He laughed. “Yeah, exactly. You know who made that cube, right?”
“Yes, and while Captain Chromium himself might be invincible, I don’t think we should rely on his handiwork alone to protect the helmet. In fact, I’d like to talk to your dad about it. If he could clarify any potential weaknesses, then I could work on setting up a more comprehensive security system.”
“It’s indestructible,” said Adrian. “It doesn’t have any weaknesses.”
“Indestructible,” Nova repeated, her gaze searing into him. “But not unopenable?”
Adrian hesitated. Could it be…？
No. He shook his head. “Unopenable to anyone who would ever want to use it for evil again.”
Something seemed to kindle in Nova’s expression and she scooted closer to him, until their sides were pressed together from shoulder to knee. He gulped.
“So it can be opened,” she said. “By who?”
“Uh—that’s not what I—no one can open it. I mean, I’m sure my dad could, if he ever wanted to. But he wouldn’t. Why would he?”
She licked her lips, drawing his gaze toward them. In that same moment, the crowd erupted in a cheer and Adrian lurched instinctively to his feet. The carton of fries toppled from his lap, spilling across his and Nova’s shoes. “Ah—I’m sorry!”
Ignoring the fries, Nova stood, too, and then her hand was on his elbow. Adrian’s heart palpitated in his chest. On Nova’s other side, he heard Ruby screaming—Go! Go! Go!
His eyes darted toward the field where he saw that both Sterling and the girl in the Lady Indomitable cape were more than halfway through the course, neck and neck as they swung across a series of knotted ropes.
“Adrian.”
He looked back at Nova, his cheeks burning.
“Are you sure he didn’t leave it vulnerable somehow?” she prodded, and the intensity of her expression made him realize just how important this was to her. Her earnestness surprised him. He never would have thought to doubt the security of the helmet. If Captain Chromium said it was taken care of, then it was taken care of. But clearly, Nova didn’t share that confidence. “I need to make sure there isn’t some unknown vulnerability. Now that I’m working in the artifacts department, it’s my job to keep the objects there safe, you know? And that helmet … we can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.”
“There’s never going to be another Ace Anarchy, Nova. You’re overthinking this.”
“You don’t know that. I just need to be sure. Maybe Captain Chromium installed some sort of backup—a way to get to the helmet, in case it was ever needed again and he wasn’t able to open the box himself. A … key, of sorts. Or is there some other way that someone could open it? Even hypothetically?”
Adrian heaved a long breath and tried to take the question seriously. “I don’t know. My dad could get into it easily enough by manipulating the chromium. And maybe…” He dropped one hand to his pocket and pulled out his marker. He turned it over in his fingers, considering. “Maybe I could?”
“You?” said Nova, and he tried not to be offended at her tone of disbelief.
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried to draw anything using my dad’s chromium before. But I don’t see why it would be any different from drawing on glass or concrete or Ruby’s gems.”
Her grip tightened on his arm. “What would you draw to get into the box?”
His mouth quirked to one side. “A door?”
Nova’s brow tensed, and Adrian’s teasing smile faded. “But it’s still safe, Nova. I would never open that box, and I don’t even know for sure it would work. Besides, there are no other prodigies like me—at least, not that I’ve ever heard of.”
Nova hummed thoughtfully and, to his disappointment, pulled her hands away. “You might be right, but there are new prodigies every day. We don’t know what sort of powers will be uncovered next. Who knows? Maybe your dad’s chromium won’t always be invincible.”
Ruby, Oscar, and Danna let out simultaneous groans. Adrian looked up. Sterling had reached the final obstacle—a large, above-ground swimming pool full of nets, buoys, and robotic sharks. Though Sterling was a fast swimmer, the girl was quickly pulling ahead.
“If you think of anything else,” said Nova, “any possible weakness that box might have … will you let me know?”
“I will,” he said, smiling. “I promise.”
The girl climbed out of the pool and darted across the finish line. Sterling followed seconds later.
Jade, trailing a ways behind, came in seventh.
“Second place,” said Ruby. “That’s not bad.”
“Are you kidding?” said Oscar. “Any Renegade worth their alter ego would be proud to have that kid as a sidekick. Jade too. In fact…” He rubbed his chin. “I could use a couple sidekicks. Think your brothers would be interested?”
“What, to make food runs for you?” said Ruby.
“Among other important sidekicky things. It would really help clear my schedule for more damsel-saving work.”
Ruby snorted. “I helped save that barista too.”
“Yeah, but she was clearly thanking me, and I plan on milking it forever and ever. It’s like a constant reminder of the risks and rewards that come with true heroism.”
“The struggle is real,” said Danna, leaning across Ruby to steal one of Oscar’s fries.
The bleachers began to clear as the obstacle course was reset for the next group.
“We have an hour before Jade’s wrestling match, and then they both have archery,” said Ruby, checking the schedule on a flyer. She lifted her head, beaming. “Anyone want to go get matching face paint?”
“You read my mind,” said Oscar.
“Uh, you two go ahead,” said Adrian, recalling Oscar’s face when Ruby had grabbed his arm. “There was something I wanted to show Nova and Danna … uh … over there.” He pointed toward a cluster of vendor booths by the lake. “But we’ll meet you at the wrestling match, okay?”
Danna cocked her head at him, suspicious, but no one argued as Adrian headed toward the bottom of the bleachers and melded into the bustling crowd. When he glanced back, Nova and Danna were beside him, but Oscar and Ruby were nowhere to be seen.
“That was just a ploy to give them alone time, right?” said Danna.
“Yeah,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “Too obvious?”
“Subtlety doesn’t seem to be making much progress, so…” Danna shrugged.
“Hey,” said Adrian, snapping his fingers, “how was your medical exam?”
Danna beamed. “Cleared for duty. I’ll file the paperwork for reinstatement on Monday.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” said Adrian. “And you feel good?”
“Great. The scratches didn’t even leave scars.” She cast a sideways glance at Nova, her tone taking on a new edge. “No random fainting spells either, so … I guess I’m good as new.”
Nova seemed to pale, but covered it quickly with a look of concern. “That’s great, Danna.”