on the surface of the earth. What are the odds of that happening?
âWeâll do the job right,â Albert said, putting on a brave face. âWeâll fix the Imbalance.â
âIâm glad to see youâre excited,â Professor Flynn said. âThis doesnât usually happen, and as a result, while youâre here, you wonât be entering Calderon at all. Ponderay must take precedence. Next term, if everything returns to normal, youâll resume First Unit responsibilities for Calderon. Youâll help train the next backup units in the Pit. But for now, with Ponderay, keep in mind, this is still a competition. Youâll be starting over, in a sense, competing against another team to see who will go inside the Realm.â
Albertâs stomach twisted. âJust one other team? Who will we be competing against?â Please donât be Hoytâs team. Please donât be Hoytâs team.
But looking into his dadâs eyes, Albert knew.
âArgon,â Professor Flynn said. âSo yes, you will be competing against Hoyt. I know you would rathercompete against almost anyone else, but Argon was the only other high-ranked team who could assemble on such short notice.â
Albert groaned, scuffing the ground with the toe of his boot.
Professor Flynn nodded. âWeâve spoken to Argon about this, and theyâve promised to be diplomatic about the entire competition.â
âSure they will,â Leroy said, joining Albertâs side.
âOh, this is going to be good.â Birdie rubbed her hands together.
Professor Flynn clicked his tongue. âNews of the competition is not why I had Petra bring you here this morning.â
He sat down at his old wooden desk, the chair creaking under his weight. The three of them took their seats across from him. From here, Albert could really see them now: the dark circles underneath his dadâs eyes. Professor Flynn was exhausted. Both mentally and physically.
âWhatâs wrong, Dad?â Albert asked. âWhyâs the Core so tense? I mean, besides the obvious Imbalance.â
âYou remember the events that unfolded last term,â Professor Flynn explained. âWell, with a second Realm acting up, thatâs two in one year. Almost unprecedented.â
âIt hasnât happened since the eighteen hundreds,â Leroy added. Albert guessed his Synapse Tile was kicking in, now that they were back in the Core. Its powergave Leroy the ability to notice and remember the details of anything he saw, from directions to pages in a history book.
âTrue indeed,â Professor Flynn sighed, and continued. âWhat Iâm about to tell you three is top secret. Not to be shared with anyone.â
He looked pointedly at all three of them, and they each nodded.
âThe problems in the Realms are being caused by one of our own.â
Albert gasped. Birdie clapped a hand to her mouth, and Leroy nearly toppled out of his chair. Farnsworth growled.
âWhat?â Albert asked. His voice squeaked like Petraâs. âHow do you know? And who would do that?â
Professor Flynn shook his head. âI know itâs hard to believe, but whoever is setting these Realms off Balance is entering them from inside the Core. The Imbalance in Calderon last term, and this one now in Ponderay, is too drastic to be caused by natural means.â
âBut why?â Birdie asked. âWhy would someone want to do that?â
Farnsworth whimpered and leaped into Albertâs lap.
âSometimes Balance Keepers turn bad,â Professor Flynn said, his voice sad. âSometimes, when given great power, people lose control.â
It felt like someone had just dumped a bunch offifty-pound weights inside Albertâs stomach.
âThatâs horrible. We have to find them. We can find them, right, Dad?â
âThat is the hope,â Professor Flynn said.
But he didnât look
Ker Dukey, D.H. Sidebottom