

### THE GREEN BEANS

### VOLUME TWO

### THE STRANGE GENIUS

### OF LEFTY O'HOULIHAN

### GABRIEL GADGET

Copyright 2012 Gabriel Gadget

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please visit GabrielGadget.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

THINGS GET SCIENTIFIC

Two weeks have passed since the Green Beans solved the mystery of Hollow Oak, making remarkable discoveries in the process. In the wake of their findings, Jack has been placed within the huge, eerie manor of his new guardian – an eccentric uncle, known as Lefty O'Houlihan.

Before long, Jack comes to suspect that something strange is afoot in his new home. Weird noises, curious sights, and his uncle's odd behavior have led Jack to believe that all is not well at Lefty's Manor.

Seeking help, Jack finds that his friends are more than ready for adventure and investigation. Neil, Sara, and Maria gladly answer the call, along with Nibbler, the faithful Labradoodle.

From the rumors that the Green Beans have been able to gather, it seems that Lefty may have once been a brilliant scientist... until his 'strange genius' spiraled out of control, forcing him to part ways with his former employers. Now, the Green Beans are determined to uncover the truth behind Lefty's current scientific project... and what it may mean for the future of Hollow Oak.

### Chapter One

### You Can Lean on Nibbler

His breath held within his lungs, and his ear pressed against the door to the basement, Jack listened closely. For a moment, there was nothing. Nothing in the stretching silence, but for the thudding of his own heart, echoing in his ears.

Upon further contemplation, he could also hear the tick of the odd, ancient grandfather clock, which stood in the nearby parlor. Its elegant hands, piano black in color, slowly revolved, marking the passage of time as midnight drew closer. The clock was a strange relic, in a house of similarly weird objects and items.

Had he imagined it, Jack wondered? Had it all been inside of his head? His lungs burned from holding his breath, and his skin felt clammy, cool, and peppered with goose bumps.

His dog, Nibbler, stood beside him, braced and ready to leap into action. The big, furry Labradoodle waited in equal stillness, his head tilted up at Jack in a quizzical fashion.

" _Ah-roo?_ " the dog inquired softly.

" _Shh, boy_ ," Jack whispered to Nibbler, with a finger pressed against his lips.

As if sensing the gravity of the matter, and understanding that stealth was in order, Nibbler said no more. He leaned closer, carefully easing his weight, so as to not let his claws click upon the floors, which were built from durable lengths of maple wood. He pressed his own furry ear against the basement door, and his glistening, black nose quivered about in concentration. Together, the boy and dog listened.

As the silence continued, Jack eventually began to give up on the notion that there were strange goings-on occurring in the cellar. He slowly eased away from the basement door, and once more began to draw in regular breaths.

But then, just as he began to retreat from the door, the sound came again.

Thoom!

Jack's heart lurched within his chest, and his breath staggered. Caught by surprise, he briefly stumbled as he stepped away from the basement door, but Nibbler leaned against him. Jack steadied himself by placing a hand on the dog's sturdy back. Having regained his balance, Jack once more pressed his ear against the door.

Yes! There it was!

Thoom! ...Thoom! ...Thoom!

Jack felt the flesh upon his forearms and the nape of his neck crawling, once more alive with goose bumps. Every now and again, the strange noise could be heard from the other side of the door, down in the basement. Each time it sounded, Jack's heart seemed to leap into his throat.

Thoom! ...Thoom! ...Thoom!

Whatever it was that was causing such a ruckus down there, it was something of raw, savage _power_. Jack could not even begin to guess what it might be.

Now, at this close proximity to the door, he realized that there was another sound drifting from the basement. It was some kind of funky music, like nothing he had ever heard before. It was playing at a somewhat subdued volume... but it was still loud enough for Jack to hear, even at the top of the stairs, on the other side of the closed door.

And then, when it seemed that things could not possibly get any weirder, another sound joined it... that of laughter from the basement. A more precise definition of the laughter might have been... _cackling_. It was more than enough to generate hair-raising results.

Forcing himself to focus on the moment (a skill he had learned playing baseball), Jack took a few slow breaths. He pressed two fingers against his wrist, and was not surprised to feel that his pulse was racing.

But this was okay. In fact, this matter was relatively _mild_ (strange as it might seem), compared to his recent experiences in what could only be called _extreme weirdness_. Once, there had been room (however small) in his life for things like fear. But there was room for such, no more. He had, after all, faced some of the worst that life could throw at him, and he was still standing.

In the town of Hollow Oak, Jack had recently become a celebrity of sorts... but his was a reputation that nobody would willingly seek. With his father jailed for crimes against the town, he had become an object of pity, and at times... contempt.

The only family that Jack knew had been taken from him, without warning or preamble. But what made the matter far worse was the fact that he had been ridiculed beyond endurance, by those who sensed a weakened prey, and were eager to strike. The worst offenders were the surly Cragglemeisters, who seemed to harbor an unrelenting vendetta against him.

Fortunately, Jack had the support of his friends. They had remained beside him, when others were glad to turn their backs. They were there for him... Neil, and Sara, and Maria... his very best friends. And there was, of course, the undying loyalty of Nibbler, who was a cold-snouted, floppy-eared, and thoroughly fur-covered friend like none other.

With such recent, trying experiences in tow, there was no fear to be gleaned from Jack. He had always possessed an aptitude for adventure, and his recent trials had only made him more resilient.

He had suspected strangeness abounding in this old, weird house, ever since he had come to live with the man known as Lefty O'Houlihan... a person who Jack had only recently learned was his uncle. Apparently, his father had not stayed in touch with Uncle Lefty, because Jack had never even heard his name mentioned before.

When Jack's father had gone to prison, employees of the state had gotten involved. They were searching for a home to place him in, but finding relatives had been a difficult task. As far as Jack knew, his father was his only family (other than Nibbler, but for obvious reasons, the Labradoodle was not a suitable caretaker).

After several days of researching, however, the state workers had discovered that Jack did indeed have _one_ relative... the mysterious and eccentric Lefty O'Houlihan.

### Chapter Two

### Not Your Ordinary Basement

Jack had soon come to learn that Uncle Lefty was a man of a rather _odd_ reputation within the town of Hollow Oak. He was known as an outsider, a recluse, and a man of what might perhaps be called _strange genius_.

It was rumored that he had once been a scientist for the federal government, lauded for his brilliance and revolutionary concepts. Far more alarming were the further rumors that he had been released from his employment with the government... following a breakdown that was a consequence of his strange genius, spiraling out of control.

None of this could be confirmed, however. There had been a great deal of secrecy not only concerning his research with the government, but also the terms by which his employment had been severed.

What _could_ be confirmed was that Lefty O'Houlihan had managed to accrue a vast amount of money during his earlier years, whatever he might have been up to. It was rumored that he was an inventor, and that his royalties from patents he held for his various creations kept his bank accounts full. Not only did he now enjoy a life free of regular employment, but he had also purchased the vast, weird estate that he now resided in, at the outskirts of town.

It was a history (as you might imagine, my astute reader) that inspired very little in the way of Jack's confidence in Lefty. After all... when odd men from the state placed a ten-year-old with a previously unknown uncle who was rumored to have lost his job with the government, when his "strange genius began spiraling out of control"... it stands to reason that the available options were pretty darned slim. Jack realized that there might have been a very good reason why his father had never spoken of Lefty... it was entirely possible that the man was bonkers.

Jack, however, had done his best to embrace the change. It was exciting to learn that there was a relative that he had previously never known of (although Uncle Lefty had proven to be rather aloof and distracted). Jack was always up for adventure, and his new home was a place that seemed ripe for exploration.

The residence of Lefty was a huge, weird house, built hundreds of years ago at the edge of Hollow Oak, and it had been further expanded upon several times. At this point, it was a sprawling property, perhaps even reaching the status of a _mansion_.

It was filled with countless rooms and fireplaces, and Jack suspected that there were most likely hidden passageways located somewhere in the house. This conclusion only stood to reason, based on all the oddities that he had thus far witnessed, in the short span of a week at "Lefty's Manor" (as he had come to call it). He had seen much weirdness, and he had heard things within the walls that he could not explain or identify.

Needless to say, he had not been sleeping particularly well in this new environment, and his teacher, Ms. Waffler, had found it necessary to wake him from time to time when he dozed off at his desk. She took it easy on Jack, however, for she seemed to be sympathetic to the fact that he had been having a rough go of it lately.

The bedroom he had been staying in at Lefty's Manor was located on the second floor, and it was so big, it was as spacious as some small homes. It had its own fireplace, enormous bookcases that were filled with dusty tomes, and even a towering suit of armor. Although this all looked undoubtedly awesome by the hours of daylight, it made for less than ideal sleeping arrangements.

At night, Jack would lie awake, with the covers pulled up to his chin, and listen to the many creaks and groans of the old house. He knew that it was just the ancient wood of the residence, moving about and settling, as it was prone to do in elderly homes. But still... it was eerie.

Additionally, the whistling wind rattled the panes of the old windows. Leaves and branches would scrape against the glass, and this at times sounded like the slow drag of long fingernails, seeking a point of weakness that could be exploited.

The light of the moon would cause these swaying branches to generate dancing shadows throughout the bedroom. The suit of armor, meanwhile, cast its own, rather dubious silhouette, as it loomed in the corner. Jack would listen to these noises, and eyeball these shadows, as he lay beneath the covers, fruitlessly counting sheep. He was not afraid, of course... but it was a bit hard to sleep with such an abundance of eeriness.

Nibbler would lie atop the bedspread, his ears twitching at every sound, his snout turning toward every strange shadow. His furry tail would thump reassuringly against Jack from time to time, and his company was as welcome as ever.

Earlier tonight, Jack and Nibbler had been hoping for sleep as they lay in bed, listening to the wind whistle through the old, drafty windows. And then, there had come the other noise... the strange and startling sound that had prompted them to rise from bed, their curiosity engaged.

Thoom! ...Thoom! ...Thoom!

And so it was that Jack, dressed in pajamas, had eased from bed with a flashlight in his hand, and Nibbler by his side. Tracing the source of the noise, they had tiptoed down the creaking staircase, journeyed through several winding hallways, crossed the gargantuan kitchen, eased across the parlor, and finally found themselves at their current location: the door that led to the basement.

It was one of the few places that Jack had not yet explored within the manor. Lefty had not exactly _forbidden_ him from entering it, but it had seemed to Jack to be a personal area for his uncle. Lefty spent the vast majority of his time in the basement, where he could be heard tinkering about and muttering to himself. For this was no ordinary basement... it was a basement _laboratory_.

Slowly... cautiously... _ever_ so carefully... Jack moved his hand to the doorknob. Were he still prone to the occasional bouts of fear that any ten-year-old boy was sure to feel from time to time, he undoubtedly would have refrained from such bold action. But he was _not_ just any ten-year-old boy. He was possessed of experience (particularly in the realms of weirdness) that defied his young age.

As his fingers wrapped around the doorknob, there passed from the metal to his skin a feeling that was difficult to describe. It was an electric shock! A blue-white wisp of electric current arced through the air, clearly visible in the dim lighting of the hallway.

As the mild jolt passed into his body, Jack's eyes came to resemble saucers, and a hushed utterance passed between his lips. " _Gears and sprockets!_ " he exclaimed.

Nibbler leaped back, eyeing the doorknob with renewed suspicion. After a moment, his tail started wagging, and he licked Jack's shocked fingers.

" _Woo_ ," Jack gasped, as he flexed his hand, and the fingers were doused with dog slobber. "That was an _electrifying_ experience, as Coach might say."

He shook his hand once more, and then bolted for the nearest door to the outside, with his dog at his heel. "Come on, Nibbler... Neil's going to want to know all about this, isn't he?"

### Chapter Three

### Bedtime Can't Stop Me

As he lay in the dreaming stages of sleep, enshrouded in a warm nest of blankets and pillows, Neil murmured to himself. He murmured in quiet contentment, having achieved that singular happiness that occurs when one has put in a hard day, and has lain down to their well earned prize – a night of sound sleep, to refresh and rejuvenate.

And Neil had indeed put in a hard day, which was the norm for him. It had consisted of school, baseball practice, dinner with the family, homework, and (last, but not least) a couple of rounds of online Virtual Baseball with his friends.

Neil's pupils moved slightly against the closed lids of his eyes. " _Hem-nem-nem_ ," he muttered to himself, smacking his lips with slumber-filled contentment. " _Hem-nem-nem_."

It was a magnificent feeling, to drop into sleep in the comfort of one's own bed. But as Neil descended into that land of dreams and nocturnal machinations of the mind, there came a mild disturbance that troubled his slumber.

_Rap_ , so it sounded, against the walls of his mind. _Rap... rap... rap!_

Slowly, blinking and rubbing at his eyes, Neil rose from his pillow. A gargantuan yawn was loosed from his mouth, and he murmured in the confusion that often accompanies an arousal from sleep.

He looked about, searching for whatsoever had taken him from his slumber. For the most part, his bedroom remained in darkness, but for the streaks of moonlight that penetrated the window, casting a slight, orange-yellow illumination upon the walls and floor.

Rap!

The sound came again. Shaking his head from side to side, Neil looked to the source of the noise. It came from his bedroom window – a sharp, clear sound against the stillness of the night.

Rubbing his fists against his eyes, Neil pulled himself from his bed, still half-asleep. He briefly became entangled in his sheets, but was able to break free from them after stumbling about for a bit. Neil's feet remained unresponsive to mental inputs for the time being, and he staggered across his bedroom until he reached the window.

It was then, while his face was only inches from the clear pane of glass, that the sharp sound issued once more. _Rap!_

Flinching, Neil lurched backward, away from the window. Gradually, his mind was clearing from the cobwebs of sleep, and he slowly came to comprehend that the noise he had heard was in fact a small stone, colliding against the glass.

"What the...?" he murmured, as he unlocked the window and opened it up. He stuck his sleep-befuddled head outside and hollered, "Hey, whaddya doin' to my window? Who's out there? Is it the Cragglemeisters? You trying to bust up my window or somethin'?"

" _Shhhhhh!_ " he heard a hushed voice call from below. " _Neil, keep it down!_ "

"You tryin' to break up my glass?" Neil shouted out the window, still confused and bewildered, from being roused from a sound sleep.

" _Neil, it's me!_ " came the hushed voice. " _Keep it down! You're going to wake up your parents!_ "

Rubbing his fisted hands against his eyes once again, Neil looked toward the voice that had spoken to him. Finally, his eyes locked upon Jack, and the happy (exhilarated would probably be more accurate) Labradoodle that stood beneath, one story below Neil's window.

"Oh, hey, Jack!" Neil called, as he ran a hand through his mussed, sandy hair, and loosed a wide yawn. "Nibbler, what's shaking?"

" _Woof!_ " Nibbler answered, his tail wagging in unrestrained happiness. It made his wiggly rump shake from side to side. " _Woof!_ "

Jack placed a calming hand on the dog's back, and patted him reassuringly. " _Okay, boy, let's keep it down_." He turned his attention to the window. " _Neil, would you try to lower your voice a bit? Aren't your parents sleeping?_ "

Neil yawned, and blinked fuzzily at his visitors, as if just seeing them now. "Whoa! Hey, Jack! Thought I might be dreaming."

" _Shhhhh!_ " Jack whispered, with a finger pressed against his lips. " _What are ya, nuts? Aren't your parents asleep?_ "

"Oh, yeah," Neil said, lowering his voice. "Good point. Well... I'm not used to being roused from my sleep in the middle of the night, you know? I don't quite feel like myself at the moment... I'm sort of groggy." He paused, and peered up at the moon. "Hey, what time is it, anyway? What's going on around here?"

"Well, it's just shy of midnight, since you ask," Jack told him. "And believe me, I wouldn't have woken you up, if it wasn't _super_ important."

"What are you, kidding me?" Neil asked. "You know you can stop by any time, I don't mind. I _live_ for adventure," he added, as he stifled a yawn. "Heck, the last time we were up at this time of night, we came face to face with a swamp beast, I don't have to remind you."

"Nope. I remember that _very_ clearly," Jack assured him. "That was one weird night."

Neil shook his head from side to side, to dispel the cobwebs of sleep, and he was becoming more alert by the moment. The prospect of adventure was a powerful incentive, plenty strong enough to bring a ten-year-old boy to his senses at a time when he should have been fast asleep.

"What's going on?" Neil asked. "Is there trouble afoot? Are the Cragglemeisters involved in foul play? Give me two shakes, and I'll be ready to go!"

" _Egads, Neil, keep it down!_ " Jack whispered. "No, there's no sign of the Cragglemeister Brothers. It's my uncle... Lefty. Something weird is going on at the manor. Well... weirder than usual, is what I mean to say. Something downright _crazy!_ "

"Say no more," Neil assured Jack. He had already drawn away from the window, and had begun throwing on what he might deem some "adventuring" clothes, which was a somewhat stark contrast to Jack's pajamas, slippers, and bicycle helmet. "I'm on my way."

He returned to the window, with only one shoe in place, and the other in hand. Neil launched himself into the maple tree that hugged the house, monkeying down it in short order.

His course was perhaps not the wisest one, in terms of logic and practicality. But it was one that held a great deal of credibility in the world of middle-graders... It was that of faith and friendship.

Neil landed upon the ground and hustled over to his friend, putting his second shoe on as he went. Nibbler greeted him with a wet snout, and Jack met him with a subdued (in an effort to reduce noise) high-five.

Jack grinned at the reassuring touch of immovable friendship. It was a thing that he had become quite familiar with in recent days, as the hardships had piled on, and then resiliently been shaken off.

"Okay, I'm ready," Neil chortled. "Nothing so trivial as bedtime can stop me!"

### Chapter Four

### Put on Guard

Neil and Jack rode their bicycles to Lefty's Manor, with Nibbler trotting beside them. They pedaled through the darkness on the rural roads of Hollow Oak, their beloved town.

The feel of the cool air against their faces was refreshing, and it helped to keep them alert at this late hour. Flashlights were mounted to the handlebars of their bicycles, and they cast wobbling beams of light upon the paved shoulder of the roads, as well as the trees and brush of the forest.

They met no cars on their journey, for it was a small town, and almost everyone was asleep at this hour. The night was nearly silent, but for the chirping of crickets, the hooting of owls, and the rustling of the leaves that swayed in the wind.

It did not take them very long to reach Lefty's Manor, and once they were near, they approached with caution. The boys stashed their bicycles in some bushes, and began sneaking closer to the manor on foot. They stayed in the woods that surrounded the property, hoping that the cover of the forest would let them proceed undetected.

For his part, Nibbler went into _Labradoodle_ _stealth mode_. He hunkered low to the ground, with his shoulder blades swaying, his ears perked up, and his nose sniffing with the utmost alacrity.

But as they crept into the forest, it soon became clear to the boys and dog that they were not alone. From deeper within the woods, there came a noise that they instantly recognized: _Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_.

It was the sound of heavy brush and vegetation being pushed aside. Pushed aside, by something _big_.

Neil and Jack froze in place. Their heads were turned toward the source of the noise, and their eyes had grown wide. Nibbler tentatively wagged his tail and quirked his ears.

" _Is that...?_ " Neil asked, his voice filled with hope.

" _Could it be...?_ " Jack wondered, as he peered into the darkened forest.

_Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_ , came the noise once more. It was now louder. Closer. They saw the treetops sway and ripple, as something with incredible force moved everything that stood before it. _Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_. _RUSTLE-RUSTLE-RUSH-CRUSH_.

With an enormous surge of motion, the final screen of brush was parted, and the creature that had been creating the noise was suddenly visible. He had a colossal silhouette, towering like a giant, and his green eyes glowed in an otherworldly fashion. His broad shoulders rose and fell as he heaved with deep breath, which washed over the boys and Nibbler with the scent of moss.

" _Titus!_ " Neil gasped.

" _Greetings, little ones_ ," came the rumbling voice of the monster before them, a being that was unique in every way.

He was, as Neil and Jack had recently discovered, _the swamp beast of Hollow Oak_. Titus stood at a height of _nine feet_ , and he was a fantastic sight to behold. Vines, moss, and foliage covered the mottled green skin of his body, lending him an undoubtedly botanical quality. His shoulders were broad, his legs thick, and his arms were the size of tree trunks, rippling with muscle. He had a neck that was like a tree stump, and vines swung about his head, as if dreadlocks of strange, green hair. Defined within his broad face were both strength and wisdom, accumulated during an untold number of years.

A peregrine falcon sat atop one shoulder of Titus, perched and ruffling his blue-gray wings. Neil and Jack instantly recognized the bird as Arturo, Titus' swift-winged agent of reconnaissance.

Titus dropped to one knee, so that he could more easily see Neil and Jack. They ran to him with excitement, for this was one monster that was not to be feared... this was their _friend_. A strange and magnificent friend, who they had met just a couple of weeks earlier. Titus had recruited them, to help him put a stop to the pollution of the water source for the creatures that were under his protection, in the town of Hollow Oak.

"What are you doing here?" asked Jack. "We were hoping to see you again soon, but this is a pleasant surprise!"

" _It is good that we should meet again_ ," Titus rumbled, as he embraced them in a gigantic hug, with Nibbler squeezed in the middle. " _Though it has not been long since we last saw one another, I have missed you_. _I am so grateful for the efforts you put forth for me, and for the creatures of the woodlands and the swamps. Already, the quality of our water has improved, since you helped us put a stop to the pollution_."

"That's great news!" Neil exclaimed. "Is there something else you need help with? Just say the word, and we'll rally to the cause!"

" _No, little one. But thank you for the offer_ ," Titus chuckled. " _I have sought you out in order to warn you of the one who poisoned our river. He is up to something... I'm sure of it_."

" _Jasper?_ " asked Jack. His teeth clenched, as he recalled the heinous acts of the immoral school janitor. "Yeah, he was the one who was dumping the toxic goop into the river, alright. But he set up my father, to take the fall for his dastardly deeds. He's a first-rate scoundrel, to say the least! What kind of trouble is he brewing this time?"

" _That, I'm afraid, I don't know the answer to_ ," Titus said. " _But I've been keeping a close eye on him, ever since you exposed his evildoings_. _He lives at an isolated farm, and the property's nearness to the woods allows me to study his activities... to some extent, at least. I dare not get too close, for fear of discovery_."

Neil and Jack nodded in understanding, for they knew that Titus chose to remain hidden from humans, in all but the most dire of scenarios.

" _I cannot say what the one you call 'Jasper' is doing, but I have no doubt that he's up to no good. It seems that he spends a large amount of time working on some project, laboring late into the night... and I can sense that he has learned nothing from his past errors, I'm afraid_."

"Yep, he's a real galoot," Neil confirmed. "It doesn't surprise me one bit, that he wouldn't learn."

" _I must go now for now... my duties call to me, and there is much to do. But I wanted to seek you out and warn you, little ones. Be on guard – and should you need my help, I will answer the call, if it is within my power to do so. You are friends of the forest, and I will always be indebted to you_."

Titus rose to his full, staggering height. He gently lay one hand upon the top of Neil's head in farewell, and then did the same for Jack and Nibbler. Arturo launched from the swamp beast's shoulder and flew off, with powerful motions of his wings. Titus turned, pushed two small trees aside, and disappeared into the brush. His departure was marked by the sound of his massive body passing through the vegetation... _Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_.

Neil, Jack, and Nibbler watched in silent awe as the silhouette of the swamp beast blended into the dark shapes of the forest. It was impossible to not be filled with wonder at the encounter. Though it was disturbing to hear the report that Jasper was up to no good, this news was overshadowed by the feeling of exhilaration that swelled in the hearts of the boys, and gratitude for once more having a brief experience with Titus.

Only after the sounds of Titus' passage had dwindled away to nothing, did Neil and Jack return their attention to Lefty's Manor, which they could see from afar. Resuming their stealthy approach, with Nibbler leading the way, they once more crept closer, seeking a superior place of observation.

### Chapter Five

### Strange Things Are Afoot

As Neil and Jack snuck through the woods, with Nibbler stealthily slinking beside them, they contemplated what they had been told by Titus. It was not terribly surprising to hear that Jasper was back at his dastardly deeds. But he had to be up to something _particularly_ nefarious, for Titus to feel that he had to warn them to be on guard.

When they felt that they were close enough to Lefty's Manor, they crouched amid a colony of assorted shrubberies. From this point of surveillance, Neil, Jack, and Nibbler collectively observed the house. In particular, their eyes were concentrated on the window wells of the basement, which were just above the ground, and built into the concrete of the foundation.

It was in those windows that there appeared a very _odd_ thing. The boys and the dog saw the intermittent burst of blue-white light, an arc of electricity against a pane of glass.

" _Gobstoppers!_ " Neil gasped. "What is _that?_ "

"Exactly what I'm wondering!" Jack exclaimed. "And that's what I'm living with... That's the kind of weird stuff that goes on around here when I'm trying to catch a few z's at night! It's not too easy, let me tell you, when you've got these crazy noises coming from the basement, and lightning flying around."

" _The basement_ ," Neil muttered thoughtfully, rubbing at his chin. "Didn't you say that Lefty has some kind of laboratory down there?"

"Yep," Jack confirmed.

"Have you been down there yet?"

"Nope... it seems like my uncle's always down there, working on something, and I haven't wanted to intrude. He seems to _really_ get into his projects. But I think that's going to have to change, after tonight... there's no way I can go without investigating this."

"You won't be alone!" Neil declared. "This clearly seems to be a scenario requiring backup."

"Well, I won't disagree with that," Jack said. "Backup is definitely in order."

" _Woof!_ " Nibbler added, vouching his own support.

The dog was pressed between the two boys, wiggling along on his belly in order to maintain _Labradoodle_ _stealth mode_. His ears were flat against his head in consternation. He eyed the basement with apprehension, while a low, deep growl vibrated within his chest.

Nibbler paused in his growl for long enough to press his cold snout against Neil's cheek, and administer a reassuring touch from his slobbery tongue. In response, Neil giggled. He couldn't help it... he was ticklish.

Strange, funky music began to drift from the basement. It was loaded with the sound of bass strings being plucked, and a spunky, feisty melody.

"Your uncle sure has some weird taste in music," Neil noticed.

"Yep, he sure does," Jack agreed.

"Does he always play it so loud, this late at night?"

"No, not until tonight... He was playing it earlier, but nowhere near this loud. Uncle Lefty must really be getting into whatever he's doing down in the laboratory. And I heard this same kind of music, right when the other noise started happening."

" _What_ noise?" Neil inquired.

No sooner had the question been asked than there came a great _Thoom!_ from the basement.

" _That_ noise!" Jack told him.

So came the crashing sound from the ancient basement, and the manor almost seemed to shudder upon its foundation. It was such a blast of noise, such a jolt, that Neil and Jack could not help but lurch backward at the sound of it.

And then, there came a voice from afar, issuing from the laboratory. "It's alive!" called the voice. " _It's aliiiivveee!_ "

" _It's alive?_ " Neil gasped. "Um, what exactly? _What's_ alive?"

"That strikes me as a real good question, right about now," Jack admitted.

Nibbler thumped his tail between the two boys, and uttered an inquisitive chuff. He too, it seemed, was struck with curiosity.

The basement windows were illuminated with a particularly bright blast of light, as the sound came again: _THOOM!_ This time, it was accompanied by the noise of crackling electricity.

Lightning danced about, and burst through the panes of glass that covered the window wells of the basement. Forked fingers arced forth, reaching in the black night air.

It crackled, and roared, and belched with discord. It was a sound that sent chills through the bone, and acorns tumbling from the limbs of nearby oak trees. Alerted by the sound, Nibbler rose from the ground, but remained pressed against the boys, offering the comfort of his furry weight.

It was at that moment that their attention was diverted to the treetops above. At some distance not terribly far over their heads, there came a strange noise that sounded an awful lot like... _chattering_. But it was a weird, high-pitched kind of chattering, and if it was communicating anything at all, it must have been done in some sort of babbling, nonsensical language.

"Um... do you hear that?" Neil asked.

His eyes were wide as he studied the trees above. He could see little in the darkness, but the branches and leaves were moving about quite a bit. It seemed clear that _something_ was up there.

"Oh, I hear it," Jack assured his friend, as he scanned the canopy. "But I'm afraid I can't tell you _what_ I'm hearing."

An acorn descended, and bopped Nibbler at the very tip of his black snout. He blinked in surprise, and his ears perked up, at what seemed to be strange giggling from the trees above.

"Okay, I think I've seen enough for one night," Neil decided. He gripped Jack's shoulder in alarm. "Let's get out of here!"

"Agreed," Jack said. "You don't have to tell me twice. I think it's time we performed a tactical retreat, so we can regroup!"

Neil and Jack ran for their bicycles, with Nibbler right beside them. With the strange noises roaring behind them, and weird arcs of lightning illuminating the darkness, they raced away, pedaling madly into the night.

### Chapter Six

### Breakfast at the Bandernaths

As he remained hidden in the Bandernaths' hallway, Jack pressed a hand against the back of Nibbler. Being a wise and obedient Labradoodle, Nibbler remained quiet, sensing that he mustn't give away his presence. His tail thumped slowly against Jack's leg, while his ears quirked about in contradicting angles.

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, Jack could smell many delicious aromas, drifting up from the first floor. A grand breakfast was being enjoyed below, which included pancakes, fresh strawberries, and juice. He felt his belly rumbling, as the delicious scents drifted his way. Nibbler also smelled the food, and he softly whined for want of pancakes in his belly.

" _Shh, boy_ ," Jack whispered. " _The Bandernaths don't know that we spent the night here. We've got to stay hidden!_ "

It was unlikely that Neil's parents would be upset, if they discovered that Jack had spent the night in their home. After all, the Bandernaths cared a great deal for Jack, and they had even volunteered to serve as his guardians while his father was away.

But Neil and Jack had decided that they would have a hard time explaining his presence. It would result in many questions as to what they had been up to. The last thing Neil needed was for his parents to be worried about his adventuring, and start intervening in his investigations.

Jack could hear the voices of the Bandernaths, drifting from the first floor. It was Neil, his father, and his mother. Together, they formed the intangible essence of _family_ , a thing that Jack held a great deal of appreciation for. As they went about their morning routine, they discussed things that might be considered terribly mundane to outsiders, but were significant to them.

Neil's dad (otherwise known as Big Bob Bandernath, and _Coach_ to the Green Beans of the Hollow Oak Baseball League) commented on articles that caught his eye as he perused the newspaper, including the performance of his favorite teams. He also mentioned current issues of business at his sneaker factory, to which his wife, Loretta, offered her thoughts and insights.

Neil talked about what awaited him at the elementary school. Although he had to stifle a yawn or two, due to his late night adventuring, he maintained a genuine enthusiasm for the day that lay ahead.

Yes, these things might have been considered boring to those who were not members of the Bandernath family. But to Jack, the seemingly mundane was quite interesting. He would not mind having a bit of such normalcy in his own life (although he could never do without his regular doses of adventuring).

As if sensing Jack's thoughts, Nibbler leaned against his leg, pressing all his weight upon him. Jack looked down at the Labradoodle, who was nuzzling his hand with a warm tongue and a cold snout.

" _Hey, Nibbler_ ," Jack whispered, scratching the dog behind his ears. " _Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you!_ "

Jack tiptoed his way back to Neil's bedroom, with Nibbler following close behind. He would have to sneak out through the window, and shimmy down the trusty maple tree.

Jack had borrowed some clothes from Neil, because he very well couldn't show up to school in his pajamas and slippers. The friends were close to the same size (lean and wiry from endless hours spent adventuring and playing baseball), so finding clothes that fit Jack was no problem.

Just as he reached the window and slid it open, Jack heard Neil tell his parents, "Oh, I forgot something! I'll be right back."

"Brush your chompers while you're up there," his mother reminded him.

Seconds later, Neil sprinted up the staircase, and met Jack in his room. He slipped his backpack off of his shoulders, and opened it up, revealing its contents to Jack and Nibbler. Inside, there was an impressive stack of fluffy, blueberry-laden pancakes, complete with syrup. The pancakes did nothing to improve the condition of his textbooks, but they sure did look delicious.

" _Hah!_ " he whispered. " _Look what I smuggled out for you guys! Pretty sweet haul, huh?_ "

Nibbler wagged his tail in appreciation, and immediately tried to dive into the backpack, snout first.

" _Whoa, not so fast, boy_ ," Jack whispered. " _We'll eat those on the way to school. First, we've got to get you down to the ground._ "

Nibbler obediently went to the window, more than ready to be hoisted into the wooden barrel that awaited him. The barrel was attached to a rope, which was slung over a large branch of the maple tree. On his first trip in the device, he had been quite dubious about the process, but he was getting used to it by now.

It was, however, an operation that was best performed with the combined strength of Neil and Jack. This was the reason Neil had sought an excuse to sneak back to his room: so that he could help Jack smuggle Nibbler outside with the lift.

Knowing that they only had a few moments before Neil's parents would grow suspicious, they quickly went to work. Together, the two of them managed to pull it off in short order, while Nibbler happily enjoyed his ride in the makeshift elevator.

Once that was done, Jack clambered out the window, and began scurrying down the tree. He had climbed up and down the old maple so often that it had become second nature to him, and his hands and feet automatically found the best spots.

" _Meet you on the street_ ," Jack whispered, as he monkeyed along.

Neil gave him the thumbs up before departing from the window, pausing only to retrieve his pancake-filled backpack.

### Chapter Seven

### Saved by the Bell

Neil heard his name being called, from what seemed a great distance away.

" _Neil!_ " the voice called, drifting toward him, as if winding its way down a long tunnel, bouncing and echoing upon its surfaces. " _Neil, are you paying attention?_ "

With a start, Neil lurched awake. He was met with a brief moment of confusion, as he struggled to remember where he was. His elbow swept to one side, and knocked his textbook off of his desk, where it landed upon the classroom floor with a remarkably loud noise: _Thwack!_

"Yep, I'm here," Neil assured his teacher, as if he had been paying the utmost attention. He discreetly wiped a bit of drool from his chin, as he blinked his eyes in rapid succession and retrieved his textbook. "I'm ready! What's the question?"

His fifth grade teacher, Ms. Waffler, strode over to his desk. She _jingled_ and _jangled_ as she approached, for she wore a great assortment of bracelets, necklaces, and odd doodads. Beads, and bells, and charms of all sorts shook and sounded from the motion of her limbs. Her clothing was brightly colored and featured an astonishing array of patterns.

Atop her head, there was an incredible, frizzy mass of brown hair, which was adorned with all manner of pastel-colored clips and devices. Neil had theorized that his teacher's hair might even be home to a bird or two.

Ms. Waffler was an odd duck, to be sure. She had what Coach referred to as a _distinctly New Age vibe_. Neil wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but what he did know was that Ms. Waffler was a universally adored weirdo.

Students and parents alike appreciated her innate ability to teach in a method that was effective for the children in her classroom. And she brought a wonderful energy with her, which was infectious and inspiring. Her eyes were always bright with interest, and her voice could not hide the excitement she felt when presenting a lesson.

Neil liked his teacher as much as everyone else did, and he knew he was lucky to be in her class. He felt somewhat embarrassed to have dozed off. The last thing he wanted was for Ms. Waffler to think that she was doing a bad job teaching, and failing to keep his attention.

Ms. Waffler looked down at Neil, and studied him with her bright eyes. There was no disapproval in her expression, but a great deal of concern. She glanced at Jack, and saw that he also had puffy eyes and the look of a sleep-deprived boy.

"I don't know what kind of mischief you kids get up to at night. You need to get more sleep, I tell you!"

"Yes, Ms. Waffler," Jack answered dutifully. "I'm sorry... we'll try to do better."

"Yep," Neil confirmed, as he fought back a yawn. "I'm sorry, Ms. Waffler. We'll pay attention, I promise."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that," their teacher said. She smiled down at the sleepy boys. "The things you learn in school might come in handy some day, you know."

Neil and Jack nodded respectfully, and began scribbling in their notebooks. Of course, neither one of them had any idea where they were in their current lesson, so they had to improvise. Jack was sketching doodles of the contraptions he imagined might be in Lefty's basement, while Neil was brainstorming ideas for a Nibbler-powered go-kart.

"I see you're taking notes, Neil?" Ms. Waffler asked.

"Yes, ma'am!" Neil answered proudly.

Ms. Waffler peered down at the notebook on Neil's desk, and tilted her head. "Hmm... you know, that looks like some sort of four-wheeled mobile, Neil. And it seems to be piloted by what looks to be... a dog, wearing aviator goggles."

As the classroom erupted in giggles, Neil tried to recover from his blunder. "Oh, that? Nah, that's nothing!"

He peered up at the whiteboard and began to hurriedly scribble notes from the lesson, picking up his lost spot as best he could. Ms. Waffler turned away with a quiet chuckle. With her back to the class, she began her return to the whiteboard, jingling and jangling as she went.

It was at that time, when the teacher's eyes were averted from her students, that Neil was struck in the back of his head with a crumpled ball of paper.

He turned to see Jebediah Cragglemeister, snickering at his desk in the very back of the classroom. Jebediah was the resident galoot of Ms. Waffler's class, and having stayed behind one year in school, this was actually his second go-round with this particular teacher.

Quite pleased with himself, he heaved with silent laughter, while wagging a disapproving finger at Neil and Jack. His laughter, however, was cut off when he was struck in his own noggin by a crumpled ball of paper.

It was a harmless act, but it drew laughter from the students who sat near Jebediah, which of course infuriated him. He turned toward the culprit. On the other side of the classroom, Sara Fresco, pitcher for the Green Beans, beamed at Jebediah, displaying her every tooth in a brilliant smile. Her coffee-colored ponytail bobbed atop her head, as she giggled at Jebediah's reaction.

At the sound of the laughter, Ms. Waffler turned toward the students. "What's going on back there?" she demanded. She saw Jebediah glowering at his classmates and shaking his fist in the air, fuming and sputtering as he did so. "Mr. Cragglemeister, what are you up to? Are you causing a disruption again?"

"I was..." Jebediah struggled for words. "I've been unfairly targeted! Yeah, that's what's happening here!"

The children of the classroom burst into laughter at this outlandish suggestion. It was preposterous to propose that Jebediah, the school bully, was a victim. He turned his head this way and that, glowering at all those who dared to giggle at his expense.

"Oh, really?" Ms. Waffler asked. She seemed skeptical. This being the second year with Jebediah in her classroom, she was well versed in his antics. "Please, go on, Mr. Cragglemeister."

Jebediah rubbed at the back of his melon, where he had been struck by the ball of paper. He pointed this way and that, sputtering as he did so, but he remained unable to articulate an adequate defense. Ms. Waffler watched him with a raised eyebrow, and the inkling of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Before Jebediah could dig himself into an even deeper hole, however, he was saved by the bell. The loud ringing that met the end of each school day erupted, and all the students launched from their desks, scrambling for the exit.

### Chapter Eight

### The Dark Shadow of Jasper

The door of Ms. Waffler's classroom burst open, and the students poured into the hallway. The final bell always triggered a tremendous amount of excitement and happiness for the children of Hollow Oak Elementary. It signaled the commencement of much play and frivolity, in those hours that immediately followed the school day. There was much laughter, and hooting, and hollering, as they scrambled about the hallway, clutching at their backpacks and textbooks.

Among that sea of students were Neil, Jack, and Sara. They soon found Sara's sister, Maria, who was a grade beneath them, and in another class. Together, the four friends (and teammates on the Green Beans) mingled among the hundreds of children that ambled about the hallways of the elementary school. They were surrounded by the sounds of animated talking, horseplay, and locker doors slamming open and closed.

The Beans remained close to one another as they traversed the hallway, discussing their plans. Now that class was complete, they were free to openly converse with each other about Lefty's Manor, and the further investigation that it clearly required.

During lunch and recess, Neil and Jack had filled the sisters in on the events of the previous evening, including the exciting encounter with Titus, and the warning that he had delivered. The story immediately filled the girls with curiosity, and they were just as eager as the boys to explore the mysteries of Lefty's laboratory.

Strange noises in the basement? Arcs of lightning? Wayward critters in the treetops?

"How," Maria had asked, "could we _possibly_ resist?"

They did not have a chance to discuss their plans for long, however. For it was during this normally jubilant ritual that heralded the end of the school day, in which a dastardly man known as _the ultimate party pooper_ made his presence felt.

A solid wooden door was located in the hallway. It was a door that had been polished to a high shine, and its heavy hinges were built from bright brass. It was a door that the children of the school had learned to grant a wide berth, when passing by. For you see, they had learned to avoid the burly inhabitant who often lurked on the other side of _this_ particular door. A large, brass placard was fastened with bolts to the center of it. Written upon the placard in capital letters was but a single word: JANITOR.

And it was _this_ particular door that suddenly burst open, crashing and clanging as it did so. It _boomed_ open with a sound like thunder in a valley, as a hefty palm shoved it from the inside.

The schoolchildren immediately took note, and scurried from the hallway. Those closest to the door when it had opened squealed in terror before fleeing, leaving behind dropped sheets of paper, which slowly drifted to the floor.

The Beans were just passing by the door when it crashed open. It was quite startling, and though their first impulse was to skedaddle like the other children, they held their ground.

The silhouette of an enormous figure filled the doorway. Broad shoulders stretched from one side of the entrance to the other, and the giant man nearly had to stoop down, to avoid striking his head.

Loosing a bellow that was more fitted to an ogre than a human being, the figure came forth from the shadows of the doorway. He rumbled, and bumbled, and grumbled as he went, glowering at the schoolchildren who were scrambling about.

It was _Jasper_ : school janitor, father to Jebediah and Cletus, and all-around evildoer.

In a matter of seconds, the hundreds of children who had filled the hallway were gone. The previously boisterous place became still. Even Jebediah and Cletus had engaged in a hasty retreat. It went without saying... you did _not_ mess with Jasper.

The Beans, however, remained where they stood. Although startled by the sudden (and rather noisy) appearance of Jasper, they held their ground.

Like the students that had fled, the Beans were also wary of this most fiendish of foes. But they would not run from him. Dread him, they might, but they also projected upon the janitor a spry defiance that he found downright exasperating.

Jasper had always treated them unfairly, and he routinely used his size, appearance, and dark demeanor to intimidate all children. But _these four_ ... Jasper could not rattle them, and it irked the janitor to no end.

Not long ago, the Beans had caught Jasper in the act of committing dastardly deeds, and confronted him. Though it was Jack's dad who had ended up receiving the punishment for what Jasper had done, they had sent him a clear message, nonetheless. They would stand up to him... no matter what.

Jasper turned toward the Beans. He glowered down at the four of them, and his face contorted into a fiendish snarl. He loomed above, and his considerable shadow engulfed the whole lot of them.

"Well... well... _well_ ..." Jasper said slowly. He rotated the mahogany broom that was clutched in his hand. "And _what_ do we have here?"

### Chapter Nine

### Pure Gumption

Jasper was, as Coach had often described him, _more of a bear than a man_. Standing at a height of six and a half feet, he towered over his fellow adults. As far as how children viewed him, he was something of a mountain.

With thick arms, broad shoulders, and a barrel-like chest, he cut an imposing figure. He was a janitor by trade, but it seemed that he could have just as easily chosen a career as an alligator wrestler or a circus strongman.

He wore a khaki shirt, navy blue overalls, and black boots that were polished to an impressive shine. At his waist, there jangled an unusually large ring of keys, of varying sizes and materials.

Jasper's angular jaw was covered in a stubble of facial hair, and it shifted about as he moved the corncob pipe that was clenched within his teeth. He snarled down at the Beans, and his brow furrowed above his single eye, which was the piercing color of blue-gray quartz.

His other eye had been lost in a prior event of which the details remained _murky_. In its stead, there was now a black eye patch, held in place by a cord that snugly wrapped around his head of dark hair, sprinkled with strands of silver.

Jasper was as intimidating and surly as ever. The recent, scandalous events, to which he had clearly been tied, had not affected his swagger in the slightest. He despised the Beans, and he made no bones about it.

He was _cantankerous_ , which was a word that Coach had explained to mean quarrelsome, contentious, and _particularly_ irritable. By that definition, Jasper was _indeed_ a cantankerous janitor. He was the very most despicable of his brethren, and a poor ambassador for all those who labored with mop and bucket in hand.

"Why, you rabble-rousing, meddlesome, _gumption_ -filled punks!" Jasper bellowed, shaking his trusty, mahogany broom in one fist as he did so, in order to emphasize his displeasure. "I _swear_ , I've never seen such an unruly lot as you."

" _Gumption_ -filled?" Neil asked the angry janitor, as he towered above, shaking his broom. "Um... what is this 'gumption' that you speak of?"

"Yeah, what's gumption?" Sara asked.

" _Gumption!_ " Jasper bellowed, further shaking his mahogany broom about. "You know... it's... it means you meddle about in affairs that aren't your own, interfering and... and being bad children. Very bad children, indeed. _Gumption!_ And you're all filled to the eyeballs with it. Pure gumption, at that – the very worst kind! _Bah!_ Why am I explaining this to you? Trying to flimflam ol' Jasper, are you? Well, _that's_ not going to happen, I can assure you. _I'll_ be asking the questions here!"

"Shoot, we didn't even have a chance to ask him what _rabble-rousing_ means," Maria whispered to her friends.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what that one means, too," Jack whispered in return, winking at Maria. "Sounds like a _good_ one."

Jasper fixed his single eye on Jack. "What are you muttering about there, boy?"

"Aw, come on, Jasper," Jack said. "Why are you giving us such a hard time? It's the end of the day, we just want to leave."

"Oh, is that right?" Jasper asked, feigning concern. "You just want to leave, do you? Well, not so fast, my meddlesome lot."

"Why can't we go? Do you need our help sweeping the floors?" Neil asked, with genuine puzzlement.

Jasper ignored the questions, and asked one of his own. "What have you got there, boy?" he demanded, pointing a finger at Jack's backpack.

"Uhhhh... my books. And school supplies," Jack said slowly, stating what he thought must be rather obvious. "You know... pencils, and notebooks, and such."

"Is that right? _Bah!_ We'll just see about that," Jasper snarled.

And with that odious declaration, the janitor reached down with one massive paw, and swiped away the backpack. Jack tried to resist, but the effort was futile. Jasper was a giant compared to the Beans, outweighing each of them by _hundreds_ of pounds. His hands were like iron, his wrists as thick as birch trees.

"Hey!" Maria shouted. "You can't do that!"

" _Oh?_ Can't I? _Hah!_ Seems I _can_ do that... and quite easily, I might add," Jasper replied, chuckling with malicious mirth. He looked down at the Beans with contempt and confidence. " _Who's_ gonna stop me? A bunch of snot-nosed punks who think that they're _gumshoes?_ Need I remind you of just what happened, the last time you put on your detectives' hats, and you thought you could stop me? _Hah!_ That didn't turn out so well for the troublesome lot of you, did it? As I recall, it ended up with Jack's father in jail... and with _me_ free to go about my business."

The Beans gasped at the audacity of Jasper, which never ceased to amaze them.

"That's... that's not very polite," Jack said quietly.

"Oh, did I offend your feelings, Jackie-boy?" Jasper asked, his one eye narrowing. "But I'm afraid that what happened between your father and I is what we adults call _justice_."

"No offense, Mr. Cragglemeister," Neil said, with the utmost sincerity. "But I think you might have your vocabulary a bit confused."

Maria sought to find the most hurtful comeback she could hurl at Jasper, and after some consideration, she finally found it. "And... and your floors are filthy!"

" _Gah!_ " Jasper exclaimed. He staggered back at the words, as if he had been physically struck. " _How dare you?_ That's... that's simply not true!"

"Oh, but it _is_ ," Sara confirmed. She took a step forward, advancing on the retreating janitor. "Why, it was just this morning that I stumbled across a whole colony of dust bunnies, living beneath the baseboards of our classroom. It was a downright _grimy_ state of affairs."

"It was plumb sullied, it was," Neil added helpfully, pointing an index finger in the air.

" _No!_ " Jasper cried. He clutched at his chest, at least as best he could, while his hands were occupied with the broom and backpack. "Oh, but don't you meddlesome children know how to hurt ol' Jasper? You know I can't abide such filth! Curse you!"

"Well, then, go sweep up some dirt," Neil suggested. "And give Jack his backpack. You know he's done nothing wrong, despite whatever grudge you might have against us and his dad."

Fuming, snorting, and snarling, Jasper glowered down at the Beans. They had given him such difficult times in the past, and their continued defiance to his authority rattled him. He was used to getting his own way, especially around children, whom he could usually inspire terror within, by sparing no more than a fearsome glance.

" _Return his backpack?_ " Jasper demanded, filled with incredulity and a shuddering, shaking rage. He slowly regained his posture, and returned to his full height. " _Did you just tell me what to do?_ I don't think so, half-pint. _Bah!_ I don't take orders from children. I've got to inspect this backpack, you see. I've got to inspect it most thoroughly... for contraband."

Jack exchanged a wary glance with Neil. They suspected that they very well might be dealing with a lunatic. Sara and Maria tried to stifle their giggles. Jasper was _really_ out there.

"Do you miserable punks know what _contraband_ is?" Jasper asked, as he began rummaging about in Jack's backpack. "It's illegal stuff that punk kids might try to sneak onto school property. Fireworks, and stuff like that. Normally, I wouldn't pause to bother one of our fine students at Hollow Oak Elementary with such nonsense. This is a good town, you see. We don't have to worry about such things, generally speaking. But _you_ , Jackie-boy... you're a bit different, aren't you? You've got the blood of a _criminal_ in you, flowing through your veins. The blood of a _criminal_ ... pumping through your _very heart_."

### Chapter Ten

### The Janitor's Inspection

"Hey, that's not even close to accurate, Jasper!" Sara shouted. "You ought to take that back!"

Jasper chuckled at the very notion of apology. He laughed as though it were the funniest thing he had heard in quite some time. The corncob pipe shifted from one side of his mouth to the other, clacking between his teeth.

"Like father, like son," he said. "There's no telling what kind of trouble you might get up to, so I've got to keep my _eye_ on you."

Jasper's bear-like paws made the backpack look like a tiny thing. In order to free up both hands, he temporarily placed his mahogany broom against a nearby wall. Parting from his trusty broom, the Beans wondered? This was a very rare occurrence, indeed.

His massive hands, festooned with knuckles the size of walnuts and scars of varying depths, pawed through the contents of Jack's backpack. He pulled things from within, and all sorts of odds and ends tumbled onto the floor. Pencils, and pens, and erasers; loose sheets of paper and homework assignments.

And then, there fell from the backpack, Jack's baseball glove. It landed upon the glossy tile of the school hallway, settling upon the floor.

"Hmmm," Jasper grumbled. "What have we here?"

"Hey, that's my glove!" Jack protested.

"You shouldn't just toss that on the floor!" Maria added.

"Yeah," Sara said. "What gives you the right?"

"What gives _me_ the right? How dare you ask that of me! I am the school janitor, and you _will_ pay me respect!" Jasper boomed.

"Say, what's that behind you?" Neil asked, pointing to the doorway from which Jasper had emerged. "What exactly is in that room?"

Jasper dared a brief glance over his shoulder. "That's my office, boy. Never you mind that!"

"Office?" Sara asked. She exchanged a dubious look with her friends, before pointing out the obvious: "Looks more like a broom closet."

It was true, my astute reader. What lay beyond the doorway was nothing more than a small, windowless room. It was lined with neat shelves, implements of cleaning, and bottles of solution. A dim, greenish light illuminated the room, flickering from time to time. But as sparse and utilitarian as it may have been, this was a home away from home for Jasper.

" _A broom closet?_ " Jasper bellowed. " _How dare you?_ You ungrateful, miserable punks!"

"Say, I've never been in here before," Maria said, as she meandered closer to the open door.

"Get back from there!" Jasper demanded. He retrieved his mahogany broom from where he had rested it against the wall, and swept it from side to side with defensive vigor. "Children are forbidden from entering my office! What's gotten into the lot of you?"

"Lighten up, Mr. Cragglemeister," Neil suggested. "It's just a bunch of brooms and cleaning supplies."

It was at this time that Ms. Waffler fortuitously emerged from her classroom, whistling an upbeat tune to herself. She had her brightly colored jacket on, and there were many bells upon it that jangled as she moved. Her handbag (which had been fashioned to resemble a giant slice of watermelon) was slung over one shoulder, and she was preparing to depart for the day.

"Oh, hello!" she exclaimed, as she closed the door to her classroom, and saw the four children and the janitor, in the otherwise deserted hallway. "What's all this, then?"

Jasper reflexively turned his head toward Ms. Waffler, and it was at this brief moment that the Beans took advantage of his distraction.

"See ya tomorrow, Ms. Waffler!" Neil called, as he darted forward, lightning-quick.

Before Jasper could react, Neil had snatched the backpack from his grasp, and was sprinting down the hallway with his prize in hand.

" _Hey!_ " Jasper shouted, as his head whipped back toward Neil. "You rascally _punk!_ "

Jasper lunged forth with his considerable reach and tried to grab Neil, but his quarry was already well on his way down the hallway. Neil hooted and squawked with delight, laughing as he ran.

" _Woo-hoo!_ " Neil called.

He held the backpack above his head with one hand, like a trophy. Neil waved it about for the benefit of the cantankerous janitor, who was quickly left behind.

Snarling like the bear that he was so often likened to, Jasper turned back toward the remaining Beans, as Neil ran willy-nilly down the hallway. Jasper saw Maria dive into a roll before him, and he instinctively reached for her.

But he was too slow, for Maria evaded him, and somersaulted across the floor. She scooped up Jack's fallen glove, and secured it in her hands, cradling it against her body as if it were precious cargo. She launched herself from the tile, and scrambled down the hallway, close behind Neil.

"Not today, Jasper!" she called over her shoulder.

"Curse you, you infernal children!" Jasper bellowed. "This isn't over!"

"Save it, Cragglemeister!" Sara cried, as she joined Jack, sprinting down the hallway after her friends.

"Hey! No running in the halls!" Jasper called after the Beans, shaking his broom at them. "You'll scuff my beautiful floors! Curse you, whippersnappers... _This isn't over!_ "

### Chapter Eleven

### The Investigation Begins

On most days, the Beans would have reported for baseball practice immediately after school. Since they had a game later in the day, however, they had a couple of free hours following the final bell. Now, their bicycles were piled up on the lawn of Lefty's Manor, and the four of them were prepared to begin their investigation.

As they tiptoed through the gargantuan house, which was odd, and weird, and more than a bit spooky, they felt tingly with apprehension and excitement. The manor contained a _personality_ ... almost as if it were _alive_ , and watching them as they prowled through the property.

They crept about, with Jack in the lead, and Nibbler beside him. The Labradoodle was on full alert, with his snout sniffing and his ears twitching. When they reached the basement door, Jack and Nibbler paused, while Neil, Sara, and Maria waited right behind them.

"Okay," Jack said, as he let out a long and shaky breath, and wiped a trembling hand across his forehead.

He was not afraid, but nervous, and none too excited about the prospect of receiving another electric shock, mild though it may have been.

"This is it. This is the basement," Jack told his friends. His hand hovered just above the antique, brass doorknob. "This is where I got shocked last night."

"Well, don't grab it with your bare hand!" Sara told him. "Ms. Waffler was right. You guys really weren't paying attention in class."

"Well, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep," Neil pointed out in their defense. "Wait... are you telling me Ms. Waffler went over _doorknobs_ in class today? And I _missed_ it?"

"No, we didn't go over _doorknobs_ ," Sara said with a giggle. She pulled her notebook from her backpack and began leafing through it. "We went over _electricity_. And we covered the types of materials that _conduct_ electricity."

Maria had wandered off a bit, and she suddenly returned with an iron poker she had retrieved from a nearby fireplace. "This should do it!" she announced. "Just pop the door open with this."

" _No!_ " Sara shouted, and she grabbed the poker away from her sister. "Metal is a fantastic conductor for electricity. If there's any juice in that doorknob, it'll be conducted through the metal, and into you. It'll zap you right out of your shoes!"

Nibbler sniffed at the doorknob suspiciously, but was careful not to touch it. His nostrils quivered about, and his ears quirked this way and that. His tail began to wag, very slowly, as if uncertain of what to make of the doorknob. He eyed it with what seemed an increased alacrity, and his ears suddenly pressed flat against his head.

" _Ah-roo?_ " Nibbler asked softly.

With a distinct clicking sound that was clearly heard by all, the latch – somehow – became disengaged, and the door popped open. All four of the Beans jumped back, startled, and more than a bit bewildered.

"What the...?" asked Jack.

They started giggling among themselves, as if to prove that they had not truly been frightened when the door popped open.

"I wasn't scared!" Neil boldly declared. "Nah, I was just a bit taken off guard, that's all."

"Yeah, that's the ticket," Sara said.

"Yep, me too," Maria added.

Nibbler sneezed, and skeptically eyed the four of them in turn.

The Beans crowded into the open doorway. What lay beyond was a long staircase, winding down into the basement. The stairs eventually went around a corner, so that they could not see what was at the bottom. Fluorescent bulbs cast a strange light, flickering and dimming from time to time.

They stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, absorbing the atmosphere, and contemplating what might await them. Nibbler sniffed at the air with great thought.

And then, confident in the companionship of their friends, they began their descent.

### Chapter Twelve

### Lefty's Laboratory

The Beans slowly made their way down the long, creaky staircase. Nibbler walked lightly on his tiptoes, at full attention, ready to defend his friends. The staircase was longer than they had guessed it would be... it took what seemed to be _quite_ some time, and _quite_ a few steps, before they reached the concrete floor of the basement.

Once there, their eyes grew wide with wonder... their suspicions had been correct. This was _no ordinary basement_. This was _Lefty's Laboratory_.

That cautious, shuffling gait that had slowly propelled the Beans down the stairs was now _gone_. It had given way to pure awe, as they marveled at what lay before them.

There were workbenches, filled to the gills with beakers, and test tubes, and glass flasks, most of which contained liquids of various colors. Some of these liquids were stagnant, and others bubbled from the heat of active Bunsen burners. Even more liquids yet traveled through clear plastic tubes, from one contraption to another, passing through loops as they went.

There were Rube Goldberg devices of curious design, some of which were in action, plodding through their various machinations and motions. Lights of all colors blinked, and machines burped and chirped.

There were cries of, "Look at _this!_ "

And, "What on earth is _that?_ "

And, " _Holy macaroni!_ "

The laboratory was _big_. _Real_ big. Every time the Beans thought they might have seen it all, something else caught their eye.

There was a massive device in one corner that resembled a huge, rabbit-ear antennae. A brief surge of blue electricity would periodically pass between the ears of the device. A hastily sketched note attached to the front of the contraption read: _Lefty's Ladder, Version 3.4_.

There were several computers hooked up to printers, and servers, and other electronic devices. One of the monitors that was connected to these computers displayed complicated graphs and figures. Another showed what appeared to be a running tally of mathematical calculations, constantly spewing out new numbers and statistics.

Oddly, it appeared that several items in the laboratory had been severely damaged. Here and there, broken glass lay upon the concrete floor, surrounded by strange colored liquids and shattered pieces of machinery. It almost looked as if something may have gone on a rampage, randomly tearing its way through the laboratory in a whirlwind of violence.

As Jack studied the broken glass on the floor, he noticed a stainless steel bucket beneath a workbench. Curiously, it was filled with acorns... which, of course, made him recall their experience in the forest the previous night. He frowned in thought, and tried to sort out the confusing array of things that lay before him. It was a lot to absorb all at once!

Before he could give it much thought, however, Maria had summoned his attention to another apparatus that she had discovered, sandwiched between two overstuffed bookcases. It was big, and bold, and _certifiably_ _crackling_ with electric energy. This also had a note attached to the front, which read: _Helios Tesla Coil, Mark V_.

" _Well, now_ ," Jack whispered in a low voice, as he stared into the device. " _This is really something, isn't it?_ "

He found himself drawn toward it, and might have even extended a hand to touch it, against his better judgment. Nibbler stood beside him, his snout working at the air prolifically. The Labradoodle's apricot-colored fur began to stand up on end, drawn by the static electricity in the air, as did Jack's unruly mop of dark hair.

But before Jack could touch this magnificent machine, his attention was once again diverted, as Neil found something new to gawk at.

"Hey, guys!" Neil called. He raised a hand, and pointed to a darkened corner of the basement. " _Look_. What... is... _that?_ "

As one, the other three turned to where Neil had pointed. There, they saw the thing that had drawn his attention. It was a massive door, built from what appeared to be solid steel. _Huge_ rivets and bolts were visible against the surface. It looked, upon further inspection, a whole lot like the door to a bank vault. Like something that was specifically engineered to keep people out.

_Or perhaps_ , Jack thought, _to keep something in_. It was, quite possibly, an elaborate safeguard against some unknown _thing_.

But, as his friends knew all too well... Jack would always put adventure _first_ , and caution at a far distant _second_.

### Chapter Thirteen

### The Vault

Jack slowly walked toward the vault, imparting footprints in the fine layer of dust and cobwebs that covered the concrete floor. Although the reinforced door could not have been more than thirty feet away, the distance seemed far greater. As he approached, it seemed that time and distance became distorted.

Jack felt his heart steadily increasing in tempo within his chest, and growing louder in his ears. It was a steady, powerful beat... like that of jungle drums.

His hands, he realized, had drawn up toward the center of his body, toward that pounding heart. He let them fall back to his sides, and he felt the fingertips of his right hand brush across the fur of Nibbler's head. The dog leaned into him, offering his support and uttering a noise of encouragement. Jack scratched behind Nibbler's ears, and kept going, step by step, one foot before the last.

After what seemed a length of time far too great to have closed such a relatively short distance, Jack finally came face-to-face with the massive door. Upon reaching it, he realized that it was indeed of a stature that deserved the title of _vault_. It towered above him, wide and imposing. Located in the very center of the door, there was a heavy-duty handle that had been welded in place, along with a huge combination dial.

It seemed to radiate a strange essence, which could not be defined. It was solid steel, but it seemed to also be something _beyond_ its simple construction of metal... as if that which it guarded lent it an intangible aura.

At the center of the vault's thick door, at eye level, there was a port window. It was round in shape, and the glass was at least an inch thick. It appeared that it might be a thing that had been transplanted from a submarine, designed to withstand tremendous pressure.

The glass was covered with a thick layer of dust, though this coating of grime was disrupted by several smears. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that those smears might have been caused by fingertips, dragged across the surface of the glass... but they appeared to have been created from the _inside_.

"What do you suppose is in _there?_ " Neil asked.

Jack almost jumped out of his shoes, he was so startled. He turned around, and saw that Neil, Sara, and Maria had followed closely, and that they were now right behind him. They were all enraptured, staring at the great door with interest.

"Gee, I don't know," Jack said. He returned his attention to the vault, and he raised a hand to the port window. Wiping his palm this way and that, he cleared as much of the dust away as he could, but a large amount remained on the other side. Edging even closer, he peered into the window, until his nose was almost touching the glass. "I can't... really... see... much," he finally reported, after squinting within. "Wait! There's... there's something in the corner. I can just barely make it out, by the blue light."

"Blue light?" Neil asked. He exchanged a dubious glance with Sara and Maria. "Umm... what blue light is this, exactly?"

"Come on, guys!" Jack said. He pressed closer to the window still, until his nose was squashed against the glass. "I _know_ you can see it. And I'm telling you, there's something in the corner. Come take a look at this."

Jack moved to one side, and Neil quickly took his place, stepping up to the vault door.

"Hey, you're right! There is some kind of a blue light in here," Neil confirmed. "Say, what do you suppose that big thing in the corner is?"

"That's what I was wondering myself," Jack said. "Any ideas?"

"Well, what's it look like?" Maria asked. She and her sister were cramming ever closer, trying to get a glimpse into the vault, while Nibbler meandered about everybody's knees.

"I dunno... it's covered with a white sheet, whatever it is. Just looks like a real big shape. _Huge_ , as a matter of fact. Could be... anything..." Jack said slowly, but his voice became softer as he spoke, until it had drifted off to an almost inaudible level.

His mind was wandering back to the night before, when he and Neil had spied on the manor from the safety of the forest. As they had lain in cover, surveying the monkeyshines that were ongoing in Lefty's manor, they had seen strange things. And they had also _heard_ strange things.

It would have been awfully difficult to forget what he had heard, Jack thought. _It's alive_ , a voice had called from the basement, amid mad cackles of laughter. And he had wondered, _what_ exactly? _What's_ alive? And that voice he had heard, that exuberant declaration, had been projected from this very basement, had it not?

Jack began to wonder if perhaps the thing that he was gazing upon at this very moment was the subject in question. Perhaps _this_ was the thing that was _alive_. Or, at the very least, that had been alive the night before.

After all, did the sheet in the vault not look as though it had been draped over a vaguely _human_ form of some kind? If he applied his mind to examining the shrouded shape, Jack could imagine that it was perhaps a head and shoulders, with a tall body beneath it. In fact, it could have quite easily been a figure, as opposed to a random shape of zero consequence.

As he pondered these possibilities, Jack saw a troubling thing... the sheet-covered form _moved_. It was not much of a movement... perhaps a small, jerky motion to one side, no more than a few inches.

But before Jack could so much as cry out in alarm, he was bumped to the side, and his line of sight was broken. Maria had edged even closer to the window, and she had nudged him aside as she tried to peer within the vault.

"Hey!" Jack cried. "I think I saw it move!"

"What?" Maria asked, as she looked inside. "You saw _what_ move, exactly? I don't see anything in there."

"It's right in the corner," Jack said. He pushed back to the window, so that he and Maria were both peering within the vault. "It's right... wait."

"What?"

"It was right there..."

"Well, where is it now?"

"Um... I don't see it."

"Let me have a gander at this thing," Sara said, as she and Neil crowded behind Jack and Maria.

"Yeah, I want to see," Neil said. "It moved, you say? That's pretty odd, don't you think?"

The four of them squirmed and wiggled, trying to peer into the vault. It was understandable, therefore, that they were startled (and even a bit scared... though none of them would later admit it), when the door to the vault shuddered with a terrible amount of noise and vibration.

Thoom!

Something had impacted it with terrific force from the other side. As one, the Beans leaped back, with a collective gasp.

Nibbler, too, skittered backward on all fours, while uttering a shocked, " _Woof!_ " The claws of his paws clattered and clicked upon the cement of the basement floor, as he made his swift, backpedaling retreat.

" _Gobstoppers!_ " Neil exclaimed. He felt his heart pounding within his chest, at what was surely an imprudent speed. "What was _that?_ "

"I don't know about this," Sara said. "It seems like we might be in over our heads here..."

Her voice trailed off, as the fluorescent lighting above began to flicker, in a fashion that could only be described as _unsettling_ , given the current circumstances. Had the electrical system been disrupted by that horrific boom of impact, originating from the interior of the vault?

They once more jumped about, as a computer printer on the far side of the laboratory sprang to life. It noisily produced several sheets of paper, inked with numbers and figures.

Before the Beans could contemplate this, a nearby stereo clicked, warbled a bit, and finally turned on at what must have been close to full volume. It blasted forth funky, groove-riddled tunes.

" _What_ is going on around here?" Maria shouted over the music.

"Electrical system must be on the fritz!" Sara exclaimed. "It's probably overloaded by all this hi-tech stuff down here, trying to draw power at the same time!"

There came a terrific commotion from the interior of the vault, as if the thing within was reacting to the sound of the music.

Thoom! ...Thoom! ...Thoom!

The fluorescent lights flickered on and off, as the Beans collectively held their breath, their eyes glued to the ceiling above them. Each of them had the same thought, racing through their minds: _Don't go out, don't go out, don't go out_.

And it was then, of course, that the lights went out, and the basement that housed Lefty's laboratory went dark.

" _Ooh!_ " Neil exclaimed into the inky blackness. Ever the optimist, he asked his friends, "This should make things interesting, don't you think?"

### Chapter Fourteen

### Things Get Dicey

" _Gah!_ " Maria cried in the dark. "Something grabbed me!"

"That's just me," Sara said, as she squeezed Maria's hand. "I got ya, sis."

" _Whew_ ," Maria gasped. She spoke in a loud voice, so that the others could hear her over the music, and the banging noises that came from the vault. "Well, that's a relief, considering all the weirdness I've witnessed in this basement. Okay, everybody else get in here and grab hold. We need to stick together."

Neil and Jack agreed that this was sound advice, and they grabbed the hands of the sisters. Together, the four of them huddled together, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, with Nibbler in the very center of their gathering. His furry tail swept from side to side, brushing against the knees of the Beans.

Their company brought comfort to one another. For though this was an unsettling scenario, to say the least, they knew that their friendship was a thing that was solid and immovable, a thing that could be relied upon.

The stereo abruptly powered down. When the music stopped, so too did the _thooming_ noise coming from the vault.

"I think my eyes are beginning to adjust to the darkness," Neil said after a few moments of silence, during which there had been nothing but anxious breathing, and the clicking of Nibbler's nails on the floor. "I think I can see well enough to get us back to the stairs."

"Okay," Jack said. "Well, then, I hereby suggest that we get out of here!"

"I second that notion," Sara said.

"Yep," Maria agreed. "A bit of regrouping under better light might be in order."

As one, the five of them (including Nibbler, who remained within their close circle), began to carefully shuffle across the basement. After just a few steps, however, they realized that their eyes were perhaps not as well adjusted to the darkness as they had hoped.

The whole lot of them tripped over one of the many obstacles that filled the laboratory, causing a terrible commotion. They stumbled into one of the workbenches, and metal contraptions of unknown design tumbled to the floor, clanging, and banging, and creating a fuss.

In that moment of darkness and chaos, it sounded like the very end of the world. The Beans scrambled about, trying to regain their footing, and Nibbler woofed in alarm.

As they returned to their feet, once more grasping for the comfort of each other's hands and the reassuring, curly fur of Nibbler, the lights of the basement flickered back to life, amid a hum of what seemed to be _strained_ electricity. The popping of fuses could be heard in some distant corner, as well as a steady _crackling_ of energy.

As the lighting returned, flickering and alternating between sheets of darkness, the eyes of the Beans were instinctively drawn back toward the vault. There, in the window that was set at the center of the massive door, they could see something.

Something... _stirring_. Something, distorted by the shadows of the vault and the smeared glass of the window. Something, perhaps _monstrous_ , moving within.

"Tactical retreat!" Neil cried.

This was unanimously agreed upon, and the Beans, now aided by the return of the lighting, raced for the staircase. But they did not get far before the stereo once more powered to life, blasting music throughout the basement. In response to the funky tunes, the thing in the vault began banging against its confines, with what seemed a renewed and terrible fury.

Thoom! ...Thoom! ...Thoom!

So thunderous was the uproar that ushered forth from the vault, the entire house seemed to shake. The lights once more flickered, causing sporadic bursts of darkness. Dust and cobwebs fell from overhead, as the pounding impacts resonated.

Neil and Jack faltered as they engaged in retreat, falling to their backsides, scrambling in reverse. Jack's backpack was still halfway open from when Jasper had inspected it, and several school supplies spilled out, but there was no time to worry about such things. Sara and Maria paused in their escape, grabbing the boys by their forearms and hauling them to their feet.

"Quit screwing around!" Maria ordered.

"Right now would be a real good time to skedaddle!" Sara added.

The lighting continued to flicker, but beneath that sporadic, sputtering illumination, their eyes were drawn to the vault door, where the ruckus was impossible to ignore. There, they saw the most inconceivable of developments: that solid, steel door... built to withstand the most aggressive of assaults... _began to buckle_.

At first, the door merely started to shudder in its massive frame. Then, the hinges began to bulge, from where they were fastened with industrial strength bolts. Finally... the door itself began to simply _give_. Dents appeared on the outside of that vault door, as incredible pressure was applied from the interior. Rivets relented beneath the onslaught, popping free, where they ricocheted around the chamber of the basement with _pings_ and _tings_.

" _Are you seeing this?_ " Jack asked his friends.

"It would be _awfully_ hard to miss," Sara assured him. Her voice was awed, as she studied the door in a mesmerized fashion.

Collectively, the wide eyes of the Beans were fixed on the vault. Nibbler barked at the door in an attempt to ward off whatever might lay within, but the pounding continued, undaunted by the Labradoodle's warning. The door continued to buckle, and the metal became further distorted.

_What_ could possibly be on the other side?

As the funk music blasted, the edge of the door screeched open by a narrow margin, and then by another hard earned inch. Slowly but steadily... the door was being forced open.

"Time to go!" Sara shouted, as she pulled Jack along.

"This is it!" Maria cried. She pushed Neil toward the stairs, breaking his transfixed gaze. "Let's go, we can't afford to dally anymore!"

### Chapter Fifteen

### The Man in Blue Shoes

As one convoluted, twisting mass of child and Labradoodle, the Beans burst from the confines of the basement. They tumbled from the doorway, and onto the hardwood floor that lay before them.

As he lay sprawled on his stomach, Neil reached out with one hand and slammed the door closed. He wheezed with the exertion of it, but he was determined to establish a barrier between himself and whatever might be in the basement. _But then again_ , he thought to himself, _what good could_ this _door possibly do, if the vault fails?_

Blissfully, the music stopped again, and no more _thooms_ were heard from below. In the sudden stillness, they could hear their loud breathing, as they all tried to regain their wits. As they recouped on the floor, the Beans tried to comprehend all that they had just witnessed. It was quite a bit to digest, and they were undoubtedly in some amount of shock. Even Nibbler was panting heavily, and he seemed to be thoroughly exhausted.

Distracted as they were, they failed to notice the person who walked into their presence. Nor did they notice when he walked closer still, and came to a stop right in front of them... until he spoke.

"Was there something out of sorts in the basement, m'boy?"

The Beans scrambled to their feet, and Nibbler wagged his tail in greeting.

" _Oh!_ ...Good afternoon, Uncle Lefty," Jack said. "Um, nope, there's nothing out of sorts, everything's fine here! We weren't messing around in your laboratory, not at all. Um... I hope you don't mind me taking my friends down there to have a look around."

"Hah!" Lefty waved a dismissive hand at the notion. "Not at all, m'boy. Curiosity is one of the greatest virtues one can have. I _applaud_ such curiosity! Good for you! By the beard of Archimedes, you should have gone down there earlier. I was wondering what you were waiting for!"

"Uh... good!" Jack said, a bit taken off guard. He had expected his uncle to be more upset about him venturing into the laboratory.

" _Who on earth is Archimedes?_ " Neil whispered loudly to Sara and Maria, to which they shrugged.

"Without such curiosity, all progress in the fields of science would come to a sudden stop," Lefty explained. "Human beings must continue to be curious... to strive to achieve the _next step_ ... and to endeavor to see what yet _remains around the next bend_. Curiosity... it's the key, m'boy! Don't you see?"

"I like the sound of _that_ ," Neil said.

"We're big fans of curiosity," Sara assured him.

" _Ah-hah!_ Excellent!" Lefty exclaimed. "A curious bunch, are you? Why don't you introduce me to your friends, m'boy?"

Jack did so, introducing each of his friends to his uncle. As they formally met and shook hands, the Beans had an opportunity to get a good look at Lefty.

He may have been roughly forty-five years old, but oddly, his hair was almost entirely white. The Beans silently wondered if that unruly mop of hair had ever seen a comb before, but they were too polite to inquire. The hair pointed this way and that, adding several inches to his otherwise average height.

It must have gone white prematurely, for Lefty was nowhere near old enough to have a head of such color. There were still a few strands of brown, indicating the former appearance of his hair, but they were few and far between. Of note was the fact that the hair seemed to have been _singed_ at the edges of many places... perhaps by experiments gone wayward? Absorbing this detail, the Beans could not help but recall the rumors they had heard about Lefty's _strange genius_.

Accentuating this crazy mop of hair was a bushy, white mustache, as well as a short, snow-colored beard. Above the mustache, there was a rather large nose, upon which was perched a pair of glasses. They had black plastic frames, and the lenses were so thick that they caused Lefty's eyes to appear somewhat distorted. He periodically pushed the glasses back into place, as they slid down the bridge of his nose.

He wore a brightly striped sweater, and over this was a white lab coat, which fit loosely around his torso. It had large, voluminous pockets, which bulged with gadgets and scientific instruments. Likewise, his cargo pants had several pockets, filled with odds and ends. They looked like the kind of pants that an adventurer might wear on safari. The pants were cuffed above a pair of bright, blue sneakers.

Around Lefty's neck, there was a thin cord, from which a silver pendant hung. It was rectangular in shape, and not particularly large, measuring at about an inch in length and a half-inch in width. What was curious, however, was that there was a great deal of tiny, miniscule text on the surface of the pendant.

It almost looked like a chart of some kind. Jack thought that you might very well need a magnifying glass to read whatever was written on the thing. It was also curious that he had never noticed Lefty wearing this pendant before, and he wondered if it had previously been hidden beneath his lab coat.

" _He's not as scary as I thought he would be_ ," Neil whispered to Sara and Maria. He seemed disappointed. " _I was expecting somebody a bit more like Dr. Frankenstein, you know? With a cackle, and possibly an evil sidekick lurking about in his shadow. That would have really been something, wouldn't it?_ "

Lefty did not seem to hear Neil's thoughtful musings, but Sara nudged him in the side with her elbow, nonetheless. " _Shh!_ " she whispered.

"I was just out and about, getting some supplies," Lefty said, as he indicated a tote bag of groceries that he held in one hand. "I thought I might make some cookies later! Although it's not my best field, I've been known to dabble in the culinary arts."

"Yeah, that sounds good, but about the basement..." Jack trailed off.

"Yes! Tell me, was there some sort of commotion? I thought I heard a ruckus as I was coming into the house."

"Well, as a matter of fact..." Jack began.

He exchanged a wary glance with his friends before proceeding. What exactly should he say? It was true that his uncle seemed to be quite good-natured about them exploring his laboratory. But what could have possibly been in the vault of the basement? What was Lefty hiding down there?

It occurred to Jack that he really did not know his uncle very well, and that Lefty still held many secrets. After all, why had his father never even mentioned Lefty, when they lived in the same town? But before he could decide what to say, there came the sound of several computerized noises from somewhere in Lefty's lab coat.

" _Ah-hah!_ " Lefty said. "What's this?"

He rested the bag of groceries on the floor, and began rooting around in the deep pockets of his lab coat. After much muttering to himself, he pulled out a computer tablet, while spare change, buttons, rubber bands, and assorted doodads spilled onto the floor.

Lefty paid those contents no mind whatsoever, for his concentration was focused entirely upon the tablet. "Hmm," he murmured to himself, as he began poking and prodding at the display. "Uh-huh. _Ah-hah!_ Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed."

Jack exchanged a curious look with his friends, and raised his shoulders in a shrug. He had warned them that his uncle was a bit odd, and quick to distraction. _Absentminded_ might have been a good way to describe him.

"I've been very excited about my current project," Lefty said, as he continued to manipulate the tablet.

" _We found it a bit exciting when his 'current project' was trying to break out of the vault a moment ago_ ," Neil said beneath his breath, to which the sisters giggled.

Lefty didn't hear the comment, and he continued with his train of thought. "I've been running programs and algorithms all night and day, in an effort to complete the formulas necessary for progress. Those automated programs are synched to my tablet, and I'm alerted when updates occur. It seems there's been some activity recently!"

" _Oh, you could say that_ ," Jack whispered to his friends, and Nibbler sneezed in agreement.

"I've got to work out the quirks, you know? That's the thing about science... The more you work at it, and the more progress you make, the more challenges that arise. But you can't let these obstacles discourage you... triumphing over them is what brings us our greatest satisfaction. There is nothing more fulfilling than the pursuit of knowledge, and making progress in that which we are passionate about!"

Lefty _was_ passionate about his work. That much was abundantly clear, and he continued to tinker with his tablet, muttering to himself, and becoming more and more absorbed.

Without warning, the basement door popped open, just as it had before the Beans had gone to investigate the laboratory. The children found this to be quite startling, and they all leaped back. Even Nibbler skittered around the door, eyeing it suspiciously.

Lefty looked up from his tablet, and giggled at their reaction. "Oh, don't let that old door spook you. It just needs a new latch, that's all. It keeps popping open! I've been meaning to fix it, but I've just been so preoccupied. These results I've been experiencing are quite fascinating!"

Trying to control their racing hearts, the Beans sighed with relief, and they slowly began edging away from the basement, and closer to the front door of the manor. Lefty seemed to be paying little attention to them, as he mumbled to himself and consulted his tablet, pacing back and forth as he examined its surface.

"Well... we should be heading off to the baseball field, Mr. O'Houlihan. It was a pleasure meeting you," Maria said, as she and her friends continued edging away. "Coach will be there soon, and we'll be getting started on our warm up drills."

As he hustled toward the door with his friends, Jack had a last minute idea. Though he doubted anything would come of it, he thought that it couldn't hurt to ask. As he left the house, he called out over his shoulder, "Try to make it to the game if you can, Uncle Lefty!"

### Chapter Sixteen

### The Rivalry Renewed

Not long after the Beans departed Lefty's Manor, their baseball game began. It was a contest between two rivals: the Green Beans and the Summer Squashes.

Neil, Jack, Sara, and Maria all played for the Green Beans – or the Green Bean Baseball Machine, as they fondly called their team. Their leader, of course, was Neil's dad, who they all called _Coach_. Theirs was a merry band of ball players, whose main priorities were fun, friendship, and enjoying the game that they loved.

The Summer Squashes, on the other hand, were widely regarded as a group of amateur villains within the Hollow Oak Baseball League. This was not entirely fair, seeing how as there were many decent children on the team. They were overshadowed, however, by the presence of a dastardly family: _the Cragglemeisters_.

There was Jebediah, who threw ferocious fastballs, blinding in their velocity, from his place atop the pitcher's mound. His brother, Cletus, was usually found behind the plate, catching. The both of them were superb baseball players. They were athletic, gifted, and big... _real_ big.

Their size was in part due to the fact that they had each stayed back a year in school (they were not as gifted in brains as they were in brawn, and they lacked the motivation to study particularly hard). But their size was also largely due to the genetics that they had inherited from their father, Jasper the janitor.

When he was not busy sweeping floors or complaining about children, Jasper served as the coach of his sons' baseball team. He stood in the dugout of the Summer Squashes, swishing and swooshing with his mahogany broom, gathering wayward clumps of dirt and grass. He couldn't help but clean, even while he was busy shouting instructions to his players.

Jebediah was currently standing atop the pitcher's mound, snarling and spitting wads of bubblegum about. His brother, Cletus, was hunkered down behind home plate, donned in catcher's gear that barely fit upon his ogre-like frame.

Oh, those _Cragglemeisters_ ... they were a reprehensible clan, and there could be no denying their influence within the Hollow Oak Baseball League.

It was now the bottom of the final inning, and the Beans were mounting a comeback. They were down by two runs, and the bases were loaded. Maria was at first base, Sara was at second, and Neil crouched at third.

Jack was at the plate, preparing to face Jebediah. He dug his cleats into the batter's box, bent his knees, and reared his arms back with his trusty baseball bat, Excalibur.

The smells of dirt and freshly cut grass filled his nose, as well as the wafting aroma of pizza that was being baked in the Snack Shack, behind the backstop. Of far less pleasant quality was the scent of garlic on Cletus' breath, and Jack considered lecturing the catcher on the merits of a fine toothbrush.

Jebediah curled his lip and glowered at Jack. He rotated the baseball inside of his glove, and got ready to pitch.

Jack took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. As he was preparing to bat, he heard a voice call out from the left side of the baseball field, near the dugout of the Beans.

" _Swing for the fences, m'boy!_ "

Recognizing the voice, and startled by the exuberant cheer, Jack turned his attention toward Lefty. His uncle was leaning over the fence that ran along the same side of the field that the Beans' dugout was on, down the third baseline.

"Uncle Lefty... you made it!" Jack exclaimed.

"Indeed!" Lefty pointed a finger toward the sky, and said, "Now belt that ball into the stratosphere, Jack!"

" _Sweet Sassafras!_ " Jasper cried from the dugout of the Summer Squashes. "What are _you_ doing here, Lefty?"

"Oh, hello there, Jasper!" Lefty called across the field. He waved his hand in friendly salutation, and his lab coat flipped and flapped around him. "Nice to see you, old friend!"

As they observed this exchange, the Beans swapped quizzical glances with one another. Neil looked to his fellow base runners with inquisition in his eyes, but Maria and Sara could only shrug in return.

How could Lefty and Jasper possibly know each other? Why would their lives have intersected, and what was their history? Whatever the case, it seemed that Jasper was _particularly_ upset by Lefty's presence.

Jasper growled and muttered under his breath, shaking his broom about. "Jebediah!" he shouted toward the pitcher's mound, before pointing the broom at Jack. "Strike him out. _No mistakes!_ "

As he leaned against the fence, Lefty chuckled softly and spoke in a quiet voice, more to himself than to anyone else. "Ol' Jasper. You really haven't changed much, have you?"

Coach called out from the Green Beans' dugout. "Aw, come on, Jasper. It's only a game, lighten up, will ya?"

Chief Fresco, who was the lawman of Hollow Oak, and the father of Sara and Maria, was also in the dugout. He had assumed the position of assistant coach, following the departure of Jack's father, Mr. Murray.

He stood beside Coach, and offered his two cents, as well. "Just have fun, kids!"

"Disregard what they said, son!" Jasper ordered Jebediah. "Don't listen to them. This isn't about _fun_ , it's about _winning_. Now, _strike him out!_ "

In response to the command, Jebediah nodded gravely. As he continued to work the ball inside of his glove with his bare hand, he took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and wound up for the first pitch.

### Chapter Seventeen

### Next Play

Jebediah released the ball from his fingertips, and it hurled forward, screaming through the air. It traveled at a terrific speed, spinning as it went. But though the ball reached an impressive velocity... it came nowhere near the strike zone.

It went so high, it traveled well over the heads of the catcher and the umpire alike, and collided with the backstop, rattling the chain link fence.

" _Ball One!_ " called the umpire.

Upon seeing the wild pitch, Neil raced from third base, making a mad dash for home. He slid into the plate amid a plume of dust and dirt, and the umpire signaled that he was safe. He stole home easily, while Cletus was busy chasing after the errant ball.

The lead of the Summer Squashes was now cut to only _one_ run. Additionally, the base runners each advanced. Sara moved to third base, and Maria went to second.

" _Confound it!_ " cried Jasper. He grasped at his hair with one hand, and with the other, he seized his broom so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "What was that? _Focus_ , boy, _focus!_ "

Jebediah fumed, and hung his head, and kicked at the dirt of the mound with the toe of one cleat. He caught the baseball as it was thrown back to him, after Cletus had tracked it down by the backstop.

Meanwhile, Neil jogged back to the dugout. He received high-fives from his whooping teammates, and his dad playfully slapped him atop his batter's helmet.

Jasper glowered at their revelry, and then hollered at his son. " _No mistakes!_ "

But Jebediah's next pitch was no better than the first. This one went into the ground about six feet shy of home plate. The ball skipped off the earth and bounced wildly, and Cletus once more went scurrying to the backstop to chase it down.

As the catcher was trying to corral the wayward baseball, Sara sprinted from third base in an effort to steal home. Jebediah ran to cover the plate, but his brother was too late retrieving the ball and getting it back to him. Sara dove headfirst into home, and avoided the tag that Jebediah belatedly tried to apply.

Sara dusted herself off and returned to the dugout. It was now a tie game, and the Beans were going wild! They engulfed Sara with bear-hugs and high-fives, and Nibbler scurried about everybody's knees, woofing with excitement. The spectators who watched from the bleachers applauded and cheered.

Maria had advanced from second base to third on the wild pitch. The way things were going, there seemed to be a good chance that she was going to be able to score on yet _another_ wild pitch, and secure a win for the Beans.

" _Codswallop and hickory sticks!_ What's going on out there?" Jasper demanded.

"Aw, take it easy on him, you're being mean. You're being a big _meanie_ ," Coach said, and the Beans giggled.

"Jasper's a big _meanie!_ " Lefty confirmed, calling out from where he leaned against the fence.

"It's true!" Chief Fresco wisely opined. "He's a first-rate _meanie_ , all right!"

Jebediah's third pitch was a continuation of his downward spiral. He pulled it so hard to the left that it ended up skittering into the dugout of the Summer Squashes. As bad as the first two pitches had been, this was the least accurate pitch he had yet thrown during the at-bat. It might have even been the worst pitch of his _entire_ _life_.

Fortunately for his team, the ball ricocheted off of a water cooler, and bounced back into the field of play. It came right toward Jebediah, who quickly scooped it up with his bare hand, preventing Maria from advancing to home from third base.

" _Sweet sassafras, boy!_ " Jasper cried. He grasped his mahogany broom between both hands, and the muscles of his forearms rippled and twisted, as he flexed his might in pure exasperation. A lesser wood surely would have snapped at the applied pressure. "Your next pitch had better be a strike, or I'll pull you out of this game right now! Don't think I won't!"

"Meanie!" Lefty commented.

Jebediah lowered his head and fumed. He muttered under his breath as he tried to gather his confidence, which was generally ever-present, but had dwindled considerably.

Unfortunately for Jasper, there was a terrible irony to his demands for perfection... The more pressure he put on his players, the less likely it was that they would perform with that desired level of excellence.

But this escaped Jasper entirely. Though the Summer Squashes were a good team, led by his strong sons, the players were pushed too hard, and conditioned to believe that any mistake they made was unforgivable. As a result, they played _tight_ , and they were prone to making _more_ mistakes.

Instead of thinking positively about what lay ahead, the players would remain hung up on the last mistake they had made. When a player was thinking about a previous bad play – instead of focusing on the play at hand – they were apt to commit yet another error, and get bogged down in a negative cycle.

By contrast, the Green Beans played with a complete absence of such pressure. Coach had not conditioned his team to play under self-imposed anxiety, as Jasper had. Instead, he had emphasized the fact that baseball should be played for _fun_ , and _only fun_. It wasn't about winning, but about having a good time with friends.

Following in this positive mentality, the Beans had recently adopted a new motto. In light of the bad turn of events that had transpired, concerning Jack's dad (and their assistant coach), they had found themselves getting unusually down. This negative energy had been sapping the Beans of their good vibes, and their positive perspective on life. They had been too glum, and they had not been having nearly enough fun. Consequently, they had been playing sluggishly, uninspired, and without their usual level of energy and enthusiasm.

In response to this dilemma, Coach introduced the new team motto: " _Next Play_."

It was not just a sports phrase... it was a life philosophy. Recently, they had spent far too much time worrying about _what had gone wrong_. About _what_ _could have been_. About _what_ _they should have done differently_.

One day not long ago, Coach had gathered his players at the end of practice. He had told them that there could be no changing of the past... It was in the history books. It was pointless to dwell on those earlier mistakes. Ruminating upon those errors only served to make them prone to make more of the same, as well as diminishing the quality of their lives.

It was necessary to learn from their mistakes, for those who failed to do so were doomed to repeat the errors of history. But there was a great difference between _remembering_ past errors, and _obsessing_ over them. They could not afford to let those past failures prevent them from focusing on the present moment, and what awaited them next.

So Coach had gathered the Green Beans, and told them their new motto: " _Next Play_." They would not focus on a past mistake, no matter what it was. Instead, they would purge their minds of those negative thoughts, and focus only on the _next play_.

If you made an error in the field – no worries. You didn't dwell on the past mistake. You focused on the _next_ batter, and how you would do your part to contribute to the team defense. If you struck out at the plate – no problem. You wiped that memory from your mind, and focused on your _next_ at-bat.

If they spent their minutes and hours and days focusing on things that had gone wrong, they would become paralyzed with doubt and despair. They had to _look forward_. The choice – between wallowing in past failures, or committing to their futures – was up to them.

They would focus, Coach decided, on the _next play_. Past mistakes were of no consequence, for they were in the rearview mirror. There was only the _next play_. The Beans would devote their energies _not_ to a past error, but on what could be done to create a positive outcome for the present moment.

"You've made enough mistakes this inning, boy!" Jasper hollered to his son. "I'll yank you right out of this game, and don't you make the mistake of thinking I won't do it!"

"Lighten up, will ya?" Coach asked of Jasper. He then directed his attention to Jack. "Take a swing, if you see something you like. No pressure, Jack. Just like in practice!"

Jack dug his cleats into the batter's box. Jebediah ground his teeth and glowered. Jasper shook his mahogany broom from the dugout of the Summer Squashes, and Nibbler woofed happily from the bench of the Green Beans.

Having already thrown three wild pitches, Jebediah felt the pressure mounting to deliver a solid strike. He had a wicked fastball, but he was not known for his finesse. Now that he was experiencing a first class meltdown, he could no longer hurl his best pitch with confidence. His coach was threatening to remove him, and the game was on the line.

As a result, Jebediah did something that he very rarely tried... he took some muscle off of his fastball. He felt that he had to do everything in his power to ensure that the next pitch did not fly wild. Rather than winding up for his customary heater of a pitch, he threw the ball softly, as if in a friendly game of catch. He sacrificed speed, in the hopes of gaining increased control.

Terrified of making another mistake, Jebediah held his breath as the ball traveled toward the catcher's mitt of Cletus. It floated over home plate, and Jack, liking what he saw, took a swing. It was a hearty cut, and as Lefty had suggested, Jack swung for the fences.

### Chapter Eighteen

### A Close Play at Home

Jack was a bit overzealous in his efforts, and though Excalibur made contact with the ball, it was not _sound_ contact. The bat struck the lower portion of the ball, and it was foul-tipped. It ricocheted off of Cletus' chest protector, and bounced to the backstop.

"What was _that?_ " Jasper asked Jebediah, baffled by the slow speed of the pitch. "A _changeup_?"

"No problem, Jack, good swing!" Coach called.

Jebediah's glove ensnared the baseball as Cletus threw it back to him. He paced, slowly circling the pitcher's mound. Finally, he returned to the white rectangle of rubber that was at the center of the mound.

He had regained some of his confidence. The count was now three balls and one strike ( _three and one_ , in baseball lingo). He _really_ wanted to strike Jack out. He _really_ wanted to prevent the Green Beans from winning. And he _really_ didn't want to get hollered at for making another mistake.

Unfortunately for Jebediah, he didn't realize the irony of his scenario. The more pressure that was placed on him – both from himself and from his coach – the less likely it became that he would be able to deliver a flawless performance. The more time he spent thinking about his past mistakes, and how unforgivable they were, the more likely it became that he would commit _more_ of the same.

Jebediah tapped the forward-most spikes of his shoes into the dirt, and prepared for his next pitch. He took one more deep breath, and began his windup.

Jack's hands gripped the bat tightly, and his eyes locked onto the approaching baseball. He did not think of the last pitch, which he had swung at and missed. He did not think of how poorly he had performed in the past, when facing Jebediah. He did not think of his father's recent imprisonment, or of the ridicule he suffered at school, or any of the other bad things that had happened in his life. He focused only on one thing... and I think you know what that one thing was, my astute reader.

Yes... you are right. That one thing that Jack was focused on, as the ball came home, and his arms prepared to swing the bat, was the _next play_.

In the absence of fear of failure, and with all of his being concentrated on the moment, Jack swung. Excalibur came forth, and it struck at the very belly of the ball, where the results yielded were greatest.

_Ting!_ Surely, there was no sweeter sound to the ear of a baseball player at bat. It was the sound of solid contact made, and of the ball put into play. Jack felt the jolt of impact travel the length of the bat, and into his hands.

He had hit the ball on a line drive, down the third baseline. Lefty whooped as the ball passed by, jumping up and down with glee. The ball screamed past the reaching third baseman, and landed in the outfield. It hopped once as it hit the grass, and then it was snagged by the glove of the left fielder.

But by that time, Maria was already well on her way toward the plate. She sprinted from third base, racing home for the go-ahead run that would give her team the win.

The ball had been hit so hard, however, it had reached the outfield quickly. Now, the left fielder launched the ball toward Cletus, and it became clear that there would be a play at home.

Lefty, who had a great view of the action from his vantage point, shouted his encouragement. " _Slide, Maria, slide!_ " he cried, as he jumped about, causing scientific instruments to fall from the pockets of his lab coat.

With a whoop of delight, Maria slid into home plate, feet first, and the Green Beans erupted with cheers of joy. A split-second after her cleats connected with the plate, the ball smacked into Cletus' glove.

Alas, it was too late for the Summer Squashes, for the run had been scored. Before Cletus could even try to apply the tag, Maria had leaped back to her feet.

She slapped her palm against Cletus' hand, and told him, "Good game!" before trotting off.

Cletus stood there, stupefied by his team's collapse, and bewildered by what had just occurred. The umpire signaled that the runner was safe, and Jebediah's shoulders slumped, his head hung in resignation.

" _No!_ " Jasper cried in outrage. He fell to his knees, shaking his broom at the skies above. " _Noooo!_ "

"Gee, Jasper, take it easy," Coach recommended.

"That's the game!" the umpire announced, as he removed his protective mask and began walking from home plate.

Jack returned from first base, where he had run after hitting the ball, and joined his teammates just outside the dugout. The Beans rallied together in celebration, hooting, and hollering, and whooping with grand aplomb.

Coach was soon tackled to the ground by his excited players, and a pig-pile ensued. He uttered " _oofs!"_ and " _gahs!"_ to no avail. But the sound trouncing mattered not to Coach, for they were having fun, and that was the whole point of the game, ruptured spleen or not.

"Oh, mercy! My poor, creaky back," Coach bemoaned, as his glasses slid down his nose... but a broad smile stretched his face as he complained, revealing his true emotions.

Nibbler performed victory circles around the pig-pile, trotting in the happy way that was his, wiggling as he went. Tail wagging furiously, woofing for joy, he delivered great quantities of kisses with his propeller-action tongue.

Especially prone to these slobbery dog kisses, of course, was Coach, who could do little to defend himself from the bottom of the pig-pile.

### Chapter Nineteen

### Southpaw Snickerdoodles

Later that evening, Jack and Lefty celebrated the victory with homemade cookies and hot chocolate. They were in the parlor, which was an enormous room on the first floor of the manor, designed for relaxation and socializing.

There were several elaborate bookcases built into the walls of the parlor, on both sides of the fireplace. They were filled with many volumes and tomes, several of which had titles on the spines that were written in languages other than English. Jack had no doubt that there must be numerous rare books in the collection, and he hoped to investigate them in the near future.

In addition to the vast array of books, the parlor featured many things that Jack found fascinating. There were several statues from various cultures, built from different types of stone, and sculpted in the likeness of mythological characters and creatures. There were also brightly colored, wooden masks from Africa, intricate oriental rugs, and various antiques of curious design.

Lefty had once off-handedly remarked that the house was filled with souvenirs he had acquired in his globetrotting travels. Jack had not yet been able to inquire further about what adventures his uncle had embarked upon in the past, but he was looking forward to hearing about them.

Lefty, however, had proven to be somewhat evasive... perhaps not intentionally so, but he was always so busy with his projects, and it seemed that his mind was perpetually preoccupied with the results of some recent experiment.

At the moment, he seemed to have put thoughts of his scientific forays aside, and he was making the effort to spend more time with his nephew. He had come to the baseball game, and he had even baked some cookies for Jack, during a time of the evening when he would generally be conducting research and experiments in the basement. Maybe his uncle was an okay guy, after all, Jack thought... even if he did seem to have some mysterious monster stored in a vault beneath them.

The two of them sat before the open fireplace of the parlor. An armload of split logs had been placed within, and they were burning nicely. The flames danced and crackled, lending a cozy ambience to the room, and casting just enough heat for a comfortable temperature. It was springtime, and the days were getting warm, but the evenings could still be quite chilly.

The logs were from fir trees, which created a pleasant aroma as they burned, mixing with the faint scent of wood smoke and cookies. The flames – jumping about in shades of orange, and yellow, and black – were somewhat hypnotizing to Jack, as he stared into the fireplace. An occasional _pop_ could be heard from the wood, as it burned atop its bed of hot coals.

Nibbler lay sprawled on the floor, only a few feet before the fireplace, soaking up its heat. His limbs were askew, and his ears flopped in opposite directions. He had a bellyful of biscuits, and his eyelids had grown heavy. The Labradoodle dozed and enjoyed doggy dreams, his paws twitching as he chased imaginary tennis balls and thrown sticks.

The parlor was furnished with oversized chairs and couches that had clearly been designed with comfort in mind. Jack sat within a giant armchair that featured black and purple stripes. Lefty sat nearby in a light gray wingback with green and blue polka dots.

A coffee table with a chessboard carved into its surface was between the chairs, and the playing pieces (which were sculpted into the likeness of influential scientists, Jack had been told) were pushed off to one side. For the time being, the chessboard was partially covered with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and a platter of freshly baked cookies, still warm from the oven.

Lefty passed a mug to Jack, and took one for himself. The mug heated Jack's hands as he accepted it, and then it warmed his chest as he took a sip, consuming some of the tiny marshmallows that floated atop the swirling surface. It was delicious, to be sure, but what Jack really had his eye on was the platter of cookies. Their aroma and plump appearance was nearly enough to trigger salivation!

Lefty saw Jack's locked-on cookie-gaze, and encouraged him to eat. "Get 'em while they're hot, m'boy!"

Jack selected a cookie, bit off a chunk, and was transported to a land of culinary delight. "Gadzooks!" he exclaimed. "What kind of a cookie is _this?_ "

Lefty had taken a massive bite from a cookie of his own, and crumbs fell upon his chest as he leaned back in his armchair, happily munching away. In order to wash it down, he drained half his mug of hot chocolate in a single, impressive gulp.

" _Ah!_ " Lefty sighed with contentment. "This is a family recipe, known as the Southpaw-Snickerdoodle-Supreme, Version Two-Point-Five. We call 'em _Southpaw Snicker-doodles_ , for short."

"You made these?" asked Jack, clearly awed with his uncle's baking skills.

"Indeed, I did!" Lefty declared, shaking his cookie about and sending crumbs flying. "I learned how to make these from my sister, you see."

"You did?" asked Jack, spewing cookie crumbs upon his chin. He had been only two years old when his mother had vanished, and he had no memories of her. "She was a baker?"

"Sure, among other things," Lefty said. "You know, I've been meaning to spend more time with you, nephew, and answer whatever questions you might have. I'm sure you're quite curious about a lot of things, and I've got to bring you up to speed, m'boy. It's just that I've been so tied up with my current project! I'm in the middle of some really revolutionary work... stuff I've been working on for years and years! But just recently, I had a tremendous breakthrough, and I'm excited about the future."

"Um, yeah... no problem," Jack said. He was thinking about the powerful, monstrous thing that lurked in the basement, and how it might relate to his uncle's current research.

"In any event, where was I..." Lefty tapped at his chin in thought, while munching at his second (or possibly third) cookie. "Ah, yes, my sister! Well, she was a darned good baker, and an inventor of some spectacular recipes, as you can see evidenced here, in the form of these Southpaw Snickerdoodles."

Lefty lost his train of thought, as his attention was once more diverted to the cookie in his hand, which he proceeded to gobble up. "Gears and sprockets! That's a darned good cookie, isn't it?"

"It sure is! Now, what were you saying?" asked Jack, trying to steer his uncle back on track.

"Oh, yes! Sorry about that, m'boy. Where was I...? Ah, I remember! Baking, and recipes, and whatnot... but baking was not her calling, just a hobby that she enjoyed. Her true passion was science, just like me! We always had a lot in common. But while I was drawn toward physics, chemistry, engineering, and mathematics, your mother's specialty was zoology, which is the study of the behavior and physiology of animals. In fact, some of her legacy can still be found on the property. She accomplished a great deal in her field, and-"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

An alarm sounded sharply from somewhere in the depths of Lefty's baggy lab coat, interrupting him mid-sentence. He wolfed down the rest of his cookie and returned his mug to the coffee table, in order to free his hands. That done, he fished about in his many pockets, until he found his computer tablet, which seemed to be the source of the alarm, as far as Jack could tell.

At the sound of the alert, Nibbler was pulled from his slumber before the fire. He leaped to his feet and swiveled this way and that, ready for action. His head cocked to one side, and his ears twitched at the beeping sound of the alarm.

" _Ah-hah!_ " Lefty said, as he began poking and pinching at the screen of the tablet. "What's all this?"

Jack leaned forward in his chair, so he could better watch what his uncle was doing. He saw what looked like a map of some sort on the screen, a section of which was flashing red. "What's that?"

" _Perimeter breach!_ " Lefty answered cheerily, with no apparent concern.

Jack thought about this response for a moment. "Um... I'm not... _entirely_ sure what that means, Uncle Lefty."

"The perimeter of the property has been compromised by an intruder, you see," Lefty explained.

Jack was even more dumbfounded by this response. These types of events had certainly never occurred at his own house. For a few moments, he thought about what his uncle had told him, and then he suggested, "That sounds like something we should possibly be concerned about..."

"Nah," Lefty assured him. "It happens all the time. That's why I invented my Ultra-Guard Burglar-Baffler 1000, the first and only security system of its kind. This baby's got some _real_ unusual features! I even created an app for it, so I could sync it up to my trusty tablet. That way, I'm always quick to know when shenanigans are afoot!"

While Lefty continued to consult with his tablet, poking at it here and there, Jack took a moment to wonder _why_ exactly his uncle would find it necessary to create a custom security system.

"Um... it happens all the time? Who is it that's doing the, um... the _intruding?_ "

Had he been given one thousand attempts, Jack didn't think he would have been able to guess the forthcoming answer.

Lefty briefly looked up from his tablet, and his eyes narrowed somewhat. "Usually, it's Jasper."

" _What?_ Jasper? _Our school janitor?_ "

"Yep. He's an absolutely terrible spy, but he's _darned_ persistent. I'll give him that."

" _Spy?_ " asked Jack in bewilderment. It seemed too bizarre to contemplate. "Did you just say that Jasper's a _spy?_ "

"A _lousy_ spy," Lefty confirmed. "He's sort of a bungling buffoon, don't you think?"

"But... but..." Jack scratched at his head in exasperation. "Why would he by spying on you? What's he after?"

"Isn't it clear, nephew?" Lefty raised his eyebrows, and looked up from the tablet. "He's after my _secrets_ , of course."

### Chapter Twenty

### Into the Passageway

"Jasper's after... your _secrets?_ " Jack asked his uncle.

"The results of my experiments," Lefty clarified. "The hard data, the fruits of my research!"

"But... but doesn't he work for the middle school? Who could he possibly be spying _for?_ Surely, he isn't spying for the school!"

"No time to explain, m'boy!" Lefty exclaimed. He leaped from his armchair, tablet in hand. "We must go investigate the source of the intrusion!"

"Oh, uh... right!" Jack agreed.

He had been taken off guard by this recent string of rather startling revelations, but he was rallying nicely. Putting his own cookie and mug of hot chocolate aside, he leaped from the armchair, and prepared for adventure.

Nibbler woofed in assent, releasing a hearty bark. He had now completely shaken the cobwebs from his head, dispelling those doggy dreams and phantom tennis balls. The Labradoodle stood at full attention beside Jack. His tail wagged from side to side, and his snout pointed this way and that, presumably sniffing out any forthcoming trouble.

" _Woof!_ " Nibbler opined, encouraging them on. His claws clicked upon the hardwood floor as he jogged in place, ready for adventure. " _Woof!_ "

"This way!" Lefty declared.

With Nibbler at his side, Jack followed his uncle... although it appeared that he was headed straight toward the fireplace. But as Lefty stepped in front of the hearth, he reached to the side, and rested his hand on one of the bookcases. Without so much as a word of explanation, Lefty tilted a hardback upon its place on the shelf, angling it toward himself.

Jack watched in bewilderment, and he read the title on the spine of the book that Lefty had selected: _A Farewell to Arms_ , by Ernest Hemingway. As Lefty tilted the book, there came the noise of whirring, and clicking, and gears becoming engaged.

Jack's jaw dropped as the bookcase began swiveling about. In a matter of moments, it had spun to reveal a cleverly hidden passageway. It was built from heavy stone, and lit by torches that burned inside of sconces.

" _Gears and sprockets_ ," Jack whispered, his eyes wide with wonder.

This was one of the greatest things he had ever witnessed. His uncle's home had a _secret passageway_ , the type of thing ten-year-old boys dream about, but rarely have the opportunity to see in real life.

A substantial draft emanated from within, and Nibbler poked his head closer for investigation. He smiled in the unique way that dogs often do, and chuffed in approval. Even Labradoodles could appreciate the genius of secret passageways, it seemed.

"Come on, Jack!" Lefty said. "You too, Nibbler! There's no time to waste!"

And with that, Lefty plunged into the secret passageway. As he entered, he grabbed the nearest torch, to light his path. After just a couple of seconds, he had vanished down the corridor, although his sprinting shadow could still be seen on the stone walls, growing smaller with each passing breath.

Jack hesitated, standing just outside the passageway. He looked at Nibbler, as if to determine the dog's opinion of matters. Nibbler looked back at Jack and tilted his head to one side. He stretched his forelegs, and squatted down on his haunches, as if ready to pounce. His tail wagged from side to side, and his rump shook about with barely restrained excitement. Nibbler's expression seemed to say: _Come on, what are we waiting for? This looks like fun, let's go!_

Jack giggled at Nibbler's response, and shrugged his own shoulders in return. "Well, it's not as if we haven't seen weirder things, right, boy?"

" _Woof!_ " Nibbler agreed, wagging his tail.

And with that, the boy and dog plunged into the secret passageway, hurrying to catch up to Lefty. Jack grabbed a torch from a sconce, in order to light their way. But as he examined the torch, he realized something that he hadn't yet noticed, in all the excitement.

Though the torch was generating light and heat, there was no _fire_ at its tip... Instead, it was a small, translucent sphere that generated a bright, almost white light. It was like a _tiny sun_. It was a bizarre device, and Jack considered that perhaps it was one of Lefty's inventions, and evidence of his strange genius.

Regardless of its unique design, the torch worked quite well, and Jack began winding his way down the passageway, aided by its light. He felt warmth from the weird illumination of the torch against his face, and it contrasted with the cool temperature of the passageway, and the cold stones that had been cobbled together to form the walls.

He raced ahead, with Nibbler at his side. At times, the corridor became rather tight, and they had to squeeze through it, single file. There were quite a few spider webs in the passageway, as well as mice, which scurried off at the approach of the boy and Labradoodle.

Jack tried his best to keep up with Lefty, who had a considerable head start (and who also had the advantage of being familiar with the layout of the passageway). Jack could see his uncle at times, but then would lose sight of him as he rounded a corner or a bend.

But even when he couldn't see him, Jack could hear Lefty muttering to himself, and chuckling from time to time, which echoed weirdly within the passageway. The occasional _beep_ could be heard from his tablet, as well.

"Where's he leading us?" Jack wondered aloud, to which Nibbler had no reply.

Jack could feel his breath accelerating and his pulse quickening, as he raced to catch up to Lefty. Nibbler bounded beside him, wiggling his rump and wagging his tail, sniffing at the stone floor as he trotted along.

After what seemed to be several minutes of plunging through the torch-lit passageway, Jack could feel a breeze blowing against his face. It seemed to be coming from outdoors!

Sure enough, he soon came upon an arched, wooden door, which had been shoved open by Lefty. His uncle now stood to one side, and Jack could see the forest that lay beyond.

"Ah! There you are, m'boy," Lefty said. He smiled widely as Jack and Nibbler caught up to him. "What did you think of my secret passageway, eh? Pretty nifty, wouldn't you say?"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Jack. "This is bananas! I can't believe you built that into your house!"

Lefty chortled, and scratched the enthusiastic Nibbler behind his ears. "I always like to plan ahead, nephew. This passageway exits roughly fifty yards from the house, near the edge of the property line. It's well hidden, as you can see."

Jack took several steps away from the door, and turned around. He saw that what his uncle said was indeed true. The arched door emerged from a sloped hill, and it was entirely obscured by shrubs and vines.

"And this is only one passageway, of several," Lefty explained. "There are many that I can use to quickly access various points around the property, should my attention be required."

"But what about these torches?" asked Jack. "What are they? I've never seen anything like them before."

"Hah! An excellent question, m'boy. I do so appreciate an inquisitive mind, you know. But there's no time to explain, right at the moment..." Lefty held his torch high, illuminating that which lay before him. "For we have company, you see."

### Chapter Twenty-One

### Project Acorn

"Ah, yes. Here's the culprit!" Lefty exclaimed, as he walked further into the woods, his torch held before him.

Jack and Nibbler followed closely, and they tilted their heads back to gaze up at the strange sight before them. In the treetops above, there dangled what might have passed for the world's most bizarre wind chime. As Lefty had predicted, it was _Jasper_. One of his ankles had been entangled by a rope, and he now hung upside down, perhaps five or six feet above the ground. He'd been trapped!

As Jasper helplessly dangled, he spun in a slow circle, and his key ring softly jingled from the motion. Somehow, he had managed to retain his grip upon his precious, mahogany broom, and as Jack and Lefty came closer, he shook it at them in frustration.

"Go ahead," the cantankerous janitor encouraged them. "Go ahead, and laugh it up while you can! We'll just see who gets the last laugh around here!"

Lefty shook his head, and he did indeed chuckle as he examined the inverted form of Jasper. Upon seeing the strange spectacle, Nibbler gave a single bark, which seemed to express astonishment. His tail began wagging rapidly from side to side, and he made an odd sound that was suspiciously close to snickering.

Jack found the laughter contagious, and he joined in. It was awfully sweet, he thought, to see Jasper, the perpetual bully, in such a compromised and powerless position.

While they chuckled at his plight, Jasper glowered, spinning slowly, sighing and grumbling to himself. Jack got the impression that this was not the first time the janitor had been thwarted in such a manner. Jasper seemed to realize he had been caught, and that he would remain powerless until he was released from the snare, for he did not struggle.

It was only after several moments of giggles that Jack came to notice that there was a flurry of activity in the treetops, directly above the dangling Jasper. In the limbs and the leaves, things were scurrying about, and chattering among themselves. He remembered that he and Neil had heard those very noises one night earlier.

"Uncle Lefty!" he cried, pointing upward. "There's something in the trees!"

"Not to worry, m'boy!" Lefty assured his nephew. "Those are just the squirrels."

Jack absorbed this news with little shock. He was becoming accustomed to the abnormal amount of weirdness that filled the life of his uncle. Staring at the treetops and scratching at his chin, he asked, " _Squirrels_ , eh?"

"Well, I told you my Burglar-Baffler security system had some unique features, didn't I?" Lefty chuckled, waving at the treetops. "These squirrels are the descendants of _Project Acorn_. Remember when I mentioned that your mother was a zoologist? This was one of her favorite research endeavors, in which she sought to enhance the intelligence of squirrels. And she succeeded, as you can see. They formed a rather formidable clan, and they currently help out with my perimeter defense. _Hah!_ Many would-be prowlers – Jasper in particular – have underestimated the abilities of these crafty critters."

The silhouettes of several dozen squirrels became visible in the trees. Their eyes reflected the light from the torches, and they blinked down at the humans. Some of the squirrels crouched on branches, while others dangled by their feet or tails, playfully swinging on tree limbs like monkeys. They clapped their tiny hands together excitedly, chattering in their squirrelly language and giggling.

" _Holy macaroni!_ " Jack exclaimed. "I've seen some pretty darned weird stuff, but this is _awesome_!"

Lefty flashed Jack a brilliant smile. "I pay them with Southpaw Snickerdoodles. They absolutely _love_ those cookies!"

Nibbler loosed a chuffing noise, and his furry body tensed. His eyes tracked upward with deep concentration, and he braced, as if ready to pounce. A small, shadowy form was gliding from above, descending upon him.

"Some of them are _aviators_ ," Lefty commented. His voice was filled with wonder and appreciation, as if he were but a child, swept up in the magnificence of nature. "Flying squirrels, capable of gliding between trees, and parachuting to the ground! It's quite marvelous, isn't it?"

The flying squirrel continued his descent from above. Displaying an incredible amount of accuracy, he gently landed upon Nibbler's snout. The Labradoodle was thrilled with this development, and he wagged his tail in greeting to the small creature perched upon his nose. In return, the squirrel patted Nibbler's head with affection, and scratched at the fur above his eyes.

"Hah!" Lefty chuckled. "A perfect landing, as usual. This is Murphy, King of the Squirrel Folk. It looks like you've made a new friend, eh, Nibbler?"

" _Ah-roo_ ," Nibbler agreed, while the squirrel remained atop his canine roost.

Lefty fished a Southpaw Snickerdoodle from a pocket of his lab coat, and offered it forth. Murphy accepted the cookie without hesitation. The girth of the Snickerdoodle almost unbalanced him from his perch atop Nibbler's snout, but he righted himself and took a giant bite from the cookie. Murphy made a noise that at once expressed contentment and gratitude, and then he leaped from Nibbler's nose, cookie secured within his teeth.

He glided to the ground, and then scurried to the base of the nearest tree. The weight of the Snickerdoodle made him wobble as he went about his way. He scrambled up the trunk and into the limbs above, where he began to divvy up the cookie to the members of his squirrel clan.

"Oh, they do so enjoy those Snickerdoodles," Lefty commented with glee. "Alright, squirrels. I guess you might as well cut him down now, eh?"

No sooner had Lefty made his suggestion than two squirrels scampered down the rope that held Jasper captive, descending like nimble acrobats. They began to chew upon the rope, grasping it between their paws as they did so.

"That's it! Cut him loose, boys! Oh, and don't forget to brace yourself, Jasper!" Lefty warned. "Can't have you landing on your noggin." At this point, Lefty turned to Jack and whispered, " _Although, I'm not sure it would do much harm_ ... _he's got an awfully hard head, you know_."

"I heard that!" Jasper hollered from where he dangled helplessly, waving his broom about.

"Oh, relax," Lefty advised. "You've got to let your body go limp, to minimize the damage! If you tense up, you might land badly, you know... It's not as if you've never been in this position before!"

"Ensnared by a bunch of squirrels," Jasper muttered to himself. "Heavens to Betsy, what insult must ol' Jasper suffer next?"

The squirrels chewed through the rope in rapid fashion. As they chomped through the last of the material, Jasper plummeted to the earth, squawking as he went. With a terrific _thwomp_ , he landed in an ungainly mass of limbs and cleaning implements, which had tumbled from the pockets of his overalls.

"Confound it!" Jasper grumbled. He slowly staggered to his feet, rubbing at his bruised elbows as he did so, working at his newly acquired bumps. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you, Lefty? You, and your no-good nephew, and your crazy band of squirrels."

"Give it up, Jasper," Lefty said amiably. "You know darned well that you'll never get my secrets. You've been trying for _years!_ Don't you think it's time you gave it up?"

"No," Jasper replied. He slowly revealed a diabolical grin. "As a matter of fact, I _don't_ think so."

### Chapter Twenty-Two

### Jasper Reveals His Secret

As soon as Jasper delivered his defiant response, an acorn was thrown from above his head. It bounced off of his noggin with a very audible _thwock!_ This was accompanied by much squirrelly laughter in the limbs and leaves. Lefty, Jack, and Nibbler all giggled... they simply couldn't help it, despite Jasper's very serious demeanor. In Nibbler's case, of course, it was more of a chuffing, snorting sound.

As the acorn struck him, Jasper grimaced, squinted his eye, and grumbled beneath his breath, "Devilish little critters!"

" _I told you his head was hard_ ," Lefty whispered to the boy and dog. " _No harm done!_ "

" _Not_ funny, Lefty!" Jasper said, shaking his broom.

"Aw, come on, Jasper," Lefty replied, as he stifled his giggles. "I had them cut you down, didn't I? There's no reason we can't be friends, is there? Just like old times?"

_Just like old times_ , Jack thought to himself. What did it mean? _How_ and _why_ had Jasper and Uncle Lefty been friends?

"There are _plenty_ of reasons why we can no longer be friends!" Jasper argued, as he bent down to retrieve his corncob pipe, which he had lost when he had been hanging upside down. His eye narrowed, and he sneered. "Least of all, your impish squirrel clan having such fun at ol' Jasper's expense... But you're right about one thing. I have been at this an awfully long time, haven't I? Ever since the disbandment of our research unit, I've been trying to infiltrate your laboratory, to see what you've been up to. To see if you continued the research that we all began so long ago. And to see how that research has... _progressed_."

_Research unit?_ Jack exchanged a curious glance with Nibbler, who also appeared to be following the conversation closely. The dog's eyes moved from one speaker to the next, his snout quivering about in concentration. He obviously could not understand the vast majority of the words being exchanged, but he was very perceptive to human moods and emotions.

"You've been trying, Jasper. But without much success, I must point out," Lefty said.

"So it would seem, wouldn't it?" Jasper drew himself to his entire, formidable height. Despite having been foiled by the squirrels (and not for the first time, evidently), he seemed rather pleased with himself. "But all that has changed... thanks to a little help from young Jack, and his father."

"What in the name of Isaac Newton have you been up to, Jasper?" Lefty asked. He held his torch in one hand, and he smoothed his bushy mustache with the other, eying Jasper with suspicion.

The janitor pointed a thick finger at Jack. "You're an unruly, disobedient punk, always scuffing up my floors! You think you're pretty clever, don't you?"

"Um, no, not particularly," Jack muttered in his own defense.

"But you didn't notice what I left in your backpack, did you, Mr. Smarty Pants?" Jasper sneered.

" _My backpack?_ " Jack whispered.

His mind raced back to the moment, earlier in the day, when Jasper had harassed the Beans in the hallway. The janitor had begun pawing through Jack's backpack, and dumping its contents upon the floor. At least, until Neil had been able to snatch the bag from Jasper, and the Beans had escaped.

"Told you I was looking for contraband, didn't I? _Bah!_ You think I'm worried about firecrackers and such? Hardly! You should have known better," Jasper chuckled. "You've guessed it by now, haven't you? I wasn't looking to take anything _out_ of your backpack. My goal was to put something _in_ your backpack."

"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded.

"A tiny surveillance device, capable of transmitting both audio and video to my remote location. Something like _this_ ," Jasper explained, as he removed what appeared to be a normal, pink eraser from the pocket of his overalls.

But as Jack watched with amazement, Jasper manipulated the rectangular eraser in his hands, swiveling it open to reveal what looked like high-tech hardware within. A single, green light blinked inside of the eraser.

Lefty took a step closer, to get a better look at the thing, his scientific mind having been hooked. "You know, that's actually quite clever! Did you design that, Jasper? It looks... familiar. It reminds me of... _someone_ ..."

"Oh, I can't take the credit for _this_ ," Jasper said. "This is the handiwork of an old colleague of ours."

Lefty's brow furrowed, and he tapped at his chin in thought, as if trying to remember where he had seen similar work in the past.

Jasper grinned, displaying his every tooth. "I couldn't have planned it any better if I'd tried... You took it right into the belly of the beast for me, Jack! Right into the heart of Lefty's laboratory, the very place I was attempting to infiltrate and conduct espionage upon. Why, you were even kind enough to let your backpack spill open, and leave some harmless 'supplies' behind on the floor! The intelligence I gathered from your folly was more than enough to convince me that the time to strike has come. I knew that the research was nearing completion, and I just needed confirmation, before I revealed the extent of our plans... and _you_ were the one who handed me that confirmation!"

Jack slapped an open palm against his forehead in astonishment. He was utterly flabbergasted. It had never even occurred to him that Jasper might be sharp enough to do such a thing. Of course, there had also been no reason for him to suspect that his uncle was conducting research that anybody might want to spy upon, least of all his school janitor.

Fortunately, Lefty did not appear particularly concerned by this turn of events. "By Einstein's glorious mustaches, you _have_ learned a thing or two about spying, after all!" he exclaimed. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, Jasper!"

" _Bah!_ I'm perhaps a bit more resourceful than you give me credit for. And you know I was never one to leave things to chance, Lefty." Jasper paused and narrowed his gray-blue eye at Jack. "Did you think it was mere _chance_ , boy? Your father, being sent to prison? And your placement in the home of your uncle, a man who had been estranged from your family for so long?"

Jack felt his blood run cold at the words. "What do you mean?"

Jasper chuckled. "My surveillance was running into a dead end, what with all these cursed squirrels and booby traps lying about. I needed eyes on the _inside_. And the way to achieve that was through _you_."

" _No!_ " Jack whispered. He felt Nibbler lean his furry weight against his leg, lending him support.

"Yes!" Jasper assured him. "It was a simple feat for me. I did my damage at that blasted sneaker factory, and set up your father to take the fall. Didn't you find it odd, how quickly your father was removed from the picture, once I'd framed him? My government contacts ensured that he wouldn't be freed on bond, while awaiting trial. Then, they leaned on the state authorities, in order to accelerate your placement with Lefty, your newly found guardian. Of course, those same contacts and handlers have ensured that I have an outstanding defense team, to handle my recent... _legal predicaments_. But I suspect I won't ever have to step foot in a prison... your father should serve enough time for the both of us!"

" _You scoundrel!_ " Jack shouted. Nibbler barked in agreement. "You did _all that_ , just to advance your stupid plans?"

"That was a _really_ lousy thing to do, Jasper," Lefty said, shaking his head. He sighed with disappointment. "I had hoped you were finally learning the error of your ways."

Jasper threw back his head with sinister laughter. He seemed quite pleased with himself and the development of his dastardly plans. He might have gone on laughing for quite some time, and congratulating himself, if not for the music that began to dance through the night air, drifting toward them. At the sound of it, Jasper immediately hushed, and turned his attention to the sky.

"What's that music?" Lefty asked. He tilted his ear, as it became clearer and louder. "No... _it can't be!_ "

Following his uncle's lead, Jack turned his ear to the sky, and strained to hear. It was classical music, still faint, yet growing stronger as he listened. It was a powerful piece, radiating a sense of majesty.

"What _is_ it, Uncle Lefty?" asked Jack.

With his ear still tilted, Lefty studied the skies above, peering through the canopy of leaves and tree limbs. " _Gears and sprockets_ ," he whispered. "It's _Ride of the Valkyries_."

### Chapter Twenty-Three

### An Awkward Flight

Above the treetops, a bright, nearly full moon hovered in stark contrast against the black, starlit sky. The moon was a globe of striking white, fully visible in the evening. On this night, it seemed as though every crater could be seen on that orbiting entity.

And it was against this spherical canvas of cheese-like quality that a strange... _sputtering_ figure appeared. Slack-jawed, Jack watched as this odd silhouette twirled in the sky above, with the moon serving as an impressive backdrop.

As he had previously pondered, Jack had seen an awful lot of weird stuff in his ten years of life. Even so, _this_ ... this was extraordinarily weird, all things considered.

There was a _man_ up there. A man, hovering about in the sky, high above the safety of the earth. It appeared that there was a jetpack strapped to his back, from which bursts of spent fuel burned bright and orange.

The man seemed to be controlling the jetpack with his hands, each of which was wrapped around a handle by either side of his body. However, it looked as though he had not quite mastered the process of flight, for he dipped and bobbed, and hardly appeared to be in control of where he would ultimately end up.

With the backdrop of the moon, the silhouette of the flying man was clearly visible. He drew closer, approaching Lefty's manor. He wobbled and sputtered in the air, something like a demented bumblebee. But he made progress, nonetheless. And as he came nearer, the sound of the music grew louder.

Though much of the flier's features remained too far away for Jack to discern, he could now see that there appeared to be large speakers strapped to the man's shoulders, from which the classical music projected. It seemed that the jetpack-wielding maniac had brought his _own soundtrack_ , his _own entrance music_. It was a majestic musical score, which was apparently called _Ride of the Valkyries_.

Lefty peered up at the sky. " _No_ ," he murmured. " _It can't be!_ "

Jasper chuckled in an odious manner. "Surprised, are you?"

Nibbler barked up at the hovering figure. The Labradoodle was as flabbergasted as anyone to see such a thing. The squirrels were also puzzled by the strange aviator, and they murmured among themselves in their squeaky language.

"Who is it, uncle?" asked Jack.

"It's my nemesis," Lefty answered. "A man who was once my ally, but became my greatest rival. I had thought he was... I thought he was gone."

" _Hah!_ " Jasper laughed. "No such luck, I'm afraid. You had thought that your former employer, the government, was the worst of your problems. But that isn't so... the _Black Hats_ have survived, and we're back to take what's ours!"

"The Black Hats?" Lefty asked. "Egads, is that still going on? I thought those doorknobs would have given up on that by now."

" _What?_ Have you truly gone mad, Lefty? The Black Hats are stronger than ever!" Jasper declared.

"Who are the Black Hats?" asked Jack.

"Oh, just a group of misguided buffoons," Lefty explained, ignoring the grumbling objections of Jasper. He returned his attention to the hovering man. "You know, he always was one for dramatic entries, but this is a little over the top, don't you think? Even for _him?_ He used to just _walk_ into a room with that music blasting from a boom-box hoisted upon his shoulder, and that seemed like quite enough."

"Nonsense!" Jasper protested. He waved his mahogany broom at the flier, shaking it about with ever more vigor. "It's _mighty_ impressive! Why, just take a gander at the majesty of his flight, and the genius of the Black Hats in action! _Behold!_ Behold, I say, _behold!_ "

No sooner had Jasper made this declaration, than the flier began to wobble about in the air at an accelerated and alarming rate. The hot streams of spent fuel, visible as streaks of fire expelled from the jetpack, began to sputter. The speakers began to stutter on and off, and the music quickly faded down to a whimper. Within moments, the flier was preparing for an emergency landing.

"Oh, I'm beholding, alright," Lefty chuckled. "Looks like he hasn't quite mastered that thing yet, eh, Jasper?"

In response, the janitor could only offer a weak, "Oh, my..."

" _Eeeek!_ " the flying man screamed, as his wayward jetpack sent him speeding toward the roof of the manor.

Trailing streams of smoke in his wake, he crashed not just into the roof, but _through_ it. There was a tremendous commotion of noise at the impact, not to mention several grunts and groans, as the flying man plummeted into the manor. Asphalt shingles and pieces of lumber went flying every which way.

Jack and Lefty gaped in astonishment and alarm. Nibbler tilted his head at the strange sight. The squirrels above seemed to be giggling, thoroughly amused by the spectacle.

" _Confound it!_ " Jasper exclaimed. He looked about sheepishly, before confessing, "It didn't go exactly like that in the plan."

"Gadzooks!" Lefty cried. "My roof!"

Turning on his heel, Jasper loosed a defiant squawk as he sprinted for the door to the passageway, which Lefty and Jack had left open behind them. The janitor turned out to be surprisingly nimble for such an ungainly character. Lefty was stunned and distracted by the crash-landing, and he couldn't react before Jasper darted into the passageway.

"Well," Lefty sighed, turning toward Jack and Nibbler. "I suppose we had better go find out what those knuckleheads are up to, eh?"

### Chapter Twenty-Four

### The Nemesis Returns

Jack and Nibbler kept close to Lefty, and soon enough, they had raced back through the torch-lit passageway, chasing after Jasper. They emerged in the parlor, between the fireplace and the bookshelf that had previously swung aside to reveal the hidden door.

The parlor was in far different condition than when they had left it just a few minutes earlier. Now, there was a huge mess of broken wood, busted furniture, and piles of plaster dust in the center of the room's floor.

The strange aviator had plummeted _through_ the roof, _through_ the attic, _through_ the second story, and _through_ the ceiling of the first floor. He had struck like a meteor, finally coming to rest on the floor of the parlor, amid the heap of wreckage he had caused.

Jack could not see the features of the man on the floor, for he was largely concealed by dust, his jetpack, and what appeared to be a rather fanciful cape. Beneath the rubble, he could be heard groaning and mumbling to himself, as he rubbed at his noggin.

Jasper had emerged in the parlor mere moments before Jack, Lefty, and Nibbler had. The surly janitor now rushed forth, and began to help the fallen figure. Using his powerful arms, he tossed aside pieces of lumber and building materials, and finally pulled the man up.

The strange, caped figure staggered to his feet, although it was by no means an easy process, even with the aid of Jasper. He stumbled and bumbled, weaving this way and that, waving his arms about for balance. When he had finally regained his feet, he muttered to himself, and grasped at his head as he shook it from side to side, attempting to dispel the circling stars.

As the man finally regained his wits and his posture, he rose to his full height. He shook his head a final time, and looked to the ceiling that he had crashed through, as if to consider the damage he had done.

"Right!" he declared. "Now, where was I?"

Jack stared in wonder at the intruder, and Nibbler eyed this unsavory character with much suspicion, uttering a warning growl from between his doggy teeth. He was an enormous man – even _bigger_ than Jasper, who was practically a giant, by any standard. He must have stood a good _seven feet_ in height, and his shoulders were as broad as those of a professional bodybuilder.

But there was something... _odd_ ... about the proportions of his body. Jack could not help but notice that the intruder had a remarkably _small_ head... a head that did not seem to match the gigantic body. And, once he gave it some thought, the intruder's arms seemed awfully short for his frame, as well.

"Ebenezer!" Lefty cried out. "Ebenezer Widget-Bocker! Look what you've done to my roof. Don't you know where the front door is, for crying out loud?"

So his name was _Ebenezer_ , Jack realized. _Ebenezer... Widget-Bocker?_ What a curious name.

"Ebenezer, you rattlebrained doorknob! Are you still wearing stilts and shoulder pads?" Lefty asked. "You need to get a grip, my good man!"

_Stilts and shoulder pads_ , Jack wondered? What exactly was going on here?

The man known as Ebenezer began to stumble and stagger. The jetpack fell from his back, crashing to the floor, and a set of expansive shoulder pads soon followed. His feet seemed to slip upon something, and before Jack could comprehend what was happening, a pair of wooden stilts popped out from beneath the pant legs of Ebenezer, who was in the process of toppling over.

As he tumbled to the floor, it became clear that he was still a bit discombobulated from his crash-landing. Muttering and mumbling, Ebenezer pushed himself to his feet, wobbling as he went.

Jasper once more assisted Ebenezer. "Upsie-daisy!" he encouraged, as he pulled him to his feet.

The difference in Ebenezer was immediately noticeable, and quite startling. Upon first impressions, he had seemed to be a figure of remarkable stature. But the _reality_ was that Ebenezer Widget-Bocker was a _tiny_ man – perhaps five feet in height, which was roughly the same size as Jack (who was only a ten-year-old boy).

He had a slender build, and it seemed as though nothing more than a strong wind would be required to knock him down. Without the stilts and the shoulder pads, the truth became clear: Ebenezer was no more than an elaborate showman. What kind of crazy egomaniac would go to such lengths, Jack wondered?

Jack could see that beneath the layer of plaster dust that covered him, Ebenezer appeared to be a middle-aged man, with crazy tufts of gray hair that stood on end, and thick, round eyeglasses. He wore a lab coat that had many pockets, bulging with doodads and thingamajigs. But while Lefty wore a white lab coat, Ebenezer's was _black_ ... a very unusual color for such a garment. The cape at his back, black with gold accents, completed the strange wardrobe.

Ebenezer recovered rather nicely, considering his bruising entry, and he tried to expand his chest and stand as tall as he could. "Behold! The return of your most feared enemy, your very _nemesis!_ Now you shall tremble in terror!"

"Well, at the very least, I shall have to phone a roofer," Lefty confessed, as he surveyed the damage to his house.

" _Bah!_ Never mind about that," Ebenezer said. "Your busted roof is the very least of your worries! The _Black Hats_ have returned, and we're here to take all that belongs to us. It's time to surrender your research, Lefty... time to surrender _our_ research. The research that you and I began with our team so very long ago."

Lefty chuckled. "Come now, Ebenezer. You know I couldn't possibly give you such a thing. You might hurt yourself!"

" _Hurt myself?_ " Ebenezer was incredulous at the suggestion. He ran a hand through his gray hair, sweeping out an impressive amount of plaster dust. He squinted at Lefty from behind his thick, round eyeglasses, which looked something like goggles. "How dare you imply that your intellect might surpass my own!"

"Say, how is it that you came to be here, anyway?" Lefty asked. His change of subject seemed to be fueled by genuine curiosity. "The last time I saw you, you had been sucked into the _Void_. How ever did you escape?"

_The Void_ , Jack wondered? _What on earth could that be?_ He made a mental note to ask his uncle more about that, when time permitted them to catch up.

"Ah! Well, that's a very interesting story, as a matter of fact," Ebenezer began. "You see-"

He was interrupted by Jasper, who nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. It seemed that the janitor was trying to keep Ebenezer on track. Like Lefty, this scientist also seemed to be of an absent, easily distracted mind.

Ebenezer cleared his throat. "Enough of this nonsense! My most trusted spy has revealed the depth of your progress, and the Black Hats have determined that the time to unveil our return is _now_. Oh, how we've waited for this moment. Do you think I would reveal my presence, and that of the Black Hats, were I not supremely confident in my ability to take what I want?"

Lefty raised an index finger in protest. "In all fairness, I seem to recall that you had a terrible habit of overestimating your own abilities. The fine line between confidence and arrogance was one that you never seemed to grasp, old friend."

" _Bah!_ We'll just see about _that!_ " Ebenezer declared.

He stooped down and detached the stereo from his discarded shoulder pads, powering it on once it was cradled in his arms. The sweeping score of _Ride of the Valkyries_ came from the speakers, but Ebenezer turned down the volume so that it was barely audible. He pressed a few buttons, and the song changed to something quite groovy in melody.

"Ah," Ebenezer said, satisfied with the musical selection. "You've always been so predictable, Lefty. _Old school funk_ ...that should do the trick, don't you think?"

Lefty's eyes narrowed at the sound of the music. "You should not do this, Ebenezer. If our friendship has ever meant anything to you... _please_ , don't do this."

At the plea, Ebenezer's face seemed to soften, and his eyes drifted, as if recalling memories that had grown distant. "Our friendship... that was long ago," he said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice. But his face soon hardened, seeming to gain years of age as the lines in the skin reformed. "But that's in the past. The future belongs to us... _to the Black Hats!_ "

" _No_ ," Lefty said. "You really should reconsider. He's not ready."

" _He?_ My goodness, you've become attached to it!"

"He's more than an _it_ ," Lefty protested. "He's not just a _thing_. He simply needs a little more time. Please, reconsider what you're about to do!"

"You always were a sentimental fool, Lefty. And I'm afraid it's not up to you." Ebenezer's hand drew closer to the volume knob, until it hovered just above, fingers twitching. "Not anymore."

And with no further time wasted on showmanship and flair, Ebenezer seized the volume knob, and cranked it to the max.

### Chapter Twenty-Five

### The Thing Within

When Ebenezer cranked the volume knob, an infectious, groove-riddled music filled the house. Even amid the strange circumstances, Jack could not help but tap his toe to the funky beat. He noticed that Ebenezer and Jasper at once began nodding their heads in time to the music, and even Nibbler had started to shake his rump. It _was_ funk music, after all!

Only Lefty seemed unaffected by the infectious beat, for his face was filled with apprehension and anxiety. "Ebenezer, I told you, he's not ready! He has a _very_ strong reaction to funk, especially _old school_ funk! You've got to turn that down, before-"

A great _THOOM_ was heard in the basement, and all heads turned toward the door that led below. Ebenezer threw back his head and released what could only be described as a _diabolical cackle_. He passed the stereo to Jasper for safekeeping, and began rubbing his hands together with unrestrained delight.

"By the beard of Archimedes... Now you've done it, Ebenezer. Now you've _really_ done it," Lefty said, before making a mad dash for the door to the basement.

"Stop him!" Ebenezer cried.

Jasper protectively cradled the stereo in one arm, and wielded his broom in the other. He raced after Ebenezer, who was already in pursuit of Lefty, and the two villains began barreling down the basement stairs.

"Not so fast, you louts!" Jack shouted after them. "Come on, Nibbler!"

Jack was a bit startled and confused by all that was happening, but he would not stand by while Lefty was in need of help. Though he had not had a very long time to get to know his uncle, Jack was growing rather fond of him. And he certainly had no love for Jasper, and whatever company that dastardly janitor was keeping. In this confrontation against Jasper and Ebenezer, Jack was more than willing to lend his assistance to Lefty... no matter _what_ happened to be trying so hard to escape from the vault.

Down the stairs he ran, close behind the villainous duo, with his dog by his side. His feet became entangled with those of the others rushing down the stairs, and so it was that they all tumbled into the basement in a giant, ungainly heap of boy, janitor, Labradoodle, and mad scientist.

Jack scrambled up as fast as he could, and Nibbler came to protectively stand at his side, woofing ferociously. Nearby, Ebenezer staggered to his feet, although he was forced to stumble about blindly until he managed to put his ridiculous cape back where it belonged, for it had fallen over his head as he had tumbled down the stairs.

Jasper had already gained his feet, and he turned his body so as to protect the stereo from Jack and Nibbler, batting at them with the bristles of his broom. The stereo was still blasting funk at full volume. In the chambers of the basement, the music was even louder, as it reverberated around the concrete quarters.

The laboratory's overhead lights were flickering on and off, adding to the chaos of the moment. Dust sifted from overhead at each new impact from the vault, and computer monitors flashed wild figures upon their displays. Scientific contraptions bounced about on their benches, and strange liquids bubbled and burped within their glass flasks.

_THOOM_ , came the noise from the vault. _THOOM!_ The door to the vault was badly warped from the beating it was currently taking, as well as its previous poundings. There were even more dents in the door than there had been earlier in the day, when the Beans had been exploring the laboratory.

Dents that had been created from the _inside_. Even as Jack watched, another steel rivet popped free, and the massive door shuddered within its frame.

Jack saw that his uncle was at a computer terminal, desperately typing away at the keyboard. A flurry of numbers and lines of data rushed by on the monitor.

"It's no use!" Lefty cried. "I can't perform an override from this station. You've got to turn off the funk!"

" _Never!_ " Jasper roared. He hugged the stereo closer to his body, and laughed with Ebenezer.

"You're a real doorknob, you know that?" Lefty asked. "I should have left you dangling in that tree where I found you, Jasper!"

The janitor paid this comment no mind, for he had become distracted by the enormous clutter of the laboratory. His compulsive nature to clean kicked in, and he began sweeping away at the floor.

"What this place needs is a good once-over with a fine broom," Jasper noted.

Seeing a possible opportunity, Jack began to creep toward the distracted janitor, ever so slowly. If only he could knock the stereo from his arm!

Ebenezer noticed his ally's waning attention, and was horrified. "Not _now_ , Jasper! Stop fiddling with that broom, pay attention, and keep the music coming!"

Jasper shook his head, trying to regain his focus, which was an awfully hard task for him, when there was clearly so much cleaning that needed to be done. He whirled around, and waved his broom at the approaching Jack. "Get back, boy! Quit trying to creep up on me!"

"Forget it, Jack!" Lefty cried. "It's too late, just stand back!"

There was a final, uproarious _THOOM_ , and then the door tore free from its massive hinges and latches, bursting open with a terrific _CLANG_ of metal. It skidded across the concrete floor like a two-ton toboggan, knocking all manner of machinery about, and creating a shower of sparks.

Jack and Nibbler managed to steer clear of the carnage, watching in awe as the door finally came to a stop. Then, they turned their attention back to the vault.

There was a moment when nothing could be seen in the doorway but a silhouette, visible against the interior of a dim room. Jack held his breath as he watched that figure, waiting to see who... or _what_ ... would emerge from within.

Whatever it might be that lurked inside the vault, it was a thing with _strange_ proportions. It was _human-like_ , but clearly _not human_. It was too tall, and... upon further consideration, it was also too _lanky_. Its arms and legs were simply too long and thin for a human being.

There were the sounds of whirring and clicking, and strange _beeps_ and _boops_. As Jack watched in spellbound rapture, two bright, blue lights appeared in the figure's head, as if it had opened its eyes. At least, they _seemed_ to be eyes... but they were far too brilliant, and there was something else about them that did not seem right... it was as if they were too symmetrical, too perfectly round.

And then, that shadowy figure did a strange thing, indeed. Just as Jack and the others had done in the presence of the funk music, it began to move its foot. Clearly, it was tapping its toes in time to the rhythm. That funk music was _so very_ infectious, after all. The tall, lanky figure kept time with its foot, and dipped its shoulders, and swayed its hips.

Nibbler, still shaking his rump to the funk, woofed toward the open vault. With a noise that was part question and part greeting, the Labradoodle inquired, " _Ah-roo?_ "

"Stand back!" Lefty cried out... and his warning proved to be sound advice.

The figure launched from the vault with a leap of pure power! It had an uncanny energy, proving its inhuman nature. It was a blur of motion, and it hurtled into the basement laboratory within the blink of an eye.

Startled by the abrupt movement, Jack stumbled and fell to his backside. Nibbler stood above the fallen boy defensively, and woofed at the imposing figure with the glowing, blue eyes.

But the only threat that this strange being offered was perhaps by virtue of its own clumsiness. It apparently had no desire in attacking those present. Its interest was solely in the music, and it seemed determined to _break-dance_. And so it did... it began to break-dance _with a fury_.

For a brief moment, it was a spectacular display of agility and showmanship. Whatever this thing was... it had _moves!_ It whirled, and twirled, and spun about on the floor. With its long, lanky limbs askew, it got down and _boogied_.

But then, as it smoothly regained its feet and prepared to launch into another fantastic sequence, things went awry. It lost its balance, and began to stumble about on one foot. It teetered, and tottered, and leaned precariously in one direction. Then, it overcompensated to correct its error, and began stumbling in the _other_ direction. It was, quite simply, too gangly for its own good.

With a terrific, corkscrewing mass of flailing appendages, it collided with a mostly vacant wall. It struck with such force, the basement shuddered at the impact. _THOOM!_

This was the very same noise that Jack had heard the night before... the noise that had been resounding through the manor, keeping him from his sleep. And it was the same noise that the Beans had heard coming from the vault earlier today.

It had been, Jack realized, the sound of _this thing_ in the basement... apparently the sound of this thing, break-dancing, and stumbling, and colliding with the walls and the floor with a great deal of force.

"What in the world have we gotten into, Nibbler?" Jack asked his dog, to which the Labradoodle could only tilt his head in equal bafflement and curiosity.

The strange, ungainly figure began to pull itself up from the shadowy corner that it had fallen into. It blinked its bright, blue eyes, and it made a funny noise that sounded something like _mechanized chuckling_ ... almost as if it were amused by its own clumsiness.

It was at that time that the lights, which had been flickering on and off, thrummed to life with their full force, illuminating the basement... and the thing that had burst from the vault became clearly visible, for all to behold.

### Chapter Twenty-Six

### Noodles

" _Noodles!_ " Lefty shouted.

"What the...? I don't see any noodles." Ebenezer looked about in confusion, startled by Lefty's odd outburst. He turned to Jasper and demanded, "What's he babbling about?"

"I dunno," Jasper shrugged, shouting to be heard over the music.

Jack, however, was paying little attention to the discourse of the villains. His eyes were glued to the gangly, blue-eyed figure that had lurched from the vault in a flurry of break-dancing. Now, with the benefit of full lighting, he realized that it was a _robot_ ... a robot the likes of which he had never before seen or heard of.

His initial impression of the thing had been correct. It _was_ an ungainly figure, tall and lanky-limbed. As he had originally perceived, the robot stood at a height of perhaps seven feet, taller than even Jasper by a fair amount. It had long, thin legs, and long, thin arms – almost like _noodles_ in proportion to his body.

Observing these details, Jack made a sudden realization... Lefty wasn't referring to _edible_ noodles. He was calling the _robot_ "Noodles". Noodles was the robot's _name!_

Temporarily immobilized by the collision, the robot shook his head from side to side, as if to clear away cobwebs. With an ungainly motion, he lurched to his feet, holding his arms out to regain his balance. He began to tap his foot and bob his head in time to the music. Bending his legs at the knees, he seemed ready to lurch into another round of fabulous break-dancing.

But before Noodles could do so, the music abruptly cut off. Ebenezer had reached over to the stereo in Jasper's arms, and killed the power. The two of them were staring at the robot with slack-jawed amazement, their mouths agape.

With the termination of the funk, Noodles stopped moving and stood still. In the following silence, there was a shared moment of stunned observation by all those in attendance.

" _Holy macaroni!_ " Jack gasped.

"Gadzooks!" Ebenezer cried. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Lefty, I'll give you that!"

"Noodles!" Lefty cried out again.

He rushed forward to the robot and patted him affectionately on the shoulder, inspecting the metallic body for damage. With a whirring noise, Noodles tilted his head down to look at Lefty.

" _Beep boop beep_!" Noodles said.

"Noodles?" Ebenezer asked in bewilderment. "You named it _Noodles?_ "

"Not _it_ ," Lefty countered, raising a finger in protest. " _Him!_ His name is Noodles. Noodles Von Crazy Legs, to be precise. I still have to work out the kinks in the programming of his artificial intelligence, but he's coming along quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I began using funk music as an auditory signal for certain movements, but I found that his reaction to the music was too powerful for his own good. Now, I'm in the process of perfecting more subtle means to signal his behaviors."

"Well, he is quite impressive," Ebenezer admitted. "But I see you've become sentimentally attached to your creation... I expected you would fall back upon your old habits. So predictable, Lefty!"

Nibbler slowly ventured forth, and began sniffing about the large, shiny feet of Noodles. The robot looked down at the Labradoodle, and waved a long-fingered hand in salutation.

" _Beep boop beep!_ " Noodles said, greeting the dog.

"Woof!" Nibbler answered, and it seemed that a friendship, however odd, was swiftly formed. The Labra-doodle was, after all, an expert at making new friends.

Noodles had a sphere-shaped head, like a silver globe, within which his round, blue eyes glowed brightly. There was a small antennae mounted on each side of his head, and these devices apparently served as his ears, for they swiveled in the direction of whoever happened to be speaking at any given moment.

His mouth looked like a smile-shaped speaker, from which he would periodically emit a _beep_ or a _boop_. His body was shiny and silver, and his long, noodle-like appendages seemed to be constructed from a material that allowed for a great deal of agility. Each limb was almost like a _slinky_ , though far more durable in construction.

"I just need more time to work with him," Lefty told the others. "He's not quite field-ready yet."

" _Hah!_ " Ebenezer cackled. "You must realize that I have _no interest_ in your silly robot! He's an interesting project, perhaps, but completely inconsequential."

"Then why are you here?" Jack demanded. "Didn't you say you were here to steal my uncle's research?"

Ebenezer glowered at Jack. "First of all, young man, I'm not _stealing_ anything. I'm simply taking what belongs to the Black Hats."

"I disagree!" Lefty interjected.

"Secondly," Ebenezer continued, ignoring the interruption, "my interest is not in the robot, but in that which _powers_ him. _The power source_ of the robot is what I'm here for, as Lefty knows full well. I'm here to claim the end product of our long years of research. You can't imagine my delight, when our espionage revealed that the research had progressed so thoroughly."

Lefty repositioned his body, so that he was standing directly in front of Noodles. He faced Jasper and Ebenezer, and told them, "I'm afraid I can't allow that, gentlemen. I cannot permit you to leave with the power cell. I can only imagine what nefarious, misguided plans the Black Hats might have for such technology... and as I said earlier, you might hurt yourselves!"

Jack and Nibbler came to stand beside Lefty, forming a wall with which to defend Noodles. But the villains only cackled, and they seemed far from concerned by the resistance they faced.

Reaching a hand into one of the voluminous pockets of his black lab coat, Ebenezer withdrew a strange device. It was an unwieldy object, and it looked like it was almost too big to have fit into his pocket. It had buttons, switches, a hand crank, and what appeared to be a trigger. Jack suspected that it might have been a weapon, but he had never seen anything even remotely similar to it. Ebenezer hoisted the device, flipped a pair of switches, and aimed it squarely at Lefty.

"By the spectacles of Ben Franklin!" Lefty exclaimed. His bushy white eyebrows shot up. "What _is_ that, Ebenezer? Put that thing down before you harm yourself! You know you were never handy with using such machinations in the field. Why, just look at what happened when you tried to pilot that jetpack a few minutes ago! Is your memory really that short?"

"I know what I'm doing! Never question the genius of Ebenezer Widget-Bocker!" the mad scientist bellowed. "You're not the only inventor around here, Lefty. This is one of my latest creations – the MegaNet 4000. Would you care for a demonstration?"

"Hmm..." Lefty rubbed at his chin, his interest captured. He had a most inquisitive mind, and he could not help but be engaged when faced with a new device. "Well, it does look most fascinating. What exactly does it-"

"Uncle Lefty, no!" Jack warned.

"I would be happy to demonstrate!" Ebenezer assured them, as he pulled the trigger of his bizarre weapon.

Lightning-quick, a weighted net shot from the device. Before any of them could react, Lefty, Jack, and Nibbler all became ensnared in the heavy-duty web that had been propelled at them. They were instantly immobilized, and the group of them tumbled to the floor in a tangled heap.

"Egads!" Lefty cried, impressed by Ebenezer's invention. "That thing packs a wallop!"

"Now, Jasper! Move in, and secure the power cell," Ebenezer ordered.

Jasper began to edge toward Noodles, but he hesitated as he drew near. "Um... Are you sure it's safe, Ebenezer? I don't like the looks of this _Noodles_ character. He looks like a troublemaker, if you ask me... And I know a troublemaker when I see one."

"Of course it's safe! Look at that heap of tin, he's just standing there. He can't do a darned thing without that funk music. He's just another one of Lefty's foolish, harebrained projects."

"Well... if you say so..." Jasper said, as he reluctantly continued edging toward Noodles.

"Go on, hurry up!" Ebenezer ordered. "That net won't hold them forever. Meanwhile, I've got to reload this thing."

From where he lay ensnared upon the floor, Jack was squished between Lefty and Nibbler. He tilted his head so that he could see what was going on. It appeared that Ebenezer was working a hand-crank on the MegaNet 4000, getting it ready for another go-round.

Jasper had crept to within arm's reach of Noodles, and he began to cautiously poke at the robot with the bristles of his broom. Noodles made a strange, mechanical chuckling noise, as if this tickled him.

" _Beep boop beep_ ," Noodles said to the janitor, and he extended a hand in greeting.

" _Gah!_ " Jasper exclaimed, jumping backward.

"Don't be such a wimp! He's harmless, I tell you," Ebenezer said. "Now, seize the power cell and we can get out of here. It should be right in the middle of the robot's back, if I know Lefty. He's ever so predictable, as I believe I've mentioned."

Jack saw the concerned look on his uncle's face, and he knew that Ebenezer's theory must be correct.

" _I can't let them get hold of that power cell. The results might prove disastrous_ ," Lefty whispered to Jack and Nibbler.

But no matter how hard they strained, they couldn't free themselves from the net. Nibbler had begun to do what he did best (nibbling), but he had not yet been able to chew through the material of the net, which was thick and strong.

In a last moment of desperation, Lefty shouted from where he lay on the floor. "Defend yourself, Noodles! _Defend yourself!_ "

### Chapter Twenty-Seven

### Jasper Goes for a Ride

Noodles tilted his globe-like head down toward Lefty in a quizzical fashion. His antennae ears rotated with a whirring sound, and he asked, " _Beep boop?_ "

Ebenezer cackled. " _Hah!_ That bucket of rusty bolts doesn't know how to defend himself! What did you expect him to do?"

But Lefty wasn't finished. He had squirmed and struggled and wiggled, and he was finally able to wrestle his tablet from the pocket of his lab coat. Jack watched as Lefty launched a music app, and funk began to radiate from the tablet. It wasn't nearly as loud as the stereo had been, but it was clearly audible, nonetheless.

" _What?_ " Ebenezer's eyes widened behind his round glasses. "Stop that, at once!"

But it was too late. Noodles had already begun to tap his foot, and the fingers of one hand were snapping in time to the rhythm.

"Dance, Noodles, dance!" Lefty cried. "Get down and _boogie!_ "

Jasper had drawn closer, and he had maneuvered himself behind the robot in an effort to access the power cell. Now, he saw that Noodles was about to launch into break-dancing mode.

The janitor only had time to voice his concern in the briefest of thoughts: " _Uh-oh_."

And then Noodles was a whirlwind of dancing limbs, boogying and bopping his way across the basement. In a most ill-advised strategy, Jasper had wrapped his powerful arms around Noodles, in an effort to restrain him.

But Noodles' passion for break-dancing proved too strong, and Jasper's attempts to contain the robot were useless. He could only ride upon Noodles' back like a bucking bronco, holding on for dear life. He had both arms wrapped around the shoulders and head of the robot, but in all the chaos, he somehow managed to keep hold of his precious broom.

Noodles was in a real frenzy of break-dancing fury, tearing across the laboratory in a cyclone of tumultuous destruction. Cabinets and computers were sent soaring, gadgets and gizmos put into flight.

" _Egads!_ " Ebenezer shouted. "Quickly, Jasper! Remove the power cell, and deactivate that thing!"

"Easier said than done," Jasper managed to articulate, between his grunts and groans of effort.

It was all he could do to simply hang on to Noodles, and it seemed highly unlikely that he would be able to do as Ebenezer asked. The power and energy of Noodles was truly astonishing! For he was break-dancing as if not even aware of Jasper's weight, and the janitor was a huge man. But for all of his size, Jasper might as well have been a bug, clinging to the back of a wild boar.

"I'm going to fire the MegaNet!" Ebenezer warned, as he pointed the odd contraption at Noodles.

"Confound it, give me a chance to jump clear!" Jasper exclaimed, in a voice that was uncharacteristically high-pitched.

"Quickly! Stand back!" Ebenezer ordered.

Before Jasper had a chance to disembark of his own will, Noodles launched into a high-speed series of consecutive 360-degree spins.

"Whoa... whoa... _whooooa!_ " Jasper cried.

Even from his compromised position, Jack could not help but chuckle at the janitor's plight. True, he lay captured on the floor in a giant net, but it was delightful to see Jasper thrown about like a rag doll.

" _Sweet sassafras!_ " Jasper yelled, as he lost his grip on Noodles, who continued to spin about.

The janitor soared through the air in a most improbable manner, given his large mass and general opposition to any and all manner of tomfoolery. Cursing all robots as he went, he collided with a large bookcase full of scientific volumes and notebooks, and the force of the impact sent the whole thing tumbling over.

To Jack's horror, this created a domino effect, and an enormous chain of large bookshelves, cabinets, and hardware was soon crashing throughout the laboratory... and the path of destruction was headed straight for the three of them, who were bound upon the floor!

"Chew, Nibbler, chew!" Jack urged his dog.

Nibbler, who had never ceased his nibbling on the material of the net, picked up the pace. His eyes followed the tumbling articles that were falling throughout the laboratory, and he needed no further encouragement to accelerate their escape plan. His teeth gnashed upon the net, and doggy slobber went flying every which way.

" _Gears and sprockets!_ " Lefty exclaimed. His eyes grew wide behind his glasses, as he watched the impending disaster draw closer. "We're going to be squashed!"

Nibbler chewed and chewed, but it was all for naught. The cabinets crashed down over the three of them, before his teeth could sever the net. Jack pressed his eyes closed, and then he heard his uncle groan as the things fell upon them.

" _Oof!_ " Lefty gasped.

Jack slowly opened his eyes, and he saw that his uncle had absorbed the brunt of the impact. Since Lefty was the biggest body in the net, the cabinets and other junk had landed upon him first, leaving Jack and Nibbler free from harm. The weight from the collision must have forced Lefty to press against the tablet, for the music stopped short. With the disappearance of the funk, Noodles slowed and stopped, becoming an easy target for the MegaNet.

"Take this, you bucket of bolts!" Ebenezer cried.

He fired the MegaNet, and Noodles became ensnared. The robot tried waving his slinky-like arms about, to rid himself of the heavy-duty net, but this just made him get even more tangled up. His clumsiness undid him, and Noodles soon clanged to the floor.

" _Beep boop_ ," he lamented.

"Now, Jasper!" Ebenezer shouted. "Before somebody else decides they want to blast some funk music around here! Must I do everything myself?"

"I'm on it," Jasper assured his evil cohort, in an off-kilter voice that belied his rather woozy condition.

The janitor staggered forward, swatting his broom at imaginary stars, or birds, or whatever he perceived to be circling his befuddled head. Regardless of Jasper's impaired condition, he was slowly making his way toward the immobilized Noodles... and Jack could do nothing but watch.

### Chapter Twenty-Eight

### The Power Cell

The woozy janitor limped his way toward the ensnared Noodles, slowly regaining his wits as he did so. Jasper had a suspiciously green tint to his features, after having been spun about so many times, and then launched through the air like a rag doll, courtesy of one break-dancing, funk-driven robot.

Nonetheless, he steadily approached Noodles, eyeing the troublesome robot with suspicion and great caution. Drawing near, Jasper stooped down, and inspected the robot. Due to Noodles' great height, Jasper had been having difficulty when he had earlier attempted to determine where the power cell was hidden. But now, with Noodles immobilized and sitting on the floor, the tall janitor could examine the robot with ease.

" _Ah-hah!_ Looks like an access panel," Jasper muttered, as he squinted his eye and rubbed at the stubble of his jaw thoughtfully. He pulled away a portion of the net, so that he could reach the panel.

"Yes, that's it! That's where the power cell will be," Ebenezer told him, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Jasper inspected the panel, mumbling and grumbling to himself. After a moment of deliberation, he was able to find the release for the hatch, and it popped open with a _clink_ noise. Noodles once more chuckled in his mechanical manner, as if this tickled him.

Jack could hear Lefty groaning in protest, but his uncle couldn't yet speak. He had been knocked silly by the heavy things that had fallen on him, and he had not yet regained his senses. As such, Jack decided that he must speak for him.

"Don't do it, Jasper!" he shouted. "Don't you dare!"

Startled by the warning, Jasper looked up, temporarily distracted. He fixed his single, gray-blue eye upon Jack, and his brow furrowed in fury.

" _Bah!_ " Jasper snarled. "Still full of gumption, are you? I figured you would have learned your place by now. How dare you tell _me_ what to do, you miserable punk? I'll do as I please, and there's nothing you can do to stop me... _is there?_ "

Nibbler woofed in disgust at the diabolical janitor. Jack glowered at Jasper, but he knew that what he had said was true. For now, he was powerless, and could only watch.

Ebenezer had edged closer, and he was now hovering over Jasper and Noodles. The mad scientist cackled and murmured to himself. He was clearly beside himself with eager anticipation.

"Oh, how long I've waited for this moment," Ebenezer said with great longing.

Without further ado, Jasper reached into the opened panel at the center of Noodles' back. His large fingers proved to be surprisingly nimble, for he was able to skillfully pluck the object of his desire from within, despite its small size. Once secured, he held it aloft between his index finger and thumb, and all could behold its radiance.

" _It's beautiful_ ," Ebenezer whispered.

Jack was surprised to see that the power cell was nothing more than a tiny, rectangular block. It couldn't have been more than an inch long, and half an inch in width. Had that minuscule thing really been powering the enormous robot?

What made the power cell stand out, however, was the way that it _glowed_. It was incredibly bright, radiating a pure light of white and gold that made it hard to look at for any more than a second or two. It was almost like looking into the sun! Nibbler paused his chewing, squinted at the power cell, and made an inquisitive chuffing sound in Jack's ear.

" _I know, Nibbler. I've never seen anything like it!_ " Jack whispered.

It was impossible to not be impressed by the sight of the strange object, even in their undesirable situation.

Noodles, meanwhile, began to power down. His head slowly tilted forward, until his chin came to rest on his chest. The bright, blue eyes flickered, and then lost their color. Without the power cell, there was no energy to fuel the lanky robot.

" _Beep boop_ ," Noodles said pleasantly, waving his hand once, before going still.

The villainous duo of Ebenezer and Jasper gloated over their prize, cackling and patting one another on the back.

"He did it. He really did it! After all these years, the research we began so long ago is complete," Ebenezer sighed. Turning his attention to Jack, he said, "It appears that the work of the Black Hats is done here. As for you, young man, your best option for the time being would be to stay entangled in the product of my MegaNet. You'll be able to wrestle your way out of there in an hour or two, I would imagine. No hard feelings, eh?"

"No hard feelings? But you're a scoundrel!" Jack replied with incredulity. "You're stealing what belongs to my uncle! Not to mention the damage you did to his roof, and shooting us with this giant net!"

"Manners, young man, manners," Ebenezer scolded, mocking the helpless Jack. "I warn you... Don't even think about following us. Or the consequences will be dire!"

" _Dire!_ " Jasper reiterated, shaking his broom at Jack and Nibbler. " _Dire_ , I say!"

Without further ado, the strange team of Jasper and Ebenezer fled up the basement stairs, cackling with delight and excitement. They were _really_ pleased with themselves.

Jack watched them depart, and he was saddened by the injustice of it all. He thought of how Jasper had set up his father for imprisonment, all so he could get his greedy paws on this mysterious power cell. He thought of how Ebenezer had ensnared them, and left his uncle caught beneath a pile of debris, without a care for their safety.

Jack could not let things end like this. He could not let those villains win, and let them whip him so thoroughly. One way or the other, they would have to answer for what they had done.

Nibbler had also watched the retreat of Jasper and Ebenezer, growling at them as they fled. When they were gone, he once more resumed his chewing of the net with a dogged determination.

Jack scratched Nibbler behind the ears with one hand, and offered encouragement. "Okay, boy, do what you do best. _Nibble!_ "

### Chapter Twenty-Nine

### A Welcome Sight

With a final, definitive chomp, Nibbler bit through enough bonds of the net to free the bound trio. Dog slobber and netting material went flying every which way, and Nibbler quickly squirmed free, wriggling his rump and wagging his tail as he went.

At the commotion, Lefty began to come around from his senseless condition. He groaned as he examined the debris that had fallen upon him, and he shook his head to clear the stars that had temporarily filled his vision. But upon seeing Nibbler's handiwork, he smiled.

"Excellent work, Nibbler! See if you can make your way out of this net, too, Jack," Lefty encouraged. "By the beard of Archimedes, I really got walloped, didn't I?"

Jack was already squirming his way out, and he was soon able to return to his feet. He turned to help his uncle, but he found that the heavy, steel cabinet wouldn't budge. Lefty's arms were pinned by his side, and he could offer little assistance. Jack simply wasn't strong enough to lift the cabinet on his own.

"It's no use," Lefty gasped. Sweat had accumulated on his nose, and his face had grown red from the exertion, although his eyeglasses had fortunately remained intact. He tilted his head to the side, and saw the inactive Noodles, sitting on the floor, with a net still partially draped over him. "Gears and sprockets! Has that dastardly duo gotten away? And with the power cell, no less?"

"I'm afraid so," Jack said.

"That Ebenezer has turned into a real scoundrel, I must say. First he busts a big hole in my roof, and now _this!_ And Jasper's no better. Those two really are a pair of first-rate nincompoops, I tell you. We've got to go after them, m'boy."

Jack was in full agreement, but he was wondering how he could possibly move the mountain of debris that had pinned Lefty to the floor. As much as he wanted to free his uncle, he simply didn't have the strength. But he couldn't just give up! He was about to give it another go, when he heard somebody calling his name.

"Uncle Lefty, do you hear that?" asked Jack.

"Why, yes, I do hear something! Is there somebody upstairs?"

Nibbler began barking, and he ran to the basement stairs, wagging his tail from side to side. There was a commotion of footfalls in the stairwell, and within moments, Jack saw the most welcome sight of his life: It was Neil, Sara, and Maria. Jack had never been so glad to see his friends, and he felt his heart swell with gratitude.

The Beans gathered at the bottom of the stairs and stood slack-jawed, as they beheld the carnage that lay before them. Among other things, they saw that the heavy vault door had been warped, smashed out of shape, and knocked clean from its hinges. Countless objects, both large and small, had been knocked over and scattered about the laboratory. Jack ran to his friends and embraced them, while Nibbler bounced about, licking at everybody's hands.

" _Gobstoppers!_ " Sara cried in alarm. "What did we miss, Jack?"

"Look at all this destruction! You've been having fun, and without _us!_ " Neil accused.

"When you didn't log in for our nightly game of Virtual Baseball, we feared the worst," Maria explained. "After what happened this afternoon, we couldn't just let you face whatever was in that vault by yourself, especially when you never made it online. We snuck out, met at the treehouse, and then we biked over here together. We came to help you... And it looks like it's a good thing we did, I might add!"

"Of course, we sure wanted to see what was going on, too. We couldn't let you have _all_ the fun! And... whoa, whoa, _what is that?_ " Neil asked, his eyes having suddenly fallen upon Noodles. "Is that... is that a _robot?_ "

"Yes!" Jack answered. "It is! That's Noodles. My uncle built him, and he's a really great break-dancer, you wouldn't believe the moves he can do. His full name is Noodles Von Crazy Legs, because he's got these limbs that are like slinkies, and he... oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. There's no time for that right now; we've got to help Uncle Lefty."

"What kind of monkeyshines have been going on here?" Sara asked. "This place looks like a disaster zone! Did a tornado come through here?"

"Actually, when Noodles starts break-dancing, he's remarkably similar to a tornado, now that you mention it," Jack said thoughtfully. "I'd be happy to tell you all about it, but right at the moment, my uncle needs our help!"

He quickly led his friends to where Lefty was pinned down, while he waved his arms about in an animated fashion, trying to give a brief summary of the predicament. The Beans followed closely, though they were awfully distracted by the silent Noodles, who was a fascinating sight, even while he slept.

"Oh! Hello there, Beans. Forgive me if I don't stand up to greet you," Lefty chuckled.

"Gadzooks, you've been squished!" Maria shouted in alarm.

"Nah, I'm fine. It seems that the majority of the weight is being supported by this thing over here." Lefty pointed to one side by nodding his head in the direction of a metal bracket, which was partially supporting all the junk that had fallen on him. "But there's still enough on me to keep me from being able to wriggle out. However, I _do_ need to get free at your earliest convenience, as a most urgent turn of events has arisen."

"Your house is much the worse for wear," Neil noted.

"Ah, yes... that was Ebenezer Widget-Bocker's doing, I'm afraid," Lefty explained. "He was flying about on his jetpack, lost control, and busted through my roof, smashed through the attic and second floor, and crash-landed in the middle of the parlor. He's not exactly what you would call a master aviator, that one."

"Oh, um... okay, then," Neil said. He had never met anybody who had suffered the insult of having a jetpack-wearing fiend crash through their roof, and he wasn't entirely sure what the appropriate response to such a calamity might be. "It sure fills me with sorrow to hear about that, sir."

"You seem to be taking this turn of events remarkably well, Mr. O'Houlihan," Maria pointed out.

"Well, setbacks are part of the scientific process, you know," Lefty chuckled. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt. But if we don't stop those two rattlebrained doorknobs, I'm afraid that may not remain true."

"Now that you mention it, we saw a really peculiar thing on our way here," Sara told Lefty and Jack. "As we were stashing our bikes in the woods, we saw Jasper and a tiny little man! I think he was wearing a _cape_ , if I'm not mistaken. Was that the scoundrel in question?"

"Yep, that's him, alright," Lefty confirmed. "Jasper and Ebenezer are in cahoots, you see."

"They were cackling like mad men, and Jasper even danced a little jig. I don't think I've ever seen that big oaf in such a good mood," Maria said. "They were so beside themselves with glee, they never noticed as we hid in the brush while they ran by."

"A few moments passed, and then we heard Jasper's horrifically loud pickup truck – I'd recognize that racket anywhere. He must have left it stashed nearby for a getaway vehicle," Neil deduced.

"Unfortunately, they've gotten their hands on a very powerful piece of technology, which they have no business whatsoever possessing. I shudder to think what plans those buffoons might have for the power cell they've stolen. They're up to no good, I can assure you of that," Lefty said.

The Beans, having long been familiar with the villainy of Jasper, did not need to be convinced of his wrongdoing. To think that he was involved in yet _another_ fiendish plot, so shortly after he had polluted the river of Hollow Oak, was downright appalling... yet not particularly surprising. They were sure that there must be a connection between what Lefty was telling them, and the warning that Titus had delivered the night before.

"Well, let's get you out of here!" Neil declared.

"We need to go stop those maniacs, before they get it into their heads that they can simply do as they please," Sara said. "Not in our town! Even as thick-headed as he is, Jasper should know better by now."

Jack once more felt his heart swell with gratitude for his friends. He grabbed a corner of the cabinet that had pinned Lefty to the floor, and Neil, Sara, and Maria all crowded near to lend a hand.

"Okay, Beans," he said. " _Heave!_ "

### Chapter Thirty

### The Wisdom of Archimedes

" _Gobstoppers!_ " Neil wheezed. "You sure keep some heavy junk in your lab, Lefty!"

After several moments of heaving and straining, the Beans had to take a break from their efforts. They staggered back from the pile of cabinets and hardware that had fallen on Lefty, contemplating their strategy. It had become clear that they would not be able to achieve their goal simply through brute force.

"What we need here," Lefty opined, "is the application of a little science!"

"I'm all for science," Sara wheezed between breaths. "What's your suggestion, Mr. O'Houlihan?"

"Well, as Archimedes, the great scientist of ancient Greece famously declared: ' _Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world!_ ' It's physics, you see?"

Despite Lefty's obvious enthusiasm, the Beans looked at each other uncertainly.

"Um... we haven't really covered physics in school, yet," Jack informed his uncle.

"We're in fifth grade, sir," Sara reminded Lefty.

"And I'm in the fourth," Maria added.

"Not to worry, Beans, I shall educate you from my place upon the floor, and you'll be putting this ancient principle into motion in no time," Lefty assured them. "First, we shall require a _lever_ of substantial length... see that steel rod, in the corner there? That should do nicely."

Neil and Sara scurried over to the object in question, and then began dragging it over toward Lefty. It was a long rod, measuring about twelve feet in length. Nibbler watched them with his ears raised and his head tilted inquisitively.

"Excellent, children! Now for the second part of this equation – the fulcrum. _Ah!_ That reinforced crate should do nicely. Please, bring it closer. It should be placed about three feet from me."

As Lefty had requested, Jack and Maria began sliding the heavy crate to where he had asked them to put it.

"Perfect! Now we shall see the science of Archimedes in motion! Wedge one end of the rod underneath this cabinet that has me pinned down. Then, position the rod so that the middle of it rests atop the crate. Yes, that's the ticket!"

The Beans did as Lefty instructed, and they had soon set up the rod and the crate exactly as the trapped scientist wished.

"You see what you've created here?" Lefty asked. "It's like a seesaw! The rod is the lever, and the crate is the fulcrum. The closer you place the fulcrum to the weight you want to lift – that being all this junk on top of me at the moment – the longer the lever becomes, and so increases your _leverage_. The additional leverage translates into additional _power!_ That's why Archimedes claimed that he could lift the very world itself, given a sufficient lever. Now, simply apply your might to the other end, and see what happens!"

The Beans hurried to the end of the lever, opposite of where Lefty was trapped. They found Lefty's enthusiasm to be infectious, and they were eager to see this scientific principle put into action.

The lever was angled up, due to its placement on the crate. The four of them grasped the rod, and they applied their combined strength, pushing down on it. As they heaved with great valor, their increased leverage made the cabinets that had pinned Lefty slowly begin to rise (much to the joy of the Beans).

But try as they might, they could not get the pile of debris to rise more than a few inches. After several moments of exertion, the Beans were forced to take a break.

"That was excellent!" Lefty declared. "Do you see how much more effective that was? That was really great... it's just too bad that I wasn't able to wriggle free!"

"Don't worry, sir, we'll get you out of there, yet," Neil panted, as he stretched his shoulders and rubbed his arms. "One way, or the other!"

"It seems that I must have eaten too many Snickerdoodles," Lefty chuckled sheepishly. "And my arms are pinned in a most uncomfortable position by my sides. Not to mention that I'm still partially snagged in this confounded MegaNet of Ebenezer's. All we need to do is increase your power... we can move the fulcrum closer to what you're trying to lift, and create even more leverage."

Just then, a small, furry figure darted past the feet of the Beans, racing along the floor. Nibbler barked in excitement, and then began wagging his tail at the sight of the creature.

" _What was that?_ " Maria asked, as the thing zoomed by in a blur. "That looked awfully big for a mouse, don't you think?"

Jack pointed at the small figure, as it sprinted toward Lefty. "That's not a mouse! That's Murphy!"

"Um... who now?" asked Sara.

"Murphy, the King of the Squirrel Folk!" Jack breathlessly explained. "He's a flying squirrel with enhanced intelligence, a descendant of Project Acorn... well, I suppose it's kind of an odd story, now that I hear myself try to explain it aloud."

"Dang, we missed all kinds of good stuff before we got here, didn't we?" Neil asked, as he squatted down on the floor to get a better look.

But before he could catch more than a glimpse of Murphy, the squirrel had darted into the pile of debris that lay atop Lefty.

"Whoa, where'd he go?" Maria wondered, as she also crouched down to inspect this curious animal's behavior.

After a brief moment, Murphy once more appeared, emerging from beneath the cabinets. He stood before the Beans with what seemed to be a triumphant pose, squeaking in his squirrelly language. With his two front paws, he hoisted a shiny item above his head, as if he were showing off a trophy of immense value. It glimmered and glittered, reflecting light from its shiny surface.

As he squinted his eyes at the item in Murphy's paws, Jack recognized what it was. "Why, he's pilfered your pendant!"

Lefty laughed with unrestrained delight. "That's a clever squirrel! Excellent work, Murphy. There will be many Snickerdoodles in your future, I promise you!"

Neil exchanged a worried look with his friends, and lowered his voice to a whisper. " _He must have gotten gob-smacked on the noggin a bit harder than we thought!_ "

"Nonsense!" Lefty protested between chuckles.

"Oh, um... you heard that, did you?" Neil asked sheepishly. "No disrespect, sir. I just don't see how this little guy stealing your pendant is going to be of much help to us in this particular situation."

"My pendant isn't just a piece of jewelry, you see," Lefty explained. "Upon its surface is engraved a miniscule copy of the periodic table of elements, the core of chemistry. It is a symbol of science, and that which I hold near my heart... But it also serves another, _very_ important purpose."

Murphy ran over to Jack's feet, and stood before him. The squirrel held the rectangular pendant as high as he could, seeming to offer it like a gift. Jack slowly bent down and took hold of the item, accepting it from Murphy, who willingly relinquished it with a cheerful squeak.

The first thing Jack noticed when he took the pendant was that it felt surprisingly warm... very, _very_ warm. He turned it over in his hands and peered at the etchings of the miniature table, and all the many elements that it represented.

"That isn't just a pendant, m'boy," Lefty told him. "What you hold in your hands is my _backup_ ... My second, and _final_ power cell."

### Chapter Thirty-One

### The Fellowship Is Formed

Jack almost dropped the pendant in his surprise, becoming even more conscious of how strangely warm the thing was in his hands. " _What?_ "

"That's right, Jack," Lefty told him. "One should _always_ have a backup, don't you agree? Go ahead and open it! There's a release catch on the back, and it separates at the center."

Jack felt along the back of the pendant, and he immediately found the catch that Lefty spoke of. It was a small, metallic protrusion, and he depressed it with his thumb. There was a faint _click_ , and then the pendant opened in the center, splitting along one of the vertical lines that defined the Periodic Table.

Instantly, there was a great influx of light in the basement, radiating from the thing in Jack's hands. As he slowly pulled each side of the pendant, revealing its hidden treasure, the light increased exponentially, until it nearly became blinding.

Jack was forced to look away, though he held the power cell aloft for the others to see. The Beans gasped at its brilliance. It was mind-boggling, to think that such incredible light could come from such a tiny thing.

Murphy shielded his face with one paw, and then with a powerful leap, he came to rest atop Nibbler's shoulder, hiding behind the Labradoodle's head. Nibbler did not seem to mind the presence of the flying squirrel, and he woofed in appreciation of the power cell's impressive output. He squinted his eyes at it and wagged his tail, apparently pleased to see that Jasper and Ebenezer weren't the only ones with the much sought-after technology.

"Is this _safe?_ " Sara asked, her voice pitched just a tad higher than usual.

"It's perfectly safe! Well... just don't stare right into it for too long," Lefty amended. "What you hold is the power of a star... in the palm of your hand! Quickly, Jack... Noodles awaits his restoration!"

Awed by the power in his hands and the responsibility bestowed upon him, Jack walked the short distance to where Noodles sat upon the floor. But before he could do anything more, Neil placed a hand on his shoulder, and Jack turned to face his friend.

"Are you sure we should... I mean, is this the thing that thrashed the vault door apart?" Neil asked.

"Not to worry, he's a friendly robot!" Jack assured him. "Noodles is a bit clumsy, that's all. We just have to make sure nobody starts blasting funk music, and we should be good to go!"

Neil considered this for no more than a second or two, before breaking into a wide grin and nodding his head in approval. After all... he really, _really_ wanted to see a break-dancing robot in action.

"Okay, buddy," Neil said. "Fire this guy up!"

Jack pulled away the net that had ensnared Noodles, and then examined the access panel at the center of his back. It was still open, and amid a cluster of circuit boards and hi-tech doodads, there was an open slot that looked as if it would be a perfect fit. With his breath held, Jack inserted the warm, glowing power cell, until it _clicked_ into place.

He immediately felt a thrum of energy pass through the metal body of Noodles. There began the sound of gears whirring, and sprockets spinning, and systems powering on. Jack and Neil quickly stepped back, until they were standing beside Sara and Maria, who were likewise awestruck by the process of Noodles being restored to power.

The robot's head stirred, his chin lifting slightly from where it had rested against his chest. His shoulders twitched, and his lanky limbs began to quiver. The bright, blue lights of his eyes flickered briefly, and then came to their full illumination. And as those eyes came to life, so too, did the rest of the robot.

With a terrific flurry of motion, Noodles spun to his feet, legs akimbo, arms whirling wildly. This, of course, knocked a thing or two to the floor, but it failed to diminish the glorious spectacle of his return.

Standing at his seven-foot height, Noodles towered over the children. He waved one hand in greeting, and said, " _Beep boop beep!_ "

The Beans collectively gasped at the incredible robot, awed by his gangly, lanky-limbed presence. Noodles seemed to be extraordinarily pleased to have his power restored, and he continued to animatedly wave to them, while emitting various _beeps_ and _boops_ from his smile-shaped speaker-mouth.

"Okay, _that_ ... that's just really, really cool. I'm kind of at a loss for words here, to be honest," Neil said.

"I told you! He's really something, isn't he?" asked Jack.

"He certainly is," Sara agreed.

"You know, I was expecting something much more terrifying to lurch out of that vault," Maria admitted, as she walked forward to get a closer look.

" _Beep boop!_ " Noodles greeted, and he gently patted the top of her brown ponytail.

"He seems to like you!" Lefty commented from the floor.

At the sound of Lefty's voice, Noodle's antennae ears swiveled toward the trapped scientist, and he turned his blue eyes in that direction. Upon seeing Lefty's predicament, the robot became quite distressed.

" _Beep!_ " Noodles exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry, Noodles, I'm fine," Lefty assured him. "I don't suppose you could lend us your strength and-"

Before Lefty could even finish his thought, Noodles strode over to the lever and the fulcrum, with only three long strides of his lanky legs. He immediately seemed to comprehend the situation, for he wrapped his hand around the elevated end of the rod. With a single, slinky-like arm, he pushed down upon the lever, and the results were immediate. The pile of cabinets and hardware that had pinned Lefty raised a full foot into the air, and the Beans leaped into action.

"Now's our chance!" Jack shouted.

The four children hurried to assist, and while Noodles worked the lever, they successfully pulled Lefty free, hauling him across the concrete floor. Lefty giggled as he was liberated from the trap, delighted with this turn of events. Once he was clear of the debris that had trapped him, Noodles gently lowered the lever.

Jack grabbed one of Lefty's hands, and Neil seized the other. Together, they hoisted the fallen scientist to his feet. Lefty sighed with relief, and the remains of the chewed-up net fell from his shoulders.

"Thanks a bunch, everybody," Lefty said.

"You know, Uncle Lefty, Noodles seemed to have immediately grasped what we were trying to do," Jack noticed. "Didn't you say that you were still working on his artificial intelligence?"

"Yes, that was quite remarkable, wasn't it? He's learning quickly – every moment, as a matter of fact. I was worried that he wasn't field-ready, but I suppose it's time for a trial by fire for young Noodles. No time like the present, eh, Beans?"

" _Beep boop!_ " Noodles chimed in, with apparent agreement. He extended one hand, thumbs up in approval.

"I guess he agrees that he's ready," Sara laughed, looking up at the strange and marvelous robot with wonder.

Noodles stepped forward, and placed a reassuring hand on Lefty's shoulder. The Beans gathered near, and Nibbler milled about their knees, chuffing and wagging his tail. Murphy balanced atop Nibbler's back, centered between his shoulder blades. He was snacking on a Snickerdoodle he had pilfered from Lefty's pocket, and voicing his own squirrelly thoughts in squeaks and chirps.

A great, spirited feeling of companionship arose among all of them. And so it was, as the group of them felt the bonds of camaraderie growing, that their odd fellowship was formed. United by their common goal, they had become a team unlike any other.

Lefty took a deep breath, and smoothed out the front of his lab coat. "Okay, everybody... what do you say we go catch some villains, eh?"

### Chapter Thirty-Two

### Lefty's Strange Past

A few, short minutes later, the newly formed fellowship was barreling down the rural roads of Hollow Oak, in hot pursuit of their quarry. They had all piled into a large, bright blue van that Lefty kept in his garage. He explained that he used the vehicle for various experiments that he conducted in the field, when his laboratory would not be sufficient. As such, the van was crammed full of high-tech gear, electronic components, and scientific equipment.

With the eight of them, plus all the materials, the van was _quite_ full. Squeezed between all the equipment were centerfielder and shortstop, pitcher and catcher, scientist and squirrel, Labradoodle and robot. It was, the Beans reflected, quite possibly the oddest team ever assembled in the history of the planet.

Lefty kept one hand on the steering wheel of the van, as it careened madly around the twists and turns of the roads, the headlights illuminating the night. With his other hand, he held his computer tablet. Much to the distress of the Beans, Lefty seemed to be spending a good deal of time examining the screen of the tablet, as opposed to the road before him.

"I say, they make these things remarkably durable nowadays, don't they?" Lefty asked, indicating the tablet. It had suffered a few scratches during the previous commotion, but it was otherwise unscathed.

"Yup... but, um, the _road_ , uncle!" Jack reminded him, as the van swerved into a bend.

Lefty didn't seem concerned, for he was studying the tablet intently, as he nonchalantly spun the steering wheel this way and that. "Apparently, it failed to occur to those rattlebrained doorknobs from the Black Hats that I might have felt the need to install a GPS transmitter in the power cell. Now, all we have to do is follow the signal, which I can track with my navigation app!"

" _Beep boop beep!_ " Noodles said with great enthusiasm.

The robot seemed quite passionate about catching Jasper and Ebenezer, for he had taken exception to their poor behavior. Not only had the villains ensnared him in a net and taken his life source, but they had also left his new friends beneath a whole pile of heavy junk.

Noodles eagerly looked out the windshield, his antennae ears twitching, as if trying to make the van travel faster through sheer will. He was crammed into the passenger seat, and his round, shiny head was bumping against the ceiling of the van. His lanky arms rested atop his gangly legs, his knees pressed against the dashboard.

"Who are these Black Hats that you keep mentioning?" asked Jack. "I mean, I realize it has something to do with Jasper and his crazy friend, but who _are_ they, exactly?"

"Yeah, fill us in," Sara encouraged. "We seem to have missed quite a bit."

Neil groaned with regret, and woefully counted all the things he had missed, ticking them off on his fingers. "Jasper getting thrown by a break-dancing robot... super-smart squirrels... some dude in a jetpack crashing through the roof... _ugh_ , how did I _miss_ all this great stuff?"

"Well, we might be in for some adventure, yet," Lefty said, voicing his optimistic opinion. "As far as the Black Hats are concerned, that _is_ an interesting subject. Years ago, I worked in a government research unit that included my sister, Ebenezer, and Jasper."

" _Jasper?_ " Maria demanded. "Did you say _Jasper?_ The evil school janitor? Are you _sure_ about that?"

"Oh, yes! Though I'm sure it must be hard for you children to imagine, Jasper is a mechanical genius. He was one of our research unit's finest engineers," Lefty explained. There was a twinge of regret in his voice, as he reflected on those years gone by.

"Well, _that_ ... is pretty surprising," Neil said.

He exchanged a worried glance with his friends, as if he once more feared for the integrity of Lefty's noggin. It was almost impossible for the Beans to imagine Jasper doing anything other than waving his broom about, and yelling at them to stop scuffing his floors.

"Was your research unit working on the power cell?" Sara asked.

"Yes... Our mission was to capture the power of a star... to harness the energy of the sun that heats and lights our planet. Solar power is hardly a new idea, but our goal was to break through the ceiling that had limited our predecessors, and tap into the _full_ potential of the sun.

"The energy of that fiery star is simply staggering, and if not for its presence, there would be no life on this planet. Yet, despite its enormous energy output, the human race has been forced to rely on antiquated combustion engines, and limited fossil fuels. Why would we continue to engage in such futile pursuits, when a ball of pure energy burns above our heads every day, just waiting to be put into use?

"Unfortunately, prior solar researchers had hit a wall. Solar power cells, like the one that Noodles uses, are not a new idea. In fact, you've probably all used calculators that are powered by such cells. The only problem with these cells is that they are only able to convert a very small percentage of the sunlight that they're exposed to, transforming it into electricity. _Our_ unit was determined to triumph over that barrier, and create a power cell that would revolutionize the world.

"The team consisted of two dozen scientists and engineers. Ebenezer and I worked side by side, feeding off of each other's ideas, challenging each other to greater heights and breakthroughs. We were a marvelous duo! Unfortunately, Ebenezer has always had a tremendous ego, and been driven by the need to prove his genius to others. At first, I thought that this was a good aspect to his personality, as it drove him to work terrifically hard. Eventually, however, he became rather, ah... _unhinged_. And I had underestimated what lengths that powerful ego would drive him to.

"Those who were opposed to our project, of course, insisted that such efficient and useful technology could not be achieved. They claimed that it was impossible to harness such power from the sun. But what skeptics always fail to remember is that _every_ technology that has been created by man was once considered _impossible_.

"Just think – those who lived in the time of the Wright Brothers told them that it was _impossible_ for men to fly. But thanks to their pioneering efforts, traveling by airplane is now considered a commonplace aspect of our society. One day in the near future, it will be the norm for every human being on the planet to have access to clean, affordable energy... and we will laugh at the days when we thought such a thing was beyond our reach!

"With the minds that had been assembled in our unit, the research went smoothly, and our progress was startling. However... I would be remiss if I did not mention that we owed a great deal of our success to the intervention of some _disruptive technology_ that assisted our efforts, and which proved immeasurably valuable... forcing us to examine things in a new light. And _that_ is why my sister, with her expertise in biology and zoology, was assigned to our unit."

"What?" asked Jack. He leaned forward, his curiosity engaged. Like the rest of the Beans, he was hanging on every word of this remarkable story, even as the van careened around corners, tires screeching. "What does _that_ mean?"

Lefty gave a brief shudder, as if recalling some difficult memory. He then nodded his head toward the tablet, and said, " _That_ , I'm afraid, is a rather long story, and we're approaching our destination quite quickly. Let me accelerate this synopsis by telling you that our research continued to progress at a _wonderful_ speed.

"However, as time went by, a vast disparity in ideologies began to arise between certain members of our team, and those that we answered to. Eventually... I had to leave the research unit. I left voluntarily, despite whatever rumors you may have heard to the contrary. When it became clear to me that the government would utilize our research for military applications, and to fuel their foolish war machines, I could no longer take part. Such was the complete _opposite_ of what I had been led to believe the solar technology would be used for. My employers, of course, argued long and hard for me to stay, as did Ebenezer. But I was firm in my resolve.

"Just as I was about to make my exit, however, I stumbled upon an even _more_ disturbing revelation as to the motives of my colleagues... our research unit had abandoned its previous, unified vision. Within it, there had formed a _secret_ _splinter faction_ , determined to use the product of our research for its own, nefarious plans.

"We came to call them the _Black Hats_ ... a group of scientists who thought that there could be only one future for humankind, and that this future would belong to _them_. They planned to use the resources of the government, while secretly pursuing their own agenda. To my great dismay, I learned that they were led by none other than my close friend... Ebenezer.

"He tried to enlist _me_ in the ranks of the Black Hats, but I found their goals and ideologies to be reprehensible. In turn, I attempted to steer Ebenezer from this dark path, but he was set in his ways, and his hunger for power could not be extinguished. When it became clear to him that I could not be swayed to his team, he went after my sister, trying to get her on board. Ebenezer felt that if my sister joined the Black Hats, I would follow her example.

"When she resisted his efforts to enlist her, Ebenezer became even more reckless. He realized that with the Black Hats having been revealed to both my sister and myself, it was only a matter of time before the government took action against his splinter group. Racing against time, he interfered with one of my sister's most dangerous experiments, and that's when something that _none_ of us could have anticipated occurred. Ebenezer vanished, along with my sister. They disappeared... into the _Void_."

### Chapter Thirty-Three

### The Robot Ambassador

"That's why your father refuses to acknowledge my existence, Jack. He entrusted me to look after your mother while we were conducting our research, and when she was lost, I was the one that he blamed. _Although_ ... it clearly stands to reason... that if Ebenezer managed to escape from the Void..." Lefty trailed off, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Then... my mother might be able to escape, too," Jack said, completing his uncle's thought.

"Yes..." Lefty said slowly, as he considered the possibility. "This is a matter that clearly requires investigation. Ah, but where was I? Oh, yes... Following these events, the unit was devastated. I was departing, and we had lost Ebenezer and my sister. After the revelation of the Black Hats and the loss of their leader, its members fled, before the government could apprehend them for treason. Within less than twenty-four hours, nearly half of the members of our unit were gone, including some of our greatest minds. As promising as the results of our research had thus far been, our mission was suddenly _over_.

"With the loss of our top contributors, the unit was disbanded, and the project was abandoned. My employers only had one hope left... that I would continue our research, on my own initiative, and without their oversight. They knew that my curious mind would never be able to resist pursuing my passion for science, and the goal that I had already invested so much of my life into. Furthermore, they knew that the profits I received from my earlier invention patents would provide me with ample resources to fund my research.

"It was clear to me that my former employers would keep a close eye on me, and that they might very well try to steal the secrets of my research. After all, they had invested heavily in our solar project. But I could not let fear of them prevent me from continuing what I had begun. The potential of unlocking solar energy was simply _too important!_

"At times, my employers had told me that I was an idealistic fool, to think that such powerful technology could be used for anything other than military applications. They said that they only tolerated me because I was possessed of a _strange genius_ , as they called it. And perhaps they were correct... if it's strange to seek a clean, affordable source of energy that is available to every human being on the planet, then so be it... I will embrace such so-called strangeness. My goal is to bring power to the people, you see!

"The solitary research was a grinding affair... without the assistance of my colleagues, as well as the, um... _unique_ resources that were available to our unit, my progress slowed to a crawl. But my passion for science and the original goal of our mission were strong motivators, and they kept me going... as well as the memory of my sister, and that which we had worked toward together.

"Not long after I left the unit, Jasper relocated to Hollow Oak. This was _no_ coincidence. He had obviously done so in order to keep tabs on me, and report my movements to his government paymasters. Jasper brought his family with him, and selected a rather mundane occupation, presumably to keep his true purpose concealed from others.

"But even though he had been sent to spy on my research, I wasn't particularly concerned. I was confident that the safeguards I had installed would keep him at bay, and though he was a remarkable mechanical engineer, he proved to be a rather inept spy... or so I thought, anyway. And it seems that I also misjudged _who_ he was ultimately spying for. Although he told us that his contacts and handlers remain in the government, it's clear that his _true_ loyalties lie with the Black Hats. He's been playing the government for fools, just like he's been playing me for one.

"As I was saying, the research was exciting, but slow and grinding. After _four long years_ of building upon all our prior work, I was able to create solar cells powerful enough to do things like fuel those torches that you saw in my secret passageway, Jack. After _eight years_ , I had finally reached the goal of our research... a solar power cell that could capture nearly _all_ of the sunlight that it was exposed to, and convert it into electricity... clean, ample electricity.

"I call it _SunTech_ ... the force that will bring power to the people, and change the way human beings perceive energy! Noodles was to be the ambassador for SunTech. What better way to show off the marvels of this new resource, than with a break-dancing, spaghetti-limbed robot of friendly disposition? Far better, I reasoned, then one of the diabolical war machines that the government would have us waste the technology upon.

"Unfortunately, I ran into a problem when building Noodles. Though I was able to use my background in the sciences to build Noodles' physical body, and SunTech provided his power, artificial intelligence was a field that I had never spent much time within. It was a great stroke of luck that I was able to borrow the foundation for Noodles' artificial intelligence from a friend of mine, Dr. Kurzweil.

"I finally implemented the power cell in a manner whereby the electricity could be safely contained, but I was just beginning the long process of tailoring his artificial intelligence. During my research last night, I quickly came to see that Noodles was learning at an accelerated rate, and developing a wonderful personality... and that he was more than an _it_.

"Nonetheless, a lot of work remained before he would be field-ready. That's why I had Noodles in the vault, you see... For safekeeping, and to ensure that he didn't harm himself or the equipment of the laboratory, until I had worked out all the bugs. However, it seems that I underestimated the program that Dr. Kurzweil loaned me, and Noodles is learning at a rate far quicker than I could have ever hoped for!"

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" Neil asked. "Seems like we'll need all the help we can get, if we're going to take down these Black Hat characters."

"Right you are!" Lefty agreed.

" _Beep boop beep!_ " Noodles chimed in enthusiastically.

"The Black Hats are villainous louts! Scoundrels! Rapscallions of the lowest order! They can't be allowed to hold possession of SunTech. They _must_ be stopped!" Lefty exclaimed, pounding the steering wheel for emphasis.

"We agree with _all_ of that!" Neil assured him. "Jasper is the biggest meanie we've ever met, and anybody who wants to hang out with him by choice is clearly of unsound character."

"We do _not_ want Jasper and his cronies to get away with this," Maria assured Lefty.

The van suddenly slowed, and Lefty peered at the tablet. He eased off of the gas and focused on the road ahead, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "We're almost there. I can now see where we're headed. I can tell where the GPS signal is coming from."

"Where is it, sir?" Sara asked.

"I should have known from the start," Lefty said. "It's _Cragglemeister Farm_."

### Chapter Thirty-Four

### A Farm Like None Other

A veil of determination descended upon Lefty's face. He set his tablet aside, gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and turned from the road onto the long, dirt driveway that led to Cragglemeister Farm.

He stared straight ahead at his destination, teeth gritted with focus. Beside him, Noodles seemed to be likewise locked-in with determination, as he _beeped_ and _booped_ with a weird, robotic resolve.

The farm was an isolated residence. To one side, there was a large, unkempt field, surrounded by a post fence that was in desperate need of repairs. A mild breeze swept through the field, causing the high grass to gently sway back and forth.

At the center of the field, there was a medium-sized pond, within which the moon was brightly reflected. The surface of the water was affected with faint ripples at the behest of the breeze, and there was the occasional, small splash, as a frog would leap from the surrounding cattails. An upside down rowboat rested at the edge of the pond, with oars and fishing poles leaning against its faded hull.

Forest surrounded the other sides of the property. Trees and brush encroached upon the land, creeping up on the old farmhouse, as well as the large barn that had been built close by.

The yard between the farmhouse and the barn was littered with the remains of old machines. There were the husks of partially disassembled tractors, and the shells of old cars and trucks, as well as retired construction vehicles. Massive wrenches and long-handled screwdrivers had been left here and there, among other tools and parts. Gears and sprockets, axles and transmissions, crankshafts and hubcaps, lay sprinkled all over the yard.

It was almost like a mechanical graveyard of sorts, where old machines had gone to their final resting place. Jasper had surely been tinkering, and the Beans suspected that no matter what he had been up to, it was undoubtedly dastardly.

Although the farm was quiet, and there was nary a whisper of activity, there was something... not quite _right_ about the place. Lefty and his passengers tensed as the van wound its way down the dirt driveway, drawing closer. They could not have described what it was about the farm that put them on edge, for it was simply an intangible sensation of eeriness.

As Lefty pulled up to the huge barn, he hurriedly braked. The van slid to a stop, creating a great plume of dust as it did so. Doors opened, and the occupants immediately leaped out, staring up at the great barn that towered before them. The headlights of the van shone on the closed barn doors, which were of enormous stature. They stood at a height of perhaps fifteen feet, and they were nearly as wide.

A sound of coughing was heard, and a small figure stumbled into view, coming from around the corner of the barn, where he must have exited from a side door. He was bent at the waist, hacking on the plume of dust that the van had kicked up.

As he came into the path of the headlights, he was revealed to be none other than the villainous, caped Ebenezer Widget-Bocker. He was not wearing his stilts or his shoulder pads, but he was once more equipped with his unreliable (and thoroughly dented) jetpack, which he had apparently snatched from the manor before he fled.

" _Beep boop beep!_ " Noodles said, as he examined the scoundrel.

Ebenezer cleared his throat, and he looked at them all with an expression of clear surprise pasted upon his face. " _Wha-?_ What are _you_ doing here, Lefty? How did you find us?"

"Surprised, are you?" Lefty asked with a grin. "I was freed from your nefarious MegaNet, thanks to a little help from my friends. As to how we found you, I'm sure you don't need _me_ to tell you. I believe you mentioned that I was ' _oh, so predictable_ '... wasn't that right?"

"And how is it that this hunk of bolts is powered on again?" Ebenezer demanded, pointing a finger at Noodles.

"I guess you just can't keep a good break-dancer down, sir," Neil opined thoughtfully.

Ebenezer eyed Neil suspiciously, taken aback by his answer. "And who might _you_ be?"

"I'm Neil!" he answered pleasantly enough. "Jack and I are great friends, did you know that? By the way, I really think you should reconsider the company you keep. That Jasper character, he's really quite a scoundrel, you know. He's done all _sorts_ of bogus stuff, and gotten into all _kinds_ of trouble, like you wouldn't even believe. You should probably just swap sides, and rejoin Lefty, that's what I would do-"

" _Enough!_ " Ebenezer shouted, interrupting Neil. He looked over the other Beans, and began chuckling. "Is this your ragtag band of _reinforcements_ , Lefty? Pathetic! Four kids, a clumsy robot, a dog, and... wait, what is _that?_ "

Murphy shook one tiny fist at Ebenezer from his place atop Nibbler's back, squeaking ferociously.

"That's Murphy," Maria informed him. "And you had best show him some respect, mister, even if you happen to be a mad scientist, used to bossing people around."

"We've formed a fellowship," Sara added helpfully. "You had might as well surrender, because we're here to put a stop to your villainy."

Ebenezer rolled his eyes and ignored the Beans, returning his attention to Lefty. "To be honest, I didn't think that you would get free this quickly, much less locate us. But you know something? I'm actually _glad_ that you're here. It's fitting, is it not? It's appropriate that you should be here... to behold the glorious return of the Black Hats, and to marvel at the invention of our genius!"

" _What's with this guy?_ " Neil asked his friends, in a very loud whisper. He covertly nodded his head toward Ebenezer. " _Do you suppose he's bonkers?_ "

"I heard that, young man!" Ebenezer shouted.

"Oh, um... you did, eh? No offense, but maybe you should just lie down for a bit. Maybe you bruised your melon when you crash-landed earlier," Neil suggested, in what he thought was a very helpful manner.

" _Bruised my melon?_ " Ebenezer squawked. "I'll have you know, young man, that I am one of the greatest scientists and inventors on the face of the planet! And you will soon see that for yourself, as you behold the latest creation of the Black Hats!"

"What are you babbling about, you rattlebrained doorknob?" Lefty demanded. "Your ego is more reckless than ever. What have you invented now – a jetpack that crashes you into the moon, perhaps?"

" _Bah!_ You won't be laughing for long," Ebenezer promised. He turned his face toward the barn and yelled, " _It's time, Jasper! Time to give our guests a show!_ "

"Is he in there?" Lefty asked. He turned his attention to the barn. "Show yourself, Jasper! It's time to face the music!"

Ebenezer pressed a button on the control he held in one hand, and his jetpack roared to life, shooting flames by each side of his body. Despite the many dents and dings the jetpack had suffered during the crash-landing, Ebenezer seemed to have once more gotten a handle on its operation. It soon propelled him into the air, and he hovered above, as the Beans helplessly watched him rise from their reach.

But as odd as it was to see the tiny man flitting about in the air, cape billowing behind him, the Beans did not watch him for long. For their attention was drawn back to the barn doors... and the odd sounds that were coming from behind them.

A low, bass-heavy growl could be heard, coming from within the barn. The Beans could almost _feel_ the noise inside of them, rattling their bones. It sounded as if a monstrous, mythological beast resided inside the barn, wakened from its slumber, with an empty belly and an appetite for trouble. However, there was an odd, mechanical warble that also affected the growl, lending it a most mysterious (not to mention _unsettling_ ) quality.

"Um... would anybody care to venture what that noise might be?" Sara asked.

Before any guesses could be offered, the barn doors were blasted open, amid a horrifically loud noise of destruction and carnage. A tremendous impact from the other side forced them wide, blowing the massive doors from their hinges, splintering the heavy boards of wood that they were built from.

The members of the fellowship reflexively turned their heads away, shielding their eyes from the flying debris, and the plumes of dust that were kicked up. When they dared to turn their attention back toward the barn, they saw what could only be described as a _mechanical nightmare_ , lumbering from its place within the barn.

" _Great Pythagorean Theorem!_ " Lefty exclaimed in alarm. "What have you maniacs _done?_ "

### Chapter Thirty-Five

### An Improper Use of SunTech

"What's the matter, Lefty?" Ebenezer called, as he circled in the sky above. He had achieved a bird's eye view, thanks to his jetpack. "Can you not appreciate the product of _true_ genius?"

The thing that came from the barn was a _mechanical monster_. It was gargantuan in girth, and testy in temperament. Now, it became clear what Jasper had been up to, with all of the dismantled tractors and vehicles that littered his yard. For the monster that erupted from the barn had been built from various machines, combined to create one spectacular and terrifying entity.

So what Lefty had said was true... despite his many shortcomings, Jasper _was_ a mechanical engineer of remarkable talent and vision. There could be no clearer evidence than the behemoth that now lumbered forth.

Though it was difficult for the Beans or their friends to study the monster with a great deal of attention, due to the rather stressful circumstances, it seemed that the thing was made from pieces of bulldozers, and backhoes, and tractors, all welded and bolted together to create something that looked like a _motorized dinosaur_. It was a mishmash of reds, blues, yellows, and greens, revealing the original paint jobs of the machines that had contributed to its formation.

It stood upright on a pair of thick legs, and it had mechanical talons that dug into the earth as it clomped about, bellowing and roaring. A bright, yellow tail swayed behind it, providing balance. It had two arms that swiveled and moved with a great deal of articulation, and each of them terminated in a fearsome, pincer-like hand, as if transplanted from some monstrous, mechanical lobster.

The horrible head had been fashioned from heavy-gauge steel to resemble that of the dinosaur that it roared like: the legendary Tyrannosaurus Rex. Its enormous maw operated with the assistance of great, industrial hinges, revealing rows of barbed teeth. It had angled eyes that glowed red, like furnace fires, and streaks of flame periodically spouted from its nostrils. At the back of its throat glowed a strange, yellow-white light, almost blinding in its intensity.

Everybody was stunned by the unveiling of the mechanical monster, and the explosive manner in which it had announced its presence. The Beans collectively gasped, and they took an involuntary step backward. Murphy's eyes went wide, and he seized Nibbler's ears with his tiny paws. Nibbler barked at the imposing machine as it lumbered closer, bellowing and snorting like an enraged dinosaur.

The thing was undoubtedly impressive... awe-inspiring, really. However, there was one enormous, critical difference between the mechanical monster and Noodles, the break-dancing robot. Apparently, it lacked the artificial intelligence that Lefty had programmed into Noodles, and it could not think for itself. For atop the machine, just behind the head of the beast, there sat a pilot: Jasper.

From there, he rode the machine, encased in a protective cab that was just big enough to contain him. It had large windows on every side, to provide him with a clear view as he operated his monster. A roll-cage, built from thick tubes of solid steel, protectively encased the cab. Jasper sat inside, cackling madly around his pipe, as he piloted his strange beast with a great number of knobs, and control sticks, and gearshifts. His broom, of course, was near at hand, crammed inside of the cab with him.

He could be heard with great clarity, for there was a large speaker mounted beside the beast's head. There was a microphone in the cab that Jasper used to communicate, and it projected his voice through the external speaker.

" _Behold, the power of the sun, unleashed and unhindered!_ " Jasper bellowed. " _Now, tremble before our Mecha-Machine!_ "

" _Mecha-Machine?_ " Lefty asked. He eyed the contraption with disappointment. "Jasper, this is a _most_ improper use of SunTech."

Noodles took a lanky stride forward, to stand before Lefty. He protectively held one long arm out, to defend his friends. All the while, he eyed the Mecha-Machine with his unblinking, blue eyes, staring up at it. Although Noodles stood at seven feet in height, he was only about half as tall as Jasper's monster, and nowhere near as bulky. He looked positively tiny by comparison.

Ebenezer laughed from above, as he slowly circled in the sky. "Does that silly robot think that he's in the same league as our Mecha-Machine? I thought you said you had programmed him with _intelligence_ , Lefty! Why, Noodles is nothing more than a _tinker toy_ compared to this – a _true_ application of science!"

As if in answer to this challenge, Noodles rushed forth, to meet the Mecha-Machine. The robot was utterly fearless, but his enthusiasm was ill-placed. Though Noodles' bravery was impressive, Ebenezer was unfortunately correct – Noodles was not in the same league as the war machine. He had, after all, been designed for the purpose of things like break-dancing, while the Mecha-Machine had been built for battle.

As Noodles sprinted close, with but a few strides from his lanky legs, the Mecha-Machine swatted him aside. The machine's torso swiveled, and one arm came forth, slapping the robot with a monstrous, pincer-hand. _Clank!_

Noodles went flying at the impact, and he soared through the air. He proved to be a most improbable projectile, as he flew through the sky, waving his arms and legs like a windmill.

However, he took this turn of events with good humor, and he _beeped_ with delight at his unexpected, aerial voyage. With a _thwump_ , he landed high in the limbs of a weeping willow tree, where his gangly limbs quickly became tangled and ensnared.

Atop his perch, Jasper cackled with glee, and Ebenezer laughed as he circled above. Lefty took exception to their amusement at the expense of Noodles. Despite the clear danger, he took a step closer to the Mecha-Machine, looking up at its cackling pilot.

"That was _not_ very polite at all, Jasper," Lefty admonished. He turned to look at the weeping willow tree, and asked, "Noodles, are you okay?"

" _Beep boop_ ," Noodles replied, from where he hung upside down. He offered a thumbs-up to assure Lefty that he was not badly hurt. But he was _quite_ tangled up in the tree, and it didn't look like he would be getting free any time soon.

" _Oh, really? You don't think it was polite of me, eh?_ " came the amplified voice of Jasper, projecting from the speaker. " _And why, exactly, do you think I would care?_ "

The Mecha-Machine took a giant, lumbering step forward. As its foot collided with the ground, the Beans felt the earth tremble beneath them. The mechanical monster towered above, bellowing and snorting. Its eyes burned red, and fire shot from its nose. The closer it got, the more intimidating it appeared.

As Jasper laughed with delight and worked the gearshifts in his protective cab, the machine took another step forward – right on top of Lefty's van. Metal shrieked and glass crunched, as the van was squashed into a crumpled mess that was beyond recognition.

At this, the Beans decided that they had seen quite enough, and they scrambled for safety. They ran every which way, putting space between themselves and the Mecha-Machine. Nibbler sprinted off, and Murphy held onto the galloping Labradoodle's ears for dear life.

Lefty reacted to the destruction of his van with a sharp intake of air, and he shook his fist up at Jasper. "You're misbehaving quite badly!"

" _Did you like my little demonstration, Lefty?_ " Jasper asked, cackling with his amplified voice.

Perhaps it was the result of watching the destruction of his van, and all of his precious scientific equipment. Or perhaps it was the result of the Mecha-Machine towering above him, roaring loudly enough from its great, hinged mouth to make his lab coat ripple. Or perhaps it was the bright, yellow light that glowed at the back of the machine's throat, directed into his eyes with a stunning intensity.

Whatever the cause, Lefty picked that moment to do a most inopportune thing: he fainted. His eyes rolled back in their sockets, his knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground, lying helplessly at the feet of the Mecha-Machine.

### Chapter Thirty-Six

### The Darkest of Hours

The Mecha-Machine loosed a warbling, bone-chilling shriek, like a prehistoric nightmare. With its pincer-hands, it easily lifted the ruined van, hoisting the vehicle high in the air, above the helpless, motionless form of Lefty.

"That's right!" Ebenezer called from the sky, where he hovered about with the aid of his jetpack. "Teach that second-rate scientist a lesson he won't soon forget!"

Jack was running for his life, when he heard Ebenezer's mean spirited command. He looked back, and saw the horrible scene that was unfolding. " _Uncle Lefty!_ "

Without a moment's hesitation, he turned back, and ran to the aid of his uncle, who appeared to be taking a nap at the worst possible moment. Nibbler saw what Jack was doing, and he skidded to a stop, digging his four paws into the ground to break his momentum. As soon as he managed to do so, he turned around, and ran back toward the source of the commotion.

Murphy at first offered a squeaky protest, but when he saw what had become of his friend, Lefty, he urged Nibbler on. He held onto his doggie steed with one paw, and shook the other at Jasper and the Mecha-Machine.

At the sound of all the hullabaloo, Neil turned around. "Well, would you look at that! I should have known this wouldn't be easy... I guess we're going right back into the thick of it!"

"Yep, it sure looks that way," Sara agreed, as she also reversed her footing.

"We formed a fellowship, after all," Maria said. "We've got to stand by our friends, in their time of need!"

"And we always stand up to Jasper, don't we?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, why are we running _away?_ " Neil asked. "Let's run back _at_ Jasper and that rusty dinosaur he's riding around on. What was it that Lefty referred to Jasper as? A _rattlebrained doorknob_ , wasn't it? I've got some choice words for that cranky janitor, now that I think about it."

With their feet flying and their fists pumping, the three of them reversed course, and they quickly rejoined Jack, Nibbler, and Murphy. Together, the lot of them tried to pull Lefty from harm's way. But he weighed too much, and though they collectively pulled him along some distance, they were too slow to escape the mechanical monster.

The Mecha-Machine roared and clomped about, raising the crumpled van above them. Odds and ends of all sorts fell from the shattered windows of the vehicle, including scientific instruments, empty coffee cups, and a pair of fuzzy dice.

" _Oh, good! You've come to make a fruitless, final stand, have you?_ " Jasper asked. " _You punks have bothered me for the last time. It's long past due that I taught you a lesson that will stick with you!_ "

Neil realized that now would be a great time for a distraction, and he attempted to stall Jasper. Raising one hand to wave up at the mechanical beastie, he shouted, "I really wish you'd reconsider teaching us such a lesson, Mr. Cragglemeister! After all, you are known throughout the halls of our middle school for your wisdom and benevolence! And say, have I mentioned that your eye patch looks awfully snappy this evening?"

While Neil babbled away and tried to distract Jasper, the others continued to pull Lefty along. Sara and Maria each grabbed an arm, and Jack seized his uncle's ankles. Nibbler wanted to help, too, so he gripped Lefty's lab coat between his teeth and tugged along, while Murphy squeaked away.

But Jasper was too wily, and he could not be fooled so easily. He was drunk with power, riding atop his Mecha-Machine, and he exalted in his current position of supremacy. With his arms flying about the cab, he worked the gears, and the monster clambered closer, cutting off the Beans' escape route.

It was no use, they realized. Though the Mecha-Machine was not particularly quick, the Beans simply could not evade it, when they were slowed by the weight of a comatose Lefty. Recognizing the futility of their escape plan, they redirected their efforts toward maximum protection. They grouped defensively over Lefty, forming a shielding huddle, and braced for the worst.

They stared up at the colossal, snorting Mecha-Machine, which looked positively gigantic at such close proximity. Pieces of debris sprinkled down from the crushed van in its pincer-hands, held high above, blocking out the moon.

"It's possible that this might prove to be somewhat uncomfortable," Neil opined, with an attitude that could only be described as _remarkably optimistic_. "But, hey... what's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, it seems that we might be thoroughly squashed," Sara pointed out.

"Run, you guys!" Jack shouted, as he crouched beside his uncle, trying to protect him. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nah... there's no place we'd rather be," Maria giggled. She considered this for a moment, and then asked, "Sort of weird, isn't it?"

Knowing that they would not abandon him, Jack sighed in resignation. "Everybody... thank you. No matter what happens, your friendship..." he paused, as he searched for fitting words. "It has been the greatest privilege of my life."

The Beans huddled close over the napping Lefty, and they held each other for comfort. The comfort they gleaned was that which only came from the truest of friendships – friendships that were immovable, even during the most challenging of trials, and the darkest of hours.

### Chapter Thirty-Seven

### The Odds Are Evened

The Beans crowded close and grasped each other, gripping shoulders and arms with their white-knuckled hands, holding tight to one another for strength. Nibbler leaned against their tight huddle, lending his furry support, and woofing up at the looming Mecha-Machine. For what it was worth, Murphy also squeaked at the monster, even though his protests were largely drowned out by the Labradoodle's barks.

Jasper cackled, and the van that was grasped in the Mecha-Machine's pincer-hands shuddered, as if in preparation of descent. Loose change and knickknacks continued to sprinkle down from the broken windows. The Beans could not help but reflexively close their eyes in the face of such impending doom.

But as they awaited disaster... the crushing blow never came.

Instead, they heard something... _strange_. In the skies above, Ebenezer squawked belligerently, like a disgruntled bird. This, of course, drew the attention of the Beans. They looked up, past the imposing figure of the Mecha-Machine, and into the night sky where Ebenezer hovered.

There, they saw a blur of movement. Something small and dark rushed toward Ebenezer, sending him into a 360-degree spin as it passed him by with a _whump!_ It was moving so fast, it was impossible to tell what it was, blending into the black air as it sped by.

Once he had been sent akimbo, Ebenezer continued spinning, and he quickly lost control of his jetpack. The flames of spent fuel began sputtering, and Ebenezer's trajectory wobbled. With a grunt and a mumble, he hopelessly wrestled for control, but the jetpack was rapidly spiraling him toward the ground.

" _Eeek!_ Not again!" he cried in anguish, just before crash-landing against the earth with a _smash_ and a _crunch_.

The mad scientist crashed a few dozen yards from where the Beans stood, sending up a plume of dust. Knocked silly by his unceremonious collision, he uttered a groan, and then went still. The Beans watched this inelegant descent with fascination, and as Ebenezer tumbled into an awkward pile, they noticed yet _another_ strange noise... but this one was quite different.

It was a noise of considerable volume, and they could clearly hear it, even over the clomping, stomping ruckus of the Mecha-Machine. It was, in fact, a rather _distinct_ noise.

It was a noise that the Beans recognized at once... and it was also a noise that _you_ might remember as well, my astute reader.

_Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_ , came the noise from behind them, in the woods that crowded against the farmhouse. And again... louder... closer. _RUSTLE-RUSTLE-RUSH-CRUSH._ It was the sound of trees and heavy brush being pushed aside by something downright _colossal_.

"Could that be...?" Neil wondered hopefully.

THOOM-THOOM-THOOM, came the noise of thunderous footsteps, sending shockwaves through the earth.

" _What in tarnation is that noise?_ " Jasper asked, more to himself than anyone else.

A bewildered expression overtook the surly janitor's face, and he paused in his nefarious doings. For the time being, his hands went still on the knobs and gearshifts. He began to twist around in his cab, in order to look over his shoulder at what was causing such a ferocious commotion. But before he could do so, the thunderous footsteps grew closer, and the trees were pushed aside.

What came from the woods was almost beyond belief. _Almost_ ... but not quite, for the Beans had enjoyed an encounter with this creature not long ago... It was the swamp beast of Hollow Oak.

" _Titus!_ " Neil exclaimed. He was so excited, he almost jumped right out of his shoes. "Oh, man, I can't even _begin_ to tell you how glad we are to see you!"

Nine feet in height, astounding in mass, the swamp beast sprinted toward them. He had swept aside the tree branches before him with a casual swipe from his hand, and emerged from the concealment of the forest. The ground shuddered beneath his feet as he rushed ahead, moving at a speed that belied his colossal size.

Jasper, having twisted around to his left, completely missed Titus as he sprinted by on the right. As he heard the terrific commotion of the swamp beast's arrival, he turned back the other way, but once more missed the deceptively fast monster.

Titus rushed to the front of the Mecha-Machine, grasped its arms within his gigantic hands, and gave a mighty heave. The Mecha-Machine did not topple, but the force tilted its heavy frame backward a fair amount. The van wobbled above it all, still grasped in the machine's pincer-hands.

" _What is going on around here?_ " Jasper demanded. He had swiveled back in his chair, and was peering through the glass of the cab. But the new angle of the Mecha-Machine's torso prevented him from seeing what it was that had seized his mechanical steed. " _Mischievous punks! I don't know what you're up to, but your lesson is still long past due. Prepare to be schooled!_ "

The swamp beast towered above the Beans protectively, shielding them with his massive, mottled-green body. His vine-dreadlocks swayed about his broad face and tree stump of a neck, as he struggled for leverage against his foe. He heaved with exertion, and his warm, mossy breath washed over the Beans, while his emerald-green eyes narrowed with determination.

His huge hands had met the Mecha-Machine, and he now gripped the metal with an inhuman ferocity, causing the muscles of his forearms, and biceps, and triceps to bulge. His gargantuan arms swelled and flexed, rippling and pulsing. They were the size of tree trunks, capable of unimaginable feats of strength. They twitched and heaved, as they strained against the equally incredible might of the Mecha-Machine.

" _Hello, little ones_ ," Titus rumbled, as he continued to struggle with the mechanical monstrosity. The toes of his bare feet searched for purchase in the ground, as he leaned against his massive foe. " _It came to my notice that you might be in need of some assistance_."

"Neil's right! We're really, really glad you're here," Sara told him, as she wiped a hand across her forehead in relief. "I thought we were goners!"

Titus chuckled and grinned down at the Beans, as he continued to strain against the looming Mecha-Machine. " _I assure you, I'm delighted to help. I think I owe you plenty, after all the help you've given me. I may have rescued you on this occasion, but not long ago, you saved_ me _, and those in my care. This is the least I can do for you. After all... what are friends for?_ "

Nibbler woofed in appreciation, and circled about the feet of the swamp beast. His tail wagged so fast, it made his rump shake crazily. Murphy did a noble job of retaining his place on the dog's back, waving one paw up at Titus in greeting.

" _It is fortunate that I've been keeping a very close eye on this individual. Otherwise, I almost certainly wouldn't have been so near at hand during your moment of peril_ ," Titus said, as his nostrils flared. His green eyes narrowed, and his face grew stern. " _This is the one who poisoned our river, isn't it? I was certain his evildoings were not over, and my suspicions were clearly correct._ "

"That's right!" Jack confirmed. "Jasper's a first-rate scoundrel."

" _What the-? What's wrong with this infernal machine? I just tuned it up, for crying out loud!_ " Jasper hollered, as he furiously worked the controls in his cab. " _Who are you punk kids talking to? What are you up to?_ "

Because the torso of the Mecha-Machine was tilted back, Jasper could not see that Titus had interrupted them. For all he knew, he had hit an invisible wall. And so it seemed that there was no logical explanation for his sudden halt, and the machine's struggle to regain forward momentum.

But this was for the best. As Titus had explained to the Beans in the past, he was compelled to keep his existence concealed from humankind. He had cleverly remained hidden, during all the many years of his life. At the current moment, Lefty and Ebenezer were oblivious, and Jasper's view was obstructed by the tilted Mecha-Machine.

" _This Jasper fellow offered to teach you a lesson, I believe._ _But I think_ he _may be the one in need of such_ ," Titus suggested with a grin, revealing his wide, flat teeth. " _I trust there are no objections?_ "

The Beans laughed in response, Nibbler woofed with delight, and Murphy began to dance a jig on the Labradoodle's back. It was clearly unanimous.

"As a matter of fact... I can't think of anything that would make me happier," Neil said.

### Chapter Thirty-Eight

### Don't Mess With My Monster

A low growl began in the chest of Titus, as he focused all of his considerable power. His huge arms bulged, his broad shoulders rippled, and his teeth clenched in determination.

Sensing the severity of the challenge (though he could not even see what was resisting him), Jasper applied his attention to the controls of the Mecha-Machine with renewed vigor. His arms moved this way and that inside of the cab, as he muttered around his corncob pipe.

Responding to the commands, the Mecha-Machine pushed against Titus with all of its might, achieving a wavering stalemate. The dinosaur-like contraption roared like a T-Rex, and it bellowed in mechanized rage. Though it could not operate without the input of its pilot, in that moment, it almost seemed like a living thing – a furious, ill-tempered beast.

As big as Titus was, the Mecha-Machine was much, much bigger. It was several feet taller than the swamp beast, and its weight must have been staggering, considering that it was built mostly from pieces of tractors and construction vehicles. The fact that Titus was able to go toe-to-toe with the monstrosity was testimony to his astonishing strength.

The Mecha-Machine's great, hinged mouth dropped open, and it shrieked down at the swamp beast. Its red eyes blazed and smoldered, and the light at the back of its throat burned bright. But Titus was unfazed and unafraid. With the fate of his friends in the balance, he would not back down.

Standing in the shadow of this showdown between giants, the Beans whooped and hollered, cheering Titus on. Nibbler woofed, and Murphy squeaked, and perhaps most remarkable of all, Lefty had begun to snore.

The strength of the swamp beast was truly _awesome_. The nine-foot tall monster was like a force of nature – something that simply could not be altered, once its course was set. As the Mecha-Machine groaned and growled, Titus snarled right back. He pushed, and strained, and it looked as if the enormous muscles of his arms might burst right through the green skin. His broad shoulders rippled, as they worked to answer this mighty challenge.

With a terrific roar, Titus heaved and lifted, and he continued to turn the tide of struggle further in his own favor. He dug his huge feet into the earth, and pushed with all his strength. The Mecha-Machine resisted as best it could, but its efforts were futile. It tilted farther and farther back upon its heels, while Jasper hollered in protest.

With a final, gigantic effort, Titus upended the machine, bellowing as he did so. " _GROOOOOOARRR!!!_ "

The Mecha-Machine fell to its backside amid a thunderous amount of noise, dropping the crushed van atop itself as it was pushed over. It briefly kicked its upside-down legs, but to no avail. Sparks shot this way and that, and thin streams of black smoke snaked their way from the undercarriage. The red eyes dulled, and the light that emanated from its throat slowly lost intensity, until it disappeared. With one last, dwindling groan, the Mecha-Machine powered down and lay still.

Somewhere, on the far side of the contraption, the Beans could hear Jasper groaning, and mumbling incoherently. Though he had been protected from severe injury by the cab and the roll-cage of his strange vehicle, he had clearly been knocked silly by the collision.

Neil whooped with joy, and in the direction of the foiled Jasper, he called, " _Boo-yah!_ How do you like us now, you broom-wielding Cyclops? _Don't_ mess with my monster!"

Titus sighed, stretched his shoulders, and then swiftly dusted off his palms, pleased with his work. He lowered himself to one knee, and the Beans gathered close around him. Their excitement was tangible, as they all talked at once and exchanged high-fives with one another. Nibbler scurried this way and that, barking and panting.

Titus grinned broadly at the Beans, and embraced the whole lot of them (including Nibbler) in his enormous, powerful arms. There was a strong, pleasant aroma of moss and the woodlands.

" _It is so good to see you again, little ones! But is your friend alright?_ " Titus asked, indicating Lefty, who continued to snore blissfully.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine. Even though he picked a particularly horrible time to faint, he's actually quite resilient," Jack said. With pride, he added, "He's my uncle."

A dark shape came speeding upon their group, cutting through the sky. Amid a flurry of feathers, a falcon landed on Titus, perching on his shoulder. The Beans immediately recognized the bird's gray-blue feathers, and his striking profile.

"Hey, it's Arturo!" Maria exclaimed.

"Ah, so _that's_ what happened to Ebenezer," Sara said.

It was now clear why the mad scientist had lost control of his jetpack, and spiraled into his unceremonious crash-landing. Titus' trusted friend, the swift-winged falcon, was capable of extraordinary feats of speed. The bird had blasted past Ebenezer as he had hovered above, and the mild collision was enough to send him into his 360-degree spin.

"Thanks for your help, Arturo," Jack said.

The falcon eyed the Beans from his perch, and loosed a low call from his beak. He shook his plumage about, as if in recognition of their praise. Turning his attention to Ebenezer, who was beginning to stir upon the earth, Arturo made another noise in his throat. With a graceful ascent, he departed Titus' shoulder, spread his wings, and flew off, heading for the forest.

" _My feathered friend is right... it's time for us to go. It looks like your uncle is beginning to wake up, as well_ ," Titus said.

Lefty had begun to murmur under his breath, smacking his lips. He moved slightly from side to side, as he began to come around.

Titus squeezed the Beans in his embrace one last time, and then released them, rising to his feet. " _I must go now_ ," he told them. " _Take care of each other, little ones_."

"We will," Neil promised, as he rested a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Thanks again for all your help, Titus!"

With the same surprising speed with which he had arrived, Titus took off for the woods, disappearing between the trees. As he went, there came the noise that was by now familiar to the Beans: _Rustle-rustle-rush-crush_.

"You know, the Mecha-Machine isn't even much of a monster, if you think about it," Sara chuckled, as they watched the swamp beast disappear. "Now, that guy there... _that's_ a monster!"

### Chapter Thirty-Nine

### Very Big Plans

As Titus disappeared into the darkness of the woods, one of the trees that he pushed aside was the weeping willow that Noodles had become ensnared in. The jostling of the tree caused the robot to become untangled, and he fell from the limbs, until he landed on the ground with a _clank!_

" _Beep boop beep_!" he exclaimed, rubbing at his spherical noggin with one hand.

The fall did not seem to hurt him, for he immediately sprang to his feet. Though he was a bit wobbly, he seemed otherwise unhurt, and he quickly joined the Beans. As Lefty finally opened his eyes with a great yawn, the first thing that he saw was Noodles, leaning over him. The robot's antennae ears twitched, and he _beeped_ in concern.

"Oh! Hello, Noodles," Lefty said, as he readjusted his eyeglasses. He looked about in some confusion. "What am I doing on the ground?"

"You fainted, Mr. O'Houlihan!" Neil told him.

" _Really_ bad timing, Uncle Lefty," Jack admonished, but his smile revealed his true feelings of relief.

"I _fainted?_ " Lefty sat up, blinking his eyes. "How embarrassing! The last thing I remember, I was staring up at the jaws of that Mecha-Machine. I felt like I was falling into that bright light that it was generating, which was surely a product of SunTech... Hmm... I wonder if those knuckleheads added some kind of immobilization feature to their war machine, something that can be used to put their enemies to sleep. Speaking of which, where is-"

Lefty stopped in mid-sentence, as his eyes fell upon the defeated Mecha-Machine, which lay on its back, with streams of smoke trailing from its underside. He stared in astonishment, his mouth agape.

" _Gears and sprockets!_ " he whispered. "You Beans are rather resourceful, aren't you?"

"Well... we had a little help," Jack admitted. "Actually, we had a rather _large_ amount of help."

This, of course, engaged Lefty's curious mind, and he began firing questions at the Beans. "How did you...? Where did the...? This is truly incredible! And I should like to get a closer look at the workings of this Mecha-Machine, now that it's been immobilized. Though I don't approve of its purpose, it is of a rather ingenious design, I must admit. But wait, where's Ebenezer?"

"Oh, he crash-landed again, and knocked himself silly. He's over-" Sara began. But as she pointed to the spot where Ebenezer had crashed... there was no sign of the mad scientist. "He was right _there!_ "

Lefty leaped to his feet, his head swiveling about. "We've got to find him, before he gets away!"

"Looking for _me_ , old friend?" came Ebenezer's voice, from the far side of the Mecha-Machine.

The members of the fellowship all turned their heads toward the villain. They carefully watched him, as he wrenched open the door to the machine's cab. At first, they thought he might be coming to aid Jasper, but that was not his intent.

Ebenezer reached one arm into the cab, and began rummaging about. He ignored the groans and mumbles of Jasper, and after a moment, he withdrew his arm. He had found what he was seeking... between his index finger and thumb, he held the power cell aloft.

"Ebenezer, you doorknob! Have you learned nothing?" Lefty demanded. "Put that thing down, before you hurt yourself."

"I _really_ think you should consider lying down for a bit, sir," Neil added. "We can't discount the possibility that you've bumped your coconut a bit too hard in your most recent crash-landing."

"Maybe we should call an ambulance for you. You... you don't look so hot, buddy," Maria added.

It was true. Ebenezer looked _much_ the worse for wear. After all the stresses and crash-landings of the evening, his appearance had become quite bedraggled. His thick eyeglasses sat crookedly on his nose, and his hair projected every which way. His face was covered with dust, dirt, and bruises. One sleeve of his lab coat had torn clean off, and his cape was tattered. His jetpack was thoroughly dinged and dented.

Nonetheless, Ebenezer would not admit defeat. He smiled defiantly at the fellowship, and he took a couple of steps away from the Mecha-Machine. He was limping, and heavily favoring one leg. The Beans watched in astonishment as Ebenezer coughed, and small puffs of dust and black smoke escaped from his mouth. He was in really bad shape!

"It looks like Jasper was right about you children... you're all full of _gumption_. Chock full of it! Filled to the brim with pure gumption!" Ebenezer exclaimed with exasperation. He sighed, and looked down at the Mecha-Machine. "I have no idea how you managed to defeat this creation of ours, but it's of little concern. We have bigger and better inventions lying in wait. This was a fine project, indeed... but even greater things will be accomplished, now that we have the technology of this power cell in hand."

Ebenezer flipped a switch and depressed a button, and his jetpack roared to life. Flame began sputtering from its exhaust ports, and he looked to the night sky above him. Despite all the hardships his jetpack had already brought him tonight, it seemed that Ebenezer was once more prepared to launch himself into flight.

"Go, Noodles!" Lefty cried. "Don't let him get away!"

" _Beep boop!_ " Noodles exclaimed.

The lanky robot bounded toward Ebenezer. His long legs propelled him over the ground, as he circled the Mecha-Machine. Noodles closed the distance to the villain in short order, but by then, Ebenezer was already beginning to ascend.

" _Hah!_ " Ebenezer cackled. "You think that bucket of bolts can stop _me?_ "

He continued to rise into the air, slowly gaining altitude. The jetpack was not operating at peak performance, but it was gradually getting the job done. Pumping his gangly arms and legs, Noodles sprinted toward Ebenezer, determined to catch him. He ran to the spot beneath the hovering villain, and leaped for all he was worth!

But it was no use... Ebenezer's jetpack had already lifted him to a safe distance. Even Noodles, with his extraordinary height, could not reach Ebenezer. Noodles reached out with one long, slinky-like arm, but his fingers fell just short of Ebenezer's foot. The scoundrel held the power cell in one hand, tauntingly holding it above Noodles.

"So sorry to disappoint you, old friend!" Ebenezer called down to Lefty. "It looks like your little science project still needs a bit of work! But don't worry... I'll take care of your precious power cell. It's in good hands. I've got big plans for it... _very_ big plans, you might say!"

Lefty squinted up at Ebenezer, and shook his head in dismay. The villain threw his head back and cackled like a madman, while his tattered cape billowed all about him. He continued to gain altitude, until his strange outline was silhouetted against the moon. The jetpack roared, shooting out flames, and Ebenezer began his wobbly retreat. As he flew away, disappearing over the line of trees in the forest, the fellowship could hear him laughing the entire time.

"Well," Lefty sighed. "If there's one thing that Ebenezer always knew how to do... it was how to exit with a flourish."

### Chapter Forty

### The Lever and the Fulcrum

Lefty turned to the Beans and told them, "I can't let Ebenezer get away. With SunTech in his hands, and the reformation of the Black Hats, there's no telling what dastardly deeds that doorknob will get up to. I've got to go after him!"

He began to check the pockets of his lab coat, taking an inventory of what he still had in possession. Removing his tablet, Lefty nodded in satisfaction at its intact condition. However, when his eyes fell upon his van, he was abruptly reminded that the Mecha-Machine had thoroughly destroyed his vehicle.

"Hmm... clearly, my van won't be capable of transportation. Time for some improvisation," Lefty said. "Noodles, would you mind carrying me? You can cover ground a lot more quickly than I can."

" _Beep boop beep!_ " Noodles answered in the affirmative. The robot scooped up Lefty, and proceeded to give him a piggyback ride. " _Beep!_ "

" _Hah!_ " Lefty laughed. He had his arms draped over Noodles' shoulders, so that he wouldn't fall off. "Perfect!"

Seeing that they were planning on departing, Murphy gave a squeak, and clambered to the top of Nibbler's head. From there, he leaped onto Jack's arm, and scrambled up to his shoulder. Once having reached that height, Murphy launched himself onto Noodles, and then scampered up onto Lefty's lab coat, where he disappeared into one of the voluminous pockets. Apparently, the King of the Squirrel Folk did _not_ want to be left behind!

"Aw, we just formed this awesome fellowship! Now you're taking Noodles _and_ Murphy away?" Neil asked in dismay.

"Not to worry, Beans!" Lefty assured them. "Though we must part ways for now, our fellowship is not broken. After all, I'm depending on _you_ to keep an eye on Jasper for me."

"Couldn't we go with you?" asked Jack.

Lefty looked at the Beans speculatively, raising his bushy eyebrows. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Well... yes, I suppose we do," Jack reluctantly admitted. "But still..."

"I very much appreciate the offer of assistance! But I'm sorry, Jack, I simply can't take you with me. I have no idea how long I'll be gone for. I need to stop Ebenezer, and more importantly, I need to find out what the rest of the Black Hats are up to.

"As for you, your role here will be very important. In addition to your schoolwork and helping your baseball team, you must keep an eye on Jasper. After tonight, you've gotten a good idea of what he's truly capable of. I know it's asking a lot, but I have confidence in you. _All_ of you! Jack... Neil... Sara... Maria... yes, you too, Nibbler! Jasper threw everything he had at you, and you emerged victorious. You've stood up to him more than once, and I know you have the courage to do so in the future. You are a truly _extraordinary_ group of friends!"

Nibbler wagged his tail in recognition, and woofed his enthusiasm for the task he had been charged with. The Beans nodded at Lefty's words, and as they felt the evening breeze against their faces, they suddenly felt the fallout of the exhaustive efforts that they had put forth tonight.

But rather than feeling overwhelmed, they felt a blanket of calm descend over them. They had been presented with an enormous challenge by a powerful adversary, and by sticking together and helping one another, they had pulled through. This realization filled them with a great sense of peace and satisfaction, and a warm appreciation for the friendship that they shared.

Murphy sat upon Lefty's shoulder, snacking on a Snickerdoodle that he had managed to pilfer from Lefty's pocket. How many of those things did he _have_ in that lab coat, the Beans wondered? The flying squirrel waved down at them, as he happily munched away on the cookie.

"When I was trapped in my laboratory, do you remember what I told you about the lever and the fulcrum?" Lefty asked the Beans.

"Of course," Jack answered.

"That applies not only to the physical world, but to that of the _mind_ , as well," Lefty said.

"Um... what's that, Mr. O'Houlihan?" Neil asked, in a tone that conveyed that he still suspected that Lefty might have bonked his noggin a bit too hard, in all the commotion.

"What you can achieve is limited only by _what you decide to limit yourselves to_ ," Lefty explained. "When it comes to human beings, the ' _lever_ ' is your _potential_. The ' _fulcrum_ ' is your _mindset_ ... the way you currently perceive the obstacles that are facing you. You can increase your potential by simply moving your 'fulcrum' to a positive mindset... the more positive you perceive your situation to be, the greater your leverage will become, thus increasing what is possible for you to achieve.

"If I had listened to all the negative people who doubted me, I would have never invented _anything!_ If I had allowed myself to believe them, I would have given up, and not tried to achieve what I wished to do with my life. But I chose to perceive the challenges that faced me with a positive mindset, and I persevered. Each time I was met with failure, I learned and moved on. Let me ask you something... If you let fear of striking out prevent you from swinging the bat, how many base hits would you achieve?"

"Well... if you never swung the bat, you would never get a hit," Sara said.

"Precisely!" Lefty confirmed, from his place atop Noodles' back. "You cannot hit the ball, if you let fear of failure prevent you from swinging. Likewise, you can never achieve anything in life, if you are afraid to fail. Failure is the mechanism by which we learn, the device by which we improve, and each failure is but a rung on the ladder that ultimately leads to our success.

"Over these past eight years, when I was attempting to perfect SunTech, I failed _thousands of times_ before I achieved the results that I was seeking... and I'm proud of _every one of those failures!_ I fail, again and again... and that, young Beans, is precisely why I _succeed_. I learned from my setbacks and my mistakes, but I did not dwell on them. I used them only to advance to the next step of my research. It's like Coach is always telling you: focus on the _next play_."

Lefty paused, as the noise of a screen door swinging shut was heard. Everybody looked toward the farmhouse, and there, they saw a most curious sight. Illuminated by an overhead light bulb, Jebediah and Cletus stood on the front porch. They stared, dumbfounded, wearing nothing but their pajamas and nightcaps.

It came as a surprise to the Beans to see that Jebediah's pajamas had pictures of ducklings on them, while those of Cletus featured baby rabbits. Equally surprising was that Jebediah clutched a teddy bear to his chest, and Cletus held what appeared to be a stuffed hippo. Bleary eyed, they gaped at the strange sight before them, which included the defeated, smoking Mecha-Machine, and Lefty riding piggyback on a robot.

"Wow, these guys must be _really_ heavy sleepers," Maria whispered to her friends with a giggle. "They're just waking up _now?_ "

"Good evening, Jeb!" Neil called out jovially, waving his hand in greeting. "Good evening, Cletus! Fine weather we're having tonight, isn't it?"

The Cragglemeister Brothers could only stare, in silence and astonishment, as their sleep-befuddled minds tried to comprehend the scene that lay before them. It occurred to the Beans that it certainly was not a bad thing to have the sons of Jasper regard them with a bit more respect than they had previously shown.

"Oh, never mind those two, they're harmless," Lefty told the Beans, indicating Jasper's sons. "I need to get going! I wish I could stay to help you all, but I can't afford to let Ebenezer get away, or even to let him gain too great of a lead over me. If he gets SunTech into the hands of the Black Hats... _Egads!_ I can't even bear to consider what he might have in store for that technology. Come on, Noodles, let's go... Murphy, take care to hang on!"

Noodles turned toward the woods, in the direction that Ebenezer was last seen hovering away into the night sky. Lefty pulled his tablet from his pocket in order to consult his navigation app, while maintaining his hold on Noodles' shoulders. With his impressive dexterity, Murphy remained perched atop Lefty's shoulder, happily snacking upon his Snickerdoodle.

Before he took the first, lanky step of what would surely be a strange and magnificent journey, Noodles hesitated. The robot swiveled back toward the Beans, his blue eyes shining brightly. He waved a long fingered hand to them in farewell, and said, " _Beep boop beep!_ "

The Beans waved in return, offering their own well wishes and goodbyes. They sighed, thinking of all the great adventures they would surely miss out on, in this pursuit of Ebenezer Widget-Bocker and the Black Hats. But they were comforted by the presence of one another, and what seemed like certain knowledge that different adventures were surely awaiting them.

"Take care of each other, Beans!" Lefty called out, as he rode piggyback on the galloping Noodles, who was covering ground at a remarkable pace, given the impressive strides of his slinky-like legs. "And remember the lever and the fulcrum!"

As the strange trio of Lefty, Noodles, and Murphy departed, the Beans did indeed think about what they had been told. They had been through extraordinary challenges during the past couple of weeks, and together, they had pulled through those difficult times.

Now, thanks to their trials and Lefty's perspective, they were coming to realize that what they could achieve would be limited only by their own mindset. Their friendship was stronger than ever, and their hearts swelled with excitement for the adventures that they would share, and the marvels that they would witness together.

And when you are likewise faced with obstacles that appear insurmountable, and the weight of the world seems unbearable... remember the lever and the fulcrum, my astute reader. With a positive mindset, one's potential is _unlimited_.

Think of the Green Beans, and fear not failure... but focus on the _next play_.

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Thank you for reading _The Green Beans, Volume Two: The Strange Genius of Lefty O'Houlihan_. For more adventures with the Beans, please visit the author at GabrielGadget.com.

