The two Alexes sat on a smooth, flat moon rock just outside the LunaPark Shuttle Station, staring into space.

Old Man Alex pulled off his shoe and poured out a pile of moon dust. “Nothing to be done.”

“I can’t believe this,” Alex said. “What time do you think the shuttle starts running?”

“For the hundredth time, I don’t know.”

“Well, you live here.”

“Not here. In a cave. On the dark side of the moon. For about fifty years. Doesn’t exactly make me the shuttle schedule guy.”

They stared out at Earth. The sun was shining its light on one side of the blue planet. It looked beautiful.

“It’s morning in Merwinsville,” Alex said.

“Yep.”

A shadow began to creep across them, turning the light side of the moon suddenly dark. The older Alex looked around.

“Man, that day flew by, huh?”

“Wait a minute…”

Alex stood and turned around. The darkness was blanketing everything—nearby craters, moon mountains, even LunaPark. He looked up.

The Klapthorian Death Cruiser floated ominously overhead.

“Oh no…that’s them! We’re too late!”

Old Man Alex jumped to his feet.

“We have to do something!”

They both stood gaping at the massive ship making its way past them overhead. Alex’s mind was racing. He glanced around frantically. Nothing but rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

“The boulders. Like you did with the MoonBat!”

“Okay, but I really don’t see how tagging another MoonBat with a boulder is gonna do anything.”

“No! Throw one at the ship! A big one!”

“Oh, right. See, now that makes a lot more sense.”

Alex began running. “C’mon! If you can hit a MoonBat fluttering around in the dark side of the moon, you can easily hit that thing!”

The enormous ship was still passing overhead. It was almost bigger than the moon itself. Old Man Alex narrowed his gaze as he stared up at it.

“Okay. Boulder me!”

The two of them leaped up and over the side of a large crater. Inside were hundreds of boulders lying around in all sizes and shapes. Alex ran over to a big one.

“Here! Quick! Throw this one! Now!”

“Meh,” Old Man Alex said. “That one’s kinda lumpy.”

“Fine!” Alex yelled. “You pick one, then! Just hurry!”

The back of the ship now finally came into view across the lunar valley. Old Man Alex walked over to an enormous boulder. He hoisted it up over his head and began to spin around inside the crater, faster and faster. A dust swirl whipped around him. It soon looked like a boulder floating atop a small cyclone.

HUUUURRRRMMMMPPPHHHH!

Old Man Alex let go of the house-sized moon rock, hurling it straight at the Klapthorian Death Cruiser. As the dust settled around them, they stared up at the projectile. It faded, growing smaller and smaller as it floated toward the massive ship gliding silently overhead. By the time it reached its target, the moon boulder looked about the size of a golf ball. The ship was farther away—and much, much bigger—than either of the Alexes realized.

“Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease—”

Ping.

It tapped the rear end of the Klapthorian Death Cruiser’s hull like a mosquito bumping into a bus.

But it was enough.

Bright red brake lights lit up the back of the ship, casting a ruby-red glow across the entire face of the moon. The ship stopped in midair above them—and began backing up.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Uh-oh,” Old Man Alex said.

 

“Uh-oh,” Herbert said.

In the belly of the cruiser, he’d been slowly, carefully, quietly tiptoeing around the snoozing Klapthorian Winged Death Slug, careful not to wake it as he searched for a way to escape.

When the ship suddenly jerked to a stop, it slammed the nasty worm’s head into the wall and woke it with a jolt.

“RRRRROOOOAAAAAARRRR!!”

Mr. Nibbles stirred, rising up on his tail, thrashing his head around in the air, and gnashing his pitlike mouth full of teeth.

Herbert froze. The slug spread its leathery wings behind it and sniffed the air. It shifted its massive body around and focused on Herbert crouching in the corner.

“Nice sluggy-wuggy…? H-h-how was your n-nap, big fellah?”

“RRRRREEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRR!!”

 

In the Klapthorian cockpit, the captain’s tiny bug eyes were peering at a small screen. Two small, silver-clad figures were jumping up and down on the surface of the moon.

“Enhance image,” he said. “And give me sound.”

His first officer worked some dials and buttons. The image zoomed in. The two silver-clad figures’ voices could be heard through the Klapthorian cockpit speakers. Alex was doing most of the yelling.

“Yeah! How’d you like that, huh?! You want some more?!”

“Wait. I know that taunting voice,” the captain said.

“You’re messing with Los Solo Libres now!” Alex continued, leaping up and down inside the crater as Old Man Alex joined in.

“That’s right! Think you’re big and tough?! Come on down here and have a piece of this, space shrimps!”

Everyone in the cockpit froze.

The Klapthorian captain trembled with rage. He turned to his officers.