“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have two heads,” Flinch said. “I bet I could eat twice the candy!”
“Agent Flinch, you are not allowed to get hit with the ray on purpose,” Brand ordered.
Ms. Holiday helped Flinch put on his parachute, then passed him a sack of red ropes. He slurped down five like they were strands of spaghetti.
She helped Duncan next. “Wow! Justin Maines!” Duncan said, grinning. “When we stop his maniacal plot to take over the world, I’m totally going to ask for his autograph.”
“We’re over the drop site!” the lunch lady announced as he left the cockpit to help open the hatch.
“And remember, if you feel odd, if you get a fever or a sore throat, or feel like you’re smarter than everyone else, you’re probably infected,” Brand shouted over the wind that whipped into the cabin from outside. “You must let us know right away.”
Flinch eyed his teammates warily. Any one of them might be the next to succumb. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious, but he hated to think of his friends that way. They had been through so much together as spies and as buddies. He felt guilty preparing himself to fight them.
And what about the adults? He was very concerned about the lunch lady, who, he had to admit, was a rough-around-the-edges type already. As an ex-soldier, the lunch lady had seen a lot of combat in very dangerous places. There were rumors in the Playground that he was once a demolition expert, only he thought using explosives was cheating and just beat the building silly with his bare hands. Mr. Brand was no slouch, either. Despite his cane, everyone knew the director was the United States’ greatest secret agent. And then there was Ms. Holiday, who looked sweet and loving but was a trained fighter. He hoped he never had to find out what it was like to go head-to-head with any of them.
Flinch shoved three more strands of licorice into his mouth, and fearlessly jumped out of the plane into the open air. In no time he landed next to the team in the middle of Sunset Strip, one of downtown L.A.’s most popular areas. It was lined with shops and tattoo parlors, all night diners and parking garages, each with a flashy exterior that shouted “Look at me!” There weren’t many people on the street, which Flinch considered a major miracle. He hoped their luck would continue.
As he was shoving another handful of red ropes in his mouth, an explosion shook the ground. A thick black plume of smoke climbed toward the sky. Emerging from the smoke was something Flinch’s mind could hardly process. It was the same giant he had seen on the video in the School Bus, but now that it was live and real and right in front of him, with all those extra legs and arms and the second head … well, it made him feel sick.
“Flinch, you’re on point on this one,” Pufferfish said.
“Me? Not again!”
“Listen, this isn’t my idea. Brand wants you out front more. He says you are squandering your potential being in the background. You’re the strongest and fastest in the group.”
Flinch shook his head. “Hasn’t anyone been paying attention for the last two years? I’m the hyper one. I have a hard time concentrating. I’m the freak!”
“I don’t like it any better than you do, but right now there’s a very good reason you should take over. You’re immune to the virus,” Pufferfish said. “Any of the rest of us could get sick in the middle of the mission. So man up, Agent Flinch. You’re the boss.”
“Fine! I’m in charge. I’m in charge? Oh boy. What do we do? What do we do?” Julio felt like he had eaten something that had gone bad. He turned the knob on his harness just to calm his nerves and help him think. There was no more time to argue. The creature was on its way.
“We could attack the monster,” Gluestick suggested.
“Good idea, buddy,” Flinch said. “Let’s attack the monster. So … maybe you could coat the street with some sticky stuff? Maybe it will slow him down a little?”
“Excellent idea,” Gluestick said, and then ran off to do as he was told.
“And me?” Braceface asked.
“Uh, well … can you make something big with those braces? Like a big fist? Once that thing hits the glue, you could give him a big punch—you know, knock him on his back where he’ll get stuck even more?”
Braceface grinned. “I’m on it.”
“And me?” Pufferfish asked.
“You’re allergic to lousy plans, right?”
“Yes.”
“How do you feel? Any swelling of your feet or hot rashes?”
“I feel good. Must be a good plan.”
While they spoke, Gluestick extended his hands and a stream of sticky paste shot from his fingertips. He coated the street with a thick layer of adhesive while Braceface’s braces twisted and turned in his mouth.
“Look at me, Hollywood! I’m Justin Maines,” the creature shouted, completely ignoring the NERDS. “You turned your back on me! You said I didn’t have that star quality! You forced me into the life of an extra! Well, you wanted an extra, so I’m giving you an extra! Extra arms! Extra legs! And extra rage!”
The monster snatched a telephone pole and pulled it out of the ground. Its wires snapped and shimmied, sending sparks into the air like angry fireflies. He seemed unconcerned with the potential ten thousand volts of electricity that could easily kill him. Instead, he hefted the pole onto his shoulders as if he were a big league hitter, then swung for the fences, smashing a car and sending it flipping end over end into a parking garage.
“You laughed at me!” he continued. “You said I would never make it, but I’ve made it! I’m the biggest extra in the business. I’ve played a dead body over seven hundred times! I’ve been a diner in a restaurant on a thousand different prime-time shows. I redefined what it means to play the guy in the doctor’s office! I’m not just any extra. I’m the Extra! You can’t turn your backs on me. I won’t let it happen!”
As he raged, he stepped right into Gluestick’s trap, and his feet caught fast. He pulled and pulled, doing his best to free himself, but he couldn’t budge.
“Um, I know you’re in charge, and I don’t want to be pushy, but right now would be the perfect time for Braceface to do his work,” Pufferfish said as she scratched at her leg. Flinch knew she was also allergic to not being in charge.
“All right, Braceface!” he shouted. “Let him have it!”
An enormous fist made of orthodontic appliances shot out of Jackson’s mouth. It clocked the Extra in the chin, and the monster teetered, dazed.
“Hit him again?” Flinch asked, looking to Pufferfish for reassurance.
She nodded her approval.
“Hit him again!” Flinch shouted.
Jackson’s metallic mitt reared back for another punch, but this time the Extra caught it in his hand. With an angry wrench, he pulled Jackson off his feet and flung him into the air behind him. The Extra roared with anger, but he was still stuck fast in Gluestick’s paste. He struggled to free himself, straining with all his might.
Just when Flinch was sure the monster was caught tight, the Extra did something no one could have expected. Instead of freeing his foot, he pulled a big chunk of the street underneath him completely out of the ground. Then he did the same with the other foot. He continued his rampage, but each step landed him in more paste, so he was forced to rip more and more chunks of pavement from the road. With each new layer beneath his feet, he grew taller and taller.
Flinch turned to Pufferfish. “OK, as the leader, I am commanding you to take charge.”
“Sorry,” Pufferfish said. “I’m not allowed. Time for Plan B.”
“I didn’t have a Plan A!” Flinch cried, eating another red rope, which didn’t help calm his nerves in the least. “Gaargggggahhhab!”
“Don’t freak out!” Pufferfish said as Gluestick raced to join them. “You can do this. Just keep your team and what they can do in your mind. First, Gluestick is still here. I’m still here. Braceface is probably in the next county, but you still have you, too! Supersticky, superitchy, and superstrong—what can you do with that?”