be fine. Ruby told us all about the quarantine, and the testing to make that … serum thing they’ve been working on.”
“That’s supposed to be top secret.”
She shrugged. “We don’t do secrets in our family. My point is, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t deserve to have all that on his shoulders.”
“My feelings exactly.”
“I’m sure the Captain and the Dread Warden care about him, just like they care about you. They’ll come to understand. And in the meantime, I promise we’ll take good care of him.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Tucker.”
She leaned in and gave him a hug, which Adrian wasn’t expecting. “Go on,” she said. “Go do hero stuff. And tell that daughter of mine that I expect daily phone calls. Just because she’s not living under this roof doesn’t mean she’s not my responsibility, superpowers or otherwise.”
He grinned. “I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”
* * *
Adrian hadn’t walked three blocks from the apartments when he received a communication over his wristband. His palms became clammy with dread before he even looked down to see who it was from, and he was right.
Bracing himself, he accepted the call.
“Where is he?” barked Captain Chromium. “Adrian, what have you done?”
“So … you got the note?” said Adrian, trying to keep his tone light. Not wanting his dads to panic and think that Max had been kidnapped out of the hospital by some covert gang of villains, they had left a note for the hospital staff to find, explaining that Max was with his brother and that the Renegades shouldn’t worry about him.
“Yes, we got the note! What’s going on? Where is Max?”
“He’s somewhere safe,” said Adrian. He paused on the sidewalk, leaning up against a light post. “Trust me.”
“Trust you? What does that even—”
Hugh was cut off, followed by some shuffling on the other side, and then Simon’s voice cut in. “Adrian, we do trust you. And we trust Max. But this is serious. We need to know where he is. You of all people should understand how dangerous it is for him to be alone out in the world.”
“He’s not alone,” said Adrian. “No other prodigies will be at risk, and he’s comfortable and secure, maybe even happy, which is more than we could ever say about putting him back in that quarantine.”
A brief silence followed. Hugh returned, his panic now under better control. “How did you even manage to get him out of the hospital? Did you find the Vitality Charm?”
“No, Dad. But I—” Adrian hesitated and for a moment considered telling them the truth, rather than the story he’d been concocting all day. But no, the time wasn’t right. “I borrowed one of the hazmat suits from HQ and put Max into it. The barrier protected me from his powers long enough to get him to where we needed to go.”
“A hazmat suit?” said Simon. “And no one noticed a ten-year-old kid wandering down the corridors in a hazmat suit?”
Adrian waited a beat and was met with Simon’s subtle gasp, then a groan. “Invisibility. Right. You know, I forget that he has that one, too.”
“You did give it to him,” said Adrian, “so technically, it’s kind of like you helped him escape.”
“Don’t get smart,” said Hugh. “And he didn’t need to escape. He’s not a prisoner!”
“Wasn’t he?” said Adrian. “Look, I know you guys love him, but I’m not letting you put him back in that quarantine, end of story. For now, he’s safe where he is, until we find a more permanent solution.”
“No, Adrian, you are going to tell us where he is right this minute, so we can get him back to the hospital and make sure—”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Adrian interrupted. “For now, I’m late for a team meeting. Okay, guys? Love you, bye!”
The communication band filled with enraged prattle, but was silenced by a press of his thumb. Adrian flinched, wondering whether he was too old to be grounded. When he was a kid and went against their rules, they’d always threaten to take away his comics or video games, but those things didn’t hold quite the same sway over him that they used to. What could they take away now that would matter?
He steadied his breathing. It would be all right. Of all the things he’d done in the past few months that could make his dads angry or disappointed with him, whisking Max away to a secret safehouse was hardly the worst of it. A part of him even hoped that, someday,