The Rivalry of Renegade X

by Chelsea M. Campbell

  Chapter 21

  OTHER DAMIEN’S SITTING ON the roof of our house with his arms around his knees and his forehead pressed against his arms. I know because I’m sitting next to him, trying really, really hard not to freak out, or at least not to let him see how freaked out I am, even though I know it’s a losing battle.

  But then again, he’s way more freaked than me, what with having almost just killed Sarah, so I think he might be too preoccupied to notice.

  “Go away,” he says without looking up.

  My legs are shaking. So are my arms, and basically my whole body, especially when I accidentally catch a glimpse of the view from the roof. My stomach drops, making me feel sick—well, more sick than I already feel, what with being up so high—but I try to ignore it.

  I focus on other me instead and wonder what the chances are of getting this cleared up and getting him down from here in, say, the next five seconds?

  Probably pretty slim, judging by how messed up he looks.

  I clear my throat. “Look—”

  “Don’t. We’re not friends, okay? You don’t get to come up here and tell me that it’s going to be alright, because it’s not. And the fact that you could fly up here at all just feels like salt in the wound. You have both powers. And now so do I.”

  “You always did. You just didn’t know it.”

  “Yeah, and maybe I could have gone on not knowing if it wasn’t for you.” Now he looks up at me, his eyes narrowed. “If you hadn’t screwed everything up and made me so mad at you that I… that I…” He holds his hands out for a second, then squeezes his eyes shut, like he can’t stand to look at them. “If you came here to piss me off again—”

  “I didn’t.”

  “—it’s not a good idea. And it doesn’t matter, because everything you do pisses me off, so you should probably just go. There’s nothing you can say, anyway.”

  Leaving sounds pretty great right now, but I didn’t go through all the work of flying up here for nothing. Plus, he almost just killed someone. Which maybe means I should leave him alone instead of risking pissing him off and having it happen again, but deep down, I know I can’t do that. “It’ll get easier.”

  He looks at me like I’m completely and totally insane. “No, it won’t. Nothing about this is ever going to be easy!” Sparks flare along his arms real quick, then blink out again. He gapes at himself in horror, then jerks away from me, like he’s worried about hurting me, despite, you know, hating my guts. Oh, and the fact that I’m pretty much lightning proof.

  His sudden movement makes the roof shake a little, or at least the part that’s right underneath me, and I have to press my hands against the shingles and take a few deep breaths before I can believe I’m not falling. “Listen,” I tell him, when I have it together again enough to speak, “the first time I used my lightning, I blew a hole through the wall.”

  “I almost just killed Sarah.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “Only because of you, of all people.” The way he scoffs in disbelief at that, you’d think I’d never saved anyone before.

  “That video you saw, the one of me blowing up the gym at Heroesworth… that wasn’t something I did on purpose. That was me losing control.”

  He turns to look at me, his eyes wide. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because I can tell you right now that it’s not working.”

  “It could have gone a lot worse. I could have accidentally hurt—killed—a lot of people, but I didn’t.”

  “Good for you. Hero of the year right here.”

  I glare at him. “I’m trying to say that I didn’t always have a handle on this. But it got easier. Something like that would never happen now. I can help you—”

  “I don’t need your help,” he snaps.

  I tilt my head at him, which turns out to be a mistake, because I catch another glimpse of the view from the roof. My heart starts to race, and this time I definitely feel like I’m falling. I close my eyes for a second, even though in a way that makes it worse, and when I open them again, he’s staring at me.

  So much for keeping it together.

  “I know it sucks,” I say, my voice wavering a little, “feeling like you don’t have control of your—”

  “What just happened?”

  “Nothing.”

  He raises a very skeptical eyebrow at me. “You looked pretty terrified. Your hands are still shaking.”

  “I’m fine.” It’s bad enough that I’m up here in the first place, trying to make him feel better—he doesn’t have to criticize me on top of it. I mean, I’m not sure that’s what he was doing, but why did he have to pick now to become so observant? Or maybe it’s just that obvious.

  “If this is fine, then I’d hate to see what not fine looks like.”

  “I don’t do well with heights, okay?”

  “Heights?” He sounds confused, like he doesn’t even know what I’m talking about. “What heights? We’re just on the roof. It’s only two stories.”

  “You don’t have to be a jerk about it.” This is what I get for trying to help him.

  “I’m not. I just… When you say heights, what does that—”

  “It means I don’t like being up here.” To put it mildly.

  “Because you’re a villain.” He says that so casually, so matter-of-fact.

  I glare at him. “I’m not allergic to flying. I’m afraid of—” I stop myself. “I’m not afraid of anything. But being up here kind of freaks me out.”

  He snorts. “No kidding.”

  “Finding out I could fly really sucked, and not just because it meant I was never really going to be a villain.”

  There’s a pause, and then he says, “Is that why you don’t fly? Because you’re afraid of heights?”

  I nod.

  “Even this?” He gestures to the roof, like it’s no big deal.

  “Yep.”

  “Huh. And the stairs? Is that—”

  “Yes. What, did you think that was really because I’m half villain? That doesn’t even make any sense.”

  He swallows, looking a little guilty. “Well… I didn’t think it was because you’re afraid of heights. I mean, it’s not even high up.”

  “It’s not just about it being high up. It’s about feeling like the ground’s going to fall out from under me. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but those stairs are rickety as hell.” Though, to be fair, even the sturdiest of stairs still terrify me.

  “I wouldn’t know. I just fly up and down them. What?” he says when I give him a look. “It’s just easier.”

  “Sure it is.” I roll my eyes at him.

  “So, you really don’t want to be here right now.”

  “Gee, what gave you that impression?”

  “But you’re here anyway.”

  “You almost hurt someone with your lightning power that you can’t control. I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to. And you just found out you have a power that means you’re, well, half hero and half villain. In a way you can’t exactly ignore, and”—I let out a deep breath—“I know how that feels, too, so.” I give him a half shrug.

  He presses his palms into his forehead. “What’s my dad going to think?”

  “Assuming he’s anything like Gordon?” I consider that. “He’ll be okay with it. Eventually.”

  “He’s never going to look at me the same way.”

  We’re both quiet for a minute, and then I say, “My mom kicked me out. She always knew I was half hero, but she didn’t tell me. She did something to make me afraid of heights, because she didn’t want me to fly. And after it turned out I could, and after it was clear neither of us could pretend I wasn’t half hero anymore, she couldn’t handle it. She didn’t want me around. That’s why I came to live here.”

  “Great, so, you’re saying that if my dad flips out, I can go live with the Mistress of Mayhem? Because that is not happening.”

  “I’m saying that it’s not what I thought I wanted, bei
ng half hero, living here with Gordon and everyone. I was supposed to just be a villain and never have to worry about any of this stuff. But it worked out okay.” Well, other than my mom disowning me and replacing me with Xavier, but whatever.

  “And the lightning thing?” other me asks, raising an eyebrow. “He was really okay with that?”

  “Close enough. But he also found out about it because I blew up the roof at Heroesworth, which didn’t go over very well. But, like, if my dad could get over that, your dad can get over you technically having lightning.”

  “Maybe. If I ever even see him again.”

  “You will,” I say, a slight twinge of guilt twisting in my stomach, even though him being stuck here is definitely not my fault. “We’ll figure something—”

  My phone rings, interrupting me. It’s Riley. Probably just calling to find out about other me and not, like, because we’re on speaking terms again or anything. I almost hit the ignore button, but then I swipe to answer it instead. “Hey, Perkins.”

  “X.” His voice is shaking, and I can tell something’s wrong just from the way he says that one syllable.

  Ice water flows down my back, and electricity burns beneath my skin. “What happened?”

  There’s a long pause that I don’t like at all, especially because each second of silence leaves me more and more worried. And then, finally, he says, “It’s bad. You guys need to get back to Sarah’s house. Now.”

  I hug Kat as soon as I see her. Even though Riley assured me that no one was hurt, some part of me was still worried. Not that I’m not still worried, considering what he said happened, but I can’t help the feeling of relief that washes over me when I see that she’s okay.

  “Nothing happened,” Kat says, but she digs her fingers into my shoulders and holds me tight.

  “Like hell it didn’t,” I tell her.

  “He didn’t actually do anything. He looked at me, though, like he knew me. It was… weird.”

  She means Xavier. Other Xavier. The Red Demon.

  “Another portal opened up a few minutes after you left,” Sarah explains. “I thought for a second that maybe it was the same one, but then Other Xavier came through it, and he was holding another portal device.”

  “It looked just like the device we had,” Zach says. He and Amelia are sitting on the couch together, which I guess is an improvement, though with a wide gap between them, like they still don’t want to be anywhere near each other.

  “Except his actually worked,” Amelia adds.

  “Hey, ours worked,” I correct her.

  “For two seconds. That doesn’t count.”

  “He took it with him,” Riley says. “The broken portal device. He was looking for you.” He turns to Other Damien when he says that part.

  Sarah takes off her glasses and wipes them clean on the edge of her shirt. “The portal device sent out a beacon when we used it. You didn’t tell me that would happen.”

  Other me looks around at all of us, like he’s not sure if she was talking to him or not, then says, “I didn’t know.”

  “Neither did I.” She sighs. “But I should have. Your Sarah thinks of everything. Of course she does.”

  “He followed the beacon here,” Riley goes on. “He said he didn’t know where you were until it went off. Otherwise, he would have come after you right away. Your mom made a copy of the device. That’s how—”

  “She’s not my mom.”

  Riley swallows. “That’s how he got here. He’s…” He shakes his head, turning toward me. “He’s not like your brother, X.”

  “Half brother,” I correct him. “And of course he’s not.”

  “He used his power on us,” Zach says. There’s excitement in his voice, but more than a hint of fear, too. “He went like this”—he gestures with his hands, making a slamming motion—“and then none of us could move.”

  “Gravity,” Sarah clarifies. “He said he needed to find Other Damien, except he didn’t call him that. He said he needed to find Son of Flash.”

  I groan and look at other me. “That’s not seriously your name.”

  “Uh, yeah, it is. Not that it matters, because we have way more important things to discuss right now.”

  Sarah clears her throat. “We told him you weren’t here.”

  “He wasn’t happy about that,” Riley adds. “And when we said we didn’t know where you’d gone, he looked like he was going to kill us. I thought he really was, but then he saw Kat, and he just froze.”

  “I could tell from the look on his face, the way his expression changed when he saw me.” Kat wraps her arms around herself. “Him and Katherine, it’s more than just a business arrangement. I think he really cares about her.”

  I slip my arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me. “Then what happened?”

  “Then he realized he was outnumbered,” Zach says, “and he left.”

  Riley’s face is pale. He shakes his head. “He wasn’t outnumbered. I mean, technically, there were more of us than him, but we couldn’t move. He could have done anything, and we wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”

  “He was looking at me,” Kat says. “We made eye contact. It was obvious that he recognized me, and it was crazy, because he looks like Xavier, except older, but he didn’t act like him. It’s like if he wasn’t screwed up.”

  Other me gapes at her. “He’s one of the most dangerous supervillains Golden City’s ever seen! He could have murdered you all, and he wouldn’t have even batted an eye, and you think he’s not screwed up?!”

  “Well… not in the same way,” Kat says.

  “Right,” I agree. “Because maybe the Xavier from your world is a psychopath or whatever, but he at least sounds like he’s a capable psychopath.”

  “And he didn’t sound like a screaming toddler even though he’s sixteen. I mean, I didn’t think he would, if he and Katherine are engaged, but”—she winces—“part of me wasn’t sure. But anyway, we made eye contact, and he obviously recognized me, and then it’s like he changed his mind about whatever he was going to do and left.”

  “But not before he took the portal device,” Sarah says. “So you couldn’t try to go home before he found you. He didn’t know it was broken.”

  “The Red Demon is here,” other me says, sounding numb. “And he’s looking for me.” He puts his hands to his face.

  “He’s looking,” I tell him, “but he’s not going to find you. He doesn’t know where you live, right?”

  He shakes his head. “He knows I’m Son of Flash, but that’s all. I’m not even sure if he knows we’re related.”

  I exhale. “So we’ve got some time.”

  “Damien,” Kat says, “everyone knows who you are. One internet search and he’ll know Son of Flash is Damien Locke.”

  “But he won’t know where we live.”

  “True,” Kat says, but she bites her lip, like she’s not really reassured.

  “Okay, here’s the plan. You still have that prototype you were working on, right, Cosine?”

  “Right, Renegade,” Sarah says. “But it doesn’t work.”

  “Maybe not yet. But you’re going to change that. Preferably by, like, tomorrow morning.”

  Sarah frowns. “That’s highly unlikely.”

  “I have total faith in you. And Perkins—”

  “Secant,” Sarah corrects me.

  “Secant. You and Zach stay here with Sarah. Zach, make some of your famous lattes. It’s going to be a long night.”

  His forehead wrinkles. “I’ve never made lattes.”

  “Exactly why you’ll be famous for them. You’ll either miraculously get it right or make really horrible ones. Either way, they’ll be memorable. And Kat and Amelia, you guys are with us.”

  Other me shakes his head. “I’m not going. If there’s even a chance he might come back—”

  “Then neither of us had better be here if he does.”

  “He’s coming back?!” Zach asks, his eyes wide. He glance
s between me and Riley, looking pretty nervous, like maybe he thinks he got the wrong assignment for the night.

  “It’s okay, Zach,” Riley says. “If you want to go home—”

  “I’m staying.” Zach gets out his phone and starts typing. “I’m looking up how to make lattes right now.”

  Other Damien’s looking at Sarah, his eyebrows coming together in a silent question.

  “He won’t come back,” Sarah says, though she doesn’t sound super sure of that. “You guys just go. We’ll be fine.”

  “You’ll be more than fine,” I tell her. “You’ll get that prototype working.”

  “We’ll see,” she says, pursing her lips and letting out a deep breath. “After all, I’m not Other Sarah—I’m just me. I can only do so much.”

  Chapter 22

  OTHER DAMIEN HOVERS NEXT to me on the stairs as I slowly make my way up to our room. Which is almost more annoying than him being a jerk to me about it.

  “You don’t have to do this,” I tell him.

  I can hear popcorn popping in the kitchen, where Kat and Amelia are getting snacks to eat while we watch a movie, since there’s no way any of us is going to bed anytime soon.

  Other me frowns and makes no move to leave.

  “Seriously,” I tell him, “I don’t need—”

  “Why do you think he’s looking for me? It can’t be because I took the portal device. He already has his own, plus he already took back the other one. This isn’t just about that, so what is it?”

  “How should I know?”

  “Because.” He bites his lip and takes a deep breath. “You were raised by her.”

  “Uh, yeah, my mom and your mom? Not the same.”

  He scowls. “Don’t call her that.”

  “Fine, my mom and the woman who I’m assuming looks exactly like her and gave you half of your DNA? Not the same.”