Feathers and Eggs

Chapter Three

Mumbo held his black umbrella above his head as he casually headed toward earlier's crime scene. He hummed to himself in order to fill the silence that surrounded him and to calm his anxiousness about what might happen. There was a chance that the city's villain might do something more awful than just throw eggs if he realized it had no effect on someone with an umbrella. He also might not even show up, which would mean Mumbo was walking around the city during the night for nothing.

Either way, it seemed to the mustached reporter that there was a very large chance that a consequence would arise from his irrational decision to meet the Eggman. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the awful nickname he'd come up with while writing one of his first articles concerning the mysterious egg thrower. He had had little coffee that day, and accidentally dubbed the villain "the Eggman" which had stuck with the residents of the city.

"Of course I would come up with a dumb name like 'Eggman' for a real life supervillain," Mumbo mumbled to himself.

"Ah, so that was you?" a voice said from behind. Mumbo yelled and jumped in surprise, turning around swiftly. He was face to face with a giant chicken. No, the thing that had spoken to him wasn't an actual chicken, he realized a few seconds later; it was a person in a chicken like costume. The person was a small male, shorter than Mumbo and even other medium height people he knew. The t-shirt that he wore was a red, short sleeve, which was odd considering the current chill weather. His pants were a dark grey and his shoes were black.

The strangest part of all wasn't the clothes that were worn, however; the strangest part was the chicken mask staring Mumbo straight in the face! The beak was an orange-yellow color; the eyes were black, but he was sure that behind them there were other eyes that could see him. He might've laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation if he wasn't so worried about his safety.

Mumbo took another step back, his hands tightly gripping his umbrella that did nothing to protect him since the threat was in front of him, not above him. The costumed man lifted his head slightly. "It took me hitting countless people with eggs for someone to finally walk around with an umbrella? I would congratulate you on your intelligence, but it seems more of a 'common sense' action to me," the man said amused. Mumbo stood staring, unable to comprehend what was happening. He wasn't sure if he still felt fear, but he was certainly at a loss for what to do next.

The Eggman cocked his head in confusion, and waved his hand in front of Mumbo's face. "You okay? You're not going to faint on me like that blonde lady are you?" Mumbo blinked and shook his head. "I'm sorry! I just- I came out here to meet you, but I didn't really... expect for that to happen? Wow that sounds a bit silly saying it aloud," Mumbo responded nervously. There was an awkward silence that followed. "Are you going to put your umbrella down? I don't think there's anyone up there to hit you with eggs right now."

"Oh! Right..." Mumbo quickly closed his umbrella and held it against his chest. Another silence. 

"Apologies for my awkwardness! Ah, I would love to ask you a few questions if that's alright. I'm a reporter for the Hermitcraft Tabloid, you see, and I think it would be great if I could finally write something about you that isn't just what's left after a cleaned up crime scene!" Mumbo paused to collect himself, then continued. "Would that be okay with you?"

The Eggman looked at Mumbo, perfectly silent. He looked around, checking for any signs that this was a set up to get him caught. "I suppose I can take one day off from egg throwing for an interview," the masked man chuckled. "Perfect! Let me just- Oh dear! I seem to have forgotten my journal! This is embarrassing. I'm normally a better reporter, I swear," Mumbo sighed. The Eggman laughed. "I'm sure! Your amazing reporter abilities were also to blame for my 'villain name' as well, right?" Mumbo facepalmed. "I really did not mean for it to be the name people latched on to. Did you have a different name you go by?" he asked in a somewhat prying tone.

"I hoped to be called 'Poultry Man'. It just has a nicer ring. 'Poultry' sounds classier than 'chicken', don't you think? Also, it is an original name that isn't being ripped off of a video game, so that's another reason it might be a bit better than 'the Eggman'," Poultry Man rambled on. Mumbo took out a sharpie pen and began to write on his umbrella. Once Mumbo had finished, he looked up to see Poultry Man leaning closer to glance at his notes.

"Now that I've got my name straightened out, I'd like to hear yours," the shorter man said. Mumbo raised an eyebrow. "If you read my articles, wouldn't you know my name? I sign it on there everytime," the reporter responded. Poultry Man slowly shook his head at the statement. "Of course I know your name. For formality's sake, would you care introducing yourself? Humor me, if you will." Mumbo gave a confused expression, but continued anyway. "My name is Mumbo, crazy reporter, at your service," he joked. This earned another chuckle from the man in the chicken costume.

"Well, Mumbo, if you wouldn't mind, I'd feel more comfortable if we had this interview somewhere else. Maybe a rooftop? I don't care to be on the ground for too long. You know, only because I think I may have a problem with authorities at the moment." Mumbo frowned, silent for a second. If I go with this guy, there is absolutely no guarantee that I will ever see the light of day again. Maybe he just acts nice, then leads you away to do bad things. Not to mention, no one knows where I am or what I'm doing right now. Doc probably wouldn't even be able to find me, especially with the luck the force is having with Poultry Man already.

"Sure thing!" Mumbo heard himself say enthusiastically. Why did I just say that? Poultry Man perked up. "Great! I'll fly us up there. I might have some random scraps of paper for you to write on as well." Poultry man held out his hand as a large pair of wings sprang out from behind his back. Mumbo jumped back at the sound. "Are those- Are they real wings? Are they attached to your body?" Mumbo exclaimed. Poultry man laughed loudly, the sound echoing around them. "No, I made them myself! They're sturdy, cozy, and detachable. I'm somewhat of a genius when it comes to creating marvels such as this," the winged man bragged jokingly. Mumbo chuckled and took the man's hand, his umbrella held tightly in his other. Suddenly, he was very worried about this.

"You only fly with one person, normally. Are you sure the wings can handle the extra weight?" he questioned. The small man shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Guess we'll see!" The next moment, the two men shot into the air, one yelling in fear and the other laughing extremely hard.