It happened once in a dream.

chapter 11

Nova was almost halfway to Gatlon's second nearest headquarters and her mind was on full speed as she tried to come up with an actuall plan.
She would kill for a break, not just to stretch her legs, but also stop thinking about everything that could go wrong.
The plan could fail on so many levels, it gave her a headache.
The anarchists could attack Adrian before he gets to HQ, the file could have no important information, Ace would somehow escape.
But what terrified her the most was that this HQ could also have Agent N and the moment she turns herself in, they won't waste time and neutralize her, before putting her in regular prison. Her plan was based on this little detail.
Nova was holding onto her only hope, that they would take her to Gatlon HQ so she could get interrogated there. The Council still owed her an explanation and she will get it, even if it's the last thing she would do. The only reason she belived they would take her to Gatlon, was that Gatlon was closer to Cragmoore, and unless they neutralize her, that's where they will put her.
Not that she was excited to go back to that gruesome place.
Once the Council finds out the truth, she could only hope they would bother interrogate her. She was determined to make that happen. But she didn't forget about what almost happened the last time they believed she was Nightmare. The public reveal of Agent N was now closer than ever and so was the execution.
Nova was sure, the Council would be furious when they realize they were tricked by the Anarchists yet again.
Only this time, she wasn't doing this for the Anarchists.
She was doing it for herself. And for Adrian.
The chance that this plan would succeed was less then 50%, when she thought of all the things that could go wrong.
But even if the last kiss felt like a goodbye, for Nova it was a promise. She didn't say it, but she was promising, that this is not the last kiss. No matter what it takes.
With that, she pressed the accelerator a little more and the car shoot forward as fast as it could.

Adrian was half asleep on the train, but every stop was so loud, it woke him up again. He looked up on a mechanical sign, that showed which stops are left. Next stop: Gatlon city.
The ride was so long, it took him a second to realize that this is where he has to get off the train. He took his bag that was almost empty now, since he left most of the useful stuff like food and money in Nova's car.
Finally, the train stopped and the second the mechanic door opened, Adrian ran out and didn't stop until he found a place to transform into the Sentinel. Just in case anyone saw him jumping across the rooftops.
The armor wrapped around his muscles and he didn't waste any time. Last time he raced across the city was to arrest Nova. This time he was helping her.
At least he hoped this would help her, even though she might end up in prison again. But this time he knew the whole truth. They were in this together.
With that he raced across the roofs towards HQ.

Two blocks from HQ, Adrian paused in another quiet street, to transform back. As he buttoned up his shirt, he rushed towards HQ to hopefully get some usefull information.

Inside was busy as always. Adrian hurried across the familiar lobby and he almost made to the elevators, when he heard his friends call out his name.
"Adrian!" He turned around to see Danna, Ruby and Oscar rushing towards him, and even though he was happy to see them, he wasn't sure what could he tell them.
He barely wrapped his mind around everything that has happened in those last two days. But they were his friends. His team.
Adrian waited for his friends to reach him. He could tell they were worried.
"Where have you been?" Ruby reached him first and smacked his arm as she practicaly yelled at him. Some of the other patrols started to give them strange looks "Simon told us you disappeared in the middle of the night!"
Oscar finally reached them too. "Not just that. He sad you left with Nova." He paused to look around. "Where is she anyway?"
"Yeah, I know I owe you guys a lot of explaining, but it will have to wait. It's complicated. Nova is buying me some time right about now and I can't waste it. I hope you'll understand for now. All I can tell you, is that I told her everything. About ..you know."
Just then the elevator door opened and Adrian walked in. He turned to face his friends again. They seemed disappointed with the answer. "I'm sorry. It'll all make sense once I have time to explain." With that, he pressed a button to the top floor and the elevator door shut.
He was intent on getting access to the file, but there was only one way to get it. Hopefully his dads will see things from his side.

Couple cities away, Nova stopped the car in front of another tall building. It had the same iconic red R above the entrance, except this building wasn't nearly as pretentious as the Gatlon HQ.
She didn't bother parking the car, as much us just stopping half on the sidewalk. She had to make them believe, she was exactly the person, they thought Nightmare was.
She made her way inside and walked up to the front desk. Some of the people seemed to recognize her, but she paid no attention to the unfamiliar faces wearing the all too familiar uniforms.
Young woman at the front desk gave her a friendly look as she recognized Insomnia. The renegade, they all thought she was.
The woman offered her hand for a handshake as she welcomed Nova, but she ignored the hand. "I came here to speak with whoever is in charge."
"That would be me."
Nova turned around to see a man in his mid-thirties. She has never seen him before.
"What brings you so far from your region miss McLain?" Nova smiled "I've been doing some sightseeing and I thought I would stop by. This is just the first stop of my little road trip."
The man looked confused.
"I heard it's a great way to make new friends."
Nova walked towards the nearest Renegade and grabbed his hand as she used her power, and didn't bother catching him, as he fell to the ground.
Now everyone stared at her in shock. "Oops." Nova grinned and thought that this might be the biggest mistake of her life.
She didn't have much to lose, except for her freedom.
"I won't run on one condition. Take me to Gatlon."
"You don't make the rules here." He was genuinely shocked. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing??"
"I'm not answering your questions. Take me to the council in Gatlon, I'll give them all the information that matters.
And don't you dare neutralize me or I won't say a word."
He turned to walk away, still shocked, probably to notify the council, when he noticed the car outside. "Did you come in that?" "Yes. That's Cyanide's. You might want to send that to Gatlon too. As potential evidence."
Everyone else seemed too stunned to do anything so she waved at the nearest two renegades. "You are probably new to this, but when you catch a criminal, you're supposed to handcuff them."
They didn't move, instead a pair of quards stepped forward and imprisonned her hands in the familiar handcuffs, that covered her whole hands and fingers. Then they each grabbed one of her arms and not-so-gently dragged her away. They made sure not to touch her skin. Nova didn't care.
The show was over, now she just wondered if they were taking her to a holding cell or straight to the transport. No matter what, there was no way out.

They took her all the way up to the rooftop. It was very windy up there, but Nova had eyes for only one thing. A helicopter. They tied her to a seat and the last thing she heard, was one of the guards telling the pilot to fly to Gatlon City. Nova almost smiled to herself. At least that part of her plan worked. Now for the rest.

Hello everyone! Our story is slowly getting to it's end, let's hope it's a good end.
With the realase of this new chapter, me and my friend @nicc.draws, who you might know from Instagram, have prepared a nice treat for you guys. You may have noticed the new cover, that Nic drew as a commission just for this story. Make sure you check out her account and all of her other gorgeous fanarts.
Don't forget to vote and comment, let me know what you think of this new turn, the story took and stay tuned for the next chapter.