Page 22 of Supernova

“We love him, too, you know,” said Simon, looking weary. “We’re trying to do what’s best for him. Do you have any idea how many people want to hurt him? Or use him? This is for his own good.”

“Besides, he’s still the same Max,” added Hugh. “He might seem weak and fragile these days, but he’s still… dangerous.”

Adrian jaw clenched, but he nodded, pretending that he understood.

Slumping into the sofa again, Simon turned to Hugh. “Tell me everything the doctor said. Word for word.”

“I’m going for a walk,” said Adrian, before Hugh could launch into any medical speak. “I’ll see you at home later.”

They didn’t try to stop him. Adrian pushed his way back out through the swinging doors and left the hospital through a side entrance, as the main sliding glass doors to the ER were still boarded up since the Sentinel had burst through them when he brought in Max.

Within minutes Adrian was springing up to the adjacent rooftop, hurtling over the alleyway toward the fifth floor, and after checking that no one else was inside, sliding open the window to Max’s room.

Max was seated up in the adjustable bed, propped against white pillows. When he spotted Adrian climbing in through the window, he yelped and sent a plastic food tray clattering to the floor. “Adrian! What on—”

Adrian shushed him and ducked against the side of the bed, just in case someone in the hallway had heard Max’s commotion. He waited three whole breaths before picking up the food tray and piling the fallen dishes of macaroni and cheese, apple slices, and a chocolate brownie back on top of it.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But people still don’t know about the tattoos so I sort of have to sneak in.”

Max inspected the mac and cheese, noting bits of lint from the floor stuck to the yellowish noodles. His nose curled in disgust. He reached for the brownie instead, picked off a mysterious bit of white fuzz, and crammed half of it into his mouth.

It was a testament to his recovery that he could be more interested in eating than giving Adrian the hug he was sure he deserved.

“I’m so happy you’re awake,” said Adrian, sitting in the chairbeside Max’s bed. “I thought…” He hesitated and changed his statement to: “You really had us scared.”

Max used a white cloth napkin that came with the meal to wipe chocolate from the side of his mouth, though there was still some stuck in his front teeth when he grinned at Adrian. “Yeah, the doctor said it was pretty bad there for a while. They say I’m lucky.”

“You are. We all are.”

Max’s expression turned sly. “Naw. The Sentinel rescued me, right? So I guess I have him to thank. You know, if I ever meet the guy in person.”

Adrian chuckled. There had been weeks when Max was the only person who knew his secret identity. Since the fight at the catacombs, he’d been forced to tell Ruby and Oscar, too, and he suspected Danna knew as well—though he wouldn’t know her feelings on it until they could figure out how to help her transform back into her human shape.

He knew he would have to tell Nova eventually. Oscar and Ruby weren’t the most discreet Renegades on the task force, and he wanted to make sure she heard it from him.

“Yeah, well, rumor has it the Sentinel might be a little fond of you, kid.” He reached forward and ruffled Max’s hair. Having only known what it was like to do that in recent weeks, he was still surprised at how fluffy his hair was. “The team’s going to be elated when I tell them the news, and I might have a surprise next time I come to visit.”

Max gave him a look that was far more suspicious than excited.

“Okay, I’ll just tell you. Guess what we found crawling through the wreckage back at headquarters? I’ll give you a hint. It’s about this tall”—he pinched his fingers an inch away from each other—“went extinct millions of years ago, and rhymes with…” Adrian paused. “Um… Burbo.”

Max was shaking his head, even as his smile returned. “Those were the worst hints in history. You could have said something like its feet are used both for running and disemboweling prey, but only if the prey is smaller than a mouse. Or, it’s likely the only one of its kind to have scales rather than feathers. Or maybe, its babies would be born from eggs, though it never was.”

Adrian’s eyebrow ticked upward. “Did you just come up with those?”

Shrugging, Max took another bite of the brownie.

“No, seriously, that’s really good. Maybe coming up with riddles is another superpower you haven’t discovered yet. Except… what do you mean by feathers?”

“Dey ad feaders,” Max said through his full mouth.

“Velociraptors?”

Max nodded and swallowed. “Don’t you know that’s where birds come from?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Adrian frowned, picturing a miniature velociraptor that was more a cross between a T. rex and a chicken. “Feathers would make him a lot less intimidating, you know? Although, Danna is afraid of birds, so I guess it’s all subjective. Still. Feathers. Who knew?”

Max finished off the brownie and inspected his plate, trying to deem what else might be safe to consume. Adrian considered telling him about Danna, that she’d been stuck in swarm mode since the night of the attack and they weren’t entirely sure why, but he thought the kid should probably stay focused on his own recovery for now.

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