The Rise of Renegade X Read online

  “It’s happening. It’s …” I swallow and run my hands through my hair. “Mom and Taylor didn’t take over. Pete—that guy who told you Heraldo was hurt—did. And he’s got Kat and the Crimson Flash.” I pull the antidote Mom gave me out of my pocket and hold it out to her. “Take this. It’ll protect you against the toxin.” Probably.

  She stares at it. “But Damien, you’re a superhero. You need that.”

  I shake my head. “I’m only half superhero. I don’t know if it’ll even affect me. I don’t want you turning into one of those pie zombies we met in Ruthersford.”

  “That’s uncharacteristically sweet, but—”

  I force the vial into her hands. “But nothing. Drink it. Now.”

  Sarah tries to protest, but I don’t take no for an answer. Grudgingly, she downs the whole thing, making a disgusted face the entire time. She looks like she’s going to puke it back up when she’s done. “Bleuh! That was awful.”

  “I’ll bet. Now go home.”

  “What?! But I took the antidote. You are not going alone.”

  “Take Heraldo home, and … be safe.” I shoo her and Heraldo to the door, shoving them outside and locking up behind me. “I know you think I’m a lying jerk, but I really don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Sarah folds her arms. “You’re not just a lying jerk, you’re really, really stupid.”

  I salute her. “If I don’t see you again, it was nice knowing you, Cosine.”

  The Banking and Finances building is dark when I arrive, but I don’t doubt Pete’s up there. Way … up … there. I tilt my head back, the wind blowing through my hair. I feel dizzy already. Better not to think about it.

  I hurry inside the building. It’s unlocked. It smells funny in here, and the air looks a little hazy from the toxin Mom and Taylor spread all over. I tear through the lobby, but I skid to a stop when the computer screen on somebody’s desk flickers to life and Pete’s face appears.

  “Hey, hey, hey!” he shouts, clapping his hands together. “It’s time for the ‘What Will Pete Do Next?’ show! Damien, if you’re watching, this one’s for you, man.” He points at the camera, then makes a fist and places it over his heart. There are a couple of his superhero minions marching back and forth behind him.

  The camera zooms out, then in on Kat. She’s tied to the stairwell house on the roof, the same one I was clinging to before the Crimson Flash threw me off the building. Kat has a golden choker clasped around her neck. She doesn’t wear that type of stuff, but I’m guessing it’s not meant to be jewelry. I think of Bart the Blacksmith, Kat’s grandfather, and wonder if it’s his handiwork. After all, without something to suppress Kat’s powers, there’s no way Pete could tie her down and not have her change shape and slip out of her bonds.

  Her arms and legs are tied so that she’s spread-eagled against the wall and can’t move. Pete kisses her. She struggles to pull back, but there’s nowhere to go. Pete breaks from her and looks at the camera. “Is this about where we were at your birthday party?” He taps his chin. “No, I think we were farther than that.”

  “Damien!” Kat screams.

  I move away from the monitor and run for the elevator. I hear Pete’s voice on another screen say, “You know you like it.”

  I push the elevator button about ten times. It’s so slow, and my heart is beating so fast. The elevator’s never going to get here. One long, agonizingly slow ride to the top separates me from saving her.

  A little voice in the back of my head says, You should fly, you idiot.

  It’s not going to happen. I feel sick thinking about it, and my knees wobble. My muscles get weak, and I almost drop my gun. A wave of hot guilt pours through my chest. Kat’s in trouble, and I don’t know how I’m going to handle being on the roof—I can’t even fathom flying up there.

  My fingers tighten around the gun in self-loathing. I hear screams coming from the monitors, and I think if the elevator doesn’t get here in the next five seconds, maybe … maybe I’ll go outside and just try—But then it dings and the doors open.

  The Crimson Flash steps out. His face is twisted in a sinister grin, his mouth lopsided. He tilts his head one way, then the other, looking me over.

  He reaches out and grabs my arm and pulls. I think it’s going to come out of the socket. I jerk forward and stumble into him. His hand moves for my neck, but I’m getting more experienced at ducking. I move out of the way in time to not get strangled. I stomp on his foot. It should have hurt, but he doesn’t even flinch. I twist and turn, trying to get my arm out of his grasp. I hold up my gun, thinking maybe I can risk firing a warning shot, but the Crimson Flash knocks it out of my hand. It skitters across the floor. It’s enough of a distraction that his grip on me loosens a little. I get free and run under a desk.

  He picks up the gun off the floor. So much for the “only superheroes can use it” safety. He walks down the rows of desks. Above me, Pete’s voice on the computer claims it’s halftime, then, “Come on, Damien—it’s time to blow out your birthday candles. You’d better hurry.” He wishes me a happy birthday, then starts singing, as if we were kids having a party. He stops and yells at Kat to join in. “Don’t be shy!” he screams at her. “You know the words!”

  The Crimson Flash kicks a rolling desk chair across the floor. I wonder how much Sarah’s hypno device affects him and if he recognizes me at all. I wonder if any of him’s still in there.

  The Crimson Flash kicks another chair. He’s getting closer to my hiding place. I hug my knees to my chest. I can’t sit here and let him find me. I make a run for it.

  He chases after me. I weave between the desks, trying to slow him down, but it only slows me down instead. I push chairs behind me to create obstacles. The Crimson Flash flies over me, cutting me off at the other end of the aisle. Great. I’ve got him on one end, and a whole lot of chairs on the other.

  I leap onto the nearest desk and dive into the next aisle as he pulls the trigger on the gun. A laser shoots out of it, cutting the monitor on the desk in half, just as Pete says, “She’s not singing! I’ll have to make her if you don’t hurry up, Damien.”

  The Crimson Flash fires off another laser and I scramble out of the way. He flies over so that he’s standing right in front of me. He doesn’t rush or anything, just points the gun and walks toward me, steady and relentless, as I get to my feet and run like hell.

  He fires again. Zap! The laser misses me. That hypno device must be pretty powerful, because the real Crimson Flash wouldn’t be caught dead trying to murder his own son. Even if I might be somewhat of a disappointment.

  Another zap! This one splits open the heel of my shoe. I pick up the pace.

  I hit the wall and run alongside it, hoping I can double back and get to the elevator before Gordon. He shoots the next laser in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I duck down and make for the elevator as fast as I can. I push the button, but the doors don’t open. Who else is using the elevator in this place?! I push the button about twenty more times, each time expecting to feel a laser in the back, right through the heart.

  Gordon closes in on me.

  I can’t move, paralyzed with fear. I have to get through these doors, no matter what, and I have to not get killed by my own superhero dad in the process.

  “Some part of you has to be in there,” I say, my voice shaking. Maybe I can distract him until the elevator gets here. Maybe I can actually appeal to his good nature, the one locked up deep down inside, and bring him out of his zombie state. At least enough so he doesn’t shoot me. “Come on. You don’t want to do this. You’ll be really sorry when you wake up tomorrow and realize you killed me!” If he wakes up tomorrow. If I manage to stop Pete and get everything back to normal.

  The Crimson Flash smiles and points the gun right at my heart.

  “Dad!” I scream, a last, desperate attempt to snap him out of it. “I know you’re in there! The real you wouldn’t do this, you—”

  “You made Helen cry,” he says
, and everything turns to slow motion as I watch his finger move on the trigger.

  But he doesn’t fire. He unexpectedly drops to the ground, the gun slipping out of his hand. A little dart sticks out of his neck.

  I look over and see Sarah, a dart gun in her hand. She blows over the end of it, like in the movies, and grins at me. “My own special blend. You still want me to go home and be safe?”

  “If it isn’t the Cosine Kid. My hero.” I lean against the doors just as they open, and tumble backward into the elevator.

  “I bet he didn’t mean to do that,” Sarah says on our way up. She can’t get over her hero firing lasers at me, even if he was a zombie at the time.

  “Listen, Sarah, about what I said earlier today …” I tap my fingers against the metal railing in the elevator, holding my gun in one hand. I stare at the trigger and think about Gordon almost firing on me and what could have happened if Sarah hadn’t shown up when she did. “I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way.”

  “He’s the Crimson Flash. He wouldn’t normally have done that.”

  “I shouldn’t have said you weren’t my sidekick. I just … Being a superhero wasn’t exactly in my life plan.”

  “I mean, he is your dad, right?”

  “Sarah,” I say, cutting her off, “you need to go back home.”

  “Are you nuts? I just got here. And you needed me. I think that’s pretty obvious.”

  “You can’t go up there with me. He’s already got Kat.” And is going to do something awful to her if I don’t get there in time to stop him. Can this elevator go any slower, or would that break some kind of world record? “What am I supposed to do if he gets you, too? Give me the dart gun and get out of here.”

  “Ohhhh, no. I’m not going anywhere. You just said I was your sidekick.”

  “No, I said I shouldn’t have said you weren’t. It’s a little different.”

  “You called me Cosine.” She shakes her head at me, like she thinks I’m insane. “I’ve already saved your life once tonight. I’m not going to get caught, and even if I do, so what?”

  “So what? He’s got Kat tied to a wall. He’s going to hurt her to get to me, and if he finds out I care about you, too? He’ll be all over that. You’ll be taking a huge risk, going out there to face him with me.”

  “How am I supposed to be your sidekick if you worry about me all the time? We’re both going to get hurt in this business—we have to accept that. You have to trust me.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  She conveniently finds a speck of dirt on her dart gun and shines it clean with the edge of her shirt, pretending she didn’t hear me. “I’m not going home, Renegade.”

  “Fine. Stay and help me if you want; see if I care.”

  The elevator dings and the doors finally open to the top floor. The elevator doesn’t go all the way to the roof—we’ll have to take the stairs from here.

  “You know you’re walking into a trap, right?”

  “Yep.” I hold my gun out in front of me as we leave the elevator, but the coast is clear.

  “Just checking,” Sarah says.

  We burst onto the roof, and I don’t look too far to the edge, afraid of getting dizzy and blowing this. Two superheroes stand guard at either end, and a third mans the camera, aimed at Pete. I point my gun at him, ready to fire, but I can’t. Pete’s standing right in front of Kat. There’s no way I can get him without getting her, too.

  Sarah shoots her dart gun at Pete, but one of the guards zips in front of him at super speed, taking the blow. The superhero crumples to the floor.

  “Grab her,” Pete says.

  The other guard and the cameraman seize hold of Sarah as she takes aim again. They wrench the dart gun out of her hands and one of them breaks it in half. I’m guessing he has super strength, or that he works out a lot.

  “Let them go, Pete.” I aim for his chest.

  He jerks his thumb over his shoulder at Kat. “Go ahead,” he says, “kill us both. If that thing even works.”

  “Of course it works!” Sarah shouts. She kicks the shins of one of her superhero captors, but he doesn’t notice.

  I flash Pete a smile. “I’ll make you a onetime offer. Let them go and do whatever you want to me.”

  “Is that right?” Pete pulls Sarah’s hypno device out of his pocket. It looks how I remember it—kind of like a tape recorder, papered in red and blue cellophane, with colored wires spliced into the side—only now with more duct tape. “Damien,” he says, speaking into the device. His voice gets tinny, echoing across the roof. And then I’m not sure if I really heard him or not, or if he said it directly into my brain. As I look around to see if anybody else heard him, a smile creeps over Pete’s face. He says four words, “I am your master,” and something snaps inside my head. I remember what Mom said about a trigger word.

  “Give me the gun,” Pete says.

  Sarah struggles against her captors, but it’s no use. “Damien, don’t do it!”

  I march over to Pete against my will and put the gun in his hands. I can still think, and maybe talk, but I can’t stop myself from doing what Pete says. Mom wasn’t sure how her toxin would affect me. I must not be as susceptible to it as a normal person or a full-blooded superhero. Not a lot of good that does me. It means I’m aware that Pete’s in control of me, but I can’t do anything about it.

  Pete turns the gun over, inspecting it. He raises his eyebrows at all the wires and buttons. “What’d you do, make this yourself?”

  I can almost hear Sarah gritting her teeth.

  Pete points it at me. He lowers it so it’s aimed at my foot—I guess he isn’t ready to kill me yet—and fires. Nothing happens.

  Kat exhales in relief.

  Pete tosses the gun down, calling it a piece of junk. Then he rubs his hands together. “It’s great, isn’t it? The city is falling into my hands, I’ve got the girl, and now my old buddy Damien has to do everything I say. What should we do to celebrate?”

  “I should steal her away from you.”

  Pete punches me in the mouth, knocking me to the floor. I taste blood and move to get up, but he says, “On your knees, boy,” and I have to listen.

  The other superheroes on the roof don’t seem to have any freewill. They stand around until Pete tells them to do something, their eyes glassy.

  Pete holds out a foot to me. “Kiss it, and bow to your master.”

  I lean forward and put my mouth on his dirty shoe.

  “With your tongue,” he adds.

  I do what he says. It tastes like rubber and mud and it’s Pete’s shoe. I guess I should be grateful that’s all it is. And that he hasn’t stepped in anything gross lately.

  “Get up.”

  I stand. I catch a glimpse of how high up we are, how the whole city splays out below us, the ground so far down. I feel dizzy, like I’m going to fall, even though I’m not near the edge. I wince and shut my eyes. I wish I had something to hold on to.

  Pete laughs. “That’s right, my boy’s afraid of heights.”

  “It’s okay, Damien,” Kat says.

  Pete turns and glares at her. He raises his hand like he’s going to hit her, then holds off. “You need to learn not to dirty your pretty mouth with his name. You’ll figure that out soon enough.”

  “I wish I’d never met you,” she says.

  “Be careful what you wish for. Remember I introduced you to him.” Pete snaps his fingers. He points to one of his superhero minions. “You. Back on the camera. It’s time for another show. Damien, go stand next to Kat.” He makes L shapes with his fingers and peers at us, like he’s going to take a picture.

  I do what he says and move closer to her. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper.

  Kat nods, but she doesn’t look all that convinced. It might have something to do with her being tied up, and me being under mind control.

  “Don’t talk to her,” Pete says. “I was going to do her and make you watch. But then I thought the only thing w
orse than making you watch me rough her up is if I make you do it.” He grabs a pocketknife out of his jeans and flips it open, locking it into place. He puts it in my hands. “A little foreplay. You can only use it on her.”

  Pete’s so retarded sometimes, always giving me weapons. But he’s got me—I will my hands to turn the knife on him, and it’s like the signal doesn’t get through.

  “Smile for the camera,” Pete says. “The whole town’s going to be watching.”

  Me, a knife, and Kat. With Pete directing. Not a recipe for fun. My mind races. This whole situation seems hopeless. Pete’s holding all the cards, and what can I do?

  I can talk, that’s what. As long as my mouth works, I’ve still got a weapon. My most dangerous one.

  “You know, Pete,” I say, before he can tell me what to do with the knife, “this plan isn’t going to work.”

  “Nice try, Damien.”

  I shrug. “It’s flawed. You want to know why?”

  I wait for Pete to take the bait. I’m patient. I don’t offer him the answer until he mulls it over, curiosity getting the better of him, and finally says, “Why’s that?”

  A slow, wicked grin twists up my mouth. “Because, Pete, I hear you like torture. So I’m guessing you want me to torture Kat while you watch. But you know what, Pete?” I laugh. Pure and sweet maniacal laughter that I pull seemingly out of nowhere. It’s a strain to make it sound real, but it’s this or let Pete finish ordering me around. That’s not going to happen, not while I’m still breathing. “I like torture, too. Too bad we couldn’t have stayed friends.”

  “Yeah,” Pete says, a scowl pulling on his face, “too bad.”

  “Boy, are you dumb. You could have had me live out my worst fear, and instead you’re giving me kinky S and M.” I hold the knife toward Kat, pointing it at her stomach.

  Pete gets all ruffled about it and glares at me. “Did I tell you to do that?”

  “This is going to be great. And here I thought you were going to make me jump.”

  “If I tell you to jump, boy, you ask me how high.”