Doctor Fossil Read online

  Gomez looked bashful. ‘Oh … I … it was nothing,’ he mumbled awkwardly. Then a huge grin lit his face. ‘OK, OK, I admit it – I was awesome!’

  Matt chuckled. ‘Gomez, I’m impressed.’

  Suddenly, a purple light fell over the gorge. Matt looked up to see the portal that had brought him to the Sea of Sands snaking down from the sky – a sure sign that, for now at least, his work in the Multiverse was done.

  Matt sighed as his Multivision Specs reactivated. ‘I’m running late,’ he told his two friends. ‘Home tuition.’ He pulled a face. ‘Later, guys!’

  As the mouth of the portal swept low enough to lift Matt from the ground, Roxie and Gomez returned his farewell wave. A moment later he had been sucked in and whisked away. The portal quickly withdrew back up into the blue sky, then vanished.

  ‘Hey, did you hear that, Roxie?’ Gomez had a smile from ear to ear. ‘He’s impressed.’

  Praise from a Hatter Hero was high praise indeed.

  22

  No Rest for the Wicked

  Tenoroc clutched the arms of his stone throne with bony fingers, and tried to focus his fading power on the Life Cells floating before him. He had fanned them out in an arc, in order to browse through them. His narrowed eyes scanned the Super Villains’ images hungrily.

  ‘Cyclops … yes … perhaps he … would be best …’ muttered Tenoroc between laboured breaths. ‘Or … would Minotaur … finish … the wretched … boy … more quickly …?’

  Doctor Fossil’s defeat had hit Tenoroc hard, draining his limited energy. He was on the brink of exhaustion. But pure fury was keeping him going. He was determined to get rid of Matt Hatter. It was becoming his one, obsessive goal.

  Craw hovered awkwardly nearby. The little gargoyle was anxiously watching his master’s efforts to rally his strength. He could tell from the way the floating Life Cells were wobbling and bumping into one another that Tenoroc was barely managing to keep them in the air.

  ‘Erm … master,’ began Craw hesitantly. He settled on the ground and waddled warily up to Tenoroc. ‘Might it not be a good idea for you to … er, well … rest for a little whi–’

  ‘REST?’

  Tenoroc’s shriek made Craw cringe away. ‘Well, yes, master,’ he croaked, cowering. ‘It’s just that, well, erm … don’t you think that otherwise, there’s a chance you might, you know, collapse or–’

  ‘I shall not rest, Craw,’ raged Tenoroc, ‘till I am rid … of that infuriating … interfering … Hatter!’ He brought a gnarled fist slamming down on the arm of his throne, sending a tremor through the Sky Prison’s rocky ground. The jittery Craw hurriedly backed away – and promptly fell on his stony backside.

  Tenoroc’s fit of temper spent the last drop of his energy. Giving in to exhaustion at last, he slumped back in his throne. His yellow eyes closed and he fell still, barely conscious.

  With Tenoroc’s levitating powers no longer at work upon them, the collection of Life Cells immediately dropped from the air. They rained down on poor Craw’s head. He let out a series of pitiful squeals as they bombarded him. When the last Cell had ricocheted off his stone snout, he got back to his feet and cast a grumpy look at his zonked out master.

  ‘Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!’ muttered the little gargoyle. Then a cheeky grin spread slowly across his ugly face, as he considered how nice it was, for once, to get the last word.

  23

  One Step Closer

  Matt waited for the bookcase to revolve part way, then stepped through the revealed opening on to the Coronet’s first floor landing.

  Time to get back to normality, he thought, with a slight pang of regret.

  He was already back in his ordinary clothes. All his Hatter Hero gear – Multivision Specs, action outfit and Cell Blaster – was safely stowed inside the Chronicles, which he held in one hand. As the secret doorway to the Screen Two corridor sealed behind him, Matt saw the amber glow in the book’s cover jewel fade to the faintest of glimmers.

  One area of the landing wall was hung with pictures. Matt crossed to stand in front of one of them. It was a portrait of his grandfather. Matt looked up fondly at the painting of the silver-haired adventurer.

  ‘I just booked Doctor Fossil, Grandpa,’ he said quietly. ‘That’s another one of Tenoroc’s bad guys out of the game. And I won’t stop till I’ve booked them all, and you’re back home safely – I promise.’

  The sound of squealing startled Matt. Marlon came scurrying across the landing towards him. The little fur-ball sprang on to the bottom ledge of the portrait’s frame, and began chittering at Matt frantically.

  ‘Hi there, buddy. What’s up?’

  Marlon clamped one paw over his mouth.

  ‘What? Stop talking? Why?’

  Marlon jabbed his other paw repeatedly in the direction of the staircase.

  Matt turned – and was alarmed to see Mrs Crumpepper watching him from the foot of the stairs. He instinctively slipped the Chronicles behind his back.

  How long has she been there? Did she hear me talking to Grandpa? Or see me use the secret door?

  The old lady came towards him. The expression on her face gave nothing away.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Crumpepper,’ said Matt sheepishly.

  The old lady gave him a hard stare.

  ‘It’s about time, young man! I’ve been looking for you for the last hour!’

  An hour! Matt still found it crazy how time passed so differently in different dimensions. It had seemed much longer than that in the Multiverse.

  ‘I was beginning to ask myself where in the world you’d got to,’ continued Mrs Crumpepper. Matt thought he saw her gaze flit to the bookcase and back. Her mouth curled in a half-smile. ‘But perhaps that was the wrong question …’

  Before Matt could be sure what she was hinting at, her expression became stern once more. ‘There’s no time for your lesson now. I have another student waiting. Besides, I seem to have mislaid my worksheets …’

  Marlon belched, covered his mouth with his paw, and looked awkward.

  ‘… so I’ll see you tomorrow, Matthew. And I expect you to study hard in the meantime!’

  With that she turned on one wheeled heel and glided away.

  Once he and Marlon were alone, Matt let out a sigh of relief.

  ‘C’mon, Marlon,’ he said wearily. ‘I’d better do what she says. When it comes to scary prehistoric creatures, Terrorsaurus Rexus Rex has nothing on The Crumpepper!’

  And he set off for his turret room, with his furry pal right by his side.

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  ISBN: 978-0-141-35436-1