CHAPTER 12

A Super Team

“On her trusty steed, Steel Blossom, Princess Power charged the troll army. Dodging gnarled teeth and spiked clubs, she rode fearlessly after the Tiara of Truth. It was Sparkle Kingdom’s only hope!”

Ellie stopped reading and looked down. Beside her, Super Fluffy was curled up, sleeping soundly. Saving the day must’ve made him tired.

“I hope you dream of bones, not bad guys,” she whispered.

As Ellie turned to the next page in Princess Power, Protector of Sparkle Kingdom: Tiara of Truth, Mom and Dad popped their heads in the doorway. They were carrying bags of supplies from the Hardware Horse.

“Hi, honey! We’re home!” Mom said.

Ellie put down her comic book and sat up on her bed. She glanced around her room. “So, what do you think?” she asked her parents. “Pretty clean, huh?”

Mom nodded approvingly. “It’s so clean I’d almost think the Grim Sweeper swept it with his Broom of Doom. That evildoer didn’t show up while we were gone, did he?”

Ellie shook her head. Luckily, she’d only had one super-villain to deal with today.

“Oh, good.” Raising an eyebrow, Mom noticed the fishing net on Ellie’s floor. “Ellie, is that the fishing net we’d put in the Ultra Giant? You know you shouldn’t play with the inventions when we’re not home. Remember what happened with the Ultra ACHOO?”

“I remember,” Ellie muttered. One time she’d tried the Ultra ACHOO while her parents were away. A feather had flown out of the machine and tickled her nose, making her sneeze for a week! “But I wasn’t playing this time. I used the net to catch that prankster causing trouble around the city. It wasn’t a practical joker after all. It was a super-villain named Doomsday. He came out of my comic book.”

Mom cast a curious look at Dad. Dad cast a curious look at Mom.

“Anyway,” Ellie continued, “I tried to catch him, but he kept getting away. Lucky for Winkopolis, the Ultra Giant had no trouble at all.”

Dad scratched his head. “How did you make the giant work? It’s not finished. In fact, Mom and I had to get more screws. We cleaned out the whole store!” He lifted a bulging bag.

“It wasn’t me. Somebody else got the Ultra Giant working.”

Just then, Super Fluffy stirred. Blinking awake, he saw Ellie’s parents and jumped to his feet. “Ruff, ruff!” he greeted them, his happy tail flying.

“Super Fluffy? But how? Is that really —?” Mom and Dad could hardly speak as Super Fluffy ran up to them. He stopped at Mom, who was holding a bag of lug nuts, and sniffed the bag.

“It’s Super Fluffy, all right,” Ellie answered. “I was looking for someone to play with, so I used the Ultra Animator to turn him into a real dog. I thought he could keep me company. Everything was okay until the animator brought Doomsday to life too, but Super Fluffy took care of that villain. He animated the Ultra Giant.”

“Now why didn’t we think of that?” Dad asked. He looked in Mom’s direction.

Mom just shrugged. Then she put down the bag and picked up Super Fluffy. “I notice you haven’t turned Super Fluffy back into a stuffed animal,” she said with a knowing smile. “Is there a reason why?”

This was Ellie’s chance! She took a deep breath, the same kind of breath she took when gathering her super strength.

“I was lonely yesterday,” she explained. “But after Super Fluffy came to life, that changed. He makes a great companion. He knows how to fight villains — real ones and comic book ones — and he plays fetch. He can even do tricks, like sit, speak, and shake hands. So, I was wondering… can I keep him this way?”

“I don’t know, Ellie…,” Dad started to say.

“Oh, and he can beg!” Ellie added quickly. “Super Fluffy, show Mom and Dad!”

Gazing up at Ellie’s parents, Super Fluffy whimpered. His eyes turned into warm, fuzzy balls of puppy-dog adorableness.

“Awwww…,” Mom and Dad said together. They exchanged a look, and Ellie crossed her fingers.

Finally, Mom let out a sigh. “How can we say no to that face? Okay, Super Fluffy can stay animated. But he’s your dog, Ellie. That means you’re responsible for taking care of him, along with doing chores, finishing homework, and fighting villains — real ones and comic book ones. Can you do all of that?”

With her super partner at her side? “Yes!” Ellie cheered, clapping excitedly.

Mom laughed as Super Fluffy licked her cheek. “I have an idea,” she said, setting the puppy on Ellie’s lap. “How about Dad and I take a break from working on the Ultra Giant, and we can all play a game. Does that sound good?”

But Ellie didn’t answer. She was too busy giggling as Super Fluffy bounced around, tickling her with licky kisses. Mom and Dad smiled at each other, then gathered their supplies and headed out of the room.

“Just think, Fluffster,” Ellie said when the dog had settled down. “Since you’ve been alive, we’ve taken on a thief, radioactive squirt toys, and a comic book villain. Loneliness too! We sure make a super team.” She held out her hand. “What do you say? Are we teammates?”

“Ruff, ruff!” Super Fluffy barked, holding his paw out to Ellie.

As they shook hands, Ellie grew excited for tomorrow. Whatever the day would bring — a man-eating pickle, a zombie snowman — it would be no match for Ellie Ultra and Super Fluffy — together.