Danger Magellan's Invasion of Earth

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Mrs. Magellan glanced towards us as she paced around the room. "Cherry, what are all of these kids doing here?" she asked.

"They're Danger's friends," Cherry said. "I didn't invite them."

"How long are you going to be in Penrhyn City?" Mrs. Magellan asked us.

"I don't know," I said. "We were just going to stop here to refuel our ship, but we're going to have to stay longer now that Danger got arrested."

"I'll have to ask Mercury about what to do with you," Mrs. Magellan said. "It's not safe for you to be wandering around in Penrhyn City by yourselves, but I don't think there's space to keep you here."

"What's this about me?" a low, booming voice said. All of us looked towards the door, where a large, dark skinned man in a naval uniform was standing. His bright red hair was in a buzzcut, and he was much taller than his wife or either of his children.

"Hi Dad," Cherry said.

"A few of Danger's companions are here," Mrs. Magellan explained. "They'll need a place to stay until the hearing tomorrow. After that, we can send them home."

"Nora and Raquel can stay in my house," Cascade said. "I'll have to ask my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes."

"We can probably take the other two," Captain Magellan said. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Nice to meet you too, Captain Magellan," Raquel said.

Danger's parents left the room to make dinner, leaving the rest of us alone together. "I wish Danger was here," Arthur said.

"I don't," Cherry said. "It's been kind of nice not having him around for the last few months."

"That's kind of mean," Cascade said.

"You'd understand if you had siblings," Cherry said.

"That's not necessarily true," Arthur said. "I've been away from my sister for the last few weeks, and even though she's a pain, I miss her. She helped me with my research sometimes."

"Research?" Cherry said. "What kind of research are you doing?"

"I research the paranormal in my free time," Arthur said.

"He has a basement full of conspiracy theories," I clarified.

"Before I left Earth, I was trying to prove that Danger was an alien, but now that I've accomplished that, I'll probably go back to trying to keep the Illuminati from taking over the world," Arthur said.

Cherry laughed. "Arthur, there's much more to worry about in that system than a fictional New World Order," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked. "Do you know something that I don't? Maybe I've been wrong this whole time. I bet it's the exact opposite of what I thought. The Freemasons are the ones with all of the power who are working with the aliens, and the Illuminati is just a front."

"I think she's talking about my planet, not the Freemasons," Tanaquil said.

"She's right," Cherry said. "The Martians are the biggest threat to the Solar system. No Earthling organization could match their technology, and there's been a lot of talk of Mars invading Earth."

"That's what I've heard too," Tanaquil said. "It doesn't make sense though. We're already in the midst of a useless war that's gone on for far too long. Why would the Martian government want to get involved in another one?"

"I hate to break it to you, but the Martian leaders aren't pacifist hippies," Cherry said.

"It would be a better government if they were," Tanaquil said.