CHAPTER 5
Hero Gone Wild
Before school on Monday, Ellie #2 got a head start on the to-do list. She’d spent the night before gathering gardening tools in the shed. She was still at work when Ellie flew down for breakfast.
Peeking out the kitchen window, Ellie saw her copy loading the tools into a wheelbarrow. What a super partner! she thought.
Ellie wanted to help, but first, she needed food power. She headed to the table, where a plate of food awaited.
Dad held up the frying pan. “More sausage?” he asked.
“Mesh, pweesh!” Ellie mumbled through a mouthful of eggs. She finished chewing and swallowed. “Yes, please!”
Dad filled her plate. “Are you excited to work on your Earth Week project at school today?” he asked.
“Yes!” Ellie exclaimed. “Did you know two thousand trees are cut down every minute? If people don’t save forests, there will be none left in a hundred years!”
“None?” Dad repeated.
“Uh-huh! And did you know most animals live in forests? That’s hundreds of species! They could all become extinct.”
Dad’s forehead wrinkled. “Our world needs more superheroes,” he said. “At least you’re doing your part. Did you get all the supplies for your project?”
Ellie was about to answer when the back door banged shut. Seconds later, the wheelbarrow rolled into the kitchen. Inside were trowels, rakes, a watering can, and just about every other gardening tool in the galaxy.
Ellie #2 appeared from behind a stack of clay pots. “I’m ready to start,” she said. “I’ll knock out the list with a WHAM! And a SMASH! And a CRUNCH!”
Dad turned from Ellie to Ellie’s copy to Ellie again. “That’s funny,” he said. “I thought I had only one super daughter.”
“I copied myself,” Ellie explained proudly. “I needed an extra hand with the habitat. Is that okay?”
“Since you used the Ultra Copy Button for good, I suppose so,” Dad replied. “But don’t you already have a partner? What about Hannah?”
Ellie shrugged. “Two super partners are better than one, right?”
“I guess you’re right.” Dad glanced over at Ellie #2, who was busy sorting seeds into pots. “Your copy is taking her job seriously.”
“Saving the world is serious business!” Ellie said. She finished eating and hopped up from the table. She grabbed her homework and backpack and reached for the wheelbarrow.
Suddenly Ellie #2 sprang in front of her. “Stand back, Ellie!” the copy said. “I’ll carry the tools. That’s what I’m here for!”
Ellie raised her eyebrows. The copy was taking her job super seriously! But she was being helpful — and that’s why Ellie had created her in the first place.
“Uh, thanks,” Ellie replied as Ellie #2 hurried away with the heavy load. She threw on her cape and headed for the door. “Bye, Dad!”
“Bye, Dad!” Ellie #2 echoed.
Dad waved from the doorway. “Um, bye, Ellies!”
* * *
As soon as they arrived at school, Ellie #2 wheeled the supplies to the oak tree. Ellie figured it was for the best. She would hardly be able to cram everything into her locker. Even with super strength.
While her copy unloaded everything from soil to spades, Ellie hurried inside before the bell rang. “Leaping ring-tailed lemurs!” she exclaimed when she entered the classroom.
Room #128 had gone wild for Earth Week. The walls were covered with pictures of the animals the class had discussed in their reports. There was a sea lion. There was a red wolf. And above Miss Little’s desk hung a picture of Ellie’s topic, the golden-cheeked warbler.
Miss Little had also taped up posters that showed how to help the environment. They were full of suggestions like: Recycle. Plant trees. Turn off faucets. Walk.
If everyone did those things, the world wouldn’t need any superheroes, Ellie thought. Well, unless there’s an invasion of mutant earthworms.
Just then, she felt someone tap her shoulder. It was probably Ellie #2 saying she’d finished already. But when she turned around, Hannah popped up instead.
“Ellie! Guess what I made for us to wear at the showcase?” Hannah said. She held up a T-shirt with a picture of two stick figures hugging the planet. One figure had Ellie’s dark curls, and the other had Hannah’s straight dark hair. “Official Team Earth shirts!”
Ellie smiled. “That’s us.”
“Right!” Hannah replied. “Since you offered to tackle the to-do list, I had free time this weekend. So I made a shirt for each of us. We’re already a team, but now we can look like one too!”
Out of nowhere, Ellie #2 swooped in and snatched the shirt away from Hannah. “Super-cool shirt!” she said, putting it on. “Thanks!”
One look at Ellie’s copy, and Hannah turned as pale as a ghost. “Ellie? Is that… you?”
“It’s a copy of me,” Ellie quickly explained. “I made Ellie with my parents’ latest invention, the Ultra Copy Button. I have a lot to do for the project, so she’s here to lend a hand.”
“Um, hello?” Hannah waved her hands around. “I have two hands. I know I can’t lift a rhino or melt a spoon like you can, but I can still help. Why didn’t you ask me? We’re teammates!”
Ellie was quiet for a minute. If she wasn’t a superhero, she would’ve asked. But she was super enough for this task. It was no different than fighting Ax the Lumberjack.
“I have everything under control,” Ellie replied.
“Oh, really?” Hannah pointed to the recycling bin. “Then why is the other Ellie throwing away your homework?”
“My what?” Ellie whipped around. Sure enough, Ellie #2 was dangling her homework above the recycling bin.
“Wait! Stop!” Ellie hollered. Her fiery feet burned through the classroom. She swiped the worksheet away, saving it from environmentally friendly doom. “What are you doing?”
“Helping, silly,” the copy replied. “I’ll take care of the project outside, but what about in here? I can do a TON! I can recycle paper, change light bulbs, fight germs…” She held up a face mask and a bottle of hand sanitizer. “And that’s just for starters!”
Ellie doubted Miss Little would be happy to find a superhero running amok in the classroom. “Why don’t you wait by the oak tree until we’re ready to build the habitat?” she suggested gently, putting her arm around the copy and steering her toward the door. “Please?”
Ellie #2 looked disappointed. But after a moment, she replied, “Okay. But call if you need anything. A pencil sharpened. A math quiz defeated. Anything.”
As she watched her copy head back outside, Ellie grew a little worried. Ellie #2 was helpful… but was there such a thing as too helpful?