Sorry for the delay! I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd last posted. I try to keep a somewhat consistent amount of time in between my updates, but these past few weeks I got distracted. I'll try not to let that happen again. Enjoy!
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"So where's this shop again?" Jade asked as he, Max, and Sterling strode down the sidewalk on Delridge Street. Well, Jade and Max were walking; Sterling was more of gliding, floating several inches above the ground as he kept pace with the others.
"Just down a few more blocks," Max explained, pointing ahead of them. He couldn't see the shop itself from where they were, but from what he remembered it had been right between to a secondhand clothing store and a building that used to be a bank.
Sterling and Jade had been impressed by the figurine he'd given Simon at the birthday party, and had wanted to know where Max had found it. Max had been happy to tell them about the pawn shop, and the three of them had decided to go check it out when they all had the time.
Max couldn't explain the strange sensation of anticipation he felt as they neared the shop. His friends were interested in seeing what the store had to offer—he suspected they were particularly eager to see whether there were any prodigy items with special powers—but he himself had already been there, already seen everything there was to see. And he wasn't nearly as interested in anything superpower-related as his friends were—his own possession of multiple powers throughout most of his childhood was in stark contrast to Sterling and Jade's lives as non-prodigies before the Supernova.
Still, something made his pulse quicken ever so slightly when he caught sight of the green lettering spelling out August Pawn.
"That's it, right?" Sterling said excitedly, putting on a burst of speed and landing in front of the shop in barely a second.
Jade groaned good-naturedly. "You know, a guy really hits the superpower jackpot when he ends up with both floating and superspeed."
"You can make plants do whatever you want them to do," Max pointed out. "That's a pretty cool power."
Jade grinned. "Yeah, no complaints. I'm just happy to have a superpower." His face fell. "I mean, Max, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way—"
"It's fine," Max assured him with a smile. "I'm probably the only person in the world who's happier without superpowers than with them." While it had taken a little while, back at the beginning, to get used to his lack of powers, the ability to be out in the world was a thousand percent worth it.
Sterling was already opening the door, so Max and Jade jogged ahead to join him. After giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark interior after the blinding sunlight from outside, Max cast a quick glance around the shop. A clerk was standing at the counter to the left—the same clerk who'd been there during Max's previous visit, he was pretty sure. Directly ahead were the display cases, and to the right were the four rows of shelves. Most of the larger items sat behind the shelves, with the exception of a few musical instruments and signed posters that were able to hang on the walls.
Other than the clerk, Max, and his friends, there was no one else in the room.
Max let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and felt his excitement deflate a little.
"Hey, check this out!" Jade had run over to what looked like half a suit of armor—the top half—and was examining it from all angles. "This has 'prodigy' written all over it."
"Yeah, 'cause it looks like Adrian's armor," said Sterling, rolling his eyes. "Just like it, actually. I bet someone made that as a Sentinel costume. Or decoration, or something."
"Oh. Good point." Jade moved over to study the items on the nearest shelf. "This teapot? D'you think it could be imbued with some sort of charm to make whatever you put in it temporarily disappear if the person looking inside it isn't the owner?"
Max chuckled at his friends' enthusiasm, and cast another glance at the clerk, whose emerald green eyes were on him. Max felt a shiver go down his spine at the intensity with which the clerk was eying him. "Hi," he said apprehensively.
The clerk said nothing; just returned his gaze to the computer screen sitting in front of him.
Max followed Jade and Sterling around as they traveled from row to row, pointing out various objects and discussing what powers they could potentially hold. "You do know there's a whole museum at Renegade Headquarters devoted to prodigy artifacts?" he checked with them when Jade held up a jeweled glove and declared it a gauntlet of incomparable strength. "The Callum Treadwell Museum? Open to the public every day from noon to four? Free admission?"
"Yeah, we know," said Sterling, picking up a pair of child-sized ice skates. "We've been there a few times. It's cool."
"But the difference is, there you already know what each artifact can do. Here you have to guess. That's part of the fun," Jade elaborated. "Silver Snake, what do those skates do?"
"These," said Sterling with a wicked smile. "These allow the wearer to skate on anything. Roads, grass, dirt, rocks, concrete… even regular indoor floors. They belonged to the famous Predator Penguin, who used to—"
"The Predator Penguin?" Jade burst out laughing. "Dude, that's awful!"
"You didn't let me finish!" Sterling protested.
Max shook his head, chuckling, and checked the time on his communicator band. "Hey, what do you guys think about going to get a bite to e—"
He broke off as the door opened and Maggie stepped in. Her blue eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him. "Ma—Max!" she stammered.
Max swallowed hard, trying to get over his surprise. "Maggie! Hi."
Maggie shifted the purse she was holding ever so subtly, pressing her elbow against her waist to keep the purse behind her, and presumably out of his sight. Naturally, this action only intrigued Max, who otherwise might not have paid any attention to the purse. What was she trying to hide?
Maggie's eyes roved over to Sterling and Jade, who had looked up at the commotion. "Hi!" said Jade with his usual congenial smile. He glanced from Maggie to Max. "You two know each other?"
"Not really," said Maggie, at the same time as Max responded, "We've met once."
Maggie's eyes locked on his again, and he felt himself smile. "So what brings you in here today?" he asked.
"Um," Maggie's arm pressed in tighter to her body. "Nothing in particular, just looking around. What about you?"
Max thought back to what Nova had said about the former Renegade known as Magpie, who was almost certainly the same girl as this Maggie. She'd been a thief. A pickpocket. It wasn't a stretch to think that maybe some of the items she pickpocketed, she in turn brought to a pawn shop to receive payment for them.
Was that what Maggie was doing?
Why didn't that idea bother Max as much as it should?
"I told my friends about this place," he replied, in answer to her question. "They liked the gift you helped me pick out for my dad, and wanted to know where I'd gotten it, so I brought them here. They think they're going to find prodigy artifacts."
A slight shadow passed over Maggie's face, but it was gone so quickly Max might have imagined it. "I don't think this place is exactly known for prodigy artifacts," she said. "It's mostly just regular items that people bring in to get a couple bucks."
"You never know," said Sterling, holding up a harmonica. "This harmonica could have been made by the famous Image Interlude, who could make people see whatever he wanted them to see as long as he was playing his harmonica."
Maggie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I've never heard of the Image Interlude."
"See? So that explains why you haven't heard of his harmonica."
Maggie fixed Sterling with a cynical look, clearly wanting to argue that logic but not really sure how. She finally turned her attention back to Max. "Did your dad like the gift?"
"He loved it," Max answered with a grin. When Simon had seen the figurine of their family, his face had split into a wide smile and he'd immediately pulled Max into a hug. Even now, after three whole years of being able to receive hugs from his family, Max still savored every single one.
"Hey—" He paused. He'd been about to mention to Maggie how he'd told Adrian and Nova about her, and ask if she'd gone by the name Magpie when she was with the Renegades. But he thought better of it. It didn't sound like Magpie has been one of the most liked members of the organization, and maybe she would prefer not to think about that.
She was still waiting for him to say something, so he changed course and said the first thing that popped into his head: "Want to join us for lunch?"
Maggie's eyes grew wide, and a hint of color tinged her cheeks. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, reminding Max of the fish he'd kept as a pet when he was six. Max felt his own face warm up, and wondered if he'd overstepped some sort of boundary. Was it weird to invite someone he'd only met twice to join him and his friends for lunch? Actually, for that matter, shouldn't he have checked with Sterling and Jade first to see if they'd mind?
"Sure," Maggie replied once she'd regained her composure. "Where are you guys planning to go?"
Max chanced a glance at his friends, both of whom wore mildly amused expressions.
"I don't know," said Jade. "Sterling and I were sort of just planning on going home for lunch. Our grandma made some amazing lasagna last night, and we were looking forward to the leftovers."
"Of course, you two could still go somewhere," said Sterling, with the hint of a smirk. "Don't let us stop you."
Max's heart fluttered with anxiety. The looks his friends were giving the two of them, and their not-so-subtle implications, definitely suggested something beyond just a simple friendly lunch. But that was crazy. He'd only met Maggie a few days ago, and he knew next to nothing about her. If he was honest with himself, yes, he wanted to get to know her better, but that didn't mean he was ready to take her out on a date or anything like that. Did it automatically make it a date if a boy and a girl went out to lunch together?
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" he asked Sterling and Jade. "I was thinking of going to Superburger."
Hesitation hovered in both sets of eyes, and Max tried not to smile. Superburger was the twins' favorite dining establishment, except maybe the HQ cafeteria.
"I don't know," said Jade. "Superburger's amazing. But Grandma's lasagna…"
"We can have Superburger anytime," Sterling reasoned. "Leftovers won't wait. Ruby's probably already scarfed down almost half of it. Actually, if Oscar's there too—" he turned to his brother in mock horror.
"We gotta go," Jade said quickly. "See you around, Max. Nice to meet you—Maggie, was it? Enjoy your Superburger!"
The two of them exited the shop, and Max and Maggie were left alone except for the green-eyed clerk who continued to stare at his computer. "Well," said Max, hoping he didn't look as awkward as he felt. "Does Superburger sound good to you? I mainly picked it because I know they like it, but if you'd prefer somewhere else…"
Maggie looked torn. "I… do have somewhere to be at two, so maybe… we shouldn't… we… yeah." She smiled, and Max was struck by how pretty she looked in that instant. "Superburger sounds good."