Adrian’s lips went taut, and Nova wondered if she had said too much.
But then he sighed. “I guess I can’t argue that. But still, I can’t help but believe that there was a better way to get from there to here.”
Nova thought of all the buildings destroyed, all the people killed. Her sigh mimicked his. “I can’t argue with that, either.”
“One good thing that definitely came out of that time,” said Adrian, opening his arms wide, “is that now, we have superheroes. Maybe that’s the difference. Before, people saw us as freaks with scary powers. Now, they see us as … as inspirations.”
“Inspirations?”
“Sure. Everyone wants to be a hero. When you think about it, it’s a little sad that so few actually get to be one.”
Nova couldn’t contain a derisive sniff. “It would be sad, except they don’t actually mean it.”
Adrian cocked his head at her. “What do you mean?”
“There’s no rule that says you have to be a prodigy to be a hero,” she insisted. “If people wanted to stand up for themselves or protect their loved ones or do what they believe in their hearts is the right thing to do, then they would do it. If they wanted to be heroic, they would find ways to be heroic, even without supernatural powers.” She waggled her fingers in mockery of said powers. “It’s easy to say you want to be a hero, but the truth is most people are lazy and complacent. They have the Renegades to do all the rescuing and saving, so why should they bother? It’s easier to just call the hotline, then turn the other way and pretend it’s not your problem to solve.”
Her words tasted bitter even on her own tongue, not because they were pessimistic, but because they were true.
Because of the Renegades, humanity was becoming weak and pathetic, as she had once been weak and pathetic. Waiting in the darkness of that closet, listening as her sister’s cries were silenced. So hopeful, so trustworthy, believing with all her heart that the Renegades would come.
But they were false idols. Liars and cheats.
Maybe if she hadn’t been waiting for the Renegades, she wouldn’t have hidden in that closet. Maybe she could have put her parents’ murderer to sleep sooner. Maybe she could have saved Evie.
Or maybe one of the neighbors would have heard the commotion and come to help, rather than assuming someone else would take care of it.
Maybe … just maybe.
“What do you propose?” said Adrian, slipping his free hand into his pocket as they meandered past a series of food vendors. “Should we open a hero-training course, open to non-prodigies? Teach them ethics and martial arts and … I don’t know. Bravery. Do you think you can teach someone to be brave?”
Nova felt the side of her mouth lift, just a little, in some relief that he hadn’t outright refuted her argument against heroes. “A hero-training course would be a start, but it would only go so far. As long as there are superheroes, there will be people who rely on them far too much. I think humanity would be better off if there were no … no prodigies at all.”
For a moment, she’d almost said Renegades, before remembering who she was speaking to. But on further inspection, she realized it was true. It wasn’t just Renegades who had caused so much trouble for humanity. It was the villains, too, though they’d only been reacting to centuries of hatred and discrimination.
How much better off would the world be if there were no prodigies at all?
“I agree that dependence might be a problem,” said Adrian, with some amusement, “but no prodigies at all? That might be taking it a bit far.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What about all the things the Council has built over the past nine years? All the things the Renegades do for this city, and the whole world, for that matter?”
“All things that non-prodigies would have built if we weren’t around. All things that people would be doing for themselves. If there was no Council, they would have reestablished their own government by now, or at least be trying to. Putting together their own patrols and law enforcement, writing their own laws, building their own infrastructure…”
He cast a sideways look at her. “The world would be falling apart if it wasn’t for us.”
“The world was fine before prodigies got involved with it. It would be fine again. As it is, it’s always going to be this way. Prodigies will always be at odds with one another, always fighting for power and dominance, and normal people will always suffer for it.”