The Super Jerk Trilogy (Now 3-in-1)

18. Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends

{Cameron}

I spot Green Phoenix and Tsunami on the way back to Midtown. Jocelyn had assured me she could hold her own down there at the museum, and after a few more kisses, I finally left. Even if all I'd wanted was to stay there with her and help. She's been doing it for so long by herself, I wish I could have. But I have Dad to think about, and Hammerhead. There's no time for games.

   I level myself out in midair and catch up, startling them both so much that Tsunami nearly lets go and Green Phoenix veers off-course, squawking hoarsely.

   "Bolt?" Tsunami says, his eyes surprised under his mask. "Been a while since I've seen you in action, dude."

   "Yeah. Same to you." I give him a half-grin.

   "Where's Silver Bullet?" I can't see anything but his eyes and his mouth, but I can tell there's an eyebrow raise.

   "Doing her own thing," I say a little too quickly for my own liking. Now I wish my super suit wasn't so tight. Just thinking about her gave me a rush of heat in all the wrong place.

   "Glad you finally decided to join us, actually," Tsunami says, switching hands on Green Phoenix's ankle. "Phoenix says we got some company coming up the river."

   "Bad company?" I say when I hear his tone of voice.

   "Yup."

   We fly in silence for a little while, with no sound except for the beating of Green Phoenix's wings. While we do I try to think back to what Jocelyn said about the super super. And the fact that he's my dad. It's hard for me to reconcile it, considering he used to be a good guy. I was too young to remember, but Ettie does, and so does Mom. She's probably still holding out hope she can turn him back, and that's when it hits me.

   "Wait you guys, I just had an idea."

   That time, Tsunami really does let go. Green Phoenix swoops down just in time, catching his arm in his talons. We fly in a crooked line and land on the roof of an office building. Green Phoenix changes back, his hair sticking out in every direction like he's been electrocuted.

   "Hit us with it, Bolty. Time is money is pizza, as they say."

   Tsunami shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. "I've never heard that one before."

   "Guys, really." I have to get this out quick, or I'll chicken out. "I think there's a way we can stop my dad."

   "What about my dad?" Tsunami sounds shocked.

   "Just listen for a second, okay?" I say before laying it out. There was a reason my dad fell for my mom so hard, and I have no doubt that if he really loved her, he'd find it again. And while Green probably wouldn't be able to turn good if he tried, the kicker was here: his plan for world domination and destruction loses steam and his best attack dog is rendered useless, and there we have him.

   "I'll be damned," Tsunami says after I'm done explaining. "You just might've come up with the craziest, most foolish thing I've ever heard, but at the same time..."

   "It just might work," Green Phoenix adds. "Never thought you'd use love as a weapon, Bolty."

   "Things can change." I think of Jocelyn again — the feel of her thick silky hair sliding through my fingers, her hot bare skin under my palms, her lips on mine. How alive I feel when I kiss her. My dad had that with Mom, way back when. And he can have it again, helped along by us.

   "But we gotta do it smart. Think Campbell and Kits could pull it off?" He makes eye contact with me and doesn't break it. "They both know what it's like to love a super."