He caught up to the rest of the team yards away from the hoverplane.

“So what’s the plan?” Matilda called to Pufferfish.

“I think the best—”

Duncan interrupted Ruby. “Matilda is taking me over there. That’s the plan.”

Everyone looked at Pufferfish. “Umm.”

“No arguments,” Duncan said. “This is personal.”

Pufferfish nodded.

Matilda took Duncan in her arms and flew him over to the hoverplane. Once there, she used one of her inhalers to blow a hole in the side of the ship. The two spies flew inside the cockpit, ready for a fight . . . but something was wrong. The ship was empty. Glowing letters on the control panel read REMOTE PILOTING ENABLED.

“There’s no one here!” Matilda said.

“What?” Ruby said over the nose comlinks.

“Let the lunch lady know we need a pickup. Simon’s flying this ship from somewhere else,” Duncan said. “He’s been playing us since the beginning—running us around in circles, guessing what we’ll do before we even do it. He knows us too well.”

“No arguments there. But if he’s not here, where is he?” Matilda asked.

Duncan had an idea, and the answer made him very, very nervous.

Albert walked down the halls of Nathan Hale Elementary with a thousand eyes watching his every step. He hadn’t been in the school in twenty-five years, not since he had been a student there as well, but that wasn’t why the children were watching him. He was wearing his Captain Justice costume and carrying a ray gun. He was also not alone. Simon, with his skull mask and army of hypnotized squirrels, was right behind him. Not to mention the goon with his razorsharp hook. And Mama—who turned heads with her gaudy jewelry and tiger-print jacket. A rumor began to spread that the foursome were new teachers, which caused many students to faint.

Albert knew they were being gawked at but shrugged it off. Kids had never been kind to him. He remembered how his peers used to break his beakers and contaminate his petri dishes just for fun. He couldn’t blame them. Being dressed like a scientist was like taping a sign to him that read PLEASE PUNCH ME AND TAKE MY LUNCH MONEY. Mama had made his life a misery, but soon the bullies and jerks would be begging for his help. Soon he would be the superman he was always meant to be.

“You had to wear the costume?” Simon said to Albert. “You couldn’t have put it on after you got your powers?”

“You should talk,” Albert said. “Your skull mask doesn’t exactly scream sanity.”

“Are you calling me a mad scientist? ’Cause I’m an evil genius! There is a big difference,” the boy cried.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Albert said. “We collect the superchips, I get my superpowers, and you shoot the weapon into space and do what it is you plan on doing.”

“Boys, this is no time to squabble,” Mama said. “We are very close to getting our hearts’ desire. Fighting and petty arguing are what always bring the bad guys down. Just keep your eyes on the prize and we’ll be fine. You’re sure those kids won’t swoop in and stop you, right?”

“No worries, Ms. Nesbitt,” Simon replied. “They’re very busy trying to stop our evil plan in Hawaii. I leaked the information about the volcano to the military when I stole their hoverplane. I knew the NERDS would come running. It’s Agent Brand’s weakness. He’s a preemptive strike kind of guy and thus predictable. Soon, the NERDS will realize they’ve been fooled again and they’ll race back here, but when they arrive, we will have already taken the microchips we need. Unfortunately, we have to wait until they arrive so we can take their rocket. We’ll need it to get the machine into space.”

“What are you talking about?” Mama cried. “This is just a school. There are no microchips. No rockets!”

Simon stopped at a bank of lockers and opened one of the doors. “Care to fall down the rabbit hole, Ms. Nesbitt?”

Simon stepped in and closed the door.

“He’s crazy, right?” Mama said. She opened the door. The locker was empty.

The goon shrugged and crawled in next. Seconds later, he vanished as well. Then it was Mama’s turn, and finally Albert’s.

He opened the locker door and saw a glowing blue light inside. A calm, female voice said, “Prepare to enter the Playground.”

Albert poked his head inside but could not find the source of the invitation. “Hello?”

“Prepare to enter the Playground,” the voice repeated.

“How do I do that?”

“Step into the locker for delivery.”

Albert eyed the tiny space. “I’m not sure I’ll fit.”

“Step into the locker for delivery.”

Albert crammed a leg into the locker and then squeezed his massive belly inside. His latex suit made his efforts sound like a clown twisting the world’s largest balloon animal. How he managed to get his head inside he would never know, but after twenty minutes of serious effort he finally got the locker door shut behind him.

“I hope this is really the way in, ’cause there is no way I’m ever getting out.”

“Delivery in five, four, three, two, one.”

The floor beneath Albert slid open, but he did not fall. In fact, he hung above the hole, kicking his feet in hopes of dislodging himself. It didn’t work. “I’m stuck!” he cried.

“Administering slippery jelly,” the voice said, and a spray of fluid basted him like a Thanksgiving turkey. But he was still crammed in tight.

“Still stuck,” Albert said, feeling embarrassed.

“Calculating Plan B. Please hold,” the voice said.

“Oh, c’mon!” he cried.

“Prepare for delivery,” the voice said as something snatched Albert by the ankle. It felt like a hand and it tugged at him until finally he was dislodged. A moment later he wished he had stayed stuck. His body was thrown through a series of tubes. He rolled through a loopty-loop, then along a conveyor belt, and finally tumbled down a tube and shot out of it like a cannonball onto a hard concrete floor.

He adjusted his mask, which had come askew in the fall, and looked around. His jaw dropped because of what he saw— hundreds of workstations filled with experiments of all kinds, computers with monstrous hard drives, technology beyond anything he had ever imagined. He might have stared at it all day, but then he noticed a tiny blue orb floating about.

“I have alerted security,” the orb chirped. “Stay still and you will be arrested at any moment.”

“What are you?” Mama asked.

“This is Benjamin,” Simon said, making introductions. “Good to see you, old friend.”

“Hello, traitor,” the ball chirped. “You do not have permission to enter the Playground. Your agent credentials have been revoked. You are a wanted fugitive.”

“Hypnotize this thing,” Simon cried to Albert. “I’ve taken care of the others.” He gestured to the hundred scientists standing obediently in one corner.

Albert aimed his ray gun at the little blue ball and pulled the trigger. There was a loud screech and the ball smoked as if its circuits were on fire. Then it righted itself.

“How can I help you?” Benjamin asked blandly.

“We’re looking to borrow a few of your fancy microchips, Benjamin,” Simon said.

“But first, I want my superpowers,” Albert said.

“Fine! Benjamin, will you put Mr. Nesbitt through the upgrade process?”

The little ball chirped. “The upgrade process is designed for children. It has never been done on a full-grown adult.”

“But that’s only because it’s programmed not to, right? Not because it can’t.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then get started. The rest of us will collect what we need,” Simon said, then turned to Albert. “Oh, and allow me to be the first person to say hello to the world’s first real superhero.”

“Follow me,” the orb said. It floated into a tiny room, and Albert tentatively followed. Once inside, a heavy door closed behind him and a chair rose up out of the floor.