Super Sloth Episode 2, page 1
Text Copyright © Aleesah Darlison.
Illustrations Copyright © Cheri Hughes.
First published 2024
Copyright remains the property of the authors and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.
All inquiries should be made to the publishers.
Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd
PO Box 303, Newport, NSW 2106, Australia
Phone: 1300 364 611
Fax: (61 2) 8330 9211
Email: info@bigskypublishing.com.au
Web: www.bigskypublishing.com.au
Cover Design and Typesetting: Cheri Hughes
Author: Aleesah Darlison
Title: Super Sloth Series Episode 2 : Revenge of the Chick-oats
ISBN: 978-1-923004-94-8 (paperback)
Subjects: Middle Grade Fiction.
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
On a wild and stormy night on a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Panama, Romeo Fortez was born. His birthplace was a red mangrove tree. His mother, a pygmy sloth.
As the storm raged around them, Romeo’s mother held her newborn baby tight. By the flash of a lightning burst, she saw him gaze up at her with adoring eyes.
That instant, in the very heart of her, Romeo’s mother knew her son was special and would one day achieve great things. Just how special and how great, no one – not even his mother – could ever have guessed.
As Romeo grew, his destiny called him to a bigger, faster part of the world. And so it was that Romeo moved to New York City where he joined a band of vigilantes determined to fight a criminal scientist mastermind named Professor Ian Weird-Warp.
This is the second story of Romeo Fortez, aka Super Sloth.
Romeo Fortez, aka Super Sloth, had only just moved to New York City. And he had only just befriended a brave cheetah called Tulip Goldenclaw. Together, they had only just teamed up with a human girl called Beth Castlemaine and a tech-whiz pig named Hamilton Porker who had a secret hideout under the Trinity Church Cemetery. I know, a cemetery, of all places!
Not only that, Romeo had only just been given his first superhero outfit made by his friend, Percy Winterbum, the loon (very dapper birds, I must say) and tailor he met upon his arrival in the city.
The costume was a perfect fit and consisted of a blue-and-yellow superhero muscle outfit, cape, and mask. The words ‘Super Sloth’ were emblazoned across the chest and when Romeo wore the suit, he became a sloth transformed!
He may have only been a tiny sloth, but with his super strength, super speed, and downright super cute factor, Romeo was irresistible … and difficult to pin down. Dressed in his new superhero suit, Romeo felt invincible and more than a little heroic. Which is precisely how it should be for a freshly minted superhero. Although being the kind of sloth he was, Romeo remained incredibly humble. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
The four new crime-fighting friends had recently taken on a gigantic shar-wolf that had been terrorising New York. After that adventure, they thought things would settle down for a while, but it wasn’t to be.
While they were holed up in their hideout, Ham shared a news report with the team. They all watched in horror as Jim Ruffnutt, the water buffalo reporter from NYC4U News, appeared on the TV to relate the latest strange occurrence.
‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back into New York, another type of mutant has been unleashed on the city,’ Jim said. ‘No one knows where these creatures came from or who is responsible for releasing them, but they’re currently tearing up Central Park. The park’s squirrel inhabitants are outraged and have already begun storing extra nuts and barricading their dens and dreys against these destructive animals. They fear they might be in for a long haul.’
‘That sure is a lot of nuts,’ Romeo said as they watched hundreds of squirrels dig hundreds of holes and fill them with nuts.
The camera then panned to several groups of mutant animals that appeared to be half-chicken, half-goat. In other words, chick-oats. And they were eating everything in sight. Romeo and his friends had no choice but to act immediately. What else could be done when an entire herd of mutant chick-oats had taken over Central Park?
‘This is clearly the work of Professor Weird-Warp,’ Beth told the others as they raced to the garage where her orange Vespa and Romeo’s black Tesla (aka the sloth-mobile) were parked. ‘He’s the only person capable of this.’
The others agreed.
‘Meet you on Fifth Avenue near the Guggenheim Museum,’ Beth told Romeo and Tulip before she and Ham sped off on the Vespa. Romeo jumped into the Tesla with Tulip who had taken the driver’s seat. They raced along the underground driveway towards the hideout’s concealed entrance under the John Watts Statue. Ahead of them, Beth tapped a button on the Vespa’s handlebars. An invisibility shield activated around the statue and an entrance opened beneath it. The Vespa shot out of it, quickly followed by the Tesla. Seconds later, the entrance closed and no one in the vicinity was any the wiser.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pecking, squawking, baaing mutant chick-oats were racing through Central Park, devouring all in sight and scaring innocent bystanders wandering the pathways. The bizarre chick-oats had beaked chicken heads with goat horns. They had chicken wings at the front and hairy goat bodies at the back. Each animal had four stumpy legs and a long goatish tail. They made the weirdest sound ever as they stampeded through the gardens, along the paths, across the lawns, into, onto, and out of bushes, through the lakes and ponds, and over fences.
‘Berk-berk-baa! Berk-berk-baa!’ the mob of mutant creatures screamed as they rampaged through Central Park. No one was safe. And the destruction! The crazy chick-oat tornado tore through the place like there was no tomorrow.
Or next week.
Tulip pulled the sleek black Telsa up at the Guggenheim. Beside it, Beth’s orange Vespa came to a halt. Romeo jumped out of the sloth-mobile wearing his new superhero outfit with Tulip following behind. People stepped back to stare in awe as Romeo strode past. Children and adults pointed. Several female sloths swooned. The tiny sloth cut an impressive (and super cute) figure, after all.
In the distance, treetops trembled as if being shaken by the wind. The chick-oats had already mown through the Great Lawn, disturbing picnickers and sunbathers. They had then continued towards the Manhattan end of Central Park, nibbling, gnawing, and demolishing anything in their way. Animals and people ran screaming towards Romeo and his friends, desperately trying to get out of the way of the noisy, destructive chick-oat tornado.
‘Help! Help!’ a distressed grizzly bear bellowed as he loped towards Romeo. ‘They’ve eaten my honey, now they’re after me!’
‘Stay here,’ Romeo told his companions. ‘I’ll take care of this.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Tulip insisted.
Romeo nodded, glad to have Tulip’s support. Despite his superpowers and superhero outfit, he still felt a tad nervous.
‘You go ahead,’ Beth said. ‘We’ll meet you there.’
Romeo and Tulip took off, catching up with the chick-oats near The Lake. The speedy sloth raced after the mutant mob, but he soon realised there were too many to corral effectively. Glancing around for inspiration, Romeo spotted a horse-drawn cart with a newly married couple – still in their wedding clothes – being pulled around in the open-top cart.
I have an idea! he thought. He raced through a flock of pigeons attending Pecking School, sending them scattering and cooing angrily after him. ‘Watch where you’re going!’ the pigeon teacher shook his wing at Romeo.
Super Sloth didn’t have time to stop. Instead, he dashed over to the carriage and leapt onto the reins, hanging on for dear life until the draught horse pulling the carriage came to a standstill.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the horse stomped his foot. ‘I’ve got paying passengers aboard, you know.’
‘I’m so sorry, Mr Horse,’ Romeo said, ‘but I need your cart if I have any hope of capturing those monstrous chick-oats.’
‘All right, all right,’ the horse agreed reluctantly. ‘They are rather bothersome.’
The bride and groom – who were a lion and lioness – peered over the edge of the carriage and down at Romeo. ‘I say, what’s all this fuss about?’ the lion asked, his mane shiny and golden in the sunlight.
‘No time to explain!’ Romeo said. ‘Wait right there.’
Romeo raced over to the chick-oats who were now running along market stall tables, knocking over the owner’s wares. Fidget spinners and sensory worms (rubber ones, not real ones) went flying. One of the chick-oats stopped to nibble on a Rubik’s Cube, then finding it didn’t taste so good, spat it out. The chunk hit a passing duck in the head, sending him staggering about.
Romeo shot towards a chick-oat and grabbed it, holding it firmly under his arm. With his other hand, he grabbed another chick-oat and held it firmly under that arm. Then he ran back to the wagon and threw both chick-oats in. Stunned, they sat there not knowing what t
Following Romeo’s lead, Tulip raced in to help collect more chick-oats, although she wasn’t anywhere near as fast as Romeo. By this time, Beth and Hamilton had caught up to them. Seeing what their friends were doing, Beth turned to those around her and began asking for their shoelaces. Then she and Hamilton set to work trussing the chick-oats up, tying their stumpy legs together so they couldn’t escape. The pile of mutant animals grew larger, making the carriage strain under their weight.
Police sirens wailed in the distance. Romeo worked at super-fast speed to collect all the chick-oats. Although they were small, there were so many of them the horse carriage was soon full. Romeo noticed the male lion eyeing the chick-oats hungrily and realised he had to come up with a better solution for capturing the mutant creatures or they might be eaten.
‘I think that’s all of them,’ Romeo said. He’d barely broken into a sweat, but Tulip, Beth, and Ham were exhausted.
That’s when a loud ‘Berk-berk-baa!’ followed by a ‘Yelp!’ and a ‘Roar!’ and an ‘Eeeeeek!’ sounded further away in the park.
‘Oh, no!’ Beth gasped. ‘There must be more of them.’
‘And it sounds like they’ve gotten into the zoo,’ Ham said.
Romeo swung through the trees until he made it to the entrance of Central Park Zoo.
Sure enough, the chick-oats had managed to take over the place. Where there should have been seals and snow leopards lazing about peacefully, there were now hundreds of chick-oats grazing, frolicking, pecking, and splashing. Some chased zoo visitors down. Some accosted the zoo animals. Others roosted in trees dotted around the place, vigorously munching on any leaves and seeds they could get their chompers around.
Chick-oats were everywhere.
There’s no way I can capture all of them, Romeo thought. It’s an infestation.
‘Oi! I’m trying to work here,’ a muscular kangaroo with a broad Australian accent complained. He threw several hacky sacks in the air as he juggled them with his paws and tail. ‘Shove off you pesky little critters.’
The kangaroo tried to bounce the chick-oats out of the way, but a horde of the mutant animals pounced on him, taking him down in a sea of feathers and fur.
‘What are we going to do?’ Tulip asked.
Romeo shook his head. ‘There’s too many of them and more keep appearing.’ He pointed at the gift shop. ‘Look! They’ve gotten into the candy bars and soft drinks, and they’re all hyped up on sugar.’
As they watched, a tornado of chick-oats spun through the store.
‘Berk-berk-baa!’
The shop’s glass windows shattered, and the tornado continued spinning outside, devouring all in its path with renewed sugar-fuelled fury.
Nearby, a chick-oat popped its head out of a garbage bin. ‘Berk-berk-baa!’ it shrieked.
Romeo and Tulip stared at the carnage around them. Feathers swirled in the air. Trees had been stripped of their leaves. Grass had been nibbled to nothing but dirt. A vegan hot dog stand had been mauled so badly the paint had been eaten off it. Entire families of monkeys, penguins, and red pandas were packing their bags and hightailing it out of the place. The once beautiful zoo, home to so many performing animals, had become a wasteland.
‘They’re going to destroy the entire city,’ Romeo said sadly.
From one of the buildings, a cheetah dressed in a khaki uniform came running through the main area. ‘We’re ruined!’ she sobbed as she held her paws to her head.
‘Mum?’ Tulip said. ‘Is that you?’
The zookeeper stopped crying. She swiped at her eyes. ‘Tulip?’
The two cheetahs stared at one another. It looked like Tulip’s mum might hug her, but Tulip’s scowl seemed to stop her from doing so. ‘Where have you been?’ Tulip demanded.
‘I’ve been travelling,’ Tulip’s mum said. ‘Working. First in sideshows and now here.’
‘Why did you leave me?’ Tulip asked.
Before she could reply, a chick-oat launched itself at Tulip’s mum, knocking her to the ground then racing off with a triumphant, ‘Berk-berk-baa!’
Beth and Hamilton jogged breathlessly towards them. ‘They’re heading downtown!’ Beth panted. ‘Having them running around in the park is one thing, but running through the streets of New York is another dangerous matter altogether.’
‘I’m sorry, Tulip,’ Romeo apologised. ‘I think we need to go.’
‘Wait! I can explain,’ Tulip’s mum said.
Tulip shook her head. ‘Don’t bother,’ she sneered before bounding after the chick-oats on all fours, her tail straight out behind her like a rudder.
Tulip’s mum shot Romeo a guilty look. She tucked her tail between her legs and bowed her head. ‘I guess I’ve messed things up with her.’
Romeo didn’t know what to say. ‘I, er, I really shouldn’t speak for Tulip,’ he mumbled.
‘We’ll find somewhere to keep the chick-oats you’ve already caught,’ Ham told him. ‘You go, the city needs you.’
‘I have a habitat I can keep them in,’ Tulip’s mum offered. ‘The other animals have gone so it’s empty.’
‘That would be great,’ Romeo replied.
‘I’m Rose, by the way,’ Tulip’s mum said.
‘I’m Romeo,’ Romeo said. ‘I’ll catch you later.’
‘Tell my daughter I need to see her!’ Rose called after him.
‘I’ll try,’ Romeo said, but the sound of approaching sirens drowned out his reply.
Leaving the Tesla behind for the others to drive so he could pursue the chick-oats on foot, Romeo raced down the city streets and along footpaths. He scampered across the tops of street vans and buildings. And occasionally swung from powerlines at super sloth speed. Most of the chick-oats stayed together in big clumps of rumbling, whirring, baaing, and clucking mutants as they ate everything in sight. They chased New Yorkers down, sometimes eating their lunch or mobile phones out of their hands. Cars were destroyed. So were posters, billboards, and shopfront displays. Anything was fair game for the chick-oats.
Occasionally, a chick-oat would peel off to the left or right to form a new tornado with other solitary chick-oats where they would continue their destructive path down a different street. It soon became apparent to Romeo that he had no way of stopping the mutant animal infestation. There were too many of them and everywhere he looked more popped up. New York had never experienced anything like this before.
Where are they coming from? Romeo wondered. I need to find the source.
He followed a tornado down a narrow alleyway, hoping to discover more about them. When he came to a dead end, he turned around to go back the way he’d come, only to find himself surrounded by chick-oats.
‘Berk-berk-baa!’ a horde of mutant chick-oats screeched at him.
Before Romeo could unleash his powers of super cuteness to subdue them, Tulip leapt into the fray. She pounced on the tornado of claws, beaks, horns, legs, hooves, baas, and berks. Tulip’s fluffy tail poked out from the tangled mess as it rumbled, rolled, tumbled, and whirled.
‘Boy, that cheetah sure is brave,’ Romeo said to himself.
He waited for his chance then ran in to help, tugging at Tulip’s paw to pull her free of the chick-oats. The two friends ended up landing flat on their backs on some cardboard and rubbish. The chick-oat tornado took off down the street.
‘Are you okay?’ Romeo said.
Tulip jiggled her shoulder as if testing it. ‘All good.’
They bolted after the chick-oats, hurrying along beside them and trying to minimise the damage they inflicted on people, animals, and property. Not even traffic jams stopped them. The chick-oats ploughed on regardless, swarming up and over the roofs of the vehicles and along the footpath. They munched on car side mirrors, windscreen wipers, and litter on the pavement. Everything was mowed down, but not all disappeared. The chick-oats spat out anything they didn’t like and left the remnants behind.
Multiple tornadoes of chick-oats continued along every street on a tide of hysteria towards Times Square. Theatre goers threw their tickets in the air and fled, only for those tickets to be munched into confetti by the chick-oats.
