I decided to creep a little bit into the room, so I could better see how the Supers would handle this one.

Electron was pacing now, clearly getting impatient. Suddenly, Enigma appeared silently behind him, his golden eyes gleaming in the mist like counterparts to Electron's.

"You know, we have got to stop meeting like this," Enigma quipped.

Electron whirled to face him, and let out a bark of hard laughter. "You shouldn't have given yourself away. Now, I'm afraid you'll have to join the others." His hands glowed stronger and the web reappeared over the room, shifting to cover Enigma.

I twitched involuntarily, wondering if he could have possibly let himself get caught so easily.

Instead, Enigma's shape appeared to melt away. A moment later he reappeared a couple of feet to the right.

"Whoops," he said sarcastically.

The green points of Electron's eyes narrowed, and the web reappeared once more.

Enigma faded in and out, waving his arms. "Uh oh," he taunted. "I could do this all day, but you're only exhausting yourself."

I watched, fascinated. How did he manage that? I knew he could camouflage himself, but I didn't think that would keep the forcefield from binding him.

Electron seemed equally baffled. "No, that's not possible," he insisted.

"Didn't anyone teach you that nothing's impossible?" Enigma asked mockingly.

A sudden hand on my shoulder made me jump yet again, but Seb's voice in my ear reassured me.

"Hey," he whispered. "He's trying to make Electron break his concentration and let down the field."

"How is he doing that?" I whispered back, nearly bursting with wanting to know.

"How did you do it yourself? I actually don't know, he just said he was confident he wouldn't get caught."

A loud pop distracted us both, and for good reason; the other Villains had arrived.

"Too late, Super. Sonic, do it now!" Electron called, stuffing something into his ears.

The Villain in gleaming pale blue stepped forward and started to scream.

But this was no ordinary scream. This was a wave of intense, obliterating sound that pierced your very soul. I fell to the ground, clutching my ears, trying to push the sound waves away from my head. I felt Seb thump down beside me, and a wave of intense pity for everyone who was frozen and couldn't cower away from the crushing noise.

When it had subsided and I was able to look up, I saw that Sonic had darted over to the amulet's case. Or, what was left of it.

The glass, and presumably the energy barrier, had shattered entirely, leaving the amulet entirely exposed. The light had shattered today, but strangely the other cases and lights remained unaffected. She must have been able to target the power of her sonic waves.

I panicked, seeing that Enigma was still picking himself up off the ground after being floored as well, and probably wouldn't get there before she did. As Sonic reached out and wrapped her hand around the amulet I held fast to it with my mind.

She pulled harder, I pulled back against it. I saw her look around as if she was confused.

"This thing won't budge!" She called out.

"What do you mean it won't -oof!" Electron sounded as though he'd just been tackled, presumably by Enigma. The sounds of a scuffle rang out. "Jumper, get her and the amulet and make the jump!" he yelled, his voice tight. The forcefield was still up.

Dopey appeared by Sonic and held on to her. He started to teleport, but they only flickered as the stuck amulet kept them grounded. The force on my mind was almost too much though, and I began to sweat as I struggled to keep the amulet there. I knew I couldn't hold on much longer.

"Seb," I whispered between gritted teeth, "electrify the amulet."

"Are you doing that?" He whispered back.

"NOW, Seb."

He wasted no more time, and shot out a bolt of white hot electricity straight into the amulet. The shock rippled through Sonic and Dopey, making them yelp and each let go of what they were holding.

"Okay guys, we need to end this now!" I heard Enigma call, voice strained with the effort of fighting Electron.

Seb shot away from me and towards the Villains by the case like a freight train, toppling straight into Sonic. Another shape, which must have been Cobalt, barrelled into Dopey, who then couldn't teleport for fear of bringing the Super with him.

Another Super stepped out by Enigma. She was dressed in green, and when she raised her hands, a bright light shone from her. I was mesmerised for a moment, watching branches grow their way through the light and begin to wrap themselves around Electron.

It was beautiful to watch, like Spring in a time lapse video. They entwined up him until they reached his hands, and then they burst into leaves over his hands, covering them entirely in the shining light. The web reappeared for a moment, flickered and then disappeared entirely.

At once, chaos reigned. Nebulous bodies began to move here and there. In the confusion, I focussed once more on the amulet and guided it towards me, letting its magnetism work in reverse so that it flew swiftly into my outstretched hand. I felt the burst of its energy flow through me, reinvigorating my exhausted mind.

"Everybody get out!" Cobalt shouted, from where he had an iron grip on Dopey, who was still struggling.

People began to flood towards the exit into the main hall. I stepped back into the shadows, guarding the amulet jealously.

"I think my ears are bleeding," I heard someone complain.

"Just go," another said to him, prodding him in the back.

Then, Sonic screamed again, a smaller one this time but enough for everyone but Dopey and Electron to clap their hands to their heads in agony. It was also enough for her to break free from Seb and dart back to the case.

"It's gone!" she shrieked.

When I looked back at Electron, I saw that he was back on his feet and sprinting towards Sonic and Dopey. Sonic's scream must have shattered his branch bonds.

"Let's just get the hell out of here, there are too many of them," he replied, lunging to grab her hand. "Jumper!"

"No! Grab them!" I found myself yelling, in the heat of the moment. I saw Electron turn to fix his glowing gaze in my direction, and I tucked the amulet closer to my body.

Seb and Cobalt, who were closest, charged forward but were too late; Jumper, not so Dopey this time, grabbed Sonic's hand, and they all disappeared seconds before the Supers got to the spot where they'd once stood.

I heard Seb curse loudly, followed by Cobalt. Suddenly, the main lights flicked back on and the insidious hiss of the smoke machine ceased. I had enough strength left, thanks to the amulet, to start pushing the particles out of the room, helping clear the air. I was done with not being able to see.

Soon it became apparent that the only people left in the room were me and the four Supers.

Cobalt moved over to inspect the empty case. "She was right, it's gone. Where the hell did it go?"

I stepped away from the wall where I'd been crouched. "Yeah, I might be able to help with that." I held up the amulet, and it glimmered in the newly reconnected light.

Several people spoke at once. Seb went, "yes!" and both Enigma and Cobalt said, in very different tones, "Kenna, what are you doing here?" Gaia wisely said nothing, but a small smile curved her lips.

I chose to answer Enigma first. "I told you I'd take care of myself, not that I'd stay out of it. You guys were a great distraction though, so thanks for that." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seb raise an eyebrow. He really has a terrible poker face.

"Kenna!" Cobalt demanded.

"I heard you the first time. I'm here because I was having a nice time out at the museum with my friends, and a couple of madmen and one madwoman showed up to spoil the fun. Wrong place, wrong time. Capeesh?" I should probably have been nicer, but my patience had been worn ragged for obvious reasons.

"How did you get that?" he prodded. I noticed that he did not ask if I was okay, though I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't care, or he knew better than to ask.

You know exactly how, Gregory. I glared at him, daring him to say it out loud, and lied through my teeth. "With my feet and my hands, while everyone was busy fighting."

"It's true, I saw her," Seb offered. Maybe he was getting a little better at acting.

Cobalt was at least respectful enough not to make any sign that he knew my brother was lying and why. He and Seb had once been friends, after all.

"Thank you, Kenna, that was amazing, " Enigma said warmly.

I found myself grinning back in the face of such encouragement. Then, I cleared my throat awkwardly. "So, who wants this? Obviously I'm not going to take it home with me."

Enigma strode over to me, hand outstretched. "I'll take it over to Gareth right now. He'll be happy to see it, though he won't be pleased we let them get away."

"Friggin' Golden Boy," I distinctly heard Cobalt mutter under his breath.

As he leaned over to take the amulet from me, Enigma said nothing to indicate he'd heard Cobalt, but when he met my eyes, he winked and I smothered a laugh with a cough.

Then, just like that, he disappeared.

"I hate when he does that," Cobalt complained.

I rounded on him. "Uh, have you met your creepy girlfriend?"

"Alright, alright," Gaia said placatingly. "You know it'd be a lot healthier for both of you if you released the past." She was one of the originals on the team, a couple years older than us, and one of a small handful who knew who we really were. I had always liked her more than most; she had a calming, grounded presence like the earthy powers she wielded, and she generally stayed out of the spotlight.

We both sighed like we were being told off by our mums. "Yes, Gaia," we each mumbled.

"Anyway, we'd better get back to Gareth and do a debrief. We're definitely going to have to talk about Sonic, because what she can do is debilitating."

"I think the Villains had something to block the waves in their ears, so maybe look into that," I offered.

Another curving Mona Lisa smile from Gaia. "Thanks, Kenna. See you later. Zeus, I know you said you'd be debriefing with Gareth separately, so we'll see you later too."

As she and Cobalt started to leave, I heard Seb say quietly into Cobalt's ear, "just remember, Gregory, she doesn't owe you anything." He clapped Cobalt on the shoulder roughly and walked away before the latter could respond.

"I suppose this is where I say a begrudging thanks for your help," I said, but softened it with a smile for Gaia.

She smiled back and then they were gone down the corridor.

"Okay, weird day," Seb said, and we both dissolved into slightly manic laughter. "I'm going to go get out of my kit and then I'll see you outside? I don't know if anybody will be waiting for us still."

Wandering back through the entrance hall, I spotted Ewan coming from the direction of his office, so at least one of our friends was still here.

I stopped and waited for him, waving to get his attention. "Hey!" I said enthusiastically when he was close enough. "Are you okay?"

He laughed. "I was about to ask you the same question. I'm fine, I just had to go phone the directors to let them know what was going on since I'm the one who actually works here. One of those Supers gave me a brief overview of what happened to pass on."

"And how was your first Super experience?" I asked with a cheeky look.

"Underwhelming. I hear they let the Villains get away, which is very disappointing," he said harshly.

I was a little surprised at his tone, but then remembered that it was his exhibit and all of his hard work that had just been smashed up.

"Well, I was there for the whole thing, and you know how I feel about Supers, but I wouldn't be too hard on them. You heard Sonic when everyone was trapped in there; that scream was the craziest thing that ever scorched my eardrums. She was the worst kind of wildcard."

"That reminds me of something else I heard - that I have you to thank for my prized artefact still being around. Apparently you grabbed it and kept it safe while everyone was fighting."

I shrugged, trying to blow it off. The less people thought about how I'd done anything, the better. "Right place, right time. Supers get pretty preoccupied."

He wasn't willing to let it go so easily. "I'm serious, Kenna, thank you. Don't think I don't know that you were the one who realised how much this exhibit meant to me."

Embarrassment flushed through me at how perceptive he was. I poked him in the chest, keeping my tone light. "Well, I'd do anything for a friend like you, Nerdy."

"I know," he said. "Shall we go find everyone else?"

"Wait," I grabbed his arm to stop him, "can you not mention to anyone else about the amulet? I don't want to make a thing out of it."

His face was unreadable for a moment, before he smiled. "Whatever you want, Kenna." Then his smile turned a little roguish, "after all, you're my hero."

"Ugh!" I laughed, smacking his chest where I'd poked it, and he danced away from me, cackling.

As it turned out, Seb had underestimated our friends' concern for us, because they were all assembled on the steps, peering anxiously up at the door when we emerged.