Frankly, “research vessel” seemed like a twenty-five-cent name for a ten-cent boat. It was big, maybe a hundred and fifty feet long, but it looked old and run-down. Huge rust stains streaked its blue sides, even covering part of its name: the Wendy K. It had a crane-type thingy on the back, and a built-up cabin up front with lots of satellite antennas on top. Where was Nino Pierpont when you needed him to finance a cutting-edge research vessel, for crying out loud?

“We bought her as a retired offshore fishing trawler,” Dr. Dwyer explained as a man came out onto the deck and waved down at us. “Hey, Michael.”

“Yo, Brigid!” he called back with a smile. His eyes raked us curiously, and I could almost feel his excitement.

“But we’ve retrofitted her, mostly through donations, and now she’s one of our best research stations.” Dr. Dwyer went to the edge of the dock and grabbed a small metal ladder attached to the side of the Wendy K. She began to climb up it, and I was sure her hands would be covered with rust when she got to the top. “It’s safe, I assure you,” she told us over her shoulder.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Gazzy muttered. He flexed his wings, gave a little jump, and flew up to the deck, some eighteen feet above us.

Dr. Dwyer and Michael stared at him, then exchanged pleased smiles, as if they’d just discovered some neat new life-form.

Total jumped into my arms, and the rest of us flew up also.

“Oh, my God,” Michael said. “It’s true!”

“Well, it’s not just an elaborate hoax,” said Dr. Dwyer. “Michael, this is Max, Fang, Iggy, the, uh, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel. Guys, this is Dr. Michael Papa, one of our leading research scientists.”

Total growled softly.

“Oh, and this is their dog, Total,” she added.

Total sucked in his breath with disgust.

“Thank you for coming,” Dr. Papa said simply. He shook hands with us all, very formally, but he seemed warm and friendly, and not like he might want to stick us in cages and poke us with needles. For example.

“We still don’t know why we’re here,” I told him.

“Brigid didn’t tell you?” Dr. Papa’s eyebrows rose. “You’re here to help us gather data for a research project — about global warming and its effects on Antarctica, among other places.” He grinned at us, his teeth pale but human sized in the moonlight. “You’re here to help us save the world.”

Chapter 29

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