Captain Awesome and the Trapdoor Read online

  Table of Contents

  1. The Return of Mr. Drools

  2. A Smack in the Face

  3. Eugene’s Plan

  4. A Solo Mission

  5. The Invisible Toy Black Hole

  6. The Stinky Stink of Queen Stinkypants!

  7. The Secret Trapdoor

  8. What’s in That Box?

  9. Lost . . . and FOUND!

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Behold! The time for Sunnyview Superhero Squad supersnacks is at hand!” Eugene McGillicudy called out.

  That meant it was snack time.

  Eugene, Charlie Thomas Jones, and Sally Williams had gathered in Eugene’s tree house, aka the top secret clubhouse of the Sunnyview Superhero Squad.

  “On the count of three, let’s reveal our supersnacks,” Eugene instructed. “One, two, three!”

  “I’ve got packets of green stuff,” Charlie said. “It’s either green tea or alien space goop.”

  “I have a box of sugar-free, gluten-free cookies,” Sally said.

  Eugene held up a plastic container and popped off the lid. “I have . . . leftover lasagna! I declare that we make a tasty snack out of these,” he said. “And we’ll invent our own Superhero Squad Combo Meal!”

  The trio of heroes combined their snacks at the Table of Justice. Eugene’s lasagna formed the bottom layer.

  “Cookie crumbles!” Sally crumbled the gluten-free cookies on top.

  “Teatime!” Charlie opened two packets of tea and shook the green flakes over the cookies. “It’s so colorful!”

  “Bite time!” Eugene said, and he pulled a fork from his backpack.

  BARK!

  GROWL!

  SNARL!

  “Wh-what is that?” Charlie asked.

  “Beast noises!” Sally said. “It can only be . . . Mr. Drools!”

  Mr. Drools was the drooly dog-beast from the Howling Paw Nebula. The Sunnyview Superhero Squad had defeated him before, but it seemed he was back.

  “This is a job for the Sunnyview Superhero Squad!” Eugene declared.

  BACKPACK!

  UNZIP!

  SUPERHERO!

  Within minutes Captain Awesome, Supersonic Sal, and Nacho Cheese Man were ready for action. “To the ladder!” Captain Awesome cried.

  “My cheese is ready!” Nacho Cheese Man yelled, holding two cans of spray cheese. “Jalapeño Cheddar and Garlic Swiss are fully loaded.”

  “He’s close,” Captain Awesome said as he climbed down the ladder. “I can smell his stinky breath from here.”

  Before the superheroes could say anything else, Mr. Drools appeared.

  “There he is!” Supersonic Sal cried. “Hey, what’s in his mouth?”

  Mr. Drools had something in between his ginormous drooling jaws, and his acid drool splattered on the grass.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Nacho Cheese Man said. “We have to get him to drop it.”

  “We’ll need our secret weapon,” Captain Awesome said.

  “One Hypersonic Mega Drool Treat coming up!” Supersonic Sal reached into the secret pocket of her supersuit and pulled out a dog treat.

  She tossed the dog biscuit to Captain Awesome, but Mr. Drools jumped to snatch it out of the air.

  “I’m on it!” Nacho Cheese Man yelled. He blasted the dog treat with a spray of Jalapeño Cheddar, which knocked it away from the snapping jaws of Mr. Drools and into Captain Awesome’s waiting hand.

  Captain Awesome caught the dog treat and rolled it in front of Mr. Drools. The drooling beast’s eyes widened. He dropped what was in his mouth, grabbed the treat, and happily ran back to his barkyard.

  Supersonic Sal raced over to grab what Mr. Drools had dropped. Then the trio ran back to their clubhouse.

  “Mission accomplished!” Nacho Cheese Man exclaimed. “So what do we have here?”

  Supersonic Sal opened her hand, and Captain Awesome smiled his biggest smile.

  “It’s Bunky Buddy!” he cried.

  “The action figure that’s all talk and no action?” Nacho Cheese Man asked. “I remember him!”

  “Before I discovered Super Dude, the greatest superhero in the known universe,” Captain Awesome said, “I was a big fan of Bunky Buddy.”

  What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of Super Dude? Super Dude is only the greatest superhero to ever appear in comic books. He’s the whole reason Eugene, Charlie, and Sally became superheroes and started the Sunnyview Superhero Squad. But now back to Bunky Buddy.

  Captain Awesome hugged the toy. “I missed you, Bunky Buddy! I was wondering what happened to you. I never knew you were trapped in the Howling Paw Nebula with Mr. Drools.”

  “I love a happy ending,” said Supersonic Sal.

  “Now let’s get out of here before Mr. Drools finishes his Hypersonic Mega Drool Treat and comes back to drool up more chaos,” Nacho Cheese Man said.

  Good morning! Are you ready to fight for goodness today?” Eugene’s talking Super Dude Alarm Clock said the next morning. Eugene sat up in bed.

  “You bet I am,” he said to the clock. Eugene threw off his Super Dude blanket, removed his Super Dude pajamas, and dressed quickly.

  “Let’s go, Bunky Buddy!” he cried. Bunky Buddy was still in bed, lying on Eugene’s Super Dude pillow. Eugene wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d played with Bunky Buddy—months? years?—and he didn’t want to lose sight of him this time.

  But being with Bunky Buddy now reminded Eugene of something. There were a lot of old toys Eugene hadn’t seen in a while. Where was that robotic dog that barked anytime it sensed movement . . . which meant it barked nonstop? What about his Mighty Undies figurines?

  I wonder where all of those old toys are, Eugene thought. Surely his mom would know.

  He’d go ask her. “Let’s go, Bunky Buddy!” he cried as he ran into the hallway.

  Suddenly something hit him. Literally. Something hit him in the face.

  Eugene looked up. A thin chain hung from the ceiling. It was swaying back and forth.

  Well, that’s a weird place to put a chain, Eugene thought. Then he looked closer. The chain was attached to the ceiling, but more specifically, it was attached to a door in the ceiling.

  “Eugene!” his mom called from downstairs. “Breakfast!”

  Eugene headed for the staircase, with Bunky Buddy clutched tightly in his hand. But he kept looking back at that door in the ceiling.

  Finally Eugene walked downstairs and into the kitchen. “Hey, Mom—”

  “Have a seat, Eugene!” Mrs. McGillicudy said. “Breakfast is just ready.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Pancakes, Eugene,” she replied. “Don’t let them get cold.”

  “I want to know about—”

  “Syrup! Of course! It’s already on the table,” she said.

  “Yes, but—”

  “The butter’s there too,” she said. “So eat up before it’s too cold.”

  The smell of the pancakes wafted into Eugene’s nose, and he couldn’t resist. He took a bite. Then another. Then another. His questions about where his old toys were and what that chain hanging from the hallway ceiling was would have to wait.

  No way,” Charlie said. “There’s a secret door at your house?” He bit into his cheese sandwich. “I wish I had a secret door at my house.”

  “How come you never noticed it before?” Sally asked.

  Charlie, Eugene, and Sally were sitting at their usual lunch table in the cafeteria.

  Eugene shook his head. “I guess I’ve just never looked up,” he said.

  “Maybe it’s some kind of escape route,” Sally said.


  “In case monsters or aliens try to take over the world,” Charlie added.

  “Hmmm . . . it could be a trapdoor,” Eugene suggested. “Maybe my parents are waiting for some creature with thousands of eyes to fall through the roof so they can capture it!”

  Eugene figured he’d find out what was on the other side of that door eventually. But for now there was something even more important on his mind.

  Eugene pulled Bunky Buddy from his backpack. “Thanks to the evil drooling creature from the Howling Paw Nebula, I found Bunky Buddy. But it got me thinking . . . where are all the other toys I used to play with?”

  “Maybe the evil scientist Igor the Invisinator used his Invisi-blaster to turn them all invisible?” Charlie suggested.

  “Or your dad accidentally threw them out?” Sally said.

  Eugene gasped. “Threw them out?! No way. I’m going to look in my playroom when I get home from school today. If I don’t find my toys, I’ll call an emergency superhero meeting.”

  “Sounds like a plan!” Charlie said.

  When Eugene got home from school that day, he raced upstairs to the playroom. He was excited to see his old toys again. “We’re going to find them, Bunky Buddy, and have the best afternoon ever!” He held Bunky Buddy tightly in his hand. He wasn’t going to lose him again.

  Eugene looked around the playroom. If I were an old toy, where would I hide? He checked the cubbies, he dove into the closet, and he looked under the table. Nothing.

  How can that be? he thought. There’s always something under the table!

  But there were no toys to be found. Where was Spuds the Cowboy Potato? Or Blockhead and his Blockmobile? Or Stuffy Rabbit?

  They were gone! All gone.

  Then Eugene had a thought. He ran to his bedroom. He looked under his bed. Nothing.

  He looked in the drawers of his dresser, and then under the dresser. He found two quarters, a nickel, and three orange jelly beans. He popped the jelly beans into his mouth. A little stale, but not too bad.

  He looked in his closet, under his desk, and even in his laundry basket.

  Eugene’s old favorite toys weren’t anywhere. Someone had taken them. But who?! And why?! And most importantly, where were they now?!

  And then the answer hit him like a Triple Drool Slobber Attack. Where had he found Bunky Buddy in the first place? In between the slobbering jaws of Mr. Drools. So if Mr. Drools had Bunky Buddy—did that mean Mr. Drools had all Eugene’s toys? He needed to find out ASAP!

  “Sorry, Bunky Buddy, but you have to stay here. I lost you once, and I can’t risk losing you again,” Eugene said, and he placed the toy high on a shelf, just to be safe.

  Moments later Captain Awesome raced from Eugene’s house toward the Howling Paw Nebula. The solo mission into Mr. Drool’s barkyard was dangerous, but Captain Awesome couldn’t wait for Nacho Cheese Man and Supersonic Sal.

  I need a chew toy diversion, Eugene thought, and he picked up a squeaky ball from behind Mr. Drools’s Drooly Doghouse.

  SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

  Captain Awesome squeezed the ball to get the pawed villain’s attention, then threw it to the other side of the barkyard. And the plan worked! Mr. Drools ran out from his Drooly Doghouse in pursuit.

  “Time to get my toys back!” Captain Awesome declared. He dove into the doghouse.

  GASP!

  SHOCK!

  SURPRISE!

  Other than chew toys, a stinky old bone, and what was probably a shoe at one time, the Drooly Doghouse was empty! There were no toys!

  HOWWWWWLLLLL!

  Uh-oh, thought Captain Awesome. Have to escape! NOW!

  Captain Awesome scrambled from the Drooly Doghouse, and just in time. Mr. Drools was clomping back toward his doghouse.

  That’s the last time I go to the barkyard alone and risk getting droolified! Captain Awesome thought. But if Mr. Drools doesn’t have my toys . . . then who does?!

  Minutes after his narrow escape from Mr. Drools, Captain Awesome stood in the middle of his living room with Charlie and Sally. “I’ve solved the mystery of my missing toys!” he declared.

  “Did Santa Clones—the evil twin of Santa Claus who takes presents from good kids and gives them to naughty kids—swipe them from you?!” Charlie asked.

  “I thought about that, Charlie, but Santa Clones always leaves his Stinky Stockings hanging on the fireplace when he leaves,” Captain Awesome replied. “And the only smelly socks in this house are mine. Since Mr. Drools didn’t take them either, there can only be one answer: My toys were sucked into an Invisible Toy Black Hole by Tantrum Kid because all his toys were taken away during an Infinity Time-Out.”

  “An Invisible Toy Black Hole?!” Sally gasped. “I don’t want to be sucked into a different dimension! I have math homework to do tonight!”

  “Don’t worry,” Captain Awesome said. “Invisible Toy Black Holes only suck in toys. We just have to find it so I can get my stuff back.”

  “Then we should split up and search,” Charlie suggested. “I’ll look in the fridge—I mean, kitchen!”

  “Sally, you take the living room. I’ll check Molly’s room,” Captain Awesome said.

  “Don’t do it, Eugene!” Charlie cried. “You’ll never get back out!”

  Captain Awesome knew why Charlie was worried. It was because his little sister, Molly, was also none other than the evil Queen Stinkypants, and her room was her secret lair.

  “It’s a chance I have to take,” Captain Awesome said to Charlie. “If my sacrifice can save just one toy from Tantrum Kid, then it will be worth it! Besides, my Level-Twelve Anti-Stink Armor will protect me.”

  Captain Awesome pulled out a pair of rubber gloves that his parents used to clean the bathrooms and snapped on a snorkel and diving mask that he’d gotten from . . . Wait, where did he get those things?

  “Mo may, meam. Mets met mis mone mand mind mah mimisible mack mole!” Captain Awesome said with the snorkel in his mouth.

  “Did you understand any of that?” Charlie asked as Captain Awesome raced up the stairs toward his sister’s bedroom.

  “No. I forgot my Level-Twelve Anti-Stink Armor Translator at home,” Sally said with a sigh.

  As Captain Awesome bounded up the stairs, he was reminded of Super Dude No. 26, when Super Dude fought the Stink Bug and her army of Gashoppers. Super Dude teamed up with Daffo-Jill, and she used her Flower Power to throw them all in Perfume Prison.

  “There’s nothing better than the sweet smell of justice!” Super Dude said as he slammed the vanilla-scented prison door.

  Captain Awesome didn’t have any Flower Power, so he had been doing nose exercises, training for the day he’d have to go inside Queen Stinkypants’s lair. But he knew no matter how many smelly socks he sniffed when he trained, it would never prepare him for the terrible stink of a . . .

  DOUBLE DIAPER ATTACK!

  Sorry, nose, but sometimes being a hero can really stink, Captain Awesome thought as he grabbed the doorknob and prepared for the worst.

  Captain Awesome opened the door and was instantly hit by the smell of poopy diapers! Even the Level-Twelve Anti-Stink Armor was no match for a Level-One-Hundred Double Diaper Attack. Captain Awesome tied a rope to his waist and looped the other end around the doorknob. If the smell made his legs too weak to walk, he’d still be able to pull himself from the room.

  Where would a supervillain whose superpowers were all in her diaper hide my toys? Captain Awesome wondered.

  And then he saw it!

  LEGS!

  ARMS!

  SOMETHING THAT Might BE A HELMET!

  Captain Awesome took a deep breath and ran to a box across the room. The lid was open, and parts of toys were sticking out. Captain Awesome didn’t have much time! Even his superlungs couldn’t last forever.

  Captain Awesome yanked the lid off the box, and his heart sank. Instead of seeing his Rocket Rodent action figure and Newtundo Junior Switcher game console, he was greeted by a sparkly stuffed panda, brightly colored
plastic horses, and a choo choo train with a very big, smiling face.

  These are Queen Stinkypants’s toys! he realized. This must be a fake-out!

  Captain Awesome wanted to take a breath, but he knew he had to get out of the room first!

  Nose hairs . . . shriveling!

  He stumbled toward the door.

  Brain . . . melting!

  Captain Awesome’s legs grew weak from the smell. He mustered his last bit of strength and dove from the room and into the fresh air of the hallway.

  “Smell ya later!” Eugene said, and he slammed the bedroom door.

  Eugene raced into the living room and saw Sally lying on the couch reading a book. Charlie stood in front of the open fridge eating a slice of cheese.

  “Guys! What are you doing?!” Eugene cried.

  Sally leaped up and put her book down. Charlie closed the fridge door and spun around, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, except Charlie’s hand was on a piece of cheese. He shoved the cheese into his mouth, and he gave Eugene a smile.

  “Sorry,” Sally said. “But your parents have so many cool books, I guess I got a little distracted.”

  “And I didn’t realize how hungry looking for Invisible Toy Black Holes would make me,” Charlie confessed. “But you’ve gotta tell your parents to up their cheese game. They only have American cheese slices.”

  “Did you guys find anything?” Eugene asked.

  “Nothing,” Charlie replied. “Except the cheese slices. You?”

  “Just Queen Stinkypants’s baby toys,” Eugene said. He sat on the couch next to Sally and shook his head. “We searched everywhere, and no Invisible Toy Black Holes.” Eugene leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling! The door in the upstairs hallway ceiling!