It would be nice to be able to fly. Storm Warning could. But Julian had to work with the gifts he'd been given.

A pillar of stone broke through the concrete beneath him and lifted him into the air. By the time he was stepping onto the roof of a building at the center of his target block, civilians had taken notice. Some ran for cover. Others began recording on their phones. As stupid as it sounded, it wasn't necessarily a bad idea. The quicker a villain's appearance took over social media, the quicker the heroes learned what was going on. Plus, good videos made money.

Julian strolled to the middle of the roof and planted his feet. He could sense the earth moving far below him, and all the energy around him ready to be shaped into stone. The ground trembled. He found his perimeter.

Sidewalks crumbled and broke open to make way for the rising walls of stone.

It wasn't an easy thing to practice without being noticed. After training for months to build up his endurance, Julian had taken a short trip to a remote part of New York's mountains and practiced constructing walls like these. Days of building them up and pushing them around and tearing them back down made him confident he could pull off the plan. It also left him drained for weeks. Whether or not this worked, he wouldn't be pulling any more big stunts for a while.

The stone walls continued to rise, cutting off the block from the rest of the city. Once Julian was satisfied with their height, he hopped onto one and crossed to the opposite edge.

People gathered below. The closest news station already had reporters on the scene. Perfect.

"I'll keep it simple," Julian shouted. "One million dollars to stop the walls from closing in and destroying these buildings. I estimate you have half an hour. Max."

Short but sweet. His announcement finished, Julian turned away from the people and strolled to the other side of the stone wall. There, he waited, cape billowing with the occasional gust of wind.

It wasn't long before company showed up.

The sky, already darkening with the sunset, went black as heavy clouds formed directly above the city block. A flash of lightning illuminated the silhouette of an approaching figure. Thunder followed, and Julian grinned.

Storm Warning landed on the wall with a resounding thud, sinking to one knee. In the next flash of lightning, he rose to his feet and surveyed Julian's work. One of his eyebrows lifted. "This is new."

The rising wind whipped the hero's half-length white cape around. The cape was fastened at his right shoulder with a small gold lightning bolt. It matched his short white boots, while his dark blue supersuit matched the mask that covered the upper half of his face. Above the mask was a head of short, fluffy blonde hair, and behind it were blue eyes with unfathomable depths.

"I've been working on it for a long time," Julian told him, his gaze still flitting over Storm Warning's tall stature and thick muscles. He'd seen the man up close before more than a handful of times, but that didn't make him any less intimidating.

"Looks exhausting," Storm Warning replied.

"I'm managing." Julian pushed against the wall beneath them with his power, upping the speed at which it crawled toward the nearest building. "I don't suppose you have my money?"

Storm Warning strolled toward him. "Doesn't really seem your style, Citadel," he said coolly. "And I'm not convinced these walls are going to hold up as long as you say."

"You want to find out?" Julian was walking forward now, too. "I do enjoy a good demonstration."

"As do I. But I think you need better lighting."

The clouds above lit up. There was a flash, and then pain shooting through every inch of Julian's body. His walls jerked to a halt, the grinding of stone on sidewalk ceasing. Julian stumbled forward and barely managed to avoid tumbling off the wall.

"Sorry, did I say lighting?" Storm Warning asked. "I meant lightning."

"Aw, Storm. You should know I can take a hit from you by now." Julian rose to his full height and lifted his hands. A massive piece of stone broke free from the wall and shot through the air toward Storm Warning. The hero dove off the wall to avoid being crushed.

A moment later, he rose into the air above Julian. "Just getting warmed up."

He swooped down and grabbed Julian. The two flew through the air for a brief but disorienting moment before colliding with a rooftop. Julian couldn't help but wince when his back hit the concrete. He could take a lot, but this was pushing it.

Storm Warning, who'd landed on top of Julian, pushed himself up and lifted a hand. Electricity jumped from his palm to Julian's chest, sending another jolt of pain through him.

Julian's jaw clenched. He focused on the air above Storm Warning and generated a large boulder. Storm Warning moved to the left to dodge. Julian rolled to the right. The boulder hit the roof hard enough to send thin cracks running in every direction.

As Julian rose to his feet, he unfastened his cape and let it fall to the roof.

"Running out of energy yet?" Storm Warning asked.

"Let's find out." Julian extended his hand. A piece of concrete—the material typically had just enough real stone in it for him to manipulate—ripped itself from the building and flew into his grasp, twisting into a staff. He charged and swung at Storm Warning. The first swing missed. The second struck the hero square in the chest.

Storm Warning stumbled back, but he didn't look too bothered by the blow. "You really think it's going to end differently this time?"

"I do." Julian smirked. Disks of stone peeled away from the outer layer of the wall and spun through the air around Storm Warning. "Like I said. I've been planning."

Something flashed across Storm Warning's expression. Was he actually nervous? Julian pressed forward. He was going to win this. The disks' orbits tightened, bringing them closer to Storm Warning. "Aren't you tired of fighting, Storm?" Julian asked.

"Aren't you?"

Julian's eyes narrowed. He was the one starting fights. All Storm Warning did was stop him.

Storm Warning glanced to the right. "Your walls have stopped moving," he noted.

"The buildings aren't what you should be worried about," Julian told him. "You're the one in danger now." He flung one of the disks at Storm Warning. The circle of stone crashed into him and knocked him to the ground.

"I'd do the typical spiel where I invite you to join me," Julian continued, starting toward him. "But I know you'd never even consider it."

There was a grunt of pain, and then a response. "Of course I've considered it."

Julian paused. "What?"

Storm Warning pushed himself off the ground and met Julian's gaze. "This isn't easy. Taking what I want—I could do that. I could be like you. I make the choice every day not to."

Julian rolled his eyes. "And you're getting nothing out of it but some broken ribs." He closed the gap between them, dropped to one knee, and brought his face close to Storm Warning's. "There are more villains than heroes around here, and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

Storm Warning's steady gaze didn't waver. In fact, he lifted his chin in defiance. "You know, I've met a lot of villains who don't think they're villains," he said. "I'll admit, it's refreshing that you aren't delusional."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

Storm Warning grabbed the front of Julian's suit and yanked him to the ground. The hero was back on his feet in a heartbeat. He pulled back a fist. Julian quickly pushed up a section of stone beneath Storm Warning, launching him backward through the air.

A drop of rain bounced off Julian's nose as he stood up. "Nice try, but a little rain's not going to hurt me."

Storm Warning, who had managed a graceful landing about twenty feet away, chuckled. "I'm still warming up. Try this on for size."

A torrent of water poured down on Julian, knocking him back to the ground. Once the blast subsided, he pushed himself up, coughing up water. The disks he'd been spinning in the air clattered to the ground around him and Storm Warning.

Storm Warning followed the downpour with another painful strike of lightning. Spots danced in Julian's vision. This was usually the part of the fight where he started to lose.

But he had his new weapon. The wall. A towering mass of his creation, crafted from his element. A tool he could tear apart and manipulate with perfect precision.

"Rain's nice, Storm!" Julian staggered as he rose to his feet. He coughed again. "But I'll do you one better."

The disks returned to the air and drifted toward each other. With a terrible grinding sound, they merged together into one massive slab of stone.

"I learned this trick last week," Julian said. It was a trick that took a lot of concentration. Hopefully, he'd be able to pull it off here. It would be incredibly embarrassing if he screwed this up.

Storm Warning's expression darkened. He backed toward the edge of the roof. The slab followed, its shadow staying on him. Julian's fists tightened, and the slab split into dozens of dagger-sharp shards.

He brought them down on Storm Warning. Storm Warning jumped off the roof.

Julian raced to the roof's edge. As he reached it, Storm Warning shot up past him, rising above the nearby wall. Julian jumped. A platform of concrete rose to meet him and launched him into the air. He landed on the wall and continued his sprint toward Storm Warning.

The stone shards moved with Julian. He slid to a halt on the slick stone and flung out his arms, sending the shards flying at Storm Warning again. While Storm Warning moved higher to dodge them, Julian sent another blade of stone spinning through the air.

The distraction worked. The blade sliced across Storm Warning's chest and left a deep gash.

Storm Warning dropped onto the wall, a hand pressed to the wound, face twisted in pain. Blood dripped onto stone. Julian summoned the shards back to his hand and shaped them into a staff. He raced toward Storm Warning.

Despite the injury that was starting to look worse than Julian had anticipated, Storm Warning straightened up and drifted back into the air. Away from the wall. Julian jumped and swung.

All his strength, all his inner rage, his ever-burning need for his mentor's respect and the city's fear...it all went into the blow. The staff struck the side of the hero's head.

Storm Warning fell from the sky.

One last flash of lightning cut through the sky above, momentarily blinding Julian. The rain slowed, then stopped entirely. The last red rays of the sun pierced the fading storm. Julian's feet thudded against the stone wall. His landing sent a jolt through him, but the pain retreated quickly.

And then he was staring down at the street, empty except for the figure of Storm Warning far below.

"Come on, Storm, I'm not falling for that one." Julian's voice echoed off the nearby buildings. There was an odd tightness in his chest. He split the section of stone he stood on from the rest of the wall and pushed it down into the earth, bringing himself to the ground. He moved with caution, bracing himself for a sudden attack. "I've still got my walls."

Did he dare to hope that Storm Warning was dead? Storm Warning could take a beating, but the head was a tricky place. His advanced healing didn't make him invincible.

If the hero was really gone, Julian and the other villains could demand whatever the hell they wanted from the city. Well, as long as they didn't push things so far that heroes from New York intervened.

People were emerging from nearby buildings, but no one dared to approach the body.

"Storm Warning!" Julian's voice rose. He took a few slow steps toward the fallen hero. Nothing.

And yet, there was a weight in Julian's chest. No, Storm Warning wasn't the type to trick him like this. If he was alive, why not just blast Julian with lightning again?

Julian closed the gap between them. Knelt down. Swept his gaze across Storm Warning's still chest. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out to touch the side of his face.

Just flesh and blood. A man who could be killed.

A man who was dead.

"Well, then," Julian murmured. He rose and turned around. The pockets of people gathered around building entrances pushed themselves back, away from him. He laughed. The cold sound that came out didn't feel like his voice. There was an odd disconnect in his mind, a part of him that refused to believe he'd truly succeeded. But he had.

A stone pillar erupted from the ground beneath Julian, carrying him into the sky.