Renegades

Nova, who can’t sleep and has no need to do so, trains all night with the gun, frustrated at her failure to assassinate Chromium. She contemplates her uncle’s belief that all people should be free to live on their own terms and by their own strength. Suddenly a rumbling sound alerts her that the Renegades are approaching. Nova sneaks up to the central chamber, where four Renegades—Frostbite, Aftershock, Stingray, and Gargoyle—are destroying the Anarchists’ supplies and taunting them.

Leroy emerges and questions why the Renegades are wasting their food. Stingray says that everyone would be scavenging for food if the Anarchists had their way. Leroy retorts that if the Anarchists hadn’t changed the world, Stingray—who has a barbed tail—would have been killed at birth for the sake of science. The other Anarchists slowly emerge, and Ingrid silently gestures for Nova to stand down and hide herself. However, Gargoyle comes out carrying Honey’s hives, while she follows, shrieking in despair. Frostbite forces Honey to dismiss her bees, then tells Gargoyle to destroy the hives.

The Renegades suddenly attack the Anarchists, paralyzing Honey and Leroy and freezing Ingrid in place. Frostbite says that she intends to kill them for the display at the parade, but Ingrid insists that they cannot legally be associated with it, since Winston (Puppeteer) acted alone. Frostbite tries to provoke Ingrid into attacking her, but before either Ingrid or Nova can act, the Sentinel arrives in an explosion of fire.

Nova watches as the Sentinel confronts Frostbite and her gang and denounces their methods, insisting that he is acting directly on the Council’s orders. Nova grows confused when he shows no signs of injury or damage to his suit. The Sentinel deceives Frostbite and the others into thinking that they missed important missives from the Council due to bad reception. He then extorts them into leaving, threatening to tell the Council about the codes they’ve broken if they refuse to leave now. Frostbite reluctantly stands down, leaving the Sentinel to free the Anarchists.

When Ingrid has been unfrozen, the Sentinel demands information on Nightmare, but she claims ignorance. He threatens Leroy next, as Nightmare uses Leroy’s poisons, but Leroy claims that she could have gotten it from a distributor. The other Anarchists all defend their right to privacy since the Sentinel lacks actual evidence. Before he leaves, he rights the toppled shelves again and reminds them that his only real enemy is Nightmare.

After the Sentinel leaves, Phobia reveals that the Sentinel’s ultimate fear is to be helpless and powerless. Nova wonders whether his powers are natural or artificial; if he has been created in a lab with others like him, then the Anarchists don’t stand a chance. As she listens to the others talk, she finds a pamphlet for the upcoming Renegade trials and decides to try and infiltrate their group after all.

Leroy drives Nova to the marina to meet Millie, a psychometrist who can forge new paperwork for her false identity. As they drive, Nova contemplates her grief over her dead family; her beloved, broken bracelet was her father’s last creation before his death, and now she has even lost Ace. Before his death, Ace told her the truth of her family’s deaths; they had been assassinated by a gang called the Roaches for falling behind on their orders. Even when Nova’s parents begged protection from the Renegades, the Renegades had failed them. Ace murdered all the Roaches, but the Renegades did not face justice for her family’s deaths.

Now, when they reach the marina, Leroy stops Nova and insists that she is unknown and can go anywhere she wants; she has no obligation to keep helping the Anarchists and can start a new life. She insists that she wants revenge and doesn’t care about being happy, and Leroy silently acquiesces.

When they arrive at Millie’s dangerously cluttered houseboat, Millie nearly shoots Leroy until he answers a security question. Millie gives Nova a new birth certificate with a false surname and signatures from fake parents, as well as a new registration form. The paperwork names her Insomnia and lists her only superpower as not needing to sleep. Millie has also given her a fake address in an abandoned home, which she is free to claim for herself. Leroy has paid off several “references” to attest to Nova’s good character, even though they have never met her.

Leroy pays Millie, and Nova signs the application. Before she is finished, Millie touches her bracelet, using her power to learn its entire history, including her interaction with Adrian. They leave, and Leroy reluctantly reveals that Nova must have her fingerprints altered with his toxins so that the Renegades can’t match her to the fingerprints on the gun. Nova steels herself and touches her fingertips to his.

Adrian waits on the outskirts of the arena, where the fourth annual Renegade trial is being held to determine who will get to join the Renegade teams. Adrian, who did not have to compete, feels strange about the trials, since they are based on showmanship and spectacle rather than on actual power. Ruby and Oscar banter about their own experiences at the trials; Adrian remembers them clearly and recalls how unfairly the judges had treated Oscar because of his disability. Adrian and Ruby tense at the sight of Frostbite, who has bullied them both and is under fire for being deceived by the Sentinel.

The trials begin; Adrian contemplates the celebrity politicization of prodigies and wonders if everyone is losing sight of what it means to be a hero. He takes his place at the table with his team. Those trying out are granted a few minutes to perform their powers; if anyone accepts them, other teams can challenge the acceptance, forcing the candidate into one-on-one combat to prove their value. Adrian tells his teammates that he’ll only admit a new team member if they really surprise them.

Nova successfully enters the trials with her well-rehearsed lies but is still surprised when they let her through easily. Nova contemplates her own subterfuge and ability to make a difference while the crowds mock and jeer at prodigies with powers that aren’t impressive enough for their rabid tastes.

When Nova enters the field, Adrian immediately recognizes her as the girl from the parade. Nova calmly explains that she does not sleep. This prompts rejections from several team leaders and boos from the crowd, but she explains that she is adept at a variety of other skills and can invent things. Almost every team rejects her, but Adrian decides that she could be useful for reconnaissance while Monarch is out of commission, so he accepts her without asking his team. Frostbite immediately challenges his acceptance, forcing Nova into a duel. While Frostbite expects to duel Nova, Nova instead challenges Gargoyle, who is famous for being nearly unbeatable.

Nova, realizing that Adrian is the son of her sworn enemies, grows even more determined to infiltrate his team. Nova cannot defeat Gargoyle with her actual powers, but she knows that she simply needs to get him to touch the outside of the ring in order to win. She convinces Frostbite to give her a knife so that her claimed skills in weaponry can be evaluated. The fight commences, and Nova uses all her skills and trickery to manipulate Gargoyle’s movements. She uses a tiny cannon from Adrian’s table and a torn banner to trip and blind Gargoyle, eventually forcing his hand outside the ring and winning the combat. Ruby and Oscar run and hug her, causing her to attack them, but Adrian calms them all down. He draws an “R” on Nova’s shirt and welcomes her to the Renegades with a firm handshake.

Adrian wakes up refreshed, eager to start the day with a new teammate and a new lead on the Nightmare case; they have tracked her gun to a dealer, Gene Cronin (“the Librarian”), who retired years ago. Adrian preps to give himself the newest tattoo. He thinks about the origins of the Sentinel identity—borne out of an idea he had as a child when he made three full comics about a hero named Rebel Z.

When he finishes the tattoo, he hears his dads moving upstairs and joins them for a family breakfast, a new tradition they’re trying to start. They discuss Nova’s skills and her value to the team, promising that even if she isn’t a good fit, they’ll find her a place among the Renegades. Adrian asks about the Nightmare investigation, and they reluctantly tell him about the Librarian but insist that they have no evidence that the man is still in the trade. Adrian tries to insist that the Librarian is a criminal and that they have a warrant to investigate him, but his dads get upset, insisting that they cannot punish the man for crimes he committed over a decade ago; they need new evidence.

Frustrated, Adrian volunteers his team to stake out the library; his dads dislike the idea but eventually acquiesce when he tells them that Nightmare said the same phrase that was found on his mother’s body. However, Simon insists that Adrian gets back-up the second he finds evidence warranting a search of the library. He warns Adrian to be careful, and Adrian says he just wants justice for his mother.

Nova warily goes into Renegade headquarters, quickly deciding that it would be difficult for the Anarchists to attack this place due to the structure itself and the number of powerful people present. She grows extremely anxious when she sees a message on a screen featuring a wanted poster for Nightmare, but she reassures herself that Red or Smokescreen would have identified her already if they could have. She also believes that her costume as Nightmare hides her well enough to obscure her identity.

Nova introduces herself to the man at the information desk, Sampson, but awkwardly fails to shake his hand, afraid of touching him. As he talks to her, the entire Renegade Council emerges from an elevator, talking casually, and she focuses on them, suddenly aware that she is carrying a pen containing a poison dart. She snaps back to attention, and Sampson reassures her that it is normal to feel awestruck around the Council. She asks whether there are any mind readers in the building, but he reassures her there are none. Oscar and Ruby find and welcome Nova and give her a new uniform. They discuss Nightmare, which makes Nova nervous, then show her the lounge and private rooms so that she can get changed. Nova dons the uniform, telling herself that it is too late to back out now.