Adrian Everhart sat at his desk, staring at his monitor. Despite his victory over Ace Anarchy, with the help of Ruby, Oscar, and technically Danna, his mind was still consumed by the images that flashed through his mind.
First, there was Max. Lying on the floor in a crumpled heap, ice growing from his torn flesh to stop the bleeding. The bleeding Nightmare had caused when she stabbed him with the silver spear. He hated her, and he would hunt her down and kill her for what she had done to Max, what she tried to do to Hugh, and even just for those words that she had said, so long ago.
“One cannot be brave who has no fear.”
It was a simple proverb, but still, even now the words from her sadistic lips, hidden behind that cursed masked, echoed through his head. The monitor in front of him showed a single image. A note, found at the crime scene, and on it scribbled the same message.
Secondly, his encounter with Phobia had revealed a truth he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized before.
“I have tasted fear like yours before.” The message had been so clear, the image so sharp. It wasn’t just his imagination. Phobia had murdered his mother, just to prove his powers. So many others, too. Adrian wasn’t sure who he hated more, Phobia or Nightmare. The one who took his mother from him, letting her fall to her death, screaming as she plummeted. The one who might have taken his brother, and came within a centimeter of taking away his adopted father. He felt as though the tattoo of a crackling flame on his chest was heating up, itching to melt both of them to piles of ash, then burn that.
He finally pressed the power button on the bottom of his monitor and leaned back in his chair. It wasn’t until his head bumped into something soft yet unyielding that he realized he wasn’t alone.
“Still looking into Nightmare? You should sleep,” Nova Mclain told him, letting her hands falls to his shoulders. He still winced at the touch, not used to her being so willing to make physical contact. She had always seemed so reluctant about that sort of thing, at least until that one night when he managed to… nevermind. He glanced up at her face, and said nothing. Sweet rot, she could take his breath away.
“I guess you are right about sleep,” Adrian conceded, “But I wasn’t actually looking into Nightmare directly.” This much was true, and though he didn’t want to worry Nova with his breakthrough in his mother’s murder, he found himself spilling his guts anyway. He reached back to the monitor and clicked it on.
“I was actually looking into my mother’s murder again. There was a new development.”
“New development?” Nova asked, her hands moving back to her side. She pulled over an adjacent chair and sat down next to him.
“When the Ruby, Oscar, and I all found Ace, we ran into Phobia first. Nova, I think he killed my mom.” Adrian let his statement sink in for a second. Nova definitely seemed relatively unsurprised as always. It was only thinking about the shadowy, cloaked Anarchist that he remembered something. Something important.
“One cannot be brave…” Adrian trailed off. He was suddenly on his feet. “We need to go to my house. It might have what I need to see to check something. Adrian stood and looked past Nova’s stern face, and out into the dark night. It was pretty hard not to look at her, he admitted to himself.
“Alright,” she finally agreed, “I’ll go with you.” Adrian glanced at her, questioning the choice.
“You should go home, get some- nevermind,” Adrian said, realizing his mistake. “Are you sure you want to come over at a time like this? My dads are probably home.” Nova’s face reddened at this, but she still firmly nodded.
“Shall we go then?” Nova offered, pushing her chair back to the original desk as she stood. She offered him a hand as they walked toward the elevator. It was still so strange having her be so open around him. He grasped her hand as they walked and he hit the elevator button for the lobby. The doors dinged and closed in front of them.
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Nova strolled up to the Everhart mansion, Adrian by her side. Nova had been trying to divert Adrian’s attention away from Nightmare for the past two weeks, since he arrived at her broken down house, and he announced that he would kill her if he found her. Adrian opened the door and announced their presence to whomever was home at the time.
“Hey, I’m back, and Nova tagged along. We’re gonna be in my rooms, looking for something, so just holler if you need something.” Adrian moved quickly for the basement door, clearly trying to avoid an awkward dad situation while Nova was there. He managed to get the basement door open without incident, but when Nova glanced around the door into their kitchen, she could see Simon Westwood, grinning and shaking his head. She even caught Hugh muttering something and chuckling to himself.
“Looking for something? Good one.” When Nova realized what they were thinking she couldn’t stop the heat rushing to her face. Instead, she ducked back behind the door and started to descend the stairs into Adrian’s room. She glanced at the couch where she had put Adrian to sleep to steal the protection medallion. It was also where she kissed him. Where he kissed her.
“So, what are we looking for exactly, or are we actually doing what your dads seem to think we are?” Nova joked. It seemed awkward and foreign to her tongue, but she pushed the feeling down to her gut..
“Oh, here it is.” he grabbed one of his older sketchbooks, full of different drawings. He flipped through the pages of the sketch book, scanning for something.
“Adrian, what are we looking for, and what does it have to do with your mom?” Nova was more forceful this time, hating being left in the dark when it came to anything relating to Adrians investigations.
“Just a sketch of… Aha!” He evidently had found the sketch he had been looking for, and quickly turned the book over so Nova could see it. It was a detailed sketch of what appeared to be Phobia himself, though lacking his usual scythe.
“That’s Phobia, isn’t it? Didn’t you say your first time seeing him was when you guys caught Ace. The pain behind her words as she remembered the Sentinel’s hand in subduing her uncle. Phobia was supposed to be watching Ace! Somehow their stories just didn’t add up with what Nova knew was true.
“Yeah, but this isn’t Phobia, Nova. This is one of my drawings of the monster.” Adrian said it matter-a-factly, but Nova knew what he was implying. Adrian’s childhood terror was Phobia, and his nightmares had come true. The monster had killed his mother.
“Adrian…” Nova wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know what words would possibly help. She tried to think of the words she had wanted to hear when… when her parents had been killed. The only ones that came to her were those that she had heard. Ace’s words still echoed in her head.
“I know. I know, sweet, dangerous child. But you’re safe now. I’ll protect you.”
Nova elected to say nothing, but rather opened her arms, her own pained past quickly running to the forefront of her mind, like a floodgate had broken. She found herself repeating the same words six-soon-to-be-seven-year-old Nova had heard come from her uncle, but this time with more meaning.
“I know, Adrian. I’m here. I’ll help you find him.” It wasn’t a promise she could keep, and she knew it. More empty words from the mouth of a liar. Nova just held Adrian until he finally let go, and she found herself staying close.
“Thank you Nova, but this is something I need to take care of. It is something I started.
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Adrian wanted to explain what he remembered to Nova, but it was a memory that he wasn’t sure he was ready to share if he couldn’t even tell her about the Sentinel. Adrian was sitting outside the makeshift quarantine that the hospital had set up with Hugh’s help. There Max lay with most of the ice melted, but his wound still not fully healed. Max had woken up a week ago and he had told Adrian that he needed to talk to him in private. Max finally didn’t have a visitor for once, and Adrian was sitting watching his brother sleep.
His thoughts were interrupted when Max groaned but didn’t sit up. He looked around with a shake of his head, finding only Adrian. When Max finally met his gaze, Adrian stood, knowing that the quarantine was actually irrelevant for him. He opened the door and slipped inside.
“Adrian-” Max started before Adrian shushed him and started talking himself.
“Max, I’m so sorry… I should have been there faster. I let Nightmare do this to you.” Adrian spilled.
“Adrian.”
“I was only a little slower than I should have been, but now I’m going to find her. Her and Phobia and the rest of those rotting Anarchists.”
“Adrian!” Max finally shouted. He let the silence sit for a second before crushing Adrian’s crusade.
“Nova wasn’t the one that stabbed me. It was Frostbite. She didn’t even mean to, I was invisible.”
“Wait, back up,” Adrian spluttered. “Why did you say Nova? Nightmare stabbed you.”
“Adrian, wake up! It is so obvious! Who would know how to open the box with Ace’s helmet? Who would even know it was there?” Max argued. Adrian didn’t want to listen, but even as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew Max had a point. Callum had said that she knew exactly where the helmet was. She had known Callum’s name and power. She had Agent N. It all seemed so obvious.
“I didn’t even figure it out myself until I realized why I didn’t get much of Nova’s power, if that’s even her real name. I accidentally knocked out a doctor earlier when he came in.”
“Wait, but she and Nightmare were both there. They were both at the funhouse. Nova shot the Detonator! Why would she do that?” Adrian’s head was spinning as Max tore his world at its seams. Nova was an enemy, but she hadn’t hurt Max? He couldn’t be sure. If he accused Nova of being Nightmare, and he was wrong… His mind wandered to the last two weeks after Ace had been captured and the week since he had been neutralized. Publicly.
The solution to his problem presented itself to him with obvious clarity. She knew that the Sentinel cared about Max, considering he had saved Max over capturing her. He would use that to his advantage. He turned to leave, but Max grabbed his arm.
“Adrian, give her a chance. I think she actually is changing.” Adrian wanted to believe him, but when she was stealing Ace Anarchy’s helmet… Adrian wasn’t sure how she could be changing. Either way, Nova Mclain was about to have a meeting with the Sentinel.
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Nova glanced at her wristband and noticed the message from Adrian. He was asking if she was home. She glanced at her door to the dilapidated rowhouse, and messaged him back. Telling him she was. She made sure that Honey and Leroy were hidden, but she couldn’t even find Phobia, and he would be the absolute worst person to walk in on a conversation with Adrian.
It was only minutes after Adrian had messaged her that there was a knock at her door. Adrian must have been close by and been thinking of her. Her heart fluttered, but then she scolded herself for the emotion. She was only getting closer to him to keep him from discovering her identity as Nightmare. That is what she told herself at least. Either way, she opened the door without checking first that it was Adrian. It was a mistake.
Before her stood the familiar gray and red clad figure of the Sentinel. Nova immediately went for a stun pistol in the closet. Why had she been so casual as to think that there wouldn’t be any reason to have her belt on at home? She was slow and she felt the concussion beam hit her between her shoulder blades. She hit the wall hard and crumpled to the ground. She knew the Sentinel was a jerk, but there was still only one reason he would be attacking without asking questions.
Nova rolled over, her back now aching. Her eyes met the emotionless slit that allowed him to see his foes. There was no way she could defeat him with this level of preparation.
“Nova Mclain, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Hugh Everhart, conspiring against justice, theft of Renegade property, and so mch more. Please don’t make me hurt you.” Nova heard a twinge of sadness with his last sentence. It seemed out of place with the metal giant.
“What, are you expecting me to confess or something, vigilante?”
“I was hoping the Nova I know would at least tell the truth. Now where are the other Anarchists?” Nova picked up on the sigh that came with the statement, and wondered if she knew who he was already from his previous statement
“You’ll never find them,” Nova spat back.
“Well, that’s enough for me to know for sure. Max was right. I didn’t want to believe it when he figured it out.” Nova considered cutting him off, but she didn’t know just what to say. “And to think, I even thought I might have been falling in love with you.” Nova jerked her head back up at this comment. Why would the Sentinel be falling in love with her?
He reached up to his helmet and she heard a click. Revealed beneath the helmet was the same dark, kindly face she had found herself falling for, even after Ace was gone. Adrian Everhart was the Sentinel.
“How?” It was the only word that escaped Nova’s mouth. She had been considering calling for Leroy, Honey, or even Phobia, but now there was no way she could. Not when it was Adrian.
“Tattoos. I can give myself permanent powers if I draw it onto myself permanently.” It made sense.
“Adrian,” Nova said to him, rising, “I’m so sorry. I…” She didn’t know what exactly to say. “It wasn’t me that hurt Max. I would never hurt you or him. I didn’t want to have anyone get that hurt.”
“You tried shooting my dad in the eye with a poisonous dart! You trapped me in a funhouse, threw Winston Pratt off his own hot air balloon, and…” Adrian seemed to be trying to find the words to say what he was thinking. Then he said the words Nova had been hoping he wouldn’t. “And you used me. You used my feelings, my family, and my friends for your Anarchists!”
His voice got louder as he suddenly seemed even more frustrated. “What did they do for you? Why are you so much like Ace Anarchy? Skies, why did you shoot the Detonator for that matter or doom Winston for that matter? Who are you, Nightmare?” Nova flinched at her alias. She hadn’t truly seen Adrian angry until this moment. Nova let a tear fall.
“My name is Nova Artino.” She didn’t want to actually break down crying. “When I believed in the Renegades, they failed me. Alec Artino is my uncle, that mysterious man you’ve never met.” Adrian seemed to flinch at Ace’s name.
“Ace saved me that day, not your dads. I threw Winston to the Renegades because he was weighing me down.” He confidence seemed to grow and she squared her shoulders. “I am also Nova Mclain. Renegade hero who fights against the restrictive code and believes that it would be better if there were no prodigies. I played you and the rest of the Renegades for so long, and now…” She suddenly felt her breath catch. She couldn’t think of what she was about to say.
“Now, I don’t know what I am. I don’t know who I am.” She felt the deep desire that Adrian would take her into an embrace, but he remained rigid. “Adrian, I shot the Detonator because If I didn’t kill her, she was going to kill you. You and hundreds of innocent people, sure, but in that moment it was only you.” She reached for his hand, and he stood still for a second. As she let her hand glide up his armored arm towards his face, he suddenly snapped back, and Nova felt the pain again.
“Stop it!” He snapped. “Stop trying to mess with me!” Nova had the sudden realization of the butterfly trapped in the small glass upstairs on her vanity.
“Wait, I can prove that I am willing to try to change!” Adrian smirked at this, suddenly less angry.
“Really? What’s that?”
“I can let Danna go, or at least the butterfly I caught that is stopping her from reforming.” Nova knew that she was digger a greater pit for herself by admitting this.
“And the other Anarchists?” Adrian asked.
“If you treat them fairly, I know where Honey and Leroy are, but Phobia is somewhere… I wish I knew where he was most of all, Adrian.” It was a desperate gamble, but she knew that it might pay off. Adrian held her tear blurred stare, then finally nodded. Nova went to the stairs, and he was close behind, concussion beam ready. He slid his helmet back on as they ascended. To think, all that time hating the Sentinel and falling for Adrian, they were the same person.
They ascended the stairs and Nova led the way to her and Honey’s room. With a swing of the door, Honey greeted her.
“Is the darling Everhart boy gone now?” With a single fluid motion the Sentinel rounded the door frame and placed a concussion beam right in Honey’s chest. She went down. Nova crossed to the vanity, frowning at the fallen form of Honey Harper, sad and dejected. She lifted the glass that covered the monarch.
“I’m so sorry, Danna. I should have let you go so much sooner.” The monarch flitted away to join the rest of the swarm. Leroy appeared in the doorway, falling for the same trap that Honey had. One concussion beam more and both Queen Bee and Cyanide were down. That left only Phobia for her to betray. She had already let Ace be neutralized, thrown Winston off his balloon, and shot Ingrid.
“Well, Sentinel,” she couldn’t bear to call him Adrian in his suit, “Ready to take in three of the biggest criminals in the city, and one of the biggest heroes?” Adrian nodded his head, and they both picked up one of the two unconscious Anarchists and started walking back to Headquarters.
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Hey Y'all!
Thank you to everybody who reads my first true fanfic! (Travelers only sort of counts.) This is what I intend to have the most of on Wattpad as most of my writing that isn't fanfic I want to have as my own.
There will eventually be another chapter to this story! (Goal 4 total) Make sure to vote and comment anything out liked or constructive criticism. My chapters are pretty long, so I hope you enjoy them! Stay tuned for any updates, and feel free to check out Travelers and Basic. (My other stories so far)
"One cannot be brave who has no fear, and every fear is a chance to be brave."
- Mark J. Sessions (adapted from a quote by Marissa Meyer)