Page 62 of Supernova

“A hazmat suit?” said Simon. “And no one noticed a ten-year-old kid wandering down the corridors in a hazmat suit?”

Adrian waited a beat and was met with Simon’s subtle gasp, then a groan. “Invisibility. Right. You know, I forget that he has that one, too.”

“You did give it to him,” said Adrian, “so technically, it’s kind of likeyouhelped him escape.”

“Don’t get smart,” said Hugh. “And he didn’t need toescape.He’s not a prisoner!”

“Wasn’t he?” said Adrian. “Look, I know you guys love him, but I’m not letting you put him back in that quarantine, end of story. For now, he’s safe where he is, until we find a more permanent solution.”

“No, Adrian, you are going to tell us where he is right this minute, so we can get him back to the hospital and make sure—”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Adrian interrupted. “For now, I’m late for a team meeting. Okay, guys? Love you, bye!”

The communication band filled with enraged prattle, but was silenced by a press of his thumb. Adrian flinched, wondering whether he was too old to be grounded. When he was a kid and went against their rules, they’d always threaten to take away his comics or video games, but those things didn’t hold quite the same sway over him that they used to. What could they take away now that would matter?

He steadied his breathing. It would be all right. Of all the things he’d done in the past few months that could make his dads angry or disappointed with him, whisking Max away to a secret safehouse was hardly the worst of it. A part of him even hoped that, someday, they would acknowledge that he’d done the right thing, for Max and for their family.

If not technically the best thing for the Renegades.

As if the Renegade call center somehow knew Adrian was at that moment breaking more of the Council’s rules, his wristband blaredwith an alarm. He’d almost forgotten that he had patrol duty that night, until he saw the assignment scrolling across the small screen.

Break-in at Dallimore’s Dptmt Str, 29th & Merchant, theft in progress, report immediately.

Adrian grinned.

Serving some old-fashioned justice was exactly what he needed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“OH, MAN, ITfeels good to be heroic!” said Ruby, stretching an arm overhead to work out her muscles. She stood over two cuffed and unconscious burglars who had been caught breaking into a jewelry case in Dallimore’s department store.

Adrian couldn’t help but agree. It did feel good to be heroic. If nothing else, the arrest had helped take his mind off Max for a while, and Nova, too.

Oscar plopped himself onto a table amid stacks of women’s T-shirts in various colors. “And for once, Sketch didn’t even have to resort to hisspecialabilities.” He jutted the end of his cane in Adrian’s direction. “Nice to see you keeping it old-school.”

Adrian glared, but he knew the teasing was good-natured. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was defending justice for years before I…” He paused and glanced at the burglars, and even though they appeared to be out cold, he still finished lamely, “You know.”

Swinging his legs, Oscar surveyed the store, dimly lit by only a handful of the ceiling fluorescents two stories overhead and thedisplay lighting that even now was making the nearby jewelry cases twinkle, including the one that had been smashed to pieces. “Do you think they have any vending machines around here?”

“What? Smokescreen is hungry?” said Ruby, feigning surprise as she wrapped her jewel-tipped wire around her wrist. She had used it to trip the burglars as they sprinted for the emergency exit, and Adrian could see a red line across her hand where the wire had nearly cut into her.

“Hey, I’m a growing superhero,” said Oscar. “I need sustenance.”

A whorl of butterflies cascaded from the upper balcony, where Danna had been checking to make sure the office safe hadn’t been tampered with. “All secure,” she said, her body re-forming beside Ruby. “And I didn’t see any vending machines, but there’s a burger joint two blocks away. We could head there when we’re done here.”

Oscar offered Danna a fist bump, which she enthusiastically returned.

“All right,” said Adrian, punching a code into his wristband. “Store is clear, suspects in custody, awaiting extraction and cleanup.”

He grabbed the briefcase of stolen goods and tossed it at Oscar, who unlatched it and started pawing through the assortment of jewelry, laying each piece out on the table so the store could later check it against their records to make sure nothing was missing. “Not a bad haul,” said Oscar, holding up a lavaliere necklace with a slender red gemstone dangling from its chain. “Hey, Red Assassin, I think the designers are starting to emulate you.”

She grinned and swung her bloodstone like a pendulum. “Aw. I’m a trendsetter! And it’s so pretty.”

“I guess.” Oscar held the necklace up to the light. “Not as pretty as you—yours.” Flushing, he hastily diverted his attention back into the briefcase. “Plus, yours is about a thousand time deadlier. Oh,wow, are these earrings?” He pulled out a set of matching chandelier earrings, each one almost as long as his hand. “These would be like… weight lifting for earlobes.”

Ruby’s cheeks pinkened at his slip. She looked like she wanted to say something, but Oscar seemed determined to move past the compliment that may or may not have been intentional, and so she wrapped her wire back around her wrist and turned to Adrian. “How is Max?”

“Good, I think,” said Adrian. “I really can’t thank you and your family enough for doing this.”

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