Renegades Stories

Chapter 16: Adrian

Adrian walked quickly through the hallways of Renegades Headquarters, Nova at his heels. His heart was pounding in his chest. Thunderbirds message had been short and to the point, giving him the bare minimum and urging to come upstairs as fast as possible.

They took the stairs, because he was too impatient to wait for an elevator. By the time they reached the top, his calves were burning and Nova was panting behind him.

Prism gave him a short nod and gestured towards the conference room. Adrian pushed open the door, and he and Nova sat next to each other. His leg bounced up and down, her fingers tapped anxiously against the table. Danna, Ruby, and Oscar sat across from them.

Hugh stood up, his palms flat on the wood surface, and leaned forward. "Due to visual evidence and a whole lot of speculation, we have come to the conclusion that the attacker and kidnapper is the Anarchist Phobia, who was never caught with the rest of his teammates eight years ago."

Rage flared in Adrian's chest. Phobia had killed his mother twenty years ago. Besides being devastating to his six-year-old self, the death of Georgia Rawles had led to a hit man sent discreetly by Ace Anarchy to kill off his own brother and family, including Nova.

Phobia's role in these tragedies had shaped both Nova and Adrian's lives. He knew they both wanted justice for what had become of their lives. This could be it.

He glanced at her. Her blue eyes were wide, and she was mumbling to herself. He leaned closer to her, straining to hear what she was saying.

"Why didn't I think of that? I should have known. I knew he was dead."

Adrian reached over and grabbed her left hand, giving it a quick squeeze. She froze, and their eyes met. He offered her a small smile, trying to be comforting. She returned it uncertainly.

Someone cleared their throat, and they separated quickly. Adrian's face felt hot, and he saw Nova's face was pink.

Hugh raised his eyebrows at Adrian and tipped his head to the side. "Sorry to interrupt, but may I continue?"

Adrian coughed awkwardly, and nodded for his father to go on.

"Phobia being the culprit makes sense for several reasons. He can appear as a person's worst fear. Ms. Artino keeps seeing the man who murdered her family, who was confirmed to be dead twenty years ago. It also explains how he disappears so fast, and how he got into the Silva-Tucker apartment through the window, despite it being several stories up." Hugh took a seat, and Tamaya took his place.

"Now, we aren't sure how to defeat him. The council will be brainstorming ideas, and when we come up with a solution, we'll alert you. In the meantime, Ms. Artino, do you know if he has any weaknesses?"

Everyone looked expectantly at the former Anarchist. Nova looked up from picking at her nails, her cheeks still a little colored. "Not that I'm aware of," she said. "He can change into anything. If he needs to escape, he'll just turn to smoke. He thrives on fear, it just makes him more powerful."

"Great," Oscar muttered. "So no weaknesses."

Nova shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Ruby slammed her hands on the table and stood up, startling everyone in the room. "My daughter, my three-week-old daughter, is out there with a murderer. I don't know if she's been fed. She can't even eat real food! I don't know where she is. If you guys can't figure out a solution soon, I will go find her myself."
Her hazel eyes welled up with tears and she stormed out of the room. Oscar got up and followed her without sparing the others a glance.

Adrian met Hugh's eyes, and saw the desperation he knew they were both feeling. They were running out of time to find the baby and defeat Phobia. But how were you supposed to defeat something that was the embodiment of fear itself?

(the chapters from now on should be pretty exciting as we're getting to the climax. although i can't promise that updates will be frequent. but who knows.)