“Your team’s leaving,” Gage said.
“I know,” Alex responded. “I just . . . I guess I just wanted to say good luck.” Then he grinned. “Don’t screw up. We’re all counting on you.”
“You too,” Gage said, smiling. “We’ll see you in a bit.”
“Right,” Alex said. He turned to join the others.
Lux dropped them off in pairs at various locations around downtown Sterling City. Kirbie and Alex walked the streets with sharp eyes, careful to avoid any Deputies for the time being. Kirbie kept her hood up. Alex kept his face sunk down into the turned-up lapels of his trench coat. He glanced at his watch every few seconds.
“There’s an electronics store a few blocks away,” Kirbie said. “We can watch the broadcast from there.”
“Perfect.”
They walked in silence for a while, and then they were inside the shop, pretending to browse around. Finally, there was static in Alex’s communicator.
“We’re a go,” Gage’s voice crackled.
Alex looked at Kirbie, took a deep breath, and made his way to a huge wall of televisions at the back of the store.
Lone Star’s face suddenly appeared on all the TV screens, replacing normal daytime programming. It would be everywhere in the city—electronic billboards, the screens in the backseats of taxis, along with every other television with a cable or satellite connection. He’d be impossible to miss. In the electronics store, Kirbie and Alex joined a huddle of customers all staring at the wall of TVs in confusion. Alex used his powers to gently press the volume buttons on several of the monitors, dialing them up so no one would miss a word of what was about to be said.
Lone Star smiled. It wasn’t like the sparse moments of happiness Alex had seen from him in the last few days. This was the full, ear-to-ear grin he used to flash at public events and in glossy magazine photos—the smile the people expected to see. When he spoke, his voice was a rich baritone, commanding but gentle.
“People of Sterling City—good afternoon. My name is Lone Star of the Rangers of Justice. Despite what the so-called ‘New Rangers’ would have you believe, I am alive and well and look forward to serving you in the future. But I’m not here today to address you. I am speaking directly to the Cloak Society—including those who have tricked you into believing they are heroes. Shade. Volt. Titan.” From around the store, Alex heard people gasping. “You’ve deceived the good people of this city into trusting you. They believe you fight for them, when in truth you care only about your own petty plans for domination over humanity. But I am here to stop you. I am here to challenge you.”
His face grew serious, his eyes narrowed and chin jutted forward.
“Victory Park in half an hour. A battle to decide the fate of Sterling City. It’s time we finish what we started a decade ago.” More gasps from around the store. “If you don’t show, the people of this city will surely know you all to be cowards. If you truly want them to believe that you’re the saviors of this city, you’ll be there.”
The screens all went to white noise, then switched back to their regular programming. There was a moment of silence in the store before chaos broke out as everyone inside made a break for the front entrance.
“That’s our cue,” Kirbie said with a grin.
They made their way outside, where Kirbie leaped into the air, taking her huge bird form. Alex stretched his arms out at either side as she looped around and grabbed him amid a crowd of gasping onlookers. The time for anonymity and subtlety had passed. This was the endgame.
Kirbie flew them high over the rooftops and toward the park, where they could see their plan in effect. Victory Circle, the street that looped around the park, had been cleared, and all streets leading to and from it were now cut off with police cars and barricades. There were a dozen roads blocked by huge trees that had apparently grown out of the asphalt itself—Kyle had worked quickly.
Alex and Kirbie kept their eyes to the ground. All around, people were heading away from the park. There were only a handful of people running toward it, and almost all of them were dressed in the uniform of the New Rangers’ Deputies. This was what Alex and Kirbie were looking for—their job in the moments after the broadcast was to assist the police the commissioner had recruited in any way they could. Luckily, it looked as though law enforcement had everything under control. The Deputies seemed to be panicking, and were not used to having their authority challenged by other people. Especially not other people with badges and weapons and riot gear.
Kirbie let out a shriek, and they dove toward the top of a short building near the east end of the park. On the west end, Bug and Mallory would be doing exactly what they were, communicating with the officers and helping wherever they could. Kirbie dropped Alex on the building’s roof and landed beside him in her human form as a familiar voice boomed through the air.
“Citizens of Sterling City, this is Lux of the Rangers of Justice.” Her voice echoed off the buildings around the park, her words flowing out of Amp’s body at an impossible volume. They were in the park somewhere. Kyle would be beside them, keeping them protected. “Please exit Victory Park and its surrounding blocks in a calm and orderly fashion. Those remaining will be taken into custody by the Sterling City police. We thank you for your cooperation.”
“I hate that we have to be so menacing,” Kirbie said. “It sounds so much like the stuff your mother has been spewing.”
“Whatever gets them out of the line of fire,” Alex said, his eyes sweeping the crowds below. “They’ll either thank us after all this is over or we won’t be around to hear them complain about it.”
“Wait, look,” Kirbie said, pointing to what appeared to be some sort of scuffle on the street a few blocks away. A team of four police officers was arguing with two Deputies. One of them Alex had never seen before, but the other was impossible to miss: Novo in the form of Del, her waist-length auburn hair twisting in the air all around her as she shouted something at the people trying to arrest her.
“We’ve got to—,” Alex said, but before he could elaborate, Kirbie had him in her talons again, flying them over and around a handful of buildings until they were on the rooftop above the group.
When they landed, the Deputy they didn’t recognize was climbing into the back of a police paddy wagon with little resistance. Novo followed. But just as she was about to step up into the back of the trailer-like vehicle, her hair shot out and twisted around two of the officers’ waists, flipping them over her head and into the back of the transport. She shoved another of her captors inside and closed the doors behind them with a flick of her head. In an instant, Novo’s hair was around the remaining officer’s neck. She slammed him against the outside wall of the building nearby.
“Who ordered this?” Novo asked, her voice deep and monstrous.
The officer shook his head as best he could, but said nothing. Novo’s hair formed a spike in the air that smashed into the wall beside the officer’s head, embedding itself there. Chunks of mortar and brick dust fell to the ground.
“Start talking, or this is going to get really uncomfortable for you.” The hair spike pulled out of the wall and hovered in front of the man’s left eye.
“Use your telekinesis on her,” Kirbie said.
“I can’t, remember?” Alex said. “There’s something about her powers that—”
“Then use it on the officer!” Kirbie said in a barely contained shout. Across the street, the policeman’s face was starting to turn strange colors.
Alex focused on the man and pulled with one hard thought. Novo wasn’t expecting such resistance, and the officer slipped through her tendrils and floated up, onto the rooftop across from Alex and Kirbie, looking terrified as he gasped for air.
Novo licked her lips as her sneer turned into a smile.
“Is that little Alex Knight playing around with the police?” she asked, her eyes darting around. “Come out, come out. Or do I have to come and find you?”
She started forwar
d, only to stop after a few steps, looking annoyed. She raised a hand to her ear, where there must have been some sort of communicator Alex hadn’t noticed.
“This is . . .” Novo’s face went blank for a second. She’d been so many people lately that Alex wasn’t surprised she’d forgotten who she was supposed to be at that time. “This is Del. I think—”
She stopped, listening to whoever was speaking on the other end of the communicator.
“Yes, but A—” she started once again, more emphatically this time, but was apparently cut off. “Of course, Shade. I’ll be right there.”
She lowered her hand from her ear and looked around at the windows and rooftops up above, scowling. Alex and Kirbie slipped back away from the edge, out of sight.
“Don’t go anywhere, Knight,” Novo yelled. She sighed loudly, then turned her back on them and sprinted toward the corner. Alex peeked over the roof. As she rounded the building, Novo changed. Gone was her Deputy uniform and Del’s appearance, replaced by athletic clothing and her true form—a narrow face, blond hair, and piercing eyes. She sprinted past another unit of officers, who regarded her as a simple civilian out for a run, turned another corner, and disappeared.
“She’s headed away from Victory Park,” Kirbie said. “Cloak must be regrouping before they head to fight us.”
“Maybe we should go after her,” Alex suggested. “Take her out now.”
“That’s not the plan. Besides, it could be a trap.”
Alex nodded. They didn’t have room for improvisation. The others would be counting on them.
Kirbie morphed, and they were in the air again, on the lookout for any more disturbances as the seconds to battle ticked by. But the Deputies were under control. After a few flyovers, they felt sure that all civilians had made their way out of the park. They found Kyle, Lux, and Amp in an expansive lawn that would give them plenty of open terrain to fight on. They wouldn’t have to worry about ambushes and could be more mindful of one another and come to aid when necessary. Mallory came out of the trees, and Bug followed her, his eyes bright and metallic as countless insect sentries scoured the area around them, searching for any signs of approaching danger.
Kyle got on his knees, sitting on his feet with his hands on the ground. He murmured words that Alex couldn’t make out, his fingers dug into the earth, mingling with the roots and soil.
“What’s he doing?” Alex asked.
“Preparing for war,” Kirbie said.
There was a swirl of wind, and Gage, Lone Star, and Misty assembled in front of them. Misty exhaled a long sigh when they were all solid.
“I’m not saying I’m tired,” she said, “but that was a lot of misting around.”
“Good job,” Alex said. “All of you. That was perfect.”
“And now we wait,” Lone Star said.
“Bug’s got eyes all around,” Mallory said. “We should see them coming.”
Lone Star nodded and turned away, walking the perimeter of the tree line and stretching his arms and back. Alex took a few steps from the Rangers. Mallory and Gage joined him at his sides, watching the sky.
“Thanks,” Alex said. “Both of you. For sticking by me. I know it hasn’t been easy.”
“Don’t be dumb,” Mallory said. “We should be thanking you.”
“I guess I’m just trying to say that it means a lot to me that you’re here right now.”
“She’s right, Alex,” Gage said. “I’m not one to be overly emotional, but I can’t imagine being anywhere but here.”
Alex smiled, despite knowing what was to come.
Gage continued. “That’s not exactly true. I could imagine being in plenty of other places right now. Many of which don’t include battles that will potentially decide the fate of humanity. Places where they’ve never heard of the Gloom.”
“Places where people have never seen your face on the news or a wanted poster before,” Alex added.
“Cities in mountains,” Mallory said. “Or on beaches, even.”
“When this is all over, I think we all need a vacation. Except since I’ve never actually been on vacation, I don’t know what we would do.”
“I want a clean workshop,” Gage said.
“I just want my own room,” Mallory said. “Do you have any idea how much Misty kicks in her sleep?”
They all laughed a little, quietly, nervously. Then they just stood there together for a few moments.
“You’ve got weapons, right, Gage?” Alex asked.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Gage said, lowering his goggles over his eyes. “I can take care of myself. Even with only one functioning arm. You worry about keeping your mother occupied and us out of the Gloom.”
Alex nodded.
“I’m going to put up a telekinetic shield around us. Just in case there’s some sort of surprise attack. I have to do something, or I’ll go crazy waiting.”
He raised his hands and started gathering energy together. We can do this, he told himself. We have to.
Then Alex blinked, and the world changed.
20
ALEXANDER THE KING
Alex stood on the open lawn in Victory Park, but he was alone. Where Mallory had been a half second before, there was nothing but grass. He did a double take. Green grass. He could see the world in color. The greens and yellows and reds of the plants and trees were so vivid that they seemed unreal to him. That’s when he realized that his powers felt strange. The telekinetic energy was everywhere—the earth beneath his feet felt as though it were made of the stuff—and yet, he couldn’t see it. Not like he had every day since his powers had developed.
He spun around in circles, confused, looking for the others, panic gripping his chest.
“They’re not here.”
It was his mother’s voice, at once all around him, as if spoken from every direction.
“Don’t worry. We haven’t harmed them yet.”
And then she was there in front of him, where before there had been nothing. She materialized out of the air, sitting in a floating chair that looked as if it were made completely of glass. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, clothing he’d only ever seen her wear on the most relaxed days growing up. The light from the sun created a sort of halo around his mother’s dark bob of hair. Alex was suddenly aware of the fact that it was warm outside, as if it were spring.
“This can’t be real.” Alex blinked.
“No, my darling boy,” Shade said. “It’s not. We’re in your head. I thought we could have a moment to ourselves before this fight you’ve forced upon us gets underway. Just you and me. Mother and son.”
“How is this possible?” Alex glanced around nervously. Where were his teammates? If this was in his head, what was happening in the real world? Was he just standing there, staring into space?
“It’s not a very practical use of my abilities. It takes an awful lot of concentration that’s usually unnecessary when I can just let my voice ring out in your head, but then this is a special occasion. Just think of it as a lucid dream, or a trip through your own imagination. I doubt the others even realize anything’s odd about you. I’m influencing the way you comprehend time. Seconds feel like minutes. It’s a very useful trick. It works wonders when it comes to interrogations.”
Alex stared blankly at his mother for a few moments before his lips spread in a smirk. The sky above them crackled with blue lightning. From nowhere, a cage appeared, imprisoning Shade. The space around them seemed to shrink as his thoughts squeezed in, encasing the borders of the open lawn with popping blue energy.
“If we’re in my head, I’m in control,” Alex said.
“For the most part, that’s true,” Shade said from behind him. He turned and there she was, standing just a few feet away. He looked back at the cage, only to find it empty. “But I’m very good at navigating other people’s minds. I wouldn’t bother with any more traps. It was a good idea, but it was only an idea, if that makes sense. As you said yourself, none of this
is real.”
“Give me one reason I shouldn’t force you out of here right now.” The sky lit up with energy and grew closer to the earth. Alex imagined that thunder would follow and suddenly there it was, so loud that it shook them both.
“Because then you’d never hear what I had to say. We’re about to meet on the battlefield. If something were to happen to either of us, would you really want to have missed this opportunity to speak to your mother? I know I’m not your favorite person in the world right now, but I think you owe me one last little chat.”
Alex opened his mouth to immediately dismiss this idea but was struck by what his mother was implying. They were about to fight each other. It was very possible that one of them, even both of them, might not survive. Or worse, he thought, one of them might die at the hands of the other, by accident or by design. It had happened with Phantom so quickly, in an instant. And when faced with the idea that this might in fact be the last time he ever spoke to his mother, part of him said, Yes, stay in this moment while you can. Even though he knew deep down inside that the woman in front of him was the enemy and someone who couldn’t be trusted, she was also his mother.
“Make it fast,” he said through gritted teeth.
Shade smiled.
“Let’s go somewhere a little cozier, shall we?”
A bright light suddenly radiated from his mother’s eyes, causing him to raise his arm against the glare. When he uncovered his eyes, he stood in his old bedroom in the underground base, beneath the Big Sky Drive-In. Every detail was exactly as he remembered it, from the humming of the overhead light to the pictures pinned up on the wall—there were even piles of his dirty clothes lying around on the floor. The room smelled so familiar. A flood of memories rushed through his mind. He could see faint outlines of himself working at the computer and curled up in bed reading. And of his friends on the Beta team—Misty and Mallory milling around, laughing, helping him cut out newspaper clippings to hang over his desk. Even Titan and Julie, from better, friendlier days. They were like ghosts, barely visible shadows of a less complicated time.
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