“I don’t want to split up again,” he said.

“No, me neither.”

“Max…”

His face was unreadable in the moonlight. I felt the light, feathery heat of his wing lying over mine. What did he want from me? Why couldn’t he just let things be?

“What do you want from me?” he said.

“What do I- What do you mean? I want the usual stuff, like always.” Ihated conversations like this,hated talking about my feelings unless I was, like, furious. Then words came easily. But this mushy hearts-and-flowers stuff? Ugh.

His eyes met mine. “Look, you didn’t like it when you saw me with that girl at school, back in Virginia.”

True. Seeing Fang kissing the Red-Haired Wonder had sent acid churning through my gut. I stayed silent, remembering.

“And I wasn’t thrilled about you and Sam, the possible traitor, also back in Virginia.”

“Yeah, Virginia basically sucked,” I agreed.

“Well, why? Why would it bother us to see us with other people?”

Oh, God, where was he going with this? If I had more than brother-sister feelings for Fang, I could barely admit them to myself, much less him.

“’Cause we’re shallow and self-serving?” I tried, wishing he would just drop it.

He rolled his eyes and took my hand. His hand was hard and calloused, tough with muscle and old scars. The night settled around us like a blanket. I could hear the water lapping against the dock. We were totally alone.

“You’re…,” he began, and I waited, heart throbbing in my throat. “Such apain, ” he concluded.

“What?”I asked, just as his head swooped in and his mouth touched mine. I tried to speak, but one of Fang’s hands held the back of my head, and he kept his lips pressed against me, kissing me softly but with a Fanglike determination.

Oh, jeez,I thought distractedly.Jeez, this is Fang, and me, and… Fang tilted his head to kiss me more deeply, and I felt totally lightheaded. Then I remembered to breathe through my nose, and the fog cleared a tiny bit. Somehow we were pressed together, Fang’s arms around me now, sliding under my wings, his hands flat against my back.

It was incredible. I loved it. I loved him.

It was a total disaster.

Gasping, I pulled back. “I, uh-,” I began oh so coherently, and then I jumped up, almost knocking him over, and raced down the dock. I took off, flying fast, like a rocket.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. I was every warning headline of every teen magazine. “Are you pushing him away? How to get him closer!” “Tired of being a tomboy? How to access your inner vixen!” “Not ready for a relationship? Here are 10 ways to tell!” I’m guessing one way to tell would be freaking out over a simple kiss, streaking off in the night, then lying awake in bed until dawn, tortured by emotions you don’t even recognize. I don’t know- seems like a clue.

When my mom patted my shoulder to “wake” me up in the morning, my eyes were dry and gritty. I had gotten about twenty minutes of sleep. I was dreading facing Fang, and wondering if he was mad, hurt, or what. Then Mom said, “Want pancakes? There’s an IHOP next door,” and my day started looking up.

It went downhill again after the pancakes. Fang was distant,Iggy kept touching things and yelling out what color they were, and Nudge kept making metal things leap toward her, like the zipper on myhoodie, for example.Gazzy and Angel were being themselves, which, face it, is a challenge even on a good day. Total for once was subdued, curled up on the motel sofa, licking his back.

And yet our Washington DC fun wasn’t over! Mom andJeb convinced us to keep our other meeting, which involved us getting paraded in front of a special congressional committee. I guess it was like the Surprise Mutant Solution Committee.

Anyway.

“We have some exciting news,” a silver-haired man said. “We’ve been allocated the funds to create a special school for you. The location hasn’t been decided yet. Nor has it been decided whether you will be mainstreamed with other children.” He beamed as if he’d just told us we’d won the lottery.

“Uh-huh,” I said warily.

“I’m still unclear why the children can’t just live in peace somewhere, in hiding,” said my mom.Way to go, Mom!

“Well, you see, Ms. Martinez-,” a woman began.

“Doctor,” said my mom. “Dr. Martinez.”

“Ah, yes. Dr. Martinez,” the woman said.

“Like in the witness protection program,” my mom went on. “The government spends millions of dollars, so much time and energy, protecting witnesses who are often criminals themselves. Why can’t you make the same effort to protect innocent children?”

Nudge squeezed my hand. All of us had wanted real parents our whole life, and after a couple of disastrous false alarms, I’d actually found mine. And my mom was the best mom in the whole world, ever.

Though even I thought she was going a little far, calling us “innocent.” Maybe she didn’t know about the string of stolen cars or the vandalism of empty vacation homes.

But I digress.

An older woman in a navy suit leaned forward. “The witness protection program is limited in its scope and not intended to create a suitable environment for children. Which is why we were thinking more of a boarding-school situation, with appropriate guardians and teachers.” She smiled somewhat frostily. “It will be a most desirable situation, I assure you.”

“We’re not convinced that you understand the nature of these children,” saidJeb, speaking up for the first time. “We’re not sure why you believe yourselves to be the best judges of what would be best for them.”

“None of us have been associated, however peripherally, withItex or its various research branches,” said a dark-haired woman. I thoughtJeb flushed a little at that. “But we’ve made an extensive study of the situation, of the children, and of various rehabilitation systems that might be applicable here. Many of us are parents ourselves.”

“But you’re nottheir parents,” said my mom.

“With all due respect, Dr. Martinez, neither are you, nor isJebBatchelder,” said an older man wearing glasses. “We understand the genetic component, as it’s been explained to us. But the fact remains that these children have essentially grown up without any adult who could realistically be called a parental figure.”

AgainJeb flushed, and I wondered how guilty he felt about letting the flock down. I hoped it wasa lot. I felt my mom tense beside me, and all of a sudden I’d had enough.

Max, I hate this. Can we get out of here?

Angel’s voice filtered into my head. I turned to see her big blue eyes pleading with me. Over her head, Fang’s eyes met mine, and I gave a barely perceptible nod. As usual, he and I were on the same page without even speaking.

I raised my hand, taking everyone by surprise. You’d think they would have been used to it by now. “I need to say something.”