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WE WERE ALL VILLAINS in the beginning. For hundreds of years, prodigies were feared by the rest of the world. We became hunted. Tormented. Feared and oppressed. We were believed to be witches and demons, freaks and abominations. We were stoned and hanged and set afire while crowds gathered to watch with cruel eyes, proud to be ridding the world of one more pariah. They were right to be afraid.
It became the strong against the weak, and, as it turns out, the strong were usually jerks. Humanity loses faith in times like that. With no one to look up to, no one to believe in, we all became rats scrounging in the sewers. Maybe Ace really was a villain. Or maybe he was a visionary. Maybe there’s not much of a difference.
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But then, seemingly overnight … hope. Bright and sparkling hope, dressed up in capes and masks. Beautiful and joyous hope, promising to solve all your problems, rain justice down upon your foes, and probably give a stern talking to a few jaywalkers along the way.
don’t know what anyone would or wouldn’t do anymore. Besides … I don’t want to be in Alec’s debt any more than we already are.”
“What are you making, Papà?” He glanced over at her, and a shadow passed over his face, even as he smiled at her. “I’m not sure yet,” he said, his fingers tracing the delicate metalwork. “Something … something I hope will put to right some of the great injuries I’ve caused this world.”
“It’s a misunderstanding,” said Papà. He had put himself between the man and Nova’s mom. “Let me talk to him. I’m sure I can explain—” “There’s been no misunderstanding,” the man said. His voice was low and cold. “You have betrayed his trust, Mr. Artino. He does not like that.” “Please,” said her mom. “The children are here. Please, have mercy.” He cocked his head, his eyes shifting between them. Fear tightened in Nova’s stomach. “Let me talk to him,” Papà repeated. “We haven’t done anything. I’m loyal, I swear. I always have been. And my family … please, don’t hurt my family.”
Too late she thought that she should have gone for the fire escape. Too late. Too late she remembered— Evie. She’d left Evie out there. She’d left Evie.
her uncle found her. She was still standing over the stranger’s sleeping form, ordering herself to pull the trigger. Hearing those gunshots over and over every time she dared to close her eyes. “Nova?” A plastic bag dropped to the floor, taking a plastic medicine bottle with it. Nova startled and turned the gun on him.
“Nova.… Your parents.… Your sister.…” He looked down and reached for the gun. Nova didn’t resist as he took it from her. His attention turned to the man. “I’d always thought you might be one of us, but your father wouldn’t tell me what it was you could do.…” He met Nova’s eyes again. Pity and, perhaps, admiration. With that look, Nova fell apart, throwing herself into his arms. “Uncle Alec,” she wailed, sobbing into his chest. “He shot them … he … he killed…” He picked her up, cradling her against his chest. “I know,” he murmured into her hair. “I know, sweet, dangerous child. But you’re safe
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“Adrian, actually.”
“You have a superhero to kill.”
The Council—the five original Renegades—all eradicated at once.
“Tell me she didn’t get on the wrong building.”
Thunderbird—the inimitable Tamaya Rae—stood on the first pedestal, her enormous black wings spanning the full width of the parade float and the wind catching in her long, dark hair, making her look like the proud mascot on the mast of a ship. She occasionally sent bolts of lightning to further ignite the cloud at her feet. Not to be overshadowed, Blacklight was on the second tier shooting fireworks and flashing strobe lights into the air as the crowd gasped and squealed. With his red beard and tightly curled mustache, Nova had always thought Evander Wade looked more like a six-foot-tall
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Beside each other, they were like night and day. Simon Westwood had olive-toned skin, a close-trimmed beard, and dark, wavy hair, while Hugh Everhart, the city’s beloved Captain, was the picture of boyish charm, complete with golden hair and dimples. Captain Chromium rolled his eyes and glanced at the Dread Warden over his shoulder. They shared a look that was disgustingly endearing. Nova had been too young to notice if there was any shock or scandal when two of the original Renegades announced they were in love, or if there had been any announcement at all. Maybe they just were, from the
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Captain Chromium, beloved superhero and adored Renegade, had Ace Anarchy’s helmet skewered at the top of his pike. It had been driven through the skull, fracturing the bronze-tinted material that had once been dragged from the air by her own father’s fingertips, years before Nova was born.
“We’re not done.”
“Another fire elemental. How quaint. Not exactly a rare breed, but it’s hard to criticize a classic.”
“You can’t escape me, Nightmare,” he said. “I’m taking you into custody, and you will answer for your crimes.”
“Lovely as that sounds, I actually had other plans for this afternoon.”
“You know what they say … one cannot be brave who has no fear.”
How had she beaten him? He grimaced, recognizing his own pathetic attempts to defend his pride. But who was he kidding? He had underestimated an opponent who should not have been underestimated. She was strong. She was clever. And most of the low-tech gadgets he’d seen her use were actually pretty impressive. Shaking his head, he started to laugh, wryly at first, but it quickly grew with real humor, even if it was at his own expense. So much for being the city’s next great superhero. “Next time,” he whispered to himself. A promise.
Fire manipulation. Perhaps it wasn’t rare, but it still remained one of the most coveted powers among prodigies. Between that and the armored suit and the springs he’d inked into the soles of his feet, he’d been confident he could do anything, stop anyone. But Nightmare had barely bat an eye. Not just that. She’d mocked him.
But Nightmare … she was new. A mystery. And a threat. When he closed his eyes, he could see her, the slightest glint of her eyes visible in the shadow of her hood. Without expression. Without remorse. Without fear, even as she’d said those words—the words that had haunted him for years. Even now, he couldn’t be sure whether he’d imagined her saying them. That it hadn’t been part of a dream played out while he’d been unconscious. One cannot be brave who has no fear. He released a shuddering breath. It hadn’t been a dream. She had said them. It couldn’t be coincidence. “Nightmare,” he whispered,
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It was because they had rules now. Rules that they themselves had created, but that kept their hands tied nonetheless.
Ace always used to say that knowledge is power, and he was right. Unfortunately, these days the Renegades have all the knowledge and the power.”
“In that case, sending me to the trials would be a perfect plan. If only I had a death wish.” “Give yourself more credit, little nightmare,” said Leroy. “I know I do.” Nova grunted. “I’ll think about it,” she said, shoving open the door. “And don’t call me that.” Leroy only smiled.
Nightmare. The great mystery. And they didn’t even know the greatest mystery of all, those words that he could not quiet.
He went straight to the bookshelf,
All revolutions come with death. Some must die so that others might have life. It is a tragedy, but it is also a truth.
What the people needed was to learn to take care of themselves, but that would never happen so long as superheroes were running things.
These were the superheroes the world idolized?
“To be weak,” Phobia rasped. “To be helpless.” Ingrid cast him a sideways look. “Excuse me?” “That is his deepest fear,” said Phobia, idly twirling the scythe blade overhead. “To be, in essence, without power.”
That each of those stars was its own sun, thousands of light-years away. That to look at a star was to look back in time, to an age in which there were no prodigies at all.
“How do you know this woman again?” asked Nova. “Oh, I don’t, not really. But then—how much do we really know anyone? Can we say with absolute certainty that we even truly know ourselves?”
“Psychometry. Nothing dangerous.” Psychometry. The ability to see into an object’s past.
Only, the Renegades hadn’t kept their word. Captain Chromium hadn’t kept his word. They were not there to protect David’s family when they needed their protection the most.
“And if revenge does not bring you joy?” “It’s not joy I’m looking for.”
Heroism wasn’t about what you could do, it was about what you did. It was about who you saved when they needed saving.
But all the logic in the world couldn’t smother the truth that Adrian felt in his drumming heartbeat. There had been something about her at the parade. He’d been watching her when Magpie had taken the bracelet—that was the only reason he’d seen it happen. Because he’d been drawn to her, even then. Not because she was pretty, though he’d definitely noticed that too. But because there was a fierceness in the set of her jaw that intrigued him. A resolve in her eyes that made him curious.
“Trust me,” whispered Adrian. “I have a feeling about her.” On his other side, Ruby snickered. “Yeah, I can tell exactly what kind of feeling you have about her.” Adrian turned toward her, annoyed. “Not like that.” She raised a suggestive eyebrow.
“I accept the challenge.” Adrian’s attention darted back to the field. Nova was standing with her hands clasped behind her back, chin lifted as she stared at Frostbite. “I accept the duel.”
“Not with you.”
He held her eyes as she approached and the way he looked at her made her victory feel newly, inexplicably real. It wasn’t entirely a look of shock, though there was a bit of that. But there was something dumbfounded and impressed and proud there, too, and it made her heart swell.
Because how can we expect people to change if we don’t give them the chance to?”
He hadn’t even realized just how close they’d been standing.
Adrian grinned. “Now who’s showing off?”
Danna nodded appreciatively. “It sounds like you’ll be fine. Just try to keep them out of trouble, won’t you?” “Is that in my job description?” Nova asked. “Not at all,” said Danna, pulling her dreadlocks back and securing them in a low tail. “But I’ll feel better if I know you’re spending half as much energy watching over these guys as you apparently spend watching everyone else.”
Adrian took Nova’s left forearm, but hesitated when he saw the delicate bracelet. He took the other arm instead. Taking the device back from her, he started to bend it, curving it until it fit snugly around her wrist, an elegant spiral against her skin. It was so light she could barely feel it—or perhaps she was simply too in tune with the warmth coming off Adrian’s fingers to pay much attention to the communicator.
“Huge letdown, right?” said Oscar.
