Supernova

The third and final installment of the Renegades Trilogy opens in the aftermath of a devastating raid on Renegade Headquarters. Nova Artino has been infiltrating the Renegades, the superhero organization governing Gatlon City, as a spy for the Anarchists, a villain group led by the telekinetic Ace Anarchy. The novel begins the morning after Nova's alter ego, Nightmare, raided headquarters, stealing Ace's powerful helmet and releasing Agent N, a substance that permanently strips prodigies (people with superpowers) of their abilities. During the chaos, Max Everhart, a young boy whose innate power drains the abilities of any nearby prodigy, was stabbed and nearly killed. The Renegades blame Nightmare, though it was actually Genissa Clark, formerly the ice-wielding hero Frostbite, who wounded Max.

Nova's teammate and love interest, Adrian Everhart, who can bring his drawings to life, assembles his patrol unit, which includes Ruby Tucker (Red Assassin), Oscar Silva (Smokescreen), and Danna Bell (Monarch, currently stuck in butterfly-swarm form). Adrian theorizes that Nightmare has been operating as a spy within the Renegades, citing her inside knowledge and the disappearance of a protective amulet called the Vitality Charm. Nova deflects suspicion by volunteering to search the vault for clues. At the Anarchists' safe house, Nova and her allies, the chemist Leroy Flinn (Cyanide), the bee-controlling Honey Harper (Queen Bee), and the fear-manipulating specter Phobia, study outdated blueprints of Cragmoor Penitentiary, where Ace is imprisoned, but their rescue plans stall.

A blackmail message appears on a mirror in Nova's bedroom, demanding the helmet in exchange for silence about her identity. The blackmailer is Narcissa Cronin, granddaughter of Gene Cronin, the Librarian, who died during a confrontation with a villain called the Detonator. Narcissa blames Nova for failing to save him and leads a group called the Rejects, prodigies marginalized by both society and the Renegades. Narcissa can travel through mirrors, and during a confrontation at the safe house, she escapes through one and frees a captive monarch butterfly that the Anarchists held to prevent Danna from re-forming. Nova kills the butterfly but knows the rest of the swarm can now converge. She orders the Anarchists to evacuate, and Leroy activates an explosive on a timer.

Danna reconstitutes at Ruby's apartment and tells Adrian that Nova is Nightmare. Adrian races to the safe house, but Nova drags him out seconds before the explosion levels the building. Adrian arrests Nova, and she is transported to Cragmoor, where she endures weeks of isolation. The Council announces that both Ace and Nova will be publicly executed using Agent N. Adrian visits Nova through a reinforced glass partition, offering a deal: reveal the locations of the helmet, the Vitality Charm, and the remaining Anarchists, and her death sentence will be commuted. Nova refuses. Adrian also asks about a phrase found on his murdered mother Lady Indomitable's body, "One cannot be brave who has no fear," which Nova privately associates with Phobia.

Meanwhile, Adrian secretly removes Max from the hospital and places him with Ruby's family, defying the Council's plan to rebuild the glass quarantine that confined Max for most of his childhood. Adrian has given himself tattoos that function as superpowers, including immunity to Max's draining ability, and has been secretly operating as the armored vigilante known as the Sentinel. His adoptive fathers, Hugh (Captain Chromium) and Simon, know of neither secret.

Narcissa, disguised as Nightmare, appears before Adrian's team and claims she framed Nova to avenge her grandfather. The Council orders Nova's release. Nova is taken to the Anarchists' new hideout beneath a pawnshop, where the Rejects and the Anarchists have formed an alliance. Nova proposes rescuing Ace at the upcoming public Agent N event rather than attacking the prison. Narcissa infiltrates Renegade Headquarters through a special mirror and steals the remaining Agent N, replacing it with a decoy. Through Millie, a Rejects ally, psychometrist who reads an object's history through touch, and forger, Nova learns that her father, David Artino, crafted both the star on her bracelet and Ace's helmet from the same material: energy particles from an ancient supernova believed to be the source of all prodigy abilities. Narcissa also shows Nova Adrian's childhood comics, whose villain resembles Phobia, deepening Nova's suspicion that Adrian inadvertently created the creature through his powers.

At the arena, Renegade technicians attempt to neutralize the Cragmoor prisoners, but nothing happens: The Agent N has been replaced with the decoy. Paper cranes flood the arena, each containing a bumblebee armed with Agent N on its stinger. Honey secretly altered the plan, using Agent N instead of the paralysis poison Nova authorized, and hundreds of Renegades, including Ruby, are permanently neutralized. A full-scale battle erupts. Magpie, a young Renegade, steals the helmet from Nova's backpack and tosses it to Callum Treadwell (Wonder), a Renegade whose power to inspire awe briefly freezes the battle in a moment of shared hope. Phobia murders Callum, places the helmet on Ace, and restores his full telekinetic power. Ace attacks the Renegade Council, killing Blacklight and incapacitating Tsunami, while Cyanide neutralizes Thunderbird, a fellow Council member. Nova convinces Ace to retreat. Ace flies the villains to the ruins of his old cathedral, reassembles the structure telekinetically, and erects a dome of debris over the site.

Ace announces his vision of prodigies ruling as gods. Nova disagrees, proposing they leave Gatlon City, but Ace rejects the idea. Adrian reveals his Sentinel identity to his fathers and leads his team through catacombs beneath the cathedral, but they walk into a trap. Nova puts Adrian to sleep, and he is shackled in a chapel, where Honey begins cutting his tattoos from his skin to strip his powers. Ace opens the dome and challenges Hugh to enter alone, then forces Hugh to drink concentrated Agent N or watch Adrian die. Hugh drinks it, but his invincibility holds. Ace orders Nova to execute Adrian. She holds the gun to his head but cannot pull the trigger. Honey attacks Nova and tries to kill Adrian herself. Nova shoots Honey to save Adrian's life.

In the sanctuary, Phobia confirms to Adrian that Adrian created him through childhood fears and that Phobia killed Lady Indomitable by showing her a vision of her dead son, frightening her so badly she forgot she could fly. Adrian burns away his immunity tattoo and injects himself with a dart of Agent N that Genissa had given him before the mission, permanently destroying his own powers. Because Phobia was his creation, the creature dissolves into nothingness.

On the roof, Ace seizes the star from Nova's bracelet and uses it to amplify his powers, lifting hundreds of buildings across the city. Hugh reveals that Nova's father betrayed Ace by informing the Renegades about the helmet, and Ace ordered the assassination of Nova's family in retaliation. Lady Indomitable had been stationed to protect them but was killed by Phobia the same night. Devastated, Nova stabs Ace with a hidden Agent N dart and strips the helmet from his head. Max arrives, puts on the helmet, and halts the falling buildings. Hugh, his invincibility broken, hurls the Silver Spear, his signature weapon, and kills Ace.

Max, wearing the helmet and holding the star, absorbs all remaining prodigy powers worldwide. Nova and Adrian place their hands over his, urging him to release the energy. The star explodes in a supernova of multicolored light that washes across the planet, redistributing abilities to virtually every human being. Max survives but is now the only person without superpowers; his draining ability is gone, meaning he can finally live among others. Everyone else, including those previously neutralized, has their abilities restored. Nova and Hugh agree to bury Ace and the indestructible helmet in the catacombs beneath the cathedral.

An epilogue set one year later follows Magpie as she watches the Renegade Parade, now a celebration of all prodigies. She carries a silver bullet, the one that should have killed her as a baby when an intruder murdered her parents. She considers rumors about the helmet buried beneath the cathedral and muses that some people were always meant to be heroes, just as some were always meant to be villains.