Melanie practically burst into the room, barely able to contain her excitement. She skidded to a stop next to Phoebe, her face practically glowing with joy.

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" she gasped, slightly out of breath. "You will not believe what just happened!"

Max smirked. "You finally realized you're not as cool as me?"

Melanie scoffed. "Ha. Ha. No. I just got invited to Winnie Lee's party!"

Phoebe blinked. "Wait—you got invited too?"

Melanie nodded vigorously. "Yes! Winnie Lee herself walked right up to me and said she needed me there. I mean, obviously, because what's a party without me? But still! This is huge!"

Max crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, we all got invited. You're not that special."

Melanie ignored him, practically vibrating with excitement. "But wait, there's more! Winnie personally said she wanted to see what I'd wear because she thinks I have 'the best style in school.'" She struck a dramatic pose. "Which is true, by the way."

Phoebe smiled. "That's great, Melanie! Except... we might have a tiny problem."

Melanie's grin faltered. "Uh-oh. What kind of problem?"

Max groaned. "The 'Mom and Dad will never let us go to a party without parents' kind of problem."

Melanie's face dropped. "Oh. Oh no. This is bad. This is devastating. This is—"

Max cut her off. "Relax, drama queen. I've got a plan. Follow my lead."

Melanie sighed in relief. "Max, for once in your life, I actually want to follow your lead. This party is everything."

The three of them headed toward the living room, where Barb and Hank were sitting.

Max took the lead, his voice dripping with casual innocence. "Mom, Dad, Phoebe, Melanie, and I got invited to Winnie Lee's party tonight, and before you ask—yes, her parents will be there."

Phoebe nodded eagerly. "Yep! A couple of parents, there all night, being responsible parents."

Melanie smiled sweetly. "Yup! Supervision, structure, all that good stuff."

Hank and Barb exchanged skeptical looks. "Hmm... that's good to hear," Barb said slowly. "In fact, why don't we just give them a call?"

Melanie froze. "Uh—oh! You know, they might be busy preparing for the party. Do we really want to bother them?"

Max forced a smile. "Yeah, but, uh, sure! Go ahead. Call them."

Hank dialed the number, and they all held their breath as the phone rang.

"Hello, Mr. Lee here," a deep voice answered.

Hank smiled. "Hi, this is Hank and Barb Thunderman. We understand Winnie's throwing a party tonight?"

"Oh yes, of course, she is!" Mr. Lee's voice replied. "I, her very real father, will be there supervising every moment. Watching the children... like a hawk! Caw! Caw! Caw... Call ya later!"

The kids all exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Max's expression went blank. "What."

Phoebe cringed. "Oh no."

Melanie groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "Colosso?! You're kidding me!"

Hank and Barb nodded, satisfied. "Well, sounds like everything checks out!" Hank said cheerfully.

Barb smiled. "Have fun at the party, kids!"

Max clenched his fists. "This is the worst day of my life."

Melanie, however, let out a sigh of pure relief. "No, this is still the best day of mine. I don't even care how this worked—I'M GOING TO WINNIE LEE'S PARTY!"

She spun around, practically skipping out of the room.

Max groaned. "Unbelievable."

Phoebe patted his shoulder. "At least someone is happy."

Max, Phoebe, and Melanie stood in the living room, faces plastered with the fakest smiles imaginable.

Max cleared his throat. "Mom, Dad, we realized you're right."

Phoebe nodded dramatically. "Totally. We shouldn't be going to a party without adult supervision."

Melanie sighed, trying to look regretful, but her fingers twitched like she was dying to bolt out the door. "So instead, we're just gonna have a super responsible evening... studying at the library."

Hank raised a skeptical brow. "Hold it."

Before anyone could react, he reached forward and yanked—RIIIP!—Velcro fabric tore apart as Max's hoodie fell away, revealing the party outfit he had on underneath.

Max froze. "Oh."

Phoebe gasped. "Max, were you gonna ditch us to go to the party? Can you—"

Melanie smirked, crossing her arms. "Wow. So much for teamwork, Captain Sneaky."

Max chuckled nervously. "Okay, okay, it looks bad, but—"

Before he could finish, Hank ripped off Phoebe's hoodie too. RIIIP!

Underneath was a trendy party dress.

Phoebe's eyes widened. "...Would you believe this is library casual?"

Barb smirked. "Yeah, well, now it's busted casual."

Melanie immediately stepped back, gripping the edges of her hoodie protectively. "Nope. Nope. Not me. I'm a good child."

Hank squinted at her. "Melanie?"

She held up her hands. "You don't need to check me! I definitely didn't put my dress under my sweats! That would be ridiculous!"

Barb sighed and tugged at the zipper on Melanie's hoodie.

ZIPPP!

Underneath was a stunning, sequined party outfit.

Melanie groaned. "Betrayal! My own zippers turned against me!"

Max huffed. "Come on, Mom! Oyster and I are the party band! You could be killing our careers here!"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah! And Winnie Lee is the most popular girl in school. If you turn down one of her parties, you're done!"

Melanie snapped her fingers. "Kelly Franklin did that once, and you know what happened to her?"

Hank blinked. "No?"

Melanie pointed dramatically. "Exactly! Because she's done!"

Barb shook her head. "Sorry, our decision is final."

Max threw up his hands. "What do you guys have against parties?!"

Barb smiled. "Oh, we love parties. If they have parents."

Hank grinned. "In fact, your mother and I met at a party."

Max, Phoebe, and Melanie groaned in unison. "We know."

Hank beamed. "I got cold."

Barb sighed dreamily. "I gave you my jacket."

"And then we kissed."

Max, Phoebe, and Melanie all cringed. "Ew!"

Hank frowned. "It wasn't 'Ew!' It was electric! Sparks actually flew!"

Barb smirked. "It was the moment I found out I had superpowers. So really, if you think about it, I'm only super because of you."

She zapped Hank playfully with a tiny spark of electricity.

ZAP!

Hank flinched. "Ah! I'm nothing without you."

Max groaned. "Well, I'm nothing without that party."

Phoebe sighed. "Looks like it's off to the library."

Melanie pouted. "I hate this."

Max exhaled sharply, looking at Hank. "Max."

Hank crossed his arms. "Hank."

Max nodded. "I know. Walk away."

Max, Phoebe, and Melanie turned around, all equally defeated.

As they trudged toward the stairs, Melanie muttered under her breath, "I swear Kelly Franklin is laughing somewhere right now."

As soon as they were out of earshot from Hank and Barb, Melanie groaned dramatically, throwing her hands in the air. "This is an outrage! A tragedy! A crime against teenage fun! I spent hours picking out my outfit for that party, and now? Now I have to spend the night surrounded by books instead of music and snacks?!"

Phoebe sighed. "You do know the library isn't an actual punishment, right?"

Melanie shot her a look. "Says the girl who probably does party with textbooks."

Max leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, an infuriating smirk on his face. "Relax, drama queen. We'll figure out a way to still go."

Melanie perked up instantly. "Really? You have a plan?"

Phoebe groaned. "Oh no, not this again. Every time Max says he has a plan, it either lands us in trouble or—no, actually, it always lands us in trouble."

Max rolled his eyes. "Please, give me some credit. I've got at least a 50-50 success rate."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "More like a 10-90 failure rate."

Melanie ignored them both, turning to Max with wide, hopeful eyes. "I don't even care if we get in trouble! I just want to go."

Max grinned. "That's the spirit. And don't worry—by the end of tonight, we'll be at that party, dancing like nothing ever happened."

Phoebe sighed in defeat. "Fine. But if we get caught, I'm blaming both of you."

Melanie smirked. "That's fair."

Max clapped his hands together. "Alright, team—let's get to work."

Max smirked as he grabbed his BrainMelt device from Phoebe's hands, giving it an appreciative spin in his fingers. "Ah, technology. Is there anything it can't do?"

Phoebe groaned. "Yeah, like keep us out of trouble for once."

Before Max could retort, Melanie strolled into the basement, arms crossed and an eager glint in her eyes. "Okay, I caught just enough of that conversation to know you guys are about to do something questionable—and I love it."

Phoebe pointed at her. "No, you don't love it. You think it's a bad idea."

Melanie shrugged. "Mmm... actually, I think you should do it."

Max grinned. "See? Finally, someone with some vision."

Phoebe sighed, rubbing her temples. "You two are impossible. This is a terrible plan. There are so many ways this could backfire. What if it erases more than just their adult memories? What if they don't act like normal teenagers? What if—"

Melanie leaned on the table. "Or... what if it works perfectly, and instead of spending the night not at a party, we spend it dancing, eating free snacks, and having an amazing time?"

Max pointed at her. "See, this is the kind of support I need in my life."

Phoebe threw her hands up. "Fine! But just so we're clear, when this blows up in our faces, I was against it from the start."

Max was already flipping switches and adjusting dials. "Noted. Now, let's go turn Mom and Dad into the most chill parents ever."

Melanie clapped her hands excitedly. "This is going to be hilarious."

Max grinned as sparks of electricity zipped through the air. When the bright flash faded, Barb and Hank stood in the kitchen, blinking in confusion.

"Oh my gosh!" Barb squealed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Like, what just happened?"

Hank gasped, spinning in a circle and clutching his head. "Dude, I'm freaking out! Where am I?"

Phoebe's jaw dropped. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no—Max, what did you do?!"

Max crossed his arms smugly. "Exactly what I intended to do. Mom and Dad? Meet your new, completely unsupervised teenage selves."

Melanie leaned in, observing them with a fascinated smirk. "Oh wow. This is next-level chaos. I love it."

Barb clapped excitedly, then gasped when she caught sight of her reflection in the toaster. "Oh my gosh, my hair is, like, so cute today! This braid thing? Obsessed."

Max chuckled. "Yeah, you always were kind of obsessed with your hair."

Hank, meanwhile, had flung open the fridge. "WHOA! You guys have a butt load of ice cream! And I am one hungry Hankosaurus Rex!" He bent his arms like a dinosaur and let out an exaggerated screech.

Melanie burst out laughing. "Hankosaurus Rex! I'm stealing that."

Phoebe facepalmed. "I told you this was a bad idea."

Max ignored her, turning back to their newly teenaged parents. "So, here's the deal—you guys are in Hiddenville just for the night. No parents. Just a couple of cool teens hanging out."

Barb gasped. "No parents? Oooooh, totally rad!"

Hank cheered, pulling out an entire tub of ice cream. "ROAD TRIP! LET'S GOOOO!"

Melanie snorted. "Okay, they are way too into this."

Barb looped her arm through Hank's. "I'm hitting the snack cabinet. You grab spoons."

"Fridge raid!" Hank yelled as they ran off, giggling like middle schoolers on a sugar high.

Phoebe turned to Max in exasperation. "Please tell me this is reversible."

Max smirked. "Ohhh, now you're asking me that?"

Melanie raised a brow. "Wait... is it?"

Max waved them off. "Relax. Of course it is."

Before Phoebe could yell at him again, Barb came skipping back, stuffing a handful of chips in her mouth. "Okay, but like... who are you guys?"

Max grinned. "I'm Max, and this is—"

"Weird!" Barb interrupted, pointing at Phoebe with a dramatic shudder.

Phoebe scowled. "Oh, I love this plan now."

Just then, Hank popped his head in, still holding the ice cream tub. "Hey, is this, like, our house?"

"Yep, and it's all yours for the night," Max confirmed. "But we gotta go. I'm playing at a party."

Hank's eyes widened. "PARTY?! I love parties! Lemme grab my cape—wait, do I have a cape?"

Barb wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, Hank, you are such a loudmouth. Why are you even here?"

Hank gasped. "Wait... I thought I was your boyfriend!"

"As if!" Barb scoffed, flipping her hair dramatically.

Phoebe, Melanie, and Max all watched in stunned silence before Melanie whispered, "Okay, I take back what I said. This is officially the best idea ever."

Max chuckled. "Told ya."

Hank shoved a massive spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and mumbled, "Sooooo, can we go to the party or nah?"

Max grinned. "Actually, it's invite-only."

"Harsh," Barb muttered, rolling her eyes.

Phoebe grabbed Max by the sleeve, already dragging him toward the door. "Okay, before they break something important—let's go."

Melanie followed, barely holding in her laughter. "This is gonna be legendary."

Melanie practically skipped up the stairs, her excitement bubbling over. "Finally! A night where we get to have fun!"

Phoebe, however, was less thrilled. She trailed behind with her arms crossed. "Yeah, fun... with our completely brain-wiped parents running wild downstairs. What could possibly go wrong?"

Max smirked, nudging Phoebe's arm. "C'mon, Pheebs. Live a little. Besides, Melanie's right—we deserve this party."

Melanie grinned, dramatically flipping her hair. "Max, you finally get it."

Phoebe huffed. "Fine. But if we come home to Mom and Dad on a crime spree, I'm blaming both of you."

Once they reached Melanie's room, she immediately dove into her closet, tossing clothes everywhere. "Okay, this party is huge. We need to slay tonight."

Max flopped onto her bed, arms behind his head. "I'm good in my usual 'bad boy' look. The leather jacket speaks for itself."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get it—you're cool." She turned to Phoebe, holding up two dresses. "Which one? Cute and fun or mysterious and drop-dead gorgeous?"

Phoebe barely glanced up. "Uh, whichever one makes us leave faster?"

Melanie sighed, shoving the gorgeous dress into Phoebe's arms. "Wear this. It'll give you main character energy instead of 'Mom Energy' for once."

Phoebe scowled. "I do not have Mom Energy."

"Uh-huh. You literally made a 'what could go wrong?' speech five minutes ago. Classic mom move."

Max smirked from the bed. "She's got a point."

Phoebe groaned. "Fine, whatever." She snatched the dress and stomped off to change.

Melanie, meanwhile, slipped into a sleek, off-the-shoulder top with high-waisted jeans, adding a few rings and bracelets for flair. She spun in front of her mirror, flashing a grin. "Yup. This is the look."

When she turned around, she caught Max actually looking at her—not with his usual sarcastic smirk, but like he was impressed.

He whistled low. "Okay, I'll admit it—you do clean up nice."

Melanie beamed, throwing a dramatic pose. "Oh, I know. But thanks for noticing, Maxie."

Max rolled his eyes but smirked. "Don't push it."

Phoebe emerged from the bathroom, looking slightly uncomfortable in the dress. "Okay, is this good enough? Can we go now?"

Melanie and Max exchanged a look before Melanie grinned. "Oh yeah. We're so ready to steal this party."

Max chuckled. "Then let's make an entrance."

And with that, they headed out—completely unaware of the absolute chaos that would await them back home.

Max, Phoebe, and Melanie walked down the street, the neon glow from the streetlights casting long shadows behind them. Melanie practically bounced with excitement, adjusting her perfectly styled hair. "I cannot wait to show up at this party. We're gonna own the night."

Max smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Obviously. I mean, I'm playing, so it was already gonna be legendary."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Max, we get it—you're cool. Let's just get there before Winnie thinks we bailed."

They rounded the corner, and Max pulled out his phone, checking the party's location one last time. "Alright, guys, get ready. We're almost at Winnie Lee's house. This is gonna be—"

Suddenly, his phone buzzed with an alert. The three of them stopped in their tracks as Max's smirk faltered.

"Uh... guys?"

Melanie leaned over his shoulder. "Why do you sound worried? That's not in your brand."

Max cleared his throat, trying to act casual. "Well, slight change of plans..."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Max. Where's the party?"

Max grimaced and turned the screen toward them.

"It got moved."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "Moved where?"

Just then, loud music blasted through the night. Flashing lights flickered from their house, and cheers erupted from inside.

Melanie's jaw dropped as realization sank in. "Wait a minute... that's our house."

Max sighed. "Yep."

Phoebe's face turned red. "You mean to tell me that while we were sneaking out to go to a party, the party came to us?"

Melanie blinked, then started laughing. "Okay, this is kinda hilarious."

Max groaned, rubbing his temples. "This is not hilarious! Our brain-wiped parents are inside!"

Phoebe's eyes widened. "And a house full of teenagers. With no supervision."

Melanie grinned. "So, basically... an even better party?"

Phoebe glared. "NO, MELANIE."

Melanie sighed dramatically. "Ugh, fine. But can we at least try to enjoy it before we get grounded for life?"

Max exhaled, shaking his head. "No choice now. We better get in there before someone starts live-streaming Hankosaurus Rex."

Melanie smirked. "Oh, I definitely wanna see that."

Phoebe grabbed them both by the arms. "Inside. NOW."

And with that, they marched toward the chaos unfolding in their own home.

☆☆

The Thundermans' house was officially the place to be. The living room had transformed into a neon-lit dance floor, packed with teenagers laughing, cheering, and moving to the music. Multicolored lights flashed across the walls, and the bass thumped so hard that the furniture practically vibrated.

At the center of it all was Barbie Thunderman—or rather, Barb acting like a full-on teenager. She tossed her hair dramatically, striking a pose next to Winnie Lee. "So, like, you wouldn't let us come to your party, so we totally threw our own!" she squealed, flipping her braid over her shoulder.

Winnie smirked, holding up a soda. "O-M-G, I love this. Hope your parents don't mind."

"Yeah, wherever those losers are!" Barb laughed, linking arms with Winnie and twirling her onto the dance floor.

Meanwhile, Hank—now in full teen mode—stood in the middle of the room wearing Max's leather