Tempest at Teatime

2009-10-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Once, on an island, in the ocean, beneath a cloud, there lived a Kindly Lighthouse Keeper who more than anything else wanted a monkey, but got two little girls instead. They arrived at the island one day on a ship which was all empty except for them. One day the ship sailed into the harbor, by the Lighthouse Keeper’s lighthouse, slowly, deliberately, and ground gently ashore on the beach making soft crunching, creaking, and grinding noises as the bow ploughed into the broken seashells and stones ground smooth by the never ending pounding of the surf.

2009-10-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

2009-10-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

And that was when the mysterious ship with the two little girls arrived.

The tall ship glided silently into the harbor, and crunched and creaked onto the beach as Sheba and George watched in amazement. The sails were torn to ribbons and several masts were snapped like twigs. It looked as if it had been through a terrible storm, maybe even a hurricane. George was shaking with excitement.

“Maybe it’s a ship full of monkeys!” George shouted to Sheba as he ran back to the lighthouse to fetch a ladder. The deck of the ship was high up, and he could not possibly get there without some help.

2009-10-22T13:34:00.002-07:00

They sent out Cumulograms to almost every city in the world telling everyone about their incredible new Academy, but no one responded, except for one strange person who went by the name of “Doctor Cumulus”.
“Apparently he wants to be our arch-enemy,” Cassie read from the return Cumulogram.
“An arch enemy! Brilliant! Every hero needs one, you know! What does he say?”
Andy cleared her throat and read:
“I am responding to your Cumulogram,” the reply began, “my name is Doctor Cumulus, which I think you’ll agree is quite a good name for a villain that lives and works in the sky. I have been hoping to find someone to battle against for some time now, so your listing quite made my day. I do not have a cape, but I do have an impressive looking top hat that can be used to conceal the tools of my sinister trade. Also, I have a silver pummeled walking stick which, when tapped in exactly the right way, produces a fog bank which allows me to evade pursuers intent on bringing me to justice.

2009-10-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

In the growing twilight George could scarcely believe his eyes. It appeared his lighthouse was moving! It was swaying ever so slightly at the top, and headed his way. As this strange sight crested the hill, he was flabbergasted to see his lighthouse on wheels, with Andy clutching at a set of handlebars in front pumping hard at a set of pedals! She pulled to a stop nearby and jumped triumphantly off.

“I believe that as a lighthouse keeper you are not allowed to leave your lighthouses” Andy said slyly. “Well, now you can travel with us…and not leave your lighthouse.”

2009-10-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

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2009-10-22T13:20:00.002-07:00

Through their spy glass, Andy watched as Doctor Cumulus began to rise up in the air, smoothly at first, but then as if he were riding a bucking bronco. Doctor Cumulus wrestled with the steering wheel with one hand as he attempted to keep his top in place with the other. The Moon, angry now at her captivity, began to toss him about like a leaf on a storm wind.

2009-10-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

Doctor Cumulus, for his part, has never been happier. He is busy raising a new generation of villains for the Skylarkers to battle. He teaches the finer points of schemes, cabals, and canards. And, on graduation day, he hands out, one by one, the tiny top hats that mark the young men as Villains of quality and daring, who will provide the Skylarkers with the evil plots they need to foil.

2009-10-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

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