Capture

Capture is the eighth chapter in the Wombles One.

Steed was heading to the Classy Glass Window Cleaning Company in his Bentley with Miss Peel. Miss Peel was wearing Mr Punch on one hand ready for trouble.  Steed had his hat and umbrella to fight with.  Tara was following in her Lotus Europa.  At the same time Dr Keel and Dr King were heading to DreemyKreem Dairies. Cathy Gale was heading to Peter Peel’s house in her Lotus Elan, which was a bit like Miss Peel’s.

Knock!  Knock!  Knock! Great Uncle Bulgaria opened the door of his office.  “Oh, come in, Tobermory.” He said.  Tobermory did, before saying, “I’m Wombat.”  “Don’t be silly!” said Great Uncle Bulgaria.  “Anyway, what is it?”  Tobermory handed him an envelope.  He opened it and there was a letter inside.  It said:

TO GREAT UNCLE BULGARIA, MEET ME AT YELLOWSTONE PARK THREE PM TUESDAY.  YOURS TRULY, NUMBER ONE.

Great Uncle Bulgaria stood still in shock for a moment, then looked in the envelope again.  There was a small bottle with a piece of paper in it. The bottle read, “RIDDLES FOR WHOEVER TRIES TO STOP ME”.  “Er, I guess that’d be me then.” Said Tobermory, and opened the bottle and read the message inside it to Great Uncle Bulgaria, “Er, it says, er, why is a, here, orange, like bell, huh?”  Wellington, I mean, Super Womble, dangled, I mean, flew, in through the window, and said, “Because they both must be peeled!”  “Because they both must be peeled!” said Wombat victoriously, pretending he hadn’t heard Super Womble.  “Maybe he’s planning to kidnap Mrs Peel!”  So Bat Womble and Womsuper, I mean, er, Wombat and Super Womble, set out to save Mrs, I mean, Miss Peel!

Miss Peel at that moment was just arriving at the Classy Glass Window Cleaning Company with Steed. Steed walked in and raised his hat. “Good afternoon my name is Steed.” Mr Class clonked him on the head with a window cleaning brush.  Steed was knocked out cold.  Miss Peel hit Mr Class with Mr Punch’s stick.  Mr Class just laughed and said “Your puppet is no match for me.”  Miss Peel got angry now.  “Steed is not a puppet!”  She got into Karate stanch.  Mr Class took out his hypnotic gas spray but Miss Peel leapt behind a big sheet of glass. The spray went all over the pane and it just stayed perfectly still.  Miss Peel ran and leapt behind a wall.  The wall was sprayed.  That too stayed still hypnotised.

Mr Class moved in for the kill but behind the wall Miss Peel picked up a big fan.  She switched it on and the spray went right back into Mr Class’ face.  Quickly she revived Steed from his brandy flask but the other window cleaners were gathered in an angry mob.  Fortunately the Dreemykreem Dairies milk man crashed his van straight into them. Steed and Miss Peel headed back out carrying Mr Class with them and a spare window cleaning outfit with a bowler hat to match.   They dumped him in the back of the car and drove back to HQ.

When Mr Class woke up he was in a metal room with one hard metal chair.  A voice came out of a speaker.  It was Steed.  “I am number two, you are number six! “  Mr Class replied defiantly.   “Who is number one?”  Steed ignored the question.   “Information!  We want information!”  “OK” said Mr Class “Anne Baxter is only person to play two completely different villains in Batman.”  “Not that sort of information!” replied Steed in exasperation.  “Well” said Mr Class “Bungo Womble is in trouble.   He did work for me and we were trying to save the wombles from Peter Peel but somebody more evil than me has him prisoner.  We can’t find him!”

Steed was confused. “What is a womble?” he asked. Miss Peel told him all about the wombles.  “Mr Class!” boomed Steed.  “Yes” said Mr Class electrocuting himself for the twentieth time on the metal chair. “Will you team up with the Avengers to save the wombles?” asked Miss Peel.  “Sure we will!  You can also count on the milk man.  He can use his lie drug to help.”  Mr Class staggered out of the electrified cell and headed to the operations room with Mother, Steed, Miss Peel and Venus who had just come out of a vent in the HQ building.

Meanwhile Dr King and Dr Keel were making butter at the Dreemykreem Dairy.  The dairy men had given them a nice tour and they could take a pat of butter each for a souvenir.  They were all friends now because of everybody joining forces (except for Peter Peel) to save the wombles.

Cathy Gale was with Peter Peel.  Peter was tied to a chair and Cathy was kicking him.  “I am number two.  You are number six!” she shouted.  “Who is number one?” Peter asked between kicks.  “Information!  I want information!” shouted Cathy.  “All right! All right!” said Peter “I want to start a womble museum with stuffed wombles!  But I don’t have any wombles!”  Cathy could see he was telling the truth so she kicked him unconscious. She headed to the burrow.

Cathy stopped at the burrow entrance and knocked.  “Yes” asked Great Uncle Bulgaria “What do you want?  Only wombles here!”  “I know” said Cathy “but there won’t be any wombles if Peter Peel gets his way!” Great Uncle Bulgaria looked thoughtful and beckoned her in to his study.

“Well my dearest lady, I know that Peter Peel has been killing wombles!”  Cathy gasped it was worse than she thought.  “He’s killed, let me see now, Orinoco, Alderney, Madame Cholet and Tomsk.  All stabbed.” “Well” said Cathy “time I questioned him again”.  She headed back to Peter’s house just as he had chair-hopped to the front door. Cathy immediately kicked him over onto his back, still tied firmly to the chair.  She trod on his head and shouted “WHY DID YOU KILL WOMBLES!  MURDERER!  WHY! TELL ME!”  Peter couldn’t really say anything as she kept treading on his head and shouting.

Eventually she stopped and Peter could talk.  “Mrs Gale, I haven’t killed any wombles!  I caught one, Bungo I think, but he escaped.  I promise that I won’t start a womble museum.  Especially as you will just keep on kicking me if I do!”  Cathy wasn’t sure.  “You’re lying!”  “Of course I am!” he replied “I was pushed onto my back.  Please untie me I’ll help the wombles now!”  Reluctantly Cathy untied him but it was a mistake.  Peter immediately fired a round of darts into her.