Page 76 of Supernova

Nova winced. She bit her tongue, unable to say the truth to this crowd of Rejects and Anarchists, who had been lied to and toyed with too many times.

But if she could make things go her way, then she would avoid another war entirely. She’d never imagined herself thinking it, but… if all went right, then the Renegades would be spared.

“I need more time to work things out,” she said, avoiding Honey’s and Leroy’s gazes, “but for starters… we need to get Ace back. He’s the real visionary, not me, and we’re not moving forward without him.”

It was almost indiscernible—almost.The ripple of fear and discomfort that coursed through the crowd.

Even villains were afraid of Ace Anarchy.

“We’re really sorry that you’ve lost your leader,” said Narcissa, “but Ace Anarchy isn’t our concern. We need to do something about this Agent N. We need to find a way that we can start living our lives without being afraid all the time.”

“We need to take down the Renegades!” someone yelled from the back.

Nova shook her head. “You risked everything to bring me here, and now I’m asking you to trust me. Ace Anarchy is our best hope for success.”

“You say that,” growled the star-eyed boy, “but you’ve had Ace Anarchy at your side for ten years, and none of us even knew about it. We thought he was dead. So what good has he done for anyone?”

“He’s been sick,” said Nova. “His helmet was taken from him during the Battle for Gatlon, and it weakened him. But we have the helmet back now…” She hesitated. “Wedohave the helmet, right?”

“Of course,” said Leroy. “Phobia’s been guarding it night and day.”

She swallowed and pretended that this didn’t bother her. Phobiawas still an Anarchist, she reminded herself. She had never thought of him as a friend, but he was still her ally.

Even if he had killed Adrian’s mom.

“Have no fear,” rasped Phobia’s sullen voice. Nova spun, startled to find him suddenly only a few feet away from her. The blade of his scythe was arced through Ace’s helmet, hooked through the neck hole and jutting up through the eye socket. “To most prodigies, this helmet would be more burden than gift.”

Nova wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the helmet, which was perhaps her father’s greatest achievement. She would not call the power that it wielded a burden, and yet there was a weighted dread that settled in her stomach as she started to reach for it. She took hold of the helmet and slid it off the blade. The metal was warm to the touch, still casting off that familiar glow as she cradled it in her hands.

“Ace would fight for any of us,” she said. “Hedidfight for us. Everything he’s ever done has been to make life better for prodigies. We can’t leave him in that place. We can’t let them execute him.”

“It’s impossible,” someone muttered, though Nova couldn’t tell who. It didn’t matter. She could see the thought mirrored on every face surrounding her.

“It’s not impossible,” she insisted. “This morning, I was a prisoner in Cragmoor Penitentiary and had only three allies in the outside world.” She gestured at Honey, Leroy, and Phobia. “And now here I am. Here we all are. If you’re serious about wanting to change things, then this isn’t up for debate. Ace has done more to further the cause of prodigies in this world than any human alive, and we’re not going to abandon him. Besides, he’s my uncle. He rescued me when I needed him. I’m going to rescue him now, or I’m going to die trying.”

“Well, at least one of those scenarios seems likely,” muttered Narcissa. “You’ll definitely die trying to break into Cragmoor.”

Nova glared, even as anticipation began to pulse through her veins. That familiar hum of adrenaline when she was making a plan, working through the logistics, figuring out what she was truly capable of. “We’re not going to attack the prison. We’re going to stop the execution.”

A stout man who was old enough to be Nova’s grandfather barked a laugh. “Well, jolly good, then! Tha’ll be easier. No worries that the entire Renegade crew’ll be about.”

“You’re right; there will be a lot of Renegades there,” said Nova. “But the Renegades tend to get cocky when they’re in big groups. They let their guard down. And while they might be expecting Nightmare to make an attempt to save Ace”—she glanced at Narcissa—“they won’t be expecting all of us. But I need some time to think. And I’ll need to go back to headquarters. There are a few things—”

“That’s it?” said Narcissa. “We risk everything to get you out of prison and you’re just going to rattle off some vague hopes about rescuing Ace Anarchy and risking our lives to do it? This is about more than Ace Anarchy, more than the Anarchists.”

“I know it is,” said Nova. “But I need time to figure this out. You’ll have to trust me.”

“We trust you,” said Leroy. “You are the one who stole back Ace’s helmet, from the Renegades’ own vault, no less.”

“Oh!” said Honey. “Speaking of things stolen from the Renegades, do you think you’ll be needing this back?” She reached for her collar and pulled a black medallion from the bust of her dress. The Vitality Charm.

Nova felt a surge of apprehension as she scrutinized the designimpressed into the black iron. Though it had protected her from Agent N, a part of her had hoped she would never have need of it again.

She said nothing, though, as she slipped the chain over her neck and tucked the charm beneath her shirt.

“Let’s reconvene in a few hours,” she said. “I’ll need to know what each of you can do, to see if your abilities might be useful as I develop a plan.”

“Your old fears have returned, little Nightmare,” Phobia added, his voice low, but not low enough. “They are stronger now than ever before. A nearly petrifying fear of failing…again.”

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