Mr. Nibbles paced stealthily through the erratically lit corridor. The walls were painted a uniform dark murk. Ancient notices fluttered crazily in the breeze that insinuated itself through the shattered windows, each individual pane smashed by some compulsively thorough vandal. In fact, the excitingly violent crack patterns of the windows were the single redeeming aesthetic quality of the building. But to such details Mr. Nibbles was blind. He had a job to do. His stride was purposeful, confident, manly. His jaw was firm. His eyes shone with resolve. A critical onlooker might, perhaps, have felt that his fluffy puppy-dog slippers spoiled the overall effect somewhat. But Mr. Nibbles cared little for the shackles of the conventional.

As he approached a certain door, Mr. Nibbles slowed. His slippers proved their worth once again, muffling his approach more than rubber soles ever could. Reaching the door, Mr. Nibbles threw it open and dashed inside in one fluid motion. Inside there was a sudden scurry of surprised movement from the occupants. A small satisfied smile sprang to Mr. Nibbles's face as he surveyed the room. They were all here: Mr. Big, his henchman Jimmy 'the Knuckles' Brannigan, and Helen the helpless hostage heroine. He fixed Mr. Big with a steely glare and addressed him formally.

"So, we meet again, mine nemesis," intoned Mr. Nibbles.

"Good to see you again, Jimmy," he continued. Jimmy gave a friendly nod. Helen waved vaguely, immersed in a textbook of some sort. Mr. Nibbles decided not to disturb her. He was sure she had enough hassle and interruptions from Mr. Big without him adding to them.

"Curse you Nibbles!" shouted Mr. Big. "Zis time you shall not foil my designs on ze world domination!"

"Destruction," muttered Jimmy in an undertone.

" and ze world destruction!" continued Mr. Big smoothly. "Ah-hahaha! First I dominate ze world, zen I destroy eet vith ze irradiation!" - then, noticing a tiny shake of Jimmy's head - "But no, that would be too easy! First I destroy ze world, zen I dominate eet!"

"Err no boss," said Jimmy, "no domination. You just want to do the destruction bit, as far as I know. Although I suppose that is a form of domination in its own right," he added diplomatically.

"Ah yes, thank you Jimmy," acknowledged Mr. Big.

"I mean it isn't like anyone is going to argue with your rule, what with them being all irradiated and so on," pointed out Jimmy.

"True, true," agree Mr. Big. "And now, Nibbles, prepare ..."

"They'd all be dead, see," continued Jimmy, rather proud of his incisive philosophical insight, and determined to explore its subtleties.

"Yes, very good," said Mr. Big. "But we must deal with ze cursed Nibbles now. Get him, Jimmy!"

Jimmy 'the Knuckles' Brannigan halted his philosophical explorations and leaped forward to confront Mr. Nibbles.

Helen the helpless hostage heroine looked up briefly from her book, shrieked "save me Nibbles!" and then returned to her studies. Mr. Nibbles was rather delighted at the gesture; it was very nice of her to take time out to encourage him. She was made of sterling stuff was Helen. Unlike that outfit Mr. Big had her wearing, he thought, which didn't appear to be made of much stuff at all. Typical.

"I'm afraid I shall have to rip you apart, Mr. Nibbles," said Jimmy, his voice regretful.

Mr. Nibbles hastened to reassure him. "I understand perfectly," he said, "don't feel troubled. I am confident that I shall be able to overpower you, but in the event that I succumb, there are few people I would trust to rip me apart as professionally as you would, Jimmy."

Jimmy said nothing, but his gratitude shone from his eyes. Then those eyes became grim and calculating, and it was down to business.

This was the moment of truth, thought Mr. Nibbles. Would good triumph over evil, or was he doomed to failure? Not that Jimmy was particularly evil, he thought. Quite a nice chap on his own, just fell in with bad company really. It was a shame to have to squash him like a bug beneath his slippers. Mr. Nibbles felt the old doubts growing in his mind again. What was life about? What was he doing here? Where had he come from? But he let none of his inner turmoil show on his face as he advanced to do battle with the forces of evil. The forces of - No. It was easier to think that way, but Mr. Nibbles couldn't do it. He was not battling evil. Just Jimmy.

Continued - here.