Danger Dan Confronts the Merlion Mastermind
Page 4
It’s a direct hit! The arrow pierces through the briefcase containing the secret documents. Everything is going according to Danger Dan’s master plan.
The grappling hook clamped firmly onto the satchel’s strap.
“Great shot!” cheered Melody.
Danny tapped the button. The wire retracted slightly and stopped short. The bag was stuck as its buckle had snagged on the beam. Danny pressed the button several times but the bag refused to budge. Desperately, he jabbed at the button and gave the wire a violent tug. The bag swung free but the momentum caused it to slip from the hook’s grip and fly through the air. Danny, Melody and Fraser-Brunner’s jaws dropped as they watched the bag soar in the sky before landing with a flop right at their feet.
Victory is his! Danger Dan triumphs again!
Fraser-Brunner grabbed his bag from the ground and opened it. His delighted expression turned to dismay as he rummaged through it. “My sketchbook,” he said resignedly. “It’s gone!”
“What? No!” groaned Danny, thinking of all the trouble they had just gone through for nothing.
“The thief must have taken it out of the bag,” said Fraser-Brunner, downcast. “It must be John’s doing. He just appeared out of the blue one day and has been trying to steal my designs ever since. Now he has my proposal for the logo.”
Danny started to say, “But it wasn’t very goo—YOW!” Melody stomped on Danny’s foot to shut him up. She looked at Fraser-Brunner, worried that he might get offended again. Fraser-Brunner sighed. “I know what you were going to say. You know what? You’re right. It wasn’t very good. In fact, it was terrible. I never had much luck drawing flowers.”
“Fish are so much more interesting than flowers,” remarked Danny. “At least fish move! The pufferfish I saw at the aquarium were very cool. They had spines and could puff themselves up!”
Fraser-Brunner looked at Danny thoughtfully. “Fish? You know, you may be on to something there. Maybe I should ditch the idea of orchids and just go with fish. After all, Singapore is an island surrounded by the sea.”
“Yes!” said Melody delightedly, seizing the opportunity. “What if you combine a lion with a fish? I’m sure you’re really good at drawing fish.”
Fraser-Brunner nodded in agreement. “I’m thinking, maybe a lion’s head with a fish’s body, like a mermaid. We can give it a name that combines ‘lion’ with ‘mermaid’. I know, we can call it the…Lionmaid!”
Danny groaned. “NOOOOOO!” he cried impatiently. “MERLION! Mermaid and lion, MERLION!”
Fraser-Brunner frowned, then smiled. “‘Merlion’ does have a nice ring to it.” Fraser-Brunner bid Danny and Melody goodbye and strolled off the bridge. They could hear him mumbling to himself, “Merlion…not bad, not bad…”
The two children looked at each other and beamed. Mission accomplished!
“It’s getting late,” said Melody. “I should get you back.”
“How will you do that?” asked Danny.
“Through the MRT train doors—they act as a portal. We’ve got to get back to the RI field. That’s where the future City Hall MRT station will be.”
After all that excitement, Danny suddenly realised that he was exhausted. Thinking about having to do more walking filled him with dread. “Whaaatt?” he wailed. “I’m sooooooooo tired!”
“Well, that’s too bad,” said Melody shortly. “I don’t have any more money for trishaw rides.” They walked back down Queen Elizabeth Walk. Thankfully, the afternoon heat had given way to a cool evening breeze. The path was a lot more crowded with many couples taking a casual stroll along the river or sitting on the stone benches.
“How will I explain to my mother that I was gone for so long?” asked Danny, looking at his watch. “It’s almost 6pm now! She will wonder what happened to me.”
“That’s no problem,” replied Melody. “This is time travel, remember? I can put you back on the same train you came in. It will be like you never left.”
“That’s no good either,” said Danny. “There were people chasing me on that train! I’m in no hurry to see them again.”
“Well, alright then. I’ll put you on the train after that one.”
Right then, Danny remembered that he was supposed to deliver a package. “Grandma!” he exclaimed, looking down at his two empty hands. All he had was the sling bag at his side. The bag containing the package of herbs was gone. He couldn’t even remember when or where he had lost it. “Ohhhh,” moaned Danny, “Mum is going to kill me!”
Melody looked amused. “Sorry. I can’t help you with that.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Melody cleared her throat and said, “I want to thank you, Danny. You were actually quite useful…”
“I know! You couldn’t have completed the mission without me,” said Danny cockily.
“…but only at times…”
Danny boasted, “I’m great! I’m fantastic!”
“…when you were not annoying…”
Danny whooped and danced about childishly.
“…WHICH WAS MOST OF THE TIME!”
Danny ignored Melody and continued prancing around.
“Okay, forget I said anything!” snapped Melody. Danny suddenly had a thought and stopped in his tracks. “Since I was so helpful, can you give me a gadget to bring back home?” he asked.
“What? No!”
“Pleeeeeease!” begged Danny. “Life will be so boring compared to what we did this afternoon. At least give me something to remember my adventure.”
“I’m pretty sure if I give you something, you will create trouble back home,” said Melody. “I don’t want to be responsible for that.”
“Then I’ll tell everyone what happened!” threatened Danny.
“What? You insufferable boy!” fumed Melody. “That’s blackmail! Anyway, nobody will believe you.”
Danny tried flattery. “Please, Melody. Nice Gadget Girl. Just one teeny, tiny gadget. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
Melody relented. “Alright, alright.” She unzipped a small pocket on the side of her skirt and fished out a stick of gum. “Here.”
“Chewing gum?” asked Danny. “I love gum but it’s banned in Singapore!”
“It’s not chewing gum. It’s melting gum,” said Melody. “It can melt any material—wood, plastic, metal, you name it, but it’s safe on human skin. To use it, you mash it together until it’s gummy, then you stick it on whatever you wish to melt. Within 15 minutes, the material will dissolve. One-time use only.” She cautioned, “Don’t try to eat it! It will melt all your teeth!”
Danny accepted the stick of gum, thrilled. “That’s really cool. Thanks, Gadget Girl.”
They arrived back at Raffles Institution and walked to the field which was now empty and deserted. “Okay, this is it,” said Melody. “Are you ready?”
“I guess so,” replied Danny, unsure of what to expect.
“Goodbye then,” said Melody pleasantly. “Thanks again.” She traced the outline of an archway with her finger. It left a faint blue glow. Melody gave Danny a gentle push through the portal.
Danny remembered a question he wanted to ask and blurted out, “Will I ever see you again?” but it was too late.
In an instant, Danny found himself back on an MRT train, right by the door. The people around him didn’t seem to notice that he had just appeared out of the blue. He looked down at the stick of melting gum in his hand and grinned to himself.
As expected, Danny received the how-could-you-be-so-irresponsible lecture from his mother when he returned home. He bore the scolding like a man but inside, he felt terribly misunderstood. He had just saved the nation from Orchid de Lionhead and this was how he was being repaid! The only thing that kept him from arguing back was the fact that he had made a promise to Melody. Superheroes always kept their promises.
Danny held on to the hope that Melody would bring him back for another adventure soon. In the meantime, he would have some fun with the souvenir from Gadget Girl.
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Danger Dan treks through the dense jungle, hunting down the Colossal Candy-saurus that had viciously smashed his precious jeep. He is out for revenge. Danger Dan follows the dinosaur’s massive footprints deep into the heart of the jungle. He finds the Colossal Candy-saurus’ favourite rock. The Colossal Candy-saurus is out looking for a meal but it will soon be back. Danger Dan sneaks up to the gigantic rock.
He puts on his acid-proof gloves and pulls the acid strip from his pocket, carefully removing the wrapper. Danger Dan crushes the acid strip, slaps it onto the bottom of the rock and retreats to hide behind a large bush. If the Colossal Candy-saurus sees him, it will crunch him with its vicious jaws. A slimy green ooze forms as the acid strip melts. The green ooze seeps slightly into the rock and starts bubbling.
Suddenly, the ground starts to shake and tremble. The Colossal Candy-saurus is back! It lumbers over and hauls itself up onto the rock. The rock shivers a little but the Colossal Candy-saurus doesn’t seem to notice.
A huge crevice forms in the middle of the rock and it crumbles, trapping the Colossal Candy-saurus!
The entire seat of Candy’s revolving chair had given way and she plopped right into the large hole that had formed beneath her. Her legs flew up towards the ceiling and her knees kissed her face. She waved her arms wildly and kicked her legs, trying unsuccessfully to haul herself out of her broken chair frame. It was a comical sight.
Danny jumped out from behind the door and spun Candy’s chair as hard as he could. With Candy still kicking and screaming, the chair twirled like a mini tornado before it finally slowed down and stopped. “Okay! Okay!” screeched Candy, looking dizzy. “I’m sorry I broke your toy car! I’ll get you another one, okay? Now, get me out of here!”
“YES!” hooted Danny. “I am the Ultimate Candy Crusher!”
The Colossal Candy-saurus is defeated! The jungle is safe once more, thanks to Danger Dan!
Alec Fraser-Brunner was the curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium when he created the Merlion for the Singapore Tourism Board logo in 1964. He was probably a much smarter man in real life than we made him out to be in the book. Blame it on the time warp!
Quah Kim Song was Singapore’s star footballer in the 1970s. His nickname was the Mercurial Speed Demon (in other words, he was very, very fast!) He studied at Raffles Institution during his pre-university days and during that time, the school football team was pretty much unbeatable.
The entire site where Raffles City Shopping Centre and City Hall MRT station are now used to be Raffles Institution (RI). Since the MRT station is underground, Danny should technically have emerged like a zombie from beneath the RI field. But we thought that might be too creepy for a children’s book.
Van Kleef Aquarium was a popular tourist attraction in the 1960s and 1970s. Ask your parents! Chances are they went on a school excursion to the aquarium. It used to be one of the best aquariums in the world, with 6,500 marine creatures when it opened. We apologise to all who worked at the aquarium for making them sound mean and grumpy. No starfish were harmed by ice balls in the writing of this book.
The Queen Elizabeth Walk underpass was brand new in 1964. It was the first-ever pedestrian underpass in Singapore! Though it looks somewhat different, Queen Elizabeth Walk is still there today. So are Victoria Theatre, the clock tower and Cavenagh Bridge. The building around which Melody chased the thief is now the Asian Civilisations Museum. It’d be pretty cool if you traced Danger Dan and Gadget Girl’s path during the chase. Please don’t throw anything over Cavenagh Bridge though.
About the Characters
Name
Danny aka Danger Dan
Age
11 (but often behaves like he’s eight)
Distinctive feature
Big ears
Signature items
Fantasy Squad comic book. Red sling bag.
Likes
Anything cold and sweet. All of Melody’s gadgets. Comic books and superheroes.
Dislikes
His three older sisters. Vegetables in any form. Cockroaches, especially big, flying ones.
Strengths
Imaginative. Brave. Acts quickly in any situation.
Weaknesses
Doesn’t think before he acts. A magnet for trouble (and danger).
Name
Melody aka Gadget Girl
Age
14 (in the year 2135)
Distinctive feature
Silvery voice
Signature items
Silver hair clip (actually a mega computer which also conveniently keeps her hair in place). Grappling hook watch.
Likes
Gooey Gooberberry Gummies in all flavours except Coconut Explosion. Virtual jetpack tennis.
Dislikes
Danny being annoying. Birds.
Strengths
Smart. Usually calm (unless with Danny). Able to think under pressure.
Weaknesses
Terrible aim. Sometimes a little bossy.
About the Authors
Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan are a mother-daughter writing team (in that order). If Lesley-Anne could have a super power, she would choose the ability to stop time, so that she can study and write books in no time at all. Monica’s preferred super power is mind control, so that she can make Lesley-Anne stop dreaming about time freezes and get back to work.
About the Illustrator
James Tan is an illustrator living in the western part of Singapore. He likes to draw animals and loves cats. He enjoys reading and drawing, garnering inspiration from daily life and travelling. James’ most heroic acts involve saving snails from being crushed by joggers and cyclists when he goes for walks.
A SNEAK PREVIEW OF ISSUE #2
The driver of the truck hit the brakes and it came to a sudden halt. A few cages toppled out of the back of the truck and the cage doors flew open.
Embracing their newfound freedom, chickens tumbled out onto the flooded road. Squawking and flapping their wings, they floundered in the water. Feathers flew everywhere.
Some people from a nearby coffee shop dashed out into the rain to help the fallen motorcyclist. The man from the truck ran around trying to gather his sodden chickens.
“Melody, Melody, Melody!” spluttered Danny urgently. “Girl! Girl! Girl!”
Melody turned to her left, where Danny was pointing frantically. There was a large open drain by the side of the shophouses. It was overflowing and water was spewing from its banks. A strong current swept away leaves and debris.
Then Melody saw her. A young girl was in the rushing water, clutching on desperately to the edge of the storm drain.
TUNE IN NEXT TIME WHEN
Danger Dan and Gadget Girl are back together for another time-travelling adventure, involving riots, a musician, spicy noodles and a giant cockroach! Say whaaat?
In Danger Dan Tackles the Majulah Mayhem, it’s up to Danny and Melody to save the composer of the national anthem from giving up on music. But the time warp appears to be more sinister than Danger Dan initially thought. What is the real story behind these time glitches?