Psi Another Day (Psi Fighter Academy) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty
-
two

A Bad Ending

“How do you know it’s her pen?” Kathryn asked.

“Amplifier. It fell out of her purse when she crashed into us.”

“Tammy Angel is the kidnapper?” Kathryn shook her head. “We already ruled her out. Too obvious. Drugs, grand theft auto, being stupid without a license, definitely. But kidnapping? Never.”

“I know. That’s why it makes perfect sense. Nobody would have noticed her hanging around the elementary school or the playground. To the outside world, she’s just an extremely hot cheerleader. But we know better. And as soon as you can get me out of here, I’m taking the Amplifier to Andy. He’ll analyze the memory fragments. Then we have her.”

“Okay, here’s the plan.” Kathryn took my hands. “I am going to the bathroom…and you are coming with me, because that’s what girls do. Then I’ll get back to my romantic moment, and make an excuse for you to leave.”

“How about if you go potty, and I find Egon and Bobby?”

“That works, too. Tell my Bobby I’ll be right there.” Kathryn opened the boiler room door and the Red Team stood waiting. Tammy’s eyes were still glazed, but she seemed to be in control.

“Lose something?” I asked, wondering if Tammy knew I had her Amplifier.

“Hi, Kathryn, beautiful gown,” Tammy sang. “You really should hang with us tonight, you know. The Red Team always needs women of your caliber.”

“Thanks,” Kathryn said, “but I’m planning on hanging with my boyfriend. TTFN.”

Tammy sneered at me. “Speaking of boyfriends, Peroxide, Egon was mine first. Thought you should know.”

Liar. “I do believe,” I said, batting my eyes and forcing the sweetest smile I could fake, “that
was
is the key word here. Don’t you agree?”

Tammy huffed and led the Red Team into the girl’s bathroom.

“Good one,” Kathryn said. “Okay, you find our dates while I do my thing.”

“I’m on it.”

As Kathryn disappeared through the bathroom door, I headed toward the gym, last known location of two very hot boys. I approached the crowded dance floor, but Bobby was standing alone.

“Where’s Egon?”

“I don’t know. He disappeared right after you did. Where’s Kitty?”

“Girl’s room.”

“Rubric’s going around badmouthing her. I’m probably going to have to erase him.”

“Erase?” I giggled at Bobby’s attempt at being cool.

“Less clichéd than ‘end’ or ‘destroy.’ I’m working on my tough guy vocabulary.”

“That’s where clichés were invented.” We stood in silence for several minutes, me wondering how Andy would handle Scallion once we verified that he was a she, Bobby apparently making up new superhero sayings.

“What are they doing?” Bobby finally asked. “Did they leave without us?”

Suddenly, someone grabbed me by the shoulder. I spun without thinking, twirled my arm up and around, and forced an arm lock on whoever it was that shouldn’t have been grabbing me.

“Hey. That hurts.”

I gasped. Poor Egon was all doubled over, his arm twisted in my grip. I let loose, and he stood up slowly. “Nice move.” He smiled, rubbing his shoulder. “We should spar some time.”

The very thought filled my head with pictures that I never knew I was capable of imagining…Kathryn would have been proud. I opened my mouth to say something witty, but just sort of gurgled.

Egon peeked at me out of the corner of his eye. “On second thought, maybe I’ll keep my distance. I don’t wanna be damaged.”

“Oh, Egon, I’d never damage you. I am so sorry. Are you okay?”

He continued to rub his poor shoulder. “I’ve had meaner opponents. But if you’d like to make it up to me, we could dance.”

I nodded happily. One quick dance before telling Andy about Scallion couldn’t hurt. Scallion wasn’t going anywhere.

“No more nose powdering?”

“I promise.”

“Can you retrieve my date first?” Bobby asked.

“She said she’d be right back.” I looked up at Egon.

“Go ahead. I’ll be right here. Then you’re all mine.”

What a sweet thought. When this kidnapper thing was over and Tammy was doing time, I would be free to be all his. As I worked my way through the crowd back to the bathroom, I thought about Tammy’s Amplifier. It would help us locate the other Knights. Maybe even their training ground. With Andy’s gadgets, he could trace it to wherever it had been. Like he always said,
Memories…better than DNA.

Just as I reached for the bathroom door, it crashed open. Boot Milner burst through and pushed me aside with one arm, a wild look in her eyes. Agatha Chew rushed after her.

“You’re excused,” I said.

“Rinnie.” Agatha stopped in front of me, blocking the bathroom entrance.

“Look,” I said. “I don’t want trouble.” Then I noticed the terrified expression on Agatha’s face.

“It was him.”

Suddenly, I was frightened out of my mind. “Who? What happened?
What did you do?
”

Boot yelled, “Shut up!” and ran.

Agatha followed, disappearing into the crowd, and I shoved the bathroom door open. Thick cigarette smoke rolled out, burning my eyes. The bathroom looked empty through the haze.

“Kathryn?” I whispered.

No answer. No sound, not even breathing. Suddenly, my heart pounded. My breath came in rasping gulps. Strands of luxurious, blond hair protruded from under the closed stall door, stuck to the grimy tiled floor and soaked in blood.

“Kathryn!”
I slowly lowered myself to my knees to look under the door. My whole body shook. Kathryn lay unmoving on her side, facing away from me, her head in a puddle of blood. I knew I had to get to her, but couldn’t force myself to crawl into the stall. Pushing aside my fear, I put my hand under the door, but stopped short, afraid to touch her, afraid of what I might feel. I had never touched a dead body before.

“Kathryn,” I sobbed. I reached for her throat to check for a pulse that I knew wasn’t there. As my quivering fingers touched her skin, Kathryn moaned.

“Kathryn!” I jumped up and tried to pull the stall door open. It was locked from the inside. Without thinking, my hair fluffed and I released a Mental Blast. The door crumpled, burst off its hinges, and landed upright on the toilet against the stall wall.

Instantly, I was inside. I rolled Kathryn on her back. Her forehead was gashed open. A tiny rivulet of blood ran from the crook of her elbow, and a hypodermic needle lay on the stall floor.

Suddenly the bathroom door was flung open. Egon and Bobby rushed in.

“What’s wrong?” Bobby yelled. “Egon heard you scream—
Kitty
!”

“I don’t know what happened. The needle…”

“Kitty?” Bobby’s mouth hung open. “Egon, gimme your cell!”

“I’m on it,” Egon said with less than his normal coolness. I listened as Egon called for an ambulance. I shivered when I heard him say, “Overdosed and hit her head.” That wasn’t right. Kathryn didn’t use drugs. But the needle…

It felt like hours before the paramedics arrived. I watched helplessly as they bandaged Kathryn’s head, strapped her to a gurney, and loaded her into the ambulance. Bobby grabbed the door as they were about to close it. The paramedic put his hand on Bobby’s chest.

“Sorry, we can’t—”

“She’s my girlfriend.” Bobby swiped the man’s hand from his chest. “I took her to this dance. I’ll bring her home.”

“I wish I could let you.”

“I didn’t ask permission.” Bobby forced his way into the ambulance. He squatted next to Kathryn and held her hand.

“I want to go, too,” I said, but I could see there was no room. The paramedic looked at me apologetically as he closed the ambulance door.

…

Back in the gym, I stood in a daze. Whatsisface and Tish leaned against the wall close by me, holding hands, Tish looking lost, Whatsisface looking protective. Egon had gone outside to bring his car around to take me home. The teachers had shut the dance down early. They were out in the hall, probably planning for the massive police investigation that would be coming. The students who drove had been allowed to leave. The couple dozen who didn’t had called home, and waited in the gym for their rides. All around me, I heard them whispering, shocked at what had happened.

“Did you hear about Hollisburg?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“I never expected this from Kathryn.”

“She seemed so decent.”

Whatsisface said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “It’s a lie. Kathryn would never do this. She is the most decent person I know.”

Art Rubric staggered out of nowhere, pushing his way through the crowd. “Decent, shmee-sent,” he slurred. “I told you she’s a user! Not the goodie-two-shoes she pretends to be, is she? I should know. I sold it to her.”

Helpless tears burned my eyes. The filthy liar.

“Shut up!” I screamed. “Just shut up!”

Art tottered toward me, stopping just inches away. His body weaved, his crossed eyes worked to focus as he grinned down at me. Rancid breath rolled out of his foul mouth across my face as he spoke. “Truth hurts, huh, Peroxide? She never even offered you any, did she? Kept it all to herself. Some friend.”

“Let me show you what hurts.” My purse slid from my shoulder. My hand curled into a fist. My arm drew back. As Rubric’s bloodshot eyes grew wide, I fired off the most devastating haymaker I had ever unleashed, right at his ugly, slimy nose. Just before impact, something incredibly strong stopped my fist dead. A huge hand had caught me by the crook of the elbow.

Mason’s hand.

The gym went silent.

Mason’s face was drawn like a lost little boy. He tried to smile at me, but couldn’t. He released my arm and turned to the crowd.

“What’s wrong with you people?” Mason asked quietly, placing himself between Rubric and me. “Why do you believe Art’s lies so easily? Can’t you think for yourself? Aren’t you upset that this would happen to someone like Kathryn?” He paused to look around the room, and let out a loud sigh. He held his hands wide as though he were praying, and stared up at the ceiling for an instant. Then he dropped them to his sides and shook his head. “Doesn’t anyone stand up for friends anymore?”

The group moved to the other side of the gym without a word. A few of them looked back, anger in their eyes. I heard Whatsisface say, “He’s right. It’s time.”

Mason turned to Art. “You disappoint me. But you always have. Next time, I won’t stop her from punching your face in. I might even do it for her. Go home.”

Art’s eyes bugged wide, his mouth opened just a bit, and his lower lip quivered. Without a word, he spun clumsily and staggered across the gym.

Mason turned to me. The pain on his face was heartbreaking. He reached for my cheek, jerked his hand back like he had made a mistake, then wiped my tears away. He leaned down until our foreheads were nearly touching, and whispered, “Rinnie, I’m sorry about Kathryn. I’ll find out who did this.”

How could I tell him I already knew who did it? How could I tell anybody? Mason’s breath was warm and soft. The touch of his fingers on my cheek comforted me, and for the smallest instant, I felt like everything would be all right.

“I have to call Bobby,” Mason whispered. Then he left. Just like that. As quickly as he had come, he was gone.

I leaned against a stack of folded wrestling mats. I needed to sit down, but the floor was too low, and the mats were too high. I heard footsteps. A hand gripped my shoulder.

“Hey, mystery girl.” Egon turned me to face him. “Your chariot awaits. Ready to go?”

“Hey,” I said.

“You dropped this.” He held out my purse. “I’m a little worried. Are you and Kathryn involved in something? Something dangerous? If you need to talk about it, I’m a pretty good listener.”

“Oh, Egon.” Yeah, I was involved. Deeper than I had ever imagined. This was what it meant to be a Psi Fighter. It wasn’t just people I hardly knew getting hurt anymore. It was people I loved. But I couldn’t talk about it, not to Egon. Not to anybody, now. Kathryn was the only one outside the Academy I could ever talk to. “She’s my best friend.”

“Kathryn is in good hands.” Egon put his arms around me. “Bobby will take care of her. Let’s get you home.”

I buried my face in Egon’s shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.

…

It had been hours since Egon dropped me off, and I still hadn’t heard from Kathryn’s parents. I felt like lying in bed and crying myself to sleep. But I couldn’t. I had to do something. Then I remembered Tammy’s Amplifier. Maybe it had answers to this whole mess.

I got up and dug through my purse, but I only found one Amplifier. Mine, in the hidden pocket. I searched my gown—nothing. I grabbed my purse again, ripped it open, and dumped it on my comforter.

“Where is it?” I screamed, sitting angrily on my bed. Just then, I heard my phone ring. I had left it in the kitchen when I came up to my room. I looked at the clock. One-thirty in the morning. I heard footsteps coming toward my room and my heart froze.

“Baby?” Dad stuck his head into my room, holding out my cell. “It’s Bobby.” He sat down beside me and put his arm around me.

“Bobby, how is she?” I asked, terrified of what I might hear.

“Kitty overdosed. Psychedone 10.” Bobby’s voice was thick. “She fractured her skull when she fell. They aren’t sure she’s going to make it.”

My chest seized, and a single loud sob escaped my mouth. “Bobby, no!”

I leaned against my dad and felt him trembling, but quickly realized it was me. My whole body fluttered with helplessness. With rage. Images of Kathryn’s bloody head hung in my mind. I felt like an invisible blanket had separated me from everything that’s fair in the world. My dad pulled me close. “You okay, baby?”

“No, Daddy.” I looked up into my dad’s eyes, then buried myself in his arms and totally fell apart.

Chapter Twenty
-
three

Justice League Move Over

I strode down the hall, alone without Kathryn, and feeling very dangerous. I hadn’t made it to the Academy all weekend, and I needed exercise. Something strenuous, like slamming an evil bozoid into the wall hard enough to leave a moosh mark.

Tammy Angel.

Chew said it was
him
. Meaning Scallion. Of course she wouldn’t know a Knight’s true identity. She would assume Scallion was a guy. But I knew otherwise. I would find Angel and force her to reveal her identity to the whole school. And maybe learn something about Nicolaitan, so I could pluck off his arms and legs like a bug.

Yeah, I was feeling pretty nasty. PMS would have been a major improvement to the mood I was in.

“Hey, Peroxide.”

The disgustingly familiar voice broke my concentration. I
really
hated that voice. What an unexpected stroke of luck. I turned and glared.

Tammy Angel and the Red Team surrounded me. How thoughtful. An early practice session. Suddenly my day was just a little cheerier.

“Ooh,” Tammy said, “Peroxide’s an unhappy girl. I understand your best friend overdosed and busted her head on, of all things, a
toilet
? You know how shocked we all are. And just so you know, we think that Kathryn being a user is, well, uncool.”

A powerful mental surge whipped uncontrollably through my body. A fireball of psychic force rocketed down my arm, but I quenched it. As much as I knew I’d enjoy it, sending the Red Team into oblivion with a Mental Blast would be considered bad form by the Kilodan.

Tammy was as cool and beautiful as ever. So was Boot. But Agatha was visibly on edge. Maybe I could push her over it. “You should be proud, if what Rubric said is true,” I lied. “He told everybody you sold it to her.”

“Oh, Art Rubric!” Tammy started to laugh. “Give me a break. Everyone knows he’s the dealer. He doesn’t have the brains to blame somebody else.”

“He doesn’t need brains. We all saw you fall on your butt last night. Bloodshot eyes. Talking like your mouth was full of marshmallows.”

Tammy looked confused. “What are you talking about? I never fell.”

“Too high to remember? What happened to ‘Users are Losers’? I suppose you don’t remember stumbling out of the bathroom while Kathryn was in there unconscious.” Agatha’s face became a mask of fear. That was all I needed.

“Stop the lies, Peroxide.” Tammy faked a yawn. “You’re boring me.”

“I’m not boring Agatha, though, am I? Tell me what you saw last night, Chew. What happened to Kathryn?”

“I can’t. He’ll kill me!”

“That’s a merry-go-round ride compared to what I’m planning.”

“Shut up,” Tammy snapped.

“Did I strike a nerve?” Time to see what was on their minds. I couldn’t scan Tammy. She would sense the psychic energy and know I was a Psi Fighter. But someone without Mental Arts skills wouldn’t notice anything but a totally lame assault. “Let me strike another one.”

I grabbed Agatha by the arm and was jolted as though I had clamped onto a hot wire. Scanning minds was like touching a high voltage electric fence. As I pulled on Agatha’s memories, frightful visions of a skull-faced figure flashed across my mind. I released her arm. She was stupid enough to be fooled by Angel’s disguise, but I wasn’t.

Boot squealed mockingly, “Oh, please, no! Don’t squeeze my arm, too, you big bully.”

“Was that supposed to scare me?” Agatha snapped, obviously as a show for Tammy and Boot. “Because it didn’t.”

“Go to class, Peroxide,” Tammy said quietly. She got nose to nose with me. “Or do you need another lesson in the social graces?”

Partly because she was a Knight, but mostly because I felt like it, I decided to try a different tactic with Ms. Angel. “No, Tammy, what I really need is some answers. I’m feeling a little impatient today. I think I’ll beat them out of you.”

Tammy smiled smugly, but backed up a step. “You and what mob of lowlife geeks?”

“That would be us,” a voice said from down the hall.

Bobby approached quickly with Erica, Tish, Whatsisface, and a group of people I recognized as the usual victims of the goons. They forced themselves between the Red Team and me.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Dweeb League.” Tammy raised her nose in the air.

“You touch her,” Bobby warned, “you touch all of us.”

“As unappealing as that sounds, I think I’ll pass. Come on, Red Team. Let’s leave the superzeroes to their fantasies.”

I continued to glare at Tammy.
Go ahead
, I thought.
Bump into me
.

Tammy, Boot, and Agatha made their way past everyone without a foul word or nasty deed. When they disappeared around the corner, Bobby and his squadron began to cheer.

“One for Kitty,” Bobby said.

“The Dweeb League,” Whatsisface remarked quietly. “I like it.”

“It’s us,” Tish said. “Definitely.”

Whatsisface puffed out his meager chest, placed one fist on his hip, and pointed to the sky. “The Dweeb League!” His voice fell miles short of manly. “Mild-mannered reporters by day, purveyors of justice by night. Violently handsome crime fighters, we possess abilities far beyond those of mere mortals. When the sun sets, we unite to protect the noble metropolis of Greensburg High School.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or gag, so I just said, “Thanks, guys.”

Whatsisface exhaled loudly and resumed his abnormal shape. “At your service, ma’am,” he said, and gave me a quick two-fingered salute.

“Rinnie.” Bobby’s voice was somber. “We came to ask you a favor. We got together and decided we want to fight back. We want you to train us. They might be bigger and stronger—”

“And faster and meaner and more likely to win,” I interrupted. “They’ll fight dirty, and most of them carry weapons. Not a good argument for fighting back.”

“But you, Miss Kung Fu Master, can teach us to use that against them. We want vengeance.”

I studied the kids standing behind Bobby. Tish continued to dress like a zombie, but she’d stopped slouching. She even smiled. Whatsisface apparently felt like Captain America, but his hairdo made him look like Major Mushroom. Erica Jasmine’s entire demeanor had changed—she looked whole again. The entire group glowed with something I had never seen in them before. I only hoped it wasn’t contagious.

“I don’t do vengeance,” I said. “Bobby, you just stopped them without my help. All you have to do is stick together. Nobody will ever bother you again.”

I turned and walked down the hall.

“Wait up.” Bobby hurried after me. “We gotta talk.”

“Not now, Bobby. I’m going after Angel. Don’t try to stop me.”

“Stop you? I want to hold her while you pound her.”

Robbed of my chance to bludgeon a poor excuse for a Walpurgis Knight, I suddenly felt irrational. “You’re right. We
do
need to talk. And you won’t like the subject.” I grabbed Bobby by the backpack and dragged him backward into the library, straight to the little study room Kathryn and I always used. I closed the door, pushed Bobby into a chair, and began laying my schoolbooks out on the table.

“What are you doing? I didn’t follow you in here to do homework.”

“We have to look like we’re studying.” I glared at the poor boy. “And you didn’t follow me. I dragged you.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Bobby held up his hands. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You wanna know what’s the matter? Let me tell you what’s the matter. Kathryn told you things about me she shouldn’t have.
That’s
what’s the matter.”

“And that’s my fault…
how
?”

“You’re here to yell at and she’s not. Being yelled at for things you have no control over is in the boyfriend job description.”

“Oh. I didn’t know there was fine print.”

“Duh.”

“Umm, what did she tell me?”

“Memory Lash,” I whispered. “Ring a bell? What else did she tell you?”

“Oh, yeah, well, that. And that you’re a Psi Fighter and—”

I pressed my history book against my forehead. “Wonderful. Do you have any idea what that means?”

“Yeah, you’re part of a secret society that fights bad guys. You’re the people they call when there’s real trouble. Kind of like Spider-Man without the cape. Secret identity and all that—”

I slammed the book on the table. “And because she told you, my secret identity is
not
secret, which means that my family is in danger, and we’ll all be murdered in our sleep. Happy? And Spider-Man does
not
wear a cape! Who else knows?”

“The whole school will if you don’t yell at me a little quieter,” Bobby said. “Jeez, I thought superheroes were discreet.”

My throat tightened. I wondered how upset Kathryn would be if I murdered her boyfriend. “Who. Knows?”

“Nobody. What do you think, your best friend is a moron? She never said a word. I brought it up. Don’t forget, Rinnie, I was there. I saw what you did.”

“You knew about the Memory Lash before that day in the park. I suppose you found that on the Internet?”

Bobby blushed. “Well, to tell the truth, Kitty talks in her sleep.”

“WHAT?”

“No, nothing like that. She always falls asleep during Math Club. I was going to wake her to leave, and she mumbled something about a Memory Lash changing hearts. I thought she was dreaming until I saw what you did to Mason. After you saved me in the park, I asked her about it, and she totally flipped out on me. Believe me, you do not want to be on the wrong side of Kitty. She swore she’d cut off body parts that I’d really prefer to keep if I ever spoke a word to anyone. She is
extremely
protective of you, and made it painfully clear that I will be, too, if I want to remain alive and unharmed. We did everything we could to cover up what happened that afternoon. You’re just lucky Rubric was so whacked out on drugs he doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t even know he was there. You knocked Chuckie out, so he didn’t see anything. It’s Mason I’m worried about.”

So Kathryn didn’t give away my secret after all. She was totally trustworthy. I sighed silently. “I’m not worried about Mason anymore. I want Angel.”

“Rinnie, I have an idea.”

“Put all my secrets on Facebook? You mean you haven’t already?”

“I brought you an army. Train them.”

“Your army can’t help me. It’s too dangerous. This is something I have to do alone. In case Kathryn left out any other details about my personal life, I fight very ruthless people. My birth parents were murdered. I’m going after their killer as soon as I stop this kidnapper.”

“They…” Bobby’s mouth hung open. “You’re adopted? That part must’ve slipped her mind.”

“They kidnapped me and used me as bait. If it weren’t for me, my parents would still be alive. I want Angel. She’s one of them.”

Bobby looked down at the floor, then back at me. “Are you telling me that Tammy Angel is the Walpurgis Knight called Scallion? So…she is the kidnapper. She attacked Kitty. Makes perfect sense.” Bobby touched my shoulder. “The Knights do all these nasty things to lure you out, right? They beat people up, they run drugs, just to get you to try to stop them. Just to find out who you are.”

I mentally smashed my head repeatedly against the tabletop.

“Is there anything Kathryn
didn’t
tell you?” I mumbled. On the plus side, she had obviously instilled a healthy fear of giving away my secret. I had no doubt Bobby would keep his mouth shut. “Look, I’m positive Tammy is Scallion, but I lost her Amplifier, so I can’t prove it. I have to get her to come out of hiding.”

“Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.” Bobby leaned toward me and slammed his fist into his palm. “Let’s kick Angel’s butt right here. We’ll stop the Psychedone 10 production. We’ll put her and her goons in jail. If that doesn’t make her show herself, I don’t know what will. Leave it to the Dweeb League. We’ll give the school its dignity back.”

I smiled, struggling only a little with the idea of restoring dignity to someone with a Three Stooges hairdo. “That might actually work.”