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Nick laughed in his face. “Oh my god. You’re a freakingcliché.”

Burke blinked, grip loosening slightly. “What?”

He twisted his face and dropped his voice mockingly. “‘I will be the supreme leader. People will bow before me, and I’ll take everything from them because no one ever loved me.’” He sighed, refusing to wince as Burke applied pressure to his cheekbones. “Fic villains are more three-dimensional than you’ll ever be. Disappointing that real life doesn’t imitate art. I’ll admit you’ve got some skills, though. Having your wife take the form of my mom and erase our memories of her death was pretty hard-core. And then you had her train me? What was that all about?”

Burke almost looked pleased. “It was, wasn’t it? What I would have given to see the look on your face when she walked through your door. And she worked with you because we wanted to know just how powerful you are. And you gave it up like it wasnothing.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “It only lasted a few weeks, dude. And for what? You thought you could tear us apart from the inside out?” He gasped dramatically. “We’re way more loyal to each other than your people will ever be to you.”

“Is that right?” Burke asked. “As much as it pains me to say, you’re partially correct. Rebecca.” He turned toward her and cocked his head. “Or should I say Lauren Underwood?”

More explosions, the room awash in whites and greens and reds. Rebecca’s face pale, eyes wide as she took a step back.

“You think I didn’t know?” Burke asked softly. “You’re good, Lauren, but you’re not that good.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered, gaze darting around as if looking for an escape. The only doors were blocked by henchmen.

Burke clucked his tongue. “You were careless.”

“Your father gurgled,” Patricia said darkly. “When I ate his powers and then filled his lungs with water, thesoundshe made.”

Rebecca Firestone bellowed as she rushed toward Patricia, hands raised. She only made it halfway before she came to a stop as if crashing into an invisible wall. Her eyes darted from side to side, a low moan falling from her mouth. But the rest of her seemed frozen midstep, one foot slightly raised off the floor.

“The human body,” Burke said. “A marvelous feat of evolutionary engineering. Funny thing about bodies, though. Sixty percent of an adult human is made of water. The lifeblood of human existence, water is. And I just so happen to have an Extraordinary at my disposal who can control water. Anthony, your spare piece, if you please.”

Anthony bent over, lifting the leg of his slacks, revealing a snub-nosed pistol in an ankle holster. He pulled it free, handing it over to Burke.

“You have her?” Burke asked.

“Yes,” Patricia said, but Nick could hear the tremor in her voice. Sweat now dripped off her face in rivulets, and her hands were shaking.

You know when lightning strikes a power line?Owen whispered in Nick’s head.It sends a charge through wherever the line goes. Sometimes, it’ll knock out power all over. But most places are outfitted with surge protectors. I think she’s like that. A limit to how much she can take in. Regardless of what else Extraordinaries are, we’re still human. Our bodies can’t handle that much energy. I think if she tried to take any more she’d…

“Boom,” Nick murmured. “Stretched too thin.”

Burke took Rebecca Firestone’s hand in his, lifting it up. Heplaced the gun in her hand, positioning her fingers around the grip, thumb up the side, index finger around the trigger. It was as if she were a puppet. She moaned as Burke raised the gun in her hand, pressing the barrel against the side of her head just above her ear. A tear fell from her left eye, tracing a line down her cheek.

“A terrible thing, grief is,” Burke said quietly, letting go of Rebecca Firestone’s hand. It stayed where he’d put it. “All-consuming. I didn’t know Rebecca Firestone was depressed. I didn’t know that she was crying out for help.HadI known, I would’ve done whatever I could to save her.” He sighed. “Alas, she was already far too gone. She stole my employee’s weapon. She put it up against her head.” He smiled as Rebecca shuddered. “Pity, that.” He turned away.

Too far. Though Nick thought Rebecca Firestone sucked ass, Burke had gone too far. He stepped forward, about to tell Burke to leave her alone when Rebecca Firestone made a small sound at the back of her throat. Nick glanced at her to find her watching him. She shook her head once, lifting her shaking finger off the trigger.

“A limit,” Nick whispered. Then, louder, “And the rest of us?”

“By the time I’m done with you, you won’t remember any of this. Patricia will see to it.” He tilted his head back, smiling. “You’ll join me on that stage, and the only thing any of you will be able to say is howsorryyou are. And before you think you can break free from Patricia’s hold again, a warning: I will make you kill your father.”

Nick’s heart banged against his rib cage. “No.”

“Yes,” Burke said. “I wonder how many bones a telekinetic can pull from a body before it—”

A pounding at the double doors, insistent, loud.

Burke jerked his head toward the door. “I thought I said no interruptions. Anthony, deal with whoever that is.”

Now or never.

Anthony moved toward the door.

Patricia grunted, the smoke tendrils quivering.