Chapters (88)
Star shoved Holden into the center of the circle. “I think that’s you, squirt.”
“Never have I ever… owned a designer bag,” Holden quipped in response, and Star glared, raising her hand.
Fang made himself count backward from twenty by threes.
“Never have I ever… had Cheez Whiz up my nose, in my hair, and between my toes at the same time,” Maya said. Everyone laughed, and they all shot up their hands.
“Never have I ever… played down my strength so no one would look at me funny,” Kate said, holding up her hand.
“Never have I ever… been seriously hungry all day every day because I can’t get enough calories to sustain energy,” Star said, raising her hand along with Fang and Maya.
“Never have I ever… accidentally chopped off my finger and watched it grow back,” Holden said, and mimed hacking his finger off, resulting in a few chuckles and a cry of “Yeah, Starfish!” from Ratchet.
Maya spoke up, her eyes shining at Fang from across the circle. “Never have I ever… felt the wind whip through my hair as I soared twenty thousand feet up with only my wings to carry me.” They both raised their hands.
“Never have I ever… been thrown out of my house for being a freak,” Ratchet said quietly and raised his hand. Across the room, Star raised her hand too, and they stood like that for a few seconds, just looking at each other.
“Never have I ever… been injected with hypodermic needles and locked in a cage,” Fang said. Every single hand went up, and as they looked around the room, everyone seemed to really get each other for the first time. They had all been abused, and they all needed the same help.
“Never have I ever… received a message telling me that I had to help save the world,” Maya said, staring deeply into Fang’s eyes. He looked back at her, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. His hand slowly went up.
No one, not even Max, knows about that…. He felt a faint shiver run down his spine.
“So… you want to do something about the Doomsday Group, or what?” Holden asked.
Fang nodded. “I read that they’re holding a big rally in San Diego, starting tomorrow,” Fang said. “It’ll be at Comic-Con, that huge convention. I don’t know how the DG will fit in with that, but I think it’s the first thing we should check out.”
“If it means we can get to the butchers who experimented on us, who cut us up, I’m all for it,” Kate said.
Holden nodded, rubbing the scars on his arms.
“Let’s take ’em down,” Ratchet said, and Star actually smiled.
“So… San Diego?” Fang asked.
“San Diego!” the gang agreed.