Chapter 1 Method to the Messiness

  “Has anyone seen my dinosaur figurine?” Gabe poked his head over a mound of tangled wires in Dr. Bunsen’s lab. “I put it on the lab table, but now I can’t find it.”

  “I’ll bet it’s with my missing granola bar,” said Cesar. “My snacks are always missing!”

  “That’s because you ate it on the way here,” Olive replied.

  “No, that granola bar was my first after-school snack,” Cesar corrected her. “My first after-school snack keeps me from getting grumpy.” Cesar’s stomach rumbled. “Seriously, where’s my granola bar?”

  “It’s no wonder we can’t find anything,” Laura said as she stumbled over scattered robot pieces. “This lab is a mess!”

  It was true. The lab was a wreck. The four whiz kid friends—known as the DATA Set—were used to their neighbor’s wild lab. But things were getting out of control.

  “Maybe there’s a method to the messiness,” Gabe said. “Lots of famous scientists were super messy—Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison.”

  Laura shook her head. “I could never get anything done if my workshop looked like this.”

  “Me either,” said Olive. “That’s what I like most about math. It’s neat and orderly.”

  “What about theoretical math? It can get messy,” Gabe pointed out.

  Both he and Olive were very good at math, and he liked debating with her sometimes.

  “Only because it hasn’t been solved yet,” Olive said.

  “Sometimes creative geniuses need mess in order to make a breakthrough,” Gabe countered.

  As if on cue, Dr. Bunsen stumbled out with a pile of gizmos.

  “Oh, can we help you?” Laura asked.

  “No time—no time!” he cried as he dropped the pile with a clatter. “My deadline is tomorrow and there’s simply no time!”

  “Maybe we should get out of the way,” Gabe suggested to his friends.

  “Are you leaving?” Dr. Bunsen asked. “I apologize—I’m not quite myself. The big convention is tomorrow. And it’s more important than ever that things go right!”

  “Do you mean the Invention Convention?” Olive asked eagerly. “Will you be presenting at it?”

  “Yes, yes, I certainly shall,” Dr. Bunsen said. “And so shall he. The one who calls me ‘too mad and too messy.’ ”

  Before the DATA Set could ask who “he” was, Dr. Bunsen was on to his next thought.

  “Oh, you four will come, won’t you?” the doctor asked as he produced four VIP tickets.

  “You bet!” the kids cried.

  They knew tomorrow was a big deal for Dr. Bunsen, and they wouldn’t miss it for the world!

  Chapter 2 Invention Convention

  “The next morning, the four friends rode their bikes to the Newtonburg Convention Center. A large crowd was already gathered.

  “Hey, look!” Cesar exclaimed. “It’s Dr. Bunsen!”

  “Where?” Olive scanned the crowd. “I don’t see him.”

  “Up there!” Cesar pointed.

  There were banners hanging around the hall with pictures of the presenting scientists. To the kids’ surprise, Dr. Bunsen’s face was on the biggest one.

  “Wow.” Gabe whistled. “Dr. B is kind of a big deal now.”

  “Remember when we first sold him chocolate bars?” Laura asked. “We didn’t even know who he was. Now he’s famous!”

  The kids checked out the other displays.

  “Hey, who’s that grumpy scientist on the banner behind him?” Olive pointed to a stern-looking man with pursed lips.

  “Don’t know.” Cesar shrugged. “But I think he could use a snack.”

  “Are you sure we haven’t seen him before?” Laura asked thoughtfully. “He looks kind of familiar.”

  “Maybe he was on the news,” Gabe said with a shrug. “Let’s go inside and find out!”

  The kids followed the crowd into the massive hall and marveled at all the inventions on display.

  “Check it out!” Laura shouted, giddy with excitement. “It’s a dartboard with robot darts that hit a bull’s-eye every time!”

  The kids watched as Laura took aim and hit the bull’s-eye perfectly. Then they moved on to a humongous display behind glass.

  “No way!” cried Cesar. “It’s a robo-beehive that collects honey without ever disturbing the bees!”

  Booth by booth, the kids’ eyes grew wider. There were underwater treadmills and dogs that were robots. There was even a hologram that, to Gabe and Olive’s delight, let you debate mathematical concepts with a simulation of Albert Einstein himself.

  After making their rounds, the kids decided it was time to track down Dr. Bunsen.

  “Let’s find Dr. B’s booth,” Laura said. “He should be in the VIP section.”

  The DATA Set rounded the corner to where the popular presenters were stationed—and almost crashed into the grumpy-looking scientist they’d seen on the banner.

  The man nearly dropped a glass orb he was carrying.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Excuse us,” Gabe apologized. “We’re looking for Dr. Bunsen. Do you know where he is?”

  The scientist peered down at the children.

  “Are you friends with Gustav?” His voice had a heavy accent. “I should have known. Carelessness seems to follow him, no?”

  The scientist brushed past them without another word.

  “Man, he really needs a snack,” Cesar muttered as he watched him leave.

  “Oh my gosh, you guys!” Laura grabbed her friends’ arms. “I just remembered where I’ve seen him before. That’s Dr. von Naysayer—Dr. Bunsen’s old partner!”

  Chapter 3 Blackout!

  “His old partner?” Olive asked. “You mean the man we saw in Dr. B’s memories? You know, when we traveled through his body in the Bunsen Cold Buster 3000?”

  The DATA Set watched as Dr. von Naysayer set his invention before the growing crowd.

  Cesar shuddered. “Umm, don’t remind me. I still have nightmares about Herm the Germ.”

  “They have not been partners for years,” Laura continued. “But I recognize him from a news program Dr. B had on in his lab one time.”

  A hush fell over the crowd as Dr. von Naysayer clapped his hands.

  “Welcome!” he said with a stiff smile. “I am quite pleased to present the future of science.”

  Naysayer held up the glass orb he had almost dropped earlier. It was now pulsating with glowing energy.

  “After many years of careful work,” Naysayer continued, “I have developed the most powerful form of portable energy possible: a plasma battery. Behold!”

  Naysayer placed the orb on its activation base, and little flashes of lightning with nerve-like endings stretched out from the center. The crowd ooohed and ahhhed until…

  FLASH!

  All the lights in the giant room suddenly went out. Everything was plunged into darkness.

  “What’s going on?” Olive called in alarm.

  “It’s clearly the end of the world!” cried Cesar as he leaped into Gabe’s arms.

  “Oof!” Gabe huffed as he held his friend. “It’s not the end of the world, Cesar. So quit acting like a baby or I’m going to burp you.”

  “I’m not acting like a baby… you are acting like a baby,” whispered Cesar as he pulled his thumb out of his mouth.

  “Relax, everyone,” said Laura. “Naysayer’s invention must have blown a fuse.”

  “Phew,” said Cesar. “For a moment there, I thought Naysayer might be a supervillain and this was his evil plan.”

  “What evil plan?” said Olive. “Turning out the lights?”

  The others giggled, but Cesar didn’t laugh.

  “No, like, what if that orb invention sucked up all the energy?” he said. “And now he’s going to use all that energy to trap us?”

  “Us?” asked Gabe. “Why would he trap us?”

  “Um, do supervillains need reasons?!” snapped Cesar. “No! They are just, like, super bad!”

  A small spark flickered above the DATA Set, followed by another and another.

  “See, the lights are coming back on,” said Olive. “It’s fine.”

  Then the ground started to shake and rumble. The small sparks from above grew into full bolts of electricity that bounced around the room.

  “Okay, maybe Cesar was right,” said Laura. “I think it’s time to run!”

  Laura darted forward but smacked into something hard and invisible.

  “Is it some kind of force field?” said Gabe as he helped Laura back up.

  The kids ran their hands over the clear, hard surface. It was smooth and curved toward them.

  “It’s almost like a fishbowl,” said Olive.

  “Or like, I don’t know, maybe a plasma orb,” said Cesar as he pointed to the ceiling, “that belongs to a supervillain… like him!”

  As the lightning continued to sizzle around the room, a new face appeared in the darkness. It was Dr. von Naysayer. But he was no longer human-size.

  He had grown fifty feet tall. “My dearest DATA Set,” the giant boomed. “Welcome to the revenge of Dr. von Naysayer!”

  Chapter 4 Supervillain Scientist

  The DATA Set were trapped inside an orb as the giant supervillain scientist lifted them into the air.

  “You know I never like to be the I-told-you-so guy,” Cesar said to the others. “But I told you so!”

  A huge eyeball peered in at the friends.

  “Are you r

eally the mighty DATA Set I’ve heard so much about?” asked Naysayer. “You look… small.”

  “The joke’s on you, because we’ve been even smaller before!” Olive shouted back.

  “I don’t think that’s helping,” said Gabe. “We need to focus. Everyone look around for a way out. What do we see?”

  The kids looked down through the clear glass. The crowd below them was running out of the convention center.

  Gabe touched the glass wall again and instantly a bolt of lightning zapped his hand.

  “Look out!” cried Laura, but Gabe waved her off.

  “Thanks, but I’m okay,” he said. “I think the rules of the plasma ball are at work here.”

  “Please explain that to those of us who are scared out of their minds right now,” said Cesar.

  Gabe smiled. “The plasma ball was invented by Nikola Tesla. It works by allowing electricity to flow inside it, so when a person touches the ball from the outside, the electric lights get brighter. The electricity is attracted to the human touch!”

  Laura, Olive, and Cesar all looked at one another and then stared back at Gabe blankly.

  “It means the electricity is out there, and we are safe in here,” Gabe explained.

  “I don’t feel safe in here,” said Laura. “I feel trapped. And I don’t like being trapped.”

  “I agree,” said Olive. “It’s time to crack open this glass egg.”

  Olive leaped into the air and stomped on the bottom of the orb as hard as she could. SLAM! But nothing happened.

  A low chuckle echoed around the convention center and made the glass orb shake.

  “Silly DATA Set,” said Naysayer. “There is no escape. But you are not the ones I am after. You are silly little worms dancing on the end of my fishhook. Dance, little worms. Dance!”

  Cesar started shaking his booty and making drumbeat noises with his mouth, but Gabe stopped him.

  “What are you doing?” Gabe asked.

  “Duh, I’m dancing,” said Cesar. “And I need a beat to dance to. If it helps us get out of here, I’ll do anything. Even bad dance moves that make me look totally silly. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get down so we can get down!”

  “That’s not what he meant, Cesar,” said Laura. “He’s after Dr. Bunsen! And he’s using us as bait.”

  Chapter 5 That’s a Big Tomato

  The giant scientist held the orb high in the sky as bolts of electricity shocked through the convention center.

  “Do you think Bunsen even knows what’s going on?” asked Olive. “He can be a little clueless sometimes.”

  Gabe shook his head. “A building-size version of his ex-partner holding a plasma orb that shoots lightning in a room full of scientists? That would be hard to miss, even for a person as spacey as Dr. B.”

  “Hello! Did someone say spacey?” a voice called out from below.

  It was Dr. Bunsen! He waved happily to the kids.

  “Oh, it’s you, DATA Set!” he said. “What kind of ride is this? It looks fun! I’ve been hard at work on my newest invention, so some of us don’t have time for silly rides.”

  “But this ride isn’t silly at all,” boomed Dr. von Naysayer’s deep voice. “It’s actually pretty… shocking!”

  With a flick of his wrist, Naysayer launched lightning down toward Dr. Bunsen. The explosion missed, but sent Bunsen crashing into a display about growing natural fruits and vegetables with a special garden laser.

  Luckily, the display was filled with tomatoes, which helped give Bunsen a squishy landing.

  “Ah, Naysayer,” said Bunsen. “I thought I might see you here. Why don’t you let my friends go and we can… ketchup?”

  Now it was Bunsen’s turn. Using the garden laser from the display, he grew the tomatoes monstrously big.

  Then Bunsen kicked them at Naysayer. The juicy fruits exploded in the giant’s face.

  “Oh, gross! I hate tomatoes!” Naysayer cried as he dropped the orb with the DATA Set still inside.

  “Hold on!” screamed Laura as they fell through the air.

  Bunsen quickly used the invention again. This time he grew a banana that became a ramp for the orb. It rolled safely to the floor.

  But the DATA Set weren’t out of danger yet. Dr. von Naysayer’s giant foot landed with a thump next to them.

  “We’re gonna get squashed!” Olive gulped.

  “No, we won’t,” said Gabe as he pushed on the side of the orb. “It’s time to roll!”

  The orb skidded away from the giant scientist as the DATA Set headed for the exit.

  “Don’t leave yet,” said Naysayer as he wiped away the tomato mess. “You’ll miss all the fun! Perhaps an army of robot dogs will make for a great game of fetch.”

  Naysayer pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. First, mechanical barking noises rang out. Then the sound of metal paws scraped across the floor as four robot dogs scrambled to block the only way out.

  Chapter 6 Bad Robot Dogs! Bad!

  “This is my worst nightmare!” Cesar screamed.

  The four robot dogs raced after the rolling orb.

  “Less yelling, more running!” cried Gabe.

  Laura kept her eyes on the path and told the others where to go.

  “Turn here!” she called out.

  The friends all leaned to one side, and the orb moved in that direction.

  Unfortunately, the robot dogs knew how to turn too.

  One of the robot dogs stretched its neck and snapped at the ball. Its metal teeth clanked together.

  “That was close!” said Olive. “I’m not sure we can out-roll these pups!”

  “She’s right,” Laura agreed. “Dogs always catch the ball… unless the ball breaks!”

  Gabe, Cesar, and Olive looked at Laura. “WHAT?!” they shouted.

  “Just trust me, I have an idea,” said Laura. “Turn left now!”

  The DATA Set pushed the orb in another direction. The move surprised the robot dogs, who bumped into one another.

  Laura pulled out a marker and began drawing circles on the orb as they rolled.

  “What are you doing?” asked Gabe.

  “Making a target,” said Laura.

  “Are you trying to make it easier for the robot dogs to aim at us?” asked Cesar.

  “Nope, I’m making a bull’s-eye for the robot darts display we’re about to roll past,” Laura explained. “Now, duck!”

  A whistling sound rang out as the robot darts flew and struck the target on the orb’s wall. The thick glass cracked, then shattered, sending the DATA Set tumbling safely forward.

  “See, it worked!” said Laura. “There’s no more ball for the robot dogs to chase!”

  “But there’s also no more orb protecting us from the robot dogs,” said Olive.

  “Oh, yeah,” Laura said as she scratched her head. “I didn’t think about that.”

  The friends watched as the robot dogs crept closer. They moved so quietly. It was like someone had turned off the sound in the room.

  Then there was a very loud growl. But it didn’t come from the robot dogs. It was Cesar’s stomach. Everyone looked at him.

  Cesar gave a shrug. “What? I get hungry when I’m nervous.”

  “Here, try this,” said Olive as she tossed him a granola bar. “I was saving it for an emergency. But I didn’t think it would involve angry robot dogs.”

  Cesar caught the granola bar, opened it, and was about to take a bite when something strange happened.

  The robot dogs were watching the granola bar closely with their robot tongues hanging out.

 

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