Archenemies

by Marissa Meyer

  After that, her goals were a little more vague. Get close to Adrian. Earn the Council’s trust. Find out more about Agent N. Figure out how to weaponize Agent N against the Renegades.

  And of course, above all else … get Ace his helmet. Everything would fall into place, she knew, if only she could restore that helmet to its rightful owner.

  As far as she could tell, Adrian Everhart was her best hope. He thought his powers could get into that box. Then Nova would find a way to make it happen. She would not be rejected again. Something had passed between them at the park. She knew she wasn’t imagining the way his breathing had shallowed. The way his gaze had seared into her.

  There was still something there. Maybe she had hurt him at the carnival, and maybe all the walls he’d put up these past weeks were a result of her rejection, and maybe it was going to take time and persistence to bring those walls down.

  But Nova liked a challenge.

  Squaring her shoulders, she started down one of the narrow staircases toward the training area. Adrian glanced up and noticed her. He started to smile, a reflex, she knew. He smiled at everyone.

  And yet—

  With her focus on Adrian, Nova lost track of how many steps she had taken. She misjudged the last stair and started to fall forward, barely catching herself on the rail.

  She jolted upright, cheeks already burning.

  Startled, Adrian jogged toward her. “You okay?”

  “Fine,” she spat, tugging down the wrists of her uniform. “I’m fine.”

  Adrian’s grin broadened and he looked like he wanted to tease her, but he refrained.

  Standing up again, Nova plastered a brilliant smile to her own face, freezing him in place. “So—how did it go with the Puppeteer?”

  Adrian blinked, and immediately Nova could tell she had to reel in the enthusiasm. She toned down her cheer and wrapped a hand around Adrian’s elbow. He tensed, but didn’t resist as she pulled him into the shadow of the catwalk, away from the waiting patrol units. “Did he say anything … useful?”

  He was contemplating her hand, still on his elbow, and then he was pulling away. It was a subtle shift, but not subtle enough. Nova’s heart squeezed.

  “Not … exactly,” he said.

  “Oh?”

  His attention fixated on her, and Nova realized he hadn’t planned on telling her how the meeting with Winston had gone. Her gut clenched. What did that mean? What had Winston said?

  “Actually…,” he said, slowly, “remember when I said that I wasn’t entirely convinced that Nightmare is dead?”

  Her skin went cold. “Y-yeah?”

  “Well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Winston Pratt agrees.”

  Her mouth moved, but no words came out.

  “He told me that Nightmare isn’t dead. He seemed really sure about it. But … after I brought it up to my dads, they pointed out that he’s been in prison since before her death and there’s no way that he could know whether or not she’s still alive. So … it seems that I’ve been duped.”

  She blinked. “Oh … really?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. He was so convincing. But obviously, he knew that Nightmare being alive would distract me, given our interrogation last time. The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that he was just toying with me. Like”—he rolled his eyes—“a puppet.”

  “Wow,” mused Nova, pressing a hand to his forearm. “Adrian, I’m … I’m so sorry.”

  And so, so relieved, she thought.

  Adrian peered at her, and this time, he didn’t immediately pull away from her touch. “It’s not a complete loss. If I hadn’t come to the artifacts department, I never would have known about that Vitality Charm. I’ve done some research, and it’s amazing what it can do.”

  “Oh yeah? You should come spend a day with me in the vault sometime. There’s a lot of neat stuff in there. I’m not an expert on it all like Callum is, but … I could point out some of the highlights.”

  Adrian’s smile widened, and there it was again. The faintly drooping eyelashes. The current of electricity that seemed to spark where her hand rested on his arm.

  “I’d like that,” he said.

  Nova grinned. “Me, too.”

  “Uh-oh,” came Oscar’s voice.

  Nova jerked away. She spun around to see Oscar, Ruby, and Danna standing beside the staircase. Oscar wriggled a finger in Nova and Adrian’s direction. “Is this a moment? It looks like a moment.”

  “Seeking privacy under the catwalk?” said Danna, smirking. “Definitely a moment.”

  “We should give them some space.” Ruby swooped her arms around Oscar and Danna, turning them away.

  “Very funny, guys,” said Adrian, jogging after them. “We were just talking.”

  “That’s not what it looked—” Oscar started, but then stopped. “Actually, that is what it looked like.”

  Sighing, Nova followed.

  “Are you excited?” asked Danna. Though her expression was neutral, Nova immediately felt her body attuned to her, as if assessing a threat. Ever since the meeting when Agent N had been revealed, she had sensed a change in Danna. A suspicion, a distance, an entrapment in her words. The way her eyes seemed to follow Nova whenever they were together.

  “Excited?” said Nova, aiming for the same level of nonchalance that Danna displayed.

  “For Agent N training.” Danna nodded toward a station where dozens of handguns had been set up before an array of targets. “I’m curious to see what they have us doing today.”

  Nova swallowed, unsure what Danna wanted her to say. Nova hadn’t been shy about voicing her disapproval of Agent N, though she knew she would have to play along if she wanted to avoid raising any more alarms.

  She unclenched her jaw to respond. “I just want to be the best Renegade I can be.”

  Danna’s eye twitched, and though she said nothing, Nova could tell she was unconvinced.

  Nova was grateful when Thunderbird strode into the midst of the waiting patrol units, her black wings folded behind her. “Good morning, Renegades. Today marks the beginning of our official Agent N training period. You are our second group of patrols and I am pleased to say that, thus far, training has gone quite smoothly. I don’t doubt that you will exceed expectations as well.” She turned a cool gaze upon the gathered units. It almost seemed like a threat.

  Danna took a small step back, and Nova remembered her once saying that she was a little afraid of Thunderbird. At the time she’d made a joke of it—birds were natural predators of butterflies, she’d pointed out. But now Nova felt the Councilwoman’s intimidation for herself.

  She scanned the other patrol units that were gathered in the hall. There were six teams total, and though Nova had met most of them by now, her attention fixed on Frostbite and company, who looked more eager than anyone to get started.

  Gargoyle caught her staring and sneered, flashing jagged black-rock teeth.

  Thunderbird set a briefcase on a table and Nova’s heart danced, recognizing it as the same that Dr. Hogan had shown them during the meeting. Sure enough, as Thunderbird unlatched and lifted the lid, they were greeted with nineteen vials of green liquid. The twentieth was missing, having not been replaced from when they had neutralized Winston.

  Nova licked her lips, practically salivating over those vials. She barely refrained from touching the pouch on her belt where a vial exactly like those was sequestered away, filled with the concoction Leroy had made to her specifications—a mixture of ink, acrylic paint, and corn starch for thickening. Nova had worried her memory might not have replicated the substance well enough, but studying the rows of vials, she could tell it was nearly identical.

  Her fingers twitched, but she urged herself to be patient.

  An opportunity would present itself. She just had to wait.

  Thunderbird pulled one of the vials out and held it toward the gathered patrols. “Today, we will be running through a series of exercises designed to get you more
comfortable with the different methods you might find yourself using on the field to neutralize a prodigy with the Agent N serum. We will be practicing with a false serum, of course. But first, we are going to discuss some logistics and precautions when it comes to using Agent N.” As she turned the vial from side to side, the liquid oozed like honey. “As you can see, the serum is quite thick. It must enter a prodigy’s bloodstream and be delivered to the brain in order to take effect. Our scientists have found that once the serum reaches the brain, the transformation begins instantaneously and is completed within seconds, as you witnessed with the Puppeteer. How long it takes for the serum to reach the brain depends on how and where in the body it is administered. When injected intravenously, it will reach the brain in less than a minute for most prodigies, depending on their heart rate.”

  Nova dug her fingers into her elbows. Our scientists have found …

  She thought again of the criminals locked away in Cragmoor Penitentiary. How many had been used as lab rats while the scientists perfected this weapon?

  Stingray lifted a finger. “What if a prodigy is cold-blooded?”

  “Or doesn’t have blood at all?” added Gargoyle.

  Nova squinted at him. Trevor Dunn’s—Gargoyle’s—skin might be able to mutate into rock, but she was still fairly certain he had blood. Maybe a day would come when she could test that theory …

  Beside her, Danna muttered, “Or what if they don’t have a brain?”

  Nova’s cheek twitched and she momentarily forgot that she was supposed to be wary of Danna.

  “Those are good questions,” said Thunderbird. “There are many exceptions and unusual circumstances in the wide array of prodigies, and we will be covering those during your second training session. For today’s purposes, know that more than ninety-five percent of all prodigies will be neutralized within one minute of having the serum administered. As I said, it must enter the bloodstream, and due to its density, it will be ineffective if applied topically. You do, however, have a few options. The most obvious is through an injection directly into a vein or artery. A shot into the heart will be particularly fast-acting. You can also administer the serum through an open wound, though this may slow the process. Additionally, the serum can be taken orally, to then be absorbed into the bloodstream through the lining of the stomach. However, as we don’t expect many prodigies to willingly imbibe the serum, we don’t expect that to be a viable option in most cases.”

  “What if it’s inhaled?” a girl called Silver Comet said. “Can it be made into a gas?”

  “In theory, yes,” said Thunderbird. “The liquid can be vaporized and, if inhaled, will eventually reach the brain. However, it’s important to remember that we are all susceptible to the effects of Agent N as much as our enemies, and at this time we don’t have any way of protecting ourselves. Attempting to weaponize the serum with something such as, say, a gas bomb, would be too risky.”

  Thunderbird put the vial of Agent N back in the case, then drew a small dart from a pouch. Nova swallowed. The dart was almost identical to the poisoned projectile she had once used to try to kill Captain Chromium. Nova’s hand went to the pen she always wore on her weaponry belt, the one she had designed a long time ago with a secret blow-dart compartment inside. She couldn’t be sure without closer inspection, but she suspected one of the Agent N darts would fit inside just right.

  “Once your training is complete,” said Thunderbird, “and we have publicly unveiled Agent N, you will be outfitted with special handguns and darts like this one. Today, the darts are empty, and the guns by the practice boards”—she gestured to the firing range—“have been preloaded. Now, I’ll have everyone pick a—”

  “I have a question,” said Nova.

  Thunderbird nodded at her. “Go ahead.”

  “Will there be consequences for Renegades who abuse Agent N?”

  “Abuse?”

  “This is an enormous responsibility,” she said. “I’m not convinced that we, as individuals, are qualified to make the life-changing decision of whether or not a prodigy should be allowed to keep their powers, even those who have been found breaking the law.”

  Thunderbird gave a smile, but it was close-lipped. “There is no greater responsibility than protecting and serving the citizens of this city, and the rest of the Council and I fully trust the judgment of our patrol units.”

  “Yes, but shouldn’t there be some sort of limitation? A way to counter anyone who might decide to use Agent N as a punishment, or for their own gain, or in a situation where it was unwarranted? What if a Renegade neutralizes someone for, say, stealing a candy bar? That’s an abuse of power, isn’t it? So I just want to know what the consequence for something like that would be.”

  Thunderbird held her gaze for a long time. “Your concerns are relevant. I’ll discuss potential consequences with the rest of the Council and we’ll make sure to have a memo distributed with our decisions.”

  “A memo?” said Nova, with a guffaw. “Oh, good. Because those are always taken seriously.”

  “What is this, Ethics 101?” Genissa Clark muttered, just loud enough to make sure everyone heard.

  “Also,” said Thunderbird, her tone stern, “during your next training session we will discuss what factors we expect will be considered during an altercation before Agent N is administered. We do trust your judgment, but we will offer some guidelines to follow when considering whether neutralizing an opponent is the best course of action to take.” She regarded Nova, as if waiting to see if this answer was adequate.

  It wasn’t, of course, but sensing Danna’s eyes on her, Nova held her tongue.

  “Now then.” Thunderbird gestured to the firing range. “Everyone, please take a weapon.”

  The teams started to drift toward the firing range, claiming their positions in front of an array of targets.

  Everyone except Genissa Clark. Nova’s eyes narrowed as she left her group and approached Thunderbird. The tips of Thunderbird’s massive feathered wings dragged on the floor as she and Genissa peeled off toward the side of the training hall. The two tilted their heads together, and Genissa began to whisper something, gesturing occasionally at the briefcase full of Agent N.

  Thunderbird was frowning, but in a way that suggested contemplation more than disapproval.

  Ruby strode toward a cluster of open stands by the range and the others followed, but Nova lingered behind. Her fingers delved into the pouch on her belt and wrapped around the vial inside. Her attention latched on to the open briefcase, left unattended.

  The Renegades were focused on their new weapons and the targets before them.

  Lifting her chin, she sauntered toward the drinking fountain on the far side of the hall. She bent over it, taking a long draft of water. When she turned back she saw Genissa and Thunderbird still deep in conversation, and the rest of the patrol units focused on their training.

  She made her way to the target range. As she brushed past the case, her hand darted out and snatched a single vial from the case, just as quickly replacing it with the decoy.

  Her pulse thrummed as the sample of Agent N disappeared into the pouch on her belt.

  Nova smiled, and in that moment, Adrian glanced around at her. He noticed her expression and smiled back.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ADRIAN INSPECTED THE GUN, turning it over in his palm. He wasn’t a total ignoramus when it came to projectile weaponry, but for all the time he’d spent training and even drawing his fair share of pistols, he had never been comfortable holding one in his hand.

  It hadn’t bothered him until recently. Maybe his frustration had started at the carnival, when Nova had killed the Detonator with a single shot to the head, while he had hesitated. Or maybe it was because now, with Agent N becoming a part of their regular practices, patrol units would be expected to be accomplished shooters, and he knew he was far behind the curve on that particular skill.

  Not that he was the only prodigy who was less than impressive w
hen it came to modern weaponry. Lots of Renegades preferred to use their own powers in lieu of handheld weapons. He knew plenty of patrol members who had never fired a gun. So he couldn’t be that terrible, he told himself. He couldn’t be the worst.

  But then Nova appeared at the station next to him and he couldn’t help sneaking glimpses at her while she checked the cartridge and the safety mechanism as efficiently as if she used tranquilizer guns every day.

  Once she was finished with her inspection, Nova raised the gun, gripping it in both hands, and fired. It was so fast Adrian wondered if she’d even bothered to take aim at anything, but a glance at the targets showed her dart dead center in a distant bull’s-eye.

  On Nova’s other side, Danna gave a low whistle. “Nice one, Insomnia. I sure am glad you’re on our side.”

  Nova seemed to tense at the comment, but didn’t respond.

  Exhaling, Adrian lifted his own gun and assessed the range before him. There were bull’s-eyes of all sizes, some near and some far. And there were other targets, too—from cardboard cutouts of known villains from the Age of Anarchy to an assortment of bottles, cans, and ceramic pots. He noticed that there was even a framed WANTED poster of Hawthorn.

  Bracing for the recoil, he aimed at the poster and fired.

  His dart sailed over the poster and struck the distant wall.

  “Psst, Nova.”

  Adrian turned. Oscar was peering around at Nova from the last station.

  Nova fired another dart, knocking down a glass bottle, then lowered her gun. “Yeah?”

  “Do you think you could make me a cane gun, like one those fancy gentlemen in the Victorian era had? Because I’m thinking, if we’re all going to be carrying guns now, I might as well keep it classy, right?”

  Before Nova could answer, Thunderbird came by, pacing behind the line of firing stations. “While you’re familiarizing yourselves with your weapons, I want each of you to consider how you and your teammates can make use of your unique abilities in conjunction with the Agent N projectiles. Being able to think fast on your feet and use the resources available to you during an altercation is often what separates the victorious from the defeated.”