His dangerous thoughts were interrupted by a cruel chuckle from Honey Harper.
“Jackpot,” she whispered.
A figure had appeared in the opening. A single silhouette, and one that Adrian recognized immediately. Broad shoulders, accented by armored pads. Muscled arms and legs in skintight Lycra. Hair glinting gold in the light, not a lock out of place.
Captain Chromium entered, his head high as he stepped through the tunnel into the wasteland. He carried a long chromium chain in one hand and the Silver Spear in the other, every bit the superhero who had first risen to power in the Age of Anarchy.
As soon as he crossed the threshold of Ace’s barrier, the wall rumbled and closed up tight behind him. An enraged cry could be heard from the Renegades left behind on the other side, and Captain Chromium paused. When he realized he was alone, he squared his shoulders and faced the cathedral, taking in Ace Anarchy and the villains gathered on the front towers.
He stopped halfway across the wasteland and plunged the end of the pike into the ground. He looked ready to destroy the Anarchists single-handedly, and Adrian almost believed he could do it.
“Hello again, dear friend,” said Ace, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. “Are you missing something? Or … someone?”
If the taunting had an effect on the Captain, it was impossible to tell. He kept his gaze locked on Ace Anarchy, cool and unflustered. “We’ve had this fight too many times already, Alec,” he said. The silence, combined with the enclosed dome, made for an echo that carried his voice all the way to the top of the bell tower. “Are we really going to have it again?”
“Oh, I hope so,” said Ace. “I have plans for a different outcome this time.”
“You know you can’t defeat me.”
Ace laughed. “It is refreshing to see that your arrogance has not changed in all this time. Let’s remember, last time we stood here, you only bested me with the help of a baby.”
Adrian shivered at the mention of Max.
“This is pointless,” said Captain Chromium. “You know you can’t kill me. What are you hoping to accomplish here?”
“Well, to start,” said Ace, “I’ve long harbored fantasies of chaining you to a tank and watching you sink to the bottom of the ocean, never to be heard from again.”
“All so you can have control over a city that doesn’t want you?”
“I’ll be satisfied with revenge at this point. Revenge for ten years of being powerless, while you ran around belittling who we are and what we are capable of. Your trials have turned prodigies into a sideshow, and the way you pander to the media is disgusting. You care more for your own reputation, for the citizens’ approval, than for taking care of your own. And maybe that was going well for a while. You were idolized. You were adored. But how has it been working out for you lately?”
“My job is to make this world safer for everyone, civilians and prodigies,” said the Captain. “Which would be a lot easier if we weren’t always having to defend ourselves from villains like you!”
“Those civilians treated as like abominations!” Ace roared. “Don’t you remember what it was like before I decided it was time for things to change? They hunted us! They tortured us! They murdered innocent babies, all in fear of what they might become! And they will turn on us again if we don’t keep them in their place.”
“What place is that? Should we just enslave them for our own purposes, then?”
“Why not?” said Ace. “You know it’s what they would have done to us if they’d been able to manage it.”
The Captain shook his head. “With you in power, all anyone knew was fear. I’ve worked too hard to clean up your messes. I won’t let you do this again!”
Ace scoffed. “I’ll admit, I did make some mistakes, but I’ve learned from them. It isn’t enough to destroy the existing world order. You must destroy it—and then rebuild the world to fit your vision.”
“No, Alec. We have been given a gift. We should use these gifts to better society, not just to stoke our own egos. Not just to put ourselves on pedestals.”
Ace chuckled in amusement. “How trite, coming from you. I have never known a time when you didn’t put yourself on a pedestal. Besides … you’re wrong, my old friend. We have no obligation to use our powers to help the people of this world, not after