Chapter 1

Flint Lockwood bustled around his new lab in Sparkswood, fully absorbed in his latest project. Steve, who had knocked a large bucket over and was now running from it, screamed, "Help!".

"Yes, Steve, you are helping. But now I'm almost done…"

Flint continued to work on the seemingly useless pile of metal in front of him, completed engulfed in his thoughts. Though what he didn't realize, and what Steve was too preoccupied to notice, was the gray, humanoid mist creeping behind Flint…

Sam was walking along the plant-lined pathway towards the large, metal building standing in the forest of Swallow Falls. She was wondering what Flint was up to today, since he was almost constantly building new machines in the new lab. It had only been a few months since the Chester V. incident but their lives were just returning to normal. Well, as normal as you get on an island filled with creatures made of food. As she rose in the new elevator up to the lab portion of the building, her anticipation did as well.

"Hey, Flint! I'm back from surveying the island. Where are you?". Sam walked through the door of the lab to see Steve running from a bucket twice his size and Flint laying on the floor, unconscious. "Flint!", she gasped as she ran to his side, "Flint. Flint can you hear me?!".

Flint responded with a groan as his eyes fluttered open. "Sam? What happened?".

"I don't know.", she said while helping him up, "I just saw you on the floor and freaked.".

"I don't know either. One minute I'm working on my newest machine, and the next minute everything just goes black."

"Scared!", Steve said out of nowhere. He had escaped the bucket but was now cowering under a table at the far end of the lab.

"Steve? What's wrong, buddy?". Flint approached the monkey but the Capuchin shied away from the inventor.

"Scared!", he repeated, running from Flint and into Sam's arms instead. Flint was shocked, to say the least. His partner had never acted like this before.

"Steve, is everything okay?", Sam asked while comforting the monkey in her arms.

"Danger!", he responded, pointing at Flint.

"What? Flint isn't dangerous!".

"Steve! Scared! Flint! Danger!". Steve repeated in quick succession and sprinted out of the room. Flint stood in a daze. What was Steve talking about? Why would he be so scared he ran away?

"What was that all about?", said Sam, hearing his thoughts like always.

"I don't know. He's never acted like this before.". A few moments later, Sam's attention turned to the lump of scrap metal on the table that Flint was working at.

"What's that, Flint?", she asked.

"That is my latest invention. The Flint Lockwood Super Revealinator!", the inventor replied in a dramatic tone.

"What's it do?".

"When it's finished, it will reveal anything that's hidden or lost, so you won't have to waste time looking for a matching sock, or your car keys, or a favorite stuffed animal, or…". Flint spent a few more minutes naming things people often lost before the door burst open yet again. This time Earl, Brent, and Tim came rushing through, Steve on Earl's shoulder.

"What's the trouble, son?", Tim asked worriedly, "Steve came running towards us shouting, 'Flint! Danger!' over and over again."

"Dad, Steve thinks I'm dangerous, and he's acting like he's scared of me and we don't know why."

"Well, you were laying on the floor out cold…", Sam said, "Maybe that has something to with this.". Suddenly, Barb came in the room.

"What's going on? I could here you all the way down in Research.", she exclaimed, a look of annoyance on her face.

"We're trying to figure out why Steve is scared of Flint.", Sam replied. Barb looked over to the inventor and her face twisted from annoyed to downright terrified.

"I don't know what it is, but Steve is right. There's just something off about you Flint.".