He pointed a finger at Nina and Artie. Staring hard, he began waving his hand in circles as he pointed.

Artie let out a groan.

Nina grabbed her head with both hands. “It hurts! It HURTS!” she wailed.

As I watched in horror, I knew what was happening. Cranium was draining their brains … draining away all their thoughts.

Beside me, I saw Jackson start to move. He began waving both arms. Whirling them up and down like a windmill.

He stared at Inspector Cranium and pumped his arms hard and fast.

A few seconds later, Inspector Cranium stumbled backward. He grabbed his throat. He started to choke.

Jackson didn’t stop. He kept windmilling his arms and staring hard at Cranium.

Cranium made horrible gagging sounds. He gripped his throat, struggling to breathe. His face turned bright red.

Nina and Artie stood frozen beside the couch. They were both shaking and pale.

“Run!” Jackson shouted. “Hurry — MOVE! I — I can’t hold him for long!”

Before we could take a step, Cranium exploded in an animal roar.

Jackson uttered a weak moan — and fell over backward. He landed with a thud on his back on the carpet, stunned, gasping for breath.

Rubbing his throat, Cranium let a smile cross his face. “I beat you, kid,” he rasped. “Nice try.”

He stepped over Jackson. “Your brother is pretty good,” he said to me. “But not good enough. Where was I? Oh, yes. I was dealing with your poor, innocent friends.”

“No, please — leave them alone!” I stepped back, out of his path —

— and bumped into Nina.

“No problem,” Nina whispered. She patted me on the shoulder. Then she turned to face Inspector Cranium.

Cranium’s tiny eyes bulged. “Are you going to challenge me now, little mouse?” He laughed.

“How about a flying lesson?” Nina cried.

She raised both hands above her head.

Cranium let out a shocked gasp — and floated off the floor.

He kicked his legs and thrashed his arms wildly. But he was helpless.

Nina waved her arms. And he bobbed up to the ceiling like a big helium balloon. And stayed there, his back pressed up against the ceiling.

Nina helped Jackson to his feet. Then she turned to me. “That was a close one,” she said.

Artie hurried out from behind the couch. He uttered a relieved laugh. “Look at the dude up there! Air Cranium!”

“Let me down!” Inspector Cranium cried, his voice hoarse. “Let me down! You can’t do this to the Thought Police!”

I squinted at Nina. “So you DO have powers!”

She nodded. “I was born with them. I have the same powers as Jackson. Only a lot more powerful.” She smiled. “Artie and I were only pretending to be frozen that day you came over.”

“That’s what we wanted to tell you,” Artie said. “Nina and I were born with special powers. But we learned to hide them. We know about the Thought Police. We tried to keep our powers a secret from them.

“Having powers is too dangerous,” Artie continued. He glanced up at Cranium, bobbing on the ceiling. “The Thought Police are always out there. Always looking for people who are different.

“Nina and I act like nerdy, klutzy kids so no one will notice us,” Artie went on. “We don’t want anyone to know the truth.”

Nina and Artie Lerner had superpowers?

I was so shocked, I almost forgot about Cranium.

I looked up. He shouted down at me. “Let me down! I’m SERIOUS! You can’t keep me up here! Let me down — and I’ll go easy on you and your brother. I just want the others!”

Then, before I could answer, Cranium reached down — and grabbed me by the hair!