“It’s too much power,” Albert bellowed. “I can’t handle any more!”
“Exactly,” Duncan said.
Then, like a tree, Albert fell over and was still.
“What did you do to him?” Matilda cried when she rushed to Duncan’s side.
“I crashed his system,” Duncan said as he removed Benjamin from the cable. “If he’s a walking computer, then there’s a way to overwhelm his processors. Too many open applications fried his mainframe.”
“That problem is solved,” Pufferfish said.
“Now we have to stop Simon and Albert’s mother,” Jackson said.
“But where did they go?” Flinch cried.
Suddenly, they heard a rumbling from inside the school.
“The School Bus!” Flinch shouted.
He led the team back into the school and made a beeline to the gymnasium. Once there, they saw Ms. Holiday in her black spy gear. Brand was nearby in his tuxedo.
“Close the roof!” she shouted, but the rocket was already rising up into the air. Strapped to the side of it was a massive version of the ray gun.
“He’s going to activate his machine and there’s nothing we can do to stop him,” Matilda cried.
“Actually, there is,” Duncan said. “But I’ll need a ride.”
Matilda winked at him and snatched the boy off his feet. Together they rocketed into the air via her inhalers, soaring higher and faster than either had ever gone. In no time they were closing in on the ship.
Duncan looked down at his hands. “I hope there’s enough nanobytes in there.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Show everyone why I’m on this team,” he said, and he jumped onto the rocket, clinging to the metal skin of the School Bus. Matilda shouted at him.
“Um, when did you get so cool?” she cried, then did something startling. She zoomed up and kissed him on the nose. Then she darted away. Duncan didn’t have time to think about the kiss. He wasn’t sure how long he could stay attached to the rocket—gravity was pulling at him and the ship was shaking tremendously. He had to get inside fast.
He climbed along the ship’s hull until he found the hatch. Then, using every ounce of his strength, he turned the large wheel on the door and watched as the door fell away toward Earth. Moments later he was crawling inside the rocket, much to the surprise of Simon, Mama, the goon, and the squirrels.
“When will you listen to me?” Mama shouted at Simon. “I told you to kill the heroes, but no! What would I know?”
Simon shook his head. “So, old friend, here we are again. The world is on the brink of a disaster I created and only you can stop me.”
“I’m not your friend, Heathcliff,” Duncan said.
“Yes, you’re right. It’s been a long time since I could call you or any of the team ‘friends.’ You turned your backs on me, and that’s why I have made it my life’s work to destroy you. I’ve studied you all, inside and out, and I know your weaknesses. You, for instance, rely too heavily on gadgets and technology. You could never have guessed they would be your downfall.” Simon pulled out another ray gun. He fired it at Duncan, who could feel his nanobytes shutting down. Once again, he was powerless.
“Now you are without your little techy bag of tricks, and I’ve taken enough superprocessors for my machine. Soon I will have control over every computer in the world and there will be nothing that you or your goofy band of spies can do to stop me.”
“So you think you know me, huh?” Duncan said. “You might be surprised. My family doesn’t really know me. Agent Brand doesn’t even know me. Until very recently, I didn’t know myself, but what I’ve learned is very surprising.”
“Oh?” Simon laughed. “I highly doubt that.”
“It’s not the nanobytes or the gadgets that will help me stop your stupid plan. It’s my brain that’s going to help me kick your butt.” Duncan pulled back and punched Simon in the face. The bucktoothed boy fell backward and slid across the floor. When he got up, his mouth was full of blood and his hands were full of teeth. Two teeth, in fact.
“What have you done?” Simon lisped. His mouth had a huge hole where his big choppers used to be. “You’ve . . . you’ve—”
“My brain told me a good pop in the mouth would stop you,” Duncan said. “Pretty smart, huh?”
Simon turned to his squirrels. “Go get him, you good-for-nothing freeloaders.”
The squirrels stood still, shaking their heads back and forth and looking utterly confused.
“Didn’t you hear me? I commanded you to—” Then Duncan saw a flash of understanding in the villain’s eyes. The squirrels had been under his command for a long time. They weren’t his partners. They were his hostages. And now they were suddenly free and they wanted revenge.
Simon’s furry minions turned on him, and months’ worth of rage came out as they scratched at him and hurled nuts in his face. He fell to the ground, unable to defend himself.
“So that’s how you take over the world, kid?” Mama shouted at Simon.
“Two down, two to go,” Duncan said. “I just fried Albert’s brain. He won’t be causing any more problems.”
Mama snarled. “I’m taking over this operation. I’m going to show you all how it’s done, and the first thing we’re going to do is kill the hero. Do it!” she shouted at the goon.
The goon looked at Mama and shrugged. Then he flashed his hook at Duncan. Its silver edges glimmered almost as much as his wicked smile. Then he lashed out at the boy.
Duncan leaped out of the way just in time. He stumbled over a chair. The goon slashed at him again, opening the leather seat of the chair and sending stuffing flying.
“C’mon kid,” the goon said as Duncan stumbled toward the back of the rocket. “There’s no escape.”
Duncan was backed up against a bank of computer monitors. The goon was mere inches away. He raised his hook high in the air and brought it down hard and fast. Duncan ducked and heard a crash. Sparks showered down on him, and when he looked up, he realized the goon was shaking uncontrollably. His metal hook was impaled in one of the TVs, and electricity was coursing through him.
Duncan flipped off the power and the man tumbled to the ground, unconscious.
“Enough!” Mama screamed. “I’ll do it myself!.” With rage in her eyes she lunged forward and grabbed Duncan by the shirt and threw him toward the open door of the rocket. Duncan grabbed on to Mama to save himself and they both went tumbling out of the ship into the open sky. They turned end over end as the hungry earth below pulled them ever closer.
But then Matilda was there, with an arm around Duncan’s chest, stopping his fall. Duncan tried to hold on to Mama, but the old woman squirmed like a cornered animal and pulled herself from his grip. All Duncan and Matilda could do was watch as Mama disappeared into the clouds.
Agent Brand was sorting through the remains of the Playground. Everywhere he looked was destruction. More than forty years of history was completely destroyed—all of it under his watch. It was all he needed to make his decision. He stepped over to the glass table and used his sleeve to wipe off a thick layer of black dust. Then he activated the communications system. One lone computer monitor lowered from above. It blinked to life, revealing a grizzled general with a head shaped like a bullet.
“I’m sorry to bother you, General Savage, but I have something important to discuss about the team.”
General Savage cocked a curious eyebrow. “I always have time for you, Brand.”
“I have concerns about the future of this—” Suddenly, the screen went black.
“General? General?”
Ms. Holiday stepped out from behind a column. She was holding a black cord—one that was supposed to be plugged into the wall. “We’re having technical difficulties.”