CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A Bad Break

Mom and Dad slowly stepped into the bank, surveying the scene. I was nervous and excited. Would they be proud of me for defeating a supervillain, or would they be mad at me for getting involved in a dangerous situation?

Mom had the same look on her face that she gets when she opens the door to my room and sees how messy it is. There were dollar bills everywhere! Captain Tornado was lying on the floor of the bank, whispering “ouch ouch ouch” over and over again. Dad walked over to him and made sure he was down for the count.

And he totally was.

“So how was the moon?” I asked. I thought it would be a nice icebreaker.

“The moon was fine, thank you,” Mom said. “Care to explain what’s going on here?”

“Peter kind of stopped the bad guy,” Felicia said reluctantly. I could tell she didn’t want to admit that. I could also tell that she was hoping our parents wouldn’t find out that she and Gavin tried to fight a supervillain.

“He didn’t do what I would have done, but, yeah, Peter took out Captain Tornado, I guess,” Gavin said, shrugging. He was so jealous, I could tell. Then Grandpa hobbled into the bank with baby Ben in tow and sang my praises loud and proud.

“You did it, boy! You saved the day!” Grandpa shouted, handing Ben to Mom and throwing his hands up in the air. “Someone is going to have to carry me home. My wings are so sore!”

“Thanks for keeping an eye on the kids, Dale,” Dad said, rolling his eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Grandpa said.

“I was being sarcastic,” Dad growled.

“What do you want from me? I’m an old man. Peter did fine. Especially since those little troublemakers are the ones who started this whole mess,” Grandpa said, pointing at Felicia and Gavin. There was no way they could escape now.

“Uh, it was Gavin’s idea,” whined Felicia.

“Uh, it was Felicia’s idea,” whined Gavin.

“You’re both grounded,” Mom said, frustrated. “For two months.”

“We’re going to have a talk about all this once we get home,” Mom said. She stared at me for a moment. I thought she might yell. I really hoped she wouldn’t yell. “Thank you for looking out for your brothers and sister, Peter. I can’t believe it. My little boy is growing up!” What a mom thing to say. She hugged me.

“Excuse me?” whimpered Captain Tornado. “Would you mind taking me to a doctor? I think I hurt my back.” Dad walked over and knelt down beside Captain Tornado like he was going to tell him a secret.

“Why don’t we take you to the police station instead?” Dad suggested.

“I thought you might say that. Just be careful of MY BACK,” grumbled Captain Tornado, wincing in pain.

Dad gently scooped up Captain Tornado, put him over his shoulder, and took him outside. The cops were waiting with an ambulance nearby.

By the time we got home, Grandpa and Ben were fast asleep. Gavin and Felicia were bickering. And Mom and Dad couldn’t stop smiling at me. What a crazy day.