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And then Shadow Star was on fire.

He screamed, letting Nick go, causing him to slump to the ground. Shadow Star waved his arm wildly, slapping his other hand against the flames that burned along his arm. The smell of burned hair, burnedskinfilled Nick’s nose, thick and noxious. His vision clearing slightly, he saw Pyro Storm stalking toward Shadow Star, fire roaring around him in ever-increasing waves.

“You’ve had this coming,” Pyro Storm growled, lifting his legand kicking him in the sternum. Fire exploded at the impact, shredding the symbol on his chest as he flew back against an abandoned garbage truck. It rocked as he slumped to the ground.

“Nick,” Pyro Storm said, rushing toward him. He knelt down, cupping Nick’s face. “You all right?”

Nick nodded, wincing as Pyro Storm helped him up. If he thought everything hurt before, it was nothing compared to the way he felt now. Nothing seemed to be broken, but he was going to pay for this later.

If there was a later, because as soon as he stood upright, he saw Shadow Star standing in the road, the goddamngarbage truckfloating above him, held aloft by shadows. “Let’s try this again,” Shadow Star said. “Catch!”

Nick yelped, grabbing Pyro Storm by the shoulders and pushing down as hard as he could. They collapsed to the ground as the garbage truck flipped over them, one of the large wheels almost clipping Pyro Storm in the head. It hit the edge of the bridge, snapping cables before disappearing over the side.

“Dammit,” Shadow Star said. “I really need to work on my aim. Let’s try something else.” He dropped to the ground, palms flat against the pavement on either side of him. The bridge made a terrifying groan as the ground beneath them began to rumble. A large crack in the asphalt raced from Shadow Star toward them as more cables snapped, the tower above them beginning to sway.

Pyro Storm grabbed Nick by the hand, pulling him up. They jumped over the widening split in the road, and Pyro Storm bellowed, “Hold on to me!”

Nick jumped on his back as Pyro Storm shot his hand forward, a line of fire stretching along the ground. Pyro Storm leapt on top of it, sliding along the rail, weaving in and out between the cars and trucks. Nick glanced over his shoulder and screamed when he saw shadows chasing after them, flipping vehicles off either side of the bridge. He had a feeling of weightlessness as the rail of fire ran up andovera motor home,stomach rising to his throat before falling back down as they descended the other side.

“We have to end this!” Nick shouted in Pyro Storm’s ear. “We can’t let him hurt—shit!”

Four columns of shadows split the asphalt apart in front of them, rising up before collapsing on top of the rail of fire, snuffing it out. They were moving too fast to stop in time, and at the last second, Pyro Storm leapt over the shadows. Nick looked down in time to see a black column shoot up, slamming against Pyro Storm’s legs, sending them both spilling to the ground with a jarring impact. Nick rolled end over end, breath knocked from his chest as he and Pyro Storm crashed into the grill of a tow truck. The truck groaned, its ramp shooting out and hitting the ground, the top end still hanging off the truck.

Before Nick could push himself to his feet, Pyro Storm grabbed his arm, holding him still. “No,” he hissed. “Don’t. Cavalry’s coming.”

“Then they better hurry,” Nick wheezed as Shadow Star moved toward them, whistling as if he had all the time in the world.

“They’ll be here,” Pyro Storm said grimly. “When I tell you to, get down.”

Shadow Star stopped ten feet away from the truck. “Is that it?” he asked, head cocked. “Is that all you’ve got? Thought it’d be at least alittleharder to beat you.”

Pyro Storm snorted. “You’d think, right?”

“How’s it going, Owen?” Nick asked, stalling for time. “You don’t look so good.” This was a lie. His visor had cracked, his costume still smoking, but he seemed much better off than Nick and Pyro Storm.

“Oh, I’m doing just fine,” Shadow Star said, sounding almost breathless. “The pills. I can feel them. What they’re doing to me. Watch.”

He spread his arms like wings, and his shadow rose behind him, towering high above his head. It formed arms and legs and reached down, settling its massive, disjointed hands on ShadowStar’s shoulders. Black leaked from the fingers, crawling along Shadow Star. The costume re-formed, the star symbol intact, the tears in his costume stitching back together. The crack in his visor disappeared. Once the repairs were completed, the shadow rose back up, looming.

“Really need to learn how to do that,” Nick muttered. “Remind me if we don’t die.”

“Will do,” Pyro Storm said, squeezing his hand. “Get ready.”

“There,” Shadow Star said. “That’s much better.” He shook his head. “Scared me for a moment. A little too close for comfort. But I’m stronger than you are. Always have been. Always will be. It’s over. At long last.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nick called to him. “You’re the bad guy. Blah, blah, blah. Heard it all before. Get some new material.” He narrowed his eyes. “But I swear to god, if you start spouting my fanfiction back at me again, we’re gonna have a problem. I wrote that with limited information, and I have many, many regrets because of it.”

“Five,” Pyro Storm whispered, and Nick saw Rebecca Firestone in his head, counting down silently with her fingers.

“Nah,” Shadow Star said. “I’m done with all of that. I’m just gonna kill you instead.”

“Four.”

“Before you do,” Nick said, “lemme clear something up.”

“What’s that?” Shadow Star asked, taking another step toward them, his shadow moving with him.

“Three.”