Operation Tenley by Jennifer Gooch Hummer
A fierce look came over Tenley. “Got it. I haven’t been wearing this ugly sash for nothing.”
“Let’s go!”
They leapt out from the tree. The wind hit them square on but they held tightly to one other, clenching their teeth and plowing their way to the travel box. A black cloud appeared overhead. Even with the wind whipping past them, they could hear the buzzing.
Holden tugged on a branch, which ripped off easily. He hurled it at the cloud. “Not this time!”
The black cloud broke apart into thousands of bees. Pennie yelped when the first bee stung her. She pulled Tenley into a bear hug to protect her.
“Tenley’s allergic to bees!” She yelled to Holden. “Can you get them away from us?”
Another one stung Pennie.
Tenley was shaking uncontrollably now.
“Hold on!” Holden ripped off more branches and opened fire on the bees. Finally, after too many direct hits, the bees zoomed away in different directions, a few of them slamming into each other and dropping to the ground.
“It’s clear, go!” Holden called out.
“Hurry!” Laraby waved to them.
“Come on, Tenley,” Pennie said.
“But you got stung,” she cried. Already, welts were growing on Pennie’s cheek and arm.
“Rude little things, aren’t they?” Pennie clutched Tenley tighter while they fought their way through the wind.
When they reached the doors, the pink petal was just landing in the trees above them and a new swarm of bees had surrounded it.
“That’s her,” Holden said. “The lady in the jumpsuit.”
Laraby took Tenley’s other arm and helped her hobble up next to Holden.
“Both of you!” he ordered. “Get into the box!”
Another thick black cloud blew over Pennie. It hovered for a moment before diving toward her legs and flipping her off her feet. Pennie sailed through the air before smashing into a tree trunk and collapsing onto the ground.
“Pennie!” Tenley shrieked. “Are you okay?”
Pennie’s head was spinning and her elbow felt like it was on fire. She waved anyway. “I’m fine.”
“She’s not okay,” Holden told Laraby. “We have to help her.”
“You two need to get inside those doors now,” Laraby demanded. “I will help her once you’re safe.”
“I can’t leave Pennie,” Tenley pleaded.
“Listed to me very carefully,” Laraby said. “We’re sending you back to the Log Ride. To the exact moment when you, Holden, reached out for Tenley before falling over the waterfall.”
“That’s not possible,” Holden said.
“Promise me that you’ll grab onto Tenley’s ankle. You have to be holding onto her when you fall. Promise me?”
“Yeah. Of course. But why do we have to do that again? We could have died.”
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this, Holden.”
“What about Pennie?” Tenley cried. “My mom would kill me if I left her, Pennie! Please, can we wait?”
“Listen to Laraby,” Pennie shouted up to her. “You have to believe us. If she gets either one of you in the web again, she won’t let you go this time.”
“Pennie’s right,” Laraby said. “Time for you to go. Holden, remember, we’re counting on you.”
Holden nodded solemnly, took Tenley’s arm, and helped her through the fading doors.
“One more thing, Holden!”
Holden turned back.
Laraby pulled the crystal eight out of the air and pressed it inside Holden’s palm just before the doors closed.
Laraby’s arm was caught. He hit the door with his free hand but the travel box started pulling him off the ground.
“Laraby!” Pennie shrieked, running to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and yanked. Her legs began lifting off the ground too.
“Let go, Fair One!” Laraby begged her. “Save yourself!”
“No!” Pennie yelled.
They were a few meters off the ground now. Pennie wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. And even if she could, the travel box was disintegrating rapidly. Laraby’s arm, and perhaps the rest of him, would disintegrate along with it.
Two filthy sleeves wrapped around Pennie’s waist.
“I got you, Fairly One.”
“Gavron!”
“This might hurt a little, bro.” Keeping one arm around Pennie, Gavron reached up and grabbed onto Laraby. He yanked hard enough for Laraby to cry out in pain. His arm still wouldn’t budge.
“Boys!” Gavron screamed. Before Pennie realized what was happening, she was propelling through the air with the three sipLips. They dropped her on the ground and returned to Gavron. Pennie watched the sipLips encircle Gavron, who had both arms wrapped around Laraby’s waist. The sipLips began circling fast enough to create a small wind tunnel.
After a small blast, the travel box was gone.
Out of the vapor, five spinning bodies fell. The sipLips landed on top of each other and scurried away. Gavron and Laraby landed a few meters away.
“Holy Helium,” Gavron groaned, pushing Laraby off him. “Would it kill you to lay off on the froyo, bro, yo?”
Laraby rubbed his arm and tried to collect himself. “I hadn’t anticipated that. Thank you, Gavron.”
“No worries,” Gavron said, winking at Pennie. “It’s what we heroes do.”
An eerie silence descended upon the garden. The buzzing, the wind—all the noise, had come to a complete stop.
Gavron pointed up. “Um. I think you need to see this, bro.”
Pennie saw it before Laraby did. The bees above them had shaped themselves into an arrow, aimed directly for them.
Under his breath, as quietly as he could, Laraby said, “Pennie, come closer. Gavron. Get your boys over here right now.”
Pennie crawled closer and Gavron waved to the sipLips who were peeking out from around a tree. They zoomed over.
“Stay together, everyone. Gavron, keep a tight hold on Pennie.”
“Your command is my wish come true,” he gurgled, wrapping Pennie into his grimy robes with him.
Laraby pulled the Tornado bottle out of his pocket.
“You’re not really going to use that,” Pennie said.
Laraby shook the bottle.
“Those things got some serious momentum, bro. Not sure we can survive it.”
“Only one way to find out.” Laraby popped the cork.
A tornado tore out of the bottle. Pennie, Laraby, Gavron, and the three screaming sipLips shot upward inside it.
40
00:00:07
Adventures, Inc. Again
Six figures spit out of the tornado and onto the ground just in time to see Holden lunge for Tenley’s ankle at the top of the waterfall.
“Get ’em, boys!” Gavron threw the dizzy sipLips toward the Log Ride.
But the tornado got there first.
The tornado ripped through the Log Ride, sucking in first Tenley and then Holden.
The sipLips flew off empty-handed, shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders.
“No!” Pennie yelled. After everything she’d done, she still couldn’t save Tenley. She and Holden were both going to end up dead.
A lightning bolt shot out of the tornado and across the sky.
On top of it, two figures were wrapped together.
“Is that—”
The lightning bolt headed straight for the roller coaster.
“How could—” Laraby stuttered.
The two figures launched themselves off the lightning bolt and landed directly inside one of the roller coaster cars, still chugging its way up the backside of the rails, out of the tornado’s path.
Before the roller coaster disappeared over the other side, the two figures clambered upright and sank into their seats.
Pennie turned to Laraby. “I think Holden—”
“Well, that’s dandy news for the gravity-gropers, but less dandy for us.” Gavron pointed to the tornado, which had changed course and was heading straight for them now.
Pennie backed up. “Uh, Lar?”
Laraby threw his arms up. “I’ve got nothing.”
Gavron activated his propellers. For a moment, it looked like he was going to abandon the Fair Ones. “I want every last copy of that video, bro. And your promise to never bring it up again. Is that a deal?”
“Deal!” Laraby agreed.
“A hero’s work is never done,” Gavron said, pulling them both into his spinning vortex. “Let’s go, boys!”
The mass of swirling Fair Ones and sipLips lifted away split seconds before the tornado reached them.
41
Fair City
“Watch where you’re going.” A Fair One glared at Pennie. Abe’s Tool Shine was on the back of his robes.
“Sorry.” Pennie stepped around him and resumed her pace up the grand staircase. After acclimating to gravity, she could run circles around the other Fair Ones.
“I’m not even panting!” Pennie called up to Laraby who stood waiting under the entrance of City Hall.
“Let me do the talking,” he said.
Pennie followed Laraby to the Tool Belt Check. The same teen Administrator with the eyebrow piercing chewed loudly her gum.
“Hello. My friend here needs to pick up her tool belt.”
“Ticket?” She held out her hand.
“She lost it.”
“Can’t help you then,” the teen said.
“However.” Laraby rocked back and forth on his toes. “I have remotely programmed the Intel inside one of the Fair One’s devices. So if you’ll stand aside, a locker will open on its own.”
The teen frowned at him. A locker in the top row popped open.
The teen handed Pennie her tool belt, chanking extra loudly on her gum. “That’s pretty cool,” she said. “Never seen no one do that before.”
“Why, thank you.” Laraby bowed.
The alarm sounded.
“No propellers!” Gavron groaned, shaking his head at the three small sipLips, unrecognizable in their crisp white robes and shiny clean faces, huddled in the doorway. “De-activate, boys!” They did. Laraby turned to the teen. “I’m very sorry about that. They are a little rambunctious. It won’t happen again. Will it, boys?”
The sipLips giggled and drooled.
Laraby leaned down to them. “Okay, outside. And remember, stay on the stairs. No leaving the stairs. Or there’s no mini moon golf. Do you hear me?”
The sipLips saluted and slurped before spinning out the door.
Pennie buckled her tool belt, which felt a little snugger after all of Mrs. Tylwyth’s cooking. “Three days, Lar? I would have thought Gavron would make you watch them for at least a week in exchange of your tools back.”
Laraby shifted his tool belt and grumbled. “He kept the froyo maker.”
“Maybe that was a good idea.” Pennie nodded at his belly.
The Great Hall was packed, once again. Grumpy, sweating Fair Ones were squeezed shoulder to shoulder.
“What’s going on in here?” Pennie asked.
“Big announcement,” a scruffy Fair One answered. “Original Eights called us all in.”
Laraby looked down at his tablet. “It’s true. I just got the notice.”
Pennie pulled out her own device. all fair ones report to city hall immediately, flashed on the screen.
“Must be big.” Laraby nodded up to a stage floating under the hologram clock. May His Return be Swift was still lit brightly over the hours, minutes and seconds since the Super had been gone.
“If there’s eight of em, why are there only seven chairs?” the scruffy Fair One tsked.
“Because technically—” Laraby started.
“No time, Lar.” Pennie pulled him away and dragged him through the crowd to the back exit, where she led him down the hallway.
“Room Seventy-one is this way.”
No one answered. Pennie knocked on the door again. “Tink? Maybe she’s in Command Center.”
Pennie steered Laraby around the corner and down another hall.
“Look for a break in the wall,” Pennie told him.
“Like this one?” Laraby pointed.
“That’s it.”
Inside, rows of Fairs Force were seated on wind seats monitoring the enormous hologram screens.
Laraby froze. “This. Is. Amazing.”
Pennie yanked him in farther. “Tink and I sat back there.”
A familiar figure walked toward them.
“Lord Fairship.” Pennie stopped.
“Yes, hello,” Lord Fairship smiled. “And how may I be of service?”
“Your Fairship. My name’s Fair One penn 1. I met you before my travels to Earth for a Right to Delete?”
“Oh yes.” Lord Fairship clasped his hands together.
“penn 1, is that you?” Tink slipped around from behind him. “All went well, we heard?”
Pennie noticed Lady Fairship a few steps back, her eyes narrowed tightly.
“We’re just going out for an announcement,” Tink said. “You’ll need to be there as well, I believe.”
“This won’t take long, Tink. I promise. My friend and I—you know Fair One lara b3.”
Laraby dipped his head. “Your Fairships.”
Lady Fairship glared at her. Pennie swallowed. “We came to tell you about something that happened during the trip.”
Lady Fairship’s pupils flattened into straight lines. Pennie opened her mouth to say more, but nothing came out.
Laraby saw the look of terror on Pennie’s face and took over. “Right. Something that we don’t think you know about. Something only Lady Fairship knows about, in fact.”
Lord Fairship smiled. “I think Lady Fairship’s told us everything. A few times over.”
“And a few more times after that,” Tink agreed. “A successful Right to Delete we are told!”
Lady Fairship shifted her snake eyes to Laraby.
He cleared his throat. “Did Lady Fairship tell you that she tried to get Fair One penn 1 to delete her identity?”
Lady Fairship’s face hardened. One of her snake eyes twitched.
Lord Fairship shuffled forward. “Whatever are you talking about, Fair One? We don’t allow that. You may want to check it in the Manual.”
“Rule number three, section 5228: Never shall a Fair One be ordered to delete his or her identity,” Laraby recited. “Anyone who tries to do so will be banished.”
Lord Fairship looked impressed with him. “Indeed.”
Lady Fairship only glared harder.
“Is this true, Lady Fairship?” Tinktoria asked.
“Yes.” Lady Fairship cleared her throat. “I’m afraid it is.”
Pennie and Laraby exchanged a quick look. Lord Fairship raised his brow.
“Of course,” Lady Fairship continued, with her eyes trained on Pennie. “This is the necessary order of events when a Fair One is promoted to Lieutenant Fair One.”
Laraby’s jaw dropped. He looked at Pennie.
“A rookie Fair One promoted to a Lieutenant Fair One?” Tinktoria asked. “That’s unheard of.”
“Until now,” Lady Fairship said. “You see, what I saw her accomplish on Earth, the way she got her client to agree to the Right to Delete without so much as an argument, well,” she paused, “Fair One penn 1 is one of the most capable Fair Ones in Fair City.” Lady Fairship attempted a smile.
“Oh well! Very good then.” Lord Fairship clapped. “Congratulations, Fair One penn 1.” He shook Pennie’s hand.
Lady Fairship stepped closer to Pennie. “It is wonderful. But I am still awaiting her response. She has yet to officially accept the honor.” She frowned tightly at Pennie. “So tell us, penn 1, have you
Pennie opened her mouth and closed it again. She looked at Tink and then Laraby. And finally back to Lady Fairship. “My answer depends on whether or not there are two promotions available. You see, lara b3 is just as deserving as I am. More, in fact.”
Lady Fairship’s face grew dark. Over her shoulder, Lord Fairship’s face brightened. “Well, that sounds reasonable. I have to say I do agree. Lady Fairship?”
Lady Fairship stared deep into Pennie’s eyes. “Yes, he most certainly is. Both of you shall be promoted to Lieutenant Fair One.”
A noise fell out of Laraby. Girl-like. “A 3rdi-All,” he squeaked. “A 3rdi-All.”
“Excellent!” Lord Fairship said, shaking Laraby’s hand this time.
“There is one more thing,” Pennie continued, without breaking eye contact with Lady Fairship. “I haven’t yet been reassigned to a new client, now that my old client’s Right to Delete is complete, and she no longer needs my protection, and all.”
A flicker of worry spread across Lady Fairship’s brow.
“Luckily,” Pennie smiled. “I do happen to know of a client in need of protection. I believe you know of her too, Lady Fairship? She saved a little girl from drowning? Her previous Fair One was told to stay—”
“Yes! I know you who mean. Thank you for reminding me.” She glanced at Dan Ringer standing a few feet behind. “Commander? Can you take care of this right away? Assigning this client to PENN 1?”
He entered something into his tablet. “It has been arranged, Your Fairship.”
Pennie’s tool belt pinged. She pulled her tablet out. A picture of Tenley Tylwyth’s face with New Client and her critical information below stared back at her.
“Perfect,” Tenley said, slipping the tablet back in her belt. “This is exactly who I was thinking of. Thank you, Lady Fairship.”
“Now if you’ll excuse us,” Lady Fairship pushed forward, taking Lord Fairship’s arm. “We have a very important announcement to get to, and we can’t keep the Fair Ones waiting any longer.”
Laraby and Pennie moved to the side to let the Fairships pass. When Tinktoria reached her, Pennie stepped forward. “Tink, there’s something else I need to tell you.”