CHAPTER 8

Mad Scientist

“All aboard the Ultra Plane!” Ellie sang. She flew Squeak over the giant paper wing and seated him snugly in the center fold. Then she ran to the back and prepared to push off.

Grabbing hold of the tail, she started the countdown. “Three, two, one … GO!”

Ellie’s heels kicked up dust as she roared like a race car across the desk. Science journals and a microscope blurred past.

When the plane had picked up enough speed, she jumped on behind Squeak before they went soaring into the air. The plane sailed along smoothly. It caught an updraft from a blowing fan and flew higher.

From her bird’s-eye view, Ellie looked down and smiled. The lab seemed like an exciting place where ideas could grow and blossom, and she figured she would enjoy exploring it — if she could grow herself first.

Soon, the worktable came into view. Ellie turned to her hamster copilot. “Look, Squeak! We’re getting closer to the Ultra Grower!” It lay beyond the island where most of the lab’s formulas were stored.

As the plane glided down, Ellie pulled on the wings, steering over rows of colorful creations. They passed formulas that could change your shape and others that could change your species.

Straight ahead, a new formula was brewing in a large pot. I better steer clear of that, she thought. For all she knew, it would make them grow tiger stripes.

She carefully maneuvered through clouds of steam. They were almost across the bubbling liquid when a huge bubble shot up behind them. It exploded with terrific force and tossed the plane forward.

The paper aircraft was thrown over boxes of safety goggles. It headed toward an Ultra Safety Suit, which was hanging up on a rack.

“Prepare to land!” Ellie cried.

She flew off with Squeak and dropped into the suit. Fwump! They landed in a big, squishy pocket.

“Whew! That was a soft landing,” she said. “I’m glad the Ultra Safety Suit is made with extra padding.”

Just then, Mom’s voice came from outside. “The brand-new Ultra Shrinker is finally done. It’s testing time!”

Ellie turned away from Squeak and peeked out of the pocket. Mom was walking toward them. Ellie was about to call out when Mom grabbed the Ultra Safety Suit off the hook. The sudden jerk sent Ellie flying back into the pocket.

Mom slid her legs and arms into the holes. She zipped up the suit as Ellie got to her feet, closing her inside.

Ellie sank back down. “Mom is going to test the new Ultra Shrinker. Until she’s done, we’re stuck in this giant marshmallow. OK, Squeak? Squeak … ?” She glanced over, but the hamster was gone.

Where did he go? Ellie wondered. Was it possible Squeak had crawled out when she wasn’t looking?

Quickly, Ellie turned on her X-ray beams and peered through the suit, checking the lab outside. She could see the testing station where Mom had set up the Ultra Shrinker. Dad was watching from the other side of the glass doors.

Hmm. No hamster sightings anywhere, she thought.

While Ellie kept her eyes peeled, Mom plucked an apple off her desk. She put it on the Ultra Shrinker’s platform, then stepped back and waited for the gadget to flash. But nothing happened. She waited longer. Still, nothing.

“I wonder why the new shrinker isn’t working,” Mom said to herself. She picked up the gadget to examine it, when strangely, she began to giggle.

More giggles followed. Suddenly Mom erupted in laughter.

“Whaaat’s happening to Mooom?” Ellie cried, bouncing around the pocket with every hoot and holler. It sounded like the failed test had made her mad. Not Ellie-didn’t-clean-her-room mad. But really brain bonkers!

Dad gave Mom a funny look. He must’ve thought her behavior was odd too. “Is everything OK in there?” he asked.

“Something is loose in my suit!” Mom cried, doubled over from laughing. “It’s moving around and tickling me!”

She yanked the suit off, and Squeak dropped out of the bottom. Ellie flew out of the pocket and scrambled after him as he ran behind the desk.

“Stop right there, Tickle Monster,” Ellie said. She scooped him up and followed Mom out of the room. Squeak started wiggling again, but Ellie hung on as tightly as she could. She landed on the floor — she needed to catch her breath — as the door closed behind them.

While Dad brought the Ultra Shrinker to the worktable, Mom checked inside the Ultra Safety Suit. She shook her head and hung it back up, then turned to Dad.

“I’m not sure what’s wrong with the shrinker,” she told him. “But it’s nothing to laugh at, that’s for sure. The gadget is almost due, and we’re running out of time.”

“I don’t understand,” Dad replied. “I put all one hundred and eleven microchips in the shrinker. At least, my calculations say so …” He motioned to some scribbled-out numbers on the whiteboard.

Suddenly, Squeak wiggled away from Ellie. He ran under the worktable and stopped at a microchip that was lying next to Dad’s stool.

Ellie caught up to the hamster as he poked his whiskers at the square chip.

“Dad needs to put this microchip in the new Ultra Shrinker,” she said. “It must’ve fallen off the table when he was putting in the rest. No wonder the new shrinker doesn’t work!”

Just then, Dad reached over his stool and picked up the Ultra Grower. He placed it beside the Ultra Shrinker.

“These gadgets are made the same way, but the Ultra Grower is operating just fine,” he said to Mom. “Maybe if we take apart the grower, we can find out how to make the new shrinker work.”

Mom clapped excitedly. “Brilliant idea!”

Ellie watched in disbelief as her parents opened their toolboxes. “Mom and Dad can’t take apart the grower,” she said. “What if it doesn’t work when they put it back together? I could be stuck as a hamster-sized hero forever!”