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Nick sighed. “I’m so disappointed in all of you.”
“What?” Gibby asked, sounding offended. “What the hell didwedo? We’re not the ones who kept this secret. Seth did!”
“Thanks,” Seth mumbled. “I’ve always wanted to be thrown under a bus.”
“You didn’t ask the most important questions,” Nick said, letting his displeasure fill his voice. “When one finds out about a new Extraordinary, one must ask two questions that matter above all else.”
“Are they good or evil?” Jazz asked.
“Do they want to kill us?” Gibby asked.
“Is their costume better than mine?” Seth asked, and didn’t even have the gall to look affronted when they all stared at him.
“Oh my god,” Nick muttered. “I’m constantly surrounded by incompetence. You should all be on your knees, thanking me for holding Team Pyro Storm together.” He paused, considering. “We’ll probably have to come up with a new team name now, seeing as how I can do shit now too.”
“Only one of us is gonna get on our knees for you,” Gibby said. “And I’ll give you a single guess as to who that’ll be.” She high-fived Jazz over her shoulder without even looking at her. Nick would have been impressed if she wasn’t so annoying.
He exhaled through his nose. “No. The most important questions are as follows: What is their superhero name, and what is their power? Have some self-respect.”
They all looked at Seth expectantly, even though Nick knew the answers. It was better if it came from Seth, who hesitated only for a moment. “She can turn her body into electricity. Her entire body. If there’s an electric current around, she can conduct it. But what’s more is that she canrideit. Power lines, subway rails, all of it. She can travel from one side of the city to the other in a matter of seconds.”
And that was enough of the conversation not having Nick’s input. “And her name is Miss Conduct. Get it? Because of the electricity and the drag queen. It’sgenius. God, I love double entendres.”
“Yeah,” Gibby muttered, “screw whatever Nick said before about only two questions being important. I have at least a dozen more.”
Seth shook his head. “I haven’t really asked for specifics beyond that. I don’twantspecifics beyond that. I still don’t know if I trust her.”
That stopped Nick cold, all the goodwill he had toward Miss Conduct flying out the window. “You think she could be”—he swallowed thickly—“like Owen? Or Smoke and Ice?”
Seth sighed. “I don’t think so.” He looked at Nick, and for a brief and shining moment, Nick felt his heart swell uncomfortably. Here was this guy, this awesome dude, obviously scared out of his mind but pushing through it. If Seth could do it, so could Nick. “I should have told you. I’m sorry. I just—I wanted to make sure of what I was dealing with before I said anything.” He took a deep breath and let it out slow. “And she—uh. She might not be the only one? There’s another Extraordinary, too, who we’ve met up with, but only recently.”
Nick wasn’t quite sure how it happened. One moment, he was leaning against the dryer, Jazz’s hand playing with his hair, and the next, he was flat on his back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He blinked slowly as three faces appeared above him: exasperated Gibby, laughing Jazz, and concerned Seth. “What happened?” he asked weakly as Seth pulled him up.
“Who’s this other Extraordinary?” Jazz asked.
“I don’t know,” Seth said, sounding frustrated. He hadn’t let go of Nick’s hand, for which Nick was profoundly grateful, not only because it kept him upright but because it meant Seth wasn’ttoopissed off at him. “I can’t even tell you their gender, though I think they’re a man because of their lack of … you know.”
“Because they don’t have boobs?” Jazz asked, amused. “You can say that, Seth. It’s not a dirty word.”
Seth flushed, and Nick didnotfind it adorable because the situation was serious, and he didn’t want to derail it by telling Seth he was the most perfect being who had ever existed. “Right, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. You don’t need … boobsto be a woman. Their voice is disguised, and their costume is like mine in that it covers their entire body. I can’t see their face at all because they wear a full mask. They found me and Miss Conduct a week ago. They appeared on a rooftop above us.” He shivered. “I thought they were going to attack us.”
This morning, Nick had thought Seth was the only Extraordinary left in Nova City. Now, there were at least five more, including himself. He tried to keep his excitement in check, but it was a losing battle, especially when he had the wonderfully terrible (and not at all practical) thought that he could write them into his fanfiction. He really needed to work on his priorities.
Seth frowned. “I don’t know. They’re intimidating, I guess. They didn’t say much beyond finding me for the same reason Miss Conduct did. I don’t even know how old they are. Miss Conduct is probably mid-to-late twenties, but this other Extraordinary is … I get the feeling they’re older than us.”
“What can they do?” Gibby asked. Good question. Nick would keep her around.
Seth stared at Nick unnervingly. “Since they won’t give me a name, I’ve been calling them TK because they’re telekinetic. Like you.” He hesitated. Then, “Nick, that—that wasn’t you, right?”
Nick burst out laughing. He stopped when no one else joined in. “Oh, crap. You’reserious? Hell no. Do you really think I’d be able to keep that a secret from you? I found you in a dark alley with a stranger, and I immediately blurted that I could move things with my mind! Just because they’re telekinetic, too, doesn’t … mean … oh no.”
Owen Burke’s voice filled his head. What had he said in Burke Tower in his attempted seduction of Nick? It’d been about the white pill, the one that—
The white one is off-limits. Even for you, Nicky. It’s the most unstable. It’s telekinesis. The power to move things with your mind. We can’t touch that one. According to my father’s tests, the last person who was given the white pill lost their mind.
“What is it?” Seth asked.
Nick shook his head. “It’s something Owen said about the pills his dad made. The telekinetic one was bad news.” A thought struck him, terrible and quick. “What if Simon Burke did this to them like he did to Owen? You heard Smoke and Ice.‘Mr. Burke sends his regards.’”
