It was an extremely unflattering photo. They all seemed to have shifty, criminal expressions on their faces. Even Katie, who was the nicest person Nicola knew, had her mouth pulled down in a sour snarl.
"This makes us seem horrible," cried Nicola. "If I read it, I would think we were seriously bad."
"Yeah, we really look like 'hardened criminals,'" said Sean happily, as if it were a great thing.
"Did you really do all that stuff?" asked Henry Sweet nervously.
"Yes," admitted Nicola.
Henry took a few steps back.
"But you see, we needed to kidnap Princess Petronella," said Nicola. "Because she was going to destroy Earth."
"Oh, and just for your interest, she's not exactly a 'dear little' princess," commented Sean.
"And the commander in chief of Shobble was not kind or gentle," said Katie.
"Yes, but--"
"No need to worry, Henry," said Georgio. "They're good kids."
"So we can't pretend to be a news crew anymore," said Nicola. She was disappointed. She had been looking forward to doing some more interviewing.
"Your only option is to help the Whimsians win the war against Volcomania," said Georgio. "Otherwise someone will capture you for the reward."
"We're not soldiers, Dad," said Shimlara. "We don't know how to win a war!"
"The Space Brigade had no experience at all before the last two missions and look at what you've achieved," said Georgio. "I have every confidence in you!"
"Dad, this isn't Saturday morning sports," said Shimlara. "You can't just give one of your little pep talks like you do before a space-ball game."
"It's just like Saturday morning sports! Your competitors are the Volcomanians. How are you going to beat them? You need strategies! A plan! Oh, and a little trickery is perfectly acceptable. You're creative people! The Whimsians are creative people! Aren't you, Henry?"
"Yes, we are!" cried Henry. His face was flushed with hope. "We can do it!" He seemed to be the only one who was feeling inspired by Georgio.
"Oh, and one other thing. We've heard that Mrs. Mania is planning to visit Whimsy and inspect the camp," said Georgio. "That's why they're getting the prisoners to clean the barbed wire fence. So that's the perfect time for you to launch your attack."
"Launch our attack?" said Nicola faintly.
"Yes! I think you should capture Mrs. Mania! In all the war histories I've
read, capturing your opponent's leader works out beautifully. You could lure her into your clutches with, umm, I don't know--some sort of nice food?"
"She's not a puppy dog!" Shimlara rolled her eyes. "We really need to get some advice from Mom about this. She's the one with the war experience."
Georgio looked hurt. "I know I haven't fought in a war, but I have read numerous books and seen a lot--"
"When is Mrs. Mania coming to inspect the camp?" interrupted Nicola.
Before Georgio got to answer, there was the sound of heavy footsteps. The Space Brigade hastily stepped back.
"Gorgioskio!" called out the same nasty voice as before. "Got a treat for you! We're having a cleanup.You're the only one tall enough to dust the top shelves!"
"Ah, glad to be of help!" Georgio answered. "Cleaning up for Mrs. Mania's visit, are you? Her visit tomorrow morning at eight AM?!"
"That's none of your business," said the rough voice. There was a scraping sound of keys in a lock. "Come on, out you come!" Their voices vanished.
The Space Brigade and Henry Sweet were all looking at their watches. They had less than twenty-four hours to work out how to win a war and capture a president.