The Bloo Panther

[Ub3rD4n]

Here we go again with another fanfic, which is good news for those of you who read my fics and no news for those who don't. I really appreciate the highly positive response from those of you who do take the time to make a comment here, it makes it that much easier to put up the next chapter (and there's ALWAYS a next chapter). So, I'll be hopefully able to put up a few chapters a day these coming few days since I'm on holiday, which'll make up for my absence from Thursday (again, this is New Zealand time) to next Friday, since I'll have no internet access for that time. But enough about me, on with the fanfic:

Title shot: The title in Red and Blue, on a neon pink background

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Stop

"Frankie, I'm bored! Frankie? Frankie? Fraaaaankiiiiiiiie? Why aren't you answering me?"
"Because I'm trying to drive!"
Frankie was getting quite justifiably irritated with Bloo, as she was driving him, Wilt, Coco and Eduardo home from the Game Hive.
"Are we home yet?"
"No, Bloo, I told you, I have some errands to run before I can drop you guys back home. You'll just have to be patient."
"But I haaaate being patient! Why couldn't you have done the errands first, then picked us up?"
"Because this way cuts 20 minutes off my time." said Frankie, swerving through traffic
"Are we done yet?'
"No."
"Are we done yet?"
"No."
"Are we dooone yeeeet?"
"No!"
"Frankie?"
"What?! What is it!" Frankie screeched.
"I don't feel so good." said Eduardo.
"Oh, you don't mean- how bad?"
Eduardo began to make gulping noises and put both hands to his mouth.
"Oh, nonnononono! Don't do that in here! Look, I'll pull over, we'll find a bathroom."
Frankie swerved violently into the nearest parking space and opened the doors to the Fosters bus, told Bloo to stay put, then half-led half-shoved Eduardo out the doors and into a place named "Swanky Bagels", which was the nearest establishment which even looked REMOTELY like it had a bathroom. Almost immediately, Bloo followed.
"Hey, what's this place? Looks cool!'
"I'm sorry Frankie, he slipped out of my grasp!"
"Cococo coco?"
"No, Coco, we do not have time for bagels!" Frankie protested, trying to catch Bloo and stop Coco from going up to the counter to order at the same time. Eduardo then leaned on her.
"Frankieee.....I REALLY feel sick in my tummy...."
It was about that time that Frankie noticed some snickering coming from one of the tables.
"You guys can just kill me if you ever find me wrangling an unwashed gaggle of three-year-old imaginary friends." said a young lady about Frankie's age, in a suit, who was eating some bagels with her friends. "Man, did SHE let her life go down the toilet. What a crappy job! To say nothing of her fashion sense."
"Hey, my fashion sense is just fine!" Frankie found herself saying.
"Yeah, right! What do you live with your grandma or something?" at which all the ladies at the table began to laugh.
"But-I-uh..."
"Hey, bonyface!" called Bloo from across the room, bearing down on the anonymous lady. "Why don't you mind your own business, huh? For your information, Frankie has an AWESOME job. She gets to work with all kindsa cool imaginary friends like me."
"Oh, that is a cool job......if you're eight!"
"Oh yeah?" Bloo yelled angrily, jumping onto the table so he could be eye to eye with his target. "Well, if she's so pathetic, then what does that make you? You got nothing better to do but sit here eating your bagels and making fun of random strangers to make yourself feel better? And speaking of fashion sense, at least Frankie doesn't look like she's going to a funeral! And by the way, what do you, starve yourself? Trying to overcompensate for someone not thinking you're "pretty"?" at this, the lady in the suit's friends began laughing at her. The lady stopped looking smug and began looking angry, and stood up at her full height to tower over the short blob.
"Listen you little drooling child brain-fart! Real people don't take kindly to being insulted by make-believe weirdos, so why don't you just go back to your playpen and eat some small removable toy parts?"
"Whatever, lady. I don't care what you say about me, cause you're just some creepy stranger, but if you want to insult Frankie, you gotta deal with me."
"And me." said Wilt, standing in front of Frankie.
"Co co!"
"And m-bluuuurgh!" Ed couldn't finish, as his bus-sickness finally caught up on him. All over the lady's suit! Everyone just stared with their mouths open for a while. Then Frankie spoke.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I'll-"
"Get! Out!"
"But I can-"
"I don't care! Just get away from me!" the lady screeched. Bloo, Ed, Wilt, Coco and Frankie all ran out of the bagel shop and back into the Fosters bus, and Frankie shut the doors and stared at the steering wheel for quite a while. Then her mouth started to wobble, and she cracked up laughing! And so did everyone else, except Eduardo.
"Did you see the look on her face?" Frankie asked, still laughing.
"After I burned her, or after Eduardo threw up on her?" Bloo responded.
"I'm sorry, but she got what she deserved!" Wilt added.
"Cococo coco co!" mentioned Coco, still cracking up.
"...........I is sorry Frankie." said Eduardo softly, looking very sorry indeed. Frankie walked up to him and put an arm on his shoulder.
"Don't be, Ed. It wasn't your fault. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Well, except maybe Duchess."
This seemed to cheer Eduardo up. "So you no mad at me?"
"No, Ed, I'm not mad at you." Frankie then got into the driver's seat and started the bus. "And by the way, Bloo.....thanks."
"For what?"
"For standing up for me."
"Ah, no problem Frankie. It's what friends do. You'd have done the same for me."
Frankie looked touched for a moment, then got herself together."Okay, guys, let's get this show back on the road. Tell you what, we'll stop for ice cream later on, okay?"
This was met with enthusiastic agreement, as the bus drove off. Outside the bus, the lady in the now ruined suit stood outside Swanky Bagels, looking furious. "Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends......I'll get you back. I swear it!"

[antgirl1]

Ohh, BURN!! XDD

[Ub3rD4n]

Lightning quick, now! As I mentioned, I'm posting these swiftly while I still can, so that those of you who enjoy these fanfics of mine don't get too upset when I don't post anything for a week. That is, if anyone cares enough to be upset, which I doubt, but I'm not taking that chance. Also, for those who care, this is the first time I've done actual research for a fanfic. I wanted to know what department is in charge of orphanages and foster care in the states, so I wiki'd it. I hope you all appreciate the VAST effort that took.

Chapter 2: Spring Cleaning

Frankie walked contentedly down the halls of Fosters. Maybe it was the fact that she was on top of her jobs for once, or the fact that Bloo had done something nice for her recently (which was also a rarity), but she just felt on top of the world today (yes, a bad omen, I know.).
"Hey, there Jackie, how's it hangin'?"
"Not bad."
"Cowboy, nice to see you! Hey, Duchess!"
"Bite me."
"Hey, Handy. Need a hand?" Frankie called, then pulled a splinter out of Handy's palm.
"Thanks Frankie!"
Frankie was going to get herself a cup of coffee, when she heard some frantic mutterings coming from Mr Herriman's office. Frankie looked inside to find Mr Herriman's office floor literally covered with piles of paperwork. Mr Herriman was in the middle of it all, frantically picking up papers, looking at them, then throwing them down again.
"What the heck is going on, Mr H?" Frankie asked.
"Ah, Miss Frances." Mr Herriman seemed to regain his composure somewhat at the sound of Frankie's voice. "I have just recieved word that there shall be an inspection of Fosters by the Department of Social Services at twelve o clock tomorrow, and I shall require you to make sure that the house is emaculate. I myself have too much paperwork to triple-check before then."
"What? An inspection? Just out of the blue?"
"Indeed, Miss Frances, and you should tell the friends that I expect them on their best behaviour."
"Uh..okay, Mr Herriman." Frankie said, and backed out of Mr Herriman's office as he went back to panicking. Frankie walked down the hall, wondering what to make of this. "Well, things shouldn't be too bad, I guess, as long as noone does anything-"
ZOOM! At that moment, a lawn mower came racing through the hall, with Bloo hanging off the back end. Mac came racing after it, turining the corner a little too sharply and knocked over a vase, which smashed on the ground. He payed this no heed and kept on chasing after Bloo. Frankie snatched him up as he ran by.
"Mac! What's going on!?"
"I don't know! Bloo said he should mow the carpet and I said it was a good idea but I didn't know he'd go THROUGH with it!"
"Why, Mac? WHY?!!"
"He said he was "spring cleaning"!"
The two then heard an explosion from around the corner, and Bloo yelling "Okay, Mac! I got it to stop!"
"Alright, Mac. I need you to keep Bloo distracted for a moment." said Frankie, thinking fast. "Help him cover up the evidence or something."
"But why-"
"Just do it!" cried Frankie, running away from the scene of destruction.

"Wallpaper?" asked Wilt.
"Co."
"Water? Is it water?" asked Eduardo.
"Co."
"Water isn't even in the room, Eduardo." admonished Wilt.
"Oops. Sorry...........Is it Senor Wilt?"
"Co co."
"Well I'm sorry, but I'm stumped."
"Me too. Okay, what was it you spy Coco?"
"Coco coco!"
"I'm sorry, Coco, but there isn't any weiner dog in the room."
Coco then layed an egg, which opened up to reveal a plush weiner dog toy. Eduardo picked it up and started to hug it.
"Oh.....okay...." said Wilt. Then Frankie burst into the room.
"Guys! I need you to do me a huge favour! See, there's an inspector coming over from the Department of Social Services to inspect the house, and everything needs to be in tip-top shape or they could close us down!" The three imanginary freinds gasped at this. "Yeah, so I need you guys to make sure that Bloo doesn't mess things up while he's here. Can you do that for me? And don't let him know what's going on or he'll act up for sure."
"What abot Mac? He's normally the problem solver around here." asked Wilt.
"It's all gonna go on while he's at school so we can't get Mac to bail us out and stop Bloo from acting all crazy this time."
"Well, I'm okay with that. We're three adult imaginary friends. i mean, we don't need an eight-year-old to help us perform a simple task, right guys?"
"Oh, sorry, Wilt. I was not listening to you, I was listening to Christina."
"Christina?"
"Me new weiner dog."
Coco, on the other hand, was trying to balance on her head.

[antgirl1]

LOL, adult imaginaries, yeah right. XDD

[Ub3rD4n]

Well, here I post again. Twice in a row. I'm gonna go and tell myself that's because there was only three hours between posts. And no, I don't think that's double-posting, because I left more than 15 minutes between them, which I believe is the accepted amount of time. Alright, I'm gonna start the chapter now.

Chapter 3: Unwelcome Guests

Ding-dong!
"Okay guys, you remember the plan! Find Bloo and keep him AWAY from the inspector until he's gone! Now go, go, go!"
Wilt, Eduardo and Coco ran off to find Bloo, while Frankie ran towards the main doors and opened them wide.
"Welcome to Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends. I'm Frankie and I-oh, it's jjust you."
"You" turned out to be Adam and Douglas, standing in front of the main doorway in their usual grubby attire.
"Yes, it is we!" proclaimed Adam, "We have returned once more to Fosters to gaze upon your beautious visage."
"So, you guys are here to see Coco."
"Who?"
"Coco!" snapped Douglas.
"Oh, yes.......of course."
"Well, come on in. I'd show you to Coco but I'm expecting someone."
"We'll show ourselves in." Adam said, and he sauntered in, leaving Douglas to haul a large heavy weird-looking piece of equipment in.

Meanwhile, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco found Bloo in the media room, watching TV.
"Hey, Bloo!" said Wilt.
"Hello?"
"Soooo.... wanna go play outside? It's a great day for it."
"Naah...I'm in more of a TV mood today."
"..........You sure?"
"Yep."
"But we can't play basketball with an odd number of people."
"So? Find someone else. I'm sure there's a bunch of guys who'd love to play." Bloo said, flipping through channels.
"But you gotta go!" Eduardo cried out.
"Why?"
"Cause of the inspector." Eduardo said before thinking, then quickly put his hands to his mouth.
"Inspector, what inspector?" Bloo, now engaged, asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. Noone. I uh.......no speaka the English." Eduardo blurted out.
"What's going on here?" Bloo asked.
"I found a hat." came a contented statement from across the room. When the others turned to see who had said this statement (as if they didn't already know), they saw none other than Cheese, standing there with an upturned flower pot on his head. There was a trail of muddy footprints leading up to him.
"Oh, no." said Wilt softly. Coco, on the other hand, made to run up to tackle Cheese, but he saw her coming, screamed, and ran off the other way. Coco continued to chase after him, and Wilt and Eduardo followed after, leaving Bloo there to ponder these strange circumstances.
"What the heck was that all about? Something about an inspector. Why would an inspector come to Fosters? Unleeesss he was on the trail of a famous jewel theif, and that jewel theif was one of the residents of Fosters! Wow! Who knew we had a famous jewel theif living here. But that inspector's gonna need help from someone who knows their way around here...." Bloo then ran upstairs to the toychest and pulled out a magnifying glass and a Sherlock Homes hat. "This looks like a case for the legendary detective Inspector Blooseu!" Bloo then ran off, presumably to solve a crime.

"Man, I've been waiting a while." Frankie muttered to herself. "Maybe it would be better to go get some chores out of the way while I wait for this inspector to show up. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll just go and-"
Ding-dong!
"Finally!" Frankie made her way back to the front doors and opened them up. "Welcome to Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends. I'm Frankie and I-" once again, Frankie saw something she did not expect to see. Standing outside the doors were a middle-aged lady with steel-gray hair mottled with brown, but it was the thing next to her that really made Frankie hesitate. The lady from the other day was standing right there next to her, grinning, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. The middle-aged lady introduced herself.
"I'm Doris Philburn from the Department of Social Services. I'll be inspecting this care facility. This is my neice Denise. She will be accompanying me. Is there a problem?"
"......No! No problem! Right this way. Like I was saying I'm the Estate Manager of Fosters. I see to it that all the friends needs are met. This is the main foyer. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to Mr Herriman, our Director of Financial Affairs. He'll conduct the tour the rest of the way." Frankie led the two up the stairs to Mr Herriman's office. "Mr Herriman? The inspector's here. And she's brought her neice." Frankie sounded a little miffed at that last point.
"Ah. The more the merrier." said Mr Herriman jovially as he came out of his office. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr Herriman, Director of Financial Affairs for Fosters." said Mr Herriman, holding out his hand.
"This is your Director of Financial Affairs? Tell me this is some kind of innappropriate joke." said Miss Philburn.
"I shall have you know, madame, that I have held this position for over twenty years."
"How nice of you. Here, have a wowwi pop." Miss Philburn said, reaching to grab one from her pocket.
"I never! Do not patronise me, young lady! How dare you judge me without even so much as properly introducing yourself! Why, in all my years-"
"Now, Mr Herriman, " interjected Frankie, "we con't want to insult the nice lady who has the power to SHUT US DOWN." Mr Herriman harrumphed and retreated back into his office. "Sorry about that. Mr Herriman's old and he sometimes has these.....episodes."
"Oh, I understand. Children can be like that sometimes. I work with them a lot in my profession."
"Uh, so I guess I'm giving the rest of the tour. Uh, this way..."
As the three of them walked off back downstairs, a figure came out of the shade in the far reaches of the hallway.
"Shut Fosters down, eh?" said Duchess "What an interesting concept."

[jekylljuice]

Another triumph, as always. I look forward to seeing how the Inspector Blooseu subplot develops, and it's always nice to see more of Douglas and Adam.

[antgirl1]

No! Not Duchess! XDD

[FailedShapeshifter]

This is awesome! I get to come back from a week without internet at my grandma's to three chapters of a new fanfiction! This made my day, and I really like how you made Ms. Philburn and her neice so dispicable (man I can't spell) I mean, I really hate them! This story is awesome!

[Imaginary Light]

I actually got the time to sit down and read one of your fanfics, and I must say...I'm liking it Ooh, the suspense! I want to see the next chapter!

[Ub3rD4n]

Wow! Thanks you guys! It's nice to to that Jekylljuice and Antgirl (lovely though they may be) aren't the only ones to read my fanfic. I'm reeeallly sorry, but I'm gonna be away in Napier with no internet visiting my mum, dad and little brother until the 6th, New Zealand time. So, thanks for the support, and I hate to leave you in suspense, but you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter for a while. Is that okay?

Uh, yeah, thanks again. Seriously guys, this makes my day.