In this chapter, our two heroes are going to Duncan's toy chest.

But there are people waiting for them there.

Bad people.

Oh, and there's Mr. Wormwood.

The greedy jerk.

Chapter 4: Duncan's Toy Chest

Fortunately, the two were able to get to Duncan's toy chest without any problems.

"This toy chest is nice, but I wish my family could come here too." noted Kevin.

Even if they were too old for the toys, chances are they would be interested in putting money in the toy chest's donation bin.

Except maybe for Uncle Frank.

He knew what a cheapskate he was.

"Well, if we want to see them again, don't forget, we still have our plane tickets." pointed out Matilda.

"Oh, right." answered the boy.

He had gotten so absorbed in his vacation that he had forgotten about them.

As Matilda decided to buy some action figures, she was suddenly caught by surprise.

"Matilda!" cheered Michael.

He gave his sister a great big hug.

She was very surprised by the occurrence.

"I'm surprised at this sudden display of affection." remarked Matilda.

Up until now, she had only known her brother as a bully.

"Well, when you've been separated from your sister for a long time, you start to reevaluate your actions." noted Mike.

"I understand." nodded the young girl. She had changed during her time with Miss Honey. Now she had a fondness for cheese pizza. And watching movies.

Meanwhile, Kevin picked out an action figure of Johnny.

He wasn't exactly sure what it was doing in a toy store for children, but he decided to buy it anyway.

Johnny Valentine might be evil, but he certainly was entertaining.

But something happened as he prepared to buy the action figure.

He bumped into Harry Wormwood.

"Whoops!" exclaimed Kevin. It was a bit hard not to bump into somebody considering how many people were at the toy store with him.

"You stupid kid!" bellowed Harry.

"I'm sorry!" shouted the boy.

He slapped the McAllister in the face.

"Ow!" exclaimed Kevin, clutching his right cheek.

That stung.

"Wormwood! That was uncalled for!" bellowed Duncan.

"He should have watched where he was going!" retorted Wormwood.

"Apologize to the boy!" demanded the charitable man. There was no reason for Harry to slap the young boy in the face.

Though he did wonder what he was doing with an action figure of Johnny Valentine. Those movies weren't for children.

"No!" answered Harry.

"If you're going to act like that, I have no choice but to fire you!" shouted Duncan.

He didn't want to fire Wormwood, but he wasn't being reasonable.

"Fine!" bellowed the former car salesman.

Wormwood left in a huff.

Michael and Matilda decided to have a chat.

"What are you doing in New York though? Are you on vacation?" asked Michael to Matilda.

"Sort of. I was hoping to spend my vacation with Miss Honey in Miami...but we boarded the wrong flight." noted the girl.

"I'm sorry to hear that." answered the boy.

"I'm sure she'll find me eventually." spoke Matilda.

Duncan gave Kevin two turtle doves.

Because of Wormwood's bad behavior, they were on the house.

He decided he would give one to Matilda.

"You sure are donating a lot of money to the children's hospital." noted Kevin.

"The way I see it, they could use it a lot more than I do." remarked Duncan.

"May I ask you why you're both the owner and the cashier?" asked the boy.

"Sometimes I like to see what children are buying." noted the man.

Kevin nodded. That made sense.

He decided to donate some money to the charity.

"Thank you, young man!" exclaimed Duncan. Made him wonder why Wormwood slapped him in the face.

Kevin had to admit, he sure had a large portrait of himself in his toy store.

Duncan still seemed like a humble man though.

Unfortunately for the boy, Harry and Marv saw him as they were both making their way out from the toy store.

They had been plotting to steal from the place by hiding in the two miniature houses on the first floor.

"Kevin Mcallister is here? What are the chances?" asked Harry.

It looked like in addition to the money from the toy chest, they would be able to get their revenge.

The two walked towards him.

"Hiya, pal! Remember us?" asked the grumpy man.

Kevin gasped. He recognized that voice.

But it couldn't be them, could it?

Unfortunately, as it turned out, it was indeed them.

As soon as he saw them, he screamed.

Matilda heard the screaming, and went to check to see if he was alright.

"Kevin? What's wrong?" asked the girl.

What she saw next surprised her.

It seemed the Wet Bandits had somehow made their way to New York.

"Harry? Marv? What are you doing here?!" asked Matilda, her eyes widening with surprise.

Seemed that history had a funny way of repeating itself.

"I could ask the same to you." answered Marv.

"His little sidekick is here too? This gets better and better." remarked Harry.

It seemed hitchhiking their way to New York was the best idea they had ever had. Though maybe that wasn't saying too much considering the crazy ideas his partner had. Like leaving the sinks running in people's houses.

Kevin decided to make a break for it.

Likewise, Matilda decided to run as well.

Unfortunately, in the process, she dropped her plane ticket.

The two of them ran in separate directions.

Fortunately, despite the gravity of the situation, Kevin was able to keep his head on straight, though he did panic for a moment because he wasn't expecting to see his old nemeses in New York City.

There was a man selling necklaces. Beady ones.

They reminded him a bit of Lisa Simpson.

"Get your necklaces for sale!" exclaimed the shopkeeper.

"I'll buy one!" shouted Kevin.

The man was confused why a boy was buying them instead of a girl.

But he decided not to judge.

Fortunately, Kevin was able to set a small trap for Harry by splitting apart the beads.

Inevitably, he tripped over them.

"I can never keep my balance with that kid around." noted the man.

Meanwhile, Matilda was being chased by Marv.

She needed to find a way to give him the slip.

Lucky for Matilda, there happened to be a shop selling glue.

She knew all too well how useful glue could be.

The young girl decided to spray it a few feet from her, to see if Marv got caught in it.

Sure enough, he did. He didn't watch his step.

His feet were stuck.

"For some strange reason I find this ironic...I wonder why?" questioned Marv.

Matilda sighed in relief. Looked like she had escaped.

She took a moment to laugh at Marv's expense as well.

Seemed she was smarter than he was despite her young age...so she was able to outwit him. For now.

"Why were you running?" asked a familiar face.

Matilda recognized her as the pigeon lady from earlier.

"Oh, hi." answered the girl.

"You seemed to be in a hurry." noted the pigeon lady.

"I might have...had a sugar rush." explained Matilda.

"Oh. Well, you should be careful out in the streets. You don't want to jaywalk in a street this crowded." remarked the lady.

The girl nodded.

No doubt Kevin would be pleased to know the pigeon lady wasn't dangerous.

Wait, where was he?

The two had gone in separate directions to make escaping the criminals easier.

Had Kevin escaped as well?

It would be best if she checked to see if Kevin was alright.

The problem was...she didn't know where he was.

"Kevin, where are you?" asked Matilda.

Suddenly, she heard Kevin's voice in her head.

Could it be she had telepathy?

It wouldn't be too surprising given that she had telekinesis.

Perhaps now that she was a bit older she was gaining new powers.

Well, she might as well use it to her advantage.

"Hey Kevin, I'm at the park!" exclaimed Matilda.

"How are you doing that?" asked Kevin.

"Oh, it's my psychic powers at work again." explained the girl.

"I might have already said that last year, but you're amazing!" exclaimed the boy.

Matilda's cheeks turned pink.

Fortunately, her telepathy allowed her to reunite with Kevin.

"So, where should we go next?" asked Kevin.

"Um, listen, I don't know how the Wet Bandits made it to New York, but considering how determined they were to rob your house last year, they're not going to give up on looking for you anytime soon now that they know you're here with them. I think it would be best for us to hide until my adoptive mother and your parents find us." advised Matilda.

Kevin agreed. It would be best if the two went back to the Plaza Hotel.

As much fun as it was to explore the city, they both knew it was risky with the two bandits on the loose in New York.

So they decided they would hide in the hotel until their family found them.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wormwood was angry about being fired.

In his opinion, it was all that stupid kid's fault.

Suddenly, he remembered that he still had a key to unlock the front door.

Mr. Duncan gave it to him so that he could look over the store at night.

He considered giving it to him...

...but he got the feeling that it might be useful later.

So he decided to keep it.

Meanwhile...

"Darn it! We lost the kids!" exclaimed Harry.

"I wonder where they went. Maybe they went to the hotel?" asked Marv.

"If you're planning to pick up women, then forget about it. We're not supposed to draw attention to ourselves." warned the short man.

His partner sighed.

"Still, it does seem to be a likely place for them to go. We should look around there." noted Harry.

Marv nodded.

Once they had gotten even with those kids, it would be time to rob the toy chest.

Things were going to be different from last year.

This time, the Wet Bandits would win.

He was sure of it.

Elsewhere...

"Hey, mom! Have you seen my dad?" asked Michael.

Fortunately, their apartment wasn't far from the toy store.

"I don't know. Wasn't he in the toy store with you?" questioned the woman.

Unfortunately, Harry Wormwood had neglected his son.

"He was, but I think he left in a hurry." explained Michael.

"Well, why don't you look for him?" asked Zinnia.

"Are you sure I should be looking for him by myself?" questioned the boy.

"It'll be fine! What's the worst that could happen?" asked the woman.

Like her husband, Zinnia was being neglectful.

"I hope you're right." answered Michael.

He decided to search for his father.

Meanwhile...

Before the two went back to the hotel, Matilda came up with an idea.

"Actually, before we go in, mind if I do something?" asked the girl.

"Um, sure." nodded Kevin.

"Since I have telepathy, I figured maybe I could contact Miss Honey and tell her where to find me. And of course, I can also tell her to tell your parents where to find you as well." noted the girl.

"Good idea." answered the boy.

However, she did not know whether her powers were affected by distance.

Miss Honey was in Miami, and she was in New York.

Well, she decided to give it a shot.

"Miss Honey...you can find me...in New York...at the Plaza Hotel...tell Kevin McAllister's parents...he's at the Plaza Hotel...as well..." noted Matilda.

"Matilda, is that you?" asked Miss Honey.

She could tell it was her voice, though the transmission was garbled.

"Yes..." nodded the girl.

Miss Honey was pleased to know where Matilda was.

But what was this about Kevin McAllister?

Suddenly, she noticed Kate and Peter at the lobby.

"If only we knew where our son was." remarked Kate.

Peter nodded.

"Is your son named Kevin?" asked Miss Honey.

"How'd you know?" questioned Kevin's dad.

"I think I know where you can find him." explained the woman.

Understandably, Kate and Peter were ecstatic to hear that.

So was Uncle Frank...though that was in part due ti the fact that Kevin had his credit card.

Shortly after contacting Miss Honey, Matilda began to feel woozy.

She stopped for a moment to lie down.

Seemed she had overexerted herself somewhat.

"I guess my powers are affected by distance." noted Matilda.

"Are you going to be OK?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be able to use my powers for a while." answered the girl.

Still, she told Miss Honey what she needed to know.

Hopefully she would pass the message to Kevin's parents as well.

Since he appreciated her help, he decided to give Matilda his turtle dove.

"Thanks. It's nice to have something to remember you by." remarked the girl.

Of course, how could she forget Kevin?

However, when Matilda and Kevin arrived at the hotel, they found the concierge was there waiting for them.

He seemed angry at them about something.

"Um, hello?" asked Kevin.

"You two are busted!" exclaimed the concierge.

Kevin and Matilda gulped.

Since Marv decided to be a sticky bandit I decided to joke about it.

And since Matilda used superglue in both the novel and the book I figured it would be just perfect.

I figured I would include Zinnia Wormwood in this. She doesn't seem to stand to me as much as Matilda's father does though.

Anyways, it looks like Matilda and Kevin are in trouble with the concierge.

How are they going to get out of this? Especially since the former can't use her powers at the moment.