Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

104

I'm sure some of you get sent to your rooms sometimes by your parents. All I have to say is, the next time it happens and you're lying there all mad thinking about how hard your life is, just picture me standing next to you, ready to smack you upside the head. When I get sent to my room, it's in a freaking dungeon! With rats!

Plus, how many of your parents chain you to the wall? I'm betting not that many. Okay, maybe some. I don't know how regular families work. But probably not many, am I right?

"Yeah, you showed her," Total muttered, licking his paw where his shackle was chafing it.

I made a face at him. "God, my mom's such a witch."

"We've been in worse places, in worse situations," Nudge said.

"For all we know a PetSmart truck is pulling up outside, unloading dog crates," I said gloomily, unwilling to be comforted.

The speakers wired to the walls crackled to life, and I groaned as more multi-culti propaganda began to assault our ears.

I inched over toward Nudge and Angel. My chain let me sit between them, and I unfolded my wings and shook them out. Then I carefully wrapped my wings around Nudge and Angel, encasing them in a warm, feathery cocoon big enough to hold all of us. Total couldn't be left out, so he dragged his chain over and crawled beneath my wings too.

I looked over at Ari. He was asleep, or pretending to be asleep, so he wasn't part of the feathery fun fest.

It was quiet and dim here; the stones were cold under my jeans, and I could feel a chill starting to seep into my skin. Another hour or two and we would be miserable with cold. How long would it take Fang to get here? How could he even get here?

Total pricked his ears and raised his head slightly. Looking into the shadows, I saw a tall shape moving toward us. In an instant I had recognized the gait, the height, the body language. Jeb. He was like really spicy Mexican food-kept coming back on ya.

I didn't have the energy for more sparring.

When he was close enough, I said, "Please tell me that icebox was kidding about being my mother."

He knelt in front of us, and I gathered the younger ones more closely under my wings.

"The Director is a brilliant woman with a global vision," Jeb said.

"Yeah, a deranged global vision," I said sourly.

"She's a remarkable, gifted scientist."

"Why can't she use her powers for good instead of evil? Like, cure cancer or something. And no, killing everyone who has cancer does not count as a cure."

"Dr. Janssen is an ambitious, talented political strategist," Jeb said. "She could very well end up running the world. One day she might be the most powerful person on Earth. As her daughter, you would be in a position of unimaginable advantage."

"Except that I would have changed my name and dyed my hair and would be living incognito somewhere to avoid the embarrassment of having a ruthless, power-crazy Dr. Frankenstein for a mother," I pointed out.

"Even if she were the most powerful person in the world, and being her daughter would give you almost unlimited power too?" Jeb asked.

I made a face. "If I had that much power, the first thing I would do is slam her into jail."

Jeb just looked at me. "What else would you do?"

"Put her in jail," I repeated. "Plus all the others who lent a hand to this hateful Goldfinger plan of world domination. Plus, I would say that all wars would be fought only on foot with nothing more than swords. No guns, no missiles, no bombs. Only swords." I looked up, warming to the idea of World Emperor Max. "And I would seize all the offshore hidden bank accounts of companies and people who had contributed to ruining the environment. With that money, I would make sure that health care and education were available to everyone for free."

I felt Nudge and Angel smile against my shoulders, and I sat up straighter. "Plus, housing and food for everyone. Companies that polluted would be shut down and banished. People in the government who ignored the environment and started wars would be booted out of office and made to work in the fields. And-"

Jeb held up his hand and stopped me. "You just passed another test, Max."