Supernova, page 36
A shiver ripped through her. The Sentinel.
“He was the one who found me inside the catacombs—he and those friends of his.” His eyes crinkled sympathetically at the corners. “They know his identity, too. But they didn’t tell you, did they?”
Pulling her hand away, Nova paced along the wall of the tower. Ruby and Oscar knew the truth? And Danna, too? For how long?
They were a team. She’d thought they trusted one another. She’d thought Adrian felt things for her that went beyond camaraderie, beyond even friendship. She knew it was hypocritical for her to be angry at his keeping this secret when she kept so many of her own, but it still stung, to think that her entire unit had known and not told her.
“You cannot trust them, Nova. You are not one of them, much as you might wish otherwise.”
She kept her back to him, hoping he couldn’t tell how this information hurt her.
“You are one of us. You are a part of this family.” A hand settled on her shoulder. “If you want to leave, I will open a path for you. I will not keep you here if you do not wish to be a part of our revolution anymore. You have already done so much for our cause, and for that, you will always have my gratitude and respect. But, Nova…” His voice dropped. “You know what the Renegades will try to do to us when they make it past these barriers, including Adrian Everhart. I hope you will choose to stay and fight. I hope you have not been so taken with their promises that you can no longer see what’s been driving us forward all these years. Stand beside your family, Nova. Stand with us, and fight for our future, not theirs.”
He patted her shoulder once, gently, then let his hand fall away. She heard him picking up the helmet and moving toward the trapdoor.
And she heard the gunshots.
And she heard Evie crying.
And she heard Captain Chromium’s steady voice: We did what we had to do to stop the villain gangs, to bring order and peace. We would do it again if we had to.
“Ace?”
The bell tower fell silent, but she knew he was still there. Her hand was trembling as she wrapped it around her bracelet and turned to face him. He watched her. Always patient. Always waiting.
The star pulsed against her skin.
“I found something,” she said. “Something my father made before he died.”
His chin lifted, interest piqued.
“I think … I think he might have created it as a weapon to destroy Captain Chromium.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
THE LAST TIME Adrian had stood in front of the creepy poster inside these creepy subway tunnels, Nova had been at his side. Until now, she was the only person he’d told about the tunnel that connected the subway to the catacombs, and he would have given just about anything to have her there at his side again.
He would have preferred to be kissing her again, rather than getting ready to risk his life to ensure the defeat of Ace Anarchy, but he would have been content just to have her there. She was a fierce ally, a strong fighter, and her skills would have put his mind at ease as they prepared to sneak into the cathedral.
That, and he wouldn’t have been devoting a corner of his brain to worrying about her.
He hadn’t heard from Nova since before the attack on the arena, despite numerous attempts to contact her via their wristbands. Surely she had heard the news—everyone in Gatlon City knew about what had happened by now. But she had never shown up at the arena, and as far as he knew, no one had heard from her at headquarters, either.
He would have gone to her in person and told her about their plan to sneak into the cathedral while Captain Chromium led the Renegades in a diversionary assault up above, hoping that she would join them. Except … he didn’t know where she was. The house on Wallowridge was gone, and he had no idea where this apartment was that she and her uncle were staying at.
The more he thought about it, the more his fingers twitched with nervous anxiety.
What if something had happened to her?
He knew he needed to stop thinking about it, though. One crisis at a time, he told himself, and for now, that crisis was stopping Ace Anarchy and protecting the world as they knew it.
He reached for the corner of the poster and swung it outward, revealing the narrow tunnel beyond.
Oscar whistled. Danna remained silent.
The three of them were alone this time, and it felt off balance to be without Nova, who had become a reliable fixture in their group, and Ruby, who had gone to keep watch over Max until they could be sure that Ace Anarchy couldn’t come after him. Though Ruby’s family had been instructed to remove all the mirrors from their house, he still worried that Nightmare might have other ways to figure out Max’s location. The last thing he wanted to do was underestimate her or any of the Anarchists.
Captain Chromium had wanted to come with them. Actually, he’d at first insisted that he go alone into the cathedral to face off against Ace and the others by himself. But his leadership was needed at headquarters, organizing the Renegades who had been pouring in from outside syndicates and preparing them for the counterattack that would soon be underway. Only after Adrian had reminded his dads that his team had already fought Ace Anarchy and won, and only after he’d given them a number of demonstrations of his Sentinel abilities, proving that he had, in fact, made himself into one of the most powerful prodigies of all time, and only after he pointed out that this plan required stealth, which was not a skill that Captain Chromium possessed, did Hugh and Simon reluctantly agree to let his team attempt this raid. They knew, as Adrian did, that taking Ace Anarchy by surprise was their best chance to neutralize him. To steal back the helmet. To defeat him, once and for all.
“I’ll check that the coast is clear,” said Danna. She transformed and the swarm disappeared into the shadows, their wings catching on the beam of Adrian’s flashlight.
Leaning on his cane, Oscar peered over at Adrian. “We are going to survive this, right?”
Adrian swallowed. “Of course. We’re Renegades.”
Oscar nodded. Neither of them bothered to point out that a lot of Renegades had not survived the battle at the arena.
“Good,” said Oscar, a little wistful. “Because I really want to see Ruby again after this.”
Adrian completely understood. He really wanted to see Nova again after this, too. There were far too many things left unsaid.
They waited in silence for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes. Finally Danna returned, or two of her butterflies did, dancing briefly around their heads before fluttering back through the passageway.
With his marker in one hand and the flashlight in the other, Adrian followed.
The catacombs were exactly as they had left them after the fight against Ace Anarchy. Bones and skulls littered the stone floor, making it nearly impossible to walk without disturbing the silence. Marble statues lay in pieces, sarcophagi were overturned, giant cracks ran through the church’s thick foundation.
They made their way, as stealthily as they could, through the catacomb’s chambers and up the narrow stone staircase. Before, this stairway had opened out onto the wasteland, surrounded by nothing but ruins and destruction. But now, as Adrian neared the uppermost landing, there was no light filtering down from an open sky. Only more shadows, and their footsteps echoing off thick stone walls.
Adrian’s breath caught as they stepped out into a small circular chamber. A second staircase continued upward, but two doorways opened on either side, each one flanked by statues of hooded figures. He had known from secondhand reports that Ace had rebuilt the cathedral, but he’d been picturing a jumbled structure. Broken stone and timbers barely held together with old mortar and rusted nails. He had expected something flimsy and precarious, ready to collapse at the slightest blow.
But the chamber around them seemed as ancient and solid as if it had stood there undisturbed for hundreds of years. The thick stone walls perfectly fitted together, with no sign that they’d recently been strewn across the wasteland. It was as if the Battle for Gatlon had never happened.
He cast an uncomfortable look at Oscar. The fact that Oscar hadn’t said anything was proof enough of his own surprise. In fact, the cathedral was as silent as the tombs below. Adrian knew the silence wouldn’t last. Soon, Captain Chromium and every Renegade who could still fight, including those who had arrived from outside syndicates, would attack the wasteland barrier with all the force they had. Adrian hoped this would create enough of a diversion and lead most, if not all, of the villains outside the cathedral while he, Oscar, and Danna attempted to find and neutralize Ace Anarchy.
But finding him might be a problem.
A few of Danna’s butterflies flitted toward the nave, the vast, central area of the church, so Adrian crept after her, listening for any signs of the villains.
As he paced beneath a gigantic stained-glass window that stretched all the way to the vaulted ceiling, Adrian was astounded to think that all this had been mere rubble before. How was a single prodigy capable of this, in such a short amount of time?
He moved toward the central aisle, set with wooden pews and iron candelabras and vast stone pillars on either side.
His gaze traveled down the long, wide aisle.
He froze.
There—at the far end of the nave, what felt like a mile away, dwarfed by the vast ceilings and monumental windows—stood Ace Anarchy. Waiting for them, his helmet glinting in the light of a hundred candles lit along the sides of the choir.
He was not alone. More than a dozen villains were at his sides.
And, a few steps in front of the altar, stood Nova.
Adrian’s blood ran cold. When had the villains found her? How long had she been a prisoner here, a hostage?
His vision sparked red, and before he knew what he was doing, Adrian was charging down the aisle. His right forearm began to glow. A ball of fire swirled around his left fist.
Danna screamed. “Sketch—no!”
Seconds later, a monarch butterfly danced in front of his face. Adrian batted it away.
The cyclone of wings appeared in front of him, then Danna herself, hands upheld. “Adrian, stop!”
Something hit the ground at Danna’s feet. Green vapor burst from the capsule. This, more than Danna’s plea, made Adrian skid to a halt. Danna gasped and swarmed again, her butterflies swirling upward. They were halfway to the vaulted ceilings when they began to converge.
Adrian stared, horrified, as the cloud of gold-and-black wings re-formed. Then they were Danna, and she was falling, forty feet from the ground. Her scream ricocheted through the nave.
Allowing his flame to smolder and vanish, Adrian leaped. He caught her midair and landed just beyond where the gaseous vapor was dissipating. The air smelled suddenly of sharp chemicals, burning the back of his throat.
Danna coughed and rolled out of his arms, landing crouched on one knee. “No,” she murmured, pressing a hand to her heart. “No.”
A bolt of black smoke blurred past them. Adrian lifted his head in time to see the smoke arrow strike Ace Anarchy in the face. He reeled back, coughing into his elbow. Another bolt followed, then another, as fast as Oscar could send them, each one striking one of the villains gathered at the far end of the nave.
Then Oscar cried out.
Adrian looked back to see that Oscar’s cane had been ripped from his hand. It took on a life of its own, striking the backs of Oscar’s knees, knocking him hard to the ground.
“Smokescreen, cover me!” Adrian yelled.
Oscar raised one hand to block another blow from the possessed cane, while his other palm extended toward Adrian. A drift of thick white fog started to roll down the aisle, filling up the pews, when Oscar yelped in pain and swatted at the back of his neck.
Oscar inspected his hand, something small and black clinging to his fingers.
Queen Bee cackled. “Serves you right for that little trick you played at the arena!”
Oscar met Adrian’s gaze. His expression was ferocious, but Adrian could still see the torment behind it. The bee must have had Agent N, just like the ones at the arena.
The last of the fog faded away.
Adrian ground his teeth. His fists tightened.
Danna grabbed his arm. “Adrian, think. It’s a trap.”
He tore his arm away and started to run again. Having been so close to the mist-missile and the cloud of Agent N, they probably thought he’d been neutralized, too.
They were wrong.
Nova hadn’t moved. She watched him charging for her, her face pale, a fear like he’d never seen before brimming in her eyes.
“Let her go!” he yelled, as another flame burst forth from his palm. Adrian prepared to lurch forward, to attack, to tear Ace Anarchy and his cohorts apart, if they’d done anything to hurt her—
He didn’t see the net until it was too late. Until his foot had crossed some invisible mark and, as one, the knot of ropes engulfed him. He stumbled and rolled a few times, entangling himself more.
Choking for air, he tried to rebound to his feet, but one leg was caught. He felt like a wild animal, ensnared in a hunter’s trap, and Danna’s words came back to him, further igniting his anger.
Igniting.
Recalling the first time he’d been caught in ropes like these, he snarled and clenched his left fist around the nearest rope. He summoned his flame, letting it burn as hot as it could.
The fire was an inferno, nearly engulfing Adrian’s entire body, by the time he realized that it wasn’t working. The ropes grew sticky, but they did not burn.
“Fire-resistant coating,” said Cyanide, drawing Adrian’s attention back to the villains. “We do try to learn from past mistakes.”
With sweat dripping down the back of his neck, Adrian maneuvered his right arm so he had a clear shot through the net. His skin lit up. He targeted Ace Anarchy, standing not far from Nova, and fired.
A series of pews flew up onto their sides, forming a wall between Adrian and the villains. The pews crashed back down to the floor, their splintered wooden seats leaving just enough space between them that there remained a narrow aisle down the nave’s center.
“Great marvels,” said Queen Bee. Stepping forward, she linked her elbow with Nova’s. Adrian tensed, panic surging through every nerve. “If you want her so much, here—you can have her.”
With a saccharine smile, Queen Bee shoved Nova forward. She stumbled down the few steps onto the long, narrow path that distinguished the choir from the nave. She caught herself and hesitated.
“Nova,” said Adrian, his voice thick with despair, his arms straining against the ropes. “Are you okay?”
She stared at him, swallowing hard.
She said nothing as she started down the aisle. She appeared tormented and unsure. He had never seen Nova, confident, brave Nova, look like that before.
But as she came closer, he noticed something else, too.
She was not tied up, like he would assume a Renegade prisoner would be.
She was not wearing her Renegade uniform, or even her usual civilian clothes, but rather a black jacket and a utility belt that seemed eerily familiar.
Adrian’s stomach gave a lurch. He would have backed away, but he was stuck, peering at her through the ropes that were as constricting as his own rib cage.
“She’s done well, hasn’t she?” said Ace Anarchy, speaking for the first time. His voice carried a lilt of amusement, but Adrian barely heard him over the truth and disbelief that had gone to war inside his head. “Your plan was a clever one, sneaking in through the catacombs. It might even have worked, if you hadn’t already told my niece that you knew about the escape tunnel. Now that you’re here, we’ll have to make sure that entrance is blocked off, so no one else thinks to follow in your footsteps.” He gestured to a couple of the villains. “Bind the others and secure them in the treasury for now. Take the Everhart boy to the east chapel and await further instructions.”
Ace Anarchy’s orders barely registered.
Nova was nearly to Adrian now. The fear he’d seen before was fading away, being replaced by her signature determination. Her jaw tense, her shoulders set.
Had he only imagined the torment before? The regret? The doubt?
“Nova,” he breathed, nearly coughing on the word as his own jumble of emotions stuck in his throat. “Who are you?”
She crouched so they were eye to eye. They were as close now as when they’d danced at the gala. As close as when he’d put noise-canceling headphones on her ears so she could finally sleep. As close as when they’d kissed in the subway tunnels, just outside the hidden passage to the catacombs.
The last shreds of denial shriveled up inside him. The truth won. Suddenly, he knew.
When Danna had first accused Nova of being his worst enemy, the villain he had been hunting for months, he had been angry. Mortified. At times, even disgusted.
Now, all that was left was a deep, devastating sense of loss.
His shoulders fell under the weight of the ropes that bound him.
Nova reached for Adrian’s hand, placing two fingers against his knuckle. He flinched at the touch and thought, just for a moment, he might have seen hurt flash through Nova’s eyes. But it was his imagination, because a second later her expression had hardened into something cold and impenetrable.
“Everyone has a nightmare,” she said. “I guess I’m yours.”
That was the last he remembered before darkness claimed him.
CHAPTER FORTY
“WELL, ISN’T THAT clever,” said Queen Bee, inspecting the bottom of Adrian’s bare foot. He did his best to ignore her. He’d been trying to ignore the whole lot of them, the ever-revolving door of Anarchists and villains, even as they’d attempted increasingly obnoxious tactics to get a reaction from him.
His eyes stayed resolutely on Nova whenever she was in the room.
Her eyes stayed resolutely away.
“Springs,” said Queen Bee, trailing a sharp fingernail down the sole of Adrian’s foot. He did his best to stifle a twitch. “To jump farther. Isn’t that clever, sweetie?”
