#16

"So, Murky, what are we doing?"
Sitting on a hill filled with violet flowers, Dismal and his dim-witted sidekick spied on the busy workings of the inner circle of Rainbowland.
"We're taking over this upchuck of colour they call a world, turkey brain."
"Oh. And how are we going to do that this time, Murky?"
"Those colour brats are useless without Rainbow brite, and she just left with what looked like two weeks' worth of star sprinkles. Taking over Rainbowland will be like taking candy from a baby."
"That's not very nice, Murky."
Dismal glanced over at Lurky with a scowl, but just sighed at him. He had his arms folded over his chest and his jaw stuck out stubbornly. "Just come with me, numbskull."
Lurky's expression changed at once as he hurried after Dismal. "Okay, Murky!"

Red headed into the Castle, accompanied by Romeo. They both carried bags of starsprinkles, joining in the work they'd been overseeing.
"Hey, Violet," Red said as he bruoght those sprinkles over the toher kids. "Any word?"
She looked over with a slightly worried expression. "Nothing since they left Earth's dimension."
"I see. I'm sure they're just busy arguing," he said with a smirk.
She smiled faintly, though it was unconvincing. "I hope you're right."
Just then, the doors to the Castle burst open as the grungebuggy came crashing through. The kids and sprites scrambled out of the way, all running over to Violet on the far side of the room.
"Dismal!" a few of the girls cried.
Red, being his valiant self, put himself between Dismal and the other kids. "What are you diong here?!"
"We're stealing candy from a baby!" Lurky said.
Dismal rolled his eyes and raised a rather nasty-looking gun, aiming it at Red. "Be quiet." He pulled the trigger, and a gloom cloud shot from the barrel, engulphing Red.
"Red!" Lala cried as he wavered on his feet then fell to his knees. A few of the other kids held her back so she wouldn't run into the cloud to go to Red's side.
"Mayday! Mayday!" Violet yelled into the two-way station's receiver, the dial still set to Brian. "It's Dismal!"
"I said be quiet!" Murky yelled and pulled the trigger again. In only a few seconds, he had all of the kids and sprites on their knees, unable to move let alone stop him.
"Murky, I can't find any babies. And it looks like we're taking over Rainbowland."
Dismal just sighed and pulled some rope from his belt, tossing it at Lurky. "Just tie them up, meatwad."
"Okay, Murky."

On Earth, Brian had just finished getting the last sample when the mayday came in. His eyes widened and he looked over at Stormy. "Rainbowland's under attack! It's Dismal!"
A dark look fell over Stormy's face and she thrust a hand down to him. "Get on!" She pulled him up, and wasted no time in steering Skydancer back up into the sky. As they left, something shifted in the shadows. There was a figure, hiding among the trees, its gaze focused on Skydancer and his riders.