Rocket Farts, Zombie Parts: The Continuing Adventures of Mucus Phlegmball: The Adventures of Mucus Phlegmball, #2

By Kerry Crowley

     Superhero Mucus Phlegmball is back for his second adventure! Fresh on the heels of his defeat of the radioactive mutant squirrels, Marcus is shocked when his best friend, Chunk, shares his plan to borrow Dr. Boogerslinger's time machine to steal the answers for a math test.  Fearing his buddy might flunk fifth grade, Marcus reluctantly agrees, but immediately regrets it when an unexpected power outage throws the boys off course through a wormhole in space.

Instead of going forward a few days to Lugeyville Elementary, the pair soon discover they have landed on a strange sunless planet inhabited by zombies. In a hurry to get home, they don't notice they've picked up a stow-away, a dangerous alien wereduck, putting all of Lugeyville in danger.

The trip through the wormhole also seems to have triggered a new "ability" for Chunk.  Every time is he is scared or stressed, his butt takes over and shoots him up in the air. These radioactive rocket farts are combined with an awful stench and a green mist capable of knocking a person out cold.

 Working together, Mucus Phlegmball and his sidekick, Master Blaster (AKA Chunk), must save their town by capturing and returning the vicious wereduck to his home planet.  Can these two still inexperienced superheroes once again save the day?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kerry Crowley
• Release date: Nov 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201288341

Kerry Crowley

Kerry Crowley fell in love with writing in 7 th grade, but believed the only way to make a living as a writer was in journalism. She worked as a reporter for a time, but soon realized that wasn’t a good fit. She switched careers and didn’t pursue her dream until a random conversation with her family led her to a character name she couldn’t resist. Mucus Phlegmball was born and from there, her children helped her weave a gross, action-packed story that she hopes will appeal to young boys everywhere. She lives in Genesee, Wisconsin with her husband, younger son, dog and two cats. She is a member of AllWriters’ Workplace and Workshop (www.allwritersworkshop.com) and of the Society of Children’s Book Writers  and Illustrators. Snoogers Rule, Mammoth’s Drool: Introducing the Amazing Mucus Phlegmball is her first middle grade novel.

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Back Cover

Middle Grade/Tween Magical Realism by Kerry Crowley

Superhero Mucus Phlegmball is back! Fresh on the heels of his defeat of the radioactive mutant squirrels, Marcus is shocked when his best friend, Chunk, shares his plan to borrow Dr. Boogerslinger's time machine to steal the answers for a math test.  Fearing his buddy might flunk fifth grade, Marcus reluctantly agrees, but immediately regrets it when an unexpected power outage throws the boys off course through a wormhole in space.

Instead of going forward a few days to Lugeyville Elementary, the pair soon discover they have landed on a strange sunless planet inhabited by zombies. In a hurry to get home, they don't notice they've picked up a stow-away, a dangerous alien wereduck, putting all of Lugeyville in danger.

The trip through the wormhole also seems to have triggered a new ability for Chunk.  Every time is he is scared or stressed, his butt takes over and shoots him up in the air. These radioactive rocket farts are combined with an awful stench and a green mist capable of knocking a person out cold.

Working together, Mucus Phlegmball and his sidekick, Master Blaster (AKA Chunk), must save their town by capturing and returning the vicious wereduck to his home planet.  Can these two still inexperienced superheroes once again save the day?

Rocket Farts, Zombie Parts: The Continuing Adventures of Mucus Phlegmball

©2016 by Kerry Crowley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover Art © 2021 by TWJ Design

In loving memory of my mom.

I wish you were still here to read this.

I miss you every day.

Rocket Farts, Zombie Parts:

The Continuing Adventures of Mucus Phlegmball

The Adventures of Mucus Phlegmball

Snoogers Rule, Mammoths Drool

Rocket Farts, Zombie Parts

Ear Wax and Cadillacs

Kerry Crowley

Chapter One

Marcus looked at his best friend with disbelief. Dude, are you serious? I thought you said you never wanted to time travel again.

I know, but it’s an emergency. Besides, this is different. We aren’t going back to another century or anything, we’re going forward, and it’s only a few days, so we know what to expect. I can’t afford to flunk this test, or you’re going to middle school without me. Please? It’ll take two seconds, Chunk begged, grabbing Marcus by the arm and pushing out his lower lip.

Marcus wanted to dig his heels in. Every thread of his being told him this wasn’t a good idea, but he hated letting Chunk down and didn’t want his friend to flunk. What are we going to do if Dr. Boogerslinger’s home? He’s not going to let us use the time machine so you can cheat on a test, Marcus pointed out, hoping he was right, so he’d be off the hook.

He won’t be home yet, it’s too early, Chunk said. If he is, we’ll say we wanted to see how things were going. No biggie.

Marcus was out of arguments. Chunk had a good point. Showing up at Dr. Boogerslinger’s house wouldn’t raise any red flags after all the time they spent together over the last several months. Ever since Dr. B. sneezed on Marcus at the drugstore, giving him the ability to shoot radioactive snot out of his nose and mouth at will, their lives were destined to be intertwined, one way or another. The last time Marcus and Chunk time-traveled, they went back to the Ice Age to gather wooly mammoth spit for Dr. Boogerslinger. Well, it was Marcus and Simon who went to get the spit, but Chunk wound up having to come to their rescue after they got stuck in a cave. Speaking of Simon, Marcus could already hear him as he followed Chunk up the sagging steps to Dr. Boogerslinger’s porch.

Think he’ll open the door for us? Marcus asked, gesturing toward the blue macaque monkey they could see jumping up and down inside the kitchen.

Of course he will. I brought food. Chunk grinned. Simon, I brought you a treat, Chunk said in a sing-song voice, holding up the bag of trail mix for Simon to see through the window.

Marcus jumped a little as the door burst open seconds after the words were out of Chunk’s mouth. They rushed inside and closed the door, while Simon continued to jump around like a lunatic, squealing with delight.

Thanks, buddy. Here you go, Chunk said, tossing Simon the bag of snacks.

Poop, Simon responded. It still threw Marcus for a loop every time he heard Simon speak. It was strange enough he was a bright blue monkey, but the fact Dr. Boogerslinger invented a communication device so Simon could talk with them was almost too much to take. He and Chunk both wore a rubber wristband which looked similar to those many eleven-year olds wear, but this device translated Simon’s chattering for them.

Both Marcus and Chunk had a love/hate relationship with Dr. Boogerslinger’s faithful companion. Most of the time, Simon was a big pain in the keester, sending the boys off on a wild goose chase or beaning them with spit balls. But despite his annoying habits, Marcus knew if it weren’t for Simon and his amazing aim, his first big superhero showdown would have wound up a bust. The radiation exposure from Dr. B.’s sneeze, which gave Marcus his superpowers, also turned the neighborhood squirrels Dr. B fed at the lab into radioactive mutants with super strength. Simon’s expertise with the blow gun he pilfered from some Japanese ninjas, stopped the last mutant squirrel from escaping. Since then, Marcus tried to tolerate a lot of Simon’s annoying habits.

Marcus glanced over to see the monkey was busy inhaling the bag of dried fruit and nuts Chunk tossed him. Does that have chocolate in it? he asked, spotting some colored specks.

Yeah. Why? Chunk asked.

Is chocolate good for monkeys? I know dogs aren’t supposed to eat it, Marcus answered.

I don’t know. Are you telling me you’re going to be upset if something happens to Simon?

Marcus shrugged. He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but deep down, he was a little worried and would feel bad if Simon got sick. He glanced back at Simon and saw how he was licking the bag to get every last crumb, and lost those warm fuzzy feelings. Pig, he muttered to himself.

Not pig, monkey, Simon replied, blowing a raspberry while he wiggled his butt, and then hopped over to pick at Marcus’ hair.

Whatever. Let’s do this, Marcus said, shooing Simon away and brushing past Chunk to head for Dr. B’s home lab. I still don’t like this. Can’t you study for the test like the rest of us?

Chunk snorted. Yeah, I could. But let’s face it, you and I both know it would end in an epic fail. I would need a week to learn all that stuff and the test is tomorrow.

Marcus still couldn’t believe Chunk was so willing to resort to time travel after their previous adventure. He knew Chunk wasn’t good at keeping up with his homework. His mom worked long hours so Chunk spent a lot of time alone after school and took advantage of the opportunity to game instead of study, but this was a bit extreme. So, what’s the plan? he sighed.

Well, Mr. Sewer hands our tests back two days after we take them and we go through the answers in class, so I figure we should travel ahead to Thursday right after math is over and then I’ll have all the right answers.

And why is it I have to go with you? Marcus questioned.

What if something goes wrong? Don’t you want to be with me to help? Chunk asked.

How? By snoogering our teacher?

I don’t know. Maybe. Chunk shrugged, kicking at a piece of dirt on the floor.

Marcus cringed. He knew his relationship with Chunk changed ever since he got his superpowers. Chunk’s bigger than average frame meant he was puny Marcus’ protector for as long as the two had been friends. The tables turned, once Marcus developed a way of defending himself, and now he found Chunk relying on him more and more.

All right, let’s get it over with so our parents don’t start wondering where we are, Marcus said as he started up the rope ladder to the top of the time machine. I still can’t believe Dr. B designed this thing in the shape of a huge toilet.

Yeah. Chunk chuckled. What’s up with that?

Simon followed them into the lab, so Marcus asked for help by pushing the button to send them off when he gave the thumbs up from inside. Simon looked thoughtful. What does Simon get?

Why do you always have to get something? Not everything is about you, you annoying little creep, Marcus said under his breath, frustration getting the better of him.

I’ll bring you a special treat tomorrow, Simon. I promise, Chunk chimed in.

Simon nodded and resumed his jumping around, chattering up a storm. The last time Simon pushed the big red button, he sent Marcus, Chunk and Dr. B. to 16th century Japan to get him red-speckled bananas. They wound up being captured by ninjas and escaped, using a zip line. Dr. B came home with a broken ankle and Chunk vowed he would never time travel again. Of course, he couldn’t stick to his decision because of having to rescue Marcus and Simon from the Ice Age.

Marcus wasted no time once they flushed themselves inside, heading straight for the control panel to set the dials to take them ahead to Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Lugeyville Elementary School. He read the coordinates out loud to Chunk to make sure things were programmed right, and then went to strap himself into his seat. Marcus gave Simon the thumbs up and Simon bounded over and jumped on the big red button. Marcus gripped the armrest tighter as he felt the now familiar sensation of the time machine and his body splintering into millions of pinpoints of light.

At least this will be a short trip, Marcus thought, waiting for the whirring noise to stop. Instead, the noise in the time machine got louder and the lights flickered, then went out. Now what? This was supposed to be easy. A quick in and out. He knew the coordinates were right, so why was it taking so long, and what was with all the racket?

Marcus’ body was thrown forward as he and the time machine reformed. The silence now was eerie. Chunk grabbed his arm and squeezed. Marcus cleared his throat. Okay, let me say, up front, I have no idea what just happened, so don’t ask, he said. Chunk’s lack of response told Marcus he didn’t know what to say.

Marcus unbuckled himself and stumbled over to check the readout. Although it was still dark inside the time machine, the light from outside shone in enough for him see the dial was still set for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. As he approached the window and peered outside, he could tell, wherever they were, it was most definitely not Lugeyville Elementary School.

Chapter Two

Okay, Marcus said, one thing’s for sure. This isn’t school.

Chunk crept to the window and peered over Marcus’ shoulder. Do you recognize anything? he questioned. Maybe we went to the opposite side of town?

I guess it’s possible. Marcus shrugged. But I don’t think so. This doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before. As Marcus strained to see past the trees surrounding the time machine, trying to get his bearings, he noticed people walking a block or so away. I guess we have two choices. We stay here and try to get in touch with Dr. Boogerslinger, or we get out and ask where we are. What do you want to do?

"What about the time machine? How are we going to explain the humongous potty