Jacob, Skylar, Seamus and Co. In: The Citadel

AUTHORS PICK: Lizzie Mcguire's dodgy entrance!

The **intercom crackled to life**, Vectalia's calm yet firm voice filling the secret bouncing room. "Attention, everyone. The multiverse portal has activated again. It's time to secure the room and return to the portal entrance. Vectalia out."

The gang, filled with excitement and curiosity after their exhilarating session of super secret bouncing, hurriedly dismounted their hoppers. Jacob, Skylar, Seamus, and the rest of the crew, including Tigger, Kanga, and Roo, took one last glance at their beloved super bouncy space hopper balls before quickly making a mad dash to the entrance. But of course, being who they were, they couldn't resist turning their dash into a **mad bouncing dash**—every step sending them into the air as they leapfrogged and ricocheted off the floors like pinballs, making their way to the portal with practiced agility.

As they reached the main room, the portal sputtered and coughed like an old engine struggling to come to life. Then, with a sudden pop, the portal *spat out* a **large red rubber ball**, about as tall as Jacob. The ball landed with a loud *THOOM*, its shiny surface reflecting the citadel's soft glow.

Skylar raised an eyebrow. "A giant red ball? That's... different."

Before anyone could speculate further, the portal shifted and activated in another spot—this time **out of thin air**, directly above the red rubber ball. **Falling onto the ball**, arms flailing in surprise, was none other than **Lizzie McGuire**, the iconic teen from the early 2000s Disney Channel series, with her **cartoon self** hovering beside her.

Lizzie landed with a soft bounce on the red ball, her expression a mix of confusion and embarrassment. "Uh, hey... I guess I'm here now?" she stammered, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked around at the bizarre group of characters before her.

Her **cartoon self**, a smaller animated version of Lizzie that often voiced her inner thoughts, floated beside her and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this is so embarrassing. Why am I sitting on this *giant red dodgeball*?!"

As if in response to the cartoon Lizzie's remark, the portal coughed again and began *spitting out several smaller red dodgeballs* in rapid succession. The balls bounced off the walls, ricocheting around the room like wild ping-pong balls. Seamus, Spider-Man 2099, and the rest of the gang were forced to duck and dodge as the room filled with bouncing dodgeballs.

**Spider-Man 2099**, arms crossed, stood back and gave Seamus a sideways glance. "Is this normal? Does she, uh, bring dodgeballs with her everywhere she goes?"

Seamus shrugged, brushing a red dodgeball out of his path. "Beats me. Maybe it's her thing. But you know, Vectalia did mention she was working on a 'bounce and dodge-dodgeball court' anyway, so this is actually kind of perfect."

Lizzie, now standing on her red rubber ball with an awkward blush, rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry! I, uh, didn't mean to bring all this with me..."

Her **cartoon self** floated next to her, looking at the group with a deadpan expression. "Well, if there's one thing we're good at, it's unintentional chaos."

Skylar, ever the one to break the tension, grinned and bounced toward Lizzie. "No worries, Lizzie! Looks like you've brought a whole lot of bounce with you—just our style!"

Jacob chimed in, waving off the dodgeballs. "Yeah, seriously. You're right on theme! And hey, if we're gonna have a dodgeball court, might as well make it bouncy, right?"

Lizzie's cartoon self gave a relieved smile, crossing her arms. "See, told you it wasn't so bad!"

As the room slowly calmed, the bouncing dodgeballs settling into stillness, Vectalia appeared, having finished her work elsewhere. Her eyes surveyed the room, taking in the sight of the giant red ball and the scattered dodgeballs.