“We’ve all got some serious parent problems.” Alex nodded.
“It’s weird. I barely remember mine. Even the memories I do have of them are so hazy that they might not be real. I used to imagine everything I’d say and ask if I ever got the chance to see them. But that’s not how it was in the Gloom. I don’t think I actually believed they were really my parents until the very end, when they were dragging Ghost back into the portal. And then it clicked. Of course they were my parents. They were the Guardian and the Sentry, Rangers of Justice. They were heroes until the end.”
Alex listened and bobbed his head in agreement while Amp spoke. The Junior Ranger never looked at him, just stared ahead at nothing. Alex didn’t know what to say, but Amp seemed just fine with that.
“I’m back to where I started before we ever went into the Gloom. Not knowing for sure if they’re alive or dead in there. Except now I know what that place is like.”
“When all this is over—when we’ve defeated Cloak and Lone Star and Lux are back to full strength and the Rangers of Justice are the Rangers of Justice again—we’ll figure out what we can do for your parents. I mean, Gage basically punched a hole in reality. You were standing in another plane of existence yesterday. Figuring out a way for your parents to come back into our world should be a piece of cake, right?”
“Yeah,” Amp said quietly. “I guess so.”
“Say it like you mean it,” Alex said. “You’re the one who has always told me that if we’re going to do something, we have to believe it can be done.”
Amp let out a small laugh.
“You’re right,” he said. “Lone Star will get us out of this. We’re smooth sailing now.”
Alex forced a smile and walked away, putting all the floating notes and newspaper clippings back in their proper place. He was back in his room before he realized he was still holding the photo of the Beta Team. Instead of taking it back, he slipped it into his inner coat pocket, with the picture of his family. It was one of the few mementos he had of his past, and there was a possibility that he might not be back to the lake house after this afternoon.
We’re going to do this, he thought. Lone Star is going to lead us against Cloak. This is what we’ve been working toward. This is the end.
Alex had worried that blending into the crowd would be easier said than done, even with hoodies and sunglasses and beanies obscuring their faces. Once they got near the former site of Justice Tower from the underground exit in Victory Park, all those fears vanished. He hadn’t been prepared for such a mass of people, and from the shocked expressions of his teammates, he guessed they hadn’t been expecting them either. Crowds littered the wide street for over a block, getting more congested the closer they got to the stage set up in front of a chain-link fence surrounding the leveled ground that had once been the Rangers’ headquarters.
“How do we get through all these people?” Kyle asked as they reached the back of the crowd.
“We’ll force our way forward,” Lone Star said. “Once people realize who we are, everyone will part.”
Long, dark-blue flags with golden starbursts hung all around from the tops of buildings and lampposts, the metallic symbols gleaming in the sunlight. Dozens of them, everywhere Alex looked. People carried signs, homemade posters, and banners singing the praises of the Rangers. At several stations, volunteers were painting golden starbursts on the cheeks of children.
Not far from them, a Deputy and a policeman argued about something near the officer’s motorcycle, which was stopped at a traffic barrier. Alex strained to hear their conversation over all the other noise. Amp noticed.
“They’re fighting about who’s in charge of managing the crowd,” Amp said, using his powers to isolate their voices. “It sounds like the Rangers wanted to use their own Deputies for this, not actual cops. The cop’s not happy about it. He says they’re obstructing law and order.”
From somewhere in the crowd, another Deputy appeared, joining the argument. It took only a few words before the two figures with silver starbursts on their chests were accosting the officer, brandishing weapons. They used his own handcuffs to secure him before pushing him down the street, toward some unknown location. Amp stepped forward, but Alex reached out and grabbed his shoulder with his thoughts.
“We’ve got bigger problems right now,” he said as he nodded to the front of the crowds.
The New Rangers began to climb onto the stage, accompanied by the whoops and joyous shouts of everyone in the audience except for Alex and his group. For a single moment, Lone Star looked taken aback by the crowd’s reaction, but he recovered quickly.
“Thank you, good citizens,” Shade said into the microphone. As usual, oversized black sunglasses hid her eyes. Titan, Volt, and Photon stood smiling at her sides. “It means so much to us that you’ve come to support the Rangers of Justice as we break ground on the site of our future headquarters . . .”
“This is it,” Lone Star said.
Lone Star and the other Rangers weaved their way toward the stage, leaving Bug and the Cloak defects behind. Gage lowered his goggles, tapping on the sides to zoom in.
“Anything goes wrong and we send Misty to pull them out of there,” Alex said.
“Lone Star won’t be too happy about that.” Mallory squinted at the stage.
“He’s no good to us dead. Or under my mother’s control.”
“. . . a place Sterling City can look to and know that we are watching.” Shade continued to speak to the crowd.
When Lone Star got to the line of Deputies in Ranger-inspired fatigues, there was a small commotion. And then Lone Star’s hood fell back. Even pale and weathered, there was no mistaking that it was him. Lux followed suit, as did the Junior Rangers. The crowds around them erupted and backed away.
“We will build our new stronghold atop a place of tragedy and—” Shade stopped midsentence and stared down at the five people gathered at the bottom of the stage. There was a beat before anyone spoke, and in the moment, Alex’s mother simply cocked her head slightly to one side. She gave no hint of emotion, be it surprise or anger.
“Not good,” Alex murmured.
“You are no Ranger,” Lone Star said, thrusting a finger forward and pointing it at Shade. When he spoke, his baritone voice was a bellow of sound projected through Amp’s body. Kirbie’s features were hinting at transformation. A tree growing from a sidewalk planter near them began to sway as Kyle held his hands out.
Lone Star turned back to the crowd. “I am Lone Star, leader of the Rangers of Justice. These are my teammates, Lux and the Junior Rangers. The woman who stands before you is no hero. Neither is Volt nor Titan. They are villainous members of the Cloak Society who have brainwashed Dr. Photon and are using him to gain power over this city.” He turned his attention back to Shade, who regarded him with what Alex could only describe as a look of boredom. “In the name of justice, I demand that you surrender and turn yourselves in.”
There was a snapping of photos as the crowd began to murmur. Shade let a long sigh out into the microphone. No one else on the stage moved, which worried Alex. In fact, he was surprised that they’d even let the Ranger talk for so long. What game were they playing?
His mother leaned in to the microphone.
“Citizens of Sterling City, this is not the first false Ranger to come forward claiming to be Lone Star, or Lux—though these appear to be in the company of the Junior Rangers, who, as recent investigations have confirmed, were working in league with the Cloak Society to plot the terrible attack on Justice Tower.”
“Photon,” Lux said, stepping forward. “I know you’re in there somewhere. Help us. We’re here now. Break free.”
Photon took a few steps forward, staring down at his former teammates on the ground below. He clenched his teeth, and his body began to shake. While everyone’s attention was on Photon, Alex watched his mother, whose eyes were shining silver so brightly that her sunglasses did little to hide the effect. She turned away from the p
odium. Photon walked rigidly to the microphone.
“We were going to wait until the end of the ceremony to share the good news,” he said, “but I guess now is as good a time as any. Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the actions of these delusional impostors. What they’re saying is simply impossible.”
“No,” Amp said, stepping forward, his voice echoing through the crowd. “Look! This is Lone Star and Lux! These are your protectors. Your heroes!”
“But how can that be when Lux is right here?” Photon asked.
It took a moment for Alex to figure out what Photon was talking about, but then he couldn’t miss her. Floating down from the roof of a nearby building was Lux. Or at least, it was someone who looked exactly like every photo of Lux Alex had ever seen. Her hair was splayed about around her head, beautiful and luminous, as if producing a light of its own. Her eyes were bright and vibrant. On the ground in front of the stage, the other Lux reached out and gripped Lone Star’s arm. She already looked tired and weary from the Gloom, but all the blood had now drained from her face. It wasn’t that the two women looked drastically different, but there was no denying that the woman slowly drifting to the stage and waving to the shouting crowds looked more like a superhero.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked. “Wait, we do have the real Lux, right?”
“Look,” Gage said, as his goggles whirred. “Did you see that? A slight ripple across the new one’s face.”
“Novo,” Mallory spat.
“She’s put herself back together,” Bug whispered, his eyes glinting metallic.
Dread sent Alex’s heart plummeting into his stomach.
“But how is she flying? And her hair . . . those aren’t her powers.”
“The hair’s a trick of the lighting,” Gage said. “If she can fake any material with her powers, she can produce highly reflective strands of hair. And she’s not flying. Photon’s doing it. Look at the belts and emblems on the new Ranger uniforms. They’re all metal. He’s using his powers to create the illusion that she’s flying.”
Novo alighted on the stage and walked to the podium. She smiled and waved as if she were in some sort of pageant. The crowd cheered and backed farther away from the five intruders at the foot of the stage.
“You have no idea how happy I am to be back, my friends,” she said into the microphone, her voice a lilting singsong. “The New Rangers have rescued me from a terrible fate. In the coming days, I’ll be sharing the story of how Shade, Photon, Volt, and Titan faced great evil to save me. But for now, I’d just like to thank them, publicly, and to say to the real Lone Star, wherever he is: we will find you, and you’ll rejoin our ranks.” She turned her head down to the Gloom-weathered man at the foot of the stage. “Soon.”
“No!” Lone Star shouted. “You are not Lux. Lux is here.”
“If that’s true,” Shade said, leaning over the microphone, “why doesn’t she show us some of her powers? Why don’t both of you fly up here and prove to the good people of this city that you are who you say you are?”
Lone Star and Lux stared back at her.
“I thought not,” Shade said.
There was a gasp somewhere off to the right side of the stage, which morphed into screams. A pillar of darkness had grown out of the earth, and out of it walked three figures clad in black, hooded trench coats. Phantom. Barrage. Julie.
Alex’s hand went icy as the mark of Cloak surfaced on his palm. A grinning, inky-black skull.
“Oh crap,” Misty said.
“Villains!” Photon took the microphone. “You would try to trick the public with henchmen made up to look like the heroes of this city?”
Phantom stepped forward. Even far away, Alex could see the glee on her face. They’d expected this, had turned it into an act for their benefit. A farce. In a single move, they’d taken all credit away from Alex and his team.
“Just a little joke, Rangers,” she hissed. “But now comes the real fun.”
Beside her, Julie’s fingers stretched out into long, diamondlike talons. Razor-sharp spikes ripped through the upper arms of her coat.
“Deputies, take these agents of the Cloak Society into custody,” Photon commanded. “That’s a direct order.”
“Move in,” Alex shouted. He started forward, but someone grabbed his arm. Before he could cry out, several people in the crowd nearby turned to stare at him. All of them had the same face and body, with brown hair slanted off to one side. Beneath their hooded sweatshirts, they wore Deputy uniforms.
“Going somewhere, Knight?” they spoke in unison.
“Legion,” Alex muttered.
And then, chaos.
9
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Alex unleashed a telekinetic wave, pushing Legion and his clones back, giving him and his teammates some space. At the front of the crowd, Deputies swarmed Lone Star and the other Rangers as civilians darted in every direction, panicked, trying to fight through one another to get out of the way of what was fast becoming a war zone.
“I hope you’ve been working on your aim,” Gage said, pulling two laser pistols from his pockets and handing one to Bug.
“Go,” Mallory said to Alex as she incinerated one of Legion’s clones. “Misty, take him to the front. We’ll handle the others here.”
Misty nodded and grabbed Alex’s sleeve, and then they were tumbling over the yelling crowd, molecules veering and swerving through the air, until they were put back together again between Kirbie and Amp, who were dodging stray punches from the Deputies trying to arrest them.
Two beams of light shot from a female Deputy’s eyes, landing on Kirbie’s shoulder. She looked down at the marks. A faint wisp of smoke drifted up from her hoodie. She took a single step toward the woman, transforming to her wolf form and loosing a terrifying roar. The Deputy retreated.
An explosion shook the ground near them. Thick black smoke billowed across the crowd. Barrage wasn’t pulling any punches—he was using his power to create explosive balls of energy right beside hordes of civilians.
“We’ve got to take him down,” Alex said.
“I’m on it,” Misty said.
“Wait, don’t—” But she was gone before Alex could finish his sentence. His gaze shot to Barrage. Suddenly Misty was beside the man, and then they were both gone.
“In the name of justice, I demand you—,” one of the Deputies began, but Amp silenced him with a sonic blast.
A few yards away, Lux fought several opponents hand to hand while Kyle roused a few plants from Justice Tower’s trampled garden back to life, sweeping them back and forth and knocking down Deputies while at the same time attempting to keep Julie from rampaging into the battlefield. Volt and Phantom pretended to fight, putting on a good show for any cameras that were still rolling.
Onstage, Shade stood between Titan and Novo, the Lux impostor, surveying the scene with what looked to be deep satisfaction. Photon floated above them, blank-faced. From the corner of the stage, Lone Star approached.
“You sadistic people,” he said. “Don’t think for a second that this means—”
In a flash, Shade drew a Taser gun from her belt and fired. An electronic charge sailed through the air, striking Lone Star in the chest. He hit the stage, convulsing.
“We’ve heard enough out of you for one day,” Shade said, holstering her weapon.
“Lone Star!” Kyle shouted from the ground. He started toward the stage. A crackle of purple electricity snaked over his body, taking him down. Volt stood grinning behind him.
Alex leaped onto the stage, boosted by a telekinetic blast. With a nudge of his thoughts, he knocked Lone Star’s body to the ground below, where Amp fought off wave after wave of Deputies. Shade reached into the podium and pulled the cord of the microphone out. She smiled at Alex, then her arm and the Taser shot out to her side, pointing at the crowd.
“No! You villain!” she shouted. “No! Don’t make me fire!”
Electricity shot out of the gun. It hit one of
the Deputies—the woman with the failed laser eyes—in the shoulder. The woman was knocked back, screaming, and fell to the ground.
Oops, Shade’s voice rang in Alex’s head. He tried to pull the gun from her hands, but there was an impossibly strong resistance. And then he realized what was happening: Photon was making sure the weapon stayed right where it was. She was using Photon’s powers to combat his telekinesis.
Settle down, or it will be your fault when half the crowd ends up collateral damage. His mother was in his head again. I’d hate to lose that many loyal followers.
“Titan!” she yelled, more to the crowd than her teammate. “Quickly, son. Grab him. He’s using his telekinetic powers to make me fire on my own Deputies.”
Titan grinned and walked around Alex, taking him by the shoulders and lifting him off the ground.
“Guess this didn’t go like you wanted it to, huh?” Titan sneered into Alex’s ear.
Alex focused his thoughts on his mother. She sparked a bright blue under his gaze and flinched.
“There you go again,” she said. “What exactly is your plan here, Alexander?”
And in that moment, Alex didn’t know what to do. He had his mother wrapped in his crackling telekinesis, but he didn’t know how to proceed. She gestured out to the fighting on the ground at her feet. Several dozen Deputies were swarming Lux and Amp. Kyle had regained consciousness and now had Volt wrapped up in a mass of vines, while Kirbie slashed away at tendrils of shadow conjured up by Phantom. Farther back, Mallory, Gage, and Bug took on swarm after swarm of replicating Legions.
He could put an end to it right there. He had the power to do so. All it would take was a squeeze of the energy around his mother. It would release Photon and cripple all of Cloak’s plans. One squeeze. That’s all it would take. . . .
What was he thinking? He shook his head, frustration boiling in his brain. How was he supposed to protect his teammates and the city and his enemies? He felt helpless.
Shade smirked.