Flinch snarled and fired his boosters, making a beeline toward Ms. Holiday’s partner. Flinch put out his fists and slammed into the man, causing him to fly in the other direction, entirely disappearing within Heathcliff’s brain.
“Dude, whatever you’re doing in there, you’d better stop,” Toad said. “The head is doing some crazy stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Well, its eyes opened and then a beam came out and the entire wall turned to ashes,” Jessie said. “Basically, it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Flinch cringed. They weren’t messing around in the head of a normal person. He had forgotten about Heathcliff’s power. The boy could change reality to suit him. “I’ll try, but you guys need to stay as far from the head as possible.”
A moment later the Antagonist pushed his way through the gray matter like a bull in a china shop. Flinch charged at him and they traded uppercuts, sending each other flying backward, only to spring back into the fight. Meanwhile, Ms. Holiday headed back the way she came, with the transmitter and without the Antagonist.
“Looks like your girlfriend is dumping you,” Flinch said.
The Antagonist growled and continued his attack.
“Listen, man! You got ten minutes before you are large and in charge,” Toad said.
“I’m on it!” Flinch said. He had to do something drastic. When the Antagonist drew close, Flinch punched him as hard as he could. The villain flew backward and slammed against the inside of the skull. Flinch fired several harpoon cables from his arms, stapling the villain against the hard bone.
No matter how much he struggled, the Antagonist could not free himself. He cursed and threatened, but Flinch was already racing after Ms. Holiday. The boy activated his foot boosters to catch up, knowing if he used his own speed, he would be out of power in no time. But soon the fuel was spent in his boots and he was forced to run on his own power. He ran along the surface of the skull and found her crouched at the base of an artery. She was cutting a hole in it and ready to climb in.
“Don’t do this, Ms. Holiday. You’re not evil.”
Ms. Holiday laughed as if what he had said was the silliest thing she had ever heard. Then she dove into the artery and disappeared. Flinch went in after her and was quickly pulled through the bloodstream.
“Where am I, guys?” Flinch shouted.
“You’re in something called the superior vena cava. It’s a vein that’s going to send you back toward the heart—that is, if you take the wrong path,” Hooper said. “Or it might take you to the mouth. I can’t tell. This chart has so many branches, it looks like a willow tree. Take the tunnel to the left, I think!”
Flinch did as he was told and spotted Ms. Holiday around the turn. She was swimming with the current, and so Flinch did the same. When he got close to her, he reached out and snatched her foot. She tried to kick him off, but he held on tight, clawing his way up until he had his hands on the transmitter box. She refused to release it, and the two of them fought as they plummeted through the bloodstream.
“You can’t have this, Julio!” she cried. “This is my destiny. I was meant to rule the world.”
“That’s not true! You’re infected with the virus, Ms. Holiday. You’re not evil. You’re my friend. You make me cupcakes. That’s your destiny!”
“You’re really the dumbest one of the bunch, Flinch,” Ms. Holiday said. “With you in charge, it’s no wonder the world fell apart. You can’t stop me. You can’t even control yourself!”
With a burst of her foot rockets she torpedoed toward him, but even with his limited supply of sugar he was still faster than her. He stepped out of the way and used her momentum to wrench the transmitter from her grasp. She flailed uncontrollably, slamming against the vein wall before she was swept away into the blood flow. All Flinch could do was watch.
“Which way does that tunnel go?” he asked.
“That’s a direct path to the heart,” Hooper replied. “Sorry, man.”
Flinch watched the tunnel entrance Ms. Holiday had disappeared into for a few more minutes, hoping his friend would find a way to climb back up, but she didn’t. She was gone.
“Buddy, you got two minutes!” Wyatt said. “You’re close to the mouth. Fight your way there and you can get out!” Flinch activated his laser and cut a hole in the vein wall, which he fell through clumsily. A moment later he was standing on a large, spongy mass, staring into a blinding light.
“Bro, you’re on the tongue. You are almost out,” Wyatt cheered, but the celebration came to a sudden stop. “Whoa! Dude, look out!”
All of a sudden, the Antagonist was on him. He aimed a powerful punch at Flinch’s helmet and knocked the boy loopy. Flinch struggled to fight off unconsciousness. He had never been hit so hard by anything or anyone. In his pain, he dropped the transmitter.
The Antagonist picked it up and caressed it gingerly, as if it were a precious treasure.
“The world is mine!” he laughed as he hefted Flinch into the air. The boy hung there helplessly, unable to free himself. “All mine!”
But his hands were still free. Flinch accessed the panel in his chest and reached in to get Hooper’s present—the can of spray paint. He held it up and sprayed it onto the Antagonist’s visor, blinding him. Flinch snatched the transmitter. While the Antagonist struggled to see, Flinch pushed a button on the front of the machine. The red light faded to black.
The transmitter was dead.
Flinch dropped it onto the tongue and stomped on it until it was nothing but rubbish.
The Antagonist pulled his helmet and mask off. Flinch recognized him at once. He was Heathcliff’s goon, the one they called Dumb Vinci. The former goon looked around, confused and disoriented.
“Where am I?”
Before Flinch could answer, there was a pop and a stretching sound, and suddenly they were big. Not their normal size, but big.
“What’s da big idea?” Dumb Vinci asked.
“Run!” Flinch shouted, and the two sprinted as fast as they could toward the light from Heathcliff’s huge open mouth. When the next wave of growth hit them, they were leaping through Heathcliff’s jaws and landing on the boy’s big stretched-out face. Another wave caused them to grow to the size of small children. They jumped again so that they were back in the holding cell as the final surge hit them. Flinch and the goon were normal size again.
The goon was so disoriented that it was easy for Flinch to put him in cuffs. While he did so, and much to Flinch’s surprise, an odd transformation was occurring in Heathcliff. His enormous head was shrinking and shrinking. His facial features shifted back to their normal size, and soon, he was just a little boy lying on a hospital gurney. A moment later he woke up and looked around.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“You’re in the Playground—or, rather, the new Playground,” Flinch said, eyeing him warily. Heathcliff was still dangerous, even without the giant head. “When you went to sleep, we were in the fifth grade. We’ve moved to the middle school now.”
“And who are you?”
Flinch took his containment helmet off and set it down. “Now do you recognize me?”
“No,” the boy said. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
“I’m a friend. Do you know who you are?” Flinch asked.
The boy sat for a long moment. “No, I don’t.”
“Your name is Heathcliff.”
• • •
Agent Brand did not come to work the next day. The team went on with the business of cleaning up the school and the Playground, and, luckily, there were no major incidents that required their help. The world was peaceful for a moment as people struggled with the universal phenomenon of not being able to remember what they had been doing recently. It was a blessing in disguise, as most would have never been able to get over what they had done while under the influence of the villain virus.