The electric golf cart squeaked to a stop in front of a closed pet store, with a sign that said: "Feathers and Paws: Exotics at Your Service." Alex frowned as Max barked three times. Marta took out her flashlight and Carlos looked at his tablet with a worried expression.
— According to the intercepted transmission — said Carlos —, the next villain operates from here... or at least, he did a few minutes ago.
— And what kind of lunatic controls telepathic parrots? — asked Alex, adjusting his cap backward as if that gave him +10 in bravery.
— One with too much free time — replied Marta, pointing at the neon sign that flickered with the word "CLOSED," but in Carlos's thermal camera, three figures were clearly seen moving inside the store.
Alex pushed the door. It was locked. Max stepped forward and, with a well-aimed shove, opened it in a leap. Everyone looked at him in surprise.
— Since when can he do that? — asked Carlos.
— Since I showed him the golden retriever ninja tutorials on TikTok — replied Alex, proudly.
They entered stealthily. The interior of the store was filled with empty cages, dim lights, and a mysterious air... as if they were about to encounter a final boss.
Suddenly, a shrill and reverberating voice filled the place.
— THEY'RE HERE! THE INTRUDERS! ATTACK!
From the ceiling descended... parrots. Not ordinary parrots. They were large, with bright eyes, tiny headphones, and banana-powered jetpacks (apparently they didn't work well, but they looked threatening). One of them even had a leather jacket.
— Why do they have style? — asked Marta, dodging a flying parrot that screamed "FEAR HUMAN!"
The Birds Started to Shoot Small Balls of Paint from Their Backpacks, Covering the Walls and the Bodies of the Protagonists with Fluorescent Stains.
— This is an artistic ambush! — shouted Alex as he threw himself behind a counter.
— Carlos, any idea? — asked Marta, pulling out her vinegar gun once again.
Carlos typed on his tablet.
— I can emit a signal that confuses their telepathic transmissions! But I need to get closer to the control core.
— Where is it?
— Over there! — he pointed to a golden cage hanging in the center of the store, with a bright light emanating from its interior.
— A dramatically lit golden cage in the center? Is it a trap? — asked Alex.
— Obviously — replied Marta and Carlos in unison.
Max stepped forward, dodging parrots as if he were in an agility competition. With a jump, he knocked down the cage just as one of the parrots screamed: "NOOOO, IT'S MY HEADQUARTERS!"
The cage fell, the light went out, and all the parrots suddenly stopped in mid-air... and began to recite love poems in French.
— Was that... part of the plan? — asked Alex.
— The parrots were programmed to hypnotize, but by cutting the core, their minds collapsed into their deepest subconscious — explained Carlos, while Max sniffed a jetpack with curiosity.
One of the parrots landed on Marta's shoulder and said in a soft voice: "Je suis désolé. J'étais un pion dans un jeu d'oiseaux."
— Did it just apologize to me in French...? — Marta looked at it sideways —. I like this parrot.
At that moment, the true villain appeared from a secret hatch behind the counter. He was wearing a multicolored feather suit, had triangular sunglasses, and a cane shaped like a beak.
— I, THE GREAT MENTAL CHICKEN, WILL NOT BE DEFEATED SO EASILY!— "Mental Chicken"?— Alex blinked. — Is that your name?— DO NOT JUDGE ME! My parents were circus artists!
Max lunged at him, but the villain waved his cane, creating a wave of pink energy that stopped him in mid-air.— With my ostrich psycho power, I will stop them all! Starting with the dog!— You are not going to touch Max! — shouted Alex.
Marta pulled out an electric net (which she had been carrying since chapter 7 but had not used yet) and threw it. The cane fell to the ground.Carlos ran to the core and activated a command that deprogrammed all the parrots.
Suddenly, the place was filled with happy whistles, feathers falling to the ground, and parrots that began to form spontaneous choreographies.— What did you do? — asked Marta.— I reset them... with a karaoke mode.— They are singing Shakira songs! — said Alex, amazed.
The villain was tied up by Max using the emergency leash. Alex looked at him.— Did you really think you could dominate the world with telepathic parrots?— And I would have succeeded... if it weren't for you and your nosy dog! — retorted Mental Chicken.— Original — said Marta.
That night, back in Carlos's grandmother's basement, they celebrated with ice cream and chips. The parrots, now deactivated and calm, danced in the background to the rhythm of an instrumental cumbia that Carlos played to help them relax.— Do you think this will be the last villain? — asked Marta.— Knowing our luck, one will come with ninja fish or something — said Alex, throwing a french fry in the air and catching it with his mouth.
Carlos looked at his screen, thoughtful.
— In reality... I received a weak signal recently. Something about a "Society of Awake Pets" planning a global rebellion.
— More?! — exclaimed the three.
Max barked, lay down, and covered his eyes with his paws. Even he needed a break.
But everyone knew that the adventure was not over yet....