Revolution World by Katy Stauber Page B

And to do it so quickly was simply impossible. Seth pushed Gloria away and gave Clio a broken smile as she rushed up. Gloria clenched her fists as she watched him stumble away from her towards Clio.
    "These two fools decided to show off," Gloria spat out heatedly. She stalked off towards the parking lot, flinging her shiny black hair over her shoulder.
    Harmony arrived and, after a moment spent sizing up the situation, wordlessly began helping Max. Clio sputtered incoherently as she examined Seth and tried to form her question delicately.
    "How on earth did two skinny nerd boys like you take on those huge rednecks?" she asked. She winced, knowing that had not been as diplomatic as it could be. Seth looked offended, which is to say he looked like a stuffed frog.
    "We've been practicing Wing Tsun martial arts for decades," he said indignantly. He flung the empty beer bottle in his hand down for emphasis.
    "Really?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow with a hint of a smile on her lips. "Decades?"
    "Years." Max wheezed. Harmony began herding the men towards the cars. Kalliope bent down and spoke to the men on the ground in a low, growling tone. As Seth limped off with Clio in his wake, Kalliope waved them on and stayed where she was.
    Seth got halfway to the parking lot before he turned and opened his mouth to lecture Clio on the benefits of not leaping to conclusions about people based on their physical appearance. Before he could start, Max spoke up.
    "We also hit them with beer bottles the second they started throwing punches. All that time spent playing virtual games gives a man mighty quick reflexes," said Max quickly, shaking his head at Seth.
    Max whispered soonly his nephew could hear him, "Sometimes it's best to lay low, nerd boy." Then he clapped the younger man on the shoulder and began walking briskly towards the cars.
    "Well ladies," he announced with gusto, wincing just a little. "It appears we foreigners have derived all the fun allotted to us at this party. However, the night is cool, the stars are twinkling and it's the weekend. We should continue this party elsewhere. Also that magnificent cow, Gloria, took my car. Can I tempt any of you ladies to give me a ride back to our site? I can offer quite an elaborate array of alcoholic delights in exchange." He beamed at them optimistically.
    "Uncle, I have my car," Seth began.
    "You shut up." Max said to him with a poke in his ribs. "I think your car may be broken. Yes, it definitely looks broken. And who would not take pity on two marooned men?" His winning smile encompassed Kalliope as she walked up, shaking her head.
    "My car is a nuclear-powered hover car," laughed Seth. "It never breaks."
    "Really?" Kalliope asked with interest. "Nuclear?" She eyed the car with the piercing gaze of one who enjoys taking apart new things.
    Clio knew that look well, since she currently possessed a compressed-air scooter that still made strange pinging noises after her sister had tinkered with it. She leapt into the conversation.
    "Seth, you've been hit in the head and before that you had quite a lot of beer after a long day at work. You really shouldn't drive. Why don't we give you guys a lift over to our house for a while? Mom always has margarita fixings and an awesome collection of classic kung fu movies."
    The plan was enthusiastically endorsed. Seth insisted on driving his car and asked Clio to go with him. He claimed that he needed someone with him in case his head wound made him woozy. She agreed and the rest of them smirked openly. As they drove, Clio warned him not to leave Kalliope alone unattended near his car, especially with tools in her hand.
    "And she always has tools in her hand," Clio said as they followed Harmony's battered old truck, retrofit with an algae fuel-cell battery. They could see Max's animated form as he sat between Harmony and Kalliope.
    "So those guys picked a fight with Max for being a foreigner," Seth said with a frown. "But I don't think they even