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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Evie couldn’t believe the rest of the Anarchists had convinced her this was a good idea. Yeah, revenge against the people who had failed her family was great and all, and she wasn’t a wuss, but at a parade? Specifically, the worst parade to ever exist? Phobia had waxed on about how striking during the parade would be some sort of poetic justice, but it didn’t seem poetic so far, just boring and extremely insulting.

               Although, Evie wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting. Every single one of these stupid parades since the Day of Triumph had been even gaudier and more arrogant than the last.

               The villain floats were always the most infuriating part and the grand opener before the heroes came to save the day. Evie clenched her jaw as she watched the floats pass. Even villains who were long dead and largely irrelevant weren’t spared. The Atomic Brain, once of Ace’s oldest allies had been caricaturized, his actor stacked with facial prosthetics to make his skull look grotesquely large as he cackled like a cartoon character, his lab coat covered in marinara sauce. Sheesh, Evie thought to herself. She couldn’t have remembered a thing about the real man to save her life- she was, after all, a baby when he died- but from what the others had told her, he was a quiet, calculating man- a genius like no other- not an absolute maniac with a fast-food addiction.

And that was just the beginning.

               Evie felt her stomach churn as she watched the float come into full view, the adoring  subjects of the Renegades jeering and laughing at the undoubtedly monstrous Anarchists: Leroy Flynn, Winston Pratt, Honey Harper, Ingrid Thompson, and Phobia. Evie knew the crowd referred to them only by their aliases, not by their very real, very human names. Well, not that they could refer to Phobia by name given the fact he likely didn’t even have one. But, whatever. It was the principle of the thing.

               She winced once she got a full view of Honey. Sure, the rest of the Anarchists would take this in stride, laughing along with the crowd- but Honey? Stars Evie was glad she’d stayed home. Maybe the others knew it would reck her confidence if she came; The woman portraying her was practically hysterical, mascara running down her face as she cried about her “Poor, poor, babies!” She had a ridiculous beehive hairdo and wore a skimpy cocktail dress- Well, Evie had to admit it wasn’t the least accurate impression of the bunch, but that was honestly what made it worse. Honey knew intrinsically she was bonkers; she didn’t need to see it.

               “Hey, Detonator,” Nova snarked over their headsets, “I think they finally got the look right.”  Evie couldn’t help but snort. Ingrid’s impersonator had veins practically popping out from her skull as she threw useless blue pom-poms at the crowd who shrieked with laughter. She was right otherwise, though. Those gold bangles, combat boots, combined with the blue crop-top emulated the Detonator in her heyday perfectly.

               Ingrid huffed, and Evie could imagine her holding back a begrudging smile. After all, she was the one who’d given the two sisters their sense of humor. Well. Other than Winston, but he didn’t count as far as Evie was concerned. “Fuck you, Nightmare.”

               “Please don’t let the festivities distract you, girls. We have a job to do,” Leroy commented, though his words had no bite. They never did when it came to Nova and Evie. “Speaking of which, are you getting into position, Nightmare?”

               Nova sighed over the line sounding distinctly more agitated than usual. Had something happened?

“Yes, Cyanide. What do I look like to you, an amateur?”

               “Right now, you look like absolutely nothing seeing as you are not yet in my line of vision. AKA, in position.”

               Releasing another sigh, Nova cut off again, no doubt hustling to where she was supposed to be: Up on the rooftop across from Evie’s line of sight, positioned with her sniper rifle loaded with a dart, a dart that if aimed correctly, would neutralize Captain Chromium.

 Evie sent out a silent prayer to whatever deities, if any, were out there listening.

Curve the winds in her favor. Make him look her straight in the eyes as he realizes he’s about to die.

The line crackled again, a short curse echoing before Nova spoke, “I’m-” she huffed, “in position. How far off are the Renegade floats?”

“About a minute away from your current position. The Council should pass by in a minute and thirty,” Phobia supplied, his deep, gravelly voice sending shivers up Evie’s spine. Sure, most of the Anarchists had more than a few screws loose, but Phobia had always given Evie the creeps. Although, she supposed that made sense. That was his ability, after all: Striking fear into one’s heart.

“Hey do you-?” Ingrid had cut in again, no doubt to make another witty remark before she suddenly went silent. They all did while Ace’s float passed, his larger-than-life impersonator wearing a bobbling, low-quality replica of Ace’s real helmet as he shook his fists at the crowd and yelled incoherently about, “Little Nightmares!” The crowd did what they always did and threw any rotten food they had left over in his direction. Underneath her simmering rage, Evie did feel a pang of sympathy for the actor. Poor guy probably needed the money. Fuck, everyone did, especially non-Renegades like her and the Anarchists.

That was why they were doing this. Not just for personal revenge, but for the people of Gatlon City too.

“Those motherfuckers,” Ingrid gritted out in tone that could be described as nothing but venomous.

“Just you wait, Detonator,” Leroy said, a vicious glee lacing his words. “They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

Suddenly, Evie understood what Phobia had been talking about. Part of her wished it was her shooting that gun, not Nova. Unfortunately for her, her aim wasn’t nearly as good as her older sister’s, and according to the Anarchists, she was still “too young” for such a responsibility. It was hard for Evie to protest when she could barely hold anything heavier than a handgun so far. Her gangly, twelve-year-old body was not yet equipped with the muscle necessary for Anarchist level violence, but one day- one day soon- it would be.

“Get ready, Nightmare,” Leroy mused, “It’s nearly showtime.”

…..

The parade was… How had Evie put it? Oh yeah. A fucking disaster. Usually, Nova chastised her little sister when she cursed, but that day, she just didn’t have the energy. Once again, she’d screwed them all over. Once again, she hadn’t pulled the fucking trigger. And the cherry on top was that she’d gotten Winston captured. Leroy assured her she’d only done what was necessary in the same, cool, Anarchist logic he always used to soothe her guilt, and likely his own. It hadn’t made her feel better, only numb, with something hot and dangerous boiling underneath the surface.

She knew it wouldn’t be pretty when it exploded.

So, when Leroy had suggested she infiltrate the Renegades, she’d barely hesitated.

Well. That wasn’t strictly true. She’d asked the appropriate amount of questions such as, “How the hell do you think we’d get away with that?” and, “Did you hit your head at the parade?”

No, she had hesitated at first, as she always did. But after the Renegades had ransacked the tunnels, destroyed Honey’s beehives, and nearly given Ingrid hypothermia, Nova knew what she had to do.

 Leroy had been waiting for her, in his ratty armchair, sipping a cup of lukewarm tea. “I’ll arrange an appointment with an old contact of mine. We’ll meet with her after dark to avoid any possible witnesses.”

That was all he’d said, all he’d needed to say. Just a week later, Nova had a new identity, a fresh start, as Leroy had put it, but so did Evie. Nova asked why. The paperwork hadn’t been cheap after all. Millie might have been a neurotic hoarder, but she sure drove a hard bargain.

They could do anything, become anyone, Leroy had said in response. She didn’t have to be an Anarchist anymore. He had given her permission to leave, to cut and run with her sister, to start anew. But she knew deep down that wasn’t what she wanted, and Evie would bite her head off for even suggesting it.

No. She would finish what she started, for their parents, Uncle Ace, and every citizen of Gatlon. So, she pressed her fingertips to his and closed her eyes, prepared for any pain that might come her way.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

               Adrian sketched aimlessly on the tablecloth before him, admittedly bored out of his mind. Oscar and Ruby sat to his right, the former slurping his smoothie and the latter bouncing her left leg up and down as she scanned the crowd.

               “Geez, do they always have to make us wait so long?” she whined, leaning forward across their team’s dedicated table. “I think I’ve read every single sign in the crowd. And there’s so many of them. More than last year!”

               Adrian shrugged. “Guess they want to make sure everyone who wants to try out has ample time to get here. Some of them travel from outside of the city for the opportunity. It’d be a bummer if they missed their chance because they were late.”

               Ruby blew a stray strand of bleached hair from her face. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I just need something to complain about, or I’ll implode from boredom,” she retorted, “Oscar can I have some popcorn?”

               Their teammate sighed but passed the bag to the girl next to him anyway. She clapped her hands delightedly before she dug in, and Adrian was sure Oscar was much less annoyed than he was pretending to be. “Next time, both of you get nothing,” he declared. “I asked if you wanted something and you both said no, and here you are groveling at my feet for food!”

               “Hey!” Ruby cried, “That’s not fair, I asked for cotton candy!”

               “I’m not sure that counts as food, Red,” Adrian commented, a teasing smile on his face. She huffed.

               “Ugh, you both suck. If Danna was here she would totally have had my back.”

               Adrian winced. Right. Danna, his teammate, the one who he’d injured doing something reckless and stupid his dads had drilled into his head to never do. He took a deep breath in. There was no fixing it now.

               “How’s she doing?” he asked casually. He hadn’t been able to see her since that first day, less because he’d been busy, and more because he was afraid of facing what he’d done. Stars, I’m a shitty friend. He swore to himself he would go to visit her first thing tomorrow.

Ruby sighed. “Better,” she said, “but it’s going to take her months to recover. She probably won’t be back on patrol for a while.”

Sucking on his lip, Adrian took a moment before voicing what he’d been thinking ever since Danna had been… disabled. “Yeah. I figured. Which is why…” he cut off, his heart pounding as the curious faces of his teammates both turned towards him, “Which is why I think we might want to be on the lookout today. Don’t get me wrong, we’re a great team, but maybe someone will surprise us, right? And Danna’s down for the count. If we let someone in and they don’t fit with us, they can go to another team. If they do, I don’t think it’d be so bad to expand our group a little. But… that’s just me, what do you two think?”

Oscar and Ruby shrugged in sync. “You’re the team leader,” Ruby said, “You call the shots in the end. I admittedly don’t love the idea, but if you think we need someone else, even if just for the time being… Go with your gut, Sketch.”

“We’ll support your decision,” Oscar chimed in, clapping Adrian on the back and giving him a thumbs up, “even if it’s a really bad one.”

“Oh, screw you, Oscar!” Adrian pushed the other boy’s hand away, who just laughed hysterically, and Adrian had to admit he was smiling himself.

Suddenly, a crackling microphone brought the three to attention. The Council were in position, Blacklight at the helm as he always was for public events, ever the host.

“Hell yeah!” Oscar whisper-yelled as the superhero cleared his throat, his face plastered across two large screens for the crowds benefit, “Let the show begin!”

“Hello and welcome all to the fifth annual Renegade Trials!”

The crowd roared.

…..

Nova had only one thought in her mind as she waited in the makeshift locker room that reeked of sweat and what she worried might be piss: Don’t fuck this up.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Nova could hardly believe she had walked straight into Renegade’s HQ and gotten away with it. She’d even seen two council members in person, and she hadn’t taken a shot at either of them. On top of all this bull-fuckery, her new team leader was none other than the golden boy Adrian Everheart himself, the child of three goddamned Renegades.

What she could believe the least was that this team, her team, truly believed that criminals conducted all their business at night like villainous goons in a comic book. And none of them had thought to bring anything more than candy and soda to their stakeout of Cloven Cross library. Seriously, no wonder they didn’t stand a chance against her at the parade. They were just a bunch of naïve kids; Ones who didn’t even know the basics of nutrition. Were the youngest Renegades truly this ignorant? It was a wonder the organization hadn’t collapsed all on its own in Nova’s opinion.

“Alright, we can take turns watching the back entrance,” Adrian declared, tanned hands curled into fists against his hips.

“Why don’t I just do it? I don’t need to sleep,” Nova pointed out, as if it were obvious, because, you know, it was. “If I see something I’ll let you know.”

“No offense, Insomnia, but this is your first mission,” the Everheart boy, or Sketch- Nova would have to get used to that- replied, to which Nova bristled.

“This is your first time on lookout, too, Sketch. I know I’m a newbie, but drowsiness and reconnaissance don’t go well together,” she retorted, sighing in defeat as he gave her a stern look. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. But, if you’re all too tired to stay up, I’m taking over. It’s what I’m here for right?”

Ruby tilted her head towards Nova. “She makes a good point, Sketch. We did take her in because her ability makes her a hotshot at surveillance.”

Adrian sighed. “Fine. Compromise accepted, Newbie.” He walked over to sit down next to Oscar on one of the blankets they’d hauled with them. “Who wants to go first?”

Oscar volunteered, no doubt wanting to be able to sleep as soon as possible. The team tried to start up a conversation about abilities and everyone’s superhero origin story, and Nova cringed as all eyes turned to her.

“It’s not anything exceptional,” she answered, climbing to her feet. She peered across the room to a door at the end, leading to the roof. “Some shit happened. I stopped sleeping. End of story.”

“When?”

Ruby was the one who had asked the question, the one Nova had been dreading. She swallowed hard, knowing they’d read her essay. Well. Millie’s essay, but whatever. “When I was six,” she replied, not looking back to see the piteous looks she knew would be on her teammates faces once they put two and two together. “I’m going to scout the roof. Better view up there.”

The door slammed shut behind her. Once she felt the cool air of the night slip through her nostrils, white dots and black night hovering above her, did she feel like she could breathe again. Sometimes, it was almost bearable to be with her team. They were normal people, after all. Kids. But other times it reminded Nova exactly why she was doing this in the first place.

Her family.

No matter how innocent her teammates might have seemed, she couldn’t forget. She wouldn’t. The Renegades hadn’t saved her or her family that night. They swept the incident under the rug, the names of Nova and her family forgotten, as if they never existed. Nova shuddered to think the McClain’s, who once owned the home she now lived, may have met a similar fate. Not to mention the remaining Anarchists, relegated to the tunnels, gaunt and malnourished, subjected to the whims of whatever Renegade team came to inspect them. They were her family too, and the Renegades hadn't treated them any better than her own blood. 

Nova thought about it every day, asked herself the same questions: What if her family weren’t the only ones the Renegades had failed? What if there were more like her? What could the Anarchists do then? The idea intoxicated her, sparked a fire deep inside of her-

She stomped on the ground, shaking herself out of her reverie. Focus, you idiot, she scolded herself. There would be no vengeance served if she couldn’t keep her head straight.

Slapping her cheeks, she tried to bring herself back to reality, but it was too late. She could feel the memories begin to pull her under.

The gunshots. Blood splattered across the hallway. The look of shock over the Roach’s face as Nova knocked him out cold, his head making a terrible CRACK as it hit the floor. Standing there, a gun in her hand, working up the courage to finish him off-

Nova took an uncoated dart from her toolbelt and stabbed herself in the thigh. The sharp prickling sensation that followed brought her back to reality. Observation, she reminded herself, You were here to observe the library, so observe.

Shaking her head back and forth, Nova closed her eyes, opened them once more, and forced herself to focus.

The view before her was nothing special, just the back of a library, a dumpster, a worn-down parking lot, and a few blinking streetlights. Nova looked back over towards the stairway and frowned.

Ingrid wouldn’t be entering until morning, leaving Nova with plenty of time to kill. She didn’t particularly want to kill it with a bunch of fledgling Renegades- not when thoughts of vengeance burned so strong in her mind- so she went over the plan again.

It went something like this:

One: Ingrid would enter the library at the asscrack of dawn, looking as devious as a true villainess would.

Two: Nova would convince her team to enter, where they would find absolutely no evidence.

Three: Nova would get her team the fuck out of there before they suspected something.

That was basically it. It was simple. Almost too simple. Nova could imagine all the ways it could go wrong. Maybe Narcissa would crack. Maybe Ingrid would do something stupid and reckless. Maybe Nova would do something stupid and reckless. Like, you know, murder one of her teammates in a fit of rage.

She groaned, knocking her fists against her head. “You’re not going to fuck this up,” she whispered to herself, pacing, her boots thudding beneath her. “You can’t fuck this up, so you won’t.”

No one would come for her if she got caught, and if she did… Well, it was either a life sentence or a death sentence. Despite all of their holy righteousness, the Renegades were anything but merciful. The Battle for Gatlon had had more Anarchist casualties than anything else, many of them at the hands of the captain himself, speared through before they could even fight back. As for the ones they jailed…

Nova grimaced. The tunnel Anarchists had gotten lucky. Leroy had practically groveled at the Renegade’s feet for amnesty, and for whatever reason, they’d been feeling charitable that day. If the past few weeks were any hint, that sense of charity was wearing thin.

 Nova wouldn’t let herself be captured. There was a small pill hidden in one of her blow dart pens. It would kill her before they could find an antidote, before they could ask her any questions. She took a deep breath in, steeling her nerves.

Only she would decide her own fate, not a corporation of martyrs who were dumb enough to believe in inherent morality, that there was such a thing as heroes and villains. They must have been dealt lucky hands to think that. Nova and the Anarchists had been dealt all jokers by comparison. No family, no friends, no allies, more trauma than any of them knew what to do with other than to make sure no prodigy would live in fear like they did.

“Nova?”

She startled, reaching for one of her darts-

Adrian held up his hands, as if in surrender. Nova felt her muscles relax all at once. “Sorry,” she croaked, before clearing her throat. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. Didn’t hear you come up.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he replied, laughing, “I should have said something earlier. I feel like such a creep.”

Nova smiled despite herself. “Yeah, well, just don’t do it again or you might end up with a dart in your thigh,” she quipped, sheathing her blow-dart pen once more. She tried not to think about how a dart had just been in her thigh.

“Is that a promise?” Adrian challenged, his face split into a grin, and damn was it contagious.

Raising an eyebrow, Nova shook her head. “Not if you’re that excited about it.” She began walking towards the stairs. “Come on, it’s cold up here. You can see about the same inside.”

“Oscar and Ruby are asleep,” Adrian informed her in hushed tones as they made their way back to the top floor of the building. He nodded at them, curled up against each other, as they walked back inside, “Aren’t they adorable?”

Nova pointed at the two, shifting her gaze from one to the other. “Are they-?”

Adrian shook his head. “Not yet. Believe me, I wish they would just get it over with and make out already.”

Nova stifled a snort and nodded. The two teenagers sat there in a silence for a moment, a silence which was broken by a loud yawn on Adrian’s part. Nova rolled her eyes, gesturing to the pile of blankets. “Get some sleep.” Adrian began to protest, but when another yawn attacked him, he conceded.

“Fine,” he said groggily, “but if you see anything, wake me up.”

Nova sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Now go to sleep before you pass out, Sketch. I can watch a wall for a couple hours. It’s not likely we’ll see anything until morning.”

“What?” Adrian questioned, his eyebrows pinched together.

“Criminals don’t only meet up at night, Sketch. Do you know how suspicious that would look? No, they blend in, slip through the cracks so they don’t get caught,” she explained, shrugging. “The good ones do that, that is, and Gene Cronin is a good one. Was. If he’s still in business, he would make sure to be as discreet as possible.”

Nova wasn’t sure why she supplied the information, but she didn’t think it would make a difference. The young Renegade would learn the lesson sooner rather than later, and maybe this was Nova’s chance to build trust with him. After all, why would an Anarchist reveal her secrets?

“Oh.” Adrian said simply, followed by, “Well. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Then, in just a minute, he was fast asleep. Nova rolled her eyes. “Fuck’s sake,” she groaned, before turning her attention back to the window. Just a few more hours, Nova, she told herself.

It didn’t make her feel any better.

Chapter Text

Adrian awoke to Nova’s boot toeing at his side. “Someone’s going into the library,” she told him, and as soon as he’d processed the words, he was on his feet.

“Who?” he asked immediately, practically jumping to join her at the window. Once he looked outside, though, he knew exactly what he was looking at, or rather, who. 

“The Detonator,” Nova confirmed, “Anarchist and long time ally of Gene Cronin. But who knows? Maybe she’s looking for a recipe book.” 

In the few days he had known her, Adrian had quickly realized Nova’s sense of humor was dry enough to choke on. Still, he didn’t laugh. This was an Anarchist they were talking about, not some average-joe criminal. 

The villainess had looked back and forth as she was entering, not through the front door, but the back one. She was nervous she would be seen. Caught. 

He nodded to Ruby and Oscar, “Wake them up,” he practically ordered, his entire body pumped full of adrenaline, “I’m calling for backup.”

“Wait.” Nova held out a hand as she said it, but there was no evidence of urgency in her tone, only in the downwards pinch of her eyebrows. Her gaze was still fixed on the library. “Don’t call for backup.” 

Adrian’s eyes widened in disbelief. He knew she was eager, but come on! This was her first mission!

“I was ordered to-” 

Nova rounded on him. “Do you know the number one way to scare off a suspect? Bring in a bunch of cops. Superhero cops.” 

Now that she mentioned it…

“If we go in alone… Imagine you were once one of the most feared villains in the world. Then, imagine a team of baby-faced, rookie Renegades on their first recon mission walk in alone, seemingly unprepared. Would you feel threatened? Or would you become overconfident? Arrogant? Let your guard down?”

It’s her first day, Adrian reminded himself, his hands propped on his hips, lips pursed. She has no idea what she’s saying.

She was brilliant. Of course she was. She’d taken down the damn Gargoyle, practically guessing his next move before he did. It was as if she could embody the mind of her opponent, imagining exactly what she would do in his position. 

And that was what she was doing here, wasn’t it? 

“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair. What if this was their one chance to catch the Detonator red-handed? Nova was right. They needed to be covert about this.

 Adrian cringed, pacing back and forth, painfully aware he had Nova’s full attention now. 

His Dads were already hesitant to send him on this mission in the first place. They wouldn’t say it, but he could tell they thought he was chasing after dead ends and phantoms. 

But you know what? They were wrong. Adrian knew they were wrong. They had to be. Nightmare’s failed assassination, those awful words she’d spoken before his vision went black , the Puppeteer’s attack, Cyanide’s signature poison being found in the dart, and now the Detonator walking into Gene Cronin’s library…

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

Taking a deep breath, Adrian- Sketch, the Renegade team leader- turned back to Insomnia. He pushed back his shoulders, hoping he looked more confident then he felt, and nowhere near as stupid as he imagined. 

“You’re right. We’ll go in alone, but at the first sign of trouble we call for backup.” 

He began to rouse Oscar, who groggily rolled over. “My Dads will kill me if I don’t,” he added, feeling like he had to explain himself for a perfectly reasonable call, which he didn’t, but then Nova beamed at him and…

“You got it, Sketch!” She gave him an energetic two finger salute, and while he knew he was being teased, he smiled back. Clearly, she was pleased he’d listened to her advice. Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled, the same way they had when she’d met Max. 

Ruby awoke with a start. “Wazza- What’s going on?” she gasped, her hair mussed in every direction, her eyes opened just a crack to reveal a sliver of green. Oscar groaned next to her, but at least he was sitting up now. 

Adrian grinned at them, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We’re going to catch a villain.”

…..

As soon as they stepped into the library, Adrian was acutely aware of his over-enthusiasm

. Dust covered just about every surface, books quite literally crammed into rows upon rows of tightly packed shelves. Every now and then, you could catch someone sitting criss-cross on the floor, two kids chasing each other, or a grandmother looking at a spicy romance. 

Thankfully, the civilians barely noticed that there were Renegades in their midst. Adrian had told each of them to dress in plainclothes, so as not to draw any attention. But there was no sign of the Detonator or, as a matter of fact, anything suggesting Gene Cronin was back in business. 

A young woman sat at the front desk, which was ironically all the way at the back of the library. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied up in a thick braid as she bit her thumbnail, entranced by whatever book she was reading.

“Um…” Ruby interjected, her voice soft. “I know we’re undercover but… I feel like a bunch of fit teenagers ambushing the front desk will still look suspicious.” 

Yeah, that was a good point. 

“You’re right,” Adrian conceded, nodding. “Why don’t you and Oscar look upstairs-” 

“I’ll go to the front desk,” Nova stated, making no room for argument. Even as the whole team turned to stare at her, her gaze remained entirely focused on her target. “I’ve been here before. She knows me, but she has no idea I’m a Renegade. Not yet, at least. Her name is Narcissa, she’s Cronin’s granddaughter.” 

Adrian had to admit all of that information was useful, and not anything he was privy to before. He shrugged. “Fair enough. Why don’t we go together? Make it seem like you're helping a new friend around the place?”

Nova raised an eyebrow, the right side of her lip quirking upwards slightly. “Around the library?”

Despite himself, Adrian couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Yeah, I know. I’ll act- I don’t know? Shy? Oblivious?”

Oscar patted him on the back. “Shouldn’t be too hard for you,” he teased, before turning to Ruby and gesturing to the stairs,  “Let’s rock,” he rumbled, twirling his cane around wildly, drawing quite a few stares. Adrian shook his head as he watched the two ascend, wishing desperately that Danna was here to reel them in, to provide him with some backup.

But she wasn’t here, and that was his fault entirely. 

Well fuck. Not the time to think about that. 

He nodded to the front desk, getting himself back on track, ignoring the curious look Nova was giving him. “Any other pertinent information about our front desk clerk?”

Nova nodded. “Yeah, she’s a prodigy.” Adrian raised his eyebrows, eyes wide. That would’ve been useful to know earlier. Seriously, no one had thought to put that on file? 

As if to soothe him, she waved her hands around wildly, looking guilty. “Nothing dangerous!” she clarified, her voice sharp but still hushed. “She can walk through mirrors. Any mirrors. It’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but she’s not really the villainous type? Even Cronin’s power isn’t exactly… overwhelming .” 

That Adrian knew. Knowledge retention was Gene Cronin’s ability, not necessarily a threat, but like his granddaughter's ability, super cool. It was too bad he went down the path he did. He could’ve been one hell of an archivist if he worked for the Renegades, but, oh well. Nothing to do about it now but make sure he wasn’t plotting against them again. 

You know, nothing major. 

“Come on. Let’s go,” Nova prompted, tentatively taking him by the elbow, her expression pained. At first, he assumed it was because she was touching him. His first meeting with her- or rather, Ruby and Oscar’s- had made it clear she wasn’t the touchy feely type. But, when he saw the attention they were gathering, standing around and speaking in hushed tones at the library’s entrance, he understood Nova’s anxiety. They weren’t exactly inconspicuous in their current position, so he hurriedly followed her lead. 

As soon as they got to the desk, Nova leaned her elbows casually on top of it, as if she’d done it a million times before. Maybe she had. 

“Hey, Narcissa,” she practically purred, a slightly mischievous look on her face.  Adrian raised an eyebrow, wondering what angle she was planning to take here. She gave him a quick glance, nodding in his direction. “I brought a new friend with me today.” The clerk looked up timidly, startled by Adrian’s presence. She held her book up to cover her face all the way up to her eyes. 

She was reading Carmilla , a book Adrian had never heard of. It seemed pretty gothic though, and the women on the cover quite intimate. 

“Uh…” 

If Nova was going for what he thought she was here, she might just find herself sorely mistaken.

To Adrian’s surprise, Nova seemed to notice as well, quickly adjusting. She gave him a teasing eye roll before closing in on the girl even more, “He’s sorta new around here, not much of a reader,” she informed Narcissa, “So I was wondering if you could show him around? Give him some recommendations?” 

The way she gazed at Narcissa was so pointed, he was worried the mousy girl might combust. Instead, she nodded, although she looked hesitant. “Yeah, sure,” she stood, dog-earing her place in her book. “Anything you might be interested in?” she asked Adrian directly, but before he could respond, Nova interrupted one more time. 

“Oh actually, I was wondering if your grandfather was around? Last time I stopped by he said he would show me some cool antiques he was getting once they came in.” 

“Oh.” Narcissa seemed once again put off balance, biting her lip with fervor. “Yes, he is. My apologies, would you give me a moment?” She dipped her head at the two of them before pressing one hand against the smudged glass of the mirror behind her desk. Its surface rippled, making way for her before she stepped inside. 

Adrian gawked. Nova’s description of her power hadn’t done it justice. It was certainly more than cool. 

Nova turned back to Adrian, her face once again serious. “Cronin is just as timid as Narcissa. Maybe I can get some info out of him. Something, you know, incriminating? At least if I distract him, Oscar and Ruby will have more free reign to investigate.” She shrugged nonchalantly, as if she didn’t expect much to come of this mission. 

He swallowed sharply. “Yeah, well, if that doesn’t work, we might have to be a bit more aggressive.”

Nova seemed unsettled. “Aggressive?” 

Adrian realized how that sounded, and backtracked quickly. “Not like-!” someone shushed him from a few aisles down, causing him to cringe as he lowered his voice. “I mean we just show our badges. Tell Cronin we’re Renegades. You say he’s timid, right? Maybe he’ll fold if he thinks we’re on to him, or try to prove his innocence. Show us around like he has nothing to hide. Actually…” Adrian paused, leaning over the desk and peering behind it. “What’s back there?”

“Uh,” Nova leaned over too, arms crossed, and Adrian tried to ignore the way his stomach swooped as her chest did. Not. The. Time. 

“I don’t know,” she answered after a moment’s silence. She shrugged. “Excess storage? Archives? An office? Trash?” She listed it all off. “Part of me doubts he would store anything, you know, flammable, back there? This library is his baby, dude.” 

Was this why she was so hesitant to bring back up? If she truly had some kind of connection- which it seemed she did- to Cronin and Narcissa, it made sense that she would want to believe in their innocence.

“So you think the Detonator walking in is just a coincidence?” he pressed, crossing his arms. 

Nova sighed. “No, I just… I doubt he would keep anything here. Maybe this is just where they talk business, not where they do it. If so, we’re shit out of luck, Sketch. Sure, the Detonator’s a villain, but she’s allowed to go to library, right? We have no jurisdiction to be here.”

Adrian was ready to argue back when Narcissa appeared once more, fingertips pressed together as she waited for their attention. “Hi. I mean- Hello. Or-” she cleared her throat, flustered, “Um, my grandfather will be with you shortly, Nova. And if you would like a tour…?”

“Adrian,” he supplied, smiling kindly. “A tour would be great, thank you.” 

He looked back at Nova once he was out of Narcissa’s line of sight and gave her a stern look, as if to say, We’re not done here, or, I’m not crazy dammit! I know something’s going on! 

He could only hope Nova understood as he prepared to be educated about books he would never read by a girl who clearly did not want to be helping him. 

Great. 

Next time, he told himself not to follow along with Nova’s plan. This wasn’t going to get them anywhere. And wasn't she the one who wanted to go in? Why was she acting so cautious now? Had she lost her confidence the way Adrian almost had when they walked in?

Considering their surroundings... Adrian couldn't really blame her.

So, maybe he should do what he said he might have to. 

Be a bit more aggressive. 

Yeah. He could do that. 

Right? 

Totally. 

What could go wrong?

Chapter Text

Nova tried not to let her nerves show on her face as Gene discreetly led her into a backroom so they could speak privately. He certainly wasn’t doing a good job of hiding his emotions, sweat dripping down his balding head. Or maybe he was just always like that. It was a bit… stuffy in here, which, considering the whole place was a fire hazard, concerned Nova quite a bit. 

As soon as the door shut, she relayed the situation. “I managed to keep them from calling for backup for now,” she told him, and he nodded sagely, rubbing the sparse hairs on his chin. “Adrian- The Everheart boy, seems suspicious. But he has no evidence except for Ingrid. I’m sure they’ll leave soon enough, but we have to keep it together. ”

By we, she exclusively meant Gene and Narcissa. They weren’t the front line fighter types, after all, much preferring to stay in the background, making money and living peacefully. Normally, that was perfectly fine. But today, it wouldn’t cut it. 

Adrian was just too damned pushy, and despite their lack of professionalism, Ruby and Oscar were pretty damn good fighters. 

Nova was just glad Danna wasn’t here, although she sympathized with getting taken down by the Sentinel. That had to have stung even more than it quite literally burned. Danna was sharp, much sharper than the rest of her team. If she were here… 

Nova shuddered. Danna would make a damn good Anarchist, that was for certain. Too bad she was a bootlicker. 

“All of this good information, Nova, thank you,” Gene said in his nasally voice. “Ingrid is in the back- the very back, I should say- waiting for your team to disperse.”

To anyone else, the question she was about to ask would seem useless, but for someone who worked with Ingrid…

“How’s her mood?”

Gene grimaced, which was not a good sign, but knowing Ingrid might not be a particularly worrying one either. “She’s bored. Agitated. I had to scold her for playing catch with her bombs twice already. Otherwise, she’s just peachy. As always.” 

Yeah, that sounded about right. Nova let out a snort. “That’s the best we can hope for,” she responded earnestly, scanning her surroundings. Gene had pulled her into a cramped storage closet, full of manuscripts and DVDS and skies knew what else. Regardless of the clutter, it served their purposes well. 

“I should get out of here or my team will get suspicious. You stay out of their sight, don’t let them ask you any questions. If you get caught by one of them, cooperate fully. Make it seem like you're agitated, but ultimately have nothing to hide. Got it?”

Gene nodded. “Crystal clear, Nightmare.” He giggled delightedly. “Oh! That nearly rhymed!” 

Letting out a deep breath, Nova strained to continue smiling at him. Sometimes, Gene reminded her of a mix between Leroy and Winston which, speaking of nightmares, was one in and of itself. She was glad his powers were best used for cataloging and research and not something more dangerous. He could be dangerous if he wanted to be, thought he could be, but he didn’t, which probably had something to do with the fact he was at least 80 years old. 

Thank the stars for that. 

“I’ll see you later, Gene. Take good care of yourself and Narcissa-” Just as Nova turned the knob, she heard a commotion coming from downstairs. “What the hell?

An explosion followed it, a big BOOM, followed by more screams, objects clattering to the ground, and the sharp smell of smoke. 

Smoke in a fucking library.

“Holy shit,” Nova gasped, she gave Gene one wide eyed look before booking it downstairs.

An explosion. Nova gritted her teeth.  I’m going to kill Ingrid. 

…..

Adrian couldn’t seem to get rid of Narcissa. For someone so unenthusiastic, she seemed keen on keeping him occupied. It was as if she was trying to distract him, keep him from sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. 

So he pushed. Just a bit. 

“So…” he drawled, crossing his arms casually. At least, he hoped it looked casual. By the way Narcissa was looking at him… 

But maybe that was what he needed. To be intimidating. It was not a word used often to describe him, what with his dimples and golden doodle curls, but he could make it work just this once. 

“I heard your grandfather used to be in business with the Anarchists.” 

Narcissa stiffened immediately, pausing in the middle of pushing one of her recommendations back in its rightful place on the shelf in front of them. She rubbed her nose, clearly perturbed by the nature of Adrian’s question, crossing her arms over her hips in a sort of protective hug. 

Regardless, she gave him a stiff smile. “He was. But that was a long time ago. He doesn’t really like to talk about it,” she said, with a shrug, reaching for another book. “Um… Anyway, I-”

“I wouldn’t call ten years a long time ago,” Adrian countered, stepping closer, purposefully invading the girl’s space. She wasn’t short- not like Nova, at least- but Adrian still had a bit of height on her that he used to his advantage. Slyly, he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the red “R”- the badge that marked him as a Renegade. 

“Would you mind showing me around the back?” He phrased it as a gentle request. Narcissa's eyes opened wide like a deer in headlights, and Adrian scrambled to make sure she wouldn’t bolt on him. 

He put on his best, reassuring smile. “There’s no need to worry. My team and I are undercover for a reason. We don’t want to cause any alarm, and truth is, this is our first field mission,” he scratched the back of his neck shyly, hoping approaching this girl earnestly would gain her trust.

 “Look, I just need to take a look around in that room behind the desk” -he gestured to the room in question- “My team is investigating the rest of the library in connection with a crime. I doubt we’ll find anything, which is why I want to make sure we’re thorough. That way, you won’t be bothered again.” 

Narcissa worried her lip, lost in thought as she stared off, as if seeing through that wall behind her desk. 

She didn’t seem excited to take Adrian back there. 

“Of course,” Adrian said, taking one more step closer and lowering his voice, “If there’s something you’d like to tell me, I can ensure your safety. You don’t have to take the fall for your grandfather’s business.” 

The tactic was coy, catty, playing dirty. His mother would’ve smacked him on the shoulder if she’d seen it, but he imagined Simon and Evander would be nodding approvingly. That was enough to urge him along. 

“Fine,” Narcissa caved, nodding, her arms wrapped so tightly around herself it must have hurt. “You want to see the back so bad? I’ll show you it, and then you and your team will leave, and you will never show your face in this library again.” 

Her tone was entirely even, her face pinched in clear anxiety, but the fire in her eyes surprised Adrian. He took a step back subconsciously, trying to school his features as Narcissa breezed past him. The girl didn’t even spare him a glance as she opened the door to the backroom, her silence speaking for her. 

“Oh,” Adrian’s disappointment must have shown through his voice, but Narcissa’s expression had no sympathy. 

Before Adrian stood what his mother would have most certainly deemed a pigsty; Towers of files, loose papers, mildewy books, and worn down statuettes littered the cluster of shelves, so close together it was claustrophobia inducing. 

Well. Not what he’d been expecting, but, why not take a look around anyway? Maybe Nova had been right. Maybe Cronin wouldn’t store the weapons here. But maybe he could find something; a record book, ammo, magazines, bank details, something. 

Something that would bring him closer to finding Nightmare, to finding his mother’s true killer. 

Narcissa scoffed as Adrian began wading through the clutter. “Take your time. Let me know if you find any stray Anarchists. I hear Nightmare likes taking naps on top of the filing cabinets.”

Immediately, Adrian stopped in his tracks. “I didn’t tell you what we were investigating, Narcissa.”

Perhaps there was a way Narcissa could’ve talked herself out of Adrian’s trap, but her expression gave her away. 

The two stood still, frozen in time. 

All of a sudden, the illusion broke. Narcissa bolted. She would’ve made it out the door if she hadn’t stumbled over a pile of manuscripts, falling to her knees with a loud thud. She scrambled for purchase, but she was too late.

 The idea had barely crossed Adrian’s mind before his concussive beam shot from his forearm. A large, behemoth of a filing cabinet tumbled to the ground, with a CLANG that made his ears ring. 

Path blocked, Narcissa changed directions before Adrian could blink. She slipped between shelf after shelf as Adrian gave chase. His broad shoulders slowed him down, getting him stuck on corners, losing him valuable time. 

Luckily for him, Narcissa wasn’t athletic, tripping and stumbling on every stray object in her path. He could hear her breath quickening too, her body starting to betray her. 

They turned another corner, then another, and Adrian nearly tripped himself when-

A dead end. Narcissa pressed her back against the whitewashed wall, as it could protect her. 

Just as Adrian reached for the handcuffs on his belt he-

He hesitated. 

No one had ever been afraid of him like this girl was, her pupils dilated into pencil points, eyes opened wide, whole body shaking, sobs racking over her, and Adrian…

Adrian hated it. 

That moment of hesitation was all it took for Adrian to be cornered himself. The blood pumping in his ears mixed with the pure adrenaline of the chase had made him oblivious to his surroundings. 

Big mistake. 

Adrian stilled. A gun was cocked to his head, a blue, fluorescent glow visible just outside the corner of his eye. 

“Get the fuck away from her,” a deep, gravelly voice snarled. The Detonator’s. She pushed the gun against the back of his skull so it dug in, mussing his hair and biting into his flesh. “Or I’ll shoot you and burn this whole goddamn place to the ground. There won’t even be bones left of you, no evidence for your council to indict us with. Just some freak accident. How deeply tragic.” 

Sweat ran down the side of his head, wetting his soft, closely cropped curls, the heat of Ingrid’s bomb radiating from its resting place in her hand. There was no doubt that thing could bring this whole place to the ground. 

A place full of civilians. And children. 

Skies. Why had he let Nova talk him into this? Where was she anyway? Where was his whole team?

“Ingrid.”  Narcissa held up her hands, trying to calm the older woman down. “This place is my grandfather’s life. There are kids in here, you can’t-”

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I have to if it means these assholes never hurt my family again!” The gun pressed against him harshly once more, and Adrian winced. His breaths were quickly growing rapid, his thoughts in complete chaos. The only thing he could feel was fear, like a rabbit cornered by a predator. “They don’t care about you or this library, kid. They don’t care about any of us. Can you imagine the headlines if I killed this one? Maybe then they’d understand.” 

Her voice had grown all the more venomous, but it also carried more emotion. Pain. Real pain. Adrian knew the Anarchists hated them, hated the Renegades, but he couldn’t fathom why, not even now. Especially not now.

“Okay, so you hate us. But what will my death and the deaths of a bunch of innocent people do for you? Seriously, you think you’re the good guys but you’re about to kill a bunch of kids to get back at my dads?” Adrian barely registered that he was speaking, or what he was even saying. His voice was hysterical, his hands shaking as he held them above his head. 

Ingrid laughed, a high, manic sound that sent tightly coiled dread through Adrian’s system. “You know what the difference is between us and your pretty little council?” Clearly, that was a rhetorical question. Adrian kept his mouth firmly closed. 

“We’ve never claimed to be the good guys. All we did was give the world a new start, it’s not our fault they chose such a shitty path. But you know what? It’s not too late to fix it.” 

“Ingrid-!” Narcissa’s scream was cut off by a loud BOOM. 

For a moment, Adrian had thought he was dead, that the Detonator’s bomb had exploded, killing everyone in its vicinity. 

Instead, the villainess faltered just as she’d turned off the safety of her gun. 

“That wasn’t one of mine,” she said, apprehension, an emotion Adrian would never have expected from her, laced through her words. 

“What does that mean?” Narcissa asked, her arms wrapped around herself once more. 

Ingrid sighed, removing the pistol from Adrian’s head. Just when he’d had a sliver of hope, she locked him in his own handcuffs, knocking him in the back of the head with the gun. 

It was enough to keep him down, but not to knock him out, and fuck it hurt. 

“It means trouble. A hell of a lot of trouble,” she stated plainly. Then, she looked at Adrian, as if truly considering him for the first time. She snorted. “If I were you kid,” she said, kneeling down on the ground, her breath ghosting on his face, “I would run.” 

Chapter Text

Evie never liked it when she wasn’t included in plans, so, this time, she’d taken matters into her own hands. 

And, you know, maybe things had gotten a bit out of control. 

That wasn’t her fault. (It definitely was). 

As Nova scrambled down the stairs, followed by two of her Renegade cohorts, her sister stared at her in abject terror. She clasped a hand over her mouth, seeming to remember not to shout her name in a public library, least of all one that was on fire and swarming with Renegades. 

Swiveling her head back and forth, Nova quietly slipped away from her teammates and made her way over to where Evie was standing and-

She fucking grabbed her, hauling her out of the library like a shipment of new books before setting her down in the parking lot where several horrified civilians already stood gawking at her handywork. 

“What the fuck did you do, Evie?” Nova’s hands grasped Evie’s shoulders. She could feel the slight tremor in her sister’s hand, vibrating against her own skin. Suddenly, her bright idea didn’t seem so bright. 

She swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling thick. “I- I was trying to help,” she choked out. Nova closed her eyes, as if bracing herself for the impact of Evie’s admission. When she opened them, she was back in mean older sister mode, giving Evie orders. 

“Get out, get as far as you can, and make sure no one sees you. Do not tell anyone about this. Not Leroy, not Honey, and certainly not-”

Evie shook herself out of her sister’s grip, “I got it!” she snapped back, causing her sister to glare at her. “Really!”

“Good. Go home. We’ll talk about this when we’re not in a burning building.” Nova turned on her heel- jaws and fists tightly clenched- and that was that. Evie watched as her sister strode towards the flaming library, fixing the mess Evie had made. 

Evie got the fuck away from the library like Nova had said, but she didn’t go home, knowing she couldn’t face the rest of her family yet. 

So, she went to the only other place she could think of: The Cathedral.

…..

Adrian still couldn’t believe the Detonator had let him live. Maybe she figured he would stay in the back of the library, lying helplessly as he burned alive, therefore meaning he wasn’t worth wasting an entire bullet on. Or maybe it meant she intended to blow the library sky high before he could even think of getting back on his feet. 

That thought was enough to force Adrian to stumble his way back to standing, groaning as his head throbbed. He could feel his pulse in the back of his neck, and was quite sure he had a concussion, but otherwise, he was perfectly up for saving civilians from a crazed villain-

“Oh skies,” Adrian moaned as the world spun in circles around him. Desperately, he leaned himself against the same wall Narcissa Cronin had been shielding herself with when… Wait, how long had it been since she and the Detonator had fled? 

Skies, Adrian had no idea. Smoke curled through the air, filling Adrian’s lungs and stifling his thoughts even more. 

He needed to get out of here. No matter how heroic they were, Adrian knew a half-conscious superhero wasn’t useful for much. 

But he couldn’t force himself to move. He was rooted to this spot, his head pressed back against the wall, his thoughts warm and fuzzy and…

“Sketch!”

He heard a voice call out for… Oh. Right. He was Sketch. Yeah. He was a superhero. He had powers. 

Clarity came crashing back down on him all at once, and Adrian didn’t waste a second knowing how quickly he could lose it again. 

He needed something for the pain, to clear his head so he could do his job. So, he took out his marker and- shit, he couldn’t believe he was really doing this- brought to life some painkillers that would definitely not be sold over the counter, but this was a life or death situation goddammit-

His thoughts were trailing off again, so he forced the pills down, swallowing them dry, wincing all the way through. While he could, in theory, bring to life any drawing so long as he believed it would work, he had learned the hard way that humans had a stupid number of mental blocks based on what was possible and what wasn’t. Consequently, it would take some time for those pills to kick in. How much time? 

Well, he just hoped it was more like five minutes instead of thirty.

“SKETCH!” 

Adrian scrambled out of his hiding place, clinging to the shelves beside him. “Here!” he called back, hoping he could find his teammates before he passed out. The odds weren't looking great for him, though. 

Just as things were becoming hazy again, Ruby appeared in his line of sight. Her eyes went wide as saucers when she saw the state of him, and she immediately picked up her pace. “Skies, Adrian! What the hell happened?” 

Adrian let himself slump against the bookcase beside him. “The- The Detonator,” he said. It took a concerning amount of effort. “Oh shit. The Detonator! She's getting away with that girl!”

Adrian tried to make a run for it, but Ruby held him back. “Adrian, no! This place is falling apart, we have to get out of here!” She didn't elaborate as she began to half carry-half drag him out the back door-

Wait a minute. 

“Ruby.”

Ruby sighed heavily. “Adrian, I already told you-”

“That bookcase,” he nodded to the one at the very back, pushed against the wall. “There's something behind it. Look!”

Ruby did, seeing the same thing Adrian did: A tiny gap between back of the case and the wall, revealing a small, metallic door and a keypad. “Shit, you're right! Fuck we don't have time for this!”

Abruptly, Adrian felt himself being pushed out of the building, stumbling for purchase. “Go find Oscar! Nova and I will deal with this.”

“Wha-?” The door slammed shut in his face before he could finish his question. “Ruby!” Inside, he could hear a horrible screeching noise. He tried to open the door, threw his body weight against it when it wouldn't budge-

“Dammit, Ruby! Let me in! I can help!”

Radio silence followed his outburst. Adrian groaned in frustration. Suddenly, he could feel every little speck of dust that brushed his face as his pulse thundered in his ears. The fiery pain at the base of his skull dulled to a weak throb. 

Clearly, a more forceful solution was necessary here. Very clearly. Yes, Adrian was totally and completely fine, which was why he was reaching for the tattooed zipper on his chest, ready to become the better version of himself. 

Before he could blink, he was encased on all sides by thick armor. He looked down at himself and just stared for a moment when he heard a voice coming from the roof, carried down by the wind. 

“Sweet rot, Gene, who gives a shit about the books!” 

Adrian recognized that voice, that venomous tone. Why hadn’t the Detonator run? Why did she care what happened to the Librarian?

He didn’t really think about what he was doing as he activated the springs on his feet and leaped two stories into the air. The roof was quickly becoming engulfed, the elderly owner of the library frantically stuffing loose pages and vintage books into a duffel bag. Beside him stood his grandaughter and-

No, it wasn’t the Detonator Adrian had heard. It was Nightmare. 

“I’m afraid she’s right, old man,” he spoke with that deep, confident tone he always seemed to take on in this armor. “I’m sure whatever prison you end up in will have a lovely library. If you cooperate, that is?”

Underneath the helmet, Adrian winced. What the hell was he talking about? Skies, he would never take drugs again, not even if it would save his life. He was lying to this man, this poor, hopeless old man with tears streaming down his face as his granddaughter frantically tried to save his life while he continued to refuse her. 

“Oh gee, look who’s back for round two. Because the first time went so well,” Nightmare commented dryly, her hands positioned to reach for any number of weapons attached to her belt. “And I’m sorry, you’re really going to put an eighty-year old in prison? What the fuck is the matter with you people?” 

“I- Now is not the time for banter, Nightmare.” That, Adrian meant. He sprang forward as the villain reached for her belt, pulling out what looked like a stun gun. She sidestepped his advance, slipping through a hole in the roof and disappearing to one of the levels down below. 

Adrian moved to follow her. He pumped his legs as fast as he could, boosting himself with the springs-

He wasn’t going to make it. He didn’t make it. 

The armor was heavy. Too heavy for the smoking roof to support. Time seemed to stop as he free fell to the ground below. 

Adrian crashed into a burning pile of books on the ground floor, scrambling to save himself when he heard two loud thuds , followed by a sickening keening noise. Slowly, it turned into a blood-curdling scream. 

 Learning from his mistake, he retracted his armor and followed the noise. He desperately hoped no one would connect his sudden appearance with the Sentinel’s. What the hell had he been-

Oh, skies. 

Just a few feet away, he spotted Nightmare staring down at her feet, carrying a girl in her arms. Below her lay Gene Cronin, neck bent and broken, dead as a person could be. Adrian shivered as he looked at Cronin’s granddaughter, her face a haunting picture of calm even as her braid smoked and burned behind her. 

Nightmare had saved her, caught her or picked her up before she could burn. She- a villain- had done what he couldn’t. She’d saved someone. And now, she stared at Gene’s broken and burning body, her grief evident in the way she paid Adrian no mind whatsoever. 

“You did this.”

Adrian startled. Narcissa was looking right at him, her gaze trapping him entirely. 

“Are you happy? You’ve got your evidence now. Not that it matters. Although I suppose you could still take me.” Narcissa pushed Nightmare away and shakily put one foot to the smoking floor as wood crashed to the ground around them, smoke and flames slowly suffocating them, their skin all glistening with sweat and soot. She inclined her head at the villain. “Thank you, Nightmare. I’ll repay you one of these days,” she said sincerely, hand gently cupping the other girl’s cheek. And then she was off, with one arm broken, her right eye swollen shut, and a giant gash in her shoulder. She vaulted herself behind the desk where Adrian had first met her, and disappeared into her mirror once more. 

Adrian swivelled back around, realizing he’d let his guard down but… Nightmare had already disappeared, no doubt slipping away where no one could reach her. Maybe she would die in the fire, but no, he knew she would escape. She had to, because he needed answers. 

 “Fuck!” he yelled as another beam crashed a few inches away. He ducked, covering his head with his hands, hoping not to end up like the Librarian, the smoke seeming to twist around his lungs as his mind filled with fog. 

Suddenly, it wasn’t smoke he was choking on, but a huge, crashing wave of water. 

Adrian sputtered and coughed as the wave dissipated, depositing him on the worn parking lot and giving him more than a few scrapes and bruises. Senior Renegades swarmed around him, and sure, maybe he was delirious from illegal drug intake and smoke inhalation, but he knew what a giant wave of water meant: Tsunami, and with her, the rest of the council. 

“Adrian!” 

He hadn’t even had the chance to push himself to sit when he was surrounded by his teammates. Ruby helped pull him up as Nova looked at him with a concerned grimace. Behind them, Oscar lagged behind, his limp even more pronounced than usual. 

“Where the hell were you, dude?” Oscar yelled, before a coughing fit overtook him. He bent over, continuing with a strained voice, “We thought- We totally thought-”

“We thought you were dead!” Ruby practically wailed, wrapping her arms around Adrian's bruised and bleeding torso. Adrian made eye contact with Nova who stood awkwardly beside the two embracing friends, arms crossed. Despite the worry in her eyes, she gave him a small smile. Maybe it was the drugs, but fuck that made him feel hotter than the fire had.

Adrian breathed a sigh of relief when Ruby let go of him, but he immediately lost his balance, all of his teammates reaching out to steady him, including Oscar who had finally caught up to them. “What the fuck happened to you dude? You look like you got hit by a truck!”

 “I saw Nightmare! And the Detonator- And then- And then the Librarian died and Narcissa escaped and I hit my head so I made some pills-” All of his teammates stared at him like he was insane, and he absolutely felt insane. He wondered for a moment if this would give him permanent brain damage when he remembered, “Oh yeah, I’m on some mix of uh- Uh, what are they called? A stim- stimulant and a, uh, something like… Not menthol, uhhh….”

“Yup, I’ve heard enough. Take this one to the med-wing before he actually dies, please?” Oscar said, half teasing and half genuinely worried, patting Adrian on the back as he spoke to someone who seemed to have two heads. Adrian couldn't recall a prodigy with a gift like that, but clearly he wasn't at his best right now, all the adrenaline running out of his system. 

Was that what he’d taken? Pure adrenaline? It certainly felt like it.

Nova was still staring at him, Adrian realized. “Where were you?” he asked, suddenly remembering he hadn’t seen her since she went to speak with Cronin. 

She swallowed, seeming as spooked as he was. “Got stuck on the second floor. Saved some kid who was up there with me and then I spent the rest of the time looking for you- Or… You know, anyone else who got stuck.” She scratched the back of neck, her cheeks turning a bit pink. Adrian liked how she looked when she was shy. 

Skies, he was fucked up. He told Nova exactly that and she laughed, a full, hearty sound Adrian hadn’t heard yet. But before he could say anything else, make her laugh like that again, he was being hauled away by healers and was struck by the sudden realization that he would have to explain all of this to his Dads.

“Can you just kill me?” he asked one of the healers. They just shook their head at him, and he felt a sharp prick at the base of his neck, his whole world going dark in seconds.

Chapter Text

“Uncle Ace?” Evie’s small voice echoed in the catacombs, all too vulnerable and innocent for the grim space; The grim space where Ace now lived, hidden away under ground like a cowardly rat, too afraid to raid the dumpsters just above his head.

“Here, child,” Ace called back calmly, sliding a rook forward on the levitating chessboard in front of him. Playing chess by one’s self always felt pointless to him, but what else was he supposed to do?

“What brings you down into these tunnels?” he asked when Evie’s gangly form appeared in the arch that Ace called his doorway, biting her lip anxiously. Ace’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is something the matter, my child?”

Evie looked like she was about to explode, her fists clenched, eyes narrowed, standing on her tiptoes. It only took one more pointed look from Ace to make it all spill out.

Ace knew she expected him to be angry. Perhaps with another Anarchist he might have been. But Evie was his niece, family by blood, sweat, and all too many tears. So he was soft on her and Nova, of course, but so were all of the Anarchists. Something about youthful faces and their unfettered hope broke down the walls around a hardened heart.

He took a moment before formulating his response, humming in contemplation, eyes closed as he knocked out one of the white knights, sending it toppling to the floor.

“An enhanced Molotov cocktail? I have to say, Evie, I’m impressed. You may surpass your sister in gadgetry one day.”

Evie practically whimpered in relief. “You’re not mad?”

Ace sighed. “No, no my dear. If anything I feel this is my fault. I’ve underestimated your abilities for too long, made you feel like you had to prove yourself. Now look at where it has gotten us. Perhaps it is time you became a full-fledged Anarchist.”

Eyes wide, round, and sparkling, Evie cracked a small smile. “Really?”

“Yes, child. As long as you promise not to compromise anymore missions from now on? I’m sure you understand the brevity of your mistake without me reprimanding you,” Ace said as put the black side into checkmate.

“Yes, Uncle. I lost us the Librarian, weapons, and now they know Nova is one of us…”

Despite himself, Ace smiled. “See? You are smart enough to understand the consequences. Old enough. It’s high time you were properly trained.” Ace lowered his chess board, and with it, himself, cross-legged, on to the floor. “Perhaps I should be the one to teach you. You’ve inherited a mix of mine and your father’s powers after all.”

Evie beamed. “When should I come back?”

Ace tilted his head back and forth, coming to a decision. “Show me what you can do, and we’ll see how much work we have ahead of us.”

Evie jumped into the air. “Yes!”

Smiling, Ace slowly pushed himself to standing, grunting all the way through. The things you do for love.

Love. He loved Evie and Nova, just as he had loved David and Tala. The Renegades had accused him of paying to have this child, her sister, their mother, his own brother, killed.

Ace’s smile dampened.

They could think what they liked. All that mattered was what was right in front of him. Not the past. The future.

…..

The fact that Nova and Ingrid hadn’t been caught at the library was through sheer luck. All of the chaos had made it impossible for anyone to keep track of one another, allowing Nova to switch personas and Ingrid to make a run for it while no one was watching.

Seriously, no one had their shit together, including the Renegades. Adrian was high off makeshift drugs, Oscar was close to collapsing, Ruby's mind was scattered and full of anxiety and Nova…

Well, she wasn't one of them. She had sabotaged their mission at every step, lied through her teeth, contradicted herself again and again, and no one had called her out on it. They still hadn't, even while Nova was still on edge, cleaning up the mess Evie had made.

Evie.

Nova had thought that if the plan went to shit, it would’ve been Ingrid’s fault. Now she had to reckon with the fact her younger sister had practically gotten Narcissa’s grandfather killed. And on top of that, they all had to leave their home and seek refuge in Nova’s crappy excuse for a house before the Renegades raided the tunnels.

If the parade had been a shitshow, Nova had no idea what to call this fiasco. The Renegades now had a tangible connection between Nightmare and the Anarchists, as well as Gene Cronin’s weapon stockpile that was hidden behind a giant safe, one that Nova’s father had helped to build. Honestly, the fact that it hadn’t been discovered 10 years earlier was a miracle in and of itself, but still. One of their few advantages was gone now.

And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, Nova’s team was being put on probation. They’d practically been chewed out by the Council, but since Adrian was their team leader… Well they’d certainly gone easy on Nova and her teammates.

Now, she sat alone in the middle of night, cataloguing the very weapons she’d observed in Gene Cronin’s safe just a month earlier.

It was boring. There was no other way to put it. Sure, it gave her something to do during the night while everyone was asleep, but it was about as engaging as- Well, Nova didn't even know what she could compare it to. The only reason she'd volunteered was so she'd have access to the Renegade's files, at least the ones that she didn't need clearance for.

Although…

Nova supposed if she was the on cataloguing things, she could doctor the records in the Anarchist's favor. If anyone caught her, she could blame it being a rookie, right?

"Maybe this will actually be useful," she murmured to herself. She continued to work until, inevitably, she just couldn't anymore. So, she navigated out of the weapons catalogue and began to browse files, reports, aliases of active Renegades.

She was about to go back to work when she noticed something. Each crime report was dated, meaning it could be filtered by the year, month, or even the day it happened, making it easy to locate what you were looking for. It was a nice feature, and Nova might have been able to appreciate it more if her ears weren't ringing, her eyes blurred as she mindlessly typed in the info, month, day, year…

Scrolling, Nova noted two reports from that day. One, a report about the deaths of a family of four. Two, a report about Georgia Rawles' untimely demise.

Nova clicked on the second one. Was this why-?

Her blood boiled as she read:

VICTIM: GEORGIA RAWLES

OCCUPATION: RENEGADE

ALIASES: LADY INDOMITABLE

PRODIGAL ABILITIES: FLIGHT

METHOD OF DEATH: UNDETERMINED

CAUSE OF DEATH: ACUTE HEAD TRAUMA

TIME OF DEATH: 12:00-2:00 AM

Georgia Rawles body was found by Hugh Everheart and Simon Westwood at the bottom of an abandoned apartment complex (Luz's Luxury Apartments) on 21st street. Reportedly, her skull had been caved in, her neck and spine broken along with many other bones, suggesting she had fallen from a great height. How this occurred is still unknown, seeing as her prodigal ability allowed her to fly. A note reading, "One cannot be brave who has no fear," was found with her body, suggesting foul play. Those close to her vehemently deny claims her death was a suicide, being a mother and an important role model in her community. She reportedly displayed no distressing symptoms before her demise.

According to her teammates, Ms. Rawles was on observation duty, acting as a protector for a family of four who died the same night (SEE REPORT). Whether she died before or after the family is unclear, as is the location of the two children's bodies. Due to the state of the recovered bodies and a lack of resources, determining the precise times of death was not possible.

Ms. Rawles was last seen leaving a Renegade charity event, alone. The rest of her team remained at the event. When Ms. Rawles did not report back after a few hours, they reportedly went to find her, around 3:00 AM, finding her, and later the family she was watching over, dead.

More information to be disclosed as it is uncovered.

[END OF REPORT]

So that's what happened. Lady Indomitable had been the only one who cared enough to try and protect her family. Still, she had failed, and the rest of of the Council had deemed their charity event more important than her family's lives. Of course, the assassins had chosen that day to strike, while the Renegades were distracted. Of course, they hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. Now Nova had to live with that, and they got to rule over a city, their subjects none the wiser to the lives they'd ruined.

Nova felt like she was on fire. Her skin prickled, her breaths uneven, her eyes going in and out of focus. Hadn't Lady Indomitable heard the gunshots? Or was she already dead by then? Nova had no idea what time it was when the Roach entered her home, all she knew was that it was Ace who had saved her, not a Renegade.

No. If anything, she and Evie had saved themselves. That wasn't Ace's fault, of course. How could he have known they'd need saving?

Nova had put that man to sleep before he could hurt her, do whatever it was he wanted to do. She remembered that press of cold metal to her skull, his hesitation, not because he felt any sympathy, but because he was considering what he should do first. What he could do to her. He'd taken a long time to enter the house after killing her parents, and Nova often wondered what he'd done to them.

As for the bullet he'd aimed at Evie's heart? She'd fought for her own life before she could even speak, using every ounce of her strength to turn it back on him. In the end, it had tumbled onto the ground, entirely harmless. But she'd survived, and she'd done it without anyone's help, not even Nova's.

There was no reason to read the first report. Nova already knew what it contained, could recite the events by heart, better than the cold, clinical, data presented in the file.

She jabbed her pointer finger into the power button, sighing in relief as the screen went black, rolling away from her desk. All alone, Nova stood up to stretch, trying to direct her mind away from the images that had haunted her dreams until she no longer had any. They attacked her, her conscious battling her subconscious every step of the way as she dedicated her attention to the window in front of her. Distractions, distractions…

Just above her, in a tiny, glass enclosure floating above the lobby stood Max, his room aglow with soft, warm light. She crossed her arms, allowing a small smile to grow on her face as she watched the boy. He seemed to be counting something, his small index finger moving from side to side as his mouth opened and closed ever so slightly.

"Still awake, huh? Guess we've got something in common," Nova muttered fondly. Perhaps she should pay the boy a visit. If she was bored out of her mind, there was no doubt Max was too, stuck in that tiny enclosure for nearly his entire life. He was twelves years-old, for skies sakes. The boy should have some privacy, some sense of normalcy, shouldn't he?

She ached for him whenever she thought of it. The Renegades called themselves heroes. Meanwhile, they imprisoned a boy they called their son for all to see, using him like a lab rat and observing him like a zoo animal. If anything, it reminded Nova of her own upbringing, alone in the tunnels, her only friends growing up being Winston Pratt- yes, she knows- and the occasional friendly rodent or street cat. She'd never gone to school, had a friend her own age, gone to an awkward middle school dance or had a boyfriend, all experiences Max had never had and maybe would never have.

Nova was practically on autopilot as she made her way to Max's enclosure, and when she appeared in front of him, the boy startled and nearly fell over his glass city. Her older sister instincts kicking in, Nova reached out to catch him, when she realized…

"Oh shit, the glass!" she blurted out, but Max righted himself without her help. For a moment he looked up at her, eyes wide, shaggy brown hair fallen over his forehead. Then, they both burst out into laughter.

"I'm okay! Besides, the glass is stronger than it looks," he said, still giggling in between his words. After they'd both composed themselves, Nova sat down in front of the window, criss-crossing her legs. Max mirrored her, tilting his head as if realizing something. "Why are you here so late?" His eyes widened, and he broke out into a mischievous smirk. "Is this your punishment for the library fiasco?"

Nova rolled her eyes but still smiled despite herself. "You know, for a kid stuck in a glass cage, you've got a pretty good vocabulary," she noted, guilt immediately overtaking her when she saw the look on Max's face. "Sorry, I just- It's gotta get lonely in here, huh?"

Max sighed, fiddling with the ends of his pants. "Yeah, it does. Honestly, it's nice to hear someone call this place what it is," he admitted, looking up at her. "I mean, I need to be in here. Otherwise… Well, my powers could hurt other people."

Nova raised an eyebrow. "Anyone's powers could hurt someone else if they tried hard enough."

"Well, yeah, but I can't control mine," Max explained, shrugging. His mouth was down-turned, shaped into a pout. It reminded Nova of Evie when she got in trouble. All it was missing was the puppy-dog eyes. "Doesn't mean I like being in here, though."

"I don't think anyone would, Max," Nova replied. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it, this sucks. If someone did this to my sister… Skies, I don't know if I could take it."

Max sat up in his heels all of a sudden, his head perking up. "You have a sister!?"

Nova smiled, allowing Max to drop the conversation about his depressing quality of life. "Yeah, her name's Evie. She's your age, about. Not sure exactly how old she is though, since, you know… " Nova gestured her hands vaguely, sure Max understood her meaning. "Anyway, no, I'm not being punished for the library thing. I volunteered for this."

The boy in front of her deflated noticeably, making a face. "Ew. Why?"

"Eh, don't really have anything better to do, do I?" she said, laughing at his appalled expression. "Believe me, kid, if you were forced to stay up all night, you'd have some weird hobbies too."

Max scrunched his nose. "I guess."

"Speaking of sleep," Nova interjected, "I believe you should be getting some, not playing with your glass sculptures."

Max made another face, this one softer, more vulnerable. "I can't sleep," he admitted. "It's never been easy for me, not since…"

"Since?"

Looking supremely guilty, Max looked around as if making sure they were alone. Then, he leaned in, his breath fogging the glass as he whispered, "Can you keep a secret, Insomnia?"

Taken off guard, Nova sputtered for a moment before responding. "Uh. Yeah, sure, as long as, you know, you're safe and everything-"

"Skies, you sound like Adrian! Do you promise or not?"

"Promise," Nova said resolutely holding out her pinky, "I would pinky promise, but…"

Max groaned. "No wonder Adrian chose you. You both have terrible senses of humor," he complained, and Nova laughed at him. When his face sobered though, she tamped down her amusement.

"I know Adrian didn't want to tell you, but I think you deserve to know. Especially if… Well, if you're gonna be here during the night a lot…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll come keep you company." Nova's chest bloomed with warmth. The fact that Max wanted her here, enjoyed her company- The warmth was soon replaced with a hollowness. Yeah. Because he doesn't know, Nova. He'd hate you if he did. They all would.

"Oh. Okay, thanks," Max replied, bringing Nova back to the present. "Well, I guess I'll just say it? My powers- Well, they're not mine. I steal them. Absorb them from other prodigies until theirs are gone or weakened. That's why the brought me on the Day of Triumph."

Nova blanched. "They did what?"

Max winced. "Yeah, I know it sounds bad, but… It was the only way they could defeat Ace Anarchy. That helmet made him crazy powerful, so, they used me. Obviously, I don't remember but- Since then, they say I've had a hard time sleeping. I guess it still affected me somehow."

Of course it did, Nova thought. Something like that stays with you for the rest of your life.

"When my parents were killed," Nova began after a long silence. Max gave her his complete, undivided attention. For someone his age, he was incredibly mature, forced to age too fast for his own good, no doubt. Just like Nova. She swallowed, hard. "When they were killed, I was six. I remember everything. It's why I stopped sleeping. Evie was… I don't know, two? She doesn't remember anything. She still cried almost every night afterwards though. Some part of you remembers, even if you don't."

She wasn't sure why she was telling Max all of this. For some reason, she felt like he wouldn't judge her.

"I'm sorry that happened, Nova," he said earnestly. "That kind of helped. What you said. Thank you."

Nova's lips turned upwards at the corners, even as her eyes watered. "Of course."

"I should go to bed," Max said after a while, looking to the back of his room. A metal door led into what Nova assumed to be his bedroom. At least he had that small amount of privacy.

"Yeah. You should," Nova parroted at him, laughing when he stuck his tongue out at her. "'Night, Max!"

"Goodnight, Insomnia!" he called back. Nova found herself still smiling long after he'd disappeared. As she began to walk back home that night, hoping to take a shower before her next shift with her teammates, she wondered how Max really felt about the Renegades. Did he adore them as much as he pretended to? Did he think he deserved it, the way the treated him?

The idea made Nova sick. She decided that as soon as she took down the Renegades, she'd sat Max free. Find somewhere he'd be loved, nurtured, allowed to be a kid, to have all things she'd never had.

How could Adrian allow this? Did he hate it too? Did he resent his parents for the way the used his brother?

Maybe… Maybe that was a weakness should could exploit.

What the fuck is wrong with you? Doing that to Max would make her no better than his so-called family. But what if it helps him? What if you can save both of them? 

The thought was delusional. Still, it carried Nova all the way home.

Chapter Text

Danna was finally getting better. At least, that's what she vehemently told Adrian and the rest of the team.

"The healers say I need another month. I say that's bull." Her arms were crossed over her chest, her lips turned into a distasteful sneer. If there was something Danna hated more than anything, it was being told she couldn't do something, creating a feeling of being trapped and useless. Adrian could understand that all too well. It was something that brought him and Danna together, along with their absurdly long hair routines. Honestly, the rest of their team would never understand, not even Oscar since he just let his curls flop whichever way they pleased and almost definitely used 2-in-1 shampoo.

That was not the point, not even remotely, but Adrian wasn't sure he'd ever get over it.

"I don't know, Danna," Ruby said, her tone soft as she mirrored Danna's crossed arms. She sat between her and Oscar on a mat in the training room as prodigies kicked and shot and hurled themselves towards each other. "If you go on patrol too early you could really hurt yourself. Remember when I opened up my stitches? That was awful! I had blood spikes in my armpits, Danna!"

"To be fair, Ruby, that's a situation unique to you and only you," Nova replied, startling Adrian. He'd figured she hadn't been listening, what with her eyes firmly focused on the prodigies training around them, her hands propped on her hips. "Plus, Danna got burned, not stabbed. But, as someone who has pushed herself too far while injured, maybe you should compromise with the healers, Danna. Take two more weeks instead of a month and see how you feel."

Adrian was slightly surprised that Nova was taking Danna's side. When they'd first met, there'd been an iciness, some kind of implicit rivalry between the two girls. Whatever it was, it seemed to have thawed out, especially with what Nova had said. Perhaps it was something of a peace offering. Danna smiled, seeming to accept it.

"You know what? That's not a bad idea, Insomnia. Thanks," she replied, nodding towards the other girl. She let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry I was so… Bitchy, at first. I guess I was worried you'd replace me, but clearly that's impossible," Danna smirked as she said it, "I'm one in a million."

Nova rolled her eyes but smiled back at Danna. "You truly are, Monarch," she agreed, "and don't worry about the bitchiness. I get it. I could have been nicer too."

Danna hummed and the group went silent, a comfortable kind of silence. Any worry Adrian had about his whole team working together faded. Adrian reminded himself that they were all capable, mature, almost-adults and didn't need him intervening for every little conflict. Maybe it was stupid of him to worry at all.

"So… Is anyone hungry?"

The whole group groaned as Oscar chuckled. "Were you like, dropped on your head as a baby, and it unlocked some kind of super hunger? Is that your real power, Oscar?" Danna quipped, poking at Oscar's side as he laughed.

"Hey, that's not a bad ability to have. You could win a lot of eating competitions with that," Adrian said, shrugging. "Although that might be considered an unfair advantage."

"Okay, enough bullying, Oscar!" Ruby cut in, her cheeks turning pink as Oscar pretending to swoon.

"My savior!"

Ruby groaned. "If you didn't have a bad leg, I would push you right now, but I'm a good person, so I'm refraining," she replied, and Nova let out a sharp laugh. "Seriously though, let's get food, I'm starving!"

Oscar turned to her smiling. "I mean, there's mats here. If you want to take out some of your pent up anger this is the perfect place to do it!"

"You sure about that?"

Oscar nodded. Ruby quickly took him up on his offer.

When they got to the cafeteria, they were all laughing so loudly they were getting glares from other teams. Adrian found that, for once, he didn't care.

…..

"So… I was thinking." Nova looked up at Adrian, brow raised. He seemed sheepish, head bowed ever so slightly, his voice low and almost conspiratorial. "Since the library was-"

"A shitshow?" Nova cut in.

Adrian nodded in dismay. "Yes. That, I was thinking about our next steps. You know, for the Nightmare case?"

Nova swallowed, keeping the spoon full of rice in her mouth for a moment longer than necessary, licking it clean before she took it out. "Is there anything we can do?" she asked, trying to seem nonchalant. "I mean, we know she's an Anarchist, but until we find them, what can we do about her?"

To Nova's shock and horror, Adrian smiled triumphantly. "That's the thing. We have an Anarchist. Winston Pratt."

Nova's mouth went dry. "Nope," she said without thinking, dropping her spoon and straightening her back. "Absolutely not, Everheart." The team looked at her curiously, but she stood her ground. "He's just- Why?"

Danna smirked. "What? Are you afraid of the Puppeteer?"

Oh bless you, Danna, she thought. The girl had unknowingly given her a way out. She sputtered dramatically, gesturing her arms wildly. "Of course not, he's just, you know…"

"I don't think anyone's judging you, Nova. Dude's creepy," Oscar said with a grimace, shoveling more mac and cheese into his mouth. "Honestly," he continued, still chewing, "I'm not even sure he'd be useful. Anarchists don't talk, Adrian. That's, like, their thing."

"Maybe," Adrian conceded, scratching his jaw where the faint shadow of stubble could be seen growing in. Nova pointedly looked away. "But it can't hurt, right? We might as well try."

"If your dad's even let you," Ruby reminded him, swirling her fork in his direction. "After the library I'm not sure they'll ever let us do anything other than patrols again." She pouted, making her extreme displeasure known. "I can't say I blame them. Everything about that mission was stupid."

Adrian noticeably bristled, scrunching his nose. "It wasn't all bad, Red. We got the Librarian's weapons catalogue, and we know for sure that Nightmare is an Anarchist, and that the other Anarchists are collaborating with her. Sure, it could've gone better-" That's the understatement of the century, Nova thought, sure everyone else was thinking the same. Ever the optimist, Adrian was. "-but it also gave us some valuable information. Which is why I want to talk to the Puppeteer. Maybe he'll let something slip. He's not exactly keeping a tight ship up there." Adrian pointed to his head and Nova sighed, dread coiling in her stomach. He was right. Winston was a loose cannon, and she couldn't guarantee he wouldn't let anything slip.

So… maybe she should be there after all. "Fine. If we get the interview, I'll be there. I'm still not happy about it, though."

Danna snorted. "I'm not sure any of us are, Insomnia, especially not that one," she nodded to Ruby who looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh, shut up, Danna!" the girl groaned, flashing a rather rude gesture in her direction. Nova couldn't help but laugh along with Danna. "Ugh, you guys are the worst! What happened to girls sticking together?"

"Fine, fine, I'll stop," Danna said, "but seriously, I get it. Glad I'm not gonna be there."

"What? But you said-!"

Danna and Ruby began to bicker, Ruby apparently appalled by the fact Danna was using her injury to get out of the interview when she'd said she was "Totally fine!" After that, Nova stopped paying attention, preparing herself for the possibility of facing Winston. If she was honest, she wouldn't be worried about him giving her away if he'd been captured alone, but given what had happened at the parade, Nova couldn't blame him if he was still bitter. If she were him, she knew what she would do, and it wasn't the "right" thing.

She just hoped he had some good left in him, or at the very least, some loyalty.

…..

Adrian tried to make himself as small as possible at dinner that night, even staying to help wash the dishes, which he hated with a passion. Simon gave him a slight side-eye but didn't say anything, much to Adrian's relief. He still wasn't prepared to pop the big question, but, then again, would he ever be? Maybe he needed to come right out and say it.

"Uh… Pops?"

"Yes, son?" Simon replied expectantly, not even looking up at him as he continued to dry a plate with an old, yellow dish rag. Adrian sighed.

"I wanted to ask you and Dad something," he finally forced himself to say. Now, Simon was looking at him. He put the plate down on the dish rack and positioned himself towards Adrian, one elbow leaning on the counter.

"Does this have something to with the Nightmare case?"

"Yes," Adrian conceded, crossing his arms. "Look, I know the I fucked up at the library, but… All I'm asking for is one more chance. One, simple, thing."

Simon sighed. "And you're asking me first because you know I'm a sucker?"

"No," Adrian said, although he internally answered, Duh, "I just thought you'd be more likely to understand my reasons."

"Right. So I can convince your father to let you do what you want?" Simon had hit the nail on the head, and by the begrudgingly fond smirk on his face, he knew it.

Adrian shrugged, tilting his head. "I learned it by watching you?"

At that Simon laughed. "Can't say you're wrong about that. Fine. If you can convince me, I'll try to convince Hugh. No promises, though. You and I both know how stubborn he is when it comes to these things."

Adrian nodded, considering this to be a fair deal. Still, he knew his proposal would be a hard sell. "I want to interview the Puppeteer with my team. Wait! Just listen to me, Pops!" he grabbed his father's shoulders before he could object. "I know, okay? He's crazy. But that's why I think we should talk to him. What if he lets something slip?"

Simon shook his head. "Adrian, don't you think we've already grilled him in every way we legally could? He's not talking and according to the code-"

"But how can it hurt, Pops?" Adrian cut in, his hands spread wide to emphasize his point. "You always said I picked up on things other people don't. Maybe I will this time. Or maybe not, and it won't matter, will it? We'll just be back to where we were."

Simon let out a deep breath, in through his mouth, out through his nose, eyes closed. He was thinking about it, and pretty intensively at that. When Adrian saw the slightest twitch in his nose just before he opened his eyes, he knew his father had conceded.

"Fine," Simon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "you're right, it can't hurt. And if it helps you with-" he gestured vaguely towards Adrian "-whatever it is you need to do to get closure then… I won't deny you that, Adrian. Not when what you're asking is a pretty reasonable request, and…"

Adrian snorted. "Are you testing out the arguments you're gonna use on Dad on me?" he asked, and Simon groaned.

"Maybe," he admitted, propping his hands on his hips. "He always folds when I appeal to his hero complex. Look Hugh! Here's how you can save the day!" he mimicked, waving his hands around. "Sorry, that's something I should speak to him about, not you. But, really Adrian. If you need to do this, I don't see why you shouldn't."

Smiling Adrian blinked a few times, his eyes suddenly a bit misty. "Thanks, Pops." He enjoyed a moment of vulnerable, emotional silence with his father when his second one popped in.

"What's this? Did I miss something?" Hugh looked between the two of them. "A man can't even go to the bathroom without missing a nice family moment?"

Simon smirked and rolled his eyes. "Snooze you lose, Captain," he teased, walking up to his husband and taking him by the arm. "Come on, I've got to talk to you about something." Hugh stood still seeming puzzled. "In private," Simon clarified, which seemed to get him moving. Simon shot Adrian a tired look as the two exited the room, to which Adrian only shrugged in response, as if to say, Your problem, not mine.

A ping sounded from his wristband, and his focus turned to the small screen on his wrist. Hadn't he taken this thing off? Maybe he was so used to having it on he hadn't even noticed. Uh oh, Adrian thought to himself, maybe I need a day off.

"Oh!" Adrian exclaimed. It was from Max. It read:

BANDIT: You're invited to our party. Bring sandwiches.

"What?" The message was so vague. Our party? Who the hell was Max-

BANDIT: Oh I'm with Nova BTW since I know you're having a crap attack rn, everything's fine, I haven't been kidnapped.

BANDIT: NOW COME BRING US SUSTENANCE.

For a kid that was so shy in person, he sure had a lot of personality over text. Perhaps the distance gave him more confidence. Whatever it was, Adrian couldn't help but smile.

SKETCH: only if you ask nicely

BANDIT: will you PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE bring us sandwiches, my dear brother?

SKETCH: fine. what do you want?

BANDIT: YES!!! TY ADRIAN

BANDIT: Nova and I would both like Italian subs.

SKETCH: OK

Adrian put his watch down and resigned himself to his new job as the sandwich guy. The wretched responsibility that came with having a younger sibling.

He wouldn't change it for the world. 

Chapter Text

It was dark outside by the time Adrian made it to HQ, a bag of sandwiches tucked in one arm as he walked through the revolving doors at the entrance, clutching the bag to his chest so he could fit through. Suddenly, he wondered how any prodigy- or even regular person- bigger than him got through these things. Or someone in a wheelchair. Or someone with a cane…

Skies, no wonder Oscar was always the last one to report. He probably had to go around the back to get in, and of course, he'd never said anything about it.

Adrian concluded that while aesthetically pleasing, revolving doors were entirely impractical. He'd talk to his dads about replacing them.

But first, he had food to deliver.

…..

Nova had no idea what was going to happen to her when she entered Max's enclosure. She also didn't care. He was bleeding, bad. Just moments before, he'd been smiling and giggling, showing off his telekinetic abilities to Nova. Then, something had shifted and…

He lost focus and fell, crashing to the ground, a whole glass spike piercing through that little left hand.

When she'd first seen it, she froze, unable to comprehend the scene before her. Then, she'd acted without thinking, the voices of her "colleagues" below slurred and incomprehensible as they stood underneath the enclosure, standing still, doing nothing. They cared more about their own self preservation to do anything for this child, child, in pain.

So what if his powers were dangerous? Nova's biggest strength had never been her powers. She could live without them if it meant Max was okay, if meant that any child was okay.

"Nova? Nova! MAX!" a voice rang high above all the others, breaking through to Nova as she rammed through the surprisingly thin glass of Max's cage, the razor sharp shards embedding themselves in her skin.

"Adrian!" she called back, "He's hurt! I don't know what happened-" she cut herself off. What did it matter how he got hurt or why? All that mattered was that someone helped him. Honestly, where the hell were all those doctors that crowded around him during the day? Why hadn't they rushed in the moment he'd fallen with their hazmat suits and horrifically large needles?

Nova knew the risk she was taking. She persevered anyhow.

"Nova! No, don't go in there!" She'd only made it one step inside when Adrian had yelled at her, frantic and panicked.

"Oh for- I'm fine, Adrian, look at me!" he did, quite intently actually, scanning her for any sign of- Well whatever it was Max's powers did. "Now, will you quit yelling and find a doctor?" she yelled back at Adrian, who just stared at her, completely mortified before he ran off, seeming to recognize the urgency of their situation.

"I'll be right back!" he yelled over his shoulder, "Don't go in there, Nova!"

She watched him until he disappeared around a corner in the walkway and firmly decided she wouldn't listen. She took another step forward. Max needed someone to be with him right now, and if had to be her, so be it.

"Nova, no you can't!" Max's trembling voice echoed Adrian's own fears, but she still didn't listen.

"Max," she stated firmly, she still couldn't feel the affects of his powers, too far out of range. But hadn't Max said the Renegades had used him against Ace? He had to have been farther away during the Battle for Gatlon, which meant…

Nova gasped. "You said you can't control your powers. But have you really tried?" she asked. "Some things you can't fix, like me not sleeping, but… Maybe it's not that you can't control your powers, but just that you've never tried. No one's ever taught you," she was blabbing excitedly, stepping closer and closer, until-

Oh fuck. Her heart rate slowed, legs wobbling underneath, her eyelids growing heavy…

"Nova-!" Max sobbed, and Nova shushed him, already stumbling away from him. Can't get that close. Not yet, she admitted to herself, defeated.

"It's alright. Here, I'll move back," she sat- or really, collapsed to the floor- and scooted to the edge of the room, opposite to Max, his wound continuing to bleed. "Looks like I'm fine here," she declared once she'd reached the edge of the glass, Max on the other side. "Alright. Now listen to me, okay, Max? Take your shirt off and wrap it around the wound. Hold it tight- Yeah, just like that. It should staunch some of the bleeding until Adrian can get us help, okay?"

"It hurts, Nova," the little boy whimpered, trying his best to apply pressure, to stop the bleeding. He was growing pale, and Nova exhaled sharply.

"I know, kid," she said, knowing minimizing what he felt would only make him more distressed, "You got yourself good. I wish… I wish there was something else I could do other than sit here…"

Max continued to sob quietly until Adrian came storming back up the stairs, healers or doctors or whatever the hell they called themselves suited up in full Max-mat gear (Ha. Max would get a kick out of that when he wasn't bleeding out). Adrian stood behind, running a hand through his hair anxiously and Nova watched as Max's saviors very pointedly used the actual door to Max's enclosure- which Nova had completely forgotten about, but to be fair, she probably didn't even have clearance to enter- and scooped him up, taking him away to wherever the hell you treated a prodigy like him.

He was going to be okay. Probably. Hopefully. No thanks to Nova, really, but it was the thought that counted, right?

"Nova? Oh stars, what the hell did you do?" Nova looked up at Adrian who now stood right behind her, staring at the her-sized hole and shattered glass scattered around her. "Skies, you're bleeding," he exclaimed, coming up beside her and kneeling down, inspecting her wounds with two, very gentle, very large, and very warm hands.

"I'm fine!" she insisted, wriggling away from his touch which seemed to burn through her clothes. "Just some little cuts. Nothing some over the counter cream and band-aids can't fix."

Adrian stared at her, mouth wide open. "What?" Nova snapped, as Adrian began to laugh a bit hysterically. Nova simply stared back at him, as he continued to look at her as if she had grown two heads.

"We have healers, Nova. They can fix those cuts up in two minutes."

Nova bristled, cheeks flushing. "Yeah, well-" What she wanted to say was, Some luxury, huh? To have healers at your beck and call, every time you so much as stub your toe? Somehow, she restrained herself, pursing her lips. "No point in bothering them with this."

"Okay, I didn't want to have to resort to this but-" he latched onto her arm and began dragging her out of Max's enclosure and down the walkway.

"Hey-!" Nova tried to get free of him, but his grip on her arm was far too firm, and honestly, she wasn't trying that hard. The fact that she admitted that, even just to herself, made her want to puke.

"You have glass embedded in your skin, Nova. And you've just been exposed to Max's powers. That's worth bothering the healers for," he stated, as if there was no argument to be had. Nova sighed, conceding.

"Fine, but I can walk without your help, Everheart," she finally wrenched herself free from him, his hand held limp in the air. He let out a small cough, tucking it behind his neck and rubbing the skin there.

"Yeah. Right. Sorry."

They continued to walk in silence until Adrian, like always, broke it. Nova was used to silence. Living with the Anarchists meant she had plenty of it. They weren't exactly chatty people. But, she figured life with Hugh Everheart and Simon Westwood was probably a lot different than life with a bunch of has-been tunnel rats.

"So… About Max-"

Nova didn't let him finish. "I know. I've been visiting him at night. You know, keeping him company," she shrugged, folding her arms over her chest. "He told me. Kid can't keep a secret to save his life."

Adrian let a small huff of a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, you're right about that," he said, mirroring her posture, his own toned, muscly arms fitting themselves over his chest, the blue, short-sleeved flannel he was wearing tightening around his broad shoulders.

Skies. Nova really was going to vomit if she kept thinking about Adrian like this.

Although…

Some things are just objectively true, and one of those things was that Adrian Everheart was undoubtedly smoking hot, to an almost unfair degree. She was sure even Ruby and Danna would agree with her if asked, maybe even Oscar, or, you know, anyone with eyes. You don't even have to like men to notice it.

So yeah. Sure, she was noticing it. Didn't mean anything, did it? And sure, maybe she was sexually attracted to him, but that didn't necessarily imply anything else. Plenty of people slept with friends or acquaintances or colleagues or even archenemies on occasion without it going anywhere serious.

She shouldn't be worried about something like this. She had no reason to be worried. She was simply a woman who was attracted to men who happened to notice a certain man was attractive. So what?

Nova bit her lip, her cheeks heating even as she tried to justify her thoughts in her head. Skies, she really hoped Samson was right about there being no mind readers at HQ.

"You know," Adrian held open the door that led to the med-wing, stilling. "I got you guys sandwiches, but I dropped them so…"

Nova barked out a laugh. "Ha! I forgot about that! I was wondering why you were here," she giggled a little deliriously, walking past Adrian as he grumbled about being the sandwich guy and all my work was in vein… Or whatever. Nova wasn't really listening anymore, the adrenaline working it's way out of her system in one fell swoop. She could feel the stinging pain of every wound in her shoulder, the heaviness of her body as she trekked forward on aching feet.

Thankfully, Adrian had been right about the healers being quick. Since Nova had barely been exposed to Max, they'd allowed her to go home for the night under the condition that she tell them if anything changed and immediately. Nova reluctantly agreed, knowing that this random Renegade healer would not be who she would go to if she presented with any unfortunate side effects.

Still, Nova lingered for some reason.

For some reason, she chastised herself. You know exactly why.

She found Adrian sitting by himself in the small waiting room just outside of the med-wing, looking at a magazine but clearly not reading it as he sat in one of many gray-metal chairs, all far too small for someone his size. To her embarrassment, Nova's feet dangled when she took a seat next to him, and she prayed he wouldn't notice, and that if he did, he know better than to say anything.

"So… How's Max?"

Adrian sighed, and Nova almost regretted asking. Almost. She cared more about Max's condition, to be honest. "He needs surgery, but he'll be fine. They said there shouldn't be any lasting damage, just a gnarly scar."

Nova elbowed Adrian, hoping to lighten the mood as she joked, "Hey, at least the scar'll give him some character. He could make up a totally bad-ass story about fighting a Minotaur or something, and someone might be dumb enough to believe him."

Although his shoulders remained slumped, a tired smile graced Adrian's face as he shook his head. "Did you do that?"

"Huh?"

"Make up a story about your scars?"

Nova shook her head, a fond look on her as memories- good ones- ran through her mind. "No, but my sister did. She used to tell everyone that would listen that she got bitten by a radioactive alligator. Really, it was just some mean ole street cat. But, you know, we entertained her," she said laughing. "My uncle and I, I mean," she added quickly, hoping she didn't sound as anxious as she felt.

Adrian didn't seem to notice, instead leaning into her space in a way that made her feel a bit suffocated. She didn't move though, but not because she didn't want to. Sure, the grabbing and wound inspecting and drawing a pin on her chest were on thing, but this was another. This was too much, but she worried backing away would hurt his feelings so…

Who gives a shit about his feelings???

Nova discreetly shifted away from him in her chair, making it seem like she was just crossing her legs. "Anyway," she interjected, shrugging. Adrian looked at her as if nothing had happened, and, maybe nothing had. Maybe, he was just a touchy person. Maybe, he hadn't noticed he'd gotten too close. She coughed, trying to put her thoughts back on track. "Um… Where are your dads?" she asked, realizing she hadn't seen them.

"With Max. I got kicked out. Only guardians are allowed in the room, apparently. They said they don't want to risk exposing anyone else, as if I couldn't just put on a suit like Simon."

A grimace overtook Nova's face. "That's bullshit, I'm sorry," she told him, sincerely. "You should be allowed to be with him. I know he's fine and all but-"

"Yeah. I know." Adrian said, before lapsing into silence once more. Nova had nearly gotten up to leave when he said, in a small, choked voice, "Thank you, Nova. I don't know anyone else who would've taken the risk you did. I'm glad I chose you. I'm glad you're here."

Nova swallowed, a sudden, unexpected, unwanted wave of sentiment crashing over her. "Yeah, well, what kind of hero would I be if I didn't try? Not that I really helped."

Adrian shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "You did. You stayed with him. Made him feel like he was going to be okay. You did what you could," he told her, those ochre eyes staring straight into her core. Nova quickly looked away, feeling as if she'd been given an electric shock.

"I'm gonna head home," she said, pushing herself to standing and meandering to the exit. "Tell me if anything changes. With Max. And get some sleep, will you? You look like shit." With that, she turned away from him and walked away.

"Goodnight to you too, Insomnia," he called back, in a tired but fond way.

Nova smiled, knowing he couldn't see it. It was better that way, better if he had no idea how soft she was growing for him.

Better for her. Better for both of them.

You're a shameless liar, Nightmare.

Maybe, she admitted, but that comes with the territory, right?

Chapter Text

Nova was glad to be back on her feet. She was less glad that today was the day they were supposed to interview Winston.

Things were going well so far. She seemed to have gained Danna's trust- finally- and no one else seemed suspicious of her. Of course, there was always Genissa and her cronies, but they hated everyone that wasn't them, so Nova wasn't worried about her.

Yeah, things were going great until Adrian had the bright idea to interview Winston Pratt, and, for some reason, Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden, had agreed. Nova had been counting on the fact that they wouldn't after what happened at the library. Honestly, couldn't one good thing come out of that whole ordeal?

Apparently not, she whined in her head, keeping pace with her teammates. It'd been a couple months since she'd joined the Renegades, and seemingly, things had only managed to go wrong. She'd acquired some valuable information, but nothing that would ensure the Renegades downfall. Mostly, she'd gone on a bunch of patrols, arresting petty criminals stealing food and baby formula. Baby formula.

Okay, that had only been once, but still. These people were prodigies, and they believed that carceral justice was effective. Did they have any idea how many innocent prodigies rotted in federal prisons and institutions because of one, little mistake, or because they finally cracked under the weight of their systemic oppression? Maybe they were too young to remember how bad things were before Ace. If it hadn't been drilled into Nova's skull, she wouldn't have known either, so much information being lost during the Fall. Sure, people suffered during the Age of Anarchy, but the government sponsored violence that Ace and Nova's father had grown up with? The Age of Anarchy could hardly compare to that horror.

The way Ace described his parents' reaction when he showed his powers for the first time had never failed to make bile rise in Nova's throat. When she spent too much time with her team, she found herself forgetting the fact that they enforced the cruelty the Renegades told them to, acted against their own people. Thankfully, it was all too easy to remember everything all over again, and all of a sudden, she wanted to knock them all out cold and open every stuffy, white-walled cell in this corridor.

She couldn't though. Not just yet.

She took a deep breath and strided up next to Oscar, who, evidently, was having a bad day, at least as far as his disability was concerned. He was limping more heavily than usual, leaning nearly half his weight on his cane. Nova often wondered how he did it, what with the fragile bones and constant pain and damaged lungs, but he did. He was a Renegade through and through. Still, Nova found herself wanting to scold him for spreading himself too thin, wreaking havoc on his already struggling body. She would never tell him he couldn't be a Renegade, but, maybe someone needed to tell him it was okay if he needed help, days off, or, you know, less work?

She didn't say anything, though. Even if she wasn't the new girl, she had a feeling Oscar wouldn't listen to her. He had a secret stubborn side to him, one that constantly felt the need to prove his worth to everyone around him, to prove them wrong. Nova wanted to tell him he had nothing to prove, not to them, and that everyone else who told him he was less than could go fuck themselves.

Instead, she tried to start a casual conversation, hoping to calm her frazzled nerves. "So… The Puppeteer?" she started, not sure in the slightest where she was going with this.

Oscar seemed to pick up what she was putting down though, and he gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry, Nova. I've got him handled. Adrian and I decided already, I'm bad cop, he's good cop."

Nova raised a brow. "Okay, Adrian as good cop tracks, but you as bad cop? Not saying you can't be scary, but… I don't know, I feel like Danna and I give off more 'would beat you up if we had to' vibes."

For a moment, Oscar didn't say anything. Than he began to laugh. "Don't ruin this for me, Nova! Come on, let me work shop my bad guy persona!" he joked, waving a hand around his face as he morphed it into a comical frown, his thick eyebrows pushed together as his nose and chin wrinkled. He looked less like a mafioso and more like a cranky old grandpa who lives on the corner of your street and yells at you whenever you walk past.

Nova didn't want to crush his spirit though, so she kept that to herself. "Oh, yeah, really coming along, there. Keep up the hard work, bud," she quipped, unable to fully ward off the sarcasm from her tone. Oscar blew a raspberry at her, and Ruby snapped her head around at the two of them, arms crossed.

"Will you guys shut up? We're in the Law and Justice Department, not the mess hall!"

"Is that what this place is called?" Nova asked, scanning her surroundings. Nothing about this place screamed Justice. More so, it screamed solitary confinement cells where we stuff people we call criminals until they confess to crimes! But. You know. To each their own. "Seems more like a makeshift jail to me."

Adrian tilted his head back at her and shrugged in assent. "That's basically what this part is, yeah. There's actual law offices on the other side of the floor, but obviously we're not here for a consult. The interrogation rooms are up that way. The prisoners enter from the other side," he explained, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway. "For security reasons, obviously. There'll be a partition between us and the Puppeteer since he's been deemed especially dangerous."

Propping her hands on her hips, Nova gave him a puzzled look. "Is that really necessary? He'll be cuffed, right? Can't exactly do anything to us without his hands." She waved her own around before letting them hang at her sides again. "Not that I'm complaining," she clarified, although she totally was, "just seems like a waste of resources."

"You have nothing to worry about, Insomnia. It's just an extra precaution. Better safe than sorry and all, but yeah, you're right, it's kind of a waste. I've talked to them about it, but you guys know how they are." He shrugged casually as Oscar and Ruby gave him knowing looks. Meanwhile, Nova silently bristled. No, I don't know, Adrian, she thought to herself, not all of us are best buds with the Oligarchs of our city.

Nova had been thoroughly suppressing the knot of dread curling itself tight in her core. That was until she walked into the interrogation room and looked Winston Pratt dead in the eyes, and suddenly, she felt the overwhelming urge to vomit again.

Ruby placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, causing Nova to jump. Her teammate winced, drawing her hand back slowly. "It's alright," she whispered. "He can't hurt us. You're a bad-ass, Insomnia. Don't forget that."

"Hello, Mr. Pratt," Oscar dropped a manila folder down on the table in front of him, leaning over it to look Winston in the face. He sat at the opposite side of the table, face slightly obscured by glare of the fluorescent lights reflecting on the glass between him and Nova's team. Winston was smiling, as always, black lines tugged upwards on his face, but Nova could tell he was uncomfortable, that the lights bothered his eyes, made him want to hide, but with the cuffs anchoring him to the table and steely eyed guard behind him, there was no escape. Nova pressed a hand to her stomach, willing the tightness to release.

There was a single chair at the table. Adrian nudged Oscar onto it, which resulted in a minute of bickering between them, a whole minute of wasted time. They only had fifteen.

Thank god they're all a bunch of neophytes, Nova thought to herself.

"Hello, Mr. Pratt," Oscar tried again, in that same, gravelly voice as before. "We have some questions to ask you."

"Questions? Questions, questions, questions… You Renegades have so many questions! How could I possibly have any more answers?" Winston rambled, that high pitched voice only slightly muffled by the glass, pouring through the small bunch of holes in its center.

Adrian coughed, taking his place beside Oscar. Winston hadn't even looked in Nova's direction yet, but it was only a matter of time. Hiding against the wall like a scared child wouldn't save her. "Um, I know you've already been er- interviewed- by a lot of us." Adrian leaned one hand on the back of Oscar's chair, the other propped on his hip casually. "But, uh, well, I'm sure you heard about what happened to Gene Cronin?"

Just then, he spotted Nova. His eyes widened, mouthing popping open ever so slightly as Nova bore her eyes into him and shook her head, hoping, praying, that he wouldn't give her away.

He didn't. He tore his eyes away, let out a little giggle and asked Adrian to repeat himself, saying he'd gotten, "lost in the moment!" Adrian did, clearly losing his patience already. Winston's face dropped into a dramatic frown, his skin pulling down in a grotesquely tight way. "Oh, of course I have! What a tragedy. Entirely avoidable. If only you meddling Renegades had stayed in your lane…"

Adrian's face darkened at that comment ever so slightly, his grip on the top of the chair tightening. "Right. Well, regardless, we now have evidence Nightmare is an Anarchist. One of you. We were hoping to ask some questions about her."

"Nightmare… Yes, yes, Nightmare. What do you want me to say? What can I say?" he shrugged, a performatively clueless smile on his face. "She's one of us, sure. But you already knew that."

Oscar tilted his head to the side. "We were hoping you might have more insight, Mr. Pratt. After all, she's one of your allies. Or, she was. Then she threw you out of your own hot-air balloon. She threw you to the wolves," he prodded, arms folded and resting on the table as he leaned forward.

A sharp, bark of a laugh startled everyone in the room. "I'm an Anarchist, young Renegade," he said, and as he did, he looked directly at Nova. She choked, stifling her cough with her fist. "We don't give up our own."

"Even when they betray you?"

It was Adrian who had asked that. Winston looked at Nova again. Skies is he stupid? Did all those drugs mess with his head? He pulled his eyes away again, and thankfully, no one noticed how fascinated he seemed with the newbie Renegade in the corner.

"She did betray me didn't she?" Winston agreed. Nova's legs felt leaden, her heart jack rabbiting from her chest. She prepared for the worst, hands poised on her hips, ready to reach for whatever she would need to defend herself, or, if it came to it, prevent her capture. "Ah, well, I suppose for that offense I can give you a little something, ay?"

"You know, she and I used to be quite close. She came to us as a child. Ace found her-" he locked eyes with Nova again "-at… At Cosmopolis Park! Little girl, lost. No parents. Ace took her in. Bought her some cotton candy. She liked to go there every now and then. Maybe you'll find her on the Ferris Wheel?" Winston began to laugh maniacally as Adrian's shoulders slumped and Oscar wiped his forehead in frustration.

"Really? Cosmopolis Park?" Oscar parroted, fists clenching on the table. "Ace Anarchy was there, found an abandoned little girl, and just took her in? Really?"

Winston shrugged, a manic smile still plastered on his face. Nova let out a sigh of relief, but she didn't feel any better, only… Only hollow.

Winston hadn't been lying. He'd been Nova and Evie's only friend once. What had happened to them? Nova had abandoned him, left him to rot in that haunting train car, let him play house and give in to his own delusions. And then she'd thrown him to the Renegades, subjected him to whatever treatment they decided he deserved. Sure, they had their code now, but Nova wasn't confident they'd be afraid to break it in this case. Not if it meant getting to her. Not if it meant squashing any resistance to their rule.

Nova rose an eyebrow as a pensive look crossed Adrian's face, brows furrowed. He hummed, gave Oscar's chair a pat, then clapped his hands. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Pratt. That will be all."

"What? Bu-"

Ruby grabbed Oscar by the arm and pulled him up, giving him a look that most definitely meant, just go along with it.

Nova was the last to leave the room. She gave Winston one more look, trying to convey the words she wanted so badly to say with her eyes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry things ended up this way. I'm sorry I ended up like the rest of them. I'm sorry I abandoned you.

Whether Winston understood or not, she had no idea. The guard pulled him up from his chair and hauled him back to his cell. Winston merely looked at her as he was dragged away. Nova blinked, steeled herself, and cast away any thoughts of him from now on.

He made his choice. He deserved what he got. Dwelling on what could have been will only distract you. Nova played the familiar mantras in her head as she tried to catch up with her team, hoping they hadn't noticed her lingering.

…..

Winston Pratt was a crazy bastard. Still, Adrian couldn't help but think at least some part of what he said carried truth, and at this point, any lead was worth following. Maybe Nightmare really did fancy spending time at a park for children. Or maybe she didn't. It couldn't hurt to find out, though, could it?

None of his team seemed super enthused about the idea, though.

"Really, Adrian? I know 'leave no stone unturned and all'"- Ruby air quoted agressively- "but, like, he was obviously making shit up so we would leave."

Adrian sighed, scrubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he replied, "but, I don't know, part of me also thinks…"

"What?" Oscar prompted in between sips of his smoothie or milkshake or whatever the hell that stupid drink was. The sound him slurping the liquid through the straw was starting to drive Adrian insane. Nova had gone home early, saying she was going out to dinner with her Uncle, and Danna had done the same as per the healers instructions.

It was just him, Ruby, and Oscar, sitting outside Max's enclosure, waiting for him to brought back in by the doctors. The glass Nova had broke in a truly super-human feat had been replaced, and Max was set for a full recovery— Thank the skies.

"Nothing," Adrian finally ground out, opening and closing his fists on his lap. Maybe… Maybe this wasn't something he could go to his team for. Maybe, this was a job for the Sentinel.

Danna's still not back to 100%. She might never be, and you're about to don that armor again?

Adrian licked his lips. If it brings me closer to Nightmare, I'll do anything. And wow. That was an intense thought.

But it was becoming the truth. He should care about the lives his recklessness could put at risk, about how he'll hurt his family and friends in a way he couldn't take back if they found out. Or more like when, really. His father's would scold him about the code, maybe even fire him, prohibit him from superhero work ever again. But how would they stop him? Could they even?

He was going to do it, he knew that already. Still, he couldn't quite believe it.

"Adrian? Everything okay, man?"

Adrian's head snapped over to his left where Oscar sat, his cane laying next to him, long legs stretched out until they reached the glass wall in front of them. Giving Oscar a big smile, Adrian nodded, unclenching his hands. "Yup. Just thinking about some stuff."

"Ooh! We've got a philosopher over here!" Oscar teased, reaching up to ruffle Adrian's hair, giving up as soon as Adrian locked his fingers around Oscar's risk and set his arm back down to his side. Seemingly done with tormenting Adrian, Oscar set his sights to Ruby, who smiled and tucked her hair and laughed at every other word he said. God, Adrian had never met two people who were so bright but also so unbelievably dense at the same time.

Whatever. He had more important stuff to deal with than their weird little mating dance. Like, what the hell was he even going to do as the Sentinel? How would he draw Nightmare out, get her to speak to him? How could he send a message that she would see, and how would she know it was for her?

Huh. Maybe… Maybe I could make myself a little bit of help?

Adrian had made a few living creatures. Why not a passenger pigeon? Or maybe, like, a rat, or something. That would be less conspicuous than a bird carrying a giant envelope, right? But it would need to be quick, since it wouldn't take much time before the creature would turn grey, the lines dictating its shape and form and boundary from the rest of the world slowly smudging and decaying, until it slowly faded away.

So maybe-

He was getting ahead of himself. When he was alone, in his room, far away from the rest of his family, he could plot and scheme all he wanted. Right now, his brother needed him, and he coming through the door, his round little face peeking through the door shyly.

"Hey, Bandit."

Max gasped, a smile immediately overtaking him. "Adrian!"

Chapter Text

Evie was taking her training with Uncle Ace very seriously. Extremely. No fooling around whatsoever.

According to Ace, though, she was being a little too flippant about her abilities. "Maybe you cannot tear down buildings or build weapons from thin air. That does not sully your potential, not as long as your resolve and ambition remain high. Currently… I am not so sure."

Evie groaned and let the small piece of scrap metal she was holding aloft clatter to the ground. "I just… I don't see what the hell-" she cut herself of as one thin eyebrow raised upon Ace's forehead. She coughed, and amended her statement, "I mean- I don't know how I can be useful to you, Uncle- to everyone- when all I can do is this-" she through a tin can at the wall- pretty lightly, she may add- and it clattered to the ground with a sharp clang.

Her uncle sighed and took a seat in one of the many small alcoves in the halls of the catacombs in front of what Evie suspected to be a long dead soul's tomb. Once again, she wondered how the hell- yes, hell, because she was old enough to curse, goddammit- Ace lived like this every single day. Although, the dark eyebags combined with his increasingly skeletal and pallid appearance told her that Ace was likely not really living, merely existing, biding his time until he could once again rise to the surface; Be seen, be human again. Slowly but surely, the Ace Anarchy the council demonized was fading away and Evie was watching it happen. Letting it happen.

She blew a shrill breath from her nose, crossing her arms as she came to stand before her Uncle, now looking off into the distance as if in deep thought; Evie knew there was nothing there except longing, yearning for what once was. When deep in contemplation, Ace often closed his eyes, wrinkled the muscles of his face and went away to some other place, somewhere where he plotted, schemed, compared, and concluded. But right now… Right now Ace's eyes were glassy and distant, his body and mind here, but his spirit somewhere else.

At least, that's how Phobia had described it to her the first time they'd seen it happen, and while that scythe wielding shadow man or whatever the fuck he was scared the living daylights out of her- as was his job- she was old enough now to see he'd had a point. Ace was getting older, and with getting older came decline. It was a thing no one could stop, not even the most fearsome of prodigies, not even Ace.

Evie rested one small hand on his knee, garnering his attention. She held back a wince as Ace seemed to startle, those tired eyes now boring into her own. "Uncle I— I'm sorry. I just don't want to disappoint you, and let's be honest, my gift isn't exactly— You know?" she shrugged, retracting her touch and curling in on herself, hands twisting to hug her torso.

Ace nodded, understanding evident in the lines of his face. "Perhaps we have been attacking this at the wrong angle. You are correct. You're gift is— It's-"

"Weak," Evie supplied. Ace closed his eyes and nodded again, this time with hesitance.

"Unfortunately, yes. That does not make you less than, or less capable than any of us. Just look at your sister. She does not rely on her gift. She cannot, not with so much limitation. That is a power in and of itself, a strength those of us naturally bestowed with great abilities cannot grasp." As if to elevate his point, that chessboard Ace seemed to treasure so dearly floated into the room, settling neatly on his lap. "Speak to your sister. I think— I think she may be more useful in your journey than I."

At that, Evie let out a childish whine. A soft smile returned to Ace's face as he shook his head at his niece. "Why? She's so— She just so— And after the library—"

Ace held out a hand, silencing her. "I know. I will speak to her myself. She only wants the best for you, Evie. We are all she has."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," Evie said, a frown still plastered on her face. It was true. She knew that. It didn't make the idea of Nova training her, of her badass older sister scolding her day in and day out anymore appealing. She would never live up to Nova's standards. She would never be as strong or as brave as she was. Evie always preferred the shadows, outwitting an opponent rather than overpowering one. Doing her work from a distance, where no one could hurt her.

Nova wasn't like that. She was the Anarchists— well, prodigy, for a lack of a better term. But if this made Ace happy, quieted the ache in his aging heart, she would do it.

"I will never be her, Uncle," Evie said quietly. "If I'm going to do this, you have to promise me you know that."

Ace sighed as he put a weathered hand on Evie's shoulder. "I know, my dear. I know all to well."

And. Damn. Evie had no idea what the fuck that meant, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

She left the catacombs in what was definitely not a hurry, her mind a scattered, muddled mess, nowhere near the calm and clarity of Ace's or Nova's.

She would never be them.

So… Maybe she had to stop trying. And when did Nova visit Ace anyhow? He would never know if she just… If she went out on her own, became the villain she needed to be, the one that was not Nova or Ace or any of the Anarchists, but her.

Evie hummed. There's a thought.

Nova had no idea where to go from here. All the Anarchists- the ones not in jail or kicked out due to being sighted in connection with Nightmare- stood in the kitchen crowding the the marble island in its center. So, four people total: Leroy, Honey, Phobia, and herself. It was a meeting that left a lot to be desired.

"So… Winston did not betray your secrets?" Leroy asked, a wide mug cradled between his hands. "I fail to see the problem, here."

Running her hands over her face, Nova attempted to get her thoughts in order, to present what she was thinking in a comprehensible manner. "I— I spoke with Ingrid. She thinks we're moving too slow, which… I kind of agree with. If we can lead them down the wrong path, distract them— That'll make my job much easier. While they're chasing their tail, I can poke around. Find out about the Sentinel, what they're doing with Max, their weaknesses-"

"What makes you think you won't be able to learn all of those things with time and patience?" Leroy asked, sincerely curious. Meanwhile, Honey was looking at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"Honestly have you lost your mind?" And there it was. "My dear, this is an advantage we cannot afford to lose. Don't let Ingrid's— Ugh, everything, convince you to do something stupid."

Nova grimaced, leveling an exacting glare at Honey. "Ingrid is right, Honey. I know that now. If we're going to take the Renegades down, we have to do it while they're distracted. Right now, we don't stand a chance."

"She is speaking from the heart," Phobia said, backing her up in the weirdest way possible. "She is afraid of their power, what they will do to us if we do not approach this carefully."

Leroy hummed, stroking chin hairs that had long since been burned away. "Perhaps… Perhaps we let Ingrid take the reins. She is already compromised. We give her one more chance, let her be useful. Let her distract," he suggested, leaning his elbows on the counter-top in front of him. "The only problem is how? How do we utilize this to our greatest advantage?"

Nova looked to Honey, who now seemed a bit more convinced, mischief gleaming in her eyes. "What are you thinking?" Nova prompted.

"They are expecting Nightmare at the carnival. You. What if we give them more than they bargained for? That way… Yes, that way, they will be thoroughly distracted," Honey chuckled, a wide, vicious grin spread across her face. For the first time in a long time, her namesake seemed accurate.

Nova swallowed thickly, unsure if she liked where this was going. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"We let Ingrid do what she does best: Destruction."

The plan. The plan.

It was all Nova could think about, and, apparently, Leroy could tell. "It doesn't sit right with you, does it?"

"No," she admitted. They sat together in what could barely be called a living room, Leroy occupying a ratty armchair as Nova cleaned one of her stun-guns as she sat criss-cross on the floor, bits and bobs scattered everywhere.

Leroy hummed, rocking in his seat. "I understand. At your age, I struggled to grasp the greater picture, the idea of 'means to an end.' People may die, yes. Many will certainly be injured. But imagine what happens if we don't do this: How many more of our people are put away? How many more are starved out, or forced into heroism just to provide for themselves? What happens when the council drops the facade, solidify their utmost authority, bend their code to suit themselves? What happens to us? All of us? This is greater than a tragedy in some children's theme park. This will determine our future, Nova."

Nova shuddered. "I know," she said, but she wasn't sure if she meant it, if she could actually go through with this. She— She needed some air, someplace she could think in private, where no one else would find her. Somewhere dark, a place that reminded her of home. A place… A place that was home.

Adrian had no idea how he was supposed to find Nightmare. How do you deliver a message to someone with no address, no constant dwelling or habitat or haunt?

"Fuck me," he groaned, pushing his glasses of his face with more force than strictly necessary, massaging his cheeks as he tried to think. Where would a villainess go in her free time, and how the hell would he find it?

Cosmopolis Park…

There was no way in hell that Winston Pratt had been serious about Nightmare spending her time at a fucking children's theme park. Maybe Ace had really found her there, taken her in despite showing no penchant for sympathizing with children, or, in fact, anyone. But for her to spend her time there, reminiscing, plotting- or maybe, like, napping, or something- seemed insane. It seemed entirely out of Nightmare's M.O. to do such a thing.

Yeah, but what the hell else do you have to go on?

Nothing. The answer was well and truly nothing. "Fuck!" Adrian repeated, falling onto his back from where he was sitting on the carpeted floor of the basement, hands planted over his eyes.

He supposed it was time to fall back on what was quickly becoming one of his favorite sayings: No harm in trying.

That thought was how Adrian ended up sitting atop the Ferris Wheel in Cosmopolis Park in his full Sentinel gear, feeling absolutely and utterly stupid. Obviously, he wasn't going to find Nightmare here, and, most obviously, even if she did come here, she wouldn't do it in her villain uniform. She was, in fact, intelligent from what Adrian could surmise despite all her other faults.

So where else could he go? Where was a place he knew Nightmare had been at least once?

The tunnels. Of course. She'd lived there for— Skies they had no idea how long she'd been there for. Maybe, maybe, she would miss her old home enough to make a visit, and maybe, she would find whatever message he left for her.

If not… Well. No harm in trying!

"Skies, I'm losing it," Adrian sighed.

He still went, found the car labeled as Nightmare's, looked through the pitifully small collection of belongings left behind, whatever hadn't been raided or packed during a hurried escape. It— Honestly, it was kind of sad to think someone his age lived like this for so long. No friends, no family except a bunch of washed up criminals, no formal education, no concept of life outside of these tunnels.

She was still a villain. Of course she was. Adrian had to remember that.

Still, as he left a hastily written note in what used to be her room, her safe space, he felt an ache somewhere deep down inside him.

She was his age. How had his dads never realized the Anarchists had a child? How come they'd never tried to save her after those first encounters, when all she did was steal supplies and knock out whatever team tried to chase her? Had they not known, or did they simply not care?

And you know what? If that was true… Maybe he could see why she hated the Council. She was still evil- clearly- and she needed to be stopped.

But damn. He wasn't sure he would do much differently in her place, and skies did that scare him.

Nova knew she was stupid for coming back here, but she couldn't help it. When she heard footsteps approaching in the distance, she'd frozen like a deer in headlights before rushing to hide beneath her cart, swathed in shadow. The footsteps had been heavy, booted, and whoever was here was clearly interested in her, considering they hadn't bothered to go past her car, to inspect Winston's sad little tent or Honey's dank bedroom.

When they left, Nova tried to control her breathing, waited what felt like hours until all was silent except for the occasional scurrying of a rat. She crawled out from her hiding spot, and hastily went to inspect her room. Had the person taken anything? Had they found something incriminating?

Nova found no evidence of that. All she found was a note.

Hello, Nightmare. If you're reading this, yes, we have met before. I would like for us to meet again. Here are the details:

10:00 PM on Bells and 21st. There's a building on the corner, entirely abandoned. I will be waiting on the rooftop. Don't be late.

Nova scoffed. As if she would ever be stupid enough to meet up with a stranger, one that likely just wanted whatever reward there was for her capture.

She tried to forget about it, even as she could feel the thin paper against her thigh, crumpled in her front pocket. She tried to forget about it, even as she thought about it all night, agonized over it as she stared at the sky.