Lab Rats in Space

by Bruno Bouchet

  Her smile stopped as she looked at Zed. He lay motionless on his back with his rear arm out at a very strange angle.

  ‘Oh dear!’ she said softly, not caring if she earned another fine.

  The others gathered around Zed, willing him to be better. Katy held XL and stroked his fur absentmindedly. He was trying to tell her to place him next to Zed so he could at least understand what Zed was thinking, but Katy was too distracted to hear his telepathic voice.

  ‘Look,’ mouthed Jay silently and pointed to Zed’s rear hand on the floor. It moved. The fingers started moving and feeling the ground around them. His whole arm moved, twisting itself back into position and moving underneath Zed. Once it was under his body, it raised him up slightly, bounced a little and then did an almighty push-up, forcing Zed quickly onto his feet.

  ‘Whoah!’ he said as he opened his eyes suddenly.

  ‘You’re OK!’ Dee shouted. The others cheered. The librarians shushed and several fines were logged against the Lab Rats’ library memberships.

  Chapter 23

  On the Way Home

  ‘We managed to restore some of the files Xanax blocked,’ Miss Tennet announced to the children on the control deck of their ship, ‘and we’ve located your home planets. We have very little information on them, but we did manage to match your scans with planets. They’ve been loaded onto your ship’s computer.’

  She expected the Lab Rats to burst into cheering and wild noise but they didn’t. They stared at her.

  ‘You mean we can go home?’ asked Zed quietly.

  She nodded.

  The children still didn’t look very happy.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘Isn’t this why you came here?’

  It was, but in all their battles and adventures, they had forgotten they had no memories of home. None of them knew where they came from. Now the only life they could remember was going to change.

  They had even grown used to their changed bodies. Jay felt pretty powerful after he defeated the zorbats. Dee admitted her hammer was quite useful and Katy had realised that knowing how both boys and girls thought was an advantage. Zed loved his third arm and realised he had amazing powers of recovery. He had healed himself without even thinking about it in the Great Hall. XL still yearned for a body that could move and talk but his great mind had calculated that his limited shape had made him even more resourceful than ever.

  They weren’t entirely sure they wanted to be normal again.

  ‘We’re pleased,’ said Dee, ‘it’s just…’

  She knew she should be happy but couldn’t work out why she wasn’t.

  ‘How will we know who our parents are?’ Jay asked.

  ‘I don’t know what mine look like,’ said Katy.

  ‘We don’t even know if they’re alive,’ said Zed.

  ‘What if they don’t like us because we’re different?’ asked Dee.

  Miss Tennet smiled at them and took off her glasses.

  ‘It’s the next and most exciting part of your adventure. You will find out where you are from, who you are and what your people are like. I know it’s scary but it’s something you have to do. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.’

  ‘You’re right, Miss Tennet,’ Dee smiled at her.

  ‘And besides,’ said Zed with sly grin, ‘there’s nothing that says we have to go straight home.’

  ‘Quite,’ said Miss Tennet. ‘Once you leave Libris you’re on your own again.’

  ‘Only this time, there’ll be no Xanax chasing us,’ Jay cheered up too.

  Xanax, Bumface and the Typetor were still being held by the Libris Police for non-payment of fines. The havoc they had wreaked across the planet with their viruses meant their library fines were the highest in Libris’s history. The only way Xanax could pay them was by contacting his Research Station and having the money transferred.

  ‘Sadly, there seems to be a glitch in our system,’ explained Miss Tennet. ‘I imagine it’s leftover from that virus Xanax released. The money transfer doesn’t seem to get through no matter how much Xanax shouts at his assistants on his Research Station.’

  Now the children really did jump and cheer.

  Miss Tennet continued, ‘It could be weeks before we can fix the glitch. Just imagine how far away you will be by then. You may all be home safely. Poor Professor Xanax, there’s nothing he can do. Library regulations are very strict on non-payment of fines. Speaking of which, you’ve accumulated quite a few yourselves.’

  Miss Tennet popped her glasses back on to review the fines the children had clocked up by talking in the Great Hall.

  ‘But we don’t have any money, we’ll never pay those off!’ Jay moaned. ‘We’ll be stuck here with Xanax.’

  The children couldn’t believe Miss Tennet was going to keep them there too.

  ‘Rules are rules children, you cannot leave until your fines are paid!’

  ‘But Miss Tennet!’ they pleaded. The librarian simply raised her hand in front of them in her most efficient manner.

  ‘Silence!’

  They quietened down and Miss Tennet carried on.

  ‘Rules are rules, and Rule 476, subsection 22, subclause 41 of the Payment of Fines Rules and Regulations—a very fine document which I myself helped write—states: “‘…in circumstances of extreme emotional distress and financial hardship, under the express authority of the Head Librarian, a senior librarian may, where he or she sees fit, accept non-monetary payment in lieu of financial settlement of said fine”.’

  ‘Huh?’ said Zed.

  ‘It means I am authorised to accept a big hug from each of you as payment of your fines!’ Miss Tennet beamed as the Rats charged forward and gave her the biggest hugs she had ever received.

  ‘Splendid,’ she said afterwards, looking at the computer screen in her glasses. ‘Paid in full. Start the engines, you are free to go!’

  They each gave her another hug so she knew they really wanted to hug her, rather than just wanting to pay their fines. Even though XL had not received any fines, she still picked him up and cuddled him too.

  ‘Put me down on the control panel, please Miss Tennet,’ he said to her, ‘or the ship will never take off.’

  ‘Certainly,’ she replied and smiled at the furry brick as she placed him down on the panel.

  ‘What did you say?’ Dee asked her.

  ‘Just a private joke between XL and myself.’

  ‘Oh Miss Tennet, don’t be so silly, XL can’t talk!’ Katy chuckled. All the children laughed. XL sighed and spoke again to them through the ship’s computer.

  ‘This is XL2, please take your seats for departure.’

  Miss Tennet winked at XL. He was thrilled that there was at least one person in the universe who knew how incredibly intelligent he was.

  ‘Goodbye!’ she waved as she left the ship. ‘Keep in touch!’

  The ship took off and once again the children were in space.

  ‘So where do we go?’ asked Zed.

  ‘I think we should go to Emm’s planet first,’ said Dee.

  The Rats all looked at the hard shell stuck fast to the wood panelling from Dr Doe’s office. It was strapped securely to the wall of the control deck.

  ‘They might be able to help her more than we can,’ Katy agreed.

  ‘But what will her parents think when we turn up with a big lump and say this is your daughter?’ Jay voted against this idea.

  The three of them looked at Zed for his vote. He didn’t like the idea of facing Emm’s parents either. They might be angry and blame them. As Emm couldn’t vote, it would be boys versus girls like before only this time it would be even. They could argue for days and not get anywhere.

  Zed thought about it some more.

  ‘I know giving that cocoon to Emm’s parents is a bit like asking to be told off, but I think helping Emm is the most important thing and her parents are the people that can help her most.’

  Katy understood what Zed was thinking and knew how hard it wou
ld be for him to do the sensible thing even if it meant getting into trouble.

  ‘I know it’s not the most fun option,’ she said, ‘but I think we have to.’

  Zed looked at his friend and listened to what she was saying.

  ‘The girls are right. Let’s do what they say! Computer, set a course for Emm’s home planet.’

  Miss Tennet watched their spaceship take off and smiled to herself. She was pleased that Libris was once again the peaceful place of learning it had been for thousands of years. But she already missed the children and figured that every few thousand years it was worth having an interruption like the Lab Rats.

  As she turned to head back to the Great Hall, she was almost knocked over by Dr Doe. His face was bright red and he was out of breath.

  ‘Miss Tennet, are the children safely away?’

  ‘Of course!’ she looked puzzled. Dr Doe was clearly distressed. He stood resting his hands on his knees, puffing and panting.

  ‘I couldn’t risk using our internal communications systems…’ he panted some more. ‘It’s Professor Xanax, his fines have been paid. He’s about to be released.’

  ‘How?’ Miss Tennet gasped. ‘It was supposed to take weeks for his funds transfer to come through!’

  ‘Our bank made an error and approved the payment ahead of time. They’ve apologised but won’t refund the payment approval fee.’

  ‘Never mind the fee, Dr Doe, we must delay Xanax somehow. The children must be given as much of a head start as possible. Quickly.’

  They took a ladder to the infringement area where the professor had been held. It barely stopped before Miss Tennet leapt off.

  ‘Where’s Xanax?’ she asked the Fines Payment Senior Assistant Manager.

  ‘He’s gone. Fine’s paid and he was released.’

  ‘Send a communication to air space command. They must not give Xanax permission to take off. Tell them there’s a shipment of antique books slowing up the process.’

  Miss Tennet leapt onto the ladder again and grabbed Dr Doe’s hand.

  ‘Why can’t a woman be more like a man,’ she said and they charged off at high speed.

  ‘Hurry,’ she urged the ladder. Anything less than light speed seemed like a snail’s pace.

  Finally they arrived at the launch pad holding Xanax’s ship. She jumped off the ladder so fast her huge bun of hair wobbled and she lost her balance. Falling to the floor, her glasses shot off.

  When she finally found them and put them on, a pair of large shiny rubber boots came into focus. It was Xanax.

  ‘Misssss Tennet,’ he hissed her name through his teeth like a poisonous snake. ‘Come to bid me bon voyage?’

  ‘This is a silence zone, that’s a very substantial fine,’ she tried to delay him.

  Xanax clicked his fingers at the Typetor who made a payment.

  ‘Paid! Anything else?’

  ‘There’s a shipment of antique…’

  ‘I’ve tapped into your take-off schedules and placed myself at the head of the queue.’

  ‘I… I… believe some of our books have been stolen and hidden aboard your ship. I demand a thorough search.’

  Xanax rolled his eyes.

  ‘Really, is that the best you can do?’ He grabbed Miss Tennet’s hair bun in one hand and lifted her to her feet and then off the ground. He thought of what a delightful experiment it would be to see how hard he would have to spin her around by her bun before it snapped off. He stopped himself.

  ‘Oh Miss Tennet, I could have such experiments with you, but I have smaller fish to fry. I’ll give your regards to my Lab Rats!’

  He dropped her, turned and walked to his ship, followed by Bumface who turned and scowled at Miss Tennet. The Typetor waved one of its restored arms above its head. She charged forward hoping to stop the ship’s door closing but she was too late, the door slammed shut just as she got to it. She tried to hold on to the side of the ship, hoping they would not move with her there.

  Dr Doe knew better. He rushed forward and pulled her away before she was killed by the force of the ship taking off.

  Miss Tennet watched a second ship depart in a very different mood than the first.

  ‘I just hope they’ll be alright. The thought of that monster…’

  ‘Miss Tennet,’ Dr Doe put his arm around her and looked up at the sky. ‘Those children have already proved more than a match for Xanax. I suspect they will continue to do so for some time yet.’

  Copyright

  The ABC ‘Wave’ device is a trademark of the

  Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is used

  under licence by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia.

  First published in 2007

  This edition published in 2012

  by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited

  ABN 36 009 913 517

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Copyright © Bruno Bouchet 2007

  The right of Bruno Bouchet to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

  Bouchet, Bruno.

  Lab rats in space.

  For children.

  ISBN 978 0 7333 1965 5 (pbk)

  ISBN 978 0 7304 9661 8 (epub)

  1. Human experimentation in medicine - Juvenile fiction.

  2. Space stations - Juvenile fiction. I. Morden, Richard, 1972-. II. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. III. Title.

  A823.3