Atomic Rebooted

8. Renegade

CLAIRE

I clutched the strap of my messenger bag and froze.

He's not a dinosaur, he can still see you.

"Have you been following me?"

"Not for very long, if that makes you feel better," Renegade answered, sauntering forward a few paces. I took a step back, so he stopped.

He wasn't exactly one of the super-fit muscular athletes that the Sentinels from Atomic Energy. He was lithe and lean— made more for speed than for power, even though he still managed to overpower me.

Basically, he was the superhero who I had the best chance of beating in a fair fight, and given the whole gunpoint situation, I couldn't even do that.

Holly was right, I should lift more.

Renegade raised his hands— the universal gesture for surrender.

"It's okay," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. You shouldn't be walking home alone, not on this time of night."

My first impulse was to splutter some indignant remark, or say something suitably sassy like I was MJ Watson. But I hesitated long enough to come back down to reality. This was the guy who held me at gunpoint to get away. The guy who had worked with my mother's murderer. Good guy or not, I sure as hell didn't trust him.

"You're right, I shouldn't." My voice was so quiet, I wasn't sure if he heard it initially. "But I don't know why you feel like pointing this out to me."

"I'm going to walk you home," he declared. "Bad things happen in New Kingsbury at this time of night."

I raised an eyebrow. "Like a couple of super-powered bullies holding an innocent girl hostage?"

I then clapped my hand over my mouth.

Crap.

His eyes softened through the red mask at that. "Look, I really am sorry about that. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary."

Necessary? I wanted to shout at him. But I bit my tongue— I was not going to get myself killed by a rogue hero.

"Whydidyoudoit?"

"Come again?" He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head in confusion.

I closed my eyes, focusing on enunciating each word. "Why. Did. You. Do. It. Then?"

I opened one eye first to see relief and comprehension dawn on him.

"Oh, I get it, yeah." He fake—coughed into his fist. "For some reason, they're hellbent on arresting me— God knows why—"

"I got that part, but you disappearing in the middle seemed kind of random— couldn't you have just disappeared without holding me hostage?"

Or just not work with a murderer to do it?

"Powers are a little more complicated than that," he said. "Some things, like the distance I can jump are based off of energy, and other limitations. It's all very complex and scientific."

"A-huh. Sure." I folded my arms over my chest, mirroring Renegade.

"Look, the point is, I didn't have enough energy to complete a jump far enough away that they wouldn't find me, much less do that for both me and Heretic," he admitted, red rising in his cheeks. "Birds kept pecking me, and being on the receiving end of Powerline's lightning is unpleasant—"

"You still could have hurt me." A part of me was convinced I sounded like a pouty little child saying that— but I stood my ground. I had a right to all of this.

"Trust me, sweetheart, I don't actually hurt civilians, unlike Sentinels." He glanced over his shoulder. "We can continue talking about this, but I really would rather that you let me escort you home. Think of it as reparations."

I hesitated— but there was some truth to his claims. There usually was a stat of how many collateral casualties in the crime reports—- the civilians killed by the actions of the police or the heroes. And Renegade, despite the destructive nature of his powers, had a big ol' zero next to his name.

Besides, I just seemed to keep flirting with death that night.

"Fine," I agreed. "You can walk me home, Renegade. This time."

"Thank you." He stretched his arm around my back, gently pushing be forward with him, before letting his arm fall back to the side.

"I really am sorry about the hostage situation," he added after a moment. "If it's any consolation, I don't think I would have been able to hurt you, even if I wanted to."

My blood went as cold as ice. "What's that supposed to mean?"

His eyes met mine. "I know it's not a coincidence that you were the only one actually able to escape the tram without help."

I blanched. "Did— did anyone else see that?"

He shook his head. "No, or they'd chalk it all up to coincidence. Doesn't matter— all eyes were on the train or on me."

There it was, the typical super arrogance. But it still didn't make me feel any better.

After all, Heretic might've seen me.

"How did you know, then?"

"I've got a keen eye." He shrugged.

"So it's like, one of your powers, to be able to sense other supers, like what Prophet does?" I was having to walk faster to keep up with the much-taller super.

"No, no, nothing like that," he said quickly. "I just pay attention, and I've got an eye for detail. No magic, no superpowers. Just human perception. That's all there is."

Now we were walking under the monorail station for Riverview. It wouldn't be much longer to my house.

"How long did you know?" Renegade asked after a moment. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"I didn't— not until it happened."

There was sympathy in his features. "That's how it happens to all of us—except the Sentinels. But they're different from us in a lot of ways."

He then looked me directly in the eyes. "Word of advice? Keep it to yourself, your powers. Don't tell anyone, and don't confirm it for anyone. I'll keep your secret— the Mutated have to look out for each other in this world."

I bit my lip— I'd tried to ignore the world of supers and Sentinels after my mother's death in the City Hall fire. But as much as I'd tried to, there were some details that slipped past. Like the disappearances of any kids in my classes who were discovered to have superpowers.

"Wasn't planning on it," I informed him. "But thanks. For keeping my secret, I mean."

"I swore an oath to protect the citizens of the city when I first put on the mask," Renegade said. "I still mean it— and part of it is protecting the identities of people like you."

We then stopped outside of Holly's house. Dad's car still wasn't in the driveway, but Holly's and Julien's were.

"This is my stop," I announced. "I guess I should thank you for walking me home, then."

"You're welcome." Renegade grinned, planting his hands on his hips. "I hope you don't think too badly of me now, Claire."

With that, he vanished in a portal. I stared at where he once stood. He knew my name— and I hadn't told him.

"Claire?"

I turned to see Holly open the front door.