MY BEST FRIEND IS A SECRET AGENT, Book 3: How C.H.I.P. Took on C.H.I.M.P. and...

Chapter 6: "A Fuzzy Flashback"

I almost didn't go to school the next day because I didn't want to deal with the shame of dropping out of the science fair.

But I figured if people wanted to laugh at me for not getting First Prize, then let them. At least I knew that I lost out to someone who stole my technology!

Speaking of Gert von Brugen, she was almost impossible to avoid since she was constantly getting up in my face. She actually carried around her First Prize trophy from class to class, showing it off to anybody she passed. Then she spotted me and cornered me at my locker.

"Hey, Nort, have you seen my new First Prize trophy?" she asked as annoyingly as possible. "That's First Prize at the science fair. You know, the one you dropped out of? The one you dropped out of because my project was so much better than yours?"

"Yes," I said, "I know what happened at the science fair. I was there."

"So you remember that I won. First Prize. Me. I won First Prize. Not you. Me."

I wanted to run screaming down the hallway in exasperation, but I forced myself to remain calm. I didn't want Gert to know that she was getting to me. So, through gritted teeth, I tried to change the subject. "Hey, where's your chimp, anyway? Shouldn't he be the one carrying around the First Prize trophy? After all, he's the one who did all the tricks, not you."

"But I trained him! He'd be nothing without me! Without my genius, he'd just be some stupid monkey swinging around in his cage!"

"Chimpanzee."

"What?"

"He's a chimpanzee, not a monkey."

"Who cares?! The important thing is, I won First Prize, not him!" Gert bellowed. And then she turned and stomped off, holding her trophy high over her head for all to see, chanting, "I won First Prize and Nort didn't! I won First Prize and Nort didn't!..."

I breathed deep breaths through my nose - in, out, in, out - trying desperately not to go nuts. She didn't even want to give the chimp credit. Not only that, she didn't seem to care about him at all! She got what she wanted, her First Prize trophy, and now the chimp wasn't important to her anymore. But he was important to me. After all, he still had my C.H.I.P. 1.0 microthingy in his collar!

But I didn't have much chance to plan how to get the C.H.I.P. 1.0 back before something strange started to happen. Kids started coming in from lunch break outside acting weird, like they were hypnotized or something. I felt I'd seen that look before, but I couldn't remember where. Then, instead of going into their classrooms, the kids locked the classroom doors, locking their teachers inside!

Suddenly, I realized what was going on. I ran to a window and looked outside. And there they were, Freaky Fuzzies, crawling all over the schoolyard! Not only that, they were flying through the sky in swarms, spreading out all over the city!

"Since when can Freaky Fuzzies fly?!" I asked myself aloud.

"Since I upgraded them from Freaky Fuzzies 2.0 to Freaky Fuzzies 3.0!" said a voice behind me. I spun around to look into the very eyes of evil: Seth Mindwarp himself! And he didn't look calm and peaceful anymore, he looked seriously wacky, even wackier than before!

"But... but I thought you were cured!" I sputtered.

"Why? Because I happily mopped the floors at the museum like a good little worker, perfectly content to do menial work in a museum filled with toys that I CREATED?!"

"But I saw you..." I stopped myself. "I mean..."

"That's right, you saw me with your little Ladybug Drone. You think I'm that easy to fool? I should've smashed it with my mop! But, after you and your little drone left, I slipped from the museum to the headquarters building next door and booted up my old supercomputer to bring my beloved Freaky Fuzzies back to life!" Seth tossed back his head and laughed, the way all wacky bad guys do. "Those fools who took over my company, they didn't even think to change the password!" He laughed again, extra evil this time. Then he held his arms up to all the Freaky Fuzzies flying by. "Fly, my Fuzzies! Fly!"

I felt horrible. C.H.I.P. and I had risked our lives to bring down Seth Mindwarp and his Freaky Fuzzies. And now it was all for nothing! Soon, these fuzzy freaks would take over the entire town - again!

Unless, of course, C.H.I.P. could take on Seth Mindwarp the way he did before!