the stairs, knowing Owen would follow. He reached the top and paused outside his dad’s door, listening. He held a finger to his lips for Owen to keep his mouth shut. There was a moment of silence, then a loud snore came from the other side of the door. Nick sighed in relief before continuing to his room.
He waited until Owen followed him in before closing the door quietly. He went to his bed and lifted the mattress, reaching under to find the sheets of paper he’d shoved underneath the night before.
“We’re going to look at your porn?” Owen asked. “Gotta admit, Nicky, I don’t know if you and I have the same tastes, exactly. Guys in spandex really aren’t my thing.”
Nick groaned as he pulled the papers out and let the mattress fall back down. “It’s not porn. It’s stuff I printed out last night before Dad locked me out of the internet when he got home.”
“He was serious about the no internet thing?” Owen asked, eyes wide. “How are you going to survive?”
“I don’t know. He said when he was a kid, they actually had to go to the library to look things up. I can’t believe a time existed when things were so archaic. Can you imagine actually having to use a physical map for directions? If I had to do that, I’d probably get lost and die. It’s ludicrous. You should see some of the pictures of him from the eighties. I’m shocked humanity survived the decade given its propensity for mullets.” Nick spread the papers on his bed. “Okay, so look. It’s here, right? Two years ago, after … well. After. It’s…” He swallowed thickly, surprised at how hard it hit him.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Nicky. Take your time.”
He shrugged the hand away, shaking his head. Focus. Focus. “I’m fine.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “So, two years ago, we get reports of a new Extraordinary in Nova City. There hadn’t been one in years, since Guardian disappeared. There were sightings of moving darkness, and crooks getting held down by their shadows until the police arrived. It’s only a couple of weeks after that when Rebecca Firestone picks up the story and becomes the so-called official voice of the Extraordinary known as Shadow Star.”
“You really don’t like her, do you?”
Nick scoffed. “I’m absolutely convinced she’s got some kind of blackmail on Shadow Star, and he’s forced to cooperate with her, even though he knows she’s evil and will probably try and steal his soul.”
“She’s not that bad. I mean, she’s hot. She’s got that going for her at least.”
Nick ignored him, only because his hand still hurt from punching Pyro Storm yesterday, and he didn’t want to injure himself further. “A few months later, Shadow Star and Pyro Storm have their first skirmish.” Nick shuffled the pages until he found the one he was looking for. “Rebecca Firestone reported on it before anyone else and said there was a new Extraordinary in Nova City. That he was causing destruction and mayhem and impeding Shadow Star’s work.”
Owen sounded like he was choking. “Did you print out a screenshot of a YouTube video of the report?”
Of course that was what he’d zero in on. “I was in a hurry. I wasn’t thinking. It’s—stop laughing, Owen, I swear to god. So after, the Nova City Gazette picks up the story, publishing on the front page that Shadow Star has a new enemy. And everyone runs with it. Later, Shadow Star gives Rebecca Firestone an interview, saying he’s doing everything he can to stop Pyro Storm from taking over the city. He was here first, and he wants to keep us all safe.”
“Okay,” Owen said slowly. “So … what. You think Pyro Storm isn’t actually evil?”
Nick hesitated. “I mean, he has to be, right? He’s done all these illegal things, and Shadow Star has always stopped him. And there’s been all those other times that they’ve fought when Pyro Storm tried to take over this city. But it’s not about that. Look.” Nick handed Owen another printout.
“High-Rise Fire Put out by Mysterious Means,” Owen read dutifully. “I remember this. It was a four-alarm fire, right? It spread quicker than anyone expected it to.”
“Right,” Nick said excitedly. “And people were trapped, with no way to get to them on, like, thirty different floors. Except for some reason, the fire went out by itself. No one could explain how it happened. Or why.”
“And you