Arch Rivals Quotes

“Oh, one more thing.” He stopped and turned to me, putting both hands on my shoulders when I did the same. “Number three, I promise that we are going to hunt down those Carter bastards, find out every hole they wriggle into, and burn their villainous asses into so much fine ash. They hurt you, they tried to hurt me and my people here, and they hurt one of the girls you love.” While the words were like many he said in full on evil emperor mode, the tone and the look weren’t that twisted crazy I saw in him often. No, this was different. This was a father genuinely angry at the people who hurt his family. “I think how you kids put it is… Fuck. Those. Guys.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“yet. Not yet, but the thing that’s important here is the alien… devices in that box can synch our powers. It let me access and control Aylin’s powers from outside her body.” Kara then caught on as I knew she would. “So, you’re thinking maybe… maybe she can activate yours for you? Be the conduit that you usually are?” “Hey now,” Andrea interjected, “while this sounds maybe possible on paper, Nick, your body is meant to channel all this, well, infinite power stuff. Aylin’s really strong, sure, and you guys are on whatever wavelength this is, but will it hurt her to try? And what about this, uh, device?” She gestured to the black case in my hands. “Can it handle that much power?” “Yeah, I mean, good points,” Eric added. “Like, dude, if this whatchamacallit--” “It’s a sacred alien sex toy,” Starlight said nonchalantly, words that made Eric’s face go beet red.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Andie leaned in a bit more and whispered conspiratorially, “I don’t know if you’ve seen the Barbur twins serve up drinks, but they not only know how to mix a great cocktail, they can make some really stiff ones that taste like fruit juice.” “Let me guess.” I grinned as I watched Eric snore, each one rustling his blonde-and-blue-streaked hair more and more. “Somebody got a hold of a Barbur special and got carried away?” Kara, who was sitting on the other side of me, looked up from her tablet with an amused shake of her head. “No. Somebody got a hold of two of them and chugged them like a maniac.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“With that, he stepped into a shadow and out of the room. As he left, Eric turned to me and simply whispered, “Vaaaaaaampire.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“but both our comms buzzed to life at the same time. As we both startled from the sudden noise, I recognized that it was Eric’s voice, and whatever was going on, he was in full hyper mode. “Oh my God, guys!” he shouted. “I don’t know where you are, but something crazy! Incredible! Unbelievable just happened! You’ll never believe it, because it’s, uh, well, unbelievable!”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“The Kai-lao girls were arrayed in a triangular formation, but they did not hold themselves as any warriors I knew. Each young woman was posed in strange, exaggerated ways, some balancing on one foot with arms raised, others crouched low and back with hands scrunched up in imitation of animal claws… I think. More so, they all dressed in identical uniforms save for the color, a literal rainbow. Each uniform… or maybe the girls themselves?... sported ears like a Terran feline with tails to match. Considering they twitched and moved, I could only guess they were natural. “Andrea Baker,” I said into the comms, “I misunderstand. You said when you spoke of ‘a cat fight,’ that it was a figure of speech? Perhaps you misspoke?” “Oh my God, Aylin,” Andrea laughed into the comms, “I really thought it was a joke, but I guess I was wrong. It really will be a cat fight!”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“As Krona and Anston collected themselves and walked toward the locker rooms, black and red cheerleaders poured from a side door, and I knew who sent them the moment I saw them. They were carrying pom poms that looked to be made out of actual fire but didn’t burn them. Each wore the burning fist symbol of my father on their chests, and they danced out to form up in front of the stands reserved for him. “I-N-F-E-R-N-O, he’s our lord, our H-E-R-O!” they cheered. “Blessed be his name, blessed be, blessed be, Innnnferno!” “Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.” I buried my head in my hands and muttered, “He brought the Infernets. Of course.” Eric was absolutely enthralled. “The what now?” He eyed the cheerleaders like anyone would, admiring their high-cut skirts and the bizarre fiery pom poms they wielded. My father was clapping along to their chant in the front row like a toddler being shown an especially catchy song. He bounced in his seat and whistled enthusiastically. “The Infernettes,” I explained as I resisted the urge to groan. “He has his own cheerleading squad.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“I tore into the funnel cake with reckless abandon. I speared a large strawberry with my fork, rubbed it in some cream, and swallowed it in a single bite. It took me another size bites before I hit cake number one. It was red velvet, and the taste of it nearly sent me to Heaven. “Holy shit,” Eric said as he watched me devour the first cake in a couple bites. “It’s only been thirty seconds.” “My Starlight is truly amazing,” Aylin said with a quick glance at him. Then it started to get hard because I realized that there was a layer of Bavarian cream between the first red velvet cake and the next one. I hastily dug into it, and I realized I had a problem. “Eric,” I said around a mouthful of red velvet. “I need a second fork. It’s time to dual-wield this bitch.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“I’ll have the big one.” I pointed to the giant funnel cake painted on the front of the stand. It was the size of six funnel cakes, had three flavors, red velvet, standard, and churro, and was absolutely drenched in whipped cream, strawberries, and powdered sugar. “Are you getting it for the challenge?” the lady asked as she looked at me dubiously. “There’s a challenge?” I asked because I’d meant to bring it back so we could all share it, but before she could even respond, Eric piped up. “Yeah. if you can eat the whole thing in thirty minutes, it’s free!” He grinned at me. “You can totally do it, Nick.” “I also think you can do it, Starlight,” Aylin added and when I looked at her, I suddenly very much wanted to do it. “Okay, sure!” I smirked. “One challenge.” I smacked my belly. “Nothing like six thousand calories of sugar to rev you up.” “Damn straight!” Eric said with a bounce. “Man, this is gonna be so cool. I watched someone try earlier, and he barfed all over the floor before he was a quarter full.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“I’m totally gonna fall on my face,” he announced. I looked over at Aylin and smiled. “She said the same. Just blame Matt and say he tripped you. Everyone’ll believe it. He’s a dick.” “Fuck you, Gateon,” Matt fired back in his best approximation of good-naturedly. “See?” I grinned. Eric laughed, and some of the tension eased out of his body. “Alright, fine. I’m blaming Matt. No hard feelings, Barbur.” “Again,” Matt retorted in an almost sing-song cadence, “fuck you both.” Kara poked me in the side. “But what if Matt falls?” “Then we blame air pockets,” I suggested. “That works.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“What is…” Aylin frowned at the world, wondering how to repeat it. “... Phoenix?” “My father’s capital,” I spoke up. I wasn’t happy at the reminder of his sprawling empire, and I certainly wasn’t eager to go back there. Sure, it was filled with beautiful cities with clean infrastructure and booming economies… and on the surface, they might even enjoy deceptive freedoms. But it was an empire, not a democracy, and it was run by a crazed man who would bathe the world in fire to protect me from a paper cut. That empire would be mine, someday. I didn’t want it, but there it was.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Look, Dougie,” I whispered back, “you’re all big on the ‘save the innocents’ thing, so you do that and keep them calm. I’m big on the ‘overwhelming firepower’ shtick, so let me do my job.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Eric…” I almost couldn’t believe it. “Are you dating?” “Our little boy is growing up.” Andie grinned. “I’m so proud of him!” “I’m not that young,” Eric insisted with a roll of his eyes. He put a hand on his hip. “I’ve dated people!” It wasn’t that we doubted him, it was just so bizarre to know there was even a smidgeon of romantic energy in his whole body. He’d seemed so oblivious before. Maybe he was growing up. “Well, whoever you end up with, they better treat you well,” I warned. “I’m not afraid to play the overprotective, overbearing brother.” Matt made a noise of affirmation, and I couldn’t help a laugh. “Him too,” I added.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Gemma isn’t happy with my fish tanks,” Kara explained. “She thinks that they’re taking up too much living space, but she was going to let it go, but I’ve kinda had my eye on this puffer at the pet store, and there’s another tank on sale…” She gestured helplessly. “I want my puffer.” “You could always just keep the tanks you already have,” Eric pointed out. “They’re already full of life. Why do you need another?” “Never be satisfied with the mundane,” Kara huffed. “I get what I want, okay? Andie said I could have one, and I want one.” Andie laughed and nodded gently. “It’s true, I said you could have whatever you wanted. You’re cute when you’re being spoiled.” “And I want a puffer!” Kara blushed at the cute comment, but then she was stomping her foot like a child. I laughed at that and then grinned at her. “If you want a puffer, you can have a puffer. I can talk to Gemma. I know there are some larger dorms on campus, and I do have a pretty nice pile of savings if the added expense is an issue.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“So, instead of going right in, I lazily circled for just a moment before I decided to poke the wolf. And by poke, I meant a sudden flash of laser eyes right through his right arm. The big werewolf did try to duck away, but Matt wasn’t faster than the speed of light. The twin power beams blew through his arm, a shower of ruby drops following the burning light as it exploded out the other side. Not that he bled for long between his healing factor and the cauterization effect of the lasers. “I can’t believe it, folks!” Eric cried in overexaggerated alarm. “There’s blood in the ring! I repeat, there’s blood in the ring!” “Eric,” I heard Kristen mutter, “there is no ring.” He didn’t even care. “There’s blood. In. The. Riiiing!”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“I lifted a brow at Matt as I hovered a few inches off the ground, suspended by my power, and asked, “You sure about this?” “Just don’t be an asshole and make me grow back a hand again,” he roared as he began to circle me. That had been an entertaining week. He’d been so pissed with me, always shaking his little stub in outrage as his hand regenerated.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Matt caught me hard with a side punch, and he reeled in surprise just as much as I did. I blinked through the pain and looked back at him with a dumb expression. “The hell is your problem, Nick?” he growled. “Get your head in the game.” From the sidelines, I heard Eric howl for joy. He had a fist to his mouth, his ‘microphone’ as he pretended to be an announcer in a wrestling match. “And Nickie Boy takes a claw to the face by The Beast! How will he recover, folks? This. Is. Insaaaaaane!” To play along with the gag, I flopped down on the floor and pressed my hand to my heart. “I may actually be dead,” I said dryly, my voice a complete monotone. “Oh, look. I’m dying. Oh, no.”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Junior, I’m very proud of you. I’m also glad you’re not dead. Sorry about that. ‘Sorry about that’ indeed. My dad in a nutshell. Never taking responsibility for anything anymore. He used to be a good man… it was getting harder to remember that, lately. And by ‘that,’ I mean the whole killer robot plan. I suppose I didn’t think about the consequences until after the systems got scrambled. Next time, I’ll just slip him a virus. Viruses don’t turn on their masters, do they? On second thought, maybe a poison. Except… poison is boring. What about a big gun from space? Big guns from space never go wrong. Anyway. What I’m trying to say is I fucking hate this I hope you’re not mad at me I wish I were a better father. I really am sorry for how things happened. You’re doing good stuff, kiddo. Keep it up. Dad”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals

“Tell me, Nick, does your ass ever get jealous from the shit that comes out of your mouth?”
― Simon Archer, Arch Rivals