The Alien Brainwash by H. Badger Page B

over the edge. Suddenly, he was plunging through mid-air!
    The world rushed past Kip in a blur. His stomach flopped wildly and sweat poured down his forehead.
    Kip caught a glimpse of people inside the zoo rushing to the windows. It wasn’t every day that a Space Scout plummeted to the ground in a gigantic spring.
    Kip had a highly trained eye for navigation. As he sped toward the ground, he saw at once that the SpaceBounder was off course.
    I’ve gotta do something or else I’ll miss the Impact Zone! he told himself.
    There was no time for complicated calculations. Kip had to trust his gut. Heart hammering, he leant hard to the left. The SpaceBounder tipped sideways and rolled completely over eight times in a row.
    Yes! It was just enough to line up perfectly with the Impact Zone.
    SPROOOOINNGG!
    The SpaceBounder hit the ground just inside the Impact Zone. Lucky!
    Kip’s bones rattled inside him as the SpaceBounder bounced upwards.
    Next stop, the Hoverport , Kip thought, as the SpaceBounder hurtled past the Titanium Tower and into the sky.
    Then on to Botanicus-1 to rescue Zara!

CHAPTER 3
    Kip whistled toward space inside the giant spring. The Hoverport loomed up above of him. It looked like a giant car park floating in the air. But instead of old-fashioned cars, starships of all shapes and sizes were docked there.
    Kip’s starship, MoNa, was docked in her usual spot. MoNa was a black multi- level starship with curved thrusters and a pointed nose cone.
    The SpaceBounder is meant to automatically release me at the Hoverport, Kip remembered. But he still had to call MoNa and ask her to open her landing bay door to let him in.
    My hands are strapped in , Kip thought. So I can’t reach my SpaceCuff to call!
    Kip hurtled closer and closer to MoNa. The harness began to release him. He was slipping out the bottom of the spring. At any moment, he could be free-falling through space – or worse, go SPLAT against the side of his starship!
    Just as he was about to slip out, Kip grabbed the bottom coil of the spring and clung on fiercely. ‘MoNa!’ he screamed, dangling in thin air.
    As if MoNa had heard him, the landing bay door suddenly slid open. Kip felt the SpaceBounder being sucked toward his starship.
    With MoNa’s landing bay door just below him, Kip let go of the SpaceBounder and pin-dropped through it. He landed on the floor of the landing bay with a thud.
    She must’ve used her MagnaSweep to pull in the spring! Kip thought, relieved.
    The MagnaSweep was MoNa’s high-powered magnet. It scanned the sky for dangerous metal debris. Or, in this case, for Space Scouts trapped inside giant springs!
    MoNa 4000: MagnaSweep

    â€˜Thanks,’ Kip said shakily.
    â€˜I really haven’t got time for rescues,’ came MoNa’s cranky, computerised voice. ‘I’m preparing to fly into deep space.’
    Kip decided to change the subject. Sometimes MoNa got carried away thinking she was more important than him.
    â€˜Where’s Finbar?’ he asked.
    Part-human and part-arctic wolf, Finbar was an Animaul, created in case of alien invasion. But Finbar had failed Animaul training for being too gentle. He’d been made Kip’s second-in-command instead.
    â€˜Try his sleep chamber,’ MoNa said.
    Puzzled, Kip left the landing bay.
    I know Finbar likes daytime naps , Kip thought, barely noticing the dull rumble as MoNa left the Hoverport. He IS part- wolf, and they’re a kind of dog. But we’re about to leave on a rescue mission!
    The door to Finbar’s sleep chamber slid open and Kip poked his head inside.
    Finbar was strapped into his wall-mounted vertical space bed. A dial on the pillow adjusted height and softness.
    WorldCorp Vertical Space Bed

    Speakers on the sides played a selection of soothing music. Still, Finbar wasn’t asleep. He looked miserable.
    â€˜Finbar, what’s wrong?’ Kip asked.
    â€˜I’ve got stinging space