Fluey just stared at Danalleah. He couldn't believe what she just said.
"She's your what?!" he shouted the minute he got his wits back.
"And . . . . I'm a witch, too," Danalleah went on. "Well, half witch anyway. My father's a vampire. Remember that bat you and your friends kept meeting up with?"
"You mean that was you?"
Danalleah nodded sheepishly, and gave Cronella the moon rock. Cronella cackled, and she threw it into her cauldron. The goop inside began bubbling like crazy. Then, the steam began to surround Cronella, until it appeared she disappeared through it. By the time the smoke had cleared, her powers had been restored, however, she had to leave the goop in the cauldron sit for a good hour before they were back permanently.
"Now that my powers are back," she said, walking towards Fluey, "it's time I took care of a little matter at hand. I know you Impossibles can't transform unless all three of you are together. I'll fix it so the three of you will never become your superhero identities ever again!"
"No, Mother!" Danalleah shouted, grabbing Cronella's arm. "Please, please, Mother, don't hurt him!"
"You don't want me to hurt him?" Cronella asked. "And why not? Is it possible that you like this boy?"
"Well . . . ." Danalleah said, wringing her hands.
"You mean to tell me you've fallen for an Impossible?!" Cronella shouted, turning her attention away from Fluey, and to Danalleah. "Danalleah Critch! My daughter! My own flesh and blood! You've fallen for one of my worst enemies?!"
Cronella looked like she wanted to strangle Danalleah for this one. Danalleah just started backing into the wall. It was about all she could do. She didn't have much magic in her system, and she wasn't sure if she even wanted to attempt using it on her mother. But at least Cronella was distracted. Fluey managed to work his wrists out of the ropes. From there, he managed to pull his arm free, and then he was able to untie himself. He had to get Multi and Coiley, but before he could do anything, Cronella grabbed his arm.
"Going somewhere?" she asked.
"Actually, I was just leaving," Fluey said.
"Nice try, Fluid Man," Cronella said, laughing. "Or maybe I should say . . . . ."
Cronella grabbed her broom and twirled it around a little. Then she pointed it directly at Fluey. A beam of light shot out of it, and surrounded the black-haired teenager. When it subsided, there was a frog sitting on the floor where Fluey had been standing moments before.
"Fluey!" Danalleah gasped.
"Fluid Frog!" Cronella cackled, finishing up her sentence.
"Ribbit, ribbit," Fluey croaked. "Hey, what the heck did you just do?!"
"Oh Mother, how could you?!" Danalleah wailed, picking up the teenager-turned-frog. "Oh, Fluey, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think so," Fluey said. "Ribbit! Except for that. Ribbit! Think you can change me back?"
"No, I can't. Only Mother can do that. I can't counteract any of her spells."
"You know, Danalleah, I should think about getting dinner on the table," Cronella said. "Let me think. How about . . . . frog's legs!"
"I'm outta here!" Fluey shouted, hopping out of Danalleah's hands. Cronella just cackled and went chasing after him, until she cornered him.
"I've got you now!" she shouted.
"Hold it, Mother!" Danalleah shouted. Cronella turned around and saw Danalleah, as a bat, hovering over her cauldron with a screw in her feet.
"Danalleah, what in the world are you doing?!" Cronella shouted.
"Change him back, Mother, or I'll drop this in your cauldron," Danalleah said. "I know this particular spell. If I drop this in the cauldron, your powers are history!"
"You wouldn't do that to your own mother, would you?!"
"Not if you change him back!"
Cronella glared at Danalleah. This was the only time she's come remotely close to standing up to her. She didn't like it one bit. But she didn't necessarily want to lose her powers, either. So she turned towards Fluey, twirled her broom, and zapped. One puff of smoke later, Fluey had returned to his original form.
"You'd better get out of here, Fluey," Danalleah warned, still hovering over the cauldron. "Mother may have changed you back, but who's to say she won't try something different?"
"Wait a minute," Fluey said. "I thought you were on her side. I mean, you did steal that rock from the museum, and she is your mother . . . ."
"Never mind that now, Fluey! Just go!"
"Well . . . . I can't just run off and leave you hanging here, Danalleah."
"Fluey . . . ."
But before Danalleah could go on, Cronella swatted her with her broom as hard as she could. Danalleah sailed right into the wall. CRASH! The minute she hit the wall, she changed back into a girl.
"Danalleah!" Fluey shouted, and he started to run over to her to see if she was all right, but Cronella blocked him off and grabbed him by the arms.
"I'm through playing around," she said. "I'm going to take care of you once and for all!"
"Mother, no!" Danalleah begged, standing up. "Please, Mother, please, please, please let him go!"
"I think not," Cronella cackled. "Once I get rid of this one, I'll take care of the other two!"
"All right, Mother," Danalleah said. "You asked for it!"
Danalleah turned herself into a bat and charged Cronella. She began yanking at her mother's hair with her feet as hard as she could, and she even started pulling with her teeth. Cronella began swatting at her, letting go of Fluey at the same time. Fluey had to act fast. He remembered Danalleah's threat of dropping that screw into the cauldron, which would disrupt the spell, and wipe out Cronella's powers. In fact, anything that went into the cauldron that wasn't on the list would disrupt the spell. Quickly, he took off one of his boots.
"Hey Cronella!" he shouted. "Trick or treat!"
And with that, Fluey hurled his boot at the cauldron. It was a direct hit. The goop began bubbling like crazy, and it began to over flow.
"No!" Cronella yelled. "My powers will be gone forever!"
"Come on, Danalleah, let's split!" Fluey shouted, grabbing Cronella's broom, so she wouldn't have a chance to make a getaway. Danalleah changed back to a girl, and both she and Fluey hopped on the broom and took off into the air, and out of the cottage, just as the cauldron exploded.
KA-BLAM!
Fluey and Danalleah then flew down to the wreckage. Cronella was sitting among the broken boards, turned cauldron, and what was left of the goop inside of it. She was slightly singed, but otherwise, fine.
"I'll get you for this, Fluid Man!" she shouted.
"How are you gonna do that?" Fluey asked. "You don't have any power left, and we've got your broom!"
"Not to mention the calvary has arrived," Danalleah said, as the Impossi-Mobile came up.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Fluey asked.
"The car broke down about halfway here," Shawn said. "You guys forgot to fill the gas tank."
"Well, you're are a little late," Fluey said, as Danalleah landed the broom. "Cronella's been taken care of, and all that's left to do is take her to jail."
That was all there was to it. As the Impossibles and their friends were leaving the police station, one officer grabbed Danalleah by the arm.
"Hold it there, missy," he said. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay and answer some questions."
"But officer, she's with us," Fluey said.
"I realize that, but there's a little matter of a break in at the museum," the officer said. "And since you filed the report under the name Danalleah Critch, we're going to have to look into this, considering you have the same last name as that tricky witch the boys brought in. That, and she told us she had a blond teenage girl as an accomplice who changed herself into a bat to break into the museum."
"Oooh, darn you, Mother," Danalleah muttered under her breath.
"Well, the museum thing was just doing Cronella's bidding," Fluey said. "Come on, she's a good kid."
But the policeman wouldn't listen. He just led Danalleah to another room. She looked over her shoulder at Fluey as the cop was taking her away. She had a pretty good idea how this was going to end. She would be tried, found guilty, and then sent to a reform school or something like that. She thought for certain she would never see Fluey again.