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Nicholas Bell awoke, bound on the top of one of the spires on McManus Bridge.

Shadows wrapped around his legs and torso, holding him in place high above the Westfield River.

Birds flew by him, only a few feet away.

Nick discovered he had an extreme fear of heights. The timing could have been a bit better for such a realization, but supervillains apparently didn’t give two shits about that.

“Oh my god,” he said, struggling not to gag. Then, the anger of an artist whose work was plagiarized set in, and any fear of dying a terrible death by falling to the street below was shoved to the background. “Are you serious? You’re using my fanfictionagainstme? That’s a crappy thing to do, even for you. I didn’t even know you’d read it, much less decided to steal it. Come up with your own ideas, you dick!”

“What can I say? I’m your biggest fan.”

Nick looked down, regretting the move almost instantly. The cars on the bridge below looked so tiny, and all that was between him and an impression of a wannabe Jackson Pollock all over the pavement was a supervillain who read Nick’s online self-insert real-person fanfiction and was now incorporating it into his diabolical schemes.

All in all, Nick wasn’t having the best day. If he survived this, he was going to need to post a warning for his followers to be aware of who could be reading their fics, lest they be used for nefarious purposes.

And it certainly didn’t help that Shadow Star—Owen—was standing on a metal platform in full costume about ten feet belowhim, smiling wildly. He wiggled his gloved fingers up at Nick as the lenses over his eyes flashed. His other hand was wrapped tightly around a person next to him on the platform.

“Rebecca Firestone,” Nick gasped. “I thought you died in the helicopter crash!”

“That was just my cameraman and the pilot,” she said. “Shadow Star saved me.” She smiled dreamily at Owen. “Like he always does.”

Nick made a face. “Oh my god, ew. Dude, you’re, like,forty.Your lady boner for Shadow Star is both disgusting and problematic. Also, illegal.”

She glared up at him. “I’m thirty-four.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Shadow Star is a seventeen-year-old high school student named Owen Burke. Also, I’ve made out with him, so suck it.”

Rebecca Firestone snapped her head toward Shadow Star. “Youwhat?”

Shadow Star shrugged. “Yeah. We did make out. It was pretty good.”

“Pretty good,” Nick growled, outraged. “I wasawesome—”

“You’re only seventeen?” Rebecca Firestone said, sounding like she was starting to panic. “But… that… I’ve hadthoughtsabout—”

“Gross,” Nick muttered. “Old people are so weird.”

Rebecca Firestone got over her horror rather quickly. She began to try and beat Shadow Star over the head with her hands. Nick never thought he’d be in a position to cheer loudly for Rebecca Firestone aboutanything,much less punching Shadow Star in the face. But here he was, screaming down at her toscratch his freaking eyes outandkick him in the balls.She looked like she was about to do exactly that, but then the lights on Shadow Star’s wrists lit up, making Nick turn his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw shadows slither around Rebecca Firestone, lifting her off the platform. One of her shoes slipped off and fell toward the ground below. Nick couldn’t see where it landed.

Rebecca Firestone kicked and screamed as she was raised eye-level with Nick, her back pressed against a spire across from him.The shadows tightened around her, holding her in place. She banged her head back against the spire, demanding that Shadow Star let her go this instant, and did he know all the things she’d done for him? She was a celebrated and an award-winningjournalist,and she would not be treated this way!

“Yeah!” Nick crowed, getting caught up in the high stakes of televised investigative journalism. “You better let us go, or else!”

Rebecca Firestone glared at him. “I don’t care what he does toyou.I’m only talking about myself.”

Nick gaped at her. “And to think I was juststanningyou after hating everything about your existence ever since I first saw you! Guess what? I’m once again anti–Rebecca Firestone! You’re the worst.” Nick paused, considering. “Well, almost the worst. Shadow Star is pretty much winningthatcontest right now. But you’re a close second. Congratulations.”

Shadow Star rose between them, standing on a shifting pedestal of shadows. “Now, now. No need to fight over me. There’s more than enough of me to go around.”

Nick struggled against the shadows, trying to break free, but it was useless. And to top it all off, he was starting to get a headache. He wasn’t having a very good night. Or life. “What do you want with me?”

“Oh, Nick. It’s notyouI want.”

“What? Then why am I here?”

Owen laughed. “You know why.”