Comprehension|A Renegades Fanfiction

Chapter One

THE Renegade tower was so much larger than I had imagined it, and despite my living on the streets for a decent portion of my life, I had never gotten this close to it. And now my Renegade older-but-not-older sister was giving me a tour of where she now worked full-time, not restrained by the Anarchists. Ingrid Thompson, otherwise known as the Detonator, had cleverly plotted to fake Nightmare's death, but it had winded up with Nightmare "dying" and then Nova had shot and killed Ingrid. Very complicated, but it didn't matter - not anymore, at least.

Beside me, Resurrection stared up at the tower with the usual emotionless mask on, so I decided to assume the tower was just as intimidating to him as it was to me. Nova, however, took it in with stride, her grip on my arm tight, like she was making sure I hadn't faded into wisps. We marched into the building, Nova ignoring the crowd of people who surrounded them, I grinning and waving, Resurrection acting as surly as ever.

If possible, the Renegade tower seemed even larger on the inside, but maybe it was just the business of it. People were flying -some of them literally- through the room, almost like an old-time Grand Central Station. I had visited the ruins a few years ago, but I couldn't mention that to anyone present in this building except Nova; it had required trespassing and destruction of private property. Still, the view of the sun sinking below the horizon had totally been worth it, especially as they watched heroes buzz above them. What a beauteous night that had been... I sighed longingly, and Nova flashed a grin. "You don't have to daydream about something here, Evie. Here, there's a guy who can draw anything you could possibly ever imagine and make it real."

"Is that him?" Resurrection asked, and we both turned to follow his nod in the direction of a tall boy with dark skin, close-cut hair, and thick-framed eyeglasses. "Adrian Everhart? I don't think we should be spotted with you so soon, Insomnia." There was a teasing tone to his voice that made Nova flinch.

"Ugh, he's a decent person, Resurrection. It isn't like he's going to start throwing fireballs at you - he can't even do that in the first place; it isn't possible," Nova groaned, rolling her eyes at the younger boy.

I didn't take the opportunity to tease her; I felt like I had swallowed cement as I watched his eyes cut through the crowd, clearly looking for someone -Nova? "Please, Nova? Once he goes in the elevator, we can go after him. Just not right now, Nova, please." I squeezed her hand, begging for her.

My older-but-not-older sister sighed reluctantly, but nodded. We weaved through the crowd to a part he had already looked over, waiting until he sighed and headed for the elevators, us quickly following behind. Nova pressed the up button and we waited impatiently for the next elevator, swiftly boarding and pressing the button for the lounge, spending the time in tense silence, only interrupted by the soft beeps the machinery emitted as we passed each level. "...And here we are."

I less-than-gracefully stumbled out of the elevator, gripping a rail tight enough to make the metal creak under my strength. Before Nova could do anything more than give me a quizzical look, I explained breathlessly, "I have a severe fear of heights because I can feel the vibrations through the floor. Worst ability ever."

Nova nodded. "I'd imagine; what if your ability was flight?" I shuddered unconsciously. "Come on, now. I want to properly introduce you to Adrian, Oscar, and Ruby." We followed the Renegade through the hallways, emerging in a large area - the lounge.

Two figures in the dark gray Renegades suits were hunched over a video game, yelling and shouting before the girl -who I took to be Ruby- pumped her fists in the air. "Take that, Smokey!" She did a little victory dance, and Adrian, who had arrived a little before us, chuckled.

Nova cleared her throat, and the three Renegades turned to face us, Resurrection immediately slipping into the shadows. "Ruby, Oscar, Adrian, this is-"

"I'm pulling a Resurrection," I interrupted, glancing at my friend, who cracked a smile at me warily. "I am perfectly capable of introducing myself, thank you very much." I bowed to Nova, who laughed, and turned to her friends. "I'm Eliza-Met Garcia; one of Nova's cousins. Res, want to introduce yourself, or should I do it?"

Resurrection grunted. "Fine. I'm Resurrection. The end."

Ruby smirked. "Hello, the amazing Resurrection The-End. I am so sincerely happy to make your acquaintance, I might scream. Beware, eardrums. You might brake."

Resurrection managed a small snort of amusement, which was a lot of emotion for a guy like him, so sulky and in the shadows.

"So," Ruby continued, "Why are you called Resurrection? Unless your parents actually named you that, which I doubt. What I'm trying to put in words is - are you a prodigy, and if so, what is your power?"

"Yes, I'm a prodigy, and my power is that of being Sulky McSulkers," Resurrection said in his monotone voice, flat and dull, like a knife you would never use to try to kill even your worst enemy. However, his flat, dull, monotone voice made Ruby laugh.

Oscar, notably, scowled fiercely at Resurrection, seemingly unaware that he was uncomfortable in the situation. "Well," the Renegade said boldly, "that isn't much of a power, if you're planning on trying out this -next- year."

Resurrection whipped around, the cloak that he had found in his bag twisting around his body, and his narrowed into an expression a little to fierce for a fourteen-year-old. "First of all, I would never try out for the Renegades - I enjoy being an unrestrained freelancer, and I take pride in it. Second of all, my power could easily mop the floor with you, and it is quite a power - Nova can back me up too. Third, when you're dying, don't come crawling to me for help."

Oscar took a small, unconscious step back, but then stepped forward again and so did Resurrection, until they were nose-to-nose. "I would never stoop so low as to crawl to you when I was dying," Oscar snarled.

"Oh really?" Resurrection taunted, but didn't get cocky. "I've met and dealt with plenty of people who say the same thing to me, yet come back only a few months later, begging on hands and knees for me to help save their loved one."

"Res, shut up," I hissed, stepping between the feuding gentlemen. "Oscar, you too. Just 'cause Ruby laughs at something Resurrection says, doesn't mean you have to go all pirate mode on him."

"Like Frostbite," Nova supplied. "And we all know what an idiot she is."

"Who did you say was an idiot?" a soft voice drawled, and we turned around to see Frostbite standing there in all her translucent glory.