Hayze looks around at his fallen classmates; his eyes start to flutter.

Hayze: (I… I wasn’t… I wasn’t strong enough…)

Hayze passes out from exhaustion.

Karma: *From afar* Saige!

Saige turns her head to see Eve, Alexis, and Karma running towards her.

Saige: Sorry girls, the party's over, but you can help out with the cleanup.

The girls look around at the aftermath of the battle. Alexis notices Aaron and Wes’ unconscious bodies.

Alexis: *under her breath* What are they doing here?

Alexis runs over to them.

Karma: What happened here?

Saige: There was a minor struggle, no big deal.

Karma: Minor?

Eve: Mind being a little less vague...

Saige: I’m not sure exactly. I arrived at the end of the fight. So those five were already down-and-out by then.

Eve: Who were you guys fighting?

Saige: Some girl with a mask and sword, she seemed pretty feisty; I had to restrain her to keep her from killing Hayze.

Eve and Karma are both taken aback.

Karma: A girl with a mask?

Eve: Her again…

Saige: I take it that you’ve had a run-in with her before.

Karma: She was with the group that attacked us that night in the forest. She was the one who killed Mr. EMD…

Eve: And we didn’t specifically run into her… She was present when Silver and I fought two of her friends, but she didn’t join in the battle.

Karma: The only person who specifically had a run-in with her was Hayze.

Saige looks at the other five students’ unconscious bodies.

Saige: Well, that explains a lot…

Karma: Why would she attack now… it’s been so long since she last appeared.

Eve: Who knows, but we have to help out the others.

Saige: I’ve got Hayze. You two go check on Ash, Lilith, and Blair.

Eve and Karma: Right.

Eve and Karma run over to Ash, Lilith, and Blair. Saige looks down at Hayze.

Saige: (She left the others knocked out… but she had every intention of killing him… Oh, Hayze… What did you do?)

Ash wakes up groggy and holding her head; Karma runs over to her.

Karma: Are you alright, Ash?

Ash: *groans* My head is really spinning… but I think so.

Karma: You tried to take over her body, I assume.

Ash: Yeah… I did… but she was way too strong for me; she forced me out pretty quick. I feel so useless.

Karma: You shouldn’t. She’s a mighty opponent, and I’m sure you gave it your best shot.

Ash looks around at the unconscious bodies of her classmates.

Ash: By the look of things… I didn’t…

Karma: Ash…

Alexis flips Aaron over to his back.

Aaron: *groans* Fuck you, Wes…

Alexis: Aaron! Are you alright?

Aaron: Emotionally or physically? Because I’m really pissed off right now.

Alexis: I’m going to take that as an elaborate yes.

Aaron: *pained grunt* Did you guys get that bitch?

Alexis: No, she got away, but everyone’s still accounted for.

Aaron: Damn, *sighs* I guess that’s fine.

Wes: *high-pitched* No! Fuck that whore!

Wes is writhing in pain, holding his nuts.

Alexis: What happened to you?

Wes: *high-pitched* What do you think?

Aaron laughs.

Aaron: Ow, that hurt… but fuck you, Wes.

Wes: *high-pitched* I’M SORRY, OKAY!

Alexis: What are you two even doing here? I thought you were out training together.

Aaron: I got a text saying you were at the food court, so I thought that was an invitation.

Alexis: Wait, what? Oh… I must have switched my texts for you and Lilith.

Aaron: Ha… nice.

Alexis: Why are you laughing right now? You could have been seriously injured!

Wes: *high-pitched* I was!

Alexis: Not you, Wes. Jesus, do you ever stop thinking about yourself?

Aaron: I know, right?

Wes: *high-pitched* FUCK YOU!

Aaron: I had to help Hayze, Alexis. I wasn’t going to back away from that fight, and besides, all’s well that ends well.

Alexis: Yeah, but-

Aaron: Why are you getting so worked up? What did you want me to do?

Alexis pauses.

Alexis: (Why am I getting so worked up?)

A group of police officers, paramedics, and two pro heroes arrive.

Police Officer: Are you kids alright?

Wes: *high-pitched* NO!

Karma: Yes, some of us, but a couple of us need medical attention.

The police officer looks at the injured students.

Police Officer: It looks like we’re going to need six gurneys and ambulances.

Ash: You only need five. I’m not injured.

Police Officer: Alright, we’re still going to have the medics check you out.

A paramedic walks over to Alexis.

Paramedic: We can handle the wounded. You girls will need to talk to the police and explain what happened here.

Alexis: Well… only one of us actually saw what happened.

Police Officer: And which one of you was that?

Saige: That would be me.

Police Officer: Well, would you mind if I ask you a few questions?

Saige: No, officer, but I didn’t see much, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.

Police Officer: That’s fine; we can talk to the victims once they’re transported to the hospital and get more information.

Later on, Karma, Ash, Alexis, and Eve watch as Hayze, Aaron, Wes, Lilith, and Blair wheeled out of the mall on gurneys. News reporters and cameras are swarming the police, trying to find out what happened and get pictures of the students.

Kama: I hope they’ll be alright.

Alexis: Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. You heard the paramedics. None of them were severely injured.

Eve: Yeah, and besides, there’s a lot more for us to worry about.

Ash: Like what exactly, Eve?

Eve: That girl seemed to be out for Hayze, and while I don’t really care for the guy, it is a little concerning that she knew exactly where he was.

Ash is surprised.

Ash: I guess I didn’t think about that…

Alexis: Eve is right, and the even more startling part: at least as far as I’m aware, Hayze didn’t even plan to be here today.

Ash: Wait then… what? I don’t get how-

Karma: Her group must have noticed a large amount of our class gathered together in one location, between us girls, the useless brothers, and Kevin, that makes nearly half.

Alexis: It’s either that, or they figured out where Hayze was headed and sent her here to intercept him.

Eve: And no matter which one it is… it means they’re watching us… and they can strike at any moment.

The girls go quiet for a few moments. Then, A car rolls up next to them, Walker and Adrian step out.

Karma: Hello, Mr. Walker and Adrian.

Walker: Are you girls alright?

Eve: We’re fine, but we can’t say the same for the others.

They all look to see the ambulances driving off.

Walker: Jesus Christ…

Adrian: We heard about U.A. students being involved in a fight at the mall. We wanted to come here and make sure nobody else was hurt.

Walker: Tell us what happened; we need to know.

Karma: Uh… well uh…

Saige: The girl that attacked you all in the woods many months back decided to return for round two.

The girls turn around to see Saige has returned from talking to the police. Saige walks through them and stands in front of Walker and Adrian.

Walker: You mean the one that killed EMD?

Saige: To my knowledge, yes.

Walker: Then we’re lucky that everyone made it out alive.

Saige: Not without her effort, at least… She was trying to kill Hayze and nobody else.

Adrian is shocked, Walker doesn’t react.

Adrian: What! How are you sure about that?

Saige: I showed up just in time to save Hayze’s life. Everyone else had already been taken down by that point. If she wanted them dead, they would be.

Walker: I believe it. They’ve shown a propensity for killing only specific targets before.

Adrian: (This is the second time Ivan has sent his people to kill Hayze… What's he after? Hayze already relayed the information about Ivan’s existence. So there shouldn’t be a reason for him to still be a target!)

Adrian clenches his fist.

Walker: So do any of you girls know what actually happened?

Ash: I was involved in the fight earlier than Saige, but I was knocked out before finding out why it was happening in the first place.

Alexis: Eve, Karma, and I arrived after the battle’s conclusion.

Walker: Well then...

Saige: I have a guess.

Walker: Alright, let’s hear it.

Saige: Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden ran into the girl while exploring the mall. They recognized her mask, so she dispatched them quickly. Then, when Hayze and Blair were walking through the mall together, the girl attacked them, and after a short bit of fighting, Ash and Lilith joined in with Ash attempting to stop the girl by taking over her mind. That, however, did not work, and Ash was knocked out in the process. Lilith, Blair, and Hayze then fought the girl, with Aaron and Wes joining in later. She systematically defeated each of them until just Hayze was left. At that point, she tried to kill him, but that’s when I showed up and stopped her.

The girls all look at Saige, confused.

Eve: (Why is she covering for those idiots…)

Karma: (What’s she planning?)

Alexis: (This girl is some kind of evil genius…)

Walker and Adrian think for a moment.

Walker: Well, that explains why those three were on the news earlier in the day.

Adrian: Yeah, and why they were found in the girls' bathroom, she left them there so that nobody would be suspicious.

Ash, Eve and Karma: (They’re buying it?!)

Walker turns to the car.

Walker: I’m going to go to the hospital and get more concrete information. Adrian, make sure these girls get back home safe.

Adrian: With all due respect, Walker, I’m sure they can handle themselves.

Walker: We’ve got 8 hospitalized students. I’m not letting that count get any higher.

Adrian: R- right.

Walker gets in the car and drives away.

Walker: (This will be a nightmare for the school…)

Adrian turns to the girls.

Adrian: Well I-

Karma, Alexis, Eve, and Ash have left.

Adrian: W- where did they go!

Saige: They didn’t like the idea of having an escort.

Adrian: *groans* if anything happens to them, Damien will have my head… Well, at least you stayed, Saige.

Saige: That’s because I have something bad to report…

Adrian: Oh excellent… What is it?

Saige: It’s Hayze… he… he remembers killing Adonis.

Adrian is shocked.

Adrian: What! How?

Saige: He’s been seeing it in his dreams… I told him it was Khaos trying to play with his head, but he acknowledged how real it all felt.

Adrian: *frustrated grunt* Dammit! That’s not good… (Memory wipe has never failed before… How could he still remember killing Adonis? It doesn’t make sense-)

Adrian realizes.

Adrian: (It’s Khaos’ memories… we wiped Hayze’s, but not Khaos’ or any of the others for that matter… Fuck.)

Adrian thinks for a moment.

Adrian: Thanks for letting me know, Saige.

Saige: What are you going to do?

Adrian: I don’t know… I wanted to protect him from it… but now… I don’t know. I have to tell him; it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out.

Saige: Well, in my opinion, I’d wait until after the final exams. You don’t want to throw him off his game; it could jeopardize his career as a hero.

Adrian: *sighs* Yeah… that’s probably for the best.

Saige: Just whenever you do it, put in a good word for me. I’ve lied to him a lot… I can’t imagine he’ll be happy with me.

Adrian: We’ve both been lying to him.

Saige: Yeah, but whoever tells him gets off the hook at least a little.

Adrian: Right…

Saige: You’re his mentor. I’m just his friend; you get priority.

Saige starts walking away.

Saige: Have a good day, sir.

Adrian: You too, Saige.

Saige leaves.

Adrian: (If he remembers the fight against Adonis… does he remember-) Wait a second!

Adrian searches frantically for Saige.

Adrian: I was supposed to watch her!

Zaire enters Iota’s control room.

Iota: Good work, Zaire.

Zaire: Thank you, Master.

Iota: How is she?

Zaire: She hid her displeasure because she knew you were watching.

Iota: That’s fair. It was just too risky to leave her in there for much longer, she accomplished what I needed to have accomplished, and that’s all I needed.

Zaire: I know you said you wanted to create more fear and chaos, but haven’t you already done that enough?

Iota laughs.

Iota: Zaire, have you once considered why I’ve been targeting United Academy’s hero course students? And why I’ve been attacking Class 1-A in particular?

Zaire is silent for a moment.

Zaire: No, Master, I have not.

Iota: U.A. is a symbol, one of hope. Most if not all the top heroes in this country graduated from U.A. The public looks at the school as the birthplace of its defenders. The people who keep them safe and make them feel secure learn how to do those things at that school. Turning them against the very place that produces their future saviors is like teaching an animal to fear water.

Zaire: I see… if the public loses faith in U.A…

Iota: Then they will begin to fear what their future holds. I’ve made U.A. look like a laughingstock many times already: Breaking into U.A.’s computer systems because of their own negligence, killing a teacher during a classified field trip, and attacking students during their off days. U.A. looks like a chicken with its head cut off, while I look like a mastermind.

Zaire: Further fueling their fear…

Iota: Exactly.

Iota gets up from his chair.

Iota: I’d say that’s enough attacking U.A. for now. We need to move on to the bigger fish.

Iota smiles at a picture of Colossus with an X drawn over it.

Hayze (Narrating): We were all discharged from the hospital the following day. Unfortunately, the incident didn’t do any favors for U.A. They held a press conference that same day and declared that they would prioritize student safety at all costs. The media and public were skeptical, given that the same declaration was made following the attack in the forest. Classes were canceled on Monday so that U.A. faculty could come together and figure out what they were going to do, not only worrying about how they could keep us safe but how they were going to generate good publicity.

Hayze walks to school on a rainy day.

Hayze: (One more day… then Final Exams start…)

Hayze looks at U.A. out in the distance.

Hayze: (Ivy absorbed that Blackout Blitzkrieg like it was nothing… my best lightning attack, and it did nothing…)

Hayze clenches his fist.

Hayze: (My weakness caused the others to get involved and get seriously injured in the process. I failed them… I failed my training… I failed myself. I need to get stronger so that I can fight my own battles and w-)

Hayze is silent.

Hayze: (Let’s just focus on the exams, for now, Adam. I have to pass at all costs.)

Later, Hayze enters the classroom.

Jace: Aw, man! I’m not ready for the Final Exams at all!

Zach: Oh, come on, man, I’m sure you didn’t do that bad in the midterms.

Jace: I was 18th in the class!

Zach: ... At least you did better than Alden.

Jace: That isn’t saying much…

Alden hops down from the ceiling.

Alden: Hey! What makes you think I did worse than 18th!

Gus: Mr. Walker accidentally emailed the whole class your scores.

Alden starts sweating.

Alden: He- he did what now?

Angel: He also accidentally emailed us a scanned version of your test.

Alden: W- what?

Zach: I don’t understand how you got the first question wrong…

Alden: IT WAS REALLY HARD, OKAY!

Wes: “Name a United State,” and you said Mexico.

Alden: Fuck you! I was close!

Wes: NO! YOU WEREN’T!

Zach: Wait, so if Jace was 18th and Alden was 21st, who were 19th and 20th?

Isaiah and Demetri start sweating profusely, trying to avoid eye contact.

Isaiah: (19th…)

Demetri: (20th…)

Angel: I don’t know, but I was 15th, though.

Zach: Heh! Looks like I beat you! I was 14th.

Eve: You shouldn’t be bragging about 14th, Zach.

Zach: Oh yeah, then how did you do?

Eve looks away.

Eve: I did alright...

Jace: Give us the number, Eve!

Zach: Yeah, since 14th is apparently something not worth bragging about!

Eve gets nervous.

Gus: Well, I was 17th.

Jace: I forgot I did worse than Gus…

Wes: I was 16th.

Jace: And Wes…

Zach: Answer the question, Eve!

Angel counts on his fingers.

Angel: So wait… we know 21st and then 18th through 14th. Jake, where did you place?

Jake wakes up from his nap.

Jake: *groggy* Huh?

Angel: Where did you place in the class for the midterms?

Jake: *yawns* 11th…

Eve stands up in a fit of rage.

Eve: THAT IDIOT DID BETTER THAN ME!

Jake returns to his nap. Everyone looks at Eve, who looks embarrassed.

Zach: So…

Eve: *sighs* 12th.

Zach: Huh.

Lilith: It’s okay, Eve. I’m sure you’ll do better next time!

Eve: SHUT UP, NUMBER 13!

Lilith whimpers in fear.

Zach: Eve, don’t yell at Lilith!

Jace: Yeah, Eve, don’t get mad at others for your failures!

Eve: You did worse than me!

Jace: Well, I-

Demetri and Isaiah stand up from their chairs, synchronized.

Demetri: We have an announcement to make!

Isaiah: We placed 19th and 20th during the midterm tests!

No one is surprised; they return to what they were doing.

Demetri: *under his breath* Fuck.

Isaiah: *under his breath* Entropy.

Walker opens the door, and the students promptly take their seats. Then, Walker steps up to the podium and looks around at his students.

Walker: I’m glad you’re all here today. I would have understood if some of you couldn’t make it. I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room: the incident at the mall over the weekend.

Everyone involved in the fight looks concerned.

Walker: First of all, I-

Demetri and Isaiah stand up from their chairs, synchronized. Alden jumps down from the ceiling.

Demetri: We have an announcement to make!

Isaiah: We apologize for our actions at the mall over the weekend!

Alden: We have learned our lessons and will never try it again!

Walker stares at them blankly.

Walker: What are you talking about?

The three all look worried and start sweating profusely.

Walker: You weren’t involved with the fight.

Isaiah: Wait, there was another incident at the mall over the weekend?

Walker: What do you mean, “another incident?”

All three look terrified.

Demetri, Isaiah, and Alden: Nothing, sir!

Hayze looks at Saige, who is quietly snickering at her desk.

Hayze: /Let me guess… you told them that Mr. Walker was going to address the incident at the start of class today, and if they own up to it, then their punishment would be less severe?/

Saige nods gleefully.

Walker: Just sit down…

Demetri and Isaiah sit down instantly. Alden climbs up into the ceiling as quickly as he can.

Walker: Now then, I’d like to say first of all that the staff of this school had a very long and strenuous conversation on Monday about how to keep you students safe, especially now that we’ve had an attack happen off the school’s grounds. The primary thing that we decided is that U.A. will officially become a boarding school.

The students’ reactions range from excited to apprehensive.

Walker: U.A. has been a day college because of its pedigree; students were willing to move to Nashville to receive a top-notch education. Without the need to spend money on boarding, the school could use the savings to improve the quality of your education. But, with the recent developments, it’s been decided that students living on campus will increase their safety and allow the school to branch out its educational format to expand your learning. Therefore, the dormitories will be built over the summer and be ready for next semester. Students are not required to live on campus. However, it is heavily encouraged; that’s all the details I have for now.

Alden: (LIVING ON CAMPUS WITH ALL THE HOT GIRLS, JACKPOT!)

Silver: (As long as I can continue my training regiment, I’m okay with living here.)

Saige: (That should be fun!)

Walker clears his throat.

Walker: Now, as for the Final Exams.

Everyone in the room gets tense.

Walker: Over the next few days, you’ll be taking the written portion of the exam. Those tests will be similar to the midterms and assess you on things you’ve learned in lectures and class periods this year. As for the practical exam… I’ll give you some basic information on what that will entail. You’ll learn the rest on the day of.

Walker holds up five fingers.

Walker: The practical exam portion of the Final Exams will take place over five days.

Everyone is shocked.

Zach: (5 Days!)

Jace: (What the hell could we be tested on for five days!)

Justus: (Fine by me.)

Walker grabs a piece of chalk and starts writing on the board.

Walker: The practical is different this year than every other year. This is due mainly to your class’ experience with villains and accelerated timetable.

Walker has written 5 words on the board: Adaptability, Loyalty, Unity, Strategy, and Efficiency.

Walker: These are the five things you’ll be tested on. Keep them in mind.

Everyone examines the words.

Hayze: (They seem pretty straightforward, but we won’t know precisely how we’ll be tested on them until the day of the exam.)

Walker draws seven sets of three lines.

Walker: You’ll complete the exam as a team of 3, meaning there will be 7 groups from this class.

Silver: (A team…)

Wes: (Oh, thank god!)

Kevin: (That’s perfectly fine.)

Hayze: (Interesting… but how will those teams be decided?)

Walker: You won’t know your team until the day of the exam, so you can’t strategize ahead of time. I will say a few things about them, however. First, the groups were designed to have a fundamental flaw in the makeup, your ability to diagnose and work around this flaw will be critical to your success. Second, You will pass and fail together, regardless of individual performance.

Everyone looks worried.

Silver: (So if I get saddled with idiots, I could fail!)

Aaron: (If I was a betting man, I’d say there’s a high likelihood we’ll be placed with people we don’t work well with, and in some cases not even get along with… this could be rough.)

Hayze: (That makes things tricky… anytime your success is directly tied to other people… it can get stressful.)

Walker holds up a piece of paper.

Midterm Rankings #1 Saige Neidert #11 Jake Kopech #2 Ryne Verdugo #12 Eve Avery #3 Karma Montgomery #13 Lilith Weber #4 Adam Hayze #14 Zach Crawford #5 Alexis Meadows #15 Angel Northcroft #6 Justus Grey #16 Wes Zunino #7 Aaron Zamora #17 Gus Riggs #8 Ash Wright #18 Jace Neil #9 Kevin Bohm #19 Isaiah Ware #10 Blair Maddox #20 Demetri Perish #21 Alden Taillon

Walker: These rankings from the midterm exams, along with your performances from the Sports Festival, were used to make sure the teams were balanced.

Angel: (A.k.a. The top will get saddled with the bottom.)

Walker: Make sure you remember this: your two teammates are the only people you’ll be able to trust in this exam, and that’s because you’ll be competing against one another.

Animosity is building in the room.

Walker: Oh, and 1-B as well.

Animosity is through the roof.

Walker: Finally… and most important of all… If you fail these exams, you will be removed from U.A.’s hero course.