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instinct is to make it just like all the others.”
    â€œThere is way more to my ideas than that.”
    A noisy beep from Mom’s communicator interrupted their argument. She pushed a button on the command console and a pixelated image of Mom’s assistant, Catherine, appeared over the windshield.
    â€œHello, Catherine, what is it?”
    Mom’s assistant was a pretty and bookish young woman with thick green-rimmed glasses. Two fountain pens kept her wavy red hair tucked behind her ears. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Lane, but something has come up that requires your immediate attention. I’m sending the video data to you now.”
    The image shifted from Catherine’s face to a wide aerial shot of the ocean. The clear blue water was marred by a huge blob. At first Rick thought it was an island.
    â€œWhat am I looking at, Catherine?” Mom was all business.
    Catherine explained, “Several hours ago, we discovered a massive stain in the South Pacific. Early reconnaissance indicates that it’s ink, ma’am.”
    â€œInk?”
    â€œYes, ma’am. An ink stain. We’ve been getting reports of seabirds so dirty they can’t fly. I don’t have numbers yet, but fish are dying, ma’am. Thousands of them. Cleanaspot has received several requests that we intervene.”
    â€œThose poor fish,” Mom said.
    â€œThere’s something else. The stain appears to be expanding at an alarming rate. If the current rate of growth continues, it could cover the whole ocean in less than a week.”
    Mom rose from her chair. “We have to do something right away.”
    â€œBut Mom!” Evie tugged on her sleeve. “Our mission!”
    â€œYes, yes, honey. Hold on.” Mom downloaded all the info about the stain to her phone. “Catherine, initiate Clean Up Protocol One. Get Charles and Doctor Wong on the phone. Tell them to begin work on a containment procedure. I’ll be in touch soon. Don’t worry. We’ll put a stop to this stain.”
    â€œThank you, Mrs. Lane. I knew you’d know what to do.”
    The feed switched off, and the windshield returned to the
Roost
’s view of the ocean, sky, and approaching California coastline.
    Mom was once again all business. “Rick, Evie, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to put our trip to Texas on hold.”
    â€œBut . . . but . . .” Evie muttered in disbelief. “Our new home is in danger. And what about Australia?”
    Rick adjusted his glasses. “Evie’s right, Mom. This is a crisis.”
    â€œA giant stain on the ocean is also a crisis. Didn’t you hear what Catherine said? The
whole ocean
could be in danger. Imagine the ecosystems that could be wiped out. Rick, you know the risks if I do nothing. It’d be a global catastrophe. Cleanaspot has to help.” Mom bit her lip and stared out the window, obviously trying to come up with a plan.
    Evie looked up from her seat hopefully. “What if 2-Tor met up with us?”
    â€œThat’s not a bad idea.” Rick raced over to the communicator before Mom could argue. He punched in the number for Dad. It started ringing. Once Dad picked up, they could ask him to send 2-Tor to their current location, and when their feathered guardian arrived, they would be back on their way to Professor Doran.
    But Dad didn’t pick up. That was odd. Odder than the usual Dad oddness, which was quite odd.
    Rick tried calling three more times, but there was still no reply.
    â€œWhy isn’t Dad answering?” Evie asked, worry filling her voice.
    Mom patted Evie’s head soothingly. “I’m sure he’s just working on some experiment with 2-Tor. It’s nothing to worry about. But I can’t leave the two of you unsupervised. And if we can’t get 2-Tor to watch you both . . .” She looked toward the command console.
    â€œNo, Mom,” Evie