The Return of Dr. Brainstorm

Cast(in order of appearance):Dr. Brainstorm,Jack,Calvin,Hobbes,Calvin's mother,Calvin's father,Moe,Alfred the Alien,Miss Wormwood,Rosalyn

Summary
Dr. Brainstorm kidnaps Calvin's parents and demands Calvin's inventions for their safe return.

Full plot
A white rat runs through a maze. It finds the exit, only to find a hand puppet demanding that it "FEAR ME!". The rat is not impressed. It turns out that the critter's would-be tormentor was Dr. Brainstorm. He wants to make a fear-inducing machine, but first he needs a fear sample from something. The only problem is, as Jack puts it: "The truth is, Frank, that you couldn't scare a flea on a grandpa's knee." Having failed miserably at scaring animals, Dr. Brainstorm turns to plan B. He'll lure Calvin to his lab by kidnapping his parents, and then use Calvin as the fear subject. Jack is still not very impressed. Later on, Calvin is testing a targeting feature he just installed in the MTM. It works and Calvin celebrates his victory. The MTM complains via text that it's not getting respect despite doing all the work, and Calvin ponders getting rid of its insult chip. He decides to install Direct TV first. Unknown to Calvin, Dr. Brainstorm is spying on him from an airship. Night falls and Calvin is brought in for bed (although not without much screaming on his part). Brainstorm waits until Mom and Dad go to bed, but he's too impatient to wait for them to fall asleep. He uses a screwdriver to take the door off its hinges, and tiptoes in. Well, Brainstorm tiptoes in. Jack doesn't bother. Dr. Brainstorm ties and gags them, which they sleep through. When Jack comments, Brainstorm explains that he used one of his inventions to make sure they were asleep. Brainstorm loads them onto his jet and blasts off. The next day, Calvin wakes up late, and skips school. He orders pizza and a zombie movie. He and Hobbes enjoy their time with the house to themselves, and when Hobbes wonders how long it'll last, Calvin answers "Until Mom and Dad come home". He doesn't know when that might be. Hobbes asks him if his mom even has a job, and Calvin speculates that she's out shopping. Calvin and Hobbes horse around for the rest of the day. And when it comes time for Dad to come home, they clean up their mess and wait for Dad to walk in. And they wait. And then they wait some more. After two hours, Calvin wonders where they are. He then gets a call from Dr. Brainstorm, who says he's holding the parents hostage at his lab. Calvin races off to Yellowstone to save them. Inside the lab, they meet Jack, who directs them to where their parents are held (well, directs Calvin- Hobbes ran off). Dr. Brainstorm is there, and he sticks his fear-collecting tube in Calvin's ear. Only he can take it out. He then scares Calvin by showing him videos of Moe demanding money, a Zokian called Alfred here to destroy the Earth Potentate, Ms. Wormwood asking about an overdue assignment, an angry Roslyn, Dora the Explorer, and an eggplant casserole. Calvin is saved from experiencing more scary things when Hobbes rope swings through the screen, knocks out Dr. Brainstorm, and frees Calvin and his parents. Jack uses Brainstorm's hand to remove the fear tube, which returns all the collected fear to Calvin. He then helps them get their parents back in the box, and they fly off. Back home, the pair stuff their parents in bed, get into their pajamas, and fake sleep. Mom and Dad are a bit confused, but in the end they just shrug and accept it. Calvin and Hobbes then fall asleep for real.

Transcript
The Return of Dr. Brainstorm Transcript

Trivia

 * This is the 18th episode of Season 2 and the 52nd episode overall of Calvin and Hobbes the Series.