An Author's Odyssey

by Chris Colfer

  “Let’s go to Paris,” he said. “I’ve got a family and a city to save.”

  “Attaboy!” Conner said. He patted Bolt on the back. The contact shocked Conner’s hand and he yelped. “Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to.”

  “How am I supposed to get to Paris in time?” Bolt asked. “My brothers and sister took the jet.”

  “Luckily for you, Alex and I happen to have a teleportation device,” Conner said. “It’ll get us there in a matter of seconds.”

  Alex did a double take. “We do?” she asked.

  “Yes—you do,” Conner mouthed at his sister. “We’ll use your magic.”

  “Oh, right.” Alex played along. “I completely forgot about the teleportation device. I have it right here in my hand—it’s small and invisible. Boy, it sure is easy to misplace.”

  Bolt was impressed. “My dad doesn’t even have one of those,” he said. “How did two school journalists get one?”

  “Our school has a great science department,” Conner said. “More on that later. Do you want to get to Paris or not?”

  Alex put her arms around Bolt and Conner and they formed a group hug. She had never magically transported between locations in one of her brother’s stories before. She hoped it would work like it did in the fairy-tale world. Alex closed her eyes and visualized the Ziblings tied to the Eiffel Tower’s antenna by the anaconda and also remembered how desperately she and Conner needed the superheroes to defeat the Literary Army.

  “Activating the teleportation device,” she said. “Here goes nothing.”

  With a bright flash, the twins and Bolt disappeared from Professor Wallet’s secret laboratory. The first thing they felt was a cool night breeze. They looked around and saw lush rectangular lawns, fountains, and a winding river. There were gorgeous buildings for miles around with tall windows, domes, columns, steeples, and French flags. Every building was lit up like the entire city was in the middle of a photo shoot.

  “We’re definitely in Paris,” Alex said. “But I don’t see the Eiffel Tower anywhere.”

  “That’s because we’re in the Eiffel Tower,” Conner said. “Check it out!”

  After further inspection, she realized they were hundreds of feet in the air. Alex had transported them directly onto the roof of the lower observation deck. The rest of the structure towered above them like the skeleton of a steel giant. It was so tall, the twins got vertigo just looking at it. Despite the circumstances, the Eiffel Tower was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

  On the ground below, they saw the Snake Lord’s circle of serpents keeping the Parisian police at bay. Beyond the police were thousands of French citizens observing the scene. A dozen news helicopters flew in the air around the Eiffel Tower and they shined their spotlights on Bolt and the twins as soon as they arrived.

  It was a blessing they did, because the spotlights illuminated Collared Joe and Lizzy Liza sneaking up behind them.

  “Bolt, look out!” Conner yelled.

  Collared Joe leaped toward Bolt and knocked him to the floor. Lizzy Liza stood on her hands and kicked the twins. Alex and Conner rolled across the roof and over the edge. Conner grabbed on to the ledge with one hand and his sister with the other. They swung from the roof like rock climbers without a harness. The observers below gasped and screamed.

  As they climbed back over the ledge, Collared Joe and Lizzy Liza started circling Bolt as he got to his feet. Collared Joe puffed his frilled neck out like an umbrella around his head. Lizzy Liza scraped her claws across the roof and hissed at the boy. They were like predators surrounding their prey.

  “What a treat,” Collared Joe said. “All four Ziblings in one day! The Snake Lord will be thrilled!”

  “I say we keep the little one between us,” Lizzy Liza said. “I could use a Znack, if you know what I mean.”

  The overgrown reptiles cocked their heads and laughed. At that moment Alex noticed something on the roof behind Bolt that had the potential to help him, and she hoped he’d get the same idea when he saw it.

  “Bolt—behind you!” Alex yelled.

  Bolt turned around and saw the bucket of water she was referring to. He ran to it and kicked it over. The water spilled across the roof as Collared Joe and Lizzy Liza charged after him. Bolt put both hands down and sent electric waves through the spill. The evil sidekicks’ feet and legs were electrocuted. They hopped around the roof like it was covered in broken glass. They tripped on each other and then fell over the edge of the observation deck and never returned.

  The twins crawled back onto the roof and Bolt helped them to their feet.

  “Smart thinking, guys,” Conner said.

  “My dad always says, ‘Science is a superpower in itself,’” Bolt said.

  With Collared Joe and Lizzy Liza gone, the Snake Lord was the only person preventing them from saving the city. The twins and the youngest Zibling went to the edge of the roof and looked up at the Eiffel Tower’s highest observation deck.

  “We’ve got to get up there,” Alex said.

  “No, it’s too dangerous,” Bolt said. “You both need to stay here. This is between me and the Snake Lord.”

  Alex opened her mouth to argue, but Conner gave her a look to keep quiet. As he had explained before, for the Ziblings to reunite, Bolt had to face the Snake Lord alone.

  “Good luck, Bolt,” Alex said.

  “We believe in you,” Conner said.

  Bolt gave them a nervous salute. He flew into the air and ascended the Eiffel Tower, gliding from steel beam to steel beam like a flying squirrel jumping from branch to branch. Eventually, he made it all the way to the roof of the highest observation deck, where he saw the other Ziblings at the base of the antenna. Blaze, Whipney, and Morph were shocked and upset to see their little brother.

  “Bolt, what the heck are you doing here?” Blaze asked.

  “I’m here to save you and the city,” Bolt said.

  “No, get out of here while you still can!” Whipney said. “You can’t face the Snake Lord alone!”

  “You need to get Dad!” Morph said. “You can’t help us—you aren’t strong enough!”

  “It doesn’t take strength to be a superhero,” Bolt said. “It just takes courage.”

  Just like Conner, Bolt pretended he had a shield protecting him from all the doubt and belittlement his siblings were sending him. He flew over them to the antenna’s ladder and climbed up to the platform where the Snake Lord stood.

  The Snake Lord had reached the final step of the Reptilalizer’s installation, and a pleased grin stretched across his face. It would only be a matter of time before everyone in Paris was transformed into a reptile, and he would have total control over the world’s most cosmopolitan city.

  The Snake Lord was distracted by movement coming from beneath his feet. He looked down just as the youngest Zibling was pulling himself onto the platform. The Snake Lord kicked Bolt hard in the chest and he slipped down the ladder.

  It knocked the wind out of Bolt, but as soon as he caught his breath, he climbed back up. When he reached the platform, the Snake Lord kicked him down again. But no matter how many times the Snake Lord kicked Bolt down the ladder, the boy was never going to give up. Even if he was kicked down a hundred more times, Bolt was going to do whatever it took to keep the Snake Lord from activating the Reptilalizer.

  On the boy’s fifth trip up the ladder, the Snake Lord stared down at him pityingly. Bolt’s determination amused him. Instead of kicking him down again, the Snake Lord grabbed Bolt by the lightning logo on his suit and looked the boy closely in the eye.

  “You’re a brave little hero, I’ll give you that,” the Snake Lord said. “But there’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity—and I’m afraid you just crossed it.”

  “And there’s a thin line between bad breath and halitosis,” Bolt said. “I’m afraid you crossed that a while ago.”

  The remark angered the Snake Lord to no end, so rather than putting Bolt with his siblings, he threw the boy off
the antenna. The youngest Zibling plummeted toward the ground, falling so fast he couldn’t fly.

  “Bolt!” the Ziblings yelled as they watched helplessly.

  He fell past Alex and Conner on the lower observation deck and landed somewhere among the trees below the Eiffel Tower. It was over before the twins even knew what was happening. They looked at each other in total shock.

  “This is all my fault,” Conner cried. “I pushed him too far. I made him face the Snake Lord when he wasn’t ready! I killed him! Now the Ziblings will never be united!”

  Conner was so ashamed of himself, he buried his face in Alex’s shoulder. She felt just as responsible and couldn’t find the words to comfort him.

  “You murderer!” Blaze yelled at the Snake Lord.

  “How could you do that to a child?” Whipney screamed.

  “He was just a boy!” Morph shouted.

  The Ziblings struggled against the anaconda binding them, but the large snake only tightened its squeeze. The Snake Lord finished the final phase of the Reptilalizer’s installation and laughed uproariously to himself.

  “The Reptilalizer is complete!” he announced. “Not only have you lost a brother, but once I activate my invention, you’ll be the first people in Paris to turn into reptiles! And with no Ziblings left, no one will ever stop me! Soon the whole world will be in my control!”

  The Snake Lord flipped the switch on the Reptilalizer and the machine came to life. A thick green gas spewed from the antenna and traveled down the Eiffel Tower like a looming fog. But just before it reached the Ziblings below, the Eiffel Tower’s power unexpectedly went out. The Reptilalizer shut off and the green gas dissipated in the night breeze.

  “What in the name of Kaa?” the Snake Lord said, and desperately tried to re-start his machine.

  As the twins mourned the loss of Bolt, a strange phenomenon occurred in the city around them. Not only did the Eiffel Tower lose its power, but all the buildings in a ten-block radius blacked out, too. It was like the Reptilalizer had blown Paris’s fuse.

  “Wait a second,” Alex said. “Didn’t Bolt say his power comes from absorbing the electricity around him?”

  “Yeah, when he was alive,” Conner said. “But he’s dead—isn’t he?”

  Suddenly, the twins’ hair rose above their heads and their bodies were tickled by a strong wave of friction. They looked down to the trees where Bolt had landed. The trees were buzzing and emitted a glowing bright white light.

  Bolt launched from the trees like a missile: He was alive and more powerful than ever. Strong electric waves charged out of his body like he was a human plasma ball. His body was producing so much friction that the air hummed around him. His hair stood straight up above his head and his eyes glowed with energy. Bolt had never looked so confident or capable in his life.

  “It worked!” Conner said. “Bolt’s reached his full potential!”

  “Go, Bolt!” Alex yelled.

  Conner couldn’t have been more proud of the little superhero. Watching Bolt flourish made him feel like a part of him had succeeded and beaten the odds, too. The twins hugged in celebration.

  Bolt soared back to the antenna of the Eiffel Tower. He pointed a finger at the anaconda and rattlesnake restraining his siblings and zapped the reptiles with electricity. The snakes curled into balls and fell to the ground. The Ziblings couldn’t believe their eyes. It took them a moment to realize that their rescuer was their brother.

  “Bolt?” Blaze said.

  “You’re alive!” Whipney said.

  “And POWERFUL!” Morph said.

  The youngest Zibling could have gloated, he could have made his brothers and sister feel as lousy as they had made him feel, but none of that was as important as saving the city.

  “I have two friends on the roof of the lower observation deck,” Bolt said. “Get them to safety and I’ll take care of the Snake Lord.”

  The Ziblings didn’t argue with their brother. Blaze jumped off the tower, and fiery blasts erupted from his feet like he was standing on a jetpack. Whipney swung down the Eiffel Tower beam by beam, as if her hair were the long arms of an orangutan. Morph turned into a huge paper airplane with sunglasses and glided down to the lower observation deck to retrieve the twins.

  “Hop on!” Morph told them.

  Alex and Conner climbed aboard the paper airplane, and the Ziblings escorted them to the rectangular lawns below. Once they were safely on the ground, the twins and Ziblings all looked up at the Eiffel Tower and anxiously watched as Bolt went head-to-head with the Snake Lord.

  At the top of the antenna, the Snake Lord was fidgeting with the wires and gears of the Reptilalizer, but nothing he adjusted made the device regenerate. Bolt landed on the platform behind him with so much force, the entire structure rattled. He raised both hands toward the Reptilalizer and fired it with electricity until it exploded.

  If looks could kill, the Snake Lord would have murdered Bolt with his hateful glare.

  “You think you’re powerful?” he asked. “You have no idea what power is!”

  The eyes on the Snake Lord’s helmet started to glow. As if they were connected by a wireless frequency, he sent instructions to the serpents guarding the base of the Eiffel Tower. The snakes joined their bodies together and formed one monstrous beast. Thousands of snakes made up of hundreds of species were now slithering in perfect synchronicity. The gigantic reptile coiled up the Eiffel Tower toward the antenna to join its master and attack Bolt.

  The observing twins, the Ziblings, the police, and the Parisian citizens all screamed. They had never seen such a gargantuan creature take form. Bolt only laughed at the approaching giant. In the Snake Lord’s ruthless quest for power, the mad scientist had forgotten one basic scientific fact.

  “Science 101,” Bolt said. “Nothing helps electricity move faster than metal, and you just sent your entire entourage into a steel structure.”

  The Snake Lord’s yellow reptilian eyes widened and his pupils shrank into narrow slits. He had made a grave mistake. Bolt looked toward the sky above the antenna and sent a wave of friction into the clouds, causing a mighty bolt of lightning to descend and strike the Eiffel Tower.

  The lightning illuminated the tower and it shone more brightly than it ever had in history. Every lightbulb on the tower burst, covering it in tiny explosions. The electricity coursing through the structure electrocuted the Snake Lord and his scaly accomplices until there was nothing left of them but burned dust.

  When the lightning had finished, a thunderous roar erupted throughout Paris. The Ziblings, the twins, the police, and all the witnessing Parisians cheered and applauded the little superhero. Bolt flew down to the rectangular lawn and joined the twins.

  “Way to go!” Conner said. “I’d hug you, but I’m definitely not touching you after all that!”

  “We knew you could do it!” Alex said.

  Blaze, Whipney, and Morph sheepishly stepped toward Bolt. They hung their heads shamefully, feeling so guilty they couldn’t even look their brother in the eye.

  “Bolt, we’re so sorry,” Blaze said.

  “Thank you for saving our lives,” Whipney said.

  “We should have believed in you,” Morph said.

  Bolt stared blankly at his brothers and sister, not knowing what to say to them. A sly grin appeared on his face. It felt so good to finally prove himself that he didn’t care about proving them wrong.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “All that matters is that I believed in myself. And I’ll definitely find ways for you to make it up to me.”

  The Ziblings went to speak with the French police and press. Blaze, Whipney, and Morph gave all the credit for saving the city to their little brother. The reporters crowded around him and praised him for his efforts. The Parisians chanted Bolt’s name, and Blaze and Morph lifted their brother onto their shoulders so the people could get a better look at him.

  Bolt had never smiled so big in his whole life—he was finally a real superhero.
/>   “That’s so sweet,” Alex said. “This is such a great story, Conner.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said in the trunk of the Zibling Mobile. You were right. ‘The Ziblings’ is definitely about us.”

  Alex took a deep breath. “I told you,” she said. “And just to reiterate, I want to apologize for anything I might have—”

  “But you were wrong about one thing,” Conner interrupted. “Blaze, Whipney, and Morph aren’t based on you. Alex, you might not realize it, but you were the first person to encourage me to write. You’re my Professor Wallet, not Mrs. Peters.”

  “Me?” Alex said. “But… but… Mrs. Peters—”

  “Mrs. Peters also tried getting me to finish my homework and study for tests, but that never happened,” Conner said. “I don’t remember the second grade, but I do remember the seventh. Just before we went into the fairy-tale world to fight the Enchantress, I showed you my stories for the first time. You liked them, you said they were special, and you gave me the confidence to keep writing. It was your approval that inspired me—you were my champion.”

  Alex was more relieved than words could describe. Thinking she had somehow harmed him in the past was the worst feeling in the world. She hugged her brother, squeezing him so tight that he could barely breathe.

  Professor Wallet appeared in the crowd of Parisians and pushed his way through the people toward his children. He was so out of breath and sweaty, he looked like he had run all the way from Germany.

  “Dad!” Bolt said when he saw him.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” the professor said. “The chancellor let me borrow her plane. I’ve been watching the whole thing unfold on the news!”

  “I’m sorry I broke the rules again,” Bolt said. “I know I was grounded and shouldn’t have left the laboratory, but the others were in danger, and I didn’t want the Snake Lord to win, so I—”