Chapter 5 - The Trip Begins
Professor Utonium prepared the box for its trip to Bolivia. The children watched as he first put a shipping label on it, then a warning label on its top. He gave the plastic shelves one last tug to satisfy himself that they would not fall in, then turned to the children.
"OK, kids, time to get going." he proclaimed. He stopped suddenly, raised his hand and said, "OOO, hold on a second. I almost forgot." He hurried up the steps and out of the lab.
They watched him go, wondering what he was up to. Brick then turned to Blossom and Buttercup. He crossed his arms in front of him and said, "OK, truce time, here." He nodded towards Butch and continued, "This all comes down to our brother and your sister, right? So here's the deal. We put our differences aside and work together. No fighting, no funny stuff, we're now a team, like it or not." He extended his hand towards Blossom.
"We can do it if you can." Butch finished.
Blossom and Buttercup looked at each other. They nodded, then Blossom turned to Brick. "OK, but it's not just a temporary thing. If we do this now, it's for good. No more trouble from you guys ever again, agreed?"
Brick grinned and nodded. "OK."
Blossom took Brick's hand and they shook on it. "Team?" Brick asked.
"Team." Blossom answered.
Professor Utonium returned, his arms full of the books and papers he had been studying and printing the previous night. He dumped them all into the box.
"We're not supposed to bring anything with us." Brick reminded him.
"He said he'd have people watching us, too." Buttercup added.
Professor looked up, thoughtful. "Well," he said, "We'll call it 'packing material'. I don't want you going there without SOME sort of help. This stuff might just come in handy."
The two Boys climbed into the box first. They each shuffled the papers and books around them to make room for the Girls. The Girls got in next and sat down. Professor closed the lid and turned the lock. He grabbed a freight dolly and wheeled it under the box. He gently tilted the box back and headed out the door with it.
Inside, Blossom noticed that the retaining shelves now had something in them. She tried to see what it was, but couldn't. Their ride to the airport was a bumpy one. Professor tried to talk to them, but they couldn't hear him over the sounds of the station wagon's engine and the shifting papers.
Finally, they arrived at Townsville Airport. Professor Utonium grabbed a large duffel bag, unloaded the box, and wheeled it up to the check-in counter. Two large security guards at the counter stopped him.
"What's in the box?" one asked him. The name on his shirt proclaimed him as 'Mel'.
Professor smiled kindly at them and replied, "It's a science experiment. I'm sending it to my colleague in Bolivia. He's going to check my work out and see if I've got something here!"
Mel checked the shipping label on the box. To Buttercup, inside the box, it seemed as if he was staring directly at her. She shrunk back from the wall as much as she could.
"La Paz, Bolivia." he read.
Mel's partner, Kyle, tapped on the warning label on top of the box. "So, what's this?" he asked. "What's in here?"
"Yeah, open it up, mister, we gotta check this out first." Mel instructed the Professor.
Professor Utonium shrugged. He put his duffel bag on top of the box with a thud and opened it. He pulled out a pile of clothing and handed one part of it to Mel. "Here, hold this a minute while I get my gloves, boots, and protective jacket on."
Mel looked at the helmet he was holding. It looked like a beekeeper's helmet and mask with heavy webbing on its front and a long, thick, canvass shroud around its circumference.
"What is this for?!" Mel demanded.
Professor looked up from putting on his thick canvass boots. "Oh, that's to protect me from them." He pointed to the box. "They're biogenetically mutated super killer bees!"
Inside the box, Butch jumped with a start. His dark green eyes widened as he panicked, and he opened his mouth to let out a yell. Buttercup grabbed him, planted her hand across his mouth, and held him still, shaking her head in an attempt to calm him. She could feel his heart pounding through his jersey.
"I anesthithezed them before I packed them, but I don't want to take any chances!" Professor explained. He took the helmet from Mel and put it on.
"Well, what about us?!" Kyle demanded.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure they're still asleep. Just run really fast if any of them come out. They're only dangerous if you get stung more than twice." Professor reached for the lock and began to turn it. Mel grabbed Professor's hand and stopped him.
"Uh, that's OK, uh...you just go on ahead. Make sure that lock is tight, now, you hear?" Mel instructed.
Professor looked disappointed. "You don't want to see them? They're actually quite lovely!"
Kyle and Mel shook their heads. "Nah, you just go on."
Professor shrugged, removed his protective clothing, put it all back into the duffel bag, and started towards the gate. "Leave the bag, though." Kyle said.
"OK, no problem!" Professor replied. He dumped the bag at their feet and headed off.
At the gate, Professor sat with the box. He paged through a newspaper as people wandered by, looking at him. It looked like he was talking to himself!
"There's BEES in here?!" Butch whispered. "I HATE bees!"
"Relax, the retaining shelves will keep them from you. They're not really killer bees." Professor mumbled back. He turned a page in his newspaper. "You'll arrive at La Paz airport in the El Alto region. A cargo company there will take the box to the university. There's a science lab there where a good friend of mine works. He'll take possession of the box."
"Then what?" Blossom asked, whispering.
"Then, well, I don't know. I hate to say it, but you're on your own after that." Professor explained. "I can't help you, remember?"
"Do we have enough money?" Buttercup wondered.
"I hope so." Blossom replied.
"Does this friend of yours know about us?" Brick asked.
"Yes, he knows you're in there. He'll wrangle the bees and let you out." Professor answered.
"Yeah, but does he REALLY know about us?" Buttercup asked.
Professor shook his head. "No, he has no idea what you four can do. I only told him that I had to secretly get my children into the country for something very important. His hobby is bee keeping and honey cultivation, so it was good cover. My suggestion is to keep as low a profile as you can. Don't use any of your powers, known or unknown, unless you REALLY have to."
He looked up from his paper. "Time to go." He stood up and placed the paper on the seat. Two men approached him with a freight dolly.
"This the box?" one asked.
Professor smiled. "Yep, this is it!"
He stood back as the men loaded the box onto the dolly. They dragged it onto the dolly and shoved it back roughly, causing it to hit with a thump.
"Please, be careful!" Professor complained.
The men continued their work. "Yeah, yeah, mister, whatever." They wheeled the box away as Professor Utonium looked on. A feeling of hopelessness arose in him as the men and the box disappeared from his view. He sighed, picked up his newspaper, and headed out of the airport, wondering if he'd ever see the children again.