I hope you liked this little piece of lunacy. Anyway, a crazy friend of mine suggested a completely insane ending for this story early on in its creation and threatened to stake me if I didn't use it, so I wrote it up as the Completely Insane Alternate Ending. Warning: If you thought the story above was frightening enough as it is, read no further. The Completely Insane Alternate Ending Written mostly from ideas from Andrew Bonia. If you aren't scared of him after reading this, you're as insane as I am. :) Nick pulled the Caddy up alongside the warehouse which also served as his apartment. "Here we are," said Nick adding "Finally." under his breath. He and the Count stepped out of the car. Nick began to make his way towards the door, when, suddenly, he heard eerie laughter coming from above. "I've got you now, Count!!! Hee hee hee hee!!!!" Nick looked up to see a yellow-skinned figure with black hair wearing.... a striped polyester shirt. The silhouette brandished a strange sort of cane in his right hand. "Bert? Bert what are you doing?" called the Count. "You'll see!!!" Bert replied. With a swift motion, he whipped his cane forward, yelling: "Fly, my pretties, fly!!!!!" From behind him flew legions of pigeons. They dove towards the Count. Nick stared, bewildered. Suddenly, the Count yelled: "Batty, batty, batty!!!!" The three bats he had been singing with earlier swooped out of the loft's open window. They met the pigeons straight on, flapping and forming a kind of protective shield over the Count. Nick came to his senses and took this opportune moment to fly to the roof. He lighted behind Bert. Running forward as Bert turned to face him, he pushed the villain forward, holding him over the edge of the building. Bert glanced down, then swung his arm to point the cane at Nick. The pigeons stopped trying to get past the bats and swooped up, rushing straight into Nick. Nick was knocked backwards as he put his arms up protectively over his face, dropping Bert. Bert grabbed his cane in both hands as he fell, holding in horizontally over his head. A group of pigeons flew towards it and perched there, flapping their wings vigorously. Bert's free fall ended and the birds carried him safely to the ground. He landed facing the Count. The Count suddenly threw back his head and laughed. "Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!" The lighting cracked brightly again, and close. When Nick looked down to where Bert had been, there was nothing left but a pile of stuffing and the cane. With that the Count turned and left, slowly fading into the distance. Nick stood alone, the pigeons gone now. "Damned evil super-villains," he muttered. "Who would have guessed?" He glanced once more at the pile of fabric which had once been Bert, then went into the loft to get a broom. ********* Ainsley pleinelune@innocent.com Knightie, Cousin, Harem member, Diviant Plan Duckling: http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/3717/ The Underground: http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Lights/5675/