CHAPTER ELEVEN

Taken Hostage

Okay, one problem at a time, I told myself. First, I needed to find my baby brother. Then I could worry about Gavin and Felicia.

“Ben! Where are you?!” I shouted.

“Ben go bye-bye!” a voice called out from the backyard.

As soon as I got there, I saw my baby brother turn invisible. But I was closing in on his location. He couldn’t hide forever.

“Ben, no go bye-bye. Show yourself, please!”

I heard him giggle. I was worried about stepping on him, so I had to use my detective skills on this one. How do you find an invisible baby? First, check the place he loves the most! In Ben’s case, that would be a pile of dirt in the backyard. As I tiptoed very carefully, I noticed some mud seemingly floating in midair. That was Ben, all right. He threw the mud, and it hit me in the face. He laughed.

“No more Ben go bye-bye!” I pleaded.

“Ben here,” he said, turning visible. I scooped him up quickly. “Ben go bye-bye!” he said, turning invisible again. But at least I was holding him.

Ben poked me with his muddy fingers as I cleaned him off in the kitchen sink. He giggled until he farted too. Not surprising—he is a baby.

Now that I’d solved one problem, I could turn my attention to the big issue. My sister and brother had been gone for almost an hour. My mind was racing. What was I supposed to do? Go after them?

I couldn’t leave Ben alone, and Grandpa was still fast asleep.

Felicia and Gavin knew better than to try to stop Captain Tornado by themselves. Didn’t they?

They may be crazy, but they’re not that crazy. I figured that they were hiding somewhere, waiting until Mom and Dad got home. Then they’d pop out and get me in trouble. Yes, that’s what they were doing. Sometimes I wish I were an only child. So the best thing I could do was take care of Ben and wait. That was the responsible thing to do. So why was I so nervous?

“GOOD MORNING!” Grandpa shouted, perking up from his deep sleep. “Did I miss my stories? Did Lance finally kiss Angelica? I’ve been waiting for that moment ever since I started watching Love Nest!” Have I mentioned my grandpa watches the freakiest TV shows?

“I turned the TV off, Grandpa. There’s been a…” I struggled to find the right words. How do I tell him that I lost my baby brother for an hour, and my other siblings ran off to fight a crazy supervillain? I sheepishly said, “Some stuff happened while you were sleeping.”

“Nothing too exciting, I hope,” Grandpa said, grabbing the remote control. “Let’s see what’s on the boob tube!” I don’t know why he calls the television the boob tube, but it always makes me laugh. What came next, however, did not make me laugh.

The TV announced, “We have an update on the Captain Tornado situation that’s been developing at the Capital Bank in downtown Boulder City. After the building was evacuated, police set up a perimeter to try to negotiate with Captain Tornado. But it seems two children somehow entered the scene to confront the dastardly supervillain directly. They seem to be unharmed at this time, but they have been taken hostage. More on this situation as it develops.”

That’s when the camera zoomed in on the bank. Through the window, you could see Gavin and Felicia, caught in a tornado.

Grandpa squinted at the TV. “Those little rascals on the TV look like your brother and sister,” he said suspiciously. “How about you tell me what’s going on, Peter? And start at the beginning.”

I told Grandpa everything. He wasn’t as mad as I thought he was going to be. As a matter of fact, the look in his eye made me think he was a little bit excited.

“Well, I guess it’s time for ol’ Grandpa Dale to clean things up, just like the old days. Pull your pants up, Peter. We’re going for a ride. It’s old-school hero time!”