9 STICKY SITUATION

CHAPTER 9 STICKY SITUATION Three eyes Big as a dumptruck Stretchy arms Hello, S.S.M.P.! I'm the boss-monster. Nice to eat you!" The boss-monster's claws screeched against the metal floor as she moved toward Alexander, Rip, and Nikki. "I remember this monster from the notebook!" said Alexander. "The three-eyed gloomp!" "That's me!" said the gloomp. "And Helen Vanderpants was the perfect bait. I just love how the S.S.M.P. always sticks together!"

The monster lifted the RUBBER CEMENT vat into the air. Alexander, Rip, and Nikki stepped backward, but there was nowhere for them to go. They were huddled under Ms. Vanderpants's beam. The gloomp's arms stretched back like rubber bands, and PWING! The monster launched the vat across the room. BLORP! The vat smashed into the steel beam. Glops of rubber cement splattered all over Alexander, Rip, and Nikki. "Ugh!" said Rip. "It's gooey!" Seconds later, the glue hardened. The S.S.M.P. was cemented in place just like their principal. "What do you want, boss- monster?" asked Alexander.

"To take over Stermont once and for all— duh!" said the gloomp. "Which is why I've been making so many monsters." "Wait making monsters?!" said Nikki. "What do you mean?" The boss-monster grinned from ear to pointy ear. "See how the SPARKLE GLUE vat is directly under the smashed-up part of the roof?" "Yes..." said Nikki. "Ohhhh!" said Alexander. "When the meteor hit the factory, it did something to that glue!" "Correct," said the gloomp. "It gave the glue special powers. And I'm so glad I discovered them. Allow me to demonstrate." PWING! The gloomp shot a stretchy arm into another room. Her arm snapped back, holding an orange rubber duck. "A weenie bath toy?" asked Rip.

"Just watch," said the gloomp. "When it touches the sparkle glue... The boss-monster tossed the duck into the glowing vat. GALOORP-GLOP! The glue shimmered, casting disco-ball sparkles around the room. Then SQUACK! A large, angry duck-monster hopped out. It opened its toothy bill and sang a squeaky song. Alexander felt tears well up in his eyes. "Why are we crying?" sniffled Rip. "It's a blubber duckie!" cried Alexander. "Yep," said the gloomp, patting the duckie's head. "Anything that hits this glue becomes a monster. Throw in a fork and a porcupine? Blammo! You've got a forkupine!"

"So wait," said Nikki. "Did you create all the monsters in Stermont?" "Not all of them," said the gloomp. "I was a plain old everyday monster at first. Then one day I told a trample hamster to flatten an ice cream truck, and he did! That's when I realized my TRUE power: bossing other monsters around!" The three-eyed gloomp sneered at Ms. Vanderpants. "But I should thank you most of all— for creating my recipe book." PINING! The monster's arm shot over to a hole in the wall. "Recipe book?" asked Ms. Vanderpants. "Yes!" said the boss-monster. "The book you created! It describes every monster in Stermont!" The gloomp's arm snapped back, holding a beat-up notebook with a skull on the cover.

Alexander gasped. "Duckie— get them!" ordered the gloomp. The blubber duckie waddled toward the monster-fighters, who were still stuck in place. "Ha!" Rip snorted. "One monster can't stop us!" The gloomp's eyes narrowed. "You think I've only made one?" She reached for the light switch. KER-CLICK! The factory lit up. The S.S.M.P. old and new —was surrounded by grinning monsters.