Chapter 2: Mouse Trap with Noble Cheese

Abby Archer walked thru her school's main entrance door early in the morning, carrying a stack of pamphlets in her arms.

Even thou the spring term had just started all of her classmates seemed more eager of leaving school than starting it and not in the usual Friday afternoon way. This was their last term in Ringworm High before leaving forever and thou Abby didn't feel the same idleness as her classmates she certainly felt strange to be leaving a place she spent most of her time in the last three years. Looking back on it she regretted that the best friend she had found here was her younger brother. Not that she was lonely but between being a Grossologist and all her other responsibilities she had little time over for friends but she didn't complain, she enjoyed the various projects she got involved with.

Her newest project was to advertise a midnight showing at the planthouse of a very special flower that only bloomed during the night. The planthouse was a cost-free establishment that was open to the public. Her mom & her friends usually did volunteer work there so she hoped she could make as many people as possible to come. Abby walked up to a billboard in the corridor and nailed one of the pamphlets to it before heading for her locker.

She saw her younger brother Ty by his locker next to hers. She opened her locker and laid in her pamphlets before looking for her textbook. "So Ty, I wondered if you could help me put up some flyers for the planthouse after school?" To Abby's annoyance she did not get any response from him. He seemed to stare of in the opposite direction. "Ty?" Abby leaned back a bit to see what exactly Ty was looking at. It was Naomi. The shy blond was talking to some other girls by her locker further down the corridor. Abby rolled her eyes before giving her brother a shake in the shoulder. "Ty!"

"Huh. Oh, sorry Abby. I was just um…" Ty reacted embarrassed.

"You were staring at Naomi again." Abby cooed.

"Well, it only happens when she talks to me or touch me or is in my field of vision." Ty blabbered.

Abby returned to look for her text book. "You have been crushing on that poor girl for over a year now. Isn't it time for you to do something?"

"After a year can one even call it a crush?" Ty asked playfully.

"Hmm, no I guess it's more of an obsession." Abby sarcastically retorted.

Ty was clearly offended by his sisters teasing. He was about to say something when their Grossometers started ringing. They simultaneously took their Grossometers out of their pockets and flipped them into communication mood.

LabRat appeared on the screens with Hermes sitting on his shoulder.

"LabRat, what is it?" Abby asked alarmed.

"Something really bad. You guys better come down to the gaglab prompto." LabRat sounded a lot more serious than his usual laid back smooth self which put the Archer siblings on edge.


Only a few minutes later Abby and Ty reached the gaglab now in their respective slimesuits and googles. "Where here LabRat, what is it?" Abby asked concerned.

"It's the park." LabRat replied and pushed a button on his keyboard. A series of computer screens showed footage of the local park. "Every plant and topsoil in the place has been rotting ever since this morning. The methane gas it produces is so abundant that the entire park has been forced to be evacuated. Thankfully no one's gotten sick." The tech geek explained.

"Anyone else thinking what I am thinking?" Ty asked.

"Yah, Kid Rot." Abby hissed angrily.

A cold chill went thru the group as everybody remembered their first encounter with Chester, the boy that would be Kid Rot. Abby saw it mostly as a tragedy, that one victim that she & Ty couldn't save. For Ty it was cautionary tale. They had trusted Chester, tried to help him yet he had turned on them. For LabRat it was just another reminder of how thankless their job could be.

"If it is him again I think he is still in the park." LabRat exclaimed and opened up another screen which showed a map over the methane spreading. "According to the satellite scanners the methane gas is still thickening and if that gas gets into town we will have a serious health problem."

"Okay so how do we get to him without getting gassed ourselves?" Abby asked.

"Already taking care of that." LabRat proclaimed confidently. He clicked another button and a pair of black slimesuits with inbuilt gasmasks was lowered down from the ceiling. "I've designed these myself. The gasmasks will help you breath in the toxic environment and they are made of non-organic material so that Kid Rot won't rot them."

"LabRat, you rule!" Ty enthusiastically complimented and put on his new slimesuit.

LabRat smiled smugly while inspecting his knuckles. "I know."

Abby pulled up her zipper. "Alright let's move."

"Hold on." Ty cried out. "Maybe you should sit this one out." He suggested meekly.

Abby couldn't believe her ears. "What!"

"Kid Rot is always targeting you Abby, it's an obsession for him so I think it would be safer if you stayed here." Ty explained.

Abby got aggravated over the suggestion but she could see it in his face that Ty was just worried about her. "Ty, Kid Rot is too dangerous for either one of us to handle alone besides if he beats you and I am no were to be found he will tear the entire city apart to find me." She said in a sympathetic manner. "Come on. We must hurry." Abby ran out of the lab.

"Huh, okay." Ty sighed. "But I don't have to like it."


Ty and Abby arrived at the park. To their dismay they discovered it was completely ruined. The trees where black and dead, the topography was completely changed and the air was thick of noxious fumes. With an exchange of determined looks they entered the park. Their feats sunk into the gray and snot green mush that used to be solid ground. It was like walking thru pudding.

"Why would Kid do this? There's no rhyme or reason to destroy the park." Abby stated.

"He is insane Abby. He doesn't need to have a reason." Ty replied.

He was growing increasingly timorsome. Out of all of their enemies Kid Rot was one of the most fearsome. Insectiva and Fartor had their own plans that usually had nothing to do with them and all him & Abby needed to do was to foil them but Kid Rot's plans always revolved around them. He always wanted to turn Abby to the dark side, making her into a monster just like him. Ty was nothing but a nuisance to be disposed of whenever the psychopath felt like it. Ty preferred the second alternative. He would rather be a rotting corpse than seeing his sister lose her mind to Kid Rot. Kid Rot used to be a good person too until that parasite possessed him. Ty regretted acting so aggressive when it happened but what else could he do, one can't blame a dog for having rabbis but you still don't let it run free.

"Is everything alright Ty?" Abby asked since she was getting nervous about the silence.

"I was just thinking, do you think there's still a chance to get Chester back to normal?" He asked curious and worried.

Abby turned to give Ty a cold harsh glance. "Chester is gone Ty. Only Kid Rot remains." There was no hint of the sorrow or regret she actually felt.

Ty didn't like it. His sister was usually such a compassionate person but whenever it mattered Kid Rot it was like her heart turned to flint. He looked around. His eyes searching for any clue to where Kid Rot was.

"Maybe he isn't here anymore. Maybe this decomposing continues on its own." He hypothesized.

"We can't know that until we searched the entire park." Abby stated.

"We don't have enough oxygen for that." Ty argued.

As if on a que tree about 300 meters away started rotting, it's leafs fell of and its bark turned black. Ty and Abby ran towards it. It stood in a pretty densely forested area of the park. They looked around but there was no trace of Kid Rot. Suddenly a blood freezing laughter echoed thru the woods, it seemed to come from all directions at once.

"Well, well my favorite playthings are here. Abby and her baby brother." Abby & Ty recognized the voiced. They turned around and saw Kid Rot sitting on a boulder. A smug smile covered his face.

They both draw their goopshooters at him. "Stay down Kid!" Abby ordered.

Kid Rot pretended to think it over a second. "Hmm, no! I am here to escort you to the show of your lives. I'm calling it The End of the Grossologists." He exclaimed.

"End of the…what are you up to Kid Rot?" Ty asked puzzled.

"You'll see in due time but first…" Kid Rot held up his index finger before pointing it at the boulder he was currently sitting on. "Have you noticed the moss growing in the cracks of this rock?"

Abby took notice to said moss in the cracks. "Yah, so?"

Kid Rot's sadistic smile widen and he pressed his palm against the boulder. The moss started rotting & swelling and the cracks widen until the boulder exploded. An avalanche of rocks rapidly headed towards the Grossologists. Ty managed to pull his sister out of danger in the last minute. When they looked around Kid Rot was nowhere to be found. "Where did he go?" Ty asked.

Kid Rot materialized from the ground behind Abby. He kicked her hard in the back. She fell to the ground and Kid continued by elbowing Ty in the face, making him hobble backwards. Abby was on her feats again. She directed a straight kick at Kid Rot's torso but he sidestepped it only to be hit in the chest by Abby's fist. She must have put all her might into that blow cause Kid Rot stumbled backwards, clutching his chest in agony. He scowled at the two Grossologists. He didn't want to hurt them yet, just get their attention.

He disappeared into the ground again. Ty saw a black streak move under the moldy soil before it disappeared out of sight. Only a few seconds later a tree in the distance cracked in two. Abby & Ty didn't hesitant but started running towards it. They found a smirking Kid Rot holding a hands against the tree. Once he was the Archers he disappeared into the ground again only to reappear by another tree a few meters away. He laid his hand on it and the trunk seem to shrink as it rotted. He disappeared into the ground again and streaked away.

"Follow that dark streak." Ty shouted. The two ran after Kid Rot as fast as they could.

"Follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road." Kid Rot sang to himself.

Abby & Ty followed Kid Rot to a clearing where he seemed to have disappeared. They looked nervously around the ground. Kid Rot appeared behind them with a grin that bared all his teethes.

He yanked Abby's ponytail so hard it threaten to rip her scalp of and tossed her to the ground before kicking her brother as hard as he could, making Ty fly several meters away. He had successfully separate the siblings just like he planned.

He walked up to Abby lying on the ground. "Now, how about a little kiss."

Abby turned to face him. "I couldn't agree more." She punched him as hard as she could in the face. He trembled back in pain with his hand over the sore area. Abby got on her feet and tried to punch Kid Rot again but the maniac grabbed her fist and hit her in the ribs. Abby grid her teethes in pain.

Kid Rot noticed that her uniform didn't mold as he expected. His mind started formulate a new plan to take his victim down.

Abby spun a kick towards him but he managed to dodge it. She swung another fist at him which hit but he stood his ground. Kid grabbed one of the tubes on Abby's gasmask and pulled it off.

Abby breath involuntarily in the surrounding fumes. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and she started coughing violently. Kid Rot kicked her in the stomach and all air went out of her before she fell to the ground.

Kid Rot moved in on her when a blast of goop hit the ground between the two. He turned to see Ty with his goopshooter directed at him. "Step away from my sister you peace of shit!" Ty ordered the enemy.

Kid Rot chuckled sinister. "Good shot, let's see if mine is better." He aimed two fingers at Ty like a gun and Ty aimed his goopshooter at Kid.

They fired at the same time. Ty's goop hit Kid in the chest but it made no damage. Kid's rot-blast on the other hand went right into the barrel of Ty's goopshooter. All the slime inside the blaster rotted and it clogged up the barrel. Ty looked with dread at his ruined weapon.

Kid Rot's sadistic smile widen. "Now, let's see here. You have no weapon, no partner while I have your sister, my superpowers and the only thing that stands between me and unimaginable glory…is you." He sighed the last part as if he was unimpressed with the competition.

Ty was unmoved by Kid Rot's insults but what got to him was his sister lying defenseless on the ground less than a feet away from an obsessed psychopath. While Ty wasn't as honed in martial arts like Abby he was far from defenseless but he had literary no idea what to do now.

With no better options Ty started pleading to what he hoped was Kid Rot's rational half. "Chester please, don't hurt my sister. I know where both rational people, were scientists. I know we can come to an agreement." Ty said even thou he had no idea if there even was a Chester left to talk too.

From inside his head Chester heard someone speak his name. He stood up from where he had been sitting. "I'm here." He shouted.

The parasite's mind appeared beside him. "Hosts shall listen but never speak."

"I am Kid Rot!" An angry Kid Rot roared at Ty. He walked to Abby and held his hand over her open mask, ready to rot her face off.

Ty panicked and ran towards his enemy, ready to use his goopshooter as a maul if necessary. This was exactly what Kid Rot had hoped for.

He fired a united rot-blast from his hands at the ground in front of Ty and a massive hole opened up. To late to react Ty fell down the trap. Kid Rot then fired another set of blasts at the sides of the hole and the surrounding soil fell in, covering the pit with Ty in it.

"Ty!" Abby cried out in horror. She started crawling on her knees towards the pit. It hurt to breath and even worse to move. Kid Rot looked in amusement at the weak girl practically dragging herself to her buried brother.

Abby reached the dirt where she had seen her brother fall down earlier and started desperately digging with her fingers. Her eyes were watering and her lip was vibrating out of fear and sorrow.

Kid Rot smirked. "I could save him you know. All you need to do is to join me on the dark side." He reached out a hand for her to take.

Abby swatted his hand away. "SHUT UP! You would never help anyone but yourself. You are a monster. I HATE YOU!" She shouted with long streams of tears running down her cheeks.

Inside Kid Rot's head a small blond boy clutched his chest.

The sadist pouted a bit but his evil grin soon returned. "Well, if you won't be my queen than Ty will be my jester." He disappeared into the ground to Abby's confusion.

The hole opened up again as the soil rotted away. Abby could see Kid Rot dragging an unconscious Ty into a small tunnel.

Abby gasped in terror and skidded down the pit. She crawled after them into the narrow tunnel. Kid Rot saw her coming and shot a blast at the cave ceiling and the earth came tumbling down. The last thing Abby saw was Kid Rot's maniacal grin. "No! No." She cried.

She stumbled backwards and fell on her back in the pit. She couldn't even see the sky because of all the swamp gases. She took up her grossometer and called LabRat. "LabRat." She mumbled with not enough energy to speak up.

"Abby! Abby what happened?" LabRat was shocked to see one of his closest friends in such a poor shape.

"Kid Rot took Ty. He just dragged him off." She cried. "My mask is broken, please send the GRS-1 to come get me."

She turned off her grossometer. She didn't want to hear any more worried questions from her friend. She didn't know it was out of despair or the toxic fumes that she cried so much. After she know not how long the flying green vehicle hovered over her. It lowered down a ladder for her. She grabbed it and was hoisted up to the GRS-1. She clumsily staggered to the pilot seat.

"Auto-pilot. Take me to the Gaglab." She sighed. The GRS-1 darted out of the toxic wasteland that used to be Ringworm Park.


Author's Note

As you can tell I am having a little bit too much fun writing Kid Rot right now. What can I say, I am a sucker for mad supervillains. Chapter three should be coming soon.

I would appreciate it if all of you wrote me a review/comment. It helps me out a lot.