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Nick groaned. He’d just gotten that damn phone.
He tried to push himself up but was knocked back by the rushing crowd. He pressed his hands flat against the wall, ready to do what he had to in order to get to his father, when a hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him up. He was about to thank the person when he saw who it was, and the words turned to dust and blew away.
Rebecca Firestone grinned at him, chest heaving. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling. She must have chased after him down the hall. “I guess that makes us even.”
Nick glared at her. “Are you out of your damn mind? Get the hell out of here with that nonsense, you hack. I saved you from falling off a bridge. We’re notcloseto even. What are you doing here?”
“Following a story,” she said, pushing a button on her camera before pointing it in Nick’s face. “Care to explain what happened in the hallway? Quite a display of powers. When did they manifest? Is it telekinesis?”
“If you don’t get that camera out of my face, I’m going to shove it up your—”
More screams from the cafeteria. Nick pushed by Rebecca Firestone, wishing that she’d be forced out with the crowd of people trying to flee. Whatever was happening, he hoped the fire alarmhad given people some warning. As he pushed his way through the tide rushing against him, he looked for his team. No sign of any of them.
He winced as people crashed into him, elbowing him, hitting him in the chest, face, and stomach. He kept his head down as he continued, trying to yell above the noise for everyone to get out of his way.
Eventually, he made it to the doors that led to the cafeteria. They hung on their hinges. People stampeded through the doorway, practically climbing on top of each other. A girl fell to her knees, her dress tearing. Her cheek had a smear of blood on it, and Nick bent low, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up. She gasped as he brought her to her feet. “Go!” Nick shouted at her. “Get out of here!”
She nodded and ran, never looking back.
Nick rushed into the cafeteria and stopped dead in his tracks. Rebecca Firestone crashed into his back, cursing.
Groups of students were huddled together against the walls, high schoolers clinging to each other as they looked on in horror.
Teachers and other chaperones stood in front of them, shielding them as best they could. The ones closest to the doors were shepherding people through, but most were cut off, trapped. The adults gathered the students close, holding them together.
And there, standing in the middle of the cafeteria, eyes blazing, was Pyro Storm.
He wore a costume Nick had never seen before: sleeker, tighter. It was black with red piping that ran up the sides of his legs and chest. He didn’t have a cape, but a familiar flame symbol sat in the middle of his chest. His helmet was smoother, the lenses glowing a fierce shade of red that looked like fire. He bared his teeth, and he glanced at Nick rushing toward him, expression softening briefly.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Nick demanded breathlessly as he came to a stop in front of Pyro Storm, briefly ignoring the thundering chaos happening around them. “And when did you have time tochange?”
“Kept it hidden from you at school,” Pyro Storm growled, gazestill fixed upward. “Someone told me that sequels needed new costumes, so I’ve been waiting for the right moment to debut it.”
“Where’s—”
“Lookout!” Pyro Storm shouted, shoving Nick. It felt like Nick had been hit by a truck as he flew back and hit the floor. Right where he’d been standing, a spike hit the ground, embedding itself into the floor, the ice glistening as water dripped from it.
Nick looked up.
Smoke and Ice floated near the ceiling. The metal that had covered Ice had fallen away, and he wasn’t smiling. His face twisted in anger as he formed more spikes around his head. And there was Dad, pinned to the wall near the ceiling, dozens of feet above the floor, covered in a roiling black cloud. He struggled to no avail.
Hands gripped Nick’s arms, pulling him up. Nick panicked and tried to pull away until he heard Gibby say, “Nick,stop, it’s us!”
He looked around to see that Jazz and Gibby were supporting him. Gibby’s suit coat was gone and her bow tie hung in tatters, the outer layer of lace on Jazz’s dress had been torn away, but otherwise, they appeared unharmed. Furious, but unharmed.
“What the hell is going on?” Gibby demanded.
“Assholes,” Nick snapped. “They’re trying to unmask Seth.”
People screamed when a heavy block of ice smashed into the ground, causing Pyro Storm to vault away before getting flattened. “Is that RebeccaFirestone?” Jazz demanded. “What is she doing here?”
“Forget her,” Nick said. “My powers are on. I have to help—”
“Go,” Gibby said. “If they’re after you, we’ll get everyone out and come back and help. Distract them.”
Nick nodded. “Get everyone through the doors to the teacher parking lot. They should still be open. Don’t do anything stupid. Stay low, stay hidden. Help is on the way.”
“On it,” Jazz said. “We’ll—”
