before you hurt yourself?â
Burger Beard put his Burgermobile in gear and hit the gas, but the vehicle wouldnât move. When Burger Beard looked around again, he saw the reason.
Plankton now had a huge, strong body! He was holding one end of the truck up over his head. He shifted his hands and lifted the entire Burgermobile over his head!
âPlankton?â SpongeBob asked when he saw the new version of his teammate.
âItâs Plank-TON!â Plankton roared. He flipped the Burgermobile upside down and shook it. Burger Beard screamed as he fell. He managed to snag the broken mast and climb up into the ship-truck through a trapdoor in the deck.
Plankton growled, flipped the ship right-side up, shook it, and spun it around. Inside, Burger Beard was pinned to the wall by the force of Planktonâs spinning. Kitchen knives flew at Plankton, narrowly missing him.
Planktonâs huge red eye peered through the window of the Burgermobile. âCome out, come out, wherever you areâ¦.â
Burger Beard squeezed hot sauce straight into Planktonâs eye!
âMY EYE!â Plankton screamed. He threw the food truck down onto its side, and Burger Beard jumped out and ran down the street.
âHeâs getting away!â SpongeBob yelled.
Plankton jumped out from behind the ruined Burgermobile. âReady for a Plank-TON of bubbles?â he asked.
SpongeBob smiled and nodded. Plankton picked him up, took a deep breath, and BLEW through SpongeBobâs bubble wand. A massive cloud of bubbles headed for Burger Beard.
The pirate looked back and saw an avalanche of bubbles bearing down on him. He tried to run, but slipped and slid so much on the soapy bubbles that he ended up running in place. Plankton reached down and picked him up by the hat.
Holding Burger Beard in one hand, Plankton held out his other hand and said, âThe secret Krabby Patty formula, please.â
âCome on!â Burger Beard pleaded. âTeam up with ME! Weâll be RICH and POWERFUL!â
SpongeBob and Patrick gasped. Would Plankton accept the pirateâs offer?
P lankton shook his head. âNo, thanks,â he told Burger Beard. âIâm already part of a teamwork.â
He moved his hand closer to the pirate. Burger Beard gave him the bottle that held the secret formula. Plankton drew back his muscular foot and punted the pirate far, far away.
âYAAAAAH!â Burger Beard screamed as he flew through the air. He returned to the deserted island where heâd lost all his treasure, buried up to his neck in sand. A seagull landed on his bare head. Burger Beard moaned.
Back on the boardwalk, Patrick asked, âCan we do hands in the middle again?â
âYes, we can, Patrick!â SpongeBob agreed. âBut this time, thereâs ONE MORE HAND to go in the middle!â
SpongeBob put his hand in. Patrick put his on top of SpongeBobâs, followed by Mr. Krabsâs, Squidwardâs, and Sandyâs.
But where was Planktonâs?
âPlankton?â SpongeBob asked, looking for their last team member.
Plankton was standing nearby, staring at the secret formula in his hand. The secret formula heâd been trying to get ahold of for so many years.
âHmm â¦,â he said, thinking.
âOh, no!â Mr. Krabs gasped, thinking Plankton was going to keep the formula for himself.
Plankton handed the bottle to Mr. Krabs. âHere you go, Krabs. Sheâs all yours.â
Mr. Krabs joyfully took the bottle. Then he looked suspicious. âThis doesnât have another insulting note in it, does it?â
âNo,â Plankton said. âThatâs the OLD me, the one who turned his back on everything important just to have that formula all to himself. But I realize now that keeping something to myself is ⦠selfish.â
âEspecially when that something is the Krabby Patty,â SpongeBob said, smiling proudly. He turned to the other
Joseph Lance Tonlet, Louis Stevens