Nova started to step down from the chair, but then her gaze landed on Winston again and she froze.

He was staring at her—apparently more distressed than surprised to see her.

One knee buckled. She stumbled forward, but Adrian caught her by the elbow.

“Are you all right?”

She blinked. In all the commotion, she’d forgotten he was beside her. Yanking her arm away, she dropped into her seat, trying to hide herself from Winston’s view.

“Just dandy,” she muttered.

Winston was hauled from the stage by two security guards. Though he had been walking on his own feet when the Captain had brought him in before, now his entire body was limp, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Nova did not sit up again until the door shut between them. How would he be able to cope with such a change? They had stripped him not just of his power, but his identity. If he could no longer be the Puppeteer, who was he? What was he?

And those same questions would be forced upon everyone who became a victim of Agent N.

Did the Council truly believe they had the right to decide who should be allowed to be a prodigy, and who shouldn’t?

Once the crowd had settled, Tamaya Rae stepped up to the microphone. “Thank you for that powerful demonstration, Joanna. Beginning next week, all active patrol units will be required to receive a minimum of thirty hours of dedicated Agent N training, where you will learn the most effective means of administering the substance, as well as how to protect yourself and your teammates from becoming victim to its effects yourselves. We are preparing a press release to inform the media about Agent N and how it will be used to further protect the people of this city and ensure justice. At that time, all units who have completed the necessary training will be equipped with an emergency supply of Agent N, to be used as a defensive measure against any prodigy who demonstrates an act of violence against a Renegade or civilian, or who demonstrates willful defiance of the code.”

“Without a trial?” Nova whispered. “They’re giving us the power to just … use this stuff, against anyone we feel like, no evidence of a crime required?” She shook her head. “How can that be within their code?”

Adrian was watching her. She dared to meet his gaze, unable to hide her disgust. Adrian said nothing, but she thought she saw her worries mirrored in his face.

“Additionally,” Tamaya continued, “any prodigy who is currently wanted for recent transgressions is to be neutralized on sight, including all known members of the Anarchist villain group, and, as we have not yet found a body confirming his death, this includes the vigilante known as the Sentinel as well.”

“Naturally,” Adrian muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

Tamaya continued, “You will receive your training schedule—”

“Is it reversible?” shouted Nova.

Tamaya paused, irritated at the interruption. “Excuse me?”

Nova stood. “Is it reversible? Hypothetically, if a prodigy were ever neutralized by accident, or … without due cause, is there a way for their powers to be restored?”

Dr. Hogan stepped forward and took the microphone. “That’s a good question, and I’m glad it’s been asked, as we must relate the importance to all Renegades that this substance is to be treated with the utmost responsibility.” She fixed her gaze on Nova. “No. The effects of Agent N are permanent and irreversible. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous substance, and going forward, we will expect that it be handled with utmost care at all times.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hogan,” said Tamaya. “I want to reiterate once more that what you have heard today is confidential until further notice. We will be available to answer immediate questions after this meeting and as you begin your training. You are excused.”

The conference room filled with chatter. Nova and the others followed along with the crowd, but as soon as they had poured out into the wide hallway, Adrian pulled them to the side to wait for Danna to catch up.

“Well,” said Oscar, “that was about a thousand times more intense than I expected it to be. Who else wants to decompress over some pizza?”

Ignoring him, Nova turned to Adrian. “It’s from Max, right? This is why they’ve needed all those blood samples from him.”

“It’s got to be,” said Adrian. A crease formed over the bridge of his glasses and Nova recognized his serious-contemplation face. “I’d always hoped they were trying to find a way to help him. To … you know, let him be with other prodigies. Although…” His lips pressed thin. “It’s thanks to Max they were able to defeat Ace Anarchy. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that they would try to find a way to … to…”

“Abuse his power?” Nova muttered.

Adrian frowned, but didn’t disagree. “But he’s a prodigy. A living, breathing person. While that stuff is … synthetic. To replicate his power like that … it doesn’t seem possible.”

“Possible?” said Ruby, chuckling. “Adrian, I’ve seen you create living, breathing creatures out of a pencil and a piece of paper. I sprout gemstones when I bleed. Danna turns into a bunch of butterflies. Are we really questioning what’s possible?”

“What?” said Oscar. “You’re not going to remark on all the mind-blowing things I can do?”

Ruby gestured halfheartedly in Oscar’s direction. “Oscar can eat two extra-large pizzas in one sitting while quoting the entire third season of Star Avengers from memory.”

Oscar nodded solemnly. “It’s hard to believe I even exist.”

Nova massaged her temple. “I just wonder if Max knows what they’ve been working on all this time.”

“If he does,” said Adrian, “he’s never said anything to me about it.”

“Maybe it was confidential.” Nova couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. Everything about Max was confidential. The truth of his ability, the reason behind the quarantine, and now this. As far as she knew, most people in the organization weren’t even sure why Max was locked up in the first place. The general rumor seemed to be that his power weakened prodigies who came in contact with him, and he had to be kept separate for his safety and theirs—but few people seemed to realize the full extent of what he could do. How he could drain abilities from other prodigies and absorb them into himself. How he had taken power from Ace Anarchy himself.

When she had first met Max, she had been told that he was both valuable and dangerous. Only now was she beginning to realize exactly how true those words were.

“What worries me,” said Adrian, “is how easy it would be to abuse this stuff.”

Nova lifted an eyebrow. “What? You think a Renegade would abuse this sort of power?”

“Not everyone, of course, but even Renegades can have selfish motives sometimes.” He paused, frowning at her. “Wait … you were being sarcastic, weren’t you?”

“Good catch,” she snapped.

Adrian peered at her, bewildered. “Are you mad at me?”

Nova took a step back and took some calming breaths. She was lashing out unfairly. Adrian had nothing to do with this, she reminded herself. And during the presentation, there had even been moments when he’d looked as appalled as she was.

“No,” she said, quieter now. “I’m sorry. I’m just … worried about what Agent N could mean. You said yourself that people are going to abuse it.”

“No, I said it would be easy to abuse it, not that I think someone will. We’ll have to see how the training goes.”

Nova shook her head. “This is a clear corruption of power. They can’t just send patrol units out on the streets with this stuff and expect that mistakes won’t be made. That people won’t let their emotions get away from them. What about a fair trial? Evidence? What if someone makes a living using their ability, and then it gets taken away, without a second thought?” She thought of Cyanide, who, for all his illegal dealings, also made a lot of legitimate concoctions that he sold to legitimate customers, from insecticides to wart removers. “Or what if someone were to turn their life around and start using their power to help people? Agent N would take that choice away from them. You know, the Renegades talk an awful lot about human rights, but this is a violation of prodigy rights.”

“Villains don’t get rights.”

Nova jumped. She hadn’t heard Danna come up behind her, and the glare Danna was fixing on her made her immediately wary. “Agent N is going to be used on villains. On people who don’t follow the code. Yet you seem awfully keen to defend them.”

“Not everyone who disagrees with the code is a villain,” said Adrian.

Danna stared at him, aghast. “Really? What would you call them?”

Adrian scratched his ear with his capped marker. “The code hasn’t even been in place for ten years, and the Council is making changes to it all the time. Who knows what it will look like in another ten years, or fifty years? It’s not all black and white, good and bad. People’s actions … their motives … there are”—he circled his hands in the air—“gray areas.”

“Exactly,” said Nova, and she felt the knot in her chest begin to loosen. “And people deserve to have a chance to explain their actions and their motives before they have their abilities stripped away.”

“I don’t need to know what Hawthorn’s motivation was,” said Danna, “to know that she is a thief and a danger to society. If I’d had Agent N the other day, I would have neutralized her without a second thought, and I certainly wouldn’t be feeling guilty about it now. Can any of you say otherwise?” She glowered at Nova.

Nova clenched her jaw, annoyed to feel a snag in her own conviction. Even Hawthorn deserved a trial, surely. Even she deserved a chance to choose a different path.

But then Nova thought of Ingrid. She had shot her. Killed her. There had been no trial. No reasoning with her. It had been self-defense. It had been protecting innocent lives.