“Only with bad puns.”
“I knew it! That message was fake! You were just pretending to be good all along.” Mal’s voice was clear and calm in the dark.
“Good guess, but then why are you here?” sneered Maddy.
“I had to find out for sure,” said Mal. “I thought that maybe I still had a friend on the island.”
“Friend? Is that what you thought I was? You cut off the heads of my dolls! You put lye in my hair so I had to change its color! You didn’t like that everyone called us twins! Some friend you are! You’re more delusional than your mother!” shrieked Maddy.
“Ouch,” said Evie. “Did Mal really do all those things?”
“Um, yeah,” said Carlos. “I mean, she is Maleficent’s kid. She was pretty mean growing up.”
“And you were telling that goblin back there to fetch the rest of your crew down here so they could ambush me,” said Mal.
“Exactly,” said Maddy.
The villains crowded around Mal, so that she was pressed against the railing at the edge of the bridge.
“Okay, okay, let’s go get her now,” said Evie, and they ran out of their hiding place and headed toward the bridge, Jay in the lead.
/> “Okay, fine! I was a little brat! I’m sorry, okay?”
“Only suckers are sorry,” said Maddy. “And Anti-Heroes are the biggest suckers of all!”
“Don’t you get it?” Ginny Gothel asked. “The professor’s wrong! There’s no hope for us and we don’t want any! We’re villains at heart! True villains! Not like you!” She raised her fist to the sky. “Evil lives!”
“Evil lives,” echoed the Gastons, slapping their fists to their palms.
“When the rest of this pathetic little island discovers their hero was fed to the crocodiles, what do you think will happen to that silly little club?” asked Maddy with a crazed smile. “Everyone will realize that there’s no hope in trying to be good! Evil always triumphs! Anti-hero is just another name for villain, and we’ll be villains forever!”
“You don’t have to do this,” said Mal. She’d had to climb on the railing to get away from them, and Ginny was still blocking her way. “It won’t prove anything. Maddy, you’re not going to get your old hair back, but maybe I can help you fix it. I’m pretty good at spells now.”
“Shut up,” said Maddy. “And I don’t have to do this. I want to!” she shrieked, and the rest of the group joined in her laughter. “Ginny, why don’t you do the honors,” she offered.
“Let’s do it together,” said Ginny.
With matching grins, the two of them pushed Mal off the railing and into the bay.
Maddy leaned over the edge. “Say hi to the crocodiles! Tell them dinner’s served!”
“Jay! Carlos! Hurry!” cried Evie. “Mal can’t swim!”
How about that, high heels were finally useful for something, Evie discovered after hitting Ginny Gothel in the back with one. The dark-haired girl screamed and clawed at her, almost scratching her across the cheek.
“Not the face!” cried Evie, furious. “Anywhere but the face!” Ginny lunged for her and the two of them fell to the ground, pulling each other’s hair.
Jay took care of the Gastons by running between them at just the right moment so they ended up bumping heads and falling to the ground, moaning. But Mad Maddy and Anthony Tremaine kept from the fray. Carlos knew the Stepmother’s grandson would shy away from a fair fight, preferring to have the deck stacked on his side, and it would be easy enough to send Anthony running if he played it right.
“What are you waiting for!” Carlos said, throwing down some judo moves he’d seen in his video games.
Anthony rolled his eyes and took off.
“Well?” Carlos said to Mad Maddy as the Gastons slunk away and Ginny ran off whimpering. “It’s only you against the three of us now.”
Maddy tossed her bright blue-green hair and sneered, her eyes wide with maniacal fury. “You think you’ve won here, but I promise you, all of Auradon will burn, just like Camelot!” she said, cackling like a hag as she disappeared into the night.
Evie picked herself off the ground and ran to the railing, scanning the dark water. “Where’s Mal?” she asked. “I don’t see her!”