Supernova, page 18
She huffed and raised her eyes to see that she wasn’t the only one who had wanted to help Ace. Three of the inmates closest to him had also leaped from their seats. One of them even managed to take hold of Ace’s arm to keep him from slumping forward and hitting his head, before the guards started shouting and shoving them back. Ace was pushed against the wall in the hubbub, and he slid down it, one hand digging into his chest as the coughs dwindled to pained wheezing.
More of the inmates were standing now, yelling back at the guards. Do something. Help him. He needs a doctor.
One of the guards slammed the palms of his hands together and a wave of pressure pushed outward, bowling over everyone in its path. A number of prisoners fell to the ground. One hit his head on a stool. Though Nova didn’t get the brunt of it, the unexpected attack still shoved her back down to her stool.
Only then did the pressure on the fork tines relax. She yanked her arm off the table and plucked them viciously from the fabric.
“What’s wrong with you people?” shouted the man beside her, the one who had known Winston. He had not stood up with the others, but she could see the fury written plain across his face. He gestured toward Ace with his spoon. “He’s not a threat to you, anyone can see that. He needs help!”
“Yeah?” snapped another guard, even as he bent down to grab Ace’s cuffs. He hauled him back to his feet, making a point of not being gentle about it. “He’s killed a lot of people. Who came to help them?”
Nova bit down on the inside of her cheek. She was still gripping the broken fork handle and found herself tempted to leap over the table and stab one of those guards in the eye. She didn’t even particularly care which one.
But movement caught her attention. What was left of the food on her plate was rearranging itself. The bread crumbs, the potato peel, a few strings of what she had come to determine was probably boiled cabbage. They dragged together and twisted into familiar shapes, spelling out a message.
It read, simply, Don’t.
She swallowed and looked up.
Ace wasn’t watching her. If anything, he kept his focus resolutely away from her the whole time he was being dragged through the cafeteria and forced down onto the stool at the lone table.
The warden clapped his hands, three times, loud and slow. “Always one to make an entrance,” he said with a disdainful sneer.
Ace ignored him. He was still breathing hard, half collapsed over his table. The way the nearby guards trained their weapons on him was almost comical.
Until Nova looked down at the word on her plate and remembered that, even in this state, Ace wasn’t helpless.
“I’ve been informed by Renegade Headquarters,” said the warden, “that at the end of this month, we will all be going on a little field trip together.”
A rustle of interest passed through the inmates, coupled with suspicion.
“During this excursion, we expect total cooperation. You will be shackled together for the duration of the trip. You will all have your hands subdued. We have specially designed masks and blindfolds for those of you with abilities that function beyond the limits of your limbs. Special arrangements will be made for those with uniquely unrestrainable talents.” His voice dropped warningly with a glance toward Ace. He might have been glancing at a corpse for all the reaction his words got.
Nova bit the inside of her cheek.
The public reveal of Agent N. The neutralization. Her execution. It was happening, and soon.
“We will be bringing in reinforcements to assist with added security,” the warden continued. “If at any time, any one of you so much as blinks in a way we don’t like”—he paused dramatically, his glower bearing down on them—“we will not hesitate to kill you where you stand.”
No one spoke. No one moved.
“I’ll admit,” said the warden with a smug smile, “I’m sort of hoping some of you will test that promise.” He nodded at the guards and started heading toward the cafeteria exit.
“But where are we going?” one of the inmates asked. “And what for?”
The warden paused, gloating. “You’ll see soon enough. I’d hate to spoil the surprise.”
He left, and the guards wasted no time in hauling Ace back out of the room. Nova’s breaths quickened as she watched him go.
When the door had slammed shut behind them, she sank into her seat, miserable all over again. Lonely and helpless all over again.
Silence hung over the tables as the inmates exchanged baffled, curious looks. A guard barked, “Two minutes! Bring up your trays if you’re done, come on now!”
“Might wanna take some more bites,” her neighbor muttered. Nova snarled and wanted to tell him she’d lost her appetite. But his yellow eyes dropped to the tray and she realized what he meant. The message was still there.
Still holding her fork handle in a death grip, she pushed the food around until the word was unrecognizable.
A few inmates got up and started stacking their trays, but most stayed put, pretending to finish their meals. Nova noticed more of those minuscule gestures happening, almost in tandem now, while the guards talked distractedly among themselves.
She watched the prisoners sourly, wishing she knew what everyone around her was saying.
“Hey,” muttered her neighbor.
“What?” she snapped too loud. A guard glowered their way, before nodding at whatever his peer was saying.
Beside her, the man with the neon eyes took his spoon and tapped the back of it one time on the table next to his tray.
Nova glared. First at the spoon, then at him.
His smile was wide and a little crooked. “Means we’re united,” he said. “Villains to the end.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“ARE YOU SURE Ruby’s not home?” said Max, keeping so close to Adrian as they made their way down the sidewalk that he kept stepping on the backs of Adrian’s heels.
“Of course she’s not home. I sent her a message two hours ago,” said Adrian. “I wouldn’t put her at risk.”
“Okay, but … what if one of her brothers is secretly a prodigy and no one knows about it yet? Or one of her neighbors? Or—”
“They’re not,” said Adrian. “Her brothers idolize the Renegades. If they’d shown even a hint of superpowers, they would make sure we all knew about it. As for neighbors, once we have you inside the apartment, you’ll be fine. No prodigies are going to come near you, so you won’t have to worry about accidentally stealing powers from them, okay?”
Max said nothing, and Adrian could easily picture his doubtful expression.
“Hey, it’s going to be all right,” said Adrian. He tossed an arm around Max’s neck, pulling him to his side. The boy groaned and struggled, but only half-heartedly. “Ruby’s family agreed to this. No one wants to see you stuck in a quarantine again. And once I discuss it with Hugh and Simon, I’m sure they’ll see reason.”
“They’re going to be so mad.”
“I know. But they’ll get over it. And”—Adrian paused in front of a five-story apartment complex with a rugged brick facade—“here we are. The famous Tucker residence.”
“Famous how?” said Max, warily eyeing the rows of tall windows, the fire escape, the few balconies that were only wide enough to hold a handful of potted plants.
“Because it’s the home of Red Assassin and her twin brother sidekicks. Come on.”
Max followed him into the building and up the first flight of stairs. Aged but elegant wallpaper and lit sconces lined the walls of the narrow hallway. Adrian paused in front of Ruby’s apartment and was about to knock when the door swung open, revealing two identical boys, only a little older than Max. Their faces were bright with excitement, each of them donning the Renegade uniform costumes their mom and grandma had made them for the Sidekick Olympics.
Adrian had finally thought to ask Ruby how to tell the twins apart, and though it took him a moment to remember, her explanation quickly made sense. Jade’s hair was longer and shaggy around the ears, while Sterling kept his cropped a bit shorter. He’d started referring to him as Short Sterling in his head, even though the boys were the same height.
“You made it!” said Jade, while Sterling yelled over his shoulder, “Mom! Grandma! They’re here!”
“Come on, come on.” Jade waved his hand, ushering them inside. “This is so cool. Ruby said you stole Ace Anarchy’s power? Is that true?”
“And you can levitate?” asked Sterling.
“And turn invisible, like the Dread Warden, right?” added Jade.
“Do you have superstrength like the Captain? If you got shot in the heart, would you die?”
“Dude.” Jade smacked his brother on the shoulder. “He was just in the hospital for being stabbed. What do you think?”
“Hey, what’s this?” Ignoring his brother, Sterling pointed at the small cage Max was clutching.
“Boys, boys, give them some space!” said their mom, bustling in from a back room. She smiled apologetically at Adrian. “If you couldn’t tell, they were a little bit excited when we told them about our new houseguest. You must be Max. Ruby’s told us so much about you. It’s such a pleasure to finally meet. And lovely to see you again, Adrian.”
Max graciously accepted her handshake, but Adrian could tell he was nervous and flustered by the attention from the twins.
“Boys, why don’t you show Max to your room so he can get settled in? You can have Ruby’s bed, or fight these two mongrels for the top bunk. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Adrian, are you joining us?”
Adrian grimaced. “I could…,” he said, glancing at Max, “but I’m supposed to meet up with the rest of the team to start the next phase of our Anarchist investigation.”
“I’ll be fine,” said Max, still nervous, but doing his best to pretend he wasn’t. “Where is Ruby going to stay while I’m here?”
“With Danna,” said Mrs. Tucker, “and Oscar’s mom said she’s welcome there as well if necessary.”
“We have plenty of guest rooms at the mayor’s mansion, too,” said Adrian. “And there’s always open dorms at headquarters.”
Mrs. Tucker clasped her hands. “She’ll be fine. We’re all happy to have you here, Max, and you can stay as long as you need to. Jade, Sterling?” She tipped her chin toward the back of the apartment.
“Yeah, come on!” yelled Jade, bounding down the hallway. “Room’s this way.”
“Is that thing real?” said Sterling, who hadn’t stopped gawking at Turbo.
“Oh, um, yeah.” Max held up the cage for them to see. “He’s kind of sick right now, but … this is Turbo. He’s a velociraptor. Sort of. Adrian made him.”
“No way,” Sterling murmured. Then—“Jade! You have to see this!”
He chased after his brother. With an awkward chuckle, Max started after him. He hesitated once, turning back to Adrian, a question in his eyes.
“I’ll come visit all the time,” said Adrian. “If you need anything, just get a message to Ruby and she’ll let me know.”
Max nodded. “Are you going to tell them where I am?”
By them, Adrian knew, he meant Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden.
“Not immediately,” he admitted. “I figure I’ll clue them in once that quarantine is officially dismantled.”
With a faint smile, Max followed the boys. As he disappeared through a doorway, Adrian heard one of them ask, “Is it true they call you the Bandit? That’s such an awesome alias. If I were a Renegade, my name would be the Silver Snake, and I would have a forked tongue and venomous fangs. And my brother…”
Adrian exhaled, comforted by the boys’ easy prattle. Max hadn’t had many friends, and none his own age. It was normal that he was shy, but something told Adrian the three of them would hit it off just fine.
“Should I be worried about the wrath of the Council for this?”
He winced and faced Mrs. Tucker. “Probably not as much as I should be.”
She squeezed his arm. “It will be fine. Ruby told us all about the quarantine, and the testing to make that … serum thing they’ve been working on.”
“That’s supposed to be top secret.”
She shrugged. “We don’t do secrets in our family. My point is, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t deserve to have all that on his shoulders.”
“My feelings exactly.”
“I’m sure the Captain and the Dread Warden care about him, just like they care about you. They’ll come to understand. And in the meantime, I promise we’ll take good care of him.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Tucker.”
She leaned in and gave him a hug, which Adrian wasn’t expecting. “Go on,” she said. “Go do hero stuff. And tell that daughter of mine that I expect daily phone calls. Just because she’s not living under this roof doesn’t mean she’s not my responsibility, superpowers or otherwise.”
He grinned. “I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”
* * *
Adrian hadn’t walked three blocks from the apartments when he received a communication over his wristband. His palms became clammy with dread before he even looked down to see who it was from, and he was right.
Bracing himself, he accepted the call.
“Where is he?” barked Captain Chromium. “Adrian, what have you done?”
“So … you got the note?” said Adrian, trying to keep his tone light. Not wanting his dads to panic and think that Max had been kidnapped out of the hospital by some covert gang of villains, they had left a note for the hospital staff to find, explaining that Max was with his brother and that the Renegades shouldn’t worry about him.
“Yes, we got the note! What’s going on? Where is Max?”
“He’s somewhere safe,” said Adrian. He paused on the sidewalk, leaning up against a light post. “Trust me.”
“Trust you? What does that even—”
Hugh was cut off, followed by some shuffling on the other side, and then Simon’s voice cut in. “Adrian, we do trust you. And we trust Max. But this is serious. We need to know where he is. You of all people should understand how dangerous it is for him to be alone out in the world.”
“He’s not alone,” said Adrian. “No other prodigies will be at risk, and he’s comfortable and secure, maybe even happy, which is more than we could ever say about putting him back in that quarantine.”
A brief silence followed. Hugh returned, his panic now under better control. “How did you even manage to get him out of the hospital? Did you find the Vitality Charm?”
“No, Dad. But I—” Adrian hesitated and for a moment considered telling them the truth, rather than the story he’d been concocting all day. But no, the time wasn’t right. “I borrowed one of the hazmat suits from HQ and put Max into it. The barrier protected me from his powers long enough to get him to where we needed to go.”
“A hazmat suit?” said Simon. “And no one noticed a ten-year-old kid wandering down the corridors in a hazmat suit?”
Adrian waited a beat and was met with Simon’s subtle gasp, then a groan. “Invisibility. Right. You know, I forget that he has that one, too.”
“You did give it to him,” said Adrian, “so technically, it’s kind of like you helped him escape.”
“Don’t get smart,” said Hugh. “And he didn’t need to escape. He’s not a prisoner!”
“Wasn’t he?” said Adrian. “Look, I know you guys love him, but I’m not letting you put him back in that quarantine, end of story. For now, he’s safe where he is, until we find a more permanent solution.”
“No, Adrian, you are going to tell us where he is right this minute, so we can get him back to the hospital and make sure—”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Adrian interrupted. “For now, I’m late for a team meeting. Okay, guys? Love you, bye!”
The communication band filled with enraged prattle, but was silenced by a press of his thumb. Adrian flinched, wondering whether he was too old to be grounded. When he was a kid and went against their rules, they’d always threaten to take away his comics or video games, but those things didn’t hold quite the same sway over him that they used to. What could they take away now that would matter?
He steadied his breathing. It would be all right. Of all the things he’d done in the past few months that could make his dads angry or disappointed with him, whisking Max away to a secret safehouse was hardly the worst of it. A part of him even hoped that, someday, they would acknowledge that he’d done the right thing, for Max and for their family.
If not technically the best thing for the Renegades.
As if the Renegade call center somehow knew Adrian was at that moment breaking more of the Council’s rules, his wristband blared with an alarm. He’d almost forgotten that he had patrol duty that night, until he saw the assignment scrolling across the small screen.
Break-in at Dallimore’s Dptmt Str, 29th & Merchant, theft in progress, report immediately.
Adrian grinned.
Serving some old-fashioned justice was exactly what he needed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“OH, MAN, IT feels good to be heroic!” said Ruby, stretching an arm overhead to work out her muscles. She stood over two cuffed and unconscious burglars who had been caught breaking into a jewelry case in Dallimore’s department store.
Adrian couldn’t help but agree. It did feel good to be heroic. If nothing else, the arrest had helped take his mind off Max for a while, and Nova, too.
Oscar plopped himself onto a table amid stacks of women’s T-shirts in various colors. “And for once, Sketch didn’t even have to resort to his special abilities.” He jutted the end of his cane in Adrian’s direction. “Nice to see you keeping it old-school.”
Adrian glared, but he knew the teasing was good-natured. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was defending justice for years before I…” He paused and glanced at the burglars, and even though they appeared to be out cold, he still finished lamely, “You know.”
Swinging his legs, Oscar surveyed the store, dimly lit by only a handful of the ceiling fluorescents two stories overhead and the display lighting that even now was making the nearby jewelry cases twinkle, including the one that had been smashed to pieces. “Do you think they have any vending machines around here?”
