Page 32 of Archenemies

Nova started, dismayed.

“Oh, come,” said Leroy, noticing her reaction. “You always hated it when Winston used his powers.”

Nova glared at him, her cheeks flaming. It felt like an accusation, and one that she didn’t like being put forth right in front of Ace. Even if it was true. There was a part of her—and not a small part, either—that had not been sad to know that the Puppeteer was gone. That no children would ever be forced to suffer the mind control he could exact with his creepy glowing strings.

Did that make her as bad as the Renegades who were enthusiastic about Agent N and its possibilities? Did that make her a traitor to the Anarchists, her family?

“The Renegades don’t get to decide who gets superpowers and who doesn’t,” she said, jaw tense.

“And who should we entrust with such a decision?” rasped Phobia. “Fate? The whims of chance? The Puppeteer was a fool and now he is suffering the consequences.”

Nova was surprised to see that no one seemed particularly upset. Winston had been with them for so long. Could it be that, for all these years, they had only barely tolerated him?

For some reason, the thought made her sad.

“So we have lost the Detonator and the Puppeteer,” said Ace. “Our numbers are dwindling.”

“And we’ll all be in trouble once this neutralizing agent is approved for use,” said Nova.

“How could they have created such a poison?” said Leroy, rubbing his jaw. “It must be a marvel of chemical engineering.”

“I suspect they are using the child,” said Ace.

Nova spun back to him. She had avoided telling the Anarchists about Max, worried that one of them might try to target him specifically. But of course Ace knew of his existence. Max had beenthe one to drain away some of his powers during the Battle for Gatlon.

“What child?” said Honey.

“One whose mere presence can suck the power from our souls.” Ace’s eyelids fluttered shut and he leaned against the back of his chair. “I have no doubt that he has served a role in the development of this… this Agent N.”

“Y-yes,” Nova said. “They call him the Bandit.” Saying it felt like a betrayal, but she tried to ignore it. Her loyalties werehere, not in a quarantine at Renegade Headquarters.

But then Ace opened his eyes again and they were burning. “He is an abomination.”

Nova took a step back, surprised by his vehemence and the unfairness of such a statement. She wanted to be sympathetic to Ace and the grudge he must have held against Max all these years. The baby who had weakened him, who had cost him everything.

But still… Ace had always fought for prodigy rights. For freedom and equality. To call Max an abomination for a power he couldn’t control went against everything Ace had taught her.

She wanted to say as much, to defend the kid, but the words wouldn’t form.

“We need to know more,” said Leroy. “How the substance works, how they plan to administer it, what might be its limitations.”

Nova nodded. “We start training with it next week. I’ll find out more then. Do you think… if I could steal a sample or two, do you think you might be able to replicate it?”

He frowned, doubtful. “Unlikely, without the… source material.”

Meaning the Bandit, she assumed.

“But I would still like to study it and see what can be learned.”

“If you make me a decoy sample, I might be able to swap it out,” said Nova.

“Our efforts must go beyond learning the properties of this substance,” said Phobia, stepping into the halo of candlelight. “We must consider how it can be weaponized against our enemies.”

“I agree,” Ace murmured. “Our Nightmare presented this news to us as a problem to be overcome, and yet… I think you might have just told us of our salvation.”

“Salvation?” barked Honey. “Those tyrants want to strip us of our powers!”

“Indeed,” said Ace, “and their quest for power has led them to create what might be their own undoing. As Nova has said, they are as vulnerable to this weapon as we are. If we can find a way to weaponize it, as Phobia suggests, we can turn it against them.”

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