On a bright sunny day, at the edge of Cairns, Australia, an ordinary teddy bear and his extraordinary friend are walking down a seaport.
"I can't wait to see your family, Spotty," said SuperTed. "Blotch, your parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents."
"Oh, yes," agreed Spotty. "It will be nice to see everyone again, even the ones I've never even met in my whole life."
"You mean not all of them live on the Planet Spot?" asked SuperTed.
"Of course not," replied Spotty. "A galactic civilization we are."
They reached the end of the seaport. There was no boat or creature in sight. Not even a seagull.
"Where are they?" asked SuperTed.
"There they are," replied Spotty, pointed to the sky.
SuperTed looked up in the sky to see a giant spotty rocket that was the same shape, make and colour of Spotty's rocket. It dived into the sea.
"What's it doing?" asked SuperTed.
"Just wait and see," said Spotty.
Then bubbles rose up on the surface and then up came a great big yacht decorated in yellow with green spots.
"Oh, I see," said SuperTed. "That rocket can transform into a yacht."
"It can also turn into a car, a lorry and a big spaceship that can take hundreds of people to the corner of the galaxy," added Spotty.
"Spotty! SuperTed!" cried Blotch, waving her arms. Her mother and father put a ramp down next to the two heroes.
Spotty quickly ran up, leaving SuperTed to carry up the luggage.
When the teddy bear reached the ramp, he was greeted by a whole bunch of spotted people.
"SuperTed, come and meet my family," said Spotty excitedly. "Now, you know my mum and dad and Blotch. This is my Uncle Blot, Aunt Daub, Cousins Patch and Atom and my Grandfather, Admiral Particle."
"Hello," said SuperTed. "Welcome to Planet Earth."
"So you're Spotty's best friend, are you?" said Uncle Blot, who was about forty years old and had black hair and a black beard.
"So, like, this is the greatest hero on Earth?" said Cousin Patch, as she and her twin sister, Atom, stroked his head. They had ginger hair and were wearing spotted tank tops and spotted shots.
"Look, are we going to take this holiday or not?" said an impatient Admiral Particle, who was wearing a white uniform with green spots.
"Yes, we're ready, grandfather," said Spotty.
"Okay," said Particle. "A trip on the Earth's seas, here we come." He went back behind the controls and the yacht took off.
Night time came and the ship was having a party inside. There were bright colourful lights and loud music.
Everyone was having a great time, including SuperTed.
"Your family's great, Spotty," said SuperTed. "They're really interesting, all of them."
"I'm glad to hear it," smiled Spotty.
Soon Blotch started to yawn.
"I think it's bedtime for you, young Blotch," said Mrs. Spot.
"Can't I just have five more minutes looking at the stars?" asked Blotch.
"All right," said Mrs. Spot.
Blotch went onto the balcony and looked at Australia as the ship sailed further away from it. Her first holiday on Earth and she was already enjoying it.
Then something splashed her.
"Oh, my gosh," said a female voice. "I'm so sorry."
Blotch rubbed the water off her face. "Oh, that's okay, really." She looked ahead and saw a young girl about the age of fifteen with blue eyes and black hair and was wearing a red bikini top.
"You're the strangest woman I've ever seen on Earth," said Blotch.
"I'm a mermaid," said the young girl.
Blotch saw that, instead of legs, she had a fish tail.
"And my name is Nicole," added the mermaid.
"I'm Blotch," said Blotch. "How can I help you?"
"I'm looking for my long-lost older sister," said Nicole. "She's been missing for years and I've been searching for her, but the oceans are too big."
"Hold on." Blotch reached into her pocket and got out a spotted device that looked like a GPS that was decorated in spots. Then she went to a spotted lifeboat and pressed the release button on the panel.
"With this boat and this tracker," Blotch said to Nicole, "we should be able to find your sister in no time."
"Great!" exclaimed Nicole.
Blotch climbed down to the boat and released it from the clamps. Nicole jumped onboard and they vanished into the cloudy mist.
SuperTed and Spotty were enjoying a peaceful sleep. They were until loud screaming woke them up.
"Oh, it's seven in the morning," yawned Spotty, looking at his alarm clock.
"Come on, Spotty," said SuperTed, as he got out of bed. "It could be an emergency."
And the teddy bear was right. Mrs. Spot was screaming on deck.
"What is it, Mother?" asked Spotty.
Cousins Patch and Atom, who were white and red spotted bikinis, approached them.
"It's Blotch," Patch told them.
"She must have left on a life boat," Atom added.
"But why would she do that?" asked SuperTed.
"I don't know," said Spotty.
"I know a way to get them back," said Admiral Particle.
Particle led SuperTed and Spotty down to the low deck of the yacht. He pressed a green button and a big door that led out to the sea and then he click a red button on a remote. Two metal boxes opened and revealed to be spotted jet-skis.
"These jet-skis will hover above the sea," Particle explained. "They each have a tracker so you should be able to find Blotch very soon."
"Why not just say your secret magic word, SuperTed?" asked Spotty.
"It will waste fuel in my rocket boots and your rocket-pack, Spotty," SuperTed explained. "Now, let's hop on."
The teddy bear and the spotted alien got onto the jet-skis and started the engine.
"Good luck!" cried Particle as the two heroes set off for the Coral Sea.
Blotch and Nicole were feeling very sleepy, as they lied down on their boat.
"I think I've used up all the fuel in the boat," yawned Blotch. "So how long has your sister been missing?"
"About ten years," replied Nicole.
"You've been searching her for ten years?"
"No, I only found out about it two days ago," said Nicole. "You see, I'm a daughter of the King of the Coral Reef."
"A princess!" exclaimed Blotch.
"My father told me that my sister was unwell at birth," said Nicole, "and had to be left in care of a sea witch but none of them have been seen ever since. My parents haven't been happy ever since and I have a bunch of younger brothers who do nothing, but – "
BUMP!
Blotch got up and looked to see that they have bumped into a large rusty fishing trawler.
"Yoo-hoo!" cried Blotch. "Anybody on board?"
There came no reply.
"Hmm," thought Blotch. "Maybe they can't hear us." Then she found the trawler's steps and started to climb them.
"Blotch, wait!" cried Nicole.
But Blotch was already up on the trawler's deck. Nicole sighed and, as she had no legs, she had to use her arms to climb up the steps. As she got up on deck, she saw Blotch tied and gagged. She was being held by Bulk and Skeleton.
"Hold on, Blotch!" cried Nicole. "I'm going to get help!"
She dived for the sea, but she ended up in a big bag. Texas Pete laughed evilly as he tied the bag up.
"Barbara!" he yelled.
On deck came a ginger-haired girl with green eyes about fifteen years old. "Yes, Captain?"
"Take these two stowaways to the cells," Tex ordered.
Barbara took Blotch and Nicole down to the ship.
Meanwhile, not too far away…
"We've searched around the entire Coral Sea, SuperTed," said Spotty. "And we still haven't found them. And our jet-skis are still running out of fuel."
SuperTed looked around and saw the fishing trawler.
"Let's try that trawler over there, Spotty," said the teddy bear.
"Towel?" said Spotty. "I'm not that wet."
"No, that fishing trawler over there," SuperTed explained, pointing to it. "Come on!"
"Well, okay," said Spotty, as he joined his best friend, as they jet-skied their way to the trawler. They parked their jet-skis outside the boat and climbed up the steps.
"I can't see anything," said Spotty as he looked around the deck.
"Or anyone," added SuperTed.
"Ahh! SuperTed!"
SuperTed turned around to find Spotty nowhere to be seen.
"Spotty!" he yelled. "Where are you? Spotty? Spotty!"
Then his right foot felt something. He looked down to see a hatch. He picked it up and it revealed the hull.
SuperTed jumped down and could find nothing but darkness. Not even a single smell of fish.
"Tell me you're somewhere in here, Spotty," said SuperTed.
Then he was picked up and pushed to the stern side.
"Are you okay, SuperTed?" asked Spotty.
SuperTed got up to see Spotty, Blotch and Nicole behind him.
CLANG! He looked ahead to see Texas Pete laughing as he locked the cell cage door.
"Let us out of here, Texas Pete!" yelled SuperTed.
"No chance, SuperTed!" yelled Tex. "Barbara, guard them!"
Tex gave Barbara the keys and headed back to the deck.
"How could you work for someone cruel like Tex?" Blotch asked.
"He found out when I was very little," said Barbara. "My earliest memory was being left alone on a big rock near the sea and he took me in when no one else would."
Nicole thought about what she just said. "Barbara, how much do you like the sea?"
"I've always loved the sea," replied Barbara. "And fish are my favourite animals."
"To eat?" asked Spotty.
"No, I'm a vegetarian," said Barbara.
Blotch had been listening to what Nicole and Barbara had said and had been thinking. "Nicole, you don't think – "
"Barbara!" Tex called. "Three cups of tea! Today!"
"Coming," said Barbara as she got up. She quickly turned to face the prisoners. "I don't know who any of you guys are, but I think you've got the wrong person here."
Five minutes later, Barbara was carrying three cups of tea on the tray. She was about to enter the cockpit when she heard Tex, Bulk and Skeleton talking.
"Now we got that little fish bait of a sister," Tex said, "we can hold them for a ransom and then the Coral Reef King will have no choice but to surrender to me."
A shocked Barbara gasped. She thought she knew who she was, but now she felt like she didn't belong anywhere at all.
"Tex, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Skeleton.
"What?" Tex asked.
"The sea witch that took Barbara away from the sea and gave her to us," replied Skeleton. "She said we would have power over all the whole oceans with her as the Queen."
"Then we'll trap her, too, you idiot," said Tex.
Barbara couldn't take anymore of this. She dropped the tray of cups of teas and ran away.
"Um, Tex," said Bulk. "I think Barbara was listening to us the whole time."
"What?" snapped Tex. "And you didn't tell me or do anything? You brainless morons!"
Barbara ran back to the cage and started to unlock the door.
"What's going on?" asked Spotty.
"I heard Tex talking about some stuff that's not confused me," said Barbara. "I don't know who to trust anymore, but can you guys help me?"
"Of course we can," replied SuperTed.
"No, he can't!"
Barbara turned around and Tex pushed her.
SuperTed stood up. "Why, you – I'll say my secret magic – "
A whack from a metal pipe on his head knocked him out stone cold.
"Well done, Tex," said Skeleton.
Tex pointed to Barbara. "Tie that puny crab up and get her sister!" he ordered.
"Don't struggle!" yelled Bulk, as he tied the wriggling Barbara in chains. "Don't fight me! It's hard for me to tie you up."
Skeleton panted as he carried Nicole. "If you were any heavier, my body would fall apart." Then his bones flew all over.
"Uh, what are we doing, Tex?" asked Bulk.
"We go to Plan B," replied Tex.
"Plan B?" Bulk and Skeleton said together.
"We go to the Ocean Kingdom and use the girl as a hostage for the King to surrender to me," replied Tex.
Then the whole boat shook.
"Is it an earthquake?" asked Spotty.
"No, Spotty!" cried SuperTed. "But the boat's sinking!"
And it was. Quickly.
"Bulk, get the submarine ready!" ordered Tex.
"Anything you say, Tex," said Bulk, as he ran up the stairs.
"So long, SuperTed!" laughed Tex, as he and Skeleton dragged Nicole with them as they went up on deck.
"Let's get out of here," said Blotch.
She and Barbara tried to squeeze through the bars, but the space between them was too thin.
Spotty went over to SuperTed. "SuperTed! Wake up! Come on, SuperTed! Wake up and say your magic word!"
But the teddy bear was still unconscious.
In the sea, a small blue submarine was sailing away from the sinking ship with Texas Pete's evil laughter echoing through the sea.
Will SuperTed wake up and save the ship? Are the oceans in danger as Texas Pete approaches the Kingdom? Find out in 'Part Two'.
To Be Continued...