Author's note: No negative comments yet! Hurray! I do have to admit to some stupidity on my behalf. I forgot to mention that the planet they destroyed is Pluto, so if you read it before the change, I apologize for that. And I'm going to change the story to "T for Teen" because cigarettes are–no joke–borderline R rated material. So with that change, I will also be adding drinking to the mix, much how high school is in real life. But there still won't be any swearing or sexual content (there will only be sexual themes, as in, saying it "secretly").

This chapter ended up a lot longer than I wanted it to be, but I guess it's not really a problem since you guys are already used to my long chapters. Fat chance any company would ever make this into an actual TV series! I hope the changes don't turn anyone away, though. Then again, if you read the first chapter, you're ready for anything. Haha enjoy!

Sticking close to the moon's gravitational field, the flying saucer floated freely above Earth, unconcerned about being sucked into its atmosphere. The grid image of Earth rotated on the computer screen, Crypto continuing to press buttons and twist knobs. Orthopox waited on this floating throne, yawning tiredly; his tiny hand somehow holding up his giant head. The teleporter behind him activated, the glowing lights around the platform humming with power. A crosshair on the image of Earth pinpointed where the teleporter will take whoever enters the machine.

"I've got a lock on the fuel canister," Crypto announced. "It was easier than finding a rectal probe in a rectal area." He hopped off his swivel chair, heading to the teleporter. "Wish me luck. Hopefully these water monkeys don't sacrifice me to their sun god."

Orthopox snapped himself awake, holding his hands out to stop Crytpo. "Dehh? Wait!" He floated over to him with his chrome throne, its propelling engine whirling. "I will not allow you to enter that planet unannounced. Before we commit to any more of your stupid actions, we shall set up a meeting with one of their own."

Crypto tilted his head, widening one of his slanted black eyes. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Poxy? Ehh, what if they've heard of us? Our reputation isn't exactly the cleanest roll of used toilet paper."

"This planet hasn't even heard of another life form, let alone know of one. We are strangers, Crypto. And as strangers, we must ring the diplomatic doorbell and introduce ourselves to an ambassador, prior to barging in to their filthy little home."

Crypto returned to the control panel, typing in the commands. "You're the boss."

The crosshair wildly zoomed all over the screen, the computer announcing its search in a deep booming voice. "Processing! Processing! Process-"

"Now we wait for planet's greatest ambassador," Crypto shouted over the computer's overly loud voice. "Let's hope he speaks English."

Poxy let out a single loud laugh, something he does only once he's greatly amused. "Ha! Of course they'll speak English! Every intelligent life form does."

A bright flash signaled the arrival of their newly acquainted ambassador, the noise of its teleportation like a crack of lightning. On the platform stood... a cow, still chewing on the grass hanging out of its mouth. The bell around its neck rung as it looked around the ship, eyes squinted lazily. Flies buzzed loudly, the cow whipping its tail at them. Orthopox and Crypto glanced at each other concernedly.

Crypto covered the side of his mouth to talk in secret. "This guy smells like Pluto if you know what I mean." The cow farted loudly, making both of the aliens wince.

"How can you tell it's a guy?"

"Gee, I don't know. That massive sack between its legs is kind of a dead giveaway," Crypto said, pointing at its udders.

"Yes, it is quite impressive," Orthopox admired. "But, farts are common in this Galaxy as greetings! We must respond in kind." He hovered over to the cow, giving him the high Furon salute. "Salutations, well-endowed Earth dweller! We wish to find a piece of equipment that has been lost on your glorious planet. What we request from you is permission to quickly retrieve it and leave. Simply in then out. May we proceed to spelunk on your soil?"

The cow blinked slowly. "Moo..."

Orthopox reeled back in his chair. "Moo?" He slammed a fist on his armrest. "What kind of backwater greeting is that?!"

"Maybe it's that 'Moo-ris code' I heard those primitive earthlings use," Crypto suggested. "Ehh, count the moos and don't forget to mark the breaks."

"Ahh, a coded communication to prevent misunderstanding. Of course!" Orhtopox looked back to see the cow lift its tail and fertilize the platform. His jaw dropped to his lap.

Crypto held a finger up that quickly went limp. "Uhh... I don't think that one counts as a break. Or does it?"

Orthopox growled angrily, getting up in the cow's face. "You revolting infidel! How dare you finalize your mineral processing in front of me! And during negotiations! I haven't seen such barbarity since we were in Andromeda." He waved his hand towards the other room. "Crypto! Strap him into the brain excavator. If that doesn't make him apologize, then nothing will!"

Crypto smiled deviously. "With pleasure."

Holding his hands up, the air around his fingers wavered. A telepathic link connected his forehead to the cow, visible as a transparent "tether" that reached from across the control room. The cow's legs hung limp in the air, its body lifted up by Crypto's mind. With a flick of his wrist, Crypto flung the animal into the open room to the left. The sound of straps being fastened was quickly followed by a loud moo of excruciating pain, joined by a wet sucking that hummed like a vacuum cleaner.

A barrel-chested cleaning robot waddled over to the platform to scrub it up, carrying a mop and bucket. Orthopox observing it with his arms crossed, pouting for having his property soiled upon. Crypto waited with a hand on his chin, his eyes closing, ready to fall asleep. Grr was sucking on the open end of a split wire, electricity shooting through him every few seconds, smoke slithering off his antenna. Once the robot was finished, it put the mop in the bucket of dirty water and immediately went into sleep mode; falling off the edge of the platform limply.

The robot's square head rolled over to Crypto's feet, it's split neck wires sparking. He sighed, slapping his hand down into his lap. "So... do you wanna summon another Earth Mongrel? Or are you afraid he'll bear gifts like the last guy?"

Orthopox turned his throne around, tossing his giant head back. "Fine. Do as you wish. The sooner we get the fuel canister, the sooner we can leave." "And if we don't find it," he quickly tensed up, clenching his fist high in the air, "we'll be marooned!" His face changed to a warming smile. "No pressure. Hopefully, it didn't burn up in the Earth's atmosphere upon entrance."

Crypto was already standing on the teleporter, the computer relocked on the canister's location. "Don't worry Poxy. Those fuel tanks are built to take a beating, much like my ex-wife. I bet the thing is nestled in a pillow factory or stuck in someone's chimney." The platform started to glow brightly. "Wish me luck."

Orthopox waved him goodbye, Crypto's white silhouette disappearing. "I wish he gets stranded. At least then I would be rid of him and his incompetence." He suddenly noticed something. "Hey. Where is the space relic we found?"

Gir clung onto the back of Orthopox's slim neck with his little pincers. "Your heeeeeead is so big!"

Letting out a loud shriek, he tried to release the robot's grip, Gir laughing the entire time.

. . .

A stray dog sniffed at a filthy trashcan, licking on a slice of dry pizza that hung over the metal rim. Streetlights lit up the sidewalk, the night quiet and free of people wandering around. Flying down as a bright blur of white light, Crypto landed right next to the dog, scaring it straight into the trashcan. Scanning around, he held his Zap-O-Matic, ready to fire at any threats. The dog watched cautiously from inside the trashcan, wearing the lid as a hat.

"I must be in some kind of ancient ruins," he commented out loud. The only thing that moved around him was a wandering piece of newspaper; tumbling across the street. "Let's see." He whipped out a rectangular device that had a tesla-coil for an antenna. It chirped idly. "This here Gizmo-majigy should help me find the canister." He waved the device side to side, trying to find a stronger signal. As he aimed it down the street, it started barking like a seal. "Ahh ha! Found it!"

Hurrying down the sidewalk, the seal barking grew louder. It was down a straight path and nobody was trying to stop him. Nothing could possibly go wrong. It was like life finally gave him a break for once after giving him more lemons than a used car salesman. Then... he saw it was another lemon, and surely rip for the picking.

Smoke clouded over the reddish night sky, the nuclear power plant towering in the short distance. Standing in front of the plant's front gates, he could still see a faint purple glow, splattered all over impact sight. Police tape was crossed over the gates, everyone gone for being so late at night. He didn't have to go any further; he already knew the canister was done for. Dropping to his knees, Crypto also dropped the Gizmo-majigy.

"You maniacs!" He pounded his fist into the ground. "You blew it all up! You guys suck! You guys suck so hard!" He groaned, slowly getting back up. "I can't go back now. Poxy wouldn't dare give me my pay check if I show up empty handed." He picked up the Gizmo-majigy, getting an idea. "Wait! What if I can scrounge up what's left?" He twisted the knob on the device, the tiny screen calculating numbers.

"Plutonium status: Exposed," the device said in a female voice. "Please point at another source and try again."

Crypto groaned again, smacking his forehead. "Ahh, crud." He quickly gasped. "Wait! What if there were victims still in one piece?" He started twisting the knob again. "I can dig up their bodies and harvest the Plutonium from their organs. Any organ could do."

"That could work," The device replied.

"Then again," Crypto said while thinking, "Who the hell would be hanging out in a giant chimney like this one. I doubt Santa Claus is kidnapping children to feed them to his elves, now, in this time of orbit."

A strong gust of wind kicked up, the newspaper flapping flat onto his face. Doubling back, he peeled the paper away. The headline read: Strange Meteor Destroys New Power Plant, 5 survivors.

"Survivors?" He continued reading, mumbling under his breath. "Field trip? Ehh, teenagers?" He crumpled up the paper, grinning deviously. "Ahh, the perfect prey..."

A nurse walked into the hospital room, her shoes clicking sharply on the tile floor. Swooshing the curtains open, a blaring sunshine lit the room in a joyful light. Harvey groaned, shielding his eyes with an arm; abruptly awakened from a nice nap. His big feet stuck out of the thin cover, his legs too long to fit right in the hospital bed. He bent his knees up, using them to block out the sun, letting his lazy arm slap back down and rest.

The young nurse turned to him, wearing a perky little smile on her face. "What a glorious day, isn't it?"

"Today sucks," Harvey complained.

"You got to miss two days of school, didn't you? That's always good."

Harvey sat up, smirking. "Oh, yeah. I did, didn't I?" He put his hands behind his hands with a sigh. "I guess it ain't too bad then."

The nurse fluffed his pillow, throwing feathers up in the air. "The doctor should be here soon and let you if you have to stay or not."

Harvey laid back down as the nurse set up his breakfast tray. "Let's hope it's bad news then. Maybe I'll miss a week of school. No, two weeks. No..."

The door opened, robbing him of his pondering. Holding a bone saw with crooked teeth, the doctor walked in. His face was hidden behind a surgical mask; the head mirror strapped to his forehead shining from the sunlight. Harvey and the nurse were both blinded by his sudden entrance. Harvey stared at the worn out bone saw, quaking in fear.

Dr. Dudley handed the medical instrument to the nurse, taking off his mask at the same time. "Nurse, I need a new one of these, on the double. You'd think we could afford better equipment, especially when all of those amputation surgeries cost people an arm and a leg." He turned to see Harvey in the bed, taking a step back in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't see ya there."

"Dr. Dudley, you're not wearing your glasses," the nurse informed him.

"My what?" He suddenly remembered, pulling them out of his coat pocket. "Oh, right! How silly of me." Once on, his thick glasses made his eyes look like they were on the other side of a fish bowl. "There we go. No wonder I kept hitting my foot on the operating table."

Harvey was starting to get impatient about being a patient. "Just tell me when I can leave this place. Would ya, doc."

"All right, let me get the clipboard with the test results." He retrieved it from the door's holder and returned to stand in front of the bed. "Let's see. Oh, it says you were on a field trip at the power plant. Did you have a blast there?"

Harvey gave him the coldest stare possible without lowering the room's temperature.

Dr. Dudley chuckled nervously. "Too soon?" He cleared his throat. "Well, despite what happened, our test results determine there is nothing damaged. No injuries, no complications, no abnormalities. Looks like you have a clean bill of health. There are a few cracks in your bones, but I'm assuming they were from a previous injury."

Harvey shot a look at his forearm. "Yeah, it was a long time ago. I got it fixed, already. No need to put any more screws than there are now."

"Well," Dr. Dudley bobbed his head around, "Don't be afraid to let me know if you get any aches or anything. I know people go crazy if they have a screw loose."

Harvey put a hand on his forehead, already getting a headache from all the puns. "So I can leave right now, then?"

"Why, most certainly. I'll file up the paper work and you'll be up and on your way."

Harvey slammed his head down on the pillow, covering his face with his hands. "Thank god."

The doctor motioned to the nurse to follow him. "Come along, nurse. I could use your help watching over a little boy who swallowed a big handful of quarters. It's been an hour and there's no change yet."

"Yes, doctor." She left the room with him, closing the door.

Harvey lay in the bed, staring at the surgery scars on the sides of his forearm. There was still a small bump from the bone sticking out more than it should, never to go away. "A whole year."

Rock and Hugo ran into the safety room, the other teens causing a commotion. Harvey's arm hurt from the memories. The punches he took. The stomping he endured. The bruised ribs and swollen eyes.

He ran in after them, ready to help Rock knock Hugo's lights out. Once he saw them, there was no time to even get close. The room turned into a bright flash and then everything went dark.

"A lot has changed since last year. But Hugo... he'll never change."

. . .

Dorothy opened her locker, pictures of Rock covering the door and the interior, all from different angles and with pink paper hearts taped to them. Putting her books away, her friends appeared from behind the door when she slammed it shut. The girls all wore big smiles and bows, ever so glad to see their leader in one piece. They tackled Dorothy in a big group hug, making her scream in surprise.

"We missed you so much!"

"We thought we'd never see you again!"

"Can I borrow your pencil? I forgot to bring mine."

Dorothy accepted the encumbering hug but quickly pushed them away to get some air. "Don't suffocate me, girls," she said breathlessly. "I'm already wearing a girdle."

The girl in the middle giggled nervously, the giant bow in her hair practically covering the faces of the other two. "Sorry, Dorothy. It's just that we haven't seen you in ages."

She chuckled. "Why, it's only been one day. I wasn't willing to even spend a minute in that crummy hospital, but sadly, it's the only one in town." Her face suddenly turned worried. "And that doctor was such a creeper."

Her blonde friend pushed her way forward, holding her books against her chest. "Speaking of creeps, there's going to be a party in honor of you surviving a meteor to the face."

"Yeah," her more provocatively dressed friend added, "and there are going to be more boys than you can pucker your lips at."

The one with the bow pumped her fist up excitedly. "Boys, booze, and banging music! Whoo! Nothing's better than that, aye Dorothy?!"

Dorothy smiled widely in agreement. "Frickin a!"

The first bell rang, getting all of the girls' attention.

"Come on, we don't want to be late to 'funny beard's' class."

The girls ran off, giggling and talking about the party soon to come. As they left Dorothy's locker, a faint handprint had been left on the metal door. Its blue glow slowly intensified until the metal started to drip down onto the floor, leaving behind a five fingered outline.

Cars drove up against the curb and nabbed any parking spot they could, the suburban household surrounded by slick convertibles. Teens filled the sidewalk on their way into the house, the muffled music pounding all the way down the street. Hawaiian torches on the patio lit up the lawn, packs of mingling friends sprinkled around the circles of light. The night was young and the party had just begun.

October stood at the mouth of the concrete pathway, holding her arm to stay in her little shell. To her left was a couple flirting with each other, the girl slapping the boy's chest and laughing. To the right, a group of girls drinking from glass bottles, more beers than colas. Cigarette smoke wafted towards her face as an older boy strutted by her on his way to the house, making October swat it away and cough. An unstoppable anxiety took charge of her legs, directing her back home where it's safe; but she fought it off.

She let out a deep breath. "They're just people. A truck load of people. No problem. You can do this. Just don't say anything you'd regret."

Someone bumped into her shoulder. "Oh, sorry about that."

October shoved them away, knocking them flat on the grass. "Watch where you're going, spaz!" Tucking the loosed sides of her hair behind her ears, she chuckled to herself. "So far, so good."

The singer joined the band as October walked over the fallen student. "Tutti fruity, oh Rudy. Tutti fruity, oh Rudy. Tutti-fru-hu-ty, oh Rudy. Ah whop-bop a loo-bop, ah whop bam boo!"

Walking inside the house, the music blasted louder than she could imagine; the drums shaking her bones from the inside. The living room was full of people doing the twist, some swing dancing to the fast beat. In front of the fireplace, the band was all dressed up in gold and black jackets made of some shiny material. Standing away from the dance floor, October leaned against the wall. A girl holding a beer bottle got her attention, stumbling around and pressing into her.

"Hey," she said, struggling to stand up, "I know you."

October had no idea who the girl was. "You do?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're the girl. The one-" She burped under her breath. "-the one that got hit in the face with a meteor. Pretty gnarly, I'll say. I thought you would be more charred up looking or... something." Laughing, she knocked her head back and drank deeply.

"I'm fine. Not even a scar. Just lucky, I guess."

With a loud sputtering spit, beer splashed everywhere; October stepping back to dodge the drops. Mouth dripping with beer, the girl pointed at October's shirt. "Good golly! You're wearing the same shirt as that day!"

"Well, I just got out of the hospital and this place is on the way to my house and–"

"You're a pirate," the girl said, closing one eye. "And pirates drink ale, right?"

October dropped her hands in frustration. "I'm not a pirate! Why does everyone keep saying that?!"

She held the bottle up to October's face, tipping its mouth towards her. "Argh! Drink up, matey!"

"I don't want to drink," October protested sternly, gagging from the strong smell. "I don't even like soda when there's too many bubbles."

"Ye'll drink, or I'll have ye swab the poop deck!" The girl staggered towards her, swishing the beer around. One of her legs flew up, arms flinging wildly to regain her drunken balance. "Uh-oh..." She fell smack dab into the seat of a wooden chair, tipping it over to have her legs dangle in the air.

October shielded her eyes from the poor girl's upturned poodle skirt, having a clear view of her bright pink underwear. "Shouldn't the parents know there's a party like this going on in their house?"

From the reclining chair in front of her, the man of the house wrapped his head around the chair's fluffy backrest. "We don't mind," he said calmly, flicking the newspaper in his hands. "As they say: Boys will be boys. Right, dear?"

The mother set the hot iron upright on the ironing board, flapping the wrinkles out of a work shirt. "Of course. And don't forget: girls do just want to have fun."

Both of the parents stared at October, giving her smiles that seemed to bite into her soul.

October looked away, pointing a finger to the left. "I'm... going over here now." As she turned, a tingling sensation flushed through her face. The walls disappeared, everything shaped like a blurred static. Blue human shapes were all over the place, along with one lone and small green blob from the area of outside the house. Blinking hard, her vision returned to normal. "Huh... that was slightly weirder. Maybe I watch too much tube. Yeah, that must be it."

. . .

From the second floor banister, Rock leaned over the party down below. Arms crossed, he drank from his beer, keeping his eyes trained on the crowd. Dorothy laughed with one of her gals, waving goodbye to her. Chugging down the rest of her beer, she lazily tossed the empty bottle to the side, glass breaking off in the distance. Stumbling up to Rock, she had to use his shoulder for support, her feet having a mind of their own.

"Why are you over here, all on your lonesome?" She slurred, grabbing onto his arm. "Come on, the party's over here." She tried to tug him away from the wooden railing, but it was like he was glued on. "Don't be such a leper, Rocky."

"Hugo's bound to be here somewhere," he said coldly. He shoved a fist into his palm. "Once I see him here tonight, he's getting a fist in the face!"

"Why do you let him get under your skin? Just forget about him and join me over there. Come on."

"He was with my sister."

Dorothy tossed her head to the side, laughing like a zebra. "If that's what it takes to get you going, you'd have to be made at half the boys in school then."

Rock finally took his eyes off the dance floor, giving her a stare cold enough to make her breath visible. "Beat it. I'm busy."

"Rocky," she growled with clenched teeth, "I'm not open 24-7 you know. Strike the iron while it's hot." She pulled on his arm with all of her weight, still not budging. "That means now, dagnabbit!"

"I said–"

Rock's body phased through the banister, a quick wavering of light too fast for anyone to really notice. Dorothy's hands slammed into the wood, forced to let go of him. She let out a sharp yelp, watching him fall down into the crowd of dancers. Flipping forward, he headed straight down onto the food table. Chicken nuggets and potato chips flew into the air on impact, the thin table cracked right in half. Rock was lost under all of the assorted foods and bowls, tangled up in the table cloth.

Harvey was the only party goer who didn't flinch from the sudden action, too occupied drinking some cola. Standing right over Rock's body, he shoved a hand into his pocket and rolled his eyes. "... I'm not picking him up."

Dorothy grabbed the sides of her head, shaking it as she screamed. "Oh my god, Rocky! Please don't die! You have so much to live for! We still need to kiss and stuff!"

Sitting up, he pulled the cloth off of himself. "I'm fine, I'm fine." The right side of his hair sprung out of place, sticking out in a big curved chuck. Whipping out his comb, he ducked down and quickly fixed it up, bringing his hairdo back to its solid pompadour. "Whew... that was close. Almost died of embarrassment there."

Everyone stared at him, a room full of worried looks. Not even the band was playing, frozen in mid note. Dorothy's high heels clattered down the stairs, hurrying to help Rock. October shoved her way through the people circled around him. Once she saw him moving, she turned away, no reason to worry.

Her vision turned to a blurred static again, forcing her to blink her eyes hard and rub them to get rid of it. "Geez... what is going on with my eyes?"

Rock brushed off his leather jacket, bits of chips coming loose from the creases. Looking up, he saw the banister wasn't broken or anything. "How did that even happen?"

"Maybe you're just clumsy," Harvey said bluntly. "Paper shakers like her always make guys fall head over heels."

Rock pointed at him threateningly. "You got something to say, four-eyes?"

Harvey kept it casual. "Yeah, but I already said it."

"Why you-" Rock stopped in mid stride.

The air filled with strange yellow swirls, flowing like some kind of gas spreading from outside. Teenagers clucked, growing in mass. Soon, the whole house was filled with people moving and clucking like chickens. Even the band dropped their instruments to start pecking the floor and flapping their "wings". Harvey and Rock were still normal, watching the big scene.

Dorothy dodged a boy trying to peck her with his nose, reaching the boys and wearing the same puzzled face they did. "Is this some kind of Mormon ritual or something?"

Rock moved back as a girl jumped on the couch nearby and squatted down to try to lay an egg. "No clue, yo. This party seriously just got whack." October stood out of the crowd for once, being the only one who wasn't chickenified. "Ay, yo! Pirate girl! What gives?"

October shrugged, caught in the chaos. "I'm just as freaked out as you guys."

The window exploded inward, jet engines screaming into the living room. The four teens took cover behind the long couch, everyone else still in their chicken trance. Once the dust from the destroyed wall settled, Crypto floated over the band stage, his jetpack flaring with blue fire. Using the Gizmo-majigy as goggles, he could see four purple blobs behind the see-through outline of the couch. His Zap-O-Matic sparked up, charging its voltage.

"Give me all your organs!" Crypto demanded.

A bolt shot across the room, turning the couch into a mess of springs and charred fluff. The four teens popped their heads up in unison, seeing a bright flux of electricity. Ducking quickly, they all dodged the incoming bolt, a deep line plowing through the wall from left to right. Huddling, the couch took another blast, the teens cover not able to protect them for long.

"What are we going to do?!" October yelped as another bolt fired.

Dorothy shook her head, frightened to tears. "I am so not dressed for an invasion right now. These heels are not running shoes. And if I get hit by that gun, my hair will so frizz out!"

"There's only one thing we can do," Rock declared.

Harvey knew exactly what he was thinking. "You're right... every man for himself!"

The boys ran off in separate directions, leaving the girls behind. Dorothy tried to grab Rock's arm, but another bolt made her brace against the beaten up couch. Harvey ran to the nearest exit, heading towards the back door. A bolt of electricity trailed right behind him, hitting a fish bowl, boiling the water and turning the goldfish into crispy fish sticks. Crypto's concentration was broken from a coffee mug conking him in his giant head, tossed from the kitchen.

Rock threw pots and pans, lobbing them wildly through the opening in the separator wall. "Ay, yo! Get off our planet, green guy!"

Crypto ducked and crouched, growling as he avoided the volley of cooking wares. "Green?! That's it. I'm probing you, then I'm ripping off your reproductive organs, then I'll harvest them!"

Rock saw the Zap-O-Matic charge up, the bluish white bolt zigzagging towards him. Hitting the floor, Rock covered his face from the exploding plates and glass shards. A bowl of fruit splattered all over the place. Electricity hit the mixer, covering the walls in cake batter. A jar of popcorn kernels intercepted the bolt, showering the area in fully popped popcorn.

The bolts suddenly stopped, Rock carefully getting up to check what the alien was up to. Crypto wasn't on the stage anymore, people still acting like chickens around it. "Where did he go?"

Dorothy and October cowered behind the couch, holding each other with their eyes closed. October noticed the silence, looking around with one eye. "Do you think he's gone?"

Dorothy eased away from her hold. "I hope so."

Slamming down on the floor, Crypto stood over the girls, meeting them face-to-face since they were sitting down. The two of them gasped, frozen in fear. Crypto swung the Zap-O-Matic at them, shoving it in their faces. "Kiss your plump butts goodbye, meat sacks! Papa's gotta extract some Plutonium out of you."

"Plutonium..." October whispered under her breath.

With a frantic shriek, Dorothy held October before Crypto, presenting her. "Take her! I'm too pretty to die!"

"Sorry. We're done with Earth negotiations!" The Zap-O-Matic charged up, the girls bracing for the bolt to end them.

Kicking off of a nightstand, Hugo flew through the air, fist glowing in a bright red light. Hitting Crypto square in the jaw, the punch sent the alien clear across the room, a shockwave of energy warping the air. Blasting another hole in the wall with his body, Crypto flew over the neighbor's fence, leaving behind a head shaped outline on the side of the house. Water splashed loudly, high enough to sprinkle over the fence. Bubbles formed at the pool's surface, a shape rising out of the water.

Crypto came up, hands over his eyes, screaming in agony. "The water! It burns! Why do these humans have so much freakin' chlorine in their water?!"

He randomly pressed the buttons on his wrist unit, trying to find the right one blindly. After a few bleeps and bloops, a bright narrow light shined over him. Pulled out of the water by the tractor beam, he rose a few feet and then disappeared. Free from his telepathic spell, everyone at the party returned to normal, all of them dazed and confused. Despite the living room in ruins, everyone seemed to party on like nothing happened.

Hugo rose off from landing on a knee, the light on his hand dying off. Turning around, he helped the girls up. "Anyone hurt?"

"Only my respect for Dorothy," October grumbled.

Dorothy waved a finger at her. "Oh, paaa-lease. Your respect means diddly to me."

October looked at the band return to the stage and pick up their instruments. "Okay, seriously? Nobody notices what just happened?!"

The man of the house looked up from his newspaper, still smiling happily. "Oh no, honey. Our house is completely destroyed."

"That's right, dear," his wife replied.

He returned to his paper. "These kids sure know how to party."

Rock slammed the kitchen door open, marching up to Hugo. "You! I'm not through with you, yo!"

Reeling a fist back, Rock was stopped by Dorothy wrapping her arms around his. "Rocky, wait! He saved all of us from the alien."

"He sent it through the wall with one punch," October warned. "I doubt you'd survive that kind of right hook."

Rock and Hugo both had their fists at the ready, anticipating the other to throw the first punch. Hugo's right fist started to glow red. Huffing, Rock finally dropped his hands. "This ain't over. I bet you got your– your weirdo power from that meteor that hit us. I bet all five of us got powers. Once I find out what mine is: it's on. Oh, it is so on!"

Rock stormed off, punching a lamp and knocking it over. The party was far from over, but the five teens were definitely done for the night.

. . .

Orthopox turned his throne around, ready to greet Crypto as the doors whooshed open. "Ahh, I hope you bring good news, as well as the Plutonium!"

Crypto's eyes sizzled loudly, still bubbling and dripping down the sides of his face. "Well... I didn't find anything. But that's mostly due to my eyeballs getting fried."

Orthopox slammed his fist on the armrest irritably. "Doh, why is it that every time I send you to a planet, you get your eyeballs disintegrated?!"

"Not every time," Crypto defended. "Okay, most of the time. But– but, don't get your horns in a bunch. Just let them grow back real quick and I'll be all set for round two."

"There will be no round two for you, Crypto." Orthopox activated the big screen, a signal waiting. "I found the perfect answer to our little problem. It appears someone is in the neighborhood and can help us out."

Crypto blinked, black eye goo spurting out of his sockets. "We're in the middle of freakin' nowhere! What kind of dunderhead would be scouring this part of the galaxy? Uhh, besides us of course."

A big booming voice exploded from the screen. "You dare call me a dunderhead?! I have burned minions on stars for saying such things!"

Crypto slumped his shoulders. "Oh, great. As if things couldn't get worse." He turned to where he thought Orthopox was, looking in the exact opposite direction of where he really was. "You just had to get Brainzor involved, didn't you? Are we really that desperate?"

"Crypto, we have no supplies, we have no fuel, we have no choice. I know full well of Brainzor's reputation, but he is our only hope."

The image of a big angry head filled the screen, being the image of a hologram. "I would be happy to help the two of you, as well as rid this universe of the little planet known as: Earth. Earth shall be destroyed!"

He laughed maniacally, filling the ship with his robotic cackle. Crypto would join him, if he wasn't so afraid for his own ship.

To be continued...