The Heroes Return

by Monica Tesler

  “She’s right, Lucy,” I say. “Denver and I don’t want to go back. That’s our choice.”

  “Let’s leave,” Cole says to Lucy and begins building a port.

  I’m almost sure he’s bluffing, but I can’t risk it. “Wait! Maybe there’s a middle ground. I’d be willing to return to Earth to finish out the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour if it meant we could reach an agreement today.”

  “And Denver?” Lucy asks.

  “We will discuss it during our caucus,” Addy replies.

  “Even if Captain Reddy agrees,” Cole says, “it’s not good enough. The Resistance must answer for its attack at the rally.”

  Addy balls her fists and puffs her chest, the same stance she’d always take before pummeling me over taking the last chocolate chip cookie Mom baked. “And Earth Force must answer for shooting down more than half our ships today!”

  Lucy takes an angry step toward my sister.

  “Hey!” I say. “We’re here to find a way forward, not dwell in the past. Let’s cool things down.”

  “How can I cool things down when you destroyed my narrative?!” Lucy shouts at me. “Any solution we reach has to address the publicity nightmare you left us!”

  “We’ll get to that, Lucy, if we can agree to some preliminaries. For starters, no more violence. Both sides stand down. Earth Force leaves Gulagan airspace. The Resistance ceases all attacks on Earth. We’ll discuss whether Denver and I are willing to return.”

  “No way, J—” Marco starts.

  “It’s reasonable, Marco,” I say. “If we’re going to reach a compromise, both sides have to give something up.”

  “That’s what compromise means, in case you didn’t know,” Lucy says to Marco.

  “Don’t start with me, Lucy,” Marco says.

  “What are they giving up?” Addy says through gritted teeth.

  “Our ships are poised to destroy you,” Cole says. “We’re willing to discuss letting you live.”

  They would never destroy Gulaga. They value the occludium ore too much.

  “Mira rightly points out that you’d never risk the destruction of the occludium or the mining operations on Gulaga, Cole, so please stop bluffing. It’s getting us nowhere.”

  “Then what do you want?” Cole asks.

  “Publicly acknowledge the Resistance and formally listen to our demands,” Addy says.

  Lucy laughs. “If you think Admiral Eames will agree to that, you’re dumber than I thought.”

  “Agree to return Captain Reddy permanently, and I’ll present that to her,” Cole says.

  “We already said no,” Marco says. “Denver doesn’t want to go. The best we might be able to do is convince him to finish out the tour.”

  “Then I don’t see how we move forward,” Cole says. He lifts his gloves.

  “Wait,” Addy says. “We’ll ask him.”

  “Okay, then,” I say. “I know Admiral Eames and Captain Reddy discussed this already, but any deal reached today must include an agreement for both sides to meet within the next month with their leaders and the delegates here today—meaning us—to hammer out a formal deal and next steps. Understood?” They nod in acknowledgment. “Great. We’ll break and reconvene here in twenty minutes.” That didn’t go the best, but I suppose it could have gone a lot worse.

  “We’ll be back,” Cole says to Addy and Marco. “Make sure you are, too.” He builds a port and bounds away.

  Seconds later, Lucy vanishes.

  “You coming?” Marco asks me.

  Stay.

  “No,” I say. “I’m supposed to be neutral in all of this. I’ll wait here.”

  Addy and Marco bound back to Gulaga, leaving Mira and me alone on the flight deck.

  32

  MIRA LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL THAT I have to shade my eyes. I don’t want her to know my thoughts—although it’s not as if covering my face and twisting my neck will make a difference in her ability to read my mind.

  Even though I’m not watching, I feel her take a step closer, then another.

  I can’t help it. I turn back to her.

  Words don’t flow from Mira, but feelings do, a full spectrum of feelings. She encapsulates us in a bubble of contradictions: joy and sorrow, hope and despair, love and resentment.

  “You left me.” I blink, spilling tears onto the flight deck. “You said you didn’t want to come back with me.”

  I’m sorry.

  “Why?”

  I can’t explain.

  “You can’t say that! You can’t just disappear with the Youli and then refuse to tell me why. That’s not how friendship works, Mira!”

  What I don’t say—what I know she hears anyway—is that I thought we were more than friends.

  Mira takes a step closer. She raises her palm, her long fingers spread wide like a sea star. Then she places her hand on my heart.

  A sizzling current seizes my body. My head falls back as my chest juts forward against Mira’s palm. The current intensifies. Our connection strengthens. For a moment it isn’t me and Mira, two separate people. It’s us, together, merged in a place beyond time and space.

  She curls her fingers and lowers her hand, severing the connection.

  I fall to my knees. My hips strike the flight deck. I’m empty. It feels like Mira grabbed my heart and ripped it right out of my rib cage.

  Mira kneels beside me. Okay?

  No, I’m not okay! I want her hand on my chest. I want her arms wrapped around me. I want to bury my head in her neck and cry.

  I want her to stay.

  I shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t dare hope, but I can’t help it.

  I watch her face until her eyes meet mine. Will you stay?

  She drops her gaze to the flight deck. No.

  No? It feels like my heart is ripped out all over again. Why not? I slam my hands against the flight deck. “Why not, Mira?!” My words spill out through tears and clenched teeth. “Oh, wait, that’s right . . . you can’t explain. You’re not going to explain, you’re just going to abandon your friends again, is that it? You’re going to abandon me again, Mira!”

  It’s not about what I want. This is just what has to be.

  Maybe she thinks she can’t come back. Maybe she thinks Admiral Eames would lock her up or even execute her for joining the Youli. She might be right.

  I stand and gather her hands, pulling her to her feet. It’s okay, Mira, you can come back. You can come to Gulaga with me. Waters would love for you to join the Resistance. There’s a place for you, Mira. There will always be a place for you.

  Mira jerks her hands away and walks to the edge of the flight deck. In the light of the stars, her golden hair seems to glow.

  I don’t need her words to know her answer. It doesn’t matter what I say, she’s not staying.

  Please, Mira.

  She turns back to me. I will try to explain, but not here, not now.

  “When, then?”

  When you come.

  An image forms in my mind of a huge crystal city glistening under the light of a trio of suns, its buildings stretching like thin fingers to the sky.

  Is that the Youli home world? I ask.

  I can’t wait to show it to you. We can be together there, Jasper, at least for a little while.

  What on earth does that mean? Why is she talking in riddles?

  A flicker of light flashes in my peripheral vision, followed by a second. By the time I turn around, Cole and Lucy are standing on the flight deck. Addy and Marco arrive seconds later.

  I straighten and try to calm my insides. There’s no time to decipher what Mira is saying, not when so much depends on this meet. It’s time to finish what we came here to do.

  “Have both sides had a chance to talk with their leaders?” My voice trembles as I ask my pod mates. They confirm that they have. “What do you think of the terms?”

  “We have a question for you, Jasper,” Addy says. “Are you sure you’re willing to finish out the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour?�
��

  I look from Addy and Marco to Cole and Lucy. “If it means we leave here today with an agreement, then yes.”

  “Captain Reddy agrees to return for the tour as long as Jasper does,” Marco says.

  “And after?” Lucy asks.

  “That’s up to him,” Addy says. “Captain Reddy hasn’t made a decision about what to do after the tour. As you all know, he just rejoined society after being stranded in the rift for fifteen years. He would like time to weigh his options, and he wants free passage back to Gulaga after the tour ends if that’s what he decides.”

  “We can live with that,” Lucy says and nods at Cole.

  “Earth Force will withdraw its troops from Gulagan space,” Cole says, “as long as the Resistance stops all attacks.”

  Marco nods. “Agreed.”

  “Then it looks like we have a deal,” I say, relieved that something productive is actually going to come from this meet.

  Wait.

  Mira walks into the middle of our group—Addy and Marco to her right, Cole and Lucy to her left, me directly in front. She raises her arms, and her palms shine with a golden light.

  Then she’s in my brain. But more than that, I can tell from the expressions on Addy’s and my pod mates’ faces that Mira is in their brains, too.

  The Youli also have a demand.

  “Are you hearing this?” Cole asks.

  Marco taps his head. “Loud and clear, Wiki.”

  “I don’t think it’s Mira,” I tell them, remembering what Waters said about the collective Youli mind. “I think it’s the Youli talking.”

  Mira’s face is blank, but the words continue to flow from her into our minds. Earth must present itself before the Intragalactic Council. We have selected the five of you as representatives of your planet.

  “We can’t just agree to that,” I say.

  “How are you speaking to us?” Lucy asks Mira. “Did you learn this from the Youli?”

  “Is this what brain-talk always feels like?” Addy asks me.

  You have one Earth month. Then we will meet here again and travel together to the Youli home world to meet with the Council.

  “What if we don’t?” I ask.

  As soon as the words leave my mouth, the space around the bounding base illuminates and three silver spheres appear. They spin faster than light, and as they do, they unfurl into giant saucers, just like the Youli ship we saw on the Paleo Planet.

  Earth Force may be poised to destroy Gulaga, but the Youli are positioned to destroy Earth and all its peoples. You have not yet witnessed the extent of our power. We have tolerated Earth’s unethical acts long enough. You must appear and negotiate your planet’s admission to the Intragalactic Council. It is time Earth understands its role as a planetary citizen of the galaxy.

  Mira’s words fade. The Youli ships begin to spin. They circle back into spheres. In a flash of light, they’re gone. For the briefest moment, Mira’s eyes meet mine.

  And then she is gone, too.

  The five of us are left behind on the flight deck.

  Marco and Addy exchange glances. So do Cole and Lucy. Then Cole looks at Marco, who shrugs. Addy and Lucy both look like they’re about to laugh. And then we’re all communicating silently, without words, almost like Mira. Even though something unexpected and dangerous just happened, it kind of feels like old times. Because . . . really . . . the threat of the Youli annihilating us is nothing new.

  I push aside the well of emotions bubbling inside me and break the silence. “So I guess we have a deal. Or, at least, Earth Force and the Resistance do. As for the Youli, you should talk to your leaders, but I suspect I’ll be seeing you back here in a month.” Even though that sounds totally bizarre, it also sounds somehow right.

  Is that the only reason Mira came? To threaten us into appearing before the Intragalactic Council? Was she happy to see me? If it was up to her, would she have stayed?

  All I know is she’s gone, like before, and I’m left with more questions than answers.

  “Thank you, Jasper,” Cole says, nodding formally.

  “Yes, thank you.” Lucy gives me a hug. “I love you even though I’m still mad.”

  I squeeze Lucy tight. Love is a strange thing. I think I love Mira. But I also love Addy—in a different way, of course. In fact, I love everyone standing on this flight deck.

  Marco slaps his hand on my back. “Thanks, Ace. Now, didn’t you say something about food?”

  Addy smiles. “Why not? Anything is better than BERF.”

  “Blah!” Lucy says, pretending to puke. “You couldn’t force me to eat that stuff again!”

  Despite the drama, Lucy heads for the base and the rest of us follow like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

  With each step, the stiffness seems to seep out of Cole. “I can’t believe you went back to Gulaga, Jasper, not with all the forage and fungi.”

  Marco swings his arm over Cole’s shoulder. “He just wanted to pay a visit to the trash worm, Wiki. If I remember right, you had a close-up view of his insides.”

  Lucy pretends to vomit again. “Leave it to you guys to gross me out twice.”

  “Nothing’s as gross as your signature scent,” I say. “I left your office smelling like a rose garden.”

  “I love roses,” Addy says, glancing cautiously at Lucy.

  Lucy looks surprised for a moment, and then her expression softens. “Thanks for coming to my defense, sweetie,” she says to Addy. “Us girls need to stick together.”

  Once we’re in the mess hall, we pull up seats around an old metal table. Marco fills a tray with tater tots and slides it into the center.

  Soon we’ll have to get back. Waters will wonder where we are, and I’m sure Admiral Eames is just as antsy about Cole and Lucy. But for now, even if it’s strained, even if it’s fleeting, even if it requires a whole tray of tater tots to keep it going, we’re a pod again.

  And I don’t think any of us want to let that go.

  Not yet.

  Acknowledgments

  The last few years have been a whirlwind of writing, marketing, and interacting with incredible booksellers, teachers, librarians, publishing professionals, authors, and, of course, readers. I have so much gratitude for those who have supported me, worked alongside me, and taught me by example since I first sent the Bounders series out into the world.

  With the publication of The Heroes Return, special thanks are owed to my fabulous editor, Sarah McCabe, and the entire team at Simon & Schuster/Aladdin. Also, I will be forever grateful to my agent, David Dunton, and my first editor, Michael Strother, who both saw the potential in the Bounders series from the beginning.

  I draw my inspiration from many places, but no place greater than my own family. My husband, Jamey, and our children, Nathan and Gabriel, will forever have my heart and gratitude. Thank you so much for your continued support and love on this journey.

  Creativity needs to be nurtured. Fortunately, I come from a family that celebrates and supports my creativity. My parents, Lynne and Richard Swanson, have always been my biggest fans, whether it be at a piano recital, a theater performance, or a book launch party. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for helping me fill the creative well from which I continue to draw. This book is for you.

  About the Author

  PHOTO BY BARRIE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

  MONICA TESLER lives south of Boston with her husband and their two boys. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. She writes on the commuter boat, in coffee shops, and at her kitchen table. She tries to meditate every day but often ends up fantasizing about space, time travel, or strange lands, both real and imagined.

  ALADDIN

  SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Monica-Tesler

  Also by Monica Tesler

  Bounders, Book 1: Earth Force Rising

  Bounders, Book 2: The Tundra Trials

  B
ounders, Book 3: The Forgotten Shrine

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

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  First Aladdin hardcover edition December 2018

  Text copyright © 2018 by Monica Tesler

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2018 by Owen Richardson

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki

  Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Tesler, Monica, author.

  Title: The heroes return / by Monica Tesler.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2018. | Series: Bounders ; book 4 | Summary: “Jasper and Mira must escape the rift and deliver a message from the Youli to Earth Force before the war destroys their planet”— Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018024629 (print) | LCCN 2018031491 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534402492 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534402478 (hardcover)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Human-alien encounters—Fiction. | Ambassadors—Fiction. | Virtual reality—Fiction. | Science fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science & Technology. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction.