Penguins of Madagascar Movie Novelization Read Free Page A

him. What would it take to impress him, like the others always did?
    Private took the paper clip from the lock and tossed it down his gullet. He tried to cough it up, just like Rico, but he couldn’t. Instead, he coughed and sputtered.
    Skipper spun around and said, “Private! Quit lollygagging . . . and regular gagging.”
    Private swallowed the paper clip, wincing. “Sorry,” he said.
    Skipper looked around. “Dark and ominous. Two of my least favorite traits in a room,” he said.
    Then Private noticed something. “Oh, look! A button!”
    He pressed a button on the floor, and the platform they were standing on lowered them into another room.
    Skipper shook his head. “Private, what have I told you about—”
    â€œSorry, what?” Private asked, pressing another button.
    A rumbling shook the room. A giant laser came down from the ceiling and pointed directly at the penguins.
    â€œIt looks like some sort of giant laser sent to kill us all, sir,” Kowalski reported helpfully.
    Skipper slid out of the laser’s path. Private spotted the laser controls and scurried over.
    â€œOoh! Another button!” he cried.
    â€œNooo!” wailed Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico.
    They dashed over to Private, stopping him before he could press it. And in the very next moment . . .
    Drip. Drip. Drip.
    Water slowly splashed down on them from above.
    â€œNaughty, naughty.” The penguins heard a creepy voice.
    They looked up to see a mysterious figure on the catwalk above them. He wore a lab coat and had a weird, enormous head. But that wasn’t the only weird thing about him—he was walking upside down, defying gravity!
    â€œPretty birds belong in their cages,” the creepy guy cooed.
    He jumped from the catwalk and landed in front of them in a tangled heap. His arms and legs were bent at impossible angles. The penguins made faces as he put them back into place.
    â€œEw!” they cried.
    â€œNow, that’s just hurtful,” said the guy. “And I was so happy to see you again, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and sweet little Private.”
    He poked Private’s beak. “Boop!”
    â€œWho are you?” Skipper asked.
    â€œThe humans know me as Dr. Octavius Brine:renowned geneticist and cheese enthusiast,” he replied, advancing menacingly on the penguins. “But you know me by a different, much older name. A name perhaps you’d hoped you’d never hear again. A phantom. A shadow of a former life.”
    He paused dramatically. “I! AM! DAAAVE!” he cried, and a hideous purple octopus burst forth from the costume of Dr. Brine.
    The penguins stared blankly at him.
    â€œKowalski?” Skipper asked.
    â€œSorry, sir. No clue,” Kowalski reported.
    â€œDAAAVE!” the octopus repeated.
    â€œDaaave?” Kowalski asked.
    â€œDaaave,” said Dave the octopus.
    â€œDave?” asked Skipper.
    â€œDaaave,” said Dave.
    â€œDave?” asked Private.
    â€œDaaave,” Dave said again.
    Rico shrugged as if to say, “Daaave?”
    â€œYou seriously don’t remember me?” Dave asked.
    Skipper tried to cover things up. “Dave! Dave! Right! Ah, yeah, long time! Uh, how’s the wife?”
    Dave was furious. “I’ve never been married!” he sputtered. His bulgy eyes narrowed menacingly. “You may not remember me, but I could never forget you. . . .”
    He moved to a shelf lined with snow globes from different zoos around the world. He reached for one with a tentacle: the New York City Zoo. He shook it, making the snow fall inside.
    â€œNew York City,” Dave began. “I was taken to the zoo there. Life was good. Roomy tank, great location, monkey house views.”
    The penguins nodded. They knew it well.
    â€œI knew it would take time for people to appreciate my talents,” Dave said, his mind wandering back to those days. He had