He sees the Renegades as tyrants who are oppressing prodigies everywhere and … and he keeps saying that we’re going to be gods.”
Adrian made a sound of derision. “And he calls my dad arrogant.”
A sudden crash shook the tower. Nova yelped, sure that the aftermath of the explosion was about to bring the bell tower toppling around them. Then she glanced across the expanse of the cathedral’s roof and her heart launched into her throat.
Captain Chromium was on top of the southern turret, gripping the tall pinnacle with one hand while spinning his enormous chain overhead with the other. Ace levitated above the roof’s peak, using his powers to peel off stone gargoyles from the architecture and lob them at his enemy. The Captain was attempting to strike Ace with the chain while blocking the constant assault.
Nova shuddered. Not from seeing the two in a battle, but because Ace was cackling as he tore into the clay tiles that lined the roof.
“My masterpiece, so recently rebuilt, and so easily destroyed once again!” said Ace, sounding more gleeful than distraught. “All that matters now is that you Renegades are buried in its rubble. It will be a fitting end, after what you did to me ten years ago!”
“Nova,” said Adrian, “we have to stop him. You know that, right?”
Her mouth ran dry.
It was impossible. Them? Stop Ace Anarchy?
And yet, she knew he was right.
No more heroes.
No more villains.
Inhaling a shaky breath, she met his gaze and nodded. “I know.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
A STARTLED CRY drew Adrian’s attention across the cathedral spires. His dad was falling, tumbling down the steep incline of the cathedral’s roof. He caught himself on a flying buttress and dangled for a moment, before swinging himself back up. With a grunt, he tore an openmouthed gargoyle from the structure and heaved it at Ace’s head. It was easily deflected. Ace didn’t even flinch. But in the same moment, the Captain lashed out with the chain, striking Ace in the chest. The villain was blown backward, his back crashing against the inside of his makeshift dome.
“Ace can’t control your dad’s weapons, can he?” asked Nova.
Adrian shook his head. “He never could. They aren’t made of normal metal.”
“Yeah, I know. Your family is kind of scary.”
Adrian gawked at her. “My family?”
She dared to let a hint of a smile show through. Adrian hesitated, and then started to laugh. A long, tired, gasping laugh. “I’m going to turn into the Sentinel now,” he said, reaching for his sternum. “You sure you can get down okay?”
Nova smirked. “Don’t you know who you’re talking to?”
She started to dig through a pouch on her belt, when the noise of splintering wood and screeching metal shook the tower. The two gigantic bells in the center of the belfry were being pulled from their timber framework.
Adrian tugged on the zipper at his sternum, and within seconds, the armor had engulfed him. He scooped up Cyanide’s unconscious body, hefting it over his shoulder again, as a series of steel bolts pried free and dropped into the depths of the disemboweled tower.
He leaped from the beam, barely managing to grab hold of the bell adjacent to Nova’s. It shifted from his weight, the clapper banging against its sides. He held tight to the crossbar, his other hand securing Cyanide’s dead weight, and looked back in time to see the center bells angling upward, pulling unnaturally against their restraints. The wood gave out with a thundering crack, and the bells soared straight for the side wall. Adrian tightened his hold as the bells burst through the stone exterior of the belfry with a ringing cacophony. Stones and mortar exploded outward, raining down on the rooftop, as the bells hurtled through the open air, heading for the Captain.
His dad braced himself on top of the buttress. He ducked, letting the first bell sail over his head and smash into the dome, then reached up with both hands and grabbed the rim of the second bell. The clapper inside gonged against the bronze shell. Using the bell’s own momentum, he spun in a circle and threw it at Ace.
Ace dodged. The bell missed him by inches and crashed into the barrier. A jettison of debris trickled down to the wasteland.
Adrian was still holding Cyanide, still watching the bells, when the tower began to groan.
It had taken as much destruction as it could.
He looked at Nova—but she was no longer silhouetted in the next window frame.
“Nova?” he yelled, searching the inside of the tower,