Episode 8: Brainzburgerz

I feel like there's something wrong with the chapter but I don't really know... e-e Anyway, enjoy :P

Penn was tired. The week has been severely rough for him. He yawned as he and his friends shared an umbrella on their way to the Odyssey. Since Verge couldn't get her wings wet, she stayed hidden in Penn's hair. Which means she noticed everything that happened to him.

"Bag check for Zero's eyes!" she called out jokingly. But Penn only yawned again. "What, nothing?"

"Sorry, Verge, but all the missions in the past week have been really tough. I'm surprised you guys aren't a wreck."

"Well, maybe it's 'cause you were working the most in those times," Boone pointed out.

"Gee, Boone, thanks. I totally feel like you guys have my back."

"I'm sure today's mission won't be that hard," Sashi said.

"Highly doubt it," Verge piped up. "Have you seen the things he's been experiencing in the past few days?"

Boone and Sashi only shrugged.

They finally arrived at the Odyssey and Penn walked in rather drowsily. "Hey, uh, Phyllis?" he said to her. "I was wondering if you could maybe take it easy on us today? This week we've already faced Slaughterbots, Slug Soldiers, and a pack of Rabbid Space Gerbils."

"Then good news, Penn Zero," she said as they stepped onto the platform. "Today is day of relaxing, quiet—"

"Don't toy with me Phyllis. I'm feeling very vulnerable."

"Quiet starting now!"

She pushed a lever and they got zapped in.

Penn opened his eyes to see him in a fast food employer's outfit. He looked around and his eyes lit up to see that they were in a mall. "We work in a food court?" he gasped excitedly. "We're just normal, everyday schlobs!"

"I know!" Boone thrilled. "I'm middle-aged! Check it out. Clicky knee!" He bent his leg to produce a clicking sound coming from it.

"So another 'normal' world, huh?" Verge noticed, sitting on Penn's employer's hat. She didn't have her form changed this time around. She placed her head in her hand and pouted. "Well, this should be interesting."

"I detect sarcasm, Divergent," Penn called out. "Try lightening up a bit! This could be good for us!"

Sashi entered the scene, twirling a guarding stick. "I could get used to this," she smirked. She turned to her friends. "Just let some lowlife pull the five-finger discount on my watch!"

They stared, blinking, as she pointed the stick at them. "Calm yourself, Sash," Verge warned.

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

As she strapped the stick at her belt, Boone examined the court. "This place is empty!" he noted. "Could this be the world's biggest game of hide-and-seek? Are we it?"

Suddenly, Verge's pointy ears perked up when noticed something lurking in the shadows. It gave her the chills. She flew off Penn's hat, hoping to examine it, and he went and lay down on the counter.

"It's perfect!" he declared. "So, what have we got, Sash? Refill the napkin dispensers? Take out the garbage? Clean the grill?"

Sashi went to check the Specs. "OK—" But then she got interrupted when ketchup flew at her face and messed with the technology. "Boone!"

The boy suddenly turned to her, a ketchup bottle in his hands. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that. But hey, on the plus side, Ketchup Cat in the hayse!"

Sashi glared and flicked her Specs at him. "Ketchup Cat better pray there's an eyeglass repair shop in this mall. Or we'll never figure out what we're doing here! Verge, you coming?"

The three turned to the small fairy, who was currently inspecting the empty tables for that shadow she thought she saw. Penn frowned. "Verge? Everything OK?"

She then snapped back to reality. "Wha—Oh. Sorry. I thought I…saw something."

"Come on, " Sashi said. "We need to fix the Specs."

"Sure, I'll tag along." Verge flew over and sat on her shoulder. Sashi walked away from the fast food store.

Penn and Boone waved at them. "Consider us in ultra-high alert mode!" Penn promised.

Once the girls had walked away, Verge said, "They're so not going to take it seriously."

Sashi smiled. "Right guess. But it's up to us to find a store to fix these things. You check the higher floors, I'll check the grounds."

And so they did. After splitting up, all Verge could find was one eyeglass store in the third floor. However, that store wasn't open. She continued to search, but the more she looked, the more she wished she hadn't split up with Sashi. The mall was deserted. There were no signs of humans anywhere. It was bad enough there weren't any stores open. There weren't any people at all.

Verge reunited with Sashi a few minutes later. "Any luck?" she asked.

"Only found one store and its closed."

Sashi sighed. "Great. What did we expect from a mall with no people in it?"

Verge hesitated. "Well, I know I don't know much about tech stuff, but maybe I can fix it."

Sashi's eyes widened slightly. "What makes you think you can fix it?"

"I dunno. I've seen the Zeros work on stuff before. Let me see what I can remember."

"Well, it's not like we have any choice of the matter now."

Sashi took her glasses off and handed them over. Verge took them and used her small fairy hands to carefully fix the wires.

"So. How is life living with Penn?"

"Oh, it's not that bad. He can be a handful at times, be a bit troublesome to take care of, and need some company every now and then, but being his roommate is no different than being his best friend. I experience the things you guys do."

"Well, maybe so, but what's it like when you sleep under the same roof he does?"

Verge hesitated. "Just think of it like having a slightly older brother. You think you were the one born first." She smiled smugly.

Sashi smirked. "You guys are really close, Verge. What's going to happen when you find your old dimension?"

At those words, Verge stopped working. What would happen? She really didn't know. She didn't want to leave Penn and her friends, but she certainly wanted to spend some time in the world she used to live in. But deserting Penn would be the last thing she would ever want.

"I guess I'd still find a way to stay here."

"That's good to know. We'd really miss you."

"I'd miss you too…" Then Verge got a suspicious look. "Why are you asking all this?"

Sashi shrugged. "Can I help being curious?" Then she smiled. "Look, Verge, I have to say I'm worried. You and Penn are growing older and he's at that age where—"

"OK, I know what you're going to say."

"You do?"

"Yes. Please don't continue. Penn and I are like brother and sister! There's no reason to get all fussed about it! You have nothing to worry about."

Brother and sister. Is that what Verge really thought about them?

Sashi chuckled. "Just keeping an eye out for my girl best friend." She punched Verge's shoulder, ever so lightly.

"Thanks. 'Appreciate it. Although, I'd really appreciate it if you never ask these things again and just be yourself." Sashi scoffed and smiled. Verge finally figured out the problem with the Specs as she closed the small hatch and held it up proudly. "And it's done!"

"Awesome!" Sashi picked the glasses up and examined them as she put them on. "You know technology a bit more than you think. How'd you do it?"

Verge grinned. "I guess I just sorta tinkered with it! Didn't expect to fix something right on the first try. Anyway, check the Specs, Sash!"

The girl nodded. "OK, hold on." Sashi checked their mission, and her eyes widened. "I can see now why there aren't any people."

"Why?"

"That fast food place Penn and Boone are watching over?"

"Yeah?"

"It's bad news. Apparently, it sells infected burgers that causes people to turn into zombies!"

"Sash, look out!"

The girl turned and screamed when she saw a zombie right behind her. Verge immediately grew to human size and sent a burst of ice in its face. The zombie flew back, now buried under snow.

"I feel annoyed for not taking it down myself, but thanks!"

"I knew I saw something at the food court!" Verge cried out. "So Brainzburgerz is the cause of this. This is why I'm a vegetarian!"

"We have to warn the boys!" Sashi said, taking her Specs off for safekeeping.

Verge quickly turned to the side and her eyes lit up when she saw a police's indoor scooter. She quickly flew over and tried starting it. Luckily, there were batteries still working in it. "Sash!"

The girl smirked as she quickly hopped on the scooter. "Get on!"

Verge shrunk to her small size and turned to see the zombie getting out of the snow. "Move!"

Sashi revved the scooter. It got moving, and she knocked the zombie over. "One down!" Verge cheered.

The girls then looked over at the ledge and saw more zombies had just burst into the mall. "A billion more to go!"

"Let's get going, Divergent!" Sashi started the scooter again, and they started searching for Penn and Boone.

Zombies came and tried to attack, but Sashi ran them over and Verge used her nature magic to hold them down. They were going around the mall in circles. It was as if they weren't getting anywhere. "Where could they be?" Sashi cried out.

"They could be anywhere! They have to hide, can't they?"

"Well then, use your fairy instincts or something! You are the fairy guide here!"

"Oh, yeah. Hold up!" Verge closed her eyes and concentrated. She had to focus on where Penn and Boone's sound and presence. She didn't know how it was possibly, but she felt like she could hear voices from miles away.

Her fairy ears picked up when she heard screaming.

"Make a left!" she shouted out.

Sashi did. They rode the scooter up an escalator, where there appeared to be more zombies on that floor. "Go forward!" Verge instructed.

As Sashi continued to knock down zombies, Verge buried some of them under snow. "Make another left!" she said. "They're around this corner!"

Sashi nodded. There were zombies heading for the same direction they were. They finally came to a dead end and found Penn and Boone surrounded by zombies. Sashi steered around them and knocked all the zombies down.

"Yes!" Verge cheered, high-fiving Sashi.

"Guys!" Penn cried out.

Sashi smiled, putting her Specs back on. "Turns out its hard to find an eyeglass store that stays open during the zombie apocalypse."

"All right, hop on boys!" Verge shouted.

They grinned and quickly got behind Sashi. More zombies were coming. Using water magic this time, Verge flooded all of them away. As they sped away, Boone asked, "How did you find an open eyeglass store if nobody's around?"

"Verge fixed it," Sashi explained.

"I thought you knew nothing about technology," Penn pointed out.

"Apparently, I do now!" Verge said, raising her hands. "We've been over this, people! I don't tell you everything! Sash, explain the mission."

Sashi nodded. "Brainzburgerz is an evil corporation attempting to take over the world by turning everyone into zombies with infected burgers."

"What's a fast food guy supposed to do about it?" Penn asked.

"In your typical zombie movie, the hero is an everyman, who discovers that there's more to him that meets the eye!" Boone explained.

"Well, good luck with that, Zero," Verge said, patting his shoulder.

"The cure falls into your hands," Sashi said. "So you're the only one who can deliver it to a nearby government base!"

"But I don't have the cure!" Penn protested.

"The antidote is supposed to be in a metal briefcase."

"Metal briefcase!" Penn suddenly got a memory in his mind and gasped.

"Have you thought of something?" Verge asked.

Penn was about to respond but then they stopped moving. "Batteries dead."

"I knew I should've stole extras at the hardware store."

"The cure is in that fountain!" Penn shouted, pointing at the bottom floor. "There!" He screamed out when he saw zombies occupying the escalator.

"How are we gonna get to it?"

"I have an idea!"

Apparently, Penn's brilliant idea was hanging by the banner hanging right above the fountain. "Yeah, that was a bad idea." It was like more than a ten-foot drop.

His friends glared at him. Penn laughed awkwardly. "Thought the fountain would be a little closer. My bad. Relax! Zombies can't untie knots!"

Boone raised an eyebrow. "Well, somebody's never seen 'Zombies Ahoy'!"

They all gasped when they saw a zombie in a sailor suit coming up to the banner. "Really?!" Penn shouted. "Sailor zombie in a mall! Unbelievable!"

"We are going to fall!" Verge yelled out.

Her friends stared at her in disbelief.

The fairy chuckled. "Right, just messing with you."

The moment the sailor zombie untied the banner's knot, Verge flew away from it and dusted her friends. They screamed as they fell, but then felt themselves slowly floating in the air. They landed in the fountain, unharmed, and Penn got hold of the briefcase.

"Yes!"

However, more zombies started surrounding them. They all got out of the water and started punching and kicking all of them away. "We made it!" Penn shouted.

But once they got out of the mall, they only found more zombies. "With an even worse situation! No!"

The streets were crawling with them. Humans were screaming and running away as the zombies forced them to eat Brainzburgerz. They were like an infectious disease. No one could get away.

Lights suddenly blinded them and they looked up. "Helicopter!" Boone cried. "We're saved!"

"Try again!" Verge shouted, pointing. The Helicopter had the words "Brainzburgerz" on it. The door opened and Rippen and Larry appeared.

"Or not!"

"Verge, you gotta get us out of here!" Sashi shouted.

"On it!" Verge quickly started flying around her friends, spreading the fairy dust. They started floating again, and they were in the air before a zombie could get to them.

"I see the base!" she shouted, flying forward. "Follow me!"

They did. They flew over the city, watching as zombies fed humans the burgers. It wasn't a pretty sight.

They arrived at the dock before they knew it. The three landed by the rails. "All right!" Penn said. "There's the government base!"

"Boone!" Verge yelled out. Penn and Sashi turned and gasped to see the boy eating a familiar green burger.

"Sorry," he said. "When I get stressed, I eat."

"Don't apologize to us! Apologize to yourself!"

Boone suddenly perked up and held his head in pain. When he looked back up, he was looking zombie-ish. Zombie Boone picked up his burger again and advanced on Penn.

"Boone! No!" he screamed. Zombie Boone tried forcing the burger into his mouth. Verge was trying to pull him off.

Until Sashi went and kicked him away.

Zombie Boone fell to the floor, but he only got back up again. "Sashi!" Verge cried.

"Sorry, Verge! But there's no helping him now!"

"Our only chance to save him is to get this to the base!" Penn said.

"All right…look, a boat!"

Verge pointed at the dock and quickly flew over to the speedboat there. She quickly handed her friends life jackets and they got in. Taking the rope off, they took off into the sea.

Verge was at the head of the boat, eyes on the base. "We'll be there in approximately three minutes!" she declared.

"Why couldn't you just fly us over there, Verge?" Sashi asked.

The fairy turned and her eyes widened. "Because it would be harder to avoid that!"

She pointed upwards. The Brainzburgerz helicopter was following them. The vehicle flew before the boat and Rippen used a microphone to call out to them.

"Penn Zero! I see you somehow managed to stumble upon the antidote. No matter! I brought a special toy. Just for you!"

The helicopter hatch opened and Rippen stood there, next to a burger launcher. He used it and rapidly shot burgers at their boat.

"Take cover!" Verge yelled, turning into human size and jumping onto Penn, pushing him down. A burger was heading straight for them

"Penn, Verge! No!" Sashi went and jumped in front of the two, taking the burger for herself.

"Sashi!" they cried out.

As the burgers rained upon them, Verge used her protection magic to block any more out. She noticed something in the boat. "Zero! Use that gun!"

Penn understood and took the flare gun from the boat. Verge stopped the field and handed him a burger. He stuck it in the gun and fired it at the helicopter. They couldn't see where it hit but the burger barrage finally stopped.

Verge was shaking Sashi. "Sash? Sash?! Say something!"

"Sash! Are you OK?!"

Sashi turned and Verge saw her zombie face. She gasped. Zombie Sashi tried feeding her a burger.

"Verge!" Penn pushed her away, and Zombie Sashi ended up kicking Penn down and try feeding him a burger as well.

Penn had no choice but to kick Zombie Sashi into the ocean. She came right back up, fed a dolphin, and it turned into a zombie dolphin.

Penn helped Verge up. She held her head, but she was more concerned about Sashi. "There's no hope for her now."

The boy turned to find Zombie Sashi riding the dolphin to catch up to them. "Sashi, I like it a lot better when you're on our side!" Penn shouted out, steering the boat.

"Speed it up!" Verge yelled. Penn pushed a lever, and the turbo and the speedboat increased.

"Almost there!" the fairy cheered. But then her happiness dropped. "Oh wings."

There were some zombies at the entrance. Apparently, they managed to make it across the water. They were pounding at the base's entrance. But once Penn and Verge landed, their attention was drawn to them and they started advancing.

"How will we get past them?" Penn cried out.

"Not us," Verge said slowly. "You. It's all on you now, Zero."

"Verge, what are you—"

"Just remember. I may be a vegetarian, but I do know one thing. Burgers go great with fries!"

Before he could ask what that could ever mean, Verge threw a handful of dust at his face. He coughed and sneezed, causing him to fly up in the air. Verge faced the zombies, glared, and charged.

"Verge, no!" Penn cried. But the zombies already started surrounding her. She was fighting with them, using protection and nature magic to attack. Penn couldn't tell if she already got turned.

Penn bit his lip. "Don't worry, Verge."

He quickly flew to the entrance while it was still wide open. He quickly looked for the base's meeting room. Once he neared it, he heard voices.

"I say we board our escape shuttle, blast off, and start a new life on the moon!"

The red-haired boy went and kicked the door down. "General! Send the Man in the Moon your regrets! 'Cause we're having a potluck on Earth and this everyman is bringing the antidote!"

The General raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. Who are you, and why are you throwing a potluck?"

Penn stepped forward. "Uh, I was just trying to sound cool. I don't know if that was effective, or…but I got the cure for the zombie apocalypse?"

He opened the briefcase, revealing the cures. The General smiled and turned to his team. "You heard this fast food employee! Initiate Operation Stop-Crazy-Zombie-Hamburger-Attack!"

The team cheered. But then the General started hesitating. "How are we going to get the cure to the zombies?"

That's when Penn's eyes lit up. An idea came to him.

"Excuse me, General, but I actually have one thought."

Penn told them his plan. They all agreed and started preparing. The young hero guided them all. Once they were ready, they prepared army tanks and headed for the Surface. Luckily, there were plenty of zombies on the streets.

"Hey, zombies!" Penn shouted out. "You know what goes great with burgers? A side of fries!"

At those words, French fry ammo shot out of the tanks, landing on the street floor near the zombies. Once they took a bite out of them, the zombies had returned to their normal human selves.

"Making French Fries out of the cure was simply brilliant!" the General said, rubbing Penn's hair. "But it was your minimum wage bravery that saved the world!"

"Please stop," Penn said, pushing his hand off. "Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just that your fingers have French fry grease on them."

The zombies all returned to normal by the time the sun rose over the city. Penn shook hands with the General. "It was nice doing business with you, young hero."

"Glad to be of help!" Penn turned and found Boone and Sashi reunited. He quickly walked over to them.

"Hey, Penn!" Boone called out, waving.

"Hey, guys," Penn said. Then he frowned. "Where's Verge?"

"She's not with you?" Sashi asked.

"No…"

"Over here!" The three looked up to see the fairy flying above them, slowly landing beside Penn. He grinned and gave her a big hug.

"Thanks for that idea, Vergie."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I just told you that because I didn't want the cure to be something made out of meat. But I'm glad you listened."

"Well, what hero would I be if I didn't follow my fairy guide?" Penn grinned and turned to his team. "It's good to have you back."

"Guess this assignment wasn't as relaxing as you hoped," Sashi noted.

"No, but boring or dangerous, saving the day is all part of the job."

"Glad to know that," Verge grinned as he patted her friend's shoulder and they did a fist bump.

Then, Boone looked to the ground and perked up. "Sweet! Free burger!"

"No!" his friends shouted.

As Boone chewed, he slowly turned to a zombie, but he also picked up a fry, ate it, and turned right back to normal. "Sweet! Free burger!"

Penn, Verge, and Sashi stared at him. "Sweet! Free burger!" They exchanged deadpanned looks as Boone did the same thing. "Sweet! Free burger!"

"Sweet! Free burg—" As he turned to normal one last time, Sashi kicked him in the gut.

"You enjoyed that one, didn't you?"

"Most definitely."

Can I just add for a fact that my brother could not shut up about this episode? Zombies excite him, I guess .3.