“Yes, I sounded like a pathetic weenie. I prefer to think of it as showing my softer side.”

“Am I tough? Am I strong? Am I hard-core? Absolutely. Did I whimper with pathetic delight when I sank my teeth into my hot fried-chicken sandwich? You betcha.”

“I have an idea. It’s risky, and Max will kill us when she finds out.”Iggy raised his head. “Sounds like my kind of idea.”

“Yes. I owed my life, Angel's life, and my mother's life to a mutant's ability to create industrial-strength snot.”

“Uh-huh," I said. "Because all you mad, evil scientists sit around whipping up batches of Pillsbury's finest during your coffee breaks. I mean, this is pathetic.”

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

“Don’t ever leave me again,” I said in a tiny voice.I won’t,” he promised into my hair, sounding most un-Fang-like. “I won’t. Not ever.”And just like that, a cold shard of ice that had been inside my chest ever since we’d split up-well, it just disappeared. I felt myself relax for the first time in I don’t known how long. The wind was chilly, but the sun was bright, and my whole flock was together. Fang and I were together.Excuse me? I’m alive too.” Iggy’s plaintive voice made me pull back.”