“They’re cloning themselves,” Duncan explained.

“Exactly,” Dr. Kim said. “And they’re doing it at an astounding speed. Their numbers double every ten minutes. Plus, there’s another troubling discovery. As I told you before, the nanobytes are broadcasting a message into the minds of their victims. Our science team has managed to isolate it … Benjamin?”

Benjamin clicked and a voice filled the room. It had a determined, almost fevered intensity. “You are smarter than everyone else. Everyone you know is a fool. They don’t respect your intellect. But they will pay. Oh yes, they will pay. When you take over the world, they will fall to their knees and beg for your mercy, but they will find you have none! They shouldn’t have laughed at you. You will have the last laugh!”

“That voice!” Pufferfish said.

“It’s Heathcliff,” Brand snarled. “Even when he’s asleep, he’s trying to take over the world. We need to lock down the facility.”

“You can’t lock us in,” Ms. Holiday said.

“Ms. Holiday is correct,” Dr. Kim said. “We’re the only group capable of dealing with the insanity out there. If the team is trapped down here, the problems will get worse.”

“What are your projections, Dr. Kim?” General Savage asked. “What kind of time do we have before it goes global?”

A sectional map of the world appeared on all of the screens. It was scattered with red dots, mostly concentrated on the East Coast of the United States and Western Europe. But as Brand studied the map the dots began to spread. The map zoomed out to show the entire world, and the little red dots appeared on every continent. The dots multiplied faster and faster, and soon there wasn’t an inhabited place on Earth that wasn’t bright red.

“How long?” the lunch lady asked.

“Three days,” Benjamin said. “Maybe longer.”

“But not much longer,” Dr. Kim added.

Brand looked around the room. “So what do we do?”

The group grew very quiet.

Brand slammed his hand down on a desk. “Nothing? We don’t have a plan? We’re just going to let the world end?” He shuddered, envisioning the inevitable. When would Ms. Holiday succumb? The lunch lady? General Savage? The team? What would happen when it was his turn and he was dreaming of taking over the world or building a freeze ray?

“If the virus is mechanical in nature, can’t we just send out an electromagnetic pulse? That usually disables electronics,” Duncan said.

“We tried that,” Dr. Kim said. “Heathcliff’s nanobytes have developed some kind of shield. Perhaps the machine that installed them in his head understood that one EMP blast could kill him, so it came with protection.”

“What about Heathcliff?” Savage said. “If he’s got some transmitter inside him, can’t we just go in and take it out?”

“You’re suggesting some sort of operation,” Ms. Holiday said.

“It’s in his brain, right? Would he survive it?” Pufferfish asked.

“We’ve thought of that, too,” Dr. Kim said. “We located the transmitter, but—”

“Then cut it out!” Savage cried.

“It’s not that simple, sir,” Dr. Kim said.

“The transmitter is as small as a nanobyte, which is microscopic,” Benjamin twittered. “If we had a surgeon who could find it, he or she would have to cut into Heathcliff’s brain, which in its current state is enormous. There isn’t a doctor alive who would know how to find it.”

“And it could kill Heathcliff,” Dr. Kim added.

There was a silence in the room.

“No,” Brand said. “Heathcliff may be an insane monster and full of alien robots, but he is still an eleven-year-old boy.”

“But we’re talking about the end of the world here!” Savage barked.

“We still have at least three days, sir,” Brand said.

“I agree with Agent Brand,” Dr. Kim said. “We’ve got a team of one hundred of the smartest scientists to ever walk the planet dedicating all their considerable brainpower to coming up with a solution.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?” Ms. Holiday asked.

“We screen everyone on the team for infections,” Dr. Kim said. “We’ll do it every couple of hours. Anyone who has as an alien nanobyte will be quarantined immediately to prevent him or her from infecting others.”

“Everyone?” Ms. Holiday asked.

“Better safe than sorry,” Agent Brand said. “Doctor, what can we do to help the science team?”

“Stay out of the way and let us do our work,” Dr. Kim said. “And perhaps spend some time with the people you love while you still can. They may try to take over the world at any minute.”

“If that’s all, the children should get to class,” Ms. Holiday said. “The new principal is watching them like a hawk.”

“Can we stop with the bird references?” Jackson said.

The lunch lady nodded his head in agreement. “Listen, we’re going to have to do something about her and quick. She’s taken too big of an interest in the team.”

Brand nodded. “It’s on the list. Right now, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about Ms. Dove.”

“Easy for you to say,” Flinch remarked. “You haven’t been in detention twice this week. I’m starting to get a reputation.”

“Yeah, I hear some of the kids even think he’s cool,” Jackson said.

WOW, WATCHING YOU DO ALL THIS EXERCISING IS EXHAUSTING. I NEED TO SIT DOWN AND TAKE A BREAK. PHEW! NO, I’M FINE. I JUST GET A LITTLE WINDED SOMETIMES. ALL RIGHT, LET’S GET BACK INTO IT.

THE NEXT FITNESS CHALLENGE IS A LITTLE THING I CALL “BOOK HEFTING.” WHAT YOU DO IS TAKE A BOOK AND THROW IT AS FAR AS YOU CAN.

WHY?

WELL, THERE ARE TWO REASONS. FIRST, IT WILL SHOW US HOW STRONG YOU ARE, AND SECOND, IT WILL MOST LIKELY DESTROY THE BOOK AND YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE—CHA-CHING!

SO, BEND AT THE KNEES AND THROW YOUR BOOK WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT. THEN USE A TAPE MEASURE TO CALCULATE HOW FAR YOU TOSSED IT.

WHAT’S THE DISTANCE?

WOW, I HOPE YOUR BOOK ISN’T FROM THE LIBRARY.

Duncan invited Flinch to stay with his family now that Mama Rosa was in quarantine, but Flinch declined. He didn’t want to be too far away from his grandmother, so he stayed in the Playground on a foldaway cot. Mama Rosa was his only family, and knowing that she was sick kept him up half the night.

He wasn’t alone. Agent Brand drifted from one room of the Playground to another watching Heathcliff and studying the tests the science team had done on the virus. He looked worried and frustrated, but Flinch suspected he wanted to be left alone.

In the morning, Flinch got himself ready for school. Mama Rosa usually made a huge breakfast for the two of them, so it was strange to eat alone. With Ms. Dove’s “no junk food” policy, he decided to load up on sweets before his first class. Mama Rosa would never have allowed him to eat something called Not Really Sugar Smacks, let alone four boxes of it. By the time Flinch was finished with breakfast, he was so wound up, he thought he could see ghosts. But he knew he needed all that sugar to get through the day.

When he got to his first class, he was a sweaty, panting mess. Pushing aside his fears for his grandmother, he took out his books and paper and prepared to take notes. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure in the doorway. Ms. Dove’s eyes were glued on him. He gave her a sheepish smile, wanting her to believe he didn’t mind, but he hated being watched. He knew she would eventually see something she shouldn’t, and the team’s secret would be exposed. He had to find a way to distract her, but his mind was so jumbled with half possibilities that he couldn’t focus. The more he thought about it, the more nervous he grew until he was ready to scream. He squeezed his nose and waited for Brand’s voice.