“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to stop me,” Heathcliff replied. “I was fair. But let’s face it, people, I was destined for bigger things—even a bigger head. Now my brain is limitless. The things I can see are beyond description. The things I’m capable of doing have no end. My every dream becomes reality.”

There was a bright flash and suddenly everything was different—the trees were floating in the sky and the ground was rocking and rolling like a rough ocean. Matilda watched her teammates struggling to stay afloat.

“I think it might be time for a new name to go with my new power,” Heathcliff said as lightning and thunder crackled around his head. “No longer will you call me Screwball. You will call me … Brainstorm!”

There was another flash and everything returned to normal, but then the trouble really began. Heathcliff turned his attention to Matilda’s teammates, and with a simple cock of the eyebrow, Flinch buckled as if in great discomfort. Out of his mouth came a stream of what looked like tiny black bugs. They landed on the ground and caught fire. The tree he was carrying in his hands fell from his grasp. “My strength! It’s gone!”

Pufferfish was next; the same black spray came out of her mouth. When she shouted that she couldn’t filter information from her allergies, Matilda knew exactly what was happening: Brainstorm was removing their nanobytes—the source of their abilities—using only his mind. “Gluestick! Braceface! You’ve got to run!”

But Brainstorm turned on the boys, and soon they were powerless as well. Matilda was the only person left with her upgrades. She had to do something to stop Brainstorm, but his power was so incredible. As much as it enraged her, the best move was to retreat. She squeezed her inhalers hard and flew, feeling waves of heat flash past her. He was firing on her, but she couldn’t let him reach her! She zipped back and forth, making unpredictable changes in course, hoping it would hinder his attack.

“You can’t escape, Wheezer,” Brainstorm shouted. “Fly if you like, but I will destroy you.”

She felt the wind turn against her and she flew backward, slamming into the ground. Somehow he had forced the very sky to do his bidding. Matilda struggled to get to her feet, though she was unsure of what she could do. She had to face the facts. Whatever Heathcliff had become, he was too powerful to be stopped.

And then a ball of white light appeared in front of her. It was another portal—not a tear, but something manufactured by a bridge device—only on a massive scale. A person stepped through it and helped Matilda to her feet. Matilda realized this person looked exactly like her, only she was wearing a dress and had ribbons in her hair.

“Hello, Matilda,” she said. “I’m—well—I’m Matilda. That’s going to get confusing. You can call me Matilda 1.”

“1?”

“Yeah, you’re Matilda 217. Sorry, but the explorers get to pick the good numbers. I’m with MISFIT.”

“MISFIT? The monkeys told me about you,” Matilda said.

“Yes, Earth 14, but don’t call them monkeys—some are primates. Your Gerdie sent a message to the entire multiverse. Seems you guys need some help. Unfortunately, the rest of MISFIT is on an off-world mission. But don’t worry, I managed to round up some assistance.”

Suddenly, dozens and dozens of young girls stepped through the portal. Each was a version of Matilda—many of whom looked like exact copies, all with their own inhalers, but there were just as many that were wildly different. There was a gigantic octopus Matilda inside an airtight water suit. There was a Matilda who was ten feet tall. There was a Matilda covered in feathers, and one that had three legs, and one with one eye. There were Matildas who were different nationalities, different races, even one with blue skin. There was a Matilda who was a grown-up and one who was a boy. There was a Matilda with the abilities of all her teammates and one wearing a superhero costume. There were more than a handful dressed in cheerleading uniforms, princess gowns, lumberjack outfits, and even astronaut Suits there were some that were animals or animal human hybrids—like the one that had wings.

“So many versions of me,” she mumbled.

Matilda 1 smiled. “Yeah, Matildas are a varied bunch though they all have two things in common: one, we all have a truckload of brothers, and two, we all like to dish out a good butt-kicking. Sorry I can’t introduce all of them. We’ve only got a few minutes to help you before the portal closes. So let’s get to work.”

“You ready to lay the smack down on this fool?” asked a full-grown Matilda dressed in wrestling tights and sporting huge muscles.

Wheezer admired the World Championship Belt she wore and smiled. “Let’s do this!”

With a fighting force of a hundred, they flew at Heathcliff, punching and kicking and soaring and slapping him in the face. The ten-foot-tall Matilda kicked Heathcliff in what was left of his behind, sending him slamming into the recently rebuilt Washington Monument. It collapsed.

“Be careful, Matilda 79,” shouted Matilda 1.

Wheezer was surprised. “You know all of these people?”

Matilda nodded. “I’ve visited all their worlds. Hey, Matilda 16, how about a little horsepower!”

Matilda 16 charged forward on four legs. She was a centaur—half girl, half horse. She trotted with lasso in hand, twirling it like a rodeo cowboy, and slung it around one of Heathcliff’s tiny legs. Pulling it tight, she dragged his giant head around the Mall, pulling him face-first through the reflecting pool.

“You look bewildered,” Matilda 1 said to Wheezer.

“Everyone is so tough,” she replied.

Matilada 1 smiled. “Yeah, most of us are. Of course, we have versions that are girlie-girls in addition to butt-kickers, too. Looks like you’re a little of both.”

“Oh no, I’m not really a cheerleader,” she said. “I’m one hundred percent tomboy!”

Matilda 1 shook her head. “Nobody is one hundred percent anything, 217. I wear a dress, but I have mad ninja skills. The centaur Matilda is a spelling bee champ. Matilda 19 is half bird, but she’s also a great artist. The more Matildas I meet, the more I realize we’ve all got lots of different sides to us—tomboy, fighter, cheerleader, nerd—”

“Wheezer!” Agent Brand shouted as he pushed through the crowd of Matildas the best he could on his cane. Ms. Holiday followed close behind him. “You are our Wheezer, right?”

Matilda nodded and made introductions. “This is Matilda 1. She’s a member of a multiverse fighting team called MISFIT.”

“I brought the Matildas,” the girl said proudly. “It’s quite an honor to meet you, Mr. Brand.”

“You know who I am?”

Matilda nodded. “Alexander Brand 217. I work with your brother, Thomas Brand,” she said. “He’s our director.”

Brand looked as pale as a ghost. “My brother died in combat.”

Matilda watched Ms. Holiday take his hand.

“Not on my world. He says hello. He wanted to meet you but he’s trying to broker a peace treaty. When Earth exploded all of its population was moved to Earth 64. Turns out tiger people and zebra heads don’t get along.”

A terrible explosion interrupted their conversation. Everyone turned in the direction of the blast, where they saw that despite the attack of over a hundred Matildas, Brainstorm had recovered. He was shooting fireballs from his eyes and tossing cars at the girls using his telekinetic mind.

“You can’t stop me!” he roared, sweeping away his attackers like toys. “Even if you send a thousand pip-squeaks at me! I am Brainstorm. Bow before my intellect!”

Matilda looked out at the battlefield. Those who had escaped the destruction were helping the victims back through the portal. Matilda looked at her sadly. “Time’s up. I’ m sorry We did what we could, Wheezer. I’m afraid I’ve seen what happens to a world when a Heathcliff takes over. Do you and your friends want to evacuate to our world?”