Chapter Three: Psyche
" We never get to eat sushi at Hoboken!' Nitra exclaimed as she wolfed down her dinner, glad to finally be rid of etiquette. She belched loudly and licked the tips of flippers. " And I haven' eaten in a few hours, I though I was gonna starve."
"We wouldn't want te to starve, how about whipping up another batch, Rico?" Skipper motioned to Rico. Rico nodded and grunted happily. He regurgitated up a pair of large cucina knives and proceeded slice the raw pesce at lightening speed. Nitra watched in fascination as chunks of pesce flew under the precision flippers of Rico. In truth, she really wasn't that hungry, she just wanted to see Rico...no... Her DAD...regurgitate large knives and hack up a raw fish
She forced herself to eat the secondo batch; she leaned back and smiled. So far, this was a pretty sweet deal. Fish, knives, new friends, and an awesome dad. Suddenly, she remembered her question.
" So, what about joining your team? I am gonna live here, I may as well be doing something useful." She put on her best "please-pretty-please-with-a-big-exploding-cherry-on-top" face on, and looked like an unbelievably adorable combination of Mort and Private. She wasn't proud of being cute, but if it works, it works. Her beautiful blue-green eyes shined as she smiled sweetly at Skipper. Rico rolled his eyes. This definitely came from her mother's side of the family!
Skipper gave her a half-smile; knowing exactly what Nitra was up to. He swallowed his last piece of sushi and spoke. " All candidates for being part of the team must undergo the... Evaluation." Private spit out his tè in surprise!
" But Skipper, she's just a chick! She can't possibly be ready enough for the Evaluation."
Rico shook his head violently in agreement "Uh-huh!" She may be his chick, but she was just a chick!
Kowalski pulled out measuring tape out of nowhere and measured Nitra's width and height. " I concur skipper. " He said. " She's still much to juvenile, there is no way she'll be able to pass the Evaluation."
After recovering from the awkward and sudden measurements of her body. She stood up and stamped her foot on the ground.
" HEY! "
All four penguins gave her their attention.
Surprised at herself, she cleared her throat and began. "Look, I may not be as old as te guys, but Hoboken hadn't always been the nice, boring place it is now. Mom and I had to fight to survive, before grandma and that puffino, pulcinella di mare showed up. Not to mention that jerky frog leaving! " She paused, wondering what to put successivo in her rant as long as she had the spotlight. " And, well, yeah, That's the way it is. So, give me a chance. If I fail, I'll wait a little longer and try again and again till I make it. " She exhaled loudly. Rants took a lot of energy.
The pinguino four all looked at each other and smiled.
Skipper extended his flipper to her. " You've got the one thing te need to make it so far. "
Nitr looked at him, confused. " And…. What's that?"
" Guts." Skipper proclaimed. " And judging from te parenthood, yours are probably iron clad tough."
Rico nodded and knocked on his belly and sound of metal echoed back through HQ. Nitra's eyes widened and wondered if her stomach was actually made of metal as well. That would be so... cool.
Skipper gave her a hearty pat on the back that almost sent her flying forward.
" But first, all new recruits must go though the psyche screening."
" R-really?" She looked at her father, who was caressing a plastic doll, then back at skipper.
" How Rico got through is shrouded in mystery." He answered her unspoken question." But te seem sane enough to me."
" Isn't that what te detto to Rico when he first came, Skipper?" Kowalksi pointed out.
Skipper glowered and said. " How about that "new and improved" psyche test, Kowalksi?"
" EEEEEE!" Kowalksi squealed in delight and dashed into his lab. A few chrashes and bangs, and a worrisome sounds of electric shock, He waddled out carrying a large metal box, connected to a metal sift. Nitra had a feeling her head was going to be inside the sift in a few moments. Maybe she wasn't up to this after all. No, she had to do it now, if this was the easy part, who knew what tomorrow held.
Kowalski motioned for his first victim-er-test subject. She sat down on a sgabello while he strapped the sift to her head.
" Th-This won't hurt, will it?" She asked.
He scoffed. " Of course not! " he turned on the box; A computer screen popped up. He tun red the switch on. " At least it's not supposed to."
" Wha-Eek!" She squeaked as a strange tingling sensation traveled up and down her spine. The other penguins gathered around the computer screen as Kowalski proudly explained the scale.
" The scale is set for a number between one and ten. One being completely normal, and a ten being Completely Psychopathic." He pushed a few buttons and another screen turned up. " Using the data from several studies, if Nitra has a psychosis, this baby will know what kind. "
Nitra looked over, her whole body vibrating, " Wha-a-a-at th-th-th-the heck d-d-d-did h-h-h-h-he j-j-j-just s-s-s-say?" Her voice shaking from the strange electric sensations in her body.
" The machine will say whether your crazy o not." Private answered her.
" Wh-why d-didn't he just say that in the f-f-f-f-f-first place?" The machine stopped. She threw off the sift and waddled over. " So...am I nuts?"
Kowalksi pushed a few buttons and gasped. " Well, this is peculiar." He pushed più buttons. Nitra frowned and stood on her toes to see over his shoulder. The numbers on the screen were constantly changing, sometimes off the charts, other times down to a three o four. " For some reason Nitra's Psyche is in a state of mental flux. "
Nitra stared at him blankly, trying to process the long words. " So sometimes I'm crazy and sometimes I'm not? "
" Exactly."
Why didn't he just say that in the first place? Nerd. But that would explain a LOT of things. What did he call it? The Mental Flatulence o something like that.
" Does it say what her problem is, Kowalkski?" Skipper said. Kowalsi shook his head.
" Negative, Skipper. The computer can't get a Leggere because of the constant fluctuations of her brainwaves." He turned to Nitra. " Have te ever experienced long periods of amnesia?"
She laughed nervously. " Well, see, that's kind of a girl thing so ...oh...wait te mean forgetting stuff." She nodded. " One time I went to bed, and one week later I woke up and I had destroyed three habitats, one being the Chimpanzees. Boy, she and her sisters weren't happy when they found out. And this other time I was eating lunch one moment, and the successivo I was outside of the Zoo walls, carrying a huge gabbia, cassa full of Nitroglycerine! " She spread her flippers out as wide as she could. " It had to be THIS BIG!"
" Oh dear, what did te do?" Private exclaimed.
" I followed the most basic rule of Nitro glycerin." She detto matter-of-factly. " T-R-F-Y-L"
" What's T-R-F-Y-L?" Private said. Nitra rolled her eyes as if everyone should know this fact.
" Well, DUH! Throw and Run For Your Life. * It was very nice explosion."
Skipper chimed in. " So, how often does this happen? We can't have te suddenly going berserk in the middle of a mission. "
She scoffed. " Oh, don't worry about that, Skipper. This new guy came to the zoo that could make all sorts of crazy contraptions and formulas. He dated my mom for a while, but then one giorno he detto he had to leave because " the Danes were on to him." He fixed me up with a whole bunch of pills to last until he got back. I brought a whole bunch with me in my suitcase." She rubbed her beak with her flipper for a moment and smiled nervously " In hindsight, I probably should have told te all of this in the first place."
Skipper did a double take at the word "Danes" and detto " So, who was this " New Guy" who gave te these pills?"
She yawned loudly and said. " Huh? Oh some puffino, pulcinella di mare form Denmark named Hans. A real creepy seabird, but Mom likes him. He's coming back to Hoboken in a few months. I would say good riddance, 'cept I need those stupid pills."
They all stared at her, beaks agape.
" What?"
-
Meanwhile, a certain seabird named Hans watched the scene unfold before him on a large panel covered in state of the art technology. In the middle was a screen where he watched the pinguino four and his unknowing Secret Weapon. He clapped slowly, a kind of clap that would send chills down anyone's spine.
" Very soon, Nitra, very soon. te shall bring about revenge on Skipper for the both of us." He detto wickedly in his thick Danish accent. " They may know of me now, but they have fallen into our trap!"
" For both of us indeed, my Danish friend. AH-ah-ahah-haha-ha!"
" We never get to eat sushi at Hoboken!' Nitra exclaimed as she wolfed down her dinner, glad to finally be rid of etiquette. She belched loudly and licked the tips of flippers. " And I haven' eaten in a few hours, I though I was gonna starve."
"We wouldn't want te to starve, how about whipping up another batch, Rico?" Skipper motioned to Rico. Rico nodded and grunted happily. He regurgitated up a pair of large cucina knives and proceeded slice the raw pesce at lightening speed. Nitra watched in fascination as chunks of pesce flew under the precision flippers of Rico. In truth, she really wasn't that hungry, she just wanted to see Rico...no... Her DAD...regurgitate large knives and hack up a raw fish
She forced herself to eat the secondo batch; she leaned back and smiled. So far, this was a pretty sweet deal. Fish, knives, new friends, and an awesome dad. Suddenly, she remembered her question.
" So, what about joining your team? I am gonna live here, I may as well be doing something useful." She put on her best "please-pretty-please-with-a-big-exploding-cherry-on-top" face on, and looked like an unbelievably adorable combination of Mort and Private. She wasn't proud of being cute, but if it works, it works. Her beautiful blue-green eyes shined as she smiled sweetly at Skipper. Rico rolled his eyes. This definitely came from her mother's side of the family!
Skipper gave her a half-smile; knowing exactly what Nitra was up to. He swallowed his last piece of sushi and spoke. " All candidates for being part of the team must undergo the... Evaluation." Private spit out his tè in surprise!
" But Skipper, she's just a chick! She can't possibly be ready enough for the Evaluation."
Rico shook his head violently in agreement "Uh-huh!" She may be his chick, but she was just a chick!
Kowalski pulled out measuring tape out of nowhere and measured Nitra's width and height. " I concur skipper. " He said. " She's still much to juvenile, there is no way she'll be able to pass the Evaluation."
After recovering from the awkward and sudden measurements of her body. She stood up and stamped her foot on the ground.
" HEY! "
All four penguins gave her their attention.
Surprised at herself, she cleared her throat and began. "Look, I may not be as old as te guys, but Hoboken hadn't always been the nice, boring place it is now. Mom and I had to fight to survive, before grandma and that puffino, pulcinella di mare showed up. Not to mention that jerky frog leaving! " She paused, wondering what to put successivo in her rant as long as she had the spotlight. " And, well, yeah, That's the way it is. So, give me a chance. If I fail, I'll wait a little longer and try again and again till I make it. " She exhaled loudly. Rants took a lot of energy.
The pinguino four all looked at each other and smiled.
Skipper extended his flipper to her. " You've got the one thing te need to make it so far. "
Nitr looked at him, confused. " And…. What's that?"
" Guts." Skipper proclaimed. " And judging from te parenthood, yours are probably iron clad tough."
Rico nodded and knocked on his belly and sound of metal echoed back through HQ. Nitra's eyes widened and wondered if her stomach was actually made of metal as well. That would be so... cool.
Skipper gave her a hearty pat on the back that almost sent her flying forward.
" But first, all new recruits must go though the psyche screening."
" R-really?" She looked at her father, who was caressing a plastic doll, then back at skipper.
" How Rico got through is shrouded in mystery." He answered her unspoken question." But te seem sane enough to me."
" Isn't that what te detto to Rico when he first came, Skipper?" Kowalksi pointed out.
Skipper glowered and said. " How about that "new and improved" psyche test, Kowalksi?"
" EEEEEE!" Kowalksi squealed in delight and dashed into his lab. A few chrashes and bangs, and a worrisome sounds of electric shock, He waddled out carrying a large metal box, connected to a metal sift. Nitra had a feeling her head was going to be inside the sift in a few moments. Maybe she wasn't up to this after all. No, she had to do it now, if this was the easy part, who knew what tomorrow held.
Kowalski motioned for his first victim-er-test subject. She sat down on a sgabello while he strapped the sift to her head.
" Th-This won't hurt, will it?" She asked.
He scoffed. " Of course not! " he turned on the box; A computer screen popped up. He tun red the switch on. " At least it's not supposed to."
" Wha-Eek!" She squeaked as a strange tingling sensation traveled up and down her spine. The other penguins gathered around the computer screen as Kowalski proudly explained the scale.
" The scale is set for a number between one and ten. One being completely normal, and a ten being Completely Psychopathic." He pushed a few buttons and another screen turned up. " Using the data from several studies, if Nitra has a psychosis, this baby will know what kind. "
Nitra looked over, her whole body vibrating, " Wha-a-a-at th-th-th-the heck d-d-d-did h-h-h-h-he j-j-j-just s-s-s-say?" Her voice shaking from the strange electric sensations in her body.
" The machine will say whether your crazy o not." Private answered her.
" Wh-why d-didn't he just say that in the f-f-f-f-f-first place?" The machine stopped. She threw off the sift and waddled over. " So...am I nuts?"
Kowalksi pushed a few buttons and gasped. " Well, this is peculiar." He pushed più buttons. Nitra frowned and stood on her toes to see over his shoulder. The numbers on the screen were constantly changing, sometimes off the charts, other times down to a three o four. " For some reason Nitra's Psyche is in a state of mental flux. "
Nitra stared at him blankly, trying to process the long words. " So sometimes I'm crazy and sometimes I'm not? "
" Exactly."
Why didn't he just say that in the first place? Nerd. But that would explain a LOT of things. What did he call it? The Mental Flatulence o something like that.
" Does it say what her problem is, Kowalkski?" Skipper said. Kowalsi shook his head.
" Negative, Skipper. The computer can't get a Leggere because of the constant fluctuations of her brainwaves." He turned to Nitra. " Have te ever experienced long periods of amnesia?"
She laughed nervously. " Well, see, that's kind of a girl thing so ...oh...wait te mean forgetting stuff." She nodded. " One time I went to bed, and one week later I woke up and I had destroyed three habitats, one being the Chimpanzees. Boy, she and her sisters weren't happy when they found out. And this other time I was eating lunch one moment, and the successivo I was outside of the Zoo walls, carrying a huge gabbia, cassa full of Nitroglycerine! " She spread her flippers out as wide as she could. " It had to be THIS BIG!"
" Oh dear, what did te do?" Private exclaimed.
" I followed the most basic rule of Nitro glycerin." She detto matter-of-factly. " T-R-F-Y-L"
" What's T-R-F-Y-L?" Private said. Nitra rolled her eyes as if everyone should know this fact.
" Well, DUH! Throw and Run For Your Life. * It was very nice explosion."
Skipper chimed in. " So, how often does this happen? We can't have te suddenly going berserk in the middle of a mission. "
She scoffed. " Oh, don't worry about that, Skipper. This new guy came to the zoo that could make all sorts of crazy contraptions and formulas. He dated my mom for a while, but then one giorno he detto he had to leave because " the Danes were on to him." He fixed me up with a whole bunch of pills to last until he got back. I brought a whole bunch with me in my suitcase." She rubbed her beak with her flipper for a moment and smiled nervously " In hindsight, I probably should have told te all of this in the first place."
Skipper did a double take at the word "Danes" and detto " So, who was this " New Guy" who gave te these pills?"
She yawned loudly and said. " Huh? Oh some puffino, pulcinella di mare form Denmark named Hans. A real creepy seabird, but Mom likes him. He's coming back to Hoboken in a few months. I would say good riddance, 'cept I need those stupid pills."
They all stared at her, beaks agape.
" What?"
-
Meanwhile, a certain seabird named Hans watched the scene unfold before him on a large panel covered in state of the art technology. In the middle was a screen where he watched the pinguino four and his unknowing Secret Weapon. He clapped slowly, a kind of clap that would send chills down anyone's spine.
" Very soon, Nitra, very soon. te shall bring about revenge on Skipper for the both of us." He detto wickedly in his thick Danish accent. " They may know of me now, but they have fallen into our trap!"
" For both of us indeed, my Danish friend. AH-ah-ahah-haha-ha!"
