were ready to take matters into their own hands, and they believed she could help them. They believed the Anarchists could help them.
It would be war all over again. Heroes versus villains. A new struggle for dominance.
Nova had believed she was ready for this. They were finally at the precipice she’d been climbing toward all her life.
But it felt different now, staring into the uncertain future. What if the lines weren’t so clearly drawn? What if she wasn’t either a hero or a villain? What if she was both?
“So we’re all here because we want things to change?” she said.
“And because, for the first time in ten years, we have a chance,” said Leroy. “The Renegades are weaker now than at any time since the Battle for Gatlon. The people are losing faith in them. Their resources are spread too thin. They are trying to be too many things, but don’t have the workforce or the infrastructure necessary to make good on their promises. This is a perfect time to strike.”
Nova shuddered, wondering why his words felt so distant and impossible to her, even while the strangers in her midst were nodding fiercely in agreement. Yes, the Renegades’ popularity had suffered lately, but they were still powerful. It would be naïve to think they weren’t.
“What’s your plan?” she said, turning to Narcissa. “You’ve got us all here. What now?”
Narcissa shrank a bit under the attention.
“Our plan,” Leroy said for her, “was to get you back. Now that we’ve accomplished this goal, it’s time to set our sights on the next one.”
Nova laughed. “So there is no plan.”
“These things don’t happen overnight,” said Millie.
“Besides,” said Honey, “Ace was always our visionary before, and lately…” She gave Nova a pointed look, and her meaning was clear. Lately, Nova had been the new visionary of their small group.
Nova exhaled slowly. “I … might have an idea. Something I thought about a lot while I was in prison. Something that might get us all what we need and want. Freedom. Autonomy. Control over our own lives for once.”
“Death to the Renegades?” said Honey, licking some of the honey from her lips.
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. “We do have 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. Phobia was 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