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“So, what?” Seth said. “We confront her? She’s strong, guys. If what Owen said is true, she’s telekinetic in addition to being able to manipulate smoke and ice. Change her appearance, too.”
“And maybe another power we don’t know about yet,” Nick said, thinking back to what Owen had told them. “We need to find out what that is.Whothat is.”
“How?” Gibby asked. “Owen said he couldn’t find him.”
“Right,” Nick said. “But we have something Owen doesn’t: your brain. You practically built the systems we use on your own. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
Gibby looked away, obviously pleased with the praise. “We need to get to the secret lair. I’d do it on my phone, but I don’t want to take the chance that someone’s tracking us like Burke did with Nick. The Lighthouse app is encrypted, so we’ll have that if we need to communicate.”
Speaking of, Nick pulled out his phone and opened the app. He clicked on the eight-bit icon of TK, and a map appeared, zooming in to show she was at their house. He gripped his phone so hard he thought the screen would crack.
He looked back up at his friends. “We need to split up.” Sethstarted shaking his head, but Nick expected that. “No, listen. I know it’s dangerous, but if we’re going to do this, we need to be smart about it. We need eyes on her so we know where she is in case she decides to leave. I’ll go with Gibby to the secret lair. Jazz, Seth, go to my house butdon’t go inside.Stay the hell away from her. We’ll meet back up once Gibby and I are done and go from there.”
“I don’t like this,” Seth said.
“I know,” Nick said quietly. “But what choice do we have?”
To that, Seth had no answer.
“What are we going to do with Owen?” Gibby asked, and they all turned to look at him. He grinned at them, and Nick gave brief thought to making the tree fall on top of him. It’d certainly make things easier. “We can’t just let him go. And where’s he staying, anyway? I almost want him to be homeless, but I’m notthatbig of a dick.”
“I have an idea,” Jazz said, her own smile growing, causing Owen’s to fade. “It’s time to bring on a new member to Team Lighthouse.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Owen asked what they were doing, but they ignored him, marching him toward the busy street that ran along the side of the park. They stopped on the sidewalk, Gibby and Seth on either side of Owen, gripping his arms tightly to keep him from trying to run away. As much as the sight of Owen fleeing in terror from them made Nick giddy, Jazz’s idea was better.
“Are you just going to throw me into traffic?” Owen asked, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “That’s a little much, even for you guys.”
“Dammit,” Nick muttered. “That’s even better. Maybe we could do that instead.”
Seth coughed pointedly, even as he tried to cover up his smile by looking away.
Nick sighed. “Yeah, yeah. We don’t kill.”
“You should try it,” Owen said. “You might like it more than you—what the hell isthat?”
“That,” Nick said excitedly, “is Matilda.”
The van screeched to a stop in front of them, the woman painted on the side still riding the ridiculous seahorse. A moment later, the driver’s window rolled down and Burrito Jerry leaned out, arm resting on the door, his eyes glittering. “You guys call for a ride?” He squinted down at his phone before looking back at them, gaze resting on Gibby. “Jasmine Kensington? Heard that name before. Recognize you, too, miss. Given you a ride, yeah?”
“Hey, Burrito Jerry,” Gibby said with a little wave. “Good to see you again.”
Nick stepped forward, leaving Owen with the others. “Burrito Jerry, my name is Nicholas Bell. The last time you saw me, I was in costume.”
Burrito Jerry brightened. “That’s right! You looked wicked cool. Took you to that rally so you could save the day. How’d that go?”
“Bad,” Nick said immediately. “And it’s only going to get worse.” He took a deep breath. “I have something to tell you, something I’ve only told people close to me.”
“Nick,” Seth said from behind him. “You don’t have to do this. Especially if you’re not ready.”
Nick looked over his shoulder. “I know. But if we’re going to be the heroes the people of Nova City trust, then we need to trust them first. I’m tired of secrets.”
“Got your back, Nicky,” Jazz said.
“Whatever you need,” Gibby agreed.
Seth moved to Nick’s side, taking his hand, fingers intertwined. He must have found what he was looking for on Nick’s face, because he nodded. “Just like coming out. You did that once. You can do this, too.”
“Ooh,” Burrito Jerry said. “This sounds serious. Lay it on me,Nicholas Bell. I promise I won’t judge. Not really who I am. Live and let live, you know? So long as you’re not hurting yourself or others who don’t deserve it, it’s all good to me.”
