Jamjar heaved the manhole cover open and we peeked our heads up through the hole into the tiny silver room at the back of X BURGER.

‘This is it! It must be Mr X’s control room,’ said Jamjar, looking around.

‘All clear,’ said Twoface, climbing out of the hole and glancing about. ‘Looks like Wheelie sneaked back into the restaurant once we left!’

‘Oh brilliant,’ I said, looking at the locked metal door. ‘I just climbed through a giant worm for nothing!’

As well as all the TV screens and different-shaped buttons I’d seen on the walls earlier, there was also a small dingy window on the side of the room that faced the restaurant.

‘Hey look, there’s Dr Smell! I can’t believe he’s STILL here,’ said Twoface, peering through the little window.

Dr Smell was sitting at his table, biting into another X BURGER. Wheelie was wheeling around the restaurant, picking up empty wrappers and wiping tables. ‘Twoface, get down!’ I cried. ‘Wheelie’ll spot you!’

‘Don’t worry, Ratboy,’ said Jamjar. ‘It’s a two-way mirror. I spotted it when we were in X BURGER earlier – this side’s a window and the other is a reflective surface.’

‘Oh, that’s OK then,’ I said, trying to play it keel, and Twoface scratched his two heads.

‘Hang on a millikeels, Ratboy. What exackeely IS your plan for getting that bin of yours back?’ he said. ‘Because it feels to me like you’re a teeny weeny bit TERRIFIED of Wheelie right now!’

‘Oh, er . . . I’m not exackeely sure yet,’ I said, darting my eyes around the room, trying to come up with a superhero-ish idea.

‘Mmm, smell those X BURGERS!’ said Splorg, tiptoeing up to the wall to see through the little window. ‘I could eat a hundred!’ he drawled, as Jamjar whipped her Triangulator out and pointed it at the end of his nose.

‘How are you feeling, Splorg?’ she said, tapping the plastic turquoise triangle. ‘Any dizziness?’ She’d stepped right up close to him and was squinting at the bite marks above his nostrils.

Splorg carried on staring through the window into X BURGER, which was full up now with people tucking into cardboardy meal deals.

‘Never better!’ said Splorg. ‘Just need to get my hands on one of those delishy-wishy-looking X BURGERS,’ he drooled.

‘Mmm-hmm,’ said Jamjar, looking through the window herself, then back at Splorg.

She tapped her Triangulator and closed her eyes, looking like she was doing a sum or something.

‘What’re you thinking, Jamjar?’ I said, and just as I said it she opened her eyes and the Triangulator dropped out of her hand.

‘Oh my unkeelness,’ she said, turning to me, Twoface and Not Bird. ‘I think I’ve worked out what’s going on here . . .’