“Outback Jack stole my research file on the town’s founding fathers,” Bob explained to his staff as he paced the floor.
“And then he stole the town clock,” said Vicki.
“And he stole a giant hot-air balloon,” added Junior.
“What’s the connection?” asked Bob.
“I know!” shouted Larry the Janitor, wheeling around to face Bob and accidentally knocking Junior out of his seat with his mop handle. “They all have to do with saving!”
“Saving?” asked Vicki.
“Yes!” Larry shouted, wheeling around to face his favorite photographer. But as he gazed into Vicki’s attractive eyes, he accidentally smacked Bob out of his seat with the mop handle. “You ‘save’ things in a research file.”
“Yeah, but what about the clock?” Junior reminded him.
“A clock tells time! And you can ‘save’ time,” Larry exclaimed. He wheeled around to face Junior and nearly swept Vicki off her chair with his mop handle. She ducked just in time.
“Then what about the hot-air balloon?” asked Vicki. “What does it have to do with ‘saving’?”
Larry paused and stared blankly at Vicki. “Well … er … a hot-air balloon contains … um … air … and air is something that planes fly through … and … um … when a plane turns right, it is called ‘banking’ to the right. And a bank is where you keep money that you … um … ‘save.’” Larry smiled weakly.
“You don’t really know how the balloon connects to the other things, do you?” asked Bob.
“Not a clue.”
Suddenly, Larryboy’s mop began to beep. Bob, Vicki, and Junior blinked in surprise.
“Your mop is beeping,” Junior pointed out.
“Uh … yes,” said Larry, staring awkwardly at his chirping mop. “My … uh … my automatic spill detector has automatically detected a spill. Gotta go!”
Larry the Janitor dashed out of the room, scurried into the janitor closet, and plopped the string mop over his head. Dirty water dripped down his face. He made a note to squeeze the water out of the mop before covering his head with his radio mop the next time.
“Hello, Master Lawrence.” Archie’s voice came through a screen that illuminated under the mop. The flickering image was of the asparagus butler standing in front of a panel of computerized equipment. “Bok Choy called to remind you to finish your superhero class assignment.”
“Aw, but Archie,” whined Larry. “I hate spending time with Pruneman. He’s so out of touch. Pruneman messed up everything yesterday. If he hadn’t tried to help, Outback never would have gotten away.”
“May I remind you about the gum?”
“Point taken. But Pruneman is so old. Can’t you tell Bok Choy I’m too busy to go to the retirement home?”
“After the bubblegum incident in class yesterday, he said your grade depends on this,” said Archie.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Twenty minutes later, Larryboy was back in the halls of the Bumblyburg Home for Retired Superheroes. He paused in front of a sign that said, “Today: Superhero Bingo.”
“Hey, maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” Larryboy said to himself. “After all, I like Bingo.”
Larryboy pushed open the door to the multi-purpose room, expecting a calm game of Bingo with the old folks. Just a nice, easy-going, quiet …
POW! KA-BLOOEY! SWOOSH! BA-BOOM! RAT-A-TAT!
Entering the room, Larryboy was greeted by an explosion of noise. Superhero weapons were firing from every corner.
CHAPTER 12
LASERS AND LIGHTNING AND LINT, OH MY!
Lasers streaked across the multi-purpose room. So did lightning bolts, streams of extra-hot taco sauce, snowballs, grappling hooks, bungee cords, sock lint, harpoons, and ping-pong balls.
Diving for cover, Larryboy made his way underneath the walkers, chairs, and tables, while deadly objects flew through the air right above him. It was like being in a war zone. Larryboy eventually squirmed his way to where Pruneman was sitting.
“Larryboy!” Pruneman shouted happily, looking down at his purple friend. “What a surprise! Wanna play Superhero Bingo with me!”
“This is Bingo?” Larryboy asked, crawling up and onto a chair. The weapons had finally stopped firing. “I thought Bingo was … uh … a quieter game.”
“Not with superheroes,” chuckled Pruneman. “See those giant Bingo cards over there by the wall?”
Larryboy nodded. On the far wall was a line of enormous Bingo cards. The cards were splattered, charred, and stuck with just about every superhero weapon imaginable—from mud-bombs and ice cream to darts and fireballs.
“My card is the third one from the left,” said Pruneman. “If they call a number that’s on my card, I fire my prune pits at it. I have to hit just the right spot on the card for it to count,” Pruneman giggled. “Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t have the aim we used to have.”
So true. Most of the shots were way off the mark. A lot of the superhero weapons misfired and missed the target altogether, doing deep damage to the wall behind the cards. In fact, an entire section of the multi-purpose room’s wall was missing.
“B-4,” said a voice over the intercom.
“That’s me!” shouted Pruneman, jumping out of his chair.
Weapons fired from all sides.
POW! KA-BLOOEY! SWOOSH! BA-BOOM! RAT-A-TAT! CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
Pruneman tried to fire prune seeds from his ear, but nothing came out.
“Aw fiddlepits!” he said. “I’ve got B-4, but I’m fresh out of pit power.” Pruneman turned to Larryboy. “Quick, fire a plunger for me at B-4.”
“Huh?”
“Fire a plunger at B-4 on my Bingo card! If I win this game, I’ll get an all-expense paid trip to Flimflamhamshire for the annual polyester harvest!”
Larryboy stood up and stared at the Bingo card—like a gunslinger sizing up his enemy. His eyes narrowed as he took aim.
FWAPPPP!
Larryboy’s plunger zipped across the room, threading its way through the barrage of weapons.
THWACK!
The plunger hit dead center on B-4.
“Hot diggity!” Pruneman shouted, jumping into the air. “Larryboy, you’re a natural at this game!”
“Nice shot, young fellow!” said an elderly superhero carrot from his rocking chair—which hovered in mid-air.
“That’s my partner,” said Pruneman proudly. He smiled at Larryboy.
As a couple of other senior superheroes nodded their approval, a smile grew on Larryboy’s face. He was actually beginning to like this.
Even more surprising, he was beginning to like Pruneman.
CHAPTER 13
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Later that day, Larryboy rose from his chair as Pruneman strolled into the room, carrying a photo album.
What an afternoon it had been. After three rip-roaring games of Superhero Bingo, Larryboy and Pruneman spent the rest of the afternoon scaling walls and trying out a new supercharged wheelchair. It was the only wheelchair in the world with a jet engine, helicopter blades, a smoke screen, and a laser-guided Slushie-tossing slingshot.
Larryboy didn’t know that an old guy could be so much fun.
When the afternoon of action was over, Pruneman invited Larryboy to the retirement home’s Clock Room for a glass of iced tea—and a peek at an old photo album.
“This Clock Room is an amazing place,” Larryboy said, glancing around at the hundreds of clocks lining every wall. There were grandfather clocks, water clocks, cuckoo clocks, and an entire shelf-load of hourglasses filled with sand.
“The fellow who built our retirement home was really fascinated by time,” Pruneman noted. “Maybe that’s why he was so interested in us old folks. We’ve all seen a lot of time go by.”
Pruneman opened up the photo album and spread it out on a coffee table. “Speaking of time, here’s the photo I wanted to show you. It’s from a long time ago.”
The blac
k and white photo showed a much younger Pruneman blasting a volley of prune pits at a supervillain perched high atop the Clock Tower.
“WOW!” exclaimed Larryboy. “Is that you fighting the Evil Squashinator?”
“Sure is.”
“I heard all about the Squashinator—a giant robotic squash that had been programmed to squash all the buildings in Bumblyburg by sitting on them. Was it you who defeated the Squashinator?”
Pruneman blushed. “Yes, it was. But that’s not why I wanted to show you this photo.”
Larryboy’s eyes lit up. Who would have thought that an old guy like Pruneman had once been a young hero capable of defeating the Squashinator? Why, if it hadn’t been for Pruneman, Bumblyburg wouldn’t even exist today!
“I wanted to show you this photo because it might shed some light on what Outback Jack is up to.”
“Really?”
“Maybe. You said that Outback Jack stole a file and then he stole the town clock, right?”
Larryboy nodded, eager for Pruneman to go on.
“Well, there’s an old legend that the town clock originally belonged to Sir Lester Bumbly and Sir Mortimer Burg.”
“Bumblyburg’s founding fathers!” Larryboy gasped. “Bob was going to do an article about them before Outback stole his research file.”
“Legend has it that they hid their family fortune to keep it away from attacking pirates. There’s even a story that says they painted a secret map to the treasure on the face of the town clock.”
Pruneman held a magnifying glass over the photo of the Clock Tower, while Larryboy took a close look. On the clock face were lots of fancy pictures surrounding the numbers. At the very top, above the number twelve, was a drawing of three hills—with a rock structure built upon the one in the middle. A stream of sunlight passed straight through a hole in the center of it.
“Those are the three hills on the edge of Bumblyburg,” Larryboy said, whistling. “And I recognize that rock structure—it’s the Rock of Time. Do you think this is the treasure map?”
Pruneman nodded solemnly.
“But how do you know all this?”
“You live. You listen. You learn,” Pruneman explained, solemnly.
Larryboy stood up straight and looked very heroic. “Well, if Outback Jack is using that clock map to steal the Treasure of Bumblyburg, then it’s my job to foil his evil plan!”
As Larryboy made a move to leap through the nearest window, Pruneman tried to stop him. “But wait, Larryboy! There’s one other important thing you need to know!”
“No time for that, Pruneman! I AM THAT HERO!”
“But Larryboy … You need to know …”
Too late. Larryboy was already out the window and leaping into his Larrymobile. Time does not wait for a superhero on the move.
CHAPTER 14
WHALLOPING WALLABEES!
Evening crept across the city of Bumblyburg. But despite the darkening hours, Bumbly Park in the center of town was still packed with veggies. Some were walking their dogs. Others were taking their daily jog. And a number of elderly veggies were playing chess.
Above them, an ominous shadow drifted across the park like an evil cloud. It was the shadow of a hot-air balloon floating across the sky. Most veggies thought it was a strange sight on this clear, beautiful evening. And there was one very odd thing about the balloon—instead of a basket, a jeep was connected to its bottom.
Little did they know …
Outback rode through the air in his floating jeep, staring off into the distance toward three hills. On top of the middle hill was the famous rock structure, the Rock of Time.
“There they are, luv,” he told his sock puppet. “The three hills.
And unless I’m mistaken, we’ll find out where the treasure is buried right about now.”
As the sun dipped behind the hills, it moved into just the right spot for a beam of sunlight to shoot through the hole in the center of the Rock of Time. Like a golden laser, the sunlight beam shot straight down from the hillside and struck the statue of Sir Lester Bumbly, located in the very center of the park.
“Blimey,” said Outback, his eyes glittering. “The beam points right to the spot where the treasure is hidden. It must be buried beneath the statue.”
“We’re going to be rich!” Jackie shrieked.
“Time to start diggin’,” said Outback. “But first, we need to clear the park, luv.”
Raising a megaphone to his mouth, Outback leaned over the edge of his jeep. “Citizens of Bumblyburg,” he called to the veggies far below. “Go home. Get out of the park … now!”
The veggies looked at each other in confusion. Several dogs barked at the hot-air balloon. Ma Mushroom stared up and yelled, “Whippersnapper!”
“Why should we leave the park just because you say so?” said a middle-aged carrot.
“Who do you think you are?” shouted a pea.
“We’re in the middle of a chess game!” yelled an elderly asparagus.
Outback Jack sighed and looked his sock puppet in the eyes. “Well, Jackie, we can’t say we didn’t warn them.”
“If you don’t leave now, I’ll be forced to release me outback wall-a-bees,” Outback Jack warned them.
But no one appeared frightened.
“Wallabies? Aren’t they cute little kangaroos?” asked Herbert who was having lunch in the park with Wally.
“I think so. I’m not afraid of a wallaby,” answered Wally.
“I warned ya!” shouted Outback Jack. “Here’s me wall-a-bees!”
Jackie’s pillbox hat opened at once, and a swarm of bees flew out and swooped down on the veggies in Bumbly Park.
“Oh! A wall of bees,” cried Herbert and Wally as they scurried back to the factory.
But not everyone was afraid. In fact, several veggies got out cans of high-powered bee repellent and continued on with their jogging and chess games.
“Do we get to croc ‘em, now?” Jackie asked, dancing with delight.
“Yes, luv! Time to croc ‘em!”
Outback pushed a button on a remote-control device, and a huge door opened on the side of the huge hat on top of the huge hot-air balloon. (Remember, the balloon looked just like Jackie.) Out dropped …
One crocodile.
Two crocodiles.
Three crocodiles.
Four. Five. Six. Seven.
With parachutes attached to their scaly backs, the crocodiles fell to earth like reptilian bombs. But these weren’t ordinary crocs. They were hungry crocodiles. Mean crocs. For three straight days, they had been forced to listen to a CD of the Bumblyburg Yodeling Club, so they were looking for someone to bite.
Vegetable stew sounded good to them.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
As the crocs hit the ground running, Veggies scattered in all directions, running out of the park as fast they could.
“Check, mate!” Outback shouted to the elderly guys who finally fled their chess game.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Outback’s plan was running like clockwork.
CHAPTER 15
THE CROCS TAKE OVER
Larryboy was startled by the wall of fleeing veggies as he raced his Larrymobile toward the center of town.
“What’s going on?” he called to three running scallions.
“Crocodiles have taken over Bumbly Park!” shouted one scallion. “Run for your life!”
Putting his foot to the floor, the Larrymobile shot forward. When Larryboy reached the park, he could see that an army of crocodiles had made a circle around the statue of Sir Lester Bumbly.
All the veggies had fled—except Ma Mushroom. She wasn’t going to budge. She was determined to sit and eat her three-scoop ice cream cone in peace. When a crocodile came at her, Ma Mushroom gave it a blistering look. Knowing better, the croc retreated, whimpering like a scolded puppy.
Meanwhile, Outback Jack drifted down from the sky in his hot-air balloon. As you recall (you’ll be tested on this), Out
back’s jeep dangled from the bottom of the balloon. But what you probably didn’t know was that a mechanical digging device was attached to the front end.
“Be careful, Larryboy,” Archie called out over the Larrymobile radio. “That giant Jackie balloon could be outfitted with dastardly secret weapons.”
“I’m ready for any secret weapon he’s got, Archie.”
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
The Larrymobile fired three X-42 mega-plungers at the nearest crocodiles, allowing the superhero to slip past them.
“Good shot, Larryboy!” boomed a voice from somewhere above.
Glancing up over his shoulder, Larryboy was shocked to see Pruneman—flying! Evidently, Pruneman had finally mastered his Prune-Pit-Power-Up Move. Prune pits streamed out of the large down-turned ears on his costume mask, propelling him forward at incredible speed.
Larryboy had a sinking feeling. The last time Pruneman tried to help, he had messed up everything. Pruneman was just too old for this kind of thing.
Larryboy opened his cockpit and shouted, “You’re flying? Isn’t that a little dangerous at your age?”
“No problemo,” grinned Pruneman. “Flying is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. Once you … WHOOOOAAAAAAAAA!” Suddenly, Pruneman’s stream of prune pits went berserk. The elderly superhero started to zig when he was supposed to zag.
“Come to think of it, I never did learn how to ride a bike!” Pruneman shouted as he roared out of control, skimming just two feet over Ma Mushroom’s head.
“Whippersnapper!”
Larryboy quickly positioned the Larrymobile beneath Outback’s hot-air balloon and fired a plunger, which arced upward about fifty feet. The plunger connected with the door of Outback’s jeep.
THWACK!
Larryboy scrambled up the tether line, climbing all of the way up to the door of the jeep. There he found himself staring into the face of pure evil—Jackie the Sock Puppet!
LarryBoy in the Attack of Outback Jack / VeggieTales Page 3
