[ 79 ]

THE WING

Without thinking, I leap in front of Fribby and whip out my wings.

Stupid me.

Because just as I’ve got my leathery wings spread out, Dr. Terrible presses the button on his powerstaff and fires a red laser beam.

The laser beam strikes my shoulder and slices my right wing clean off. And the hot wet cutting pain instantly explodes all over my body.

I hear a dull thump as my severed wing strikes the chamber floor. I glance in horror at the bloody meaty stump of my wingjoint where my right wing was attached just a millisecond before. And then my lopsided scaly green body keels over sideways like a felled tree and collapses on the floor.

Dr. Terrible looks down at me and snorts and hoots with laughter. “How appropriate, Weak Sauce!” he roars. “That I should be the one who clips your wings!”

Whatever you do, don’t look at your wing!

Don’t look! Don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look.

But I can’t help it. I turn my scaly green head and look.

And there it is.

More ghastly than I could have imagined.

My poor severed wing lying by itself in a pool of blood on the floor.

I’m going to kill you, Dr. Terrible.

And that’s when I lunge at him.

My heart full of murder.