And just like that, I was furious again. “Newbies!” I exclaimed. “Like your little team of high-schoolers down there? They can’t even freaking fly! At least Dylan can kick butt in battle! I’d trust him with my back before I’d trust any of the kids in the Fang Show!”

Fang opened his mouth to yell back but stopped himself with effort. “Maya is a good fighter,” he said finally.

“Yes, I am,” I said sharply.

Again his eyes blazed and his mouth opened, but again he controlled himself. He let out a deep breath. “She’s not you,” he said quietly. “She really is a different person.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not asking Dylan to go.”

Fang’s fists clenched. “We need Maya on our side.”

Minutes of silence. If we hadn’t been two thousand feet in the air, we would have heard crickets chirping. I stared at him as if we were strangers, brown eyes looking into black.

“So… where does that leave us?” Fang said.

“It leaves us with Dylan and Maya, all of us fighting the DG together,” I said. “As revolting as that sounds.”

Fang nodded stiffly and held out one hand.

I almost snorted but reached out and shook it. We had an agreement.

And as we flew back down to the restaurant, all I could think was, What happened to us?

54

I WAS SWEATY and my hair tangled in knots by the time we walked back into the restaurant. So much for tidying up for this meeting! As we approached the table, I saw that our two groups seemed very… separate. No one was talking. They watched each other warily.

When I got closer, I heard Gazzy say, apropos of nothing, “We can fly.”

“So can we,” said Maya, eyeing Fang. “Well, some of us.”

“I can see really, really far,” said Dylan, not missing a chance to outdo Fang.

“Me too,” said the tough-looking guy, adjusting his Ray-Bans. “I can hear really far too. Whispers from a mile away and all.”

“Well, we can breathe underwater,” Angel offered, modestly avoiding any mention of the fact that she can also read minds.

“So can I,” said the pale kid. “I can regenerate and heal really fast.”

“We heal fast too,” Iggy countered. “And we’re really strong.”

“Try me,” said the pretty Asian girl. “Let’s arm wrestle.”

“Um, I can hack most computers,” Nudge said mildly.

“I’m fast enough to steal any computer we’d need,” said the blonde.

Gazzy didn’t miss a beat and said, “Fast enough to dodge this?” then sent a forkful of mashed potatoes flying through the air. Fast Girl dodged it easily, but then Gazzy snapped his fork to the left, flinging a glob right at… wait for it… Maya. And it hit her in the face. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Oops,” Gazzy said with a nervous grin. “My bad.”