[Winner! Coming in first place is... Nathan Ericson!]

Noel: “...Ericson?”

Oliviera: “Hm? Now where have I heard...

.

.

AH it – it's HIM! The guy who beat gravity quee – - - no. she's no queen. The guy who beat that BI---um, that evil girl, Savannah!”

Elijah: “Hm... Ericson. To think he was this good...”

Noel: “Mr. Abrams, I'm curious. You said each power has Grades to differentiate them, right? Then, what's the power grades for the 3 winners?”

Mr. Abrams was no fool. He knew that Noel must've started cooking up some convoluted plan to cause him more trouble! That family has always been like that!

Just look at how Aeron turned out!

He was going to refuse responding when he witnessed the other two staring at him with brightly shining eyes from their seats. Clearly, they too, were curious about the Grades of Momo the 'Generational Leader', A princess from an actual kingdom - Iris, the 'Incarnation' of Apollo himself – Phoebus and the one that beat them all, Nathan Ericson.

Mr. Abrams: “...I can't tell you for certain, since it isn't my job to keep track of EVERY child that comes to our school. What I can say, however, is that none of their powers have reached 'S' grade yet.”

[...Should I go then? That name... if he's really an Ericson...]

Elijah: “Hey...where's that Ericson fellow looking?”

Mr. Abrams looked at the giant monitor and frowned. He immediately activated his 'Remote Viewing' ability, and his eyes sharpened fiercely. He quickly looked behind himself at Noel, and saw the boy act nonchalant with Oliviera while asking questions in a foolhardy bout to discover what she's been chewing on. Even after she told him they were called 'mixed nuts' he still didn't know what they were.

Mr. Abrams: ”(...Phew. Good. It looks like he hasn't noticed yet. That makes things a whole lot easier for me.)”

He took out his telepathy ring and spread his intent forward. The ring glowed for a moment only, before dying down.

…

Elsewhere, in the stands munching on popcorn, a golden haired man sporting a monkey – printed headband temporarily put a halt to his delicious enjoyment, due to the irritable glow on his left hand.

Annoyed, he spread his mental energy inside of the ring, only to feel a heavy 'tug' on it. Such a tug wasn't dangerous or an attack: it merely signified that he successfully connected to somebody within the mental network that only certain members of Hero High's current staff were a part of.

Furthermore, such an immediate connection refers to another member both initiating contact and waiting for his response. It had to have been urgent.

...or rather, it better be.

?: “Yeah? Wha- *munches* --ish it?”

Mr. Abrams: “(Just what the hell is your nephew plotting? Is he trying to antagonize my student?!)”

?: “What, no! *Munches* -ish nottin of da sawt.”

Mr. Abrams: “(...I know you're there, since we're mentally connected right now. So when are you planning to answer?!)”

?: “*Gulp* I am answering!! I-”

Random little girl in the stands: “SHUT UP OLD MAN!”

?: “...”

Random lady in the stands: “SHHH! Talk to yourself more quietly, please! We're TRYING to HEAR!”

?: “(...Sorry. It seems I was talking to the ring out loud. Still getting used to this whole 'telepathy' thing.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(...Then, are you ready to answer my questions?)”

?: “(The answer to your question was no. Nothing of the sort.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(Then why is he looking this way...and why are his pupils glowing like he was about to shoot something out of them?! And don't you DARE lie.)”

?: “(Oh don't worry about that. Even without looking down there I can tell that ocular power you're seeing only enables him to see through things...sorta.

Think of it as a type of X-ray vision enhancement. He's probably looking for the Malierano kid you have with you.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(How did you-)”

?: “(What? I just watched you two enter together. Even if I lose track afterwards, so long as I follow your logic, then naturally wherever you go he goes. Am I right?)”

Mr. Abrams: “(How did he know where my room was located?)”

?: “(Oh, that?) *Starts chewing* (Naturally, that's because I told him.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(WHY did you---ugh, what a pain... this entire year is going to be a massive stress bringer for me.)”

?: “(Good luck.) *Munches*”

Mr. Abrams: “(Don't 'good luck' me. You COMPLETELY instigated a fight just now! Don't tell me you forgot about the blood feud between your two families. Because I absolutely am NOT buying that garbage excuse.)”

?: “(Oh? You know about our feud too? Ah, wait – I almost forgot! You ALSO hail from one of the ten. Isn't that right? You Mabras deser-)”

*Crack*

Mr. Abrams: “(Don't finish that sentence, Borg. Lest I get angry here. Should I get serious, even that oh so beloved Ericson 'Hero' of your past won't be able to save you.)”

*Crack*

Borg: “(Now you've said it...ha... ahaha! Fine. I give! It isn't Your fault that the rest of the family changed their name, abandoning the lone household that didn't follow their ideals.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(Why don't you do yourself a favor and control that brat of yours Ericson. I would rather not have to skip out on my precious sleeping schedule in order to give your two families' kids a stern 'talking to'... But I will if the situation ever arises.)”

Borg: “(Bahahahahaha!! Go on then, beat 'em up! I give you my 'blessings'! Ahahaha~ They deserve it if they do manage to get caught. But I sincerely hope you will remember this warning of mine, at the very least: Stopping our two families from fighting is only you delaying the inevitable. The Malieranos and the Ericsons can NEVER stay under the same roof for too long!)”

Mr. Abrams: “(If that's how you felt then you SHOULDN'T have BROUGHT him here!)”

Borg: “*Snorts*(And what? Allow those no good sleazebags to one-up us? Never! 'Sides, I came here first. It's everybody ELSE that has to leave!)

Mr. Abrams: “...Haah. (Whatever. Speaking of which, why IS that Ericson brat even attending? Doesn't your family favor Justice Heights, or something? Last time I checked: only you and your sister were coming over as head of security and a gym instructor respectively.)”

Borg: “(Oh that. All I know is she became furious after learning the Malieranos were coming here as well. When she heard about Aeron making an appearance, due to their bad blood, she immediately asked the Rowes for help in gathering intel. When that information came back to us and we all learned they were 'releasing' one of their younglings into society at 12... which has NEVER happened before – we hustled to do the same with our only young enough kid to attend. Dad's reaction had to have been priceless at her report. Because the next thing I knew, he sent two more family members to join me. Something about things looking extremely 'fishy' around my school and such. In the end he just wants to know why the sudden change of heart since the Malieranos always kept a tight rein on their younger batch.)

*Munches*

(Not just us, either. I assume that the other 8 families will be moving soon. Nobody wants to allow the Malieranos a chance to be happy!)”

Mr. Abrams: “(...How's your real mission coming along?)”

Borg: “(Aaargh, don't even bring that up! There's been nothing – absolutely no movement! They sent an heir as predicted but it was through normal means...hell they didn't even TRY to hide that he hails from the Chaotic faction, other than not officially announcing it publicly! As I've said to them before... those paranoid fools should just let it go already. The Chaotic Alliance from the past died long ago and are now filled with a bunch of oppressed pacifists. Some pacifist chumps aren't going to try and crash their 'ritual' at the end of the semester.

And that Xano brat is just attending as a normal high school student – maybe he's a little rambunctious but personality quirks never hurt anybody.) *Munches*”

Mr. Abrams: “(Personality quirks by themselves maybe, but acting out on those quirks certainly has put lives in danger before. Remember that whole 'Antihero' fiasco? Be careful all the same. The 'Order Alliance' that has supplied us with heroes, and the 'Balance Land' that suddenly broke their age old rule of remaining impartial. Both of them told me that a 'Seer' from the Balance Land and an 'Oracle' from the Order Alliance managed to squeeze out a prediction that the Chaotic Alliance would be making a move this time around.)”

Borg: “(I call BULLSHIT on that! They haven't even begun to so much as PEEP about any possible movements, and the Ericsons have our sources everywhere! We may not be as good at intel gathering as the Rowes or Malieranos, but we certainly don't lose to much else! If their story is true, then where are they?! TELL THOSE TWO: THE ORACLE AND SEER, TO COME FORWARD AND PROVE THEIR WORDS AREN'T A LOAD OF SHIT!)”

Mr. Abrams: “(They can't come.)”

Borg: “(Why not? Wait, no. I don't care about the shallow reasoning. They'd probably give us an excuse, anyways. This entire arrangement does seem 'fishy'. Rather than waiting for their decisions... and excuses, the school should just DEMAND for them to make an appearance! Everything would be solved quickly if we can question those two personally. Retaining this line of thinking, a firm demand should CLEARLY be our next approach.)”

---