very far. Pyro Storm wore thick gloves, but Nick could still feel the heat emanating from him. He lifted Nick’s hand close to his face, and the white lenses over his eyes flashed brightly, like he was scanning Nick’s hand. He pressed against Nick’s knuckles, causing him to hiss. “It’s not broken,” Pyro Storm finally said. “You split the skin a little, but it’s fine. Put some ice on it when you get home to keep it from swelling.”
Nick jerked his hand away. “So, you’re not going to kidnap me and hold me for ransom in order to have leverage for your dastardly deeds?”
“What? Why would I do that? Look. Nick. It’s not what you think, okay? I’m not—”
“I never told you my name.” Nick could barely breathe as he took another step back.
“Yeah, you did,” Pyro Storm said. “Right before you punched me in the head.”
Nick stared at him. “I really don’t think that happened.”
“Who are you going to believe? Me? Or you, who’s standing in an alley wearing … is that … do you have lions on your underwear?”
Nick tried to cover himself as best he could, wondering what it said about his life that he was in an alley with the evil villain Pyro Storm, who was staring at his junk. Probably nothing good. “It’s been a lion kind of day!”
“What does that even mean?”
Nick wasn’t quite sure. “It made sense when I woke up this morning.”
“Look, Nick, go home, okay? You can’t be here. Not for this.” Pyro Storm turned to walk away.
“You can’t hurt him!” Nick said shrilly. “You can’t hurt Shadow Star!”
Pyro Storm stopped, shoulders slumping. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”
Lies, nothing but lies, and that pissed Nick off. “Uh, yeah. You are. You always do! You always try and enact some reprehensible scheme in order to create chaos and unrest, and every time, you’re stopped by the hero of Nova City. Just because you’re his archnemesis, doesn’t mean you get to hurt him all the time. Why can’t you be good? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you guys were friends? That way, you both could be heroes and go after people like bank robbers or pimps or drug dealers or stockbrokers who commit fraud.”
Pyro Storm looked over his shoulder back at Nick. “You’ve got me all figured out, haven’t you? I’m the bad guy, and only Shadow Star is good.”
Nick blinked. “Um. Yes?”
“What if you’re wrong?”
And in a burst of fire, Pyro Storm flew up and out of the alley.
Nick stared after him until the trail of smoke disappeared.
For a moment, he thought he saw something moving in the shadows.
But when he looked closer, he didn’t see a thing.
* * *
“What took you so long?” Nick asked when Officer Rookie got back into the cruiser. “I’ve been sitting here just like you said. For hours. I didn’t even consider leaving out the window at any point at all.”
Officer Rookie shook his head. “It was forty-five minutes at most. And thank you for not— How in god’s name did you get dirtier?”
Nick shrugged. “Some guy ran by and threw something grimy through the open window. It was very traumatic. I’d like to go home, where I will stay and not get into any trouble ever again. You’ve really opened my eyes, Officer Rookie, in ways that even my father couldn’t do. You should be proud for helping me avoid a life of crime.”
Officer Rookie frowned. “Really?”
Oh, poor Rook. He’d never survive in this line of work. “Oh yes. Consider me your first success story.”
Officer Rookie rubbed his jaw. “Wow. I feel good now. Thank you. I needed to hear that. Shadow Star and Pyro Storm got away, and I was feeling pretty down.”
“Great!” Nick said brightly. “It’s what I’m here for.”
Officer Rookie whistled the rest of the way to Nick’s house.
13
He was surprised the next morning when he opened the door to find Owen Burke standing on his front steps.
Owen grinned at him. “Hey, Nicky.”
“Hi?” He looked behind Owen, but he seemed to be alone. “What are you doing here?”
Owen shrugged and pushed his way past Nick into the house. “Do I need a reason to come visit a very dear friend of mine?”
Nick closed the door slowly. “That’s … not how I would describe our relationship.”
Owen shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on a hook near the door. He wore a green V-neck shirt that showed off his chest. Nick refused to look at it. “And how would you describe