Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(69)

Despite his parents’ advice, Blubo wasn’t ready to give up just yet. The little monkey left the flock and glided toward the city on a daring mission to save himself, his parents, and his species.

Eventually, the flying monkeys caught up with the Ziblings’ jet. The creatures landed on the aircraft’s wings and began ripping it apart panel by panel. A loud alarm sounded inside the cockpit to warn the passengers.

“That’s not good,” Professor Wallet said. “Those chimps are going to make us crash if we don’t intervene!”

“Don’t worry, Dad, we’ll take care of it!” Bolt said. “You stay inside and steer; we’ll go outside and save the jet before this flight goes bananas. Get it? Because they’re monkeys.”

Blaze, Whipney, and Morph sighed at their little brother’s joke.

“You’ve really got to work on those one-liners, Bolt,” Whipney said.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crucial if you want to be remembered,” Blaze said.

“But more importantly merchandized,” Morph said.

The Ziblings crawled out of a hatch at the top of the cockpit to handle the flying monkeys outside. The aircraft was speeding at hundreds of miles per hour, and Blaze, Whipney, Morph, and Bolt had to hold on tightly to the edge of the wings so they didn’t fly off.

Blaze hit the flying monkeys with fiery blasts from the tips of his fingers. Whipney whipped the winged creatures off the jet with her long braids of hair. Morph transformed into a giant octopus and knocked the monkeys off the aircraft with his enormous limbs. Bolt zapped the monkeys with bursts of electricity, but since they were all clinging to a metal object, every time he missed, he accidentally electrocuted his brothers and sister.

“BOLT!” they yelled in unison.

“Sorry—my bad!” he apologized.

Soon there were so many flying monkeys covering the jet, the aircraft looked like a large black bird flying through the air. One of the monkeys ripped off a panel and found a bundle of wires underneath it. The monkey sliced the wires with its teeth, and the jet’s engines stopped working. The Ziblings’ jet suddenly dropped from the sky and plunged toward the streets below.

“Hold on tight, children!” Professor Wallet’s voice called from the speakers. “It’s going to be a bumpy landing!”

Their mission complete, the flying monkeys abandoned the wings of the jet. Morph transformed into a giant parachute to ease the approaching impact, but the jet was too heavy. The Ziblings’ jet smashed through the roof of a Broadway theater and nose-dived into the orchestra pit. The rough landing knocked the wind out of the superheroes, and they slid down the aircraft and rolled onto the theater’s stage. Professor Wallet crawled out from a mountain of airbags and rested beside his children.

Bolt looked around the theater as he caught his breath. “It could have been worse,” he said. “We could have landed Off-Broadway.”

The smallest superhero snickered at his own joke, and to his surprise, his brothers and sister laughed, too.

“Much better,” Blaze said.

“Now, that’s a good line,” Morph agreed.

“See, it just takes practice,” Whipney said.

Suddenly, high-pitched screeching echoed inside the theater. The Ziblings looked through the fresh hole in the roof and saw that the flying monkeys were headed toward the theater—they weren’t finished with the superheroes yet. The other Ziblings were still catching their breath, so Bolt leaped to his feet and flew toward the ceiling.

“I’ll be right back,” Bolt said. “I’ve got some monkey business to take care of!”

His brothers and sister groaned.

“Annnnnd you lost me,” Blaze said.

“Less is more,” Morph said.

“Should have stopped at Off-Broadway,” Whipney said.

Bolt rocketed out of the theater and soared right past the flying monkeys. Just the way a bird protects her nest from a predator, the distraction worked, and the monkeys followed Bolt instead.

The superhero flew east and spotted the Chrysler Building in the distance. The sparkling skyscraper gave Bolt an idea. He landed at the very tip of the building’s sharp spire, and the winged creatures landed below him. The monkeys charged up the sides of the building toward the little superhero, intending to tear him apart like the Ziblings’ jet.

Bolt waited until all the flying monkeys were on the Chrysler Building’s metal-coated roof; then he looked up at the clouds and summoned a powerful bolt of lightning from the sky. The lightning hit the spire and sent a wave of electricity through the building. The extreme voltage made every lightbulb burst, every window shatter, and it electrocuted all the flying monkeys. The winged creatures were zapped so hard they looked like balls of fur with wings. The monkeys fluttered to the ground and passed out as soon as they hit the street.

“Well, that’ll put a monkey wrench in their day!” Bolt chuckled.

The little superhero was so proud of himself for defeating the flying monkeys, he didn’t even need his siblings to approve his one-liner. He threw his head back and laughed until his belly hurt.





The Winkies and the Wicked Witch followed Robin Hood and the Merry Men up Broadway to Lincoln Center. The center was home to five large theaters that sat around a spacious courtyard with a large fountain in the center. Robin Hood and the Merry Men sprinted up the steps of the courtyard, and although there were plenty of places to run, they stopped at the edge of the fountain. The Winkies quickly filled the courtyard and surrounded the Merry Men with their weapons raised.