familiar," Kit murmured to Baloo, who nodded sheepishly.

"But Uncle Frederick used to let us when he was alive," Helmut countered. "He said that a root beer and a rousing polka made this family business more fun."

"There are more important things than fun." Only Baloo and Kit were close enough to hear him say, "Like taking over the world."

Turning off the garden hose, Helmut murmured under his breath, "Why Cousin Hansel lets Second-Cousin Twice-Removed Georg be top dog is beyond me."

On the far side of the room, behind the gigantic vats, Dr. Howlitz opened a door to what appeared to be a closet. In fact, it was a closet. He pulled the door shut behind him and locked it before either Baloo or Kit could sneak in.

Inside the closet, Dr. Howlitz pulled down on two of the coat hooks, revealing a secret door in the back. Through that door was a small room simply furnished with a table, a chair, a lamp with a red shade, and a radio. Seating himself at the desk, the doctor donned the headset, flicked on the lamp, and turned on the radio before carefully shutting the door to the secret room.

A moment later, Baloo and Kit squeezed into the adjoining closet.

Kit slipped his lock pick back under his sweater. "Sometimes those pirate skills come in handy."

Baloo pawed through the coats and hats, searching for Dr. Howlitz. "Where'd he go? You don't s'pose he's invisible like us?"

Kit, his ear pressed to the back of the closet, whispered, "Shh! I hear something."

Through the thin plywood partition came the following muffled conversation:

"Doc calling HQ. Over."

A no-nonsense, nasal voice pierced the static. "HQ here. Over."

"Scared off intruders. I could hear them, but not see them. Is it possible that Usland has the technology for an invisible airplane? Over."

"Nein," the staccato voice snorted. "Those lazy oafs aren't intelligent enough for that. Over."

"Boss asking too many questions. Request directions concerning same. Over."

"Let the boss taste the formula. That should answer all of his questions. Over."

Dr. Howlitz sounded very pleased at the prospect of making Hansel disappear. "Jawohl. Any reports concerning formula results from Usland? Over."

"Nein. Over."

"But the effects of the formula should have been broadcasted all over the Uslandian newspapers and radios by now!" Dr. Howlitz exclaimed.

"The Furor is furious that it is not," the clipped voice said curtly. "You know he has a very tight schedule regarding taking over the world. He does not like to be kept waiting. Over."

Panicking a little, Dr. Howlitz gulped. "But I thought it would work. Over."

"Report back when you know it will work. Over."

"Jawohl. Signing off." Petulantly, Dr. Howlitz said, "And fat, stupid Hansel will be the perfect guinea pig."

Kit, brushing a coat sleeve out of his face, whispered, "We've got to warn Hansel."

Just then, they heard a low, guttural growl.

"Oh...not your stomach again!" Kit whined.

"Wasn't me," Baloo mumbled.

They turned to see a ferocious-looking guard dog poking his head inside the closet. Alternately growling and sniffing the air, the dog advanced towards Baloo and Kit.

"Is it me or is it gettin' a little crowded in here?" Baloo whimpered, backing as far as he could into the closet in order to escape the dog's prominent fangs.

"You know what they say: Three's a crowd," Kit replied nervously. He pressed up against the side of the closet, putting as many coats as possible between him and the hound.

"They got that right." Just then, Baloo bumped a fedora hat off its hook, causing it to slip down over his eyes. "Hey," he whispered, plucking the hat from his head. "I got me an idea. Get ready to skedaddle, kiddo."

When the guard dog barked viciously, Baloo smashed the fedora down over its head, saying, "Put a lid on it!"

While the dog tried to shake off the hat, Baloo and Kit made their hasty escape. However, it wasn't hasty enough. The dog fiercely flung the fedora off and tore after the intruders, barking and nipping at their heels.

Reaching a door, Kit bolted through it and slammed it behind him. He found himself in a cramped, cluttered laboratory, somewhat similar to Buzz's.

"Who's there?" Hansel called from behind a lab bench upon which were several beakers containing brightly colored liquid.

Deciding that the wind had caused the door to slam, Hansel returned to his work. He taste-tested something out of a beaker and grimaced. "Bleck!" He made a notation in his lab notebook, then threw down his pen and glanced at the portrait of his father. "Guess I'm not cut out to create wonderful soda flavors like you, Father. Dr. Howlitz was right. I'm a failure. I wish I was invisible." He glumly took an apple strudel out of his lab coat pocket and bit into it.

"Trust me, being invisible isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Hansel was so surprised, he dropped the strudel. His frightened eyes scanned the room. "Wh-who are you and how would you know?"

"I'm Kit from Cape Suzette." The boy scraped a metal stool across the tile floor so that it was next to Hansel's stool, then climbed up on it. "And I know thanks to your root beer and Dr. Howlitz's secret formula."

"Dr. Howlitz? I-I don't believe it," Hansel stuttered. He stared, aghast, at the empty stool from whence the disembodied voice emanated.

"Do you believe this?" Kit said, seizing the young German shepherd's hand to give it a friendly squeeze.

Hansel shook Kit's hand off as if he had the plague, squeaking, "Invisibility's impossible!"

Kit chuckled. "Tell that to Baloo, my Papa Bear. He's out there, being chased by your guard dog. Hear the dog?"

Indeed, Hansel could hear the frenzied barking from the next room. He reluctantly nodded; however, there was still a confused frown on his face. "But..."

"Here. Maybe this will convince you." Kit removed his goggles and placed them over Hansel's eyes. "See me now?"

Dumbfounded, Hansel stared at the boy, who was smiling back at him in all of his black-and-white glory. He replaced and removed the goggles to see Kit appear and disappear several times before saying decidedly, "This is a family business. We're all related and very loyal to the success of Wulff's Wunderbar Root Beer. None of us would change a world-renowned recipe."

"Even Dr. Howlitz?" Kit swished the amber liquid around in one of the beakers and briefly relayed the radio conversation he and Baloo had overheard.

Hansel removed the goggles and returned them to Kit. Angrily, he said, "But I trusted him! If he's turned Swatzi, that would explain why hehas been acting so suspicious since Father died. He's been using this company and my family in order to help the Furor take over the world. Insisting on a fence and guards, no more music and, under no circumstances, no more taste-testing. He said that it was all in the company's best interest, that he was developing a new flavor called cream soda, but he hasn't let any of us taste it."

"Taste what?" Dr. Howlitz asked upon entering.

"Your new cream soda," Hansel said, trying to disguise his anger with nonchalance. "I'm very curious about it. As head of this company, I think that I have the right to try it."

"And so you shall." Dr. Howlitz pulled a vial from his lab coat pocket. "Apparently, the last batch was too weak, but if we double the ingredients, this new batch should be more potent...er, potable."

Hansel made an unsuccessful grab for the vial.

"Patience, Hansel," Dr. Howlitz chided. "It has to be mixed with root beer to work." From another lab coat pocket, he procured a bottle of root beer and popped off the cap. He was about to pour the vial's contents into the bottle when it was snatched away by an invisible hand.

For a moment, Dr. Howlitz was speechless as he watched the vial bobbing in mid-air towards the door. "My invisibility formula! Stop it!" he cried, chasing after the vial.

Kit ran through the door and slammed it behind him, causing Dr. Howlitz to smash into it. As the scientist slid to the floor, miniature root beer bottles spun around his head.

Meanwhile...

The remainder of the Wulff family had paused in their work to watch the guard dog tear recklessly around the production area.

"What's gotten into Crusher, Nephew Helmut?" asked the woman at the capping station.

Crash! Crusher knocked over a pile of empty bottles on one side of the room.

"I do not know, Aunt Liesel. The last time he acted like this, he was chasing a rabbit."

Smash! Crusher skidded into a stack of crates on the other side of the room.

"But there is no rabbit, Cousin Helmut," Gretel said from the doorway leading to the warehouse. "He is chasing nothing."

Whoosh! Crusher accidently knocked open a valve on the bottom of one of the mixing tanks, allowing water to gush from it.

"Maybe he drank some of Second-Cousin Twice-Removed Georg's special shipment, Cousin Gretel," Heidi suggested, calmly shutting off the valve and stopping the water flow.

Clatter! Crusher slammed into a shelf, causing all of the spice tins to rain to the floor.

"Where is Second-Cousin Twice-Removed Georg anyway?" Helmut wondered. "Crusher is his dog. He should be taking care of him."

Around and around and around Baloo ran. Past the vats, the conveyer belt, the capping area, the vats, the conveyer belt, the capping area until the machinery and the faces of the Wulff family were no more than a