At the bottom of the stairs, Levi squinted out. The monster scrabbled at the walls, quashed between the floor and the ceiling. Its back half still hung in the Gate, the monster too bulky to squeeze out into the room.

“Nice.” He reached for the door.

Behind him, Rachel stared. “You’re going out there?”

“Yeah? Other option is to die in here. I’d rather die out there, to be honest.” Levi glanced at the monster again, then sprinted for the door.

The monster screamed. Claws scratched toward his back. He jumped to the side, and the claws struck the ground instead, dragging long, deep furrows in the concrete floor.

“Yikes. I don’t want those anywhere near me.”

The door rushed up. Levi threw himself into a slide, pointing his feet out so he’d kick through the door.

The monster scrabbled at the floor, wiggling harder than before. It pulled itself forward. Feathery limbs emerged from the Gate, trailing long, powerful flight feathers. Hateful eyes glared after Levi as it chased after him. With deep scrapes of its claws, it fought its way out of the Gate with the power of pure spite.

Levi’s foot crashed into the door, and it jumped in place but didn’t open. Levi bounced, falling onto his back.

The monster’s claw struck toward his head.

Eyes wide, Levi rolled to the side. The claw barely missed him. He hauled himself upright and threw his whole body into the door. This time, it opened.

The monster let out a fierce cry as its claw fell short. Levi sprinted out onto the street, leaving the monster behind. He glanced back, checking that the monster was still stuck, then dialed a number and lifted his phone. “Maury, you there?”

“You still alive?”

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“Yeah. I’m alive, and Alpha’s dead.”

There was nothing. For a very long time, nothing.

“…And?” Maury asked at last.

“And…I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel. Sad? But he’s finally out of the way. My biggest threat is gone, but…yeah. I don’t know.”

Silence again. At last, Levi sighed. “I did it. So why don’t I feel good?”

“Life never turns out the way you want it to. You did it. He’s gone. Give it a little while to sink in.”

“I guess. I guess.”

“For better or for worse, he was a huge part of your life. It’s going to take time to feel normal.”

“Yeah. Uh, you know, Maury? He wasn’t there.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, mentally. By the time I got there, he…he wasn’t Alpha anymore. He was already gone. The man who hurt you, who killed me so many times, who broke me and hurt Kella’s mom, he—he wasn’t there. He’d forgotten all of that. The man I killed, was the man who I met in the research center. All the hope, and innocence, and humility, and…and good will, it was all still there. Everything I hated, everything Alpha had become, was gone.”

He took a deep breath. “By the time I got there, the man I wanted to kill had already died.”

Maury sniffed. She hesitated, then sighed. “I wish I was surprised. Remember how I said everyone except for you and Alpha died to the Gate particles long ago? Many of them exhibited dementia-like symptoms before they died. I think…the only reason you haven’t, is because you reset with every death. It clears the particles. Or… resets them. I’m not really sure which. I’d really like to study it in-depth, but eh. Some things, you’re better off not knowing.”

“You mean, I’m better off not knowing?”

“Nah. I mean me. There’s nothing I can do if you do show symptoms. It’s a death sentence. Easier for me if I don’t know.”

Levi snorted. “Fair enough.”

“So? What’s the next step?”

Glass crashed. Levi flinched, glancing over his shoulder. The monster’s beak crashed through the front doors, and it clawed after him, fighting its way out of the Gate. He started walking away at a brisk pace. “I alerted all the supers while I was up there. Should see the sky start lighting up any minute now.”

Maury grunted. “Good. I’d hate to see the city die because Alpha did.”

Levi hesitated. He glanced up. “It might.”

“Yeah?”

“Central City could only exist because Alpha existed. From the start, it was thanks to him that people could live this close to the Gate. Without Alpha, this place is probably going to turn back into the same wasteland it ought to be. Become no different than every other Exclusion Zone out there.”

“Well, that’s life,” Maury said.

“Yeah. Guess so.”

A super smashed down onto the concrete right in front of Levi. Startled, Levi jumped back. “Uh, Maury, gotta go.”

“Right. See ya on the other side.”

The super glared at Levi. He raised his hand.

Levi subtly put his hand behind his back, swapping his phone for his knife.