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money.”
    The small guy with the knife was now behind me, walking toward me.
    â€œTimes up,” I said. I spun around and pulsed, blasting the little dude so hard that his feet left the ground. He slammed into an adobe wall, and plaster fell around him as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
    â€œBet that hurt,” I said. Then, as I turned back around, something bizarre happened to me—something that had never happened before. Electricity completely encompassed me in a brilliant, bluish-green light. It was almost as if I had become one of my lightning balls, and the sound of electricity sizzled like a hundred frying pans of bacon. I looked down at my arms and couldn’t see my flesh, only the brilliant glow of electricity. When I looked back up, the gang was just staring at me like I was a ghost. Actually, I was something much stranger.
    I spread out my arms and pulsed. The force blew out from me in a shock wave more than fifty feet in diameter. When I looked around, all the gang members were lying on their backs. Most of them weren’t moving. The tall guy was still conscious, staring at me in fear. As I started toward him, he pulled out a gun.
    â€œ Diablo ,” he said, pointing his gun at me.
    I shook my head as I walked toward him. “You really don’t want to do that,” I said. “It will just make me angrier.” My eyesnarrowed as I raised my hand in front of me. “And I am already really, really angry.”
    I was so electric that I could actually see waves of electromagnetism blurring the air in front of me. The guy fired six times, and the bullets flew around me, ricocheting against cars and buildings. One of the bullets hit one of his buddies. When he had used all his bullets, I said, “I warned you.” I blasted him so hard, his clothes caught on fire.
    Then I looked around. All of the gang members were still unconscious, or pretending to be, except for one—the guy with the border-crossing T-shirt. He had gotten to his feet and now raised a knife at me, though he seemed to be having trouble holding it steady.
    â€œIf that’s your plan, amigo , you’re gonna need a bigger knife,” I said. He looked so pathetic, I shook my head. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you never bring a knife to a lightning fight?” I walked toward him. “Let me show you something.” I produced a lightning ball about the size of a volleyball. “ Mucho interesting, sí ?”
    He just stared in fear. “No, señor.”
    â€œNow I’m ‘ señor ,’ ” I said. “But I made it especially for you. Catch.” I lobbed it to him. He weakly raised his hands to block it. It exploded on contact with his flesh, knocking him out with the force.
    I walked to his side and pushed him over with my foot. “You think you can go around threatening innocent people? Maybe you’ll think twice next time.” I reached down and picked up the guy’s knife, folded it back, and put it into my pocket as a souvenir, then started back to the hotel. Only then did I really feel the sting of my gash. Blood was trickling down my jaw and had soaked my collar.
    As I walked into the lobby, I put my hand over my cut to cover it from the woman who was still at the front desk. She was staring at me.
    â€œ Buenas noches ,” I said.
    â€œ Buenas noches ,” she repeated with a frightened expression.
    I ran back upstairs. I entered my room as quietly as I could, but Taylor still woke.
    â€œMichael?”
    â€œGo back to sleep,” I said.
    She watched me as I walked to the bathroom. I turned on the bathroom light, then soaked a towel with cold water and put it against my face.
    â€œMichael, what happened?”
    â€œIt’s nothing.”
    Then Ostin woke. “Is it time to go?”
    â€œIt’s time to go back to sleep ,” I said.
    â€œWhat’s up?” Ostin asked. “Besides