Pyramid Peril (Paperback)

Chapter One

EVERYONE ELSE I KNOW WILL BE ENJOYING THEMSELVES.

MAYBE GOING TO CAMP; MAKING S'MORES AND CRAFTS; AND SINGING THOSE FUN, STUPID SONGS LIKE "ALICE THE CAMEL" AND "LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO."

OR MAYBE GOING TO DISNEYLAND, GETTING THEIR PICTURE TAKEN WITH PEOPLE IN GIANT MOUSE SUITS, AND ENJOYING THE RIDES AND STUFF

NOT ME

I CAN SEE IT NOW. "CLASS, PLEASE WRITE A ONE-PAGE PAPER ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TOPIC:

WHAT DID YOU DO OVER SUMMER VACATION?"

SOMEHOW I DON'T THINK MY TEACHERS WILL BELIEVE IT:

"FOR THE SUMMER HOLIDAY, I WAS KIDNAPPED BY FIVE CYBORG FLIES AND SHRUNK DOWN TO INSECT SIZE SO I COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH THEM TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM AN EVIL SPIDER."

YEAH, I KNOW, SOUNDS CRAZY.

WORMHOLE! STATUS REPORT!

WE'RE TEN MINUTES BEHIND DARCHON! HE CAN'T HAVE GOTTEN VERY FAR!

BUT HERE I WAS ... IN ANCIENT EGYPT ...

WELL, THAT'S A FIRST. THANK THE CREATOR FOR SMALL MIRACLES.

TAK! MOTHER MASS! SPREAD OUT!

FIND DARCHON!

... AND SHRUNK DOWN TO THE SIZE OF A FLY!

WHO COULD HE BE AFTER HERE?

UNKNOWN, SLIPSTREAM.

N.E.X.U.S.'S DATABANKS ARE STILL CORRUPT AND NOW ITS SENSORS ARE OFFLINE!

SO, GET IT WORKING!

WHERE'S THE GIRL?

THAT'S PART OF WHY WE GOT HER ... HER KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN HISTORY.

I WAS SCARED OUT OF MY HEAD!

SO, EVEN THOUGH I HAD NOWHERE TO GO, I RAN ...

FROGS ... IT HAD TO BE FROGS.

NOT JUST FROGS. HUNDREDS ... THOUSANDS OF FROGS!

NEVER MIND THAT!

WE'VE GOT TO FIND THE GIRL!

WORMHOLE, GET N.E.U.S.'S SENSORS ONLINE! WE'LL KEEP THESE FROGS OFF YOUR BACK!

I'LL TRY! ALL THESE FROGS ...

YOU WORRY TOO MUCH! THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!

YEAH! BRING IT, YOU GREEN-SKINNED, BULBOUS-EYED LIZARD!

IT'S NOT A LIZARD MOTHER MASS ...

WHAT? WHO CARES?

WELL, LIZARDS ARE REPTILES AND FROGS ARE AMPHIBIANS. THEY SEEM TO SHARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS, BUT ...

LIZARD? REPTILE? WHO CARES WHAT IT IS WHEN ALL IT WANTS TO DO IS EAT YOU?

LOOK OUT!

OH BOY

OH DEAR, THAT WAS MUCH CLOSER THAN I EVER WANT TO BE TO SPENDING THE REMAINDER OF MY LIFE IN AN AMPHIBIAN'S DIGESTIVE TRACK.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU JUST SAID! ALL I KNOW IS I DON'T WANT TO GET EATEN!

HEADS UP, TAK!

CAREFULE, M.M.!

THIS ISN'T GOOD, TAK.

WITH N.E.X.U.S. STILL MALFUNCTIONING, WE NEED THAT GIRL.

WORMHOLE, DO YOU HAVE A READING ON THE GIRL?

SORRY! TOO MUCH INTERFERENCE FROM OUR RECENT TIME TUNNEL FOR MY INSTRUMENTS!

AND N.E.X.U.S. ISN'T ANY HELP!

PILE OF SCRAP METAL, YOU ARE!

OK, CHANGE OF STRATEGY!

FROGS EAT FLIES!

WHAT EATS FROGS?!

UH, A CROCODILE?

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!

DO IT, TAK!

YEAH!

PERFECT.

TAK, YOU AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK FOR THE GIRL THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.

WORMHOLE, FIX N.E.X.U.S AND FIND DARCHON!

UH SLIPSTREAM ...

QUICKLY, EVERYONE!

SLIPSTREAM? WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

N.E.X.U.S. IS MISSING!

WHAT?

WHT DO YOU MEAN?

HOW COULD IT BE MISSING?

UH, I THINK ONE OF THE FROGS ATE IT BEFORE IT RAN AWAY FROM THE CROCODILE.

GIVE ME STRENGTH ...

(continues...)