Chapter Fifteen
The Dweeb League Takes Names
“I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today.” Whatsisface leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. The Dweeb League sat around the table in the study room of the school’s library.
“Not really,” I said. “It’s the first official meeting of the Dweeb League in our new official headquarters.”
“I know, but I always wanted to use that line.” Whatsisface grinned. “Okay, calling the first official meeting of the Dweeb League to order. Officially. Those present say ‘aye,’ and those absent say nothing.”
“Nothing!” we all yelled.
“Let the minutes reflect that no one showed up for the meeting. Are we good, or what? No proof we’ve ever been here. Clandestine. Covert. Shaken, not stirred. That’s the Dweeb League. Okay, first order of business. We know every drug lord in the school. We know every user. We know—”
Pickles sprang to his feet and slammed his fist into his palm. “Holy contributing to the delinquency of minors! We have to put a stop to this heinous criminal activity.”
Whatsisface did an eyebrow-raise at Pickles. “Just so you know, Picks, you’re out of order.”
“Gosh, you’re right, Batman. Sometimes I get carried away.”
“I need a new name, Boy Wonder. That one’s taken.”
Pickles shot his finger into the air. “Fortunately, I’m on it! I’ll have super-suits and super-names for all of us before the sun sets on the next crime wave. In the meantime, let’s get to work on the D.U.D.”
“The dud?” I asked, immediately wishing I hadn’t.
Pickles raised his eyes to the ceiling and folded his hands like he was praying. “Drug. User. Database. We make a list, check it twice, and masterfully take down anyone in the naughty column.”
“That’s actually a good idea,” Bobby said, opening his laptop. “I’ll start a database.”
“We can give it to the police,” Mason said.
Whatsisface shook his head. “That would reveal the secret of our true identities. Besides, the drug dudes will kill us if they think we ratted them out.”
“How about an anonymous tip?” Bobby said. “We can let the cops know that the database exists and tell them where to find it on the Internet. I’ll hack into the school’s system and publish it from their servers.”
“Brilliant!” Whatsisface said. “Traceable to this school, but not to us.”
“Exactly.” Bobby punched a few keys and said, “Let’s start at the beginning of the alphabet. Art Rubric.”
“R is the eighteenth letter, Bobby,” I said. “We should start with Tammy Angel.”
“Art is a bigger jerk,” Bobby said.
“Tammy is more evil,” Kathryn said.
“I vote for Art,” Whatsisface said. His cheerful face turned gloomy. He lifted his shirt to reveal a huge bruise on his ribs then quickly covered back up.
Kathryn gasped. “Did Art do that?”
Tish put her arm around Whatsisface. “Art won’t leave him alone, and Whatsisface is too nice to fight back.”
“If I kick Art’s butt, he’ll know I’m a superhero.” Whatsisface forced a smile and waved his hand in the air. “Then every supervillain in the galaxy will be after me. Too time-consuming.”
“I feel your pain,” Pickles said. “The burden we crime fighters must carry.”
“Art is getting worse,” Bobby said. “We need to watch him. And the people he hangs out with.”
“Like Tammy Angel?” Kathryn asked.
Whatsisface shook his head. “Like that new kid, Drake. Not sure what he’s up to, but he’s with Art all the time.”
“This sounds like a job for…Sup-er Dweeb!” Pickles shouted.
Whatsisface did a sideways lip pucker. “Better work on that.”
Pickles blushed.
Bobby pointed to Whatsisface. “Can you find out more about Drake?”
Whatsisface nodded, jumping to his feet. “An official mission. I’m on it.”
“What about me?” Pickles said. “I am so in tune with the criminal mind.”
“You be the sidekick,” I said.
“Holy dream come true, Batman!”
“Up, up, and away!” Whatsisface took Tish by the hand and pulled her giggling from the study room.
“You need a better superhero exit line,” I told Pickles.
“Time to sweep crime into the dumpster!” Pickles bounced to his feet to follow Whatsisface, but then he stopped in midstride. “Hey, that gives me an idea for a new name.”
“For who?” I said.
“My alter ego, ma’am. Top secret. Sorry, can’t talk about it. TTFN.” Pickles put his fist on his hip, pointed to the door, and sashayed after Whatsisface and Tish, leaving me alone with Mason, Bobby, and Kathryn.
“Sweep crime into the dumpster?” Kathryn said. “I seriously hope he doesn’t say that in public, because somebody will stuff that poor, deluded boy into a locker.”
“What’s the deal with Drake?” Bobby asked. “You told me he was one of you.”
“One of who?” Mason said. He turned to Bobby as if he was confused.
“One of her,” Kathryn said, pointing at me.
Mason got a weird look on his face. “That jerk is a Psi Fighter?”
I nodded. “Long story. Long. Painful. Annoying.”
“Then why is he hanging out with Art Rubric?” Mason said.
“Drake is undercover,” Kathryn said. “Trying to get close to Tammy.”
“Why does everybody know this stuff except me?” Mason said.
“She told us,” Kathryn and Bobby said in unison, pointing at me.
Mason suddenly looked annoyed. Oops.
“Rin, I don’t trust Drake.” Kathryn took me by the cheeks. “I mean, what if he finds out you’re the Morgan girl? Egon came close.”
I did a palms-up. “I don’t trust him, either. I’m supposed to watch him, but it’s hard. He knows I’m watching. Hey, can you get the Dweeb League to keep an eye on him for me without knowing it’s me they’re doing it for?”
“Taken care of,” Bobby said.
“Who is the Morgan girl?” Mason asked.
Kathryn did the Elvis Presley lip-curl thing and pointed to me.
Mason rubbed his chin. “Your name is Morgan?”
“I, umm…”
“Nobody knows that except Bobby and me. But Miss Noelle here is not so good at keeping her own secrets, so we have to do it for her.”
“I am, too,” I said.
“She does a good job of keeping them from me,” Mason muttered.
“She never told you?” Bobby asked, turning to me.
Why did I feel like I was suddenly on the defensive? “Mason, I—”
“Must have slipped her mind. Like everything else.”
That was uncalled for. I shot Mason a look. “What are you talking about?”
Mason smirked. “Drake Reynolds is a Psi Fighter. Your real name isn’t Rinnie Noelle. What else are you not telling me?”
“Before Nicolaitan kidnapped her, her name was Lynn Morgan,” Kathryn said. “The Psi Fighters changed her name when they put her into hiding. It’s the only name Nicolaitan knows. He wants her because he’s a sicko. Any other questions?”
“No.” Mason pushed his chair back and glared at me. “You said there are things about you I can never know, and I was okay with that. But out of curiosity, why can you tell Bobby and Kathryn but not me?”
Without waiting for me to answer, he picked up his books and left the room.
“Mason, wait!”
Kathryn scrunched her eyebrows. “What was that?”
I sighed. “I wish I knew.”
“You two don’t get it.” Bobby sat with his arms folded, staring down at the tabletop. “I know why Mason is upset.”
“Enlighten me,” I said.
“Guy logic,” Kathryn said. “A peek into the male psyche. Take it away, maestro!”
We looked at each other and did a high five.
“Ha ha.” Bobby looked up at me, but he wasn’t smiling. “Egon was a loser, so you’re all worried about being hurt again. Every guy in the world who has ever heard that excuse knows it’s just stupid female-speak.”
“Female-speak?” I said. “What’s that, like orc-speak?”
“Stupid?” Kathryn said quietly.
Bobby looked at Kathryn. “Kitty, you always want to know how guys think. I’m telling you.”
Then he turned back to me. “You and Mason have been through a lot together, right? He’s been in love with you since fifth grade, but was always afraid to tell you because he never knew how to be in a relationship. Now that he’s not a total jerk anymore, he thinks he finally has a chance to be with you. And you gave him the idea you might be okay with that.”
“When?” I said. “I think I’ve been pretty clear that I’m not okay with it.”
“Not really,” Kathryn said.
“Kathryn!”
“Well, you haven’t.”
Bobby shook his head. “Not until after he got captured by Nicolaitan. That’s when you went all I’m-not-ready-for-a-relationship on him. Here’s the thing—Mason is not Egon. Egon was a psycho lug nut.”
“Technical term?” Kathryn asked.
Bobby ignored her. “Mason would never do anything to hurt you, Rinnie. When you tell a guy that you’re not ready for a relationship because of a dude like Egon, we go all does-not-compute. Lousy logic. Makes no sense. You know what I mean?”
“No,” Kathryn and I said at the same time.
“It’s really easy,” Bobby said. “Guys aren’t complicated. Mason totally understands that you’re afraid to be in a relationship because it’s dangerous. He’s okay with that. What he isn’t okay with is opening his heart to you about everything, and then finding out you’ve been telling other people things you won’t tell him. That’s why he’s mad.”
“Bobby, that’s ridiculous,” Kathryn said. “Neither of you gets that Rinnie really is afraid to be hurt. And she didn’t purposely tell any of us anything she wouldn’t have told him. Except maybe me, because I’m special and BFFs tell each other everything. So there.”
“So, I’m just a stupid boy,” Bobby said. “You know what? I’m gonna go study with Mason.”
And he got up and left.
Kathryn and I stared blankly at each other.
“Did we actually manage to upset both of our boyfriends in a single conversation?” Kathryn asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said.
We burst into laughter.
“Is it even possible to understand boys?” Kathryn asked.
I shook my head, suddenly sad. “I’m gonna go with no. Okay, maybe I can see why Mason’s mad. Maybe I should go talk to him.”
“I’m gonna go with yes,” Kathryn said. “After all, you promised to help him.”
“Actually, I was forced into it. But finding his mom is as important to him as it is to me.”
“For different reasons. Mason won’t be turned into Nicolaitan’s slave-girl if he doesn’t find his mom.”
I nodded. “Maybe I won’t, either. There’s another way. I just need to talk to my parents. Maybe they can talk some sense into Andy and the Kilodan. I’ll see if I can skip out on practice tonight.”
Chapter Sixteen
In the House of Noelle
“I understand why they think it’s a bad idea, honey,” Mom said.
“I don’t. They’re too overprotective, that’s the problem.”
Andy had given me the night off when I asked, which I happily spent at home with my family. I sort of felt bad for them, though, because I complained about the Kilodan the whole time we sat at dinner. We had retired to the living room to continue our little talk, Mom and Susie on either side of me on the couch, Dad in his recliner.
“The Kilodan is very protective of his Psi Fighters,” Mom said. “He’s a good man, and if he seems overprotective, it’s only because he knows how dangerous your job is.”
“He can be so irritating sometimes,” I said. “And he has this annoying way of always being right.”
“That’s because he listens to his wife,” Mom said. “Wives and mothers know everything.”
“His wife?” I said. “I can’t imagine the Kilodan married. I can’t even imagine him as a real human.”
“And that’s the way he likes it,” Dad said. “That’s why he’s our leader. So, when he tells you that finding Mason’s mother will be the quickest path to Nicolaitan, it’s because he has information that makes him believe it’s true.”
“But Mason is such a distraction,” I said. “And he’s mad at me, so that will make being with him worse. I really don’t want to. My idea sounds so much better than sending me on a wild goose chase with a boy I can’t concentrate around.”
Dad chuckled. “Andy and the Kilodan are afraid that your idea will get you killed. And the discomfort of spending time with a boy you obviously like, won’t.”
“But Dad, I don’t.”
Mom smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“Nobody’s forcing you into a relationship. Take your time and see how things go. Enjoy the mission.”
I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Do moms really know everything?”
Mom squeezed me. “We do, honey.”
“Believe me,” Dad said. “They do.”
“But what if I’m wasting my time hunting for Mason’s mom? What if she’s…dead?”
“You’re worried about Mason,” Mom said. “How he’ll handle it.”
I nodded. “Mason barely has a father. He’s got nobody to talk to. I’m lucky. I have you and Dad.”
“What am I, a chopstick?” Susie said, giving me a double-wide palms up.
I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed. “Yes, you are my favorite little eating utensil.”
Mom took my hand. “You are so passionate about everything you do, Rinnie. You take the Psi Fighter creed seriously.”
Susie jumped up and fired a kick into the air. “Vanquish Evil, Do Right, Protect the Innocent. That’s what we do.”
I gave her a noogie and pulled her back onto the couch.
“That’s why you think using yourself as bait is a sure thing,” Mom said. “Nicolaitan is an animal, and you think that giving an animal what it wants is the best way to trap it.”
“Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed. “That’s exactly how I feel about him. What did you do, read my mind?”
“I raised you. I know my girls. Rinnie, you can’t let your hatred for that man drag you down to his level. Hate is the worst of the dark emotions. It’s a cancer.”
“But it’s a good plan,” I said. “If the Whisperers spread the word that the Morgan girl is looking for Nicolaitan—”
Dad clapped his hands over his ears. “La la la, I can’t he-ar you!”
“Dad! Will you at least listen to my idea? The Four could hide close by. They are the most powerful Psi Fighters in the world. If they can’t protect me, who can?”
“I’ll protect you,” Susie said. “I blasted Egon pretty good, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, my little bodyguard. But you aren’t allowed anywhere near Nicolaitan. Never. He is the most evil, murderous, smelly human alive.”
Dad leaned forward in his chair with a smirk.
“What?”
Dad chuckled. “Hoisted on your own petard.”
“What’s a petard?” Susie said.
“It means that your sister has a double standard,” Dad said. “She forbids you to risk your life to stop Nicolaitan, but she’s okay with risking her own.”
Susie scrunched her eyes at me. “You just keep your petard at home where it belongs.”
“Well said.” Dad leaned back in his recliner, hands behind his head. “End of conversation.”
“We know the pain of losing people we love,” Mom said. “But w
e never want to know what it feels like to lose a child. That’s why we agree with Andy and the Kilodan on this one, honey.”
“But Mom—”
“Nicolaitan is a monster.” Dad got out of his chair. “I was there the night your parents died. They were our best friends.”
“I know,” I said. “You never told me what happened.”
Mom looked at me like she wanted to cry. “No child should see what you saw.”
“I was at home when I got the call from Andy,” Dad said quietly. “Nicolaitan had taken you. Your parents were going to Dead End Alley to get you back. They hadn’t been to the Academy, so I knew they were unmasked. I told Andy to wait for me, but he was gone by the time I got there. I got suited up and rushed to the alley as fast as I could move. Everyone was in a panic that night. None of us were organized. It was like a bad dream.”
“When he got there,” Mom said, “he was too late.”
“Your parents were the most skilled Psi Fighters I ever knew,” Dad said. “But without their armor, they never had a chance. Nicolaitan killed them with Handless Death. They didn’t have a mark on them. But Andy’s armor was destroyed, covered in blood. That battle must have been vicious.”
Silent sobs shook my body. Mom put her arm around me, and Susie crawled onto my lap.
“My three best friends were dead,” Dad continued. “And you were nowhere to be found. That was the worst pain I have ever felt. I wouldn’t survive if I had to relive it. I was terrified and started to search for Nicolaitan’s trail. Then I saw your little hand sticking out from beneath Andy. You were protected in his arms. That must have been the last thing he did after he drove Nicolaitan away. I took you from him and you moved. I almost laughed, I was so happy. I lifted my mask and kissed you. I knew right then that Susie was going to have a new sister.”
“And that’s when you stopped being a Psi Fighter?” I asked.
Dad nodded. “You never really stop being a Psi Fighter, but I changed my relationship with them that day. I had a new priority in my life.”
“Lucky for us, Andy wasn’t dead,” Mom said. “Rinnie, I know he tries his best not to show it, but Andy is one of the bravest men I have ever met. He was seventeen years old when Nicolaitan murdered your parents. He’d only had his black belt for a year, but he went after Nicolaitan alone. That’s why he’s so hard on you sometimes. He sees himself in you. And it scares him.”
Live and Let Psi Page 10
