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“Smoke and Ice,” Nick whispered.
Owen startled. “No. They were just lackeys. They were born, not made. Don’t you see? It’s not about making Extraordinaries. It’s always been aboutunmaking them.”
Gooseflesh prickled along Nick’s arms. “The cure.”
Owen nodded. “That’s what it started out as. Because whilehe had the idea of building an army of Extraordinaries to be at his beck and call, he was always thinking ahead. What would be the point of having an army when there were others who could step in and try and stop them?”
Jazz scoffed derisively. “It’s not like he can force that on anyone with powers. What’s he going to do, shoot them with a dart filled with some kind of magical concoction? Honestly, Owen. You’re good, I’ll give you that. But there’s too many holes in your story.”
“Don’t you get it yet?” Owen asked. “She’s the cure.You want to know how she’s telekinetic? How she can shape-shift? How she can alter memories? Sheatethose powers. That’s her gift. That’s her original ability. Dad experimented on her just as he did me, only with her, he got so much more than he bargained for. You thought I was the first?” He shook his head. “I wasn’t. Patricia was his original test subject. There was a little girl. He found her. Promised her parents that he could help her. That he couldhealher. She was telekinetic. He called her—”
“Eve,” Nick breathed. The name rose in his mind like a shooting star, Burke’s words ringing in his ears.
A child was brought to us by their parents. This child, who we call Eve to protect their anonymity, exhibited signs of telekinesis. From a young age, Eve could move things around their house. The parents were frightened. At first, they thought their home was haunted. It wasn’t until the child grew older that they realized Eve was the cause.
“Eve,” Owen said gleefully. “He said they found her after the whole Save the Children bullshit, but that was a lie. This was two years ago. The girl’s parents brought her to the tower. Dad took her to the basement where Patricia was waiting. She stole Eve’s powers, making them her own. That’s how she became telekinetic.” Owen glanced at Nick, and it took all Nick had to keep from screaming in Owen’s face that he had to be lying, that none of it could be true. “She’s a chimera, made up of all these different parts. And if she consumes a power, it becomes hers. Eve didn’t remember what happened. Patricia made sure ofthat, and the parents thought she’d undergone a safe, noninvasive procedure. They didn’t know whatreallyhappened. That way, Dad can test those specific powers without oversight or worrying about people asking questions. What she eats, he can study. She’s the reason he has the pills.”
The spark in Nick’s head flared hotly. Above them, the tree branches rattled though there was no wind. “Did you know about all of this? You knew this entire time?”
“I didn’t,” Owen said bluntly. “What the hell do you think I’ve been doing since I escaped? I’ve been getting all the information I could. And no, before you ask, I haven’t spoken to my father since I came back to Nova City. I don’t want to say a goddamn word to that asshole unless it’s telling him to beg for his life. The only reason he’s not dead yet is because I couldn’t figure out what his endgame is. It wasn’t until I saw Jennifer Bell at Jazz’s party that I started to figure it out. And I can prove it to you.”
“How?” Seth demanded. “Give us one reason why we should trust anything you’re saying.”
Owen ignored him, eyes only for Nick. “You won’t believe me, but I’m sorry for what’s about to happen. Sometimes, brute force is necessary to get results. I don’t even know if this is going to work, but I have to try. She underestimated the connection you have with Seth, and there’s power in memory.”
Sweat trickled down the back of Nick’s neck, and when he spoke, it sounded as if it came from someone else. “What are you—”
Owen looked up at Seth. “Why did you become Pyro Storm?”
Seth blinked, mouth turning down as his forehead scrunched up. “What?”
“Pyro Storm,” Owen said again. “You put on the costume for a very specific reason, ridiculous though it was. Do you know why?”
Seth paled, eyes unfocused. “I wanted to help… people.”
Owen snorted. “That’s some magnanimous bullshit, but sure, why not. You always were the Boy Scout, Seth. It got old so fast.You don’t know how many times I just wanted to reach across and slam your goddamn face into the lunch table at school. And sure, youdidwant to help people because you’re so selfless.” Mocking, angry. “But that’s not why you became Pyro Storm. You did it for Nick.”
“Why?” Jazz asked. “Why would he need to—”
Owen said, “Because my father had Jennifer Bell murdered when she wouldn’t work with him. She walked into a bank and the people he sent after her made sure she never walked out. And you couldn’t stand the thought of the boy you loved suffering, so you became Pyro Storm and—”
Nick jerked forward, quicker than he ever had before. Owen had no time to react, Nick sucker punching him in the stomach, breath exploding from his mouth. Before Owen could recover, Nick gripped the sides of his head, teeth bared, thumbs underneath his eyes and, oh, did he want to dig in. He wanted to make Owen hurt, wanted to tear out his throat so he couldn’t speak anymore. “Shut up, shut up,shut the fuck up—”
He screamed when the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life bowled through his head. The illusion was gone and the only thing that remained was how much it hurt, how mucheverythinghurt. It felt as if he were being turned inside out and Dad whispered, “Nicky, oh my god.Nicky.She’s—”
Nick lifted his head and said—
“Dad? What is it? What’s wrong?”
Nicholas Bell was twelve years old. It was the last Friday of spring break and Nick was sitting on his bed, phone against his ear. Mom should’ve been back by now. She said she had to run to the bank and do a couple of other errands and then she’d be home. She was going to take him and Seth out for pizza. He’d cleaned his room.
Nick was twelve years old. Twenty-seven days before he’d officially become a teenager.A man,he sometimes whispered to himself. Laughable, this, but maybe if he became a man, hewouldn’t have ADHD anymore. He’d be able to be normal. He could sit still for an entire class without causing a disruption where the teacher glared at him and the other students whispered about him behind their hands. He’d been told time and time again by the people who loved him that he was perfect, he was amazing, he wasexactlythe way he was supposed to be. But people lied to those they care for, lied to make them feel better. Little things, big things, but how many times had the school called his parents in for yet another meeting? How many times did Nick have to promise that he’d try to do better?
Later, he’d wonder why he didn’t know the moment it happened. Wasn’t that what he’d read online? Some peopleknew,a sort of precognition that couldn’t be explained. A feeling, a sensation ofwrong wrong wrongandoh noandsomething happened something bad just happened.Not déjà vu butpresque vu,on the cusp of revelation.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t know what was coming when his phone rang. For a second, he thought it’d be Mom, telling him she was sorry she’d taken so long, Nick wouldn’t believe how busy it was. “Everyone decided to run errands at the same time,” she’d say in that grumpy voice she sometimes got, not angry, not exactly, because he’d be able to hear her smiling ruefully. “Didn’t they know I had plans with my kid?”
