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“You mean people don’t like to see hypocrisy in their leadership? Shocking.”
Nova kept her attention on the street below. “What exactly are we looking for?” “Villains,” Oscar said. “Doing villainous things.”
“How old were you?” Ruby asked, her voice soft, though her attempts to be calming only made Nova’s hackles rise. She fixed her gaze on Ruby. “Six.” From the corner of her eye she saw Adrian tilt his head curiously. Six when her parents died. Six when she stopped sleeping. How had this edged so treacherously close to the truth? Without looking at him, Nova pulled herself to her feet.
Her lip twitched and again she wasn’t sure what was more annoying—that he hadn’t followed her to ask about her parents, or that she still sort of wished he had.
“Like what sorts of hobbies?” “I don’t know. I took up knitting for a while, but never progressed beyond really ragged scarves. Then there was bird-watching, juggling, embroidery, astronomy—” “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Adrian, laughing. “Start over. Knitting? Seriously?” “It’s an undervalued art,” said Nova, managing to keep a straight face.
There had been no ulterior motive for learning about the night sky, only that she found it fascinating. She could remember the sky being full of stars when she was a child. They were more difficult to see these days, now that so much of the city’s power grid had been fixed. She liked electricity, but some nights, she would have given almost anything to see the Milky Way again.
“Are they…?” she asked, gesturing between their sleeping forms. “No,” said Adrian, who was turning pages in his sketchbook again. “But they like each other?” “Hard to say.”
She had always been astonished by people who could fall asleep fast, like there was nothing to it. Like their spirits weren’t burdened with suffering and resentment. Like their hearts and minds could so easily be at peace.
Her attention swept down his lean body to casually crossed ankles, then back up to his face. He had removed his glasses and set them, neatly folded, beside the wall. His face was different without them. More open and tranquil, though that could have been as much because of the sleep. She knew it was a stereotype, but the glasses really did give him an air of studiousness. Of artistry. Without them, he looked like … well, like a superhero. A really good-looking superhero. Nova flushed,
“Anything else I can do for you? Perhaps you’d care to take back a book on political science for the Council to peruse in their spare time? I think it might benefit them.”
“Took you long enough, Renegades. I was beginning to think I’d have to come find you myself.”
not if he still believed there was a child needing to be rescued. Somehow, though she knew so little about Adrian, she knew this for sure. He would not have left so long as he believed someone needed his help.
“You know, I’m not sure you picked the right alias. Insomnia is too passive. I vote we change it to Velociraptor.” Ruby laughed. “Relatively small, but surprisingly ferocious?” “Exactly. All in favor?” “I like Insomnia,” said Nova, pretending to be annoyed. Only when it became too difficult to frown did she realize she was already smiling.
Nova shut her eyes and thought, if she were a villain worthy of the name, she would be with them now. Celebrating, or mourning. And if she were a hero, she would be hurrying to help any Renegades who might be trapped and hurt beneath the rubble. Instead, she listened to the sounds of a city in distress, and did nothing.
“Well,” Oscar said brightly as the elevator doors shut behind them, “that could have been worse. They say probation—I hear vacation.”
They were not superheroes. They were frauds, and this whole system that was meant to protect and serve was nothing more than a failed social experiment. She could see now that many Renegades had good intentions—Adrian was proof enough—but it didn’t change the fact that their society was not being run by strong, competent leaders, but by dictators who had put themselves in this position of power without cause, and now had no idea what to do with it. The people would be better off on their own. The world would be better off without them.
Her eyelids were so heavy. Her brain was clouding over with … with exhaustion.
he hoped Nova would think the gesture was thoughtful. He hoped she wouldn’t be annoyed that he was interrupting her work. He hoped maybe they’d be able to sit and talk, because he kept thinking about the night spent in the office building across from the library and how it had been really nice to talk to her. To get to know her, at least a little. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know her even better. Questions kept popping into his head when he wasn’t around her, but then vanishing the moment they were together,
except that would probably be too much, and he didn’t want her to think this was, like, a romantic thing. Except a part of him sort of did.
He decided in that moment that he wouldn’t regret the decision to go in after her. Even if he never drew another picture, even if all the powers of the Sentinel were gone forever, he wouldn’t regret it, so long as she was okay.
“It’s because he … he steals powers. When he gets close to a prodigy, they start to lose their abilities. Their powers just … fade away. The closer they get to Max, and the more time they spend in his presence, the more likely it is that…” He hesitated, watching the dawning realization on Nova’s face, coupled with mounting horror. “That the effects will be permanent.”
“Ace Anarchy,” he said. “He stole that power from Ace Anarchy.”
And lastly, my personal favorite.” The final book depicted an armor-clad woman riding a dragon. “Don’t judge the cheesy artwork. The story is genius.”
That’s … nice.” She drew out the word, hinting not so subtly that it was an act that went beyond nice. “Oh. Yeah.” Nova shrugged. “We didn’t actually get to eat them, though.” “It’s the thought that counts. And it doesn’t hurt that he charged into a highly volatile situation in order to rescue you…” Nova frowned. “Yep. He’s a nice guy. I think that’s been well established.” Danna folded her fingers over her stomach. “He really is. No one could argue that. But you know, in all the time we’ve spent on the same team together, he never brought me sandwiches.” Clearing her throat, Nova picked up
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“Do you think I might be evil?”
“Why, you little bandit,” he said.
“Right, so as far as I know, this guy they call the Sentinel and I might be the only prodigies alive who can claim to have more than one superpower. At least, we both have multiple, totally unrelated superpowers. Not like Tsunami, who can both create water from nothing and also manipulate existing water. But he can make fire and do the whole jumping thing and now they’re saying he has some fancy new concussive energy beam. Whereas I have”—he tapped the pen against each fingertip as he counted—“telekinesis, metal manipulation, matter fusing, some invisibility, um…” He pondered. “Absorption,
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“Can the Sentinel give himself any power?” Adrian blinked. “Don’t say that you don’t know,” Max continued hurriedly, “just … pretend you’re guessing, or whatever. That is how it works, right? You’re somehow … I mean, he’s somehow drawing the powers into reality? Or … do you … does the Sentinel actually have power mimicry, and artwork genesis isn’t the original power at all?” Shutting his eyes, Adrian massaged his brow. “I don’t…” He paused and sighed heavily. “Okay, if I had to guess…” He returned his focus to Max, peering at him intently, hoping to convey that should anyone else ask about
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“Never. She’s one of us now, whether she likes it or not.”
“I was never able to hold Max. Not when he was a baby, not now when he’s hurt or sad. But I still love him. He’s as much a son to me as Adrian is. So … thank you.” He met Nova’s gaze. “For trying to save him.” “Even if I had no idea what I was doing and really just ended up making things worse?” His smile broadened. “Even if.”
“Tell me, what’s one present that you really, really want for your birthday this year?” The boy immediately blurted out, “A bike.” “A bike?” Adrian glanced up at a woman who resembled the boy. “Is that all right with you?” “All right with me?” said the woman, looking pained. “It’s not exactly … I can’t afford…” She looked helpless, like it broke her heart to not be able to answer this one wish for her child. “I would love to give him one, if I could.” “Well,” said Adrian, pulling out the marker. “Let’s see what we can do.”
And as soon as the other kids saw what Adrian could do, they began plying him with requests. Draw me a teddy bear … a lollipop … an airplane! Until the tent was full of gifts, all in matching canary yellow pulled straight from the walls of the canvas tent. Adrian never said no, not even when the requests became more and more outlandish (now a tree house … a tree house with cannons … a tree house with cannons and also a moat being guarded by a robotic shark!), and he never seemed annoyed, even as the kids pressed in around him, leaving him little space to actually draw the things they wanted.
She needed to stop thinking about handsome smiles and small touches and kisses and dates. If Adrian liked her—really liked her—it was only because he didn’t really know her. He would never like the girl beneath the lie. He would never like Nova Artino. And it didn’t matter to her anyway, because she could never fall for a Renegade. That word shattered the cloud of doubt that had gathered around her, and she opened her eyes, solid again in her resolve. He was a Renegade. He was her enemy. He might have come here today with ulterior motives, but then, so had she.
They stepped out into the hallway, and the floor tilted beneath them. Nova gasped and tumbled to the side, knocking into Adrian. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her as his back crashed into the wall. They froze, neither daring to move while the hallway settled around them. He could feel Nova’s heartbeat pounding, and when she met his gaze, her cheeks were flushed. He couldn’t keep his fingers from curling, just slightly, into the fabric of her uniform. Nova let out a self-deprecating sigh. “Heads up—the floor moves.” Adrian grinned. “You don’t say.”
“For the record, while it’s very charming that you keep trying to protect me, I would like to remind you that I actually know how defend myself.” He grimaced. “I know. It’s just … instinct.”
At the same moment, the painting in front of Adrian popped open and a head launched itself forward. Adrian cried out, lifted the gun, and fired.
What if … What if. There were too many what-ifs to waste time on any of them.
“Nova?” said Adrian. She switched her attention at him. “I’m going to be chivalrous right now and carry you to safety.” Her expression softened. “Okay,” she breathed.
“You never answered my question,” he said. “What question?” “If I asked you on a real date, would you say yes?” She seemed to tense. Her fingers tightened around his. “Are you asking?” Adrian hesitated. She was watching him closely, her blue eyes curious, but also nervous. Nervous. Somehow, seeing his own uncertainty mirrored back at him helped to ease the anxiety knotted inside his chest. He tugged her closer, until their toes were nearly touching. She didn’t resist. She didn’t look away. “I’m asking,” he said.
For a short time, she’d almost enjoyed being with him. And not just that … she’d enjoyed being a Renegade. But the words uttered so casually by Evander Wade had brought reality crashing back down around her.
“These doubts … these insecurities … they will come to serve you well, Nightmare.” He listed his head toward her. “After all, one cannot be brave who has no fear.”
