33

The Reckoning

Min was in her room, speeding through her homework with her favorite mechanical pencil, working as quickly as possible.

The Battle of the Bots competition was tonight, and she still had a few last-minute adjustments to make, but she always did her homework first. Somehow, it calmed her down to know she was ready for the next day.

She was packing up her backpack—another calming trick of hers—when she heard Max wailing in the next room . . .

Uh-oh. It sounded bad.

Min opened her door and hurried to Max’s room. By the time she got there, Javi was already there.

Max was sitting on the floor, wiping his face.

“What happened?” Min started, then stopped when she looked at the mess in Max’s room.

It looked like a tornado had hit the place.

“Do you even have to ask?” Max sniffed.

“I do. Seriously. What happened?” Min repeated, looking in disbelief. She walked over to Max’s desk and saw Noxious on the floor. “Oh no, not Noxious! You loved that guy!”

“Don’t. I can’t talk about it.” Max looked away. “My life is ruined.”

“Too soon? Believe me, I get it.” Min sighed.

Javi sat down next to Max. “You snuck the kittens up last night, didn’t you? And you kept them in here today?”

Max nodded, staring forward. “I felt bad for them. I was afraid they were going to get kicked out,” he said, his voice flat. “They just looked so . . . small.”

“And yet.” Javi shook their head. “Wow. They can really do some damage for little guys. Like two tiny hurricanes.”

“Some kind of disaster, anyways.” Min picked up the sopping purple zombie, righted the trash can, and dropped it inside.

“You didn’t know,” Javi said, putting an arm around Max. “It’s not your fault.”

“Where are they now? Did you put them back downstairs?” Min looked around, but she didn’t see the kittens anywhere.

That’s weird.

Max shook his head slowly. “I just screamed at them and they ran out. They’re probably hiding somewhere in the house. I don’t care anymore. You were right. You win. I’m a terrible cat dad. We should just take them to the shelter.”

“Okaaaay,” Min said. “So anyway, I have the competition tonight . . . so . . . I’m just gonna go get ready . . . or something.” She slowly backed out of the room. She wasn’t used to seeing her brother like this, and it made her feel kind of . . . awful. Besides, it was pretty awkward.

“Yeah, right, just let me know when you’re ready and we’ll head out,” Javi said.

Max, miserable, didn’t even look up.

As Min walked to the lab, she started running through the checklist in her mind of things she had to do.

She sat at her desk, nervous but excited.

She stood back up and walked to where Elmer was charging. “Ugh.” Her nose crinkled and she made a face.

That smell.

She crouched down and checked that all the weapon attachments were in their compartments.

She switched Elmer on as one final test. He stood up and moved around the room. “You leaning a little, El?” She straightened his stance. “Better.”

Min didn’t bother checking Elmer’s rear compartments, since they were empty, intended for future upgrades. If she had, she would have discovered the hiding place of two very scared kittens, getting the ride of their life. Elmer didn’t care about his stowaways. To him, it was just extra cargo, and after a few steps, his software helped him manage the change in his weight. Good as new.

Min was distracted at her computer, running through the simulations one last time. Elmer was running perfectly and could handle any kind of threat she could imagine. She picked up her tablet and tapped some commands. Elmer switched his left grasper into a buzz saw. Min tapped again and watched the buzz saw spin up. She went through all the attachments, and they all looked good.

She leaned back as Elmer trundled back into his charging cradle. “Good job, Elmer.” She switched off the tablet and put it in Elmer’s traveling case. “I think we’re ready.” She turned to look at the empty chairs of her parents. “I wish you guys were here to see this.” She sighed, then stood up to pack up Elmer, who flashed green, fully charged. “But I’m glad you’re not here to smell this,” she said as she got close. Carefully, she lifted Elmer and placed him upright in a big, cushioned case her mom had built. She put on the lid and latched it shut. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Min rolled the case out of the lab and saw Max and Javi frantically looking under couches and behind chairs. “Have you seen the kittens?” Javi asked Min.

“No, thank goodness, but I definitely still smell them,” Min replied as she walked to the kitchen to wash her hands. “Why?”

Max looked stricken. “I yelled at them and they ran away and we can’t find them anywhere.”

“And we didn’t close the front door all the way when we came home.”

“Yikes.” Min grimaced and half-heartedly joined the search. “Well, maybe it’s for the best? Maybe they just wanted to be wild cats?”

Javi shot Min a look, and Min got the message. “I’m sure they’re fine, Max. Don’t feel bad.”

“They’re not here,” Javi said. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“And I hate to say it, but we have to go. The competition is tonight and CAR takes an hour to get there.”

“Max, why don’t you come with?”

“Might as well,” he said, dejected. “Not like I have a level to work on.”

“Or kittens to play with.”

They all silently walked through the open front door and loaded Elmer into the backseat.

Max took one desperate look in Obi’s stroller, but there were no kittens. He gave Obi a scratch and whispered, “Please keep an eye out for the kittens, okay?” Obi looked up at Max and blinked. Max turned sadly toward CAR and slid into the backseat.

As CAR pulled slowly into the street, House’s monitor by the front door blinked to life.