Page 117 of Supernova

They must have been done organizing the others, making sure aid was offered to those who needed it and cleanup of the arena was underway. It was time to focus on other matters.

Evidently, he was up first.

He swallowed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Hugh’s mouth thinned and there was the anger Adrian had expected. But it was short-lived. He wilted and stepped forward, pulling Adrian into a tight hug.

Adrian held him back. “Thanks, Dad. I’m okay.”

“That’s the most important thing,” said Hugh. “Youare the most important thing.” He pulled away, stoic again. “You still owe us a lot of explanations, though. Not just how, but why. You’ve broken a lot of rules, and taken advantage of our trust. But…” He sighed heavily. “Today, at least, I’m glad you did what you did. You were very brave, and… you saved a lot of people.”

Adrian flinched, feeling like he hadn’t saved enough. “We’re superheroes,” he murmured. “That’s what we do.”

“First order of business,” interrupted Simon. “You need to tell us where Max is. It’s likely Ace Anarchy will try to target him. We need to keep him safe, and we can’t do that if we don’t know where he is.”

Adrian nodded. “He’s staying with Ruby’s family.”

“I can go,” said Ruby, standing beside him. “I’ll get him, take him wherever you want me to.”

Simon frowned. “What about…?” He hesitated, taking in thestitches along her arm. Understanding swept over his features. “Ah. I’m sorry, Ruby.”

She shrugged, and Adrian realized that she was still holding Oscar’s hand. “These wounds aren’t what made me a superhero.”

“You’re right, they weren’t,” said Hugh. His attention swept around the arena, at all the neutralized prodigies. “I hope you’re not the only one who feels that way.”

“What are we going to do?” said Danna, still limping as she joined them. “We only have a fraction of the prodigies we had before. How are we going to defeat Ace Anarchy now?”

“We only have a fraction here in Gatlon City,” said Simon, “but we’ve already started reaching out to the international syndicates. They’re sending reinforcements. All available Renegades will be arriving in the next twenty-four hours to help us move against the Anarchists.”

“But we don’t even know where they went,” said Adrian.

“Actually,” said Hugh, rather darkly, “we know exactly where they went.”

“Ace Anarchy was never known for subtlety,” added Simon. “He’s returned to his cathedral.”

Adrian stared at him, recalling the ruins where he and his team had fought Phobia. “The cathedral? Why would he want to go back there?”

“Maybe he’s sentimental?” Oscar suggested.

Simon shook his head. “It’s brilliant, actually. He’s familiar with the landscape, the location, its strengths and weaknesses. Plus, with the wasteland, it’s impossible to take the cathedral by surprise. They’ll see an attack coming long before we get there.”

“But… it’s nothing but a pile of rubble and a bell tower,” said Adrian.

“Not anymore. He’s rebuilt it,” said Hugh. “You were too youngto remember the extent of Ace Anarchy’s abilities, but it isn’t terribly surprising to us. Some of the news media caught footage of the cathedral being… pieced back together.”

Adrian’s jaw dropped. He had heard a lot of stories of Ace Anarchy using his powers to tear buildings down, but he’d never known the telekinetic could also put them back up.

Adrian scanned the arena. So much violence. So many casualties. While they were waiting for help to arrive from the international syndicates, Ace Anarchy would be developing his own strategy to destroy the Renegades once and for all.

Could they afford to wait?

Hugh playfully smacked his arm. “Don’t look so helpless. I’m still invincible, you know. We’re not beat yet.”

Adrian glared at him. “And you’re going to stop him single-handedly?”

“If I have to. I’ve done it before.”

“No, you didn’t. You…” Adrian trailed off, not wanting to remind them all of what wasactuallytheir greatest weapon. Not Captain Chromium. Not even Agent N.

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