by Monica Lim
Praise for Danger Dan Confronts the Merlion Mastermind
“A fun story that also educates! Readers can learn good vocabulary and understand more about Singapore history as they join Danger Dan on his adventures.”
—Dr Tay Hui Yong, Vice-Principal, Nanyang Girls’ High School
“Singapore, get ready for your newest superhero as he stumbles his way into greatness…accidentally! Danger Dan Confronts the Merlion Mastermind is laugh-out-loud funny!”
—A.J. Low, author of Sherlock Sam series
“A refreshingly well-written book of adventure with lots of local flavour. A fun and engaging read for the whole family.”
—Zahira Mohd Sedik, Head of Department GEP Humanities, St Hilda’s Primary School
written by
Lesley-Anne & Monica Lim
illustrated by
James Tan
Copyright © 2014 by Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan
lllustrations copyright © 2014 Epigram Books
All rights reserved.
Published in Singapore by Epigram Books.
www.epigrambooks.sg
Illustrations by James Tan
Edited by Ruth Wan
Cover design and book layout by Lydia Wong
National Library Board, Singapore
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Lim, Monica
DANGER DAN CONFRONTS THE MERLION MASTERMIND/
by Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan –
Singapore : Epigram Books, 2014.
pages cm
ISBN: 978-981-07-7843-9 (paperback)
ISBN : 978-981-07-7844-6 (epub)
1. Superheroes – Juvenile fiction.
2. Singapore – Juvenile fiction.
I. Tan, Lesley-Anne. II. Title.
PZ7
S823 -- dc23 OCN862201019
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First Edition:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Andre and all other secret superheroes
Danger Dan scans the terrain. The volcano is close to erupting and lava has already started flowing down the mountain. His headquarters is in sight, its anti-lava force field forming a pulsating blue orb. Clinging precariously to the side of the volcano, he inches forward slowly, moving sideways like a crab along the narrow rocky ledge. Every few minutes, the volcano rumbles, sending showers of rocks his way and threatening to knock him off balance. He is in a dangerous situation.
But Danger Dan is no stranger to danger.
His watch beeps and shows a glowing red number ‘5’. Five minutes! Only five minutes to disaster! He is horrified to realise that lava has flowed right in front of him, blocking his path to the headquarters. Danger Dan glances around frantically. Then he spots it—a floating rocky island in the middle of the stream of lava. He springs away from the ledge, which crumbles immediately after his great leap. He lands expertly on the floating island and braces himself for one final jump towards his headquarters. If he aims well, he should make it safely onto the roof. Unfortunately, a huge boulder smashes into the floating island right at that moment, causing Danger Dan to fly through the air.
Will this be the end of Danger Dan?
Danny flopped onto the study table, sending pens and paper hurtling in all directions. “Yes! Danger Dan does it again!” rejoiced Danny, striking a Superman pose.
“You are such a wretched boy!” yelled Amy, Big Sister Number One who was 18 years old and trying to study for her ‘A’ level exams. She lunged at Danny’s arm, but he dodged just in time by rolling off the table. Amy didn’t exactly have the fastest reflexes. Her special feature was her Big Mouth. Amy was the star speaker on the school debating team which had won all the national debating championships for the past two years. Her motto was: If you can’t convince them, confuse them. She could talk circles around anyone.
“Stop bothering us, you pest!” squealed Betty, Big Sister Number Two who was 16 years old and trying to study for her ‘O’ level exams. She threw an eraser at Danny but missed completely. Betty didn’t exactly have the best aim. Her strength was her Big Brain. Every year for the past four years, Betty had been the winner of the National Mathematical Olympiad, Science Olympiad and History Olympiad. She had also won the Home Economics Olympiad by whipping up a delicious bowl of fishball noodles using only her chemistry kit and some soya sauce.
“Why must you be such a pain?” growled Candy, Big Sister Number Three who was 12 years old and trying to study for her PSLE. Candy didn’t have a Big Mouth or a Big Brain. She was just…BIG. She represented her school team in judo and her opponents often prayed that they wouldn’t have to compete against her. She was as strong as a weightlifting elephant and had a terrifying flip that people commonly referred to as the ‘Candy Crush’.
The three of them looked around the room in disgust. Books were strewn across the floor having fallen off the bookcase that Danny had leapt from. A bulky volume of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare lay in the centre of the room. The rug that Danny had slipped on was scrunched up in a corner.
The only things that had escaped unscathed were the three display cabinets lining the wall. One held Amy’s Debating Championship trophies, another showcased Betty’s Olympiad certificates and the third exhibited Candy’s judo medals. There was no cabinet for Danny because he had never won anything. Unless you counted the one time he won an ice cream-eating contest at his school funfair.
“Go away, Mickey Mouse,” scoffed Candy.
“Stop calling me that!” shouted Danny. He stopped moving momentarily, his prominent ears turning red with rage. It was so unfair! Danny didn’t have a Big Mouth or a Big Brain and he was nowhere close to being Big. Of all the Big features he could have possessed, Danny had Big Ears. (Actually, they weren’t really that big but they stuck out at an unfortunate angle.)
“I’m not Mickey Mouse!” yelled Danny, putting his hands on hips. “I’m Danger Dan, Protector of the Universe!”
Candy looked at him menacingly and slowly stood up. Danny flinched and started to back away. He knew what it felt like to be ‘Candy Crushed’. He dashed out of the living room.
He heard Amy comment drily, “Oh look, it’s Run-Away-From-Danger Dan.” The other two sisters burst into uncontrollable giggles and Danny seethed with indignation. He hated being the youngest and the only boy in the family. It was always three against one and it didn’t help that he was a small and scrawny 11-year-old.
Danny’s mother called out from the dining room. “I need one of you to deliver this pack of herbs to Grandma.”
“I’m studying!” shouted Amy.
“I’m studying!” squawked Betty.
“I’m studying!” snarled Candy.
“Wait, wait, I’m…” Danny frantically tried to think up an excuse but his brain failed him.
“And we have a winner,” said his mother, coming towards him with a paper bag.
“No! No! You can’t make me do this! I have things to do! I’m busy with…er…er…” stammered Danny.
His mother ignored his protests. “Go on,” she insisted, thrusting the bag into his hand. “If you hurry, you can come home in time to finish your homework before dinner. Looks like it might rain, so better wear your jacket.”
Homework! He could have been ‘busy with homework’! Why didn’t he think of that? Silly brain!
Danny felt rather peeved that Danger Dan had to do something as ordinary as run errands. He grudgingly put on his red water
proof jacket and stuffed his wallet into a sling bag, along with his favourite Fantasy Squad comic book.
As he left the flat with his little red sling bag and the bag of herbs, Betty called out, “Have fun at Grandma’s, Little Red Riding Hood!” This triggered more howls of laughter. OOOOHHHH!!! He really wanted to strangle his sisters. One day, Danger Dan would show them!
Danny made his way to Toa Payoh MRT station which was just a short walk away from his HDB flat. He didn’t have to wait long for the train. It wasn’t too crowded but only the reserved seats were not taken so Danny chose to stand. He stationed himself by a pole and started to read his comic.
Silver Wing streaks across New York’s night sky. The Sinister Spy is holding the ElectriCannon, firing electric charges everywhere. Silver Wing folds in his eagle-like wings and his entire body changes to pure silver. He dives down headfirst towards the ElectriCannon at full speed.
The Sinister Spy shoots a huge charge of electricity towards Silver Wing.
Streaks of electricity deflect off Silver Wing and shoot up into the sky. Chunks of asphalt go flying and car windows shatter. Silver Wing reels from the impact but the Sinister Spy emerges unharmed.
“You may be able to fly like a bullet but your wings are no match for the force of my electric rays!” roars the Sinister Spy. “Say goodbye, Fantasy Squad. I will enjoy destroying you all!” He sends a brilliant bolt of lightning towards them.
In an instant, Flex Rex, the superdog, stretches out his elastic tail and wraps it around Cryptic. He rapidly uncurls his tail, catapulting Cryptic towards the lightning bolt. “Time for a change!” Cryptic hollers. Just before the lightning hits him, Cryptic shape-shifts into a large titanium shield.
The lightning ricochets off Cryptic and strikes back towards the ElectriCannon. It hits the ElectriCannon, which buzzes and slowly loses its glow. The weapon short-circuits, shakes unstably and releases a huge pulse of electricity. Electricity radiates through New York City, shorting out all the power lines and street lamps. For a moment, the city is illuminated by a blinding white light. Then…darkness.
The only source of light is Energia. Her skin radiates a soft warm glow, while her green eyes shine like a cat’s. She clasps her hands together and with a swift rolling motion, forms a bright orange energy orb. As the Sinister Spy frantically tries to restart the ElectriCannon, she throws the energy orb right into the mouth of the cannon.
“Run!” she yells. The Fantasy Squad swiftly flees from the scene.
The orb explodes and destroys the ElectriCannon once and for all.
“Woohoo!” exclaimed Danny out loud in glee. “That thing is DA BOMB!”
“What thing? What bomb?” A sharp voice startled Danny. He looked up and saw an MRT official a few steps away, staring at him. “Hey,” the official signalled to another official behind him. “That boy said he has a bomb!” As the two men headed towards him, Danny was unnerved and backed away.
“Stop, boy!” shouted the first official. Danny turned and broke into a run. He nimbly weaved through the mass of astonished passengers and sprinted down the length of two carriages. The two officials were in hot pursuit and Danny was starting to feel desperate. Sooner or later, they would catch up with him.
Just then, he heard the automated MRT voice announce: “City Hall.” As the train doors opened, Danny vaulted out of the train without another thought. For a split second, he caught sight of a flash of wavy blue streaks on either side of him. He heard a sound that reminded him of his toy soldiers being sucked up by his mother’s vacuum cleaner.
Danny glanced around. Instead of being on an MRT platform, he found himself in the middle of a large field, the vast blue sky above him.
Whaaatt…?
Danny looked around, bewildered. He saw a goal post in the distance and realised that he was on a football field. Then he saw something else—a few strapping teenage boys were dashing towards him at top speed!
“Aaarrrgggghhh!” Danny screamed. He turned and ran away as fast as he could. When he was nearing the end of the football field, a lean boy in a green, black and white shirt passed the soccer ball to him. “Shoot! Shoot!” he yelled.
Danny stared blankly at the ball in front of him. He glanced up and caught sight of the goalpost. Unfortunately, his moment’s hesitation had cost him a clear shot at the goal and two muscular defenders now stood in his way. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small, wiry boy waving at him. “Quick! Pass it to me!” the boy yelled. Without a second thought, Danny kicked the ball over.
Danny watched in amazement as the boy expertly dribbled the ball past one defender and outran the second. All that was left was a lone goalkeeper. The boy gave the ball a mighty kick and it whizzed through the air. It narrowly brushed past the goalkeeper’s fingertips and spun straight into the white netting.
The whistle blew and cheers rang out. The teenagers went over to the boy to congratulate him. The two defenders looked rather sheepish at having been outplayed by a young boy who didn’t look older than 12 years old.
“Thanks for passing me the ball!” said the boy, walking over to Danny. “Are you here for the soccer trials too? You’re pretty good!” Danny couldn’t help feeling a little proud. He didn’t tell the boy that he hadn’t been accepted into his school’s soccer team.
“Maybe we can play on the same team in the future. Look out for me, okay?”
“Er…okay,” replied Danny. As the boy walked away, Danny called out, “Oh wait, what’s your name?”
“Kim Song,” the boy smiled as he looked back. “Quah Kim Song.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar but Danny had other things on his mind. How did he end up in the middle of a football match? It made absolutely no sense. How on earth did he get here? As he retrieved his sling bag which had fallen onto the side of the field, a silvery voice chimed behind him.
“Hello, Danny.”
He swung around and found himself face to face with a girl. Well, almost face to face. She was practically one head taller than him so technically, it was face to neck. Her shoulder-length wavy hair framed her slim face and was pinned up to one side with a striking metallic silver hair clip that was in the shape of the letter ‘M’.
Danny gave her the once-over. Silver hair clip. Strawberry pink sports jacket. Purple skirt. Matching boots. Hmm. Must be a cheerleader.
“How do you know my name?” asked Danny suspiciously.
“Of course I know your name,” replied the girl. “I’m the one who brought you here.” She looked a little smug.
“What do you mean ‘here’? Where’s ‘here’? Oh and what happened to the MRT station? One minute it’s there, the next minute it’s gone!”
“The question you should be asking is ‘when’. I’m Melody and I’m from the future. I just brought you back in time.” Melody made a grand, sweeping gesture. “This is the year 1964.”
There was a full 10 seconds of silence as Danny stared at her, absorbing the information. Then his eyes widened. “Oh, I know! I’m being pranked, right? Hah! You can’t get me that easily! Nyeh nyeh ni boo boo!” Melody smacked her forehead as Danny stuck out his tongue and danced around her.
“Can you please stop moving for a minute and listen to me? I really AM from the future and this really IS 1964. I brought you back here because there was a time warp that changed an event in Singapore’s past and I need your help to make it right again.”
Danny stopped. Suddenly without warning, he reached out and punched her arm.
“OWW!” Melody jumped backwards. “Why did you do that?”
“I wanted to see if you’re a ghost. Guess not.”
“Qwigglepuff! What on earth is wrong with you? That’s it. I’m sending you back and picking someone else.” She stalked off.
“Okay, sorry! I said sorry, okay?” said Danny, running after her hurriedly. “What were you saying about the time warp?”
“I’m from way in the future and for some strange reason, I was caught in the middle of a
time warp,” explained Melody. “As a result, I could see that one part of Singapore’s past had been accidentally changed. If it’s not fixed in time, the mistake will become permanent and affect Singapore’s present and future. I knew I couldn’t do this alone so I brought you back here to help me.”
“That’s so cool!” Danny could hardly believe his luck. This sounded exactly like the type of adventure Danger Dan would have. Melody and Danny walked along the football field, past a grand, colonial-style building. As they walked out the entrance, Danny spotted the words ‘Raffles Institution’ and ‘Founded 1823’ inscribed on the archway.
“Oh! We’re at RI? Their field is like 10 times bigger than my school field!” said Danny with admiration.
“Yeah, it’s pretty big,” agreed Melody as they walked out the school gate. “But forget about that for now. We have a very important mission to carry out.” Melody walked up to the kerb and Danny thought she was going to hail a taxi. Instead, she hailed…a trishaw.
“So what’s our mission?” asked Danny. The trishaw was dark green with bright red seats. The lanky trishaw uncle got off his sleek metal bicycle to pull the trishaw shade down. It was striped white and green, much like the peppermints Danny loved to eat. The two of them climbed on board.
“It’s the Merlion,” explained Melody authoritatively. “We have to fix the mistake or the Merlion will no longer exist! Van Kleef Aquarium, please, Uncle.” The trishaw man started peddling.
“So what if the Merlion didn’t exist?” asked Danny, thinking about the statue with the head of a lion and the tail of a fish. Even though it represented Singapore, he didn’t feel particularly attached to it. “Would it matter that much?”
“Yes,” replied Melody, “if you’ve seen what it’s going to be replaced with. Here’s the background: the Merlion was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner who worked at the Van Kleef Aquarium. I think this guy probably loved fish so much that he decided to draw a lion with a fish’s tail and ta-dah! The Merlion! Anyway, this design became the logo for the Singapore Tourism Boa…”