One Cannot be Brave... (A Renegades Fanfic)

Wounded

Spoilers ahead! I will warn those who have not read the excerpt of Supernova that was given as a prize for completing the super fan quiz. This fic takes place in the middle of Supernova, so it may conflict with events past page 75. If you have read it, I hope you enjoy it!

Here's the link to the main renegades page.   https://renegades.universeofmarissameyer.com/ If you take the Super fan quiz, you can read the excerpt!

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    Nova staggered as she stepped into Headquarters. She felt her ribs groaning from where the Sentinel had managed to clip her with one of his concussion beams. During her latest outing as her sleep-inducing alter ego, Nova had accidentally left her Renegade communication band on her arm. It was such a simple mistake, and it had almost cost her identity, no matter how precarious it was already with Danna, all the clues she had left after her attack on HQ, helping Max, and Callum suspecting her. All of the chaos, and then this imbecile that felt like they could threaten her comes along!

    Nova was seething with internal anger and still attempting to conceal the fact that she was injured, so when she felt a hand on her shoulder she whipped around with a scowl on her face. She found Adrian there, though his friendly smile quickly faded at her harsh reaction. She really wished it hadn't. After they had kissed in the subway tunnel, Nova didn't want to keep thinking of him as the enemy. Of course, it would never happen, and with Danna doing her best to reveal Nova, she would never have any sort of future with Adrian.

    "Sweet rot, someone's in a bad mood. What happened Nova?" Nova immediately scrambled to find some excuse for her bad mood, but didn't find anything.

    "Nothing..." She mumbled.

    "Alright, you keep your secrets, Insomnia," Adrian joked. He laughed at his own joke, but Nova's face only fell more. If only he knew just what kind of secrets she was keeping, he wouldn't be laughing. She walked with him, trying not to limp, to the elevators. They both said nothing as the lift ascended through the shaft, only stood in awkward silence. It was hard to follow up accidentally attacking each other, a kiss in the dark, and in Nova's case, a fight with an egotistical coward in a metallic suit. Nova slipped out of the doors and headed for her desk, though Adrian stayed.

    "I'll see you soon, Nova. I need to talk to my dads and the rest of the council about Nightmare, but I'm coming back down as soon as I'm done. Evidently, I shouldn't be investigating her. I have a 'personal connection' to the case."

    The doors closed, and Nova let out a sigh before hobbling over to her desk in the artifacts department lobby. Nova wasn't actually expecting anyone to stop by, but of course, Callum was in today. He gave her a wary glance and moved into the back to file some artifacts. Like Max or Adrian, Callum was one of the few people she didn't actually hate of the Renegades. It was impossible to say she hated anyone on her team, but there were definitely people that she was prepared to eliminate. She was quite tempted to find a way to neutralize Raymond Stern, the Stingray, as she had the rest of Frostbite's team. Maybe throw him into the quarantined wing of the hospital they kept Max in while she was wearing the vitality charm. No, she wouldn't be so cruel as to give Max a tail like Stern. When she thought about it, it was probably possible that if- when- Max grew up, he would be the greatest prodigy alive. The train of thought was broken by her burning ribs as she sat down.

    Nova stared at the desk before her, wondering how she was ever going to find a way to save Ace, protect her identity, and keep Adrian by her side. It was impossible. Then again, so was defeating the Renegades, and she was going to bring them down.

    No. It was possible to do some of them, but not others. She could leave the Anarchists behind her. She could leave her identity as Nightmare after she dealt with the one who was certain they could manipulate Nova like a puppet. Make her dance like a reflection in a mirror.