Part 11 (1/2)
”Hey, there's the creep who sold me the phony card!”
We all turned to look and caught a glimpse of a tall figure in a long, black flowing cloak, wearing a wide-brimmed hat pulled down over his face. He was in the process of trying to sell a card to an unsuspecting kid from another cla.s.s. As soon as he knew he'd been spotted, he whipped off the cloak and hat and vanished into thin air.
”Get him,” hollered Lobster Boy. ”He'll be riding a bike with clawed-up handlebars.”
”Let'th thtring up the thuthpithiouth thtinker,” agreed Melonhead.
All of a sudden a mob of angry eight- to twelve-year-olds ran toward the spot where the stranger had last been seen. Stench and Tadpole were about to join, when I hollered for them to stop. We had already lost sight of the stranger.
”Don't bother,” I said in frustration. ”He's already gone.”
”Who do you think you saw, O Boy?” Plasma Girl asked.
”You guys will think I'm nuts, but I think it was the same guy I saw at Aunty Penny's Arcade. The one who stole the box of card packs.”
”Then let's find that creep,” Tadpole said with determination.
”We have to,” I agreed, ”but whoever it is, he's too clever to be caught by a screaming mob of grade-schoolers. Everyone else went that way”-I pointed-”so I say we go the opposite way. C'mon!”
The five of us took off in the general direction of downtown. It was only after we had left the school grounds that I realized we were in the midst of committing a major act of hooky. It was only noon, and leaving school before three o'clock was strictly forbidden. Nevertheless, I knew this was too important a lead for us to ignore. We had to find out who was selling these cards.
”Which way do you think he went?” Stench asked as we approached Colossal Way, the city's main east-west avenue. One direction led out to Telomere Park, the other straight into downtown Superopolis.
”This way,” Halogen Boy said. ”I think I see something.”
Turning toward downtown, the rest of us immediately caught sight of what appeared to be a riderless bicycle five or six blocks ahead. ”It's Lobster Boy's bike!” shouted Tadpole. We began to run faster, but there was no way we could keep up with a bicycle. We kept after it for almost ten blocks until we were once again traveling along the south side of Lava Park. It was there that we finally lost sight of it altogether. Exhausted, we all collapsed beneath a statue of an enormous potato chip.
I realized we were back at the Inkblot's Newsstand. I blinked. And then I blinked again. For there, right in front of my eyes, was the answer.
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”That's it!” I said.
”What's it?” Plasma Girl asked between breaths.
”The answer to the mystery is right in front of us,” I said.
”The Inkblot is the answer to the mystery?” Stench replied, baffled.
I thought the newspapers hung out on the Inkblot's stand said it all: MULTIPLIER ESCAPES! screamed The Hero Herald The Hero Herald; MISSTEPS AT MAXIMUM EMANc.i.p.aTE MULTIPLIER blared The Superopolis Times The Superopolis Times. Then, of course, there was also The Weekly Daily The Weekly Daily, once again living up to its motto of ”Last Week's News Today” with the headline: MULTIPLIER MAKES MESS OF MIGHTY MART. Sadly, my teammates just stared at the newspapers blankly.
”Don't you see it?” I said. ”The Multiplier could have made all those duplicate cards. And he escaped from prison just yesterday.”
”He looks like a complete loser,” Tadpole commented as he picked up a copy of The Hero Herald The Hero Herald to examine more closely. That was all it took for the Inkblot to notice us. He turned his attention away from a squirrel he apparently had been talking to and instead focused on us. The squirrel wasted no time in escaping. to examine more closely. That was all it took for the Inkblot to notice us. He turned his attention away from a squirrel he apparently had been talking to and instead focused on us. The squirrel wasted no time in escaping.
”So like I was saying, Captain Radio was the greatest hero of all time,” he started to say, seemingly unaware that there had been almost a two-day gap since our last conversation. ”But even he couldn't withstand the power of the Red Menace. Now there was an evil genius! His voice alone could make people do things against their will.”
”What about the Tyc.o.o.n?” Stench asked me. ”He could have printed up more cards just to irritate us.”
”No, that would have cost him money,” Plasma Girl pointed out.
The Inkblot kept right on talking, oblivious to whether anyone was paying attention. ”As the Red Menace realized the extent of his power he got bolder. He corrupted Captain Radio and used the captain's powers to broadcast his evil instructions to everyone in Superopolis. He told everyone that they didn't have to work anymore. Well, people liked that message for a while-at least until the grocery stores ran out of potato chips and pizza places started taking two months to deliver pizzas and no one picked up the trash anymore. The price of a banana reached four hundred and seventy-one dollars at one point. But it was all part of his master plan.”
In a way, what I heard of the Inkblot's story was fascinating, and normally I would have even enjoyed listening. But I had a feeling we were closing in on a huge break in this case and I needed to focus.
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”Luckily, there were still some heroes who were smart enough to get their news from the papers instead of the radio. Five of them-just like you young whippersnappers-gathered together and formed the League of Goodness.”
My ears perked up at this, but I was busy arguing with Stench. ”It's too much of a coincidence,” I insisted. ”The Multiplier escapes and all of a sudden we have multiple copies of Professor Brain-Drain cards? In this instance, one plus one clearly equals the Multiplier.”
”That's addition, not multiplication,” Halogen Boy pointed out.
”I think you're right,” Stench agreed, ignoring Hal. ”Only the Multiplier could have made all these duplicates. But how do we find him?”
I pulled out my copy of the Li'l Hero's Handbook Li'l Hero's Handbook.
”Even without my help,” the Inkblot admitted to no one in particular, ”they managed to put an end to the Red Menace's reign of terror and lock him away in a soundproof room. After that, they became the most famous heroes in Superopolis, while Captain Radio was disgraced and forced into retirement.”
I think the Inkblot muttered something like ”served him right,” but I was busy flipping through the appendices in the back of my handbook. Ah, here was what I was looking for! Secret hideouts!
”According to the Li'l Hero's Handbook Li'l Hero's Handbook, the Multiplier's secret hideout is at Seventeen Skullduggery Lane,” I informed everyone.
”What a terrible neighborhood,” Tadpole commented. ”He must not be a very competent villain if that's the best he can afford to rent.”
”It makes perfect sense,” I agreed. ”He never has been very successful-at least until now. What I can't figure out is how he managed to pull his stunt at the Mighty Mart, escape from prison, and now create all these duplicate Professor Brain-Drain cards. What's changed him?”
”There's only one way to find out,” Plasma Girl said, speaking for all of us. ”It's time to pay a visit to Seventeen Skullduggery Lane.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
A Minuscule Threat
I turned to apologize to the Inkblot for having to run, but he was now shouting at a picture of Mayor Whitewash on the cover of Superopolis Style Superopolis Style magazine, and clearly wouldn't notice us leaving. magazine, and clearly wouldn't notice us leaving.
”Come on, gang!” I hollered. ”We're back in hot pursuit!”
We headed toward one of the seediest parts of downtown Superopolis and soon found Skullduggery Lane. Most of the buildings on the street seemed to be warehouses. There were all sorts of shady characters loading and unloading what I imagined to be ill-gotten gains and illegal thingamajigs.