A few minutes later, the Crosswires were standing on the front lawn of their estate, watching the fire crew put out the blaze that was their house. Mr. Crosswire, dressed in his usual light blue car salesman attire with a pink undershirt and perfectly combed orange hair that blended well with his yellow skin, stood firm with his arms around his wife and his daughter, Muffy, while their butler, Bailey, stood off to the side on alert, scanning the treeline around the estate for more possible attackers. "Oh daddy," wailed Muffy, "What do you think caused that?" Her face was like that of her fathers, with her nose and mouth more out in front of her face and similar yellow skin. She was dressed in her normal clothes, a purple dress with a white undershirt and her hair in twin, braided ponytails.
"I don't know, Muffin," (his special name for her). "It seemed that it was some kind of rocket."
"A rocket," she exclaimed. "But, where would a rocket even come…" Before she could finish, there was a splintering crash as the rocket blasted up through the roof and streaked higher into the air.
A couple blocks away, Arthur, Buster, Binky, and Brain watched through binoculars as the rocket blasted through the burning structure. "There it goes," cried Binky. "It's still climbing. Do you think it'll reach the atmosphere?" he asked, turning to Brain.
"Nope, that would be impossible," Brain sadly stated. "With the amount of fuel it burned up crashing through the mansion, there's not a chance it could still make it. There's also another problem. If my calculations are correct, with the amount of time it's been going, it should be ready to go into Stage 2."
Buster threw himself onto his knees. "NO! NOT STAGE 2! ANYTHING BUT STAGE 2! What's Stage 2?"
"Stage 2," Brain inputted, "is when the rocket breaks into two separate pieces. The bottom half falls back to Earth, while the top half keeps going."
"Binky," Arthur asked. "Where did you attach Uncle Slam again?"
"I think it was in between the bottom and the top," Binky admitted. He then turned as they all watched the rocket continue to climb. After about 30 seconds, the fire from the bottom of the rocket died out. There was a loud boom, as the rocket separated. As the bottom half began to fall, the four friends focused on the top.
"Why isn't the rocket firing," Buster asked, as the top continued to plummet.
"There must have been a malfunction," Brain said. "However, there is still hope. Since the rocket didn't fire, that should activate the failsafe protocol, launching the parachutes for safe reentry. At least, that's the plan." He crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. And sure enough, there was another BANG and the parachutes popped out. "ALRIGHT," he cheered out, as he watched it slowly descend…, away from them.
"It looks like it's going towards the treehouse," Buster said.
"CATCH THAT SHIP," Binky yelled, as he barrelled out of the yard after it. The others tossed down their binoculars and ran after him.
Meanwhile, at the Crosswire Estate...
"DADDY! DADDY! LOOK," Muffy exclaimed. "IT'S FALLING. IF WE GET IT, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHO LAUNCHED IT!" She looked up at him for a response, but he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to convince the fire department to upgrade their trucks with "more reliable" ones at Crosswire Motors, the enterprize he owned. It apparently was the best place for cars, possibly the only place, in Elwood City. "Hmph. Fine then," she mumbled, stomping her heel on the ground, "I'll just go get it myself. BAILEY!"
The dog-like butler rushed to her side, an impressive feat in a full suit and leather dress shoes. He stood at the same height as the girl's father; at least a foot taller than Muffy. Even though he appeared to be around 50 years old, he moved well for his age, considering he was actually only 37. "Yes, miss Muffy?"
"Get the limo," she ordered. "We have a rocket to catch." With a bow of his head, he rushed off and arrived back with the limo in less than 15 seconds. She climbed into the back and they sped out of the driveway. Muffy was constantly telling Bailey to go faster. She didn't care about the laws they were possibly breaking. She didn't care. She had to get that rocket fast. Besides, her father could always persuade the authorities.
A couple of streets over, the four boys were still running. "The treehouse is just around corner," Buster panted. "I hope no one else is also going for the rocket. Otherwise, we could be in big trouble guys."
Arthur looked over his shoulder. "Like them," he asked. All four of them looked back.
"CROSSWIRE," Binky yelled. At that moment, all four of them dove into the bushes on the side of the road and stayed very quiet. A moment later, they heard the car approach and stop. Brain carefully peeked through the branches. Bailey, the driver, was looking around. He saw the bushes move, but before he could get a better look, there came a yell from the back.
"BAILEY!? WHAT ARE WE DOING? WE HAVE TO CATCH THAT ROCKET! NOW GO, GO GO!" Muffy yelled. Bailey didn't even hesitate. He slammed down on the acceleration and they sped off.
Arthur waited a second before poking his head out of the shrubs. "Did you hear that?" He looked to his left, where Binky and Buster popped up, then to his right, where Brain emerged.
"They're going for the rocket too," Binky said.
"We have to get there first," Brain stated. "The last thing we would want is for it to fall into her hands." With that said, he jumped out of the bushes and ran towards the treehouse. The others followed suit, and it didn't take long for Binky to catch up.
"Follow me," he said. "I know a shortcut." Brain nodded to him and Binky took the lead. He quickly passed and started running off the sidewalk into the woods. Brain followed, but Buster and Arthur kept running down the paved path.
"Don't worry about us," Arthur called. "We have a plan."
"Yeah," Buster wheezed as he shouted, his asthma starting to kick in "We'll slow down the limo." They continued to run cut through the soccer field. Because the limo had to go all the way around, when they emerged from the other side, the limo was just coming down the road. "Ready?"
"Ready," Arthur nodded. They then started jumping up and down, frantically waving their arms, shouting out to the oncoming vehicle. "HEY! HEY! WAIT! STOP!," they both continued to shout. But, the vehicle had no intention of slowing down. It zoomed right past the two, causing them to get spun round and round. After five seconds of constant spinning, Arthur slowed down as Buster collapsed onto the pavement.
"U-u-gh," he moaned. "Let's hope this was worth it."
Elsewhere, Binky and Brain finally finished getting through the dense forest and were into a more clear area, where the trees were more spaced out. "Look," Binky shouted. "There's the treehouse."
"And there's the rocket," Brain added. The bottom cylinder laid peacefully on top of a bush. "I can't believe we made it here first. Maybe was Arthur and Buster did actually worked." He slowed his pace a little, but immediately picked back up as he saw the sleek black limo with a big, yellow "C" plastered on the frame. "Oh no," he cried. "They're going to get there first!"
"Brain," Binky shouted. "Grab my hands." He didn't hesitate and grabbed on right as Binky started to spin around. He was going to throw Brain like a human discus. With a grunt, the boy let go and launched the genius through the air. Brain was going to yell, but didn't on account of the possibility of being spotted. So, instead, he screamed inside his head as he crashed into the bush holding his rocket. He grabbed it and cradled it tightly. However, the bush did close to nothing to cushion his fall. He crashed right down to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could regain his bearings, something large landed on top of him, crushing him deeper into the bush, which he had now found out was a briar bush. It was only when he saw an orange shirt that he knew it was Binky that landed on him.
"Binky, get off of…" Brain started, but was immediately shushed. Before he could say anything else, he heard the telltale footsteps of leather footwear. He held his breath as her looked to his right through the bottom of the bush. The feet walked past, but then stopped and came back and stayed in front of his face for what seemed like an eternity. But, they eventually, moved on.
They then heard the telltale voice of Muffy. "Did you find it, Bailey?" She let out a huge sigh, which must have meant the butler shook his head no. "Oh well," she moped. "Thanks for trying." Just then, her cell phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hi Francine. What? I can't hear you," she said climbing into the back of the limo. Brain then heard her door close. He tried to get up, but Binky didn't budge until they heard the limo drive away.
"Get off me," he finally grunted, as he tried to push Binky off of him.
"Of all places," Binky said, "it had to land in a briar bush. And, of course, we have to hide in that briar bush."
"Hey, that's not as bad as being thrown into a briar bush and then getting crushed deeper into it," Brain groaned.
"Oh. You're right," Binky said, helping his friend out. "That's much worse." They both dusted themselves off. At that moment, Arthur and Buster arrived, Buster being half carried by Arthur as he wheezed and took a puff from his inhaler.
"Thanks for the distraction guys," Brain said as he high fived his friends.
"Does that mean you have it?" Arthur asked. In response, Brain held up the deformed tip that was his rocket. The sides of it seemed to have been blasted by fire, most likely from the other Stage. Binky grabbed from him and turned it in his hands until he found what he was looking for. A look of sadness and confusion crossed his face.
Buster read his expression. "How's Uncle Slam," he asked. He looked over Binky's shoulder to see for himself. The bottom half of the action figure was completely gone and what was left of him was completely drained of color and replaced with an inky black soot. The face of the wrestler was partly melted, but he was all still in one piece, minus the legs.
"Actually turned out better than I thought he'd be," Binky said with a smile. "I still wish he could have seen the stars though."
"Yeah," Arthur agreed. "It would have been so cool to see that."
"Why can't it," Brain questioned, looking over at the group.
"What do you mean," Buster asked.
"I'm saying we build another rocket," Brain said. "A better one."
"We can do that," Binky said, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice.
"Sure," Brain said. "We just need the supplies to make the rocket itself. I already have the fuel supplies at my house. Let's do it!"
"Yeah," Arthur shouted. "Let's do it! We're not going to let anything stop us"
Buster held his hand out. "All for one," he started, as everyone put their hand on his. "And one for all," they cried out in unison.
They stood there for a moment, looking around and at each other. "So, now what," Binky said, breaking the silence.
"Now, we need supplies," Brain stated. "The best supplies is simple arts and craft supplies. We can get them at the store. How much money does everyone have?" Everyone dug into their pockets and pulled out the contents.
"I have $5," Arthur started.
"I have 25 cents," Binky added.
"I have an old tomato and a paperclip," finished Buster, as he took a bite out of the apple. That would have grossed out everyone else, except for his friends because they knew he would eat anything and everything. They've seen him eat way worse, so this was normal.
"Hmmm," Brain mumbled. "There has to be some place we can get the supplies we need at a very low rate. Do we know anyone that has lots of art supplies?"
All four of the boys thought for a moment, until a lightbulb went on in Arthur's head. "I know," he exclaimed. "How about Sue Ellen?"
"Sue Ellen," Binky asked.
"Yeah," Arthur said. "She's artsy. Probably the best artist in our class. Plus, she'll do anything for Buster."
"Wait, what," Buster said, a little red appearing in his cheeks.
"Are you serious, Buster," laughed Binky. "How could you not know? She's always looking at you in class and at lunch."
This made Buster blush even more, but before he could say anything else, Brain was already walking. "It's settled then," he said. "Let's get going."
Elsewhere, in Muffy's limo...
"Are you serious, Francine," she exclaimed into her phone.
"Yeah," her friend answered. "I was up on the roof, playing my drums. All of a sudden, this rocket-type thing came falling from the sky. It almost broke them."
"Francine, don't let that thing out of your sight. I'll be there in a few minutes," Muffy ordered, as she hung up the phone. "Bailey! To Francine's place!"
While all this was going on, Arthur and his friends arrived outside of Sue Ellen's house. It was a more spacious house than the others in Elwood city. It was a mixture of a barn and a house, with concrete walls and a red, slanted roof. There were plants growing all over, in flower pots and up the side of the walls. "This is the place," Brain said. Buster gulped.
"Don't worry, Buster," Arthur said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "It's going to be fine. You may like it here more than you'd think." Before Buster could get a word in, they were all pushing him up the walk.
"All we need you to do is to keep Sue Ellen busy," Brain said. "The future of the mission depends on secrecy. If too many people find out, word could leak to Muffy, revealing our location, jeopardizing the mission, and who knows what then."
"Alright alright, I'll do it," Buster stated, then looked down at his shoes. "But, it's only for the good of the mission." He took in a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Ding-dong. A few seconds passed before the door was opened. Standing on the other side of the door was Sue Ellen Armstrong. She was dressed in her normal clothing. She wore a sky blue dress that came down to her knees, covered by a white, sleeveless vest that she didn't bother to button up. Her hair was split into two buns on either side of her head that were held down by twin green bands, which matched the green socks on her feet. Her face resembled that of a cat with every feature appearing almost human, minus her pink, triangular nose.
She smiled when she saw the group. "Hey guys," she said. "What's up?"
"Oh, not much," Arthur said, fidgeting with his glasses, something he did when he was nervous or lying.
She then turned to Buster. "Hi Buster," she said with a shy smile on her face.
"Hey Sue Ellen," he replied with a similar look on his face. "Is it alright if we come in?" He looked down and kicked some dirt as he asked. "We need some help with an…. Art project."
"Yeah," Brain interjected. "We know that you are the most artistic person in our class and we were hoping that we could use some of your craft supplies for a project of ours. We're kinda low on funds."
"Sure thing," she replied with a smile. "Come on in." They all thanked her as they walked inside. While she was closing the door, Binky leaned over to Buster.
"Alright, Baxter," he whispered putting his arm around Buster's shoulder, "it's time for you to do your thing."
"But, I don't know…" he started, but was never able to finish as Binky gave him a forceful shove towards the girl. He stumbled and fell to the ground right at her feet. She jumped back, startled, but then gave a small giggle, as she helped him up.
"Are you ok," she asked, dusting off his back.
"Oh yeah, I'm all good," he replied. "Happens all the time." She giggled again. They stared at each other for a moment. It was at that time when Buster actually realized how strikingly pretty this girl was. He had always been in the mindset when he was around others that she was just one of the gross four-lettered word species from another galaxy. But, now that it was just the two of them, that mindset disappeared. "Sooooo…," he began, "...you want to give me the grand tour?"
She smiled and noddded. "I'd love to show you. Although it may not be as grand as you'd think." She led the way down the hallway, pointing out paintings and relics her parents collected from their trips around the world. As Buster followed, he gave a thumbs-up to the others and they ran up the stairs to find her craft supplies.
Needless to say, it wasn't hard to find. Her entire room was basically an art studio. There were canvases on the walls, floor, and easels, with stunning paintings of landscapes, animals, and people. But, they didn't have the time to marvel at these works of art. They were on a mission. They wasted no time in finding her crafts bin and rifling through the contents. Bin was a loose term. This crate was about the size of a bathtub, overflowing with all kinds of miscellaneous crafts.
"I found the body of the rocket," Brain exclaimed, holding of a PVC tube.
"I got the top," Binky said, showing off the inside of a lamp shade he found. "We can cover it with this construction paper."
"And I've got the parachutes…" he said, holding of fabric from an old canvas and some metal triangles, "...and the fins."
"I think we have most of what we need," Brain concluded. "I can make the engines and cover these materials with a space polymer I created at my house. It makes it so all the pieces can't be burned or frozen in it's trip to space."
"ALRIGHT," Binky cheered, but then stopped. "Wait a minute. Shouldn't we not stay in one place for that long?"
"Binky's right," Arthur said. "It's too risky. We need to go somewhere else to begin assembly."
"Good idea," Brain said. "Let's go get Buster and then plan our next move from there."
While they were all searching, Buster was on his tour. Sue Ellen pointed out every single thing they passed, each one having a meaningful story behind it. They soon reached the last part of the last hall. At the end hung one African mask. It was a mostly a charcoal black, except for an occasional red spatter on the sides. Around one of the eye holes was a mark in navy blue that seemingly looked like the mask was cut and then reattached. The expression on it was a look of anger, like it was stuck in a look of eternal rage. "This mask always gives me the shivers when I pass it," she began. "Like most masks, this one was most likely used to scare off invaders or worn to show dominance and power."
Buster was a little scared of the mask too, but he didn't want that to show. "It's not that scary," he said. "You can't scare me with masks. The only thing that could scare me was an alien invasion or the world being overrun by a giant potato."
She giggled yet again. "You're really funny Buster," she laughed. "But, I bet I can scare you, without any kind of worldly takeover."
"Oh yeah," he questioned. "Let's just see you try."
"Alright then," she smiled. "Follow me." She led him through the house until they were in front of a door that Buster guessed led to the basement, and it did. Sue Ellen opened the door, grabbed a flashlight from the shelf that was at the top of the stairs, and turned it on as she walked down into the darkness. Buster cautiously followed, each of the stairs creaking under his feet. He soon felt the solid ground of the floor and walked towards the flashlight. The light was illuminating Sue Ellen's face as she smiled back at him.
"Why don't you have any light switches down here," he asked. As if on cue, Sue Ellen reached up and grabbed a cord. When she pulled down on it, there was a click and he was instantly blinded by the fluorescent lights that came on overhead. When his eyes finally adjusted, he looked around. All around him were gruesome masks and totems, all looking like they would come to life and attack him at any second. He screamed and fell to the floor, frantically looking at all the items come to life and surround him. He was looking for an exit, but couldn't find one anywhere. He screamed and shut his eyes, waiting for his fate. A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to see what was going to eat him. But it was only Sue Ellen.
"I told you I could scare you," she said helping him up. He was still shaking, looking at all the things around him. Were they just alive or was it all in his head? As if she was reading his mind, Sue Ellen said, "Don't worry, Buster. There's nothing here that's going to hurt you." She put her arm around his waist and helped him towards one particular mask. It looked similar to the one upstairs except for one difference. Coming out from the top were rabbit ears. "This one has dual meanings to me," she started. "Like the other one, it shows the ferocity and fear of a warrior, but the ears show a more gentle, caring side. A funny side. A…. loving side."
"I never thought a mask could say so much," Buster said, calming down a bit. "You really know a lot Sue Ellen." They both walked back upstairs. Sue Ellen's arm was still around Buster, but he didn't mind. Frankly, he still needed help walking up the stairs. When they got to the top and back into the hall, they saw the guys. Sue Ellen immediately let her hand drop and he blushed, looking at the floor.
"We got what we needed," Arthur said. "Thanks Sue Ellen."
"Uhh, you're welcome," she said. "If you don't mind me asking, what's the craft you're doing?" Arthur, Binky, and Brain all exchanged glances with each other and then looked at Buster, who gave a simple nod of his head.
"Alright," Brain said. "We're actually building a rocket. We plan on launching it soon."
"Yeah," Buster said, turning to Sue Ellen. "Maybe you could come and watch it with us."
"You know," she said, "I'd love that. It sounds cool. Just let me know the details later."
"You got it," Buster said with a smile. "Thanks for the supplies and the tour. It was a lot of fun. Maybe we can do it again."
"Yeah," she replied. "That would be great. I already can't wait." They both smiled at each other as she opened the door. "Bye guys," she said not taking her eyes off of Buster until he was out of her walkway.