“ Adonis: ADONIS’ EAR HURTS, ADONIS’ ARM HURTS AND ADONIS’ EYE HURTS FROM LAST TIME, ADONIS IS ANGRY! AND ADONIS WILL KILL!

Khaos smiles.

Khaos: (He still thinks he has a chance.)

Adonis: ADONIS WILL NOT LOSE! ADONIS IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS!

Adonis charges at Khaos again and cocks back his right arm for a punch.

Adonis: DIE!

Khaos cuts Adonis’ right arm off.

Jagger: Adonis!

Adrian: Holy shit…

Adonis’ severed arm slams onto the ground with a massive thud with blood-spewing and pooling from it.

Adonis: Wh- wh-

Adonis looks at his severed arm with a look of terror.

Adonis: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! “ - Chapter 48

Hayze wakes up sweating and breathing heavily. He looks at his phone; it’s 4:23 A.M. He gets out of bed, walks to his kitchen, and pours himself a glass of water.

Hayze: (That same dream… it won’t go away… it feels so real.)

Hayze drinks the water and walks back to his bedroom; he passes by his mirror and stares at his reflection.

“ Wrath: (I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again: they’re lying to you, they’re afraid of how powerful we could become, and they want to keep you where you belong, the bottom! Don’t tell me you’re okay with losing. I know you’re not! Now embrace the anger! Embrace your strength and-)

Hayze’s eyes stop glowing.

Wrath and Hayze: Let’s win! “ - Episode 54

Hayze: (What Wrath said… Why did that work? I was doing a decent job fighting off his influence up to that point, but why was that the thing that pushed me over the edge? It’s never been about winning or being on top… I’ve always wanted to be a hero so that I could help people… just like my parents did. So why? Why did that work on me? Do I really care about winning that much?)

Hayze lies down in his bed.

Hayze: (I never give up, but is that because I want to achieve my dreams at any cost? Or is it because I don’t want to lose? I just… I don’t know anymore.)

Hayze falls back to sleep.

Hayze (Naratting): About 5 months have passed since Wrath took control of my body. Since then, Saige and I have become… friends. In addition to her helping me control my emotions amid battle, we’ve been practicing our fighting skills against one another, I know she’s holding back. Still, it’s been very effective training with someone as powerful as her. Midterms came and went, we had our winter break and returned for the 2nd half of our first year in late January, and now final exams are next week. Everyone is nervous, primarily because you have to take remedial classes over the summer if you fail, but it’s another opportunity to prove ourselves amongst our peers. These exams are essential, and all of us are preparing in our own ways.

Justus is climbing a mountain with one arm tied behind his back. The sun is glaring down on him.

Justus: *grunts* Almost there!

Justus reaches the top, rolls over on his back, catches his breath, and unties his arm.

Justus: (The final exams will be the biggest test I’ve faced since the Sports Festival. I need to prove to myself that I’ve made progress since then. If I fail these tests, my victory that day will have meant nothing...)

Justus looks out at the horizon.

Justus: (While the others got stronger during their internships… I feel as though I stagnated, but I can thank my own indecisiveness for that. Although my father had his own desires, he made his lessons correspond with my wishes because he understood my goals... Despite all the time I’ve spent resenting and avoiding him, he knows me better than I ever would have thought…)

Justus ties his opposite arm behind his back.

Justus: (I have to keep training, I need to round out my skill set if I want to succeed and pass the final exams.)

Justus starts scaling down the mountain.

Justus: (I will be the number 1 hero, mark my words.)

Eve, Alexis, Blair, Ash, Karma, and Lilith walk through a mall together.

Ash: I’m glad we could all get together for a girl’s day today.

Lilith: Yeah, this is a lot of fun!

Eve: This isn’t usually my kind of thing, but final exams are just around the corner, so it’s nice to just relax.

Karma: I know, right? The fact that Mr. Walker still hasn’t told us what the exams are like makes me anxious.

Blair: It doesn’t matter to me what the exams are, just as long as I get the chance to pummel the useless brothers into the dirt.

Eve: I second that.

Alexis: Don’t you beat those guys up on the regular anyway?

Blair: Yeah, but this time... it’s for a grade.

All the girls think for a second.

Karma, Lilith, Alexis, and Ash: I third that.

The girls pass by a table where Isaiah, Demetri, and Alden are wearing sunglasses, coats with high collars, and are hiding their heads with newspapers, watching the girls.

Demetri: /Targets spotted./

Alden: /We’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em./

Isaiah: /Explain to me again how this is productive for us…/

Demetri: /It’s pretty simple, Isaiah./

Alden: /We stalk them until they go underwear shopping./

Isaiah: Oh… OHHHHH.

Alden and Demetri: shhh!

They all nonchalantly check to see if the girls have spotted them. They have not. The three breathe sighs of relief.

Demetri: /That was close./

Isaiah: /Yeah, we can’t afford to be recognized./

Kevin: Isaiah, Demetri, and Alden?

Kevin has shown up, all three of them start sweating nervously.

Kevin: Why are you guys dressed in those weird outfits?

Demetri: (Oh shit…)

Isaiah: (We can’t let him find out why we’re here…)

Alden: (The girls would kill us if they knew what we were up to…)

Demetri: We… uh… we’re…

Alden: Just chilling out, but we wanted uh…

Isaiah: To choreograph our outfits…

Kevin stares at them for a moment.

Kevin: The girls are here, aren’t they?

They start panicking.

Demetri, Alden, Isaiah: Please don’t tell them, Kevin!

Alden: They’ll kill us or even worse!

Isaiah: Castration…

Demetri: Don’t even say the word…

Kevin puts his hand up.

Kevin: I want in.

Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden: WHAT!

Elsewhere Hayze and Saige are standing by a pond. Hayze’s eyes are blue, and he’s wearing a collar filled with water around his neck. He points his hand out towards the water. Tiny drops emerge from the pond and levitate in the air.

Hayze: (Liquid Bullets!)

The drops shoot forward like bullets. Then, after traveling 30 yards, the drops fall back into the water.

Saige: Well, you have that move down.

Hayze’s eyes return to normal, he removes the water collar.

Hayze: Yeah, every day, I feel like I’m progressing with my quirk.

Saige: I’d hope so. You’re gonna need to be in good shape for the final exams.

Hayze: Yeah…

Saige: Is something wrong?

Hayze: No… I just… I’ve been distracted with the whole Wrath and Khaos thing from a couple of months back.

Saige: You haven’t lost control since then, and I’ve been helping you with that for a while now. Nothing will happen, and if anything does, we’ll stop it.

Hayze stares out at the water.

“ Khaos: First Rule of Khaos: Khaos shows no mercy. “ - Chapter 48

Hayze: Saige?

Saige: Hm? Yes?

Hayze: Do you know what happened when Khaos took over that first time?

Saige: Only some details. Why?

Hayze thinks for a moment.

Hayze: I’ve been having these dreams… they’re the most vivid I’ve ever had in my entire life. I see Khaos killing the giant guy that attacked our class in the woods, Adonis.

Saige’s eyes widen.

Hayze: The dreams… they just… they feel more like memories than-

Saige: That’s just Khaos trying to mess with your head!

Hayze turns to Saige.

Hayze: Really? Are you sure?

Saige: Trust me, I’ve been through the same process. I know exactly what you’re talking about.

Hayze stares at Saige for a moment.

Hayze: Alright, that makes sense.

Hayze turns away from Saige. She mouths, “phew.”

Saige: So… mind if I ask you a question or two?

Hayze: Uh… sure, what’s up?

Saige: Rank out the strongest members of our class for me.

Hayze: Why? Are you looking to pick a fight?

Saige: I wasn’t a part of your class when you guys partook in the Sports Festival, so Final Exams might be my first crack at seeing where I measure up compared to everyone else. Since the beginning, you’ve been around everyone, and you have a good relationship with most of the class, so I just want to hear your analysis.

Hayze: Alright…

Hayze thinks for a moment.

Hayze: Silver and Justus are pretty clearly the top two. Those guys were born to be top heroes, and they have outstanding work ethics. I’m not sure who I’d pin as 1 and 2 between them; it’s pretty even in my mind. If not, including you, I’d say Kevin is 3 and Aaron is 4.

Saige: Interesting that you have a definitive answer on them, but not Silver and Justus.

Hayze: Well, it helps that Kevin defeated Aaron in the Sports Festival, although barely. The main reason is that I can tell that Kevin is growing as a fighter, whereas with Aaron, I feel like he’s hit a wall.

Saige: What do you mean?

Hayze: It’s just… Aaron’s quirk is really powerful. Hell, I’d go as far as to say it’s the strongest of all of our quirks in our class, but Aaron kind of hit a plateau. He got this far on talent, strength, work ethic, and instinct, but it’s like he’s tapped out those qualities and can’t get any stronger from them, he needs to adapt, and I just don’t think he’s grown all that much in strength since the Sports Festival.

Saige: Hm, interesting.

Hayze: Don’t get me wrong, the idea of fighting Aaron is still as daunting as the day I met him, but I’m just not sure about some things with him.

Saige: Have you tried telling him that?

Hayze: Questioning Aaron’s work ethic is… not a smart idea. Plus, I don’t think it’s my place.

Saige: Why?

Hayze: He doesn’t need my help.

Wes and Aaron face off in a field.

Wes: You sure about this?

Aaron: Don’t question me, Wes!

Wes: Alright, if this is what you want to do…

Wes’ whole body changes to mirrors. Aaron transforms his left arm into a howitzer cannon.

Aaron: Half-Howitzer!

Aaron fires the howitzer blast at Wes. It reflects double strength and connects with Aaron. A loud explosion goes off as a dark cloud of smoke engulfs Aaron. Wes holds up his arms to shield himself from the forceful winds of the blast.

Wes: *yelling* Aaron? Are you alright?

The smoke clears, Wes spots Aaron lying on the ground, lifeless. Wes gets worried.

Wes: Oh shit!

Wes runs over to Aaron.

Wes: Aaron? Are you alive?

Wes looks at Aaron with a worried expression on his face.

Wes: Oh shit… did I-

Aaron kicks Wes’ ankle, shattering the mirror. Wes falls to the ground, landing on his elbow and side, breaking those surfaces as well.

Wes: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Aaron gets up and dusts himself off.

Aaron: Alright, so I can now tank a regular howitzer burst attack!

Wes is still screaming in agonizing pain.

Aaron: Come on, Wes, it's only a scratch.

Wes continues screaming in pain.

Aaron: *sighs* This’ll be a while, won’t it?

Isaiah, Demetri, Alden, and Kevin watch the girls from a railing two floors up.

Demetri: So why do you want to help us, Kevin?

Kevin: Oh, I’m just bored.

Isaiah: Why are you even at the mall in the first place?

Kevin: I needed new weights; I broke all of mine.

Demetri: That makes sense.

Isaiah: Scary, but it makes sense.

Kevin: You guys know the rules, though, right?

Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden: You. Were. Never. Here.

Kevin: This’ll be fun!

The four peer over the railing. The girls are walking around with bags of things they’ve bought.

Alden: So what’s the plan exactly?

Kevin: Simple.

Kevin throws Alden over the railing.

Alden: AHHHHHHHH!

Alden smashes into the bottom floor.

Alden: *groans*

Ash: Is that Alden?

Lilith: What’s he doing here?

Karma: And why did he just jump over the railing?

Blair: I think we all know why he’s here…

Eve slams her fist into her palm.

Eve: Oh yeah, we do!

Alden is writhing in pain on the ground.

Alden: My back… my back… it hurts so-

Eve grabs Alden by the head and hoists him above the ground.

Eve: Hello, Alden.

Alden: H- h- h- h- hi Eve… fancy seeing you here…

Eve: Funny, I was about to say the same thing!

Alden whimpers in fear.

Eve: Were you and your perverted buddies stalking us?

Alden: N- n- n- n- n-

Eve: Today, junior!

Alden: NO!

Eve: Wrong Answer…

Alden: *squeals*

Up top, Isaiah, Demetri, and Kevin hide behind the railing. They hear the distinct sound of bone cracking… but no scream.

Demetri: Why the hell did you do that?

Isaiah: Yeah, now our cover is blown!

Kevin: Now you have your distraction. Go get those bags, boys!

Isaiah and Demetri’s eyes widen.

Isaiah and Demetri: Yessir!

Isaiah and Demetri leap up onto the rails.

Demetri: Now’s our chance!

Isaiah: Hell yeah!

Isaiah changes his eye mode to x-ray and locates the bags of clothes and underwear.

Isaiah: Those!

Demetri: I’m on it!

Demetri fires his strings at the bags and hoists them up.

Alexis: Woah!

Ash: It’s them!

Lilith: Oh no!

Blair: I’LL KILL THEM!

Isaiah and Demetri each grab a bag.

Demetri: Thanks, Alden!

Isaiah: We won’t forget your sacrifice!

Kevin points to a door labeled “EXIT.”

Kevin: /There’s your way out!/

The two nod and start running.

Demetri: We’re actually gonna get away with a pantie raid!

Isaiah: I can’t believe we lived to see this day!

Demetri: Everything is going our way for once!

The two dumbasses run away laughing. They open and run through the door Kevin directed them to.

Isaiah and Demetri: We’re free!

Suddenly a rope trap goes off, hoisting the two hooligans by the ankles. They are both silent for a moment.

Isaiah and Demetri: NO! IT WAS A SETUP!

Kevin walks up to the door and rips off the exit scene, revealing it actually leads to a women’s restroom.

Kevin: Sorry guys, but the girls made a compelling offer.

The girls meet Kevin at the door, Eve carrying Alden by his broken ankles.

Alexis: Did you get them?

Kevin: Yup, they’re looking like pinatas right now.

Blair: SWEET!

Lilith: Thanks, Kevin!

Karma hands Kevin a bunch of money.

Karma: That’s $10 from each of us; thanks for helping us out.

Isaiah and Demetri: *muffled* ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Kevin: No problem, good luck and have fun with those guys.

Blair is pooling lava in her hands.

Blair: Oh, we will!

Kevin pockets the cash and starts walking away. The girls enter the restroom, the sounds of Isaiah, Demetri, and Alden’s screams can be heard as Kevin departs.

Kevin: (This was good practice in my ability to deceive and lead. If I want to be the best, I have to diversify my skills. I won’t be looked at as just another strong guy. I need to separate myself; I need to be better than I was before.)

Hayze and Saige are walking through the woods by the pond.

Hayze: Saige, can I ask you something?

Saige: What is it?

Hayze: Do you want to be the number 1 hero? I only ask because A: you’re so strong, and B: you were asking about the power rankings for our class.

Saige: Why yes, I do want to be the number 1 hero.

Hayze: Any particular reasoning?

Saige: Yeah, it actually involves you.

Hayze: Me?

Saige: Growing up without a quirk was hard. I didn’t fit in with everyone else, I got picked on, and frankly, I just felt useless. Our society is so quirk-driven that I felt like an outcast, and I was sad all the time. I think that’s why my grandfather was so quick to allow Dr. Moore to use her quirk serum on me, he just wanted me to be happy, and I finally am. My goal is to become number 1 to prove to the whole world that you don’t have to be born great to be great. There are many people out there that are like how I was, and I can give them a glimmer of hope by showing them that it’s not hopeless.

Hayze: And how does that involve me?

Saige: You may not have been quirkless, but you understand what it’s like to be alone; you know how it feels to know that your dreams are unachievable just because you weren’t born with the right quirk. I want one of us to be number 1; I want us to set the example that you don’t need to be perfect to be the best. Colossus is inspiring, but as far as everyone is aware, he was always a front runner to be number 1 because he was so talented so early in his life.

Hayze’s fights with Silver and Justus flash through his mind.

Hayze: That makes a lot of sense.

Saige: Yeah, that’s another reason I moved back here. If I help you, you increase my chances of achieving my goal; it’s a no-brainer.

Hayze looks at Saige.

Hayze: (Her dreams are so pure, she’s fought hard to get to where she is now, and all she wants to do is give back. It’s admirable.) Thanks for answering my question.

Saige: You’re welcome. Also, your dream is nice too.

Hayze: Huh? Oh right, the Sports Festival.

Saige: Also, just to get the record straight, I respect Silver and Justus’ reasons for trying to become number 1 as well. Being born to be great and not becoming great is much worse than being born to be terrible, and staying that way, their expectations are much higher than ours. That’s why they take their lumps much harder than we do. Everyone always roots for the underdog, but do we ever take a second to think about what losing means for the favorite?

Hayze thinks back to watching Silver fall to the ground in defeat during their battle.

Hayze: No… we don’t.

Saige: Did you notice how everyone you named in your rankings has a similar quality amongst themselves?

Hayze: We all have a dream and strong reasoning attached to that dream. Even Kevin fights because he wants to challenge himself, do what he loves, and keep himself happy. He wants to work his way to the top at any cost, and he’ll fight tooth and nail to get there.

Saige: Exactly, the thing that drives people is what separates the strong from the weak.

Hayze: I see what you’re saying…

Saige: We’re all strong, so when it comes to fighting for that top spot, don’t hold anything back, alright?

Hayze: Right.

Saige: Thanks.

The two exit the woods.

Hayze: Weren’t you supposed to hang out with the girls today?

Saige: Yeah, they were making a mall trip, but I didn’t want to skip out on our training for this week with Final Exams coming up. I tipped off Demetri, Isaiah, and the ceiling guy that they’d be there, you know... just for fun.

Hayze: Of course you did…

Saige: Personally, I was rooting for the boys.

Hayze: The girls are probably still at the mall. You should hang out with them; I’m kind of your only friend in our class.

Saige: Hm… maybe. I’ll tell you what, I’ll go to the mall if you walk me there.

Hayze: *sighs* Fine, but only because I have nothing better to do…

Saige: Yay!

Wes has stopped screaming and is sitting on the ground in normal mode. Aaron is standing, looking down upon him.

Aaron: Come on, Wes, I just tanked a Howitzer Burst like a champ, and you screamed for 45 minutes over breaking a mirror!

Wes: THIS SHIT HURTS LIKE BREAKING BONES, YOU ASSHOLE!

Aaron: And?

Wes: *sighs* I shouldn’t have been tricked so easily by you playing possum…

Aaron: Good, now I’d say this was a pretty successful training exercise. Let’s head home.

Wes: Why do you think it was successful?

Aaron: Hm?

Wes: Sure, you were able to handle one of your Howitzer Burst attacks, something that you’ve never been able to do before, which means your durability has gotten better, but that also means that the attack isn’t increasing in strength if you were getting stronger on both sides then that would mean that every time you get hit by the move you take the same amount of damage, no less, no more.

Aaron stares at Wes for a few seconds. Wes gets up and brushes himself off.

Wes: *sighs* Alright, I’ll start running-

Aaron: No, it’s okay.

Wes: Huh? You’re not mad at me for talking back?

Aaron: It’s okay.

Aaron starts walking away.

Wes: Hey, wait up!

Wes follows after Aaron.

Aaron: (Am I stagnating? Why hasn’t my attack gotten any stronger since we started school? Why?)

Silver is training inside Black Hollow’s dojo; he’s standing in the center of the ring vigorously striking a punching bag. His hand wraps have blood seeping through them.

Silver: (I won’t fail again… I made light of my failure in the Sports Festival because I knew I would have other opportunities. Now those other opportunities are here, and I can’t afford to fail again.)

Silver pummels the punching bag harder and harder.

Silver: (I will pass the final exams, and in the process, I will make it clear to everyone that I am the strongest! Since I was a child, I have been slated to give Colossus a run for his throne. I won’t allow myself to achieve anything less than what I was built to achieve! I will not fail! I can’t afford to!)

The punching bag bursts, and sand spews out onto the ground. Silver stairs at the pile of sand while breathing heavily.

Silver: (I got a little heated there, it’s no big deal. I’ve got too many people to make proud to not hold myself to a higher standard than anyone else.)

Silver grabs another punching bag and hangs it up. He takes the broken one and throws it on a pile of other busted punching bags. He then grabs a sharpie and writes on the new punching bag.

Silver: (Mom, Dad, you conceived me intending to create the future number 1 hero, and I refuse to fail those expectations, no matter the cost!)

Silver starts punching the punching bag. Silver wrote “Justus” on it. On the broken bags. Silver wrote: “Aaron,” “Kevin,” and “Hayze,”

Silver: (Nobody can stop me, nobody…)