8 DUTY CALLS

CHAPTER EIGHT DUTY CALLS "This just in," the newscaster on the TV said. "Reports are coming in that a strange new disease is turning people into toads." Igor sat up straight and stared at the TV. Franny just shrugged. She didn't feel anything. "Meh," she said. "It's probably my fault."

"Scientists have shared this sketch," the newscaster said. "They believe that the illness may have started with this toad, which seems to have been infected with a highly contagious virus."

Igor recognized it as the toad Franny had created. He ran to look in the bowl where she'd kept it. She had broken the bowl during her tantrum, along with the test tube that had held her virus.

"Yes, Igor," she said with a yawn. "I'm way ahead of you. That escaped toad of mine must have caught that virus I created and it mutated. I've probably accidentally

released a horrible thing into the world. I suppose it's going to end pretty badly. "Sometimes I wonder if leaving weird viruses just lying around might not be a good idea." Igor held up the broken bowl the toad had been kept in.

"Look—lots of things I make can be an eensy-weensy bit life-threatening. That's just the way it is." The TV began to show scary pictures of people turning into toads. "See? You see there?" she said, pointing weakly at the screen. "They look just like my toad. Yes, this is definitely