Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford Page B

large belly. He was huge, and his massive white lab coat could have covered a horse. His skin was ghostly white and he was wearing mechanical binoculars that covered his eyes and were constantly expanding and retracting.
    â€œHalt!” he cried, waving his head around trying to see the children. “Wait. Back up. I can’t see you. This is just a prototype.” His binoculars retracted. “Oh. That’s better. Now, don’t move! I have you in my sights, and ... why . . . Mick Cracken! I should have known it would be you.”
    Sarah rolled her eyes, knowing that Mick’s ego was pumping up like a balloon.
    â€œWe’re here to steal the Dragon’s Eye,” Mick said with a confident smile.
    The giant scientist smiled right back and took a menacing step toward the children. He readjusted his binoculars. “I do not think that is within the realm of probable outcomes.”
    Sarah could tell Mick didn’t have a plan for this. He had just waltzed them in and thought he could steal the Dragon’s Eye without any difficulty whatsoever, and now that they were caught by a scientist, they really would end up in an interplanetary jail.
    â€œYou are under arrest and you may be placed under a slide for microscopic evaluation.”
    The scientist stepped closer, his huge gnarled hands reaching out toward them. Sarah flinched and prepared to scream.
    â€œOne side twenty-eight meters, one side sixty-eight meters, what’s the hypotenuse of a right triangle?” Mick shouted.
    The scientist stopped, his face turning red. “What . . . what did you say?”
    â€œOne side twenty-eight meters, one side sixty-eight meters, what’s the hypotenuse of a right triangle?”
    The scientist’s hands started shaking. “But that’s . . . Why, that would require the Pythagorean Theorem. That’s . . . that’s my favorite mathematical equation!”
    The scientist looked at the children.
    He looked over at a nearby chalkboard.
    He looked at the children. A few quiet seconds passed.
    And he ran over to the chalkboard. He furiously started scratching out numbers.
    â€œGo! Go!” Mick shouted.
    Sarah stared in disbelief as the scientist worked on the problem. Mick grabbed her by the arm, and she followed after him.
    They rounded a corner and screeched to a halt. A small lab mouse rose up from the marble floor of the museum and raised its claws and bared its teeth. The mouse must have thought it was an intimidating gesture, but it couldn’t have known that Sarah wasn’t scared of mice in the slightest. In fact, she found this one darling and rather dignified.
    â€œAhh!” Mick yelled. “Mouse! Oh please oh please no.” He raised his hands in surrender.
    â€œIt’s just a mouse! What in the world is wrong with you?” Sarah peered closer at the mouse and saw a small yellow piece of metal on its head. “Is that a crown?”
    Mick’s entire body was rigid and his eyes were squeezed shut. “They worship those . . . beasts on this planet. They are allowed to roam free when they’re not participating in experiments, and everyone is supposed to bow and pay their respects. Oh please oh please. Is it looking at me? I think it’s looking at me.”
    Sarah stared at the mouse and smiled. It was so cute and regal. She bent down and said, “Hi little guy, I’m—”
    The mouse launched itself at Sarah’s head. Its claws dug in upon impact, and it began running over her scalp, pricking her head like a hundred small needles.
    â€œAhh!!” she shrieked.
    â€œI told you! ” Mick yelled.
    Sarah reached for the mouse but it grabbed a piece of her hair and swung down so that it was right in front of her eyes. She screamed and swiped at it, but it jumped onto her shoulder. She heard a small voice say, “I command you to leave at once!” Sarah froze, wondering for a moment if she had only imagined this