The Betrayal of Renegade X (Renegade X, Book 3) (49 page)

“I got you something, too,” Zach says, “but I left it at the house.”

“Convenient.”

“It’s from both of us,” Amelia adds.

“Right. So, you didn’t get me anything, either. My own sister.”

“I’m still working on your present,” Sarah says. “I’m a little rusty after my hiatus, but the guys at the retirement home have been giving me some pointers, and I think my skills are really improving.”

“Does this present explode? No, wait, don’t tell me. You’ll ruin the surprise.”

“What did your parents get you?” Kat asks.

“Me and Gordon are going to see
Super
, that new musical that’s coming to town.”

Amelia makes a little yelp. “Not fair.
I
wanted to see that. I’ve been talking about it all week!”

“It’s starring... Wait, let me think. Who’s in it?”

“Joanna Jones! She’s only my favorite actress. And singer.”

“Oh,
is she
? I had no idea.”

“Yes, you did! You saw me putting that picture of her up on my wall, the one from my magazine. Maybe Dad will take me, too.”

“It’s only playing for three nights—it’s a special showing—and the tickets are sold out already. Plus, it’s not your birthday. Too bad.”

“
Uh!
” Amelia gives me a really sour look. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Doing what on purpose? Turning seventeen and letting Gordon, who’s missed every one of my birthdays so far, finally give me a birthday present? Yeah, wow, that’s really devious of me.”

“You knew I was
dying
to see that! And it’s a romantic comedy.”

“So?”

“So, it’s something I would like. It’s for
girls
. There’s a song in it about her getting her superpower
and
realizing her power as a woman on the same day.”

“And boys can’t enjoy that? Way to be sexist.”

“I’ve never even heard you say you like musicals, and now you’re making Dad take you to the one you know I wanted to go to?”

“I’m not
making
him. He wanted to do something together. Just the two of us. He said I could pick anything.”

“And you couldn’t pick something that you actually like?”

“Who said I don’t like it?” Plus, going to this will annoy the hell out of her for a long time. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

“I take back what I said. Zach’s present
isn’t
from both of us.”

“Oh, no. Anything but that.”

The waitress comes back with our checks. Sarah glances at them and starts passing them out. We all get our money out to pay, though none of us moves to leave yet.

“Just think,” Kat says, “a year ago, you didn’t even know you had a dad. And now you’re going to your first women’s musical together.”

“First
Heroes on Ice
, and now this,” Amelia whines.

“Yeah, at this rate, by my next birthday, I’ll have done everything you want to do. Probably twice.” I look meaningfully at Zach.

He wiggles his eyebrows. “Only twice?”

“I don’t want to cheapen our relationship. I respect you too much. Quality over quantity.”

“
Hey
,” Kat says.

“Aw, you know you’re always quality.” I pull her close to me and kiss the side of her head. “And I respect you way too much to deprive you of all this.” I gesture to myself.

Kat laughs. “You’d better.”

“I do. But if you need me to prove it to you, the backseat of your car is right outside.”

“
Ew
,” Amelia says. “I sat there on the way here.”

“Relax. We’ve never actually done it in the car.”

“Well, not in
my
car,” Kat says.

“Whose?” Riley asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Not yours, Perkins. Geez. You’re so paranoid.” Though we did make out pretty hard in there once.

“It was my parents’ car,” Kat mumbles, sounding a little embarrassed.

“Oh.” Sarah’s eyes light up. “You and your grandma have that in—”

I stand up, clapping my hands together. “All right, that’s it! Party’s over. Thanks for coming. Being seventeen is great. Sarah, you’re not invited next year.”

S
pecial thanks goes out to my beta readers, Chloë Tisdale, Karen Kincy, and Ryan Hayes, who all insisted this book was awesome, even when I couldn’t see it. You guys were right, of course.

Thanks also to Phillip Russell Newman and Daniel Warneke, the narrator/producer team behind the Renegade X audiobooks. When I set out to find the right voice for Damien, I never imagined I’d find someone as perfect for it as Phil.

And thanks to Raul Allen, who makes the most amazing book covers.

And last—but definitely not least—thanks to all my readers who fell in love with this series and keep asking for more. Yes, there will be another book.

S
ales Man, V

C
ompels
subjects
valued patrons
that they haven't lived until they've tried this overpriced product. Spell can only be broken by violating the warranty

S
hadow Zap, V

E
lectricity

B
reeze, V

T
ornado breath

A
ccelerator Ray, H

K
inetic manipulation

C
>rimson Leopard, H

F
irebreathing, super agility

U
>amada, H

P
atience

F
usion, H

T
ransforms into human/animal hybrid

N
ano of the North, V

S
warm army (swarmy, if you will) of refrigerant nanobots

V
iolet Smoke, H

T
eleportation

T
he Librarian, H

A
ble to silence villains with a single book

C
aymen, V

B
ody morphing

N
ature Woman, H

A
ble to communicate with, and control the actions of, animals

K
esal Exuo, V

T
echnopath

T
he Plaid Matter, H

C
an turn anything plaid

T
he Deaf Lemon, V

A
ble to communicate with citrus fruit

A
h-hoo, V

E
xcessively violent sneezing. These sneezes can be summoned at a moment's notice, propelling the sneezer up and back a distance of 15-20 ft. as a concussive shock wave flattens anyone or anything in front of her. Unfortunately these sneezes move the sneezer regardless of any structures in her way, and she does not have unbreakable bones, so she generally relies on stealth and obsessive observation to accomplish her goals

S
ourpuss, V

A
ble to curdle dairy

M
K the Pig-Tailed Overlord, V

T
he power to freeze things and people

D
ragonstar, H

E
nergy manipulation

R
yoku Mourn, H

T
eleportation

L
ord Wilco, V

G
rand technomancer

B
ibliotheca, H

L
iterary teleportation

T
he Late Ace, H

T
ardiness

N
/A, V

A
ble to bypass required fields in a single bound

L
ord Keffingstar, V

S
hoots landsharks out of his eyes

T
asha “Queen Esther” Lennhoff, H

H
ealing

T
alia, V

T
he ability to make everyone eat too much sugar

M
aster Sculptor, V

B
ody/mind molding

P
yroscream, V

F
light and pyrokinesis

L
ight Em Up, V

C
ontrols light to generate concussive blasts from his palms and moves at light speed by adjusting the properties of the light around him

S
torm Cat, H

W
eather control

T
he Amazing Sponge Man, H

T
he ability to absorb liquids and get squishy

T
he Ingenious Mrs. H, H

P
eople can’t use improper grammar around her

T
he Mysterious Lady N, V

T
eleportation

S
uper Jymn, H

F
ast typist

B
ookdragon, H

T
he ability to hoard and protect books

K
ravix, V

A
ble to make multiple copies of himself and all gear he is wearing

T
hud, H

I
nvulnerability. (Good thing, too, as he is ridiculously clumsy.) Most all his villain captures are the result of him falling on them. He waits on top of tall buildings, and, as he leaps from one to the next, when villainy occurs, his luck kicks in. He trips and plummets down to make the capture with his trademark THUD!

C
hris “Warcabbit” Hare, H

S
uper-coordination

S
cantrontb, V

P
ower of indecision

C
lockwork Rose, H

I
nventor

T
he ExoFlasher, V

C
an control clothing

T
he Engineer, H

T
echnical detective

L
ustra, H

H
er beams of light convert anyone hit by them into a friendly pacifist

D
ark Thea, H

C
an morph into any animal

K
ensei, H

T
he ability to see spirits

S
ingle Entendre Man, H

P
eople always get his meaning

“C
inder Ellie” Harrison, H

F
ire princess

M
iki the Dabbler Girl, H

C
an do anything once

P
rofessor Photosynthesis, H

M
aking plants grow

D
ark Deviance, V

A
ble to manipulate the confidence and insecurities of those within a five-foot radius

I
ndigo, H

W
eaver of illusions and dreams

R
hel ná DecVandé, H

L
ogistics

J
argon, V

C
onfuses enemies by spewing technical jargon at them

G
ertjan, V

I
n de weg staan

I
on, H

E
lectrical

R
aziel, H

I
ndestructible, also has the power of flight

P
hantom Photon, H

A
bility to turn matter into light and light into matter

E
quivocator, V

W
eb of confusion

R
evamp, H

A
lters reality (slightly)

C
aptain Sunlight, H

X
-ray vision on Lego models

P
schye, V

B
rings soulmates together, or keeps them apart, depending on her mood

T
he Toymaker, H

M
aking toys come to life

C
aptain Page, V

A
bility to control and manipulate paper

S
impleton, H

C
ommon sense

F
zz, V

M
agic

C
had Bowden, V

C
an transform into any animal

A
bsolute Shelving, H

L
ibrary clairvoyance

W
olf, H

P
ossesses the senses, instincts, agility, and stamina of a canine. He also frequently chases cats up trees and attacks mailmen

P
ossibly, V

M
anipulates chance, increasing the probability of a particular event’s outcome. Results can range unpredictably from lucky guessing safe combinations to evading police due to a collision with an overturned fruit cart and a flock of unexpected emus

S
tormfire, V

C
ontrol over fire

S
umasuun, V

T
he ability to customize/modify inanimate objects

A
l A Bi, V

D
idn’t do it

Q
uantum Scourge, V

A
bility to change space-time