I was the only thing that stood between salvation and millions of people having to live through puberty a second time. I had to stop the Babytron Bomb even if it meant sacrificing myself.
Some people call it courage. Others, bravery. I call it sheer stupidity.
The thunderous rumbling of the Babytron Bomb filled my ears as it cleared the silo. I dropped the hover platform into overdrive and rammed into the Babytron Bomb’s guidance fin at full speed. The impact sent a hard shudder through the hover platform. Its circuits shorted. Sparks and smoke gushed from the split metal, and a second later, the hover platform exploded.
As I fell back to Earth, the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the Babytron Bomb lifting into the sky, a bent fin on its side and a plume of black smoke trailing behind.
I opened my eyes.
I remembered plummeting from the sky. You’d think, falling from that height, I’d have been little more than pudding right now. Although, I still might have been pudding, just with eyes. I lifted my one arm, then the other. Okay, maybe I was pudding with eyes and two arms.
I sat up in bed. I was in my bed, in my room. Spelling Beatrice, Boom Boy, and Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy sat next to my bed. Exact Change Kid leaned in through the window.
“I had the strangest dream,” I said slowly. “You were there... and you, and you, and you!” I continued, pointing to each sidekick.
“It wasn’t a dream, Speedy,” Spelling Beatrice informed me.
“But... then ...I fell hundreds of feet! I should be pudding!”
“Bunni used her telekinetic powers and lowered you like a feather,” Spelling Beatrice explained.
“
Bunni
saved me?!”
“It’s amazing what a hug can do,” Exact Change Kid added. “We can fly. We can shoot rays from our eyes. We can bend steel bars with our bare hands. We have the powers to crush worlds and topple governments — well, none of
us
can do those things, really, but sort of — and yet none of us have ever stopped to think that maybe there’s no power greater than love.”
Boom Boy slammed the window down on him. “Where is Bunni? I mean, I should thank her,” I said.
Boom Boy stabbed a thumb toward the living room. “She’s sharing eye shadow secrets with Spice Girl.”
“And my mom?”
“Right here.” I heard her voice as she entered the room. “We’re all so proud of you!” she bent over and gave me a kiss on the forehead.
“Mom!” I grumbled, turning red.
I had a million questions. “Do we know who hired the Brotherhood of Rotten Babysitters?”
“Even Bunni says they don’t know. It was all done through scrambled messages,” Spelling Beatrice said.
“So this isn’t over yet. The real enemy is still out there. Maybe with babysitters even more rotten than these... .” The thought left me uneasy.
My mom ushered the Sidekicks from the room. “Now all of you run along and let my boy sleep. There’ll be plenty of time to discuss evil’s secret plan for world domination when he’s feeling a little better.”
“Wait! What about the Babytron Bomb? Did I stop it?” I called to them.
Spelling Beatrice stopped in the doorway. “Well, I wouldn’t say it ‘stop’ exactly....”
“Where did it land?”
“Paris!” Pumpkin Pete stated as he stepped from my closet.
“Oh no! I turned the city of Paris into whining, crying babies?”
“Eh, it’s just the French.” Pumpkin Pete shrugged. “You ask me, no one will know the difference.”
And the funny thing? He was right. No one did.
Chapter Seventeen
Evil Has a Tantrum
“What are they doing now?” the voice asked.
“Trying to reattach the cable to the house,” the minion replied.
“Cable?”
“Yes. Cable.”
“I see.”
The room was cast in darkness. Long shadows fell across the mysterious figure shrouding his face and body in a gloomy veil. There was a moment of silence while the voice considered the possibilities.
“What kind of cable?” the voice finally asked.
Some people call it courage. Others, bravery. I call it sheer stupidity.
The thunderous rumbling of the Babytron Bomb filled my ears as it cleared the silo. I dropped the hover platform into overdrive and rammed into the Babytron Bomb’s guidance fin at full speed. The impact sent a hard shudder through the hover platform. Its circuits shorted. Sparks and smoke gushed from the split metal, and a second later, the hover platform exploded.
As I fell back to Earth, the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the Babytron Bomb lifting into the sky, a bent fin on its side and a plume of black smoke trailing behind.
I opened my eyes.
I remembered plummeting from the sky. You’d think, falling from that height, I’d have been little more than pudding right now. Although, I still might have been pudding, just with eyes. I lifted my one arm, then the other. Okay, maybe I was pudding with eyes and two arms.
I sat up in bed. I was in my bed, in my room. Spelling Beatrice, Boom Boy, and Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy sat next to my bed. Exact Change Kid leaned in through the window.
“I had the strangest dream,” I said slowly. “You were there... and you, and you, and you!” I continued, pointing to each sidekick.
“It wasn’t a dream, Speedy,” Spelling Beatrice informed me.
“But... then ...I fell hundreds of feet! I should be pudding!”
“Bunni used her telekinetic powers and lowered you like a feather,” Spelling Beatrice explained.
“
Bunni
saved me?!”
“It’s amazing what a hug can do,” Exact Change Kid added. “We can fly. We can shoot rays from our eyes. We can bend steel bars with our bare hands. We have the powers to crush worlds and topple governments — well, none of
us
can do those things, really, but sort of — and yet none of us have ever stopped to think that maybe there’s no power greater than love.”
Boom Boy slammed the window down on him. “Where is Bunni? I mean, I should thank her,” I said.
Boom Boy stabbed a thumb toward the living room. “She’s sharing eye shadow secrets with Spice Girl.”
“And my mom?”
“Right here.” I heard her voice as she entered the room. “We’re all so proud of you!” she bent over and gave me a kiss on the forehead.
“Mom!” I grumbled, turning red.
I had a million questions. “Do we know who hired the Brotherhood of Rotten Babysitters?”
“Even Bunni says they don’t know. It was all done through scrambled messages,” Spelling Beatrice said.
“So this isn’t over yet. The real enemy is still out there. Maybe with babysitters even more rotten than these... .” The thought left me uneasy.
My mom ushered the Sidekicks from the room. “Now all of you run along and let my boy sleep. There’ll be plenty of time to discuss evil’s secret plan for world domination when he’s feeling a little better.”
“Wait! What about the Babytron Bomb? Did I stop it?” I called to them.
Spelling Beatrice stopped in the doorway. “Well, I wouldn’t say it ‘stop’ exactly....”
“Where did it land?”
“Paris!” Pumpkin Pete stated as he stepped from my closet.
“Oh no! I turned the city of Paris into whining, crying babies?”
“Eh, it’s just the French.” Pumpkin Pete shrugged. “You ask me, no one will know the difference.”
And the funny thing? He was right. No one did.
Chapter Seventeen
Evil Has a Tantrum
“What are they doing now?” the voice asked.
“Trying to reattach the cable to the house,” the minion replied.
“Cable?”
“Yes. Cable.”
“I see.”
The room was cast in darkness. Long shadows fell across the mysterious figure shrouding his face and body in a gloomy veil. There was a moment of silence while the voice considered the possibilities.
“What kind of cable?” the voice finally asked.
Similar Books
