James Patterson

“Bizarre! That's the only word I can use to describe life sometimes. Just freaking bizarre.”

“I blame Jeb for letting you be such asmart aleck.”I stared at her. “I blame you for alteringmy DNA! I mean, I have wings,lady! What were you thinking?”

“Yeah,” said Iggy. “But what now?Let’s do something fun.”I guess being on the run frombloodthirsty Erasers and insanescientists wasn’t enough fun for him.Kids today are so spoiled.”

“Life is a great big canvas. Throw all the paint you can at it.”

“My life would nevercontain a convenient, pain-saving planwhen it could stretch a problem out intoan endless agony of uncertainty andtorture.”

“I can close the book on this part of our history. I can start a new chapter, but it doesn't matter. because now, the magic is everywhere.”

“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

“What are you doing in there, waxing your mustache?” Iggy yelled, pounding on the bathroom door.I yanked the door open and pushed him backward hard, making him stagger. “I don’t have a mustache, you idiot!” Iggy giggled and put his arms up to protect himself in case I punched him. “And you know what?” I added. “You don’t have one either. Well, maybe in a couple years. You can always hope.”I left him in the hallway, anxiously fingering his upper lip.”

“Does anything on you work properly?" Asked ter Borcht."Well, I do have a highly developed sense of irony." Replied Iggy.”

“What test?" Asked Nudge."Max, you're incorruptible.""Only by power." I said. "You haven't tried chocolate yet.”

“I tried to shake some water off. "I got a message from Angel,"i said, scanning the tunnel."She says there's massive danger down here,something too big for us to fix or deal with.""So of course you immediately came down.”

“If Fang is in any way harmed while I'm gone-if he gets a hangnail-you won't see another morning. Are we clear on that?”

“Fang looked at the newest bird kid. Dylan was an inch or two taller than he was, and somewhat heavier built, though he still had the long, lean look of a human-avian hybrid-you couldn't make bricks fly.”

“Fang! Angel?" i yelled, not even trying for stealth. i was storming the castle, not stealing the jewels.”

“Now that we were alone,i was self-conscious and cranky again.Why had i wanted to stay?if i had been programmed to want to be with dylan,heads were gonna roll,i promise you that.”

“I'd been told that he had been created-literally created-just for me,as my "perfect other half." Let me tell you-if Dylan was my perfect other half, then i needed to give my first half a seriouis look-see.”

“why can't you just get out of here and leave me alone?"i bellowed."i can't!" dylan shouted back,his face twisted with an anger i'd never seen from him."you can,"i said through gritted teeth."just point your wings that way and flap!”

“I mean,he decided we'd be better apart,you know?it wasn't a joint decision.like, if your gonna make a decision about me and my life without consulting me,i'd better be dying and unconscious and you'd better be following carefully written instructions.”

“He landed 10 feet below with a sickening crunch-i'm guessing his enhancements didn't allow him to bounce back up like a ball. we call that a design flaw.”

“I am starfish!”

“I stood there watching Phoebe arrange the pillows and the sheets. She isn't thinking that I... I mean, she doesn't think that she and I would... WHAT?”

“I looked into her eyes. "Mom, who do you pray to?"I just pray, Daniel. That's all.”

“Keep this in mind: there are no coincidences.”

“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." ”

“Fang, fang. I love you. I looooove you. I love you thiiiiiiiiiis much!”

“Some poeple just don't have what it takes to appreciate a cookie.”

“I offered to pee on him, but they said no”

“The hamster called. He wants his home back.”

“Can I come in?No! I'm in a towel!I'm blind!”

“Excellent. They were flammable.”

“When are you going to trust me Max?" asked Fang."When I go completely bonkers," I laughed.”

“Did I want a dog? No. Did I need a dog? Also no. We were six kids running for our lives, not knowing where our next meal was coming from. Could we afford to feed a dog? Wait for it—no.”

“I gave him a kick and he stepped back onto the third rail. Exploding, flaming eraser! This is why moms tell you to stay away from the third rail, but it sure came in handy this time.”

“I just wish I could walk into my Senator’s office and say, “Senator Dude, Um, we have a problem with these sicko scientists…”But then again, I don’t think we have a Senator, do we? Is there a state where mutant freaks are represented? If so, let me know.”

“Fang. I had to do some thinking about him.Me. I had some thinking to do about me too.”

“I couldn’t leave Total behind.”“Total?” Iggy asked.“That’s what his card said,” Angel explained.“Totally a mutant dog who will probably turn on us and kill us in our sleep,” Fang said.”

“My, g**, he was as strong as a team of oxen. That would be strong right?”

“Don’t be afraid.”“I hear voices,” Iggy said. “Be very afraid.”

“Is it important to be right or is it important to do what’s right? That’s one of the hardest lessons to learn.”

“Max?” said the Gasman. “Are those, um, rats?”Lovely. “Yes, those do appear to be either rats or mice on steroids,” I said briskly, trying not to shriek and climb the walls like a girly-girl.”

“You have a memory chip that small implanted in you,” he verified.I nodded, guessing this was somewhat worse than having cooties.”

“I want to know about my mom. And other stuff. I want to know the whole story, good or bad.”“Me, too,” said Gazzy. “I want to find my parents so I can tell’m what total scuzzes they are. Like, ‘Hi, mom and dad, you’re such scum!”

“I want to be a scientist who studies the ocean when I grow up. I would go out to sea, and scuba dive, and find new things, and National Geographic will hire me.”Sure, Nudge. Probably around the time I become president.”

“Just for fun I flew in huge banking arcs, taking deep breaths, enjoying the feel of my newly weightless hair. The stylist had called it “wind tossed.”If only she knew.”

“I shot him the bird. (Get it? I shot him the—never mind.)”

“I won’t lie to you—it was hilarious. Yes, we were in trouble, yes, this was a disaster, and so one and so forth, but I have to say, seeing those upturned faces, the looks, was bout the best thing that happened to us since we’d come to New York.”

“The receptionist looked us over, then went back to typing something incredibly urgent—like her résumé́ for another job.”

“It was the building from the drawing in my brain.And if you don’t think that’s a weird sentence, maybe you should reread it.”

“It’s wherever you are. If it’s tapped into any of your senses, it knows where you are and what you’re doing.”Oh no, I thought, my spirits sinking. I hadn’t considered that. Did that mean nothing I did was ever anymore?“Even in the bathroom?” the Gasman’s eyes widened with surprise.”

“Jeez, was that a lion? Please tell me it’s behind bars.”“It’s a zoo, Iggy,” Nudge said, taking his arms and leading him. “Everything’s behind bars.”