Vicious (Villains, #1)

Days after murdering his professor, Eli goes over his thesis notes. His professor added two terms: Post-Traumatic Death Disorder, and Rebirth Syndrome, a person’s desire to “escape the life they had before, or to redefine themselves based on their ability” (220). Eli is disturbed to recognize himself in this definition, but he tells himself he has a purpose. After graduation, Eli changes his name to Eli Ever and sets out to destroy EOs and restore balance to nature. He dislikes killing and plans poorly but persists, believing he does God’s work and knowing that “practice makes perfect” (223).

At the hotel, Victor wonders why Eli kept Serena alive. Mitch calls to say he has one of the cops who’s working with Eli at a nearby location. Victor goes to meet them, leaving Sydney behind because he wants to preserve her notion of Victor as a good person. Victor meets Mitch and the cop in an abandoned building, where he tortures the cop to get the access code to the EO database.

At the hotel, Serena asks Eli if he really thought he killed Sydney. Eli struggles but manages to resist her powers and lie to her that he did believe it.