Gibby sighed as she slumped in her chair. “He went after your dad hard.”
“He did,” Nick admitted. “But someone had to.” He shook his head. “I just … I don’t know, man. My dad isn’t—” He stopped, thinking hard. He’d been about to say My dad isn’t like the other cops, but that wasn’t quite the truth, and it felt both familiar and gross to come to his defense so quickly. Instead, he said, “Your dad was right. About everything.” He looked down at the floor. “And if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me for putting you in this position.”
Gibby rolled her eyes. “I’m capable of thinking for myself, thanks.”
Nick snorted. “Oh, don’t I know it. But still. You deserve to hear it. I really am sorry.”
“I know you are, Nicky.”
“I do feel a bit better, though,” Seth said, and they all looked at him. “Having them know. It takes a bit of the weight off our shoulders. We’ve survived this long, but I don’t know how much longer we could have gone on without them finding out.”
Nick glanced at Jazz, who had an expression on her face he’d never seen before. She looked almost … heartbroken. “Jazz?” he asked quietly. “You all right?”
But she only had eyes for Gibby. “You’re thinking of leaving for school?” Jazz asked her, and Nick’s heart ached at the hurt in her voice. “You never told me.”
Gibby sighed, reaching out to take Jazz’s hand. “I don’t know what I want to do. I didn’t say anything because I haven’t decided yet, and with all that’s happened today, I’m not going to make a decision right this second. But no matter what I decide, it won’t be because I love you any less. No matter where I go, I’m not going to leave you all behind. We’ll talk about it later.” She jerked her head at Nick and Seth. “I promise.”
Jazz nodded, though she still looked upset. Nick could only imagine what she was feeling. He didn’t want to think of a time when Gibby wouldn’t be there every day. And Seth was still thinking about hanging up the suit entirely? It felt like everything was changing, and he didn’t know how to make it stop. And that didn’t even begin to cover what had happened between Dad and Trey. He knew Trey was right, but he didn’t know how to reconcile that with who he thought his dad was.
“Seth,” Nick said suddenly. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, of course. We can go up to my room and—”
“Stay here,” Jazz said. “Gibby, we should go make sure our parents aren’t messing up the secret lair. You know how I like having everything in the right place.”
“That I do.” She stood, pulling Jazz up with her. Gibby slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Nick watched as she whispered in Jazz’s ear words only meant for them as they headed toward the stairs.
Only Seth and Nick remained. Nick gnawed on the inside of his cheek as he looked down at his hands. His heart was still racing, and he thought he might vibrate out of his skin.
“Nicky?”
He looked up. “You really don’t want to be Pyro Storm anymore?”
Seth sighed, sounding frustrated. “I don’t know. I have so much going on in my head, and I can’t—”
His phone beeped a familiar sound that only meant one thing.
Something was happening in the city.
Nick watched as the Seth he knew melted away. His eyes narrowed and darkened, his mouth stretched into a thin line, his jaw and shoulders tense. It wasn’t Seth Gray who jumped up from the chair, pulling his phone from his pocket.
This was Pyro Storm.
“What is it?” Nick asked nervously.
“Accident,” Seth said in a hardened voice. “On the Westfield River. A party barge crashed into a strut on a bridge. I need to get the people off the boat before it sinks.”
Nick nodded as Seth started to get undressed. “Need help? Want me to go with?”
“No. It’s fine, Nicky. I’ve got this. You’d just get in the way.”
That stung more than Nick cared to admit. It wasn’t like Seth was wrong, but it still hurt to hear. “Yeah. Okay.”
Seth sighed, walking over to Nick and lifting his chin with a finger. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He looked so earnest. “I need you here to be my eyes and ears. There’s no one I trust more to do that.”
Nick smiled, and he barely had to force it. “I know. That I can do.” He leaned forward, kissing Seth quickly. “Go. Do good, save lives, that whole thing.”
Seth looked like he was going to argue, but before he could, footsteps pounded up the stairs. Dad appeared in full-on cop mode. This normally made Nick feel better, but didn’t this time. He wondered if Gibby had ever felt … scared because of him. “Seth? We gotta go.”
Seth nodded, stepping around Nick, charging down the stairs to suit up. Nick heard the surprise from the others below them, questions being asked and answered.
Dad was already on his phone, fingers flying across the screen. “You good to get yourself home? I’m going to see if I can help, though Harbor Patrol should already be on it.”
He had to try. “I can go, too, if you want. I can help.”
But Dad was already shaking his head. “We’ve got this. You’d just get in the way. And I … need some space to think. About a lot of things.”
He forced a smile on his face. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Never, kid. I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay?” He turned his head back toward the door and raised his voice. “Seth! We gotta go!”
Seth reappeared at the top of the stairs, cursing as he struggled into his costume. He tripped on the top stair, dropping his helmet as his cape fluttered around him. He bent over and picked it up before looking at Nick with wide eyes. “Gibby’s and Jazz’s parents just saw me get naked.”
“Lucky,” Nick muttered. “I mean, oh no. That’s so bad. How dare they.”
Seth gave him a quick kiss before joining Dad at the door. Dad leaned outside first, scanning the street. “Wait. Neighbor. Hold on—okay, they’re inside. Streets are clear. Go.”
In a bright flash of fire, Pyro Storm rocketed off into the sky, leaving a column of smoke behind him. Dad glanced back at Nick. “See ya.” And then he slammed the door behind him as he left.
Nick turned and headed for the stairs. He descended quickly, scowling at the boxes in his way. Thankfully, they hadn’t yet taken down the Systemax yet. Martha saw him coming and handed him the headset. He knew the others were watching him, but they faded into the background. “Pyro Storm, this is Lighthouse. Do you copy?”
“Receiving you loud and clear, Lighthouse,” Pyro Storm said in his ear, his voice a deep rumble, modulated to disguise his identity.
He leaned toward the screen and took a deep breath. A moment later, Jazz and Gibby stood on either side of him. “Good, Pyro Storm. Let’s go save some lives.”
4
Nick was walking home, just blocks away from his street, with his attention on his phone, ignoring the people walking by him in the other direction. Footage from a news chopper flying high above the Westfield River showed a scene of chaos, the party barge half-sunken in the bay. Seth had been able to rescue everyone still trapped on the barge, carrying them all to safety before Harbor Patrol had shown up, late to respond to the call.