Con Quest!

That’s it! All at once, Alex remembered something that could save them. He saw it in his mind like one of those flashing bird beacons from Epic, the ones they made all the plushies of. Alex owned two. And he knew where he and Cat had to go.

“Follow me,” said Alex, swinging his messenger bag around and heading off. He blew through the glass doors where they’d entered the hall without even waiting to see if Cat was behind him. He felt pretty cool right then. He could admit that to himself.

“‘Follow me’?” Alex heard Cat repeat under her breath. Oh yeah. She was behind him.

Admittedly, this was not how things normally went down. It was usually Cat in the lead and Alex being dragged along behind her. But he was determined to try something new here, and Alex hoped he could save them.

The bird beacon wouldn’t steer him wrong. Right?

As Alex blasted through the con crowd, he held his gaze just in front of his own feet. He avoided unnecessary eye contact with the people he was quickly trying to dodge and (added bonus) ensured he didn’t step on anyone or anything by accident. He wasn’t sure if this was how Cat managed crowds, but it seemed to work best for him. It was just about the closest Alex could get to ignoring the people around him without actually being able to ignore the people around him.

“Alex.” He heard Cat shout a warning. “He’s catching up! Do you even know where you’re going?!” Oh no. Oh no …

They were almost there. Alex knew it was within reach. Why did he take that guy’s book? His bag was so heavy now … just a little farther. Left, left, down the escalator, around the corner; dodge, duck, weave, and …

“Here!” Alex spun, lifting his head up long enough to find Cat. They’d made it! “Get in, get in!”

“Where—?” Cat started to ask—before she realized where they were, stopping herself. “Oh. My. Darkstar.”

Alex lifted his eyebrows. “One P.M.,” he recited from memory, waving his sister forward and checking over her shoulder to see if James M. had spotted them yet. “Star Cross cosplay meetup. Outside Hall B.”

They were outside Hall B. And they were on the edge of what Alex couldn’t describe any way other than as an absolute sea of humans in costume.

Normally crowds were Alex’s worst enemy; this one was about to be his best friend.

The cosplayers were all milling around, waiting for someone to give them some instructions about when and where and how to pose for their big group photo shoot. It was sure to be an online sensation. Alex even spotted some really unusual costumes—obscure stuff from the short-lived animated version even. Star Cross might have been Alex’s least favorite of all the Star franchises, but he’d still seen every episode of every series. As he scanned the crowd for an easy way in, he especially appreciated all the Star Cross: Big Universe Twelve outfits. That series was obviously the best.

Even if that wasn’t saying much. Well, it was no Star Worlds.

“I’ve got it, c’mon!” Alex heard Cat say beside him. Right. Hiding. He’d gotten them this far; he could let her take things from here. As Cat darted into a small gap in the crowd in front of him, Alex took one more look backward.

Sure enough, just as Alex was squeezing through a gap between two Heelixes, James M. rounded the corner. Alex watched the man come to a dead halt when he saw the Star Cross cosplayers. He thought he heard James M. say a word that his mom would not be pleased with—and then Alex was in the middle of the costume sea, and James M. disappeared.

For now.

Cat and Alex crouched down near a wall, using the cosplayers as cover. Alex nudged Cat as they watched the photo shoot start.

“See?” He raised his eyebrows again.

Cat craned her neck around. “See what?”

“No.” Alex shook his head with a smile. “I mean, see? I can save

us, too.”

Cat rolled her eyes but smiled back. “I know that.”

“Well.” Alex paused for a second. Huh. “I guess now I know that, too.”

“And before you ask, yes, I still have the Hall M passes.” Cat laughed and dropped down onto her butt, throwing her back against the wall behind her. She jolted forward onto her knees nearly as quickly as she’d thrown herself backward, rubbing at her spine. “Ow, what the—?”

“Hey!” Alex peered around his sister to see what had hurt her. His eyes got big. Huge even. “Check that out!”

Cat looked up—and up, and up. It became suddenly very apparent to Alex exactly why this Star Cross photo shoot was organized here, outside Hall B, and not anywhere else in the vast convention grounds. Right on the wall the cosplayers were using as a backdrop, the con had built a huge replica of one wall of the USS Venture, the series’ most iconic starship. It was made to look like one side of the ship’s engine bay, all shiny metal and blinking lights. Gears and buttons and levers were sticking out at all angles—and Cat had managed to jam one right into her back. Classic Cat.

“Whoaaaa,” Alex heard his sister breathe out next to him. “And I thought the cosplayers were good entertainment value. This is wild!”

Alex nodded furiously. It was definitely wild. Bananas, one might even say. The attention to detail was immaculate. There was the seventh engine light, crucial to episode seven of the third season of Star Cross: Explorer. Over there was the deck where Senior Officer Major Davis had fainted after meeting his soul mate on Mixtar Five. And there was—