One floor below Delightful Greeting Cards, the employees of POW! Entertainment are still working hard to finish the next issue of CAPTAIN CRAWFISH. Everyone except for Bolt, that is, who lingers outside the entrance to the office bathroom. He is red-faced and hopping up and down with anxiety.
Politenessman strolls by Bolt on his way to the restroom. “I say, young Bolt. What has you in such a state of obvious distress?”
Bolt is embarrassed to say but has no patience to come up with an excuse. “Someone has been in the men’s room stall FORVER, and I really have to go!”
Politenessman looks over the office. “Hmm. That is odd. No one appears to be missing from the workplace.” Bolt scans the office and realizes that he’s right. All of the male employees of POW! are present and accounted for. “I shall investigate the matter on your behalf,” Politenessman offers and disappears into the lavatory.
A moment passes and Politenessman exits the bathroom. “I think you must be mistaken, boy. There was no one else of note in the toilet besides myself.”
“What!?” Bolt yells shocked. He pushes past Politenessman and enters the restroom.
Once inside the tiled chamber, Bolt heads directly for the single stall in the corner. But when he walks into the door, he’s stopped cold. The stall is locked from the inside! “Hey! Who’s in there?” Bolt demands while knocking on the door.
“……” A very quiet voice answers.
“What? I can’t hear you!” Bolt replies.
Suddenly, the lock on the stall clicks and the door creaks open a crack. Bolt pushes it fully ajar to discover that there is no one inside. He inspects the vacant stall, shocked. “What is going on around here?” Bolt asks himself. He enters, closing and locking the stall behind him. What he doesn’t immediately notice is that Whisper is floating in the stall behind the door.
A split-second after locking the stall, Bolt senses Whisper’s presence out of the corner of his eye. “AHH! Whisper!” he screams, falling back toward the toilet. Bolt whips out his electric dagger and fires a lightning bolt at the bathroom intruder. ZOMP! Whisper disappears, teleporting out of the restroom. The blast strikes the lock on the stall door, melting it shut in a sputtering hiss.
“Whisper! What are you doing in here!? Don’t you have toilets on your own floor!?” Bolt yells, hopefully loud enough for Whisper to hear wherever he’s teleported to. Bolt tries to exit the stall, but the door won’t budge. He inspects the lock to find that it is melted shut from his blast. Bolt pushes on the door but it’s no use, it’s secured tight. He peeks over and under the stall gaps, but they are too small a space for him to fit through.
“Hey! Hello! Is anyone out there!? I’m stuck! Someone help!” Bolt yells.
His pleas fall on deaf ears; outside of the restroom, everyone is too busy working to hear him.