Page 153 of Renegades

She couldn’t be sure, though, if that hatred was directed at Renegades, or all prodigies. People were still afraid of them, and rightly so. Even those who admired the Renegades, their supposed protectors, still seemed to harbor a respect that bordered on nervous insecurity.

Hero or villain, all prodigies were powerful. All prodigies were dangerous.

“—most people can see that we’re not all like that,” Adrian was saying, drawing her attention back to him. “Life is far better now than it ever was when Ace Anarchy was in charge, and that’s because of the Renegades.” He shook the doll. “And the Council.”

Nova frowned. “Ace Anarchy wasn’t actually in charge,” she said, before she could restrain herself. “I mean, he… he was probably technically the ruler of the Anarchists, but I don’t think he really wanted torule, you know? He mostly… just… wanted the oppression of prodigies to stop.” She swallowed. “At least that’s what it always sounded like to me.”

Adrian’s lips quirked. “How forgiving does a person have to be in order to defend Ace Anarchy?”

“I’m not being forgiving. I’m just… I just think that he gets blamed for everything that happened during those years, when really… so much of it was because of the other gangs that rose to power in the absence of government. And that’s not what he was trying to accomplish, either. He was all about personal freedom, personal responsibility, about taking care of yourself and your own, rather than expecting anyone to take care of you. He wanted to do away with oppression and regulations that only serve a small group of people, and… and… um.” Her face flushed. “At least… that’s… that’s what some people say. About him.”

Rather than looking at her like she had lost her mind, as Nova expected, Adrian’s smile had grown. “Well, I have a feeling that if those people had ever actually met Ace Anarchy, they might feel a little differently.”

Nova tensed. “Why? Haveyoumet him?”

“Afraid not. And I’m not sorry that I’ll never have the chance.” His expression turned serious as he peered at her. “You don’t actually think things are better now because of him. Do you?”

She considered her response for a long time. “I think a lot of horrible things happened during the Age of Anarchy, a lot of things that shouldn’t have happened. But I also think that if Ace Anarchy hadn’t done what he did… thenthis”—she tugged on the doll’scape—“wouldn’t be possible. Prodigies would still be in hiding. People would still hate us.”

Adrian’s lips went taut, and Nova wondered if she had said too much.

But then he sighed. “I guess I can’t argue that. But still, I can’t help but believe that there was a better way to get from there to here.”

Nova thought of all the buildings destroyed, all the people killed. Her sigh mimicked his. “I can’t argue with that, either.”

“One good thing that definitely came out of that time,” said Adrian, opening his arms wide, “is that now, we have superheroes. Maybe that’s the difference. Before, people saw us as freaks with scary powers. Now, they see us as… as inspirations.”

“Inspirations?”

“Sure. Everyone wants to be a hero. When you think about it, it’s a little sad that so few actually get to be one.”

Nova couldn’t contain a derisive sniff. “It would be sad, except they don’t actually mean it.”

Adrian cocked his head at her. “What do you mean?”

“There’s no rule that says you have to be a prodigy to be a hero,” she insisted. “If people wanted to stand up for themselves or protect their loved ones or do what they believe in their hearts is therightthing to do, then they would do it. If they wanted to be heroic, they would find ways to be heroic, even without supernatural powers.” She waggled her fingers in mockery of said powers. “It’s easy to say you want to be a hero, but the truth is most people are lazy and complacent. They have the Renegades to do all the rescuing and saving, so why should they bother? It’s easier to just call the hotline, then turn the other way and pretend it’s not your problem to solve.”

Her words tasted bitter even on her own tongue, not because they were pessimistic, but because they were true.

Because of the Renegades, humanity was becoming weak and pathetic, asshehad once been weak and pathetic. Waiting in the darkness of that closet, listening as her sister’s cries were silenced. So hopeful, so trustworthy, believing with all her heart that the Renegades would come.

But they were false idols. Liars and cheats.

Maybe if she hadn’t been waiting for the Renegades, she wouldn’t have hidden in that closet. Maybe she could have put her parents’ murderer to sleep sooner. Maybe she could have saved Evie.

Or maybe one of the neighbors would have heard the commotion and come to help, rather than assuming someone else would take care of it.

Maybe… justmaybe.

“What do you propose?” said Adrian, slipping his free hand into his pocket as they meandered past a series of food vendors. “Should we open a hero-training course, open to non-prodigies? Teach them ethics and martial arts and… I don’t know. Bravery. Do you think you can teach someone to be brave?”

Nova felt the side of her mouth lift, just a little, in some relief that he hadn’t outright refuted her argument against heroes. “A hero-training course would be a start, but it would only go so far. As long as there are superheroes, there will be people who rely on them far too much. I think humanity would be better off if there were no… no prodigies at all.”

For a moment, she’d almost saidRenegades, before remembering who she was speaking to. But on further inspection, she realized it was true. It wasn’t just Renegades who had caused somuch trouble for humanity. It was the villains, too, though they’d only been reacting to centuries of hatred and discrimination.

How much better off would the world be if there were no prodigies at all?

“I agree that dependence might be a problem,” said Adrian, with some amusement, “but no prodigies at all? That might be taking it a bit far.”

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