Leave it to Rand-El to bring us back to reality. But he’s right. I can’t believe this is happening. I travel halfway across the galaxy to start a new life, make a bunch of new friends, and don’t even make it to my second week? And what about all that effort I wasted pretending to be something I’m not? Why? What does it matter now? And then there’s Mom and Dad. I lied to them, too, and let them believe I was a genius. And now I’m never going to see them again. They’ll never know the truth. Jeez, I miss them already. I’d even be happy to see Bula right now.
Zot screams. “What the heck is THAT?!”
Spotch stumbles backward, away from the creature’s shadow. “I don’t know, but I don’t think oxygen is our biggest problem right now!”
Grimnee, who was sitting against one of the smaller rocks, leaps to her feet. She slides in front of us and stands her ground. She’s making the same growling sound she did just before mashing Dorn into that wad of desks in Ms. Gassias’s class. Grimnee hates bullies.
“What the…?” I say, dumbfounded. “Bula?! How did you get here?!”
“DAD!” I yell as I run over to give him the biggest hug of my life.
“But… how did you even know we were here?” I ask.
Dad points to Mippitt. “He told me.”
“Mippitt?” I say. “But… how? He doesn’t even talk.”
“Heck, he’s not even really a HE. Mippitt is a robot. I built him to keep an eye on you while you got used to your new school. Once you landed on this planetoid, Mippitt contacted us to report your situation. He actually has quite a sophisticated communication system. Strictly nonverbal, though. Don’t tell your mother, or she’ll want to install the same thing on me. HAR! Anyway, as soon as he relayed your coordinates, Bula and I jumped in a shuttle and hurried right on over. Boy, a few miles closer to that Zorb and you guys would all be puddles of goo right now.”
Brian looks excited. “I like goo!”
“Sorry for keeping Mippitt a secret, Kelvin, but we thought it was for your own good. We just wanted to help keep you safe.”
Safe? Wait until he hears the whole story of our group’s little excursion to his lab. But first I have something more important to get off my chest.
“Since we’re giving away secrets, I’ve got one for you. And I’m really sorry about it. I’m a phony, Dad. I’ve been pretending to be a Mighty Mega Supergenius, but I’m really only about average, intelligence-wise.”
“If that,” chirps Rand-El.
“But everyone expects me to be more than that because you and Mom are so smart. Sometimes I think that’s the only reason other kids even like me. And I didn’t want to let anyone down, you know? Especially you guys. I just wanted you to be proud of me.”
“Proud of you?” Dad says. “Kelvin, your mom and I are super proud of you. And it has nothing to do with how smart you are—although I think you might be selling yourself short there. You never know when geniusness might kick in.”
“That’s exactly what I keep telling myself!”
Dad leans in closer. “You want to hear another secret? We knew you weren’t a Mighty Mega Supergenius.”
“You did? How?”
“Well, son, the D+ in geometry last year was a pretty big clue. HAR! But we were happy to go along with it if that’s what you wanted. In fact, I even programmed Mippitt to help you keep up the illusion until you finally decided to come clean.”
The rest of the gang has been hooting and hollering and dancing around in circles since Dad showed up. But now they’re getting impatient. Spotch points to his helmet and says, “My low-oxygen-level warning is starting to flash. Do you think we could make our way to the shuttle?”
“Yeah,” Rand-El adds, “we’re all real proud of you, Kelvin. And if we’re still breathing in five minutes, we’ll be even prouder.”
We head over to the shuttle and everyone hops in. And on the way back home we tell Dad the story of how we saved the universe.
Epilogue
Three weeks later…
I just HAD to do it. There I am, the Zorb mere feet from my grasp, the universe moments from being mine to command, and what do I say?
“NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!”
What a moron.
So now I’m left floating helplessly through the lonely depths of space forever. Without a book or anything. All this evil brilliance-WASTED!
What the…?
It appears I have collided with an asteroid of some sort! Not that that will help me any-I’m still drifting aimlessly through space. But, hey, at least now I can leave the robot and run around and get a little exercise. I could even live in one of the craters or something. Better yet, I could use the robot’s lasers to fashion a castle of sorts from this rock.
Yes! That’s it! I will control it all! I will become the evil ruler of this entire asteroid! NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! BWAHAHAH-
Acknowledgments
A big shout out to the preposterously patient Dan Lazar, seriously sensational Cecilia de la Campa, and all the great folks at Writers House. You guys always come through.
A huge heaping helping of gratitude to James Patterson, Reagan Arthur, and Jenny Bak for making Sci-Fi Junior High the first outside acquisition for Jimmy Patterson Books. It is truly an honor.
A plentiful portion of appreciation to Aubrey Poole and Tracy Shaw for lending their skill, creativity, and attention to detail to the project. The book is better because of you.
About the Authors
John Martin is the illustrator of the Vordak the Incomprehensible series. A day doesn’t go by without him drawing monsters, robots, and characters from his childhood. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Mary; sons, Adam and Paul; and daughter, Grace.
Scott Seegert is the author of the Vordak the Incomprehensible series. If you didn’t know better, and couldn’t see him, you would swear he was twelve years old. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Margie; sons, Brad and Jason; and daughter, Shannon.
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