We follow Tyson all the way back to the Captain Kickbutt studio. By the time we get there it’s almost dark. We walk across the parking lot until we can see a side door in the old chicken soup warehouse. I can see Parakeet pacing back and forth in front of it while he talks to someone on his mobile phone.
‘Cool,’ I say. That does sound pretty amazing. I’m used to making Captain Kickbutt costumes out of ice-cream containers and a dressing gown.
‘All we have to do is sneak in there and . . . borrow a cool superhero costume for you,’ Tyson suggests.
‘Have you heard of improv?’ Tyson asks. I shake my head. ‘My dad talks about it all the time. It’s a game actors play. They love it. It’s acting but without a script. One person just starts and everyone else has to go along with it.’
‘That sounds like how we play Captain Kickbutt,’ Hugo says.
‘Tyson, you’re a genius,’ I whisper. I love it. A brand-new superhero means I’ll have dialogue, fight scenes and special effects. I’ll probably even be on the poster. ‘Now, all we need to do is get past Parakeet over there.’
‘We need a diversion,’ Tyson says. We all look at each other and then slowly we all turn to Duck. Has there ever been a greater distraction in the history of the world than Duck?
I crouch down to explain to Duck what we need him to do, but he just waddles off in the direction of Parakeet. Sometimes I forget that he’s listening to everything the whole time.
Parakeet is arguing with someone on the phone about the soundtrack. ‘The music you sent is too light and . . . fluffy. I know that’s not a musical word, but it sounds like, you know, twiddly-twiddly-tweet-tweet. But this is a serious superhero movie. It’s dark and full of complex themes and frustration. We need the music to be more dom-dom-dom-dahhhh! Does that make sense?’
Suddenly Parakeet gets pecked on the ankle by a duck.
‘Argh!’ he screams and obviously confuses the person on the other end of the phone. ‘No, no, not horror music. Aarrgghh! Sorry, there’s a duck. No, not a cartoon duck. A real duck. There’s a duck biting my – Aaarrrggghhh!’
Duck starts to chase Parakeet around in circles.
‘Let’s go,’ I whisper to Hugo and Tyson, and we run across the carpark towards the door.
‘Stop biting me! Why is there a duck here anyway? Argh! What are you doing? You can’t have a piggyback!’
We look over as we get to the door and, sure enough, Duck has jumped up on Parakeet’s back and is holding on for dear life. Is he trying to grab the phone? I think he’s trying to grab the phone!
I grab the door handle and pull open the door. We need to get inside before we all burst out laughing!
We disappear inside just as we hear Parakeet yell one final time. ‘I’ll call you quack! I mean, I’ll call you back!’
We did it! I don’t believe it.
‘That duck is one awesome little bird,’ Tyson says with a grin.
‘You don’t know the half of it,’ I agree.
‘All right, follow me,’ Tyson says.
We’re in a corridor that’s lit only by EXIT signs. Tyson takes us to a room and it’s like we’ve entered Fancy Dress Heaven.
The Costume Department! There are rows and rows of clothes on hangers, but not just clothes. Superhero costumes! Capes! Masks! Body armour! Helmets! Swords! Guns! Shields! Boots! Gloves! Spandex suits! They even have them in all sorts of different sizes.
