“Is it possible they left town?” said Oscar. “Like, after Ace was captured, maybe they decided enough is enough?”
“It’s too early to determine that,” said Adrian. “And if they didn’t up and leave after being down in those tunnels all these years, I doubt they’d run away now.”
“Unless they finally ran out of options?” said Ruby. “I mean, Queen Bee, Cyanide, and Phobia. None of them are exactly masters of disguise. You would think if they were wandering around the city, someone, somewhere, would have noticed them.”
“There are a lot of abandoned buildings in this city,” said Adrian. “There are a lot of places to hide.”
Danna grunted and gestured at the report on Adrian’s screen. “Which means they could be anywhere, and none of this is going to give us any leads.”
“Yeah, but right now, it’s the best we’ve got.” Adrian’s voice lowered. “Unless Ace Anarchy or Nightmare give us something to work with.”
“All right, patrols,” yelled Blacklight, strolling through the scattered groups in his signature black leather jacket and skintight pants. He was carrying a large plastic crate. “Gather ’round, gather ’round. I know it’s been an eventful twenty-four hours, but we do have important business to tend to before I release you all to further your gossip. As you know, our public reveal of Agent N is in less than four weeks. It’s to take place at the arena, and media from all over the world will be in attendance. We need to be fully prepared for all patrols to be equipped with the serum before then. As the recent attack on headquarters has understandably left a few of us on edge, we are going to be implementing some new precautions to ensure that Agent N cannot be used against our own.”
“Precautions?” said the Wrecking Ball, fisting her hands on her hips. “Like maybe destroying all of the remaining Agent N and never bringing it up again?”
Blacklight cast her a withering look. “Har-har. Nothing so drastic as that. Now, I understand your concerns—we all do, and we were all devastated to lose Frostbite and her team. But this weapon has been an important investment for us, and it remains our best hope at eliminating villains and dangerous prodigies from our city. We were unprepared for an enemy to have access to Agent N, it’s true, but we will not be making the same mistake again.”
“Investment,” scoffed another Renegade, Coyote. “I’m beginning to think Genissa is right—that’s all the Council cares about. Their investments.”
Adrian frowned at the back of Coyote’s head. Though the words had been muffled under his breath, it was clear he’d intended them to be heard. Adrian disagreed, though. The Council cared about them, each of them, and all of the citizens of their city. But at the same time, he wondered if the Council’s eagerness was blinding them to the risks of pushing forward with Agent N. With all the attacks from the media and the public’s mounting doubts about the Renegades’ ability to keep them safe, they were desperate to make it appear that they were still in control.
But at what cost? Did they really believe they could keep their own Renegades safe from Agent N after what had happened to Frostbite’s team?
Blacklight set the crate on a table and pulled out a bulky gas mask. “Our friends in tech have made modifications to these masks, and after a series of tests, we can confirm that they will protect a prodigy from Agent N in gas form, which, as you know, was one of the methods Nightmare used to neutralize Frostbite and the others. Effective immediately, all patrol units will be equipped with a gas mask during active duty.”
He started tossing the masks into the crowd. The patrols caught them, almost unwillingly. There was distaste written on their faces as they inspected the cumbersome masks.
Blacklight tossed one to Adrian and he quickly understood his peers’ irritation. The band meant to wrap around his head was stretchy rubber and the bulbous filter over the mouth was heavy and hideous.
“We’re expected to wear these during patrols?” said Shot Blast.
“Only if you feel you’re in danger from an enemy who could have access to Agent N.”
Ruby raised her hand. “How are we supposed to know who may or may not have access to Agent N? Who knows who Nov—Nightmare could have given those bombs to?”
“Currently,” said Blacklight, “we have no reason to suspect that any villains other than Nightmare’s own affiliation—the Anarchists—have Agent N.”
“Okay, but what about poisoned darts?” asked Zodiac. “That’s the method we were going to be using to neutralize our enemies, so how do we know the Anarchists will even keep using Agent N in gas form? How are we supposed to keep ourselves from getting shot with the stuff? Our uniforms aren’t going to protect us.” She pulled at the stretchy skintight sleeve to emphasize her point.
“That is a concern,” said Blacklight, and Adrian could tell he was growing weary of their questions, even if they were valid. “We are discussing the development of full-body armored suits that will replace your current uniforms in the future.”
“Armored suits?” said Coyote with a bark. “Like the Sentinel?”
“Not … exactly,” said Blacklight, with an extra edge to his voice. Adrian had the sense that the uniforms they were plotting were exactly like the one worn by his alter ego.
Oscar elbowed Adrian in the side, smirking with pride. Adrian glared at him.
“How long before those suits are available?” asked Mondo-Man. “Something tells me it won’t be before the public reveal.”
“And how am I supposed to use my powers if I’m trapped inside a bunch of armor?” added Chameleon.
“I remember that doctor saying Agent N could be ingested, too. What if the villains start poisoning our food with it?”
A barrage of questions started pouring out from all sides of the room. Blacklight’s cheeks flushed nearly as red as his beard as he held up his hands, trying to fend them off.
A streak of lightning shot across the high ceiling, crashing into an overhead light. It burst with the impact, cascading sparks, at the same moment a roar of thunder shook the floor beneath them. It was so loud it knocked Adrian back a few steps, leaving him feeling like a giant drum had just been banged inside his skull.
“Enough!”
As silence filled the space left by the thunder, they all looked up to see Thunderbird on the catwalk, her face taut with anger. “None of you have the authority to question the Council’s decisions in such a disrespectful manner.”
Adrian gulped, unable to recall ever seeing Tamaya Rae so livid. And all because a group of Renegades had dared question the Council? Surely they were allowed to do that, right?
Blacklight cleared his throat. “I had this under control. For the record.”
“We have more pressing matters to deal with,” snapped Thunderbird. “There is a situation in the main lobby. Your presence is requested, immediately.” Jaw still tense, she scanned the patrol units. “You are all dismissed.”
Without waiting for a response, she swept back down the catwalk, her wings brushing against the railings to either side.
“Right,” said Blacklight. “To be continued.” Leaving the near-empty crate behind, he rushed after Thunderbird, bounding toward the elevators with as much dignity as he could hold on to.
The patrol units left behind passed mystified glances at one another for a minute, before rushing after the Council members. With a shrug to his teammates, Adrian followed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE LOBBY WAS still under reconstruction and currently full of broken slabs of stone and caution tape and, it appeared, every on-duty Renegade who was in the building. They had formed a circle around the shattered tile floor, where a long gash could still be seen stretching from the red R in the lobby’s center to where the quarantine had crashed down from the mezzanine.
The pile of glass and rubble had been cleared away, and steel beams framing the balcony had been put back in place. On the second floor, tucked back from the edge of the walkway, stood a framework of steel spires, like an incomplete birdcage. Beside them, enormous curved glass panels were leaned up against the laboratory walls.
Adrian grimaced to see them there, to imagine what they would become. The thought of putting Max back into that glass prison disgusted him, but he hadn’t been able to talk to his dads about it again since Max had woken up.
Raised voices drew his attention back to the crowd—including the sound of Captain Chromium’s voice, sounding tense, though Adrian couldn’t make out his words.
Danna’s swarm fluttered up to watch the proceedings from the upper level, while Oscar and Ruby climbed up onto the curved information desk in order to see above the heads of the crowd. Adrian leaped up beside them.
Standing near the tiled R was the Council—all five of them, hands fisted on hips or crossed over chests. A dozen paces in front of them, backlit from the massive windows at the front of the building, stood Genissa Clark, Trevor Dunn, and Mack Baxter, previously known as Frostbite, Gargoyle, and Aftershock.
Stingray stood beside them, too, his barbed tail twitching back and forth on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Adrian asked.
A nearby prodigy shushed him, but Pyrotechnic, on his other side, whispered, “Clark thinks the Council owes her.”
“—absolutely ridiculous,” said Blacklight, his voice loud enough to carry over the crowd, drawing Adrian’s attention back to the Council. “Of course they can’t come back on patrols. They aren’t prodigies anymore!”
The Dread Warden shot an annoyed glower at Blacklight, but it went ignored as Blacklight waved his arm toward Genissa and the group. “Well, they can’t! It’s absurd to even consider it!” He took a step forward. “Sorry to say it, but you’re acting like a spoiled princess, Miss Clark. Besides, you’re the one who said you were done being a superhero. No one here forced you to quit, but we all know it was the right decision. So why don’t you go home and start figuring out a more productive use of your time? We have better things to be dealing with.”