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"Umm, well--" Henry blushed. (The people of Whimsy were terrible blushers.)
"What if we are?" spoke up Nicola. "Are you frightened of us?"
Excellent, Nicola! Georgio's voice suddenly rang out clearly in Nicola's head. Now watch her snap up the bait like a hungry fish!
He was right. Mrs. Mania bristled.
"Frightened of Earthling children?" she cried. "Your challenge is accepted, Henry Sweet! Prepare to be annihilated! "
CHAPTER 33
"Lovely," said Henry Sweet, before realizing that probably wasn't the most appropriate response to, "Prepare to be annihilated! " and being overcome with embarrassment. "I mean, er, well, let's see now--"
Nicola interrupted him.
"You might be thinking that even if you lose, you can always back out of this deal," she said to Mrs. Mania.
"That's exactly what she's thinking," spoke up Shimlara, who had obviously been reading Mrs. Mania's mind.
"Fortunately, we've got insurance," said Nicola.
"Insurance?" frowned Mrs. Mania.
Tyler stepped forward carrying his video camera. "I filmed the whole thing," he said.
"If you lose the battle and go back on your word," said Nicola, "we will broadcast this footage to the entire galaxy."
"You're not real journalists!" said Mrs. Mania.
"No, but this is a real camera," said Nicola, thinking that it was lucky that Mrs. Mania couldn't read minds, or she might have discovered that Tyler's camera had actually been ruined by the policewomen's water hoses during the protest.
"I think the intergalactic community would be very interested to hear how you've treated the United Aunts," said the green-skinned aunt.
"Every planet in the galaxy would be furious with you," said the aunt representing the Planet of Shobble. "I would certainly be recommending that my planet didn't export any more ShobbleChoc to you!"
Marty Mania's mouth dropped in horror. "Mom! Don't let that happen! I couldn't live without ShobbleChoc!"
"Don't worry, Marty," said Mrs. Mania testily. "We're not going to lose the battle."
"What battle?" said a rough voice.
"Yes, what battle?"
The sleeping Volcomanian guards were waking up. (They must have taken much bigger first mouthfuls of their food than Mrs. Mania and her son, so they'd slept for longer.)
As the guards realized they were tied to their chairs and struggled to free themselves, there was a terrible din.
"Who tied me up? "
"I only had one mouthful of my breakfast and now it looks like it's gone cold! "
"QUIET! "
It was Mrs. Mania. (Her voice projection was quite outstanding.)
The guards fell silent.
"Not another word," she said. "I blame every single one of you for the indignity I have suffered today. So I suggest you zip your lips and consider new careers because you're all fired!"
