Legacies Reborn by Pittacus Lore Page A

that this particular block is going to be crawling with Mogs any minute now,” the lanky one says as he starts walking away from the bank, looking really skittish. Watching him makes me start to worry, like maybe he knows something I don’t.
    â€œYour sidekick’s nervous,” I say to John.
    â€œMy name’s Sam,” the other guy says.
    â€œYou’re a nervous guy, Sam.”
    I bite the insides of my cheeks, trying to make heads or tails of what I should do. They’re right; we probably shouldn’t be hanging out where a whole squad of bad aliens just got blown away. Even though they don’t have any answers for me, they’re the closest thing I’ve got to any sort of explanation of what’s going on. And they’re obviously powerful—they took down a ship. Maybe they could actually help me get to Mom.
    And there’s something about John. It’s hard to explain, but I feel drawn to him. It’s got nothing to do with his piercing eyes or cheekbones—the dude’s totally not my type. It’s something else, on a deeper level. I feel connected to him somehow. When he talksabout doing good and fighting, I hear my earlier words to Jay in my head.
    But when he starts talking about me helping him win some war and finding some buddy of his, I realize how far away they would take me from Mom. I don’t even know these guys. It’s not like I can trust them to help me out if I say I’ll join them.
    Besides, I know it hasn’t been all that long since these Mogs appeared out of nowhere and ruined everyone’s lives, but the military is probably gearing up to take back the city right now. They’ll be flying in on jets and parachuting down into Central Park by the thousands, guns blazing.
    â€œSeriously?” I ask. “I’m not fighting any war, John Smith from Mars. I’m trying to survive out here. This is America, yo. The army will take care of these weak-ass dust aliens. They got the drop on us, that’s all.”
    John looks confused about this—I’m getting the feeling he’s not exactly someone that others say no to a lot. I’m betting some people really fall for his whole Superman routine. But before he can argue with me, there’s an explosion somewhere a few blocks away. I’m almost knocked down by it. Car alarms start going off on the street. Over the rooftops, I can see a bunch of smoke rising into the air.
    My grip tightens around the Mog weapon I’ve still got in my hand. John starts in on his pitch again, tryingto tell me how it’s my duty to help them and that I should go with them to Brooklyn or something. Everybody is trying to force me out of the city, but I’ll worry about a safe zone when I know I’ve done everything to find Mom. Outside, explosions keep going off. I point a finger at John. A little bit of my telekinetic energy pushes him back, which seems to shut him up.
    â€œMy stepdad got roasted by those pale scumbags and now I’m out here looking for my mom, alien guy. She worked down here. You saying I should drop all that and join your army of two, running around my city that you played a part in getting blown up? You saying the friend you’re looking for is more important than my mom?”
    Another explosion outside. Sam says something, but I’ve got my eyes locked on John’s and don’t really pay attention to his friend. Then there’s movement in the sky that I catch out of my peripheral, and I turn to see the big-ass ship floating into view. Some kind of energy starts to charge up on a cannon-looking thing sticking out of the bottom of its hull.
    We’re totally in its target zone.
    â€œHell with this,” I say and start running away from the ship. Famous alien superhero or not, I’m not going to stand around with John Smith and get blown up.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    â€œDO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING?” SAM YELLS.
    I glance