CHAPTER EIGHT

AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT, PART TWO

About ten minutes before Nick was looking right at Sparky, Gantu was looking right at an alien rodent with white fur, red eyes, and a fluffy tail. He called himself Dr. Jacques von Hamsterviel, and he was an evil madman with aspirations of galactic domination.

Fortunately for the rest of the galaxy, he didn't have a lot of common sense, had hired a bumbling henchman (Gantu) to retrieve the experiments of Jumba Jookiba, and he was very short and not powerful in the least. Plus, people kept calling him a gerbil. Gantu was currently apologizing to him via video-link, and the doctor was quite annoyed. Gantu was also not wearing his shirt, and was covered in bandages.

"I'm very sorry, Dr. Hamsterviel. The experiment got away again, but this time it was not the abomination and the girl that made me lose him." The grating, almost comical accent of the mad doctor pierced the air, making 625 flinch slightly. He was chewing absentmindedly on a chicken sandwich. "Oh, REALLY? Not their fault, you say? Well then…enlighten me. What is this new reason as to why you are failing so miserably?" "A human child with dangerous powers, sir. He survived a fall from at least 100 feet into the ocean, and he was able to imitate 520's abilities. Look what he did to my back!"

Gantu turned around and pointed at his back. There was a VERY big bruise right on the back, which was red and sore. Hamsterviel chuckled. "A human child did THAT to you? Intriguing…I must see what else he is capable of…follow him. Study him some more, Gantu…and then report back to me after a few days time, say…three days." "Yes sir." Said Gantu, turning back to face the video screen and saluting. "I'll report in three days, and 625 and I will follow the child every chance we get." "Speak for yourself." said 625, mouth full of mayo.

Elsewhere…

An African American man drove down the road, taking a right, then a left onto the road that would lead him to the Pelekai driveway. He was a big man, with a black suit and sunglasses. He had a black tie, black shoes and a deep voice. His name was Cobra Bubbles, and he was a social worker. Not only that, he was the one that was called when things went REALLY wrong in a family, and with Lilo and Nani, things HAD gone wrong. Luckily, things had improved greatly, and everyone got along very well. Cobra was also a member of the secret underground government. Originally he'd quit the job, but he had been called back, and he frankly liked his job.

He was going to Lilo's house to investigate this new child that had shown up on Kauai's doorstep, Nicholas Michael Grey. Nani had told him that the kid had not only survived an incredible fall from the sky into the ocean, but he had also successfully fended off Captain Gantu and had exhibited strange powers. Cobra HAD to check the kid out.

And as soon as he pulled into the driveway, he got his wish. Lo and behold, there Nick was.

Nick was running for his life from Sparky, who was twisting and turning through the air, rushing after the child, who was sweating up a storm. Lilo, Jumba, Pleakley and Nani were all urging Nick to get back inside the house where it was somewhat safe, but Nick was panicking. Stitch was smirking at the sight. Yeah, Nick was really quick, but Sparky was gaining on him.

Cobra stopped the car, and got out, pulling out his gun. "FREEZE." He shouted at Sparky. Sparky turned to look at Cobra and grinned nastily, suddenly moving through the air like, well, lighting, and going for his car. Cobra jumped away just in time as Sparky MELTED into the car…and then emerged from the trunk, laughing. The car spluttered, the radio died, and the car sank as it's tires burst. The engine had been fried completely, and was now smoking. Cobra growled angrily.

"That was a rental!" he growled, pulling ANOTHER gun…but Sparky was suddenly gone. Cobra looked around. Nowhere…

"Behind you!" Nick shouted, running towards Cobra. The social worker turned and there was Sparky, zooming towards him. Cobra ducked to the side again, but then he realized that the KID was now open for attack! Sparky grinned and tacked Nick, grabbing him. "Get off me!" Nick shouted. Sparky shook his head and his antennae crackled, reaching down for Nick…

Suddenly he stopped. He noticed that Nick's hands were glowing yellow…

Now it was NICK who was grinning. "I said get off, Sparky!" He shouted, kicking Sparky off. Nick got up quickly, and took up a running position on the ground, as if ready to run a marathon. Sparky got up, spitting out some dirt from his mouth. He rushed at Nick…

"DASHING THUNDER!" Nick shouted. Suddenly he was not there, a crackle of lighting, a boom of thunder, and Nick was fifteen feet behind Sparky, who suddenly collapsed to the ground, sparking slightly, fizzed out. The experiment groaned, and twitched slightly. Nick stood up, and turned around, smiling slightly. "Hmm…shocking." He said.

Cobra dropped his guns. He stood there, staring right at Nick. His sunglasses fell off, and his mouth was so wide open it could catch a tennis ball. Nick walked up to him and handed the social worker and man in black his sunglasses. "You dropped these." He said politely.

"Uh…um…thank you…" "What? In shock?" Nick asked. Lilo giggled, running up to him and hugging him. "You were amazing!" She said. Nick turned bright red, his already rosy cheeks getting even rosier. "Uh…gee, shucks. It's nothing, I don't even know how I did that."

Cobra collected himself and finally spoke. "So I take it that you are Nicholas Michael Grey?" "Yep, but call me Nick! You're Cobra Bubbles, right? Nice to meet you. Did you really tell aliens that mosquitoes were an endangered species? They sure are if they're near MY house, the stupid bugs. I can't stand them."

Cobra stuttered, his confidence shattered. "Huh-huh-how exactly di-did you know my nuh-name, son?" "Well, where I come from, you're a character in a movie and a TV show named after Lilo and Stitch, so I know a lot. It's pretty cool, being here."

Lilo looked up at Cobra. "Isn't he so cool?" Cobra tried to collect himself again, and looked over at Nani, raising an eyebrow. "I take it you want me to draw up the necessary papers to adopt him? Since he has no legal guardians at the moment he's a ward of the state, but I can get around that with the right forms and with a bit of string-pulling." Nani looked at Nick. "Well…" "I do not think we should be trusting child." said Jumba, folding his large arms. "Ih!" said Stitch.

A song came to mind in Nick's head. "We can't build our dreeeaaams…on suspicious miiinds…" he sang.

'"That's it. He stays." said Lilo.

"But…but…" said Jumba, stuttering.

"Anyone who likes Elvis has to be a good person."

"Yeah, 100 million Elvis fans can't be wrong."

"You're funny." said Pleakley, chuckling.

"Come on, let's let him stay. He needs a place to live, right?"

"Pleeeaaase, can't Nick stay?" begged Lilo, rushing up the steps to Nani, getting on bended knee.

Nani sighed. "All right. Nick can stay." Nick broke into a huge grin. Lilo smiled broadly too. "All right! I'll bake cookies!" said Pleakey, running inside the house. "Oh, no! This time I'M making them!" yelled Nani. "Last time you used detergent instead of baking powder!" "They were both white, what was I supposed to think?"

Jumba rubbed his head. "Oh…I need to go lie down…"

From yhe bushes a Gantu and 625 watched.

"How interesting. Very interesting indeed." said Gantu, rubbing his chin. "So they have adopted the child. Good. That makes it easier for us to study him." "Yeah, yeah." said 625, who kept on staring at Nick, who was jumping up and down with Lilo, celebrating this turn of events. The genetic experiment didn't blink once until Gantu poked him in the shoulder. "Come on. We must return to my ship to draw up plans." "Right." said 625, taking one last look at the kid who had saved his life.

That night, Jumba couldn't sleep.

He tossed and turned, groaning. Pleakley covered his head with his pillow and waited for Jumba to stop. The mad scientist was really bothered by something…but WHAT?

As it turned out, he was dreaming of the past. Of an old experiment's creation…of speaking with his partner…

"Now Jumba, I trust you completely. I'm sure your discovery of light energy will signal a VERY bright new chapter in the creation of new, more powerful experiments. Light energy will herald in a new age…OUR age. The age of evil geniuses!"

"Yes…ha-ha-haaaa!"

"Nya ha haaa!"

"Okay, enough with evil laughing. I must be getting to my workings!"

"Very well. I'll be in the next room. Call out when the experiment is ready."

"Of course."

Dr. Hamsterviel walked out of the room, and Jumba Jookiba turned to the experiment pod he held in his hands. It was green, but emanated a white aura, the result of light energy, which Jumba had bombarded the pod with. Just in case the experiment got out of control, Jumba also had a plasma pistol in his lab-coat pocket, which contained a dark energy ammo pod. Dark energy was a common tool in creating weapons these days. Light energy seemed to be it's exact opposite.

Jumba placed the experiment pod on the working table he was using and took a dropper from a drawer. He filled it up with water from a beaker and dropped a single droplet of water onto the experiment.

KAFOOOM!

There it was. Beautiful…beautiful…

The experiment blinked slowly and stretched it's wings. It looked at him with big, childlike eyes.

"I am Jumba Jookiba. I am an evil genius, and I am your creator."

"…daddy?"

Jumba took a step back. Daddy? How odd.

"Yes, I suppose I am being your father."

"Daddy…I'm…sorry."

Jumba suddenly felt very afraid. It was looking at him with such sorrowful eyes.

"For what?" Jumba asked, shakily.

"Have to stop it…sorry, Daddy…"

Suddenly the experiment began to emit a strange white aura, which climbed up to the celing, spreading towards Jumba, enveloping him. The fat scientist coughed and spluttered, and he felt an unbelievable headache. He screamed in pain as the aura continued to spread, reaching the very ends of the lab and beyond, sneaking under the doors. Jumba could hear Hamsterviel's horrible screeches of pain.

"Evil…evil…EVIL…" the experiment said, pointing at him with a claw. Jumba had fallen to the ground, and his headache was tearing his head apart. He tasted blood. He had to stop the experiment!

With the last of his strength, he stood up and shoved the experiment into the dehydrator machine right behind it. BZZZAAAP! The experiment was reduced to pod form. Jumba staggered over to the pod and picked it up gently.

"I was being such a fool…what have I done? What have I created?"

Jumba woke up, sweating all over, shaking slightly. He had forgotten until now how fearful, how PETRIFIED, he'd been that night…

He never wanted to feel that way.

EVER again.

WHO ARE YOU? CHARACTER BIOS!

Cobra Bubbles

Cobra Bubbles has had experience with extraterrestrial life since he was a student fresh out of college and in the military. He was involved with the Roswell Incident, and managed to convince aliens that mosquitoes were an endangered species, saving the entire world from utter destruction. He insists that he has a shaved head…but he's really bald. He's a member of the secret shadow government, AND a social worker…and you didn't here this from me, but he's killed precisely 139 people.