“Oh,” Kirbie said, taken by surprise. “That’s wonderful. You should come back to Justice Tower with me then and talk to Lone Star or—”
“No!” Alex said quickly. “I, um . . . I’m just really confused right now.” They stared at each other, neither of them sure what to do or say next.
“I have to take him to the police,” Kirbie said, motioning to the mugger. She looked at Alex skeptically, unsure what to make of this turn of events. “If you’re thinking of leaving Cloak, I’m sure the Rangers can find a way to help you.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. Relief washed over him that she was leaving.
“I’m patrolling Victory Park this weekend on the night shift,” she said. “If you need someone to talk to . . .”
Alex said nothing, but nodded. Kirbie pulled at the mugger’s arms, trying to force him to stand. He resisted and cursed her. A low growl came from her throat, and the man complied. She turned to look at Alex one last time.
“I’m not stupid,” she said. “I’ve got incredible senses in my animal form, and I’ll know if you’re not alone. If you show up with your friends, I’ll call in the Rangers and we’ll put you away. I promise.”
Alex started to respond, but the girl was transforming. Her clothes strained against her now feathered form, the sleeves of her T-shirt snapping open at the seams. Before the mugger could so much as scream in shock, Kirbie’s falcon talons picked him up by the shoulders and flew him out of the breezeway. She was gone.
Alex ran back into the arcade, where Misty was exactly as he had left her, a handful of kids her age now cheering her on over the game’s techno beats. Alex stood, watching Misty work through song after song until he was certain Kirbie would be long gone. Nevertheless, he kept one eye on the arcade entrance.
“All right, Misty,” he said curtly, glancing at his watch. “Time to go.”
Misty was reluctant to leave all the admiration and thumping speakers, but the last thing she wanted to do was be late for their pickup. Besides, Alex had a grave look on his face. The two of them walked toward the parking lot in silence. With each step, Misty wanted to ask what the matter was, but she was frightened by Alex’s severe expression. They were the last to arrive at the SUV. The adults were in the front, where Shade sat in the driver’s seat, air conditioner on full blast. Julie was in the far back beside Titan, the boy’s head against the window, eyes closed. Alex slid in next to Mallory in the middle row.
“You look flushed,” she said.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “It’s like a hundred and ten out there. How was your afternoon?”
“This one picked a fight with some older boy who offered to buy me coffee,” she said, jerking her head toward Titan.
“I could have taken him,” Titan said, not bothering to open his eyes.
“Of course you could have,” she said. “Your body is made of metal. I was afraid if you threw a punch, you’d break his nose.”
“That was no reason to go all frosty on my head!” Titan complained. “I’ve had a brain freeze for an hour now, Temptress.”
“That is not my name,” Mallory said, her voice rising along with the temperature around her. She took a slow breath, and calmed down.
Alex had been debating whether to tell anyone about his encounter with Kirbie. Technically, it was his duty to report the incident to the High Council. There was no reason not to—he’d managed to avoid fighting her or getting arrested, after all. But he was in enough trouble because of her already. What if the council blamed him for being careless or punished him for not figuring out a way to take her hostage? Or worse, what if his mother poked around in his mind and heard the things he had told her? However untrue they were, she would be furious. No, he thought, he would just keep the whole afternoon to himself.
“Oh hey, I got this for you,” Mallory said, reaching into a shopping bag at her feet. “Happy birthday. I thought you might need a target for weapons training.”
She pulled out an action figure encased in plastic and cardboard and handed it over to him. LONE STAR, the packaging said in big gold letters. FULLY ARTICULATED, WITH SUPERHEROIC LIGHT POWERS! Sure enough, there he was—a grinning, six-inch plastic likeness of the man they had faced days before. Alex mouth fell open.
“I think these are collector’s items,” Mallory said. “I had to fight a little boy to get this.”
“Amazing,” Alex said, grinning. “This is awesome. Thanks.”
“Everyone in? Everything okay?” Shade called from the front of the car, her eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Everything’s great,” Alex said. “Let’s go home.”
7
Family Dinner
“This is so lame,” Julie said, drumming her fingers on the table.
“It’s called team building,” Mallory said. “And it’s an order.”
“Relax,” Alex added. “Would you really rather be running drills outside?”
The three of them stood at a square table in the Gamma common room, on the middle level of the base. The place was markedly different from the rest of the complex. It was carpeted, painted a soft, peaceful green, and was complete with all the normal trappings of a kid’s play area—beanbags, puzzles, lock-picking kits, and emergency tranquilizers should any of the kids suddenly develop dangerous superpowers. On the other side of the room were almost a dozen children younger than Misty, most half her age. They stood in line, waiting with excitement for Titan to lift them high over his head with one arm.
“Alex, how do you want me to do this?” Mallory asked, picking up a pitcher of water.
“Um,” Alex murmured. “Just slowly pour it and I’ll catch it.”
Shade had given the Betas a simple task in order to promote teamwork and to impress the Gammas: making snow cones. Mallory held the pitcher over a large bowl in the center of the table and started to pour. The liquid inside fell a short distance, then began to pool in midair. Soon the entire contents of the pitcher floated before them. Alex raised his hands and rotated them, causing the floating puddle to shift and form a ball. Mallory reached out with one finger, skimming the surface of the water, and immediately the ball hardened into ice.
“You’re up, Julie,” Alex said. “I’ll just hold it over the bowl until you’re done.”
Julie sighed and let her fingers hands harden and morph, until her clear talons were fully formed.
“I thought you were transforming up to your elbows now,” Mallory said.
“I can,” Julie said, annoyed. “But it takes a lot of energy and concentration. I’m not about to waste that on this.”
She placed her hands on either side of the ice ball and began working her fingers back and forth over the surface in rapid movements. A high-pitched, scissorlike sound filled the air as fine shavings of ice collected in the bowl below.
“We should be practicing against android versions of the Rangers or something instead,” she said. “Can’t Gage whip up a robotic Lone Star?”
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” Alex said. “This is easy work.”
“I’m just not a big kid person,” Julie said.
“Your brother doesn’t seem to mind them,” Alex said.
On the other side of the room, Titan trudged slowly across the floor as half a dozen Gammas hung from his arms and legs, trying without success to slow him down. With every step forward, they giggled in delight.
“They love him,” Mallory said. “It’s like he has his own miniature fan club down here.”
“He must have hit his head during the bank mission,” Julie said. “I don’t know how he puts up with them.”
“Maybe they connect on an intellectual level?” Alex asked.
Mallory smiled widely, and in spite of herself, Julie chuckled.
“I heard that,” Titan said, shooting Alex an angry look.
“It was a compliment,” Alex said, smirking. “Some of these Gammas are really smart.”
“I’m just looking forward to the day when they
’re all powered, so I don’t have to count on a weakling like you to watch my back,” Titan sneered. Then he turned his attention back to the kids, teasing them. “You’ll never be Betas like this! Better put some muscle into it or the Rangers will come and get you.”
“Tell us what it was like to fight the Rangers!” one of the Gammas exclaimed. “Were they scary?”
“Are you kidding?” Titan asked. “Do you think those losers are anything compared to the Cloak Society? No way.”
“Did they try to kill you?” another asked.
“Of course they did,” he said. He raised his arms—and the attached Gammas—into the air and clenched his fingers maliciously. “They were monsters! There was one who turned into a giant werewolf, with long fangs and claws and a vicious roar. But do you think she was any match for Titan?”
“NO!” the kids squealed.
“I can’t wait to be old enough to fight them,” said one little boy.
“Did you kill the werewolf?” asked another.
“Well,” Titan said, crouching down as the Gammas gathered close, “it was easy to defeat her. The werewolf begged me to let her live, and I told her that Cloak has no mercy for those who would oppose us. But since I was feeling nice, I let the big bad wolf go so she could tell the rest of Sterling City that the Cloak Society is on its way.”
“Whoa!” a little girl said.
“You know, you kids are very lucky,” Titan said, suddenly getting serious. “By the time you’re Betas, we’ll have taken over, and you’ll have an entire city to play in. Who knows—maybe an entire state by then.”
“Really?” a Gamma asked loudly over the incredulous whispers of the others.
“Of course,” Titan said, smiling brightly. “You kids are the future of Cloak. Just by being born one of us, you’re already better than everyone else in this world.”
Alex’s stomach clenched once Titan mentioned Kirbie. He’d hardly dared think of his encounter since they’d left the shopping center. But now, standing in the Gamma room he’d once called his own playroom, he couldn’t help but feel that he hadn’t acted like a true Cloak member should have. Maybe he could have quietly captured her. At the very least, he should have told the council everything. But it was too late now. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying hard to push these thoughts from his head.
A girl several years younger than him ran up to Julie, staring wide-eyed as the Beta’s swift talons demolished what remained of the ice ball.
“Wow,” the Gamma whispered, drawing out the word. “Your nails are so pretty!”
“I have an excellent manicurist,” Julie said flatly.
“When I have powers,” the girl continued, “I hope they’re cool like yours.”
“If you get powers,” Julie muttered as the last of the ice ball fell into the bowl. Alex glared at her.
“I will,” the girl said, her face falling slightly. “I wish and wish every night that I’ll get to be a Beta one day.”
“If you are truly devoted to Cloak,” Alex said, trying his best to cheer the girl up, “I bet you’ll end up with a power that’s better than all of ours.”
Jamie, the Uniband in charge of taking care of the children, entered from the hallway. She had a gentle face and short blond hair, and Alex smiled as she approached. In his final years as a Gamma, Jamie had watched over him, and he’d always liked her. In fact, it was possible that she was the only Uniband in the entire base whose name he knew—aside from Gage, whom he always considered to be an honorary Beta, despite what his parents thought. Jamie’s presence now, though, reminded him of the Tutor’s comments earlier in the week, and how he couldn’t remember who his nanny had been prior to her.
“Thank you all for doing this,” Jamie said, setting a bottle of bright purple liquid and a stack of paper cups on the table beside the bowl now piled high with ice shavings. “They always get so excited when they get to interact with the Beta Team.”
“All right, everyone,” Mallory said, her hands cupped around her mouth. “Come and get them!”
In unison, the Gammas turned their heads, then stampeded toward the table.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jamie said. “One at a time. Tony, you can go first, since you were the only one who could name all our founding scientist forefathers this morning.”
A boy with curly brown hair pushed his way to the front of the line, anxious for a treat.
“You’re getting so big, Tony. I hardly recognized you,” Alex said, picking up a cup and packing a handful of shaved ice into it. “I hope you like grape.”
“Um, Alex . . . ,” the boy said. “Do you think you could use your powers to do it instead?”
Alex smiled and wrapped his thoughts around the cup, making a show of packing the ice and pouring the flavored syrup in. Soon all the Gammas were eating and laughing through purple lips.
“Now, what do we say to our Beta Team brothers and sisters?” Jamie asked.
“Thank you!” the Gammas yelled.
As the Betas cleaned up, the entrance to the playroom slid open. Phantom walked in, trailed by Misty.
“Hi,” Misty said, but her voice was soft, lacking the chipper energy it usually had.
“Are you okay, Misty?” Alex asked. “You look a little pale.”
“She’s just tired,” Phantom said. “We’ve been testing her powers this afternoon, and she’s all tuckered out.”
Misty nodded, glancing around as if in a daze. It looked to Alex like she might fall asleep standing there in front of them.
“Did everything work out here?” Phantom asked. “Any problems?”
“None, ma’am,” Mallory answered.
“Wonderful,” Phantom said. “I’m going into the city to pick up dinner. I assume everyone would be happy with pizza.”
“You’re going into the city?” Misty asked, perking up, her eyes growing large. “Will my mom be there? Will you bring her back with you? Could I—”
“Darling,” Phantom said, patting her head. “Your mother is very busy helping us in the city. I’m sure she’d love to come see you, but she just doesn’t have the time at the moment. But you know what would make her very happy? If you got a good night’s sleep and trained really hard tomorrow so that you are helping out Cloak as much as she is. All right?”
“Okay,” Misty said, her eyes falling to the floor.
“Let’s get you tucked in right away. You look exhausted.”
Misty nodded drowsily. Phantom motioned to Jamie, who swept in and guided Misty to the door and off toward her room.
“Any requests?” Phantom asked.
“Supreme,” Titan said. “Extra large. I’ll eat a whole one.”
“I’m sure you will,” Phantom said, turning to leave. “For the glory.”
“Hail Cloak,” the Betas and Gammas said in unison.
The Beta Team and the High Council gathered every Friday night for a big dinner brought in from Sterling City, meeting in the formal dining room on the base’s lowest level. They sat at a dark table long enough to seat thirty—a relic from the days of a larger Cloak roster. At the head of the table, the Cloak Society’s skull emblem hung on the wall. It was as tall as Alex, molded out of brilliant silver.
At seven o’clock, Phantom walked out of the shadows of a huge fireplace at the other end of the table, her arms piled high with cardboard boxes that were quickly spread out and surrounded by the Betas.
Titan’s plate was stacked high with food. He took a slice off the top and moved it toward his mouth. Then, pausing, he held it out to Mallory, giving her an exaggerated puppy-dog face. Traveling through the Gloom had taken some of the heat out of the pizza. Mallory rolled her eyes but traced her hand over the top of his slice, causing the cheese to bubble and darken. Titan smiled and devoured it ravenously.
“Titan,” Barrage said, “this may just be pizza, but eat with dignity, son.”
“Alex,” Volt said, “would you pass me some red pepper?”
“Of course,??
? Alex said, focusing on a packet lying on the table and floating it toward his father.
“You should have seen the Gammas today,” Phantom said to the rest of the council. “They all have a renewed sense of excitement and pride after spending time with our Betas. They can hardly wait to don a Cloak uniform.”
“Just wait until we tell them about how we defeated the Rangers in their own base,” Titan said through a mouth full of pizza. “We’ll be their heroes.”
“Word choice,” Julie said.
“Titan’s right,” Shade said. “You will be heroes to them and to the rest of Sterling City. They only call us supervillains because they don’t understand what honor it will bring them to serve under us. And when the history books are written, they’ll mark all of you as the champions who brought order to the city. The Rangers will be nothing more than a footnote.”
“What was it like to defeat so many of the Rangers?” Mallory asked. The room got very still as the Betas eagerly awaited a response.
“I wish you could have seen their faces when the first of their kind fell,” Shade said. “Fear. For the first time, they were afraid. We’d been playing the same game for decades: thwarted plans, arrests, jailbreaks. In combat they had always bested us, never falling without rising again. Whenever you thought they had taken their last breaths, they pulled themselves together and saved the day. So to see the first of their own disappear like that . . . it was unimaginable to them. The Rangers hesitated. And we took advantage of that.
“Ms. Light, the Guardian, Storm Lad: One by one the Rangers’ ranks thinned as the Umbra Gun overtook them. With every blast one of them was wrapped in darkness and sucked into the Gloom. Eventually there were only a few of the heroes left—the Junior Rangers, who we never expected to be a problem. We were celebrating, all grouped around my father, the one firing the weapon. That’s when Lone Star swooped in, his entire body burning so brightly that he looked like a falling meteor. The intensity in his face—the light pouring from his eyes . . .”
She trailed off, as if lost in the memory and unable to speak further.