Chapter Eight
Fighting both the darkness and the ?midnight mosquitoes,? Daphne and Big Bird were pleased to know that they were only a few blocks away from the Kent Farm. They saw from afar as the lights inside the old farmhouse glistened through it windows, illuminating both it and the rest of the farm. They could see Ben Hubbard?s truck leaving the farm and barely saw him wave goodbye to Martha Kent, as she stood on the porch. Big Bird?s hopes were shattered, while Daphne just remained calm.
?Oh, no! We?re too late to catch him!? Big Bird exclaimed. ?All those miles we walked?they were all for nothing!?
?Relax, Big Bird.? Daphne said. ?I?m sure he?ll be driving our way.? And it seemed that Daphne was correct; but as Hubbard?s truck came near them, Ben Hubbard himself had a bit of trouble seeing through his glasses and took them off to see if he needed a new prescription. His truck wriggled along the road, and it would?ve almost hit Big Bird and Daphne, if Daphne hadn?t pushed herself and Big Bird away in time. The two landed in the dark, vast, grassy field nearby, watching Ben Hubbard put back on his glasses and straighten up his truck, as he drove it calmly down the night road.
?Oh! He didn?t see us!? Big Bird moped.
?Which should be a good thing, considering the fact that he almost killed us!? Daphne exclaimed, feeling a little upset. ?Maybe it?s best if we just call Velma and get her to take us over to the motel.?
?You mean just forget about finding the crystal tonight?!? Big Bird said, with stunned eyes. ?Forget it! I?m going to the farm right now!? Big Bird started walking over in the direction of the Kent farm, while Daphne tried to hold him back and keep him from going.
?Big Bird! I?m sure it?ll be there tomorrow!? Daphne yelled. ?Let?s just go back to the motel and get some sleep, okay??
?I?m not sleepy.? Big Bird refused.
?But I bet Martha Kent is.? Daphne alleged. ?How do you think she would react if she saw a seven foot bird and a young but beautiful red-headed girl standing on her front doorstep? I?m telling you! That woman will call the police once she sees on yellow feather touch her property!?
?But we?ve got to find that crystal! We?ve got to save Mac and?? Big Bird and Daphne stood their bickering, once they felt the ground beneath them shaking. As the shaking grew rougher, they started to get very curious. But their curiosity had quickly increased, as the dark grassy field that they were standing on was illuminated by a passing bright light overhead. They looked up to see what appeared to be a large, ominous fireball falling towards the earth.
?Get down!? Daphne yelled, and she wasn?t sure why she said that, but she was desperate enough to keep herself and Big Bird safe by forcing themselves down on the ground. They shut their eyes tight, as they actually felt the fireball crash to the ground. It created a tremor massive enough to be felt by anyone within a sixty-mile radius. In the motel that the other members of the Mystery Inc. gang were staying in, they also felt the tremor, which brought Fred out of his slumber and made Scooby and Shaggy let out a loud belch. In the café, Rowlf had accidentally hit the wrong key, as he and some other people looked around in confusion.
Back near the Kent farm, Daphne and Big Bird got off the ground and looked to where the fireball had crashed; they were completely unaware of the fact that their faces, Daphne?s clothes, and Big Bird?s feathers were all covered in mud. They couldn?t believe that the fireball was in fact a huge crystal ship that had left a remarkable trench in the ground; everything around it was aflame, but not so much to where no one could go near it, which was exactly what Big Bird wanted to do, until Daphne held him back again.
?Don?t.? She uttered, cautiously. ?Something doesn?t feel right about this.?
?It?s okay, Daphne.? Big Bird said, and a look in his eyes made her feel somewhat assured, but she still stayed where she was, as Big Bird started heading towards the crash site of the crystal ship. At the same time, Daphne noticed how Martha Kent was quickly getting into her truck and driving to the crash site as well. She couldn?t help but to feel a little worried, as she watched Martha and Big Bird arrive at the site at the exact same moment.
?Big Bird, you?re gonna get yourself into so much trouble.? She murmured, but she was surprised and a little relieved when she noticed how Martha gave Big Bird a big hug, just before they both began inspecting the crystal ship. ?Okay. Guess I?ll just?? Daphne was about to head over to the crash site and join up with Martha and Big Bird, until something caught her by the ankle and made her fall face first into the mud. As she brought her face out of the mud, Sid and Sam Sleaze appeared, along with Lefty, and pinned her to the ground; she couldn?t see their faces, due to the mud in her eyes.
?Listen, kid,? Sam said, ?I don?t know what it was that just fell from the sky just now, but you, me, and Sid here are going to stay right here ?til the bird gets that last crystal for us.? Daphne spat out the bits of mud that were in her mouth, so she could address who she believed to be the people who kidnapped Mac and Frankie.
?You guys really think you?re going to get away with whatever you?re planning?!? Daphne exclaimed. ?Well, I?ve got news for you?YOU?RE NOT!!!?
?Yeah, riiiight.? Lefty said, not intimidated.
?Sid, keep an eye on the bird and the old lady.? Sam ordered, and Sid moved away from the scene and glanced over at Big Bird and Martha, just as they were crouching down near the crashed crystal ship and checking on what appeared to be a man in an alien space suit. It was at that moment when Sid began to realize what the object was that had fallen from the sky and who might?ve been in it at the time. He immediately ran back to Sam and attempted to alert him about his suspicions.
?Sammy, I?I think we should?I think?I think I just saw?? Sid stammered, but Sam didn?t give him the opportunity to come out with it.
?Quiet!? He exclaimed, turning back to Daphne. ?Like I said before, we had to wait hours before you and the bird finally got here, now we?re gonna wait some more hours before the bird gets back here with that last Krypta?Krypan?Krypos??
?Kryptonian.? Sid uttered.
?I know how to pronounce it!!!? Sam snapped. ?When he gets back with it, we?re all gonna take a nice road trip back to Metropolis, where you?re gonna met a good friend of ours.?
?You?ll like her.? Sid said. ?She?s the world famous thief, Carmen Sandiego!?
?Shhhhhh!!!!? Lefty and Sam exclaimed, and though the mud covering her face didn?t show it, Daphne was shocked by that sudden news.
?You guys are working with Carmen Sandiego?? Daphne said, and she let out a little chuckle. ?The gang and I have been trying to put her away for nearly a decade. She has always been the one criminal that we figured would put Mystery Inc. out of business, once she was locked away for good.?
?Well, ya ain?t gonna be putting her away any time soon.? Lefty said. ?As long as we have the kid and his friend in our captivity, we?re all gonna be like two peas in a pod.?
?Wouldn?t that be ten peas in a pod, because there?s six of them and only four of us?? Sid said, and Sam & Lefty exchanged odd looks. ?Of course, that pod wouldn?t be big enough to hold everyone, so it?ll have to be ten peas in two pods. But that wouldn?t make sense, because??
?Shut up, Sid.? Sam said. ?Shut up.?
?I just have to ask you guys one thing,? Daphne said, ?What do you need Mac for? He has no business in all of this, and neither does Frankie for that matter.?
?Because they know too much, all of your friends from that Sesame Street place know too much.? Lefty said.
?Then how come you didn?t kidnap the whole neighborhood?? Daphne queried.
?And have our handiwork on the news for the whole world to see?? Lefty remarked. ?That?d be just askin? to go back to the pen.?
?But with Carmen Sandiego on your side, you wouldn?t have to worry about being captured by the police.? Daphne said. ?And sooner or later, people will start wondering who might?ve captured the two residents of Sesame Street, and you can bet that your names will come up once people start asking who would have a vendetta against the sunniest place in Metropolis.?
?She?s right!? Sid exclaimed. ?We can?t keep those two kids forever. We?ve got to let them go sometime.?
?Sid, will you be quiet and keep watch of that bird and the old woman?!? Sam ordered, and the nervous Sid did what his brother demanded for him to do and moved away from the group, glancing back at Big Bird, Martha, and the stranger from space. ?You?re wrong, kid. No one?s gonna find us.?
?Riiiiight.? Lefty said. ?We?re like shadows. Once you shed light on us, the only thing you?ll find is a blank space.?
?We may be unstoppable now, but once we have all three of those crystals, we?ll be invincible!!? Sam exclaimed, and both him and Lefty chuckled, while Sid was standing nearby watching Martha and Big Bird as they headed back to the farm in the truck, with the stranger they had found in the crystal ship. Sid didn?t know much about Superman; but from the unearthly things that Carmen Sandiego told both him and Sam, he had to believe that the Man of Steel might?ve made an unexpected return to Earth.
END OF CHAPTER EIGHT