The Stolen Chapters by James Riley Page B

on her, she clenched her fists and exploded up through it, leaving behind another cloud of steam as she flew off—
    Only to be hit in the face by something that felt hard as a rock. Everything went dark as Bethany spun around, crashing back to the ground in the middle of a field, sending corn flying. She looked up in surprise and found someone floating in the air in front of her: a girl in jeans and a white T-shirt with a blue ball on it and a black hoodie that covered her face. Beneath the hood two red eyes glowed like lasers, and Bethany could feel the heat from where she stood.
    No. No, no, no! What had she done?!
    â€œGood morning!” EarthGirl said, her burning eyes staring straight into Bethany’s. “Now, I’m not sure who you are or why you’re being all crazy. But please stop destroying things, if you don’t mind. Wouldn’t you rather just discuss your problem, so I can help you fix it?” The glow in her eyes began to fade, and she gave Bethany an embarrassed look. “I’m really sorry I punched you, by the way. I hate punching. It always feels so ridiculous.”
    â€œI . . . I can’t talk to you,” Bethany said, frantically trying to figure out what page in EarthGirl: Doomsday on Argon VI she’d jumped into. Was she interrupting the plot? Had she just pulled EarthGirl away from something important? “I’m sorry, for . . . for all of this. I need to go.” And with that, Bethany took off into the air, another sonic boom exploding behind her.
    â€œThank you!” EarthGirl said from right beside her, her voice somehow reaching Bethany despite them both flying faster than the speed of sound. “Apologies are a good place to start. But I’ve never met anyone who could do what I do before. What’s your name?”
    â€œIt’s not important,” Bethany said, abruptly skidding to a halt in midair. The green sun gave anyone from Earth superpowers here, which meant that anywhere Bethany could go, EarthGirl could easily follow.
    â€œI’m Gwen,” EarthGirl said, pulling her hoodie off to reveal a dark-skinned girl about Bethany’s age with long brown hair. She stuck out her hand, then wrinkled her nose at it. “I hope I’m not offending you. I’ve read that people from my home planet used to greet each other this way, with their hands. I’m from a place named Ay-arth.”
    â€œEarth,” Bethany corrected, then winced.
    â€œSo you do know it,” Gwen said, a small smile playing over her face.
    Bethany turned bright red. “You tricked me?” How many rules could she break here at once? Talking to a main character was bad enough, but EarthGirl knew that there were other people who knew about Earth now too!
    Gwen shrugged. “Not tricking so much as just skipping some steps. What’s your name?”
    Ugh. “Bethany,” she said, taking Gwen’s hand. “I really, really hope you weren’t busy just now. Because if I’m interrupting anything—”
    â€œNah,” Gwen said, waving a hand. “I just finished disassembling this robot thing that was trying to destroy the world. A girl at school built it. We’re actually good friends.” She sighed. “Well, she’s friends with Gwen. She kind of hates EarthGirl.” She pointed at the T-shirt she wore. “It’s a whole thing, and I keep wanting to fix it, but, honestly, I have no idea how.”
    â€œSounds complicated,” Bethany said, inwardly sighing with relief. If Gwen had completed the book’s story, at least Bethany might not be changing much, assuming she got away without making things worse. “Listen, I really shouldn’t take up more of your time. I was just in the, uh, solar system, and—”
    â€œSo you’re from Earth too?” Gwen said, pulling Bethany gently by the hand back to the ground. “How did you survive it blowing