“ First you tried dad’s way, then mom’s way and then Harl’s and NONE of them worked? You should try MY way, which is not to try because I know I’ll fail. It’s a real time saver.” Allen said matter of fact.

Buster shot him a look. “ Really?” He signed.

Allen shrugged “ Whaaaaat? It’s the truth!”

Suddenly, Clemmon’s eyes furrowed. “ Hold on…… mom, dad, Allen, Bust- WHERE’S MIA?!”

The triplets looked at one another.

“ She told me she had to go to Clemmons!” Allen exclaimed.

“ She told me she had to go to Buster!”

“ She told ME she had to use the restroom!” Buster signed.

“ So….. none of us have her?” Duke asked.

Allen looked at Duke, eyes wide. “ Dad, what day is it?”

Duke looked at his wife, who was sipping coffee.

“ Twenty second of March.” Freya said.

Clemmon and Allen exchanged a worried glance. Buster took his phone out, unlocked it, and scrolled, then gasped and showed his screen to his twins.

“ Oh no.” Clemmons muttered.

“ This is bad…….” Allen muttered.

Duke went to his boys. “ What happened?”

Allen looked up. “ Our eight year old sister’s going to go to Captain Brennant’s office, drag him to the stage and start fighting for rules.”

Freya gasped. “ This is bad! We have to go now!”

“ But there’s no wind1” Clemmons reminded them.

“ Yeah, and thanks to my brother’s GREAT flying skills, we can’t use the helicopter.” Buster exclaimed as he shot Allen a look.

“ Hey! I didn’t WANT to crash my helicopter!” Allen exclaimed.

Freya sighed and set her mug down. “ Okay, we can work this out. Maybe.”

“ MAYBE?!” Allen yelled. “ MIA’S GONNA STRIP HIM BARE!”

“ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”  Clemmons screamed as he ran around the boat, flailing his arms wildly.

Allen grabbed his son by the shoulders. “ Clemmons! Freya has a plan!”

“ Really?” Clemmons looked at his mom, who nodded..

“ Clemons, Bsster, you two stay here and help me set course for home.”

“ Me and Wrenchy will go to the repair room in case something falls apart.” Harl said.

“ I’m going to use my shoulder roll to power the turbine.” Duke said.

“ And me?” Allen asked,

Freya and Duke exchanged a look. “ You get the best job, my boy.” Duke said.

-_--_-–_--_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“ We have to get to Mia!” Clemmons yelled as soon as he boat hit the pier.

The family jumped out and ran and ran and ran to the station. Duke threw the door open.

But the Chief wasn’t there.

Neither was the Captain.

“ Oh no.” Duke muttered as he and Freya exchanged a look.

The triplets were gone, and Duke sighed. “ Buster must've taken Clemmons and Allen home.”

Freya nodded. “ Those three are a handful.”

“ Not as much as Mia,” Duke adde.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

It was Freya’s. She checked the caller.

Buster,.

“ Yes, Buster?” Freya asked.

Three taps.

“ The MAYOR?!”

Five.

“ He called Allen and Allen’s freaking out?!”

One.

“ Oh no. Buter, take the phone from Allen and give it to Clemmons.”

Ten.

“ Yes, I know he’s in the bath, soaking. But just give it to him and let him speak.”

SIx.

“ You too. Bye.”

Freya pocketed her phone and sighed. “ Allen.”

Due raised a brow. “ What’d he do now?”

“ He’s freaking out because the Mayor called.”

Duke groaned. “ Oh great.”

Suddenly, his phone rang.

Chief.

Duke picked it up, and the chief’s cheerful voice came through. “ Yo, Dukester, your daughter is siiiiick! She’s disciplining the Cap-i-tan!”

“ What’s she doing?”  Duke sighed.

“ Yo, Dukester! SHe’s being chill. Just hanging him upside down from a pole and stripping him clean. At least he was wearing underwear.”

Duke groaned. “ Where are you now?”

“ Yo, hear me out! We don’t know!”

Duke’s eyes widened. “ You don’t know where you are?!”

“ We’re fine!”

“ Wheely, I don’t think so! Are there any landmarks near you??”

“ Yo, there’s this gnarly tree, and a cool bush that looks like a book! It’s so perfectly rectangular, dude!”

Duke sighed. “ Okay, We'll search for you.”

“ No rush, dude! We’re having fun except the Captain. But he was always a grouchy one.”

Freya quickly grabbed her phone, texted the triplets to meet them, and turned to Duke. “Let’s move. We’re getting those boys, and then we’re heading to the forest. We don’t have much time if Mia’s already on the move.”

Duke nodded, pulling on his coat. “Right. Let’s just hope the poor Captain has some dignity left.”

Moments later, Freya and Duke arrived at their house, where Allen was pacing back and forth, looking like he’d seen a ghost. Buster was rubbing his temples, clearly tired, and Clemmons was halfway out the door, looking around as if hoping to spot Mia from the doorstep.

“Boys!” Freya called, waving them over. “We’re heading to the forest. Mia’s made her move.”

Allen paled, but he bolted out the door with Buster and Clemmons right behind him. The family quickly piled into the car, and Duke floored it toward the forest, the trees whizzing by as they sped down the dirt road.

When they arrived, the scene was... well, chaos would be an understatement. Captain Brennant was hanging upside down from a pole, looking absolutely miserable, with nothing but his undershorts to preserve his dignity. Nearby, the Chief was lying on the ground, still laughing as if this were the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

“Dude... she’s fierce,” the Chief chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. “I swear, she even gave him a lecture on proper rule enforcement while she tied him up!”

Duke slapped his forehead. “Unbelievable. Where is she?”

The Chief shrugged. “She said something about ‘a tactical retreat’ and then poof, she was gone.”

Freya sighed, casting a sympathetic look at the Captain as she tried to stifle a laugh. “Let’s get you down from there,” she said, motioning for Duke and the boys to help untie him.

As they worked on lowering the Captain, Allen muttered, “So, she escaped again, huh?”

Clemmons groaned. “That little escape artist…”

Once the Captain was safely back on the ground, still looking thoroughly humiliated, Duke shook his head. “Well, Captain, if it’s any consolation, you’re not the first. Mia’s done this to more people than I can count.”

The Captain grumbled, crossing his arms. “Just… just tell her to go easy on me next time.”

Freya gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “We’ll do our best, Captain.”

As they turned to leave, Allen suddenly stiffened, eyes widening. “Mom, Dad… you don’t think… she’s going to the Mayor’s office next, do you?”

Freya and Duke exchanged a horrified look.

“She wouldn’t…” Duke muttered, though he didn’t sound convinced.

Allen nodded solemnly. “Oh, she would.”

Without another word, the family rushed back to the car, hoping they weren’t already too late to save the Mayor from Mia’s “discipline.”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-_-

But it was too late.

The family froze in the doorway, staring at the spectacle before them: the mayor, hanging from the ceiling in a floral skirt and an oversized T-shirt emblazoned with "I like to use the restroom" in big, bold letters. His face was a mixture of humiliation and confusion, and he was squirming, as if trying to free himself from Mia’s surprisingly effective knots.

Allen, Clemmons, and Buster took one look at each other, and that was all it took—they burst out laughing so hard that they had to lean against the walls for support.

Allen doubled over, gasping between laughs, “Oh... oh my... Mia... she actually... the mayor!” He couldn’t finish, laughing too hard.

Clemmons wiped tears from his eyes, barely managing to get out, “And... and that shirt! Where did she even find that?!”

Buster, laughing so hard he was practically in silent convulsions, pointed to the mayor and signed, “This... this is too good. She’s a legend!”

Duke rubbed his temples, trying to suppress a smirk. “Boys, this isn’t funny… well, maybe a little funny.” He gave Freya a helpless look. “Where is she learning this stuff?”

Freya sighed, trying her best to keep a straight face. “I don’t know, Duke, but at this rate, we’ll be banned from every public office in the city.” She looked up at the mayor, who gave them an exasperated look.

“Are... are you going to help me down or not?” he asked, his voice muffled slightly from the upside-down position.

Allen stepped forward, still laughing, “Oh, absolutely, Mayor! But, uh, would you mind leaving the shirt on? It’s a great look!”

The mayor shot Allen a glare, and Freya smacked her son’s shoulder, stifling her own laugh. “Allen, help your dad untie him—before he decides to add a fine to our record.”

As Duke and Allen carefully lowered the mayor, he muttered under his breath, “That kid… she’s a menace… a menace!”

Clemmons leaned over to Buster, whispering with a grin, “The mayor’s going to think twice before calling us again, huh?”

Buster nodded, his shoulders still shaking with silent laughter. He signed back, “Next time, they’ll probably just call Mia directly. Seems she’s got a gift for... discipline.”

As the family finally got the mayor back on solid ground, Duke’s phone rang. He picked it up, cringing when he saw the caller ID: Mr. Produchie.

Duke answered with a sigh. "Mr. Produchie? What seems to be the problem?"

Mr. Produchie’s panicked voice came through, “I don’t know how to put this, but… someone tied me up! And I’m… I’m in wedding clothes! This is absurd!”

Allen, Clemmons, and Buster, overhearing, perked up instantly. They looked at one another, the realization dawning in their eyes. The laughter started as a soft chuckle, quickly snowballing until the three boys were practically wheezing, clutching each other for support as they buckled under the hilarity.

“W-Wedding clothes?!” Allen managed to gasp between fits of laughter. “She dressed him up for his big day!”

Clemmons was barely standing, doubled over with laughter. “She really did it! She went full-on wedding planner!”

Buster’s face was red from laughing, his hands shaking as he signed, “We have got to see this.”

Duke, trying his best to keep a straight face, cleared his throat. “Mr. Produchie… are you sure it was Mia? I mean, wedding clothes? That doesn’t sound—”

“Yes, it does! She left a note!” Mr. Produchie interrupted. “It says, ‘Congratulations on your marriage to your job!’ She even picked out a… a veil!”

Freya, hearing this, covered her mouth to hide her laugh, while the boys were absolutely losing it.

Allen wiped tears from his eyes, trying to catch his breath. “Oh man… Mia is on a whole new level today.”

Clemmons nodded, leaning heavily on his brothers, still shaking with laughter. “We… we have to find her before she sets up a honeymoon trip for him, too.”

Duke sighed, but a faint grin was on his face. “Alright, let’s go get Mr. Produchie… and maybe start thinking about how to talk to Mia about her… unique disciplinary methods.”

The boys, barely able to stop laughing long enough to stand, followed Duke and Freya out, still chortling at the image of Mr. Produchie in his unexpected “wedding attire.”

_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-