Page 120 of Supernova

“We were not prepared when the Renegades surrounded us at the Battle for Gatlon ten years ago,” said Ace, approaching one of the open windows. “We will not make the same mistakes again.”

He lifted his hands, fingers outstretched toward the horizon. The wasteland beyond the cathedral stretched for acres in each direction, enclosed within a puny chain-link fence. A ring of torn-up pavement, the debris of crumbled buildings, crushed and overturned cars.

Those ruins began to tremble.

The others moved forward, gathering behind Ace.

Nova was still trying to form her thoughts into words, still thinking of how she could persuade Ace and the others to choose differently, when bits of debris began to rise anew from the wasteland. Plywood and unhinged doors. Metal sheeting and steel beams. The side torn from a bus, still papered with a faded advertisement. Bricks and stonework, appliances and roof shingles, broken glass, rebar and copper pipes, old street signs and a plastic slide from a child’s playground, ladders and porcelain bathtubs and traffic lights…

Countless bits of raw materials emerging from the wreckage. They began to fuse together at the edge of the wasteland. Bit by bit. Piece by piece.

Ace was building a wall.

Nova walked away from the others, to the opposite side of the tower. Here, too, the mess of materials was interlocking. Unlike the shimmering, near-transparent barricade that Adrian had used to protect himself at the arena, this wall was as thick and impenetrable as it was dark and unruly. It surrounded the cathedral in every direction, growing higher and higher, until it eclipsed even the great bell tower where they stood. Higher still, until it towered over the cathedral’s sharply pitched roof. Higher still, until the jumbled structure arced inward, knitting together overhead. It blocked out the city below. Blocked out the sky.

When Ace was finished, they were trapped beneath a dome of sharp edges and rust.

It felt like being in the tunnels again.

It felt like the opposite of freedom.

“There,” said Ace. “That will slow them down.”

Nova gulped, thinking of all the Renegades she’d come to know. Could Adrian get past this wall? Couldthe Sentinel?

What about Max, with his telekinesis and the ability to manipulate metals?

Or Captain Chromium, with his unbreakable weapons?

She gnawed at her lower lip, remembering how many of the Renegades were no longer prodigies. Their powers had been drained from them.

Like they would have done to you, she remembered.

It did not diminish the sour taste in her mouth.

“Still, it will not hold them forever.”

Ace peered around at their group, fierce and hungry. “You have fought valiantly tonight, but we must prepare for the next battle.” He focused on Leroy and Honey. “You were able to use the Agent N substance to great effect. Do we have any left?”

Leroy shook his head. “What we took from the Renegades’ storehouse is almost entirely used up. We have only a few of the gas-release devices Nova designed, and less than half a container of the liquid.”

“Good enough,” said Ace. “With any luck, we will finally be able to determine that age-old mystery… is Captain Chromium truly as invincible as he seems?” Grinning wickedly, he swept an arm around the room. “Fellow Anarchists, find accommodations and rest until further notice. I would like a moment alone with my niece.”

Nova tensed. A few of the villains cast her looks that were gloating and smug. Others seemed nervous on her behalf. Leroy smiledcomfortingly and winked, the movement awkwardly drawing up the paralyzed left side of his face.

Nova smiled back.

It was only Ace.

Within a matter of minutes, the bell tower had emptied out, the drum of footsteps on the lower staircase growing more distant by the second.

Only one of the villains lingered behind. To Nova’s surprise, it was Narcissa, her expression full of concern. Though she had taken a leadership role among the Rejects before, she had been loitering at the back of the group since they’d arrived at the cathedral. Her fear in the face of Ace Anarchy was palpable, and the look she was giving Nova suggested a hesitation to leave her alone with him. There was something almost kind in her expression. Something almost protective.

Nova’s spirits lifted, just barely, to think that perhaps the mirror walker no longer hated her.

“Is there something you would like to say, Mirror Walker?” Ace asked.

Narcissa opened her mouth, but hesitated. Her voice trembled when she finally spoke. “I agree with Nightmare,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I think we should leave Gatlon.”

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