by Ada Hopper
“So that’s how Dr. B. got sick,” Gabe said as he paused the video. “But how do we kick Herm out?”
“The answer’s in the writing!” Laura explained. She pointed to the board behind Dr. Bunsen. The DNA for Herm the Germ was written there in dry-erase marker.
“There are too many copies of Herm now,” Laura continued. “But what if we use the submarine’s tracking system to make all the Herms come to us?”
“And make it look like we’re the most tasty cells of all?” Cesar asked.
“Exactly,” Laura said.
Cesar was nervous about letting Herm come close, but it was worth a shot. So Laura and Olive reprogrammed the navigation device using the tools in the glove box that Dr. Bunsen had provided.
Gabe attached his net to the ship’s robot arms. The net had a special function that let it expand wide enough to catch all the Herm copies at once.
Meanwhile, Cesar coded the virus’s DNA into the ship’s computer.
After the final adjustments, everything for Operation Herm the Germ was ready to go.
“We have ten minutes left,” Laura said, checking the clock. “Let’s go catch Herm once and for all!”
Chapter 7 Down the Brain Drain
One by one, little blinking lights showed up on the ship’s screen. Ten. Twenty. A hundred. The screen was covered in lights and the virus cells were getting closer.
“This is crazy!” Cesar yelled as he took a big breath. “Are we sure this is going to work?”
“We’re about to find out!” cried Olive. “Hang on!”
Olive pushed down on the gas, and the ship blasted out of Bunsen’s Memory Control Center. As Olive drove using the map of Bunsen’s body, Laura kept a close eye on the tracking screen.
“We have to make sure the virus keeps chasing us until all the copies are in range!” she shouted.
Olive drove through a room that looked like an upside-down version of Bunsen’s lab. Wacky contraptions were scattered everywhere.
“These must be where all of Dr. B.’s half-baked ideas live!” Gabe called out with a sparkle in his eye.
They soared through the room, marveling at what they saw, until they got to another door. In this room, a hologram of Dr. Bunsen performed a dramatic play while holding a plastic skull.
“To Dr. B.? Or not to Dr. B.?” Bunsen proclaimed to an audience of applauding sloths.
“Wow, there are levels to this guy that we don’t even know about,” Cesar said with a laugh. His friends agreed, smiling.
Soon Olive zoomed down a bright-red corridor.
“It’s working. We’ve almost got them all!” cried Laura, looking through the rearview mirror. “Just a few more to—WHOA!”
The sub suddenly came to a screeching halt.
“Sorry!” Olive apologized. “But look where we are!”
Everyone gasped. They were out of the crazy brain maze and were now sitting behind Bunsen’s eyes—actually seeing what he was seeing!
“Look! It’s his lab!” cried Laura.
“And that clock on the wall says we only have five minutes left!” Gabe yelled out.
“Perfect—that’s all the time we need,” Laura said confidently. “Gabe, it’s time to activate the net!”
Gabe nodded. But right as his finger was about to press the button, the ship lurched forward. The largest piece of the cold virus smacked into the ship… and took the net with it!
The kids held on to their seats as the vehicle shook back and forth.
“NOOOO! Without the net, we’ll never catch Herm!” exclaimed Gabe.
“Not only that.” Cesar gulped. “But I think the cold has caught us instead.”
The DATA Set looked around, and Cesar was right. They were totally surrounded!
Chapter 8 Getting Boogy
“Hey, Cesar, can you attach your net to the mechanical arms?” Olive asked.
Cesar looked out the porthole. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “The arms have been damaged, so I don’t think they can hold the net anymore.”
“Guys, I hate to say it,” Laura began. She nervously eyed the thousands of cells closing in around them. “But we may need to lead the cells down to Dr. B.’s bladder and hope his body releases us, too.”
“That’s not only way too gross, but Dr. B. will also miss his conference!” Olive cried.
“Yeah, he’s counting on us!” Gabe agreed. “There’s got to be a quicker way—after all, we’re the DATA Set, right?”
“But we’re surrounded!” Laura exclaimed.
“You’re right,” Cesar replied. He looked out at the virus cells, then up at the inside of Dr. Bunsen’s head. “They may be surrounding us. But we’ve got the germ right where we need it!”
“Uhhh, what do you mean?” Gabe asked, confused.
“Now that we’ve got Herm the Germ and all his crazy cousins in one spot, we can make Bunsen kick the cold out himself!” Cesar continued, growing more excited by the second.
“But his immune system will take days to defeat the virus.” Laura shook her head. “And we only have five minutes!”
“Oh, I’m not talking about his immune system,” Cesar replied. “I’m talking about a good old sneeze! If we stretch our nets inside Dr. B.’s nose and make him sneeze, the virus will get caught with one big blow!”
Gabe, Laura, and Olive looked at the tracking screen. Their current location had a direct pathway to doctor’s nose.
“You’re a genius!” Gabe cried. “Come on, it’s now or never!”
So Olive turned the ship, pressed down on the pedal, and blasted toward Dr. B.’s nose, clearing all the germs that were in front of them. All the other virus cells immediately followed behind, quickly piling into Dr. B.’s nose, just as they’d hoped. Within seconds every copy of Herm was stuck in slimy yellow mucus.
“Yes, they’re trapped!” cheered Laura. “Quick! Let’s stretch out our nets!”
The DATA Set then climbed out and secured their nets along the wall of Dr. B.’s nose.
“Okay, now we just need to make Dr. B. sneeze,” said Cesar. “For that we’ll need to get swinging!”
Taking Cesar’s lead, the friends all jumped up and grabbed onto one of Dr. Bunsen’s nose hairs.
“I’m flying!” Cesar yelled as he swung back and forth.
“Hey, look at me! I’m a nasal gymnast!” cried Olive, swinging from one nose hair to the next.
It was the slimiest thing they had ever done in their lives.
And yet… it was a lot of fun. In a crazy, boogery sort of way.
“Hey! It’s working!” Gabe cried as a rush of wind pushed him to the right. “Quick! Everyone back in the ship!”
The friends scrambled back inside, just as a loud rumbling began.
Chapter 9 The Big Presentation
With a big sneeze, the ship came flying straight out of Dr. B.’s nose! And the cells burst out behind them, tangled inside the net.
The Cold Buster 3000 headed back toward the lab, while Bunsen caught and safely handled the tight, goopy bundle of cells.
As soon as the kids arrived back at Bunsen’s, they all hopped out of the vehicle.
Now that they were safely on the ground, it was time to grow big. Just like before, they looked at each other, took deep breaths, and pressed the buttons on their suits.
And just like that, they were back to normal!
“Oh, DATA Set, you did it! I feel so much better. Huzzah! I’ve been cured!” the doctor exclaimed as his hologram jumped up and down.
“I have safely secured the cells inside a Petri dish, and thanks to you all, I will be in tip-top shape for my presentation,” Dr. B. said.
The kids gave Dr. B. a big thumbs up. As always, when they worked together, the doctor and the kids were the perfect team.
It was almost time for Bunsen to get onstage, so they said goodbye, but before going home, they changed and threw their suits away.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bunsen made some final notes for his speech.
&
nbsp; Later that evening, the four friends watched Dr. B. on TV.
“The Bunsen Cold Buster 3000 is brand-new,” Dr. B. said as he looked directly at the front camera. “It helps your immune system kick out a cold in half the time!”
“How impressive!” shouted a man with dark-rimmed glasses.
“How did you come up with it?” asked a woman in a sleek business suit.
The doctor smiled. “Oh, I had help from the best research team a scientist could ask for—the DATA Set!” he cried. “Thanks to their research, I’ve made some final tweaks and my Cold Buster technology will be ready for the masses!”
The doctor then switched on a commercial with him rapping about the benefits of his newest invention.
“Woo-hoo! Hooray for team Buns—AHHHH-CHOOO!” Cesar sneezed as he covered his mouth.
“Oh no,” he mumbled as his friends safely moved out of the way. “That Herm is one sneaky germ.”
Chapter 10 A Team to Count On
The next day the DATA Set presented their school report in their pajamas. A four-way split screen connected them with their class.
“And that’s how the left side of the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood up through—AH-CHOO!—the arteries—”
PFFFFFFFT! Gabe grabbed a tissue and blew his nose as he covered his face.
“Thank you for presenting your report via video conference so that the rest of the class doesn’t get sick,” Mrs. Bell said.
“No worries, Mrs. Bell,” Laura sad. “Sorry we can’t be there in person.”
Mrs. Bell nodded her head. “You four have certainly gone above and beyond for your projects, but please get some rest now.”
“We will, Mrs. Bell,” the DATA Set promised.
Dr. Bunsen then switched off the screen. He had been running their presentations for them from his lab. “Are you sure you don’t want to use the Bunsen Cold Buster 3000?” he asked. “You’d feel better in half the time!”
“Thanks, Dr. B.” Olive said. “But right now, I just want some chicken noodle soup.”
“Mmmmm. Chicken noodle soup,” Cesar said as he rubbed his stomach. Despite his fever, his appetite was still strong.
“Okay. As you please, my DATA Set friends,” Dr. Bunsen said. “But I need my research partners back in tip-top shape ASAP!”
Laura nodded. “You got it, Dr. B.”
“Yeah, for sure. But this time we’ll take care of Herm the Germ the old-fashioned way. With lots of water, sleep, and no human body travel,” Cesar added.
The DATA Set and Dr. Bunsen all laughed and promised to stay home and get rest until Herm the Germ was out of commission for good.
More from this Series
March of the Mini Beasts
Book 1
Don't Disturb the…
Book 2
The Sky Is Falling
Book 3
Robots Rule the School
Book 4
A Case of the Clones
Book 5
Invasion of the Insects
Book 6
About the Author and Illustrator
Ada Hopper has been extremely inventive ever since she was little. There was nothing that a rubber band and some tweezers couldn’t fix, no question that couldn’t be answered by scouring the library, and no way she wasn’t escaping over that backyard fence! Ada loves reading and writing because of all the fantastical worlds a good book can bring you to. When not working, Ada enjoys karaoke, spending time with her family, and going on the occasional adventure or two.
Rafael Kirschner is a Brazilian illustrator and animator who builds his ideas through different styles, including graphite, watercolor, pastel, chalk, and acrylic paint. Rafael has owned a drawing school since 2000, teaching adults and children the art of drawing and expressing themselves through images.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Ada-Hopper
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Rafael-Kirschner
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster, New York
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
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First Little Simon hardcover edition July 2020
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Designed by Jay Colvin
Jacket design by Jay Colvin
Jacket illustrations by Graham Ross
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2020 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Interior illustrations by Rafael Kirschner of Glass House Graphics
This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-5344-1130-2 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-1129-6 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-5344-1131-9 (eBook)