Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2)(36)

“Hi,” Bells says, shyly.

“What are you doing in town? Done with Council business already?” Emma squeezes past Bells. She pulls Samantha into a hug.

“These are Emma’s friends, you remember, right?” Josephine teases as Jess, Abby, and Brendan pile into the living room next to Bells.

“Bells, you’ve gotten so tall!” Samantha says. “And Jess, look at that smile. It’s so good to see you all. You know, I can’t remember when all of us have gotten together?”

Jess looks at all of them. “What’s going on?”

“Let me get that for you.” Genevieve appears in the garage doorway. A look of concentration crosses her face, and the boxes in Nick’s arms float into the air and into the garage.

Nick laughs. “That skill is so helpful. Li Hua, you’ve been holding back on us.”

“Please, this is nothing.” Li Hua blushes as she takes Collette’s bags, stacks them atop what she’s already carrying, and follows Genevieve into the garage. “There, that’s almost everything!” The click of a trunk being shut echoes in the awkward silence as everyone looks around at one another. Bells can see his dad rubbing the back of his neck as if he feels guilty about something, which he should, because it looks as though all their parents are going on a rescue mission.

“The plan came together really abruptly,” Collete says gently. “We were about to tell you—”

“And we’re all here! This is great, we can just say goodbye to all the kids right now, saves us a bunch of time.” Victor rubs his hands together as he comes into the living room with Genevieve and Li Hua behind him.

“What do you mean, goodbye?” Jess says.

“Is this about finding Master Mischief? We should be coming too!” Brendan says. “We can help!”

Bells nods. They can withdraw from school and finish the rest of the year independently. This is more important; a sense of purpose quickens his pulse.

“Did Dad respond to the coded message you sent him? Is he okay? Do you know where he is?” Abby asks, all at once.

“Abby—” Genevieve pulls her into a hug. “He hasn’t responded. Wherever they’re keeping him, he doesn’t have access to the Net. Or if he does, he’s being constantly monitored and isn’t going to risk letting them know about us.”

“So, what? We’re just giving up?” Tears flood Abby’s eyes.

“No, of course not,” Genevieve says, smoothing down Abby’s hair.

“We have a lead on how the villains went missing,” Li Hua says. “All the ones who’ve vanished this year, including Master Mischief.”

“And now we know Orion isn’t in Corrections, because meta-humans are still disappearing,” Victor says.

Genevieve nods. “She’s continuing her experiments, even without League support. In the files Jess recovered from her personal DED we found a detailed list of the meta-humans she’s planning to capture next.”

“We need to get them to safety,” Li Hua says.

“We can help,” Emma says.

“Yes!”

“I can start packing right now!”

“I’m ready,” Bells says, crunching his knuckles.

“Look, I know you kids think this is your fight, but it isn’t.” Victor places a hand on Jess’ shoulder. “We appreciate everything you’ve done to help us, but the NAC and the League have a lot of resources. They have meta-humans with powers that you can’t fight.”

“But you’re all going!” Emma protests.

Josephine shakes her head. “We were just helping them get started. Your mama is taking the train back to New Bright City in the morning. I’ll be here, don’t worry.”

“And you guys?” Bells says in alarm, looking at his parents. “Who’s gonna run the farm? The restaurant?”

Collette and Nick give him a small smile, and Bells knows it’s pointless to argue. It’s not as if they haven’t worked away from home before or gone out of town at the last minute. They do lots of organizing with Grassroots across the entire Collective and sometimes don’t even tell Bells until they’re on the road, but this is different. This is dangerous, and he’s concerned.

“Sean is going to manage the farms, and Simon is going to help when he’s not at school, and we’ve got a great staff and plenty of MonRobots on our team. Don’t worry,” Nick says.

“I’m more worried about you guys,” Bells mutters.

“Is it because we’re kids, and you think we’re not gonna be useful because our powers aren’t ‘cool’ in combat?” Jess’ lip wobbles.

“Oh, of course not.” Li Hua wraps Jess in a hug.

Victor pats Jess awkwardly and gives Bells and Emma a stern look. “We just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“So it is dangerous!”

Li Hua glares at her husband. “No, look, we’re just more equipped to handle this sort of thing.”

“My parents aren’t meta-humans! What was that about powers and… and… people not getting hurt?”

Victor pats Bells on the shoulder. “Your parents have an extensive underground communication system with their guerrilla farmer’s network that may be able to help us find Phillip.”