Page 41 of Supernova

Adrian grimaced to see them there, to imagine what they would become. The thought of putting Max back into that glass prison disgusted him, but he hadn’t been able to talk to his dads about it again since Max had woken up.

Raised voices drew his attention back to the crowd—includingthe sound of Captain Chromium’s voice, sounding tense, though Adrian couldn’t make out his words.

Danna’s swarm fluttered up to watch the proceedings from the upper level, while Oscar and Ruby climbed up onto the curved information desk in order to see above the heads of the crowd. Adrian leaped up beside them.

Standing near the tiledRwas the Council—all five of them, hands fisted on hips or crossed over chests. A dozen paces in front of them, backlit from the massive windows at the front of the building, stood Genissa Clark, Trevor Dunn, and Mack Baxter, previously known as Frostbite, Gargoyle, and Aftershock.

Stingray stood beside them, too, his barbed tail twitching back and forth on the floor.

“What’s going on?” Adrian asked.

A nearby prodigy shushed him, but Pyrotechnic, on his other side, whispered, “Clark thinks the Council owes her.”

“—absolutely ridiculous,” said Blacklight, his voice loud enough to carry over the crowd, drawing Adrian’s attention back to the Council. “Of course they can’t come back on patrols. They aren’t prodigies anymore!”

The Dread Warden shot an annoyed glower at Blacklight, but it went ignored as Blacklight waved his arm toward Genissa and the group. “Well, they can’t! It’s absurd to even consider it!” He took a step forward. “Sorry to say it, but you’re acting like a spoiled princess, Miss Clark. Besides, you’re the one who said you were done being a superhero. No one here forced you to quit, but we all know it was the right decision. So why don’t you go home and start figuring out a more productive use of your time? We have better things to be dealing with.”

Captain Chromium settled a hand on Blacklight’s shoulder andpulled him back. He muttered something, but it was too quiet for Adrian to hear.

He had no problem, however, hearing Genissa Clark, who seemed thrilled to have an audience. “I’ve had a change of heart. And now that we’re back, you’re just going to sweep us under a rug, pretend like we don’t even exist? Like we didn’t sacrifice our powers in service to this organization. You can’t pretend that what happened to us isn’t your fault!”

“We’re superheroes!” bellowed Blacklight. “What did you expect, that we’d all sit around having tea parties all day?”

“That’s enough, Evander,” Thunderbird growled.

Huffing, Blacklight crossed his arms, muttering, “Ridiculous.”

“We demand retribution for what’s happened to us,” said Genissa, who had placed herself at the front of her group. She appeared relatively unchanged on the outside—the same flaxen hair, the same cool blue eyes, though her skin did seem to have a mild flush to it that had always been missing before. The coldness of her glare, though, was exactly the same as it had always been. “We joined the Renegades as prodigies, with abilities that belonged to us. But thanks to your carelessness in developing Agent N, and your failure to keep it from our enemies, we’re the ones suffering. There is no replacing our lost abilities, but we expect retribution. You owe us!”

“Perhaps we could go somewhere private to discuss this?” said Tsunami, gesturing toward the elevators. “Our offices are—”

“We’re fine here,” interrupted Genissa. “My peers need to hear what you have to say. After all, any one of them could be next.”

“Genissa, we are sorry for what happened to you,” said the Dread Warden, “in no small part because we hate to lose you and your team. You were one of our strongest units. But you chose to be a Renegade. You chose the risks that come with this life.”

“Actually,” said Genissa, smugly settling her hands on her hips, “when we first joined the Renegades, thisriskdidn’t exist. Criminals, fine. Villains, no problem. But Agent N exists becauseyoucreated it. How could we possibly have chosen that?”

“Besides,” said Trevor Dunn, whose flesh had once fluctuated between compounds of stone but now was covered in patches of pink, flaking skin, “I never signed a contract, signing away my life and powers in service of the Renegades. How about you all? You sign anything?” He gestured around the room, and was met with a lot of uncomfortable frowns.

“Of course not,” said Genissa. “A contract would suggest that, if things don’t go well, we might actually be entitled to some sort of compensation for the trauma and suffering. But oh no. We’re expected to fight for the Renegades, to defend the people of this city, to constantly throw ourselves into dangerous situations all in the name ofheroism.And we are heroes. Sworn to protect the weak and defend justice. But who is going to defend us? I wouldn’t count on it to bethem.” She gestured at the Council. “As soon as they don’t need us, they toss us aside, and I’m not going to stand for it.” She lifted her arms. “And none of you should, either. The Renegades are nothing without us. We are the heart and muscle of this organization, and they need us, more than we need them. I want the Council to recognize that we aren’t disposable trash. We’re Renegades! You can’t take that away from us, too!”

“Look, Genissa,” began the Captain, “we want to treat everyone justly, especially our own. But you can’t rejoin the force as patrol units. It wouldn’t be safe! I’m sure we can find some other role in the organization that will satisfy you. We don’t exactly have procedures in place for this sort of thing. And I’m sorry, but it’s not a top priority right now.”

“Perhaps it should become one,” said Genissa. “And I suggest itbecomes a priority fast, because I have my schedule booked full of media interviews this week, and I can either tell them how well the Renegades take care of their own… or I can tell them the truth. And with all the effort you’ve put into this big upcoming reveal of Agent N, well, it would be terrible if the secret got leaked early… wouldn’t it?”

“Great skies,” muttered Blacklight. “You know what—fine! Let’s just let them back on the team! Let them get themselves killed if that’s what they want!” He shook his head. “Non-prodigy superheroes. You can’t possibly—”

“We’re not—” the Captain growled under his breath, but he seemed relatively calm as he fixed his attention on Genissa. “I can’t in good conscience allow you to continue risking your lives when you don’t have superpowers to defend yourselves with. I’m sorry.” He spread his fingers wide. “What else can we offer you?”

This, to Adrian’s surprise, seemed to be the magic question. Genissa cast a victorious grin at her teammates.

“Actually,” she said slowly, “there is one thing thatmightsatisfy our need for… well, if not retribution exactly, then at least a bit of retaliation.”

The Council shared identical, suspicious scowls, but Genissa pushed on. “There have been rumors that the public revealing of Agent N is to include a public execution as well.”

Captain Chromium narrowed his eyes. “That’s true. For his crimes against humanity, Ace Anarchy has been sentenced to death.”

“Why stop there?” said Genissa. “I would argue that his accomplices deserve the same fate.” She lifted her chin, blue eyes glinting. “Nightmare deserves the same fate. Nightmare must die—and I want to be the one to do it.”

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