Renegades

Renegades

By Marissa Meyer

Read in 8th grade

Book 1 in series

Book 2! Archenemies

Book 3! Supernova

The Renegades are prodigies - people with superpowers, and they are attempting to rebuilt Galton City after the supervillain Ace Anarchy tried to destroy it. But his allies, the Anarchists, aren’t ready to give up. They have a hidden member. Nova Artino, alias Nightmare, who can put people to sleep with her touch. Her job is to kill the invincible Captain Chromium, one of the original Renegades, in his eye, his only weak spot. But she fails, and chaos ensues. She is trapped by Monarch, Red Assassin, and Smokescreen, when a mysterious vigilante named the Sentinel shows up. The Puppeteer, her ally, saves her with a puppet string, when Captain Chromium hits the engine of their balloon. To save herself, she throws the Puppeteer off, where he is caught by Captain Chromium. Nova barely clears a building and gets away. 

    Back at headquarters, Adrian, alias Sketch, and secretly the Sentinel, visits his baby brother, Max. Max has been in a quarantine his entire life because his ability is stealing other people’s abilities. He is building a glass city, and Adrian draws some new pieces for him because his ability making drawings come to life. In fact, Adrian drew the Sentinel’s armor himself. While he was the Sentinel, he defies the superhero Code, but he feels it is justified to stop crime. He remembers something Nightmare said: “One cannot be brave who has no fear.” That’s what his mother’s killer said. And he’s going to find them.

    Meanwhile, Nova returns to the Anarchist’s home, an abandoned subway station, and is furious at herself for missing. Later, the Renegades’ most ruthless team shows up to interrogate the Anarchists about the shooting. They try to bully them into a confession (which is against the Code), when the Sentinel shows up and stops them. He claims he is there on the Council’s orders, but they all know he is lying. He doesn’t say whose side he is on, only that he wants to know his mother’s killer.

    The Anarchists have a new plan. The Renegades do not know about Nova yet, so she is going to infiltrate them as a spy. She changes her name to Nova McLain and gives herself alias Insomnia. She passes the trials and joins Adrian’s team. Adrian’s team will be going on surveillance to see if the Librarian, who is suspected of supplying Nightmare’s gun, is active. Before that, though, they tour headquarters. Nova meets Max, who is getting a blood extraction. When she asks what it’s for, Adrian avoids the question. She decides to investigate further later.

    At the Librarian’s hideout (a library), they see the Detonator, who can make bombs from thin air. They go in, and during the fight, the library burns. Nova and Adrian go in to save a boy and are thanked. Back at headquarters, it is nighttime, and Nova is traveling the halls when she sees Max levitating. She surprises him, and he falls, impaling himself with a glass building. She rushes in to help, not knowing his ability, and feels her powers being drained. Luckily, Adrian saves her, and they prove that their powers are intact. Later, she finds Ace Anarchy’s helmet, which amplifies power, on display. She picks it up and finds it is a fake. The invisible Dread Warden shows up and tells her the real one couldn’t be destroyed and is well protected. He also tells her how Ace Anarchy was defeated. At the Battle for Galton, the Renegades were losing. But Captain Chromium, the only one resistant to Max’s power, carried him into battle with him. Max was still just a baby. Ace could feel his powers draining, and jumped to his death.

    Back with the Anarchists, the Detonator has an idea. She and Nova should stage a fight between them at Cosmopolis Park to put themselves off the Renegades’ radar forever. Nova agrees, and lures Adrian to the Park. They go through a haunted house, where they are separated. Then Adrian sees her. Nightmare. She fires and misses, and eventually they are separated again. The Detonator meets Adrian outside, saying she took care of Nightmare. Detonator and Adrian fight, and she threatens to blow bombs that are situated throughout the park. Nova pops out of the ruins of the haunted house and shoots her. For real. The Renegades arrive and talk about how they won’t have to deal with villains anymore, soon. Nova assumes it is about the research on Max and returns to the subway. There, she talks to Ace, about the helmet and Max. Ace Anarchy is still alive.