unfair.
“Seven...six ...five... four...”
I looked to Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy. We both gave a brave nod to each other and prepared for the end.
“Three...two...one ... airlock seals self-destruct.”
There was a terrible groan from the ship, like its insides were being sucked out through a straw. The airlock seals on the outer hull blew, and the ship immediately began to decompress.
A tremendous suction filled the room and pulled me and Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy toward the door. I raced against the suction as fast as I could but only managed to move several feet away. Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy ran in his Giant Hamster Ball of Justice, but the power of the suction was so great, he just ran in place like he was on a hamster wheel.
“Faster!” I shouted to him. “Run faster!”
He redoubled his efforts, but to no avail. The spinning Hamster Ball of Justice slowly slid toward the door — the last threshold between us and the vacuum of outer space.
Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy fell to his knees, exhausted. Unable to fight against the suction, the tremendous force sucked the Giant Hamster Ball of Justice toward the opening.
This was the end.
The Giant Hamster Ball of Justice slammed hard against the door opening, and suddenly, the suction died. Without the incredible force pulling me back toward the door, I shot forward and smashed against the far wall.
I hit the console hard and slumped to the ground. The pain was intense, but it couldn’t stop me from laughing. There, across the room, Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy’s Giant Hamster Ball of Justice — his wonderful, amazing, incredible, Giant Hamster Ball of Justice — was lodged in the door like a giant cork, cutting the room off from the rest of the ship.
While the remainder of the ship decompressed and was sucked into the vacuum of space, we were safe, a new seal created by Boyin-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy.
He was laughing even harder than me. He was on his knees at the bottom of his ball. Tears ran down his red cheeks and he pumped a triumphant fist into the air.
And for the first time since I joined the Sidekicks three weeks ago, I finally understood what Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy was trying to say.
Chapter Eleven
The More Things Change…
“So then what happened?” Miles could barely sit on the lunch bench, he was so excited.
“Well, we lost a lot of oxygen before the room was sealed off, but I managed to find the autopilot and it took us back to Earth.”
“Man! All I did last night was watch MTV. Did you get a medal or anything?”
“No. Everyone thought we were dead, so they gave the medal to Pumpkin Pete as my sponsor.”
“But once they found out you were alive, didn’t Pete give the medal to you?”
“What do you think? But it doesn’t matter. The ribbon was so big because it had to fit around Pumpkin Pete’s pumpkin head, it would’ve hung down to my knees.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” Miles took a bite of his sandwich. “So Peenoh Keeoh and the Brotherhood of Rottenness got away?”
“Some of them. We captured The Complainer, Jellyfish, The Professor, Mayham and Rye....”
“Dude, you are
so
a hero! How does it feel?”
Until that moment, I really didn’t think about it. I had saved the League of Big Justice and the Sidekicks and stopped Peenoh Keeoh’s plan to turn everyone into puppets, but for some reason, I still felt the same. I was still Guy Martin.
“It feels, I dunno. Good?”
“That’s it?” Miles blurted out, nearly dropping his milk carton. “Good!?”
“Okay! Real good.”
“Hey, Guy.” It was Charisma Kid in his Mandrake Steel secret identity. “Good to see you and the human cork got out okay.”
“I bet you were losing a lot of sleep,” I snorted.
“Real shame you didn’t get any credit,” Charisma Kid sneered.
“It’s not about the credit... but neither did you!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” he laughed and dropped the front page of the newspaper in front of
“Seven...six ...five... four...”
I looked to Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy. We both gave a brave nod to each other and prepared for the end.
“Three...two...one ... airlock seals self-destruct.”
There was a terrible groan from the ship, like its insides were being sucked out through a straw. The airlock seals on the outer hull blew, and the ship immediately began to decompress.
A tremendous suction filled the room and pulled me and Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy toward the door. I raced against the suction as fast as I could but only managed to move several feet away. Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy ran in his Giant Hamster Ball of Justice, but the power of the suction was so great, he just ran in place like he was on a hamster wheel.
“Faster!” I shouted to him. “Run faster!”
He redoubled his efforts, but to no avail. The spinning Hamster Ball of Justice slowly slid toward the door — the last threshold between us and the vacuum of outer space.
Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy fell to his knees, exhausted. Unable to fight against the suction, the tremendous force sucked the Giant Hamster Ball of Justice toward the opening.
This was the end.
The Giant Hamster Ball of Justice slammed hard against the door opening, and suddenly, the suction died. Without the incredible force pulling me back toward the door, I shot forward and smashed against the far wall.
I hit the console hard and slumped to the ground. The pain was intense, but it couldn’t stop me from laughing. There, across the room, Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy’s Giant Hamster Ball of Justice — his wonderful, amazing, incredible, Giant Hamster Ball of Justice — was lodged in the door like a giant cork, cutting the room off from the rest of the ship.
While the remainder of the ship decompressed and was sucked into the vacuum of space, we were safe, a new seal created by Boyin-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy.
He was laughing even harder than me. He was on his knees at the bottom of his ball. Tears ran down his red cheeks and he pumped a triumphant fist into the air.
And for the first time since I joined the Sidekicks three weeks ago, I finally understood what Boy-in-the-Plastic-Bubble Boy was trying to say.
Chapter Eleven
The More Things Change…
“So then what happened?” Miles could barely sit on the lunch bench, he was so excited.
“Well, we lost a lot of oxygen before the room was sealed off, but I managed to find the autopilot and it took us back to Earth.”
“Man! All I did last night was watch MTV. Did you get a medal or anything?”
“No. Everyone thought we were dead, so they gave the medal to Pumpkin Pete as my sponsor.”
“But once they found out you were alive, didn’t Pete give the medal to you?”
“What do you think? But it doesn’t matter. The ribbon was so big because it had to fit around Pumpkin Pete’s pumpkin head, it would’ve hung down to my knees.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” Miles took a bite of his sandwich. “So Peenoh Keeoh and the Brotherhood of Rottenness got away?”
“Some of them. We captured The Complainer, Jellyfish, The Professor, Mayham and Rye....”
“Dude, you are
so
a hero! How does it feel?”
Until that moment, I really didn’t think about it. I had saved the League of Big Justice and the Sidekicks and stopped Peenoh Keeoh’s plan to turn everyone into puppets, but for some reason, I still felt the same. I was still Guy Martin.
“It feels, I dunno. Good?”
“That’s it?” Miles blurted out, nearly dropping his milk carton. “Good!?”
“Okay! Real good.”
“Hey, Guy.” It was Charisma Kid in his Mandrake Steel secret identity. “Good to see you and the human cork got out okay.”
“I bet you were losing a lot of sleep,” I snorted.
“Real shame you didn’t get any credit,” Charisma Kid sneered.
“It’s not about the credit... but neither did you!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” he laughed and dropped the front page of the newspaper in front of
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