(Jenny's POV)

I've been flying over the Channel for nearly half an hour when I finally arrive back at Crescent Cove, though it feels like hours. Before approaching the marina, I activate my cloaking device. I fly over the SKUM agents and head back to Lily Cottage. Upon landing, I suddenly realize that the front door is completely shut. And with Mum, Livi and Emmeline in bed with the Deep Sleep Patches, I can't knock on the door for them to let me in. I curse myself for not disengaging the latch before I closed the door or bringing a spare key.

And that's when it comes to me. What do you do when you suddenly realize you locked your key inside the house, but you can't get into the house to get your keys? Why you look under the doormat, of course!

I reach down and lift the welcome mat, revealing the key. I pick it up and unlock the door. After letting myself in and closing the door, I put my back against the door and sink slowly to the ground, letting out one hell of a sigh as I do so. Never in my life would I ever think that my hen party would be like this. Rose, Carrie, Martha and I find out that a supposed-dead leader of a supposed-dead criminal organization is brainwashing a town into doing her bidding for an evil plan that'll bring the whole world to its knees. And while I barely managed to escape from the base that's located slap bang in the middle of the English Channel, the supposed-dead leader of a supposed-dead criminal organization has got my team-mates and my future mother-in-law and turned them into brainwashed zombie slaves. But I have nothing to worry about. After I made my escape, I made a call to Director Fairchild and had her call Frank, Zeke, Oscar and Percy to put a stop to the plans of the supposed-dead leader of a supposed-dead criminal organization.

I look at my watch. It's after quarter past three in the morning. Frank and co. should be making their way over here as of now. While I struck in this B&B, in the middle of a SKUM-controlled town, exhausted and shivering. I need to warm myself up, and maybe get some food in me.

I climb to my feet and stretch my arms over my head. I use my Spy Watch to change from my ripped aquatic flight suit to my regular spy suit, letting the thick insulating material warm my body up. I walk quickly through the short hallway and into the kitchen to fix myself a snack. After rooting through the cupboards and fridge, I make myself a ham and cheese sandwich and hot chocolate. When I'm finished, I wash, dry and put away the plate and mug and go into the living room. I squint into the darkness and make my way slowly towards the window. The smart thing to do would be to switch on the light, but I can't risk the SKUM agents from running over here, barging in and taking me, along with Mum, Livi and Emmeline prisoner. So I have to be cautious. I arrive at the window and take a peek out of the side of the closed curtains.

Crescent Cove, once a pleasant, simple seaside town and home to a peaceful and growing community of businesses and hundreds of families is now claimed by SKUM.

An eerie silence has taken over and is only broken up by the occasional birdsong and the steady rhythmic rush of the low waves, splashing lightly against the shore.

With a sigh, I move away from the window and drop down into the black leather three-seat sofa by the door, casually draping my legs over the side. I look at my watch. It's nearly half-past three – ten minutes since I last looked at the time. At the same time, I notice that my battery is down to thirty-five per cent. I turn off my watch and stare up at the shadows on the ceiling.

I hope Frank, Zeke, Oscar and Percy can get here in time and stop the Grandmistress. Otherwise the world is done for. Yawning loudly, I drift into a light, troubled sleep.

I wake up with a start a short time later. There's a knock at the door. I jump to my feet and get into a fighting pose… only to find there's no-one to fight.

I sigh. I must have been dreaming. I'm about to lie back on the sofa when I hear another knock. Not dreaming now.

"Hello – anybody home?" a voice calls.

I don't know if I'm still dreaming, but I swear that person sounds exactly like Frank.

"This is MI9! Are you OK?"

That's because it is Frank! OK, definitely not dreaming.

I take a few steps forward – but stop. I can't let him see me – not before the wedding! But we have a global crisis on our hands. Maybe I should… but I shouldn't. Ah, this is so frustrating! What should I do?

Suddenly the door flies open and bangs against the wall with a sound like a pistol shot.

Oh, shit. Oh, shit… Oh, shit.

I'm like a rabbit in the headlights when I hear Frank's footsteps pad across the hallway. I really don't want him to see me. So I turn on my watch, activate the cloaking device and turn invisible. But while Frank can't see me, I can see him. So I quickly turn my back to the door – just as two beams of light shines in the living room.

"No-one here," says a voice. That's Percy.

"Let's try upstairs," I hear Frank say in response.

I watch as the lights from the torches disappear from the room and I hear the two men walk quietly and carefully up the stairs.

I mentally let out a sigh of relief. That was… too close. Even though we have a situation, it's still bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding.

Somehow, I force my legs to move and exit the living room. I creep upstairs, hardly making any noise. Just as I get to the top, I hear the door close and footsteps across the landing. I turn my head away, not wanting to see if it's Frank. I reach the top of the stairs and tiptoe across the landing to the room that Mum is sleeping in. I keep pressed against the wall and activate my watch's listening device.

"What are you doing, Percy?"

"Listen."

I wonder what they're listening for. There's only one way to find out. "Amplify the soundwaves around a one-mile radius," I whisper to the watch, and I listen carefully.

Silence has taken hold and would be deafening if it's not for the birds tweeting, the low conversations of the SKUM agents at the marina… and a low-frequency humming noise. It sounds like a household appliance – a washing machine or something.

The humming stops – only to start its persistent rumbling seconds later. What the heck is it?

"What is that?" I hear Frank ask. Great minds, eh?

"It's coming from those satellite dishes up ahead. Look."

Satellite dishes, huh? Maybe that's how the Grandmistress is controlling the town. She's using a radio to bend the will of the Crescent Cove via satellite and enslave them.

"How strange. Those dishes should be aimed at the sky, not at the town."

"My thoughts exactly. Let's head up there and find out why."

I shut my eyes tightly when I hear Frank and Percy proceed quietly out of the bedroom as there is no time to back away from the door. Next, I hear the door closing, followed by the guys walking steadily across the landing and down the stairs. It's only when they leave the B&B that I open my eyes. Then I wait for about sixty seconds before I go after them. I use my watch's GPS to track their movements.

Street after street of abandoned homes makes a terrifying though. Each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family and now there is only emptiness. But all is not lost. MI9 is here so we can put a stop to the Grandmistress' plan and bring the people of Crescent Cove back to their homes.

I follow Frank and Percy through the iron gates into a large area of land, which I can only guess is the park. I ran across the sandy path and past the large pond – until I reach a steep-looking, mountain-like hill with a building on top.

"Good grief," I mutter to myself. I get to the foot of the hill and begin to climb when I hear a noise that startles me. Something is thumping hard against a solid object – like a tree – again and again, attacking it.

What is that?

I look around, but I can't see anything at all – not in the distance, that is. The park is terrifyingly dark, a thick deep black everywhere, so I can't see a thing. But I can certainly still hear: there is that awful rustling and chomping, and then another massive thump against the tree. It sounds like something Shrek would do.

My eyes are adjusting to the darkness. I see the shadowy shapes of two sticks, somehow joined onto a great head. No, not sticks, antlers! It's a stag, banging his antlers against the bark of a tree, and then nibbling at the leaves within its reach.

"It's OK, it's only a deer!" I say, laughing shakily.

The deer must have super hearing because he pauses, startled. Then he has one last little chomp of leaves and then ambles away.

As much as I enjoy seeing a deer in its natural habitat, I need to focus. I turn to the hill. I draw a deep breath and ascend the slope. As I climb, I hear a faint crackling noise. It's coming from the top of the hill. Maybe Frank and Percy are in trouble. This makes me more determined to reach the top.

It takes me five minutes to reach the very top of the hill. I'm slightly out of breath, but triumphant. I spot two bodies lying at the foot of the steps that leads into the building. I walk up to them and look to see who they are.

"Oh, thank God," I say when I see that it's not Frank. Or Percy. They're SKUM agents. Frank and Percy must have used stun guns on them. That explains the crackling sound I heard.

But the guards won't be unconscious for long. So I unlace the shoelaces on their boots and use them to tie their hands and feet together in a fireman's chair knot. Satisfied, I walk over the SKUM agents and enter the building.

The reception area is wide and airy, with a polished marble floor, a staircase that spirals to the next floor to one side and a front desk. Since there's nothing much to see or go on, I make my way to the staircase. But footsteps descending the stairs stop me.

"Just be careful!" Percy calls.

"You, too!" Frank replies.

There's no time to run and hide behind the desk. I turn and face the wall. I feel Frank rush past me and he leaves the building.

I heave a sigh of relief. Talk about cutting it close. And judging by the way Frank dashed out of here; I don't think he's coming back anytime soon. I deactivate my cloaking device and make my way up the stairs. When I reach the top, I see Percy typing frantically at one of the consoles. An error message displays itself on the computer monitor and Percy hits the workstation in frustration.

"Damn," he utters.

Time to make myself known.

"I don't suppose I've come at a bad time?" I say, making Percy jump.

"Oh, my God! Jenny – it's you!"

"In the flesh." I make my way over to him.

"Thank God you're OK. You had us all worried. Well… you had Frank all worried. Director Fairchild told us that you escaped from SKUM's base."

"Barely. But yeah, I managed to escape and make it back to Crescent Cove in one piece. So where is everybody?"

"Oscar, Zeke and Stark are on their way to the base to stop the Grandmistress from launching a rocket that could destroy the planet's vegetation. And Frank has just left for the marina to join them. I, on the other hand, am trying to reverse the Grandmistress' control of the town. She's using subliminal messages that are being transmitted via television."

I nod, taking everything in. "OK, I'm going to be Captain Obvious and say it. Why don't you just pull the plug?"

"I could – but then I don't enjoy getting blown up as much as the next person. Which is what will happen if I unplug the machines or tinker with the bombs. And if that happens, then SKUM's base gets blown up, too."

"Ah." I pause. "Right, well… we better figure out a way to stop the messages from brainwashing everybody. We can work out how to stop the bombs later."

Percy nods in agreement. "Let's get to work."

And with that, we begin to type at the consoles.

(Frank's POV)

We found it.

After a further twenty minutes of searching, we finally found SKUM's base – even though it seemed to take forever. It certainly took forever.

I stare at the enormous green dome-shaped building, looking similarly like the Millennium Dome, that's several yards ahead of me. It's your typical tailor-built lair for the supervillain with a bottomless budget. Good for keeping out unwanted visitors such as spy organizations, heroes and other do-gooders. After all, it takes more effort to break in if you have to be looking out for giant squids at the same time.

Not that there are giant squids swimming around the Channel… I hope.

My Spy Watch vibrates. "Zeke?" I answer.

"Frank – I've had BABS run a structural scan of the dome," he tells me. "The outside is mounted with harpoons and lasers, so I'll be putting her in stealth and silent mode, making it easy for me, Oscar and Stark to enter the base undetected. Since you're in a SKUM sub, you'll be able to enter the building without getting blasted out of the water. We'll be following you very closely."

"Copy that," I reply. I watch as the car becomes invisible. Then I take off.

I drive towards the base. The closer I get to the dome, the bigger it gets. The sheer size of the building makes me feel like a Smurf. The dome must be a least one hundred feet tall – maybe more! Nevertheless I'm not put off by the overall dimensions of the building. I'm more focused on what I have to do when I get inside – rescue everyone, stop the villain, and save the world.

I reach the entrance door, where there are two harpoon cannons mounted above it. The doors slide open automatically, and then I'm following a long slope going upwards. Moments later, the sub rises out of the water and I find myself in a vast room that is nearly full of submersibles like the one I'm in and a submarine.

"Whoa!" I murmur. There are enough mini subs to give to everyone in Crescent Cove.

Anyway, I shouldn't linger. I drive forward, trying to find a space to dock my sub. Fortunately I don't look for too long, as I find an empty docking station. I navigate the sub to the space and dock the vessel. Then I switch off the engines, open the glass canopy and climb out of the sub.

I look around myself. There is nobody here – at least I think there isn't. I can't be too sure – this docking bay is massive. But I'll have to take my chances.

"Guys – you can come out. There's no-one around," I say to my Spy Watch.

Within seconds, BABS emerges from the water – invisible, but the water reveals the form of the car. It docks in the space behind my submersible. I hear the door open and Stark steps out – followed by Oscar. I'm expecting Zeke to come out – but the door closes and I hear BABS pulling away from the dock, and then submerging underwater.

I walk up to Oscar and Stark. "What's Zeke up to?" I ask.

"He's in search of the rocket," Oscar tells me. "After he scanned the building, he found that it wasn't inside. He suspects that it's a few miles away so he's going to find the rocket and disarm it."

I nod in affirmation.

"In the meantime, what are we up to?" Stark enquires.

"We are going to rescue the townspeople," I reply. "And to do that, we need to find where the Grandmistress is hiding herself and force her to cease her control over the town, just in case Percy can't do it."

"That sounds good to me," Oscar says, agreeing. He turns to Stark. "Sir?"

He gives a curt nod. "Fine," he grunts.

"OK, then. Let's change into something that doesn't scream 'spy'." With my Spy Watch, I change into a green boilersuit outfit, and I do the same to Stark. Oscar follows suit.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Ready," Oscar and Stark say.

"Right. Let's go."

The three of us set off across the docking bay to the door. It's unlocked. I open it, one centimetre at a time, and peer out. The door leads on to a wide corridor with an automatic sliding door at the end.

I have no idea what I will find behind the metal door, but what I'm seeing now is far beyond anything I can imagined. It's a wide open ground, like a greenhouse – but without the lush green plants and colourful flowers, only brown foliage and heaps of compost. Tending the 'garden' are the townspeople of Crescent Cove. They're all moving slowly and sluggishly. Overhead lights beam down from above. TV screens show various programmes: movies; cartoons; sport; music videos. Armed SKUM guards stand around the garden and observation platform, watching the work with blank faces.

"Come on," I whisper, motioning the others to follow me.

We head in direction, keeping to ourselves yet staying alert. As we walk, I search for Rose, Carrie and Mummy, but I can't see them. They could be on the other side of the dome for all I know. Five minutes later, I spot an elevator a few hundred metres away.

"This way," I say to Oscar and Stark, and we run to the lift. When we get there, I reach for the button to open the doors – but stop and slowly stiffening as a voice rings around the dome.

"Attention, my brainwashed slaves!" It's the Grandmistress! Her face is on every TV screen in the dome. "It seems we have some intruders in the form of MI9 disguised as SKUM agents in the vicinity. I order you all to destroy them! Kill them!"

All the screens in the dome switch from the Grandmistress… to me, Oscar and Stark!

Damn! She must have been monitoring us the whole time on camera – very tiny and very well-hidden camera, invisible to the naked eye.

The townspeople stop what they're doing and turn to me and my team-mates – though I wouldn't call Stark a team-mate. He's more like my arrogant and cowardly superior. Anyway, the townspeople have their attention on us and are making their way over.

"What do we do?" Oscar asks.

"Isn't it obvious? We need to get the hell outta here!" says Stark – and for once I agree.

"I second that! Run!" I say.

We take off, dashing across the garden, our boots kicking up soil as we run. We weave and shove past the brainwashed people.

How could I be so stupid? I should have known the Grandmistress wouldn't make this easy for us. She has always been one step ahead. Like Stark said, we need to get out of here. We need to think of a new plan. Better yet, wait for the Royal Navy to come and combine forces with them to take down the Grandmistress.

Just a few yards up on my left is the metal doors that me, Stark and Oscar came out of. If we make it, we can each get into a mini sub and make our escape…

A shot rings out and I skid to a halt – so do Oscar and Stark. I look up. The SKUM agents have their assault weapons pointed at us and the doors from the observation platform, meaning we can't escape without getting shot. Then a crowd of guards come from nowhere and block our exit.

Well, there goes my plan.

I whirl around to look for another exit, but the townspeople have caught up with us and surround us. They start moving in.

"Now what, London?" Stark says.

I get into a defensive stance. "Stand your ground, guys," I instruct. "And try not to harm the people."

"Easier said than done," I hear Oscar mutter.

The first few mind-controlled people come at us. We shove the people back from us as we try to defend ourselves. But I don't think we can keep this up for long. There's too many of them and it won't be long before they swamp us.

Suddenly, an arm snakes around my neck by surprise. I use my hands to grab onto my attacker's arm and bury my chin deep in the crook of the attacker's elbow, protecting my throat. Then on the side that my attacker is choking me, I step my foot behind their foot to lock in their leg. I swing my whole body, and throw my attacker to the ground – and gasp in surprise when I see who it is.

"Mummy?" My eyes go wide in shock.

She reaches out and tries to choke me again – but I leap back. My mother climbs to her feet and charges at me, trying to attack me.

"Mother, you have to snap out of it!" I plead. "It's me, Frank. I'm your son – your only child."

But she isn't listening. Instead she tries to rain multiple attacks on me.

"Still don't think we shouldn't harm these people?" Stark says, puffing a little.

As much as I want to fight back, I will not lay a hand on my mother. Or Carrie and Rose when I see them attack Stark and Oscar. I just hope Percy can stop the subliminal transmissions. Otherwise it's not just curtains for us and the townspeople, but the rest of the world.

(Jenny's POV)

We've been typing away at the consoles for more than an hour and so far, we've achieved nothing. No matter what we do, the same error message displays itself on the computer monitor.

Percy lets out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, this is so annoying!" he exclaims. "We're never gonna reverse the subliminal transmissions."

I stop typing and rub my eyes as I've been staring at the screen for so long. "Look, Percy, I know you're pissed off – I am, too. But you can't give up," I tell him. "We have to keep trying."

"I know, Jen, but… what can we do?"

I'm about to tell Percy to keep typing when a thought comes to me. "Oh! We can call Zeke. He and the other guys must be at SKUM's base right about now. They can stop the transmission from there." I make the call to Zeke on my Spy Watch.

"Hey, Jen," he answers.

"Hey, Zeke," I reply. "Are you at SKUM's base?"

"Frank, Oscar and Stark are. I'm actually five miles away from the base, where I've located the rocket, and… Oh, man."

"What's wrong?" Percy asks.

"I'm looking at the wiring system of the rocket that BABS has just scanned and it looks like… I'm sorry, guys, but I can't disarm it."

"What?" Percy and I cry. Then I add, "Why?"

"If I so much as breathe on the rocket, let alone touch it, then it'll launch immediately." A pause. "Again, apologizes." And Zeke hangs up.

I don't say a word. Neither does Percy. I don't believe it. We can't stop the Grandmistress from controlling the town and Zeke can't disarm the rocket.

Percy breaks the silence by saying, "That's it. It's over. SKUM has won. The Earth is doomed."

I'm just about to agree with him… when something comes to me. A sudden inspiration. An idea! "That's it. Oh, my God, Percy, that's it! You're a genius!"

"What? What is it? What did I say?" he questions.

"If we can't reverse the frequency, then we need to interrupt it. And Earth is the answer."

Percy stares at me blankly. "Yeah, I'm still not getting it."

"While we were working on the computers, you told me that the Grandmistress took over every television, mobile phone, radio, and Internet in the world. That means she had to hijack every communications satellite orbiting the planet to do so. We need to do exactly what she did and use supersonic waves to interrupt the frequency."

"Hmmmm," Percy says thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. It's gotta be worth a go, except for one problem. There are approximately two thousand communications satellites in Earth's orbit, used by both private and government organizations. There's no way we can hijack all of them."

"Which is where Zeke and his beautiful and badass supercar come in." I call Zeke and relay my plan to him.

"So let me get this straight, Jen. You want me to use BABS to hack into over two thousand communications satellites that's orbiting the Earth and use high-frequency waves to interfere with the Grandmistress' control of the people of Crescent Cove and our spy friends?" he says.

"That is exactly what I want you to do," I reply. "So is it possible? Can you do it?"

A small pause.

"Does Elmer Fudd have trouble with the letter R? Of course I can do it," says Zeke. "Just who the hell do you think I am?"

I let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Z."

"At the same time, I'm gonna figure out what to do with the rocket."

"Wait – you're gonna tackle two different tasks at the same time?" Percy asks, surprised.

"It's what I do, Perce. I'm a multitasker. I've got this, don't worry."

"Also Zeke, Percy and I are going to say a message that we'll send to you so you can relay them via satellite," I say.

"No problem," he says, and he hangs up.

"A message? What is it?" Percy asks.

A sly smile spreads over my face. "A simple message that you and I and everyone on Earth will enjoy, but not the Grandmistress," I say. "Shall we get started?"

Percy responds with a smile. "Let's do it."

(Frank's POV)

I don't know how long I can keep defending myself. I'm exhausted, my muscles ache, and my clothes are in shreds due to the townspeople ripping and tearing it. Every time I push someone away, two more come at me. I'm resisting the urge to use brute force. I mean, I can't. It's not the townspeople's faults. They are being controlled after all.

"Frank! I don't think I can keep this up much longer!" Oscar pants.

"Neither can I," Stark gasps. "Goddammit, what's keeping Reed?!"

"Be patient. Give Percy a few more minutes," I say.

"We don't have a few more minutes. In case you haven't noticed, London, a mob of brainwashed zombies are trying to tear us apart!"

I'm about to argue back when a voice rings out over a loudspeaker system.

"Greetings, MI9." It's the Grandmistress. "As much as I enjoy watching my mind-controlled slaves attack you, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to speed up your death a bit – by opening the sea door and drowning you all!"

"What?" Stark squawks.

"Oh, and guess who I ordered to do the honours? Why, it's your misfit spy kids and Lady Penelope."

My face falls. "Oh no," I mumble as I fend off another controlled citizen. I crane my neck looking for Rose, Carrie and Mummy.

And then I see them only a few yards away, heading towards a door with a large metal wheel.

A movement catches my eye and I see another mind-controlled townsperson coming at me, trying to choke me. But I break free and shove my way through the throng of bodies who are trying to kill me – Stark and Oscar, too.

I've got to get away from here. I've got to stop them, got to move!

"Rose!" I shout. I push past everyone and head for her – but someone lands on top of me and knocks me to the ground. Whoever it is must have the proportions of a rugby player. "Get off! Get off me!" I yell at the person who tackled me.

Several more people pile on top of me. I struggle to crawl away, but I can't move my legs. I look up and my eyes widen in horror when I see Rose, Carrie and Mummy approaching the door.

"Hey – Rose! Carrie!"

They're reaching for the wheel.

"Girls – please! Stop!"

Their hands are on the wheel.

"Mother – hear me! Please! Mother! Don't turn that wheel!" I cry desperately.

But she doesn't respond. She, Carrie and Rose start to turn the handle…

Out of nowhere, a high-pitched sound emits around the dome. This causes the three to grab their heads in pain – and me to cover my ears.

After five seconds, the high-frequency screeching stops. "People of Earth – hear this message. Ignore the Grandmistress. Don't give in her demands. She's nothing but an evil bitch!" a high-pitched childish voice announces.

"Yeah – don't listen to that monstrous old hag!" a deep, macho voice declares. "Not only is she literally two-faced, but she has a terrible fashion sense. I mean seriously, Grandmistress, purple and green? Who did you take fashion advice from, the Riddler? Well, if you did, here's my advice to you. Why don't you fuck off back to the hole you crawled out of? Better yet, why don't you just give up? Because if you or any other evil-doer thinks you can try and take over our world or destroy it, you've got another thing coming. Because there are people who will come after you and kick your butts. These guys are the ones who, in the face of danger, will combat adversity through feats of ingenuity, bravery and strength. So to any supervillain or villainous teams listening to this better watch out – we're coming for you."

The message ends, and my body feels lighter as the people climb off me. For a few seconds, I don't move. I get up cautiously and dust myself down. I feel a bit shaky and my body is tingling all over, but I'm sure it'll pass. I watch as everyone starts to get up, their legs wobbling slightly. Some are rubbing their heads and groaning in pain. Others look a bit nauseous,

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Where am I?"

"Eh? What are we doing here?"

Anxious voices. The townspeople look at their surroundings, curious, frightened, dazed. It seems that everybody's back to normal. Oscar and Stark walk over to me.

"Urhnn, my ears," Stark groans, rubbing them. "What was that horrible screeching, whining sound? And who were those people we just heard?"

"I'm sure that was Percy," I say. "He must have used high-frequency waves to interfere with the subliminal transmissions and disguised his voice to send a message to the Grandmistress so she can't trace him."

"Well, it worked. The Grandmistress no longer has control of the townspeople," says Oscar. "Or our friends. Look!"

I turn to see Rose, Carrie and Mummy getting on their feet, looking utterly confused about what is happening. I run over to them, gather the three into my arms and draw them close.

"You're back. Oh, thank God, you're back!" I cheer, hugging them tightly.

"Hey, hey, careful, Frank!" Carrie squeals. "You're gonna crush us to death if you keep clinging us like that."

I let them go. "Sorry," I say sheepishly.

Oscar is right beside me. "Are you all OK?" he asks.

"I-I think so," Mummy answers. "I may need a few minutes."

"OK, I'm gonna go and repeat an earlier statement that I said to your son: we don't have a few minutes!" says Stark. "We need to apprehend the Grandmistress before she has a chance to escape."

"What about the townspeople? What can't just leave them," says Rose.

Just then, the doors burst open and a large group of people in navy blue uniforms enter the dome.

"Do not be alarmed! We are the Royal Navy. We are here to take you home," a man announces.

As the Navy start to escort the townspeople out of the dome, I turn to Rose. She looks momentarily stunned. "Oh. Well, that was quick."

"Director Fairchild has the Navy on speed dial," I say. "Now how about we take in the Grandmistress?"

"It will be an absolute pleasure," says Mummy. "And I know exactly where she'll be. Follow me." And just like that, she takes off – with the rest of us following behind.

(Jenny's POV)

"Booyah!" I holler, giving Percy a fistbump. "And that, my friend, is exactly how you humiliate someone. You slag them off live via satellite across the globe."

"Nicely done, Jen," he says. "Also, good idea for suggesting that should we alter our voices. The last thing we want is people tracing all this back to us and getting lynched."

"I know, right? I just hope the high-frequency waves severed the Grandmistress' control of the town."

"Believe me; I'm pretty sure it did. Now that we're finished here, we should get outta here."

"Sure. Just let me take care of one more thing." I reach into my utility belt and bring out an EMP Shock grenade. I toss the small ball onto the console and, once detonated, destroy all the monitors and workstations around the perimeter – including the bombs. Smoke seeps out from some of the machines.

"There! Problem solved!" I say. "Let's go."

Percy and I head down the stairs and exit the observatory, just as the sky starts to lighten. From the corner of my eye, I notice that the SKUM agents that I tied up are no longer there. Maybe they escaped…

Suddenly I spin around and deliver a powerfully hard elbow strike to the guard's sternum. This causes him to be dizzy and fall unconscious. With the second guard, Percy knocks him out with a good whack to the jaw with his torch.

"Even though I haven't gotten any sleep, I can still keep on my toes and knock a person on their arse," says Percy.

"You know it," I say, agreeing.

Sirens wail in the distance and three helicopters whir over our heads.

"The Calvary has arrived," I say. "Within minutes, Crescent Cove will be swarming with police officers and MI9 agents."

"Hm," Percy grunts.

"I'm gonna flag down a car and have someone pick up those two jokers." I nod at the unconscious SKUM agents.

"Perhaps not. It seems they're coming to us."

We both peer over the slope – police officers and MI9 agents stagger up the hill towards us. When they reach the top, Percy has the police officers arrest the SKUM agents and orders the MI9 agents to bring in the bomb disposal team to dismantle the detonators in the observatory.

"And now our work is done," Percy tells me. "I'm gonna head to the marina."

"Since I can't go with you in case I might run into Frank, I'm heading back to the B&B…" I let out a huge yawn. "And catch up with a few hours' sleep."

Percy and I descent the hill and leave the park. We enter the police car and the constable takes me back to Lily Cottage. After waving Percy off, I go into the B&B and head upstairs. When I get to the top, I change back into my PJs and head into the double bedroom.

Thanks to the Deep Sleep Patches, Livi and Emmeline are still fast asleep, both of them are none the wiser about what has happened in the last few hours. I daren't take off the patches as the townspeople are not back yet and outside sounds like circus, so I can't risk them waking up and wondering what's been going on.

Anyway, after letting out another yawn, I get into bed. And just seconds after my head hits the pillow, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

(Frank's POV)

As soon as the lift doors open, everyone jumps out and we run across the platform and enter the office of the Grandmistress – and she is not happy.

Enraged beyond measure, the Grandmistress has trashed her office – no guessing why. There are papers all over the floor, chairs have been flipped over. And to add the cherry on top, the Grandmistress hurls her laptop onto a wall, where it smashes as it hits the floor.

"AAAGH!" she shrieks.

Mummy, ever the polite one, clears her throat to get the Grandmistress' attention. The two-faced woman turns to face us.

"When you're quite finished throwing your tantrum, we would like you to come quietly as you are under arrest," says Mummy.

"Like hell I will!" the Grandmistress seethes. "You may have interrupted my frequency, but in thirty seconds my rocket will launch and there's nothing any of you can do about it." A triumphant smirk spreads slowly over her face. "So I win."

"I don't think so, Grandmistress," I say. "I'm pretty sure that before you pressed the button to launch the rocket; our engineer has already gone and disarmed it!"

Suddenly I hear a distant rumble as a massive noise roars to life underwater.

"What the hell was that?" Stark asks.

Before I can answer, my Spy Watch vibrates. "Zeke?"

"Uh, guys? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… oh, man. I'm really sorry, but I wasn't able to deactivate the rocket."

"What?!" Oscar and Carrie exclaim at the same time.

"Oh no," Mummy gasps.

"I don't believe this…" I groan.

The Grandmistress stamps her foot and laughs so loudly that I thought my eardrums would burst. "It seems that your engineer is nothing but an incompetent fool," she says. "Now the world will pay the ultimate price."

"Er, not really, Miss Two-Face," Zeke interjects. "While I couldn't deactivate the rocket, I did, however, reroute it."

"What?" the Grandmistress screams.

"No way!" says Rose.

"Yes way!" Zeke states. "The rocket is heading straight to space, where it'll detonate out of harm's way. Not bad for an incompetent fool, eh?"

Zeke hangs up, and we look to the Grandmistress. The colour has drained from her face and her breath is coming in short, fast gasps.

"As they say in tennis, that's game, set and match," says Carrie. "Face it, Grandmistress, you're finished."

The two-faced woman stops gasping and looks straight at Carrie. "Oh no, little girl, I'm not finished. Not by a long shot. I've still got one more trick up my sleeve." The Grandmistress pushes a button under her desk.

The lights turns red and an alarm goes off.

Then a voice, neither male nor female; emotionless and inhuman, says an announcement that makes my heart both sink and swell. "Warning – this base will self-destruct in sixty seconds."

"Oh shit!" Mummy utters.

"We need to go! Now!" I say. We turn to leave the office – but an explosion causes a huge chunk of metal to fall on the platform, destroying our only escape route.

"Oh no – we're trapped!" Rose cries.

The Grandmistress cracks up laughing. "It looks like we're both done for, MI9! If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me!" she throws her head back and screeches.

I have just about had enough of her. I go charging up to the Grandmistress and incapacitate her with my Stun Gun Torch. Her legs buckle, but I catch her before she crumples to the ground and hold her in a bridal carry.

"Warning – this base will self-destruct in thirty seconds," the genderless voice announces as water pours into the dome.

"Oh, my God, this is it. There's no way out. We're gonna die!" Stark says tearfully.

Everyone huddles together. I can't believe it. Just last weekend I thought I was gonna get blown up in space. Now it seems that I'm gonna get blown up underwater.

Worst stag do ever…

Honk! Honk!

I look up – and my eyes widen when I see who it is. "Zeke!" I cry.

He's hovering overhead and he lowers BABS. The car aligns itself to the mangled platform leading to the office. Zeke is in the driver's seat, waving crazily as a signal for us to get in the car.

"Come on!" I shout.

Everyone exits the office and sprints to BABS. Stark gets in the front passenger seat while the rest of us squash ourselves in the back.

"Hold on to your butts, guys! This is gonna be one helluva ride!" Zeke declares. He hits the accelerator and we are soon powering upwards, heading out of the dome. We have to hurry though. There's about ten seconds before the base self-destructs.

We barely make it out of the base when an explosion shakes the car, and BABS bolts.

"Come on, baby! Come on! You can do it. Just be a little faster!" Zeke urges his car.

The explosion is engulfing everything around the car, except the windshield, making BABS shake violently.

"I'm scared," Rose whispers.

I turn to my team. Rose is sitting on Mummy's lap, with tears welling up in her eyes. Carrie is sitting on Oscar's lap, her head buried in his shoulder, whimpering. As for Oscar, he just sits there clutching Carrie looking like ice cream, white and wet. I've never seen my team look this scared – and I for one don't blame them.

"It's all right, children. It's all right," Mummy soothes. "Just close your eyes and it'll be all right."

This reminds me of when I was I young boy. I wake up in the middle of the night, screaming my head off. My mother would come in, and I would babble about the nightmare I was having. Then she would cuddle and tell me that it's OK – it was just a dream. I would hold me tight and tell me to close my eyes and it'll be all OK.

What a time to heed that advice.

I shut my eyes tight. I clutch the Grandmistress and silently pray that we can outrun the fireball and make it back home unharmed.

"AAARGH!" Zeke roars, coaxing BABS ever so faster.

The car is shaking less and less and a muffle sort of boom in the distance tells me that my prayers have been answered.

"We made it," Stark mumbles. "Oh, my God, we made it!"

Seconds later, we erupt into cheers and whoops, some of us weeping tears of joy. All of us relieved that we're all alive.

"Yes! Yes! Oh, BABS, you absolute beauty! I love you! I fuckin' love you!" Zeke yells. Then he starts to calm down. "Whoo! All right!" He sighs, slowly going back to his composed self. "OK, then. Now that we got ourselves away and out of that mess, let's head back to our home on dry land!"

BABS rises to the surface. We blink our eyes in the sun as it comes up slowly over the rim of the horizon for a new day. Once we're airborne, everyone sits in silence as sail to Crescent Cove through the sky, alive and in one piece.