“Not again!” Jackson groaned. “You know, you can land this thing and just let us walk off.”

“Get your gear,” Brand said, ignoring him and gesturing to six backpacks at the front of the rocket. Inside his, Jackson found a complete mariachi outfit: a slim black jacket and matching pants, a sombrero, and boots.

“What’s all this?”

“Part of your cover. Munoz’s daughter is turning nine today, and you’re the entertainment. You’re posing as members of the hottest young pop band in America, Del Loco.”

“No way!” Flinch shouted as he leaped to his feet. His body twitched and shook, and at first Jackson was sure the boy was having a seizure, but soon he realized Flinch was dancing. Then he started singing. “’Hey, pretty lady, don’t walk on by—come and take a moment with the super fly.’”

Brand quickly cut him off. “Del Loco is an international sensation. They have coloring books, lunch boxes, their own TV show, and millions of records sold. Dr. Munoz had to pull a lot of strings to get them to play. Unfortunately, the real Del Loco is going to be detained at the customs desk at the Los Angeles airport. Ruby, you’re on point as usual.”

Ruby smiled briefly. “When our last director said I was ‘on point,’ that meant I was in charge. Is that what you mean?”

Brand gritted his teeth and looked as if he was swallowing a ball of impatience. He eyed Ms. Holiday who smiled at him and nodded. “Yes, I trust you,” he grunted as if the words caused him physical pain.

“And me?” Jackson said.

“Observation only,” Agent Brand said.

Jackson sighed as he strapped on his parachute.

“This isn’t a punishment, Jackson,” Ms. Holiday said. “You’ll be in the thick of things as soon as you’re ready.”

The lunch lady opened the side door of the rocket, and a moment later Jackson was floating down to Earth. Duncan had given him some pointers on skydiving and felt confident he was ready to jump on his own. He landed in a bush, but aside from a few scratches he was fine.

While the others slipped off their parachute harnesses, Ruby began to give orders.

“Wheezer, can you get airborne?” Ruby asked. “I’d like to see if you can spot the doctor’s house from here.”

Matilda took out her inhalers. With one in each hand, she pushed the plungers and shot into the air nearly as fast as the School Bus.

“I’ve got it,” Matilda voice rang in Jackson’s head. “It’s about a mile from here on foot.”

“Good,” Ruby said. “Flinch, why don’t you run ahead and let Dr. Munoz know the band is on its way.”

Flinch clapped his hands together, twisted the knob on his chest, and sped away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. Though he’d seen it before, this never failed to impress Jackson.

Duncan noticed Jackson’s amazement. “He is incredible,” Duncan said as they walked in the direction of the doctor’s house. “He can lift nearly five tons and reach speeds of a hundred miles an hour if he’s had enough sugar. And he’s my best friend.”

“He’s such a little guy too,” Jackson said.

Duncan frowned. “Size has nothing to do with it, Braceface.”

“Don’t call me that,” Jackson begged.

“That’s your code name. I’m Gluestick.”

“I’m changing my name,” Jackson said.

“Great, you need something more appropriate. How about ‘Motormouth’?” Ruby said.

Jackson frowned.

“I like ‘Railroad Track Boy,’” Heathcliff said.

“I know! How about Monkeybrain!” Ruby cried.

“What does that have to do with my braces?” Jackson cried.

“Nothing. I just think that Benjamin may have upgraded the wrong weakness. You’re pretty dumb.”

Jackson faked a laugh. “Hilarious,” he said. “I’m being insulted by a bunch of kids whose greatest enemy is milk.”

Soon they found their way to the doctor’s home. It was a large adobe structure set back from the road. Inside, Jackson could hear music playing and children singing. A steady stream of caterers rushed in and out of the front door, carrying trays of cold cuts, tamales, and cheese. Flinch was speaking Spanish to one of them. The man nodded impatiently. Even though Jackson didn’t speak the language, it was clear the man was busy and didn’t have time to chat with a bunch of kids. He rushed off with his tray of roasted corn.

When Flinch spotted the team he rushed over. “He says the party starts in about fifteen minutes and Dr. Munoz is already wondering where we are. I told him we would be ready. We better get dressed on the double.”

Just then a black van pulled up in front of the house. Several muscular men in dark clothes got out and began unloading colorful piñatas. Flinch took an interest in the piñatas and the candy inside, but could not convince one of the deliverymen to give him one for free.

The team entered the house and found a bustling beehive of activity. Some people hung streamers from the ceiling and others rushed about setting up tables. Nearly every surface had a plate of food on it. Jackson was starving, but Ruby would not let him eat. Instead, she ushered the team to a couple of back bedrooms to change into their costumes. The boys went into one and the girls another.

Duncan, Heathcliff, and Flinch raced to the far corners of the room. From his days on the football team, Jackson had changed plenty of times in front of other people and didn’t give it much thought. He was nearly finished when he found a black wristwatch in his pack. It looked just like the one the rest of the team wore.

“I got a spy watch!” he cried as he slipped it onto his wrist.

“Try not to laser your face off,” Duncan said.

After he admired it for a few moments, he noticed his teammates were still dressed in their regular clothes.

“What are you waiting for?” Jackson asked.

“A little privacy,” Heathcliff said.

Jackson could see that Duncan and Flinch were wishing for the same thing.

“Let me get this straight. You guys have saved the world a dozen times since Monday, but you’re afraid to change your clothes in front of each other?”

The boys frowned but then nodded in agreement.

“It’s no big deal,” he said, hoping to calm their fears.

“Don’t presume to tell us that it’s no big deal. Everyone in this room is seven hundred times smarter than you. We know what’s a big deal,” Heathcliff snapped.

Jackson felt like snapping back, but he remembered what Duncan had told him. Jackson had been very mean to Heathcliff. A memory flashed in his mind. The gym locker room … Heathcliff changing … Jackson snatching his clothes and tossing them into the showers.

Heathcliff grabbed up his clothes. “I’ll find somewhere else to change.” He stomped out of the room and was gone.

Jackson knew there wasn’t anything to say. He sat down on the bed and pulled on his boots. He wondered if he would ever be able to win the forgiveness of his teammates.

There was a knock on the door and Matilda’s voice could be heard from the hall. “You guys ready?”

“Just a second!” Jackson shouted, then turned his back. Flinch and Duncan hurried into their clothes and the three of them rushed into the hall. Heathcliff joined them a moment later. When everyone was assembled, they stood back and admired the outfits Ms. Holiday had collected for them. Each of them looked like a real mariachi.

“OK, let’s go rock this party,” Ruby said.

“Uh, one small problem … I don’t play any instruments,” Jackson said. “Not even the clarinet Agent Brand gave me for my fake marching band practices.”

“We’re a pop group,” Duncan said. “We don’t play instruments. We sing and dance.”

“Uh, I don’t sing or dance, either.”

The team made their way to the backyard with Jackson reluctantly following. There they found a sea of partygoers. Everyone was laughing and excited, but when they saw the six mariachis they turned into an excited mob. People pulled at Jackson’s hat and begged for autographs.