James Patterson

“Sometimes he seems like a droid--or a drone. Fang of Nine. Fang2-D2.”

“Oh no! Don't drag us away from Antartica and take us to the playground of the rich and famous! Not that briar patch! -Max”

“Fair isn't fair, Dean. Like I'm supposed to help you because fair is fair? Try I need you to help me so I wont rip out your spine and beat you with it. I might respond to that, maybe.”

“They're afraid of change, and we must change. They're afraid of the young, and we are the young. They're afraid of music, and music is our life. They're afraid of books, and knowledge, and ideas. They're most afraid of our magic.”

“You know things have gone bad when military marches pass for pop music.”

“Have you been playing in toxic waste lately? ”

“If your going to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.”

“you plan to fail if you fail to plan”

“Kami matamu, Iggy. Kau tak perlu melihat selama kau memiliki kami.”

“You really hurt me. I wouldn't hurt you. Not like this.”

“You can call me Agent Mickelson,' he told me with a smile. 'What about you? Is Max short for something? Maxine?''No, Dean. It's just Max.”

“Men suck, even imaginary ones”

“I muttered a swear word to myself. After I heard Angel cussing like a sailor when she stubbed her toe, my new resolution was to watch my language. All I needed was a six-year-old mutant with a potty mouth”

“Well, it's like I have a GPS inside me," I told them. "One of the talking ones. I tell it where I want to go, and it tells me, Go twenty miles, turn left, take Exit Ninety-fourm and so one. It can be pretty bossy, frankly.Their eyes widened. "Really?" said one.No you idiot," I said in disgust. "I don't know how it works. I just know it has an unfailing ability to point me in the opposite direction of a bunch of boneheads.”

“Yes," I said. "My name is seven-five-nine-nine-three-nine-ex-dash-one. Junior.”

“Vhat ozzer abilities do you haf?" ter Borcht snapped, which his assistant waited, pen in hand.Gazzy thought. "I have X-ray vision," he said. He peered at ter Borcht's chest, then blinked and looked alarmed.Ter Borcht was startled for a second, but then he frowned. "Don't write dat down," he told his assistant in irritation. The assistant froze in midsentence."You. Do you haf any qualities dat distinguish you in any way?"Nudge chewed on a fingernail. "You mean, like, besides the WINGS?" She shook her shoulders gently, and her beautiful fawn-colored wings unfolded a bit.His face flushed, and I felt like cheering. "Yes," he said stiffly. "Besides de vings.""Hmm. Besides de vings." Nudge tapped one finger against her chin. "Um..." Her face brightened. "I once ate nine Snickers bars in one sitting. Without barfing. That was a record!""Hardly a special talent," ter Borcht said witheringly. Nudge was offended. "Yeah? Let's see YOU do it."..."I vill now eat nine Snickers bars," Gazzy said in a perfect, creepy imitation of ter Borcht's voice, "visout bahfing."Iggy rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Well, I have a highly developed sense of irony."Ter Borcht tsked. "You are a liability to your group. I assume you alvays hold on to someone's shirt, yes? Following dem closely?""Only when I'm trying to steal their dessert"...Fang pretended to think, gazing up at the ceiling. "Besides my fashion sense? I play a mean harmonica.""I vill now destroy de Snickuhs bahrs!" Gazzy barked.”

“Well, that's an evil smile...”

“Besides my great fashion sense? I play a mean harmonica.”

“Right now, America looks like a fatheaded, shortsighted, gas-guzzling arrogant blowhard to the rest of the world.”

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It's a grain. It's like, like, grits, but with high self-esteem.”

“You looove me. (holds out arms) You love me this much.”

“Iggy: "I'll grab a zebra; Gaz, you fill all the bubbles with your trademark scent. so people are choking and gagging; and let's throw beef jerky in their eyes! Now, that's a plan!”

“Man, you weigh a freaking ton," he told me. "What've you been eating, rocks?" "Why, is your head missing some?" I croaked. His mouth almost quirked in a smile, and that's when I knew how upset he'd been”

“Max, if you survive your final test, can you steal me one of those magic outfits for me?" I'll try to get one for each of us. Hey! 'If'?”

“I'm not Stubborn; I'm right!”

“At that moment I had no mind to change, or not change, or throw against the nearest wall.”

“Just because life is hard, and always ends in a bad way, doesn't mean that all stories have to, even if that's what they tell us in school and in the New York Times Review. In fact, it's a good thing that stories are as different as we are, one from another.”

“You know, when you're right, that's all you get to be.”

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you're keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls...are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”

“happy all life for ever”

“Nudge threw her arms around my neck. 'I love you Max! I love all of us too!'Yeah, me too,' Said the Gasman. 'I don't care if we have our house, or a cliff ledge, or a cardboard box. Home is wherever we all are, together.”

“I feel like, like pudding," Iggy groaned. "Pudding with nerve endings. Pudding in great pain.”

“They turned to Angel. "We will call you Little One," the leader said, obviously deciding to dispense with the whole confusing name thing."Okay," said Angel agreeably. "I'll call you Guy in a White Lab Coat." He frowned."That can be his Indian name," I suggested.”

“I can talk to fish!" Angel said happily, water dripping off her long, skinny body. "Ask one over for dinner," Fang said, joining us.”

“But what is life if you don't live it?”

“I didn't think he was a robot...but I did wonder if his emotions had been designed out of him. Of course, with a guy, how could I tell? Ha ha!”

“Max, you're the last of the hybrids who still has...a soul.' ... 'She doesn't have soul,' Gazzy scoffed. 'Have you ever seen her dance?”

“A friend of mine once defined love as finding someone you can talk to late into the night”

“That was the funniest thing I'd heard in days.You're kidding, right? PLEASE tell me you have a stronger motive for me than 'fair is fair.' Life isn't FAIR, Dean....Nothing is fair, EVER. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I need to help you because FAIR IS FAIR? Try, 'I need you to help me so I won't rip out your spine and beat you with it.' I MIGHT respond to that. MAYBE.”

“WARNINGIf you dare to read this story, you become part of the Experiment”

“Yes!” said Fang, punching the air. “Freaks rule.”

“We’ll be back!” he snarled.It was really Ari’s voice.Boy, you just can’t kill people like you used to,” said Fang”

“There was something I needed to say. “Sorry. About before.”Fang shot a sideways glance at me, his eyes dark and inscrutable, as always. He looked back out at the water. I didn’t expect any more acknowledgment than that. Fang never-“You almost gave me a heart attack,” he said quietly. “When I saw you, and all that blood . . .” He threw a small rock as hard as he could down the beach.“I’m sorry.”“Don’t do it again,” he said.I swallowed hard. “I won’t.”Something changed right then, but I didn’t know what.”

“Did you know that wasn’t me, the other Max?” I asked.“Yeah.”“When?”“Right away.”“How?” I persisted. “We look identical. She even had identical scars and scratches. She was wearing my clothes. How could you tell us apart?”He turned to me and grinned, making my world brighter. “She offered to cook breakfast.”

“We will destroy you,” the Flyboys droned. “You have no escape.” That was the most imaginative, threatening thing the whitecoats had programmed these ’droids to say? “Talk about lame,” Fang muttered.”

“Fang’s hand gently smoothed my hair off my neck. My breath froze in my chest, and every sense seemed hyperalert. His hand stroked my hair again, so softly, and then trailed across my neck and shoulder and down my back, making me shiver.I looked up. 'What the heck are you doing?''Helping you change your mind,' he whispered, and then he leaned over, tilted my chin up, and kissed me.”

“My mom had a soft heart after all! Instead of being chained by both wrists, we were only chained by one ankle!I mean, if I’d been looking for proof that she really did love me, this was it, right?”

“What are you doing here?” [ndr prison]Selling Girl Scout cookies,” I said. “Want some? The Samoas are terrific.”(Max II to Max)”

“Sighing, she gave a brief nod. “I was supposed to win. I was supposed to finish you off. They never counted on you winning. And then you didn’t kill me. It was awful.”“You’re welcome,” I said, feeling fresh anger ignite. “I’ll try not to humiliate you by letting you live next time.”(Max II to Max)”

“I hate this guy,” Ari muttered, keeping his head down“There’s a club,” I told him. “The Haters of ter Borcht Club. Have you gotten your badge yet?”