Return of Mega Mantis (6 page)

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Authors: Laura Dower

BOOK: Return of Mega Mantis
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Oswald Leery!
“My friends,” Leery said, clearing his throat. His voice faded in and out. “We meet again. I understand our situation is critical. Walter filled me in on the details. I know you are being swarmed. I also know that Damon has seen a strange and enormous bug in his backyard. I think I have some valuable information for you.”
Stella gripped the chair arms. I guess even ninjas get tense, too.
“A few weeks ago,” Leery went on, “I learned that the original
Mega Mantis
movie had been screened and a B-Monster had escaped. There were worldwide Mega Mantis sightings. I tracked Mega to Malaysia but then it slipped away!”
We all sucked in a deep breath. Leery adjusted his dark glasses and continued.
“The thing is,” Leery explained, “once a B-Monster comes back to life it will always find its way back to Riddle. But Mega Mantis did this sooner than I expected. And once a B-Monster comes back, its powers increase. Mega Mantis gets stronger by the day.”
I looked over at Stella. She looked scared.
“But that’s not all, Monster Squad!” Leery went on. “You need to know that ifaBmovie is screened more than once . . . a B may come back to life
more than
once, too.”
We all gasped.
“There may be multiple mantids right there in Riddle, right now.”
“No way!” I shouted.
“Shhh!” Stella socked me in the arm.
Leery went on.
“Monster Squad,” Leery said, “more than one Mega Mantis will invade Riddle in the next twenty-four hours. You four are the only ones who can save our city and the rest of the world. Are you ready?”
CHAPTER 8
WE ARE SO DOOMED
My fists clenched. I could barely imagine one mega-sized praying mantis, let alone
multiple mantids
. And what if the person with the original
Mega Mantis
movie watched it on a video loop? That could mean a zillion mantids on the loose.
“We are SO doomed,” I said out loud.
“Yup,” Stella said. She rolled her eyes. “Doomed. And that’s probably the only time I’ll ever agree with you, Molloy.”
“Pay attention!” Ranger said, nudging me. Leery was still talking to us through the computer. I pumped up the volume.
“Years ago,” Leery explained from behind his dark glasses, “my cameraman shot some research footage in Malaysia. We were able to take incredible photographs of a Mega Mantis loose in the jungle.”
Leery flashed us a series of mantis photos. In one picture, the bug was in the process of shedding its skin.
“When a mantis molts,” Leery explained, “it becomes more dangerous.”
“Eeeeeew,” Lindsey said, turning away.
But I stared straight ahead. We had so much to learn about mantids before we could beat these B-Monsters. I didn’t want to miss a thing.
Leery went on.
“After these photos were taken, my cameraman vanished. We recovered the camera, but we never located the man . . . or the mantis.”
We all let out another gasp.
“I believe that the Mega Mantis in these photographs may have gone back to Riddle. Once he sensed that a new bug had been freed from the original reel, he came to find his brother mantis.”
I realized I was shaking. We all were. If what Leery said was true, we were in big trouble
.
BIG trouble. Fighting Mega Mantis One was bad enough. But fighting a second Mega Mantis? Was that even possible?
“Monster Squad,” Leery wheezed, “we cannot let these creatures destroy Riddle. Are you prepared to fight Mega Mantis and its mates? Prepared for victory? Prepared for triumph?”
“Um, no,” I said aloud to the screen.
Stella whacked my shoulder. “Wrong answer, lame-o,” she said. “Of course we’re ready!”
“I know you must have questions,” Leery said. “If my calculations are correct, an instant-messaging program should appear on your desktop right now . . .”
All at once, a small box popped up on the screen.
Please type your questions here. I’ll do my best to answer.
He’d timed it perfectly! It was the first time we’d get to talk to Leery in person. Of course, Stella typed first. She always hogs all the best moments.
Why r sooo many other bugs flying around Riddle near MegaM?
Stella hit ENTER and sat back. A response came quickly. We were talking to the real, live Leery!
B-Monsters have a tremendous B-Force.
I wanted to ask something else, but Stella typed again.
What’s B-Force?
Leery replied.
B-Force is the chemical power of attraction between a monster and its environment. The B-Force around Mega Mantis is bugs. If there are many bugs swarming, you know the B is close. If a swarm suddenly vanishes, the B has flown away. But it will always come back. So will its B-Force. B-ware!!!!
“Hey! Walter was just talking about B-Force!” I cried. “Remember? He was headed out to the backyard to measure it.”
“This sure explains the growing gnat cloud,” Ranger said.
“And the ants at the castle!” Stella added.
“And the other insects that followed us here!” Lindsey said.
I gulped, suddenly realizing what all this meant. “Mega Mantis is closer than we think.”
“But
which
Mega Mantis?” Ranger asked. “One or two?”
Another message from Leery popped up.
B-Force is usually seen only by people who can see the monsters but sometimes the force is so strong that others may witness swarms or clusters. When a B-Monster has reached maximum power and is about to strike, everyone will see the B-Force bugs.
We stared at the monitor. Ranger leaned over Stella and typed.
So what do we do now???
We waited.
To beat the B-Monster, you need to strike when the time is right. Chances are that the mantids will disappear to shed their skins. When they reappear, they will be ready to battle you. Learn everything you can about the real mantids, including how to destroy them. With the right knowledge, the Monster Squad can and will defeat any B-Monster.
Without warning, our instant-messaging box closed. The screen went back to gray static.
“Where did Leery go?” I pushed Stella out of the way and punched at my keyboard. “How can a few online searches help us fight one massive B-bug? This is nuts!”
“You mean
gnats
?” Lindsey giggled.
“Let’s review the facts,” Stella declared. “We’re facing more than one Mega Mantis. And we already know each bug is as tall as the screen at the Drive-O-Rama! This really is nuts.”
“You mean GNATS!” Lindsey said again.
“Look. We have a job to do,” Ranger said. “We made a promise to Leery and we have to keep that promise.”
Stella turned back to my computer and took over again. She typed:
PRAYING MANTIS BUG BIG MONSTER
She got 11,473 hits.
Ranger leaned over her shoulder and began scrolling through a list of web links. He clicked on ETYMOLOGY OF ENTYMOLOGY.
Etymology is the study of words. Entymology is the study of insects! This site just for kids has both! Click on a bug name to find out its real meaning.
We looked over the list of bug names and clicked on MANTIS.
Mantis comes from the Greek word for prophet or fortune teller. Mantids are named for their “prayer-like” stance.
“Yeah,” I quipped, “like we better pray they don’t eat us!”
When a mantis is threatened, some species may be aggressive toward one another. They can turn into cannibals.
“Um . . . don’t cannibals
eat
one another?” I said.
“Haven’t you ever wanted to bite off your friend’s head?” Lindsey joked.
I walked away from the computer and flopped down on my bed. I was losing my nerve again. I couldn’t do this.
“Whoa!” Stella cried out a moment later. “Is that a mantis,” she gasped, “with a
man
in his mouth?”
“What?” I said, sitting up. “What are you looking at?”
“That looks like our science teacher, Mr. Bunsen,” Ranger cried.
“Huh? No way,” I said, pushing my way over to see the screen. “Let me see what you’re looking—”
“Gotcha again!” Stella said.
Ranger and Lindsey gave each other a high five.
When the three of them laughed at me, I was ready to squash them
all
like bugs.
CHAPTER 9
MEGA MEGA
Who knew there were so many web pages about mantids?
There were blogs and guides from bug doctors, people who worked in zoos, and even students like us. There was even a SUPER MANTIS roller coaster. Someday I’ll have to visit
that
theme park.
I tore out a sheet of paper and made a list of our facts.
What We Know About the M
a
ntis So Far
Hunts and snatches things
Very fast!!!
Hisses
Camouflaged during both day and night
Rocks from side to side
Sheds its skin, but just before shedding, it does not eat. After shedding, all it wants to do is eat.
Awake in the daytime (diurnal) but also goes for bright lights at night
 
“I wish I had the power to camouflage myself or change into something other than me,” I said.
“What? Like a bug?” Stella cracked.
“Funny,” I grumbled. I tried to change the subject. “Is anyone thirsty?”
“Yeah,” Ranger said. “Got any bug juice?”
“QUIT IT!” I barked. I wasn’t going to let these losers tease
me.
But Lindsey and Stella just cracked up.
“Go ahead and laugh!” I said. I walked out and headed for the sliding doors. I wondered what Walter had been doing in the backyard all this time.
But when I opened the drapes, it was pitch-black.
“Huh? Hey, Ranger! What time is it?” I called out.
“Five forty-two,” Ranger yelled back. “Why?”
“You guys better get down here,” I cried.
The girls ran to the window first. “Ewwwww!” they cried in unison. “BUGS!”
They were right, of course. The window was smothered with wings and gummy little bodies. Everything oozed so thick it blocked the remaining daylight.
Where had they come from?
“We should look outside and see what’s going on!” Stella cried. She ran for the door first.
“Wait!” I yelled. “Mega Mantis is probably out there!”
“Exactly,” Stella said.
Ranger and Lindsey followed Stella to the back door.
“Um,” I called out, “I think I’ll stay inside. Just in case.”
“Come on,” Ranger said, tugging my sleeve. “We’re in this together, remember? You can do this.”
I took a breath and followed the other three.
We looked up at the house to see a massive blanket of bugs spread out across the entire second floor. Bugs blocked
all
the windows at 18 Cicada Lane.
And Walter was nowhere to be found!
“Do you hear that?” Lindsey asked. She grabbed my arm.
The noise sounded like two sticks rubbing together, only way louder.
“I hear it!” Stella declared.
“There!” Ranger said, pointing to the edge of the field.
“I’ll investigate,” Stella announced. And before we had a chance to stop her, she slipped into the high grass. A moment after she went in, we lost sight of her.
“Stella?” I called out loudly. “Come back!”
I expected her to jump right back out of the field. It would be another one of her “Gotcha!” moments.
But Stella didn’t reappear.
“This is just some kind of Stella trap,” I said. “I go in after her; she scares the macaroni salad out of me. You know the drill.”
“But what if she
isn’t
setting a trap?” Ranger asked.

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