Air filled Tony's lungs as he breathed in deeply the subtle smells hidden within the pure, clean atmosphere of Toon Town. As he exhaled, all the tension from school, band practice, and his argument with Crystal melted away. He loved being in Toon World. It felt like home as much as Mawaga did, sometimes even more so. That wasn't too surprising. After all, Tony was half Toon on his grandfather's side. Theodore had been Toon Master, the hero of heroes, before settling down on Earth and Tony was proud to carry on that mantle.

One more deep breath and Tony directed his feet down a stone path that lead over a sparkling blue moat and across the drawbridge of a gigantic castle: Toon Palace. It was a castle made out of grey stone and had to be at least a hundred times bigger than Tony's own house. Unlike Tony's first visit to Toon World, the palace's gates now stood wide open, welcoming all guests. Autumn was finally catching up to Toon Town. The trees in the royal gardens had leaves tipped in bright reds and yellows, even though the blooming flowers were still going strong. The flags and pennants on every tower flapped in the cool breeze and the flag of Toon World hung prominently over the palace entrance. It was a red rectangle with 2 thick white stripes making an X and dividing the flag into four quarters with a symbol on each quarter. One quarter showed a black anvil, one a large yellow banana peel, one a bright pink heart, and the last one had a blue musical eighth note.

Seeing the music note on the flag reminded Tony of the band try-outs and his disagreement with Crystal, but he pushed such thoughts from his mind, determined not to let it ruin the rest of his day.

As he approached the palace gates, Tony saw Coilman, Fluidman, and Multiman – The Impossibles – guarding the entrance.

"Hey, guys," said Tony in a cheery voice.

None of the three heroes bow to or saluted the Toon Master as they would have to another important figure. Instead they gave big hearty waves and greeted Tony like an old friend.

"Rally ho, Tony!" shouted Coilman, bouncing up and down on his spring legs. "What kind of training are you and the Super Stars doing today?"

Tony shook his head and answered, "No training today. Me and the guys are just gonna hang out and watch a couple of movies."

"Sounds good," said Multiman with a hint of jealousy. "I wish we could knock off work early for that."

"On the other hand, I'm thankful we don't have to be in the palace right now," said Fluidman. The other two Impossibles nodded in silent agreement.

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Tony.

Coilman leaned forward and motioned for Tony to do the same. He reminded Tony of his mother when she had a juicy piece of gossip to tell. "Princess Penny and the King are having another one of their…disagreements." The way he said disagreements made it sound like whatever it was, was more than just a simple difference of opinion.

Tony nodded, understanding completely. Penny and her father, the King of Toon World, were known for their disagreements. They didn't happen often, but when they did, a clash with Dr. Claw's forces could seem tame by comparison. Royal arguments like this were always about the same thing: Penny being a member of the Super Stars and the fact that her father didn't like it. The King always insisted that he just wanted to protect his daughter and Penny always insisted that she could look after herself.

Hopefully, this argument wouldn't leave Penny sulking and ruin the evening. Tony thanked the Impossibles for the heads-up and went into the palace.

As soon as Tony entered the foyer, he got an uneasy feeling. Something was amiss. There wasn't anything wrong, per se, at least nothing he could immediately see. Things just seemed different somehow.

At first he thought it might be the fact that he didn't hear the fight he had been warned about between Penny and the King. Usually, their voices could carry throughout the palace and one time several people from Toon Town called in to voice their own opinions. Tony couldn't hear anything right now and that's when he realized what was different. Not only could he not hear any arguing, he didn't hear the usual hustle and bustle of the palace servants.

A place as big at the Toon Palace had hundred of servants of all ages working day and night to keep the place running. In the entrance hall alone, there was usually at least a dozen people in crisp white uniforms sweeping, dusting, making repairs, or carrying trays of food. There was no one around now, though.

When Tony had first been chosen Toon Master and started coming to Toon World regularly, the servants had all bowed and called him Sir, like he was royalty. Tony had really enjoyed that for the first few days. After that, it started to grate on his nerves a bit. Plus, it was kind of ridiculous. Some of the palace servants were as old as Theodore had been. The idea of them bowing in supplication to a teenager was just silly. Tony assured them all that such actions were not necessary. In no time, he was making friends with every servant he saw. He made an effort to learn everyone's name, their job, and a little bit about their family.

Without the familiar faces, the palace seemed so much colder and lonelier. Tony stepped up his pace and hurried to the Super Stars Recreation Room. The palace had many such Rec. Rooms, but this one was reserved exclusively for the Toon Master and his team. The walls were painted with bright, festive colors – all except for one, on which hung a huge flat screen TV. Arcade games and computer systems were spread out everywhere. There were also game tables for foosball, ping pong, and pool.

Jim and Mary were lounging on the couch and Tom was trying to get comfortable in one of the bean bag chairs. They turned their heads when Tony arrived.

"Finally," said Jim impatiently. "Where have you been? We almost started the movie without you."

Tony apologized as he sat down in a leather armchair on the left side of the couch. He explained about how his parents had made him stay after school and try out for the band. He had hoped for a little support from his friends, but unfortunately, they seemed to be on Crystal's side.

"You really should try harder, Tony," said Mary in the exact same accusing tone Crystal had used. "After all, music is an integral part of every Toon's life."

Tony didn't answer; he just looked away and gave a noncommittal mumble. Eager to change the subject, he said, "So, what movie are we watching?"

Jim shook the DVD case in his hand. "You'll love it. It's a contemporary remake. Godzilla vs. King Kong vs. Dracula vs. Wolfman vs. That Guy With The Chainsaw."

"Oh man, I hate horror movies," whined Tom. "I always get scared and scream like a little girl."

"That happens when we watch the Three Stooges," Jim said.

"I have an acute fear of being poked in the eye," Tom said defensively.

"Whatever," said Jim. He took the movie out of the case and went over to the DVD player. "Let's get this party started!"

"Hold on," said Tony. "Shouldn't we wait for Penny?"

Jim, Mary, and Tom exchange a strange look before Mary answered, "I don't think Penny will be coming. She's having an argument…"

"…with her father," finished Tony. "I know. Coilman told me about it. But it should be over pretty quick, right?"

"Fat chance of that," laughed Jim. "Penny's not only fighting with the King, but also with the Queen. Mother and daughter never agree on anything, especially when to stop an argument."

"It's the same thing every year," said Tom wearily. "Penny hates going to the summit. Her parents had to practically drag her there last year."

All three Super Stars looked at Tony like he would understand, but the teenage boy just looked confused. "Penny doesn't want to go to what?"

"You know, the annual Leader's Summit," prompted Mary, looking expectantly at Tony, but he just shook his head and shrugged. "Big Conference? With the leaders of Toon World? Happens every year?"

"Oh, that annual Leader's Summit," said Tony with a tone of comprehension. He thought about it for a minute and said, "Nope, still never heard of it."

Mary let out an impatient sigh and said, "Tony, Penny told you about it just last week."

"She did?"

"Yeah," said Tom. "She mentioned it to you on Monday when we were all down in ACME Labs.

Tony thought hard back to that day.

Utter chaos and confusion was reigning in the Labs as every worker, ran for their lives, desperately trying to find a hiding place. An oozing purple muck covered nearly every inch of the floors and walls, even dripping off the ceiling in huge lumpy blobs. Besides the fact that this was totally disgusting, the blobs of ooze were sprouting mouths filled with rows of razor teeth. The hungry little globs were surprisingly quick, sliding along the floor, snapping and nipping at the frantic ACME workers.

Tony and the Super Stars had been backed into a corner by a large group of the blobs. They poked at the slimy enemies, keeping them at bay, but not frightening them off. The blobs hissed at the Stars and looked for any opportunity to dart around their defenses and sink their teeth into the teens' flesh.

Amid all this pandemonium, Mike, Head Inventor for ACME Labs, stood in the middle of the room, wearing an apron that said 'Kiss the Genius" and holding a mop. He shouted at an unseen person, "Murray, that bottle was clearly marked DO NOT SHAKE!"

"That's when Penny told me about this thing?" said Tony.

"Weren't you paying attention?" asked Mary.

"Oh, no sorry, I guess I wasn't," said Tony. "I was more focused on trying not to get my FINGERS CHEWED OFF!"

Jim patted Tony's back and said, "Tony, dude, you gotta learn to multitask."

"Right," said Tony. "So, what's this conference all about, anyway?"

"World leaders from across the Tuniverse will gather together to discuss the most pressing political and military issues," said Mary from the couch. "Of course, the focus this year will be Dr. Claw and his ongoing conquest of Toon World."

"Leaders from all over Toon World, huh?" asked Tony. He was starting to feel excited. "Do you know exactly who will be there?"

"Naturally, anyone who can come, will," said Mary. "Many rulers aren't available or don't have the ability to travel to the summit."

"Usually, what happens is that that most of the leaders who go are from the Sector of Toon World where the summit takes place," explained Tom. "The location changes every year. This year it's held in the Kingdom of Dunwyn in the Disney Sector."

Disney? Tony loved Disney cartoons; he had always been a huge fan. He'd seen every animated movie at least twice and was a faithful follower of the Disney Afternoon block of television shows. "Oh boy, Disney! I bet all the princesses will be there: Ariel and Jasmine and Snow White and Sleeping Beauty of course that means Aladdin will be there and maybe King Triton although he's a merman so I don't know how that would work and maybe Belle with the Beast since I think he's a ruler like a prince or something and since it's Dunwyn that means King Gregor will be there and Princess Calla and maybe…"

While Tony was running off at the mouth, Mary got up from the couch and went to the small refrigerator in the corner of the Rec. Room. She got out a bottle of water and dumped the whole thing on Tony's head.

Tony immediately stopped babbling. He sputtered and pulled the wet brown hair out of his eyes. "Thanks, I needed that," said Tony, shivering from the ice water.

"Anytime," said Mary as she screwed the cap back on the bottle.

Jim adopted an embarrassed tone, much like John and Crystal would when Tony started talking about cartoons to them. "Tony, try to retrain yourself from geeking out when we get to Dunwyn."

"When we get to… You mean we get to go?" asked Tony delightedly.

"Well, duh," said Jim. "And I don't want to squash you're enthusiasm, but it's not a vacation. We'll be working."

Who cared? Any time spent in Toon World was like a holiday for Tony. Still, he was curious, so he asked, "What kind of work?"

"Security detail, of course," answered Tom. "All those world leaders in one place make for a tempting target."

"Each of the leaders has their our entourage of guards," said Mary. "What better protection for the royal family than the Toon Master?"

"AND his elite team of Super Stars, thank you very much," Jim added.

"Wow." Tony was a little stunned by the whole scope of this one conference. "This is some big deal, isn't it?"

"Sure is," said Mary. "The entire palace staff has been packing all week for this trip."

"It takes a whole palace full of servants to pack for one conference?" asked Tony in disbelief.

"Ho ho," laughed Jim. "You gotta see this to believe it." Forgetting all about the movie they were supposed to watch, Jim led the way out of the Rec. Room. Mary, Tom, and Tony followed into the Throne Room where they took the elevator down to the main Research and Development room of ACME Labs.

Normally, the R&D room was filled with rows of tables piled high with scientific experiments of every sort. Smoke billowed out of bubbling beakers and oddly shaped machines whirred and clicked all day long. Today, the experiments were pushed aside to make way for stacks and stacks of suitcases; hundreds of them all piled high in teetering pyramids. White uniformed servants rushed in between the piles filling some suitcases, emptying others, and carting the full ones away.

One servant boy – a teenager just a year younger than Tony – was pushing a luggage cart loaded so heavily that Tony wondered how he could possibly see where he was going. Apparently he couldn't, since he nearly crashed right into the Super Stars.

"Hey, watch where you're going," said Tom. "You're supposed to yield to pedestrians."

"I'm so sorry, Super Stars," said the boy, panting heavily. "Sorry, Tony."

"It's okay, Ryan," Tony assured him. He gestured to the mounds of luggage. "What is all this?"

It was Jim who answered. "This is what the Queen will be taking with her to the Leader's Summit."

"All this for the Queen?" exclaimed Tony.

"Actually, these are the suitcases of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting," explained Ryan. "The Queen's stuff will be loaded onto Toon Force One tomorrow." With a great huff, he got the cart rolling again and continued on his way.

"Sheesh! And I thought my mom over-packed for weekend trips," remarked Tony.

"I know," said Mary. "At least the staff will hit the jackpot with overtime pay tonight."

"Yeah, but since their all busy here, there's no one to help us pack up our stuff," complained Jim.

"You lazy bum," Mary said with a smile on her face. "You only take one bag."

"Hey, what's the point of living in a palace if you can't get the servants to do the work for you?" asked Jim. "I mean, it is their job."

"He's got a point, Mary," said Tony. Then a thought occurred to him that made him very uneasy. "Wait…pack a bag? How long does this summit last?"

"About two day, Standard Dunwyn Time," said Tom.

"Two days?" exclaimed Tony. "I can't be gone from home for two days. Mom worries when I leave her sight for more than fifteen minutes."

"Not to worry." Everybody jumped as Mike popped out of one of the suitcases lying nearby. He stepped out of the luggage, pulling several socks out of his lab coat pockets and a pair of leopard print boxer shorts off of his head. "I have the solution to your protective parent problem," he said to Tony. "Follow me."

The walls of the R&D room of ACME Labs were lined with sliding doors leading to other, more specialized, experimentation areas. Mike led Tony and the others to one of the few doors that weren't barricaded with luggage. As they went through, Tony read GENETIC DEVELOPMENT over the doorway and a squeamish feeling started to form in his stomach.

"Uh, Mike, you're not thinking of doing anything to my parents, are you?" Tony knew Mike would never intentionally harm anyone, but he felt compelled to ask nonetheless.

"Oh no, no, no, Tony, I'd never do that," Mike assured the young Toon Master.

The pressure eased off Tony's stomach as he sighed with relief.

"I'm going to be performing this process on you," Mike said happily.

And the pressure was back with a vengeance.

Mike directed Tony to a cylindrical glass chamber with a blinking computer console attacked to one side. Directly under the console was a row of four test tubes connected to the glass chamber by a small hose coming out the top of the tubes.

"What is that?" asked Jim.

Mike didn't answer. He just opened the door to the glass chamber and motioned for Tony to step inside. Tony complied, overriding every instinct that told him not to based on past experiences with Mike's inventions. "So, what exactly is this going to do?"

Mike pushed several buttons on the console as he said, "Just relax; this will just take a minute."

"This won't hurt will it?"

"Of course not," said Mike. He hesitated and then amended himself. "But, you may feel a slight tingle."

"Tingle?" said Tony nervously. "What do you mean by tingle?"

Ignoring Tony's questions, Mike activated the chamber. A low humming sound filled the room as the glass cylinder slowly filled with a dense white fog. Jim, Tom, and Mary watched on anxiously as Tony disappeared from view.

Mary folded her hands tightly in front of her. "Mike, you're sure this is safe?"

Her answer came from inside the chamber as Tony could be heard saying, "Hey, uh Mike, it's getting a little hot in here. Do you…hey what it that thing? Is that a…Ow! Oh! Hey, ouch! What the heck…Ooo! Ooooooo! Well that wasn't so…OOOOOW!"

One of the test tubes under the control console slowly filled up with a pink, flesh-colored substance. Not quite a liquid; more like mud or silly putty. When the tube was full, the door to the glass cylinder opened again. Jim, Tom, and Mary backed away as white mist spilled out over the floor and a disheveled Tony stumbled out, grabbing the edge of the cylinder for support.

"You call that a slight tingle?" Tony demanded outrageously to Mike.

Mike shrugged and said, "One man's tingle is another man's excruciating pain." He pulled the full test tube from the machine and handed it to Tony. "In any case, it worked. With this baby, you're parents will never know you were gone."

Tony looked uneasily at the contents of the tube. It looked like someone had thrown up their lunch, swallowed it, and thrown up again. "I don't have to drink this, do I?"

"Not unless you want to look like Sabertooth for a month," laughed Mike. "This is a Quick Clone formula."

"Like the kind the Men in Black use?" inquired Tom.

"Correct," said Mike. "Just pour this stuff out before you leave for the summit, Tony, and an exact duplicate of you will take your place on Earth."

Tony thought it was an excellent plan, but there seemed to be one flaw. "Don't Quick Clones dissolve pretty quickly?" On television, MIB Quick Clones never seemed to last more than a few hours and once their energy ran out, they started babbling incoherently and melted into a puddle of genetic glop.

"I added a few protein stabilizers," said Mike. "This clone will last throughout the summit with time to spare."

"Mike, you rule," said Tony with a big smile. "This has got to be your best idea yet. In fact, if this works, we should use Quick Clones more often. I wouldn't get in trouble anymore when I come to Toon World and…"

"Whoa ho ho there, Mister," said Mike. He put his hand over the test tube in Tony's hand and said, "Sorry Tony, but there are strict rules on genetic cloning: for emergency purposes only. You can't just whip up a clone any time you want. They're not Pop Tarts."

Only slightly disappointed, Tony stowed the tube of Quick Clone formula carefully in his Max-Pack as everyone headed back into the R&D room. This long weekend was turning out better than he'd hoped. He'd made sure he wouldn't be joining the school band and he'd be meeting his favorite Disney heroes in a few hours time. "This trip is going to be perfect."

"AAAAARRRRRRRRGH!" someone shouted in a very familiar female voice.

"What the slag was that?" asked Tony, looking all around for the source of the yelling.

"That was the sound of perfect being thrown out the window," said Jim.

From the far side of the R&D room, in the direction of the spaceship hangers, came a duet of footsteps hurrying towards the Super Stars. Penny emerged from behind a pile of luggage. Her simple outfit of blue jeans, a green shirt and sneakers belied her status as Princess of the Toon World and the Super Stars' second in command. The expression on her face was one of simmering fury. She hardly looked where she was going as servants rushed to clear a path for her through the scattered baggage. She didn't even notice her friends or Mike, passing right by them.

A few seconds later, Penny's father – King Magnus himself – appeared, struggling to keep up in the wake of his daughter. A jeweled crown of solid gold sat upon his salt and pepper head. Robes of deep blue and red billowed out behind him as if pulled by an angry wind. Like Penny, the King looked ready to spit nails and took no notice of anyone else present while he vented his rage.

"Young Lady! Don't you dare storm away from me like that!" boomed the King. "Just because you're upset does not give you the right to treat your parents with such disrespect."

Penny stopped and turned to face her father. She didn't shy away from the power in the King's voice, but returned it in kind. "For the hundredth time, Father, I do not want to go."

"And for the hundredth time, you're going," said the King. Adopting a slightly calmer and more diplomatic voice, he continued, "Besides, Calla and all you're other royal friends will be there. Do you not want to see them? You don't get the chance to do so very often these days."

"Of course I want to see them," said Penny. "It's the princes and young lords I don't want anything to do with. They'll prance around in their stupid poofy outfits and talk about how rich they are and how many servants they have and…"

"And hopefully you will be more courteous towards them than you have been to anyone today," said the King.

"Well maybe I would if they didn't expect me to fawn over their every word like some love struck nitwit," spat Penny. "Plus, Mother is going to make me dance with every single one of them." She said this as if receiving a death sentence.

"You could avoid that by simply taking an escort."

Penny looked horrified at the idea. "That would be worse. Then I'd never be able to get away from them."

The King looked to have very little patience left with his daughter. "You're mother would not insist on a royal escort if it were someone of equal status and importance."

Penny snorted, indicating what she thought of the Queen's so-called compromise. "Yeah, right. The only person like that in Toon Town would be…" she looked around the room, as if hoping someone suitable would materialize right in front of her. Finally, she settled her gaze on "…Tony."

The King's response was immediate and adamant. "No. No, I'm sorry, the Toon Master cannot be your escort to the summit."

Now normally, Penny listened to her parents – well, her father at any rate – and was not the type of princess who whined until she got her way. However, the heat of the argument was bringing out Penny's inner brat. "What do you mean?" she asked with daggers in her eyes. "If I want Tony as my escort then that's who I'll take!"

"Fine!" shouted the King, throwing up his hands in frustration. "Take Tony, but just remember it was your choice." With that, the King strode away back to the hanger bay.

Penny stood with her arms crossed and a smug smile on her face, relishing her perceived victory for a few seconds. But then, she seemed to realize exactly what had happened. She looked at Tony with another horrified look and ran after her father shouting, "Wait! Wait a minute! That choice doesn't count; I was under distress!"

Mike and the Stars stood still, an uncomfortable silence settling between them after the exchange they had just witnessed. It was almost half a minute before anyone dared speak.

"Maybe those two should have shouted a little louder," said Jim. "There might be a couple of people in the next galaxy that didn't hear them."

"It's like this every year," sighed Mary."The Leader's Summit is all about politics and hobnobbing with royalty. Penny hates anything that reminds her of her birthright."

"If I was a royal, I'd never want to forget it," said Tom. "What about you, Tony?"

There was no answer. Tom looked over and saw Tony frozen in place, just staring at the spot where Penny had been. Tom peered closely at Tony's face. The Toon Master's eyes were out of focus and his mouth was hanging open slightly. Tom waved his hand rapidly in front of Tony's face, but got no response.

"Uh oh. Guys, Tony's broken," reported Tom. As an afterthought, he said, "I didn't do it."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Jim, pointing at Tony. He pushed on Tony's shoulder, causing the Toon Master to sway slightly like a punching dummy. "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Tony blinked rapidly and shook his head. He seemed to be coming awake from a trance. "I'm…uh, I'm…fine, but could somebody please explain what just happened?"

Mary thought it was pretty obvious what had happened, but she tried to explain it slowly and clearly for Tony's sake. "Well, every year Penny puts up a fuss because she doesn't want to go to the Leader's Summit…"

"No, no, no, I got that part," Tony said harshly. "I meant, could someone explain what Penny meant when she said I was her…escort." Tony had to swallow twice before he was able to choke the word out.

Jim put his arm around Tony's shoulder and said with a weird grin on his face. "What that means is that you have a date with the princess, you stud you."

"What?" Tony was flabbergasted. Penny could barely stand being in the same room with him sometimes and now they were dating? Tony had never been on a date in his life. "I don't think I can do this. I don't think I'm qualified."

"Oh, Tony, it'll be fun," said Mary. She could picture Tony and Penny making a lovely couple.

"Fun?" Clearly, that was not what Tony was picturing. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his breaths came in short gasps. "What if I say something stupid? What if I do something stupid?"

"Tony, relax," said Jim who backed away a bit since Tony looked like he was going to pop from stress. "All you have to do is sit with Penny at dinner, dance a couple of times and you're done.

"Dinner? Dancing?" Now Tony was in full blown panic mode – a mode usually reserved for situations of certain doom or running out of chocolate pudding cups. "What if I use the wrong fork at dinner? What if step on her toes while dancing? What if she asks me what the capital of Arkansas is and I don't know?" Tony grabbed Tom by the shirt and shook him. "Why don't I know?"

Tom pulled a bucket of water from behind his back and dumped the whole thing over Tony's head, including the bucket.

"Thanks, he needed that," said Mary.

Tony pulled the bucket off of his head and wiped the water from his eyes. "Maybe so, but this whole water running gag stops right now."

"Sure, spoil the fun," said Jim as he tossed aside a dripping fire hose.

Mary cautiously approached Tony and asked, "You okay?"

Tony smiled reassuringly at her. "Sure. I just got a little nervous there."

"Don't worry," Mary said. "Jim, Tom, and I will help you out so you don't embarrass yourself." She looked down at Tony's sopping wet clothes. "You don't happen to own a tux, do you?" When Tony shook his head, Mary replied, "Then I suggest you see the royal tailor today. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning."

8