Page 158 of Supernova

“I’m fine!” said Max, his disembodied voice a little breathless. “Don’t worry about—”

Ace swung the chain again, aiming for the air where Max’s voice was coming from. It crashed through one of the flying buttresses, sending more stonework and a hefty gargoyle toppling over the side of the cathedral.

“It shouldn’t be possible,” said Hugh—drawing Adrian’s attention to him—aghast and pale, red impressions on his neck where the chain had dug into his skin. He was watching Ace. “He could never use my weapons before. They always defied his telekinesis.”

“It’s the star,” said Adrian. “It’s changed him somehow.”

It was difficult to see his dad this way, weaker than Adrian could even have imagined him looking.

“You think you can stop me?” Ace bellowed. “A child?”

“I did once, didn’t I?” Max appeared again, crouched on the edge of a tower, holding on to one of the decorative spires for balance. “Besides, you’ll have to kill me to stop me. All I have to do is get close to you.” He stood, his jaw set. His feet lifted off the roof, and he hovered there a moment, before sinking down to Ace’s level. A few feet closer than before.

The sight left Adrian awestruck. Max was wearing a Renegade uniform. It might have been a little long in the arms and legs—Adrian guessed it was Ruby’s—and yet, for all the greatest skies, his little brother really did look like a superhero.

Hearing a groan, Adrian glanced at Nova. She had been slumped against the wall on the opposite side of the roof, too far for him to reach her. Relief welled inside him now to see her conscious, using the wall for support as she staggered to her feet.

He wanted to tell Max to be careful, to not get too close to Nova, but he bit back the words. She still had the Vitality Charm beneath her jacket. It would protect her.

Besides, Max had enough to worry about, facing off against Ace.

All he had to do was get close…

Even as Ace was taking a step back, keeping the distance between them, he curled one finger toward the nave. An arched window of stained glass shattered. Max ducked, protecting his head as the glass drove toward him, sharp edges slicing through his skin, one shard lodging itself into his thigh. He hollered in pain.

With an enraged scream, Hugh took off running, charging toward Ace with renewed vigor. He brandished the pike, holding it like a javelin, ready to spear the villain through the gut.

Ace spun to face him, the chain swinging overhead.

Captain Chromium leaped, at the same moment Ace lashed at him with the chain. Another flash from Ace’s fist, igniting the weapon.

The Captain was in midair when the chain struck him squarely in the chest. The golden aura rippled outward, an explosion of light and sound, burning the air where the invincible chain met the Captain’s invincible body.

Then his dad was falling, his body limp as it was thrown backward, tumbling head over feet off the side of the cathedral.

Adrian wasn’t sure if the scream was his or Max’s, maybe even Nova’s. He didn’t remember sprinting to the edge of the roof. Desperate hope surged through him as he leaned over the short stone balustrade. He imagined seeing Captain Chromium, as ferocious as ever, already scaling back up the wall.

But that’s not what he saw.

Captain Chromium was on his back, eyes closed, the Silver Spear a few feet from his limp hand. A cloud of dust billowed around his body.

Adrian stood motionless, waiting. Waiting for his dad to wake up. Waiting for him to groan and shake it off and get back into the fight.

But Captain Chromium didn’t move.

“Incredible,” Ace murmured. “I remember this feeling.”

Adrian stumbled back from the edge of the roof.

The villain was levitating again, his eyes half closed in euphoria. “The first time I wore this helmet, I was a changed man. Everything that I am, everything I ever hoped to be, was within reach. And now I surpass even those bounds. The world at my fingertips, malleable as clay…”

A hiss of pain drew Adrian’s attention to Max. He watched as Max pulled the shard of glass from his thigh, then stood on weakenedlegs, dozens of cuts leaking blood into the gray suit. He kept coughing. Beads of sweat dotted his brow. But still, he scrunched his face in concentration, and the wall behind Ace began to tremble. A small vibration at first, until, all at once, the great slab of stone pulled free from its mortar and launched itself at Ace.

He was too distracted by his own glory to notice. The block hit him in the back and Ace fell, sprawling onto his knees as the rest of the wall clattered around him.

For a moment, the villain didn’t move, and Adrian could almost hope that this would be enough—he was still just a man, wasn’t he?

But then Ace released a guttural scream, and the stones shot back at Max.

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