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Nick was spun dizzyingly around as Seth shoved him toward the elevator, putting himself between them. “Go,” he said over his shoulder. “Now. Get out of here.”

Nick glared at him. “I don’t know if you’re in any position to tell me what to do right now.”

Owen bared bloody teeth in a silent snarl as he pushed himself up off the ground. “Let him stay. See what happens when you witness the full extent of my power.”

Nick and Seth turned their heads slowly to gape at Owen.

“What?” Owen asked.

“Dude,” Nick said, aghast. “Seriously. The full extent of yourpower? What’s next? With great power comes great responsibility? Kiss my damn ass, you dumb—”

“Maybe don’t try to rile up the supervillain,” Seth muttered.

“Do you say stupid things like he does?” Nick demanded. “Because if you do, I don’t think I can be seen in public with you. God, what the hell was I thinking? Both of you suck. Extraordinaries are the worst. My new dream is to become a dentist with my own private practice in Idaho. People with superpowers are terrible.”

“Hey!”

Owen pulled himself to his full height, tilting his head side to side as he stretched his neck. He reached up and wiped away the blood from his lips before he spat on the ground. Shadows gathered at his feet, roiling like liquid tentacles. They crawled up his legs, and for a moment, Nick thought they were going to swallow him whole. Instead, left in their wake was Shadow Star’scostume,rising until it covered his shoulders. If Nick wasn’t so pissed off, he’d think it was badass. “It’s all out in the open now, Seth. Everything. He sees you for what you truly are. Even I can see the doubt in his eyes. No matter what happens next, he will always remember how you lied to him. How you couldn’t even keep his father safe.”

“Maybe,” Seth said quietly. “Maybe he’ll never want to speak to me again. Maybe everything I ever wanted is gone now. That’s on me. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for him until my last breath.”

Owen snorted. “Who says romance is dead? I’m tired of this back and forth. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years, to see that exact look on his face. And now that I have, it’s time for Shadow Star to rise and put an end to the villain Pyro Storm. The people of Nova City will love me for protecting them. And one day, Nick will see the error of his ways, and we’ll move on without you. You’ll be nothing but a bad dream.”

Nick made a face. “That’s probably not going to happen. Owen, I don’t know if you know this, but pretty much everything is terrible right now. Like, I feel super betrayed. And why would we move on without Seth? What’s going to happen to him?”

“He thinks he’s going to kill me,” Seth said.

“Bingo!” Owen said, smiling wildly.

Nick took a step back. “But… you can’tkillpeople. That’s not what Extraordinaries do. That’s murder!”

“He’s so naïve,” Owen said to Seth. “It would be amusing if it weren’t so depressing.”

Seth looked back at Nick again, eyes glittering in the low light. “I need you to listen to me, Nicky. Can you do that?”

“No,” Nick said, shaking his head. “You’re not—no one’s going todie.That’s not how this works. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

“I’ll do everything I can, okay? But you have to get out of here. I need you to be safe.”

“Seth,” Nick said, and his voice cracked right down the middle.

Seth’s smile trembled. “It’ll be okay.”

“Bored now,” Owen said, and shadows scurried across the floor.

Seth reached back and shoved Nick toward the elevator. Nick felt a sharp blast of heat as he stumbled backward, a bright bloom of fire bursting in front of him. He stared in awe as the air burned, dispelling the shadows in the light.

“Run!” Seth shouted.

“But—”

“Go, Nick! Pleasego!”

Nick ran.

He was halfway across the room when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over in time to see a shadow racing along the wall next to him. It was amorphous until it stretched out from the wall,reachingfor Nick. He could see the outline of what looked likeclaws,and let out a strangled gasp as he ducked right as it swiped at him. It missed him by inches. Owen shouted furiously, but Nick didn’t look back.

He hit the panel next to the elevator so hard, he thought he broke it.