“We just need to make sure that we squash any rumors before they have a chance to take root. You’ll return to the show, of course. We’ll have to brainstorm some topics. And maybe you could volunteer at a homeless shelter.”
“You want me to volunteer just to make myself look good?” The thought makes me sick, and the idea that it’s Gordon saying it makes it even worse. I try to remind myself that this isn’t really him—or at least not my version of him. “I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
He sighs. “You’re only half hero. You don’t have the luxury of doing whatever you want. Not if you want people to see you in the right way.”
“Because them seeing me as half villain, which I am, would be the wrong way. Is that what you’re saying? Because you sound like Other—” I stop myself from saying Other Damien. “You can’t really think that was me downtown, terrorizing people. If you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“I…” Other Gordon lets out a deep breath. “Of course not, son. But you disappeared for two weeks. People are going to wonder what happened.”
“We could tell them the truth. That I accidentally got transported to another dimension and got stuck there.”
He gives me a skeptical look, like that couldn’t possibly be the truth. “You what?”
I look over at Riley, not sure if I should actually tell Other Gordon this, since other me obviously didn’t. But it’s either this or let him think other me was off supposedly releasing all his repressed villainy or whatever. “Sarah invented this interdimensional portal device. And I sort of used it and got stuck.” I hold out my hands, palm up, in a sort of shrug, like, What can you do?
Other Gordon’s expression doesn’t change. He stares at me. “Sarah invented that?”
“More or less.”
“Let’s pretend that was even remotely possible. If that’s really where you were, she would have told us instead of claiming you were staying with some friends from Heroesworth.”
“She didn’t know about it.”
“The Mistress of Mayhem stole the device,” Riley adds.
Other Gordon’s eyes go wide. He puts a hand to his chest and sucks in a deep breath. When he speaks again, he doesn’t sound angry anymore—just worried. “That can’t be where you were. Please tell me that’s not—”
“It wasn’t.”
He swallows, still staring at me.
“I swear it wasn’t.” Other Damien wouldn’t have been caught dead hanging out with the Mistress of Mayhem for even two seconds, let alone two weeks.
Other Gordon takes a shaky breath, then scrubs his face with his hands. He nods. “Okay. Okay, that’s… that’s good.” He clears his throat. “We can discuss our PR plan later. The important thing is that you’re back.”
Chapter 28
WE HEAD OVER TO Other Riley’s house in our continued search for Other Damien. Even though Other Gordon made it sound like he’d just been there, I’d still feel better if we actually tracked him down.
“We should get a picture with Zach,” I tell Riley as we round the last corner before his house. “With his doppleganger, I mean. He’d flip out.”
Riley’s forehead wrinkles. “It would just look like a picture of the three of us. Assuming Zach’s still Zach and looks the same and stuff.”
“He’d still flip out.”
“True. But do you really think we should be bringing back proof that other dimensions exist?” He shoves his hands in his pockets and sighs. “I mean, isn’t that against the rules or something?”
“What rules? And you just said it wouldn’t be proof because it wouldn’t look any different than a picture we’d take back home.”
“The rules of interdimensional travel.”
“I think I was absent the day they gave out the handbook on that.”
“Maybe we’re not supposed to be meeting our other selves. What if it causes some kind of, I don’t know, interdimensional rift?”
“You’re thinking of time travel. This is different. Besides, it’s a little late for that.” I glance over at him. “You don’t want to meet Other Riley? Because I’m pretty sure he’s going to find out about interdimensional travel and stuff when I knock on his door and he sees that there are two of me.” Or maybe I should pretend to be Other Damien’s long-lost twin.
“He doesn’t sound like me. But then again… What if he is like me?”
“We already know he’s a letterist douchebag. He can’t be completely like you.”
He blows out a breath. “I know, X, but what if we’re not that different? In this world, he’s clearly the bad friend, but what if—”
“Whoa, wait. Hold on.” We stop at the edge of Riley’s yard. “What do you mean, ‘he’s clearly the bad friend’? Are you implying that one of us is a bad friend? Because if so, I don’t think you should be so hard on yourself.”
He scowls at me. “You got me fired.”
“Again, that was only for your own good. And also, I thought you were over it.”
“Why? Because I came on this mission with you?”
“You saved my life.” And Other Damien’s, but who’s counting?
“Of course I did, X.”
“And you stood up for me in front of Other Gordon.”
“Yeah, because I’m still your friend. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forgive you.”
“So, what, us having this conversation right now is only because we’re on some temporary truce while we’re traipsing around in another dimension?”
“Something like that.” He follows the path of stepping stones that leads up to the front door.
“Your yard looks different.”
“It’s not my yard.”
“Look at those sunflowers.” I point to a line of them up against the side of the house. “And these stepping stones are a different color.”
He glances down at them. “They’re the same color. The gravel around them is different.” He takes a deep breath and faces the door. “We can’t just go in. That would be weird, right?”
“I don’t know. I’m not speaking to you.”
He rolls his eyes. “You were literally just talking to me.”
“Yeah, but that was it. If you’re not talking to me, then I’m not talking to you. Not unless it’s really necessary, like to warn you that you’re about to get attacked by Xavier or eaten by a bear or something. Except I’d probably just zap the bear a little to make it rethink its eating choices, in which case I wouldn’t really have to say anything, but I think you know what I mean.”
“X, that’s…” He clenches his fists, his nostrils flaring. “You know why I’m mad.”
“And you know I’m never going to apologize. On account of not having done anything wrong.”
“Right.” He grits his teeth. “So I guess that’s it. Unless you’re going to say you’re sorry or warn me about an imaginary bear attack, I guess we’re not speaking to each other.”
I shrug and look away.
He sighs and moves to knock on the door, but before his hand even makes contact, someone flings it open and almost smacks into him on their way out.
It’s a middle-aged man with hair the same light-brown color as Riley’s and Zach’s. He looks kind of like them, too. Actually, the way he frowns at Riley, they could almost be twins. Except for, you know, the giant age gap between them.
“Riley! You startled me. But I’m glad I caught you—you’re supposed to be helping me clean out the garage today, not running off with your friends. Hi, Damien,” he adds, nodding at me.
Riley’s staring at him, his eyes wide. He’s shaking a little. “Dad?”
“You promised me you’d do it yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. And now your mother tells me you’re shirking your responsibilities again to go to the park with Damien. I’ve been counting on you, and you keep blowing me off.”
“I…” Riley’s jaw trembles a little and his face is sort of red. He swallows. “I’m
sorry, Dad. I swear it’ll never happen again. I’ll help you with the garage—I’ll help with anything you want!”
His dad’s eyebrows come together, like he can’t figure out why Riley’s freaking out. Then he laughs, which suddenly makes him look more like Zach. “Well, don’t tell your mom,” he says, “but I kind of hope it does happen again. You’re only seventeen. If I had a dollar for all the times I blew off chores to go hang out with her and our friends when I was your age…”
“But it’s my responsibility.” Riley puts a hand to his chest. “You asked me to do it. You were counting on me, and I… I let you down.”
His dad reaches out and ruffles Riley’s hair. “Come on, kid. You’re always way too serious. I can take care of the garage. You guys go have fun. After all, you have the rest of your life to worry about chores.”
“But I want to help.”
“And I hereby relieve you of your duties.” He wiggles his fingers in the air like he’s casting a magic spell. “Begone.”
Riley doesn’t budge. “Dad, I—”
“I just want you to be happy, okay? And here’s a little secret I probably shouldn’t let you in on, but I think you’re old enough to handle it.” He glances back and forth, to make sure no one’s listening in, then cups a hand to his mouth and whispers, “The garage isn’t going anywhere. We can clean it out anytime we feel like it. Like maybe this weekend? We’ll order pizza, and you and Zach can invite your friends over to help. We’ll make a thing of it.”
“That sounds great, but…”
“But what? You want ice cream, too? Because I think that can be arranged.”
“You don’t think I’m useless?”
His smile falters at the seriousness in Riley’s voice. “What? Why would I think that? Because you blew off doing chores with me?”
“I have to be useful. I need to be, otherwise… Otherwise, what’s the point of me even being here?”
His dad laughs again. “Well, despite the fact that we only had you and Zach so you could someday help us with the garage, which is mostly full of your guys’ stuff, by the way, I kind of like having you around. Which is good, because it turns out teenagers are an unreliable source of labor. Who knew?”
“You’re not disappointed?”
“I could never be disappointed in you.”
Riley sucks in a breath.
“Listen, kid, I’d better get going. Me and Curtis have the evening shift tonight, and I still need to run to the store first to get some things for dinner.”
“Dad, wait.”
His dad hesitates.
Riley just stands there, not saying anything.
“Riley, I really have to—”
“That bus accident a few years ago. How did you survive it?”
“What?” His dad blinks, like he’s not even sure what he’s talking about. Then understanding flickers in his eyes. “Oh, yeah, I remember that. God, that was what, three years ago now?”
“Four,” Riley says automatically.
“I remember Curtis was out sick that day and missed all the action. I was paired up with a couple other heroes, and we worked together and got everyone out. I think saying I survived it is being kind of dramat—”
Riley throws his arms around him, hugging him really hard.
His dad’s kind of too stunned to react for a second, and then he hugs him back. “Hey, it’s okay. Everything’s fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
When Riley finally lets go of him, there are tears in his eyes. He wipes them on the back of his hand. “You need a new partner. You shouldn’t trust Curtis.”
“What?” His dad lets out a confused sort of laugh. “Riley, what’s gotten into you?”
“It’s true,” I tell him. “You really shouldn’t.”
“Okaaaay. You can tell me what that’s about later. I really have to get going.” He ruffles Riley’s hair one more time for good measure, then hurries across the yard and jumps in the car.
We both watch him drive away, and then I look over at Riley.
His eyes are still wet, but he has a determined look on his face. “Come on, X. Let’s go to the park.”
We find Other Damien and Other Riley in the middle of an argument.
Correction. We find Other Damien and Other Riley at the end of an argument.
They’re in a secluded part of the park, next to a lone picnic table that’s kind of hidden by a line of trees. They don’t seem to notice us approaching. Probably because they’re too busy arguing. And because sparks are flickering to life along Other Damien’s arms and Other Riley’s freaking out. He gasps in horror and jumps back, like he’s afraid of getting electrocuted. Which, considering what happened last time other me went all electric, is a strong possibility, though he doesn’t necessarily know that, and it still feels rude somehow.
Other Damien says something to him in a pleading tone, but I don’t catch it. Then Other Riley says something harsh-sounding back before turning and running in the opposite direction.
Me and Riley exchange a look and hurry over there.
Other Damien’s taking deep breaths. He seems like he almost has his electricity back under control when we come running up and startle him, making him cry out and making more lightning spark across his skin.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Nothing.” He clenches his jaw and looks like he’s trying to will the electricity away.
“It didn’t look like nothing,” Riley says.
“We came out here to talk. It was stupid. I thought… I thought after hanging out with you, and after what Sarah said about him being sorry, that maybe things could be different. But he’s had three weeks to come to terms with all this, and he still thinks I’m a freak.”
“Three weeks isn’t that long,” I tell him.
He glances up at me, anger flashing in his eyes, though at least his electricity has died down now. “I can’t believe you’d defend him. He’s a letterist jerk.”
“He’s Riley.” Or at least a version of him.
He shakes his head. “He’s not the same. Not at all.”
But that couldn’t be true. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to steal him from me or been so eager to be BFFs all of a sudden. “It took me a lot longer than three weeks to come to terms with my dad being the Crimson Flash. And you’re probably never going to be cool with your mom being the Mistress of Mayhem, so.” I shrug.
His nostrils flare, like that answer strikes a nerve. Then he sighs and sinks down onto the bench of the picnic table. “He apologized to me. For freaking out. He said after Sarah told him I disappeared, he was really worried. And for a second, I thought maybe things were going to be okay between us again. That we could just go back to normal. But then he basically accused me of putting Sarah in danger just by being related to supervillains, because otherwise they wouldn’t have come to her house and taken her invention. And I said that wasn’t true, and he said me and Sarah had pretty much said it was true, back when we were trying to figure out how to get the device back. And I said I would never endanger her, and he said I’d better not, and then I asked if he liked her.” His eyes flick up to Riley, then back down to his knees. “I don’t even know why I said that. But then he got all weird about it, which I think means that he does like her, and I don’t know what happened, but suddenly I was picturing them together and how happy they’d probably be without a half villain like me ruining everything and putting them in danger, and I was just so mad. That’s when all those sparks flared up, and of course he freaked out again. And I can’t even blame him this time, because he should be freaking out over it. It makes sense for him to want to run as far away from me as possible. And now he’s probably going to tell Sarah, and she’s going to hate me, too. And it’s just a matter of time before my family finds out. It’s going to push away everyone I care about, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” He presses his palms to his face and takes a deep breath.
“He’s not going to say anything to
Sarah,” I tell him.
“You don’t know that.”
“Maybe you should tell her,” Riley suggests.
Other me drops his hands from his face. “It’s not that easy. I don’t want to lose her. It’s already asking a lot, her knowing who my mom is. If she knew about this, too…” He winces at the thought.
“Just point out how many of her inventions you can power,” I tell him. “You’re basically a living generator.”
“Even if she finds a way to be okay with it, there’s still my family.”
“We met your dad,” Riley says. “He’s…”
“Hardcore anti-villain,” I say.
He nods.
“What?” Other Damien’s eyes go wide. “First of all, no, he’s not—not really—and second, you what?!”
“We went to your house. Other Sarah was worried about you. And yes, he is. He thinks you disappeared for two weeks on some crazy villain bender, not that that’s even a thing.”
“He’s scared,” Riley adds.
“And why shouldn’t he be?” Other Damien says. “I’m not like them, and now it turns out I’m dangerous.” He stares down at his palms. “And Sarah tried to cover for me. They didn’t think I was in danger, but they didn’t believe her, either. So what else were they supposed to think?”
“Uh, not that.” I can’t believe this.
“Yeah,” Riley agrees. “Even if it was a possibility—”
“Which it’s not.”
“—it doesn’t sound anything like you. And it shouldn’t be the first conclusion they jump to. Plus, it’s completely insane.”
“Yep.”
“They’re going to think it was because of this new power,” other me says. “They’re never going to see me as a hero ever again.”
“Okay, look, obviously they have a long way to go in the not-being-completely-ignorant-jerks department, or at least your dad does, but if they really care about you… they’ll get over it.”
“They’ve had seventeen years, and they’re still not over the fact that I’m half villain. No one is, and this is just going to make it worse. Having a villain power”—he practically chokes on the words—“is going to be proof that everyone’s been right about me all along. Soon, I’m going to be no better than you. Just some half-villain loser the whole city looks down on.”
The Rivalry of Renegade X Page 23