Ginnie Quinn had never cared that much about the news media. But that had all changed when she turned twelve. Last year, Ginnie, her friend Owen, and a man named Leigh Parkston had gone on a mission to cancel a bombing on her city, a scheme formed by twin criminals Alchys and Abbadon Gomez. They had been successful, and the Gomez twins were now in prison for the rest of their lives. Not only because of the bombing, but because they had car-chased Ginnie and Owen, who had been riding in a self driving car. But back to this year. Before her twelfth birthday, Ginnie couldn't have cared less about the news. However, things changed.

The day Ginnie turned twelve, word got out that the newly elected president, James Barker, was planning to send out robotic lions to invade the country. At first, nobody believed the news. Now, though, people were preparing. They believed that the RoboLions were coming. Ginnie's protective parents didn't allow her to watch the news. The truth was that they had no idea what their daughter had endured at only 11 years of age. Ginnie still caught snippets of it though, because the invasion of the RoboLions was all adults talked about, and Ginnie had very sharp ears. Her friend Owen also told her what he could wheedle out of his older brother, who had 

been acting annoyingly superior to the younger kids because he was able to watch the news. So Ginnie and Owen weren't completely clueless. Ginnie and Owen both participated in a school taught online, because their parents couldn't pay for private school; they didn't want to send them to public school and they had to work besides. It had not taken long for the children to start talking about the RoboLions. Ginnie now tried to access every piece of news she could get her hands (or eyes in this case) on. Owen's situation was even worse, Ginnie thought, because his family did not allow him to touch the TV because Owen had been known to be unreliable.

Ginnie knew that the RoboLion invasion could very well happen. At the same time she wanted to find out more, Ginnie soon grew bored with her parents' talk about the invasion. They talked about it like it was something that couldn't be stopped.Even though they were in prison, Ginnie suspected that Alchys and Abbadon had something to do with it. Owen thought so too. Owen and Ginnie emailed Leigh Parkston, founder of the International Track of Relocation, about their suspicions. Leigh agreed. All three heroes had encountered the infamous Gomezes. Ginnie told her mom she was going to the park, and she met up with Leigh and Owen. 

Leigh arrived on his motorcycle. He looked like a motorcycle guy: Long brown hair in a ponytail, black punk-style clothes, and aviators. Ginnie and Owen walked. The three were sitting on a park bench, discussing the matter of the RoboLion invasion when they heard the sound of a helicopter. The helicopter lowered-and lowered more. It got so low that it was almost touching the grass. A muffled voice could be heard: "Out, girl, out! Out with you!" Ginnie, Owen, and Leigh looked up. A girl with dark red hair and the darkest eyes Ginnie had ever seen tumbled out of the helicopter, which flew away abruptly. Ginnie and Owen got up.

When they reached the girl, she had picked herself up and was rubbing her grass-stained knees. "Hi,'' Ginnie said. "Are you alright?" The girl nodded shakily. "I'm Arlie,'' she said. "What are your names?" "I'm Ginnie and this is Owen," Ginnie said. "Wanna come sit with us?" Arlie nodded gratefully. When she saw Leigh, though, she recoiled. "I don't know that man,'' Arlie said. "He looks kinda like a bad guy.'' "Oh, don't worry,'' Owen said. "We know him. He's okay.'' Arlie still looked rather nervous, but she followed Ginnie and Owen, who started making the introductions. "Leigh, this is Arlie,'' he said. "Arlie, this is Leigh." Arlie gave a tentative wave.

"So who are your parents, Arlie?" Leigh asked kindly. Arlie looked rather embarrassed. "Oh, um,'' she stammered. "They died. In a car crash a couple months ago. I've been living with this guy I THOUGHT was my uncle, but it turns out he's a felon who has NO car license, let alone a helicopter license.'' "So he was the guy in the helicopter.'' Owen said. Arlie nodded. "I'm really sorry about your parents,'' Ginnie said sympathetically. "Oh, it's fine. My mom couldn't be bothered with me, and my dad was hardly ever home.'' Arlie said, Ginnie thought a little wistfully.

At home and in bed, Ginnie Quinn had something else on her mind other than the RoboLions and the Gomez twins: The younger girl she'd met at the park, Arlie. She was a very resourceful 9-year-old child, and she had made herself a home by the park. Ginnie, Owen, and Leigh had offered for her to stay with them, but she had politely declined. Ginnie lay in bed refusing to sleep when she heard her favorite noise in the world: Leigh's drum. That meant they would go on an adventure. Ginnie dressed and went outside, eager for some action.

Owen was already there, and to Ginnie's surprise, so was Arlie! She looked extremely rugged and dirty. Ginnie hopped onto the roller coaster. It zoomed towards the cabin in which Owen and Ginnie had stayed last year. They arrived in an hour's time, and Ginnie and Owen showed Arlie around. "Do you guys often go on random rides to cabins?" Arlie asked. She was stunned by the casual way both 12-year-olds had boarded the coaster when she had been so hesitant. The older girl Ginnie laughed good-naturedly. "Only once,'' she said. "We're being relocated because of the RoboLions.''

Arlie nodded. The invasion of the RoboLions was something she had heard about, from her parents and her fake uncle. Since it was only about 10:00 or so, they stayed up for a while before going to bed. An extra bed had been added for Arlie. They slept dreamlessly. When they awoke, Leigh let the kids watch the news to catch up on the RoboLions. James Barker was getting revenge on an old arch nemesis; the RoboLions were mainly directed toward his town-which just happened to be next door to Owen's, Arlie's, and Ginnie's town. The invasion was set for August 17, 2019. Two weeks from now. Leigh got an alert on his cell phone. Looking troubled, 

he disappeared into the bathroom for several hours. While Owen and Arlie wondered what on earth he was doing, Ginnie decided to investigate and checked Leigh's phone. A picture of a man nearly identical to him was listed on a list of felons sentenced to prison or death! The name was Keith Parker. The name was eerily similar to Leigh Parkston. Ginnie didn't tell Owen to come look at this right then. She considered. Leigh could either be changing how he looked so to not be mistaken for Keith Parker,

or-Ginnie hardly dared to believe it-he WAS Keith Parker.

When Arlie had excused herself to the shower, Ginnie pulled Owen out into the yard with Leigh's phone. She confessed her suspicions. "So Leigh could either be trying to NOT look like the criminal, or he could be trying to disguise himself because he IS the criminal.'' Ginnie finished. Owen looked disbelieving. "Maybe,'' he said doubtingly. "Leigh's really nice. It's more likely he doesn't want to look like this Keith guy.'' "Yeah,'' Ginnie said. "I think so, too. But we'll keep it in mind, just in case. Okay?" "Okay.'' Owen agreed.

Ginnie and Owen came inside, and they carefully set Leigh's phone where it had been before. Arlie was still in the shower. They awaited Leigh's transformation eagerly. 

Leigh finally stepped out of the restroom. Owen gasped. Leigh had shaved his ponytail off, and his hair was combed neatly to the side. He had changed his clothes, and he looked like a different person entirely!

"Well,'' Leigh said. "What do you guys think? Where's Arlie?" "You look so different!" Ginnie said. "But in a good way,'' she added. Owen didn't say anything. Arlie, as if on cue, came out of the showers, about to put her hair in a ponytail. She stopped when she saw Leigh. "Wow!" she said. "You look nice, Mr. Parkston!" (Arlie still did not feel comfortable calling him Leigh.) "Thanks. And I keep telling you that you can call me Leigh,'' Leigh said.  Arlie shook her head. 

The TV suddenly dinged. That meant the live news was back on! All heads turned eagerly. "The invasion of the robotic animals is happening within an hour,'' the news reporter announced soberly. "Prepare yourselves." Ginnie, Owen, and Leigh wondered what to do. Arlie was a weak and frail girl, and she was easily frightened, so she wouldn't be much help in a battle with giant robots. Ginnie had an idea. Pulling Owen along with her, she rushed to the shed where a self driving car was kept. Inside the car there was a spy cam--and it didn't just spy on anyone, it spied on the Gomez twins. 

The tracker's camera showed Alchys and Abbadon on the prison's cell phone. They were talking with devious, scheming smiles on their faces. In earshot was a familiar voice on the other end of the line. It took them a minute, but Owen finally yelled, "It's Barker! The president! That's his voice!" "Oh my goodness, you're right!" Ginnie exclaimed. "So Abbadon and Alchys ARE involved with all of this! We have to go tell Leigh!" Owen grabbed her arm. "Wait,'' he said. "Let's find out whether or not he's that Keith guy before we tell him anything new.'' "You're right,'' Ginnie said. 

The next day, Ginnie and Owen woke unusually late.

Owen rubbed his eyes as he looked at the digital clock--10:00 AM!? Ginnie rolled out of the bottom bunk as Owen scrambled down the ladder. They walked into the living room to find Arlie and Leigh speaking in hushed tones to one another. Ginnie froze, and her pajamas snagged against the wooden wall. Owen nearly bumped into her. One fragment of a scheme could be heard: "If we're going to fool them-'' Ginnie and Owen ran back to their bedroom.  

Owen and Ginnie dressed and then ran across the dewy grass to the shed. The fresh morning sunlight fell on their faces, making it look like they were starring in a commercial. Ginnie threw open the door, pressed the red button, and dove into the car with Owen on her heels. If Arlie and Keith/Leigh were trying to defeat Owen and Ginnie, they'd surely take their car. Panting, Ginnie hooked the car up to a second tracker for Leigh and Arlie, and then they drove away from the so-called Kid's Relocation Center. 

Arlie felt better now that she and her dad, Nico Simpson, had a plan to take down Ginnie Quinn and Owen Sonny. Their friend Keith Parker had been pretending to be Leigh Parkston, the founder of the International Track of Relocation. Keith had pretended to get a makeover. However, he had actually switched places with Arlie's dad Nico Simpson. Arlie and her dad wandered out to the shed where the self-driving car was kept, only to find that Owen and Ginnie had already taken it, and they were on the move.

Ginnie and Owen had fallen asleep; they had been driving roughly four hours now. When Ginnie opened her eyes, they were pulling into the airport parking lot! "Owen, wake up!" Ginnie said. Owen sat up, bleary-eyed. "Why are we here?" he asked. "I'm not sure,'' Ginnie said. "I just woke up and we were here!'' Not knowing what else to do, the kids walked inside.

Inside, Owen and Ginnie saw a group of kids their age sitting, slouched, against the wall. There were two girls and two boys. They all looked rather sad and scared, and like they were trying to comfort each other. Ginnie, being the more observant of the two, pointed out the kids to Owen. They walked over. "Hi,'' Ginnie said rather tentatively. "Would you guys like a ride?" One of the girls stood up. "We would love that,'' she said. "My name's Becks, short for Rebekah, and this is Karl, Demi, and Luca.'' "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Owen and this is Ginnie,'' Owen said. The airport kids waved.