Page 114 of Supernova

Narcissa was as pale as the white stone walls.

Nova had to remind herself that she had nothing to fear. None of them did. Not from Ace, at least. And so she started toward the bell tower, walking a path that felt like walking through a long-forgotten memory.

Not knowing what else to do, the others followed.

A number of their allies were panting by the time they reached the top of the staircase that spiraled up to the bell tower. Ace stood at one of the open-air windows, studying the city beyond the wasteland. Renegade Headquarters could be seen rising up from the skyline.

The bells had stopped ringing.

It was almost as though Acewantedthe Renegades to come find him. Was he so eager for another fight? Nova’s nerves were frazzled. There was so much they had to discuss, and soon, before this went much farther.

Today is the day we become gods.

No.

Nova didn’t want to be a god. She had a much different plan in mind, one that had been seeded during her time in Cragmoor prison, and one that felt more necessary now than ever before.

“Ace,” she started, “they’re going to know exactly where wewent.” She gestured at the others, hoping for their support. “Should we talk about what to do from here? Make a plan?” She cleared her throat before adding. “I… have some ideas.”

Ace turned, beaming at her. “You have always been full of ideas, my little Nightmare. I owe you so much. You have returned to me my strength, my power. You have laid the foundation for our ultimate victory. You have secured for us the Renegades’ own weapon, ensuring not only our survival, but their demise.”

Ace began to walk the perimeter of the bell tower. Though it was newly reconstructed, the wooden boards beneath his feet creaked exactly as they had when Nova was a child. He let his focus linger on the city skyline as he passed each window—eight in all, each hung with a bell of its own, though none as enormous as the two gigantic bells that hung in the tower’s center. The steeple over their heads was a labyrinth of crisscrossing support beams, pulleys, and ropes. Nova could hardly believe that she was standing here, again, after all these years. That it could be so unchanged.

“I have been granted a great gift these past ten years,” said Ace. “Rarely are we given the opportunity to ponder our failures and prepare ourselves for a new path. For this, I shall always be grateful for the Renegades and what they did. To me. Tous.” He dragged his fingers along the stone windowsills. “I now have a clarity of purpose that eluded me before. I was not prepared to usher our world into the society I envisioned. But that has changed. I believe in a man’s freedom to craft his own life, to make his own choices, without the meddling of a higher power. Without the interference of arbitrary laws. Without the forced imposition of someone else’s principles, all under the guise of providing for agreater good.”

He scoffed. For as long as Nova could remember, this had been one of Ace’s most hated phrases. That vague, altogether subjectivenotion of a so-called greater good. What did it even mean, he had often asked. Who got to decide what constituted that greater good, and what was worthy of the sacrifice in its favor?

“What is anarchy but our right to have our own thoughts, and to speak them? To have our own desires, and to use our own resources to obtain them? To not have to live in fear that everything we have worked so hard to procure will be taken from us against our will?And yet…”He sighed, and his voice grew quiet. “I must concede that it is not human nature to allow anarchy to prevail. A new ruling order will always rise up and claim power. In the past, I allowed other gangs and their leaders to become that ruling order.”

He surveyed the prodigies around them, many who had fought alongside them at the arena. Nova wondered how many of them he recognized as gang members from years past.

“So long as we were no longer faced with persecution, and those that I loved were well cared for”—his gaze settled briefly on Nova—“then I did not bother myself with how the city was run, or who was profiting and who was suffering as a result. I did not wish to become the ruling elite I have always despised. I did not believe it was my place to choose the winners and losers of this world, as previous tyrants had chosen. But we must have a vision going forward. My friends. My companions. This time, I do have a vision.”

Ace lifted his arms. “When a society collapses, a new master will rise up to replace the old. This time, we will be that master. We will be the new ruling order. If humanity is so determined to have a king to follow and a god to worship, then we will be those kings. We will be those gods.” His voice rang through the tower. “But first, we must destroy the Renegades and everything they have built.”

Nova’s skin tingled. She knew she should be happy to see him so spirited. This was what she wanted, too, she reminded herself. NoRenegades. No Council. No villain gangs. Only the Anarchists—invincible to all the world.

With no superheroes to save the day, society would correct itself. No one would lie around waiting for handouts, expecting to be rescued. People would accept their own responsibilities. Defend their own families. And when someone mistreated another human being, their punishment would come from society itself, not some clueless government.

This was what she had fought for.

But not anymore. She had a vision of her own and, for the first time, it did not align with Ace and his ideals. Not entirely.

And so, she raised her voice and declared, simply, “No.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

ADRIAN STOOD SHIVERINGfor a long time, listening to the groans of compromised steel beams and the trickles of broken plaster.

The villains were gone.

The arena was in shambles. The Renegades were in shambles.

But he had faced Ace Anarchy a second time and survived,again.That was no small feat.

“Adrian…”

Simon’s voice from behind him was subdued, and it brought back a shock of memories that had been buried in the storm Ace Anarchy had created.

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