Chapter 1

A Creature Power Proposal

"C'mon, JZ!" Martin encouraged, slapping the pilot on the back. "Try it, it's fun!"

"Yeah!" Chris agreed. "You can do it!"

The three of them were perched on a wooden platform high in a tree overlooking a small, crystal-clear lake. Jimmy stood quivering nervously between the two brothers, clutching the end of a knotted rope swing and eyeing the cool water with apprehension. Koki floated by below them on an inner tube, decked out in shorts, a t-shirt and sunglasses. Her nose was buried in a magazine and she was soaking up all the sun she could get.

"Oh darn!" Jimmy shrugged, shoving the rope into Chris's hands and turning to leave. "Koki's in the way. Guess I can't go!"

"Whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?" Martin snagged Jimmy by an arm, spinning him back around.

"Back to the ship where it's safe."

Chris handed him the rope again. "JZ, nothing's gonna happen to you. It's a nice day and the water's great!"

"But what if the rope breaks?" Jimmy protested, inching forward until his bare toes were hanging off the edge of the platform. He was clinging to the rope as if his life depended on it. "What if I get tangled up and can't let go and then I smack right into the tree on the way back?

Martin and Chris both rolled their eyes, then exchanged sly looks, grinning at each other. Carefully, they crept up behind their completely oblivious teammate, preparing to give him a helpful shove.

"What if the water's so cold I die of hypothermia?" Jimmy continued. "A million things could go wro-OOOOOOOOONNNG!"

The brothers high-fived as the redhead flew out into the empty space over the water.

"Let go of the rope, Jimmy!" Martin yelled. "You're right over the lake! LET GO!"

At the last second, Jimmy released his grip and flopped flailing and screaming into the water right next to Koki. Chris and Martin winced.

"Oooooo!" said Martin. "That looked a little painful."

Koki shrieked as the cold wave created by Jimmy's less than graceful entrance into the water flipped the inner tube.

"Oops!" Chris said.

Both victims surfaced, spluttering and coughing. After a moment, they glared up at the culprits still standing on the platform. If looks could kill, the Kratt brothers would have died right then and there in that tree.

"You guys are in so much trouble!" Koki called, brandishing a dripping fist.

"We should probably run," Chris gulped, turning tail and making his getaway down the tree.

Martin was quick to follow. "Good plan, bro!"

xxxx

Aviva stepped back to admire her handiwork. She'd finally managed to isolate the glitch in the creature power suites and repair them. All that needed to be done before she could go out and chill with the rest of the gang was a test run. Now, if she could only convince a certain pair of brothers to stop messing around and—

The doors leading into the Tortuga slid open, admitting two breathless figures who appeared to be in some sort of major rush. Aviva blinked as Chris and Martin let the doors close again and pushed the button to lock them. Then they flipped around, wide-eyed and gasping for breath, looking as if they'd just been running for dear life.

"That was close!" blurted Martin. "I think we lost'em. They didn't see us come in here."

"Good thing," said Chris. "I think I heard them yelling something about water balloons and multiple dunkings for each of us."

"What in the world is going on?" Aviva giggled. "Who're you running from? I thought you were out on the lake?"

"We were!" said Martin, staggering forward. "But we tried to teach Jimmy how to fly without the Tortuga and then Koki got in the way—it wasn't our fault!"

"Well…not exactly," Chris added. "Quick! We can escape into the woods through the back exit!"

The two of them made a dash in that direction, but only got so far before Aviva caught them both by the backs of their shirts and brought them to a standstill.

"Hey!" Martin protested. "Do you want us to get killed?"

"No," answered Aviva, grinning, "although I wouldn't mind seeing Koki and Jimmy plaster you with a few water balloons…"

"What?! You're turning us over to them?" Chris asked in disbelief.

Aviva sighed, letting them go. "As much as I'd love to, no. I was just about to come find you two to test the creature power suits when you conveniently ran in through the door."

The brothers' eyes lit up and they suddenly seemed to forget about their current predicament.

"You fixed the glitch?" Martin asked.

"Yup. I think we're good to go."

"Awesome!" Martin gave his brother a high-five as they each reached for their vest and slipped it on. "So what're we gonna do for a test run? Hmmm…"

The two stood deep in thought for a few seconds.

"I know!" Martin jabbed the air with a finger. "Bass powers! We could see who can make it to the other end of the lake first!"

Chris shook his head. "Uh-uh. I don't know about you, bro, but I'm not going anywhere near there while Koki and Jimmy are out for blood."

"Good point."

"You haven't used squirrel powers for a while," suggested Aviva. "You could race around the lake in the trees."

"Hey, that's a great idea!" said Chris. "We can test the suits and avoid getting dunked!"

"Squirrels it is, then!" Martin made it across the room to the exit in two steps, practically brimming over with excitement. "Woo hoo! Let's go!"