"All this time, it was you? Oh, that's rich." Nova glared up at Adrian as he stood before her, still engulfed in the Sentinel's suit.
"Nova, I—"
"Save it. Do you realize how idiotic you've been? You've been going behind everyone's backs, behind your team's backs, all for a little extra glory? What if you got hurt, or died? No one would know what happened to you and then where would you be? At the bottom of the river, on a rooftop, where nobody would find you for ages?" Nova huffed, still scowling at Adrian.
He mumbled something under his breath as he backed away from her.
"What?"
"Oscar and Ruby know. Danna too, I think?"
"Oh." She deflated, some of the rage fading from her eyes as she took a step back, disappointment taking its place.
"Nov—"
"Did you really think you couldn't trust me? I know that you know that I hate the Sentinel, but I could never hate you, Adrian, no matter how hard I try."
"I know, I just—wasn't sure. I've never heard you say anything remotely good about the Sentinel, and I didn't want to... to lose you."
"So you lied." With that, Nova turned on her heel and stalked back down the hallway of Renegade headquarters.
"Nova, wait! Nova!" He ran after her, catching up to her right before she turned the corner.
"Leave me alone, Adrian. I don't want to talk. I have nothing to say to you." Adrian took a step back and raised his hands in defense as Nova's icy glare settled on him.
"Nova, please, just hear me out."
"I said leave me alone." The venom in her voice pushed Adrian back another step, and with an angry glance in his general direction, she ran down the stairs and pushed her way through the small crowd gathered in the atrium. Heads turned towards Adrian, whose head was barely visible over the railing as he watched Nova with a sad expression on his face.
"There's your precious Sentinel, Renegades. Never thought he'd be one of your own, now did you? Especially not the son of your precious captain. I guess people aren't always as they seem." With one last sneer at Adrian, Nova disappeared through the doors, leaving behind the shouting that arose the second she stopped speaking.
She knew it was dangerous to keep it with her, but with a fight around every corner and tensions growing rapidly between the Renegades and Anarchists, she wanted to have it with her wherever she was. Pulling it on over her Renegade uniform, she left her bag behind and jogged slowly down the alley to another, quieter street where she wouldn't be seen.
The sound of shattering glass rang through the air, coming from headquarters. Nova snapped to attention, moving faster with every heartbeat.
Adrian.
Adrian lept away from HQ, encased in the Sentinel's suit. The second Nova left, Renegades had started to swarm up the stairs, headed straight for him, menacing and betrayed looks on their faces. As his vision adjusted to the darkness outside, he picked up the faint sound of boots hitting the pavement. He followed the sound, sure that it was Nova, but when he landed atop a nearby building, he saw Nightmare jogging down the road, her hood off and her mask in hand.
Tears streamed down Nova's face as she ran. Tearing off her mask, she turned the corner and began making her way to the subway tunnels. Nightmare's costume always made her feel better, like she was more in control of her feelings. It kept her focused on her goal: taking down the Renegades. Her footsteps slowed as a wave of emotions hit her, and she slumped against the wall, her eyes closing as a loud buzzing in her ears blocked out all sounds of the city around her.
Adrian followed Nightmare around the corner. He couldn't see her face in the dark, but she was slowing down, stopping to lean against the wall. He landed with a quiet thump in front of her, but she didn't react at all. He took in the sight of her small frame, shaking with quiet sobs, her head leaning down so her hair cast shadows over her already hidden face. Something was familiar about her, but it wasn't until she lifted her hand to wipe the tears from her face that it came to him. Nightmare had Nova's bracelet. Nightmare was Nova.
"Nova?"
