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Nick ignored him, only because his hand still hurt from punching Pyro Storm yesterday, and he didn’t want to injure himself further. “A few months later, Shadow Star and Pyro Storm have their first skirmish.” Nick shuffled the pages until he found the one he was looking for. “Rebecca Firestone reported on it before anyone else and said there was a new Extraordinary in Nova City. That he was causing destruction and mayhem and impeding Shadow Star’s work.”
Owen sounded like he was choking. “Did you print out a screenshot of a YouTube video of the report?”
Of course that was what he’d zero in on. “I was in a hurry. I wasn’t thinking. It’s—stop laughing, Owen, I swear to god. So after, theNova City Gazettepicks up the story, publishing on the front page that Shadow Star has a new enemy. And everyone runs with it. Later, Shadow Star gives Rebecca Firestone an interview, saying he’s doing everything he can to stop Pyro Storm from taking over the city. He was here first, and he wants to keep us all safe.”
“Okay,” Owen said slowly. “So… what. You think Pyro Storm isn’t actually evil?”
Nick hesitated. “I mean, he has to be, right? He’s done all these illegal things, and Shadow Star has always stopped him. And there’s been all those other times that they’ve fought when Pyro Storm tried to take over this city. But it’s not about that. Look.” Nick handed Owen another printout.
“High-Rise Fire Put out by Mysterious Means,” Owen read dutifully. “I remember this. It was a four-alarm fire, right? It spread quicker than anyone expected it to.”
“Right,” Nick said excitedly. “And people were trapped, with no way to get to them on, like, thirty different floors. Except for some reason, the fire went outby itself.No one could explain how it happened. Or why.”
“And you think it was Pyro Storm.”
Damn right. “What else could it be? The one Extraordinary who can manipulate fire and suddenly, a raging inferno goes out by itself? Come on.”
Owen’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know, Nicky, but let’s say you’re right. Let’s say he did put out the fire. On the other hand, what if he started it too?”
Nick shook his head. “That’s the thing. He didn’t. It was faulty wiring on multiple levels. It turns out the electrical contractors cut major corners. An investigation by the city showed it wasn’t the first time either. They found instances of malfeasance in twelve other construction projects. Multiple lawsuits came out of it. The contracting firm closed, and people are in jail because of what they did.”
“That doesn’t mean he didn’t have anything to do with it,” Owen pointed out.
“So, he coincidentally picked a building where obvious blame could be placed on something else?”
“Or he knew that it could be,” Owen said. “Look, Nick. I get what you’re saying. Maybe Pyro Storm did put out that fire. But that doesn’t mean he’s good.”
Nick frowned. “I’m not trying to say he is. I’m trying to show you he was here first. The fire happened three weeks before the first reported sightings of Shadow Star. And there are other fires that go back further, months even, when the fire was put out in a way that can’t be explained.”
Owen shrugged. “Okay. Let’s say you’re right. So what?”
Nick gaped at him. “Sowhat? How can you say—”
“What’s the point?” Owen asked, waving a hand at the papers on Nick’s bed. “What are you trying to prove? So what if Pyro Storm was here first. Why does it matter?”
Nick looked down at the bed, his thoughts a storm. “I don’t… know.”
“I get it, Nick. I really do. I mean, you fixate, you know? That’s part of who you are. You get attached to things, and it’s like you get these blinders on. It’s endearing. Mostly.”
Endearing.He’d been called that before, but it’d never sounded good. “Thanks.”
“I’m not trying to be a jerk,” Owen said gently. “Just telling it like it is. I want to know why it matters so much to you. So Pyro Storm was here first. Or maybe Shadow Star was. Or maybe they both got here at the same time. Any way you look at it, it doesn’t change how things are now, right? Did you ever stop to think what would happen if they were both villains?”
Nick shook his head furiously. “That’s not how these things work. There is a hero, and then there’s his opposite. It’s how it’s always been.”
“Life isn’t a comic book, Nick. There isn’t always good and evil.”
“I know that, but it’s—”
“Who would your opposite be?”
Nick blinked. “What?”
Owen cocked his head. “You want to be an Extraordinary, right? That’s the whole point of your little game.”
What a dick. “It’s not a game—”
“Let’s say you succeed. Who would your opposite be? It’d have to be someone really terrible, wouldn’t it? Because you’re so good.”
