Wayne: “What’s your point about their muscles?? Anybody can have muscles – not just superheroes!”

Ian: “I mean to say...THEY BOTH LOOK THE PART! How in the world does Noel LOOK like a threat? Because he has a big mouth? A big attitude makes him a sudden villain supporter? A MIDDLE SCHOOL VILLAIN?! That kid’s barely taller than me! ME of all people…!

Being ‘paranoid’ is one thing. Concocting make believe schemes and imaginary plots to harm us all, then immediately pinning those beliefs onto Noel as if this were some … some freaking witch trial is completely insane!”

Wayne: “...I wasn’t trying to-!”

Ophelia: “Enough! Please, both of you stop fighting. This isn’t the end. We still...we don’t know if those other villains survived. We have to stay alert. I’m sorry for the harsh words I used against you and Elijah, Wayne. I shouldn’t have tried to vent my frustrations out against you both. Can we move on now?”

Alyandrea: “Ophelia, you don’t have to apologize eith–- Haah. Why am I even wasting my breath?”

Elijah: “(Horrible! I’m so filthy, pathetic and horrible! How could I even THINK that he was in cahoots with the villains? Was the paranoia inside of me, running this deep?? Did the thought of real and actual villains invading while I’m at my weakest, most powerless state, frighten me this much? That I was even willing to point fingers at a powerless non-combatant, in some desperate attempt to find control, to find ORDER during this moment of ... unrest! Villains are still lurking around someplace. I’m supposed to have the most experience with villains here – I should be leading by example! Yet, instead I entertain conspiracy theories?! He’s just a big mouthed 12 year old!)

…Don’t apologize, Ophelia. I was really in the wrong for doubting your friend. More importantly, you’re right in mentioning the need for us to raise our guard. Until the villains are all found, we can’t, and SHOULDN’T stay here. it is unsafe.”

Ian: “Yeah well, while I DO agree with your sentiment...where do you suppose we GO?! The school won’t let any of us go back home ‘for our own safety’ yet we aren’t even SAFE on campus! What do we do even if we KNOW it’s unsafe??”

Elijah: “We should ask the teacher not attending to injured students right now, Mrs. Haldeen. She and Mr. Pierce both have classes full of students in the clearing next to us, remember? They can’t just leave us here without leaving those other groups of students here. So, wherever those two classes are planning to go – WE should also go. What do you think?”

Li Shun: “...I like that idea. Simple and bound to be effective!”

Ian: “Seems logical.”

…

…

Oliviera: “...(These people are nuts! Arguing outside over nonsense! Can’t they SEE?! The teacher, Mr. Abrams, is about to LEAVE!! To a BUILDING! Specifically speaking, a NURSE’S STATION!

That means BEDS! Maybe even SHOWERS! Or else how do the nurses freshen up their smelly patients?! I better go with them – PRONTO.

.

.

.

Mmm. Wait.

Noel did try to save me... even though he did a real sucky job because I still got my head beaten by a hammer!

Or was it my neck that broke...? I’m already forgetting...

...but more importantly than that – I never got to finish HEARING the end of that interestingly juicy story!

I’ve GOT to get Leos ASAP!

Oh – I-I mean… I should help Noel out as a show of appreciation. Yes. Bringing Leos is to help repay him for trying to save me – even if he did fail. I am trying to grant him the opportunity to resolve his conflicts. Definitely not for anything else!)”

Mr. Abrams: “Alright – Now that we both agree on returning...Mrs. Haldeen! Can you take control of my class as well?”

Mrs. Haldeen: “Okay. But where should we move them?” The second building, or the third?”

Mr. Abrams: “The third. Definitely the third. Now, isn’t it nice when we have contingencies in place? Although, those villains managed to make it inside of our campus, and somehow sneak this far into the forest … we ORIGINALLY had taken precautions in case there were a couple of realist kids that somehow gained access to the 1st building’s security codes. Those same preparations will be very useful right about now.”

Mrs. Haldeen: “Got it. I’ll report-”

Mr. Abrams: “No. I will make the report, myself. You just pretend we’re taking them into the second building. Make sure to tell the kids that as well.”

Mrs. Haldeen; “You aren’t possibly thinking… that there could exist a traitor among the students, are you? For that to be an assumed possibility…!”

Mr. Abrams: “Don’t overthink things. *Rubs eyes* I’m only undergoing the necessary process to catch us a monster by the ears. That monster could be listening in as a student, related to a student, as a patrolman like an on-duty security officer, or a faculty member. This is the best way to lure them into my net…!

.

.

.

Just kidding. Haha, there are indeed things I’m worried about, but none of them involve some special trap. I’m only worried that location #2 has already been compromised. If that WAS the case, we could again, be caught off guard. I realize more security teams will now patrol the area thanks to this event, but insiders are a real threat, and sometimes, the greatest problem could come from a force we trust the most.

Anyways, have faith me. The kids can relax in a brand new location and I… (I will hopefully catch somebody involved with this mystery woman who dares to hire heavy – handed mercenaries and try slaughtering my students! This sort of act will NOT go unpunished…!)”

Mrs. Haldeen: "And you…? You’ll what…?”

Mr. Abrams: “...Oh, right. To finish my sentence; I’ll begin scanning for the villains who came with this guy. In total, we have to watch out for 6 offenders … other than this guy. *Points to 4*”

Mrs. Haldeen glanced at the villain, then turned her gaze towards the two valiant students that fought with him. One looked like he had been through a war, while the other wore barely a scratch! Even stranger – this villain was in far worse shape than either of the two. At least, that’s what her untrained eyes could understand. It didn’t take a genius to figure out a basic gist of what actually happened with those three.

Either the 1st scenario came about, where an external force stepped in to help the children during their time of need, and while nobody else could. This mysterious stranger would need to have handled all the villains PLUS revived the kids from death.

That’s far too much for a single being to accomplish…!

.

.

.

Or ‘they’ could have been a group of helpers that arrived to thwart this gang of villainous mercenaries.

Either way; the very first scenario is one where interlopers arrived unbeknownst to everybody, and saved the children from this crisis.

The 2nd scenario, and one Mrs. Haldeen personally suspects after learning about Class 3-C student: Ophelia’s hidden strength, actually doesn’t claim any sort of interloper whatsoever steps in to save the children.

Instead, what it DOES assume about both the survivors and their acclaimed miracles...

Is that more ‘wolves’ had lay hidden amongst Mr. Abrams’s sheep than previously assumed. It wasn’t a lone child with super – strength fighting to protect her powerless peers; there were others doing the same thing. Namely that boy with only one, single scratch slitting across the side of his neck. The difference in damage, based on their respective appearances at the very least, was far too striking.

If Mrs. Haldeen had known both Noel and Li Shun not only fought against a single villain without any help for a time, but actually managed to leave them in worse conditions then the children themselves were in; she’d be at a complete loss for words(Though in Li Shun’s case, the villain healed up thanks to 6, but Ian and Brennan’s surprise attack returned him to the floor. One could say without partners, it was Li Shun’s win).

Do other organizations have a hand inside the non-combatant project that she doesn’t know about? Are their school’s security system and preparatory measures mere ‘jokes’ or something??

In fact, she’s already close to losing faith in this land of heroes.

This recent attack, as well as the earlier one from the fire kinetic, are each slowly eating away at her faith. Are the country’s current state of affairs truly so miserable?

Is something bigger happening right now? That villains EASILY managed to slip inside without the proper heroes or authorities noticing…

Thanks to this incident, she’s also beginning to resent her school. Believing it to be so unmistakably corrupt that somebody among their school’s Board of Trustees actually HIRED those very villains to murder students is nothing short of appalling! This would give rise to the notion that the sneaky Board member also must have been aware of a method for these villains to breach Herotopia’s defenses and safely sneak inside the city. If only her memories were able to be used as evidence...but due to the nature of a particular villain capable of fabricating false memories that can actually trick the mind-reading abilities of this world’s greatest Heroes – memories are no longer an ‘absolute’ unarguable piece of evidence. Merely something to take into consideration.

Mrs. Haldeen: “Haah. *Shakes her head slightly* It seems your students are turning out to be a handful. You have your work cut out for you, Houdini. Don’t worry and rest assured. I promise to watch over your class.”

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