It felt strange to be wearing his Renegade uniform again after being in the Sentinel’s armored suit—the form-fitting fabric suddenly made him feel vulnerable. He kept sliding his finger between the shirt collar and his throat, trying to give himself more space to breathe.
“Happy trial day, woo-woo!”
Adrian turned to see Oscar ambling down the cinder-block corridor. He punched his cane a few times in the air before propping it against the floor again. “Bring on the newbies, for I am ready to pass judgment.”
Ruby wasn’t far behind him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “How’s it looking out there?” she asked, coming to stand beside Adrian. Her eyes widened. “Great skies, that’s a lot of people.” Her bloodstone dangled from her wrist, resting against her thigh as she surveyed the jam-packed arena. Then her attention moved down to the tables stationed around the field. There were close to forty of them, each draped with a red cloth. All patrol units were expected to attend the trials—at least, those who weren’t on active duty that night—where they would sit at the tables and watch hopeful prodigies try to impress them and ultimately decide their fate. “Are there really that many patrol teams these days?” Ruby added. “There weren’t half this many when I tried out. It doesn’t feel this crowded when we’re at headquarters.”
“Not often they get us all in one room together,” said Adrian. “I’m not sure how many are actively looking for new members, though.” His eyes traveled up to the platform that hung over the far end of the field. The Council members, including his dads, were already seated, chatting amicably and occasionally pausing to smile for a camera. Even Thunderbird was there. The healers had given her permission to come, so long as she didn’t do anything stupid, like try to fly. “I know the Council is hoping to bring on some new talent today, too, so we’ll see how many they pick out.”
Ruby shook her head, looking a little dazed by all the commotion. “Can you imagine trying out under these conditions? It’s so much pressure.”
“You both got picked from trials,” said Adrian. “It wasn’t a lot of pressure then?”
“Oh, it was,” said Ruby, with a nervous laugh. “I was terrified.”
“Not me.” Oscar grinned. “But I knew I’d get picked up. Who wouldn’t want this on their team?” He lifted a palm and a puff of bluish smoke morphed into a vicious dragon. It flew off into the bleachers to a bout of squeals from the audience. “Seriously? There are endless practical uses for that trick.”
“Seriously,” said Ruby, with a sage nod. “Endless.”
“That’s funny,” said Adrian. “I seem to recall you being challenged by … what? Nine different teams, all at once?”
“Yes!” said Oscar, beaming with the memory. “And did they come to regret that or what? That was a shining moment for me. Come to think of it, I may actually have peaked on that day. I think my life has been downhill ever since.”
Ruby laughed. “Do you remember the look on Mia Hagner’s face when you defeated Steamroller? That was the best.”
Oscar leaned his head against Ruby’s shoulder, his eyes sparkling. “Please go on. Tell me everything you remember, in complete, excruciating detail.”
Ruby rested her head against his. “I would, except you covered the whole field with fog so none of us actually got to see anything.”
Oscar’s squinted one eye. “Oh yeah. But trust me—it was a sound whupping.”
Adrian shook his head, watching as the stands filled with onlookers, some of whom had started doing the wave. He clearly remembered the trials of all three of his teammates, though he hadn’t been a team leader at the time. Danna had been accepted without question during her trial—being able to disperse into a swarm of butterflies made her quick, conveniently camouflaged, and a star when it came to hiding and sneaking into places where others couldn’t easily get to.
But Oscar and Ruby had both been challenged, which meant that while one team had seen their potential, other teams had questioned if they deserved a place among the Renegades. They’d each had to prove themselves in one-on-one combat against a member of a challenging team.
Oscar could have wowed the audience with an entire flock of smoke dragons and an army of vapor knights to destroy them, and someone still would have questioned if a kid with a bone disease that kept him tethered to a cane could possibly become a hero in Gatlon City. But he had surprised everyone by taking out Steamroller, a prodigy known for mowing down anyone and anything in his path. Oscar had cast a thick fog over the field, blinding Steamroller, then tricked him into chasing after him until he was only a couple of feet inside the ring. Finally, he had barraged him with a series of darts made of thick black smoke. Steamroller had choked and gagged and stumbled out of the ring—and Smokescreen joined the Renegades.