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The crowd went wild as Rebecca Firestone stepped back from the podium, clapping furiously. The noise rose to deafening levels as Simon Burke walked out in front of the stage, a wide smile stretched across his face. He wasn’t alone; with him, holding his hand, was a woman Nick had only seen a handful of times: his wife, Patricia Burke. She shook hands with the officers as Burke pointed at the people gathered before them. Instead of his usual power suit, he wore jeans and a T-shirt. On the shirt across the chest were four gold letters:NCPD. Dad had the same shirt, though he didn’t wear it anymore. Patricia was dressed similarly, her long black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.
They stopped next to the steps leading up to the stage. Burke kissed her, said something lost to the noise. She nodded, and disappeared behind the stage as Burke climbed the steps. He reached Rebecca Firestone, taking her hands in his, leaning forward and whispering in her ear. She smiled blandly at whatever Burke was telling her, but right as Burke let her go and turned toward the podium, the smile dissolved into a grimace, there and gone again in a flash.
Burke stopped in front of the podium, letting the cheers wash over him. A deep chill ran through Nick, his spine a block of ice. It was easy to snark at Rebecca Firestone.Shemade it easy.
But Burke was something else entirely. Nick wasn’t stupid. He knew Burke was, for some reason, popular, that most polls showed him leading the incumbent, Stephanie Carlson, by a healthy margin. The election was still a little over four months off and things could change between now and then, but what if it didn’t? How the hell could no one else see just how dangerous he was? Yes, most people didn’t know what he’d done or what he was capable of, andyes,Burke had a knack for spinning certain events in his favor, but that shouldn’t have mattered, or so Nick thought. Burke had apparently perfected the art of manipulation, and it made Nick furious that so many people were falling for it, hook, line, and sinker.
Burke raised his hands to quiet down the crowd. He leaned toward the microphone, his perfect teeth flashing in a quick grinbefore he spoke. “Thank you for the warm welcome. It touches me greatly to know that so many of you have joined our movement to bring peace and prosperity back to Nova City. I stand before you today with the hardworking men and women of the Nova City Police Department, whose support I do not take for granted. They are the real heroes of this place we call home. They wear uniforms but they don’t hide their faces behind masks. They are not vigilantes who take the law into their own hands. They protect. They serve. And they do it out in the open, without concealing who they really are,as it should be.”
Gibby took Nick’s hand in hers, squeezing tightly.
“Much has been made about the people who call themselves Extraordinaries,” Burke said. His smile faded, but it looked intentional, practiced. “And I know that better than anyone. I was—no.” He shook his head. “Iama father to one such person. His name is Owen. He is my son, and I know the harm he caused. The people he hurt.”
“Killed,” Nick spat, as Gibby made a wounded noise.
“And I think about him every day,” Burke said, voice a little softer, as if it pained him greatly. “A father’s love for his child is a beautiful thing, even when it shows us our own frailties. The mistakes we made. The mistakesImade.” He sighed as the crowd cheered once again. “I am not a perfect man, but then I never claimed to be. I have learned from my own failures as a father and I will make you this promise: I willnotfail you.
“The wordExtraordinaryis loaded, charged, given to those who can do things most of us couldn’t even begin to dream about. It implies that they are, somehow, better than we are.Morethan we are. Why be ordinary when you could be extraordinary?” He bared his teeth as he practically swallowed the nearest microphone. “You are ordinary.Iam ordinary. But we are still just as powerful. Perhaps we aren’t pyrokinetic. Perhaps we aren’t telekinetic, but together, we are going to make sure those who can do such things won’t ever destroy our way of life.”
The crowd exploded once more.
Burke spoke over them. “Which is why you have my solemn promise that, if elected mayor, in my first one hundred days, I will introduce legislation to make Extraordinary registration mandatory. We deserve to know who these people are, especially if they are our coworkers. Our neighbors. Extraordinaries in schools with our children. The only way to protect ourselves is to face the threat head-on. For too long, Nova City has allowed these people to act as they see fit without checks and balances. No more. The time to hide behind masks or in shadows is coming to an end, and I will lead the charge to ensure every single Extraordinary in Nova City is known to everyone.”
Nick’s phone vibrated insistently in his pocket, an incoming phone call. Without looking away from the screen, he answered the phone, putting it against his ear. “Hello?”
“Nick, I need you to listen to me. We don’t have time for questions.”
“Mom?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gibby look at him with a frown. “What’s going on?”
“Burke is speaking right now. He’s—”
“I know. We’re seeing it on TV. Did you know he’d be at Dad’s old—”
“Nick,” she snapped. “Stop.Talking.It’s Owen. I’ve spotted him in the crowd. Do you hear me? He’sthere.”
“Oh my god,” Nick whispered, heart thudding against his rib cage. “No, no,no—”
It’s all about layers, Nick. My family tends to have a certain… flair for the dramatics.
And:
We’re going to change the world, Nick. Of course I’d want to be a part of that. Don’t you? Think about it. If you were given the power to make sure your dad would never be hurt again, wouldn’t you take it?
And, and, and:
My name isShadow Star.
“Nick?” Gibby asked, sounding concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Listen to me,” Mom breathed in his ear. “Get there as quickly as you can. I need your help. We have to protect them. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but we have to stop him. There are innocent people there. Hurry.”
The phone beeped as she disconnected the call. Nick lowered his phone slowly, mind in overdrive.
“What is it?” Gibby asked again.
“Owen,” Nick snarled, slamming his hand on the counter, the sound flat. The man behind the counter jumped, looking at Nick with wide eyes. “He’s there. He’s—”
“What?” Gibby said. She looked back at the TV. “Are you sure? Where? I didn’t see anything.”
