Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers by Matthew McElligott Page B

time?
    Victor and Scott scanned the skies. The Megabat was already gone.
    â€œWe’re too late.” Victor sighed. “We missed our chance.”
    Then came the buzz. First soft, then steadily louder.
    â€œThere it is!” Scott yelled.
    A giant bat-shaped silhouette swooped low. For one horrible second, it seemed to fill the sky. Then, with an acrobatic roll, it vanished from sight.
    â€œLet’s move!” commanded Victor. The boys tore down the street.
    Suddenly, the Wright brothers reappeared, circling high above in their terrifying machine, banking and swirling.
    â€œIt’s working!” Scott screamed, pouring on more speed. “They’re coming at us!”
    The Megabat plunged into a steep dive. A bone-chilling scream pierced the air.
    As he struggled to keep pace with Scott, Victor huffed into his cell phone headset. “Ben . . . Mr. Weaver ... they’ve taken the bait. Fire up the Hyperion coil!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN
    Sky Chase
    â€œFaster!” Victor hollered. They sped down alleys and side streets too narrow for the Wright brothers to fly through. The boys had planned their route carefully. As long as they stayed away from major roads, they would be safe.
    High above, the Megabat zigged and zagged like a monstrous mosquito.
    Skip Weaver’s voice crackled in Victor’s headset. “The coil’s at optimum temperature . . . Raise the kite, Dr. Franklin!”
    Victor and Scott paused at the end of an alley to catch their breaths.
    â€œWe’ll have to cross this street fast,” Victor said. “As soon as we’re out in the open, we’ll be exposed.”
    The streetlight turned green. They each took a deep breath and kicked off, speeding across the intersection. Victor looked up to find the Megabat close behind, flying so low that he could see the confused madness on the brothers’ faces.
    Static hissed in Victor’s earphone: “ . . . wires are snapping . . . going back . . .”
    Going back? What was Ben talking about?
    Victor heard Skip’s voice shout back. “No! . . . too dangerous . . . be killed!”
    The boys steered their bikes into the next alley. “Mr. Weaver! . . . Ben! . . . We’re almost there! Is everything all right?”
    â€œNo!” Skip shouted. “There’s a problem! The kite net—”
    â€œThere is no problem!” Franklin insisted. “Proceed as planned!”
    Victor felt the air temperature rising and the wind picking up. The Hyperion coil was evidently up and running.
    The boys careened into the next alley. Victor spotted the chain-link fence at the edge of the Arthur Parker Art Park. The park had been the perfect place to set their trap: full of wide-open spaces, secluded, and devoid of people. They skidded their bikes to a stop and dragged them under the fence.
    â€œThis way,” Scott shouted. “Past the giant nose!”
    They hopped back on their bikes and took off across the park, swerving between the enormous sculptures on their way to the trap. The Megabat’s propellers buzzed close behind.
    Â 
    THE MODIFIED WURP NEWS VAN

    At the crest of the next hill, Victor breathed a quick sigh of relief. The old WURP news van was parked in position. Next to it, the Hyperion coil fired ripples of heat into the sky, where dark clouds were forming. Dozens of box kites lurched violently in the wind, tethered by a nearly invisible web of wire to—
    Victor’s stomach tensed as they pedaled closer. There was a problem.
    Franklin teetered atop the news van, his foot hooked beneath the giant orb. He clutched the frayed ends of the kite net with both hands as it thrashed and snapped in the wind.
    â€œDr. Franklin,” Skip called, “I can’t throw the switch until you’re clear of the net. You’ll be electrocuted!”
    Victor screamed into his headset. “He’s right! It’s too dangerous!”
    â€œIf I let go of the net, it