Time Force: Homecoming

Chapter 30: Goodbye, Mr. Peabody

Early one morning, Sherman arrived at Mr. Peabody's penthouse with the mail train and noticed a very unusual group of citizens outside of Mr. Peabody's office. The telephone started ringing. "Oh, bother that telephone," said Mr. Peabody. "Excuse me." And he went to his office to answer the telephone. Later, the three citizens spoke to each other. "Mr. Peabody won't still be here, will he?" asked one of them. "No, no, he won't be here, I'll find out when he's going," said the second one. "Well, the sooner he's gone, the better, so we can get started," said the third. Sherman gasped, and he walked off.

As soon as Sherman saw Margo, he told her what he had heard. "That's what they said, Margo," said Sherman. "The sooner he's gone, the better. Mr. Peabody won't be here. He must be leaving the Time Force Agency." "But where is he going, and who will manage the agency if he's gone?" Margo asked. But by that evening, all the Time Force members were talking about it.

"Well, I, for one, will miss him when he goes," said Antonio. "So will I," agreed Edith. "Even though he does get very cross, sometimes." Sherman chuckled, "Especially with Margo." "Not just with me," said Margo. And Penny added, "He usually has a good reason to get cross. One way or another, we're always causing confusion and delay." "Oh, maybe that's why he's leaving: because of us," said Sherman. "But we can't just let him leave," said Riley. "We have to convince him to stay." The Time Force sensed Riley's decision and they were delighted.

So, the next morning, the Time Force set out, determined to make Mr. Peabody want to stay. "Good morning, Mr. Peabody," said Sherman. "I've delivered all the mail extra early today." "Well done, Sherman," said Mr. Peabody. Then, Edith came by, with the express trolleys with her. "Edith? That's rather early for the express. Your passengers haven't even begun to arrive," said Mr. Peabody as Riley and Margo came by. "Margo? Riley? What's going on? Is my watch wrong, or is this some confusion with the timetable?" "No, sir," said Riley. "No, there's no confusion, sir," said Edith. "And there won't be any delays, either," said Riley.

"Huh, I see," said Mr. Peabody. "Well, you all have to wait awhile for the passengers." "That's alright," said Margo. "We don't mind waiting, sir," added Edith. "We're just doing our best to make this a very, very good agency," said Riley. "Right, I'd better double-check the schedule," said Mr. Peabody. All day long, the Time Force members worked hard to keep everything running smoothly.

"Hold— careful, Hiro," said Penny. "Why don't you be more careful? You nearly—" Hiro said, and then he gasped. He applied the brakes just in time. "Uh, sorry, Penny. Sorry, sir. I'm trying very hard not to be confusing or delayed." And Hiro walked off, and Agnes came by. "Do you know what's going on, today, Agnes?" asked Mr. Peabody. "All the humans are behaving in a most peculiar fashion." "They're just showing you how happy they are that you're running the agency, sir," said Agnes. Mr. Peabody chuckled. "Well, I'm happy, too, Agnes. I do love this railway," he said. Agnes smiled.

Back at the Time Force Headquarters, Agnes told the others what she had heard. "That's what he said," said Agnes. "He said he was happy, and he loves this agency." "So, he's not leaving after all?" Sherman asked. "I don't suppose he would be, Sherman," said Margo. "Not if he's happy." "It must've all been an honest misunderstanding," said Riley. "You probably misheard what those people were saying." Sherman hoped Riley was right, but he wasn't really sure what to think as he set out that night to take the mail train. The next morning, he arrived at Mr. Peabody's penthouse and saw something very surprising, indeed.

The same group of citizens were clearing Mr. Peabody's office, and Sherman gasped. The telephone was taken out, and the first citizen said, "We'll come back for another lot in a minute. We have to clear everything." Sherman raced back to Time Force Headquarters to tell the others.

"He IS leaving! I saw them! They're taking all his things away!" cried Sherman. "Saw who, Sherman? Slow down," said Riley, soothingly. "Mr. Peabody IS leaving," said Sherman. "He may not want to, but those men were taking all of his things out of his office. Even the telephone." "The telephone?!" Riley was surprised. Margo gasped, "He loves that telephone." "Oh," said Antonio. "Ohhhhh...so they really ARE throwing him out," said Edith. "We'll have a new controller, I suppose," said Penny. "No, we won't!" said Riley. "We won't LET THEM send Mr. Peabody away. We'll go on strike, until they agree to let him stay with the agency." "On strike?" Sherman said, confused. "You mean we won't do any work or fight any crimes?" "That's right! We'll cause confusion and delay," said Riley. The Time Force was delighted with Riley's idea. "Good idea, Riley," said Margo.

Meanwhile, at Mr. Peabody's penthouse, Mr. Peabody was outside, hearing the citizens complaining about the Time Force members running late for the top-secret mission. How do I know this? Because he said, "Where are all my agents? The citizens are getting cross and saying what a bad mission this is." The door opened up, and Honey Lemon said to him, "Oh! There's trouble in the Time Force Headquarters, Mr. Peabody. The agents are refusing to come out." "Hmm," said Mr. Peabody.

Back at the Time Force Headquarters, the Time Force members were protesting and going on strike. "Time Force needs Mr. Peabody!" shouted Margo. "No! No! He can't go! No! No! He can't go!" all the Time Force members shouted. "Mr. Peabody is our friend!" shouted Sherman. "No! No! He can't go! No! No! He can't go!" all the Time Force members shouted. At last, Mr. Peabody arrived to see what was going on, and Penny gasped. "There he is!" she exclaimed. "Hurray!" shouted the Time Force members, and they continued protesting. "What on Earth is going on? Quiet! Be quiet, all of you!" said Mr. Peabody. "Now, could someone please explain the meaning of this outrage?" "This strike was MY idea, sir!" said Riley. "Without you," added Margo, "the Time Force just wouldn't be the same."

Mr. Peabody stammered, and Sherman said, "We don't want you to leave the Time Force, Mr. Peabody!" "But I'm NOT leaving the Time Force," said Mr. Peabody. "I'm not going anywhere!" "But Sherman saw the men clearing your office," said Riley. "They were taking everything away," added Sherman. "Even your telephone," added Margo. "That's because my office is being redecorated," Mr. Peabody explained. "Redecorated?" asked Sherman, trying not to blush. "That's right, I'll have to work in a temporary office until they finish repainting and redecorating," said Mr. Peabody. Then, the Time Force chattered sadly.

"Sorry," said Sherman. "But I thought..." Mr. Peabody cut his son off with a laugh, and he said, "I know what you thought, Sherman. But you got it all wrong." Then, Mr. Peabody chuckled, "Ah, now. If you wouldn't mind, we still have an agency to run." And the Time Force members set off for work to make up for lost time. "Sorry, folks, this one's full," said the conductor of the express trolley. And he blew his whistle, and Edith's train took off. There was still a lot of confusion and delay after the morning's disruption, but the Time Force all tried to be really useful and get the mission back on schedule again.

While the men worked to redecorate his office, Mr. Peabody worked in his temporary office. He heard the telephone ringing, and he said, "Ah! Oh, bother that telephone! In a shed?" He picked up the telephone to answer it. "Hello? What? How could that happen? That sounds like a lot of confusion and delay!" "It's like he never left," said Sherman. Sherman and Margo chuckled.