Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers by Matthew McElligott Page A

dangerous. But from what you’ve told me about this Megabat, we have no other choice.”
    â€œAre you are certain you can secure a WURP news van?” Franklin asked.
    â€œLeave it to me,” Skip said. “There’s an old one out back that they never use anymore.”
    â€œExcellent. In the meantime, we shall disassemble the necessary equipment and prepare it for our mission.”
    â€œScott and I will run to Ernie’s to get the stuff for the electric kite net,” Victor added.
    â€œGood thinking, Victor,” Franklin said. “We haven’t a moment to spare. Let’s get to work.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
    Baiting the Hook
    Victor and Scott hunkered down behind a Dumpster, a block from the Wright brothers’ warehouse. Nothing had happened in the hour they had been waiting. A light drizzle began to fall.
    Scott’s mountain bike leaned against a wall. Victor’s own bike was still at the Right Cycle Company, surely by now a piece of the Megabat. He’d had to make do with his mom’s old bike—a ladies’ pink three-speed that had only one working gear.
    â€œYou’ve triple-checked the radio, right?” Victor said. “If it doesn’t work, the whole plan falls apart.”
    Scott patted his grandfather’s old radio, which he had crudely duct-taped to his bike’s handlebars. “I checked it this morning. Then I dunked it in the harmonic fluid again. You know—for extra harmonica. See anything yet?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    BRMBRMBRMBRMBRMBRMBRMBRM . . .
    â€œWhat’s that noise?” Victor asked.
    â€œLook!”
    Atop the warehouse, two giant hatch doors split open like a drawbridge and clattered flat onto the roof. Slowly, a massive shadowy form rose from within.
    Victor peered through the bioptiscope. “The Megabat!”
    Despite its evil purpose, it was a stunning achievement. Perhaps forty feet long, the Megabat was black, sleek, and frightening, but in a strange way, Victor found it beautiful. Wilbur Wright turned a large crank, and its four wings, which had been pressed vertically against the fuselage, slowly opened and leveled off.
    â€œLet me see,” Scott said. Victor handed him the bioptiscope. “Holy cow! That is so cool .”
    Wilbur turned another crank.
    TICKA-TICKA-TICKA-TICKA-TICKA . . .
    The platform beneath the Megabat tilted up at a fortyfive-degree angle, pointing the plane’s nose into the night sky. Now Victor could see the tank of harmonic fluid suspended beneath. He shivered at the thought of the mayhem it would cause should the Emperor’s terrible plan succeed.
    Orville and Wilbur slowly walked around the plane, inspecting it. Dressed in black, their bodies blended into the night. Victor turned a dial on the bioptiscope and zoomed in on the brothers’ heads. Their ashen faces stood out boldly against the darkness around them.
    THE FRANKLIN BIOPTISCOPE

    Victor gulped. They did look like vampires.
    The brothers climbed onto the lower wing and lay down beside each other on their stomachs.
    â€œIt’s almost time,” Victor said. “Get ready.”
    The Megabat began to rumble, its propellers spinning wildly. The boys hopped onto their bikes.
    â€œSwitch it on,” Victor directed.
    Scott hit the switch on his grandfather’s radio. Nothing happened.
    â€œTurn it on, Scott!”
    â€œI’m trying,” Scott said. “It’s not doing anything.”
    â€œWell, try again! They’re about to take off.”
    The propellers whirred louder. There was a clang, and the Megabat launched into the air and began to soar away. Within seconds, it would surely be out of range. Victor tried to keep himself from panicking. “Scott!”
    â€œI just thought of something,” Scott said. “See if this helps.”
    He turned the volume knob all the way up. A horrible static blared from the radio.
    â€œFixed it!”
    But were they in