A punching bag hanging from the ceiling. A chin-up bar on the doorway to the stairs.
There were scorch marks on the wall. On the ceiling. On the floor.
In the corner lay a discarded glove that looked like it was part of Pyro Storm’s costume.
And the washer and dryer.
“Wow,” Nick said. “This is probably the biggest letdown of my life.” He winced, glancing at Bob. “Sorry.”
Bob snorted. “Oh, this isn’t everything.” He walked over to a wall and pressed his hand against a panel. It lit up around his hand and a door Nick hadn’t noticed slid open. “Ta-da.”
“Oh my god,” Nick whispered, unable to believe it was finally happening. The door would open, and they’d have to slide down a pole into underground caverns where—
“Hi, Nick,” Martha said, sitting behind a desk in a small room. There was a computer monitor in front of her. Gibby sat beside her. Jazz stood next to Gibby.
And that was it.
That was it.
“Dammit,” Nick muttered. “Worst superhero secret lair reveal ever.”
Bob cuffed the back of his head. “I built that sliding door myself. Mind your manners, son. It took me six months.”
“Good to see you, Nicky,” Jazz said, reaching out to squeeze his hand as he came around the desk. “I knew you’d come. Gibby didn’t. She said you were going to be a little dick about it.”
“I didn’t say that,” Gibby said.
“Thanks, Gibby.” Nick knew she’d have his back when all was said and done.
“I thought you were going to be a whiny little dick about it. There’s a difference.”
Fair play. “Ugh. Fine.”
She eyed him warily. “You still mad at me?”
Nick shrugged. “Maybe. But if I am, I’ll get over it. You’re my friend.”
Gibby looked relieved. “Awesome.”
“But if you keep anything like this from me again, I’m gonna kick you in the junk.”
“Duly noted,” she said dryly.
“O-kay,” Nick said, clapping his hands once. “Team Pyro Storm, assemble!”
They stared at him.
He frowned. “That’s … that’s not what you guys call yourselves?”
Martha shook her head.
“You guys don’t have a name at all, do you?”
Bob scratched the back of his neck.
God, he was dealing with a bunch of amateurs. “Well, then, this is awkward. And unsatisfactory. In fact, ever since I got over the initial shock of the whole my-best-friend-is-an-Extraordinary thing, it’s been one disappointment after another.”
“You thought there’d be a secret lair, didn’t you?” Gibby asked.
Nick sighed. “Is it too much to ask?”
“You didn’t know about this room,” Martha pointed out.
“Which has a pocket door,” Bob said. “I could show you how it opens again if you missed it the first time.”
“And there’s a computer and everything,” Jazz said.
Nick squinted at the monitor on the desk. “What is that? What does that say? Systemax? What the hell is a Systemax? That doesn’t even sound like a real brand!”
“I got it at a garage sale,” Martha said. “Paid twenty dollars for it.”
Nick put his face in his hands and groaned. “Worst superhero backup team ever.” He dropped his hands. “Okay. You know what? I can work with this. We can worry about upgrading everything later.”
“On it,” Jazz said. She smiled when they all looked at her. “My parents are rich. They have more money than they know what to do with. Upgrades, we can do. They’ll consider it a philanthropic tax write-off even if we don’t tell them what it’s for.”
“Awesome,” Nick breathed. “And then we can talk new costumes for—”
“I sewed Seth’s Pyro Storm costume myself,” Martha said. “It’s flame retardant and breathes really well. I got the material from the fabric store and a military surplus shop.”
Nick groaned. “Why are you continuing to punch my dreams? Do you enjoy seeing me like this?”
“A little,” Bob admitted. “It’s nice to see you finally pulled your head out of your—”
“Robert,” Martha said. “Honestly.”
Nick didn’t mind. He deserved it. In fact, it was probably time to man up for real. “I’m going to date your nephew so hard,” Nick told them. “We need to help him so I can tell him that. Also, I like his hair and the way he smells and how he makes me laugh. And he needs to wear bow ties forever because there is nothing in the world more adorable than Seth Gray in a bow tie.”
There. He felt better.
Jazz burst out laughing.
Gibby sat back in her chair, sighing as she stared up at the ceiling.
Martha and Bob were smiling.
“What?” Nick asked, confused. “What did I do?”
“Seth heard you,” Gibby said. “So. Good job on that one.”