Sneaking Suspicion

Sneaking Suspicion is the pilot episode of Mermaid Man: The Aquatic Avenger. It aired January 26, 2013. The next episode will be Mask of Terror.

Plot
Mermaid Man faces off against the Sneaky Hermit, a stealthy criminal crustacean.

Transcript
(We open in a dark alleyway at nighttime. Gangsters Frank and Barry are unloading sacks of money from a pickup truck.)

Barry: Why are you so quiet tonight, Frank? You're usually blabbing up a storm during our warehouse shifts.

Frank: I'm just a bit uneasy. Did you hear about that Mermaid Man? Word on the street is he's been pummeling our boys for the last several days now.

Barry: (laughs) Mermaid Man? You actually believe those rumors? Come on! We don't have to worry about some idiot in a bra!

Frank: I don't know. They say that he can fly, shoot waterballs. We should probably watch our backs.

Barry: Fly? Shoot waterballs? That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard!

(Zoom out to reveal Mermaid Man floating behind the gangsters.)

Mermaid Man: I'll say!

(The gangsters drop their sacks and run, and Mermaid Man flies after them with a waterball ready in his hand.)

(The theme song plays.)

(Cut to the local park. A boy is playing fetch with his worm when he throws the frisbee too high and it goes into a bush.)

Boy: Oh, barnacles!

Mother: Billy, language!

Billy: Sorry, mom.

(Billy runs to the bush, but when he sifts through the leaves, he finds that his frisbee is missing.)

(Cut to Mermaid Man's house. Mermaid Man, wearing nothing but a towel, walks down the stairs and turns on the television.)

News Reporter: The latest in a string of petty thefts has the police department grasping at straws.

Mermaid Man: Petty thefts?

Reporter: We have one of his recent victims here to describe what happened during their encounter.

Old Lady: I didn't even know he was there until I saw him running off with my purse. A sneaky lad, I'll tell you.

Reporter: There you have it. Who's this mysterious criminal, and will the police ever find him? Updates at six.

(Mermaid Man turns off the television.)

Mermaid Man: I better go investigate this.

(Mermaid Man sprints into his room, puts on his costume, and flies out the window.)

Mermaid Man: (patrolling from the skies) Nothing fishy so far...well, besides all the fish.

(Mermaid Man starts to turn back before noticing a hermit crab pickpocket a man on the street.)

Mermaid Man: Bingo.

(Mermaid Man swoops down and punches the hermit crab in the gut, causing him to drop the stolen wallet and attempt to scatter away.)

Mermaid Man: Oh no, you don't! (grabs the hermit by the shirt)

Sneaky Hermit: Well, well, well. If it isn't the famed Mermaid Man!

Mermaid Man: The one and only.

Sneaky Hermit: What are you gonna do, now that you have me? Turn me over to the police?

Mermaid Man: That's the plan.

Sneaky Hermit: Well, try turning me over...(takes out a bottle of pepper spray) when you have THIS in your eyes!

(The Sneaky Hermit plasters Mermaid Man with the pepper spray, and as the hero covers his eyes in pain, the Sneaky Hermit makes his getaway.)

Sneaky Hermit: (laughs) The wondrous things you can find in an old lady's purse!

(Mermaid Man uncovers his now red eyes and growls furiously. He throws a water ball at the running hermit, but the villain dodges it.)

Sneaky Hermit: Face it, Mermaid Man! You'll never stop me!

Mermaid Man: Oh, yeah?

(Suddenly, the waterball reverses its path and starts heading for the Sneaky Hermit again.)

Sneaky Hermit: WHAT?

(The waterball splashes in the Sneaky Hermit's face, causing him to fall to the ground. Mermaid Man flies up to the defeated criminal and handcuffs him.)

Mermaid Man: What do you think of my new boomerang waterball?

Sneaky Hermit: This is not over, Mermaid Man.

(Cut to a shot of the Sneaky Hermit in a jail cell.)

Sneaky Hermit: THIS IS NOT OVER!

Prison Guard: (eating a donut) Shaddup!

(The Sneaky Hermit take the frisbee he stole at the beginning of the episode out of his pocket. He turns it around to reveal that there's a stick of dynamite attached to it. He laughs maniacally.)

(Cut to Mermaid Man's house. Mermaid Man is watching a black and white sitcom when it's interrupted by another news report.)

Reporter: Breaking News! The Sneaky Hermit has escaped from prison!

Mermaid Man: (sighs) And during my favorite show, too. (puts on gloves and flies out the door)

(The End)

Trivia

 * This was the first part of MMTAA's hour long premiere on Nickelodeon.
 * This is the first appearance of the Sneaky Hermit.