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“Seemed liked a pretty clear threat,” Seth muttered.
“Well,yeah.It was supposed to. I wanted to kill you all. Still do, at least a little bit. But dealing with my father comes first.” Owen puffed out his chest. “Priorities, wouldn’t you know.You’re not the only one who’s learned things since we last saw each other.”
“And you’re expecting us to trust you?” Nick asked incredulously.
Jazz scoffed as she flipped the fork and caught it without looking at it. “You must think we’re pretty stupid.”
Owen burst out laughing. “Oh, absolutely. You guys are the worst. And trust, Nick?Trust?Why the hell would you trust me? That’s dumb.” He wiped his eyes. “No offense, of course. It’s part of your… charm.”
“Not helping your case,” Gibby muttered.
Owen made a face. “What can I say? Old habits die hard.”
“It sounds like a trap,” Seth said. “Like you’re manipulating us just as much as you claim Burke and your stepmother are.”
“Does it?” Owen asked. “Maybe there’s something to the whole trust thing after all. You’ll have to trust me not to kill you.” He grew solemn, raising his hand to his chest above his heart. “You have my word that I won’t hurt the pretty little hairs on any of your heads. Gibby, that includes you, too, even though you don’t have hair.”
“Becausethatcounts for anything,” Jazz said.
Seth pushed Nick forward, standing behind him, knees popping loudly. He held out a hand for Nick and lifted him up. He squeezed Nick’s hand before looking back at Owen, who watched them curiously. “How many others?”
Owen blinked. “What do you mean?”
“If she is who she says she is, and if she can do what you claim, how many others has she cured? Aside from the shape-shifting. And the telekinesis. And the memory alteration. Oh man, are we screwed? Because it sounds like we’re screwed.”
Owen nodded slowly, eyes narrowing. “You’re smarter than I remember. I’m not sure if I like that or not.” Then, without waiting for a retort, he said, “Three more, or at least as far as Iknow. You know two of them.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Christian and Christina Lewis.”
Gibby frowned at him. “Smoke and Ice?”
“Yep,” Owen said. “Dad has connections. Got Mom in to see them without anyone watching. Mom did the same thing to them that she did to Eve. And now she can manipulate ice and smoke, but if you ask me, smoke is nowhere near as cool as shadows. What a goddamn rip-off.”
“She has their powers now?” Nick whispered, feeling as if the ground was shaking beneath his feet.
“Think so,” Owen said. “I don’t have proof of it, but why else would she have met with them?”
“Who’s the third?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know,” Owen admitted, looking almost sheepish. “All I have is a first name. Martin. Remember the interview where Dad talked about Eve? He mentioned someone else. A man in his fifties. Since Dad lied about when he found Eve, he probably lied about the timing of the man, too. Why mention him if—”
“If she already hadn’t taken his powers, too,” Jazz whispered.
“Exactly,” Owen said. “But I don’t know what those powers are, or what she can do with them.”
“Why stop there?” Gibby asked. “Why not do the same to Seth? Miss Conduct? Nick, even if she’s already telekinetic? Why hasn’t she taken their powers, too? Make them think they never had any to begin with?”
Owen stared at her. “Don’t you know anything about the strategies of war?”
“Must have missed that class,” Jazz said. “It is an elective?”
Owen rolled his eyes. “Why would he have her take those powers when everyone knows who Pyro Storm is? Don’t you think it’d be weird if one day, Seth suddenly wasn’t pyrokinetic anymore? Even people who hate Extraordinaries would ask questions that could lead back to my father. He wouldn’t take that chance. Why run the risk when he can draw you out and make you look like a threat?” He grinned. “Which you fell for. Youdid more for his campaign in ten minutes when you crashed his rally than six months of politicking. So, if that’s what you were going for, good job.”
“Still doesn’t explain why your mother didn’t try and make things easier for herself,” Gibby said.
“I don’t think she can,” Owen said. “It’s like… okay. So, you know when lightning strikes a power line? It sends a charge through wherever the line goes. Sometimes, it’ll knock out power all over. But most places are outfitted with surge protectors. I think she’s like that. A limit to how much she can take in. Regardless of what else Extraordinaries are, we’re still human. Our bodies can’t handle that much energy.” He raised his hands, bringing them close, the tips of his fingers pressed together. “I think if she tried to take any more she’d…” He made a noise as he spread his hands quickly.
“Boom,” Nick whispered.
“Boom,” Owen agreed. “It’d overload her.”
