no.”
“Well, I can. You want me to tell you what your future entails?”
Nick sighed.
Dad ignored him. “I’m seeing a very long, very involved conversation about many, many things. The least of which is why my son kissed an Extraordinary who saved us, even though he’s supposed to be the bad guy.”
Nick groaned. “Wow. That unfortunately sounds scarily accurate.”
“And should we even mention how a certain best friend would feel about all of this?”
Nick needed to protect Seth’s secret. He could do this. He could do this. “Um, well. You see. It’s. Uh. Not. Like that?”
Dad shook his head. “You tell Seth that even though he can light things on fire, I’m still going to threaten the hell out of him with my gun when he comes over for dinner.”
Nick gaped up at him. “That’s not—I don’t—what are you—”
“Secret’s safe with me,” Dad said. A strange look crossed over his face, but it was gone before Nick could figure out what it meant. “And now for a new prediction.” He saw someone and said, “There you are. Take Nick to the ambulance. Shoulder looks like it’s dislocated. Don’t make me tell you twice. You can mace him if he resists.”
Officer Rookie appeared out of nowhere. “Got it.”
“What?” Nick said, outraged. “You can’t—Officer Rookie, let me go! Dad! How dare you! I just saved the entire city and—Officer Rookie, how do you feel about bribes? Good, I hope. I have seven dollars with your name on it. Sidebar—you know how in movies when someone has to have their shoulder shoved back in place, they scream because it’s supposed to hurt? That’s not real, right? It’s not going to hurt when it happens to me, right? Why are you laughing? Officer Rookie? Officer Rookie!”
EPILOGUE
“—and for that, Nova City has my most sincere apologies. Being a parent is … difficult. Being a parent of an Extraordinary is uncharted territory. I don’t know what made my son do the things he did. He is loved. He had everything he could ever ask for. My wife and I are shocked that it has come to this. It might sound trite to say we never saw this coming, but it’s the truth. But I still accept full responsibility for Owen Burke, because I am his father. And I know certain allegations have been made about my role in my son’s descent into darkness, but I refute them completely and fully. I want nothing but the best for my child, and others like him. It was for this reason I opened Burke Tower to investigators, who found no evidence of wrongdoing.
“That being said, I am announcing a new initiative from Burke Pharmaceuticals. In addition to pledging funds to cover the costs of the damage my son was responsible for, we will begin a new study into what makes these Extraordinaries the way they are. Shadow Star and Pyro Storm are far from the only Extraordinaries in the world. I vow to help them in any way I can. An advisory board has been put in place to manage the dispersal of the funds with the utmost transparency. And I will gather the greatest team of scientists this world has ever seen in order to study the consequences of the Extraordinaries and help us understand our superpowered brethren. In his first inaugural address, Franklin Roosevelt said that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. People tend to fear what they don’t understand. Which is why we must know everything we can in order to prevent such occurrences from ever happening again.
“My son will be getting the best treatment possible in hopes that he can be rehabilitated. I am asking that Pyro Storm turn himself in to do the same. My wife and I request privacy at this time while we face this brave new world.”
Reporters shouted questions.
Cameras flashed.
Simon Burke smiled and wrapped his arm around his wife, leading her away.
“And that was the scene today in front of Burke Tower,” Rebecca Firestone said, staring into the camera. “A week after the events that saw the deaths of two Action News members and, as of this broadcast, an unknown total amount of damage, we still have more questions than answers. Owen Burke, the son of Simon Burke, has been revealed as the man behind the mask of the Extraordinary known as Shadow Star. Sources tell me he is in protective custody, pending charges to be filed against him. There has never been a situation quite like this