Free Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers by Matthew McElligott Page B

approached and stopped close by. Victor and Scott held their breaths. After a few tense seconds, the footsteps tip-tapped away and the boys exhaled in relief.
    The brothers returned to the plane. Wilbur worked quickly and efficiently, connecting a clear hose to an engine, while Orville opened the valve on a large vat. Glowing blue liquid began flowing through the hose.
    Victor recognized it instantly— harmonic fluid !
    As it surged from the vat to the engine, the brothers gazed at it, as if drawn to the radiant liquid inside.
    Scott pointed across the room. “If we can sneak over there, we can get a better look.”
    Before Victor could stop him, Scott had slipped farther into the room, ducking behind a new set of crates. Scott snapped a few pictures of the bat plane. Victor silently counted to three and then dashed to Scott’s side.
    From their new position, they could see two smaller planes. These were completely assembled and painted black. Their wings were curved with a scalloped edge along the back. Each plane looked big enough to carry just one person.
    â€œI get it now,” Victor whispered. “When people reported seeing giant bats around the city, they were actually seeing these things.”
    â€œSo why are they building an even bigger one?”
    Victor thought for a moment. “Maybe the small ones are prototypes.”
    â€œProto-whats?” Scott asked.
    â€œPrototypes,” Victor explained. “Early models of an invention that can be tested and improved upon. They must have built the smaller ones so they could figure out how to build that giant one. But why?”
    Scott pointed past Victor’s shoulder. “Oh, man—look at that!”
    A semicircle of five people were seated in a corner of the room, their backs against a strange machine. Victor gasped.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Scott said. “I don’t think they can see us.”
    Victor looked closer. The people’s eyes were open, but they stared blankly into space, as still as statues. Victor recognized all five of them from the news: Mayor Milstead, Police Chief Hawkins, WURP reporter Katie Kaitlyn, Mr. Girard from the FAA, and Dr. Kane, the zoologist.
    Victor and Scott cautiously approached the five people. A relay of clear tubing pumped blue fluid into their necks.
    â€œYuck!” said Scott.
    â€œMore harmonic fluid,” said Victor. “Strange.”
    The machine behind them hummed and pulsated eerily. It looked like a stack of steel and glass inner tubes, and was topped with an antenna that projected up through a hole in the ceiling. Every few seconds, the hum grew louder and the people sat up straight. When the hum softened, they relaxed again.
    â€œIs the machine making them do that?” Scott asked.
    â€œSure looks like it. Jaime said that the Emperor was controlling the Wright brothers. I’ll bet he’s using this machine to command these people too.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œThose tubes leading to their necks must be injecting them with the harmonic fluid. Maybe the Emperor uses it to hypnotize them or something.”
    â€œCreepy,” Scott said. “Like a remote control—for humans!”
    â€œExactly. And that would explain why the mayor and these officials said there weren’t any giant bats. They were under the Emperor’s power.”
    â€œIt’s like this movie I saw where people were taken over by plants from outer space, and they all became pod people!” Scott said. “So how do we get them out of here?”
    Victor considered the question. “We can’t. Not yet. We’re just here to collect information.”
    â€œBut won’t they—hang on a second . . .”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œDust. I’m gonna sneeze . . .”
    â€œNo!” Victor looked around. He snatched up a sheet of paper from the top of the crate and shoved it in front of Scott’s face.
    â€œ Aaaaaaa-CHOOO! Phew!