A Monday's Production - Murder Over My Muppets

[WebMistressGina]

YOU.
YOU ARE JOKING!

maybe...

That's the end?

Possibly.

It's so... But what happened.
Gina, this is an april fool's joke, isn't it!?

*uncontrollable giggling*

I still liked it but...
But...
But...
WHAT HAPPENED!!!??
OMG.
Gina.
I really wanna say more please.

 

[Misskermie]

Gina, you're messing with my emotions!
I'm convinced it's all a sick sick joke!

 

[WebMistressGina]

Gina, you're messing with my emotions!
I'm convinced it's all a sick sick joke!

I'm sorry... I promise the real chapter's coming. But just so you know, I am laughing hysterically right now, cause...you aren't gonna like the ending. Well, you will, but...aw, you're gonna have to wait til I finish.

 

[Misskermie]

AHHHHHHHHHHH!! There's more! *runs around hapily* And that's interesting... I won't like it, but I will... facinating... Well, now I can safely say... MORE PLEASE!!

 

[WebMistressGina]

Tee Hee!

Happy Pre-April Fools! I'm sorry. That seemed way too funny in my head this morning. Here's the real chapter, I swear. Everything preceding the chapter was true, this really is the last chap before the epilogue. Okay, really, this one is the right one. I promise!


IX.


It took only about ten minutes for Kermit to drive over to Piggy’s high scale apartment and while he had hoped to get a tour, there wasn’t time; he didn’t even bother to get out of the car like a normal gentleman would. It didn’t matter, as Piggy was walking outside just as he pulled up to the curb.

Getting in, Piggy was barely able to close the door before Kermit was taking off towards the Count’s estate. “You really have evidence that the Count is the murderer?” she asked.

“Not so much evidence as a gut feeling,” Kermit muttered. “Pepe all but confirmed it for me. He overheard the Count discussing your father with someone and he was convinced Rowlf had known something; that’s why he was killed.”

“But what?” Piggy asked. “And what exactly was the Count discussing? And with whom?”

“I don’t know,” the detective replied. “I can almost guarantee you the Count was discussing how he was embezzling money from the company. The who and the what, he’s going to tell us.”

Kermit tried to keep within the speed limit, but his anticipation and anxiousness was causing him to press down on the gas pedal as though his life depended on it. And in some cases, it did; if he didn’t stop Gonzolo now, who knew what kind of plans he had? Already four were dead and if Kermit was right, he and Piggy would be next if they weren’t careful.

Pulling up into the driveway of Gonzolo’s estate, the dynamic duo got out of the car and headed towards the front door. Knocking did nothing but leave them in an eerie silence that seemed to stretch longer than it should.

“Maybe he’s not home?” Piggy ventured.

“The lights are on,” Kermit noted, seeing lights blaring through the windows on the first floor. “Unless he’s stuck on the phone or something…”

“Kermit…”

Turning at the sound of his name, the detective was surprised upon seeing the door partially opened. “It’s not locked,” Piggy said, taking a few hesitant steps across the threshold. Hollywood quickly followed and noticed that the front hall was lit, but no one seemed to be home.

Removing his hat and coat, Kermit’s eyes roved around the layout, expecting to see the eagle butler he had met on his first visit. “You’d think someone would send out the welcome wagon,” he murmured, folding his items and placing them on the nearby table stand before helping Piggy out of her coat.

“This is odd,” she agreed. “Of all the times I’ve been here, I’ve never known Sam to not answer the door.”

“Maybe he’s got the night off?”

The heiress scoffed. “It’s Sam,” she huffed. “He wouldn’t know a day off if you threw him on a beach and surrounded him with girls and music.”

“That’s…pretty square.”

The two began to walk cautiously through the front entrance towards the living area, which was also bright with lights and completely devoid of any movement, even a mouse’s. Turning to his right, Kermit noticed that the light was on in Gonzolo’s study, with the door slightly cracked. Piggy had noticed it too and as one, they both turned and began to walk towards the room, until Kermit stopped them.

“What?”

The frog’s police instincts had kicked in before they had even entered the home; house lights on, but no butler to greet them, a home appearing to be alive but with no movement from anything or anyone. Something wasn’t right.

“Something’s not right,” he whispered.

“You think we were expected?”

“I think the Count was expecting someone alright,” he said, the strangest of feelings coming over him. “But I don’t think he wasn’t expecting the outcome.”

Piggy quickly turned to Kermit, surprised etched on her face. He couldn’t possibly be thinking…!?

It was only the fall of a shadow over him that prevented her from saying what she thought and before either of them could utter another word, both their worlds went dark.


[hr]


When sense and rationality finally returned to him, Kermit’s senses responded with a resounding ‘ow!’.

His head hurt so much, he couldn’t move. When his senses were all finally restored, he realized he couldn’t move because his arms had been tied behind him to a chair. The sound of a moan next to him relieved him slightly, the knowledge that Piggy hadn’t been separated from him brought hope in what was probably a hopeless situation.

Piggy’s senses were telling her the same thing Kermit’s had told him – that her head was killing her and her arms were behind her.

“Oh good, you’re both awake.”

The sound of a voice that wasn’t the other’s caught both of their attentions, both blinking rapidly to not only adjust to the invasion of light, but to the new person in the room.

“Thanks boys, that’ll be all.”

“Um, are you sure, sir?”

“These two didn’t even put up a fight!”

“True, but I hated having to hit the little one,” replied the second voice. “He’s such a little guy, he probably only weighs like an ounce.”

“Not the other one,” the third one joked. “She’s compact.”

“Hey!” said the first. “I told you to get out. My guests and I would like to be alone.”

“Yes sir,” replied the other voices, who quickly high tailed it out of where ever they were.

When Kermit finally got a look at their captor, he couldn’t help the snarl in his voice upon speaking. “You.”

“Yes, me,” Gonzolo replied, smiling at the two. “Come now, Hollywood, you had your suspicions; surely seeing me doesn’t surprise you as much as you’d like.”

“I always knew you were a snake,” Piggy muttered.

“Aw, sweetness,” the Count cooed, sarcastically. “You know it hurts me when you say such hurtful things.”

“Where are we?” asked Hollywood.

“We are in a little hidden room next to my study,” the Count explained.

Kermit looked around as much as he could; the room was a bit smaller than the Count’s study, with a few chairs sitting around. It obviously looked like a secret meeting place and one that Gonzolo probably used on a regular basis.

“Little place I like to come to,” the Count continued. “Get away from being the irresponsible, gambling, womanizing Count Gonzolo to smart business partner and richest man in America Count Gonzolo.”

“So it’s true,” Piggy hissed. “You killed him; you killed my father.”

“What?” Gonzolo chuckled. “Of course not; that old fool fell out of a window. I am, however, guilty of putting my hand in the cookie jar. Gambling debts take a lot from you, so in order to pay them off, I needed money. Your father was a skinflint, as you well know. ‘Conserving’ money, as he put it; well now his money is ‘conserving’ in my bank account. I had help, of course…”

The sound of a distant knock could be heard before the Count had finished. “That’ll be my business partner,” he whispered, gleefully. “Coast is clear!” he called out, before turning back to his hostages. “Mr. Hollywood, Ms. Vane, may I proudly present…”

The individual who walked in wasn’t anyone they had suspected, including Gonzolo it seemed, as he appeared as taken aback as Hollywood and Vane. “Why Andrew,” he stumbled, chuckling nervously. “I never would have guessed.”

Andrew Hess, the young lawyer to Vane Industries, smiled smugly at his shocked audience. “Everyone needs to make a living, Count,” he replied, coming next to the weirdo. “Even us junior partners.”

“Color me impressed,” the Count praised. “I always knew you had potential.”

“As a potential murderer?” Kermit asked. “As a hired gun?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Don’t act surprised,” the detective spat. “You killed your own man and three other people!”

The shock that registered on the Count’s face was one even Piggy couldn’t ignore. Turning swiftly to Hess, Gonzolo asked, “Pepe’s dead?”

Shrugging, the red head replied, “An unfortunate casualty of business. Your man was speaking to the enemy.”

Nodding sadly, Gonzolo agreed. “Certainly can’t have that,” he whispered. “And Beaker?”

“Was talking a little too much, as Mr. Hollywood will attest,” Hess said. “Sometimes, one must tie up loose ends, as bothersome as they may be.”

Again, the Count nodded his agreement. “Quite right at that,” he said. “That’s why you’re lawyer and I just the humble partner. Once these two are out of the way, we can get that will, and then everything of Horace Vane’s will mine…I mean, ours! Of course ours. I meant that.”

“Of course.”

“You know, Andrew,” the Count laughed. “I’m glad it was you I was dealing with. Vane Industries has so much money, you could actually shake a stick at it; once we have it all, it’ll be sunshine and girls for at least a few months.”

Hess nodded, calmly, before reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box like object. “It will be something,” he said. “Too bad you won’t be around to enjoy it.”

“What?”

In the blink of an eye, Count Herbert Gonzolo was gone, dropping through an opening in the floor, and being swallowed up by whatever recesses awaited him below. The stunned looks that witnessed the demise of their number one suspect slowly turned to the apparent culprit.

“There, isn’t that better?” Hess asked. “Now we can just sit here and talk, without that constant babbling.”

“I don’t…” Kermit sputtered. “I can’t believe it.”

“Oh believe it, Mr. Hollywood,” the lawyer stated. “I just killed Count Gonzolo; dropped him down a trap door in his own secret room. A trap door I designed and built and he didn’t even suspect.”

“And Pepe and Beaker?”

“What I said was the truth,” Hess began. “They were talking too much, but I will give them kudos on pointing the finger at the lovely Piggy Vane. Even I didn’t count on that.”

“You were trying to frame me?”

“Of course I was,” the lawyer continued. “Who do you think put the handkerchief in the safe in the first place? Oh granted, it was much easier to put the blame on Gonzolo, but why not add that little bit of doubt to shake things up?”

“That’s what Rowlf was going to tell me,” Kermit interrupted. “The night you showed up at his gambling joint.” The scene was immediately in his mind, the look of horror that showed on the dog’s face when he and Hess rushed to his aid.

“He wasn’t shocked and scared at dying,” the detective realized. “He was surprised to see you and recognized you; as his killer.”

“Not bad, Hollywood. Not bad at all.”

“Then…then…” Piggy sputtered.

“Oh yes,” Hess replied. Leaning in closer, he whispered, “I killed your father.”

“Why?” she exclaimed. “Daddy loved you!”

“He didn’t love me!” Hess cried. “And he certainly didn’t love you. And if he did, he had a lousy way of showing it. Have you ever looked at that will of his? No, of course you haven’t; he left you nothing. Everything that is tied up in his businesses would continue to be tied up; oh sure, you would’ve been named as a partner, but really?

“Four years I worked for that man,” he continued. “Four years of climbing my way into his good graces, with two of them trying to bully my way to the top. Horace owed me. He never knew just what kind of trouble the Count was really in, nor did he have any idea just how much trouble you could be. So I decided to give myself a raise.

“And it was working too, until I made a small little slip. It nearly cost me, because when Horace found out, I thought the game was up for sure. So I went to his house to reason with him and when that didn’t work, I let my fist reason with him until I let the open window and the ground do it for me.”

“And you talked the Count into covering it all up,” Kermit surmised.

“Please,” Hess huffed. “Don’t give credit where credit isn’t due. The Count was in it for the money, just like I was. The only difference being was that he was so outward about it. His constant gambling and spending, his persistence in his pursuit of Piggy; he made it all the more easier to make him think he was embezzling money into his bank account, when he was actually embezzling it into mine.”

“You’ll never get away with this!” Piggy protested.

“Darling, I already have,” Hess replied. “Just as the two of you thought Gonzolo was behind this, so too will the police. You see, while the Count doing something stupid, I’ve rigged this room with explosives. When I call the police, I’m going to inform them that the Count took me hostage and I was afraid that he’d have the two of you.

“By the time they come, a portion of this house will cease to exist, along with you both. The evidence will show that the Count was embezzling money from Vane Industries and when the manhunt starts, he’ll be long gone with most of the money. The beauty of it, of course, is that I’ll have the money and the Count will be dead. You know what I built under this room? Alligator pit.”

Looking at his watch, Hess replied, “If he managed to avoid hitting his head on the way down and only broke minimal bones, I give him thirty minutes to live. He won’t escape, of course; I kinda…forgot to feed the alligators.”

The red head started laughing, before shaking his head at the two. “As much as I would love to stay here and chat,” he began. “I must be going. I need to set myself up as though I’ve valiantly escaped the clutches of a madman.” Leaning over to Piggy, Hess asked, “Aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye, darling?”

“I’d rather kiss a light socket.”

Hess chuckled at that. “No need to be cruel, Sugar,” he replied. “It’s just business. Sorry about all this, Hollywood; I really did like you. Nice guy. And then I had to go and explode you!” Again Hess laughed, winking at them both as he left the hidden room back out into the Count’s estate.

The two sat, the revelation they had been dealt still so very fresh in their mind. Kermit quickly shook his head, trying his best to get his head back in the game. “Piggy, we have to get out of here.”

“I just can’t believe…”

“I know it’s rough, angel,” he soothed. “But if we don’t get out of here, we’re going to be blown to bits. Now think! Is there any way we could possibly get out of this?”

“No,” she sighed. “I don’t know! You’re the detective! Don’t you get into these types of things all the time?”

“You’ve seen way too many movies,” he grumbled, doing his best to move his hands or arms. “Most of my cases usually involve the butler doing it, so I’m usually not tied to a chair in a dark cave like room.”

Both struggled to move their arms to get loose, to no avail.

“Hey,” the frog said. “Do you think you could reach my arms? Maybe you could untie me.”

Piggy tied to move in order to do so, but again, saw the process tiring and hopeless. “No,” she said. “Wait!”

“What?”

“My ring,” she breathed. “I keep a small blade within it.” Kermit gave her a look, one she matched with a no nonsense one. “You wouldn’t believe how many people try to get fresh with you at a poker table.”

“I believe it.”


[hr]


Andrew Hess was a complete and utter mess.

According to his frantic phone call, he had just barely escaped being drugged and tied up within his office and not only did he know the offender, but he also thought he might go to kill more. Two more, to be honest. Marlowe had gotten lucky enough to be on the streets when the call came in for him to go speak and pick up the lawyer from his office.

Once in the car and with a few backup patrolmen following him, Marlowe got the whole story from Hess.

“Of course I didn’t think anything of it,” Hess replied, still a bit shaken at having been threatened. “I mean, the Count’s been in my office hundreds of times, but I certainly didn’t think him to be capable…”

“And you say he admitted to everything?”

Hess nodded. “How he killed Horace,” he responded. “And Beaker and that he was embezzling money from the company. I had of course suspected as much and that was why he had come to see me; I tried to play it cool and maybe that’s why he spared my life, but he said he was going to take care of the detective and the heiress.”

“You mean Hollywood.”

“Yes sir,” Hess replied, solemnly. “And Piggy. Please, Mr. Marlowe, you have to hurry! Piggy told me earlier she was going to be meeting with Gonzolo and I’m afraid he’s going to do something horrible to her!”

Marlowe put his foot on the gas, happy to see that others were coming as he pulled into the driveway of Count Gonzolo. He could see Hess had been right to worry; Marlowe pulled up behind the car he easily recognized as belonging to Kermit, which meant the gumshoe must be inside or around the perimeter of the home. Quickly as they both could, Marlowe and Hess got out of the car, only to be pushed back from the loud explosion that occurred within the house.

The sight of the house catching on fire and causing debris to fall to the ground put Marlowe into action. Using his radio, he quickly called for backup, the fire department, and quite possibly, emergency services.

Shaking his head in shock, Hess turned to Marlowe, stating, “I can’t believe he did it. I don’t know how, Mr. Marlowe, but I just have a horrible feeling that both Mr. Hollywood and Piggy are…”

“Perfectly fine.”

Hess turned around so fast, Kermit thought was going to slip on the gravel and fall to the ground. It was clear by the shock on his face that Hess had never expected to see Kermit or Piggy again and certainly not alive. He sputtered for a moment, before shouting, “Mr. Hollywood!”

“Miss us?”

“What?”

“Glad to see you haven’t made yourself a nuisance,” Marlowe joked. “And I’m definitely glad to see you aren’t frog tartar.”

“No thanks to Hess here.”

“How’s that?”

“Det. Marlowe,” Piggy replied. “I’d like you to arrest Andrew Hess for the murder of my father.”

“And the murders of four others,” Kermit added.

“What?” Hess asked, nervously. “Surely you’re joking.”

“You and I both know there’s no joke here,” the frog replied. “And don’t call me Shirley.”

“Something you want to tell me, Hess?” Marlowe asked, making his way to the other side of the red head.

“Detective,” Hess chuckled. “I have no idea what they mean.”

“Go on,” Marlowe said, gruffly, giving Hess a slight shove. “Spill it then.”

“Hess is responsible for the death of Horace Vane,” Kermit supplied. “He’s also the murderer behind Rowlf the Dog, Beaker Von Tropp, Pepe La Rue, and his unsuspecting partner, Count Herbert Gonzolo.”

“Been a busy little bee, huh?” asked the detective.

“I have no idea why Mr. Hollywood would say something that like,” Hess grumbled. “And there’s certainly no proof.”

“Oh there’s proof,” Piggy hissed. “We’re both witnesses to your confession.”

“And I have it all on tape,” Kermit said, smoothly. Opening his jacket, Kermit revealed that he was firmly outfitted with a Minifon portable recorder, one of the watch and shoulder holder versions. “I was hoping to get Gonzolo’s confession on tape,” he replied. “I certainly never suspected you, at least not until all the pieces fell together.”

“What pieces?” the lawyer asked.

“We already know that you killed Rowlf,” Kermit continued. “And that he knew you were his killer and recognized you as such. Then it hit me – Pepe told me he had gotten a note while at the gambling joint and I certainly don’t remember telling you that I was headed there, so why were you there? You said you were following me and that I believe, but not to protect Piggy.

“You were following me to protect yourself. You saw Pepe and you saw me; when Rowlf caught a glimpse of you, you knew you had to act. You wrote that note to Pepe right before you shot Rowlf. You knew it would look suspicious for him to be checking out so quickly after one of the co-owners had been shot and you counted on me being your alibi. I figure you saw me talking to Beaker, so you had him killed for blabbing.

“It was you behind the wheel of that car, which means you tried to kill me too,” the gumshoe went on. “I didn’t even register the fact that you asked if I was okay, you had heard what had happened, but how? The only people who knew I was nearly killed were Piggy and Gonzolo and neither of them acted as though they thought I had come back from the dead. The only way you would’ve known is if you had been in the car.”

Grabbing the lawyer tightly by the arm, Marlowe replied, “Looks like we have a lot to talk about.”

Hess couldn’t help but to smirk, still smug in the face of so much evidence. “Well played, Mr. Hollywood,” he said. “While I was running this game of chess, I should’ve made sure I had all the pieces on the board.”

“Even in chess, a pawn can take down a king,” Kermit replied.

Marlowe placed a set of handcuffs on the lawyer and stowed him in the back of the car. “I’ll have to take that evidence of yours into the station,” Marlowe said. “And I’ll have to ask that you two come downtown when you’re able.”

“We’ll meet you there,” Kermit said, nodding to his friend as the detective went to speak to the arriving patrol cars and firefighters. Standing there in the backdrop of the fiery inferno that had been the Count’s study, the detective turned to his client. Even in the dark, he could tell this case had taken a lot from her.

It was one thing to try and find the cause of a parent’s death, it was something entirely different when learning that one of your closest confidants is the culprit. “Hey,” he whispered. “You gonna be okay?”

Piggy let out a sigh before it turned into a rather bitter chuckle. “That’s a question, isn’t it?” she responded. “Eventually, I’m sure, it’s just…”

“Yeah.”

He knew, somewhere deep down, that the next thing he was going to say was going to be the wrong thing. He would have to accompany her downtown, answer a bunch of questions, deliver the evidence and eyewitness testimony that would close this case and when all was said and done, the case would officially be over. And then when would he get the chance?

“Listen angel,” he began. “This is probably the worst moment possible to ask this and I wouldn’t blame you if you just shot me down in the light of everything, but…”

His ramblings were stopped by the gloved finger she placed against his lips. “You had me at ‘I’ll take the case’,” she replied. “I did tell you I wasn’t one to be on the sidelines, yes?” Kermit nodded. “Now,” she began, linking an arm through his and steering them both to the car.

“We gotta go down and give testimony I guess, so I’m thinking dinner is completely out, however there is all that leftover food you owe me, so we can start with lunch. And then over lunch, we can discuss our next case.”

“Our next case?” he repeated, stopping in his tracks and pulling her with him. “Aren’t cured yet, huh?”

“Cured?” she said, giggling. “We’ve just gotten started!” Throwing her arms around his neck, she declared, “Mr. Hollywood, I believe this is the start of a beautiful relationship.”

As his lips finally met hers, he had to note – yeah, it probably was.

THE END​

 

[Muppetfan44]

Great story!! Loved the twist at the end- Scooter as the bad guy! Never underestimate the lawyer!! HA! Definitely a great murder mystery! Curious to see how the epilogue turns out and if Count Gonzolo survived the alligator pit, which I'm sure he loved!

You should totally do another movie genre...you've got a knack for this..great plots without too many characters to make it confusing, but still a good mix of people. Great job!

 

[WebMistressGina]

Great story!! Loved the twist at the end- Scooter as the bad guy! Never underestimate the lawyer!! HA! Definitely a great murder mystery!

AH! Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!

From the beginning, Scooter was always going to be the true mastermind and hopefully I made it so that no one ever suspected him!

Curious to see how the epilogue turns out and if Count Gonzolo survived the alligator pit, which I'm sure he loved!

The epilogue will place us back in Monday Post Production, where we will see the reactions of the others to the ending.

Sadly, Gonzolo is quite dead.

You should totally do another movie genre...you've got a knack for this..great plots without too many characters to make it confusing, but still a good mix of people. Great job!

It's hinted in the epilogue, but I have to admit seeing the last new episode of American Dad did make me wonder about doing a straight Muppet parody...

The epilogue is finished and will probably be posted tomorrow!

 

[WebMistressGina]

Good morning world and all that inhabit it! Hope everyone had a good Easter yesterday (for those that celebrated) It's Monday and it's actually pretty early for an update, but like ta here it goes!

This is the incredibly short epilogue that not only finishes up this story, but that of Monday Post Production. Mr. Ed Bunny, please to put this in the Mondays! What's next in the Monday series? Um...to be honest, I actually don't know. That is to say that I have two stories that I haven't decided on yet, so I guess I'll poll the audience, as long as this is a short one.

Option #1 - Monday Morning Marriage
Option #2 - Accident on Monday

I just checked my notes and it looks like Accident is suppose to be first, but...I dunno...

Anyway, here's the reason you came by!


Epilogue – Monday Post Production

As the music swelled at the ending and the cast was fully listed on screen, the held breaths and shock at seeing the ending finally gave way to thunderous applause. Only when he felt the squeeze of his bicep did Scooter let out his own breath, before turning to regard his date.

“Enjoy yourself?” he whispered.

“That was brilliant!” Amanda gushed, leaning over and kissing him quickly. “I can’t believe you would cast yourself as the villain!”

“Neither can I,” Floyd Pepper announced, clapping a hand on the scriptwriter’s shoulder. He and Janice had been sitting across the aisle and like the others who hadn’t been on the last scene of the movie, discovering that Scooter’s character was not only the killer, but the true mastermind behind the whole plot had been stunning and surprising. “Gonna have to keep my eye on you now, Kid.”

From the murmurs and congratulations that he could hear, it sounded as though people really did enjoy the movie, even with the surprise ending. That ending, something he had thought was funny and insane at the same time, had been such a real jolt to Kermit, Piggy, and Gonzo that he had kept their reactions the first time they filmed it and personally, for him, he thought not only did it work, but it also probably managed to put doubt in Gonzolo’s actual guilt.

The whole group started to head out, converging on the buffet tables that had been set up while the movie had been playing. There was positive word from everyone and against what he thought was going to happen, Scooter certainly didn’t expect such glowing praise – praise for his script, praise for the twists and turns they had gotten in trying to pin down who the real villain was, and praise for his performance as the villain no one had suspected.

There was also praise for Piggy’s directorial debut. The diva wasn’t going to pretend that there hadn’t been doubts – both from herself and the others – and she had certainly been a taskmaster on set, being almost a perfectionist in making sure that every shot in every scene looked just right; but when it was all said and done, all that bossiness had converted what should have been an ordinary school project into a feature film that, for some, was one of the best they had ever done.

That was high praise indeed, especially when their earlier efforts had the very gentle and fatherly touch of Jim Henson, Kermit’s mentor and spiritual partner from the onset. Things had been hit and miss after his death and while no one ever said it out loud, it was pretty much the consensus that his death had been the catalyst for the ultimate implosion that had happened within the group.

“Scooter, whatever made you decide to cast yourself as the villain?”

That had been the question of the night – out of all of the suspects, Scooter’s character of Andrew Hess hadn’t registered for anyone as being either involved or the killer at the end. And it was so different from Scooter’s own personality, that it had actually been a little jarring – Kermit and Piggy in the role of the power couple was to be expected, Fozzie in the role of Kermit’s best friend was almost mandatory, and even Gonzo’s turn as the business minded suspected murderer did play on the weirdo’s very serious turn as plumbing king and magnate, but friendly, good-natured Scooter as the true villain?

This time, the question had been asked by Bunsen Honeydew, who was equally surprised at his assistant’s turn at murder victim.

“Well,” he stated, shrugging his shoulders. “For years, I’ve been hearing I’m this evil genius mastermind who’s secretly running a mountain stronghold that I just went with it.”

The crowd around him laughed, enjoying that one of their in-jokes had gotten in the movie and the audience would probably never know why it was so funny.

Throughout the night, Amanda hung on to Scooter’s arm, enjoying her own conversations with some of the others while Scooter held his own in the group that was more like family than that of just merely his co-workers. Spotting Kermit and Piggy making their way to a nearby drinks table, Scooter excused himself to meet them. Picking up two glasses of champagne, he handed one to Kermit as he approached.

“Mr. The Frog.”

“Mr. Grosse,” the frog greeted, taking the glass and watching as Scooter handed another to his own date. “Having a good time?”

“Excellent,” the red head replied. “This went so much better than I expected.”

“You know, you worry too much,” Piggy said, looking at the both of them. “Moi of course had no worries in that this movie would be a hit.”

Kermit shot her a side glance, but said nothing. Raising his glass, he said, “To a hit.”

The other two seconded the toast and clinked their glasses together. While all three went to drink, Kermit and Piggy both stopped suddenly, looking at their drinks and then over at Scooter.

“You didn’t poison our drinks, did you?” Kermit asked, jokingly referring to the fact that Scooter apparently was more than he seemed.

“No more than I usually do,” came the quip, complete with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and lips. As much as they both knew he was joking, the power couple still sipped their drinks very slowly.


[hr]


“You’re missing the party, you know?”

Despite a huge after party going on, Scooter needed to take a time out. He never had problems going to huge parties, especially when they were Muppet parties, however sometimes it was just a huge overload, particularly when he was the center of attention. Excusing himself from Amanda, Scooter had headed back into the semi-lit theater and had headed down to the front row just to sit and reflect.

He should’ve know he couldn’t be completely alone. She had found him, she always did, and had managed to sit next to him for a good five minutes before speaking.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’ll be back in a bit. Just needed to…”

“Yeah.”

They sat there for a few moments, enjoying the quietness and the loom of the big screen in front of them.

“It was a good movie, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“I told you it would be.”

“Do you think you’ll ever do it again?”

“Well, that depends.”

“On?”

“Do you have another script?”

The red head chuckled slightly.

“Kermit said if I wanted it, all I had to do was ask,” she replied. “I’m sure he would extend the same sentiment to you.”

“It was fun.”

“No doubt.”

Again, they let the silence stretch before them.

“You know,” he began. “I was watching this James Bond marathon the other day…”

“Moi is Bond girl material…”

“I know this,” he said. “However, how many times does Bond get with a Bond girl?” She glared at him. “How many times does Bond get with a Bond girl that stays the same? Or doesn’t die?”

“You have another idea?”

“There’s Moneypenny…”

“No.”

“Oh come on! Everyone loves Moneypenny! Unless you want to be M.”

“Moi does enjoy power.”

“Really. I wouldn’t have guessed. Um…if you’re M, you can’t have Kermit as Bond, unless you’re perfectly happy with him and another…”

“Finish that sentence…”

“I’m just saying.”

“We’ll have to work on this…”

“No doubt, unless you put someone else as Bond.”

“You could be Bond.”

“No I can’t.”

“And that’s because…?”

“I’m Q, I can’t be Bond.”

“Then who would we get to be Bond?”

Scooter thought for a moment before replying, “Well, we do have Walter…”

“And when was the last time Robin was in a movie with us?”

 

[The Count]

Good ending. See, while you weren't looking, I already bumped Murder from the unfinished/ongoing section of the FLI all the way up to your Mondays series because I thought the epilogue to Murder was going to be posted in MPP. But here we are and there you are.

As for Monday Morning Marriage... Aren't you already writing Wedding Day Blues, in two parts?
And while I'd want 4-Ball first and foremost from you as far as the next story after WDB... This idea of Muppet James Bond... You could draw inspiration from your own ideas or the game The Spy Who Croaked's article at the Muppet Wiki, or even the Pierce Brosnan episode of Muppets Tonight... Just some fodder for the Gina to mull over.

Thanks for posting and happy second Easter to you.

Second Easter?
Yeah, it's kind of an April Fools joke.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Good ending. See, while you weren't looking, I already bumped Murder from the unfinished/ongoing section of the FLI all the way up to your Mondays series because I thought the epilogue to Murder was going to be posted in MPP. But here we are and there you are.

You are quick, Count Cottontail!

As for Monday Morning Marriage... Aren't you already writing Wedding Day Blues, in two parts?

Yes, however as mentioned over there, WDB isn't a part of any series, despite it pulling from both The Mondays and Pool Hall.

Actually, the idea for Monday Morning Marriage is what gave me the idea for Wedding Day Blues. Same concept, different ideas you could say.

And while I'd want 4-Ball first and foremost from you as far as the next story after WDB... This idea of Muppet James Bond... You could draw inspiration from your own ideas or the game The Spy Who Croaked's article at the Muppet Wiki, or even the Pierce Brosnan episode of Muppets Tonight... Just some fodder for the Gina to mull over.

Thanks for posting and happy second Easter to you.

Second Easter?
Yeah, it's kind of an April Fools joke.

Ah, 4 Ball. I actually should work on that, shouldn't I? Especially seeing as you guys haven't had a Pool Hall series fic in a while. This is the problem when my brain has ideas. I never run out, but then I never have enough time to work on anything.

The idea for a Muppet James Bond actually came from the latest episode of American Dad, where they continued their Bond parody of Tearjerker. As Scooter mentioned, Kermit couldn't be Bond, as that would mean Piggy as the tossable Bond girl or the one girl that gets killed, which is just not cool.

If I do do it, it'll be something like MCC, where Kermit and Piggy aren't the focus of the movie and someone else is. Also, I'd have to find a really good Bond movie to spoof; never been a big Bond fan until the Daniel Craig ones, which are more in line with the books than previous ones. Or even that of the Pierce Bronson ones, which I also liked.

Hmmm....ideas are coming...