15 ONE ANGRY BOSS

CHAPTER 15 ONE ANGRY BOSS Alexander blinked. Am I supposed to feel dizzy or something? he wondered. GRORARRAAARRRR!!!! A horrible sound came from out in the woods. Rip and Nikki jumped up. So did Alexander. Alexander's dad whistled as he cut the cake. "Salamander!" said Nikki. "You could hear that monster roar?" "Yes!" said Alexander. "But how is that possible?" asked Rip. Alexander scratched his chin. "Do you think I'm a mom—" GROOAARR!!! SMASH! CRASH!

"Let's move, weenies!" cried Rip. "We've got a boss to battle!" The friends ran outside and tore through the woods. The three-eyed gloomp was kicking, punching, and smashing the S.S.M.P.'s caboose. "Hey! That's our headquarters!" Nikki shouted. "Not anymore!" growled the gloomp. "You destroyed my hideout, so I destroyed yours! You can't possibly defeat me now that I've busted all your monster-fighting gear!"

"Not all our gear!" said Alexander. He held up the notebook. "If we could steal our book back from you— which is NOT a recipe book by the way— then we can do anything." "You wish!" said the gloomp. "I am going to create a new army of monsters! Before the factory collapsed, I was able to save one last bottle of this!" The boss-monster held up a glowing squeeze bottle. The sparkle glue!" said Nikki. She turned to Rip and Alexander. "We can't let her use it!" "Oh, I'll use it all right," said the boss-monster. "Right after I finally eat the three of you!" The gloomp leaned forward and licked her lips. "Who's first?"

"I've got this, guys!" Rip shouted. He gobbled up a cookie, transformed, and charged at the gloomp. The gloomp flicked Monster-Rip aside like a bug. "Leave Rip alone!" cried Nikki. She pulled a broken hockey stick from the caboose wreckage. She leapt toward the gloomp. But Nikki didn't swing her stick at the monster. Instead, she used it to slap-shot the squeeze bottle— ZING! —right into Alexander's hand. POW! The gloomp knocked Nikki back. "HEY!" roared the gloomp. "NO ONE STEALS FROM THE BOSS-MONSTER!" The boss-monster's long bungee-arms shot out. Alexander, Rip, and Nikki were surrounded.

The gloomp's scaly arms closed in on all sides. "Well, you're not the boss of us," said Alexander. He held the squeeze bottle over the notebook, and turned it upside down. "Salamander!" cried Nikki. "What are you doing?" "Stop!" yelled Rip. "You'll ruin the notebook!" "It's the only way!" Alexander said. He squeezed the bottle. SPLORT! Rainbow sparkle glue splattered all over the notebook.