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“Oof,” Nick said. “That is absolutely correct. Shit.” He glancedat the others. Jazz snapped her gum before blowing a pink bubble. Seth looked spooked, face pale, hands shaking. Nick went to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I know you’re scared, but I’ll protect you, okay? We’ve got this. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Seth shook his head. “Nicky, I’m the one who’s supposed to be protecting all of you.”
Gibby snorted. “That’s crap and you know it. Sure, you can do things that we can’t, but we’re a team, remember?”
“Team Pyro Storm,” Jazz agreed. “The best team that’s ever existed.”
“We stand together,” Nick reminded him, “so we don’t have to struggle apart. You’re not alone in this, okay?”
Seth gave him a shaky smile. “Really?”
Jazz nodded. “It’s going to be fine.”
It was not fine.
Because as soon as the last box was stacked in the living room around them, Geoffrey practically in tears at the tip Miles had given him, Trey said, “So, anyone want to tell us what’s going on? I’m not worried, but I do have a few questions. What’s with all the—”
And Nick—always and forever Nick—blurted, “I’m Pyro Storm!”
The only sound that followed came from the honking of horns out on the street. Then Dad put his face in his hands; Martha said, “Oh my”; Bob took out his handkerchief and blew his nose; Seth moaned quietly; Gibby said, “Nicky, I swear to god”; and Jazz laughed so hard, she started crying.
And that didn’t even begin to cover the looks on the faces of the new arrivals. Trey’s eyes were bulging from his head, Aysha’s mouth had dropped open, Miles was squinting at Nick as if he didn’t understand what he’d just said, and Jo said, “Come again?”
“Crap,” Nick muttered. “Crap, crap, crap.” He needed to fix this. Dig in or pretend it was a joke? He went with the easier route. “Okay. So. Um—here’s the thing? I have superpowers. And I can fly. And create … fire? Yeah, fire. Like explosions and junk. Andyes, I know the costume issolast year, but when I tried to make a new one, I stabbed myself and decided the old costume is fine.” He glanced at Seth pointedly. “For now.” There. Fixed. Sort of.
More silence. All the silence.
Then, Miles: “You’re Pyro Storm. That Extraordinary from the bridge who fought against Smoky Guy.”
“Shadow Star,” Nick corrected automatically, even though he hated himself for it. “And yep! I fought against Shadow Star and saved the day.” But since he wasn’t selfish, he added, “But I didn’t do it alone. Gibby and Jazz and Seth all helped because they are good people who you shouldn’t be mad at for anything. It’s all my fault. So. I’m … sorry?”
“Wait,” Aysha said, holding up her hand. “I’m confused. We all saw the footage from the bridge, Nicky. You weren’t the one in costume. You were standing next to Pyro Storm.”
“You’re so observant,” Nick said through gritted teeth. “How fun. That was a … hologram. A hologram I created in order to confuse Shadow Star and gain the upper hand. It onlylookedlike I was two different people because of the advanced tech that we somehow created that I won’t bore you with the details about.Idon’t even understand it, for the most part. Story of my life.”
Miles nodded slowly. “But didn’t you—forgive me if this sounds a little forward—but didn’t you maul Pyro Storm? It was very … wet. The wonders of high definition.”
Dad sounded as if he were choking on his tongue.
“Maul?” Nick said, outraged. “I didn’tmaulanyone. It was a loving kiss that I placed … upon myself because I … deserved it?”
“Oh my,” Martha said again. Bob folded his arms and grinned at Nick, as if he was enjoying the hell out of this. Nick made a mental note to plot serious yet harmless revenge against him.
Seth said, “Nick, what are you doing?”
He really had no idea. All that mattered was protecting Seth’s secret identity, and if that meant throwing himself at the mercy of parental figures, then so be it. “Look,” he said, trying to hold together the tatters of his completely plausible story, “I know it’s shocking to hear that someone like me could be an Extraordinary—”
“Not that shocking,” Trey said, rubbing a hand over his scalp. “If anyone was going to be an Extraordinary, I’d think it’d be you. It actually makes a lot of sense.”
“It does?” Nick asked. He coughed. “I mean, of course it does, so there’s no need to question anything else. Since you now know the big secret, we can all focus on the important things, like what isupwith this weather? Global warming, am I right? Those poor polar bears with all that melting ice. We should be ashamed for treating our only home with such disregard.”
Apparently not giving a crap about polar bears, Aysha turned to her daughter. “And you knew about this?”
“I don’t know anything that’s happening right now,” Gibby said.
“Jasmine?” Jo asked. “Is this true?”
Jazz glanced at Nick before looking at her mom. “If I say yes, are you going to take my Alexander McQueen pumps away?”
