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Whatever happened next, they did good.
(Except for Rebecca Firestone. She could suck it.)
“Who will you save?” Ice taunted him, shaking Megan, her head snapping back and forth.
“Oh,come on,” Nick snarled as he struggled against Smoke’s hold on him. “Are you freaking kidding me? You know what? Screw all of you. Hey, Pyro Storm!”
Seth turned toward him, tense and afraid. Nick didn’t need to see all of his face to know that. There was only one way to make this better.
Nick bared his teeth in a ferocious grin and said, “I love you.”
Andoh, how Seth smiled. Not Pyro Storm. Not the Extraordinary.Seth. The boy from the swings. The boy who wore chinos and sweaters and bow ties. The boy who Nick thought hung the moon and the stars. The boy whose glasses got fogged up when it was too cold outside. The boy who Nick thought the world of, the boy who Nick would do anything for.
He said, “I love you too. Always.”
“Hell yeah, you do,” Nick said. He turned his gaze to Ice, glaring at him. “Let her go, you dumbass. She’s innocent!”
And then Megan stopped crying, as if a switch had flipped inside her. Something crossed her face, something that sent a chill down Nick’s spine. “Bullshit,” she spat. “I’m notthatinnocent.”
“Holy shit,” Nick breathed. “That was acatchph—”
Megan brought her leg up, her sparkly high heel catching thelight. She brought it back against Ice’s shin. The Extraordinary bellowed in pain, letting Megan go. She stumbled forward as Pyro Storm shouted, “Nick! Backflip of Chaos!” He hurtled toward Ice as Megan fled.
You want to learn to fight, you’ve got to prepare for anything. Help won’t always come. How do you get free?
I don’t know.
Here, a weak point. Use enough force, and you might be able to get them to loosen their grip on you.
With a strength he didn’t know he was capable of, Nick brought his arm up and shoved it back as hard as he could, elbow smashing into Smoke’s side. Smoke exhaled explosively in his ear. Without giving her the chance to recover, Nick jerked his body forward as hard as he could, the muscles in his back protesting angrily. As he bent over, he grabbed the hand around his throat and yanked, lifting Smoke up and over Nick. It happened so quickly, she didn’t have time to react. She hit the ground hard, grunting as her breath was knocked from her chest. Nick cocked his fist back, ready to let it fly right in her stupid face. Never, ever hit a woman, unless she’s a villain controlling smoke, crashing a prom, and ruining what should have been a perfect night.
She vanished, and Nick punched the floor. He howled and jumped back, shaking his hand. “Son of abitch. What thefrick. Ow, ow,ow. Oh my god, I hate you so, so much. Why won’t you freakingdiealready?”
She re-formed in front of him and backhanded him across the face. Nick was thrown backwards, skidding through water until he stopped at the feet of Jazz and Gibby. They helped him up just in time for him to see Pyro Storm locked in battle with Ice, steam hissing.
And then they began to lose.
Ice grabbed Pyro Storm by the arms, spinning on his heels, flinging him away. Before Pyro Storm could course correct, Smoke was there, jumping up and bringing her elbow down on Pyro Storm’s chest, smashing him to the floor, which cracked upon impact. Nick screamed for him, struggling against the hands holdinghim back. Pyro Storm lifted his head, mouth bloodied, but then Smoke kicked him in the stomach. Pyro Storm curled in on himself, trying to make himself smaller, but Smoke continued to kick him over and over, Pyro Storm’s mouth leaking blood.
Nick pulled free as Ice put his hands back on Pyro Storm, one on his right thigh, the other on his left ankle. The scream Pyro Storm let out knocked Nick’s breath from his chest as ice spread along Pyro Storm’s front, freezing his body.
Nick charged, the only thought in his head was to kill, kill, kill before they killed Seth.
Someone ran next to him. He looked over.
Mateo, a furious sneer on his face, electricity crackling.
Except Ice lifted his head. He stood slowly. He smiled.
And then, almost quicker than Nick could follow, he punched the floor. The tile split apart as thick walls of ice burst up around them. The last Nick saw of Pyro Storm—Seth—was Smoke kicking him viciously. And then they were lost behind the ice.
“No!” Nick cried, smashing his hands against the ice. “No! Let himgo!”
No use. The ice was too thick.
Ignoring everyone shouting around him, Nick pressed his hands flat against the ice, gritting his teeth, trying to find the spark, the pressure, the pain,somethingto call upon his powers. But his mind was a storm. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t focus. He had failed, and Seth was suffering because of it. Seth, who only wanted to keep people safe. Seth, who never hurt anyone.
Seth, Seth, SethSethSethSeth—
